Legal Definitions - gabel

Gabel, also spelled gabelle, is a historical term for a tax or duty. Historically, it referred to a tax levied on movable property, but could also denote other forms of tribute or a tax on land.

Gabel (historically)

Historically, a gabel referred to a tax or duty levied on movable property. This means it was a charge imposed by a government or lord on personal possessions that could be moved, such as goods, livestock, or harvested crops, rather than on immovable property like land or buildings.

• Example 1: Agricultural Output

  In a medieval kingdom, the local lord might impose a gabel requiring his peasants to surrender a portion of their annual grain harvest. For instance, if a peasant harvested ten sacks of wheat, one sack would be collected by the lord as a tax.

  This illustrates a gabel because the tax is levied on the harvested grain, which is a movable good (a crop), rather than on the land where it was grown.

• Example 2: Merchant Goods

  A bustling port city in the 15th century might have imposed a gabel on all exotic silks and spices brought in by foreign merchants. Before these valuable goods could be sold in the city's markets, a specific percentage of their value had to be paid to the city's treasury.

  Here, the gabel is a duty on imported silks and spices, which are movable goods being transported and traded, directly taxing the personal property involved in commerce.

• Example 3: Livestock Contribution

  During a period of increased military spending, a duke might have decreed a special gabel requiring each village under his control to contribute a certain number of cattle or pigs from their communal herds to supply his army.

  This is a gabel because the tax is collected in the form of livestock (cattle or pigs), which are movable property, directly from the community's possessions.