Absolution By Murder

Absolution By Murder (1994) Peter Tremayne

Set in England in 664

I’d read these years and years ago, and had been looking for the eBook versions to go on sale, but no joy, so I broke down and bought the first two ebooks.

Sister Fidelma follows the Celtic Christian tradition, but more importantly to the story, is a legally trained scholar and a dálaigh of the Brehon courts of Ireland. And also important is the fact that Celtic women had pretty much the same rights as Celtic men–quite modern rights compared to the rest of Christendom at that time.

The story is set in the synod of Whitby, which was to determine whether the English churches would follow Rome or Celtic rule.

‘Easter?’

‘The Saxons have accepted most of our teaching of Christian faith but as for the Paschal feast they insist on naming it after their pagan goddess of fertility, Eostre, whose rituals fall at the time of the Spring equinox.

My favorite part of this series is the backdrop of history, which I can understand might not appeal to all readers, but I love these bits.

Clergy, even bishops, took spouses; even the religious of houses, whether mixed or not, could have wives and husbands, under Brehon law and custom. But the position of an abbot and abbess was in a different category for they were usually bound to celibacy.

Even the end notes were fascinating to me.

By the fifth century Rome had forbidden clerics from the rank of abbot and bishop to sleep with their wives and, shortly after, even to marry at all.

Don’t get me wrong, the mystery itself is interesting, as are the characters, even if it is somewhat difficult to keep track of the various Saxon and Celtic names.

I wanted to know everything. I tried to devour knowledge like the bee devours nectar, flitting from one flower to another but never staying long. I am no specialist but have a little knowledge of many things.

I do like this series, and wish the rest of the series would go on sale in eBook format.
Rating: 8/10

Published by Minotaur Books

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