noun
- the first year’s revenue of a benefice paid to the pope or other ecclesiastical superior
Usage: historical; ecclesiastical
Examples
- The new bishop was required to pay annates to Rome.
- Annates were a significant source of papal revenue in medieval times.
- The practice of collecting annates was abolished in England during the Reformation.
- Many clergy complained about the burden of paying annates.
- The annates system created tension between local churches and papal authority.