Cadfael
Encyclopedia
Brother Cadfael is the fictional main character in a series of historical murder mysteries
written between 1977 and 1994 by the linguist-scholar Edith Pargeter
under the name "Ellis Peters". The character of Cadfael himself is a Welsh Benedictine
monk living at Shrewsbury Abbey
, in western England, in the first half of the 12th century. The historically accurate stories are set between about 1135 and about 1145, during "The Anarchy
", the destructive contest for the crown of England between King Stephen and Empress Maud.
As a character, Cadfael "combines the curious mind of a scientist/pharmacist with a knight-errant", entering the cloister in his forties after being both a soldier and a sailor, this experience gives him an array of talents and skills useful in monastic life. He is a skillful observer of human nature, inquisitive by nature, energetic, a talented herbalist (work he learned in the Holy Lands), and has an innate, although modern, sense of justice and fair-play. Abbots call upon him as a medical examiner, detective, doctor, and diplomat. His worldly knowledge, although useful, gets him in trouble with the more doctrinaire characters of the series, and the seeming contradiction between the secular and the spiritual worlds forms a central and continuing theme of the stories.
monk and herbalist
at Shrewsbury Abbey
in Shrewsbury
, the county town of the English county of Shropshire
. Cadfael himself is a Welshman and uses patronymics in the Welsh fashion, naming himself Cadfael ap Meilyr ap Dafydd (Cadfael son of Meilyr son of Dafydd) as his full name.
He was born in May 1080 into a villein community in Trefriw
, Conwy
, in North Wales, and had at least one sibling, a younger brother. Rather than wait to inherit the right to till a section of land, he left his home at the age of fourteen as servant to a wool-trader, and thus became acquainted with Shrewsbury early in life. In 1096, he embarked on the First Crusade
to the Holy Land in the force commanded by Robert II, Duke of Normandy
. After the victorious end to the Crusade, he lived for several years in Syria
and the Holy Land
, earning a living as a sailor, before returning to England around 1114 to find that Richildis Vaughan, to whom he had been unofficially engaged, had tired of waiting and had married a Shrewsbury craftsman. Cadfael became a man at arms (foot soldier) in the war waged by Henry I of England
to secure the union with Normandy, and returned again to England in the service of a nobleman, Roger Mauduit, who kidnapped Prior Heribert of Shrewsbury Abbey in an attempt to foil a lawsuit. Cadfael freed Heribert and, being released from Mauduit's service, laid aside his arms and proceeded with Heribert to Shrewsbury Abbey.
In The Devil's Novice
, Cadfael describes his life
Robert and Robert's clerk Brother Jerome, who disapprove of Cadfael for his casual attitude toward rules and for the privileges that are allowed him by their Abbot. In the stories, Brother Cadfael regularly disobeys the heads of his abbey, acts to bring about his own sense of compassionate justice (as against church or feudal law), and does not condemn relationships outside wedlock. Abbot Heribert and his successor Radulfus recognise Cadfael's unusual skills garnered from a long life as soldier, herbalist, lover, sailor and traveller. Having "lived half his life in battles", Peters, Ellis (1995) Saint Peter's Fair
Warner Futura Books pp26-28 ISBN 0-7515-1104-8 they deploy him as detective, medical examiner, diplomatic envoy (to the Welsh princes), and counsel. Abbot Radulfus, who is himself a shrewd and worldly man, allows Cadfael a certain degree of independence and appreciates that there are circumstances under which the rules of the Order must be bent in order to serve a greater and more practical good. Though indulgent to a certain degree, his patience with Cadfael is not limitless; he reprimands Cadfael when he feels that his lack of monastic discipline and obedience have been excessive and unwarranted.
. Through the course of the stories, it emerges that Mariam had a son by Cadfael, although he only comes to realise he is a father by accident (The Virgin in the Ice). After Cadfael takes vows, he has a close affection for at least two young women: Sioned, the daughter of a Welsh lord (A Morbid Taste for Bones) and Godith Adeney (One Corpse Too Many). He also enjoys a platonic relationship with the equally worldly Benedictine nun, Sister Magdalen (formerly Avice of Thornbury) of the nunnery close by at Godric's Ford (The Leper of St. Giles, Dead Man's Ransom, The Rose Rent.) His former fiancée Richildis, now widowed, briefly re-appears in his life (Monk's Hood).
