Thirtieth

The thirtieth was a customs levy imposed on foreign trade in the Kingdom of Hungary. Its Hungarian name was harmincad, while related historical names included tridesetnica in Croatian and tricesima in Latin. The name referred to a levy associated with one thirtieth of the value or proceeds covered by the customs system. It was not a modern commercial brand, company, or consumer product, but a historical fiscal institution administered within the Hungarian royal revenue system. The earliest documented reference identified in the available material appears in a charter issued by Andrew II of Hungary for Lébény Abbey in 1208. The charter exempted wine and foodstuffs supplied to the monks and their guests from tolls and from the thirtieth at Győr and at bridges over the Rába and Rábca rivers. This reference indicates that the levy operated alongside other tolls and was collected at strategically important transport and crossing points. The exemption also shows that royal or public customs rights could be qualified by privileges granted to ecclesiastical institutions. The thirtieth was an important source of royal income. In 1235, Andrew II granted revenue from the thirtieth, amounting to 1,500 marks, to his daughter Yolanda. This record demonstrates that the levy could be treated as a significant and transferable revenue stream within the royal household and dynastic patronage system. The available historical interpretation connects the institution with the broader development of customs and toll rights in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries. One scholarly theory holds that the thirtieth emerged from the earlier granting of customs and toll privileges to ecclesiastical institutions. Under this interpretation, the levy represented a portion of customs income that Hungarian kings retained for themselves or reserved for their queens, even when other related rights had been granted away. The precise institutional development and administrative history require further specialist research, but the surviving references place the thirtieth within the fiscal and commercial infrastructure of medieval Hungary. Because the thirtieth was a tax rather than a commercial undertaking, it has no known founder, corporate owner, headquarters, product portfolio, advertising program, or modern operating company. Its historical significance lies in the way it connected cross-border commerce, royal finance, privileges, and transport routes in the Kingdom of Hungary. The institution is now defunct as a historical levy and should not be confused with modern brands or organizations named “Thirtieth.”

The thirtieth was a customs tax on foreign trade in the Kingdom of Hungary. It was known in Hungarian as harmincad, in Croatian as tridesetnica, and in Latin as tricesima. The institution belongs to the history of medieval public finance rather than to the history of a commercial brand. Its earliest known documentary reference is preserved in a charter that Andrew II of Hungary issued for the Benedictine Abbey of Lébény in 1208. The charter recorded that wine and foodstuffs delivered for the monks and their guests were exempt from tolls and from the thirtieth at Győr, as well as at bridges crossing the Rába and Rábca rivers. The passage places the levy at locations where trade and movement could be monitored, and it shows that the customs charge operated in parallel with other toll obligations. The levy also generated substantial royal income. In 1235, Andrew II granted revenue from the thirtieth to his daughter Yolanda. The recorded value of that revenue was 1,500 marks. This grant illustrates how customs income could be assigned as part of royal family patronage and treated as a valuable fiscal asset. It also confirms that the thirtieth was more than a minor local toll: it formed part of the wider financial resources available to the Hungarian monarchy. The institution's origins remain subject to historical interpretation. One scholarly theory links its development to the granting of customs and toll rights to ecclesiastical institutions during the late twelfth century. According to that interpretation, the thirtieth represented the share of customs proceeds retained by the king or reserved for the queen after other toll-related rights had been distributed. The available evidence supports a connection with royal control of trade revenues, although it does not by itself provide a complete account of the levy’s later administration, rates, collection offices, or territorial evolution. The thirtieth therefore belongs to the fiscal history of the medieval Hungarian kingdom. It helped turn international and long-distance trade into royal revenue and operated through customs points and transport corridors. Its documented exemptions reveal the negotiation between royal finance and institutional privileges, while the 1235 grant shows its role in dynastic revenue allocation. No evidence in the supplied material indicates that it survived as a modern tax, company, or consumer-facing brand.

• Earliest documented reference

  [1]Thirtieth (tax)en.wikipedia.org

  A charter issued by Andrew II for Lébény Abbey recorded exemptions from tolls and the thirtieth for wine and foodstuffs supplied to the monks and their guests at Győr and at bridges over the Rába and Rábca rivers.

• Royal revenue granted to Yolanda

  [1]Thirtieth (tax)en.wikipedia.org

  Andrew II granted his daughter Yolanda revenue from the thirtieth, recorded as amounting to 1,500 marks.

A historical royal customs institution used to collect revenue from foreign trade in the Kingdom of Hungary.

• Customs tax

  Thirtieth customs

  A medieval Hungarian levy imposed on foreign trade. It was collected within the kingdom’s customs and toll framework and could apply at important commercial routes and crossings. Historical records also show that particular goods and institutions could receive exemptions.

1. 1Thirtieth (tax)en.wikipedia.org