The term Peter's pence, in its Latin form, first appeared in writing in 1031. However, the payment may not have had a single origin under the
Saxons. It was applied by the
Normans to Ireland as a
'penny per hearth' annual tax in the later part of the twelfth century under the Papal Bull
Laudabiliter. The traditional scholarly view is summarized in Jacob's
Law Dictionary. Otherwise called by Saxons the
Romefeoh (the fee due to Rome), it was a tribute, or rather an alms, given by
Ina, King of the
West Saxons, on his pilgrimage to Rome in 725. A similar "contribution" was also collected by
Offa, King of the
Mercians, throughout his dominions, in 794. However, it was said to be not a tribute to the pope, but for the maintenance of the
English School or College at Rome. It was called Peter's pence because a penny from every house (subject to a means test) was collected on 1 August, the feast day of
St. Peter ad Vincula. The penny of Offa was a
small silver coin. King
Edgar’s laws contained a sharp Constitution touching this money (Leg. Edg 78 c 4) Some sources give the Anglo-Saxon term
Romescot instead of
Romefeoh. The Offa story is elaborated in later accounts of unknown reliability:
Ethelbert, king of the
East Angles, having reigned single some time, thought fit to take a wife; for this purpose he came to the court of
Offa, king of
Mercia, to desire his daughter in marriage. Cynethryth, consort of Offa, a cruel, ambitious, and blood-thirsty woman, who envied the retinue and splendor of the unsuspicious king, resolved in some manner to have him murdered, before he left their court, hoping by that to gain his immense riches; for this purpose she, with her malicious and fascinating arts, overcame the king–her husband, which she most cunningly effected, and, under deep disguises, laid open to him her portentous design; a villain was therefore hired, named Gimberd, who was to murder the innocent prince. The manner in which the heinous crime was effected was as cowardly as it was fatal: under the chair of state in which Ethelbert sat, a deep pit was dug; at the bottom of it was placed the murderer; the unfortunate king was then let through a trap-door into the pit; his fear overcame him so much, that he did not attempt resistance. Three months after this, Queenrid died, when circumstances convinced Offa of the innocence of Ethelbert; he, therefore, to appease his guilt, built St. Alban's monastery, gave one-tenth part of his goods to the poor, and went in penance to Rome, where he gave to the Pope a penny for every house in his dominions. The earliest documentary evidence concerning these payments is found in a letter written from Rome by King
Canute to the English clergy in 1031. At that time, Canute was collecting a levy of one penny on each hearth or household, using a means test requiring that the household have an annual rental cost of thirty pence or more; households paying less than that in rent were exempt. , Worcestershire. Over time, the payment came to be regarded as a tax rather than an offering, and payment was apt to be avoided, if possible, the more so as time went on. Indeed, in the 13th century, the revenue arising from it had been stabilized, on the basis of the assessment of a much earlier day, at the annual sum of £20 1
s. 9
d. for the whole of England.
Pope Clement V pressed to return to the more rewarding ancient basis of a penny from each sufficient household. By the 14th century, a standard sum, typically 5
s. per manor or parish, was being given to local church authorities for forwarding. It appears that new tenants entering on a property which had historically been subject to a Peter's Pence levy did not always accept the obligation to pay. Older sources are often unclear in their references to Peter's Pence, and there was (and remains) a degree of local confusion between it, various hearth taxes (sometimes called smoke-money or smoke-farthings), and other ancient payments. By the end of the 12th century, the English population had increased, so the ecclesiastical authorities were collecting more than the stabilized sum, and keeping the surplus. It ceased to be remitted to the pope after 1320, but seemingly this was not permanent. The exact reason for the 'prohibition' by
Edward III is unknown, but the threat of withholding payment of Peter's Pence proved more than once a useful weapon against uncooperative popes in the hands of English kings. In 1366 and for some years after, it was refused on the grounds of the pope's obstinacy. Evidently, however, the payment survived or was revived in some localities, because it was one of many payments abolished by an Act of Parliament in the 25th year of
Henry VIII's reign. The 1534 Act, "An Act for the exoneration of exactions paid to the See of Rome", specifically mentions Peter's Pence. Along with other payments, it was "never more to be levied … to any person", indicating that the payment was to be extinguished completely and not diverted to crown use. This occurred just prior to Henry's permanent break from the Church, which occurred in 1536, making England part of the Protestant
Reformation. However, under the Catholic
Queen Mary, Henry VIII's reformation legislation was overturned. On 16 January 1555, royal assent was given to "An Act, repealing all Statutes, Articles, and Provisions, made against the See of Rome, sithence the 20th Year of King Henry the Eighth; and for the Establishment of Ecclesiastical Possessions conveyed to the Laity" (1 & 2 Philip & Mary c.8). However, this act did not mention Peter's Pence specifically. There is isolated evidence that in some parishes, payment of Peter's Pence did indeed resume during Mary's reign, for instance in
Rowington, Warwickshire, where the church accounts for 1556 record the collection of 54s. 4
d., a considerable sum. Mary's Act was in turn repealed by the 1559
Act of Supremacy, under the Protestant
Queen Elizabeth I. == Post-Reformation practice in England ==