西欧中世纪什一税探析

Analysis of tithe in Western Europe in Middle Ages

缴纳什一税是天主教信徒的基本义务。在中世纪早期 ,由于社会经济衰退、生产力落后 ,什一税总量有限 ,只能维持教会的生存。到了中世纪中后期 ,由于西欧社会经济的复兴和发展 ,什一税总量也迅速增加 ,成为天主教会财富的重要来源 ,它已大大超出维持教会生存的范畴 ,而成为教会腐败的重要经济因素 。

It is a Catholic's duty to pay tithe In the early days of Middle Ages, because of economic decline and backwardness of productive forces,the total tithe was so limited that it was only sufficient to maintain the church's existence.In the late days of Middle Ages,because of the recovery and development of social economy,the total tithe increased rapidly and became the main source of the Catholic church's wealth.Therefore,instead of maintaining the church's existence, tithe already became an important economic factor that led to the church's corruption, which met with the opposition of the people of Western Europe.