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A Morbid Taste For Bones
''A Morbid Taste for Bones'' is a medieval mystery novel by Ellis Peters set in May 1137. It is the first novel in ''The Cadfael Chronicles'', first published in 1977. It was adapted for television in 1996 by Central for ITV. The monks of Shrewsbury Abbey seek the relics of a saint in Wales for their chapel. The locals object to this translation of the relics, and a local leader is found murdered. Brother Cadfael is challenged to uncover the truth of the murder and help bring right endings to all parties, in both Wales and in the Abbey. This novel was listed on the 1990 list of The Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time by the Crime Writers Association in the UK, and also on the top 100 list compiled in 1995 by the Mystery Writers of America. In 2010, ''The Wall Street Journal'' named it one of their "Five Best Historical Mystery Novels". These later honours indicate that the novel rose in the view of critics compared to one lukewarm review by Kirkus Reviews in the year of public ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ellis Peters
Edith Mary Pargeter (28 September 1913 – 14 October 1995), also known by her ''nom de plume'' Ellis Peters, was an English author of works in many categories, especially history and historical fiction, and was also honoured for her translations of Czech classics. She is probably best known for her murder mysteries, both historical and modern, and especially for her medieval detective series The Cadfael Chronicles. Personal Pargeter was born in the village of Horsehay (Shropshire, England), daughter of Edmund Valentine Pargeter (known as Ted) and his wife Edith ''nee'' Hordley. Her father was a clerk at the local Horsehay Company ironworks. She later moved with her parents to Dawley where she was educated at Dawley Church of England School and the old Coalbrookdale High School for Girls.Article by Toby Neal, part of series on West Midlands worthies. She had Welsh ancestry, and many of her short stories and books (both fiction and non-fiction) are set in Wales and its borderla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cadfael
Brother Cadfael is the main fictional character in a series of historical murder mysteries written between 1977 and 1994 by the linguist-scholar Edith Pargeter under the name "Ellis Peters". The character of Cadfael himself is a Welsh Benedictine monk living at the Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, in Shrewsbury, western England, in the first half of the 12th century. The stories are set between about 1135 and about 1145, during " The Anarchy", the destructive contest for the crown of England between King Stephen and Empress Maud. As a character, Cadfael "combines the curious mind of a scientist/pharmacist with a knight-errant". He entered monastic life in his forties after being both a soldier and a sailor; this worldly experience gives him an array of talents and skills useful in monastic life. He is a skilled observer of human nature, inquisitive by nature, energetic, a talented herbalist (work he learned in the Holy Lands), and has an innate, although modern, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then notably as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. He engaged in conflict with Henry II, King of England, over the rights and privileges of the Church and was murdered by followers of the king in Canterbury Cathedral. Soon after his death, he was canonised by Pope Alexander III. Sources The main sources for the life of Becket are a number of biographies written by contemporaries. A few of these documents are by unknown writers, although traditional historiography has given them names. The known biographers are John of Salisbury, Edward Grim, Benedict of Peterborough, William of Canterbury, William fitzStephen, Guernes of Pont-Sa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Holy Thief
''The Holy Thief'' is a medieval mystery novel by Ellis Peters set in 1144–1145. It is the 19th and penultimate volume of the Cadfael Chronicles, first published in 1992. It was 1998 in British television#ITV (Including ITV and ITV2), adapted for television in 1998 by Carlton Media for ITV (TV Network), ITV. Heavy rains flood the river which in turn floods the Abbey, threatening the precious reliquary of Saint Winifred. When the waters recede, the saint is gone, beginning a long search with tangled motives, including a murder that challenges the monks. This novel was well-received when it was published. Some commented on the finely wrought prose, and the author's ability to bring the reader to another time, making that time vividly alive. Another says the plot is "Less predictable and far more complex" than the prior novels in this series. Introduction to plot On 16 September 1144, Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st Earl of Essex, Geoffrey de Mandeville's reign of terror in the T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Pilgrim Of Hate
''The Pilgrim of Hate'' is a medieval mystery novel by Ellis Peters, set in spring 1141. It is the tenth in the Cadfael Chronicles, and was first published in 1984. This story takes place very soon after the preceding novel ''Dead Man's Ransom''. Political events of The Anarchy are changing rapidly, with the crowned King Stephen held in prison, while the claimant Empress Maud tries to gain political and popular approval to replace him. Even in such troubled times, the Abbey holds the feast in honour of its own Saint Winifred, whose remains were taken (translated) from Wales four years earlier in the first of these tales, ''A Morbid Taste for Bones''. It was adapted for television in 1998 by Carlton Media for ITV. Plot summary In 1141, the Abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul prepares to celebrate the anniversary of the translation of Saint Winifred's casket to Shrewsbury Abbey on 22 June. Brother Cadfael shares a secret with Hugh Beringar, as he recalls what happened in Wales ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mystery Scene
''Mystery Scene'' is an American magazine, first published in 1985, that covers the crime and mystery genre with a mix of articles, profiles, criticism, and extensive reviews of books, films, TV, short stories, audiobooks, and reference works. Editorial focus & contents ''Mystery Scene'' is pitched to mystery readers and fans, as opposed to writers or other industry professionals. Each issue contains commentary, several articles, author profiles, appreciations of particular subgenres or writers, letters to the editor, and 150+ reviews of new novels, audiobooks, reference works, kid’s mysteries, short stories, TV shows, films, paperback originals, and websites. News items, cartoons, jokes, quotes, and anecdotes round out its front-of-the book “Hints & Allegations” pages. Features :Profiles range from best-selling authors, including Lee Child, Michael Connelly, Charlaine Harris, Laurie R. King, Dennis Lehane, Sara Paretsky, and Ian Rankin, to the up-and-coming such as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Cadfael Chronicles
