[1] The Assize of Clarendon did not lead to this change immediately; recourse to trial by combat was not officially rescinded until 1819, though by then it had fallen out of use.
Unoccupied and unclaimed land invited squatters; since there was no central recording office for real property in England at the time, and sorting out who owned what fief was entrusted to human memory, disputes arose when aristocrats returned or died thousands of miles from home.
The two factions had hired mercenary soldiers, and when there was no one left to pay them, many resorted to robbery and other forms of violence as a profession.
The quarrel between the King and the Empress created more property troubles; as communities were divided, both factions were happy to reward their supporters with the lands of the local opponents.
Finally, there was the long-standing difficulty involving the Catholic Church, which culminated in the murder of Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The church operated its own court system, which answered not to Henry but to the Pope; it was a large landowner and a powerful vested interest.
Twelve "of the more lawful men"[3] of the locality were summoned by the king's sheriff to determine, upon their own knowledge, who was entitled to the property.
In theory, then as (in the United States and Liberia) now, the grand jury only brought accusations; it did not find guilt or innocence.
[5] Under compurgation, an accused person who swore he did not commit the crime, and who found a sufficient number of his neighbours to swear that they believed him, was acquitted.