Brother Cadfael: The Holy Thief Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The holy theft was discovered when Saint Winifred was to be returned to her altar after being moved. In her place a piece of wood had been left, wrapped up to mimic her. For what reason was Saint Winifred originally to be moved?

Answer: To protect her from the rising flood

When the rain in Wales made a deluge of water come racing down the Severn River, the Abbey of Shrewsbury came under threat of flood and many of the valuable relics were carried to higher, safer places. St Winifred was to be one of these but when the brothers went to place her back on her altar, all they found was an old piece of wood.

Brother Cadfael fervently hopes nobody checks what's inside the reliquary as it doesn't contain St Winifred but the body of Brother Columbanus who died on the journey to collect St Winifred in "A Morbid taste for Bones".

2. Sub-Prior Herluin and Brother Tutilo went with Brother Cadfael to visit Lady Donata so they could try and convince the lady's son Sulien to return to Ramsey Abbey where he had been a novice briefly. This bid failed but as they left Lady Donata asked if she may ask for Brother Tutilo to return to her at anytime. Why did the Lady Donata want Brother Tutilo to come visit her again?

Answer: To sing to her

During his visit to the Lady Donata with Cadfael and Herluin Brother Tutilo played the psaltery and sang for her. This brought the Lady comfort and peace so she asked if she could summon Tutilo back again when she needed it. This request was accepted and Tutilo went back to see the lady several times before she finally went to her final rest.

3. After St Winifred had disappeared and reappeared, three people laid claim to her. Two of these people were Benedictine monks but one wasn't. Who was the non-Benedictine who laid claim to St Winifred?

Answer: Robert Beaumont

Robert Beaumont believed that if Herluin had a claim to St Winifred then so could he on the grounds that St Winifred herself made sure the cart was dumped on his property because she wanted to be with him. Hugh Beringar believed however that Lord Beaumont was just playing, entertaining himself while all was quiet in the area.

Alan Herbard is Hugh Beringar's deputy in Shrewsbury and Eudo Blount is Sulien's brother. Remy is a troubadour and owner of Daalny.

4. With three people laying claim to St Winifred, Abbot Radulfus needed a way to fairly decide where St Winifred's remains were to stay. What was the name of the test that Abbot Radulfus used to decide whose claim should be honoured?

Answer: Sortes Biblicae

The Sortes Biblicae involved each claimant being brought to the altar blindfolded. They then opened the bible randomly and pointed to a verse on the page. The verse pointed to was the Saint's answer to their prayers.

For those who were wondering the other, very random, phases loosely translate to...
Sincerus Piscis - Genus of fish
Abbas Hominum - Father of man
Volatilis Volutabrum - Flying pigs

5. According to lady Donata a troubadour should have three things. These things are an instrument, a lady love and what else?

Answer: A horse

When she died Lady Donata gave Tutilo the psaltery he had played for her and told him that a troubadour requires only three things, an instrument, a horse and a lady love. The first she gave him and when Daalny disappeared from the chapel at the end of the book it could be presumed that Tutilo had found a second of the required objects.

It was even possible that he found the horse that was lost when the murderer was capture and therefore had found all three.

6. When the test to decide where St Winifred was to stay was concluded a wind turned the pages of the bible and a blackthorn bud was found pointing to a verse on the page. What verse was the bud pointing to?

Answer: "...and the brother shall deliver up the brother to death"

"...and the brother shall deliver up the brother to death". This verse raised many questions about the murder of Aldhelm and brought to light some of the events surrounding his death. It was a dark wet night and Aldhelm had his hood up to protect himself from the rain. Moving through darkness and wearing his hood Aldhelm could easily have been mistaken for a monk with his cowl up.

7. On his way to the abbey, Aldhelm the shepherd was murdered. A few days later someone claimed responsibility for the crime. Who confessed to the murder of Aldhelm?

Answer: Brother Jerome

Brother Jerome confessed to the murder of Aldhelm after a blackthorn bud caught on a page of the bible was found to be pointing at the line "...and the brother shall deliver up the brother to death." This line tells us exactly what Jerome intended. He hated Tutilo for attempting to steal St Winifred so he snuck out to find him. When he saw Aldhelm coming along the road with his hood up, Jerome believed it was Tutilo returning with his cowl up. He struck Aldhelm and on realising it wasn't Tutilo, he fled in fear.

Jerome however didn't murder Aldhelm, he simply knocked him out. The real murderer never confessed to the crime. He tried to flee when he realised he was suspected but he was caught.

8. On the night of the murder, Brother Tutilo had no alibi for when Aldhelm was killed. What did Brother Cadfael find in the Horse Fair stables which proved that Tutilo was there at the time of the murder?

Answer: A breviary

Brother Tutilo's breviary, which Cadfael found in the stables, was marked with a piece of straw at the office of Compline which proved that Tutilo had been in the stables following the office alone at the time of the murder.

9. Lord Remy's singer Daalny, was born into slavery but what happened to her at the end of the book?

Answer: She snuck away with Tutilo because she loved him

After revealing the murderer and being attacked by him, Daalny asked for a few minutes alone in the church to recover herself. With everything that happened it was nearly an hour later that Cadfael came back to collect Daalny and found her gone. A later discussion between Cadfael and Hugh Beringar revealed that Tutilo had been in the church and the two had fled together.

10. As everyone prepared to depart from the Abbey at the end of the book, Daalny announced to the Abbot that she believed someone had something in their saddlebags that did not belong to them. In the end this would help identify a murderer. What was found in the saddlebag that didn't belong to its owner?

Answer: The coins and jewels from the coffer for Ramsey Abbey

In Benezet's saddlebags were found the contents of the coffer that had been sent to Ramsey. The coffer had been believed cleaned out by the bandits who attacked the cart on its journey to Ramsey Abbey. A blood stained shirt was also found proving that Benezet had killed Aldhelm but the shirt belonged to Benezet, it wasn't stolen.

Source: Author tigergirl04

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor MotherGoose before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

One of my favourite Ellis Peters' novels, "The Holy Thief" encases theft, murder and love in one curious tale.

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