The Devil's Novice
Encyclopedia
The Devil's Novice is a medieval mystery novel by Ellis Peters. It is the eighth in the Brother Cadfael series.
to become a monk
. When he is informed that a novice must traditionally wait a year before taking full vows and joining the Benedictine
s, he appears agitated and asks whether he cannot speed up the process. Abbot
Radulfus urges him to be patient. Meriet soon becomes an unsettling presence in the abbey. While he performs all his studies and assigned duties with ardour, his brooding manner makes the other novices reluctant to approach him. When he begins talking in his sleep and having terrible nightmares, the other novices whisper that he is possessed
, and nickname him "The Devil's Novice."
Canon
Eluard, an emissary of the Bishop of Winchester
, comes to the Abbey inquiring after the whereabouts of Peter Clemence, a young cleric and one of the Bishop's favorite proteges. Clemence had been sent on a diplomatic
mission to Northern England
, but has disappeared. Eluard questions Meriet in particular, since Clemence was last seen as a guest at Leoric's manor before setting out on his journey.
Matters come to a head when Brother Jerome, Prior
Robert's toady, searches Meriet's bed and finds a lock of a woman's hair. Declaring that personal belongings are forbidden in the Abbey, Jerome throws the hair into a fire. Meriet launches himself at Jerome and nearly strangles him to death, before Cadfael
restrains him. Meriet receives a whipping for his conduct, but insists that he is still set on becoming a monk. Cadfael suggests that to separate him from the other novices, Meriet be assigned to help Cadfael's former assistant, Brother Mark, at the lazar house maintained by the Abbey at St. Giles. Abbott Radulfus approves, and in the meantime, asks Cadfael to determine Meriet's true reasons for entering the Abbey.
Cadfael visits Aspley Manor, and meets Meriet's extended family: his elder brother, Nigel, tall, handsome, and clearly the apple of his father's eye; Nigel's fiancee, Roswitha, stunningly beautiful (and she knows it), whose hair colour matches the lock in Meriet's bed; Roswitha's brother Janyn, an easygoing man and Nigel's best friend; and finally, Leoric's ward
Isouda, a young heiress to two neighboring manors. Leoric, a stiff and upright man of rigid morals, refuses to discuss Meriet's choice. He insists that if his son is determined to become a monk, Leoric will not have him back. Nor can he suggest any reason for Meriet's choice in the first place.
In private conversation, Isouda reveals to Cadfael that she loves Meriet, and is set on making him love her in return. Cadfael asks whether Meriet was in love with Roswitha. Isouda allows that he was, but is confident that he will soon get over her.
Meanwhile, Brother Mark and Meriet lead an outing of the lepers
at St. Giles to gather firewood in the forest. Meriet suggests that they go to a local clearing he knows that was used for making charcoal
. In one of the woodstacks, they discover a charred skeleton. The remnants of jewellery and clothing near the corpse identify it as Clemence's. Soon after, a wild man is caught in the forest holding an ornate dagger that belonged to Clemence. The man, Harald, a runaway serf
from a nearby estate, says he found the dagger in the forest, and swears he did not kill Clemence.
When Meriet hears rumours that Harald will be condemned for murdering Clemence, he confesses to the killing. He claims that he shot Clemence with an arrow after he left Aspley, because Clemence tried to take advantage of Roswitha. His father discovered him trying to hide the corpse, and gave him a choice: either admit his guilt and be executed, or else give up the rest of his life for penance as a monk. Cadfael does not believe Meriet's statement and proves it false by inviting him to confess to a priest, which Meriet, being a rigidly honest person, will not do (in Cadfael's words, he can lie to other men in what seems like a good cause, but draws the line at lying to God
).
