ANNATA. — What before the 14th century was called fructus primi temporis, annalia, annualia, was subsequently called a.: a word which, in its specific meaning, denoted all the revenues of a minor benefice reserved to the Pope that were payable to the Apostolic Camera. The designation a. also came, less properly, to include both the communis servitia, owed by consistorial benefices to the Pope and the cardinals, and the minuta servitia, payable to the lesser officials of the Roman Curia, as well as the quinduniai, that is, the revenues payable to the Pope every fifteen years by benefices incorporated into some ecclesiastical institution and thus never vacant. Still more improperly, the name a. was applied to the fructus medii temporis (also called intercalares), that is, the revenues of benefices accruing during the first year of vacancy, and to other taxes and contributions payable for other reasons.
The origin of the a. is not entirely certain. Apart from certain very ancient antecedents, such as the Greek intronisticum and the Roman oblatio, Fagnano considers them sufficiently ancient to be counted among the immemorial institutions. It seems that the institution, in substance, already existed in the 9th century; in the following centuries it was expanded and perfected, although the party liable varied. The attribution to the Apostolic Camera, which subsequently characterized the true a., evidently derives from the reservation: when the provision of benefices passed to the Pope, all the rights of the previous collators naturally passed to him (Reg. 46, in 6º), including the annualia. In any event, the first example of a pontifical a. of a general character is found under Clement V (1 February 1306), who reserved to the Apostolic Camera, for a period of three years, the revenues of all vacant benefices in the British Isles. The measure was extended by John XXII (in 1316) to the whole of Europe, for benefices vacant and non-vacant during the following three years; and finally, in the same year, the a. of all minor benefices vacant apud S. Sedem were reserved to the Holy See. John XXII then regulated the amount and manner of collecting the a. (c. 2, I, in Extr. Ioann. XXII); hence many called this Pope the true author of the a. Finally, Gregory XI (1376) subjected to the a. all benefices reserved to the Apostolic See.
The a. were collected directly by the Holy See through commissioners, collectors, or collectores endowed with special powers. At first the a. consisted of the net revenues of the benefice; but Boniface IX (1384–1409) reduced them by half: a. bonifaciaria or mezz'a.,
though they were to be paid in advance. The Bonifacian mezz'a. must not be confused with that introduced by Benedict XIII through the constitution Pius et misericors of 20 April 1728, by which all minor benefices not reserved to the Holy See were burdened, with some exceptions, by a mezza a., that is, by the gross revenues of six months (of vacancy) in favor of the respective cathedral or collegiate church, and this only in Italy and the adjacent islands. This a., however, was not collected if a fund had been established in the church for construction work or if there was a patron responsible for repairs.
Strong opposition to the a. arose everywhere. Heretics, and also some Catholics, unjustly called them simoniacal. The opposition culminated at the Council of Constance. In 1418 Martin V regulated the matter with Germany, Spain, England, France, and Italy through particular concordats, but in principle the a. were maintained. The Council of Basel abolished the a. (9 June 1435, sess. XXI); and its decree, although it had no immediate effect, nevertheless dealt the institution a very severe blow. At first many exceptions were admitted; later the true a. everywhere fell into disuse, though not the Benedictine mezze a., established for the benefit of the cathedral and collegiate churches of Italy. These in particular are referred to by can. 1482, which requires them to be maintained wherever they are still in force, with observance of the particular statutes and laudable customs regulating them in the various regions.