Wine of Violence, by Priscilla Royal - Eleanor of Winethorpe mysteries

Wine of Violence

Priscilla Royal

Eleanor of Winethorpe mysteries

The first of the Eleanor of Winethorpe mysteries does more than introduce the reader to the regular characters of these novels set in the reign of Henry III after the defeat of Simon de Montfort. Set in a dual sex monastery called Tyndal, it brings up many of the conflicts that can arise in a society where religious vocation is often not the primary draw of monastic life. A woman might prefer to avoid a horrible death in childbirth or a man be given no choice because of his own birth or sexual inclinations, the potential harmony of the truly religious is threatened by the conflicting needs of those who enter the cloister. As the author says, though our image of a nun’s life might be patterned on Audrey Hepburn, reality was far more complex.

The old prioress has died and already there is conflict as the enigmatic message she passed on to her confessor is made the more obscure when he is murdered. The new prioress is an outsider, the twenty-year-old daughter of a Norman baron, and at first she is treated with resentment and suspicion. Coincidentally with her arrival is that of Brother Thomas, given the choice of a monastic life or death by fire for being caught in a homosexual act with a friend. The local crowner, which we would call the coroner, is called to investigate the murder, then finds himself called back first when Thomas is hit on the head while following a suspicious pair and then for the murder of a local man no one in the village will admit knowing. When someone tries to kill the new prioress, which is making many positive changes at the monastery, the reader is left with a number of possible suspects and motives. Is the sub-prior so resentful of a woman’s control he would kill her? Would the novice master kill to cover up his molestation of his charges? Are resentful Saxons embittered enough to be the culprits? Or is it none of these or some other combination?

Power struggles between the female-controlled order of monks and nuns is just part of the mix of dissonant elements in Wine of Violence. Older religious resent rule by younger. The Norman noble and the Saxon villager contend. Sexual tensions complicate matters both for heterosexual and homosexual members of the community. The corrupt struggle against those who may expose them. Secular and religious authorities further dither over jurisdiction. Is it any wonder that someone, or more that just one, choose to cut through the complications and just kill those who stand in the way?

Royal’s pragmatic overview of the many different people and personalities in a 1270 monastery makes this novel and no doubt all its sequels uniquely realistic. In her foreword she states directly that no concept is absent in any time even though its Time has not arrived yet. So strong intelligent women will be found in 13th century England, as will people whose affect ional preference is their own sex. How they were perceived and how they might have coped with being outside the accepted norm is the point of a novel like this. As she points out, while it might be a mistake to try to make medieval people think and act like modern, simple facts of human existence nevertheless cannot be overlooked.

Mysteries are not always profound but they can be, or at least they may pose profound questions that erupt from the violence of their subject matter. Wine of Violence is one such mystery with sensitive and sensible portrayals of the sort of people who would be outsiders in their own time.

As an aside, as I listened to the book on my Kindle 3 during a scene where the young prioress’s orange cat scares off her assailant, I was sitting with my own orange cat, likewise rescued from being “disposed of”, and I praised him in lieu of the novel’s charming feline.

Thanks to Priscilla Royal and her publisher for enabling text to speech so I could read, almost unable to put it down once I had started reading, this novel.