What does tallage mean?
A tallage is a tax or tribute, particularly a tax imposed on property during the medieval period in England and other parts of the United Kingdom. The term is now chiefly historical and appears in scholarship, historical documents, and discussions of royal taxation. A tallage might be levied to raise revenue for a monarch or government, including money needed to conduct a war. Unlike a modern income tax, it was generally associated with an assessment of property or wealth rather than earnings. The word is useful to readers studying medieval fiscal history because it distinguishes particular kinds of medieval taxation from the more general term tax. In modern writing, “tallage” often signals a deliberately historical or archaic register.
nounA tax or tribute, especially one levied on property in medieval England and other parts of the United Kingdom.
- A tax or tribute, especially a historical tax levied on property in medieval England and other parts of the United Kingdom.
"The king imposed a tallage on his subjects to meet the cost of war."
"Parliament granted the king the right to impose a tallage on the country."
"The abbey appealed against the tallage because its lands had already suffered heavy taxation."
Plural tallages is used in historical writing for separate taxes or levies.
"Several tallages were imposed during the war."
Before modern income tax, medieval governments could demand a tallage: a property-based levy often imposed to finance war.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does tallage come from?
Tallage entered Middle English through Anglo-French and ultimately derives from Old French tal(l)age, a word associated with imposing or tallying a tax or assessment. Its development reflects the fiscal terminology of medieval England, where the term referred to a tax assessed in particular circumstances, including royal war finance. The word is no longer part of standard modern English except in historical contexts.
How tallage is actually used
The word is archaic and chiefly historical. It is encountered in accounts of medieval taxation, especially in England, rather than in ordinary modern usage.