Brother Cadfael's Penance

Brother Cadfael's Penance is a medieval mystery novel set in the autumn of 1145 by Ellis Peters, first published in 1994. It is the last novel in the Cadfael series.

Plot Summary

In the spring of 1145, Hugh Beringar receives an intelligence report from Robert de Beaumont, Earl of Leicester, that, at the urging of the Church, the two factions in the civil war have agreed to meet for a peace conference at Coventry. Privately, the Earl's hopes for the conference are not high, as recent events have led both sides to believe that they can be ultimately victorious.

On the one hand, the Empress Maud has finally convinced her young husband, Geoffrey of Anjou, to bring his military forces to bear on Normandy, where many of Stephen's barons hold land. On the other, King Stephen has recently gained valuable allies in England: after much waffling between the two sides, the powerful Earl of Chester has joined Stephen, while in the Thames Valley, two of the Empress's castellans have defected to Stephen, bringing their castles and garrisons in Faringdon and Cricklade with them. One of them, surprisingly, is Phillip Fitz Robert, son of Robert of Gloucester, the Empress's right-hand man.^[1][2]

Among the reports, Hugh finds a troubling piece of information: among the garrison of Faringdon were several knights who remained loyal to the Empress and were imprisoned. Some of them have been offered for ransom, while others are being held captive, but one's whereabouts are unknown: Olivier de Bretagne, whom Hugh knows is Cadfael's illegitimate son.

Cadfael confesses to Abbot Radulfus that he feels it is his duty to find and rescue Olivier. Radulfus gives him permission to accompany Hugh to Coventry, but warns him that he must return to the Abbey afterward, or risk expulsion from the Order.

In Coventry, Cadfael is surprised to recognize Yves Hugonin (last seen in The Virgin in the Ice), Olivier's brother-in-law. Barely have they exchanged greetings when Yves draws his sword and flies at another man in a rage: Brien de Soulis, the turncoat castellan of Faringdon. Order is restored by Bishop Roger de Clinton.

Yves is called to a private audience with the Empress Maud, who, officially, rebukes him for disturbing the peace, but, privately, hints that she would be delighted if de Soulis were to be killed.

As expected, the peace talks come to nothing. Maud is intractable in her claim to the throne, while Stephen is conscious of his superior position in England and is loath to surrender it. Before the talks end, Yves asks Stephen to reveal anything his men know about Olivier's whereabouts. De Soulis claims to know nothing.

But that evening, as the two sides are exiting the chapel after mass, de Soulis's dead body is discovered on the chapel steps. Phillip Fitz Robert accuses Yves of murder, and takes him into custody.

With permission from the Bishop, Cadfael examines de Soulis's body and belongings, and discovers several important clues: de Soulis was stabbed from the front with a dagger, not a sword - indicating his killer was someone he knew and trusted, and allowed to approach him. The other strange clue is that, in de Soulis's bag, Cadfael finds a seal ring that does not belong to him, though no one in Coventry can identify it.

Now, Cadfael must decide whether to continue searching for Olivier, or return with Hugh to Shrewsbury. He chooses the former.

Traveling to Faringdon, Cadfael meets a mason's assistant, lamed by a badly-broken leg, who says that he was a man-at-arms with the garrison. He identifies the seal as belonging to another captain of the garrison, Geoffrey FitzClare. FitzClare was the most popular captain in the garrison, and also the most steadfastly loyal to the Empress - yet de Soulis showed the men a document signed by him and the other captains, agreeing to surrender to the King. The day after the surrender, FitzClare was sent out on some errand, and later brought back dead, apparently killed by a fall from his horse.

Armed with this knowledge, Cadfael tracks down Phillip Fitz Robert at his castle of La Musarderie in Greenhamsted, and manages to convince him that Yves is innocent: de Soulis must have murdered FitzClare and stolen his seal, in order to convince the remaining captains to agree to the surrender - which makes it more likely than not that plenty of other people wanted him dead, and Yves is ruled out by the fact that de Soulis allowed his killer to approach close enough to stab him. Repulsed by de Soulis's treacherous actions, of which he knew nothing, Phillip agrees to release Yves.

Phillip also admits that he is holding Olivier in the castle. Cadfael pleads with Phillip to release him, going so far as to reveal that he is Olivier's father. Phillip is not unmoved, but refuses: he and Olivier were the closest of comrades, like brothers, but, ultimately, Olivier refused to follow his friend in defecting to Stephen - which, Cadfael realizes, Phillip did not out of any love for Stephen or enmity towards Maud, but in the hopes of breaking the stalemate between the two sides and allowing one to triumph, finally ending the war.

