Bloody Assizes
The Bloody Assizes (English; "bloody assizes ") were a series of court hearings in September 1685 , held in Dorchester , Dorset (southern England). They were a direct result of the failed takeover of the English throne by James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth .
These proceedings, presided over by the notorious George Jeffreys , dispatched by the incumbent English King James II , can, without exaggeration, be viewed as a punitive expedition. At least 1,300 cases were ended guilty within a very short time .
Numerous convicts were executed. This atrocity is still commemorated as a Bloody Assize in southern England today .
The word assize probably has its origin from the old French assise (meeting). For example, within the jurisdiction of England ( Assize Court ) and France (Cour d'Assises), a court was named to deal with capital crimes. Within this category, treason was considered the most severely punishable offense.