Assize of ClarendonArticle Free Pass Assize of Clarendon,
(1166), a series of ordinances initiated by King Henry II of
England in a convocation of lords at the royal hunting lodge of
Clarendon. In an attempt to improve procedures in criminal law,
it established the grand, or presenting, 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 and to name “any man accused or
notoriously suspect of being a robber or murderer or thief.” All
such men were subjected to ordeal by water and, if convicted,
deprived of their goods and chattels, which were forfeited to
the King; a convicted man also had his foot amputated. Even
those acquitted were subject to exile from England if they were
deemed men of ill repute. The assize was an extreme effort to
control rampant lawlessness and had the unfortunate effect of
encouraging accusations leading to miscarriages of justice. It
was amended by the Assiz