was an 1166 act of King Henry II of England that began the transformation of English Law from divinely-ordained systems of deciding the prevailing party in a lawsuit (such as trial by ordeal or trial by battle), toward a more humanistic "evitendiary" model, in which evidence and inspection was made by laymen. This act greatly fostered the methods that would eventually be known in Common Law countries as "trial by jury." It is important, however, to realise that the Assize of Clarendon did not lead to this change immediately; in fact, recourse to trial by combat was not officially recinded until 1819. // Events Marko III succeeds Yoannis V as patriarch of Alexandria. ... Henry II of England 5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189) ruled as King of England (1154–1189), Count of Anjou, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. ... Trial by ordeal is a judicial practice by which the guilt or innocence of the accused is determined by subjecting them to a painful task. ... The Judicial Duel. ... This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ...

Problems addressed by the Assize

Henry II inherited the throne of a troubled kingdom. The Crusades were in full swing at the time, a military endeavour that kept noble landowners away from their castles for years at a time. Unoccupied and unclaimed land invited squatters; since there was no central recording office for real property in England at the time, and sorting out who owned what fief was entrusted to human memory, disputes arose when aristocrats returned, or died thousands of miles from home. This article is about the medieval crusades. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Another, even more serious problem requiring royal action was the aftermath of the disastrous civil war between King Stephen and the Empress Maud. The two competing factions had hired mercenary soldiers, and when there was no one left to pay them, many of them took up robbery and other forms of violence as a profession. Crime followed the breakdown of local authority. The quarrel between the King and the Empress created more property troubles; as communities were divided, both factions were happy to reward their supporters with the lands of the local opponents. King Henry inherited a right royal mess. A civil war is a war in which parties within the same culture, society or nationality fight against each other for the control of political power. ... Stephen (c. ... Empress Maud (1102 – September 10, 1167) is the title by which Matilda, daughter and dispossessed heir of King Henry I of England and his wife Maud of Scotland (herself daughter of Malcolm III Canmore and St. ... For other uses, see Mercenary (disambiguation). ...

Finally, there was the long-standing difficulty involving the Church, which culminated in the murder of Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The problem for the King was that the Church acted like an imperium in imperio, a "kingdom within a kingdom", only partially subject to Henry's laws if at all. The Church operated its own court system, which answered not to Henry but to the Pope, it was a large landowner and a powerful vested interest. Henry wished to establish a system of justice that would enlarge the power of the Crown at the expense of the clergy. St Thomas Becket, St Thomas of Canterbury (c. ... This page lists direct English translations of common Latin phrases, such as veni vidi vici and et cetera. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Pope (from Latin... This article refers to the Commonwealths concept of the monarchys legal authority. ...

The Assizes

Henry therefore founded a number of assizes. One was the assize of novel disseisin, which in Law French meant something close to the "assize of recent dispossession". Those who had been recently put out of their lands could recover the beneficial use of them by resort to this assize, which led to a then innovative method of trial. Twelve "sword-girt" knights of the locality were summoned to determine, upon their own knowledge, who was entitled to the property. This innovative method of proceeding, the origin of the civil petit jury at common law, was aimed at the chaos introduced into property rights by crusade and civil war. The Courts of Assize, or Assizes, were periodic criminal courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the Quarter Sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The silver Anglia knight, commissioned as a trophy in 1850, intended to represent the Black Prince. ... This article is confusing for some readers, and needs to be edited for clarity. ... This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ...

Henry's true measure of cleverness, though, is on display in his innovations in criminal justice. Henry appointed "justices in eyre," the counterpart of circuit judges, to travel from town to town. When they arrived, tunder oath any accusations of crime they were aware of in the community. In theory, then as now, the grand jury only brought accusations; it did not find guilt or innocence. United States criminal justice system flowchart. ... This article is about the concept of justice. ... A Circuit judge is a position in British Law, in which a Judge moves to different Crown Courts within a certain area. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

This new assize did away with the old form of trial known as "compurgation" in accusations brought by the grand jury. Under compurgation, an accused person who swore he didn't do the crime, and who found a sufficient number of his neighbours to swear that they believed him, was acquitted. Compurgation was no longer available in charges brought by the grand jury.

The trial available to the defendant remained the traditional trial by ordeal. Nevertheless, Henry did not put much faith in the results of the ordeal. The unfortunate felon who was convicted through the ordeal was, of course, executed. But even if the indicted culprit was acquitted in the ordeal, he was banished. In other words, the proceedings by the grand jury were the actual trial; everyone it accused was punished, and the community rid of the malefactor, one way or another. Trial by ordeal is a judicial practice by which the guilt or innocence of the accused is determined by subjecting them to a painful task. ... A felony, in many common law legal systems, is the term for a very serious crime; misdemeanors are considered to be less serious. ... See Exile (disambiguation) for other meanings. ...

Effects of the Assize

These proceedings did much to transfer power out of the hands of local barons and into the hands of the royal court and its judges. In 1215, moreover, the Fourth Lateran Council forbade clergymen of the Church from participating in trial by ordeal. After this date, trials after indictment by the grand jury were conducted by juries as well. Baron is a specific title of nobility or a more generic feudal qualification. ... A trial at the Old Bailey in London as drawn by Thomas Rowlandson and Augustus Pugin for Ackermanns Microcosm of London (1808-11). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A certified copy of the Magna Carta March 4 - King John of England makes an oath to the Pope as a crusader to gain the support of Innocent III. June 15 - King John of England was forced to put his seal on the Magna Carta, outlining the rights of landowning... The Fourth Council of the Lateran was summoned by Pope Innocent III with his Bull of April 19, 1213. ... Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. ... “Catholic Church” redirects here. ...

The large changes wrought in the English system of justice did not go unchallenged. The dispute over jurisdiction over the one-sixth of the population of England in Holy Orders was the chief grievance between the King and Becket. Disgruntled peers attempted to undo Henry's reforms by the Magna Carta forced on King John, but by that time the reforms had progressed too far — and their superiority over the system they had replaced was too obvious — for the forces of reaction to gain much ground. Henry II's reforms laid the groundwork for the system of trials in common law. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Catholic deacon... For other uses, see Peerage (disambiguation). ... Magna Carta Magna Carta (Latin for Great Charter, literally Great Paper), also called Magna Carta Libertatum (Great Charter of Freedoms), is an English charter originally issued in 1215. ... This article is about the King of England. ... In legal parlance, a trial is an event in which parties to a dispute present information (in the form of evidence) in a formal setting, usually a court, before a judge, jury, or other designated finder of fact, in order to achieve a resolution to their dispute. ... This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ...

External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Assize of Clarendon

• Medieval Sourcebook: Text of the Assize of Clarendon
• Avalon Project, Assize of Clarendon text
• Annotated text