The Medieval Mystery: Death and Pageantry

The violence and pageantry of the Medieval world, from the fall of the Western Roman Empire to the Renaissance (5th through 15th centuries), has been a popular backdrop for fantasy and romance fiction, but murder mystery writers also like the period. Crime-solving set in castle, monastery and walled town pairs archaic suspects, such as lords, serfs, knights, maidens, monks, minstrels and lepers, with the evergreen motives for mayhem. That the quest for moral justice must navigate a feudal society torn by war, plague and intolerance enriches the plots. The literary world first embraced the Medieval mystery with Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose. Young Brother William of Baskerville investigates the bizarre deaths of monks at an Italian monastery in a complex novel pitting Aristotelian logic against theology as the hero tries to decipher secret symbols and coded manuscripts. Those who find Eco's opus too philosophically dense may enjoy Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael mysteries instead, in which a 12th century Benedictine monk tackles local murders with psychological insight and primitive forensics. Other series include Caroline Roe's Isaac from Girona mysteries about the sleuthing of a blind doctor in mid-1300 Spain; Kate Sedley's Roger the Chapman mysteries featuring a peddler in Medieval England; Bernard Knight's Crowner John mysteries about a former Crusader knight serving the king's justice in 12th century England; Ian Morson's William Falconer series with crime-solving by a 13th-century Oxford University Regent Master; Philip Gooden’s Chaucer Tales, relying on Geoffrey Chaucer, future poet and diplomat, to put together the clues; and Susanna Gregory's Matthew Bartholomew mysteries, in which a teacher of medicine investigates murders in 14th-century Cambridge. Paul Doherty is another Medieval mystery leader with multiple series (Brother Athelstan mysteries for one), but try his Satan in St. Mary for a fun read about a real murder in 13th century London. If you're bored by Medieval males, check out Peter Tremayne's Sister Fidelma mysteries, with a 7th century Irish nun as detective, or read Ariana Franklin's Mistress of the Art of Death, where an ahead-of-her-time 12th century woman doctor investigates. For historical mystery options, regardless of time period: http://bestmysterybooks.com/best-historical-mystery-books.html