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The lay subsidies and the distribution of wealth in medieval England, 1275–1334

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  • Pamela Nightingale

Abstract

This article examines the evidence that between 1275 and 1334 the lay subsidies provide a yardstick with which to measure the English economy. It compares their evidence with the chronological and geographical pattern of wealth obtainable from the Statute Merchant records of debt and concludes that the main discrepancies can be explained by the progressive exclusion from the tax valuations of wool, coin, and credit. Accordingly, from c. 1300 the lay subsidies cannot be used as a guide to the distribution of wealth in England and they can offer only a limited comparison with the wealth revealed by the Tudor subsidies.

Suggested Citation

  • Pamela Nightingale, 2004. "The lay subsidies and the distribution of wealth in medieval England, 1275–1334," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 57(1), pages 1-32, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ehsrev:v:57:y:2004:i:1:p:1-32
    DOI: 10.1111/j.0013-0017.2004.00271.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mavis Mate, 1975. "High Prices in Early Fourteenth-Century England: Causes and Consequences'," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 28(1), pages 1-16, February.
    2. J. F. Hadwin, 1983. "The Medieval Lay Subsidies and Economic History," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 36(2), pages 200-217, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Vollmer, Sebastian & Heldring, Leander & Robinson, James A., 2014. "Monks, Gents and Industrialists: The Long-Run Impact of the Dissolution of the English Monasteries," VfS Annual Conference 2014 (Hamburg): Evidence-based Economic Policy 100275, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    2. Leander Heldring & James A Robinson & Sebastian Vollmer, 2021. "The Long-Run Impact of the Dissolution of the English Monasteries," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 136(4), pages 2093-2145.
    3. Guido Alfani & Hector García Montero, 2022. "Wealth inequality in pre‐industrial England: A long‐term view (late thirteenth to sixteenth centuries)," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 75(4), pages 1314-1348, November.
    4. Stephen H. Rigby, 2010. "Urban population in late medieval England: the evidence of the lay subsidies," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 63(2), pages 393-417, May.
    5. Bruce M. S. Campbell, 2008. "Benchmarking medieval economic development: England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, c.12901," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 61(4), pages 896-945, November.
    6. Kelly, Morgan & Mokyr, Joel & Grada, Cormac O, 2015. "Roots of the Industrial Revolution," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 248, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).

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