The Summer of the Danes
Encyclopedia
The Summer of the Danes is a medieval mystery novel by Ellis Peters. It is the eighteenth in the Brother Cadfael series, and was first published in 1991
.
, where he tends the herb gardens and compounds medicines after enjoying many adventures in his early life. In the spring of 1144, he is pleasantly surprised to be asked to go on a journey into his native North Wales as interpreter to Brother Mark, his former assistant, who is now a deacon
to Roger de Clinton
, the Bishop of Coventry
. Mark is taking gifts and greetings from Bishop de Clinton to Gilbert, the newly-enthroned Bishop of St Asaph
, and to Meurig
, the Welsh Bishop of Bangor
.
The situation in North Wales is complicated for several reasons. Bishop Gilbert is a doctrinaire Norman, rather than a Welshman, and he is mistrusted by many Welshmen, not least Owain Gwynedd
, the ruler of Gwynedd
. Within Gwynedd, Owain has recently dispossessed and exiled his brother Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd
for his part in the murder of Anarawd ap Gruffydd
, the ruler of Deheubarth in west Wales.
At St. Asaph, Cadfael and Mark find Owain Gwynedd's household encamped near the Bishop's dwellings, where they are attended by Canon Meirion and his daughter Heledd. As a married (albeit widowed) priest, Meirion is in disfavour following the reassertion of clerical celibacy, and is under pressure to put away his daughter before he can expect promotion under Gilbert. Rather than be sent to a nunnery in England, Heledd has accepted Owain Gwynedd's suggestion of an arranged marriage to Ieuan ab Ifor, one of his tenants on Anglesey, but she resents her father for putting his career ahead of his daughter.
At the feast, while Roger de Clinton's letter to Gilbert is read out, Cadfael talks to Cuhelyn, who lost his right hand defending Anarawd from Cadwaladr's assassins. A man named Bledri ap Rhys is admitted to the hall and makes a plea to Owain for Cadwaladr's lands to be restored, clearly with Bishop Gilbert's encouragement. Bledri's manner is haughty and Owain temporises, saying that Bledri's petition will be considered later at Owain's own court at Aber, near Bangor. After most people have gone to bed, Bledri flirts briefly with Heledd, and mocks Canon Meirion when he intervenes.
The next day, Cadfael and Mark accompany Owain's retinue as they journey westwards. Heledd and Meirion go with them. Cadfael reveals to Mark the details of his childhood in Trefriw
, among a villein community such as those they are passing, and the restlessness and curiosity which caused him to leave the community and wander the world for several years before he settled at Shrewsbury Abbey.
When they arrive at Aber, Bledri is greeted warily by Gwion, the only Welsh noble who has not repudiated his former allegiance to the exiled Cadwaladr, and who remains confined to the court. After the evening meal, Cadfael and Mark go to the chapel to observe Compline
. Cadfael is sure that Gwion and Bledri have just met there in secret.
At midnight, a messenger arrives from Caernarfon
and arouses the court with the news that a Danish fleet from the Kingdom of Dublin has been sighted west of Abermenai and that Cadwaladr is with them, having enlisted their aid in restoring him to his lands. As Owain Gwynedd dispatches couriers to muster levies, it appears that Bledri is missing, as is a good horse. Although it is assumed that Bledri has fled to join the Danes, Cadfael wonders how he could have left the enclosed court undetected and asks Gwion to show him Bledri's quarters. They find Bledri has been murdered. He had evidently just risen from his bed and put on a gown before being knocked down by a violent blow and then stabbed.
A kitchen servant claims that he saw Cuhelyn openly leave Bledri's quarters late at night. Cuhelyn admits that he recognised Bledri as one of Prince Anarawd's murderers and intended to challenge him to mortal combat, but swears that finding Bledri asleep, he put off the matter to the morning. The horse is not found and further enquiry reveals that Heledd is absent. Meirion is alarmed, and is concerned for his daughter who is astray in a countryside threatened by Viking raiders.
Mark and Cadfael continue their journey to Bangor to deliver Roger de Clinton's gift to Bishop Meurig. Although Meurig greets them warmly, he too is distracted by the news of the raiders. Mark suggests that he and Cadfael spend a couple of days searching for Heledd. They find that she had gone to the dwelling of Nonna, a solitary holy woman, but found it empty as Nonna had gone to Bangor for safety. They also see a Danish vessel in the Menai Straits and realise that some raiders must be nearby. They split up. Cadfael hears Heledd's horse neigh, and finds her hiding place, but the raiders have also heard the neigh and seize them, though without unnecessary violence. The raiders' leader introduces himself as Turcaill. They take Cadfael, Heledd and some plundered food aboard the ship and row to Abermenai, where the main force of Danes are encamped.
