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.

Papers reflecting current research on orthodox religious practice and ecclesiastical organisation from c.1350-c.1500. This book derives from a conference held in 1989. It reflects current research on ecclesiastical organisation and on aspects of religious belief from the Black Death to the English Reformation. On the wider front, there is an account of the diplomatic relations between the Pope and those who ruled for the infant Henry VI. Regional studies focus on Carthusians in Somerset, and the continued attraction of the eremitical life; on the canons of Exeter cathedral and on the foundation of chantries and the endowment of churches. Taken together, these essays show how late medieval religious belief was undermined by a variety of factors, and point up the contrast between the humanity and sensitivity of medieval religion and the nature of the faith which replaced it. Contributors: CLIVE BURGESS, ROBERT W. DUNNING, MICHAEL J. HAREN, MARGARET HARVEY, D.N. LEPINE, COLIN RICHMOND, ROBERT N. SWANSON, BENJAMIN THOMPSON.