Clerical Poll Taxes of the Diocese of Lincoln, 1377-1381

The clergy of England, like the laity, were subjected to a series of poll-taxes within a short space of time. This volume prints the surviving assessments made of the clergy of the diocese of Lincoln in the years 1377, 1379 and 1381. Most of the material relates to the old county of Lincoln (now Lincolnshire and South Humberside) but there are also surveys of Leicestershire, Rutland, most of Bedfordshire, and parts of Huntingdonshire and Hertfordshire. These poll-tax assessments represent what was virtually a census of the clerical population whose members were listed parish by parish. The documents show us not only that the number of clergy was very great, but that most were without benefices, and that they tended to gather in areas of high prosperity. Monks and nuns are also listed so that we can see how many members each monastery had. Publication of this material offers the opportunity to make a reassessment of the clergy and, hence the church of late medieval England. An extensive introduction describes the gathering of these taxes and the value and limitations of the documents themselves.