Editing Assize of Clarendon (section)

{{Short description|1166 act of Henry II of England}}
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The '''Assize of Clarendon''' was an act of [[Henry II of England]] in 1166 that began a transformation of [[English law]] and led to [[Jury trial|trial by jury]] in [[common law]] countries worldwide, and that established [[assize court]]s.<ref>[https://magnacarta.cmp.uea.ac.uk/read/magna_carta_1215/Clause_24 The Magna Carta Project]</ref><ref>[https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/234110059.pdf  The Early History of the Grand Jury and the Canon Law]</ref>

Prior systems for deciding the winning party in a case, especially [[felony|felonies]], included [[trial by ordeal]], [[trial by battle]], or [[compurgation|trial by compurgation]] (trial by oath), in which evidence, inspection, and inquiry was made under oath by [[laymen]], [[knight]]s or ordinary [[Franklin (class)|freemen]]. After the Assize of Clarendon [[Jury trial|trial by jury]] developed, though some historians say beginnings of the jury system predate this act.<ref>cf. the debate between Stubbes, Powicke, and Maitland, "The Jury of Presentment and the Assize of Clarendon", N. Hurnard (1941), ''English Historical Review'' vol. 56, no. 223, pp. 374–410.</ref> The Assize of Clarendon did not lead to this change immediately; recourse to trial by combat was not officially rescinded until 1819 in the aftermath of the [[Ashford v Thornton|murder of Mary Ashford]].<ref>[https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/libraries/collections/stories/mary-ashford-case The Mary Ashford Case]</ref>

The assize takes its name from [[Clarendon Palace]], Wiltshire, the royal hunting lodge at which it was promulgated.<ref>[https://www.history.ac.uk/sites/default/files/file-uploads/2024-07/CLARENDON%20PARK%20for%20web-mounting.pdf - CLARENDON PARK ] </ref>