Compassionate Capitalism

This book examines the evolution of compassionate capitalism in medieval England, using a unique and comprehensive source of information, the Cambridge Hundred Rolls. It demonstrates how compassionate capitalism developed through the bequest of rental income on property to charitable and religious institutions, such as hospitals, abbeys and friaries. This rental income was generated by the dramatic growth of an urban property market, through which wealthy merchants invested the profits of trade in property development. Compassionate capitalism was a driving force in the medieval economy from the mid-1200s to the Black Death of 1348. The Cambridge Hundred Rolls record a comprehensive survey of the town in 1279, profiling property location, ownership and use, the gifting of rents and the transmission of property between generations. It identifies over 30 leading family dynasties and the factors behind their rise and decline. By synthesising this information it is possible to reconstruct the economic topography of the town and to compare the occupational structure of different parishes. This leads to a fundamental revaluation of the topography of medieval Cambridge and the role of property markets in urban development. It also reveals the influence of religious teaching on the management of economic assets by family dynasties.