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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
There are at least three separate crimes in this one: the theft, during a historic flood, of the bones of St. Winifred, whose presence at the abbey is responsible for both apparently genuine miracles and continued income; the robbery on the road of the wagon containing her reliquary; and eventually the murder of a young shepherd who might have been able to identify the mysterious figure, dressed as one of the brothers, who asked for help loading the parcel that contained the stolen saint. Continuing with the increased political edge of the later books, this contains a whole scene between Hugh, the sheriff, and Earl Robert of Leicester, in which the latter warns the former that the state of civil unrest in England between King Stephen and Empress Maud can't last, and that every man of authority will have to think carefully about how to end the strife in his own area. This reflects the final years of the war, where active hostilities were winding down and individual nobles were beginning to make peace agreements with each other. There's also a strong theme of the danger of a false vocation—two young men, at beginning and end, realise they don't belong in the cloister—plus interesting stuff about the lives of troubadors (including their urgent need for patronage) and the practice of enslaving (mostly) Celtic and Welsh captives, which, although condemned by the church, continued in the twelfth century. Certainly one of the better, more complex entries in this series. Source: local library #LoveYourLibrary
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Another great Cadfael mystery (what am I going to do when I finish this series?!).
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Too much of the supernatural for my taste, but still another relaxing entry in the series with the author’s very good writing.
A quote as applicable today as it was in the 1100’s:
“The need,” said Hugh, looking back and weighing words with care, “for all thinking men in this deadlocked contention to set about finding a means of doing away with factions, since neither faction has any hope of winning. The thing is becoming very simple: how to clamber out of a morass before the muck reaches our chins.”
A quote as applicable today as it was in the 1100’s:
“The need,” said Hugh, looking back and weighing words with care, “for all thinking men in this deadlocked contention to set about finding a means of doing away with factions, since neither faction has any hope of winning. The thing is becoming very simple: how to clamber out of a morass before the muck reaches our chins.”
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The Spring floods compel the brothers at the abbey to pack up religious treasures for removal to a dry, safe place until the waters recede. Current guests at the abbey assist with some of this urgent transfer of religious artifacts, including the reliquary of Saint Winifred, whose bones reside at the chapel.
Among the guests are a French troubador and his two companions, one an Irish lass enslaved to the troubador. Two Benedictine monks from the battered abbey at Ramsey, lately victimized by a predatory earl taking advantage of the political chaos of two warring royals, are also present, seeking assistance and donations to help rebuild their church and abbey. Young novice Tutilo intrigues Cadfael, who suspects the too-innocent, wide-eyed youngster with remarkable musical gifts of not being best suited to his chosen vocation. Tutilo also catches the eye of Daalny, the slave girl.
When the Saint's reliquary disappears the night of the flood's peak, the abbey is at a loss to imagine how she could have been removed, and for what purpose. When a wagon-load of goods and money bound for Ramsey is attacked by marauding mercenaries, the saint is found among the dumped contents of the wagon left by the roadside. Suspicion inevitably falls on Tutilo, who voiced how beneficial to Ramsey would be their own saint.
Carried to the castle of the nearby Robert Beaumont, Earl of Leicester, the saint is returned to the abbey, but seemingly for his own amusement, Robert lays claim to the saint when the Ramsey party avers that Tutilo acted at the saint's own urging; the argument that she influenced her journey applies equally to her rescue and arrival at the earl's castle, after all.
When a possible witness, who might identify who ordered help loading the reliquary in the wagon, is murdered on his way to the abbey, Cadfael has a double crisis to resolve-- can he both catch a killer, and prevent the exposure of a long-hidden hoax?
I assume an earlier book in this series details the arrival of St. Winifred to the abbey in Shrewsbury, but was intrigued to read the many hints in this volume as to a substitution enacted by a younger Brother Cadfael. He continues to trod a path that straddles the religious and the secular. This volume includes a drama based on the rite of sortes Biblicae, the act of letting the Gospel decide a dispute by opening the Book to a random page and blindly selecting a verse. Even Cadfael is amazed at what appears to be the Saint herself directing the disposition of her resting place, chastising those who would have removed her. In the midst of this religious uproar, we are reminded that murder is most often down to all-too-human base emotions.
This series is a delight. I hope I can track down more volumes soon.
Among the guests are a French troubador and his two companions, one an Irish lass enslaved to the troubador. Two Benedictine monks from the battered abbey at Ramsey, lately victimized by a predatory earl taking advantage of the political chaos of two warring royals, are also present, seeking assistance and donations to help rebuild their church and abbey. Young novice Tutilo intrigues Cadfael, who suspects the too-innocent, wide-eyed youngster with remarkable musical gifts of not being best suited to his chosen vocation. Tutilo also catches the eye of Daalny, the slave girl.
When the Saint's reliquary disappears the night of the flood's peak, the abbey is at a loss to imagine how she could have been removed, and for what purpose. When a wagon-load of goods and money bound for Ramsey is attacked by marauding mercenaries, the saint is found among the dumped contents of the wagon left by the roadside. Suspicion inevitably falls on Tutilo, who voiced how beneficial to Ramsey would be their own saint.
Carried to the castle of the nearby Robert Beaumont, Earl of Leicester, the saint is returned to the abbey, but seemingly for his own amusement, Robert lays claim to the saint when the Ramsey party avers that Tutilo acted at the saint's own urging; the argument that she influenced her journey applies equally to her rescue and arrival at the earl's castle, after all.
When a possible witness, who might identify who ordered help loading the reliquary in the wagon, is murdered on his way to the abbey, Cadfael has a double crisis to resolve-- can he both catch a killer, and prevent the exposure of a long-hidden hoax?
I assume an earlier book in this series details the arrival of St. Winifred to the abbey in Shrewsbury, but was intrigued to read the many hints in this volume as to a substitution enacted by a younger Brother Cadfael. He continues to trod a path that straddles the religious and the secular. This volume includes a drama based on the rite of sortes Biblicae, the act of letting the Gospel decide a dispute by opening the Book to a random page and blindly selecting a verse. Even Cadfael is amazed at what appears to be the Saint herself directing the disposition of her resting place, chastising those who would have removed her. In the midst of this religious uproar, we are reminded that murder is most often down to all-too-human base emotions.
This series is a delight. I hope I can track down more volumes soon.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced