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The lay subsidies and the distribution of wealth in medieval England, 1275–1334
Author(s) -
Nightingale Pamela
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
the economic history review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.014
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1468-0289
pISSN - 0013-0117
DOI - 10.1111/j.0013-0017.2004.00271.x
Subject(s) - subsidy , yardstick , debt , economics , distribution of wealth , distribution (mathematics) , statute , public economics , economy , macroeconomics , market economy , political science , law , inequality , mathematical analysis , geometry , mathematics
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.