Heledd tells Cadfael that she left Owain's court at Aber merely to refill a jug from a well, but found a horse saddled and tethered outside the enclosure and seized the chance to flee an unwelcome marriage.
Overnight, Owain Gwynedd brings an army to within a mile of the Danes' encampment. Brother Mark is sent as envoy to Otir
, the Danes' leader, and Cadwaladr, to say that Owain is prepared to meet with Cadwaladr and discuss their differences. Otir demands a hostage for Cadwaladr's safe return, and Mark offers himself. Cadwaladr goes to Owain, who coldly tells him that he may be restored to his lands only when the Danes have departed. Cadwaladr rides back to within hail of the Danish camp and imperiously tells the Danes to begone, as he and Owain have settled their differences. Furious at the falsehood, Owain himself rides into the Danish camp for a parley. He tells Otir that Cadwaladr's word is worthless, and that he himself will not pay Cadwaladr's promised fee for Otir's aid. He does offer to ransom Mark, Cadfael and Heledd, but Otir insists that Cadwaladr must pay the price for their release also.
That night, Turcaill rows his ship close to Owain's camp. He and some of his men sneak inside and carry off Cadwaladr, without being detected. Some time later, Cuhelyn finds Gwion gagged and bound in Cadwaladr's tent and Cadwaladr missing. When Gwion is brought before Owain, he says that he took the body of Bledri ap Rhys to Ceredigion to be buried, but then broke his parole by gathering about a hundred of Cadwaladr's former adherents, assuming that Owain and Cadwaladr had settled their differences in the face of the Danes. Owain contemptuously dismisses him as another whose word is of no value. Wandering the camp, Gwion meets Ieuan ap Ifor, who is wondering how to recover Heledd, his betrothed, and they begin plotting a raid against the Danes.
In the Danish camp, Cadwaladr agrees to pay two thousand marks for his release. Brother Mark carries the message, with Cadwaladr's seal as proof, to Owain. Owain in turn despatches Gwion, together with his own son Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd
, to collect the ransom in silver and cattle from Rhodri Fychan, Cadwaladr's former bailiff, at Llanbadarn. Three days elapse while Cadwaladr's ransom is collected and the silver is delivered. Gwion tries to gather his men to thwart the payment of the rest of the ransom, but the able Hywel forestalls him by driving three hundred of Cadwaladr's cattle to Abermenai before Gwion is ready.
At night, Ieuan ab Ifor's men launch an attack on a weak corner of the Danish camp. In the confusion, he seizes Heledd and drags her away as the Welsh retreat. Cadfael treats the half dozen Welsh and Danish wounded. The Danes bring their ships close inshore and line the beach, intending to sail off as soon as the full ransom for Cadwaladr is paid. As the cattle are being driven aboard, Gwion leads Cadwaladr's supporters in a last-minute attack. Owain Gwynedd personally intervenes to stop the fighting. In the last few moments before the Danes and Welsh draw apart, Otir mortally wounds Gwion. Gwion confesses to Cadfael and Owain that he murdered Bledri ap Rhys. Having charged Bledri with delivering messages to Cadwaladr and tethered the horse outside the palace at Aber for Bledri to ride to Abermenai, Gwion went to Bledri's quarters to find him in bed, clearly waiting on events before deciding whether to support or betray Cadwaladr. He struck him down and stabbed him as he lay stunned.
Otir has already declared that Brother Cadfael is freed without ransom for his aid to the wounded. Heledd goes to the beach to watch the Danes leave. Turcaill's boat emerges from behind a headland, and Heledd willingly goes aboard with Turcaill.
Cadfael considers that the outcome is as satisfactory as it could be. The Danes return to Dublin with their payment gained with little effort, Owain has prevented them raiding the coasts at no cost to himself, Cadwaladr is humbled and may be restored to some of his lands, Canon Meirion is free of his daughter and even Ieuan ab Ifor is spared a marriage to a resentful wife. Those who have committed murder have themselves met violent ends.
In spite of the bewildering series of events, Mark and Cadfael are able to return within the time limit set by Bishop de Clinton and Cadfael's superior, Abbot Radulfus. Cadfael confesses to his friend Hugh Beringar, Sheriff of Shropshire, that he is always eager to wander for a while, but that he is content to be returning home, to Shrewsbury Abbey.
Norsemen from Dublin intervened several times in Welsh affairs; on behalf of Cadwaladr, of England under Henry II
and after Owain's death in 1169, on behalf of his dispossessed son Hywel.
