Brother Cadfael The Pilgrim of Hate

Product Description Derek Jacobi. The medieval detective follows two penitents who seem to have a peculiar manner about them while making the annual pilgrimage to the Abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul in Shrewsbury. 1998/color/75 min/NR. Amazon.com Brother Cadfael, the Sherlock Holmes of the medieval world, discovers a corpse among the parade of the infirm and diseased taking refuge in the abbey on "Cripples Day." Thieves and con men ply their trades among the pilgrims so there is no shortage of suspects, but a few personalities leap from the crowd, namely a bitter young man accompanied by his pickpocket sister, and a dying pilgrim making the trek barefoot while his pious brother pushes him along. The struggle between faith and dogma that rings through all of the Cadfael mysteries takes center stage in this story. The piety of the more judgmental Brothers of the Order comes across as hypocritical in their dealings with the unwashed peasants (who are, much to the monks' dismay, detained within the abbey walls during the investigation), but even their intolerance pales next to Cadfael's terrible discovery in the murder. The DVD features a brief audio interview with Derek Jacobi, production notes, stills, filmographies, and an Ellis Peters biography and booklist. --Sean Axmaker From the Back Cover Cripples Day at Shrewsbury brings a hoard of disabled pilgrims to the abbey. Within a short while, a body is found in a leather sack amid the visitors. Cadfael boils down the man's body to inspect the bones and uncovers two possible explanations for his death. But in the excitement of the day's festivities, the bones of the deceased are stolen. Then, the chief robbery suspect escapes, leaving Cadfael to delve deeper into the mystery of the bones' disappearance and the reasons for the victim's death. Twelfth century Shrewsbury comes dramatically to life in Ellis Peters' story of Brother Cadfael - a good man in an evil world.