Annual Horseshoe-Based Tax System Deemed “Still More Logical Than Council Tax”
Ancient Bureaucratic Theater Persists Into Modern Era
The 800-year-old Ceremony of the Rendering of the Quit Rents proceeded as scheduled Tuesday at the Royal Courts of Justice, with officials solemnly presenting horseshoes and billhooks as symbolic rent payment while admitting “nobody has any idea what’s happening anymore.” The medieval tradition continues because stopping it would require paperwork no one wants to complete.
Ritualistic Confusion Maintained
Queen’s Remembrancer Sir David Foskett presided over the ceremony, accepting six horseshoes and 61 nails as payment for a forge in Shropshire that hasn’t existed since 1234. “This makes perfect sense if you don’t think about it,” Foskett explained. “We’re collecting rent on imaginary property using obsolete currency in a ceremony nobody understands. It’s the most British thing imaginable.”
The annual ritual also involves billhooks being tested on hazel rods, a practice with origins so obscure that royal historians have given up explaining it and now just say “it’s traditional” when questioned.
Modern Relevance Questioned
“At least with this ceremony you know what you’re paying forabsolutely nothing,” noted Camden resident Patricia Willoughby. “That’s more transparency than my actual rent provides.”
The Lord Chancellor confirmed the ceremony would continue indefinitely because “Britain doesn’t abandon traditions, we just stop understanding them and carry on anyway.”
SOURCE: http://bohiney.com/
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