Taxatio Ecclesiastica

The Taxatio Ecclesiastica, often referred to as the Taxatio Nicholai or just the Taxatio, compiled in 1291–92 under the order of Pope Nicholas IV, is a detailed database valuation for ecclesiastical taxation of English and Welsh parish churches and prebends.

The Taxatio Ecclesiastica was compiled in furtherance of the collection of a tax on all ecclesiastical property in England and Wales, in order to defray the costs of an expedition to the Holy Land. The Pope promised Edward I one tenth of the annual profits of every ecclesiastical benefice for the endeavour. A further tax, entitled Nova Taxatio, was levied in 1318 by virtue of a royal mandate directed to the Bishop of Carlisle. The Nova Taxatio was conducted largely to pay for the war with Scotland. The database is reportedly "complete or virtually complete for the dioceses of Canterbury, Rochester, London, Lincoln, Norwich, Chichester, Exeter, Hereford, Salisbury, Bath and Wells, Winchester, Worcester, Ely, St Davids, Llandaff, St Asaph and Bangor." Robinson has demonstrated many inaccuracies and omissions in the Taxatio and that it must be exercised with caution as a source. Nonetheless, it remains an important source document for the medieval period.

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