Be Not Idle

“God resolves all given time,” said Cai philosophically and trudged away into darkness. And Cadfael returned along the path with the uncomfortable feeling that God, nevertheless, required a little help from men, and what He mostly got was hindrance.”

- A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters, first in the series

I can’t remember the first Brother Cadfael mystery that I read, but I ended up collecting the whole series (in paperback, of course). I had never heard of Ellis Peters (the pseudonym of Edith Pargeter), so I knew nothing about her research or expertise. However, I was struck by the details she included. I had been reading many medieval texts in Spanish.  She gave a good look at the day-to-day life in the monastary and its environs. Her books had the added attraction of being lighter reading El poema del mio Cid.

Morbid Taste for Bones was published in 1977, long before I read mysteries or romances.  However, she went on to write 20 novels and three short stories about Brother Cadfael, the last paperback of which came out posthumously in the States. I gradually collected them all, most by scouring used bookstores and charity book sales.

I had never devoured mystery novels like my friend M’e did, nor did I enjoy my friends’ tastes for romance novels. Peters did mysteries well, although I was able to pin down a couple murderers early in their stories. Her sense of the romantic was something new to me: No clothing-ripping, heaving chests, etc. Many of them occurred between good-looking young people, but there were also depictions of married couples, ”courtly” love, and loyalties tested.  

As I re-read the stories now, it’s interesting to compare the way that Peters changed her approach to the monk and his surroundings as she continued. This first book has an edge of disbelief to it, with a clearly politically-motivated prior and a suspicious “miracle” that sends a group of English monks to Wales to retrieve a saint’s relics.

Brother Cadfael is a man of the world, a former Crusader who joined a monastary life after years of travel and service as both a sailor and a soldier.  His vocation comes at the end of his service, when he’s in his 50’s.  Although some of the characters seem to cast doubt on the authenticity of religious belief, it’s clear even in Morbid Taste for Bones that Cadfael is no hypocrite. It’s a young monk who literally whispers skeptical and often sardonic comments in his ear. 

Eventually in the series – and I’m hard-pressed to say exactly where – the beauties of faith, hope and charity become more important than even mundane things like murder and politics. By the time of the last book, Brother Cadfael’s Penance, the full weight of Cadfael’s disobedience and its consequences are laid out plainly.

At any rate, I highly recommend the series.