Death and the Devil (Frank Schätzing)

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Death and the Devil is a historical crime novel and Frank Schätzing's debut as a writer . It is set in medieval Cologne , from September 10th to 14th, 1260 , and contains a plot about the power struggle between Cologne patricians and the Cologne archbishop . The book was first published in 1995 by Emons ; in October 2006 a new edition was published by Goldmann Verlag .

Historical background

action

There are many myths about the master builders of Cologne Cathedral who made a pact with the devil. However, this book is only about the death of the first cathedral builder who is said to have fallen from the scaffolding. Since everyone involved agrees to remain silent in the end, the story could theoretically have taken place in exactly the same way. In the epilogue there is a summary of the following years of the power struggle in Cologne.

characters

The protagonist Jacob and his supporters Jaspar, Goddert and Richmodis are not historically documented. His main opponent Urquhart moved from the Scottish Urquhart Castle , which is on Loch Ness , on a crusade , but did not return, so that his country was domineered and devastated. Cathedral architect Gerhard and the patricians featured in the book were all real people who actually fought a power struggle with the Archbishop of Cologne.

action

September 10

Mathias Overstolz and Heinrich von Mainz meet late in the evening with Urquhart, a contract killer, far before the gates of Cologne on behalf of some patricians . They recruited him on the recommendation of Count Wilhelm von Jülich (echoed by Wilhelm IV (Jülich) ). Urquhart demands three times the wages for his services because of doubled work. After Mathias' reassurance, Heinrich also agrees. Just in time for the gates to close, they come back to the city of Cologne through the Porta Hanonis.

September 11

Jacob is (more or less) homeless, a drifter and womanizer, and has striking red hair. He tries to steal something from the market to avoid starvation, but is caught. On the run, he hides on (or rather in) the stream, under the cloth of the blue dyer Richmodis. Shortly afterwards, he got it into his head to steal apples from the archbishop's garden directly at the cathedral construction site. He observes from the tree how the cathedral builder is pushed from the scaffolding by a somber figure. Jacob rushes over to him, and Gerhard can whisper his last words to him before he finally blows his life out. Unfortunately Jacob is seen by Gerhard's murderer. He can easily pursue him because of his red hair and tries to get rid of the involuntary witness.

Jacob tells his only real friends until then, the beggar Tilman and the whore Maria, about his experience, but they do not believe him. Alleged witnesses claim that the cathedral builder fell from the scaffolding due to inattention. However, Jacob saw no one else at the crime scene and is therefore certain that the witnesses are lying. The murderer does not want to take any chances and tries to get Jacob and everyone he might have told so far out of the way. First he kills Tilman, whom he takes to be Jacob, because he had lent him his coat and hat. Then Maria has to die after Urquhart has used her services to learn more about Jacob and what he told her about the murder. Like Tilman, Maria is also killed with a very small crossbow.

12th September

While fleeing from Urquhart, who was waiting for him in his dwelling in the Cologne city wall, Jacob injured his shoulder. He remembers Richmodis who has a priest and Physicus as an uncle. After a short chat, she accompanies him to Jaspar, her uncle, who is drinking wine with her father Goddert. After Jaspar has adjusted his shoulder again, Jacob tells of his observations. His listeners are not sure whether Jacob is telling the truth, but Jaspar, a very intellectual and enlightened man, is sure that the devil is not behind it. So he is looking for a logical explanation, and that is murder .

13.september

Jaspar tries to help Jacob. With the help of his friend Bodo Schuif, a master brewer who is one of the city's lay judges, he visits the two witnesses he has bought. Shortly before a planned meeting with Jacob and Jaspar in a bathhouse, however, the two witnesses are murdered. Jaspar and Jacop notice a large crowd in front of the bathhouse and can only escape the strangers who are waiting for them in front of the meeting point by fleeing in different directions. Meanwhile, Urquhart, Gerhard's murderer, who by now knows who Jaspar is, comes to his house. He is talking to Jaspar's servant Rolof. When Richmodis happens to drop by, he kills Rolof and kidnaps Richmodis to keep the group from further investigation. He writes on Rolof's forehead in blood: “She is alive! Silence! ”And puts Richmodis in an old storage shed belonging to the Overstolz family on the Rhine.

For the group of patricians under the leadership of the Overstolz family, the murder of the cathedral master builder is just the beginning, because they want to murder Konrad von Hochstaden , the archbishop of Cologne. Konrad had previously taken most of the patricians' power in Cologne and humiliated them, which is why they seek revenge. In a flashback, we learn that some patricians at a meeting decided to kill Konrad. Only Gerhard, who was also present, did not agree to the plan and thus became a dangerous confidante.

Kuno Kone, one of the conspirators, did not agree to the murder of his friend Gerhard. When more people were killed by Urquhart, he protested louder and louder until he was finally expelled from the covenant. In an argument with Kuno, the drunk Daniel Overstolz carelessly mentions a hostage in a warehouse. Kuno searches for her the following night and frees her, but is seriously injured by Daniel, who is standing in front of the door with his sword drawn. Richmodis saves his life by knocking Daniel down with a club.