''The Cadfael Chronicles'' is a series of historical murder mysteries written by the linguist-scholar Edith Pargeter (1913–1995) under the name "Ellis Peters". Set in the 12th century during the Anarchy in England, the novels focus on a Benedictine monk, Cadfael, who aids the law by investigating and solving murders. In all, Pargeter wrote twenty Cadfael novels between 1977 and 1994. Each draws on the storyline, characters and developments of the previous books in the series. Pargeter apparently planned the 20th novel, ''Brother Cadfael's Penance'', as the final book of the series, and it brings together the loose story ends into a tidy conclusion. Pargeter herself died shortly after its publication, following a long illness. Many of the books have been adapted as both radio episodes, in which Ray Smith, Glyn Houston and subsequently Philip Madoc played the monk, and a television series starring Derek Jacobi as Cadfael. Pargeter's ''Cadfael Chronicles'' are sometimes credite ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhos (North Wales)
Rhos means 'moor' or 'moorland' in Welsh. It is a region to the east of the River Conwy in north Wales. It started as a minor kingdom then became a medieval cantref, and was usually part of the Kingdom of Gwynedd (later the region became part of Denbighshire, then Clwyd, and is now in Conwy county borough). Kingdom: history and archaeology Rhos is identified as a small kingdom during the sub-Roman and early medieval periods in an Old Welsh genealogical document ‘Ancestry of the Kings and Princes of Wales’ listing thirteen of its kings (including two who are known to have ruled the wider region of Gwynedd). The most famous monarch was perhaps Cynlas Goch, the son of Owain Ddantgwyn, who lived in the early 6th century and was denounced by the monk, Gildas. He wrote (in Latin) that Cynlas was the “guider of the chariot which is the receptacle of the bear“. The latter may refer to a “Fort of the Bear”, possibly Dinerth, the name of a hillfort on Bryn Euryn in Llandrillo- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maelor
The Maelor is an area of north-east Wales along the border with England. It is now entirely part of Wrexham County Borough. The name ''Maelor'' is an old Welsh word: it can be translated as "land of the prince", from ''mael'' ("prince") and ''llawr'' ("low ground", "region").Owen, Hywel Wynn (2017) ''Place-names of Flintshire'', Univ. of Wales Press, p.115 History The Maelor originated as a cantref of the Kingdom of Powys, focused on the monastic settlement of Bangor-on-Dee and containing the ''commotes'' of Maelor, Yale (Iâl), the Alyn Valley (Ystrad Alun) and Hope (Yr Hob). Most of the area fell under control of the Kingdom of Mercia during the eighth century, with Offa's Dyke delineating the new border. By the time of the 1066 Norman conquest of England, its eastern areas were recorded as held by Edwin, Earl of Mercia: they were later granted to the Norman magnate Hugh d'Avranches, Earl of Chester. The lands of the Maelor were only reincorporated in Powys during the rei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David The Scot
David the Scot (died c. 1138) was a Welsh or Irish cleric who was Bishop of Bangor from 1120 to 1138. There is some doubt as to David's nationality, as he is variously described as Welsh or Irish. Many Irish men living outside Ireland at this time had the designation Scottus, which originally denoted an Irishman, not a Scottish person. He was master of the cathedral school of Würzburg before 1110 - resting place of Irish missionary St. Kilian and St. Kilian's Abbey, Würzburg - and in that year accompanied the Emperor Henry V to Italy. He wrote an account of this expedition. He was elected Bishop of Bangor, at the instigation of Gruffudd ap Cynan, king of Gwynedd, in 1120. The previous bishop, Hervé, had been expelled from his see by the Welsh, and deadlock between Gruffudd and the king of England concerning the choice of a new bishop had resulted in the see being vacant for around twenty years. Gruffudd threatened to get the new Bishop consecrated in Ireland, but eventually ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gruffudd Ap Cynan
Gruffudd ap Cynan ( 1137), sometimes written as Gruffydd ap Cynan, was King of Gwynedd from 1081 until his death in 1137. In the course of a long and eventful life, he became a key figure in Welsh resistance to Norman rule, and was remembered as King of all the Welsh and Prince of all the Welsh. As a descendant of Rhodri Mawr, Gruffudd ap Cynan was a senior member of the princely House of Aberffraw. Through his mother, Gruffudd had close family connections with the Norse settlement around Dublin and he frequently used Ireland as a refuge and as a source of troops. He three times gained the throne of Gwynedd and then lost it again, before regaining it once more in 1099 and this time keeping power until his death. Gruffudd laid the foundations which were built upon by his son Owain Gwynedd and his great-grandson Llywelyn the Great. Life Unusual for a Welsh king or prince, a near-contemporary biography of Gruffudd, ''The history of Gruffudd ap Cynan'', has survived. Much of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Owain Gwynedd
Owain ap Gruffudd ( 23 or 28 November 1170) was King of Gwynedd, North Wales, from 1137 until his death in 1170, succeeding his father Gruffudd ap Cynan. He was called Owain the Great ( cy, Owain Fawr) and the first to be styled "Prince of Wales". He is considered to be the most successful of all the North Welsh princes prior to his grandson, Llywelyn the Great. He became known as Owain Gwynedd ( wlm, Owain Gwyned, "Owain of Gwynedd") to distinguish him from the contemporary king of Powys Wenwynwyn, Owain ap Gruffydd ap Maredudd, who became known as Owain Cyfeiliog. Early life Owain Gwynedd was a member of the House of Aberffraw, the senior branch of the dynasty of Rhodri the Great. His father, Gruffudd ap Cynan, was a strong and long-lived ruler who had made the principality of Gwynedd the most influential in Wales during the sixty-two years of his reign, using the island of Anglesey as his power base. His mother, Angharad ferch Owain, was the daughter of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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