The Law

• Court of Chancery: as Chancellor Wolsey presided over the Court of Chancery. It administered the law of equity, not common law. Wolsey had little or no legal training.
• Cases in the Court of Chancery were not usually high profile and involved quite a lot of work for Wolsey during the legal terms.
• Court of Star Chamber, unlike Chancery, was a criminal court. Wolsey presided with other members of the King’s Council.
• Individual litigants not the king or Wolsey brought most cases, so it was not a device to humble the mighty.
• Wolsey enforced the law impartially, against high and low. Heard a lot of poor men’s cases.