DECIMAE

 

decimae (des-<<schwa>>-mee), n.[fr. Latin decem “ten”] Eccles. law. 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.

“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. [Blacks Law 8th]