The Devil's Novice is a medieval mystery novel by Ellis Peters, set in autumn 1140. It is the eighth novel in the Cadfael Chronicles, first published in 1983.
It is the Anarchy, when Empress Maud's forces are rising, King Stephen is strengthening ties with needed allies, and lords of manors must choose a side. A sturdy younger son of a local manor arrives at the Abbey at Shrewsbury, to be a novice. Brother Cadfael and Abbot Radulfus must work to understand why this troubled young man thinks he is fit to be a monk.
It was adapted for television in 1996 by Central for ITV.
Plot summary In mid September 1140, Meriet Aspley, the younger son of Leoric Aspley, the lord of Aspley manor, enters the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, petitioning to become a monk. In October, he has nightmares during which he speaks aloud, waking the entire dortoir. The superstitious novices whisper that he is possessed, and they nickname him "The Devil's Novice."
The Abbey receives a visit from Canon Eluard, an emissary of Bishop Henry of Winchester, who comes to inquire after Peter Clemence, a young cleric in the bishop's household, who has not returned from a diplomatic mission to Chester. Because Clemence was last seen as a guest at Aspley Manor, Eluard questions Meriet, who had tended the guest's horse at the manor. The following morning, Leoric had ridden the first mile out with his guest, who was on his way to Whitchurch for his next night's lodging.
After completing the mission that had been assigned to Clemence, Eluard rides on to urge King Stephen to visit Ranulf, Earl of Chester, and his brother, William of Roumare, at Lincoln, which suggestion is taken up. Sheriff Prestcote travels with King Stephen, leaving Hugh Beringar in charge. Armed with Meriet's description, Beringar finds Clemence's horse and returns it to the Abbey stables. The next morning, Meriet identifies the horse for Beringar, telling the horse's name, Barbary, same name he cried in his sleep. Brother Jerome is officious. Meriet jumps on Jerome and nearly strangles him, before Cadfael restrains him. Meriet is punished by being whipped and kept ten days in a punishment cell.
Cadfael visits Aspley Manor. He meets Meriet's family and neighbours: his favoured elder brother, Nigel; Nigel's betrothed, Roswitha Linde, beautiful and flirtatious; Roswitha's twin brother Janyn, an easygoing man and Nigel's best friend; and Leoric's ward, Isouda Foriet. Leoric sheds no light on Meriet's wish to take orders. As he leaves, Cadfael meets Isouda Foriet, who provides some useful details about Clemence's visit. He also learns that Meriet is in love with his brother's fiancée. But Isouda loves Meriet and intends to have him for her own, declaring that Meriet's attachment is a passing fancy, for, she says, Roswitha loves Nigel. The pair will marry before Christmas, then live at Leoric Aspley's manor near Newark.
Back at the abbey, Cadfael shares two secrets with Meriet: that he, Cadfael, is a father, and that Meriet is assigned to help Brother Mark, at Saint Giles, the lazar house maintained by the Abbey, after his confinement. Cadfael and Hugh Beringar plumb the possible connections between two events now linked only by time: the disappearance of Clemence and the appearance of Meriet at the monastery. On a dry 3 December, Brother Mark and Meriet set out to gather firewood with the St. Giles lepers. Meriet leads them to a clearing where for years charcoal had been made. In one of the wood stacks, they discover a charred skeleton. The remains are carefully brought to the Abbey by Hugh's men.
A sergeant brings in a half-starved man living wild in the forest. Harald is a runaway villein farrier from a manor to the south. He found Clemence's dagger in the forest. Serving two purposes, Beringar lets it be known that Harald is taken for the murder of Clemence. After Meriet hears this rumour, he walks in his sleep, taking a serious fall. On waking, Meriet confesses to the killing to free the innocent man. Brother Mark asks Meriet to confess to his priest, but Meriet refuses. Thus, Brother Mark does not believe his guilt. Meriet tells Hugh Beringar that he shot Clemence with an arrow after he left Aspley, because Clemence flirted too much with Roswitha. His father discovered him trying to hide the corpse, and he gave him a choice: to admit his guilt and be executed, or else give up the rest of his life for penance as a monk, thus saving the family honour. Neither Hugh nor Cadfael believe him guilty.
Eluard returns; he identifies the cross and ring as belonging to Clemence. Leoric Aspley comes to the Abbey for his son's marriage. Leoric tells Cadfael of finding Meriet with Clemence's body that afternoon. Leoric believed the scene before him. After Meriet agreed to join Shrewsbury Abbey, Leoric drove the horse away and burned Clemence's body in the wood stack. Cadfael points out that Meriet must be shielding someone else. Leoric refuses to believe it is Nigel. Cadfael explains one flaw in the father's assumptions: the time of the death. Clemence was found only a few miles from Aspley, and thus killed in the morning.
Isouda visits Meriet at his room in Saint Giles. She rejoins Cadfael to return to the Abbey, discussing how to undercut Meriet's false confession. "'Girl,' said Cadfael, breathing in deeply, 'you terrify me like an act of God. And I do believe you will pull down the thunderbolt.'"Chapter 11 Isouda and Roswitha make final preparations for the wedding next day. Isouda chances on an antique brooch in Roswitha's possession. Isouda saw the same one on Clemence's cloak at Aspley Manor. She meets Cadfael to report her thunderbolt to him; he realises the importance of the brooch being intact, unburnt. She arranges for two horses to bring Brother Mark and Meriet to the Abbey, to witness his brother's marriage.
