Subventio generalis
The subventio generalis (or "general aid"), also known as collecta, was a direct tax in the medieval Kingdom of Sicily.
Origins
[edit | edit source]The subventio generalis had its origins in the obligation of the holders of fiefs in the Kingdom of Sicily to provide military service to the monarchs.[1][2] They were required to serve in the royal army without compensation for maximum 90 days for each 20 ounces of their annual income.[1] They could get rid of this irksome duty, if they pay a special fee, known as adohamentum or adoha.[3] Most barons and counts preferred to pay the fee which thus developed into a tax already under the Norman kings of Sicily.[3] The landowners collected the fee from their tenants, thus in practice the peasants were to pay the adoha.[3] Those who lived in the royal demesne—all burghers and the majority of the peasantry—were subjected to levies in money or in kind, known as collecta.[1] The monarchs could in theory freely demand such levies, only their fear of riots limited their greed.[1]
The Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II, who was also king of Sicily, summoned the host in each year after 1231.[3] This practice enabled him to annually collect the adoha, transforming it into a regular tax.[3] The adoha and the collecta were not differentiated from 1238 and they were united three years later.[3]
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b c d Percy 1981, p. 70.
- ^ Sakellariou 2011, p. 90.
- ^ a b c d e f Percy 1981, p. 71.
Sources
[edit | edit source]- Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
