The Virgin in the Ice

Plot Summary

In November 1139, the Empress's armies have attacked and pillaged Worcester. Among those who fled the city were two noble children in the Benedictine Order's care and a nun. They have since vanished. The children's uncle and guardian, a supporter of the Empress, is refused permission to enter the King's lands to search for them.

As the first snowstorms of winter sweep the countryside, Brother Cadfael of Shrewsbury Abbey goes to the Benedictine Priory at Bromfield near Ludlow to treat a monk who has been attacked by robbers and left for dead. The injured Brother, Elyas, babbles about a party of refugees who might well be those sought. Cadfael sends word to Shrewsbury and rides into the snow-covered countryside to search for them. He finds one, the boy Yves Hugonin, sheltering with a forester. As they ride back to Bromfield, Yves tells Cadfael that his headstrong sister Ermina eloped four nights previously, and he became lost in the woods when he tried to pursue them.

As they cross a frozen stream, Cadfael sees the body of a young woman frozen into the ice. Fearing it is that of Ermina, he conceals his discovery from Yves. Joined by his friend, Deputy Sheriff Hugh Beringar, he retrieves the body from the ice. It does not match Ermina Hugonin's description and Yves identifies it as Ermina's tutor, Sister Hilaria.

The smallholding where the children and Hilaria had sheltered has been attacked and destroyed by brigands, although the smallholder escaped to nearby Cleeton. He says that his place was destroyed on the night of the first heavy snow. Sister Hilaria had left with Brother Elyas a few hours before. Beringar also hears of a dark, armed stranger dressed as a commoner who has been enquiring after the Hugonin children.

The king's retainer in Ludlow tells Beringar that the brigands have attacked other isolated settlements, committing indiscriminate murder. Cadfael surmises that Elyas and Hilaria were two of their chance victims. One of the destroyed settlements was the manor of Callowleas, which belonged to Evrard Boterel, Ermina's suitor. He and Ermina were able to flee to Ledwyche, another manor he held. He relates that Ermina, concerned for her brother, left to search for him. He rode after her, but collapsed from a knife wound in the shoulder.

Overnight, another snowstorm blows up. When Yves tells Elyas that Hilaria is dead, he becomes distressed and walks purposefully out of the priory. Yves tries unsuccessfully to turn him back. They reach a shepherd's hut, where Elyas appears to confess to Hilaria's murder. As dawn approaches, Yves hears noises nearby and goes to seek help, but runs into the arms of the brigands, who take him prisoner. He contrives to leave a trail of wine drops in the new-fallen snow.

At the same time, Ermina appears at Bromfield, accompanied by a stranger who immediately vanishes. She is filled with remorse that her reckless conduct led indirectly to Hilaria's death, but Cadfael insists that the guilt belongs to her murderer. She tells Cadfael that the stranger is Olivier de Bretagne, a Syrian-born squire in her uncle's service, with whom she is clearly in love.

Cadfael wonders why Elyas was first attacked more than a mile from where Hilaria's body was found. Near the stream, he finds the shepherd's hut. Inside he discovers Elyas's cloak and Hilaria's blood-stained habit and wimple. Casting about, he finds the trail of Yves and the bandits, and follows it to the brigands' fort on Titterstone Clee Hill.

Cadfael guides Beringar's armed men to the fort. They attack but le Gaucher, the brigands' leader, forces them to withdraw by threatening Yves. As night falls, Olivier de Bretagne enters the fort by stealth and overcomes the brigand guarding Yves on the tower. They are unable to escape but Yves realises that Beringar and Cadfael must be nearby and raises a racket to alert them. Beringar and his men attack again, and set fire to the fort. As the fire threatens them, Yves and Olivier try to break out but Yves collides with le Gaucher and is taken hostage again. Brother Elyas wanders into the battle and confronts le Gaucher who, unnerved by the sight of a man he had left for dead, lets go of Yves. Olivier then kills le Gaucher in single combat before disappearing. The leaderless brigands are captured or killed.

