Brother Cadfael - Leper of St. Giles

Rating:
Summary: There is always hope by God's grace and man's efforts.
Review: A marriage of convenience is to take place between Baron Huon De Domville and the orphaned Iveta De Masssard. The Barron wants more land. Iveta on the other hand is really in love with another.

As the baron and Iveta are traveling by some lepers the baron whips them and Iveta tosses money. We pretty much can guess what is going to happen to the baron. On the eve of the wedding, the Barron mysteriously rides off alone into the night, and that's the last time he's seen alive. Cadfael sets out to investigate his disappearance. In the process we get to revisit Cadfael's past and maybe an old friend.

Naturally the description of this film is simplified and for readers of Ellis Peters' works the film is simplified from the story.
You have to take your hat off to Creeping Gromwell for helping Cadfael solve the mystery.



Rating:
Summary: I will make you faceless and nameless, as we all are here.
Review: Brother Cadfael is out re-stocking the provisions at the leper hospice just outside Shrewsbury when he sees the procession of a groom and his young bride. The groom, one Huon de Domville, whips at the lepers as he passes; while his young bride Ivetta de Masade throws coins. She is bound by the will of her guardians to marry this brute, while her heart is taken by one of Domville's squires, Jocelyn. Cadfael throws off the attack on one of the wandering lepers, known only as Lazarus, who holds himself with quiet dignity. It seems a hopeless case for the ill-fated couple, until the morning of the wedding finds the groom dead.

Cadfael takes it upon himself to solve the crime, especially when Jocelyn is framed for theft, and thought of for the murder. When he breaks free from his captors, it is Lazarus who hides him in the hospice, as a leper. All Cadfael has to go on is a few dried flowers found in the victim's discarded hat, leading him to the history behind Huon's true affections. Cadfael sees not only justice for the accused Jocelyn, but witnesses revenge for all the wrongdoings to Ivetta.

This was the first Cadfael movie I saw. I had read the book some time before, and found the production very impressive, especially Sir Derek Jacobi as Cadfael, Sean Pertwee as Hugh Beringar, and of course, Lazarus himself. Using the Hungarian countryside to stand as 12th century England proves a success. My only nit to pick is the women's costuming, not done very accurately at all, but as a performance it is very well done.

Rating:
Summary: I will make you faceless and nameless, as we all are here.
Review: Brother Cadfael is out re-stocking the provisions at the leper hospice just outside Shrewsbury when he sees the procession of a groom and his young bride. The groom, one Huon de Domville, whips at the lepers as he passes; while his young bride Ivetta de Masade throws coins. She is bound by the will of her guardians to marry this brute, while her heart is taken by one of Domville's squires, Jocelyn. Cadfael throws off the attack on one of the wandering lepers, known only as Lazarus, who holds himself with quiet dignity. It seems a hopeless case for the ill-fated couple, until the morning of the wedding finds the groom dead.

Cadfael takes it upon himself to solve the crime, especially when Jocelyn is framed for theft, and thought of for the murder. When he breaks free from his captors, it is Lazarus who hides him in the hospice, as a leper. All Cadfael has to go on is a few dried flowers found in the victim's discarded hat, leading him to the history behind Huon's true affections. Cadfael sees not only justice for the accused Jocelyn, but witnesses revenge for all the wrongdoings to Ivetta.

This was the first Cadfael movie I saw. I had read the book some time before, and found the production very impressive, especially Sir Derek Jacobi as Cadfael, Sean Pertwee as Hugh Beringar, and of course, Lazarus himself. Using the Hungarian countryside to stand as 12th century England proves a success. My only nit to pick is the women's costuming, not done very accurately at all, but as a performance it is very well done.

Rating:
Summary: Retribution and romance....
Review: Ellis Peters wrote 20 books about her hero Brother Cadfael. THE LEPER OF ST GILES is an early book in her series, and the DVD film is a faithful account of her story, first broadcast on PBS Mystery series. Sir Derek Jacobi plays Cadfael, and a host of other fine British actors fill the remaining roles. The Cadfael films were shot in Eastern Europe, and early episodes are the best because Peters served as a technical consultant (she died before the filming was completed).

