The Stationers’ Company was organized in 1557 partly because the printers saw the necessity for organization and regulation of the industry, and partly because the crown desired a better means for controlling printing than had theretofore existed. It will be remembered that this was in the midst of the age of religious controversy. King Henry VIII had attempted to set himself up as the head of a national church which was not Protestant and at the same time did not acknowledge allegiance to the Pope. King Henry executed with great impartiality both those who defended the ecclesiastical supremacy of the Pope and those who professed Protestant opinions. His successor, King Edward VI, was a Protestant and attempted to make England Protestant. His short reign was followed by that of Mary I, who was a Catholic and attempted to make England Catholic. Her comparatively short reign was followed by the long reign of Elizabeth, in whose time Protestantism became the established state church of England. It will be remembered that it was near the close of Mary’s reign that the Stationers’ Company was chartered, and the interest of the crown in securing a better control of the printing press and its output is obvious. In 1560, the second year of Elizabeth, the incorporation of the Stationers’ Company was rendered complete by the enrolment of the new company in the list of the liveried companies of London, and we shall presently see that the royal hand was laid heavily upon the printers and their work. The Stationers’ Company was organized in the usual form, with its administration in the hands of a Master and two Wardens. The terms of the charter gave the company authority to govern the trade and to enforce its regulations by the exercise of the right of visitation and disciplinary control over its members. This extended not only to the enforcement of the regulations of the Company but also to the enforcement of royal proclamations and injunctions, and decrees of the Star Chamber. The Star Chamber, frequently mentioned in English history in general, as well as in the history of English printing, was a special court of high officials. The powers and jurisdiction of this court were somewhat vague and undefined. Theoretically it was intended to deal with matters which could not be adequately dealt with by the regular courts because of the necessity of immediate action, the important nature of the case, or other conditions which made the action of the ordinary courts too slow or not sufficiently effective. Naturally the existence of such a court opened the way to serious abuses, and alleged abuses of its authority played a very large part in the Revolution by which King Charles I lost his head. As a result of these revolutionary movements, the court was discontinued in 1641, after an existence of at least three hundred years. It is supposed to have derived its name from the fact that the ceiling of the room it sat in in early times was decorated with stars.