The Poisoned Pilgrim

by Oliver Pötzsch

  I’d also like to thank an Andechs monk who wishes to remain anonymous. He revealed to me some important details about life in the monastery. Further thanks to the local Erling historian Karl Strauß; Joachim Heberlein of the Weilheim Local History and Museum Club; Helmut Schmidbauer from Schongau (above all for the tip about the holy foreskin!); my brothers, Marian and Florian, as well as my father, for medical advice; my mother for the hiking tips and books about our region; my editor, Uta Rupprecht, for every successful battle with words; my agent, Gerd Rumler, for his encouragement; and my wife, Katrin, who fell asleep only once while reading this manuscript and contributed a number of valuable ideas.

  And naturally, thanks to my children, who climbed the steep path up to Andechs without complaining (for the most part) when their father had to check one more insignificant detail. Before we go again, we’ll get ice cream; I promise!

  GLOSSARY

  ANDECHS MONASTERY GUIDE

  Andechs: This name derives either from the Roman word dak-sia, meaning yew, or the Celtic word aks, meaning steep cliff. The first mention of the word dates from the second century.

  Andechs Castle: The Andechs castle was the ancestral seat of the Andechs-Meranier (q.v.). The fortress was built in the second century not far from the monastery, and was almost completely razed by the Wittelsbachs in the first half of the thirteenth century. Whether the fortress was overcome by treason—as in my novel—or was surrendered without a fight is unknown.

  Andechs Chronicle: The little Andechser Chronik, by Willibald Mathäser (published by the Süddeutscher Verlag in the Sammlung Bavarica), was the model for the chronicle in the novel. It still offers the best overview of the monastery’s history.

  Andechs-Meranier: After the murder of the king of Bamberg (q.v.), this powerful noble family forfeited its once dominant position in Bavaria to the Wittelsbachs and died out in the mid-thirteenth century.

  Apothecary: Constructed in 1763 facing the Andechs Church, the apothecary was closed during the secularization period and serves today as a parish office. Almost none of the former furnishings are preserved. Whether an apothecary was located in Andechs in the seventeenth century—and where one might have stood—is unknown.

  Automata: These existed in antiquity, and were in fact all the rage among nobility during the early modern period. Usually they were artistically crafted clocks or music boxes, but there were also humanlike puppets, like the Bremer Complimentarius in the seventeenth century—an iron sentinel that could open its visor and salute visitors at the Bremen city hall.

  Bamberg Regicide: On June 21, 1208, the German King Philipp von Swabia, of the House of the Hohenstaufen, was murdered by Otto VIII of Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria. The wedding of Philipp’s niece, Beatrix, to Duke Otto von Andechs-Meranien took place the same day. Oddly, it was not the Wittelsbachs but the Andechs-Meranien dynasty who was accused of the plot. Many details remain unknown.

  Benedictine University: This university was founded in 1622 in Salzburg, annexed by Bavaria in 1810, and reestablished as a modern university in 1962. At a very early date, classes were held here in theology and philosophy but also in law and medicine.

  Count von Cäsana und Colle: From 1656 to 1688, this Weilheim district judge had jurisdiction over major cases in Andechs—i.e., all punishments involving mutilation, torture, and death.

  Curiosity Cabinets: These popular collections of strange objects were common among noblemen in the Renaissance and Baroque eras, and for the most part, were assembled through voyages of exploration. The curiosity cabinets were precursors of our public museums. A good example can be found today in the Castle Trausnitz in Landshut.

  Devil’s Rock: In my novel, this odd conglomerate rock formation in the Kien Valley serves as the entrance to the cave of the mad hermit woman (q.v.). It’s often referred to as “The Devil’s Chancel,” and some say a hermit’s cave was once actually located there.

  Elizabeth Fountain: This healing spring was downhill from the church near the monastery wall. The chapel that once stood there was demolished in 1805. Pilgrims used to stop here to rest and wash their eyes.

  Festival of the Three Hosts: At this well-known pilgrimage festival at Andechs, which takes place the fourth Sunday after Pentecost, the three sacred hosts (q.v.) are still presented to the faithful.

  Friesenegger, Maurus (1590–1655): This Andechs abbot wrote one of the best-known diaries about the Thirty Years’ War, which evokes the horrors of this period like no other work. A must for all amateur historians, it was recently republished by the Allitera Verlag in their monacensia edition.

  Garden: The real monastery herb garden is located west of and behind the church and is not accessible to the public. Anyone looking for the monastery garden described in my novel will be disappointed; it exists only in my imagination.

  Golem: The Hebrew word for unformed or embryo, this creature was made from mud and clay and, according to Jewish legend, was brought to life by a rabbi to follow the commands of its master.

  Hermit: At the end of the seventeenth century a woman named Kuttenmiedl was said to have lived in a cave in the upper Kien Valley. A pious hermit, she often appears in frightening children’s stories, and she served as a model for the blind old woman in my story.