Cadfael's exploits are generally set in the tumultuous years 1130-1150 when the Empress Maud and her cousin Stephen were fighting for the English throne. However, in THE LEPER OF ST GILES, the key to a current mystery lies in the period some 40 years before when Cadfael and other young men took up the cross for Christ as participants in the the First Crusade. In this book/film we learn more about those times and how Cadfael came to his current vocation.

St Giles is a way station outside Shrewsbury where the Benedictine monks of the local abby minister to the physical and spiritual needs of the Lepers. In the Middle Ages, people were terrified of Leperosy, a disease that showed up in Europe following the First Crusade to the Holy Land. Because the disease was so contagious and horrible, lepers were not allowed to enter settlements but confined to way stations maintained by the church. Moreover, lepers were ordered to wear little bells or carry them and ring them when the approached others.

One day, an old leper shows up at the Leper Hospital of St Giles. He is tall and at one time was very well built, tho now the ravages of the disease have diminished him. At the same time as his arrival at St Giles, a young girl is escorted to Shrewsbury Abby by her kinfolk for her wedding--to an older man not of her choosing. The young man she would prefer to marry is not well enough situated for her kinsfolk, who want her to join their (her) lands with the bridegroom's lands which lie adjacent to their own. As was the case in many of these arranged marriages, the bottom line overshadows feelings.

The day of the wedding the bridegroom is discovered dead. He had been out riding in the early moring hours and apparently his horse stumbled and he was thrown and his neck broken--or was he. Of course, Cadfael discovers evidence of foul play, but who would want the man dead? Immediate suspicion falls on the young affinanced woman's illicit lover. Did he do it? If not, only Cadfael can unravel the mystery and discover many things including the identity of the mysterious leper of St. Giles.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful tale of the 12 Century.
Review: I enjoy a good murder mystery and the Brother Cadfael series is just that. The Leper of St Giles was one of my favorites of the 20 mysteries by Ellis Peters, because it captures much of the flavor of the period. Cadfael, the central character of the series, is a Dominican monk and herbalist, and Dereck Jacobi is the perfect personification of him. He has a presence which suggests strength, wisdom, and compassion. Unlike most of the other brothers, Cadfael had spent most of his life in the secular world where he participated in the crusades, had adventures, fell in and out of love, and took his order after finding the ways of the world wanting. He comes from a different culture, that of Wales, and sees that of England through an outsider's more objective eyes. His experience with life and the motives of men and his keen awareness of detail makes him the perfect sleuth, and when murder is committed the civil authorities, in the person of under sherif Hugh Beringer, are more than willing to have him clear things up for them. When a young girl is forced by her guardians to wed a wealthy but disagreeable nobleman, the young squires of the latter attempt to help her, only to become mixed in a murder. One of them is framed for it and arrested, but flees his captors. Aided by one of his fellow squires, he eludes apprehension only to be accused of a second murder, that of the young girl's guardian. It looks like curtains for the young man, until Cadfael takes on the case. Probably the most enjoyable part of the film is the byplay between the nun Alice and Cadfael. Like the latter, Alice had lived a full life prior to taking her orders and is not naive to the ways of the world. She appears again in The Rose Rent, and is one of my favorite characters. The Leper of St Giles is a thoroughly delightful film.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful tale of the 12 Century.
Review: I enjoy a good murder mystery and the Brother Cadfael series is just that. The Leper of St Giles was one of my favorites of the 20 mysteries by Ellis Peters, because it captures much of the flavor of the period. Cadfael, the central character of the series, is a Dominican monk and herbalist, and Dereck Jacobi is the perfect personification of him. He has a presence which suggests strength, wisdom, and compassion. Unlike most of the other brothers, Cadfael had spent most of his life in the secular world where he participated in the crusades, had adventures, fell in and out of love, and took his order after finding the ways of the world wanting. He comes from a different culture, that of Wales, and sees that of England through an outsider's more objective eyes. His experience with life and the motives of men and his keen awareness of detail makes him the perfect sleuth, and when murder is committed the civil authorities, in the person of under sherif Hugh Beringer, are more than willing to have him clear things up for them. When a young girl is forced by her guardians to wed a wealthy but disagreeable nobleman, the young squires of the latter attempt to help her, only to become mixed in a murder. One of them is framed for it and arrested, but flees his captors. Aided by one of his fellow squires, he eludes apprehension only to be accused of a second murder, that of the young girl's guardian. It looks like curtains for the young man, until Cadfael takes on the case. Probably the most enjoyable part of the film is the byplay between the nun Alice and Cadfael. Like the latter, Alice had lived a full life prior to taking her orders and is not naive to the ways of the world. She appears again in The Rose Rent, and is one of my favorite characters. The Leper of St Giles is a thoroughly delightful film.

