Barnabas File

In January, I began reading the Sister Fidelma mysteries by Celtic scholar Peter Berresford Ellis writing as Peter Tremayne.   Now 19 books and two collections later, I have read the complete series.   The most recent is entitled The Chalice of Blood .   Just to review, Fidelma is a dalaigh or advocate of the ancient law courts in seventh century Ireland.   She is also a member of a religious order and sister to the king of Muman, one of the five kingdoms of Ireland in that period. Although the background of the series is the growing conflict between the Roman and Celtic churches, over the course of the series there is also definite character development for Fidelma as she falls in love with the Saxon monk Eadulf (her partner in crime solving), marries him, has a child, wrestles with her true calling, and finally decides that she must choose the law over the religious life.   Along the way, she and Eadulf face and overcome charges of murder, she experie...

While taking an online course on Celtic Spirituality with the Oates Institute , I have been doing some reading and research on the saints, traditions, and arts connected to the Celtic expression of the Christian faith.   I was surprised to happen upon a series of mystery novels that give unique insight into the “Golden Age” of Celtic Christianity. Set in the seventh century C.E., the Sister Fidelma series by Peter Tremayne (the pseudonym of Peter Berresford Ellis, a scholar and expert on the ancient Celts) introduce the reader to the rich culture of the Irish church during its time of conflict with the Roman church. The protagonist is not only a sister of the community of St. Brigid of Kildare, but she is also a dalaigh or advocate of the ancient law courts of Ireland.   Not only does she find her religious tradition in conflict with the Roman church, but she discovers that the rest of the world is not ready for a strong, intelligent woman who likes to “solve puzzles” or...