A Morbid Taste for Bones is a novel written by Edith Pargeter (under the pseudonym Ellis Peters). Released in 1977, it is the first book in The Cadfael Chronicles series and tells of Brother Cadfael investigating a murder while working to acquire sacred remains.
Characters[]
- Brother Cadfael
- Prior Robert Pennant - the cunning, wily, and not entirely saintly Prior of Shrewsbury Abbey
- Brother John - the down-to-earth and extremely practical disciple of Brother Cadfael
- Father Huw - local bishop of Gwytherin
- Brother Columbanus - a seemingly very meek and fanatical monk who turns out to be the murderer of Rhisiart (either due to his fanatical belief in St. Winifred or his lust for power)
- Engelard - English worker who moved into Gwytherin and the service of Rhisiard. Suitor of Sioned
- Sioned - daughter of Rhisiard
- Peredur - suitor of Sioned
- Cai - ploughman who serves Rhisiard
- Bened - smith who lives in Gwytherin
- Rhisiard - landowner and figurehead within Gwytherin
- Padrig - travelling bard
- Annest - local woman whom Brother John falls in love with
- Griffith ap Rhys - chaplain for Prince Owain
- Prince Owain Gwynedd - local prince who rules over Gwytherin
- Branwen - father of Peredur
- Dame Branwen - mother of Peredur
- Brother Jerome
- Brother Rhys
- Urien - local chaplain in the hire of Prince Owain
- St. Winifred
Publisher's summary[]
Ellis Peters' introduction to the murderous medieval world of Brother Cadfael...
In the remote Welsh mountain village of Gwytherin lies the grave of Saint Winifred. Now, in 1137, the ambitious head of Shrewsbury Abbey has decided to acquire the sacred remains for his Benedictine order. Native Welshman Brother Cadfael is sent on the expedition to translate and finds the rustic villagers of Gwytherin passionately divided by the Benedictine's offer for the saint's relics. Canny, wise, and all too worldly, he 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 held the bow. Brother Cadfael knows a carnal hand did the killing. 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 Cadfael's own ruin.
Summary[]
Chapter One[]
In Shrewsbury Abbey, a young monk named Brother Columbanus suffers a mental breakdown. He is left in a manic state and is sent by the Prior of the Abbey (Robert Pennant) to a healing spring in Wales after another monk (Brother Jerome) has a vision of Saint Winifred.
The voyage is a success and Columbanus is cured. It also leads to Robert discovering that the bones of Saint Winifred are essentially ready to be moved into Shrewsbury Abbey. As such, Robert mounts an expedition and places the Welsh Brother Cadfael (to whom Brother Columbanus is a novice) into its member to serve as a go-between with the local government. Brother Cadfael goes above Robert's head to place his other novice (Brother John, who is deeply suspicious of Prior Robert's motives) into the expedition.
Chapter Two[]
After getting the approval of a local prince, the voyagers from Shrewsbury Abbey visit Gwytherin with a local chaplain named Urien in their number. Prior Robert meets with a higher-up within Gwytherin's church (Father Huw) who is amiable to Robert but warns that the people of Gwytherin may not be as amiable to Robert's machinations.
After this, Brother Cadfael and Urien ride through Gwytherin's countryside. After seeing a local farmer, Cadfael meets with a mysterious young woman who repeats Father Huw's warning.
Chapter Three[]
Brother Cadfael meets with local farmers and discovers the life stories of several natives. It is during this time that he learns that the young woman (Sioned) he met is the daughter of a local leader (Rhisiard) who is secretly in a relationship with an English man (Engelard).
Later, Robert and Father Huw hold a meeting to tell the locals about the moving of St. Winifred's bones. Rhisiard voices displeasure at the plan. After an argument between Robert and Rhisiard, Robert tries to buy him off. This backfires and makes Rhisiard into an avowed enemy of the plan.
Chapter Four[]
"Rhisiart lay on his back, his right hip hollowing the grass under him, shoulders flattened to the ground and arms spread wide. His legs were drawn up under him with bent knees, the left leg crossed over the right. His short, defiant beard pointed at the sky. So, and at the very same slanting angle, did the feathered flight of the arrow that jutted out from under the cage of his ribs". (art from the Fawcett Crest paperback edition)
To placate Rhisiard, Huw and Cadfael visit him. Rhisiard agrees to take part in lunch with the visitors at noon. Once noon arrives, Rhisiard does not arrive at lunch. For five hours afterwards, Rhisiard is absent. Prior Robert initially uses this as an opportunity to portray Rhisiard as a liar until Sioned arrives and reveals that Rhisiard is missing from his land. As such, a party goes out in search of Rhisiard and finds him in the woods - dead, and with an arrow sticking out of his body.