Born in Antioch, and named Daoud, Cadfael's son never knew his father, but his mother Mariam always described Cadfael in loving terms. Based on this praise, Daoud decides to embrace his father's Christianity rather than his mother's Islamic faith, and takes the name Olivier de Bretagne. After Mariam dies, Olivier offers his service to a crusading noble, and quickly becomes his favourite squire (The Virgin in the Ice). His master supports the Empress Maud, which places him on the opposing side to Cadfael's friend Hugh Beringar, though they eventually reconcile their differences. Olivier is presented as the gracious knight and paladin: skilled and brave in battle, 'fiercely beautiful', resourceful, resilient, generous and chivalrous; he risks his life to save an enemy who had been keeping him imprisoned in a dungeon (Brother Cadfael's Penance). His name echoes that of the companion of Roland
, hero of the great Medieval heroic epics. Olivier comes closer than any other character in the series to fulfilling the ideals of the French-Norman culture, "almost more Norman than the Normans", perhaps because he has consciously chosen it. In The Pilgrim of Hate he is described as having "a long, spare wide-browed face, with a fine scimitar of a nose and a subtle bow of a mouth and the fierce, fearless, golden eyes of a hawk. A head capped closely with curving blue-black hair, coiling crisply at the temples and clasping his cheeks like folded wings. So young and yet so formed a face, east and west at home in it, clean shaven like a Norman, olive-skinned like a Syrian, all [Cadfael's] memories of the Holy Land in one human countenance".
Cadfael works closely with his friend Deputy Sheriff (later Sheriff
) Hugh Beringar of Maesbury
in the north of the shire, often bending the Abbey rule to travel with or visit him. Beringar, introduced in the second novel, One Corpse Too Many
(1979), is Cadfael's main ally in the pursuit of justice. Beringar swore loyalty to King Stephen when he came of age; the king, although initially suspicious, soon came to trust Beringar and appointed him Deputy Sheriff, and finally Sheriff of Shropshire. At times, Beringar has to choose between loyalty to the Crown's justice and Cadfael's private view of the injustices of the world.
Cadfael is tolerant and caring towards most of his fellow brothers, but has several particularly close friendships. Brother Mark (Monk's Hood
, The Leper of Saint Giles
and The Summer of the Danes
) worked with Cadfael in the herbarium on joining the abbey. Cadfael describes him: "He was my right hand and a piece of my heart for three years, and knows me better than any man living". Cadfael is also close to Prior Leonard of Bromfield Abbey (The Virgin in the Ice
), Brother Paul, the master of the novices and schoolboys; Brother Edmund the infirmarer, who treats the sick and supervises the Abbey infirmary; and Brother Anselm the precentor
, who is in charge of music and the order of the worship services. Cadfael regards Brother Oswin, who becomes his assistant, almost as a son, caring for him deeply and revering his innocence.
He also has a special affection for the martyred maiden Saint Winifred who lies at the centre of the first book in the series, A Morbid Taste for Bones
, (though this was not originally the novel chosen to launch the chronicles), in which Cadfael takes part in an expedition to Wales to excavate the saint's bones and bring them to the Abbey in England, establishing it as a pilgrimage site of healing relics. Later recalling the event Cadfael says: "It was I who took her from the soil and I who restored her - and still that makes me glad - from the moment I uncovered those slender bones, I felt in mine that they only wished to be left in peace [...] the girl was Welsh, like me". Through the series he petitions her for help and talks with her in Welsh, as a down to earth steward of the common people, more accessible than a remote and mysterious God, a local channel of healing and benediction.
is the framework of Cadfael's home monastery of St. Peter and St. Paul, just across the river Severn from Shrewsbury
. It is noted that in the year 1141, under Abbot Radulfus, 53 brothers, seven novices and six school boys live at the Abbey, not including lay stewards and servants. Their days are structured by the selection of offices they follow; the gathering for prayer at Matins
(at midnight) and the following service of Lauds, Prime
at 6 am, Vespers at 6 pm and Compline
at 8 or 9 pm (depending on the season). The Benedictine order was originally created by Saint Benedict
to combine monastic fellowship with physical exertion, mental stimulation and spiritual duties, holding that exercise and physical work would help lead to a healthy soul. It marked a radical departure from earlier orders, establishing a cenobitic
community life that was not idealised as austere or penitential. The looser structure, run at the discretion of the abbot, would suit well a man like Cadfael who was in the secular world for forty years before entering the order. It is natural enough that Cadfael, as a world weary soldier, should seek out that flexibility of this particular order as a conversus.
