8 h 24 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 8 h 24 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Behind the abbey walls, holiness does not settle the debts—or silence the quarrels.
In The Chronicle of Jocelin of Brakelond, a monk opens the doors of Bury St Edmunds in late twelfth-century Suffolk. Jocelin de Brakelond knows the abbot’s table, the guest house and the chapter meeting. His subject is not kings and battles, but the money, arguments and small humiliations that fill the days of a great English abbey.
At the centre stand two very different abbots: gentle, devout Hugh and the hard, clever Samson. Under Hugh, the abbey sinks into debt. Samson examines its accounts and works to restore order, making enemies along the way. As Samson’s chaplain, Jocelin offers a close view of leadership, with room for admiration, dry humour and doubt.
What you’ll discover
- Life behind closed doors Hear the conversations and quarrels that reveal the men inside the monastery.
- The burden of leadership Watch Samson confront debts and resistance as he takes the abbey’s affairs in hand.
- Power beyond the cloister Explore an abbey whose authority reaches into markets, courts, mills and surrounding lands.
- A witness with doubts Meet Jocelin, who describes Samson closely without hiding his own mixed feelings.
- Holiness and practical troubles See how devotion shares space with accounts, authority and the strain of daily life.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy true stories of rulers and rivals, the daily life of a medieval monastery, and sharp portraits of real people.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- An old abbot lets debts swallow the abbey
- One monk learns to endure while flatterers rule
- A vacant abbey tests every monk's judgment
- A sealed list and a king choose Samson
- The new abbot audits everything and pays the debts
- A stern abbot reveals himself through small kindnesses
- He defends his liberties against kings and bishops
- He takes the cellar into his own hands
- A fire at the shrine leads to a night with the saint
- Quarrels, a revolt and a prior chosen against advice
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The Chronicle of Jocelin of Brakelond
by Jocelin de Brakelond · 1203
Jocelin, a monk of Bury, watches Abbot Samson take on kings, knights, townsmen and his own brothers.
Medium level2–5 hours to readEnglish
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In short
Picture a great abbey so deep in debt that its dying abbot is left with little more than a coverlet and two torn quilts. His servants have stripped the house before he is even buried.
The Chronicle of Jocelin of Brakelond at a glance
- Reading time
- About 4 h 30 min3 h 35 min fast, 5 h 25 min slow
- Length
- 64,800 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1203by Jocelin de Brakelond
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
An old abbot lets debts swallow the abbey
Jocelin opens with Abbot Hugh, who is old, pious and nearly blind. He is a good monk but a poor manager of worldly business. He trusts his officers too much, and they do as they please.
The abbey's forests are cut down and its manor houses are close to collapse. Hugh can only borrow, and interest is piled on interest. Every official has his own seal and borrows without telling anyone. Silk copes, golden cruets and other church treasures are pawned in secret. One sacrist borrows forty marks to repair a parlour, and the sum grows until it reaches twelve hundred pounds.
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- 15-minute summary
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Details
- First published
- 1203
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Jocelin de Brakelond. The Chronicle of Jocelin of Brakelond. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-chronicle-of-jocelin-of-brakelond.
Jocelin de Brakelond. (2026). The chronicle of Jocelin of Brakelond. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-chronicle-of-jocelin-of-brakelond (Original work published ca. 1203)
Jocelin de Brakelond. The Chronicle of Jocelin of Brakelond. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-chronicle-of-jocelin-of-brakelond.
@book{jocelindebrakelond2026chronicle,
author = {Jocelin de Brakelond},
title = {The Chronicle of Jocelin of Brakelond},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-chronicle-of-jocelin-of-brakelond},
note = {First published ca. 1203}
}
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What is the Chronicle of Jocelin of Brakelond about?
It describes life at the abbey of Bury St Edmunds from the weak rule of Abbot Hugh to the long reign of Abbot Samson, covering debts, elections, lawsuits, building work, the shrine of Saint Edmund and the quarrels of monks.
Who was Abbot Samson?
Samson was a monk of Bury St Edmunds who taught the novices and later became abbot in 1182. Jocelin portrays him as a careful, strict and shrewd ruler who cleared the abbey's debts and defended its rights against powerful opponents.
Is the Chronicle a true story?
Yes, it is a real record written by an eyewitness in the late twelfth century. Jocelin served the abbot closely and writes of events he saw and heard, while notes in later editions check many details against royal and church records.
The author
Jocelin de Brakelond
1101–1202 · English monk and chronicler
English monk and chronicler.
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