Brother Eadulf
Encyclopedia
Brother Eadulf is a fictional character created by Peter Tremayne (nom de plume of the Celtic scholar and author Peter Berresford Ellis
). He has appeared in all but two of the Sister Fidelma
series of mystery novels, set in 7th-century Ireland
.
by birth from Seaxmund's Ham
(today "Saxmundham") in the Kingdom of East Anglia
, Eadulf was raised as a hereditary gerefa, or reeve
, of his people. Eadulf was converted to Christianity
by an Irish
monk named Fursa sometime before the novels begin and subsequently studied first at Durrow
then medicine
at the great medical school of Tuaim Brecain in Ireland
. He then undertook a pilgrimage to Rome to understand the differences between the ideas of the Church of Rome and those of the Church of Ireland, remaining there studying for two years and returning as a follower of Rome. In the novel Absolution by Murder, which is set during the Synod of Whitby
, Brother Eadulf is part of the deputation from Canterbury to the Synod, where he meets Sister Fidelma for the first time. After the Synod's conclusion, both join a party to Rome. After the events of Shroud for the Archbishop in Rome, Fidelma returns to Ireland while Eadulf remains in Rome as secretary to the new Archbishop of Canterbury
Theodore of Tarsus
. Later, he is sent to Cashel as Theodore's emissary and is reunited with Fidelma in The Subtle Serpent. After the events of that novel, he returns to Cashel with Fidelma and in subsequent novels they become almost inseparable companions and collaborators.
Eadulf and Fidelma's intellectual and personal relationship develops throughout the series, despite another separation in which Eadulf (reluctantly and partly at Fidelma's insistence) intends to return to Canterbury. However, he almost never makes it back to Britain, as at the abbey of Fearna he is charged with rape and murder and almost hanged (a predicament from which Fidelma rescues him barely in time). Eadulf convinces Fidelma to accompany him to Canterbury, and after concluding his business with Archbishop Theodore, he returns to Ireland with Fidelma. In 667, they enter into a trial marriage of a year and a day, during which their son Alchu is born. In February 668, Eadulf and Fidelma celebrate a permanent marriage (see A Prayer for the Damned).
Unfortunately, as time passes, Eadulf's devotion to the world of the Faith begins to clash with Fidelma's growing ambition to pursue a secular life devoted to the law. A serious emotional and physical breach is made between them when Fidelma announces her decision to renounce her religious vows and Eadulf sadly realizes that he cannot change her mind (see The Dove of Death and The Chalice of Blood). The Chalice of Blood concludes with Fidelma telling Eadulf that she has made her decision about her future and now he must come to a decision about his own.
Being a foreigner, Eadulf's status in Ireland is originally that of cu glas (which translates as "grey dog"), meaning a person without legal standing or honor price (for a definition of this term, see "Status" in Early Irish Law); however, his rank as techtaire (emissary or ambassador) between Archbishop Theodore and Fidelma's brother King Colgu gave him a high honor price of eight cumals (a cumal being the value of three cows) under Irish law (see Our Lady of Darkness) and since his marriage to Fidelma (recognized and approved by her family) he now has an honor price of half that of Fidelma's but he is not entitled to make legal contracts without her permission (she is also responsible for any debts that he might incur) or have any legal responsibility in the raising of Alchu. Despite these legalities, he is treated as an equal and a friend and accepted as a member of Fidelma's family. After the events of Dancing with Demons in the winter of 669-670, he is made a member of the Nasc Naidh, an elite corps of bodyguards to the kings of Munster, by King Colgu and entitled to wear the golden torc
of that order.
Brother Eadulf is a stolid man who provides a much-needed stability to Fidelma during emotionally difficult cases, and Fidelma has often admitted that Eadulf has an uncanny ability to see the obvious that she has overlooked. His medical knowledge and assistance is often very valuable as well, and on one occasion (after a "cram course" in the Law of the Fenechus) he acted as Fidelma's advocate to successfully get her released when she was charged with murder (see Valley of the Shadow), although his use of a bluff to get a witness to admit to lying shocked her sensibilities as a dalaigh.
Peter Berresford Ellis
Peter Berresford Ellis is an English historian, literary biographer, and novelist who has published over 90 books to date either under his own name or his pseudonyms Peter Tremayne and Peter MacAlan. He has also published 95 short stories...
). He has appeared in all but two of the Sister Fidelma
Sister Fidelma
Sister Fidelma is a fictional detective, the eponymous heroine of a series by Peter Tremayne . Fidelma is both a lawyer, or dalaigh, and Celtic religieuse....
series of mystery novels, set in 7th-century Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
Background and History
A SaxonAnglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
by birth from Seaxmund's Ham
Saxmundham
Saxmundham is a small market town in Suffolk, England. It is set in the valley of the River Fromus, a tributary of the River Alde, approximately northeast of Ipswich and west of the coast at Sizewell. The town is bypassed by the A12 and is served by Saxmundham railway station on the East Suffolk...