  Holy Chapel: This chapel on the second floor of the Andechs church houses the three holy hosts and other religious treasures. The chapel is secured with three iron bars, which in earlier times could be opened only with three different keys. During the great conflagration of 1669, the fire miraculously stopped directly in front of the chapel. The interior can be visited today only on a specially guided tour.

  Jesuit’s Powder: Also called Peruvian Bark or cinchona, this medication was used to reduce fever. Powder made from the bark of the cinchona tree is known today as quinine. The botanical term Cinchona supposedly dates back to the countess of Cinchon, who fell ill with malaria in 1639 and was cured by a Jesuit priest.

  Jesus’ Foreskin: According to unsubstantiated rumors, this is one of the many relics at Andechs—though it’s thought to be kept at other Christian sites, too. If you believe the Greek scholar Leo Allatius (who died in 1661), Jesus’ foreskin ascended with him into heaven where it turned into the rings of Saturn.

  Kien Valley: This forested valley is traversed by hiking and pilgrimage routes. The best-known pathways lead from Herrsching along the Kien Brook and along the edge of the forest over the so-called Hörndl (approximately one and a half hours on foot).

  Lightning: There was—and is—lots of it in Andechs. On May 3, 1669, the steeple of the Andechs church was struck during a violent storm. The resulting fire destroyed almost the entire monastery, which had to be rebuilt. For dramatic reasons, I bumped this event up to the year 1666.

  Macer Floridus: This was a standard work on medieval herbal medicine that described the medicinal properties of around eighty plants. It was written in the second century by the Benedictine monk Odo Magdunensis.

  Ox Trench: This ditch, dug by the monastery, extended down into the Kien Valley and was used primarily during the Thirty Years’ War as an escape route for men and animals.

  Phosphorus: This chemical element takes its name from the Greek word phosphoros, meaning light-emitting. In 1669, the German apothecary and alchemist Hennig Brand discovered it while boiling urine in his search for the philosopher’s stone. White phosphorus glows in the dark and is quite flammable. In my novel, I’ve moved the date of its discovery back a few years.

  Pilgrimages: At the end of the Thirty Years’ War, there was renewed interest in pilgrimages in Germany. The destinations were Rome and Santiago de Compostela, but also Andechs in Bavaria. In just the years 1622 to 1626, a half million pilgrims visited the Holy Mountain. Today, only a few hundred come each year to Andechs for the Festival of the Three Hosts (q.v.).

  Prince’s Quarters: These rooms, dating back to at least 1530, were located on the third floor of the monastery and reserved exclusively for the Wittelsbach family.

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bsp; Rambeck, Maurus: The Andechs abbot from 1666 to 1686, his picture hangs alongside the portraits of other abbots in the monastery library. Contemporaries referred to him as a “walking library.” He loved philosophy but, above all, the languages of the Orient. Hebrew was his specialty.

  Sacred Treasure: These Andechs relics were lost after the storming of the Andechs Castle (q.v.) and did not reappear until 1388 when a priest noticed a mouse scurrying away during a mass with a piece of parchment in its mouth. Alongside the altar, under a stone slab, a chest with iron fittings was found containing, among other things, the victory cross of Charlemagne, part of Christ’s crown of thorns, and the three sacred hosts.

  Tavern: The history of the Andechs Monastery tavern goes back to the time of Duke Albrecht III, who founded the Benedictine monastery in the fifteenth century. There, marvelous beer has been brewed since 1455. If you do visit and have too much to drink, just be careful coming down through the Kien Valley, a number of drunks have fallen there.

  Thirty Years’ War: Lasting from 1618 to 1648, this war was particularly savage in Bavaria, exacerbating the Plague, crop failures, hunger, storms, robberies, and roaming packs of wolves. In some areas, over half the population died, and entire regions were abandoned.

  Three Holy Hosts: Andech’s most precious relics. Divine signs are said to have once appeared on the three holy hosts, which came to Andechs via a circuitous route and are still kept there in an eighteen-pound silver monstrance in the holy chapel (q.v.).

  Tunnels: According to a local historian, a number of excavations in the 1980s revealed the entrance to a tunnel about thirty feet underground near the monastery. Rumors persist to this day about subterranean passages around the old Andechs castle (q.v.), and one such rumor claims an escape tunnel was found leading to a castle in Seefeld, some miles away.

  Typhoid: This fever, whose name comes from the Greek word typhos, meaning smoke or fog, is caused by contaminated food and unsanitary conditions. Typical symptoms are a gray coating on the tongue and reddish spots on the chest and belly. It was first described in the sixteenth century by the Italian physician Girolamo Fracastoro, who’s now regarded as the forerunner of modern microbiology.

  Virgilius: This name was given to a mythical warlock who often appeared in medieval stories as a builder of automata. The name probably goes back to the Roman poet Virgil.

  Wittelsbachs: One of the oldest German noble families, they rose to prominence among the Bavarian nobility after the downfall of the Andechs-Meranier (q.v.). The Wartenbergs of my novel are a branch of the Wittelsbach family.