ABSTRACT
Precedent played an important role in theoretically one-off equitable interventions becoming regular, and equity becoming more law-like. However, the available sources limit our ability to understand the role of precedent in the Chancery in the key formative decades around 1600. This article uses the court of Star Chamber as a proxy for the other equity courts. It shows a much more significant use of precedent than has previously been understood, and that the practice of precedent in the court was similar to that in the common law courts. Equity was becoming more like the common law in the early-17th century.
Ian William, Precedent in Early-Modern Equity: The View from the Star Chamber, Oxford Journal of Legal Studies. Published: 12 October 2026.
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