Thinking Medieval with a Twist: Farmers' tithes in Scarterra are complicated

How it worked in Medieval Europe

  80-90% of the population works in agriculture, that means that the vast majority of taxes are likely to be paid in the form of agricultural goods.   Most lands and eras of realworld Medieval Europe had some form of a mandatory tithe imposed on peasant farmers. The Church normally took 10% of the gross products of farmers and herders. Grain, wool, fish, etc. This was backed by custom and law and not paying the tithe was a serious crime with serious repercussions.  

The Nonagon wrinkle in Scarterra

  Due to various supernatural factors, acre-per-acre crop yields in Scarterra are a little bit higher than their medieval Earth equivalents so only 70-80% of the population works in agriculture though it still means agricultural tithes are a big deal.   Scarterrans are no less pious than medieval Earth peasants. If anything they might be more pious or at least more afraid of the gods because tangible displays of divine power are hardly rare.   Most Scarterran peasants are willing and able to give 10% or so of their production to the clergy and most Scarterran nobility are willing and able to enforce this, but there is the issue that complicates this practice. Scarterra doesn't have one officially recognized priesthood, they have nine, ten if you count the Cult of the Compact.   Each priesthood has to fight for their "fair" share of this tithe and every priestly faction would love a bigger slice of the pie. Fighting over tithes is a major source of Nonagon political struggles. There are many different ways that products of peasant labors can find their way to the Nonagon and each method has winners and losers, so a lot of political lobbying falls into this.  

What is the Tithe in Scarterra?

  In medieval Europe, the mandatory tithe for peasant farmers was usually10% off the gross harvest. The dictionary (and biblical) definition of a tithe is 10%.   In Scarterra the number nine is consider auspicious for obvious reasons, and because acre-per acre crop yields are a little bit higher, peasants can fork over a bigger piece of their gross harvest and not starve to death, so traditionally Scarterran use nineths and note tithes.   Secular lords adjust their taxes up and down all the time, but the traditional nineth given to the clergy almost never changes, at least officially. Scarterran clergy frequently give out free food to the poor. If a priest sees a family of farmers struggling, they might give the family a large portion of their nineth back to them, but only after they offer their nineth at least symbolically.    

How is the Nineths are Distributed in Scarterra?

  Sometimes peasants dictate where the tithes go.   It is very difficult for a Scarterran peasant to avoid forking over a nineth of his harvest to the Nonagon, but some areas give peasants the freedom to decide which temples they send their harvest too. In these regions, the local clergy work very hard to to curry the favor of the local peasants.   Sometimes Barons and low level lords and ladies dictate where the tithes go.   Given that the local lords frequently control the mills and graineries, most of the grain is under a lord's jurisdiction passes through his hands anyway. This gives local lord a lot of power as a middleman and gets to decide where some/most/all of the grain tithes go almost by default. In these regions the clergy work very hard to curry favor of the local lords.   Sometimes kings and queens dictate where the tithes go.   Monarchs set tax policy along the feudal chain, so it's a natural extension for monarchs to set up tithing policy too. Very frequently, tithes go where the king says tithes should go. In these regions, the clergy work very hard to curry the favor of the royal family.   Sometimes geography dictates where the tithes go.   The three-day ox rule applies to tithes as much as it applies to commerce. Maybe a peasant family wants to curry favor with the Stewards and his lord wants to curry favor with the Guardians but the grain tithe ends going to the Tenders because the only temple within a three-days' journey is a Mera temple.   Some specific temples are built in specific places primarily in order to capitalize on tithes. It's a carefully balancing. Every new temple is an additioanl source of tithes but every temple also has clergy that will eat the tithes.    

Other Sources of Income

  A nineth of the gross harvest of every farmer is a lot of wealth, but it's split many directions.   Scarterra has ten major priesthood and most of these priesthoods have sub-factions. Very few priesthoods can sustain their operating expenses by grain tithes alone. Clergy based on secret temples and clergy who are nomadic with no permanent base temple usually have no access to grain nineths at all. This means Scarterran clergy have to find alternate means of meeting their operating expenses.     A lot of Scarterran clergy have side hustles or day jobs and sell goods and services on the open market. This is commonly referred to as "selling temple cheese". If the clergy in question are selling magical goods and services they are peddling "fancy cheese". If the goods and services are not exactly legal they are peddling "stinky cheese." It also possible for clergy to sell cheese that is both fancy and cheese.