Saladin tithe
Encyclopedia
The Saladin tithe, or the Aid of 1188, was a tax
, or more specifically a tallage
, levied in England
and to some extent in France
in 1188, in response to the capture of Jerusalem by Saladin
in 1187.
's army was defeated by Saladin at the Battle of Hattin
, and in October Saladin captured Jerusalem
itself. When news of this reached Europe
at the end of the year, a new crusade was promulgated. In January of 1188, Henry II of England
and Philip II of France
discussed the crusade at Le Mans
, with Joscius, Archbishop of Tyre
in attendance, and on February 11, Henry began to organize the preaching of the crusade in England at Geddington
. There he also discussed the "Saladin tithe."
and a Knight Hospitaller
, whose orders were especially concerned with the defense of the Holy Land. Assessments were made by oaths in rural areas, and by a jury in urban areas. Certain items were exempt from assessment:
Anyone who joined the crusade was exempt from the tithe altogether. This was meant to encourage participation, and many did indeed join in order to avoid the tallage. All other landowners, both clerics and laymen, had to pay; if anyone disagreed with the assessment of their property, they were imprisoned or excommunicated. While taxes were usually collected by the Exchequer
, a separate office with ten tellers was set up to collect the tithe in Salisbury
.
According to Gervase of Canterbury
, £ was collected from Christians, and another £ was collected from Jews. The amount collected from Jews was more likely £, with another £ collected in 1190. This was the largest tax ever collected in England, although Henry had levied other taxes for assistance to the Holy Land, in 1166 and recently in 1185. The tithe was extremely unpopular, despite the general acknowledgement that it was, in English eyes, for a worthy cause. Because assessments were made by dioceses, Baldwin of Exeter
, the Archbishop of Canterbury
was especially blamed; wisely, perhaps, he spent most of the year in Wales
, preaching the crusade, accompanied by the chronicler Giraldus Cambrensis
.
The same tithe was levied in France, but Philip did not have the same centralized government and faced much opposition which he could not control. The tithe was also levied less successfully in England's territories in France. Henry suggested that William the Lion
levy the tithe in Scotland
, but William refused, and English power did not yet extend so far north as to force the tithe upon the Scots.
, and was accused of spending the tithe on provisions for this war. Henry died later in the year before the crusade was underway; according to Girardus this was divine punishment for such a harsh tithe. Richard succeeded him and found the treasury full, although he collected even more money by selling land and imposing various fines throughout England. Altogether, Henry and Richard succeeded in raising silver marks
with the Saladin tithe.
The subsequent Third Crusade
helped capture the Mediterranean
coast for the remnant of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, but Richard could not conquer Jerusalem. On his return home he was taken hostage by Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor
. In 1194, another massive tax was imposed on England in order to raise his ransom money. It was essentially a repeat of the Saladin tithe of 1188, but in this case the tax was set at the much higher rate of 25%. The same organizational structure and machinery of collection was used to raise money for King John
's wars in France in 1207.
Tax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
, or more specifically a tallage
Tallage
Tallage or talliage may have signified at first any tax, but became in England and France a land use or land tenure tax. Later in England it was further limited to assessments by the crown upon cities, boroughs, and royal domains...
, levied in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and to some extent in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1188, in response to the capture of Jerusalem by Saladin
Saladin
Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb , better known in the Western world as Saladin, was an Arabized Kurdish Muslim, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and founded the Ayyubid dynasty. He led Muslim and Arab opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant...
in 1187.
Background
In July of 1187, the Kingdom of JerusalemKingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Catholic kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 after the First Crusade. The kingdom lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, was destroyed by the Mamluks, but its history is divided into two distinct periods....
's army was defeated by Saladin at the Battle of Hattin
Battle of Hattin
The Battle of Hattin took place on Saturday, July 4, 1187, between the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem and the forces of the Ayyubid dynasty....
, and in October Saladin captured Jerusalem
Siege of Jerusalem (1187)
On July 4, 1187 the Kingdom's army was defeated at the Battle of Hattin by Saladin and only Balian of Ibelin commanding a small number of soldiers remained in Jerusalem. The Siege of Jerusalem lasted from September 20 to October 2, 1187. On October 2, 1187 Balian of Ibelin surrendered Jerusalem to...
itself. When news of this reached Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
at the end of the year, a new crusade was promulgated. In January of 1188, Henry II of England
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
and Philip II of France
Philip II of France
Philip II Augustus was the King of France from 1180 until his death. A member of the House of Capet, Philip Augustus was born at Gonesse in the Val-d'Oise, the son of Louis VII and his third wife, Adela of Champagne...
discussed the crusade at Le Mans
Le Mans
Le Mans is a city in France, located on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Mans. Le Mans is a part of the Pays de la Loire region.Its inhabitants are called Manceaux...
