Definition of Star-chember
Star-Chamber, a court which originated in the reign of Edward III.,
and consisted practically of the king's ordinary council, meeting in the
Starred Chamber, and dealing with such cases as fell outside the
jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery; was revived and remodelled by
Henry VII., and in an age when the ordinary courts were often intimidated
by powerful offenders, rendered excellent service to the cause of
justice; was further developed and strengthened during the chancellorship
of Wolsey, and in the reign of James I. had acquired jurisdiction as a
criminal court over a great variety of misdemeanours—perjury, riots,
conspiracy, high-treason, &c. Already tending to an exercise of
unconstitutional powers, it in the reign of Charles I. became an
instrument of the grossest tyranny, supporting the king in his absolutist
claims, and in 1641 was among the first of the many abuses swept away by
the Long Parliament.
- Wikipedia
Star"-cham`ber (?), n. [So called (as
conjectured by Blackstone) from being held in a room at the Exchequer
where the chests containing certain Jewish comtracts and obligations
called starrs (from the Heb. shetar, pron. shtar)
were kept; or from the stars with which the ceiling is supposed
to have been decorated.] (Eng. Hist.) An ancient high
court exercising jurisdiction in certain cases, mainly criminal, which
sat without the intervention of a jury. It consisted of the king's
council, or of the privy council only with the addition of certain
judges. It could proceed on mere rumor or examine witnesses; it could
apply torture. It was abolished by the Long Parliament in 1641.
Encyc. Brit.
Star"-cham`ber (?), n. [So called (as
conjectured by Blackstone) from being held in a room at the Exchequer
where the chests containing certain Jewish comtracts and obligations
called starrs (from the Heb. shetar, pron. shtar)
were kept; or from the stars with which the ceiling is supposed
to have been decorated.] (Eng. Hist.) An ancient high
court exercising jurisdiction in certain cases, mainly criminal, which
sat without the intervention of a jury. It consisted of the king's
council, or of the privy council only with the addition of certain
judges. It could proceed on mere rumor or examine witnesses; it could
apply torture. It was abolished by the Long Parliament in 1641.
Encyc. Brit.
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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