Yves returns to the Empress's court in Gloucester and begs her to lay siege to La Musardarie to rescue Olivier, who has been imprisoned just for remaining loyal to her. She refuses, but instantly changes her mind when Yves mentions that Phillip himself is there - in other words, she would not lift a finger to rescue Olivier, but will move heaven and earth to capture Phillip and revenge herself on him for his disloyalty. Yves is dispirited at this, but he and several of the Empress's advisers become alarmed when she announces that she does not mean to just capture Phillip, but to execute him - thus driving a wedge between herself and many of her allies, especially Earl Robert.

Dismissing all their warnings, the Empress assembles an enormous army and throws it at Phillip's castle. Phillip's garrison puts up a tough defense, but Phillip suffers a near fatal head wound from a missile thrown into the courtyard. Cadfael ministers to him, and Phillip, believing he is dying, gives his final orders: his deputy shall surrender the castle, and trade Phillip to the Empress for the best terms he can get; he also gives Cadfael the keys to Olivier's cell.

Released, Olivier learns the truth of his parentage, and he and Cadfael arrange a plan to get Phillip out of the castle and save him from the Empress's vengeance. The plan works, and Phillip recovers in the nearby Augustinian abbey of Cirencester. Earl Robert himself arrives at the abbey, reconciling with his son and placing his protection over him.

Before leaving La Musardarie, Cadfael discovers who de Soulis's killer was: one of the Empress's ladies-in-waiting, who was Geoffrey FitzClare's mother (ironically, de Soulis had designs on the lady's young niece, and allowed her to approach him in the mistaken belief that she was that niece).

Olivier asks Cadfael to return home with him, as his family would welcome him with open arms. Cadfael declines, saying he wants nothing more now than to return to Shrewsbury, even if there is a chance that he may not be allowed to.

Returning to Shrewsbury, Cadfael spends the night lying on the floor of the chapel as a penitent. In the morning, when the rest of the monks enter, Abbot Radulfus informs him that word of his actions has reached the Abbey: that he has helped to solve another murder, exonerate Yves, release Olivier, and mend the rift between Phillip and Robert. He also informs Cadfael that Phillip has renounced both sides in the war and enlisted in the Second Crusade. He then declares "it is enough!" and invites Cadfael to take his old place among his brothers.

Continuity

• Yves Hugonin last appeared in "The Virgin in the Ice." His sister, Ermina, whom Olivier announced he had married in "The Pilgrim of Hate," is also mentioned as being pregnant with Cadfael's grandson.
• In the first chapter, Brother Jerome is described as being still chastened and uncharacteristically silent, after his shameful actions in "The Holy Thief."
• In trying to strike a positive note, Hugh says that if anyone can help the two sides to reach an accommodation at Coventry, then Roger de Clinton is the one. Hugh reflects that he already has a healthy respect for de Clinton, after his visit to Shrewsbury in The Heretic's Apprentice, when he questioned, and then exonerated, a young man accused of heresy, despite the over-zealous urgings of one of his Canons.
• In Monk's Hood, Cadfael shows that he is conversant with Welsh law, according to which primogeniture does not apply and illegitimate sons may inherit their fathers' titles and property. In private conference with Abbott Radulfus, Cadfael admits that he feels no shame at having fathered Olivier, since "in Wales there are no bastards."
• Also, during the fruitless peace conference at Coventry, Cadfael listens to Maud defend her claim to the throne as King Henry I's "only" surviving child. He reflects ruefully that King Henry had more than twenty illegitimate children, yet under Norman law these might as well not exist; and moreover, that several of these children, especially Robert of Gloucester, would be both more entitled and more deserving of the throne than either Stephen or Maud, if Welsh law applied.

Historical Background

• The novel takes place in November, 1145.
• Several references are made to the Fall of Edessa in the Holy Land the previous December in 1144, an event which led to the declaration of the Second Crusade. Philip enlists in the Crusade at the end of the novel, believing this a much worthier cause than fighting for either side in the civil war.
• As of 1145, the English civil war, known as The Anarchy, is still going on, though less ferociously as it was in previous years. Both sides are still hopeful of winning an eventual victory, but the war comes to an effective close three years later, in 1148, when Maud retreats to Normandy after Robert of Gloucester's death. The war is not considered officially over, however, until 1154, when King Stephen dies without issue and Maud's son, Henry, ascends the throne according to Stephen's command.

Notes

Source

• Brother Cadfael's penance: the twentienth chronicle of Brother Cadfael. Élan Press. 1994. ISBN 9781551440590.