A Morbid Taste for Bones (The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael)

Cadfael Ora Pro NobisBy Bob Gelms This is the second installment of a three-part series on the first successful appearance in print of some of the most famous detectives in fiction. In the last issue of 365ink I wrote a little bit about Sherlock Holmes and quite a bit about that dandified little Belgian detective with the weird little mustache, Hercule Poirot. In this piece, I’m writing about a man who just might be the best detective of them all, Cadfael. He is endlessly fascinating. Here’s why. It would be impossible to miss the fact that Cadfael is a Benedictine monk, occasionally known as the Black Monks because of the color of their habits. In the monastery, every monk had a job and Cadfael tended the vegetable garden. He was the monastery’s herbalist, a profession he learned in the Holy Land while serving in the Crusades as a knight. Cadfael had to be extremely careful when acting as an herbalist in the area of medicine. Herbalists were regularly treated to a full body hot foot if they were caught growing certain kinds of mushroom in the cellar or certain kinds of what came to be called the herb superb. He was aware of a compound he could make from the leaves of the willow tree. It was a medieval miracle drug which Cadfael could make it even though he didn’t have a name for it. We do. It’s called aspirin. Oh, did I neglect to mention that Brother Cadfael lived in the 12th century. He was highly educated and didn’t enter the monastic life until he was in his 40s. He was regularly called upon to act as a medical examiner, doctor, diplomat, and, of course, as a detective. Try solving murder mysteries with no DNA, no fingerprints, no lab techs, and no goofy side kick. Twenty Cadfael historical murder mysteries were written between 1977 and 1994 by the linguist-scholar Edith Pargeter under the name "Ellis Peters". They were spectacularly successful all over the world but especially in the UK where they generated a popular TV show shown here in USA on public television. In the UK, it was adapted for radio and the stage. Today I’d like to write about the first one, A Morbid Taste for Bones. Cadfael, who is Welsh, belongs to the Benedictine monastery in Shrewsbury in western England. The abbey is run by Brother Robert the Prior, a man who is scheming to get ahead in the world by making his abbey famous. He needs the relics of a popular saint to increase the revenue from pilgrims. It seems that two of his monks visited the town of Gwytherin in Wales to visit the grave of Saint Winifred to pray for indulgences and a cure for various physical ailments. While there, one of the monks had a vision of Saint Winifred who told the monk that she was unhappy about the condition of her grave and that she wanted to lie somewhere else more accessible to pilgrims. Well, Prior Robert had just the place. Prior Robert went through the proper channels and received all the proper consents to transfer the relics of Saint Winifred to Shrewsbury Abbey. A delegation from Shrewsbury was sent to Gwytherin to collect the bones. Cadfael was tapped to accompany the delegation because he spoke both English and Welch. He would act as translator. They arrived to find the local people were not exactly enthusiastic. The priest did not want the remains moved and he informed the monks that they needed the consent of all the freemen in town. Nobody seemed to know why. The "big wheel" in town, Mr. Rhisiart, the area’s most influential landowner, did not want the remains moved either. Being an arrogant prior, Robert thought he would be able to bribe Rhisiart. He couldn’t have done anything worse. The little Welsh town was super-charged with anxiety and hatred. It was all going very badly for everybody. Until it got far worse when Mr. Rhisiart’s body was found in the woods with an arrow sticking out of his chest. This is a job for………Brother Cadfael. Prior Robert gave Brother Cadfael his marching orders: Solve the crime to the satisfaction of all the parties involved and see to it that the townsfolk are in agreement that Shrewsbury Abbey is the best place for Saint Winifred. In other words, to coin a phrase, Cadfael was to see to it that everybody lived happily ever after. I’ll bet you are wondering if our Super-Monk got the job done and, more importantly, how. Placing a detective in a medieval monastery was a stroke of genius. I was completely and thoroughly entertained by Ellis Peters’ A Morbid Taste for Bones. I didn’t figure it out, which I also find to be a lot of fun. I’ll tell you how I really feel. I ordered books two and three and I’m going to shut my phone off.

The first in a series, so the pleasure goes on and on... Humorous as well as morally uplifting. And, it's remarkable, but it's possible to write an entertaining story without disgusting language. Yay!

Scenes of the sensible inspirations of medieval minds are drawn well and carefully to preserve the blessings of faith with the pragmatism of simple folk. There’s a breath of fresh air in a tale of death without vampires and miracles without magicians. The mind of Brother Cadfael is captivatingly surprising, and the material features of welsh maidens and pompous monk stir the readers’ imagination without arousing modern vulgarity. This was a very satisfying trip through time.

Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael series is one of my absolute favorites. As much as I devour cutting-edge forensic science solutions to true crimes, especially murders, I find great satisfaction in watching a brilliant mind working diligently to deconstruct and solve a mystery. I share this delight with thousands of others, obviously, which explains the continued popularity of series heroes (and anti-heroes) such a Sherlock Holmes.I came on a Brother Cadfael mini omnibus among my mother's books, and discovered the delight of solving crimes in the medieval times. I still have many more Brother Cadfael stories to work through, but the first in a series introduces us to the main cast, and that's what "A Morbid Taste for Bones" does well.I also happen to enjoy learning new tidbits of knowledge, and with Brother Cadfael readers learn a lot about herb-based folk medicines and early doctoring. The series' setting is an English monastery in Shrewsbury during a time when Christianity was well-established throughout the former Roman empire, but where pockets of folks still lived very close to the Pagan influences of their ancestors. The books also enlighten readers to this earlier justice system, where the local largest land-owner, usually someone with a title, maintains his own sheriff and metes out punishments as he see fit.I have recommended the Brother Cadfael books to friends who share my enjoyment of forensics, police or legal procedurals, mysteries including "cozy" mysteries. The books I've read so far are very well written, with rich descriptions and fully-realized characters without stretching on ad nauseum. The violence or deaths described are not overly-violent or gory, but they are plainly stated. Sexuality is also treated in this manner. For example, Brother Cadfael has been a monk for quite a while, but we learn quickly that he lived a full life before joining the monastery, highlighted as a Crusader. He loved women, but never marries and has no children. The character often surprises others when he speaks of the beauty of a young woman, or that he is reminded of a woman he particularly loved. Such words from a celibate man of God! Even though women are second-class citizens during this historical era, in the series they are not depicted in an exploitive or sexualized manner. The author does use some archaic terms and language but I've almost always been able to figure out what these words meant by the context. I think I've had to look up three or four that I wasn't quite able to discern. Most of these are words related to archaic tools or farm implements.I enjoyed this book and the unique solution Brother Cadfael devises to solve a murder and right a wrong being perpetrated by the haughty Prior Robert, who we run into in the other books. The solution fits in with the "magical thinking" embraced by many if not most commoners of the time. Brother Cadfael is a very pragmatic, down-to-earth monk living during a time of mystical visions and beliefs, and although he makes use of such beliefs, he never capitalizes on them.This is a series I would recommend to anyone looking for something different from the many hundreds of run-of-the-mill cookie-cutter series. Generally, they're not quick, breezy reads, but so far I've found them completely captivating!

A beautiful start to a wonderful series of books. If you like the early middle ages, monks, and a great mystery, then this is one for the ages.

Brother Cadfel is right at home when he journeys to Wales with five of his brothers to take back to Shrewsbury the bones of a saint. Delightful characters and Cadfel's solving the murder of a town leader opposed to their taking the bones of the Saint make for an enjoyable read. Looking forward to more of Cadfel's adventures.

Ich hatte mich auf den Kriminalroman aus dem frühen Mittelalter richtiggehend gefreut und bis zu einem gewissen Teil fand ich ihn auch unterhaltsam, nur hatte er so seine Längen. Es fiel mir schwer in das Szenario hineinzukommen. Vielleicht mag es an dem Schreibstil der Autorin liegen oder den ungewöhnlichen Bezeichnungen, aber es dauerte schon eine ganze Weile, bis ich mit Bruder Cadfael warm geworden bin. Als Leser fällt man jetzt nicht vor atemloser Spannung vom Stuhl aber man langweilt sich auch nicht zu Tode. Diese Geschichte ist ein netter Zeitvertreib und je weiter man den ungewöhnlichen Mönch begleitet, desto mehr wächst er einem ans Herz. Insbesondere seine pragmatische Denkweise, die den Konflikt mit den Dorfbewohnern zu einem guten Ende bringt. Jeder bekommt heilige Knochen und ist zufrieden, ist es doch der Glaube der Berge versetzen kann. Ob diese nun einer wirklichen Heiligen gehören, mag nach mehreren Jahrhunderten ohnehin niemand mehr zu sagen. Mit diesem Mörder hätte ich nicht gerechnet und ich war heilfroh, dass es nicht der fremde Normanne war, der sich in die Tochter des Dorfvorstehers verliebt hatte, dafür war dieser mir zu sympathisch.Auf meiner SUB liegen noch zwei weitere Romane um Bruder Cadfael. Ich werde erst danach entscheiden, ob ich dieser Reihe weiterfolge oder mich anderen Büchern widme. Bis jetzt bin ich noch nicht abgeneigt weiter im 12. Jahrhundert zu ermitteln.

Interesting book. Rather comlpicated to keep track of the names,but a good story

Après les avoir tous dévoré en VF dans mes jeunes années, j'ai eu envie d'essayer en VO. On y gagne en plaisirs de lecture. Du bel anglais, à déguster avec un niveau B1 minimum. Le vocabulaire est riche, mais ça passe très bien sans dictionnaire à côté de soi.J'adore toujours autant frère Cadfael ...

Ellis Peters, the author, has lived in the area of Shrewsbury for many years. She has made a study of the area, adjacent Wales, medieval life and religion. The result is an entertaining tale centered around the Benedictine Brother Cadfael, once upon a time a hard-bitten Crusader combat veteran. His keen mind and powers of observation, even from his limited religious living area, make him the Medieval version of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. Well-written and most believable, one book has the reader eager to acquire the next. As there are several texts in the series, any reader is in for an extended good time, stepping back into early 12th century England. Enjoy!

Todo correcto, solo que tengo entendido que estos libros vienen con un cd para escuchar la lectura y en este caso ni rastro del mismo.