Innocent II served as pope from 1130 to 1143. The series begins in 1138 during the Anarchy, the civil war between royal cousins Empress Maude (also called Matilda) and King Stephen following the death of Maude's father, Henry I, in 1135.
This was the final episode of the series to air before the death of Edith Pargeter (a.k.a. Ellis Peters), the author of "The Cadfael Chronicles", on October 14, 1995 at the age of 82.
This episode marks the final appearance of Sean Pertwee as Hugh Beringar. He was succeeded in the role by Eoin McCarthy in The Virgin in the Ice (1995).
This episode is based on the third novel in "The Cadfael Chronicles", which was published in 1980.