Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-2xdlg Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-15T17:01:22.735Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Some Bedfordshire Assessments for The Taxation of a Ninth (1297)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2023

Get access

Summary

In 1297 Edward I received from Parliament a grant of a ninth to be levied on personal property or movables throughout the kingdom. This form of taxation, the most important source of extraordinary revenue possessed by the Crown during the Middle Ages, very shortly afterwards became a standardized levy fixed in advance for every township, hundred, borough and county; but in 1297 it still retained a spontaneous character which makes such returns as have survived of inestimable interest to the local historian.

The general instructions for the levy of this ninth are very precise. Two chief assessors and collectors, chosen in good faith and after strict enquiry, were to be appointed for each county. They in their turn were to appoint for every vill—according to its size—four or two men of trustworthy character and “substance” (puissantz a respondre de leur feitz en temps avenir), preferably from the vill itself. These men were to take an oath to assess the inhabitants of the vill faithfully, to show no favour “de parente, de favour ou dameste,” that is to say on account of kinship, bias or friendship and to take nothing for themselves save for drinking and eating, “forspis manger e beiver.” They were to enter the results on a roll and send them under their seals to the chief assessors, retaining a copy under the seals of the latter in order to raise the money. The two assessors were to pay domiciliary visits from Hundred to Hundred and from vill to vill to see that the collectors had carried out their duties faithfully; any irregularity discovered was to be reported to the Treasurer and Barons of the Exchequer and a fresh assessment made. When the assessment for the county was complete the original rolls, of which the county assessors would retain transcripts, were to be arranged under Hundreds and sent immediately to the Exchequer. The taxation of the county assessors themselves was to be reserved to the Treasurer and Barons of the Exchequer, while the local assessors were to be taxed by other loyal men of the township appointed by the county assessors. In return for this subsidy the nation received a confirmation of Magna Charta and of the Charter of Forests.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
First published in: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×