Assize of Clarendon

livelihood. Under William I, this represents a breach of the the feudal contract and may be settled in a feudal court. These courts ,however, were ran by the accused lords so verdicts were often products of corruption. This changes under the rule of Henry II and his introduction of the writ system. If the same vassal were to buy a writ from Henry II, he would now have authority to regain control of his land and cattle as long as the 12 men good and true supported his story. This new royal justice under Henry II was not as subject to corruption so it incentivized royal justice. Consequently taking power away from the nobility. It is important to note that the scenario described above does not fit into the category of criminal law which the Assizes of Clarendon and Northampton predominantly dealt with. In fact, one could not purchase a writ for…

Introduction Henry II built the foundations of law as it sits today. Assize of Clarendon was an act that came in 1166 that transformed the English law. As trial jury was a way where evidence and inspection came before the punishment. Inquiry was my under oath by freemen. This shaped the new way of law in England. This act would be eventually known as common law. Why did Henry need a new way of dealing with crime? The Assize addressed many problems. When Henry II inherited the throne, he had…

The grand jury originated in 1166, when King Henry II of England, issued the Assize of Clarendon (McSweeney, 2014). The Assize of Clarendon instructed that twelve “good and lawful” men of the community should be periodically convened, under oath, to act as investigatory agents of the monarch (McSweeney, 2014). These investigatory agents came to be known as jurors. Previous to the enactment of the Assize Clarendon, the Catholic Church and nobility decided criminal cases via “trial by ordeal or…

Westminster had starting hearing legal cases, even when they did not directly involve the royal law, and by 1170, legal professionals who specialized in hearing cases and later became known as the Court of Common Bench, had developed. Henry II also had judges traveling the countryside to judge legal cases. During Henry I’s reign, he had judges travel the countryside as well, but they didn’t judge the cases, they just merely presided over them. Local landowners would judge the cases based on…

amenable Archbishop through whom he could gain control of the churches legal system. Becket, however, was unwilling to oblige and on his appointment resigned the Chancellorship. Henry flew into a furious rage. Becket, undeterred, then entered into disagreement with the king regarding the rights of church and state when he prevented a cleric found guilty of rape and murder from recieving punishment in the lay court. A council was held at Westminster in October 1163, Becket was not a man to…

along betrayed the kids and left them either on the journey or once they reached Jerusalem. Henry II Henry the Second was born in north west France at Le Mans around the year 1133. Henry's father was Count of Anjou and his mother was the daughter of Henry the First, who was the king of England. Around the year 1150, Henry became ruler of Anjou and Normandy due to the death of his father. Two years later he married one of the greatest heiress of Western Europe, Eleanor of Aquitaine. He later…