Legal Definitions - multura episcopi

Multura episcopi refers to a historical payment or toll, typically in kind (like a portion of grain) or money, that was owed to a bishop. This payment was often associated with the use of resources or services controlled by the bishop as part of their feudal and ecclesiastical authority, most commonly for the grinding of grain at a mill owned by the bishop. It represents a specific type of feudal due or levy enforced by a bishop.

• Imagine a medieval village situated on lands belonging to a powerful bishop. The bishop owned the only functional grain mill in the region, and all local farmers were legally obligated to bring their harvested wheat and barley to this mill for grinding. In exchange for the milling service, the farmers had to surrender a fixed percentage of their processed flour or raw grain to the bishop's representatives. This mandatory payment, collected by the bishop for the use of his mill, was a clear instance of multura episcopi.

  This example illustrates multura episcopi as a specific payment (a portion of grain or flour) made to a bishop for the use of a vital resource (the mill) that he controlled under his feudal rights.

• Consider a community in 12th-century France living within a territory where the local bishop held significant temporal power, including ownership of essential infrastructure. If the bishop's estate also maintained the only communal wine press or olive oil press available to the villagers, and they were required to pay a toll—perhaps a share of the wine or oil produced—for its use, this payment would also fall under the concept of multura episcopi. It represents a charge for accessing a necessary service provided by the bishop's domain.

  Here, multura episcopi is demonstrated as a toll or payment for using a key agricultural processing facility (a wine or olive press) owned and operated by a bishop, highlighting its application to various resources under ecclesiastical control.