, with Joscius, Archbishop of Tyre
Joscius, Archbishop of Tyre
Joscius was Archbishop of Tyre in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the late 12th century.He was a canon and subdeacon of the church of Acre, and became Bishop of Acre on November 23, 1172. He was a member of the delegation from the Latin church of the Crusader states at the Third Lateran...
in attendance, and on February 11, Henry began to organize the preaching of the crusade in England at Geddington
Geddington
Geddington is a village and civil parish on the A43 in north-east Northamptonshire between Kettering and Corby.It contains what is thought to be the best surviving Eleanor cross. The monument dates from 1294, when the crosses were raised as a memorial by Edward I to his late wife, Eleanor of...
. There he also discussed the "Saladin tithe."
Collection of the tithe
It was a literal tithe of 10% on revenues and movable properties. The tithe was assessed by dioceses, rather than by shires, and local sheriffs had no role in collection of the tithe. The money was collected instead by the local priest or bishop, the dean of the local church, the local baron, and a sergeant of the king, as well as, notably, a Knight TemplarKnights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
and a Knight Hospitaller
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
, whose orders were especially concerned with the defense of the Holy Land. Assessments were made by oaths in rural areas, and by a jury in urban areas. Certain items were exempt from assessment:
- "This year each man shall give in almsAlmsAlms or almsgiving is a religious rite which, in general, involves giving materially to another as an act of religious virtue.It exists in a number of religions. In Philippine Regions, alms are given as charity to benefit the poor. In Buddhism, alms are given by lay people to monks and nuns to...
a tenth of his revenues and movables with the exception of the arms, horseHorseThe horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s and garments of the knightKnightA knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
s, and likewise with the exception of the horses, bookBookA book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
s, garments and vestments, and all appurtenances of whatever sort used by clerks in divine service, and the precious stones belonging to both clerks and laymen."
Anyone who joined the crusade was exempt from the tithe altogether. This was meant to encourage participation, and many did indeed join in order to avoid the tallage. All other landowners, both clerics and laymen, had to pay; if anyone disagreed with the assessment of their property, they were imprisoned or excommunicated. While taxes were usually collected by the Exchequer
Exchequer
The Exchequer is a government department of the United Kingdom responsible for the management and collection of taxation and other government revenues. The historical Exchequer developed judicial roles...
, a separate office with ten tellers was set up to collect the tithe in Salisbury
Salisbury
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...
.
According to Gervase of Canterbury
Gervase of Canterbury
Gervase of Canterbury was an English chronicler.- Life :...
, £ was collected from Christians, and another £ was collected from Jews. The amount collected from Jews was more likely £, with another £ collected in 1190. This was the largest tax ever collected in England, although Henry had levied other taxes for assistance to the Holy Land, in 1166 and recently in 1185. The tithe was extremely unpopular, despite the general acknowledgement that it was, in English eyes, for a worthy cause. Because assessments were made by dioceses, Baldwin of Exeter
Baldwin of Exeter
Baldwin of Forde was Archbishop of Canterbury between 1185 and 1190. Son of a clergyman, he studied both canon law and theology at Bologna and was tutor to Pope Eugene III's nephew before returning to England to serve successive bishops of Exeter...
, the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
was especially blamed; wisely, perhaps, he spent most of the year in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, preaching the crusade, accompanied by the chronicler Giraldus Cambrensis
Giraldus Cambrensis
Gerald of Wales , also known as Gerallt Gymro in Welsh or Giraldus Cambrensis in Latin, archdeacon of Brecon, was a medieval clergyman and chronicler of his times...
.
The same tithe was levied in France, but Philip did not have the same centralized government and faced much opposition which he could not control. The tithe was also levied less successfully in England's territories in France. Henry suggested that William the Lion
William I of Scotland
William the Lion , sometimes styled William I, also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough", reigned as King of the Scots from 1165 to 1214...
levy the tithe in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, but William refused, and English power did not yet extend so far north as to force the tithe upon the Scots.
Aftermath
In the end, Henry never went on crusade. In 1189 he was involved in a war with Philip and his own son RichardRichard I of England
Richard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...
, and was accused of spending the tithe on provisions for this war. Henry died later in the year before the crusade was underway; according to Girardus this was divine punishment for such a harsh tithe. Richard succeeded him and found the treasury full, although he collected even more money by selling land and imposing various fines throughout England. Altogether, Henry and Richard succeeded in raising silver marks
Mark (money)
Mark was a measure of weight mainly for gold and silver, commonly used throughout western Europe and often equivalent to 8 ounces. Considerable variations, however, occurred throughout the Middle Ages Mark (from a merging of three Teutonic/Germanic languages words, Latinized in 9th century...
with the Saladin tithe.
The subsequent Third Crusade
Third Crusade
The Third Crusade , also known as the Kings' Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin...
helped capture the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
coast for the remnant of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, but Richard could not conquer Jerusalem. On his return home he was taken hostage by Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry VI was King of Germany from 1190 to 1197, Holy Roman Emperor from 1191 to 1197 and King of Sicily from 1194 to 1197.-Early years:Born in Nijmegen,...
. In 1194, another massive tax was imposed on England in order to raise his ransom money. It was essentially a repeat of the Saladin tithe of 1188, but in this case the tax was set at the much higher rate of 25%. The same organizational structure and machinery of collection was used to raise money for King John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
's wars in France in 1207.