As the monastery's highly literate herbalist/gardener, holding a rare skill set in demand in both town and abbey, Cadfael is the equivalent of the mediaeval physician, possessing an independent authority that sets him aside from his fellows. This enables him to travel, building secular relationships and at times challenging powers within the strong feudal hierarchy. It is the "corporeal works of mercy" that engage Cadfael's Christianity, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and healing the sick, rather than preaching. He favours a simple, tolerant and forgiving understanding of Christianity, his practice tending to be based on experience of human frailty rather than contemplation of religious texts. When Shrewsbury is visited by an Inquisition
-style orthodoxy (The Heretic’s Apprentice) or a harshly punitive version of Christianity (The Raven in the Foregate), the stories end with a reaffirmation of the positive, tolerant faith espoused by Cadfael. In a sense he "creates his own theology" to suit the situation; Pargeter herself agreed that Cadfael is a situational ethicist, basing his actions in any given situation on "the right thing to do" rather than on a strict moral code.
The two abbots that rule during Cafael's time at the Abbey of St Peter and St Paul, Abbot Heribert (1127–1138) and abbot Radulfus (1138–1148), are both real historical figures. The supercilious "abbot in waiting", Prior Robert Pennant (1148–1167)Kaler (1998) p30 succeeded Radulfus some time after the end of the Cadfael Chronicles. The "anxious sweetness" of the fictional Abbot Heribert is set against the proud and ambitious Prior Robert, who Kollman argues "almost becomes the true villain of the series". Both superiors serve to highlight Abbot Radulfus as the median, the ideal abbot, with whom Cadfael has a deep empathy and understanding. Both Robert and Heribert also serve to show the cloistered and worldly perils, respectively, that Cadfael balances through his "constant war of conscience". Peters shows Cadfael at the heart of healthy, fulfilling monastic life, which may be flawed by its humanity but is well-intentioned.Kaler (1998) p37 It is Cadfael, the fulcrum, who helps to maintain the health and perspective that overcomes crises of justice that arise from within and without the community. It may be argued that Peters creates him as a version of St Benedict's vision of holy fellowship and service.
He is neutral in political matters, refusing to take sides in the civil war between the Empress Maud and King Stephen for control of England. His abjuration of politics is influenced by his holy vows as a monastic brother, but also comes of having fought and seen destruction by political will during the crusades. Cadfael is on good terms with people on both sides of the English war – his best friend Hugh is a staunch supporter of King Stephen, his son Olivier just as much committed to the Empress Maud. Cadfael explains his neutrality by saying "In my measure there's little to choose between two such monarchs, but much to be said for keeping a man's fealty and word." When witnessing a failed peace conference, Cadfael forms the opinion that Maud's half-brother Robert
would have made a better monarch then both of them, but for his illegitimate birth (which would not have debarred Robert in Wales, with its law having a different definition of a bastard
). However, Cadfel keeps this opinion to himself..
Cadfael has close contacts with the other Welsh people living in Shrewsbury including the boatman Madog, who has an important role in several books. Cadfael likes to speak in Welsh, is exuberant when getting an opportunity to go back into Wales, and feels closer to many Welsh ways of doing things than Anglo-Norman ways: for example, letting all of a man's acknowledged children, whether born in or out of wedlock, share in his inheritance; and recognizing degrees of crime, including homicide
, which allows leniency to killers in certain circumstances, rather than the inflexibly mandatory capital punishment of Norman Law, administered reluctantly by Hugh Beringar and rigidly by his superior, Sheriff Gilbert Prestcote. Cadfael has, however, voluntarily chosen to join an English monastery rather than a Welsh one, and make his home in England – although close to the borders with Wales - his secular history having made him too cosmopolitan to blend in his own homeland. As a Welshman in England, and in concord with his vows, he remains in the world, yet not of it.
Historical whodunnit
The historical whodunnit is a sub-genre of historical fiction which bears elements of the classical mystery novel, in which the central plot involves a crime and the setting has some historical significance. One of the big areas of debate within the community of fans is what makes a given setting...
written between 1977 and 1994 by the linguist-scholar Edith Pargeter
Edith Pargeter
Edith Mary Pargeter, OBE, BEM , also known by her nom de plume Ellis Peters, was a British author of works in many categories, especially history and historical fiction, and was also honoured for her translations of Czech classics; she is probably best known for her murder mysteries, both...
under the name "Ellis Peters". The character of Cadfael himself is a Welsh Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
monk living at Shrewsbury Abbey
Shrewsbury Abbey
The Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, commonly known as Shrewsbury Abbey, was a Benedictine monastery founded in 1083 by the Norman Earl of Shrewsbury, Roger de Montgomery, in Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire, England.-Background:...
