Assize of Northampton

The Assize of Northampton, largely based on the Assize of Clarendon of 1166, is among a series of measures taken by King Henry II of England that solidified the rights of the knightly tenants and made all possession of land subject to and guaranteed by royal law.

The assize is believed to have been passed at a council held in Northampton in January 1176. The assize contained severe penalties for various offences and gave the justices substantial powers at the expense of the sheriffs. The assize is connected with the reorganisation of itinerant justices and contains instructions for six groups of justices appointed to tour the country. Later clauses deal with the introduction of important new legislation, chiefly the king's right to have certain cases brought into his court.

The assize was a strong response to a crime-wave then being experienced and gave additional powers to the authorities by creating new offences that a judge could examine, including arson and forgery, and set down new and severe punishments that could be handed down, including the removal of an offender's right hand.

The Assize of Northampton is also the first official document to contain information on the possessory assizes of mort d'ancestor and novel disseisin.

United Kingdom legislation

Pre-Parliamentary legislation	List of English statutes Charter of Liberties Magna Carta

Acts of Parliament by states preceding the Kingdom of Great Britain	Acts of the Parliament of England to 1483 1485–1601 1603–1641 Interregnum (1642–1660) 1660–1699 1700–1706 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland

Acts of Parliament of the Kingdom of Great Britain	1707–1719 1720–1739 1740–1759 1760–1779 1780–1800

Acts of the Parliament of Ireland	to 1700 1701–1800

Acts of Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland	1801–1819 1820–1839 1840–1859 1860–1879 1880–1899 1900–1919 1920–1939 1940–1959 1960–1979 1980–1999 2000 to date Halsbury's Statutes Legislation.gov.uk Short titles

Church of England measures	List Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919

Legislation of devolved institutions	Acts of the Scottish Parliament List Acts and Measures of the National Assembly for Wales List Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly List Acts of the Parliament of Northern Ireland List Orders in Council for Northern Ireland List

Orders-in-Council	Order in Council

Secondary legislation	United Kingdom Statutory Instruments Scottish Statutory Instruments Acts of Sederunt Acts of Adjournal

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