1. The tenth part of the annual profits of a benefice originally payable to the Pope, and later to the Crown by 26 Hen. 8, ch. 3.
“The tenths, or decimae, were the tenth part of the annual profit of each living … which was also claimed by the holy see …. But this claim of the pope met with a vigorous resistance from the English parliament; and a variety of acts were passed to prevent and restrain it …. But the popish clergy, blindly devoted to the will of a foreign master, still kept it on foot; sometimes more secretly, sometimes more openly and avowedly …. And, as the clergy expressed this willingness to contribute so much of their income to the head of the church, it was thought proper (when in the same reign the papal power was abolished, and the king was declared the head of the church of England) to annex this revenue to the crown ….” 1 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 274 (1765).
2. Tithes paid to the church, often in grain or wool.