An undercurrent is the antagonism between the Church, represented at the time by Theobald of Bec
, the Archbishop of Canterbury
, and churchmen in Wales who wished to preserve independent Celtic organisation and forms. The See of St. Asaph has recently been recreated, but the post is filled by a Norman who imposes the doctrines of Canterbury and Rome. At one stage, Brother Mark alludes to the Claim of Metropolitan Status of the See of Saint David's, which would make it equal to Canterbury, and which was opposed by English sees.
1991 in literature
The year 1991 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Douglas Coupland publishes the novel Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, popularizing the term Generation X as the name of the generation....
.
Plot summary
Brother Cadfael is a monk of Shrewsbury AbbeyShrewsbury Abbey
The Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, commonly known as Shrewsbury Abbey, was a Benedictine monastery founded in 1083 by the Norman Earl of Shrewsbury, Roger de Montgomery, in Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire, England.-Background:...
, where he tends the herb gardens and compounds medicines after enjoying many adventures in his early life. In the spring of 1144, he is pleasantly surprised to be asked to go on a journey into his native North Wales as interpreter to Brother Mark, his former assistant, who is now a deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
to Roger de Clinton
Roger de Clinton
Roger de Clinton was a medieval Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield. He was responsible for organising a new grid street plan for the town of Lichfield in the 12th century which survives to this day.-Life:...
, the Bishop of Coventry
Bishop of Lichfield
The Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 4,516 km² of the counties of Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and West Midlands. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed...
. Mark is taking gifts and greetings from Bishop de Clinton to Gilbert, the newly-enthroned Bishop of St Asaph
Bishop of St Asaph
The Bishop of St Asaph heads the Church in Wales diocese of St Asaph.The diocese covers the counties of Conwy and Flintshire, Wrexham county borough, the eastern part of Merioneth in Gwynedd and part of northern Powys. The Episcopal seat is located in the Cathedral Church of St Asaph in the town of...
, and to Meurig
Meurig (bishop)
Meurig was a Welsh cleric who was Bishop of Bangor from 1139 to 1161.Meurig continued the rebuilding of Bangor Cathedral....
, the Welsh Bishop of Bangor
Bishop of Bangor
The Bishop of Bangor is the Ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Bangor.The diocese covers the counties of Anglesey, most of Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire and a small part of Montgomeryshire...
.
The situation in North Wales is complicated for several reasons. Bishop Gilbert is a doctrinaire Norman, rather than a Welshman, and he is mistrusted by many Welshmen, not least Owain Gwynedd
Owain Gwynedd
Owain Gwynedd ap Gruffydd , in English also known as Owen the Great, was King of Gwynedd from 1137 until his death in 1170. He is occasionally referred to as "Owain I of Gwynedd"; and as "Owain I of Wales" on account of his claim to be King of Wales. He is considered to be the most successful of...
, the ruler of Gwynedd
Gwynedd
Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
. Within Gwynedd, Owain has recently dispossessed and exiled his brother Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd
Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd
Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd was the third son of Gruffydd ap Cynan, King of Gwynedd, Wales and younger brother of Owain Gwynedd.-Appearance in history:...
for his part in the murder of Anarawd ap Gruffydd
Anarawd ap Gruffydd
- Lineage :Anarawd was the eldest son of Gruffydd ap Rhys. On the death of his father in 1137 Anarawd took over the rule of Deheubarth.- Resistance :...
, the ruler of Deheubarth in west Wales.
At St. Asaph, Cadfael and Mark find Owain Gwynedd's household encamped near the Bishop's dwellings, where they are attended by Canon Meirion and his daughter Heledd. As a married (albeit widowed) priest, Meirion is in disfavour following the reassertion of clerical celibacy, and is under pressure to put away his daughter before he can expect promotion under Gilbert. Rather than be sent to a nunnery in England, Heledd has accepted Owain Gwynedd's suggestion of an arranged marriage to Ieuan ab Ifor, one of his tenants on Anglesey, but she resents her father for putting his career ahead of his daughter.
At the feast, while Roger de Clinton's letter to Gilbert is read out, Cadfael talks to Cuhelyn, who lost his right hand defending Anarawd from Cadwaladr's assassins. A man named Bledri ap Rhys is admitted to the hall and makes a plea to Owain for Cadwaladr's lands to be restored, clearly with Bishop Gilbert's encouragement. Bledri's manner is haughty and Owain temporises, saying that Bledri's petition will be considered later at Owain's own court at Aber, near Bangor. After most people have gone to bed, Bledri flirts briefly with Heledd, and mocks Canon Meirion when he intervenes.
