Jocelin of Glasgow - Early Life

Early Life

Jocelin and his family probably came from the south-east of Scotland. The names of neither his father nor his mother are known, but he had two known brothers, with the names Helia and Henry, and a cousin, also called Helia. The names suggest that his family were of French, or at least Anglo-Norman origin, rather than being a Scot or native Anglo-Saxon. There are some indications that his family held land in South Lanarkshire, namely because they seem to have possessed rights in the church of Dunsyre. It is unlikely that he would have thought of himself as "Scottish" or English as we might interpret these as being a nationality, but 'English' by language, most of Scotland being Gaelic speaking at the time, but with a growing Scots speaking population. For Jocelin's contemporary and fellow native of the Borders, Adam of Dryburgh, this part of Britain was still firmly regarded as terra Anglorum (the "Land of English speakers"), although it was located inside the regnum Scottorum (the "Kingdom of the Scots"). This would be no obstacle to Jocelin, however. His Anglo-French cultural background was in fact probably necessary for the patronage of the King of Scots. As Walter of Coventry wrote of King William's era, "the modern kings of Scotland count themselves as Frenchmen, in race, manners, language and culture; they keep only Frenchmen in their household and following, and have reduced the Scots to utter servitude".

Like that of almost every character from this period, Jocelin's year of birth is unknown to modern historians. It is known that he entered as a novice monk in Melrose Abbey during the abbacy of Waltheof (ab. 1148–1159), and from documentary evidence it seems likely that Jocelin entered Melrose about 50 years before his death in 1199. As the rules of the Cistercian order prevented entry as a novice before the age of 15, it is likely that he was born around the year 1134. Little is known about Jocelin's early life or his early career as a Melrose monk. He obviously successfully completed his one-year noviciate, the year in which a prospective monk was introduced to monasticism and judged fit or unfit for admittance. We know that Abbot Waltheof (Waldef) thought highly of him and granted him many responsibilities. After the death of Abbot Waltheof, his successor, Abbot William, refused to encourage the rumours which had quickly been spreading about Waltheof's saintliness. Abbot William attempted to silence such rumours, and shelter his monks from the intrusiveness of would-be pilgrims. However, William was unable to get the better of Waltheof's emerging cult, and his actions had alienated him from the brethren. As a result, William resigned the abbacy in April 1170. Jocelin was by this stage the Prior of Melrose, that is, the second in command at the monastery, and thus William's most likely replacement.