(today "Saxmundham") in the Kingdom of East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
, Eadulf was raised as a hereditary gerefa, or reeve
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
, of his people. Eadulf was converted to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
by an Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
monk named Fursa sometime before the novels begin and subsequently studied first at Durrow
Durrow
Durrow is a small rural village in County Offaly, Ireland. Durrow is located on the N52 off the N6 road between Kilbeggan and Tullamore .Famous for being the Ancestral home of the Champion ploughman Luke Bracken. and Dean McDermott, Offaly Bord na Scol runner up,...
then medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
at the great medical school of Tuaim Brecain in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. He then undertook a pilgrimage to Rome to understand the differences between the ideas of the Church of Rome and those of the Church of Ireland, remaining there studying for two years and returning as a follower of Rome. In the novel Absolution by Murder, which is set during the Synod of Whitby
Synod of Whitby
The Synod of Whitby was a seventh century Northumbriansynod where King Oswiu of Northumbria ruled that his kingdom would calculate Easter and observe the monastic tonsure according to the customs of Rome, rather than the customs practised by Iona and its satellite institutions...
, Brother Eadulf is part of the deputation from Canterbury to the Synod, where he meets Sister Fidelma for the first time. After the Synod's conclusion, both join a party to Rome. After the events of Shroud for the Archbishop in Rome, Fidelma returns to Ireland while Eadulf remains in Rome as secretary to the new Archbishop of Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
Theodore of Tarsus
Tarsus (city)
Tarsus is a historic city in south-central Turkey, 20 km inland from the Mediterranean Sea. It is part of the Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Turkey with a population of 2.75 million...
. Later, he is sent to Cashel as Theodore's emissary and is reunited with Fidelma in The Subtle Serpent. After the events of that novel, he returns to Cashel with Fidelma and in subsequent novels they become almost inseparable companions and collaborators.
Eadulf and Fidelma's intellectual and personal relationship develops throughout the series, despite another separation in which Eadulf (reluctantly and partly at Fidelma's insistence) intends to return to Canterbury. However, he almost never makes it back to Britain, as at the abbey of Fearna he is charged with rape and murder and almost hanged (a predicament from which Fidelma rescues him barely in time). Eadulf convinces Fidelma to accompany him to Canterbury, and after concluding his business with Archbishop Theodore, he returns to Ireland with Fidelma. In 667, they enter into a trial marriage of a year and a day, during which their son Alchu is born. In February 668, Eadulf and Fidelma celebrate a permanent marriage (see A Prayer for the Damned).
Unfortunately, as time passes, Eadulf's devotion to the world of the Faith begins to clash with Fidelma's growing ambition to pursue a secular life devoted to the law. A serious emotional and physical breach is made between them when Fidelma announces her decision to renounce her religious vows and Eadulf sadly realizes that he cannot change her mind (see The Dove of Death and The Chalice of Blood). The Chalice of Blood concludes with Fidelma telling Eadulf that she has made her decision about her future and now he must come to a decision about his own.
Role in the Series
Tremayne uses Brother Eadulf's status as an outsider to the Celtic communities in which many of his and Fidelma's cases take place to provide explanations about legal and cultural matters to his readers. This allows Tremayne to include many details about the history of the Celtic church and society, without overtly appearing to educate.Being a foreigner, Eadulf's status in Ireland is originally that of cu glas (which translates as "grey dog"), meaning a person without legal standing or honor price (for a definition of this term, see "Status" in Early Irish Law); however, his rank as techtaire (emissary or ambassador) between Archbishop Theodore and Fidelma's brother King Colgu gave him a high honor price of eight cumals (a cumal being the value of three cows) under Irish law (see Our Lady of Darkness) and since his marriage to Fidelma (recognized and approved by her family) he now has an honor price of half that of Fidelma's but he is not entitled to make legal contracts without her permission (she is also responsible for any debts that he might incur) or have any legal responsibility in the raising of Alchu. Despite these legalities, he is treated as an equal and a friend and accepted as a member of Fidelma's family. After the events of Dancing with Demons in the winter of 669-670, he is made a member of the Nasc Naidh, an elite corps of bodyguards to the kings of Munster, by King Colgu and entitled to wear the golden torc
Torc
A torc, also spelled torq or torque, is a large, usually rigid, neck ring typically made from strands of metal twisted together. The great majority are open-ended at the front, although many seem designed for near-permanent wear and would have been difficult to remove. Smaller torcs worn around...
of that order.
Brother Eadulf is a stolid man who provides a much-needed stability to Fidelma during emotionally difficult cases, and Fidelma has often admitted that Eadulf has an uncanny ability to see the obvious that she has overlooked. His medical knowledge and assistance is often very valuable as well, and on one occasion (after a "cram course" in the Law of the Fenechus) he acted as Fidelma's advocate to successfully get her released when she was charged with murder (see Valley of the Shadow), although his use of a bluff to get a witness to admit to lying shocked her sensibilities as a dalaigh.