, in western England, in the first half of the 12th century. The historically accurate stories are set between about 1135 and about 1145, during "The Anarchy
The Anarchy
The Anarchy or The Nineteen-Year Winter was a period of English history during the reign of King Stephen, which was characterised by civil war and unsettled government...
", the destructive contest for the crown of England between King Stephen and Empress Maud.
As a character, Cadfael "combines the curious mind of a scientist/pharmacist with a knight-errant", entering the cloister in his forties after being both a soldier and a sailor, this experience gives him an array of talents and skills useful in monastic life. He is a skillful observer of human nature, inquisitive by nature, energetic, a talented herbalist (work he learned in the Holy Lands), and has an innate, although modern, sense of justice and fair-play. Abbots call upon him as a medical examiner, detective, doctor, and diplomat. His worldly knowledge, although useful, gets him in trouble with the more doctrinaire characters of the series, and the seeming contradiction between the secular and the spiritual worlds forms a central and continuing theme of the stories.
Name origin and pronunciation
Cadfael is a traditional Welsh name derived from the words ("battle") and ("prince"). Peters wrote that she found the name "Cadfael" only once in the records, given as the baptismal name of Saint Cadog, who later abandoned it. There are differing pronunciations of the name Cadfael; Ellis Peters intended the "f" to be pronounced as an English "v", and suggests it be pronounced "CAD-vel", although normal Welsh pronunciation would be ˈkadvaɨl (close to "CAD-vile"). The name is commonly mispronounced ˈkædfaɪl "CAD-file" in English, and Peters once remarked that she should have included a guide for this and other names in the series that have uncommon pronunciations.Background
Cadfael, the central character of the Cadfael Chronicles, is a BenedictineBenedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
monk and herbalist
Herbalist
An herbalist is:#A person whose life is dedicated to the economic or medicinal uses of plants.#One skilled in the harvesting and collection of medicinal plants ....
at Shrewsbury Abbey
Shrewsbury Abbey
The Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, commonly known as Shrewsbury Abbey, was a Benedictine monastery founded in 1083 by the Norman Earl of Shrewsbury, Roger de Montgomery, in Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire, England.-Background:...
in Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
, the county town of the English county of Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
. Cadfael himself is a Welshman and uses patronymics in the Welsh fashion, naming himself Cadfael ap Meilyr ap Dafydd (Cadfael son of Meilyr son of Dafydd) as his full name.
He was born in May 1080 into a villein community in Trefriw
Trefriw
Trefriw is a village in Conwy County Borough, Wales. It lies on the river Conwy in North Wales, a few miles south of the site of the Roman fort of Canovium, sited at Caerhun. The parish population in 2001 was 924....
, Conwy
Conwy
Conwy is a walled market town and community in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales. The town, which faces Deganwy across the River Conwy, formerly lay in Gwynedd and prior to that in Caernarfonshire. Conwy has a population of 14,208...
, in North Wales, and had at least one sibling, a younger brother. Rather than wait to inherit the right to till a section of land, he left his home at the age of fourteen as servant to a wool-trader, and thus became acquainted with Shrewsbury early in life. In 1096, he embarked on the First Crusade
First Crusade
The First Crusade was a military expedition by Western Christianity to regain the Holy Lands taken in the Muslim conquest of the Levant, ultimately resulting in the recapture of Jerusalem...
to the Holy Land in the force commanded by Robert II, Duke of Normandy
Robert II, Duke of Normandy
Robert the Magnificent , also called Robert the Devil , was the Duke of Normandy from 1027 until his death. Owing to uncertainty over the numbering of the Dukes of Normandy he is usually called Robert I, but sometimes Robert II with his ancestor Rollo as Robert I...
. After the victorious end to the Crusade, he lived for several years in Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
, earning a living as a sailor, before returning to England around 1114 to find that Richildis Vaughan, to whom he had been unofficially engaged, had tired of waiting and had married a Shrewsbury craftsman. Cadfael became a man at arms (foot soldier) in the war waged by Henry I of England
Henry I of England
Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
to secure the union with Normandy, and returned again to England in the service of a nobleman, Roger Mauduit, who kidnapped Prior Heribert of Shrewsbury Abbey in an attempt to foil a lawsuit. Cadfael freed Heribert and, being released from Mauduit's service, laid aside his arms and proceeded with Heribert to Shrewsbury Abbey.
