The lagoon of the galleys
The lagoon of the galleys is a historical adventure novel by Rainer M. Schröder , which was published by Arena in 2004 . The book is set in Italy , especially Venice , at the time of the plague in the 16th century . The period of the fictional narrative extends from March 1570 to March 1571.
Historical background
In 1570 the plague raged in Europe and thus also in the Italian village of San Bernardo, where the story of 17-year-old Matteo Lombardi begins. The reader learns about the barricades around the city wall, which were built by the residents of the surrounding villages. This is to prevent the plague pathogen from leaving the city walls of San Bernardo.
At the same time, the Republic of Venice is the most powerful power on the continent. The city dominates the entire Mediterranean area , favored above all by its powerful fleet of galleys and galeas . These are made in the Arsenal , a huge area, by the famous arsenalotti , the shipbuilders. Working in this large shipyard, which employs around 16,000 to 30,000 craftsmen, is basically the first assembly line job ever. Each group of carpenters specializes in a specific work process that they perform on each ship in order to hand it over to another group for the next construction phase. In this way, a ship can be completed every day that does not differ in appearance and technology from the others. An average of 200 galleys are produced in a year, although the number can be increased in times of crisis. The advantage of the craftsmen in this mass enterprise is the job secured by the state even in peacetime and other rights which later had to be laboriously fought for by unions elsewhere , as the author emphasizes in his epilogue. Therefore the arsenal is subject to the strictest confidentiality regulations; every possible spy or traitor is tortured and usually killed by the State Inquisition without defense (see also the section “Shipbuilding” in the economic history of the Republic of Venice ).
In the late 16th century, the Ottomans continued to penetrate Europe. The supremacy of Venice is threatened and it soon becomes clear that the Turks can only be defeated by an alliance of the great European powers. After hectic negotiations, the Holy League , a fleet of the cities of Barcelona , Rome and Venice, is created . In 1571 there was a decisive battle near Lepanto , with the six galeas of Venice quickly turning out to be the decisive weapon. So the alliance wins, but over 50,000 Europeans and Ottomans die. After the fall of the federal government, the Ottoman Empire attacks Venice and forces the city to pay 300,000 ducats and to accept the loss of territory for Cyprus .
action
Matteo Lombardi lives with his parents and siblings in San Bernardo and watches with fear the "plague doctors" who carry the plague dead out of the city every morning because his entire family is sick with the Black Death . Little by little his father dies, then his siblings and finally the mother. The helpful herbalist Rosa Silvera does not survive either; she is hanged as a witch by the angry crowd . Matteo does not intervene out of fear and is later tormented by severe remorse.
By chance he meets Fiona Cavaletto, a maid who was left behind by the town pharmacist and his family when they flee from San Bernardo and who is lying in the abandoned house with a severe fever. Matteo takes care of the girl. After Fiona's recovery, the two decide to flee the city. In order to avoid the barricade and the guards positioned around the city, they set a self-made raft across the river, which borders the city on one side, at night and when it rains . You hike on to the “Rosario” farm, a farm run by Fiona's parents.
After an unfriendly greeting, they first have to be in individual quarantine for 14 days to ensure that the plague does not affect them too. During the two weeks, Fiona's twin sister seduces Antonia Matteo, who thinks she is Fiona. When Matteo learns about it later, he is very angry, but does not know how to counter it. After a few weeks working in the fields for the father of the two, he decides to move to his uncle Tomaso in Venice and ask for accommodation and work, as he does not want to expose himself to Antonia's attempts at seduction and is in love with Fiona. However, he thinks that Fiona's father is too poor and unskilled to be married immediately. Fiona gives him a precious rosary as a farewell , which he is supposed to bring back to her at some point - she will wait for him.
Matteo finds acceptance and employment in the Venice Arsenal, where the sullen Tomaso leads a group of shipbuilders and is highly regarded. His brother-in-law Enrico, the brother of his dead wife, and his dark-skinned servant Sahadi also live in Tomaso's house . Enrico is addicted to gambling and is therefore permanently in debt. In the arsenal, Matteo befriends the shrewd Gasparo and the reserved Flavio. He often visits the local pubs with them, although Gasparo sometimes accepts the prostitute's offer and because of this attitude is unable to develop a close relationship with Matteo.
On Christmas Eve, after Mass, Enrico and Matteo find Sahadi's body in the house and a threat from the murderer scrawled on the wall. Enrico thinks this is a warning from the loan shark, with whom he owes a lot. Matteo's uncle angrily pays the debt without changing Enrico's attitude to gambling. One day Matteo follows a man who is wearing Enrico's favorite disguise, a monk's habit, and meets with a Greek named Alexis Callimachos. Matteo is captured as a secret witness of their conversation and is only released again after hours of fearful interrogation, with the warning not to make the events he saw public. He did not see any of his tormentors through blindfolded eyes.
Matteo is angry with Enrico, but does not want to betray him for fear and consoles himself with 25 gold ducats, which Alexis paid him for his silence. He decides to return to Fiona with the money and build his own existence. A wine merchant friend of Fiona's father offers to take him to “Rosario” at the next opportunity.
Later, Matteo and Gasparo ride in his gondola to Gasparos' business meeting, to which Matteo is supposed to accompany him. Since the companion is supposed to hide under a tarpaulin in Gasparo's gondola during the appointment, he already suspects that his friend is involved in criminal activities. During the "negotiations" Gasparo is stabbed to death and thrown dead in the gondola, where he tells Matteo as he dies that Ottoman spies want to set the arsenal on fire and that he must stop them. With luck, Matteo escapes unseen, but has recognized Enrico's monk's robe among the murderers Gasparos and now suspects the roommate. Out of fear, however, he decides not to interfere further in Enrico's machinations in order to be able to leave Venice the next day without being caught again or even killed.
On the evening before his departure, he suddenly felt guilty about his cowardice and told his uncle everything in confidence. It turns out that not Enrico, but Tomaso was the man in Enrico's robe and is therefore also the Ottoman traitor. He now wants to set fire to the arsenal, overwhelms Matteo and Enrico and ties them up in the belly of a half-finished galley. With luck, the two free themselves and prevent the fire, whereupon Enrico stabs the traitor and Matteo returns to Fiona.
Further information
- The title of the novel The Lagoon of the Galleys is used as a synonym for Venice and highlights the part of the city that is most important for the plot and that is the main Venetian setting, the laguna viva .
- The novel received the Buxtehuder Bulle Prize on October 7, 2005 .
literature
- Schröder, Rainer M .; The lagoon of the galleys . Würzburg: Arena Verlag, 2004 → ISBN 3401053248
See also
- pest
- Turkish Wars
- Conquest of Cyprus by the Ottomans
- Republic of Venice
- Economic history of the Republic of Venice
swell
- ↑ buchkritik.at: Message: Buxtehuder Bullen to Rainer M. Schröder ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , October 10, 2005
