The Saint

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The novella Der Heilige was written by Conrad Ferdinand Meyer in 1879 and was published in 1880 as a book edition.

The novella of the saint is about the peculiar relationship between Thomas Becket and Henry II of England . As in most of his historical novels, Meyer has largely stuck to the historical events, apart from the episode, which is very important for the course of the plot, about Becket's daughter Grace and her rape by the king; all of this is fictitious.

The framework story is formed by Hans the Armbruster, who tells the story of Thomas Becket in retrospect.

Hans serves Heinrich II and through this also gets to know Thomas Becket. He admires it, its beauty and its extensive knowledge. Heinrich and Thomas complement each other; Heinrich can rely on his chancellor. One day, however, Becket's daughter, who was secretly kept away from court, is tragically killed. Heinrich had started a love affair with her, the jealous Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine , Heinrich's wife, wanted to have the young girl killed. She is hit by an arrow while trying to escape.

Thomas mourns and changes from bon vivant to ascetic . He no longer wants to teach Heinrich's difficult sons, whom Thomas admire and despise their own father. When Henry forced Thomas to become Bishop of Canterbury and Thomas issued a warning about it, fate took its course. Thomas castitates himself and stands up for the oppressed Saxons. Finally, on a word of resentment from Henry, he is killed by four vassals in the cathedral and thus a martyr . Heinrich regrets death, but from this point on he is no longer happy.

Web links