Maltolt or "bad tax" (in Norman-French) was the name given to the new

taxes A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

of 1294–1297. Protests against the maltolt played their part in forcing the confirmation of the charters from the Crown.

Origin

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 1254 ...

had been granted a half-

mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

(6s 8d) customs duty per sack on the export of wool by the Parliament of 1275. The outbreak of the Gascon War against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1294 in led to the royal seizure of all wool and leather in the realm, and its release only on a duty of 40

shillings The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence ...

per sack. The old duty quickly became known as the "Ancient Custom", and was contrasted strongly with what

G. M. Trevelyan George Macaulay Trevelyan (16 February 1876 – 21 July 1962) was an English historian and academic. He was a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, from 1898 to 1903. He then spent more than twenty years as a full-time author. He returned to th ...

would call "These 'maltoltes' or 'ill takings' of wool".

Protests

Dislike of the maltolts (which had been repeated in the years 1295–1297) fed into the noble and clerical opposition to the Crown that culminated in the

Remonstrances The Remonstrances of 1297 (sometimes written in the original Anglo-Norman: Monstraunces) were a set of complaints presented by a group of nobles in 1297, against the government of King Edward I of England. Foremost among the nobles were Roger Bi ...

of 1297. "Also the whole community feel that they are oppressed by the tax on wools, which is too heavy, namely at 40 shillings on the sack, and 7 marks the sack on broken wool; for the wool of England approaches the value of half of all the land". Among the six articles appended to the confirmation of the charters was, accordingly, a provision prohibiting the seizure of wool in future; to which the King responded by reserving to the crown “the custom on wool, skins and leather already granted by the commonalty of the realm”, so that it was only after a further struggle that the maltolt was finally laid to rest in 1301.

Reappearance

The maltolt reappeared in the reign of

Edward III of England Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

, as a result of a bargain he made in 1337 offering rich merchants a

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...

in exchange for a duty of 40s a sack. The Commons petitioned against the deal, either (as Eileen Power thought) in the hope of abolishing it entirely, or simply to ensure their participation in the taxation process - something which they eventually achieved, if at the price of customs on wool continuing to fund the Crown throughout the Hundred Years War.C. Rogers ed., ''The Wars of Edward III'' (1999) p. 330-7

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

Tax clashes
13th century in England Taxation in medieval England 1297 in England Edward I of England

Origin

Protests

Reappearance

See also

References

External links