15th-century Estonia was at the edge of Christendom. It also just finished facing off against the notable Victual Brothers, a band of brigands and pirates who wreaked havoc across the land. In the town of Tallinn, St. Olaf’s Church is being constructed, but nefarious dealings are coming to the surface. A serial killer is turning this once peaceful town, which is finding its identity on its head. Now, an apothecary named Melchior Wakenstede must help the magistrate solve the case before anyone else is killed. This is the premise for the first Apothecary Melchior Mystery by Indrek Hargla, entitled “The Secret of Saint Olaf’s Church.”
I would like to thank Pushkin Vertigo and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this novel. I am not familiar with Indrek Hargla’s works, nor was I familiar with medieval Estonian history, so I was excited to learn more in this novel.
We begin with a bit of background information about Estonia and Tallinn during this period. The Victual Brothers, a band of pirates loosely joined together, have just been defeated by the Teutonic Order. One of the former commanders of the Teutonic Order, Henning von Clingenstain, is found murdered, he is beheaded, and a coin is stuck in his mouth. This mystery novel is based on the true case of Henning von Clingenstain, with liberties obviously taken where the written record falls short.
Hargla has chosen to focus on the stories of those who live in the town of Tallinn, primarily the apothecary Melchior Wakenstede. We also get to see the stories of his wife Keterlyn, Magistrate Dorn, Mertin Tweffell, Kilian Rechpergerin, Burckhart Casendorpe, Prior Eckell, and Brother Wunbaldus. For a small town that is growing, it holds many secrets, including deadly ones. One murder turned into multiple dead bodies. It is up to Melchior to solve the murders and make sure the murderers are brought to justice.
I will be honest. It took me a while to get used to this book as I am not familiar with this author or Estonian history and culture, which is a bit different than other medieval stories I have read, but I am glad I read it. Hargla showed his audience what life was like in medieval Estonia with a thrilling tale full of twists, turns, and secrets. If you want a medieval murder mystery but you want something different, I suggest you give “The Secret of Saint Olaf’s Church” by Indrek Hargla a try.
When we think about significant law documents from medieval England, we think about the Doomsday Book, the Assize of Clarendon, and the Statutes of Westminster. These documents would remain significant to England, but there is only one that would transcend its original purpose: the Magna Carta. To many nations, it is the foundation of liberty and justice for all. But, if we take away all the sparkling praise of the present day for the document, what can we discover about the Magna Carta? What was the Magna Carta truly at its heart, and why was it written? Dan Jones examines this document and the circumstances behind its creation in his book, “Magna Carta: The Birth of Liberty.”
When we think of famous medieval European women, we often think of figures like Joan of Arc and Isabella of Castile. They are seen as women who broke the mold and challenged traditional stereotypes by becoming leaders in traditionally male-dominated fields. These women would be used to craft the identities of their respective nations, but they would help shape the identities of other women from the 18th and 19th centuries. We think we know the stories about these medieval women and their lives, but what new information can we learn from their lives when we examine their lives from their eras? Janina Ramirez takes the stories of seven medieval women and their contemporaries to show how their legacies have been transformed in her latest book, “Legenda: The Real Women Behind the Myths That Shaped Europe.”
Have you ever believed in something or someone so much that you were willing to do anything to be with them? What if it meant isolating yourself from everyone and everything you loved? Aleys knows this all too well. Born near Bruges during the 13th century, Aleys believes that she is destined for great things and has religious visions. Can this young woman survive both religious and political challenges to make her aspirations of being closer to God a reality, or will she fly too close to the sun and lose everything? Janet Rich Edwards tells Alleys’ tale in her debut novel, “Canticle.”
Throughout history, many aspects of life have changed drastically, but one thing has remained the same: the different stages of life—birth, youth, adolescence, adulthood, old age, and death. It is the first stage of life, birth, that tends to get the least amount of attention when it comes to historical research. In recent years, it has been gaining more and more attention, especially when it comes to royal births, which have the most amount of written records. Michele Schindler has chosen to focus on the aspects of medieval childbirth in her latest book, “Royal Childbirth in the Middle Ages: Fertility, Pregnancy and Birth.”
Have you ever watched a movie, played a video game, or read a novel set in the Middle Ages and wondered if life was really like that? Was it super dirty, grimy, and deadly, or is this a fictional device to show how bad the past was compared to the present? Kathryn Warner has delved into the archives to uncover the truth about what life was like in an average medieval town for her latest book, “Life in the Medieval Town.”
Throughout medieval English history, there have been some famous queens who left their marks. Empress Matilda, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Eleanor of Castile, Philippa of Hainault, and Margaret of Anjou each left an impression on English history, either good or bad. However, there was one queen whose negative reputation came with the nickname “She-Wolf of France,” and her name was Queen Isabella of France. The wife of Edward II and mother of Edward III, she left her husband for Roger Mortimer and overthrew her husband in favor of her son. For centuries, she has been viewed as a horrible villainess, but is that a fair assessment of her life? Alison Weir dives into the archives to find the truth about Isabella of France, and she presents her findings in her biography, “Queen Isabella: Treachery, Adultery, and Murder in Medieval England.”
Medieval Europe was a time of conflicts and change. While smaller disputes between countries or civil wars would define borders, the most prominent conflict during this period was the Hundred Years’ War. A conflict that has been traditionally taught to have lasted 116 years between England and France. It is often told from the English perspective, with battles such as Agincourt, Crecy, and Poitiers celebrated. But what if we look at the bigger picture and expand our lens to the whole of Europe while keeping a neutral approach to the France vs England conflict? What if the conflict did not last a mere hundred years, but in fact two hundred years? What type of story would this kind of approach tell when it comes to medieval European history? Michael Livingston takes on the mammoth challenge of telling the tale of how this war changed European history forever in his latest book, “Bloody Crowns: A New History of the Hundred Years War.”
Throughout European history, we tend to think about the countries as a whole when it comes to the political sphere of influence. We think of the big countries like France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, and England as having the most impact, but we have to consider that during the Middle Ages, duchies held immense power. Take, for example, the Duchy of Burgundy, also known as the Burgundian Empire. It was a part of France, but that does not mean that the dukes stayed on the side of the French. The Burgundians used their influence to expand and marry into the medieval European families, affecting European history as a whole. While we tend to focus on the Dukes of Burgundy, we should be paying attention to the women of this duchy. That is why Susan Abernethy chose to focus on these women in her latest book, “The Formidable Women Who Shaped Medieval Europe: Power and Patronage at the Burgundian Court.”
The weather is getting colder, and life is getting a bit busier in preparation for winter and family gatherings. It’s time to get ready for the holiday season, and there is one that is universally loved. No, it’s not Halloween, even though it is October when I am writing this review. No, I am talking about Christmas. But one wonders what the origins of Christmas and how our traditions evolved? Toni Mount explores this most important holiday time in her latest book, “Medieval Christmas: The Origins and Traditions of Christmas in the Middle Ages.”
Adventures of a Tudor Nerd 