When her Abbess requests that Hildegard travels to Beaulieu in the great forest to escort a young heiress back to Meaux, she is not overly keen but with the Great Schism causing consternation it is also a ruse to find the allegiances of the powerful House. On arrival the heiress, Elowen, is kidnapped and a young layman murdered. Hildegard determines to see the heiress rescued and the murderers brought to justice but this brings her into conflict with old adversary William att Wood and the local outlaw Black Harry.
I do enjoy Clarke's novels about the adventures of Hildegard of Meaux. They are twisty, entertaining and well-researched. it's not high literature but it is good fun with a deep knowledge of medieval history and politics interwoven. Here the focus is on the time when there were two Popes, one in Rome and one in Avignon, and how this was affecting monastic and secular life - very interesting. ( )

Engrossing medieval mystery!

I really enjoy Hildeguard of Meaux and the two fighting monks militant who accompany her on her missions, Brother Gregory and Brother Egbert.
Assigned by her Prioress to escort a betrothed young Cornish heiress back to Meaux Abbey from the Royal Abbey Beaulieu, until her future husband becomes older, all seems fairly simple. The heiress is engaged to the son of Sir William de Hutton, who lives near to Beaulieu. Beneath that is a more concerning matter that goes to the survival of Meaux Abbey. It’s 1390 and two leaders, Pope Boniface and challenger, anti-pope Clement, are locked in a struggle for supremacy. Hildegarde is charged to find out how the land lies during her stay at the Royal Abbey,
The simple escort assignment turns into a kidnapped heiress, the father of her betrothed raging around the Beaulieu area causing havoc, and an outcast Robin Hood type person dealing further unrest.
So many moving parts I wondered where the true story would lead.
I guessed at some things which of course I only realized when all was revealed.
I also love looking at these historical times through the eyes of the people—even if fictionalized.
Hildeguard is no backwater nun. She’s a woman of experience, astute and wise. I adore her.

A Severn House ARC via NetGalley ( )

This murder mystery, eleventh in a medieval mystery series featuring the nun Hildegard, is set during the Papal Schism, a split within the Catholic Church over who was the rightful pope. At the time of this story, in 1390, Pope Boniface IX was the Roman claimant to the papal seat, while Clement VII maintained the Roman Curia in Avignon, France.

As the story begins, the Prioress at Swyne, part of the Abbey of Meaux in Yorkshire, calls upon Hildegard to travel to the Beaulieu Abbey near the French border to see what she could find out about how things stood: it was reported that the monks there were torn between the two papal factions. The possibility that the French pope would prevail threatened the survival of their Cistercian Order. So when suspicions grew about the fate of Beaulieu Abbey, the Cistercians wanted to determine their true allegiance.

As an excuse for being there, Hildegard would be meeting twelve-year-old Elowen, the intended bride for one of the sons of the powerful and hated Sir William de Hutton, who had a manor near Swyne. Elowen was coming over from Cornwall and due to stop first at Beaulieu. Hildegard would then escort Elowen back to Swyne, where Elowen would stay until she came of age.

Hildegard protested, but the Prioress told her:

“It’s your own fault. . . . You’re clever, capable and if I may say so, surprisingly good in a fight. The latter is not a quality many of the nuns here at Swyne can claim.”

The Prioress would send the monks Egbert and Gregory, recent veterans of the Crusades and friends with Hildegard, to accompany her.

At Beaulieu, Hildegard was thrust into, as she said, “the drama of an abduction, with a wounded man, a body and a murderer, and the added danger of an armed band at large in the purlieus of a royal abbey. It was not what she expected.”

Complicating matters, the Beaulieu Abbey provided lifelong sanctuary to any felon who was able to find a way through the woods without being arrested by the sheriff’s men before reaching its grounds.

Elowen was carrying a large amount of gold - part of her dowry - with her when abducted. Hildegard tried to discover who was behind the abduction and whether they get Elowen back unharmed, and then she herself gets into grave danger.

Evaluation: I enjoyed this book, and welcomed the opportunity to learn more about medieval history and the workings of monasteries. ( )