The next day, Cadfael and Mark accompany Owain's retinue as they journey westwards. Heledd and Meirion go with them. Cadfael reveals to Mark the details of his childhood in Trefriw
Trefriw
Trefriw is a village in Conwy County Borough, Wales. It lies on the river Conwy in North Wales, a few miles south of the site of the Roman fort of Canovium, sited at Caerhun. The parish population in 2001 was 924....
, among a villein community such as those they are passing, and the restlessness and curiosity which caused him to leave the community and wander the world for several years before he settled at Shrewsbury Abbey.
When they arrive at Aber, Bledri is greeted warily by Gwion, the only Welsh noble who has not repudiated his former allegiance to the exiled Cadwaladr, and who remains confined to the court. After the evening meal, Cadfael and Mark go to the chapel to observe Compline
Compline
Compline is the final church service of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours. The English word Compline is derived from the Latin completorium, as Compline is the completion of the working day. The word was first used in this sense about the beginning of the 6th century by St...
. Cadfael is sure that Gwion and Bledri have just met there in secret.
At midnight, a messenger arrives from Caernarfon
Caernarfon
Caernarfon is a Royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,611. It lies along the A487 road, on the east banks of the Menai Straits, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is to the northeast, while Snowdonia fringes Caernarfon to the east and southeast...
and arouses the court with the news that a Danish fleet from the Kingdom of Dublin has been sighted west of Abermenai and that Cadwaladr is with them, having enlisted their aid in restoring him to his lands. As Owain Gwynedd dispatches couriers to muster levies, it appears that Bledri is missing, as is a good horse. Although it is assumed that Bledri has fled to join the Danes, Cadfael wonders how he could have left the enclosed court undetected and asks Gwion to show him Bledri's quarters. They find Bledri has been murdered. He had evidently just risen from his bed and put on a gown before being knocked down by a violent blow and then stabbed.
A kitchen servant claims that he saw Cuhelyn openly leave Bledri's quarters late at night. Cuhelyn admits that he recognised Bledri as one of Prince Anarawd's murderers and intended to challenge him to mortal combat, but swears that finding Bledri asleep, he put off the matter to the morning. The horse is not found and further enquiry reveals that Heledd is absent. Meirion is alarmed, and is concerned for his daughter who is astray in a countryside threatened by Viking raiders.
Mark and Cadfael continue their journey to Bangor to deliver Roger de Clinton's gift to Bishop Meurig. Although Meurig greets them warmly, he too is distracted by the news of the raiders. Mark suggests that he and Cadfael spend a couple of days searching for Heledd. They find that she had gone to the dwelling of Nonna, a solitary holy woman, but found it empty as Nonna had gone to Bangor for safety. They also see a Danish vessel in the Menai Straits and realise that some raiders must be nearby. They split up. Cadfael hears Heledd's horse neigh, and finds her hiding place, but the raiders have also heard the neigh and seize them, though without unnecessary violence. The raiders' leader introduces himself as Turcaill. They take Cadfael, Heledd and some plundered food aboard the ship and row to Abermenai, where the main force of Danes are encamped.
Heledd tells Cadfael that she left Owain's court at Aber merely to refill a jug from a well, but found a horse saddled and tethered outside the enclosure and seized the chance to flee an unwelcome marriage.
Overnight, Owain Gwynedd brings an army to within a mile of the Danes' encampment. Brother Mark is sent as envoy to Otir
Óttar of Dublin
Óttar of Dublin , in Irish Oitir Mac mic Oitir , was a Hiberno-Norse king of Dublin. Alternative names used in modern scholarship include: Óttar of the Isles and Óttar Óttarsson.-Life:...
, the Danes' leader, and Cadwaladr, to say that Owain is prepared to meet with Cadwaladr and discuss their differences. Otir demands a hostage for Cadwaladr's safe return, and Mark offers himself. Cadwaladr goes to Owain, who coldly tells him that he may be restored to his lands only when the Danes have departed. Cadwaladr rides back to within hail of the Danish camp and imperiously tells the Danes to begone, as he and Owain have settled their differences. Furious at the falsehood, Owain himself rides into the Danish camp for a parley. He tells Otir that Cadwaladr's word is worthless, and that he himself will not pay Cadwaladr's promised fee for Otir's aid. He does offer to ransom Mark, Cadfael and Heledd, but Otir insists that Cadwaladr must pay the price for their release also.
