Bede Jarrett

Bede Jarrett was an English Dominican friar, historian, and author who examined medieval institutions through Catholic social thought. Mediaeval Socialism considers communal ownership, guild organization, scholastic arguments, law, social reform, and almsgiving while cautioning that modern political labels do not map neatly onto the Middle Ages. T. C. and E. C. Jack published the book in a series of concise studies, and later editions preserved its survey of economic and social ideas. Jarrett entered the Dominican order as a young man, studied at Oxford and Leuven, and later became provincial of the English Dominicans. He also helped reestablish a Dominican house at Oxford through Blackfriars, opened in 1921. His other historical writing includes studies of the Emperor Charles IV and Saint Catherine of Siena. Mediaeval Socialism reflects his characteristic effort to connect documentary history, theology, and the practical organization of society, presenting medieval thinkers on their own terms before comparing their assumptions with modern concerns.