At Bromfield, Yves tells Cadfael of Elyas's apparent confession but Cadfael realises that when Elyas and Hilaria sheltered together in the hut, Elyas, tormented by desire, left her alone but with his cloak for warmth. He then fell victim to the brigands. His failure to protect Hilaria has tortured Elyas but Cadfael reassures him that he did all for the best.

Evrard Boterel arrives at Bromfield. Cadfael invites him into the chapel where Hilaria awaits burial. Dressed in Hilaria's wimple and habit, Ermina confronts Evrard, forcing a startled confession from him. She then tells Cadfael and Beringar that she turned against Boterel when he fled Callowleas rather than defend his people. At Ledwyche, he tried to take her by force but she wounded him with a knife, and ran into the woods. She saw Boterel ride out and return with his wound opened. Boterel confesses his crime. He came upon Sister Hilaria in the hut, raped her and smothered her to stop her screams.

Ermina tells Cadfael that Olivier will come for her and Yves after Compline. When Olivier arrives, Cadfael suggests waiting until Matins, when they can leave undetected. Olivier tells of his early years in Syria and of his mother, Mariam. Cadfael realises that Olivier is his own son. Elyas is recovering his peace of mind, Hilaria's murderer is in prison, the brigands are exterminated, and Yves and Ermina are on their way to their uncle's care. With their tasks accomplished, Beringar and Cadfael return to Shrewsbury, with Cadfael dazed.

Characters

Brother Cadfael: Benedictine monk at Shrewsbury Abbey. In his youth, he has been on Crusade as a man at arms, has been a seaman and lived for some years in Syria near Antioch, but a monk since he was about 40; now nearing 60 years old. He is the herbalist in the monastery.

Hugh Beringar: Deputy Sheriff of Shropshire. He and his wife take a house in town so he can better cover the south of the shire in this time of unrest, and be nearer friends when their child is born. He thinks much like Cadfael despite his youth, about 24 years old. They are good friends. He is wiry, not tall, with dark hair and eyes, and an expressive eyebrow. Hugh was introduced in One Corpse Too Many.

Aline Beringar: Wife of Hugh. She is about 20 years old, and begins the story about to have her first child. The blonde haired boy Giles is born on 5 December, thus introduced in this book. She was introduced in One Corpse Too Many.

Gilbert Prestcote: Sheriff of Shropshire, King Stephen's man. He moves to the north of the shire for the month of the Christmas feast, requiring his deputy to come down to Shrewsbury.

Sub-Prior Herward: Brother from the Benedictine Abbey at Worcester. He rode to Shrewsbury in search of the Hugonin children, gaining the Sheriff's promise to look for them.

Prior Leonard: Benedictine monk in authority at the Priory at Bromfield. He was at Shrewsbury Abbey before his promotion, where he became friends with Cadfael and familiar with his skills in the healing arts.

Reyner Dutton: Tenant to the Bromfield Priory. He found Brother Elyas, near death. Later, he showed Cadfael the place, leading them to discover the hidden bundles of clothing in the hut.

Brother Elyas: Recently widowed monk in his 30s. He joined the Benedictine abbey at Perhsore in search of peace in his life. He is a tall, strong man.

Ermina Hugonin: She is a beautiful 17-year-old girl of the nobility. She is orphaned, living in the Benedictine convent at Worcester for her education. She is quick-witted and of strong will.

Yves Hugonin: Younger brother to Ermina, and son of the late Geoffrey Hugonin. He was living in the Benedictine abbey at Worcester for his education until the rout of Worcester. He is a 13-year-old boy of the nobility.

Sister Hilaria: She is a young, blond, beautiful woman who is a nun at the Benedictine Abbey in Worcester and tutor to Ermina Hugonin.

Josce de Dinan: A middle-aged lord in Ludlow whose allegiance King Stephen strives to maintain, by giving him the castle there, along with lands once belonging to Lacy. He is the overlord for Boterel's manor at Callowleas. He is a real historical person.

Evrard Boterel: Handsome young landowner in Sheriff Prestcote's writ. He is pursuing Ermina for marriage. He holds manors at Ledwyche and Callowleas.

Laurence d'Angers: Brother to the late mother of Ermina and Yves Hugonin, a baron of Anjou. He is guardian to both his niece and nephew. He returned from the Holy Land after the attack on Worcester. He is aligned with Empress Maud in the Anarchy.

