The secret of the white monks
The secret of the white monks is a historical novel by Rainer M. Schröder from 1996. The action takes place in the monastery of Himmerod and the nearby city of Trier and is set after the Thirty Years War ( 17th century ). The main character is the young man Jakob Tillmann, who is accused of heresy by chance and as a result has to flee from the canon of the city.
action
After Jakob Tillmann met the feverish monk Anselm a few days ago and was asked by him to take him to the Himmeroder monastery ( Eifel ), he is now fighting his way through a terrible storm. A lightning bolt just missed him, but finally he actually reached the monastery. The arrival of the terminally ill brother triggers an avalanche of surprise and he is brought to one of the monastery towers for medical treatment. Jakob, whose payment is still outstanding, decides to stay in the monastery for the time being, on the one hand to ask the monks to pay the reward on their behalf, on the other hand because he is happy to have a roof over his head in the middle of the harsh winter, although he is only lives in a very small room.
The monk's health does not improve and soon inconsistencies appear. In addition to the normal convent , the Cistercian monk Basilius and his Swedish companion Henrik also stay in the old monastery . In addition, the capitular of the city of Trier unexpectedly arrives with his entourage to speak to the monk. But brother Anselm dies earlier than expected, shortly afterwards the novice Dominik is supposedly killed by accident. Jakob is questioned more and more about his conversations with Brother Anselm by the subprior of the monastery, Brother Tarzisius, and the Canon. Jacob rarely spoke to him because of the brother's illness, so he cannot answer their questions. As a result, he is indirectly threatened with torture and Jacob realizes that he has to flee. Brother Basil and the Swede are friendly towards him and help him to escape. In a scuffle, Jakob is wounded in the right upper arm. He flees through the snow for eleven days, but in the end is caught by the canon's henchmen.
They take him to the Trier torture tower, where he is to be questioned embarrassingly . Unexpectedly, however, the canon had to leave the building again, so the questioning was postponed for the time being. Suddenly, Brother Basil appears, helping Jacob escape through the sewer system . His companion Henrik is waiting for them there with a boat. To be safe from the canon for the time being, the three of them return to the “lion's den” and hide at an inn in Trier. Jacob's health improves there. Due to a small carelessness, however, the canon soon becomes aware that Jacob is in the city. With the help of the gypsy girl Marga and two friends of Brother Basilius, however, the three manage to escape again. You can leave Trier and Jakob is informed for the first time by his two companions about the purpose of their journey together.
He learns that Brother Anselm was the custodian of two important works against the Hexenhammer , which he must have hidden near Trier. Brother Basil was one of his confidants and tries to find the works. However, because he had no idea where the works were hiding, the three decided to visit Koblenz , as another confidante of Anselm, the painter Bartholomäus Bartholy, lived there. On the way there, they stop in a village where Marga is supposed to be burned at the stake the following day as a supposed witch . Jakob and his companions were able to save them at the last minute and from then on four of them moved on. Marga and Jakob fall in love.
When they come to a bridge, they meet the canon again, from whom they are on the run, and his entourage. You can overwhelm the enemy, but you will not kill them. When the friends reached Koblenz, they actually found the painter's reference to the hiding place of the writings. The assistant Bartholys unfortunately betrays them and the hiding place to the canon, so that both parties try to get hold of the scriptures at the same time and to reach Niederwerth monastery , which is on an island, before the others . Jakob, Basilius, Henrik and Marga are ambushed by the canon and imprisoned . With the help of the abbess and the prioress of the monastery, who is Anselm's niece, the four of them are able to escape again and take possession of the writings. While the canon is still looking for them, the friends leave the monastery through a secret passage, at the end of which a boat is supposed to wait for them. The disappointment is great when it turns out that the boat can only carry two people.
Basilius and Henrik can persuade Jakob and Marga to get into the boat alone to bring the transcripts of the life confessions of the two witch commissioners, which Brother Anselm wrote in a copy of the witch's hammer with secret ink, after their successful escape to Santiago de Compostela , to have them printed there. Basilius and Henrik remain in the cave with the original documents and hope to be saved by luck and not be found by the canon Melchior von Drolshagen's henchmen.
background
The author Rainer M. Schröder dedicates the book to the prior of Himmerod Abbey, who helped him research his book. In the epilogue of the novel, Schröder writes that he has often been able to get an idea of the hospitality of the monks there and has been a guest several times.
The book also contains deeper theological discussions between brother Basil (a Cistercian - monk ) and the protagonist Jacob, mainly Lutheran views represented.
literature
- Rainer M. Schröder: The secret of the white monks . Arena → ISBN 3401021508