Overview

The life and career of Jocelin of Wells examined, with a particular emphasis on his role in the reconstruction of the Cathedral and Bishop's Palace. Jocelin, bishop of Wells [d. 1242], is an iconic figure in his native city; but his career as courtier and statesman moved far beyond the west country. From a family network which had produced bishops over several generations, heplayed a major role in a developing diocese and mother church, and in the growth of towns, fairs and markets in early thirteenth-century Somerset. He had a crucial influence on the completion of what was to become Wells Cathedral,and on the Bishop's Palace beside it. The essays in this volume look at Jocelin's life and career from a variety of perspectives, with a particular focus on his involvement in the building work to complete the Cathedral, aswell as the erection of the earliest part of the Bishop's Palace. Architectural, archaeological and even botanical approaches are used to explain the curious physical nature of the Palace site, the significance of the work still standing there from Jocelin's time, and the possible sites of other contemporary work. A final chapter studies the design and purpose of Robert Burnell's additions to Jocelin's work. Contributors: Robert Dunning, NicholasVincent, Jane Sayers, Diana Greenway, Sethina Watson, Tim Tatton-Brown, Jerry Sampson, Alex Turner, Christopher Gerrard, Keith Wilkinson, Mark Horton, David J. Hill, Matthew Reeve.

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9781843835561

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An interesting and unusual book (...) handsomely produced and generously illustrated throughout, with twenty-two colour plates and twenty-seven black-and-white figures, all of them very informative. JOURNAL OF ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY

Provides a useful (...) overview of Bishop Jocelin's multifaceted career and building enterprises. HISTORY For what this book presents about his origins, his election, his episcopate and his building-works in Wells, it is surely definitive. ARCHIVES Edited and produced to a high standard. SOUTHERN HISTORY This is a most enjoyable collection, containing not a few gems. ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW This is a splendid volume and is destined to become an important reference point for future studies. CATHOLIC HISTORICAL REVIEW An interesting and unusual book (...) handsomely produced and generously illustrated throughout, with twenty-two colour plates anok (...) handsomely produced and generously illustrated throughout, with twenty-two colour plates and twe

Author Information

NICHOLAS VINCENT is Professor of Medieval History at the University of East Anglia and a Fellow of the British Academy

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