brother cadfael

Cadfael is a Benedictine monk and herbalist at Shrewsbury Abbey in Shrewsbury, the county town of the English county of Shropshire. Cadfael himself is a Welshman; his full name is Cadfael ap (son of) Meilyr ap Dafydd and he was born in May 1080 to a villein (serf) family in Trefriw, in Gwynedd (northern Wales).

The stories are set between about 1135 and about 1145, during the civil war between the forces of King Stephen and Queen Maud (also known as Empress Matilda).

Cadfael became a monk in middle age, after going on the First Crusade as both a soldier and later, a sailor. As a result, he is more familiar with the secular world than most of his brother monks. In addition, his personality more reflects modern attitudes and progressive ethics than his own time which often puts him in conflict with his brethren on matters of justice and conscience.