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Saint Peter's Fair
''Saint Peter's Fair'' is a medieval mystery novel by Ellis Peters, set in July – September 1139. It is the fourth novel in The Cadfael Chronicles, first published in 1981 (1981 in literature). The story occurs during The Anarchy, in the English town of Shrewsbury. It was adapted for television in 1997 by Central for ITV. The book was received positively, saying that Cadfael was "stylishly authentic, though not quite as darkly inventive, as his previous three ovels. Another review considered that while "Murder abounds in these early chronicles", the "predictable plotting is amply compensated for by the author's wonderful re-creation of the period". Plot introduction In summer 1139, England is torn by strife between King Stephen and his cousin Empress Maud, during The Anarchy. King Stephen has the advantage now. From abroad Empress Maud is building support for a renewed attempt on the throne, with Earl Robert of Gloucester. Ranulf, Earl of Chester, is married to a da ...
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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 ...
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Robert, 1st Earl Of Gloucester
Robert FitzRoy, 1st Earl of Gloucester (c. 1090 – 31 October 1147 David Crouch, 'Robert, first earl of Gloucester (b. c. 1090, d. 1147)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 200Retrieved 1 Oct 2010/ref>) (''alias'' Robert Rufus, Robert de Caen ( Latinised to Robertus de Cadomo), Robert Consul) was an illegitimate son of King Henry I of England. He was the half-brother of the Empress Matilda, and her chief military supporter during the civil war known as The Anarchy, in which she vied with Stephen of Blois for the throne of England. Early life Robert was probably the eldest of Henry's many illegitimate children. He was born before his father's accession to the English throne, either during the reign of his grandfather William the Conqueror or his uncle William Rufus. He is sometimes and erroneously designated as a son of Nest, daughter of Rhys ap Tewdwr, last king of Deheubarth, although his mother has been identified a ...
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Arbalest
The arbalest (also arblast) was a late variation of the crossbow coming into use in Europe during the 12th century. A large weapon, the arbalest had a steel prod (the "bow" portion of the weapon). Since the arbalest was much larger than earlier crossbows, and because of the greater tensile strength of steel, it had a greater force. However, the greater draw weight was offset by the smaller which limited its potential in fully transferring the energy into the crossbow bolt. The strongest windlass-pulled arbalests could have up to of force and be accurate up to . A skilled arbalestier (arbalester) could loose two bolts per minute. Nomenclature The term "arbalest" is sometimes used interchangeably with "crossbow". ''Arbalest'' is a Medieval French word originating from the Roman name ' (from ' 'bow' + ' 'missile-throwing engine'), (arbalist, arblast) which was then used for crossbows, although originally used for types of artillery. Modern French French ( or ) is a Rom ...
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West Country
The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Herefordshire. "Which counties make up the West Country?", ''YouGov.co.uk'', 23 October 2019
Retrieved 22 June 2021
The West Country has a distinctive regional English dialect and accent, and is also home to the .


Extent ...
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Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in South West England. The wider Bristol Built-up Area is the eleventh most populous urban area in the United Kingdom. Iron Age hillforts and Roman villas were built near the confluence of the rivers Frome and Avon. Around the beginning of the 11th century, the settlement was known as (Old English: 'the place at the bridge'). Bristol received a royal charter in 1155 and was historically divided between Gloucestershire and Somerset until 1373 when it became a county corporate. From the 13th to the 18th century, Bristol was among the top three English cities, after London, in tax receipts. A major port, Bristol was a starting place for early voyages of exploration to the New World. On a ship out of Bristol in 1497, John Cabot, a Venetia ...
