The Confession of Brother Haluin
Encyclopedia
The Confession of Brother Haluin is a medieval mystery novel set in the winter of 1142-1143 by Ellis Peters, first published in 1988
. It is the fifteenth novel in the Cadfael
series.
to fail, and the monks must repair the rotting timbers immediately lest the damage worsen. Some days into the repairs, a monk named Brother Haluin falls from the scaffolding and is seriously injured. Taken to the abbey's infirmary, he asks to make confession, and is heard by the abbot and by Brother Cadfael, whom he asks to be by his bedside. At the age of eighteen, Haluin relates, he fell in love with a wealthy young woman named Bertrade de Clary. Despite his own good background and their obvious (and consummated) love for each other, Bertrade's widowed mother Adelais forbade the relationship. A heartbroken Haluin then entered the monastery, only to receive a letter three months later from Adelais ordering him to provide her with herbs that would end Bertrade's pregnancy. He stole the necessary drugs from Cadfael's herbarium and sent them to Adelais, who later informed him that Bertrade had died from the herbs he had sent. He begs Cadfael to forgive him for the theft and for putting his herbs to such a use, and asks the abbot to forgive his sins and to grant him absolution. They both comply willingly, both believing that Brother Haluin will shortly die of his injuries.
But Haluin does not die. His injuries are severe and some are permanent - he will never walk without crutches again, and his face is badly scarred - but after three months he is able to leave his sickbed and return to his work in the scriptarium. However, he first wishes to complete a journey he had promised to carry out were he to survive: a pilgrimage to Bertrade's tomb at Hales, east of Shrewsbury. After some deliberation the abbot accedes to his pleading and allows Haluin to go on his pilgrimage, but only if he takes Brother Cadfael with him. Haluin agrees, knowing that Cadfael heard but will not divulge the contents of his confession to anyone they meet.
They proceed by foot to Hales, Haluin struggling with his crutches over the three-day journey. Once they arrive at Hales, however, they discover that Bertrade is not buried at the church. The local priest tells them that the de Clary family tomb is at Elford
in Staffordshire, and Haluin decides to continue his journey despite Cadfael's concern over his fitness to complete the long pilgrimage by foot. Before leaving, however, they meet with Adelais, who still resides at Hales, and who expresses shock over Haluin's injuries. They also meet a young man named Roscelin, whom Cadfael supposes is the son of one of the de Clary's wealthier tenants.
Their trip to Elford (via Watling Street
and Lichfield
) takes the better part of a week. On the third night out, having taken shelter in a hay-loft, Cadfael and Haluin discuss their vocation; after Haluin falls asleep, Cadfael takes a short walk but sees two horsemen approaching, each with a woman riding post behind him. Cadfael recognizes one of the women as Adelais and the other as her maid.
Haluin and Cadfael arrive at Elford in the evening to find Adelais ensconced in the dower house at her son Audemar’s manor. She greets them again and Audemar offers them shelter. Haluin makes his way to the church to spend the night in vigil, kneeling alongside Cadfael at the de Clary tomb. When morning comes Roscelin arrives at the church to assist Cadfael in bringing Haluin to his feet. They thank him and Cadfael has the opportunity to speak with him for some time as they help Haluin back to the de Clary manor. The two monks spend the next day recuperating and return to the road the next day, intent on returning to Shrewsbury as quickly as possible.
They travel via a side road that bypasses Lichfield, intending to break their day's journey at Farewell, where a Benedictine convent has recently been built. However, a violent storm forces them to ask for shelter at the manor of Vivers. The lord of the manor, Cenred, welcomes them to his home, asking in passing whether either of the monks is an ordained priest and, if so, if he would be able to officiate at the wedding of his much younger half-sister, Helisende, to a Cheshire nobleman on the morrow. The haste, Cenred says, is because his own son, who is the same age as Helisende, has fallen in love with the girl; as such a relationship is prohibited by the Church, Cenred thought it best to marry off his sister before serious harm could be done. Haluin has been ordained and agrees to conduct the sacrament in the absence of the local priest. They both meet Helisende at dinner; Cadfael is struck by how familiar she seems to him even though he cannot remember where he has seen her before.