Leoric Aspley and his family come to the Abbey to wed Nigel and Roswitha. In private, Cadfael confronts Leoric, who admits to finding Meriet with Clemence's body, and burning it afterwards as an impromptu cremation. Cadfael points out that he must be mistaken. Meriet is incapable of cold-blooded murder, but if he has confessed he must be shielding someone else, and Nigel is the most likely suspect. Leoric refuses to believe that his favourite son could be the murderer, but Cadfael reasons that Meriet must have discovered his brother and assumed his guilt, in much the same manner that Leoric later discovered Meriet. However, Cadfael reminds Leoric that both he and Meriet have overlooked a crucial point: they both believe Clemence was killed in the evening, yet his body was found only a few miles from Aspley, meaning he must have been killed shortly after he left Leoric's house in the morning, by someone other than Nigel. They still do not know exactly who killed Clemence.
Isouda visits Meriet in his cell, and he is taken aback by how affectionate she is and how passionately she believes in his innocence. At Cadfael's behest, Isouda discreetly searches Roswitha's belongings and finds a large brooch that belonged to Clemence, but remains untouched by the fire, meaning his killer took it. At the wedding the next day, Isouda plants the brooch on Roswitha's cloak, and Canon Eluard, in attendance, instantly recognizes it. When he demands to know where she got it, she first claims that Meriet gave it to her, a lie that appalls both Nigel and Leoric. Caught in a falsehood, she admits that it was her brother, Janyn, who gave it to her. Janyn has already fled the Abbey, and at the same time a messenger from King Stephen
arrives, ordering the local garrison to muster immediately; the two most powerful barons in the northern counties, the Earls of Chester and Lincoln have declared their independence from either side in the civil war
and set up their own private kingdom in the north. Barely has the Abbey time to react to this news, when Roswitha cries that Nigel has also fled the grounds.
The next day, Nigel comes upon Janyn in the woods, whose horse has been lamed by an accident. Blame is traded back and forth, but Nigel says he will not abandon him, and offers to carry them both on his horse. Janyn has a better plan - he stabs Nigel and steals his horse. Nigel survives his wound and is brought back to the Abbey to recover. He confesses that he and Janyn were offered lucrative, powerful commands in the Earls' rebel army. Clemence's visit to the North was unluckily timed so that he would have stumbled on a summit meeting of the Earls and their allies. Nigel was for delaying Clemence, but Janyn shot him down in the forest. When he told Nigel what he had done, Nigel went to the forest to bury the body. Meriet discovered him, with their father close behind, and Meriet told his brother to run, knowing that Leoric would be heartbroken if Nigel was blamed, but scarcely bothered if Meriet was.
To make amends, Nigel is conscripted into the King's army, marching north to confront the rebels. Meriet and the serf, Harald, are both absolved of guilt.
Leoric, ashamed at having valued his handsome but vacuous older son over his much more honourable younger son, confesses his sins to Father Radulfus, and asks him for two additional favours: first, that Leoric be allowed to sponsor Brother Mark, who has been a true friend to Meriet in his time at the Abbey, for the priesthood; and second, that the Abbott witness a new will he will draft, leaving his manor to Meriet. (With Janyn gone, Nigel will now inherit his family's manor through Roswitha, if he makes amends.) Leoric also begs Meriet's forgiveness, and the two men reconcile.
Meriet, for his part, is chagrined for having ever loved Roswitha, an equally beautiful but vacuous girl who betrayed him without a second's thought, and for failing to notice Isouda's passion. The two of them, now clearly a couple, appear at Cadfael's workshop to say goodbye and thank him for everything.
as Cadfael, Christien Anholt
as Meriet, Julian Glover
as Leoric, and Louisa Millwood-Haigh as Isouda/Isobel.
The TV adaptation is largely faithful to the book, with a few changes:
Plot summary
Meriet Aspley, the younger son of country nobleman Leoric Aspley, petitions 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:...
to become a monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
. When he is informed that a novice must traditionally wait a year before taking full vows and joining the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
s, he appears agitated and asks whether he cannot speed up the process. Abbot
Abbot
The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
Radulfus urges him to be patient. Meriet soon becomes an unsettling presence in the abbey. While he performs all his studies and assigned duties with ardour, his brooding manner makes the other novices reluctant to approach him. When he begins talking in his sleep and having terrible nightmares, the other novices whisper that he is possessed
Demonic possession
Demonic possession is held by many belief systems to be the control of an individual by a malevolent supernatural being. Descriptions of demonic possessions often include erased memories or personalities, convulsions, “fits” and fainting as if one were dying...