Isouda puts the brooch on Roswitha's cloak. After the couple are married, they walk out into the gateway. Canon Eluard instantly recognises the brooch as a gift from the bishop to his late clerk. When he asks where Roswitha got it, she lies, a lie that Leoric challenges publicly. She admits that her brother Janyn gave it to her. Janyn has already fled the Abbey on one of Isouda's horses. As Beringar prepares to pursue him, a messenger from King Stephen arrives, ordering the local knight-service to muster immediately; the two Earls of Chester and Lincoln have declared their independence from either side in the civil war and have set up their own kingdom in the north, taking Lincoln Castle. Nigel has fled the grounds, taking Isouda's other horse.
Beringar's sergeants pursue them. In the woods near Stafford, Nigel catches up with Janyn, whose horse has been lamed. Nigel offers to carry them both on his horse. Janyn stabs Nigel, steals his horse and rides on. The Sheriff's men come upon Nigel ten minutes later and return him to the Abbey. Nigel and Janyn were offered castles and commands by William of Rumare on their summer visit to the northern manor. Clemence shared his mission with these distant relations. Clemence would have stumbled on a meeting of the Earls and their allies. Nigel proposed to send word ahead, but Janyn shot Clemence down in the forest. When Nigel learned this, he went to the forest to bury the body. Meriet discovered him, and he heard their father's hounds approaching. He told his brother to run, knowing that Leoric would be heartbroken if Nigel were blamed, but unaffected if Meriet was.
Nigel repents of his treason while healing from his wound. Beringar expects him to join the King's army, marching north to confront the rebels. Meriet and the villein Harald are both absolved of guilt. Harald is found a farrier job in town, where he will be safe if he stays a year and a day. Only now does Leoric see the similarity of himself and Meriet. He confesses his sins to Abbot Radulfus, and asks him for two additional favours: first, that Leoric be allowed to sponsor Brother Mark, who has been a true friend to Meriet, in his studies for the priesthood; and second, that the Abbot witness a new will that leaves his manor to Meriet. With Janyn gone, Nigel will inherit the Linde manor through his wife. Leoric begs Meriet's forgiveness, and the two reconcile. Roswitha's lies broke the charm for Meriet. Isouda gained his affections, now he shed his monk's habit. When he parts from Brother Cadfael, Meriet explains how the term 'Brother' came hard to his lips in their conversations, as he wished to call him father. Cadfael accepted that from son Meriet.
Characters
Brother Cadfael: Herbalist monk at the Benedictine Abbey at Shrewsbury, with a talent for finding the truth of a problem. He is 60 years old, having joined this monastery about 17 years earlier, after a life 'in the world' as man at arms, sailor, Crusader, and lover of a few women. He is godfather to Giles Beringar, son of Hugh and Aline. In terms of the monastery, he is a conversus, in contrast to those men who entered as children, termed oblatus. Abbot Radulfus: Head of the Benedictine Abbey of St Peter and St Paul at Shrewsbury, a wise, calm but forceful man. Based on the real abbot of that time. In this story, he decides the monastery will no longer accept small boys as future monks; they will be accepted only for schooling. Brother Jerome: Confessor of the novices at the Abbey. He is a man who loves the sound of his own voice, and is a stickler for rules. Brother Paul: He is the monk in charge of the novices and pupils at the Abbey, including the newest, Meriet. Brother Mark: Young monk at the lazar house of Saint Giles. He is a quiet, self-effacing man with deep internal strength. He was helper to Cadfael in the herbarium, and is much loved by Cadfael. He is of slight build from a rough childhood, about 20 years old. He was introduced in Monk's Hood. Leoric Aspley: Lord of nearby Aspley manor. He is recently widowed, a man of honour, stern and decisive, of Saxon blood, who married a woman of Norman heritage, Avota. He is a generous supporter of the Abbey. He owns a second manor a ways north, which his elder son will manage upon his marriage. Nigel Aspley: Elder son of Leoric and Avota. He is about 25 years old, tall and handsome, promised in marriage to Roswitha Linde, and much in love with her. He is the eldest of the five young people on three adjacent manors who grew up together. Meriet Aspley: Younger son of Leoric and Avota. He is 19 years old, strong and active, but not as tall as his father. Accompanied by his father, he presents himself to be a monk at the Abbey, parting from his father very formally. He is a troubled young man, but trustworthy. Wulfric Linde: Neighbor to Leoric Aspley. He has a manor, is widowed and father of twins. Roswitha Linde: Daughter of Wulfric. She is beautiful and flirtatious, engaged to marry Nigel Aspley since birth but also in love with him. Like her brother, she has red-gold hair. Janyn Linde: Twin brother of Roswitha. He is easy and charming, not yet interested in marriage himself. He is about 22 years old. Isouda Foriet: Orphan and ward of Leoric Aspley. He manages her manors until she is of age. She is 16 years old, charming and outspoken, growing rapidly to womanhood, and quite fond of Meriet Aspley. Gilbert Prestcote: Sheriff of Shropshire, in King Stephen's service. He is away with the King for the duration of this story. Introduced in One Corpse Too Many. Hugh Beringar: Deputy Sheriff of Shropshire. He is about 25 years old in this story. He is a close friend to the older man Cadfael and married to Aline. He is father of baby Giles, who passes his first birthday in this story. Hugh was introduced in One Corpse Too Many.