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| '''Brother Eadulf''' is a fictional character created by ] (''nom de plume'' of the Celtic scholar and author ]). He has appeared in all but three of the ] series of mystery novels, set in 7th-century ]. | |||
| ==Background and History== | |||
| A ] by birth from ] (today "Saxmundham") in the Kingdom of ] (Eadulf refers to himself as an "Angle", while almost everybody else refers to him as "Saxon", much to his annoyance), Eadulf was raised as a hereditary ''gerefa'', or ], of his people. Eadulf was converted to ] by an ] monk named Fursa sometime before the novels begin and subsequently studied first at ] then ] at the great medical school of Tuaim Brecain in ]. He then undertook a pilgrimage to Rome to understand the differences between the ideas of the Church of Rome and those of the Church of Ireland, remaining there studying for two years and returning as a follower of Rome. In the novel ''Absolution by Murder'', which is set during the ], Brother Eadulf is part of the deputation from Canterbury to the Synod, where he meets Sister Fidelma for the first time. After the Synod's conclusion, both join a party to Rome. After the events of ''Shroud for the Archbishop'' in Rome, Fidelma returns to Ireland while Eadulf remains in Rome as secretary to the new Archbishop of ] Theodore of ]. Later, he is sent to Cashel as Theodore's emissary and is reunited with Fidelma in ''The Subtle Serpent''. After the events of that novel, he returns to Cashel with Fidelma and in subsequent novels they become almost inseparable companions and collaborators. | |||
| Eadulf and Fidelma's intellectual and personal relationship develops throughout the series, despite another separation in which Eadulf (reluctantly and partly at Fidelma's insistence) intends to return to Canterbury. However, he almost never makes it back to Britain, as at the abbey of Fearna he is charged with rape and murder and almost hanged (a predicament from which Fidelma rescues him barely in time). Eadulf convinces Fidelma to accompany him to Canterbury, and after concluding his business with Archbishop Theodore, he returns to Ireland with Fidelma. In 667, they enter into a trial marriage of a year and a day, during which their son Alchu is born. In February 668, Eadulf and Fidelma celebrate a permanent marriage (see ''A Prayer for the Damned''). | |||
| Unfortunately, as time passes, Eadulf's devotion to the world of the Faith begins to clash with Fidelma's growing ambition to pursue a secular life devoted to the law. A serious emotional and physical breach is made between them when Fidelma announces her decision to renounce her religious vows and Eadulf sadly realizes that he cannot change her mind (see ''The Dove of Death'' and ''The Chalice of Blood''). ''The Chalice of Blood'' concludes with Fidelma telling Eadulf that she has made her decision about her future and now he must come to a decision about his own, which he does ... accepting her decision and supporting her, but still remaining a Brother. | |||
| ==Role in the Series== | |||
| Tremayne uses Brother Eadulf's status as an outsider to the Celtic communities in which many of his and Fidelma's cases take place to provide explanations about legal and cultural matters to his readers. This allows Tremayne to include many details about the history of the Celtic church and society, without overtly appearing to educate. | |||
| Being a foreigner, Eadulf's status in Ireland is originally that of ''cu glas'' (which translates as "grey dog"), meaning a person without legal standing or honor price ''(for a definition of this term, see "Status" in ])''; however, his rank as ''techtaire'' (emissary or ambassador) between Archbishop Theodore and Fidelma's brother King Colgu gave him a high honor price of eight ''cumals'' (a '']'' being the value of three cows) under Irish law (see ''Our Lady of Darkness'') and since his marriage to Fidelma (recognized and approved by her family) he now has an honor price of half that of Fidelma's but he is not entitled to make legal contracts without her permission (she is also responsible for any debts that he might incur) or have any legal responsibility in the raising of Alchu. Despite these legalities, he is treated as an equal and a friend and accepted as a member of Fidelma's family. After the events of ''Dancing with Demons'' in the winter of 669-670, he is made a member of the ''Nasc Naidh'', an elite corps of bodyguards to the kings of Munster, by King Colgu and entitled to wear the golden '']'' of that order. | |||
| Brother Eadulf is a stolid man who provides a much-needed stability to Fidelma during emotionally difficult cases (he knows that her insecurity stems from both her parents dying when she was very young), and Fidelma has often admitted that Eadulf has an uncanny ability to see the obvious that she has overlooked. His medical knowledge and assistance is often very valuable as well, and on one occasion (after a "cram course" in the Law of the ''Fenechus'') he acted as Fidelma's advocate to successfully get her released when she was charged with murder (see ''Valley of the Shadow''), although his use of a bluff to get a witness to admit to lying shocked her sensibilities as a ''dalaigh''. In ''The Seventh Trumpet'', he demonstrates his own powers of deduction to such a degree that Fidelma remarks, "Every day, you become more and more a Brehon." He is very humorous about his own shortcomings (including poor horsemanship and seasickness), but his courage is undeniable (proven many times including his rescue of their son Alchu in ''The Leper's Bell'' and of Fidelma herself in ''The Seventh Trumpet''). | |||
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Latest revision as of 04:19, 14 January 2013
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