Texts

Assize of Clarendon (Ass Clar)

This assize is a series of ordinances issued at Clarendon in 1166. It provides evidence of a number of reforms introduced by King Henry II to check the power gained by local magnates during the ‘anarchy’ of King Stephen's reign, returning it to the crown. The assize also established judicial procedure regarding crime, such as the use of the grand jury (consisting of 12 men in each hundred and 4 men in each township), which was to inform the King’s itinerant judges of the most serious crimes committed in each local district. The text of the assize was recorded by the chronicler Roger of Howden (fl. 1170-1201) in his Chronica .

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Digital edition

Edited by Nicholas Vincent

Manuscripts