Benet is an active Maud supporter and is a natural suspect. Due to his skills, Benet is assigned to Cadfael to help him in his gardening and herbal medicinal work, Cadfael soon becomes quite fond of the spunky yet hardworking and truthful Benet. When Benet becomes one of the chief suspects in the Allnoth ‘murder,’ Cadfael has an additional motive, besides his natural penchant, to investigate who is the culprit. Shrewsbury Abbey was begun about 58 years before the story with French monks from Seez, [19] as mentioned in the later novel The Confession of Brother Haluin, possibly explaining the vineyard and wine making. Shrewsbury Abbey had a reliquary of Saint Winifred, translated from Wales in 1137, which story is told in the opening book of the series [20] and in the annals of the Abbey. [1] The character Torold Blund, squire to a supporter of the Empress, featured in One Corpse Too Many, when Shrewsbury was taken by the King, and Cadfael and Hugh Beringar began their close friendship. Hugh had been betrothed to Godith. She escaped with Blund, and in this novel we learn they have married. Their escape was aided by Cadfael. Hugh married another that summer, and is much pleased with his wife. Hugh Beringar: Sheriff of Shropshire. He is in the King's service, about 26 years old, and a close friend of Cadfael. His manors are in the north of Shropshire. He was appointed Deputy Sheriff by King Stephen three years earlier, and has acted as Sheriff since the death of Stephen's prior choice earlier in 1141. [2] In this novel, he is appointed as Sheriff by the King. He was introduced in One Corpse Too Many.

Then Father Ailnoth's drowned body is also found. The noblemen in Shrewsbury loyal to King Stephen are hell bent in taking the law in their own hands to find the killer of Father Ailnoth. They go after some commoners who were in dispute with Father Ailnoth. Diota was injured Christmas Eve. Cadfael treated her wounds. Cynric sends Cadfael to aid newborn Winifred, now in the care of her grandmother Nest, mother of the late lovely Eluned. Cadfael confronts Benet with his true name, Ninian. Ninian is in Shrewsbury by the work of his resourceful childhood nurse, Diota Hammet. He plans escape through Wales to Gloucester. Sanan will go with Ninian. He will leave when his name is cleared, and Diota is safe; then he and Sanan will marry. On the day Giffard comes forward, Sanan meets Ninian at Cadfael's workshop. They leave for his hiding place just before Hugh arrives. In this and other novels of the series, Cadfael makes wine for his guests. In the 12th century, this was possible, there were vineyards in southern England. [13] This may be due to the warmer climate in northern Europe. Whether it is solely due to the warmer climate, or solely due to the preference for wine over beer brought by the Norman nobility and French monks, or a combination of both is debated. [14] [15] The number of vineyards declined in following centuries. [14] [16]Eluned: Single mother of baby Winifred, daughter of Nest and a beautiful, kind, if not bright, young woman. She was refused absolution and communion by Father Ailnoth. Being cut off from the church, she drowned herself in the pond. This installment of "Cadfael" begins with a new priest, Father Ailnoth, being installed in the town. To say that Ailnoth is a nasty, judgmental jerk is a gross understatement and he immediately seems to try his best to alienate himself from the townsfolk. Ninian Bachiler: He is the second young squire of FitzAlan sent as scout from Normandy in the service of the Empress before her recent fall from grace; he is sought by King Stephen. Ailnoth ends up dead (hardly a surprise considering his behavior), and the mystery rests in trying to figure out who did it. Everyone suspects the dark, brooding Benet at first, but that ends up being a mistake. I won’t spoil anything here and give it away, but let’s just say when the “mystery” is finally solved, I felt like groaning and pulling my hair out. Hopefully I haven’t given away too much in the summary provided above.

Rev. R. W. Eyton (1918). "Morville". Antiquities of Shropshire. London: John Russell Smith. pp.34–35. Not surprisingly, soon after this Ailnoth is found dead--also drowned. This is obviously not a suicide--he was murdered. The problem is that practically the entire town is suspect since he was such a nasty guy! And, whoever did this MIGHT have also killed the girl. Cadfael's job is to sort through both these deaths and determined what actually occurred. This is especially important because whether or not the dead woman can be buried in sacred ground is at stake, since the Church won't allow suicide victims to be buried in their cemeteries. Additionally, the woman was pregnant. Who was the father? What is important for me to tell you is why I think this particular story by Ellis Peters is worth four stars. I love how Peters recreates medieval times. You feel like you are there. The words, the scenery, the actions and thoughts of the characters feel genuine. They create an atmosphere and a mood. They put you in a time and place so very different from our own. I find this utterly enjoyable; we escape the rat race of today. Medieval clergy at their worst, and Cadfael at his best. Will he fail to unravel this skein and innocents will suffer? Who is innocent? One couple sends for Father Ailnoth to baptize their newborn daughter, but he refuses to interrupt his Offices. When he does respond, the infant has died, and according to some medieval doctrine, she is doomed to limbo and is denied burial in consecrated ground.She was later found drowned believed to be suicide, hence she would be buried in unconsecrated ground. However Cadfael found bruises in her body which might indicate that she was forcibly held down. The Raven in the Foregate is a medieval mystery novel by Ellis Peters, fourth of the novels set in 1141, a year of great political tumult in the Anarchy. It is 12th of The Cadfael Chronicles, and first published in 1986. Still, what I love about the Brother Cadfael series is that in Brother Cadfael and Hugh Berringar there is competence, compassion, wisdom, and empathy in the world. Rather than focusing on putting someone in prison for every crime, they instead focus on righting the world. A thaw lets Cynric dig the grave for Ailnoth. The baker Jordan Achard was seen out early Christmas morning, and two will attest he was not at home. Hugh will announce this after the funeral as a way to get the guilty person talking, a scheme Cadfael terms devious. The funeral is well attended. Word that Hugh will charge the murderer draws many to the end of the funeral, including Ninian out of hiding. As the baker loudly protests his innocence of murder and guilt of adultery, Ralph Giffard mistakes Ninian as one to hold his horse. Ninian hides in his country-boy role again. Elaine Lemm. "English and Welsh Wines". Wine – Brief History of English and Welsh Wines. About.com British & Irish Food.

So know one is surprised, or terribly sorry, when Father Ailnoth’s body is found in the river. At first it’s assumed he slipped and fell, for the December weather has been icy. But Cadfael points out head injuries on the corpse that would be inconsistent with a slip and fall. The ruling theme is the importance of humility and human kindness, as the letter of the law is not sufficient for goodness or justice. Here the new arrival is Father Ailnoth. A puritanical priest, a reprehensible man and loyal to King Stephen.Keep him out of sight. I’m no mind to clap a good lad into prison for being loyal to a cause which isn’t mine.” Rev Horace K. Mann. "England". The Popes at the Height of their Temporal Influence 1130–1159. History of the Popes. pp.Ch IV.