In The Devil's Novice
The Devil's Novice
The Devil's Novice is a medieval mystery novel by Ellis Peters. It is the eighth in the Brother Cadfael series.-Plot summary:Meriet Aspley, the younger son of country nobleman Leoric Aspley, petitions Shrewsbury Abbey to become a monk...
, Cadfael describes his life
"I have seen death in many shapes, I've been a soldier and a sailor in my time; in the east, in the Crusade, and for ten years after JerusalemSiege of Jerusalem (1099)The Siege of Jerusalem took place from June 7 to July 15, 1099 during the First Crusade. The Crusaders stormed and captured the city from Fatimid Egypt.-Background:...
fell. I've seen men killed in battle. Come to that, I've killed men in battle. I never took joy in it, that I can remember, but I never drew back from it either. [...] I was with Robert of Normandy's company and a mongrel lot we were, BritonBritons (historical)The Britons were the Celtic people culturally dominating Great Britain from the Iron Age through the Early Middle Ages. They spoke the Insular Celtic language known as British or Brythonic...
s, NormansNormansThe Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
, FlemingFlemish peopleThe Flemings or Flemish are the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Belgium, where they are mostly found in the northern region of Flanders. They are one of two principal cultural-linguistic groups in Belgium, the other being the French-speaking Walloons...
s, ScotScotA Scot is a member of an ethnic group indigenous to Scotland, derived from the Latin name of Irish raiders, the Scoti.Scot may also refer to:People with the given name Scot:* Scot Brantley , American football linebacker...
s, Bretons - name them, they were there! After the city was settled and BaldwinBaldwin I of JerusalemBaldwin I of Jerusalem, formerly Baldwin I of Edessa, born Baldwin of Boulogne , 1058? – 2 April 1118, was one of the leaders of the First Crusade, who became the first Count of Edessa and then the second ruler and first titled King of Jerusalem...
crowned, most of us went home over three or four years, but I had taken to the sea by then, and I stayed. There were pirates ranged those coasts, we always had work to do. [...] I served as a free man-at-arms for a while, and then I was ripe, and it was time. But I had had my way in the world. [Now] I grow herbs and dry them and make remedies for all the ills that visit us. [...] To heal men, after years of injuring them? What could be more fitting? A man does what he must do."
Secular experience
Cadfael became a monk only in middle age and, as a result, is more familiar with the secular world outside the monastery than most of his brother monks. His personality reflects more modern, pragmatic attitudes and progressive ethics than those of his time, which often puts him in conflict with his brethren, particularly with his superior PriorPrior
Prior is an ecclesiastical title, derived from the Latin adjective for 'earlier, first', with several notable uses.-Monastic superiors:A Prior is a monastic superior, usually lower in rank than an Abbot. In the Rule of St...
Robert and Robert's clerk Brother Jerome, who disapprove of Cadfael for his casual attitude toward rules and for the privileges that are allowed him by their Abbot. In the stories, Brother Cadfael regularly disobeys the heads of his abbey, acts to bring about his own sense of compassionate justice (as against church or feudal law), and does not condemn relationships outside wedlock. Abbot Heribert and his successor Radulfus recognise Cadfael's unusual skills garnered from a long life as soldier, herbalist, lover, sailor and traveller. Having "lived half his life in battles", Peters, Ellis (1995) Saint Peter's Fair
Saint Peter's Fair
Saint Peter's Fair is a Historical whodunnit by Ellis Peters. It is the fourth novel in the Brother Cadfael series of mysteries. The story is set between July and September of the year 1139, during The Anarchy, in the English town of Shrewsbury....
Warner Futura Books pp26-28 ISBN 0-7515-1104-8 they deploy him as detective, medical examiner, diplomatic envoy (to the Welsh princes), and counsel. Abbot Radulfus, who is himself a shrewd and worldly man, allows Cadfael a certain degree of independence and appreciates that there are circumstances under which the rules of the Order must be bent in order to serve a greater and more practical good. Though indulgent to a certain degree, his patience with Cadfael is not limitless; he reprimands Cadfael when he feels that his lack of monastic discipline and obedience have been excessive and unwarranted.
Relationships
On his many travels before the chronicles open, Cadfael had relationships with at least three women: Bianca, a Venetian girl; Ariana, a Greek boat girl; and Mariam, a young Syrian widow, with whom he lived for many years in AntiochAntioch
Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the...
