Scutage
Encyclopedia
The form of taxation
known as scutage, in the law of England
under the feudal system, allowed a knight to "buy out" of the military service due to the Crown as a holder of a knight's fee
held under the feudal land tenure
of knight-service
. Its name derived from shield (in Latin: scutum). The term sometimes loosely applies to other pecuniary levies on the basis of the knight's fee
.
(reigned 1100–1135) and Stephen
(reigned 1135–1154), when it occurs as scutagium, scuagium or escuagium. The creation of fractions of knights' fee probably hastened its introduction: the holders of such fractions could only discharge their obligation via scutage. The increasing use of mercenaries
in the 12th century would also make a money payment of greater use to the crown.
Separate levies of scutage received the names of the campaigns for which they were raised, as "the scutage of Toulouse" (or "great scutage"), "the scutage of Ireland", and so forth. The levy demanded from each fee one marc
(13s. 4d., two thirds of a pound), one pound
or two marcs, but anything above a pound seemed abnormal till John
(reigned 1199–1216) imposed levies of two marcs in most years without even the excuse of a war. The irritation caused by these exactions reached a climax in 1214, when John demanded three marcs, and this became a prominent cause among the many causes that led the baron
s to insist on the Great Charter
(1215). Its provisions prohibited the crown from levying any scutage save by "the common counsel of our realm".
The reissued Charter of 1217 provided, instead of this, that scutage levies should remain at the rate as of the reign of Henry II
. In practice, however, under Henry III
(reigned 1216–1272), scutage rates usually amounted to three marcs, but required the assent of the barons, and levies occurred only on adequate occasions.
Meanwhile, a practice had arisen, possibly as early as Richard I
's reign (1189–1199), of accepting from great barons special "fines" for permission not to serve in a campaign. This practice appears to have rested on the crown's right to decide whether to exact personal service or to accept scutage in lieu of service. A system of special composition thus arose which largely replaced the old one of scutage. As between the tenants-in-chief, however, and their under-tenants, the payment of scutage continued. The terms of charters of subinfeudation
, which specified the quota of scutage due rather than the proportion of a knight's fee granted, often stereotyped scutage. For the purpose of recouping themselves by levying from their under-tenants, the tenants-in-chief received from the crown writs de scutagio habendo. Under Edward I
(reigned 1272–1307) the new system developed so completely that the six levies of the reign, each as high as two pounds on the fee, applied in practice only to the under-tenants, their lords compounding with the crown by the payment of large sums, though their nominal assessment, somewhat mysteriously, became much lower (see knight service).
Scutage rapidly became obsolescent as a source of revenue, Edward II
(reigned 1307–1327) and Edward III
(reigned 1327–1377) imposing only one levy each and relying on other more uniform and direct modes of taxation. The lengths to which subinfeudation had gone also hastened its rapid decay; increasing subinfeudation led to constant dispute and litigation as to which of the holders in the descending chain of tenure remained liable for the payment. Apart from its financial aspect it had possessed a legal importance as the test, according to Bracton
, of tenure by knight-service, its payment, on however small a scale, proving the tenure to be "military" with all the consequences involved.
's History of the Exchequer formerly formed the standard authority. J. H. Round in Feudal England (1895) first set forth a more modern view. In 1896 appeared the Red Book of the Exchequer
(Rolls series
), which, with the Book of Fees
(Public Record Office) and the Pipe Rolls
(published by the Record Commission and the Pipe Roll Society), provides the chief record authority on the subject; but the editor misdated many of the scutages, and JH Round in his Studies on the Red Book of the Exchequer (privately issued) and his Commune of London and other Studies (1899) severely criticized his conclusions. See also Pollock and Maitland's History of English Law (1895) and McKechnie's Magna Carta (1905). Scargill Bird's "Scutage and Marshal’s Rolls" in Genealogist (1884), vol. i., has important coverage of later records.
Taxation in medieval England
Taxation in medieval England was the system of raising money for royal and governmental expenses. During the Anglo-Saxon period, the main forms of taxation were land taxes, although custom duties and fees to mint coins were also imposed. The most important tax of the late Anglo-Saxon period was the...
known as scutage, in the law of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
under the feudal system, allowed a knight to "buy out" of the military service due to the Crown as a holder of a knight's fee
Knight's fee
In feudal Anglo-Norman England and Ireland, a knight's fee was a measure of a unit of land deemed sufficient from which a knight could derive not only sustenance for himself and his esquires, but also the means to furnish himself and his equipage with horses and armour to fight for his overlord in...
held under the feudal land tenure
Feudal land tenure
Under the English feudal system several different forms of land tenure existed, each effectively a contract with differing rights and duties attached thereto. Such tenures could be either free-hold, signifying that they were hereditable or perpetual, or non-free where the tenancy terminated on the...
of knight-service
Knight-service
Knight-service was a form of Feudal land tenure under which a knight held a fief or estate of land termed a knight's fee from an overlord conditional on him as tenant performing military service for his overlord....
. Its name derived from shield (in Latin: scutum). The term sometimes loosely applies to other pecuniary levies on the basis of the knight's fee
Knight's fee
In feudal Anglo-Norman England and Ireland, a knight's fee was a measure of a unit of land deemed sufficient from which a knight could derive not only sustenance for himself and his esquires, but also the means to furnish himself and his equipage with horses and armour to fight for his overlord in...
.
General information
The institution existed under Henry IHenry I of England
Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
(reigned 1100–1135) and Stephen
Stephen of England
Stephen , often referred to as Stephen of Blois , was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne by right of his wife. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda...
