La participación del bajo clero en el excedente agrario vasco y riojano (1545–1775)

Resumen

En este trabajo se analiza la evolución del producto agrario que percibe el clero parroquial entre 1545 y 1775. Para establecer el producto agrario de un servidor medio se ha de tener en cuenta tanto la cantidad y especies que percibe en concepto de diezmo, una vez deducidas las cargas que pesan sobre ellas, como el tipo de plaza que ocupa en la parroquia (beneficiado de entera, media o cuarta ración). Se ha comparado la cantidad anual percibida en especie con la que recibiría un vecino de su mismo pueblo y qué carga representa para la comunidad el mantenimiento de la clerecía local.

Abstract

This piece of work analyzes the evolution of the agricultural product received by the lower clergy between 1545 and 1775. To establish the annual income received by the parish priest, one must take into account both the quantity and the quantity in kind received as tithe, once all charges and the part set aside for the cathedral had been deducted. In the same way it is necessary to identify the place these priests occupied in the ecclesiastic hierarchy, since their incomes were closely related to this position. In this paper we compare the annual amount received in kind by an average priest and that received by a peasant in the same village. Eventually these figures give us the opportunity to determine how much the maintenance of the local clergy cost the community.