Jocelin of Wells

Jocelin of Wells
Bishop of Bath (previously of Bath and Glastonbury)
West front of Wells Cathedral, which was constructed under Jocelin.
Elected	3 February 1206
Term ended	12 November 1242
Predecessor	Savaric FitzGeldewin
Successor	Roger of Salisbury
Other posts	canon of Wells
Orders
Consecration	26 May 1206 by William of Sainte-Mère-Eglise
Personal details
Died	12 November 1242 Wells
Buried	Wells Cathedral

Jocelin of Wells (died 19 November 1242) was a medieval Bishop of Bath (and Glastonbury). He was the brother of Hugh de Wells, who became Bishop of Lincoln. Jocelin became a canon of Wells Cathedral before 1200, and was elected bishop in 1206. During King John of England's dispute with Pope Innocent III, Jocelin at first remained with the king, but after the excommunication of John in late 1209, Jocelin went into exile. He returned to England in 1213, and was mentioned in Magna Carta in 1215.

Jocelin was one of the bishops that crowned John's son Henry III, and throughout the rest of Jocelin's life was involved in royal administration. He was also active in his diocese, ordering construction on the cathedral at Wells, and issuing rules for his diocesan clergy. During his time as bishop, he settled a dispute between his diocese and Glastonbury Abbey that had started during the bishopric of his predecessor. The memorial brass on his tomb in Wells Cathedral is probably one of the earliest in England.

Jocelin born in Wells in Somerset, and was the son of Edward of Wells, a small landowner in the city of Wells. His brother Hugh de Wells, was archdeacon of Wells and Bishop of Lincoln. Some historians say that another relative, although the exact relationship is unknown, was Simon of Wells, who became Bishop of Chichester in 1207, but other historians dispute this. The name Jocelin Trotman or Thotman, by which he was occasionally known by some modern historians, only dates from the Margam Annals, and is not contemporary with his life.

Jocelin was a royal justiciar in 1203, as well as the custodian of the vacant diocese of Lincoln. He was a royal clerk as well as a canon of Wells, becoming a canon and a deacon by 1200. The previous bishop of Wells died in 1205, and on 3 February 1206, Jocelin was elected bishop. He was consecrated on 28 May 1206, at Reading by Bishop William of Sainte-Mère-Eglise of London. It is unclear if the cathedral chapters of Bath and of Wells took the action on their own, or if King John was the driving force behind the election.