Peter's Pence (redirected from hearth money)

Peter's pence, in the Roman Catholic Church, the annual voluntary laymen's contribution to the support of the pope. Formerly Peter's pence was a yearly tax of a penny levied by the Holy See on every household in England and elsewhere. The name derives from the fact that the Holy See is called the see of Peter.

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Peter's Pence

In medieval England, an annual tax of a penny paid by landowners to the papal treasury in Rome. Peter's Pence was instituted during the 7th or 8th century and continued until the 16th century. It also existed in several northern European kingdoms.