momentum toward extraordinary revenues slowed only briefly. The reign of John II, fifty
years later, was critical for the evolution of these extraordinary revenues into a system of
taxation, while that of Charles VII, especially after 1435, would mark a third step: the
taxes became, for all intents and purposes, permanent.
Intermittent war with England or Flanders, beginning in 1294, eventually gave way to
the Hundred Years’ War, which involved several extended periods of intense fighting.
Successive kings, beginning with Philip IV, tried various expedients to augment
revenues—expanding the feudal aids, manipulating the currency, squeezing money out of
foreign residents—but they repeatedly had to ask their subjects for “war subsidies” to pay
for the realm’s defense. The frequency of these demands provoked growing opposition,
particularly at moments when hostilities were suspended or at a low level. Underfinanced
and poorly led French forces suffered severe defeats in the 1340s and 1350s, culminating
in the capture of John II. The treaty that secured his release required payment of a heavy
ransom. It was financed by indirect taxes, the aides and gabelle, which were collected in
the years 1361–80 and 1382–1417 before being revived permanently in the 1430s.
The truce following the king’s capture left thousands of soldiers unemployed; their
violent behavior led the government in 1363 to impose the fouage, or graduated hearth
tax, to pay an army that would both provide employment for the unruly military class and
enable the crown to maintain order. This tax lasted seventeen years, began reappearing
some years later as the taille, and continued as a recurrent extraordinary levy through the
early decades of the 15th century. Charles VII and his successors levied the taille
permanently after 1439, often raising the rate to suit escalating royal needs, and it became
the major source of revenue.
The requirements of warfare and the accompanying rise of taxation had a significant
impact on institutions of government but did not lead to any permanent role for the
Estates General. Once persuaded that taxes were justified, French subjects showed little
interest in a formal mechanism for consenting to them. They were, however, extremely
suspicious of the officials who collected them, and the government had to develop a
separate administration for those extraordinary revenues that became regular taxes.
Supervising collection at the local level were élus, who themselves reported to a board of
généraux. After 1390, the latter acquired institutional status as the Cour des Aides.
To ensure that tax receipts financed an effective army, the crown had to devise a
system that made captains responsible for mustering their retinues regularly in the
presence of designated officials. The généraux entrusted tax receipts to a war treasurer,
who paid the captains on orders from the marshals of France after the muster had been
recorded. Ordinances sought to develop and to enforce these rules and prevent corruption
in the paying of troops. The most famous and successful was that of Charles VII in 1445,
which established permanent compagnies d’ordon-nance consisting of 100 “lances”—
six-man tactical units headed by a heavy cavalryman. This professionalization of the
army, which had been in progress for more than a century, was the final step in restoring
truly public institutions in lieu of those based on private, feudal arrangements.
John Bell Henneman, Jr.
[See also: AIDES; BAILLI/BAILLIAGE; CHAMBRE DES COMPTES;
COMPAGNIES D’ORDONNANCE; CONSEIL; CURIA REGIS; CURRENCY;
CUSTOMS DUTIES; ELECTION; ÉLU; ESTATES (GENERAL); FEUDAL AIDS;
GABELLE; GÉNÉRAUX; HOTEL DU ROI; HUNDRED YEARS’ WAR;JUGE-
Medieval france: an encyclopedia 1560