Bede Jarrett

Bede Jarrett OP (22 August 1881 – 17 March 1934) was an English Dominican friar and Catholic priest who was also a noted historian and author. Known for works including Mediæval Socialism and The Emperor Charles IV, Jarrett also founded Blackfriars Priory at the University of Oxford in 1921, formally reinstating the Dominican Order at that university for the first time since the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII.

Early life and education Born in Greenwich as Cyril Jarrett, he was the fifth of six sons to parents Colonel H.S. Jarrett, Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE), and Agnes (Beaufort) Jarrett. Beginning in 1891, Jarrett studied at Stonyhurst, and in August 1898 he joined the Order of Preachers (OP), also known as the Dominican Order, at St Dominic's Priory in London. On 30 August 1900, Jarrett moved to continue his studies of philosophy, theology and history at Hawkesyard Priory and received minor orders and the subdiaconate, and diaconate in 1902. matriculating as a student with the Benedictines at St. Benet's Hall. He studied history and completed his degree in 1907. Appointed prior at the "unusually early"

Blackfriars Priory Jarrett also founded the Blackfriars Dominican priory in Oxford. The event earned a letter of congratulations and encouragement from Pope Benedict XV. The priory opened in 1929 but was incomplete at the time of Jarrett's death.

Writings and publications Jarrett authored numerous books, prayers and articles, including five entries in the Catholic Encyclopedia. He also purchased Blackfriars, a Dominican magazine renamed New Blackfriars in the 1960s, for £40 in 1919 and persuaded publisher Basil Blackwell to publish it, which prevented it from being discontinued.

Death Jarrett died of sudden illness at the Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth in London on 17 March 1934. He was buried at the Dominican priory in Woodchester.

Influence Jarrett knew author Graham Greene, also an Oxford graduate, and instructed his wife Vivien prior to her reception into the Catholic Church in 1922. He became godfather to Lucy Caroline Greene, their daughter, in 1933. The Encyclopedia of World Biography lists Jarrett's The Emperor Charles IV as the standard biography of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV.