Carucage was a medieval English land tax based on the size of the taxpayer's estate. It was levied six times: by Richard I in 1194 and 1198, John in 1200, and Henry III in 1217, 1220, and 1224. The taxable value of an estate was initially assessed from the Domesday Book survey, but other methods were later employed, such as valuations based on the sworn testimony of neighbours or the number of plough-teams (example depicted) the taxpayer used. Carucage never raised as much as other taxes, but it helped fund the ransom for Richard's release in 1194, the tax John paid to Philip II of France on land he inherited in that country, and the cost of Henry III's military campaigns in England and continental Europe. The tax was an attempt to secure new sources of revenue when new demands were being made on royal finances. Unlike the older danegeld tax, carucage was an experiment in revenue collection and only levied for specific purposes.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carucage

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1953:

Nine Moscow doctors were accused of a plot to poison members of the Soviet political and military leadership. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctors%27_plot

1968:

American singer Johnny Cash recorded his landmark album At Folsom Prison live at Folsom Prison in California. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At_Folsom_Prison

1972:

Ghanaian military officer Ignatius Kutu Acheampong led a coup to overthrow Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia and President Edward Akufo-Addo. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignatius_Kutu_Acheampong

2000:

Steve Ballmer replaced Bill Gates as the chief executive officer of Microsoft. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Ballmer

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

ascendant: 1. Moving upward; ascending, rising. 2. (figurative) Controlling, dominant, surpassing. 3. (astronomy) Rising towards the zenith. 4. (astrology) In an eastern direction rising just above the horizon. 5. (botany, physiology) Of a part of an organism: synonym of ascending (“leading or sloping upwards”) 6. (genealogy, archaic or obsolete) Synonym of ascending (“of or pertaining to one's ancestors”) 7. (astrology, also figurative) The degree of the zodiac or point of the ecliptic which rises in an eastern direction above the horizon at a particular moment (especially the moment of a person's birth), which is supposed to have a commanding influence on a person's fortune and life; a horoscope. 8. (by extension) 9. Chiefly in in the ascendant: an act of ascending or rising. 10. (figurative) Synonym of ascendancy (“commanding influence; dominant control; superiority, supremacy”) 11. (genealogy) An ancestor. 12. (obsolete) 13. A person who ascends or goes up; specifically (usually followed by to), a person who ascends to a throne or assumes some other position of power. 14. Something which is higher than the things around it; a peak, a summit; specifically (typography), synonym of ascender (“the portion of a lowercase letter that extends above the midline”) 15. Something which leads or slopes upwards, such as a flight of stairs or an upward incline. 16. (rare) A person who supports a policy of ecclesiastical or national supremacy. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ascendant

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Don't judge a man by the tales of others.   --G. I. Gurdjieff https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/G._I._Gurdjieff