Medieval Glossary

Subsidy

A tax granted to the crown by Parliament, in addition to customary revenue. Subsidies originated in Edward I's taxes of a tenth or fifteenth of movable property. Under the Tudor monarchs (1485-1603) the tax was levied on movables and land. Import and export duties, such as tonnage and poundage, were also called subsidies, and the term came to be applied to any parliamentary tax.

Related term(s): None
Category: Government and Law
Added: 09.06.05
Last modified: 07.02.06
Contributor(s): Alan Chanter
Source information: Kenyon, J.P. The Wordsworth Dictionary of British History. Wordsworth Editions, 1998.

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