Feudal aid
Encyclopedia
Feudal aid, or just plain aid is the legal term for one of the financial duties required of a tenant
or vassal
to his lord
. Variations on the feudal aid were collected in England, France, Germany and Italy during the Middle Ages
, although the exact circumstances varied.
. It was a payment made by the tenant or vassal to the lord on certain occasions, usually the knighting of the lord's eldest son and the marriage of his eldest daughter. Occasionally it was collected when the lord needed to pay a ransom after being captured. Sometimes a fourth occasion was added to the customary list: when the lord went on Crusade. Other times when aids might be demanded were when the lord himself was being taxed by his own superiors. At those times, the lord might try to pass the demand on to his own vassals.
The growth of the custom sprang from the traditional obligation of the vassal to render aid and counsel to his lord. At first, this was physical aid in the form of military service and attendance at the lord's court, but gradually it came to include financial aid to the lord as well. As it became obligatory to give monetary gifts to the lord, it also became limited by custom to set occasions.
in order to pay for the marriage of his heir, the future Louis VII
, to Eleanor of Aquitaine
. Another aid was levied in 1147 by Louis VII to pay for his crusade. The kings of France continued to collect aids for crusading under Philip II
and Louis IX
. Under Philip IV
, the payment of aids was extended to under vassals as well as towns.
in 1066. There, the three customary occasions for the collection of aid came to be the knighting of the eldest son, the marriage of the eldest daughter and when the lord needed to be ransomed. Custom also limited the amount that could be collected at each occasion. The English kings after the Conquest exploited their rights to aids extensively, although Henry I
promised in his coronation charter to respect custom in the amounts and times he collected them. Records from the Pipe Rolls, however, show that Henry continued to exact more than custom allowed. Under Henry II
, the royal government needed ever greater sums of money to operate, so it continued the practice of extorting the aids whenever possible for as much as possible. The 1168 aid for the marriage of Henry II's daughter was not only assessed on the nobles, but collected from the towns and from the royal lands also.
In England, Magna Carta
limited the occasions on which a lord might impose an aid. Chapter XII of Magna Carta dealt with aids, limiting the ones that the king could collect to the three customary ones unless the barons agreed to the imposition of non-customary ones. Chapter XV then regulated the aids that the barons themselves could impose on their vassals, and stipulated that the king could not grant a license allowing a baron to impose a non-customary aid on his vassals.
Many examples of English Feudal Aids were published in Inquisitions and Assessments Relating to Feudal Aids, with Other Analogous Documents Preserved in the Public Record Office, A.D. 1284-1431, 6 vols. (1899-1920). These volumes are arranged by traditional counties and includes some examples that were not strictly aids
In Italy, the custom of feudal aids appears to have been introduced by the Normans when they conquered Sicily and southern Italy. Evidence for feudal aids in the northern part of Italy is late, and the custom may have been introduced from France or Sicily.
, which was a tax imposed on the towns and the royal lands. Under Henry III, some voluntary taxes came to be called aids, but should not be confused with the feudal aids owed by vassals, which continued to be collected. Bishops sometimes imposed aids, for similar occasions such as making a pilgrimage to Rome or aid the construction of cathedrals and churches.
notes that the evidence for feudal aids only dates from the 11th century, rendering the view that it arose earlier in a requirement of a vassal to give aid to his lord somewhat suspect. She also notes that although the classic view of the aid was that it was raised from holders of fiefs, in reality it was collected from peasants more often than from nobles. The earliest notations of feudal aids being collected do not imply a lord-vassal relationship, which makes some traditional aspects of their early history suspect.
Tenement (law)
A tenement , in law, is anything that is held, rather than owned. This usage is a holdover from feudalism, which still forms the basis of all real-estate law in the English-speaking world, in which the monarch alone owned the allodial title to all the land within his kingdom.Under feudalism, land...
or vassal
Vassal
A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...
to his lord
Lord
Lord is a title with various meanings. It can denote a prince or a feudal superior . The title today is mostly used in connection with the peerage of the United Kingdom or its predecessor countries, although some users of the title do not themselves hold peerages, and use it 'by courtesy'...
. Variations on the feudal aid were collected in England, France, Germany and Italy during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, although the exact circumstances varied.
Origin
The term originated in the late 11th century, and it first appears in northern France, in the County of AnjouAnjou
Anjou is a former county , duchy and province centred on the city of Angers in the lower Loire Valley of western France. It corresponds largely to the present-day département of Maine-et-Loire...
. It was a payment made by the tenant or vassal to the lord on certain occasions, usually the knighting of the lord's eldest son and the marriage of his eldest daughter. Occasionally it was collected when the lord needed to pay a ransom after being captured. Sometimes a fourth occasion was added to the customary list: when the lord went on Crusade. Other times when aids might be demanded were when the lord himself was being taxed by his own superiors. At those times, the lord might try to pass the demand on to his own vassals.