Olivier de Bretagne: Squire in the service of Laurence d'Angers for six years. He is of mixed parentage, his late mother a Syrian woman, his father a man at arms in the First Crusade, unknown to him. He is a handsome young man, with black hair and golden eyes, clean shaven in the Norman style. He speaks French more comfortably than English. He is in England for the first time, in his mid twenties. He shows himself to be determined, patient, clear in his goals, and skilled in the arts of war, especially swordplay.

John Druel: Smallholder of land near Bromfield. He is known to Ermina and kind to the errant noble children before his holding falls victim to the renegades.

Alain le Gaucher: Illegitimate scion of landowning nobles (the Lacy family) in the Ludlow area. He fought in France before making his fortress in Shropshire. He is the leader of renegade men at arms. He is named thus simply because he is left-handed.

Themes and Setting in History

The theme of the story is family ties, their challenges and surprises in this era of civil war.

The Hugonin children's ordinary life events become life-threatening adventures between the siege of Worcester, highly political, and the brigands of Shropshire, thieves out for themselves in a lawless era. The Earl of Worcester quickly moved to avenge this attack, keeping the dispute for the crown of England moving at its damaging pace. This novel makes real the effect of the Anarchy on ordinary people, even noble children being educated in monasteries and convents. This period was named The Anarchy, not simply civil war, because so much chaos and danger befell the land, "when Christ and his saints were asleep".

King Stephen had besieged and taken Ludlow Castle in 1139, bestowing it on Josce de Dinan, a man he viewed as loyal to him but with other forces influencing his ambitions.

The Benedictine Abbey in Shrewsbury was and is a real place, as are the surrounding locations, such as the Bromfield Priory near Ludlow. Pershore Abbey, the home location of Brother Elyas, is now an Anglican parish church. He first encountered the Hugonin party near Cleobury, on his route from Pershore to Bromfield, as the two abbeys negotiated over relics. Cadfael rode out to a holding of Wenlock Priory at Godstoke, returning via a shorter route between Brown Clee Hill and Titterstone Clee Hill, when he found the forester who sheltered young Yves. The village that was the safe place on the hill for the smallholder John Druel is now named Cleeton St Mary. The area of one manor held by the man pursuing Ermina is in the real location of Ledwyche. From Worcester to Shrewsbury is nearly 50 miles on modern roads, and longer via Cleeton Saint Mary, the trip made by Herward to ask the help of Shrewsbury Abbey, and then the Sheriff of Shropshire, in finding the missing children and the tutor.

Abbot Radulfus and Prior Robert of Shrewsbury Abbey (home of Brother Cadfael) are both based on the real monks of 1139, as was Josce de Dinan of Ludlow Castle.

The siege of Worcester did occur. Noncombatants were subject to considerable violence if the battles erupted near them, or to violence from brigands (or lawless barons) with no battles in the vicinity. This time in English history is described in The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles in this way:

"To till the ground was to plough the sea: the earth bare no corn, for the land was all laid waste by such deeds; and they said openly, that Christ slept, and his saints. Such things, and more than we can say, suffered we nineteen winters for our sins."

The Crusader now herbalist monk in the Benedictine Abbey, Cadfael learns by the return of the Empress's supporters to England that he fathered a son all those years ago. Cadfael learns of him when he first sees him, a grown man in his twenties. Nor can he spend much more than a few hours with him, as this son is squire to a supporter of the Empress in a shire now held by the King and must move to safer ground. He keeps this news to himself, letting his son go without learning who he had met.