, and nickname him "The Devil's Novice."
Canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
Eluard, an emissary of the Bishop of Winchester
Henry of Blois
Henry of Blois , often known as Henry of Winchester, was Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey from 1126, and Bishop of Winchester from 1129 to his death.-Early life and education:...
, comes to the Abbey inquiring after the whereabouts of Peter Clemence, a young cleric and one of the Bishop's favorite proteges. Clemence had been sent on a diplomatic
Diplomacy
Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states...
mission to Northern England
Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered...
, but has disappeared. Eluard questions Meriet in particular, since Clemence was last seen as a guest at Leoric's manor before setting out on his journey.
Matters come to a head when Brother Jerome, Prior
Prior
Prior is an ecclesiastical title, derived from the Latin adjective for 'earlier, first', with several notable uses.-Monastic superiors:A Prior is a monastic superior, usually lower in rank than an Abbot. In the Rule of St...
Robert's toady, searches Meriet's bed and finds a lock of a woman's hair. Declaring that personal belongings are forbidden in the Abbey, Jerome throws the hair into a fire. Meriet launches himself at Jerome and nearly strangles him to death, before 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,...
restrains him. Meriet receives a whipping for his conduct, but insists that he is still set on becoming a monk. Cadfael suggests that to separate him from the other novices, Meriet be assigned to help Cadfael's former assistant, Brother Mark, at the lazar house maintained by the Abbey at St. Giles. Abbott Radulfus approves, and in the meantime, asks Cadfael to determine Meriet's true reasons for entering the Abbey.
Cadfael visits Aspley Manor, and meets Meriet's extended family: his elder brother, Nigel, tall, handsome, and clearly the apple of his father's eye; Nigel's fiancee, Roswitha, stunningly beautiful (and she knows it), whose hair colour matches the lock in Meriet's bed; Roswitha's brother Janyn, an easygoing man and Nigel's best friend; and finally, Leoric's ward
Ward (law)
In law, a ward is someone placed under the protection of a legal guardian. A court may take responsibility for the legal protection of an individual, usually either a child or incapacitated person, in which case the ward is known as a ward of the court, or a ward of the state, in the United States,...
Isouda, a young heiress to two neighboring manors. Leoric, a stiff and upright man of rigid morals, refuses to discuss Meriet's choice. He insists that if his son is determined to become a monk, Leoric will not have him back. Nor can he suggest any reason for Meriet's choice in the first place.
In private conversation, Isouda reveals to Cadfael that she loves Meriet, and is set on making him love her in return. Cadfael asks whether Meriet was in love with Roswitha. Isouda allows that he was, but is confident that he will soon get over her.
Meanwhile, Brother Mark and Meriet lead an outing of the lepers
Leprosy
Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...
at St. Giles to gather firewood in the forest. Meriet suggests that they go to a local clearing he knows that was used for making charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
. In one of the woodstacks, they discover a charred skeleton. The remnants of jewellery and clothing near the corpse identify it as Clemence's. Soon after, a wild man is caught in the forest holding an ornate dagger that belonged to Clemence. The man, Harald, a runaway serf
SERF
A spin exchange relaxation-free magnetometer is a type of magnetometer developed at Princeton University in the early 2000s. SERF magnetometers measure magnetic fields by using lasers to detect the interaction between alkali metal atoms in a vapor and the magnetic field.The name for the technique...
from a nearby estate, says he found the dagger in the forest, and swears he did not kill Clemence.
