History Series / Cadfael

* TheFanatic: Father Ailnoth in ''The Raven in the Foregate.''
** Luke in ''The Pilgrim of Hate.''

* CoolOldGuy: Brother Cadfael.
** Borders on BadassGrandpa, especially in the episode where he karate-chops a soldier for mistreating a homeless guy.
** Both Abbots arguably qualify. Watching Abbot Heribert push back an angry mob with TorchesAndPitchforks with nothing but his voice is sheer awesome.

* KickTheDog: Brother Jerome deserves everything he gets.

** People tend to seem cleaner in the show than [[TheDungAges we would assume]]. This is sometimes politically correct history, especially in episodes where the poor are seen wearing sharply tailored clothing and with perfect straight white teeth. The rich, however, are generally portrayed accurately - even if the immersion bath was uncommon (and known to be dangerous!) in RealLife, the rich did wash themselves every day.
*** Though it should be noted that the only sweetener available to common people of the time was honey, which was too expensive to be used in large quantities (and at any rate preferably used for the nobler purpose of mead production). Sugar existed, but was even more exotically rare than pepper, and scantily available even to royalty. Dental caries only exploded on the European population with the mass production of sugarcane in the New World.

* SecretTestOfCharacter: Cadfael does this to suspects sometimes. In "One Corpse Too Many," he puts a murder victim's clothing in with a pack Beringer will open to see if he recognizes it. He also offers aconite as a refreshing drink to the first murder suspect in "Monk's Hood." When the man displays his ignorance by putting it to his lips, Cadfael snatches the cup away and says that he just proved his innocence to the poisoning.

* SecretTestOfCharacter: Cadfael offers aconite as a refreshing drink to the first murder suspect in "Monk's Hood." When the man displays his ignorance by putting it to his lips, Cadfael snatches the cup away and says that he just proved his innocence to the poisoning.

* TrialByCombat: An acceptable and legal recourse. Hugh Beringar gets his job this way. In "The Monk's Hood," [[spoiler:Cadfael and Hugh decide that Lazarus--aka Guimar de Massard--can go uncharged for Picard's death]].

** Borders on BadassGrandpa, especially in the episode where he judo-chops a soldier for mistreating a homeless guy.

* ClearMyName: A central part of each episode.

* InspectorLestrade: Hugh Beringar.
* KarmaHoudini: Prior Herluin.

* MysteryOfTheWeek

* RedShirt: [[spoiler:Brother Eluric]]

* TyrantTakesTheHelm: When the Abbot leaves for a church council in "Monk's Hood" he leaves the Prior in charge, who immediately starts interfering in Cadfael's attempt to solve the latest murder and even sends him away from the abbey.

** Borders on BadassGrandpa, especially in the episode where he judo-chops a soldier for mistreating a homeless guy and. Even more so in the books.

* MyMasterRightOrWrong: Olivier, at least in the books.

** The entire Aurifaber family (except [[spoiler:the unwed spinster sister and her lover]]) in ''The Sanctuary Sparrow.'' Also, Brother Jerome.
** Nobody cries over Father Ailnoth, either.

* ClearMyName

** Borders on BadassGrandpa, especially in the episode where he judo-chops a soldier for mistreating a homeless guy. Even more so in the books.

* EvidenceScavengerHunt

* MauveShirt - [[spoiler:Gilbert Prestcote]]
* MyMasterRightOrWrong - Olivier, at least in the books.

* NewOldFlame - Richildis, in "Monk's Hood"
* NotQuiteDead - [[spoiler:Rumors of Julian Cruce's death are greatly exaggerated.]]
* OldCopYoungCop - Cadfael isn't a cop ''per se'', but he is a detective (for all intents and purposes) and Hugh Berringar definitely qualifies as the Young Cop part of the duo.

* RedShirt - [[spoiler:Brother Eluric]]
* RetiredBadass: Cadfael as stated above in CoolOldGuy and MysteriousPast. His EstablishingCharacterMoment is defending a homeless man from an armed soldier and easily disarming said soldier when he pulls a sword on him, despite the soldier being half his age if even that. Obviously as a monk Cadfael has sworn against committing violence, [[BadassPacifist but that doesn't stop him from facing down anyone trying to harm an innocent and putting himself in harm's way without a thought]].

Sometimes Cadfael will just stumble onto a mystery by himself, but either way, once he gets put onto the scent, there's little anyone can do to shake him off. DerekJacobi gives an excellent portrayal of the competent and compassionate monk in what is probably his best role since ''Series/IClaudius''. Fans of history and/or mystery would do well to check this series out.

* CoolOldGuy: Brother Cadfael (durr it's Sir DerekJacobi).

* RetiredBadass: Cadfael as stated above in BadassGrandpa and MysteriousPast. His EstablishingCharacterMoment is defending a homeless man from an armed soldier and easily disarming said soldier when he pulls a sword on him. Obviously as a monk Cadfael has sworn against committing violence, [[BadassPacifist but that doesn't stop him from facing down anyone trying to harm an innocent and putting himself in harm's way without a thought]].

Sometimes Cadfael will just stumble onto a mystery by himself, but either way, once he gets put onto the scent, there's little anyone can do to shake him off. DerekJacobi gives an excellent portrayal of the competent and compassionate monk in what is probably his best role since ''IClaudius''. Fans of history and/or mystery would do well to check this series out.

* AdaptationDistillation: The conflict between Stephen and Maud is phased out in all but two of the episodes, and Hugh is less Cadfael's {{nakama}}, and more TheLestrade to his AmateurSleuth.

[[BritishBrevity A 13-episode British series]] based on the Literature/BrotherCadfael murder mystery novels of EllisPeters. It's rather unorthodox in its choice of setting: a 12th-century town somewhere near the Welsh border -- a time of civil war, disease and strife, where Death is a frequent visitor. Many are those who would take advantage of this fact to conceal a murder. After all, who would notice one suspicious corpse amongst so many?

* Cassandra Truth: Most every episode, Cadfael proves that the murderer was not who the Law thought it was. Despite his track record, though, no one believes him the next time around when he says that, yet again, they've arrested the wrong man.

* AdaptationDecay: The conflict between Stephen and Maud is phased out in all but two of the episodes, and Hugh is less Cadfael's {{nakama}}, and more TheLestrade to his AmateurSleuth.
** These two examples aside, it's very much a PragmaticAdaptation.

A 13-episode British series based on the Literature/BrotherCadfael murder mystery novels of EllisPeters. It's rather unorthodox in its choice of setting: a 12th-century town somewhere near the Welsh border -- a time of civil war, disease and strife, where Death is a frequent visitor. Many are those who would take advantage of this fact to conceal a murder. After all, who would notice one suspicious corpse amongst so many?

* ControlFreak: The prissy, toadyish busybody, Brother Jerome, who acts as Cadfael's main nemesis. Very few people in the Abbey like him, once when strangled nearly to death, even the usually polite Cadfael comments that they'll be spared his singing voice at Mass.
** Actually it's Abbot Radulfus who makes the comment

* Actually it's Abbot Radulfus who makes the comment

* HeyItsThatGuy: In the TV series, that's [[TheEmpireStrikesBack Captain Lorth Needa]] as Prior Robert.