# The Coroner and the Coronet explained — The Maid of Sker > Chapter companion for The Maid of Sker by R. D. Blackmore. ## What happens The chapter describes the arrival of the English coroner, Crowner Bowles, to hold an inquest on five black men found dead after a shipwreck. He refuses to sit on 'black men' until he learns of a white infant with a coronet on its pinafore, which he then treats as a separate case. Davy Llewellyn mistakes the dead child for Bardie, but is relieved to find her alive. The scene also depicts the local people scavenging the wreckage on the sands. ## Themes in this chapter ### Social Class and Identity The coroner's treatment of the dead is dictated by race and class: he refuses to sit on black men but eagerly takes the case of a white infant with a coronet. ### Truth and Narrative Reliability Davy's mistaken belief that the dead child is Bardie highlights the fallibility of perception and memory. ### Superstition and Religion The local people's reactions to the coroner's swearing and the mention of 'far-going Baptists' show religious and superstitious undercurrents. ## Character check-ins ### Davy Llewellyn Narrator and observer of the inquest; mistakes the dead child for Bardie, then discovers she is alive. ### Bardie Believed dead by Davy, but found alive and well; her voice and presence comfort him. ### Crowner Bowles English coroner who initially refuses to hold inquest on black men, but changes his mind upon discovering a coronet on the infant's clothes. ### Stradling Williams Clerk of Newton Church and head of the jury; expresses relief that the coroner will not sit on black men. ### Evan Thomas Mentioned as unable to assert his wreck claims due to the affliction of the shipwreck. ## Key lines > The law requires no Christian man to touch pitch, and defile himself. The law does not force a Christian to handle something unclean. _The coroner uses this to justify refusing to examine the black bodies._ > A coronet! he cried, stamping about; a coronet on my young lord's pinafore, and you stupid oafs never told me! He shouted angrily that a coronet was embroidered on the baby's clothes, indicating noble birth, and blamed the locals for not informing him. _The coroner's attitude shifts dramatically upon discovering the infant's noble status._ > Old Davy, I 'ants 'a. Old Davy, 'hen is 'a coming? Bardie asks for Davy in her childish speech, wondering when he will come. _Davy recalls Bardie's affectionate and playful manner._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_maid_of_sker_se/chapters/xiii-the-coroner-and-the-coronet - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_maid_of_sker_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_maid_of_sker_se/chapters