Critical Reception and Reviews

These two reviews accompany the Second Cadfael Omnibus (paperback 10 October 1991), which include The Virgin in the Ice. "A more attractive and prepossessing detective would be hard to find." SUNDAY TIMES

"If this is a first-time read then it will be sheer bad luck if the reader does not fall for Cadfael." THE TIMES

Kirkus Reviews liked the series less:

Back to the 12th century again with wise, worldly herbalist Brother Cadfael of Shrewsbury's Benedictine monastery—who, called to a neighbouring priory to nurse a visiting monk, finds the frozen body of Sister Hilaria, raped and murdered. And he soon learns that young Sister Hilaria was giving sanctuary to sturdy 13-year-old Yves Hugonins and his headstrong older sister Ermina—orphans of an aristocratic family, refugees in the latest civil war. (Their uncle, just back from a Crusade and unable, because of his allegiance to the wrong cause, to look for them in enemy territory, has sent his trusted, half-Moorish aide Olivier de Bretagne to the rescue.) Further events embroil Brother C. deeply in the fortunes of the Hugonins; his usual astute detective work unmasks the murderer; with old friend Hugh Beringar, he also succeeds in wiping out the band of savage marauders terrorising the area. . . and makes a personal, euphoric discovery. Peters' reliable medieval performance as always—though the formula is starting to show slight signs of fatigue.

Pub Date: April 21st, 1983

Publishers Weekly comments on an audio edition in 1992, finding the story pleasing.

The mystery itself eventually yields to the clamour of civil war, but this historical adventure is bound to please mystery fans and history buffs alike. Actor Stephen Thorne provides a superb narration that intensifies the listener's immersion in Peter's medieval world of chaos and suspense. Siser M. Anna Falbo CSSF, Villa Maria Coll. Lib. Buffalo, NY March 15, 1992

"This chronicle ranks as a favorite in the series." From AudioFile, Vanessa Benjamin read the audio cassette version.

Cecily Felber, author of A Winter's Tale (2010, set in 1141 England and Wales) says

Confession: This is my absolute favorite Brother Cadfael story! (although The Sanctuary Sparrow and Dead Man's Ransom follow closely)

She adds these comments about the whole series, the times in which the novels are set, and the main character

Brother Cadfael (pronounced Cad-file) has definitely entered the ranks of great fiction detectives alongside Sherlock Holmes and Lord Peter Wimsey. But these stories are more than just murder mysteries in medieval drag. Ellis Peters actually lived in Shrewsbury, England, where Cadfael's monastery of St. Peter and Paul can still be visited. Her knowledge of the land and people and history permeates her work and gives her the incredible gift of transporting her reader into the past. You really do feel as though you are in that long-lost world lit only by fire, where it's quiet and green and life moves at a pace most people can be happy in.

Publication history

One site lists 18 English language editions, including hardback books, paperback editions, and audio tape versions. One Italian language paperback is also cited. They span the original in 1982 through 1998.

Four hardback editions in the US and the UK are listed as published from April 1982 to January 1999. There are eleven paperback editions in English, again published in the UK or the US, from March 1984 to October 2011 (ISBN 0751547174 / 9780751547177, UK edition, Publisher Sphere). Audio books began on cassette in November 1991. A dozen audio editions were released, the latest in July 2012 on compact disk (ISBN 1441724796 / 9781441724793, Publisher Blackstone Audiobooks).

In addition to English language editions, GoodReads lists editions in six European languages, published from 1990 to 2001.

Italian: La vergine nel ghiaccio, Published 1993 by TEA Mass Market Paperback, 236 pages, Author(s) Ellis Peters, Elsa Pelitti (Translator) ISBN 9788878193130

French: La vierge dans la glace (Frère cadfael, #6), Published 7 June 2001 by 10/18, Mass Market Paperback, 300 pages, Author(s): Ellis Peters ISBN 9782264032867

German: Die Jungfrau im Eis (Bruder Cadfael, #6), Published 1986 by Heyne Deutsche Erstausgabe, Paperback, 252 pages, Author(s) Ellis Peters ISBN 9783453022249

Dutch: De kille maagd (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael #6) Published 1988 by De Boekerij, Paperback, 218 pages, Author(s) Ellis Peters, Pieter Janssens (Translator) ISBN 9789022508404

Swedish: Mördande vinter (Broder Cadfael #6), 236 pages Author(s) Ellis Peters

Portuguese: A Virgem Presa no Gelo (Crime Perfeito, #19), Published 1990 by Publicações Europa-América, Paperback, 220 pages, Author(s) Ellis Peters, Mafalda Ferrari (Translator) ISBN 9721030872

Also, editions in Spanish, Korean, Russian, Czech, Slovenian, Hebrew and two versions in Polish are listed at World Cat, among its 52 listed editions.

