Chronicles of Brother Cadfael

22 primary works • 41 total works

A Rare Benedictine

by Ellis Peters

Published 22 September 1988

'Brother Cadfael sprang to life suddenly and unexpectedly when he was already approaching sixty, mature, experienced, fully armed and seventeen years tonsures.' So wrote Ellis Peters in her introduction to A RARE BENEDICTINE - three vintage tales of intrigue and treachery, featuring the monastic sleuth who has become a cult figure of crime fiction. The story of Cadfael's entry into the monastery at Shrewsbury has been known hitherto only to a few readers; now his myriad fans can discover the chain of events that let him into the Benedictine Order. Lavishly adorned with Clifford Harper's beautiful illustrations, these three tales show Cadfael at the height of his sleuthing form, with all the complexities of plot, vividly evoked Shropshire backgrounds and warm understanding of the frailties of human nature that have made Ellis Peters and international bestseller.

A Morbid Taste for Bones

by Ellis Peters

Published August 1979

In 1137 the ambitious head of Shrewsbury Abbey has decided to acquire the remains of Saint Winifred for his Benedictine order. Brother Cadfael is part of the expedition sent to her final resting place in Wales and they find the villagers passionately divided by the Benedictines' offer for the saint's relics. Canny, wise and all too worldly, Cadfael isn't surprised when this taste for bones leads to bloody murder. The leading opponent to moving the grave has been shot dead with a mysterious arrow, and some say Winifred herself dealt the blow. Brother Cadfael knows that a carnal hand did the killings, but he doesn't know that his plan to unearth a murderer may dig up a case of love and justice, where the wages of sin may be scandal - or his own ruin.

One Corpse Too Many

by Ellis Peters

Published 9 October 1980

Brother Cadfael is called upon to administer rites to some hanged prisoners. He is told there are 94 corpses, but his own careful count reveals 95. Once again he finds himself investigating murder.

Monk's Hood

by Ellis Peters

Published August 1982

Gervase Bonel, with his wife and servants, is a guest of Shrewsbury Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul when he is suddenly taken ill. Luckily, the Abbey boasts the services of the clever and kindly Brother Cadfael, a skilled herbalist. 

Cadfael hurries to the man's bedside, only to be confronted by two very different surprises. In Master Bonel's wife, the good monk recognises Richildis, whom he loved many years ago before he took his vows, and Master Bonel has been fatallly poisoned by a dose of deadly monk's-hood oil from Cadfael's herbarium. 

The Sherrif is convinced that the murdered is Richildis' son Edwin, who had reasons aplenty to hate his stepfather. But Cadfael, guided in part by his tender concern for a woman to whom he was once betrothed, is certain of her son's innocence. 

Using his knowledge of both herbs and the human heart, Cadfael deciphers a deadly recipe for murder.

St. Peter's Fair

by Ellis Peters

Published March 1983

St. Peter's Fair is a grand, festive event, attracting merchants from across England and beyond. There is a pause in the civil war wracking the country in the summer of 1139, and the fair promises to bring some much-needed gaiety to the town of Shrewsbury. — Until, that is, the body of a wealthy merchant is found murdered in the river Severn. Was Thomas of Bristol the victim of murderous thieves? And, if so, why were his valuables abandoned nearby?

Brother Cadfael, that shrewd but kindly monk, offers to help the merchant's lovely niece Emma. But while he is searching for the killer, Thomas of Bristol's wares are ransacked and two more men are murdered. Emma almost certainly knows more than she is telling -- as others will soon realize. Cadfael desperately races to save the young girl, knowing that in a country at war with itself, betrayal can come from any direction -- and even good intentions can kill.

The Leper of Saint Giles

by Ellis Peters

Published September 1983

Brother Cadfael has had no time to think about the grand wedding which is to take place in the church at Shrewsbury Abbey and is causing such excitement in the city. The groom is an aging nobleman; the bride a very young woman coerced into the marriage by her greedy guardians. But it soon becomes apparent that the groom, Huon de Domville, is a cold, harsh man -- in stark contrast to his beautiful bride-to-be. Before the wedding can take place, a savage killing occurs, setting Brother Cadfael the task of determining the truth, which turns out to be strange indeed.

The Virgin in the Ice

by Ellis Peters

Published 12 March 1984

It is winter 1139 and the tranquil life in the monastery gardens in Shrewsbury is again interrupted by violence. Raging civil war has sent refugees fleeing north from Worcester. 

Among them are two orphans from a noble family, a boy of thirteen and an eighteen year old girl of great beauty, with their companion, a young Benedictine nun. But the trio have disappeared somewhere in the wild countryside. 

