Sister Fenella was a nun who lived at Godstow Priory near Oxford. Her dæmon was named Geraint and had the form of a squirrel. He normally wouldn't say much and just watched everything with his head on one side.[1] She was good friends with Malcolm Polstead, a boy who lived nearby and would come to the priory to help do odd chores. She had a notably weak heart, which Malcolm used to think had been broken by a man a long time ago.[2]

Sister Fenella did a lot of cooking for the priory, Malcolm said her pastry was nearly as good as his mother's. Fenella said she had fat fingers and so was more suited to cooking than embroidery, something the other sisters used to do.[3]

Fenella would look after the baby Lyra Belacqua a lot during the time Lyra stayed at the priory even though this meant missing major events like the Feast of St Scholastica.[1]

When Malcolm came back after being swept away during the floods, he was devastated to come back and find that she had gone.[4]


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HDM Wiki has 1 image of Sister Fenella.


  1. 1.0 1.1 La Belle Sauvage, Chapter 14
  2. La Belle Sauvage, Chapter 9
  3. La Belle Sauvage, Chapter 1
  4. The Secret Commonwealth, Chapter 8