Legal Definitions - de non decimando

de non decimando

The Latin phrase de non decimando refers to a historical legal claim or right to be completely exempt from paying tithes. Historically, a tithe was a payment, typically one-tenth of agricultural produce or income, made to support the church or clergy. A successful claim of de non decimando meant that the claimant was entirely discharged from this obligation, without having to provide any alternative compensation or payment in lieu of the tithe.

This concept was rooted in specific historical circumstances, such as ancient grants, royal prerogatives, or long-standing customs that legally established certain lands or individuals as free from tithe payments.

Here are some examples illustrating how a claim of de non decimando might have applied:

• Exemption for a Charitable Foundation: Imagine a medieval hospital established by a royal charter, which explicitly granted that all lands directly owned and farmed by the hospital to support its charitable work would be perpetually free from tithes. Centuries later, if a new ecclesiastical authority attempted to levy tithes on these lands (perhaps after they had been acquired by a private individual but the original exemption was still legally recognized), the current owner could assert a claim of de non decimando, arguing that the land was historically and legally exempt from such payments due to its original charitable purpose and the royal grant.

• Special Grant to a Religious Order: Consider a specific monastic order that, due to its vow of poverty and dedicated service, received a unique papal bull in the 12th century, declaring that all agricultural produce from lands directly cultivated by the monks for their sustenance and mission would be entirely exempt from tithes. If, during a later period of religious reform, these lands were secularized and sold to lay landowners, those new owners, if they could prove the unbroken historical exemption tied to the land itself, might invoke de non decimando to resist any new attempts to collect tithes.

• Ancient Local Custom or Agreement: In a particular remote village, an ancient, legally recognized custom might have developed where, in exchange for the villagers perpetually maintaining a crucial bridge or road that served the local church, they were granted a complete exemption from paying tithes on their crops. If a new bishop or rector, unaware of or challenging this long-standing arrangement, demanded tithes, the villagers could collectively assert a de non decimando claim, relying on the historical agreement and customary law that provided for their total discharge from the tithe obligation.