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. A tax is an involuntary fee paid by individuals or businesses to a state, or to functional equivalents of a state, including tribes, secessionist movements or revolutionary movements. ... Tallage or talliage (from the French a part cut out of the whole) appears to have signified at first a tax in general, but became afterwards confined in England to a special form of tax: the assessment upon cities, boroughs, and royal domains. ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Religion... Events Saladin unsuccessfully besieges the Hospitaller fortress of Krak des Chevaliers in modern Syria. ... Jerusalem (Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם Yerushalayim; Arabic: القدس al-Quds; see also names of Jerusalem) is an ancient Middle Eastern city of key importance to the religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. ... This article is about the Muslim general, for the British armoured vehicle named after him, see Alvis Saladin. ... Events May 1 - Battle of Cresson - Saladin defeats the crusaders July 4 - Saladin defeats Guy of Lusignan, King of Jerusalem, at the Battle of Hattin. ...

Background

In July of 1187, the Kingdom of Jerusalem 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 the 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." Official language Latin, French, Italian, and other western languages; Greek and Arabic also widely spoken Capital Jerusalem, later Acre Constitution Various laws, so-called Assizes of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a short-lived country established in the 12th century by the First Crusade. ... The Battle of Hattin in 1187 was a major setback in the fortunes of the Crusader movement, enabling the Muslims to regain control of Jerusalem from the Christians. ... World map showing location of Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ... This article is about the medieval Crusades . ... Henry II of England, depicted in Cassells History of England, Century Edition, published circa 1902 Henry II (March 5, 1133 – July 6, 1189), ruled as Count of Anjou, Duke of Normandy, and as King of England (1154–1189) and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland, eastern Ireland... Philip II (French: Philippe II), called Philip Augustus (French: Philippe Auguste) (August 21, 1165 – July 14, 1223), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. ... Le Mans is a city in France, located at the Sarthe River. ... The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem is one of the Roman Catholic patriarchs of the east. ... February 11 is the 42nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... A town (pop. ...

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 Templar 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: The Seal of the Knights — the two riders have been interpreted as a sign of poverty or the duality of monk/soldier. ... The Knights Hospitaller (the or Knights of Malta or Knights of Rhodes) is a tradition which began as a Benedictine nursing Order founded in the 11th century based in the Holy Land, but soon became a militant Christian Chivalric Order under its own charter, and was charged with the care...

"This year each man shall give in alms a tenth of his revenues and movables with the exception of the arms, horses and garments of the knights, and likewise with the exception of the horses, books, 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, a separate office with ten tellers was set up to collect the tithe in Salisbury. Alms Bag taken from some Tapestry in Orleans, Fifteenth Century. ... Binomial name Equus caballus The Horse (Equus caballus) is a large ungulate mammal, one of the seven modern species of the genus Equus. ... A silver statue of an armoured knight, created as a trophy in 1850 For the chess piece, see knight (chess). ... Look up Book in Wiktionary, the free dictionary A book is a collection of leaves of paper, parchment or other material, bound together along one edge within covers. ... Excommunication is religious censure which is used to deprive or suspend membership in a religious community. ... The Exchequer was that part of the government responsible for the management and collection of the royal revenues of the King of England. ... Salisbury Cathedral by Constable. ...

According to Gervase of Canterbury, £70 000 was collected from Christians, and another £60 000 was collected from Jews. The amount collected from Jews was more likely £10 000, with another £2000 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 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. Gervase of Canterbury (Gervas us Dorobornensis) was an English chronicler. ... Events March 16 - Massacre and mass-suicide of the Jews of York, England prompted by Crusaders. ... Events Marko III succeeds Yoannis V as patriarch of Alexandria. ... Events April 25 - Genpei War - Sea Battle of Dan-no-ura leads to Minamoto victory in Japan Templars settle in London and begin the building of New Temple Church End of the Heian Period and beginning of the Kamakura period in Japan. ... Arms of the Archbishop of Canterbury The Archbishop of Canterbury is the most senior bishop of the state Church of England and of the worldwide Anglican Communion, outranking the other English archbishop, the Archbishop of York. ... National motto: Cymru am byth (Welsh: Wales for ever) Waless location within the UK Official languages English(100%), Welsh(20. ... Giraldus Cambrensis (c. ...

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. William I (William the Lion, William Leo, William Dunkeld or William Canmore), (1142/1143 - December 4, 1214) reigned as King of Scotland from 1165 to 1214. ... Scotland (Alba in Scottish Gaelic) is a country in northwest Europe, occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain. ...

Aftermath

In the end, Henry never went on crusade. In 1189 he was involved in a war with Philip and his own son Richard, 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. Events January 21 - Philip II of France and Richard I of England begin to assemble troops to wage the Third Crusade September 3- Richard I of England is crowned as king of England. ... Richard I (September 8, 1157 – April 6, 1199) was King of England from 1189 to 1199. ...

The subsequent Third Crusade helped secure the Mediterranean coast for the remnant of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, but Richard could not retrieve 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. The Third Crusade (1189 - 1192) was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin. ... The Mediterranean Sea is a part of the Atlantic Ocean almost completely enclosed by land, on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia. ... Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor (November 1165 - September 28, 1197) was king of Germany 1190-1197, and Holy Roman Emperor 1191-1197. ... Events November 20 - Palermo falls to Henry VI, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire December 25 - Henry VI is crowned king of Sicily. ... John (December 24, 1166–October 18/19, 1216) reigned as King of England from April 6, 1199, until his death. ... Events Stephen Langton consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury June 17 by Pope Innocent III Births September 8 - King Sancho II of Portugal October 1 - King Henry III of England (d. ...

References

• Douglas, David Charles, ed. "Ordinance of the Saladin Tithe (1188)", in English Historical Documents 1042-1189, 2nd edition. Routledge, 1996. ISBN 0415143675 - See also out of print 1st edition English Historical Documents, Volume 2. Oxford University Press, 1979.
• Mitchell, Sydney Knox. Taxation in Medieval England, ed. Sidney Painter. Yale University Press, 1951. In print edition by Archon Books. 1971. ISBN 0208009566
• Tyerman, Christopher. England and the Crusades, 1095-1588. University of Chicago Press, 1988. ISBN 0226820122