(reigned 1135–1154), when it occurs as scutagium, scuagium or escuagium. The creation of fractions of knights' fee probably hastened its introduction: the holders of such fractions could only discharge their obligation via scutage. The increasing use of mercenaries
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
in the 12th century would also make a money payment of greater use to the crown.
Separate levies of scutage received the names of the campaigns for which they were raised, as "the scutage of Toulouse" (or "great scutage"), "the scutage of Ireland", and so forth. The levy demanded from each fee one marc
Mark (money)
Mark was a measure of weight mainly for gold and silver, commonly used throughout western Europe and often equivalent to 8 ounces. Considerable variations, however, occurred throughout the Middle Ages Mark (from a merging of three Teutonic/Germanic languages words, Latinized in 9th century...
(13s. 4d., two thirds of a pound), one pound
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
or two marcs, but anything above a pound seemed abnormal till John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
(reigned 1199–1216) imposed levies of two marcs in most years without even the excuse of a war. The irritation caused by these exactions reached a climax in 1214, when John demanded three marcs, and this became a prominent cause among the many causes that led the baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
s to insist on the Great Charter
Magna Carta
Magna Carta is an English charter, originally issued in the year 1215 and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions, which included the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority to date. The charter first passed into law in 1225...
(1215). Its provisions prohibited the crown from levying any scutage save by "the common counsel of our realm".
The reissued Charter of 1217 provided, instead of this, that scutage levies should remain at the rate as of the reign of Henry II
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
. In practice, however, under Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
(reigned 1216–1272), scutage rates usually amounted to three marcs, but required the assent of the barons, and levies occurred only on adequate occasions.
Meanwhile, a practice had arisen, possibly as early as Richard I
Richard I of England
Richard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...
's reign (1189–1199), of accepting from great barons special "fines" for permission not to serve in a campaign. This practice appears to have rested on the crown's right to decide whether to exact personal service or to accept scutage in lieu of service. A system of special composition thus arose which largely replaced the old one of scutage. As between the tenants-in-chief, however, and their under-tenants, the payment of scutage continued. The terms of charters of subinfeudation
Subinfeudation
In English law, subinfeudation is the practice by which tenants, holding land under the king or other superior lord, carved out new and distinct tenures in their turn by sub-letting or alienating a part of their lands....
, which specified the quota of scutage due rather than the proportion of a knight's fee granted, often stereotyped scutage. For the purpose of recouping themselves by levying from their under-tenants, the tenants-in-chief received from the crown writs de scutagio habendo. Under Edward I
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
(reigned 1272–1307) the new system developed so completely that the six levies of the reign, each as high as two pounds on the fee, applied in practice only to the under-tenants, their lords compounding with the crown by the payment of large sums, though their nominal assessment, somewhat mysteriously, became much lower (see knight service).
Scutage rapidly became obsolescent as a source of revenue, Edward II
Edward II of England
Edward II , called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...
(reigned 1307–1327) and Edward III
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
(reigned 1327–1377) imposing only one levy each and relying on other more uniform and direct modes of taxation. The lengths to which subinfeudation had gone also hastened its rapid decay; increasing subinfeudation led to constant dispute and litigation as to which of the holders in the descending chain of tenure remained liable for the payment. Apart from its financial aspect it had possessed a legal importance as the test, according to Bracton
Henry de Bracton
Henry of Bracton, also Henry de Bracton, also Henrici Bracton, or Henry Bratton also Henry Bretton was an English jurist....
, of tenure by knight-service, its payment, on however small a scale, proving the tenure to be "military" with all the consequences involved.
Scholarship
J. F. Baldwin's The Scutage and Knight Service in England (1897), a dissertation printed at the University of Chicago Press, offers a major monograph on the subject (though not wholly free from error). MadoxThomas Madox
Thomas Madox was a legal antiquary and historian, known for his publication and discussion of medieval records and charters; and in particular for his History of the Exchequer, tracing the administration and records of that branch of the state from the Norman Conquest to the time of Edward II...
's History of the Exchequer formerly formed the standard authority. J. H. Round in Feudal England (1895) first set forth a more modern view. In 1896 appeared the Red Book of the Exchequer
Red Book of the Exchequer
The Red Book of the Exchequer is a 13th-century manuscript compilation of the records of the English Exchequer. Made of vellum, the book was compiled by a royal clerk who died in 1246...
(Rolls series
Rolls Series
The Rolls Series, official title The Chronicles and Memorials of Great Britain and Ireland during the Middle Ages, is a major collection of British and Irish historical materials and primary sources, published in the second half of the 19th century. Some 255 volumes, representing 99 separate...
), which, with the Book of Fees
Book of Fees
The Book of Fees is the colloquial title of a modern edition, transcript, rearrangement and enhancement of the mediaeval Liber Feodorum , being a listing of feudal landholdings or "fees/fiefs", compiled in about 1302, but from earlier records, for the use of the English Exchequer...
(Public Record Office) and the Pipe Rolls
Pipe Rolls
The Pipe rolls, sometimes called the Great rolls, are a collection of financial records maintained by the English Exchequer, or Treasury. The earliest date from the 12th century, and the series extends, mostly complete, from then until 1833. They form the oldest continuous series of records kept by...
(published by the Record Commission and the Pipe Roll Society), provides the chief record authority on the subject; but the editor misdated many of the scutages, and JH Round in his Studies on the Red Book of the Exchequer (privately issued) and his Commune of London and other Studies (1899) severely criticized his conclusions. See also Pollock and Maitland's History of English Law (1895) and McKechnie's Magna Carta (1905). Scargill Bird's "Scutage and Marshal’s Rolls" in Genealogist (1884), vol. i., has important coverage of later records.