Cadfael

Plots and setting

The series is set in 12th century England, mainly at the Benedictine Abbey in Shrewsbury where Brother Cadfael lives. The titles are from books by Ellis Peters, who wrote The Cadfael Chronicles. The television programmes were filmed in Hungary, as the original abbey in Shrewsbury no longer stands, just the church. The episodes aired in the UK from 1994 to 1998. The novels were written in sequence, marking specific years beginning in 1137 and ending in 1145. Not all the 21 novels were filmed, and there are differences between the plots and characters in the novels and those portrayed on the screen in some episodes, as well as the sequence.

Cast

Derek Jacobi as Brother Cadfael

Sean Pertwee as Sheriff Hugh Beringar (Series 1)

Eoin McCarthy as Sheriff Hugh Beringar (Series 2–3)

Anthony Green as Sheriff Hugh Beringar (Series 4)

Michael Culver as Prior Robert

Julian Firth as Brother Jerome

Peter Copley as Abbot Heribert (Series 1)

Terrence Hardiman as Abbot Radulfus (Guest in Series 1, Main for Series 2–4)

Mark Charnock as Brother Oswin (Series 1–3)

Albie Woodington as Sergeant Warden (Series 1–3)

Episodes

Series 1 (1994)

Guest stars in this series include Christian Burgess, Michael Grandage, Steven Mackintosh, Sara Stephens, Hugh Bonneville, Toby Jones, Natasha McElhone, Jonathan Firth, Tara Fitzgerald, Sarah Badel, Jonny Lee Miller, Jamie Glover, Jonathan Hyde, Danny Dyer and John Bennett.

Series 2 (1995–1996)

Guest stars in this series include John Hallam, Julian Glover, Ian McNeice, Ronan Vibert, Christien Anholt, Louisa Millwood-Haigh, Ian Reddington, Chloë Annett, John Dallimore, Daniel Betts and Anna Friel.

Series 3 (1997)

Guest stars in this series include Kitty Aldridge, Tom Mannion, Crispin Bonham-Carter, Peter Guinness, Hermione Norris, and Catherine Cusack.

Series 4 (1998)

Guest stars in this series include George Irving, Benedict Sandiford, Louise Delamere, Natasha Pyne, Jonathan Tafler, Richard Lintern, Gregor Truter, Terence Beesley, Sioned Jones, Natasha Little and Lee Ingleby.

Reception

Reviewing the episode "The Rose Rent", Matthew Bond stated "The series does have a curiously theatrical style to it, where the rather contrived medieval bustle stops while the principal actors deliver their lines and then starts again when they have finished. Still, it's different, ambitious and Jacobi is in it – which makes three big pluses." In an article discussing depictions of religious characters on British television, Ben Dowell praised Cadfael. Dowell stated "thanks to some gripping stories, good production values and a brilliant performance from Derek Jacobi as the herbalist and former crusading knight, this adaptation of the Ellis Peters books became a regular viewing habit for millions".

Comparison to the novels

"One Corpse Too Many" was filmed mostly in Hungary. The adaptation for television stuck closely to the original novel, with only minor plot or script deviations to cater to the different medium.

"The Sanctuary Sparrow" was once again mostly filmed on location in Hungary.

In the "Leper of Saint Giles", Heribert (Peter Copley) is the abbot, while in the novel, Radulfus has been the Abbot for nearly a year.

"Monk's Hood" is a close adaptation of the original novel.

In "The Virgin in the Ice", the plot is significantly changed from the original novel. The action is moved from Ludlow to Cadfael's "home" abbey of Shrewsbury; Brother Elyas's part is replaced by that of Cadfael's young and callow assistant in the herb gardens, Brother Oswin; extra plot elements are introduced to explain the presence of the brigands led by le Gaucher; and the final unmasking of the murderer is different.

"The Devil's Novice" is largely faithful to the book, apart from renaming Aspley Manor to Ashby. There is an extended prologue showing Clemence's overnight stay at Ashby, where he alienates everyone with his arrogant and patronising manner, except Rosanna, who flirts with him shamelessly. Brother Mark's role in the novel is fulfilled by Cadfael's earnest assistant, Brother Oswin. Hugh Beringar travels out of Shrewsbury, leaving in charge there his less-than-subtle deputy, Sergeant Warden, who repeatedly clashes with Cadfael over the solution to Clemence's murder. Under pressure from Canon Eluard, Warden is all too eager to condemn first Harald, and then Meriet, for the crime. Janyn is caught as he is trying to flee the Abbey, confesses, and is last seen being marched to jail, to await execution.

"A Morbid Taste for Bones" makes some changes, including secondary characters and proper names. Brother John and Annest are not included, leaving only one set of young lovers for the viewer to follow. The tension between the Welsh villagers and the English monastics is played up considerably, and the acquisition of St. Winifrede is made more dangerous thereby. To that end, the naive and charming Father Huw is recharacterised as the suspicious and rather grubby Father Ianto, who opposes the saint's removal and castigates the monks for haggling over her bones as if she were a bone at a butcher's stall. Bened the smith, while retaining his name, also loses much of his openhearted good nature, being both a suspicious rival of Rhisiart's and a vehement accuser of the monks themselves. In the climax of the adaptation, Brother Columbanus' confession is drawn out by less supernatural means than in the novel. Instead of being hoodwinked by Sioned in the dark, Columbanus confesses to a fevered figure of his own imagination. He is egged on to this by Cadfael, who pretends to see a figure of light bearing down upon them as they keep their vigil in Saint Winifrede's church. Sioned's part is to stay hidden as a witness, but when Columbanus relates with what joy he struck down her father in the saint's name, Sioned loses control and flies at him, with disastrous consequences as Columbanus realises that he has been tricked. Sioned's lover, renamed from Engelard to Godwin, appears to defend Sioned, and Colombanus's accidental death occurs as in the novel. However, Columbanus' own motives are a good deal more ambiguous in the television adaptation. He innocently denies any ambition on his own part to be "the youngest head under a mitre," and his actions appear to stem from religious fervour and criminal insanity, rather than from a cold, calculated pass at fame. Otherwise, the episode remains primarily faithful to the text, with the necessary exception of being well into Abbott Radulfus' tenure at the abbey, instead of introducing the series.