Summary Of The Novel 'A Morbid Taste For Bones'

A Morbid Taste For Bones by Ellis Peters takes place in the year 1137 CE. It centers on Brother Cadfael, a monk at Shrewsbury Abbey, a Benedictine monastery in medieval England. He studies and grows herbs. A prior at the monastery decides that the Shrewsbury Abbey must have the relics of a saint for their chapel. They travel to Wales to recover the bones of Saint Winifred. Some of the monks travel to Wales and with the consent of Prince Owain of Gwynedd and the Bishop of Bangor, they go to the town of Gwytherin to recover the bones. However, when they arrive, the local lord (Rhisiart). Soon after, they find that Rhisiart had been murdered, and it’s up to Brother Cadfael to find out who did it. This novel focuses on the religious and some …show more content…
In the novel, Sioned has no choice over who she will marry. Although she does have some input, ultimately the decision is up to her father, Rhisiart. Even if she wanted to marry Engelard, it would not be her choice. Her father is giving consent of the marriage. Without the consent of her father, she would not be able to get married. As long as she is above age twelve, the age of consent, her parents are allowed to marry her off without her consent. However, this differs in Engelard’s case. If he wants to get married, he is the only one who would have to give consent. Because he is an adult, working, male his parents do not need to provide consent for him. For Sioned, she felt as if this was unfair. She believed that just because she was a women does not mean she should not be able to give consent for herself. Brother Cadfael, on the other hand, believes that in any marriage, God gives the final consent. These ideas of all parties were very common. Canon Law states that “The consent of the parties, legitimately manifested between persons quali-fied by law, makes marriage; no human power is able to supply this consent.” (Canon Law 1057.1) It was believed that even though a marriage might have gotten the legal consent of a parent, only God was able to give true consent. Without his consent, the marriage was not ‘real’. The consent of God did not only apply to marriage. It also applied to …show more content…
In the novel, Brother Cadfael’s main job at the monastery is to farm and tend to his herb gardens. When Brother Cadfael is first introduced to the reader, he is tending to his herb garden. Since most monasteries were self-sufficient, they had to grow their own food. “Depending on their size, monasteries had several types of gardens. There was always a cloister garth, a square garden at the heart of the monastery surrounded by cloisters, long passages along which monks could walk or where they might sit to meditate or read.” (Beswick, Early Horticulture of Benedictines and Cistercians) Within his gardens, Brother Cadfael not only produced food, but also medicines for the sick. The author speaks of the meticulous process of creating the perfect dose, because overdose could be more lethal than the actual disease. This is historically accurate. These herb gardens were very important in the lives of Benedictine monks. According to Benedict of Nursia, the founder of Monte Cassino monastery “Before all things, and above all things, especial care must be taken of the sick.” When any monk joins into a monastery of any kind, not just a Benedictine Monastery, he must take vows. He vows to do certain things, to live in the monastery and praise God. One of the vows that Benedictine monks must take is a vow to work. They must help in the monastery. One of these main jobs was taking care of the sick. The monks work