When Meriet hears rumours that Harald will be condemned for murdering Clemence, he confesses to the killing. He claims that he shot Clemence with an arrow after he left Aspley, because Clemence tried to take advantage of Roswitha. His father discovered him trying to hide the corpse, and gave him a choice: either admit his guilt and be executed, or else give up the rest of his life for penance as a monk. Cadfael does not believe Meriet's statement and proves it false by inviting him to confess to a priest, which Meriet, being a rigidly honest person, will not do (in Cadfael's words, he can lie to other men in what seems like a good cause, but draws the line at lying to God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
).
Leoric Aspley and his family come to the Abbey to wed Nigel and Roswitha. In private, Cadfael confronts Leoric, who admits to finding Meriet with Clemence's body, and burning it afterwards as an impromptu cremation. Cadfael points out that he must be mistaken. Meriet is incapable of cold-blooded murder, but if he has confessed he must be shielding someone else, and Nigel is the most likely suspect. Leoric refuses to believe that his favourite son could be the murderer, but Cadfael reasons that Meriet must have discovered his brother and assumed his guilt, in much the same manner that Leoric later discovered Meriet. However, Cadfael reminds Leoric that both he and Meriet have overlooked a crucial point: they both believe Clemence was killed in the evening, yet his body was found only a few miles from Aspley, meaning he must have been killed shortly after he left Leoric's house in the morning, by someone other than Nigel. They still do not know exactly who killed Clemence.
Isouda visits Meriet in his cell, and he is taken aback by how affectionate she is and how passionately she believes in his innocence. At Cadfael's behest, Isouda discreetly searches Roswitha's belongings and finds a large brooch that belonged to Clemence, but remains untouched by the fire, meaning his killer took it. At the wedding the next day, Isouda plants the brooch on Roswitha's cloak, and Canon Eluard, in attendance, instantly recognizes it. When he demands to know where she got it, she first claims that Meriet gave it to her, a lie that appalls both Nigel and Leoric. Caught in a falsehood, she admits that it was her brother, Janyn, who gave it to her. Janyn has already fled the Abbey, and at the same time a messenger from King Stephen
King Stephen
King Stephen can refer to a number of individuals. Note that medieval rulers in Serbia and Bosnia used Stephen as an honorific as well as a personal name.Kings named Stephen include:...
arrives, ordering the local garrison to muster immediately; the two most powerful barons in the northern counties, the Earls of Chester and Lincoln have declared their independence from either side in the civil war
The Anarchy
The Anarchy or The Nineteen-Year Winter was a period of English history during the reign of King Stephen, which was characterised by civil war and unsettled government...
and set up their own private kingdom in the north. Barely has the Abbey time to react to this news, when Roswitha cries that Nigel has also fled the grounds.
The next day, Nigel comes upon Janyn in the woods, whose horse has been lamed by an accident. Blame is traded back and forth, but Nigel says he will not abandon him, and offers to carry them both on his horse. Janyn has a better plan - he stabs Nigel and steals his horse. Nigel survives his wound and is brought back to the Abbey to recover. He confesses that he and Janyn were offered lucrative, powerful commands in the Earls' rebel army. Clemence's visit to the North was unluckily timed so that he would have stumbled on a summit meeting of the Earls and their allies. Nigel was for delaying Clemence, but Janyn shot him down in the forest. When he told Nigel what he had done, Nigel went to the forest to bury the body. Meriet discovered him, with their father close behind, and Meriet told his brother to run, knowing that Leoric would be heartbroken if Nigel was blamed, but scarcely bothered if Meriet was.
To make amends, Nigel is conscripted into the King's army, marching north to confront the rebels. Meriet and the serf, Harald, are both absolved of guilt.
Leoric, ashamed at having valued his handsome but vacuous older son over his much more honourable younger son, confesses his sins to Father Radulfus, and asks him for two additional favours: first, that Leoric be allowed to sponsor Brother Mark, who has been a true friend to Meriet in his time at the Abbey, for the priesthood; and second, that the Abbott witness a new will he will draft, leaving his manor to Meriet. (With Janyn gone, Nigel will now inherit his family's manor through Roswitha, if he makes amends.) Leoric also begs Meriet's forgiveness, and the two men reconcile.
