The Summer of the Danes
First edition
|
|
| Author | Ellis Peters |
|---|---|
| Series | Brother Cadfael |
| Genre | Mystery novel |
| Publisher | Headline |
|
Publication date
|
1991 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback) & audio book |
| Pages | 280 |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 23254850 |
| Preceded by | The Potter's Field |
| Followed by | The Holy Thief |
The Summer of the Danes is a medieval mystery novel by Ellis Peters, set in 1144. It is the eighteenth in the Cadfael Chronicles and was first published in 1991 (1991 in literature).
Brother Cadfael is pleased to join his young friend Mark, now a deacon, on a mission of church diplomacy in Wales. Travelling in the safety of the Prince of Gwynedd's train, they are brought to unexpected dangers, as they seek to keep a young Welsh woman free from harm.
The Anarchy is paused, except for the continued ravages of Geoffrey de Mandeville and his band of marauders in the Fens. Wales has a squabble between two brother princes, rooted in a murder the previous year. The Roman church under Theobald, the Archbishop of Canterbury, is extending its influence into Wales, which prefers its Celtic ways and the see of Saint David, by reviving an old bishopric straddling the border of England and Wales. Theobald requested that Bishop Roger de Clinton send a welcoming embassy to the new bishop, whose see includes parishes that once were under de Clinton.
Three plots interlock in this novel. First is the embassy of Deacon Mark and Brother Cadfael to two bishops in Wales, reinforcing the Roman rite in Wales. Second is the young woman Heledd rejected by her canon father in reaction to imposition of the Roman rite, sending her to find love among historic Welsh enemies. Third is the trouble raised up by Cadwaladr, and resolved by Owain, who wanted no trouble with the Danes in their dragon boats.
Mark, a young deacon in the house of Roger de Clinton, Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, is chosen to carry messages of good will to two bishops in Wales. He takes Brother Cadfael as translator into his homeland of north Wales in April 1144. They travel on horseback from Shrewsbury Abbey. Mark succeeds with the new bishop of Saint Asaph and the bishop of Bangor, sharing gifts and speaking as a diplomat. From Llanelwy to Bangor, they travel in the train of Owain Gwynedd, stopping at his royal seat at Aber overnight, where Cadfael finds a murdered man. Heledd rides away from Aber, not wanting to marry a man she has not chosen, awaiting her in Bangor.
Mark and Cadfael seek the lost Heledd as they head home. Cadfael finds her; as quickly as he does, the two are seized by a group of strong Danes led by Turcaill. They are prisoners in the camp of Otir, leader of the Danes of Dublin. Mark sees them and reports it to Owain. Heledd tells Cadfael she left Aber on a whim, finding the horse saddled and ready.
...
Wikipedia