Taille
Topic: Medieval Europe: Feudalism and the Three Orders · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 4 "The Three Orders"
Meaning
The taille was a direct tax that kings, especially in France, sometimes collected from peasants. Only peasants, the third order, paid it. The clergy (first order) and the nobles (second order) were exempt, which means they did not have to pay. So the poorest group carried the heaviest tax load. This unfairness stayed a grievance in France until the French Revolution.
Example
A French peasant family paid the taille to the king. They also paid a tithe to the Church and gave labour services to their lord. Their neighbours, the local bishop and noble, paid no taille at all.
Don't confuse with
- Tithe: one-tenth of a peasant's yearly produce, paid to the Church. The taille was paid to the king.