. Through the course of the stories, it emerges that Mariam had a son by Cadfael, although he only comes to realise he is a father by accident (The Virgin in the Ice). After Cadfael takes vows, he has a close affection for at least two young women: Sioned, the daughter of a Welsh lord (A Morbid Taste for Bones) and Godith Adeney (One Corpse Too Many). He also enjoys a platonic relationship with the equally worldly Benedictine nun, Sister Magdalen (formerly Avice of Thornbury) of the nunnery close by at Godric's Ford (The Leper of St. Giles, Dead Man's Ransom, The Rose Rent.) His former fiancée Richildis, now widowed, briefly re-appears in his life (Monk's Hood).
Born in Antioch, and named Daoud, Cadfael's son never knew his father, but his mother Mariam always described Cadfael in loving terms. Based on this praise, Daoud decides to embrace his father's Christianity rather than his mother's Islamic faith, and takes the name Olivier de Bretagne. After Mariam dies, Olivier offers his service to a crusading noble, and quickly becomes his favourite squire (The Virgin in the Ice). His master supports the Empress Maud, which places him on the opposing side to Cadfael's friend Hugh Beringar, though they eventually reconcile their differences. Olivier is presented as the gracious knight and paladin: skilled and brave in battle, 'fiercely beautiful', resourceful, resilient, generous and chivalrous; he risks his life to save an enemy who had been keeping him imprisoned in a dungeon (Brother Cadfael's Penance). His name echoes that of the companion of Roland
Roland
Roland was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. Historically, Roland was military governor of the Breton March, with responsibility for defending the frontier of Francia against the Bretons...
, hero of the great Medieval heroic epics. Olivier comes closer than any other character in the series to fulfilling the ideals of the French-Norman culture, "almost more Norman than the Normans", perhaps because he has consciously chosen it. In The Pilgrim of Hate he is described as having "a long, spare wide-browed face, with a fine scimitar of a nose and a subtle bow of a mouth and the fierce, fearless, golden eyes of a hawk. A head capped closely with curving blue-black hair, coiling crisply at the temples and clasping his cheeks like folded wings. So young and yet so formed a face, east and west at home in it, clean shaven like a Norman, olive-skinned like a Syrian, all [Cadfael's] memories of the Holy Land in one human countenance".
Cadfael works closely with his friend Deputy Sheriff (later Sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
) Hugh Beringar of Maesbury
Maesbury
Maesbury is a small scattered community in Shropshire, England, south of the town of Oswestry, falling within the Oswestry Rural parish.Maesbury traditionally consists of five hamlets: Ball, Gwernybrenin, Newbridge, Maesbury and Maesbury Marsh, though the wider area now includes Aston and...
in the north of the shire, often bending the Abbey rule to travel with or visit him. Beringar, introduced in the second novel, One Corpse Too Many
One Corpse Too Many
One Corpse Too Many is a medieval mystery novel set in the summer of 1138 by Ellis Peters, first published in 1979. It was adapted for television in 1994 by Central for ITV...
(1979), is Cadfael's main ally in the pursuit of justice. Beringar swore loyalty to King Stephen when he came of age; the king, although initially suspicious, soon came to trust Beringar and appointed him Deputy Sheriff, and finally Sheriff of Shropshire. At times, Beringar has to choose between loyalty to the Crown's justice and Cadfael's private view of the injustices of the world.
Cadfael is tolerant and caring towards most of his fellow brothers, but has several particularly close friendships. Brother Mark (Monk's Hood
Monk's Hood
Monk's Hood is a medieval mystery novel by Ellis Peters, first published in 1980. It was adapted for television in 1994 by Central for ITV. It is the third novel in the Brother Cadfael series.-Plot summary:...
, The Leper of Saint Giles
The Leper of Saint Giles
The Leper of Saint Giles is a medieval mystery novel by Ellis Peters, first published in 1981. It was adapted for television in 1994 by Central for ITV. It is the fifth novel in the Brother Cadfael series.-Plot summary:...
and The Summer of the Danes
The Summer of the Danes
The Summer of the Danes is a medieval mystery novel by Ellis Peters. It is the eighteenth in the Brother Cadfael series, and was first published in 1991.-Plot summary:...
) worked with Cadfael in the herbarium on joining the abbey. Cadfael describes him: "He was my right hand and a piece of my heart for three years, and knows me better than any man living". Cadfael is also close to Prior Leonard of Bromfield Abbey (The Virgin in the Ice
The Virgin in the Ice
The Virgin in the Ice is a medieval mystery novel by Ellis Peters, first published in 1982. It was adapted for television in 1995 by Central for ITV. It is the sixth novel in the Brother Cadfael series.-Plot summary:...