The growth of the custom sprang from the traditional obligation of the vassal to render aid and counsel to his lord. At first, this was physical aid in the form of military service and attendance at the lord's court, but gradually it came to include financial aid to the lord as well. As it became obligatory to give monetary gifts to the lord, it also became limited by custom to set occasions.
In France
The first recorded royal feudal aid levied in France was that of 1137. This was assessed by King Louis VILouis VI of France
Louis VI , called the Fat , was King of France from 1108 until his death . Chronicles called him "roi de Saint-Denis".-Reign:...
in order to pay for the marriage of his heir, the future Louis VII
Louis VII of France
Louis VII was King of France, the son and successor of Louis VI . He ruled from 1137 until his death. He was a member of the House of Capet. His reign was dominated by feudal struggles , and saw the beginning of the long rivalry between France and England...
, to Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages. As well as being Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, she was queen consort of France and of England...
. Another aid was levied in 1147 by Louis VII to pay for his crusade. The kings of France continued to collect aids for crusading under Philip II
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...
and Louis IX
Louis IX of France
Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...
. Under Philip IV
Philip IV of France
Philip the Fair was, as Philip IV, King of France from 1285 until his death. He was the husband of Joan I of Navarre, by virtue of which he was, as Philip I, King of Navarre and Count of Champagne from 1284 to 1305.-Youth:A member of the House of Capet, Philip was born at the Palace of...
, the payment of aids was extended to under vassals as well as towns.
In England
The custom of collecting aids arose in northern France, and was brought to England following the Norman Conquest of EnglandNorman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
in 1066. There, the three customary occasions for the collection of aid came to be the knighting of the eldest son, the marriage of the eldest daughter and when the lord needed to be ransomed. Custom also limited the amount that could be collected at each occasion. The English kings after the Conquest exploited their rights to aids extensively, although Henry I
Henry I of England
Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
promised in his coronation charter to respect custom in the amounts and times he collected them. Records from the Pipe Rolls, however, show that Henry continued to exact more than custom allowed. Under Henry II
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...
, the royal government needed ever greater sums of money to operate, so it continued the practice of extorting the aids whenever possible for as much as possible. The 1168 aid for the marriage of Henry II's daughter was not only assessed on the nobles, but collected from the towns and from the royal lands also.
In England, Magna Carta
Magna Carta
Magna Carta is an English charter, originally issued in the year 1215 and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions, which included the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority to date. The charter first passed into law in 1225...
limited the occasions on which a lord might impose an aid. Chapter XII of Magna Carta dealt with aids, limiting the ones that the king could collect to the three customary ones unless the barons agreed to the imposition of non-customary ones. Chapter XV then regulated the aids that the barons themselves could impose on their vassals, and stipulated that the king could not grant a license allowing a baron to impose a non-customary aid on his vassals.
Many examples of English Feudal Aids were published in Inquisitions and Assessments Relating to Feudal Aids, with Other Analogous Documents Preserved in the Public Record Office, A.D. 1284-1431, 6 vols. (1899-1920). These volumes are arranged by traditional counties and includes some examples that were not strictly aids
In Germany and Italy
Although gifts from vassals to lords happened in the German empire, they do not appear to have become compulsory nor have been institutionalized into formalized occasions when they were required. However, aids for the customary occasions were sometimes collected from German towns in the 12th and 13th centuries, as they are mentioned in town charters.In Italy, the custom of feudal aids appears to have been introduced by the Normans when they conquered Sicily and southern Italy. Evidence for feudal aids in the northern part of Italy is late, and the custom may have been introduced from France or Sicily.
Similar payments
Aids were distinct from the feudal incidents, which were collected when the vassal died. It was also distinct from the tallageTallage
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...
, which was a tax imposed on the towns and the royal lands. Under Henry III, some voluntary taxes came to be called aids, but should not be confused with the feudal aids owed by vassals, which continued to be collected. Bishops sometimes imposed aids, for similar occasions such as making a pilgrimage to Rome or aid the construction of cathedrals and churches.
Problems
The historian Susan ReynoldsSusan Reynolds
Susan Reynolds is a British medieval historian whose 1994 book Fiefs and Vassals: the Medieval Evidence Reinterpreted was part of the attack on the concept of feudalism as classically portrayed by previous historians such as François-Louis Ganshof and Marc Bloch.She believes that the technical...
notes that the evidence for feudal aids only dates from the 11th century, rendering the view that it arose earlier in a requirement of a vassal to give aid to his lord somewhat suspect. She also notes that although the classic view of the aid was that it was raised from holders of fiefs, in reality it was collected from peasants more often than from nobles. The earliest notations of feudal aids being collected do not imply a lord-vassal relationship, which makes some traditional aspects of their early history suspect.