Brother Cadfael

Brother Cadfael is a fictional character, the detective in a series of murder mysteries by Edith Pargeter writing under the name "Ellis Peters."

Related Topics:
Murder mysteries - Edith Pargeter

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Cadfael is a Benedictine monk, the herbalist at Shrewsbury Abbey in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, near the Welsh border. Cadfael himself is of Welsh extraction; his full name is Cadfael ap (son of) Meilyr ap Dafydd and he was born around 1080 to a villein (serf) family in Trefriw, in Gwynedd (northern Wales). The stories are set between about 1135 and about 1145, during the civil war between the forces of King Stephen and Empress Maud.

Related Topics:
Benedictine - Monk - Herbalist - Shrewsbury Abbey - Shrewsbury - Shropshire - England - Welsh - 1080 - Villein - Serf - Trefriw - Gwynedd - 1135 - 1145 - Civil war - King Stephen - Empress Maud

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Cadfael became a monk in middle age, after going on Crusade as both a soldier and later, a sailor. As a result, he is more familiar with the secular world than most of his brother monks. In addition, his personality more reflects modern attitudes and progressive ethics than his own time which often puts him in conflict with his brethren on matters of justice and conscience. Among other things, Brother Cadfael disobeys his superiors (in Monk's Hood) and condones euthanasia (in The Rose Rent).

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Arguably, however, this very background makes him a more worthy foil for Hugh Beringar (Deputy Sheriff and eventually Sheriff, of Shropshire) than would have been a cloistered brother. Over time Beringar — and Heribert and Radulfus, Cadfael's abbots — come to recognise his slightly unusual skills, and use him as detective, medical examiner, diplomatic envoy (to the Welsh princes), and counsel.

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One interesting twist which Pargeter develops is that, unlike his fellow monks, Cadfael proves to have a son, with whom he enjoys an occasional and careful relationship.

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Thirteen of the books were adapted for a series of television movies starring Sir Derek Jacobi although the sequence of the television episodes differs from the sequence of the novels. Within the individual teleplays, most are reasonably faithful to the books, being modified primarily to minimise the size of the speaking cast, the running time of the script, or the need for extravagant special effects. But one episode, The Pilgrim of Hate, bears almost no resemblance to the eponymous book save the presence of a few of characters sharing the names (but not the actions) of the characters in the book.

Related Topics:
Television movie - Sir Derek Jacobi

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