home confirmed the action of their envoys, his hand fell heavily upon them, and he taunted them with perjury, thereby admitting that he had tampered with the electors. To the pope he replied that he would have nothing to say to a man of whom he knew no more than that he had lived his life among his enemies in France. Innocent's answer to this was to consecrate Stephen de Langton on 17 July 1207. The archbishop set out for home, and got as far as Pontigny, which had been the refuge of Thomas Becket fifty years before.
Bishop Jocelin and the Interdict
We may now return to Bishop Jocelin, who was not as yet affected by these untoward events. He was now the bishop of Bath: so he invariably styles himself and is styled by others, until after his return from exile in 1213. He was high in the favour of the king, who on 30 December 1206 sent him a hundred head of deer to stock his park at Dogmersfield, and on 10 May 1207 gave him three tuns of wine. On 3 March Jocelin obtained from the king for himself, the chapter of Wells, and the monks of Bath a full confirmation of all their respective possessions and privileges. On the 27th, Ash-Wednesday, in concert with his chapter at Wells he made an ordinance for the daily celebration of the mass of the Blessed Virgin, whose cult was now everywhere coming into exceptional prominence.[1] Jocelin still attests the king's charters from time to time, and is with him at the Witham Charterhouse in Somerset on 23 July, where he and Hugh are transacting the business of the king's 'camera', together with Elias of Dereham.
On 13 September the king came to Wells, and Jocelin must have explained to him his desire to make this his principal seat: for a few days afterwards (16 Sept.) the king grants him leave to enclose his park, and presently (26 Nov.) supplements this grant by a licence to divert the public road for this purpose—to wit, the king's highway from the east side of his garden towards Dultingcote, under the hill known as the Tor, and also the road running through Reward to Coxley, subject to his providing land for roads outside his park-wall.
Jocelin, on the other hand, had, it would seem, accommodated the king by giving him what had been the bishop's house at Bath; and to it the king orders wine to be sent on 6 October.[2] On 28 Jan. 1208
- ↑ R. iii. 128 b (by an error Jocelin is here called bishop of Bath and Glastonbury). For other dates at this period reference is in general to the Charter Rolls and Rolls of Letters Patent and Close, ed. Hardy (Rec. Comm.).
- ↑ Rot. Lit. Pat. On 19 March of the next year the king assigns 'what had been the bishop's camera' at Bath to W. Crassus (ibid.). But for the previous entry