That night, Turcaill rows his ship close to Owain's camp. He and some of his men sneak inside and carry off Cadwaladr, without being detected. Some time later, Cuhelyn finds Gwion gagged and bound in Cadwaladr's tent and Cadwaladr missing. When Gwion is brought before Owain, he says that he took the body of Bledri ap Rhys to Ceredigion to be buried, but then broke his parole by gathering about a hundred of Cadwaladr's former adherents, assuming that Owain and Cadwaladr had settled their differences in the face of the Danes. Owain contemptuously dismisses him as another whose word is of no value. Wandering the camp, Gwion meets Ieuan ap Ifor, who is wondering how to recover Heledd, his betrothed, and they begin plotting a raid against the Danes.
In the Danish camp, Cadwaladr agrees to pay two thousand marks for his release. Brother Mark carries the message, with Cadwaladr's seal as proof, to Owain. Owain in turn despatches Gwion, together with his own son Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd
Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd
Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd Wales Prince of Gwynedd in 1170, a Welsh poet and military leader. Hywel was the son of Owain Gwynedd, prince of Gwynedd, and an Irishwoman named Pyfog. In recognition of this, he was also known as Hywel ap Gwyddeles...
, to collect the ransom in silver and cattle from Rhodri Fychan, Cadwaladr's former bailiff, at Llanbadarn. Three days elapse while Cadwaladr's ransom is collected and the silver is delivered. Gwion tries to gather his men to thwart the payment of the rest of the ransom, but the able Hywel forestalls him by driving three hundred of Cadwaladr's cattle to Abermenai before Gwion is ready.
At night, Ieuan ab Ifor's men launch an attack on a weak corner of the Danish camp. In the confusion, he seizes Heledd and drags her away as the Welsh retreat. Cadfael treats the half dozen Welsh and Danish wounded. The Danes bring their ships close inshore and line the beach, intending to sail off as soon as the full ransom for Cadwaladr is paid. As the cattle are being driven aboard, Gwion leads Cadwaladr's supporters in a last-minute attack. Owain Gwynedd personally intervenes to stop the fighting. In the last few moments before the Danes and Welsh draw apart, Otir mortally wounds Gwion. Gwion confesses to Cadfael and Owain that he murdered Bledri ap Rhys. Having charged Bledri with delivering messages to Cadwaladr and tethered the horse outside the palace at Aber for Bledri to ride to Abermenai, Gwion went to Bledri's quarters to find him in bed, clearly waiting on events before deciding whether to support or betray Cadwaladr. He struck him down and stabbed him as he lay stunned.
Otir has already declared that Brother Cadfael is freed without ransom for his aid to the wounded. Heledd goes to the beach to watch the Danes leave. Turcaill's boat emerges from behind a headland, and Heledd willingly goes aboard with Turcaill.
Cadfael considers that the outcome is as satisfactory as it could be. The Danes return to Dublin with their payment gained with little effort, Owain has prevented them raiding the coasts at no cost to himself, Cadwaladr is humbled and may be restored to some of his lands, Canon Meirion is free of his daughter and even Ieuan ab Ifor is spared a marriage to a resentful wife. Those who have committed murder have themselves met violent ends.
In spite of the bewildering series of events, Mark and Cadfael are able to return within the time limit set by Bishop de Clinton and Cadfael's superior, Abbot Radulfus. Cadfael confesses to his friend Hugh Beringar, Sheriff of Shropshire, that he is always eager to wander for a while, but that he is content to be returning home, to Shrewsbury Abbey.
Background and setting
Unlike most of the Brother Cadfael chronicles, the Summer of the Danes is set in Wales, which is divided into many disunited principalities although Owain Gwynedd is trying to unite many of them through negotiation, dynastic marriage and conquest. Historically, he and his brother Cadwaladr were several times estranged and reconciled, and Cadwaladr did indeed enlist the help of a Hiberno-Norse fleet to regain his lands. Owain Gwynedd appears prominently in the novel. He achieves an amicable result, with the least possible loss of life.Norsemen from Dublin intervened several times in Welsh affairs; on behalf of Cadwaladr, of England under Henry II
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
and after Owain's death in 1169, on behalf of his dispossessed son Hywel.
An undercurrent is the antagonism between the Church, represented at the time by Theobald of Bec
Theobald of Bec
Theobald was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1139 to 1161. He was a Norman; his exact birth date is unknown. Some time in the late 11th or early 12th century Theobald became a monk at the Abbey of Bec, rising to the position of abbot in 1137. King Stephen of England chose him to be Archbishop of...
, the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, and churchmen in Wales who wished to preserve independent Celtic organisation and forms. The See of St. Asaph has recently been recreated, but the post is filled by a Norman who imposes the doctrines of Canterbury and Rome. At one stage, Brother Mark alludes to the Claim of Metropolitan Status of the See of Saint David's, which would make it equal to Canterbury, and which was opposed by English sees.