{"id":6167,"date":"2016-11-08T22:07:58","date_gmt":"2016-11-09T03:07:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=6167"},"modified":"2025-07-02T16:20:51","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T20:20:51","slug":"the-potters-field-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/6167","title":{"rendered":"The Potter’s Field"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Potter’s Field<\/a><\/em> (1989) Ellis Peters<\/a><\/p>\n

\"potters-field\"<\/a>Set in England in 1143.<\/p>\n

The war between King Stephen and Empress Maud continues, and raiders have attacked East Anglia, sending the residents and the local Benedictines fleeing. The novice Sulien Blount is sent back to Shrewsbury both to escape the raiders and to consider whether he truly wants to take orders.<\/p>\n

When a plot of land comes into the Benedictines of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (through a trade with another religious house), the Benedictines decide to plow the land to prepare it for the coming spring. <\/p>\n

A new monk–a potter who took orders against the will and wishes of his wife–formerly lived on that land, so when the body of a woman is discovered, suspicions turn to Brother Ruald.<\/p>\n

I think Radulfus had his doubts at first. He kept him the full term and over in his novitiate. His desire was extreme, and our abbot suspects extremes. And then, the man had been fifteen years married, and his wife was by no means consenting. Ruald left her everything he had to leave, and all of it she scorned. She fought his resolve for many weeks, but he would not be moved.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

…(H)e could have his freedom to go and become a monk, but his going didn\u2019t confer freedom on her. She could not take another husband; the one she had, monk or no, was still alive.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That’s a hard thing–that a man could make such a decision and his wife could not only have no say in the matter, but would also remain bound by their marriage vows.<\/p>\n

We also meet Donata Blount, who has been slowly dying for years (one would presume from the descriptions, of a cancer). Her struggle is one that may be familiar to many, and the worries and fears she had are little different from those we see today.<\/p>\n

…I foresaw a time when the load would become more than even I could bear, and I wished to have some small thing about me, a little vial of deliverance, a promise of peace, perhaps never to use, only to keep as a talisman, the very touch of it consolation to me that at the worst\u2026 at the last extreme, there was left to me a way of escape. To know that was to go on enduring. Is that reproach to me, Father?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But it’s not all dark. There are as always some lovely passages of tranquility, like this bit where Cadfael visits his godson.<\/p>\n

He made Cadfael free of the amenities of his manor with solemn dignity, seated him ceremoniously, and himself made off to the buttery to fetch a beaker of ale, bearing it back cautiously in both still-rounded, infantile hands, overfilled and in danger of spilling, with his primrose hair erect and rumpled, and the tip of his tongue braced in the corner of his mouth.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And of course, Cadfael is Cadfael.<\/p>\n

Cadfael had barely begun to close the door upon the pair of them, admittedly slowly and with pricked ears, when the abbot\u2019s voice cut sharply through the boy\u2019s breathless utterance.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As with the other books, there is a love story, and there is also a story of forgiveness and redemption.<\/p>\n

I really love this series.
\nRating: 9\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

Published by MysteriousPress<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Potter’s Field (1989) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1143. The war between King Stephen and Empress Maud continues, and raiders have attacked East Anglia, sending the residents and the local Benedictines fleeing. The novice Sulien Blount is sent back to Shrewsbury both to escape the raiders and to consider whether he truly wants […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[13,30,190,292,33,8,26],"tags":[120,119,549,877,878],"class_list":["post-6167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-10","category-british","category-cozy","category-ebook","category-historical","category-mystery","category-romance","tag-brother-cadfael","tag-ellis-peters","tag-high-middle-ages","tag-medieval","tag-the-anarchy"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-1Bt","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":24196,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24196","url_meta":{"origin":6167,"position":0},"title":"The Potter’s Field","author":"Michelle","date":"January 14, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Potter's Field (1989) Ellis Peters (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael #17) Set in Shrewsbury in 1143. \"Earth is innocent. Only the use we make of it can mar it.\" It takes a very short time for earth to seal over the traces of humankind. ...he could have his freedom to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Potter's Field","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/The-Potters_Field.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11863,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11863","url_meta":{"origin":6167,"position":1},"title":"The Potter’s Field","author":"Michelle","date":"April 24, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The Potter's Field (1989) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1143. The local potter named Ruald, abandoned his wife to take monastic vows. When a body is discovers in the field where the both once lived, it is assumed to be Generys. (H)e could have his freedom to go and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/The-Potters_Field.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11145,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11145","url_meta":{"origin":6167,"position":2},"title":"An Excellent Mystery","author":"Michelle","date":"October 4, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"An Excellent Mystery (1985) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1141 The war between Stephen and Maud continues, leading to the burning of much of Winchester. This causes two monks to appear at the abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, seeking refuge and shelter at their brother abbey. But\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/An-Excellent-Mystery-e1511012747949.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6116,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/6116","url_meta":{"origin":6167,"position":3},"title":"The Leper of Saint Giles","author":"Michelle","date":"October 10, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The Leper of Saint Giles (1981) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1139. I found I hadn't purchased book four, so I skipped to book five of the Brother Cadfael series. Brother Mark has gone to Saint Giles, to minister to the lepers there, and Brother Cadfael misses his former\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"the-leper-of-saint-giles","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/The-Leper-of-Saint-Giles.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10939,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/10939","url_meta":{"origin":6167,"position":4},"title":"A Morbid Taste for Bones","author":"Michelle","date":"July 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"A Morbid Taste for Bones (1977) Ellis Peters Cadfael is a brother at Shrewsbury abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. Unlike most of his brethren he came to his calling late, having spent his younger years as a Crusader--and perhaps also an adventurer. Nothing troubled his peace but the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/A-Morbid-Taste-for-Bones.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":23744,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/23744","url_meta":{"origin":6167,"position":5},"title":"Saint Peter’s Fair","author":"Michelle","date":"July 3, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Saint Peter's Fair (1981) Ellis Peters (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael) Set in Shropshire England in 1139 St. Peter\u2019s Fair is a grand, festive event, attracting merchants from across England and beyond. There is a pause in the civil war racking the country in the summer of 1139, and the fair\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Saint Peters Fair","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Saint-Peters-Fair.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6167"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6167\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}