"Compassionate Capitalism: Business and Community in Medieval Cambridge"

England in the late thirteenth century had a dynamic economy. The service sector grew, international trade expanded, and new institutions lowered transaction costs. Legal advances created a lively property market and commodity trade. The period from c.1200 to c.1350 is now recognised to be as significant a period of commercial growth as the Industrial Revolution. Social networks within and between families played an important role in thirteenth-century expansion. This paper examines how the family operated as a business unit in the property market. Cambridge has particularly rich sources for this, being one of only 3 towns covered in the ‘second Domesday Book’ – the Hundred Rolls of 1279. For over 1,000 properties evidence is available on location, rent and ownership. Uniquely, this information captures both the circumstances in 1279 and those up to 100 years previously. Thirty-six family dynasties held property in medieval Cambridge. Older dynasties acquired property through military service while new ones created portfolios from investing the profits of careers in the burgeoning service sector, or grain trade. Networks were therefore important to acquire property, while collaboration was often important to retain it. Old or large families risked debt if they lived beyond their means, while newcomers could struggle to get on the property ladder. Collaboration through strategic marriages between enterprising newcomers and declining ‘old wealth’ was one solution. Within families, members might collaborate to spread the risks of investment, including by developing independent careers to supplement income. Community loyalty, demonstrated through collaboration around common goals, was significant. Over 50 per cent of the profits generated by families from the Cambridge property market were directed to supporting the local community, notably education and healthcare provision. Entrepreneurial spirit was thus balanced with social responsibility.