The Mavelon gag
Die Knebel von Mavelon is a historical-satirical novel by the German author Steffi von Wolff , which was first published in March 2006 . The title, which also refers to the main character and their hometown, is above all a corruption of Marion Zimmer Bradley's cult novel The Mists of Avalon .
action
Hessen in 1534 : Lilian Knebel is seventeen years old and lives with her family in Munzenberg in the Mavelon district. When the local herbalist and healer ended up at the stake as a witch for brewing a potion, as was common at the time , the young girl felt called to be her successor and happened to invent the birth control pill during her first experiments with herbs and medicines .
But the state and church authorities, above all Judge Tiburtius and Father Valentin, are not very enthusiastic about Lilian's invention and also want to see it burn. She escapes with Bertram, whose career as an executioner is hindered by the fact that he cannot see blood , the court jester Laurentius and Hiltrud, her amazingly clever cow, from Hessen. An adventurous journey through medieval Europe begins, during which the refugees meet numerous historical personalities (including Martin Luther , Klaus Störtebeker , Christopher Columbus and Michelangelo ) who often turn out to be afflicted with all too human errors.
The odyssey finally takes the fugitive Hessians to Britain , where more bizarre encounters with Henry VIII , Robin Hood and the white whale Moby Dick await them.
background
In Die Knebel von Mavelon, von Wolff parodies the genre of medieval novels with female main characters. She mixes facts with fictions about historical personalities and largely uses the modern everyday language of the 21st century to describe the medieval life of the protagonists.
In the appendix to the novel there is an explanation of where and to what extent the author mixed poetic freedom and truth.
literature
- Steffi von Wolff: The gag from Mavelon . Fischer Taschenbuch 2006 ISBN 3-596-16701-9