The prospective bridegroom arrives the next day and all appears to be well until the children's old nurse disappears. At that point Roscelin arrives on horseback, enraged, and it becomes clear that he is Cenred's son, the young man hopelessly in love with his own aunt. Cenred repeats the story of Helisende being the daughter of his late father with his second, much younger wife, and tells them that the wife has gone into the convent at Farewell. Roscelin and Cenred argue. Cenred asks his wife to get Helisende so that she might speak for herself, but Helisende cannot be found. Just then Audemar de Clary and his men arrive with the news that the nurse’s body has been found on the road between Vivers and Elford. Cadfael deduces that she travelled to Elford to warn Roscelin of the wedding and was on her way back when she was killed.
As there can be no marriage under the circumstances, Cadfael and Haluin depart in the morning, hoping to reach Farewell. Cadfael has another reason to visit Farewell: he suspects that Helisende, torn between her duty and her love, has taken refuge with her mother at the convent, and hopes to persuade her to return. Once they arrive at the convent, though, Haluin recognizes one of the nuns as Bertrade, the girl he’d loved and thought he’d killed. Bertrade is now Sister Benedicta, and tells him that she was never given the abortion herbs by her mother and in fact had never heard of them: instead, Adelais married Bertrada off to Cenred’s father while Bertrade was only a few weeks along, forbidding Bertrade on pain of death to tell her husband that her child was not his.
Cadfael and Haluin return to Vivers with the news that Helisende is both safe and unrelated by blood to Roscelin, which means that there is no bar to their marriage. Cenred is angered by Adelis's deception, as is Audemar de Clary. Adelais confesses that she begged the herbs from Haluin then lied about her daughter’s death in order to torment him for “what he had done”, but upon questioning admits that her anger arose in part because Haluin had fallen in love with her daughter and not her. Cadfael suggests that the nurse was killed by Adelais’s servants in order to stop her from revealing that Helisende was not related to Cenred or Roscelin. Audemar agrees and later banishes his mother to Hales, ordering her never to leave the manor.
1988 in literature
The year 1988 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Margaret Atwood - Cat's Eye*J.G. Ballard - Memories of the Space Age*Iain M...
. It is the fifteenth novel in the Cadfael
Cadfael
Brother Cadfael is the fictional main 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 Shrewsbury Abbey, in western England,...
series.
Plot summary
Heavy snows in mid-December 1142 have caused the guest-hall roof at the Abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul in ShrewsburyShrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
to fail, and the monks must repair the rotting timbers immediately lest the damage worsen. Some days into the repairs, a monk named Brother Haluin falls from the scaffolding and is seriously injured. Taken to the abbey's infirmary, he asks to make confession, and is heard by the abbot and by Brother Cadfael, whom he asks to be by his bedside. At the age of eighteen, Haluin relates, he fell in love with a wealthy young woman named Bertrade de Clary. Despite his own good background and their obvious (and consummated) love for each other, Bertrade's widowed mother Adelais forbade the relationship. A heartbroken Haluin then entered the monastery, only to receive a letter three months later from Adelais ordering him to provide her with herbs that would end Bertrade's pregnancy. He stole the necessary drugs from Cadfael's herbarium and sent them to Adelais, who later informed him that Bertrade had died from the herbs he had sent. He begs Cadfael to forgive him for the theft and for putting his herbs to such a use, and asks the abbot to forgive his sins and to grant him absolution. They both comply willingly, both believing that Brother Haluin will shortly die of his injuries.
But Haluin does not die. His injuries are severe and some are permanent - he will never walk without crutches again, and his face is badly scarred - but after three months he is able to leave his sickbed and return to his work in the scriptarium. However, he first wishes to complete a journey he had promised to carry out were he to survive: a pilgrimage to Bertrade's tomb at Hales, east of Shrewsbury. After some deliberation the abbot accedes to his pleading and allows Haluin to go on his pilgrimage, but only if he takes Brother Cadfael with him. Haluin agrees, knowing that Cadfael heard but will not divulge the contents of his confession to anyone they meet.
They proceed by foot to Hales, Haluin struggling with his crutches over the three-day journey. Once they arrive at Hales, however, they discover that Bertrade is not buried at the church. The local priest tells them that the de Clary family tomb is at Elford
Elford
Elford is a village and civil parish in Lichfield District, Staffordshire, England. It is situated on the east bank of the River Tame, about east of the City of Lichfield and 5 miles north of Tamworth.-Origins:...
in Staffordshire, and Haluin decides to continue his journey despite Cadfael's concern over his fitness to complete the long pilgrimage by foot. Before leaving, however, they meet with Adelais, who still resides at Hales, and who expresses shock over Haluin's injuries. They also meet a young man named Roscelin, whom Cadfael supposes is the son of one of the de Clary's wealthier tenants.
