Parliament passes Poll Tax

Historical Context Note

Litencyc Editors (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.02: English Writing and Culture: High and Late Medieval, 1066-1485.
Vol. editors: Kate Ash-Irisarri (University of Edinburgh), Rory Critten (Université de Lausanne), David Fuller (University of Durham), Natalie Hanna (University of Liverpool), Hugh Magennis (Queen's University Belfast), Jamie McKinstry (University of Durham), Sarah Peverley (University of Liverpool), Sebastian Sobecki (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen)

Domains

Taxation

Dates

Date of occurrence 1377

Places

United Kingdom (Location)

Resources

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The year after the so-called "Good Parliament" passed measures to attack the alleged corruption of the royal court, John of Gaunt (Edward III's eldest surviving head, and de facto head of government in this last year of Edward's reign) called another Parliament. This became known as the "Bad Parliament", as its primary purpose was to revoke the actions of the "Good'"Parliament. It declared this previous Parliament unconstitutional, and thus its Acts to be void. As part of an imposition of centralised royal power, it also introduced a poll tax, which was highly unpopular, and arguably a contributing factor to the Peasants' Revolt of 1381.

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104 words

Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Parliament passes Poll Tax". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 31 July 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=821, accessed 25 April 2024.]

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