Winter Movies 2020: Monk's Hood

Welcome back to the Winter Movies series for 2020, in which we watch movies where plants are the true stars. This year we're travelling back in time to watch the British drama series, Cadfael, set in 1138 medieval England. Brother Cadfael is a Benedictine monk in the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the fictional town of Shrewsbury. Brother Cadfael works in his garden and prepares botanical cures in his medicinal shed (and is frequently called upon to use his plant knowledge, intelligence, and worldly experience to solve local mysteries).

Monk's Hood (Season 1, Episode 4)

A wealthy and cruel nobleman plans to cede his estate to the abbey, to spite one of his sons as part of an ongoing family conflict. Later the nobleman dies after eating a gift of fowl that was cooked at the abbey, and somehow laced with poison from monk's hood (Aconitum spp.). The son is immediately suspected of murder, and arrested for a speedy trial. The poison source is one of Cadfael's preparations, which uses monk's hood to make a medicinal rubbing oil that is not meant to be ingested.

Complications slow down the legal process a bit, since the noble family is Welsh and subject to Welsh laws instead of English laws. Cadfael suspects the son is not the murderer, and uses the time to investigate the crime while waiting for sheriff Hugh Beringar to return from the field. Cadfael feels that his own honor is at stake, since the murder weapon was one of his potions. When Beringar returns from the field, they work together to ensure justice is served.

In this episode we meet Cadfael's former love interest who now lives in Shrewsbury, and learn more of Cadfael's past from the days before he left for the Crusades. This episode is also interesting for glimpses into the inheritance laws at work in the 1100s, and the separate application of English and Welsh laws depending on the family origin. It's also a pleasure to see Cadfael at work in his garden and medicinal shed, and using his plant knowledge to help the people of Shrewsbury.  I recommend this series for anyone interested in botany, gardens, mysteries, and the details of everyday medieval life.