Their trip to Elford (via Watling Street
Watling Street
Watling Street is the name given to an ancient trackway in England and Wales that was first used by the Britons mainly between the modern cities of Canterbury and St Albans. The Romans later paved the route, part of which is identified on the Antonine Itinerary as Iter III: "Item a Londinio ad...
and Lichfield
Lichfield
Lichfield is a cathedral city, civil parish and district in Staffordshire, England. One of eight civil parishes with city status in England, Lichfield is situated roughly north of Birmingham...
) takes the better part of a week. On the third night out, having taken shelter in a hay-loft, Cadfael and Haluin discuss their vocation; after Haluin falls asleep, Cadfael takes a short walk but sees two horsemen approaching, each with a woman riding post behind him. Cadfael recognizes one of the women as Adelais and the other as her maid.
Haluin and Cadfael arrive at Elford in the evening to find Adelais ensconced in the dower house at her son Audemar’s manor. She greets them again and Audemar offers them shelter. Haluin makes his way to the church to spend the night in vigil, kneeling alongside Cadfael at the de Clary tomb. When morning comes Roscelin arrives at the church to assist Cadfael in bringing Haluin to his feet. They thank him and Cadfael has the opportunity to speak with him for some time as they help Haluin back to the de Clary manor. The two monks spend the next day recuperating and return to the road the next day, intent on returning to Shrewsbury as quickly as possible.
They travel via a side road that bypasses Lichfield, intending to break their day's journey at Farewell, where a Benedictine convent has recently been built. However, a violent storm forces them to ask for shelter at the manor of Vivers. The lord of the manor, Cenred, welcomes them to his home, asking in passing whether either of the monks is an ordained priest and, if so, if he would be able to officiate at the wedding of his much younger half-sister, Helisende, to a Cheshire nobleman on the morrow. The haste, Cenred says, is because his own son, who is the same age as Helisende, has fallen in love with the girl; as such a relationship is prohibited by the Church, Cenred thought it best to marry off his sister before serious harm could be done. Haluin has been ordained and agrees to conduct the sacrament in the absence of the local priest. They both meet Helisende at dinner; Cadfael is struck by how familiar she seems to him even though he cannot remember where he has seen her before.
The prospective bridegroom arrives the next day and all appears to be well until the children's old nurse disappears. At that point Roscelin arrives on horseback, enraged, and it becomes clear that he is Cenred's son, the young man hopelessly in love with his own aunt. Cenred repeats the story of Helisende being the daughter of his late father with his second, much younger wife, and tells them that the wife has gone into the convent at Farewell. Roscelin and Cenred argue. Cenred asks his wife to get Helisende so that she might speak for herself, but Helisende cannot be found. Just then Audemar de Clary and his men arrive with the news that the nurse’s body has been found on the road between Vivers and Elford. Cadfael deduces that she travelled to Elford to warn Roscelin of the wedding and was on her way back when she was killed.
As there can be no marriage under the circumstances, Cadfael and Haluin depart in the morning, hoping to reach Farewell. Cadfael has another reason to visit Farewell: he suspects that Helisende, torn between her duty and her love, has taken refuge with her mother at the convent, and hopes to persuade her to return. Once they arrive at the convent, though, Haluin recognizes one of the nuns as Bertrade, the girl he’d loved and thought he’d killed. Bertrade is now Sister Benedicta, and tells him that she was never given the abortion herbs by her mother and in fact had never heard of them: instead, Adelais married Bertrada off to Cenred’s father while Bertrade was only a few weeks along, forbidding Bertrade on pain of death to tell her husband that her child was not his.
Cadfael and Haluin return to Vivers with the news that Helisende is both safe and unrelated by blood to Roscelin, which means that there is no bar to their marriage. Cenred is angered by Adelis's deception, as is Audemar de Clary. Adelais confesses that she begged the herbs from Haluin then lied about her daughter’s death in order to torment him for “what he had done”, but upon questioning admits that her anger arose in part because Haluin had fallen in love with her daughter and not her. Cadfael suggests that the nurse was killed by Adelais’s servants in order to stop her from revealing that Helisende was not related to Cenred or Roscelin. Audemar agrees and later banishes his mother to Hales, ordering her never to leave the manor.