Cadfael fears for these three lost lambs, but his skills are needed to tend to a wounded monk, found naked and bleeding at the roadside. Why this holy man has been attacked and what his fevered ravings reveal soon give brother Cadfael a clue to the fate of the missing travellers and he sets out to find them. The search will lead him to discover a chilling and terrible murder, and a tale of passion gone astray.

The Sanctuary Sparrow

by Ellis Peters

Published 12 October 1984

In the gentle Shrewsbury spring of 1140, the midnight matins at the Benedictine abbey suddenly reverberate with an unholy sound- a hunt in full cry. Persued by a drunken mob, the quarry is running for its life. When the frantic creature bursts into the nave to claim sanctuary, Brother Cadfael finds himself fighting off armed townsmen to save a terrified young man. Accused of robbery and murder is Liliwin, a wandering minstrel who performed at the wedding of a local goldsmith's son. The cold light of morning, however, will show his supposed victim, the miserly craftsman, still lives, although a strongbox lies empty. Brother Cadfael believes Liliwin is innocent, but finding the truth and the treasure before Liliwin's respite in sanctuary runs out may uncover a deadlier sin than thievery- a desperate love that nothing, not even the threat of hanging can stop.

Devil's Novice

by Ellis Peters

Published 1 December 1984

Outside the pale of the abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, in September of the year of our Lord 1140, a priestly emissary for King Stephen has been reported missing. But inside the pale, Brother Cadfael's attention is turned on Meriet, a proud, secretive, nineteen year old novice who has been delivered to the abbey by his over-bearing father the Lord of Aspley, to begin a religious vocation. 

Meriet, meek by day, is so racked by dreams at night that his howl earns him the nickname of the Devil's Novice. Shunned and feared, Meriet is soon linked to the missing priest's fate. 

Only Brother Cadfael believes in Meriet's innocence, and only the good sleuth can uncover the truth before a boy's pure passion, not evil intent, leads a novice to the noose.

Dead Man's Ransom

by Ellis Peters

Published 31 December 1984

In the February of the year of our Lord 1141, men march home from war to Shrewsbury, but the captured Sheriff Gilbert Prestcote is not among them. Elis, a young Welsh prisoner, is, and he is delivered to the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul to begin a tale that will test Brother Cadfael's sense of justice...and his heart. By good fortune, it seems, the prisoner can be exchanged as Sheriff Prestcote's ransom. What none expects is that good-natured Elis will be struck down by Cupid's arrow. The sherrif's own daughter holds him in thrall, and she too, is blind with passion. Now regaining her father means losing her lover. But then the sheriff ailing and frail, is brought to the abbey's infirmary and murdered there. Suspicion falls on the prisoner, who only has his Welsh honour to gain Brother Cadfael's help. And Cadfael gives it, not knowing the truth will be a trial for his own soul.

The Pilgrim of Hate

by Ellis Peters

Published 1 December 1984

In the year of our Lord 1141, civil war over England's throne leaves a legacy of violence -- and the murder of a knight dear to Brother Cadfael. And with Gentle bud-stewn May, a flood of pilgrims comes to the celebration of Saint Winifred at the at the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, carrying with it many strange souls...and perhaps the knight's killer.

An Excellent Mystery

by Ellis Peters

Published 1 December 1985

In the year of our Lord 1141, August comes in golden as a lion, and two monks ride into the Benedictine abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul bringing with them disturbing news of war- and a mystery. The strangers tell how the strife between the Empress Maud and King Stephen has destroyed the town of Winchester and their priory. Now Brother Humilis, who is handsome, gaunt and very ill, and Brother Fidelis, youthful, comely- and mute- must seek refuge at Shrewsbury.

From the moment he meets them, Brother Cadfael senses that they are bound by something deeper than their common vows. What the link is he can only guess; what it will lead to is beyond imagining. But as Brother Humilis's health fails, Brother Cadfael faces a poignant test of his discretion and his beliefs as he unravels a secret so great it can destroy a life, a future, and a holy order.

The Raven in the Foregate

by Ellis Peters

Published 1 December 1986

Christmas, 1141 AD. Abbot Radulfus returns from London, bringing with him a priest for the vacant living of Holy Cross (known as the Foregate), a man of presence, scholarship and discipline, but neither humility nor the common touch. When he is found drowned in the mill-pond, suspicion is cast in many directions, not least towards a young man who came in the priest's train, sent to work in Brother Cadfael's garden. For he has little obvious priestly calling. Indeed, he soon attracts the friendship of a girl both beautiful and formidable.

To Brother Cadfael, once worldly, now dedicated, if gently cynical, is left the familiar task of sorting the complicated strands which define guilt and innocence.

