Taxatio Ecclesiastica
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The ''Taxatio Ecclesiastica'', often referred to as the ''Taxatio Nicholai'' or just the ''Taxatio'', compiled in 1291–92 under the order of
Pope Nicholas IV Pope Nicholas IV ( la, Nicolaus IV; 30 September 1227 – 4 April 1292), born Girolamo Masci, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1288 to his death on 4 April 1292. He was the first Franciscan to be ele ...
, is a detailed database valuation for ecclesiastical taxation of English, Welsh, and Irish parish churches and
prebends A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the ...
.


History

The ''Taxatio Ecclesiastica'' was compiled in furtherance of the collection of a tax on all ecclesiastical property in England and Wales, in order to defray the costs of an expedition to the Holy Land. The Pope promised
Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...
one tenth of the annual profits of every ecclesiastical benefice for the endeavour. A further tax, entitled ''Nova Taxatio'', was levied in 1318 by virtue of a royal mandate directed to the
Bishop of Carlisle The Bishop of Carlisle is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Carlisle in the Province of York. The diocese covers the county of Cumbria except for Alston Moor and the former Sedbergh Rural District. The see is in the city of Car ...
. The ''Nova Taxatio'' was conducted largely to pay for the war with Scotland. The database is reportedly "complete or virtually complete for the dioceses of
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...
,
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Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
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Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...
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, Bath and Wells,
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, Ely,
St Davids St Davids or St David's ( cy, Tyddewi, ,  "David's house”) is a city and a community (named St Davids and the Cathedral Close) with a cathedral in Pembrokeshire, Wales, lying on the River Alun. It is the resting place of Saint David, W ...
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and Bangor." Robinson has demonstrated many inaccuracies and omissions in the ''Taxatio'' and that it must be exercised with caution as a source. Nonetheless, it remains an important source document for the medieval period.


Payment dispute

This taxation is a most important record, because all the taxes of the Church, as well to the kings of England as to the pope, were afterwards regulated by it until the survey made by
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
; and because the statutes of colleges which were founded before the
Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
are also interpreted by this criterion, according to which their benefices, under a certain value, are exempted from the restriction in the statute 21 Henry VIII concerning pluralities. In 1295, Edward, notwithstanding the Pope's grant, and numerous exactions from the clergy in the meantime, being still in great need of money to carry on his wars, summoned deputies from the inferior clergy for the first time to vote him supplies from their own body. In the preceding year he had, by threats and violence, exacted a tax of half the revenues of the clergy; but now he thought it prudent to obtain their consent to his demands in a more regular manner. The clergy, however, would not obey the king's writ of summons, lest they should appear to acknowledge the temporal power; and in order to overcome this objection, the king issued his writ to the archbishop, who, as their spiritual superior, summoned the clergy to meet in convocation. This was the commencement of the constitutional practice of the clergy meeting in Convocation at the same time as the Lay Parliament, and voting subsidies by its own voluntary act for the service of the state. It was not viewed without alarm by the Pope and the high Church dignitaries ; and in order to put a stop to all such exactions of princes from the clergy,
Pope Boniface VIII Pope Boniface VIII ( la, Bonifatius PP. VIII; born Benedetto Caetani, c. 1230 – 11 October 1303) was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 to his death in 1303. The Caetani, Caetani family was of b ...
issued a bull in 1296, which forbade churchmen of every degree to pay any tribute, subsidy, or gift to laymen, without authority from the See of Rome ; and declared that if they should pay, or princes exact, or any one assist in levying such unauthorised taxes, all such persons respectively would incur the sentence of excommunication. In the same year, however, Edward I demanded of the clergy a fifth of their moveables, which they resisted, on the ground that they could not disobey the Pope; but the king was not inclined to desist, and in order to force the acquiescence of the clergy, he put them out of the pale of the laws. Orders were issued to the judges to hear no cause brought before them by the clergy, but to decide all causes in which they were sued by others. The clergy could not long resist these oppressions; and although unwilling to disobey the Papal Bull, they evaded it by voluntarily depositing a sum equivalent to the amount demanded of them in some church, whence it was taken by the king's officers. In this expedient the whole ecclesiastical body acquiesced, and thus yielded up their spiritual privileges, under coercion by the temporal power.


Publication

An edition of the ''Taxatio'' was published by the
Record Commission The Record Commissions were a series of six Royal Commissions of Great Britain and (from 1801) the United Kingdom which sat between 1800 and 1837 to inquire into the custody and public accessibility of the state archives. The Commissioners' work ...
in 1802 as ''Taxatio Ecclesiastica Angliae et Walliae Auctoritate'', edited by
Thomas Astle Thomas Astle FRS FRSE FSA (22 December 1735 – 1 December 1803) was an English antiquary and palaeographer. He became a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and the Royal Society. Life Astle was born on 22 December 1735 at Yoxall on the ...
,
Samuel Ayscough Samuel Ayscough (1745–1804) was a librarian and indexer, who was described as the "Prince of Index Makers". Family and early life Samuel Ayscough was the grandson of William Ayscough, a stationer and printer of Nottingham, where he introduced ...
and
John Caley John Caley (1760–1834) was an English archivist and antiquary. Life He was the eldest son of John Caley, a grocer in Bishopsgate Street, London. Acquaintance with Thomas Astle led to a place in the Record Office in the Tower of London. In 1787 ...
.


References

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External links


Article in "English Cyclopedia" by Charles Knight (1854)Taxatio database
{{Taxation in medieval England 1292 in Europe 1292 works 13th-century Latin books 13th-century manuscripts English manuscripts Legal history of England Christianity in medieval England Taxation in medieval England Medieval English law