Richmodis takes Kuno to her father's house, where Jaspar, Jacop and Goddert will soon arrive. While Jaspar Kuno connects, Goddert locks all the doors and windows in the house because they fear Urquhart will show up, but forgets the skylight. Soon after, they hear noises from the attic. When the until then unconscious Kuno suddenly gets up, Urquhart jumps down from the upper floor into the room and shoots Kuno with his small crossbow. Jaspar pours oil over Urquhart, and Jacob sets him on fire with a previously lit torch. With the presence of mind, the blazing fire of Urquhart Jacop pushes against a locked window until it shatters. He jumps out and disappears into the water.

Bodo shows up at Goddert's house to warn Jaspar that he is being accused of murdering his servant Rolof. Jaspar and Jacop then hide in Bodo's shed and spend the rest of the night there.

September 14th

They rhyme that the patricians are behind the murders and that they probably want to kill Konrad during the procession the following day. Jacob goes to Konrad's bishop's palace to warn him. However, he notices that his secretary is one of the conspirators and leaps out of the palace window. Jaspar searches the processional way for possible hiding places for Urquhart and visits a crusader in a monastery hospital again, but finally realizes that the murderer must be on the scaffolding of the cathedral. Jacob also comes to the realization that Urquhart will only hide on the scaffolding of the cathedral, as there is a canopy over the archbishop's head during the procession.

Jacob climbs onto the scaffolding, but hides too late and is surprised by Urquhart. He's lucky Urquhart can't knock him down as it would get too much attention. While he is being beaten up by Urquhart, both suddenly hear Jaspar's voice. Jaspar reminds Urquhart of a terrible experience on the crusade in which he took part. Just as Urquhart is about to kill Jaspar with his crossbow, Jacob jumps at him with the last of his strength and falls from the scaffolding with him. Urquhart falls to his death, while Jacob is held and saved by Jaspar.

Jaspar Rodenkirchen and Johann Overstolz agree in private to keep quiet and agree that there was never a conspiracy against the archbishop, that Gerhard was killed in an accident and Rolof by a robbery.

characters

Protagonists

  • Jacob the fox is the book's protagonist. He has red hair, is a womanizer and drifter, and survives by theft. In the course of the plot he grows beyond himself, triggered by the intensive contact with Jaspar. Jacob ran away from home as a child. When he was about to return the next morning, he found the house burned down and saw his father and brother lying in front of it. Without being convinced of her death, he fled to Cologne, where he lived with a juggler. Since that event, Jacob has been a restless person.
  • Jaspar Rodenkirchen is one of the main people responsible for clearing up the plot. Through his many contacts, his razor-sharp conclusions and his rational thinking, he can often give Jacob a decisive push in the right direction. He is around 50 years old. He is dean of St. Maria Magdalena, doctor and physicist, full professor of Canon Law for the Franciscans and master of the seven liberal arts . With his brother-in-law Goddert he holds, as they call it, docile disputations in his wine cellar. Despite his activity in the Catholic Church, he is a passive opponent of it. He describes the cathedral as politics, is against indulgences and canonization , does not believe in the existence of the devil and thinks that crusades are too cruel to be called holy.
  • Richmodis von Weiden is the daughter of the blue dyer Goddert. She is the first to have contact with Jacob and takes a liking to him. She keeps bringing him new clothes and helping him as best she can. When he shows up with a shoulder injury, she takes him to her uncle Jaspar.
  • Goddert von Weiden is the father of Richmodis. He contributes relatively little to the story, but is still essential because sometimes he can get Jaspar to come up with the right thought with the stupidest ideas. He has rheumatism because he was a blue dyer and had to deal with cold water all his life.

Antagonists

  • Urquhart , Prince of Monadhliath , whose Urquhart Castle stands on Loch Ness, joined Louis the Saint on a crusade in 1248 as an honorable man . The historic Urquhart never returned. In the book, however, he saw how crusaders raped women and slaughtered children in Damiette at the mouth of the Nile . He couldn't prevent it, but he remained mentally disturbed. From then on he leads a life on the run from himself. He becomes a contract killer and comes to Mathias Overstolz through a recommendation from Count von Jülich, who hires him for the murder of the archbishop. In addition to his imposing appearance of a stately, tall and handsome man with long blond hair, he is physically agile, fast and strong as well as highly educated, cultured, intelligent and sarcastic.
  • Mathias Overstolz is the main protagonist of the patricians. He meets with Urquhart, explains his plan to him and pays him. He is the main operator of the planned assassination of the archbishop throughout the book, also because of his pronounced emotional coldness.

Neutral figures

  • Konrad von Hochstaden , Archbishop of Cologne, is the mortal enemy of the patricians. He fought with them for power in Cologne.
  • Master Gerhard Morart is the first master builder and architect of the cathedral . He is said to have made a pact with the devil. According to legend, he fell from the scaffolding when he saw that he could not win.

Settings

The Hörverlag produced a radio play lasting around 420 minutes with speakers such as Mario Adorf , Anke Engelke , Cordula Stratmann and others. The music for the radio play comes from the author Frank Schätzing .

An audio book, read by Schätzing himself, is an abridged version of the book and lasts 512 minutes. Schätzing gives each character their own voice by varying the tone of voice, pitch and the like.

reception

In Cologne there is a city tour on Death and the Devil, which leads on a hiking trail through the original locations of the novel, with historical and fictional facts from the novel being explained.

dedication

The book is dedicated to Jürgen . The dedication reads “For Jürgen, full of high spirits”.

literature

supporting documents

  1. ^ Page of Cologne Cathedral about the devil's bet