Meriet, for his part, is chagrined for having ever loved Roswitha, an equally beautiful but vacuous girl who betrayed him without a second's thought, and for failing to notice Isouda's passion. The two of them, now clearly a couple, appear at Cadfael's workshop to say goodbye and thank him for everything.
Continuity
- The ending of the novel sets up the Battle of LincolnBattle of Lincoln (1141)The Battle of Lincoln or First Battle of Lincoln occurred on 2 February 1141. In it Stephen of England was captured, imprisoned and effectively deposed while Empress Matilda ruled for a short time.-Account:...
that opens the following novel, Dead Man's RansomDead Man's RansomDead Man's Ransom is a medieval mystery novel by Ellis Peters. It is the ninth in the Brother Cadfael series, and was first published in 1984.-Plot summary:...
, in which an army under Stephen marches north to confront the rebellious barons, only to have them surrender and then be confronted by an army from the Empress Maud. - Cadfael reflects that Hugh Beringar, on his way north, will be set on making sure that Janyn is captured or killed in the coming battle, but the subsequent novel does not make clear whether this happens.
Television Adaptations
The book was adapted for BBC television, starring Derek JacobiDerek Jacobi
Sir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
as Cadfael, Christien Anholt
Christien Anholt
Christien Alexis Anholt is an English stage, television and film actor best known for his role as Nigel Bailey on the television series Relic Hunter...
as Meriet, Julian Glover
Julian Glover
Julian Wyatt Glover is a British actor best known for such roles as General Maximilian Veers in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, the Bond villain Aristotle Kristatos in For Your Eyes Only, and Walter Donovan in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.-Personal life:Glover was born in...
as Leoric, and Louisa Millwood-Haigh as Isouda/Isobel.
The TV adaptation is largely faithful to the book, with a few changes:
- Some proper names are changed to sound more modern: "Nigel" becomes Tristan (Patrick Toomey); "Roswitha" becomes Rosanna (Chloe AnnettChloë AnnettChloë Victoria Annett is an English actress, best known for her role in series 7 and 8 of the British sitcom Red Dwarf.-Early life and family:...
) and "Isouda" becomes Isobel; the name of Meriet's family and his father's manor is changed from "Aspley" to Ashby. - There is an extended prologue showing Clemence's (Ian ReddingtonIan Reddington- Early life :Ian Reddington was born in Sheffield. He was educated at Frecheville Comprehensive. He had no formal drama training, but became a leading figure in the Meatwhistle youth theatre project run by youth workers in the city. This gave him his first appearance as The Herald in Peter...
) overnight stay at Aspley, where he alienates everyone with his arrogant and patronizing manner, except Rosanna, who flirts with him shamelessly. - Brother Mark's role in the novel is fulfilled by Cadfael's earnest assistant, Brother Oswin (Mark CharnockMark CharnockMark Charnock is an English actor best known for his part in ITV's Emmerdale as lanky chef Marlon Dingle.-Biography:...
). - Hugh Beringar (Eoin McCarthyEoin McCarthyEoin McCarthy is an Irish actor who has appeared in films such as Alien vs. Predator and television programmes such as Cadfael and Roman Mysteries.-External links:...
) travels out of Shrewsbury, leaving his less-subtle deputy, Sergeant Warden (Albie Woodington), in charge, who repeatedly clashes with Cadfael over the solution to Clemence's murder. Under pressure from Canon Eluard (Ian McNeiceIan McNeiceIan McNeice is a prolific English screen, stage, and television character actor.-Early life:McNeice was born in Basingstoke in Hampshire. McNeice's acting training started at the Taunton School in Somerset, followed by two years at the Salisbury Playhouse...
), Warden is all too eager to condemn first Harald (John Dallimore), and then Meriet, for the crime. - Janyn (Daniel Betts) is caught as he is trying to flee the Abbey, confesses, and is last seen being marched to gaol, to await execution.