Chapter Five[]
The arrow is one of Engelard's (who is known to be an excellent shot with an arrow). After an argument between Sioned and Prior Robert over who could be guilty (with Sioned blaiming Prior Robert), Engelard emerges from the forest. Prior Robert demands that Engelard be held until a prince's bailif can be summoned but Brother John lets Engelard escape. As such, Prior Robert has John imprisoned in Sioned's house. Though the case against Engleard seems solid, Cadfael finds several things which irk him about the body (such as that Rhisiart's front is dry while his back is damp).
At Rhisiart's funeral, Sioned recruits Brother Cadfael as a confidante between Sioned and Peredur (another suitor of Sioned's who also helped Engelard escape).
Chapter Six[]
Cadfael gives the message to Peredur, who seems hesitant to accept it and runs off immediately after this.
After Cadfael visits Bened, he returns to his lodgings. While he is meeting with Prior Robert, Brother Columbanus confesses that he was asleep while Rhisiard was murdered. He demands punishment but before he can be punished, Father Huw reveals that the villagers will now allow the removal of St. Winifred's bones. Prior Robert asks for a three-day break before the bones are exumed.
After talking with Sioned over the innacuracies with her father's corpse, Cadfael (along with Sioned) examines the body and discovers that Rhisiard was not shot with an arrow but was stabbed - meaning that Engelard was most likely framed. They decide to keep silent about this as the identity of the murderer is unknown.
Chapter Seven[]
Sioned tries to get Prior Richard to place his hand onto Rhisiard's corpse (as Welsh tradition holds that a murderer's touch brings blood from a corpse) but fails (with Jerome putting his hand on the corpse without it bleeding). The next day, the bailif of Prince Owain (Griffith ap Rhys) arrives.
While in his "cell", Brother John meets with Annest (a local woman with whom he has had a blossoming relationship with). During this meeting, Brother John contemplates rescinding his vows as a monk out of love for Annest.
In the middle of the night, Brothers Cadfael and Columbanus hold a vigil. During this vigil, Columbanus faints and lays unconscious, seemingly in a trance. Cadfael decides to leave him in this state until morning. Though the day (and the arrival of both Sioned and Prior Robert) brings no relief to this condition, Prior Robert finds nothing wrong with this.
Chapter Eight[]
The next day, Columbanus awakens and (through a "vision" from St. Winifred) tries to extend a peace offering to the people of Gwytherin. Sioned is wary about this offering, viewing it not as a sign of peace but as a demand for silence.
Later in the day, the bones of St. Winifred are exhumed. It is decided that Rhisiart's body will be placed into the former grave of St. Winifred. Right before this can happen, Sioned has Peredur place his hand onto Rhisiart's body. Before he can do it, Peredur cracks due to his guilty conscience and admits that he was the one who put the arrow into Rhisiart's body (though he didn't kill Rhisiart) as a way to get Engelard to flee Wales entirely.
Chapter Nine[]
After Rhisiart is buried, Cadfael meets with Peredur's mother - a tempestuous woman who has been driven near-manic out of fear and loathing of her son's actions. To calm her down, Cadfael finds a bottle of poppy syrup (effectively, opium) from Brother Columbanus' possessions (though strangely he finds it nearly empty) and gives the remains to Peredur's mother.
Shortly after this, Cadfael's talks with locals is interrupted by Annest. The baillif is ready to arrest Brother John and take him away from her. As such, Cadfael (along with several other locals) forment a fake prison break. Griffith (not wishing to take part in the machinations of the English church) takes the prison break at face value.
Chapter Ten[]
Late at night, Brother Columbanus is visited by the figure of St. Winifred who demands he confesses for the murder of Rhisiart. Columbanus confesses but finds that the figure of "St. Winifred" is actually Sioned. He tries to flee but is found by Engelard - who accidentally kills Columbanus. To save Engelard from charges of murder, Brother Cadfael covers up the death.
Chapter Eleven[]
To disguise the death of Brother Columbanus, Cadfael places Columbanus' robes in such a way that he appears to have been raptured into heaven. Prior Robert is unquestioning of this, and leaves Gwytherin with what he believes is the bones of St. Winifred in a coffin (but is actually the corpse of Brother Columbanus) for Shrewsbury Abbey.
Chapter Twelve[]
Two years later, Bened visits Shrewbury Abbey while on a pilgrimage through England. He reveals to Brother Cadfael that Annest and the former Brother John have married and are expecting a child. He also reveals that the town of Gwytherin has been visited by miraculous healings.
See also[]
| Title | Author | Release date | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Name of the Rose | Umberto Eco | 1980 | A seminal Medieval historical mystery novel |
| Asylum | Peter Darvill-Evans | 2001 | A novel possibly inspired by A Morbid Taste for Bones |
| Crocodile on the Sandbank | Elizabeth Peters | 1975 | A historical fiction novel written in the same time period |
| Morality Play | Barry Unsworth | 1995 | A Medieval historical mystery novel |
| Dissolution | C.J. Sansom | 2003 | A Medieval historical mystery novel |
| The Apothecary Rose | Candace Robb | 1993 | A Medieval historical mystery novel |
| The King's Justice | E.M. Powell | 2018 | A Medieval historical mystery novel |