Anyone knowledgeable on medieval taxes?

[italiano]

I had half a mind to create specific and authentic taxes for my mod, but decided just to tax the overall income. I'm still curious to what kind of taxes were applied though, and might implement a more detailed tax system. I seem to remember rent, production tax (% of product) for those who didn't own their land, a tax/fine to replace military service and I'm sure there were road taxes etc. What else? Trade taxes? Would rent be adjusted with economic growth or deterioration? How did taxes differ in towns? Was (town) tax paid to some sort of administrative organisation or did lords handle that? I.e, was much of a lord's 'income' reinvested back into the town, or would there be a separate entity that does this?

Much of this isn't really needed for my mod as a tax can be applied on overall economic activity, but the handling of taxes used for infrastructure, how much a lord may receive and his role/responsibilities are quite important. The only tax that would make a difference is applying trade tax and tolls on a caravan in foreign destinations.

 

[Skeletor]

According to wikipedia - Champart was a tax in Medieval France levied by landowners on tenants. Paid as a share of the harvest, the amount due varied between one sixth and one twelfth, and typically one eighth of the cereal crop.
And if I remember my history lessons correctly, you also had to pay one tenth to the Church (this includes lords too).
You might also want to look here -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight%27s_fee

 

[Rubberduck]

Remember that many times taxes weren´t money, but goods. This causing taxation being up close and personal, by tax collector dragging away your pig. Tax you mentioned about replacing military service was called Scutage, or Shield Tax.

Found some.

Margäld. Paid according movable property, for example cattle, not by farmed land.

Länsmanränta. I don´t know how to translate this. Länsman is like magistrate, so area paid tax for having him.

Church taxes. Matskott (can´t translate this). Komål, based on number of cows. Näbbeskatt, "beaktax". All paid in butter.
Also tenth from all grain.

 

[Archonsod]

War taxes tended to be frequent, normally to fund military campaigns abroad.

 

[Cirdan]

In Christian countries, it was customary that commoners (and sometimes, dependant on place and time, nobles) paid a tithe (one-tenth) of their income to the Church, this being known simply as the Tithe in English. Also, lords were entitled to their share of the peasants' harvest, and tolls were commonly levied by free cities at their and on bridges and well-maintained, by whomever maintained them (generally either the local lord or a free city). Normally such tolls were for the maintenance of the relevant infrastructure, but not all lords were scrupulous in how they used the money, and some tolls were little more than a legal form of highway robbery.

Taxes to the State were seldom permanent in the Middle Ages, and usually levied for a given purpose on those supposed to gain as a result of the enterprise. IIRC, the English kings made portuary cities pay 'ship-money' for the maintenance of a fleet; the French kings, supposedly in order to stop men-at-arms from plundering the population during the HYW, raised, the 'taille des gens de guerre' or warrior's tax. Most direct taxes were raised either per per person (capitation or poll tax), or per family ('per hearth'), although they also could be raised on property, though this was more complicated because land could be either noble or common, and this did not necessarily match the owner's status. Indirect taxes could include taxes on trnasporting goods, on exposing goods in the marketplace, sales taxes of course, and certain state monopolies (e.g. the monopoly on salt in France) could also be assimilated to taxes (especially when, as in the case of salt, purchase of a minimum quota was compulsory). At the end of the Middle Ages, when permanent taxation became commonplace, there were even taxes on consumption of goods by their producers. Finally, don't forget that many peasants owed days of work to the local lord, and that in the latter middle ages these were often bought back by the peasants.

 

[radicalhit]

According to wikipedia - Champart was a tax in Medieval France levied by landowners on tenants. Paid as a share of the harvest, the amount due varied between one sixth and one twelfth, and typically one eighth of the cereal crop.
And if I remember my history lessons correctly, you also had to pay one tenth to the Church (this includes lords too).
You might also want to look here -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight%27s_fee

yes i think that was called the tithe. My history teacher used to say how it was one of the most fair taxes in those times since a poor person would have to give much fewer money than a rich man... or something like that ?

 

[Cirdan]

Well, it's a tithe of your income regardless of whether your income is barely enough to feed your family or sufficient to maintain a hundred lances in the field all year round. It's not as fair as modern progressive income tax rates, because it's easier to do without luxuries than to eat less bread.

 

[italiano]

Well, it's a tithe of your income regardless of whether your income is barely enough to feed your family or sufficient to maintain a hundred lances in the field all year round. It's not as fair as modern progressive income tax rates, because it's easier to do without luxuries than to eat less bread.

Most of the population in Europe was rural though, and therefore mostly self-sufficient. It would be the people in towns that would suffer from whether they can afford to feed themselves. I would guess that we actually have it worse with modern taxation. I don't know where my tax goes, as it is certainly not towards roads, schools, hospitals etc. Oh, that's right, it's being completely wasted on 'stimulus packages'.

because it's easier to do without luxuries than to eat less bread.

Most people in developed countries consider those luxuries to be necessities.

 

[Cirdan]

Well, it's a tithe of your income regardless of whether your income is barely enough to feed your family or sufficient to maintain a hundred lances in the field all year round. It's not as fair as modern progressive income tax rates, because it's easier to do without luxuries than to eat less bread.

Most of the population in Europe was rural though, and therefore mostly self-sufficient. It would be the people in towns that would suffer from whether they can afford to feed themselves. I would guess that we actually have it worse with modern taxation. I don't know where my tax goes, as it is certainly not towards roads, schools, hospitals etc. Oh, that's right, it's being completely wasted on 'stimulus packages'.

Pay in kind, pay in the King's silver. It's all fungible at the end of the day .

because it's easier to do without luxuries than to eat less bread.

Most people in developed countries consider those luxuries to be necessities.

Well, I'm sure a rich medieval merchant would also have considered it most shocking that he had to do without that fine statuette for the entrance to his house, just because the King somehow couldn't manage to pay the army with all the taxes he already levied. At the end of the day, though, most revolts started out as bread riots.

And I'm also sure that the medievals wondered where the hell their taxes went, especially since, unlike nowadays (in developed countries), the locals often still had to start up their own subscription to pay for their bridge. Not to mention the things Church taxes went to (you've got the choice between being accumulated in monastery treasuries and maintaining the cardinal's three mistresses and seven bastards)--on the balance I'd rather pay for 'stimulus packages'.