The Rose Rent

by Ellis Peters

Published 2 October 1986

A late spring in 1142 brings dismay to the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, for there may be no roses by June the twenty-second. On that day the young widow Perle must receive one white rose as rent for the house she has given to benefit the abbey or the contract is void. When nature finally complies, a pious monk is sent to pay the rent, but discovers that the rose bush has been destroyed and he is then found murdered inside it. The abbey's wise herbalist, Brother Cadfael, follows the trail of bloodied petals. He knows the lovely widow's dowry is far greater with her house included, and she will likely wed again. But before Cadfael can ponder if a greedy suitor has done this dreadful deed, another crime is committed. Now the good monk must thread his way through a tangle more torturous than the widow's thorns.

The Hermit of Eyton Forest

by Ellis Peters

Published 25 June 1987

The year is 1142, and all England is in the iron grip of a civil war. And within the sheltered cloisters of the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, there begins a chain of events no less momentous than the political upheavals of the outside world. First, there is the sad demise of Richard Ludel, Lord of Eyton, whose ten year old son and heir, also named Richard, is a pupil at the Abbey. Supported by the Abbot Radulfus, the boy refuses to surrender his new powers to Dionysia, his furious, formidable grandmother. A stranger to the region is the hermit Cuthred, who enjoys the protection of Lady Dionysia, and whose young companion Hycacinth, befriends Richard. Despite his reputation for holiness, Cuthred's arrival heralds a series of mishaps for the monks. When Richard disappears and a corspe is found in Eyton forest, Brother Cadfael is once more forced to leave the tranquility of his herb garden and devote his knowledge of human nature to tracking down a ruthless murderer.

The Confession of Brother Haluin

by Ellis Peters

Published 24 March 1988

In the winter of 1142, snow blankets the Bendictine Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul causing damage to the guest hall, and the brothers must repair its roof before the danger worsens. 

The treacherously icy conditions are to prove nigh fatal for Brother Haulin when he slips from the roof in a terrible fall, sustaining such grave injuries that he makes his deathbed confession to the Abbot and Brother Cadfael. 

A startling story of trespasses hard for God or man to forgive emerges. But Haulin does not die. On his recovery, he sets out on a journey of expiation, with Cadfael as his sole companion. An arduous trip, it leads to horrifying discoveries, and to murder...

The Heretic's Apprentice

by Ellis Peters

Published 23 February 1989

In the summer of 1143, William of Lythwood returns to Shrewsbury in a coffin... his pilgrimage at last at an end. William's young attendant, Elave, accompanies the body and sets about trying to secure a burial place on the grounds of the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, despite William's once having been reproved for 'heretical views.'

Elave too, has evidentally learned scepticism. After he drunkenly expresses heretical opinions, the mighty prelate Gerbert brings capital charges against him. The beautiful Fortunata, whom Elave adores, becoms a reluctant witness for the prosecution.

When violent death follows, Brother Cadfael is once again called from his herbiary to aid his old friend Hugh Beringar, the sherriff. Cadfael's new task is twofold- there are charges of heresy to be rebutted as well as a murder to be solved...

The Potter's Field

by Ellis Peters

Published 7 September 1989

The body of a woman is unearthed in the freshly plowed fields that once belonged to a local potter -- now a Benedictine monk. The woman is revealed to be his beautiful young wife, thought to have run away. Medieval Benedictine monk Brother Cadfael must determine if one of his own order is guilty of the crime.

The Summer of the Danes

by Ellis Peters

Published 11 April 1991

In the summer of 1144, a strange calm has settled over England. The armies of King Stephen & Empress Maud, the two royal cousins contending for the throne, have temporarily exhausted each other. On the whole, Brother Cadfael considers peace a blessing & agrees to accompany a friend to Wales. When Cadfael is captured by an army of Danish mercenaries, he finds himself in the midst of a brotherly quarrel that could plunge an entire kingdom into deadly chaos.

The Holy Thief

by Ellis Peters

Published 25 August 1992

In the chilly, damp Autumn of 1144, two groups of visitors seek the hospitality of the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, and Brother Cadfael fears the trouble has come in with them. Among the first arrivals is Brother Tutilo, a young Benedictine with a guileless face and- to Brother Cadfael's shrewd eyes- a mischievous intelligence. The second group, a ribald French troubadour, his servant and a girl with the voice of an angel, seems to Brother Cadfael a catalyst for disaster. All of Cadfael's fears become manifest as rising flood waters endanger the abbey's most sacred relic, the remains of Saint Winfred. When the bones disappear and a dead body is found, Brother Cadfael knows that carnal and spiritual intrigues are afoot. Now, in a world that believes in signs and miracles, Brother Cadfael needs his prayers answered- as well as some heavenly guidance to crucial clues- to catch a killer hell-bent on murder.