), Brother Paul, the master of the novices and schoolboys; Brother Edmund the infirmarer, who treats the sick and supervises the Abbey infirmary; and Brother Anselm the precentor
Precentor
A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is "præcentor", from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" ....
, who is in charge of music and the order of the worship services. Cadfael regards Brother Oswin, who becomes his assistant, almost as a son, caring for him deeply and revering his innocence.
He also has a special affection for the martyred maiden Saint Winifred who lies at the centre of the first book in the series, A Morbid Taste for Bones
A Morbid Taste for Bones
A Morbid Taste for Bones is a medieval mystery novel by Ellis Peters, first published in 1977. It was adapted for television in 1996 by Central for ITV. It is the first novel in the Brother Cadfael series.-Plot summary:...
, (though this was not originally the novel chosen to launch the chronicles), in which Cadfael takes part in an expedition to Wales to excavate the saint's bones and bring them to the Abbey in England, establishing it as a pilgrimage site of healing relics. Later recalling the event Cadfael says: "It was I who took her from the soil and I who restored her - and still that makes me glad - from the moment I uncovered those slender bones, I felt in mine that they only wished to be left in peace [...] the girl was Welsh, like me". Through the series he petitions her for help and talks with her in Welsh, as a down to earth steward of the common people, more accessible than a remote and mysterious God, a local channel of healing and benediction.
Faith
Formal religion necessarily forms a central part of Cadfael's life as a Benedictine monk, and religion provides the basis for his character as well as for the atmosphere and action of the stories. The Rule of St BenedictRule of St Benedict
The Rule of Saint Benedict is a book of precepts written by St. Benedict of Nursia for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. Since about the 7th century it has also been adopted by communities of women...
is the framework of Cadfael's home monastery of St. Peter and St. Paul, just across the river Severn from Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
. It is noted that in the year 1141, under Abbot Radulfus, 53 brothers, seven novices and six school boys live at the Abbey, not including lay stewards and servants. Their days are structured by the selection of offices they follow; the gathering for prayer at Matins
Matins
Matins is the early morning or night prayer service in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and Eastern Orthodox liturgies of the canonical hours. The term is also used in some Protestant denominations to describe morning services.The name "Matins" originally referred to the morning office also...
(at midnight) and the following service of Lauds, Prime
Prime (liturgy)
Prime, or the First Hour, is a fixed time of prayer of the traditional Divine Office , said at the first hour of daylight , between the morning Hour of Lauds and the 9 a.m. Hour of Terce. It is part of the Christian liturgies of Eastern Christianity, but in the Latin Rite it was suppressed by the...
at 6 am, Vespers at 6 pm and Compline
Compline
Compline is the final church service of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours. The English word Compline is derived from the Latin completorium, as Compline is the completion of the working day. The word was first used in this sense about the beginning of the 6th century by St...
at 8 or 9 pm (depending on the season). The Benedictine order was originally created by Saint Benedict
Benedict of Nursia
Saint Benedict of Nursia is a Christian saint, honored by the Roman Catholic Church as the patron saint of Europe and students.Benedict founded twelve communities for monks at Subiaco, about to the east of Rome, before moving to Monte Cassino in the mountains of southern Italy. There is no...
to combine monastic fellowship with physical exertion, mental stimulation and spiritual duties, holding that exercise and physical work would help lead to a healthy soul. It marked a radical departure from earlier orders, establishing a cenobitic
Cenobitic
Cenobitic monasticism is a monastic tradition that stresses community life. Often in the West, the community belongs to a religious order and the life of the cenobitic monk is regulated by a religious rule, a collection of precepts...
community life that was not idealised as austere or penitential. The looser structure, run at the discretion of the abbot, would suit well a man like Cadfael who was in the secular world for forty years before entering the order. It is natural enough that Cadfael, as a world weary soldier, should seek out that flexibility of this particular order as a conversus.
As the monastery's highly literate herbalist/gardener, holding a rare skill set in demand in both town and abbey, Cadfael is the equivalent of the mediaeval physician, possessing an independent authority that sets him aside from his fellows. This enables him to travel, building secular relationships and at times challenging powers within the strong feudal hierarchy. It is the "corporeal works of mercy" that engage Cadfael's Christianity, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and healing the sick, rather than preaching. He favours a simple, tolerant and forgiving understanding of Christianity, his practice tending to be based on experience of human frailty rather than contemplation of religious texts. When Shrewsbury is visited by an Inquisition
Inquisition
The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
-style orthodoxy (The Heretic’s Apprentice) or a harshly punitive version of Christianity (The Raven in the Foregate), the stories end with a reaffirmation of the positive, tolerant faith espoused by Cadfael. In a sense he "creates his own theology" to suit the situation; Pargeter herself agreed that Cadfael is a situational ethicist, basing his actions in any given situation on "the right thing to do" rather than on a strict moral code.
