Northhampton

ASSIZE OF. An assize held in 1170; in it, the king confirmed and perfected the judicial legislation which he had begun ten years before in the Assize of Clarendon. The kingdom was divided into six circuits, and the judges appointed in them were given a more full independence, and were no longer joined with the sheriffs in their sessions. Their powers were extended beyond criminal jurisdiction to questions of property, inheritance, wardship, forfeiture of crown lands, advowsons and the tenure of land. It provided for a more thorough administration of criminal law. It provided that no one should entertain a guest in his house for more than a night unless the guest had some reasonable excuse which the host must show to his neighbors, and when the guest leaves, it must be in the presence of neighbors and by day. Stephen, Cr. Froc. in 2 Essays in Anglo-Amer. L. H. 445; Mrs. J. It. Green in 1 id.