Polish: Dziewica w bryle lodu, by Ellis Peters; Irena Doleżal-Nowicka, 2000 Poznań Zysk i S-ka, ISBN 9788371506550

Polish: Wyprawa w śniegi, by Ellis Peters; Anna Kacmajor; Magdalena Kacmajor 1993 Gdańsk: Phantom Press International, ISBN 9788370755065

Spanish: La virgen de hielo, by Ellis Peters 2001 1a. ed. en Mitos Bolsillo Barcelona Grijalbo Mondadori, ISBN 9788422672487

Korean: 얼음속의처녀 : 엘리스피터스장편소설 /Ŏrŭm sok ŭi ch'ŏnyŏ : Ellisŭ P'it'ŏsŭ changp'yŏn sosŏl by Ellis Peters; In-sŏk Ch'oe 1998 Ch'op'an 북하우스, Sŏul-si Buk Hausŭ, ISBN 9788987871097

Russian: Pogrebennai︠a︡ vo lʹdakh shestai︠a︡ khronika Brata Kadfaėli︠a︡, by Ellis Peters 1996, Sankt-Peterburg Izd-vo "Azbuka" Izdatelʹskiĭ T︠s︡entr "Terra", ISBN 9785768400132

Czech: Panna v ledu : případ bratra Cadfaela, by Edith Pargeter; Zora Wolfová, 1996, Vyd. 1 Praha Mladá fronta, ISBN 9788020406125

Slovenian: Dekle v zrcalu, by Ellis Peters; Andrej Novak, 1989, V Ljubljani, Prešernova družba, OCLC 439026944

Hebrew: Betulat ha-ḳeraḥ, by Ellis Peters; ʻImanuʼel Loṭem 1993, Tel Aviv: Bitan, OCLC 28765176

Although all the books in the series have been translated to languages other than English, this is the longest list of languages found for one specific novel so far, thirteen.

Television

The book became the first episode in the second series (and fifth episode overall) in the Cadfael series by Central Television in late 1995. The plot of the episode differed more than most from the original novel. The action was moved from Ludlow to Cadfael's "home" abbey of Shrewsbury; Brother Elyas's part was replaced by that of Cadfael's young and callow assistant in the herb gardens, Brother Oswin (Mark Charnock), and extra plot elements were introduced to explain the presence of the brigands and the final unmasking of the murderer. The brigands and their leader le Gaucher (Ronan Vibert), were originally members of the rescue party sent by Yves and Ermina's uncle to search for them, but then committed mutiny. Olivier (Robert Cavanah), one of the few who remained loyal, was the only one to escape alive, albeit wounded.

Radio

The Virgin in the Ice was adapted in five parts for BBC Radio 4 by Bert Coules in 1993:

1. Casualties of War – News comes to Shrewsbury of two missing noble children, Yves and Ermina Hugonin, but Cadfael's search for them turns up a terrible discovery.
2. Danger From All Sides – Cadfael, Hugh Beringar and Yves' tracing of Ermina's movements also uncovers traces of the outlaws' atrocities and of a mysterious stranger also searching for the Hugonins.
3. Found and Lost – Brother Elyas flees into the night, tormented by unresolved memories, pursued by Yves, while Ermina walks into Bromptom Abbey on her own ... or so it seems.
4. The Wolves' Nest – Cadfael tracks Yves and Brother Elyas to the outlaws' stronghold, uncovering more clues concerning Brother Elyas and Sister Hilaria on the way, but rescuing Yves won't be so easy.
5. Discoveries – The battle to rescue Yves continues, but its conclusion still leaves more mysteries and a murder to solve ... and, for Cadfael personally, a revelation.

and starred Philip Madoc as Brother Cadfael, Douglas Hodge as Hugh Beringar and Sir Michael Hordern as the Narrator. The serial has since been repeated on BBC Radio 7 and Radio 4 Extra and is available as an audio book.

Theatre

In 2013, the Middle Ground Theatre Company toured the UK with an adaption featuring Gareth Thomas as Brother Cadfael.