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Mold, Flintshire
Mold ( cy, Yr Wyddgrug) is a town and community in Flintshire, Wales, on the River Alyn. It is the county town and administrative seat of Flintshire County Council, as it was of Clwyd from 1974 to 1996. According to the 2011 UK Census, it had a population of 10,058. A 2019 estimate puts it at 10,123. Origin of the name The original Welsh-language place name, ''Yr Wyddgrug'' was recorded as ''Gythe Gruc'' in a document of 1280–1281, and means "The Mound of the Tomb/Sepulchre". The name "Mold" originates from the Norman-French ''mont-hault'' ("high hill"). The name was originally applied to the site of Mold Castle in connection with its builder Robert de Montalt, an Anglo-Norman lord. It is recorded as ''Mohald'' in a document of 1254. History A mile west of the town is Maes Garmon, ("The Field of Germanus"), the traditional site of the "Alleluia Victory" by a force of Romano-Britons led by Germanus of Auxerre against the invading Picts and Scots, which occurred shortly af ...
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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 ...
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One Corpse Too Many
''One Corpse Too Many'' is a medieval mystery novel set in the summer of 1138 by Ellis Peters. It is the second novel in the Cadfael Chronicles, first published in 1979. During the Anarchy, King Stephen takes Shrewsbury Castle and hangs all of the surviving defenders. Cadfael, a Benedictine monk of the nearby Shrewsbury Abbey discovers a murdered man hidden amongst the slain. He also has to help a young girl escape the siege, and discover the motives of Hugh Beringar – her betrothed fiancé. When the novel was first published, the author was remarked for her knowledge of the historical era and ability to create it for the reader, yet "she never lets the meticulously researched place-and-time interfere with the canny puzzle, the flesh-and-blood characterization, or the sharp tension." It was adapted for television in 1994 by Central for ITV. Plot summary In August 1138, King Stephen is besieging rebels now loyal to Empress Matilda in Shrewsbury Castle. Brother Cadfa ...
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Trefriw
Trefriw () is a village and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales. It lies on the river Crafnant in North Wales, a few miles south of the site of the Roman fort of Canovium, sited at Caerhun. At the last three censuses the population of the community has been recorded as 842 in 1999, 915 in 2001, and 783 in 2011 (from a total of 368 households). Trefriw lies on the edge of Snowdonia, on the B5106 road to the north-west of Llanrwst, and about 4½ miles north of Betws-y-Coed by road. It is located on the western slopes of the glaciated Conwy valley, below the ridge of Cefn Cyfarwydd, the village having been largely built in a semicircle at the point where the river Crafnant flows from its hanging valley to join the river Conwy. The river Crafnant still provides power for the woollen mill, and in the past provided power for a number of other industries based along its banks, such as a forge which provided quarry tools. The community includes the hamlet of Llanrhychwyn. Mos ...
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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, ...
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Arundel Castle
Arundel Castle is a restored and remodelled medieval castle in Arundel, West Sussex, England. It was established during the reign of Edward the Confessor and completed by Roger de Montgomery. The castle was damaged in the English Civil War and then restored in the 18th and 19th centuries by Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk. Since the 11th century, the castle has been the seat of the Earls of Arundel and the Dukes of Norfolk. It is a Grade I listed building. History The original structure was a motte-and-bailey castle. Roger de Montgomery was declared the first Earl of Arundel as the King granted him the property as part of a much larger package of hundreds of manors. Roger, who was a cousin of William the Conqueror, had stayed in Normandy to keep the peace there while William was away in England. He was rewarded for his loyalty with extensive lands in the Welsh Marches and across the country, together with one fifth of Sussex (Arundel Rape). He began work on Arundel ...
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Brazier
A brazier () is a container used to burn charcoal or other solid fuel for cooking, heating or cultural rituals. It often takes the form of a metal box or bowl with feet. Its elevation helps circulate air, feeding oxygen to the fire. Braziers have been used since ancient times; the Nimrud brazier dates to at least 824 BC. History The word brazier is mentioned in the Bible. The Hebrew word for brazier is believed to be of Egyptian origin, suggesting that it was imported from Egypt. The lone reference to it in the Bible being the following verse: * - the winter palace of King Jehoiakim was heated by a brazier (). Roman Emperor Jovian was poisoned by the fumes from a brazier in his tent in 364, ending the line of Constantine. Uses Heating Despite risks in burning charcoal on open fires, braziers were widely adopted for domestic heating, particularly and somewhat more safely used (namely in unglazed, shuttered-only buildings) in the Spanish-speaking world. Fernando de Alva Cor ...
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