Legal Definitions - decimae

Decimae refers to a historical payment, typically representing a tenth part, primarily associated with ecclesiastical law.

• Historically, in English ecclesiastical law, decimae referred to the tenth part of the annual income or profits derived from a church benefice (an endowed church office). This payment was originally claimed by the Papacy but was later transferred to the English Crown during the reign of Henry VIII.
• More broadly, decimae also referred to tithes – a tenth of one's annual produce or earnings – paid to the church, often in the form of agricultural goods like grain or livestock such as wool.

Here are some examples illustrating the application of decimae:

• Imagine a wealthy parish in medieval England, whose rector (the clergyman holding the benefice) received substantial income from land rents and offerings. Under the system of decimae, a specific tenth of this rector's annual profit would have been due, initially to the Papacy, and later, following the English Reformation, to the reigning monarch.

  This example illustrates the first meaning of decimae, where a mandatory portion of a church office's income was paid to a higher ecclesiastical or state authority.

• Consider a farming family in a 17th-century English village. After a successful harvest of wheat and barley, they would set aside one-tenth of their total yield. This portion, the decimae in the sense of tithes, would then be delivered to the local parish church for the support of the clergy and church operations.

  This demonstrates the second meaning, where individuals contributed a tenth of their agricultural produce (in kind) to the church as a form of religious obligation and support.

• A prosperous merchant in a medieval port town, whose income primarily came from trade, might have been expected to contribute decimae to his local church. While farmers typically paid in crops, the merchant's contribution might have been a tenth of his annual profits in coin, reflecting the value of his earnings.

  This example expands on the concept of tithes, showing that while often agricultural, decimae could also apply to other forms of income, sometimes paid monetarily, to support the church.