Death of a Heretic by Peter Tremayne

Author:Peter Tremayne [Tremayne, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Severn House
Published: 2022-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

THIRTEEN

‘That is a harsh judgement,’ Fidelma commented in surprise.

‘I am no theologian, lady, but then neither was Bishop Brodulf. I simply believe those who burn books are equally as guilty as princes who preside over massacres of entire peoples. As people are the living embodiment of an identity of a culture and history, so are books. From books, knowledge can be transmitted. If they are destroyed we descend into ignorance.’

‘I am in sympathy with your concept,’ Fidelma replied. ‘But I don’t think that was the bishop’s purpose to come here in search of such books. I do not think, by the sound of his contribution to the debates, that he was possessed of the intellect necessary to assess such ancient texts.’

‘Then what was he doing in the scriptorium?’

‘I expect the librarian will report that to you shortly, but it seems that a ledger has gone missing. It was a ledger written during the time of Abbot Conaing Ua Daint.’

Abbot Cuán’s eyes widened. ‘That was about fifteen or twenty years ago,’ he said.

‘Indeed, it was. There is little doubt that Bishop Brodulf took it from the library. The Venerable Lugán presumes that it perished when the guest house was destroyed by the fire.’

The abbot was shaking his head in bewilderment. ‘Such a record would be irreplaceable to us, although not valuable to the Faith unless one was writing a history of this abbey and its influence.’

The steward seemed astonished. ‘Why have we not been informed of this?’

‘I think it was because the librarian has only just realised the fact,’ Eadulf observed, speaking for the first time. ‘We don’t know why the bishop was looking for it, and certainly it would not be for writing a history. This might be a motive behind his murder.’

Abbot Cuán exchanged a bewildered glance with his steward.

‘Are you saying that he came to this abbey for an explicit purpose and not just because we are the oldest abbey of this kingdom?’

Fidelma did not hide her impatience. ‘I do not feel it was a matter of chance, as Deacon Landric would have us believe. Why should Bishop Brodulf spend much time looking at records in your scriptorium? I do not believe it was for proscribed books to destroy.’

‘I can only repeat what the bishop told us,’ the steward replied. ‘He came to debate theological matters with the Venerable Breas, our leading scholar.’

Fidelma glanced at Abbot Cuán. ‘To make it absolutely clear, he was definitely not invited to come to this abbey?’

Abbot Cuán looked indignant. ‘I certainly did not invite him. I did not even know him.’ He glanced at his steward, who also shook his head.

‘The first we knew of this Bishop Brodulf was when he arrived at our gates,’ Brother Mac Raith confirmed.

‘You are suggesting that it was no accident as to why he came to this abbey and that it was something to do with examining the abbey’s records?’ Abbot Cuán asked suspiciously.

‘It is a logical supposition,’ Fidelma confirmed. ‘But there must be some specific

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