The two abbots that rule during Cafael's time at the Abbey of St Peter and St Paul, Abbot Heribert (1127–1138) and abbot Radulfus (1138–1148), are both real historical figures. The supercilious "abbot in waiting", Prior Robert Pennant (1148–1167)Kaler (1998) p30 succeeded Radulfus some time after the end of the Cadfael Chronicles. The "anxious sweetness" of the fictional Abbot Heribert is set against the proud and ambitious Prior Robert, who Kollman argues "almost becomes the true villain of the series". Both superiors serve to highlight Abbot Radulfus as the median, the ideal abbot, with whom Cadfael has a deep empathy and understanding. Both Robert and Heribert also serve to show the cloistered and worldly perils, respectively, that Cadfael balances through his "constant war of conscience". Peters shows Cadfael at the heart of healthy, fulfilling monastic life, which may be flawed by its humanity but is well-intentioned.Kaler (1998) p37 It is Cadfael, the fulcrum, who helps to maintain the health and perspective that overcomes crises of justice that arise from within and without the community. It may be argued that Peters creates him as a version of St Benedict's vision of holy fellowship and service.
Everyman
Cadfael is comfortable with Normans as well as Saxons and works across the ethnic divide. He moves easily among the Welsh and the English, speaking both languages, with freemen and villeins, with rich and poor burghers, with members of the low and high aristocracy, within the tribal and feudal communities, church hierarchies and secular, he talks freely with kings and princes. He travelled extensively in Muslim lands and voices respect for their culture and people. He lived with a Muslim woman and journeyed as a sailor. When a villein addresses him as "Master", Cadfael promptly corrects him: "No man's master, every man's brother, if you will."He is neutral in political matters, refusing to take sides in the civil war between the Empress Maud and King Stephen for control of England. His abjuration of politics is influenced by his holy vows as a monastic brother, but also comes of having fought and seen destruction by political will during the crusades. Cadfael is on good terms with people on both sides of the English war – his best friend Hugh is a staunch supporter of King Stephen, his son Olivier just as much committed to the Empress Maud. Cadfael explains his neutrality by saying "In my measure there's little to choose between two such monarchs, but much to be said for keeping a man's fealty and word." When witnessing a failed peace conference, Cadfael forms the opinion that Maud's half-brother Robert
Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester
Robert Fitzroy, 1st Earl of Gloucester was an illegitimate son of King Henry I of England. He was called "Rufus" and occasionally "de Caen", he is also known as Robert "the Consul"...
would have made a better monarch then both of them, but for his illegitimate birth (which would not have debarred Robert in Wales, with its law having a different definition of a bastard
Bastard
Bastard may refer to:* A child whose birth lacks legal legitimacy—that is, one born to a woman and a man who are not legally married* Bastard , illegitimacy in English law* Bastard , a blackletter typeface...
). However, Cadfel keeps this opinion to himself..
Cadfael has close contacts with the other Welsh people living in Shrewsbury including the boatman Madog, who has an important role in several books. Cadfael likes to speak in Welsh, is exuberant when getting an opportunity to go back into Wales, and feels closer to many Welsh ways of doing things than Anglo-Norman ways: for example, letting all of a man's acknowledged children, whether born in or out of wedlock, share in his inheritance; and recognizing degrees of crime, including homicide
Homicide
Homicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
, which allows leniency to killers in certain circumstances, rather than the inflexibly mandatory capital punishment of Norman Law, administered reluctantly by Hugh Beringar and rigidly by his superior, Sheriff Gilbert Prestcote. Cadfael has, however, voluntarily chosen to join an English monastery rather than a Welsh one, and make his home in England – although close to the borders with Wales - his secular history having made him too cosmopolitan to blend in his own homeland. As a Welshman in England, and in concord with his vows, he remains in the world, yet not of it.
Sources
- Green, Judith A. Henry I : King of England and Duke of Normandy. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2006.
- Kaler, Anne, K (ed) (1998) Cordially Yours, Brother Cadfael, Bowling Green State University Popular Press ISBN 087972773