Rating:
Summary: There is always hope by God's grace and man's efforts.
Review: The back cover is fairly accurate:

A great wedding is to take place at the Abby of Shrewsbury between the powerful Baron Huon De Domville and the young and beautiful Iveta De Masssard. But this is no love match. The old, fat Baron is only interested in Iveta's lands and estates. Th orphaned Iveta lives another.

All of Shrewsbury turns out to see the Baron and his bride-to-be ride into town and their differences are immediately noticeable. While the kind-hearted Iveta throws money to the lepers at the side of the road, the Barron strikes out at them with his whip. On the eve of the wedding, the Barron mysteriously rides off alone into the night, and that's the last time he's seen alive. Cadfael sets out to investigate his disappearance.

Naturally the description of this film is simplified and for readers of Ellis Peters' works the film is simplified from the story.

You have to take your hat off to Creeping Gromwell for helping Cadfael solve the mystery.

Rating:
Summary: The Best of Ellis Peters
Review: The Leper of St. Giles reflects Ellis Peters at her very best in the Cadfael Series. I found the story interesting and even better when viewed a second and third time. (I have seen the video four times ) I am a retired teacher and have taught medieval history at the university level. The video captures the atmosphere of medieval monastic life showing, as do all the others in the Cadfael series, the elegant, but flawed, character of each individual protrayed, starting, of course, with our hero, Cadfael, brilliantly protrayed by Derek Jacoby. Moreover the mystery unfolds in layers starting with a villianous beating of the leper near St. Giles where Cadfael and other Benedictines go to care for the lepers. Then the story procedes to the discovery of two murdered bodies while also including a bit of romance, intrique, and plenty of action. I especially appreciated the quiet talk and spiritual tone between Cadfael and the Leper of St. Giles. The climatic scene is so startling I felt electricity and a kind of awe in the beauty of the moment.

Rating:
Summary: The Book Lovers will like this one!
Review: This is one of the most faithfully adapted stories from the Brother Cadfael books! I really enjoyed this one, and I had read the book first!
Start out with star-crossed young lovers, a greedy foster family forcing the young woman into marriage with a really ornery and stingy old man, with dark hints of a secret double-life, a mysterious leper with startling connections, a body with mysterious wounds, and Cadfael and Hugh Beringar, the local deputy for the Sheriff of the shire, have all the elements for a mystery full of twists and turns. Derek Jacobi is wonderful as the wise and kind Cadfael, and is supported by a great cast. The DVD's always have production stills, interviews with Sir Derek Jacobi about various interesting aspects of Cadfael, monastic life, or the story, along with other interesting information. They give a fascinating picture of life in the 12th century, and life in a monastery. This episode is my favorite so far of the eight I've seen.

Rating:
Summary: A huge Cadfael fan from Oz
Review: This is probably the nicest, most romantic episode of the series. It is almost to clean cut for a medievil piece, but is nonetheless very well presented and extremely watchable. Derek Jacobi is faultless as the good brother, and the rest of the cast is also strong. Lots of mystery, murder and great sets, with an ending that will tug your heart strings. Also fantastic gregorian piecies sprinkled throughout. A must if you love cadfael, or a brilliant place to start your collection. When introducing friends to the wonderful Cadfael series,I start them on this film.It never fails to hook them !!.