Eschen Orontius, God's Juggler

1. Auflage 2023
ISBN: 978-3-347-88887-6
Verlag: tredition
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 160 Seiten

Reihe: tredition GmbH

In the late Middle Ages, Orontius grows up in poverty in a peasant family. After the sudden death of his mother, his father entrusts him to the vagabond Eberlein to protect him from hunger and hardship. The only condition is that Eberlein and his troupe take Orontius to a monastery in Siegen on his 15th birthday. An adventurous time begins for the boy. At the monastery, Orontius learns about the life of the Franciscans and becomes a monk. It is during this time that he meets Gregory of Metz, with whom he forms a deep friendship. However, he doubts the abbot's integrity. After more than two decades, Orontius leaves the monastery to visit his father. There he discovers that everything has changed. From then on, he learns about life in all its brutality, but also in all its beauty.

Bea Eschen ist gebürtige Deutsche und lebt seit 1984 im Ausland. Momentan ist sie in Sydney, Australien, zuhause. Ihr bisheriges Leben auf den verschiedenen Kontinenten Südafrika, Neuseeland und Australien brachte ihr viele Erfahrungen, die sie zum Schreiben anregen. ......................................................................................................................................................................

Autoren/Hrsg.

Eschen, Bea

Leseproben

Chapter

Two

AS WE CAME  over the hill, we saw a collection of leaf huts and tents. The smoke from a large fire mingled with the hustle and bustle of people busy with various tasks. Strangely dressed women, who seemed to have nothing else to do but spy on strangers, gathered around me and cheekily stroked my face with their dirty fingers.

"A soft fuzz is already there," shouted one of the women with red curly hair.

The others laughed uproariously. Disgusted, I backed away. "Leave me alone!"

We stared at each other. I noticed several freckles, large and small, distributed in an unusual way between her nose and mouth.

"Oh, the young man is sensitive!"

The women began to snort again.

My father brushed them aside with a brusque movement of his arm. "Are you going to let us through, or do I have to put my hands on you to get you out of the way?" and the crowd took off neighing like horses.

There were monkeys, guenons, marmots, camels and other strange animals. Yes, even a bear roared from its cage in unison with the wild drumbeats of a man who resembled the devil. Frightened, I looked at him. He was wearing a costume that reminded me of an evil forest spirit. A horned, bestial, furry figure with a tail and cloven feet. The words of our priest immediately came to mind: Satan, the great enemy of Christ, the Church and humanity!

When the devil noticed me, he waved at me. "Are you Orontius, the new boy of Eberlein the juggler?"

"Yes." I couldn't believe I was talking to the devil. The shock must have been written all over my face, because the devil seemed to know what was going on inside me.

"Don't worry! It's just a disguise. I am Godfrey. As the name says, the peace of God. I am also Eberlein's brother."

He held out his hand. Reluctantly, I took it. Contrary to my fears, it was warm and I felt more confident.

My father cleared his throat. "Where do we find Eberlein?"

Godfrey pointed to a large tree. "You see the great royal wooden carriage under the giant oak? We call it the Ark. You will find my brother there."

We had to fight our way through a crowd of grotesque minstrels, quack doctors, musicians and jesters before we finally reached Eberlein's carriage. I could hardly believe my eyes. It stood out from the other wagons, some of which were draped in cloth, simply by virtue of its colossal size. The wheels were almost as high as I was! Moreover, the wooden body was suspended from the chassis with leather straps attached to the lower corners and to the high axles. Two strong looking mules stood nearby eating grass. There were ornate harnesses, the likes of which I had never seen before, and a padded coach box.

"There you are!" Eberlein came up to us. He seemed pleased to see us.

"Will my son be accommodated in your carriage?" my father asked enthusiastically.

"Yes," Eberlein replied. "It is the old carriage of Frederick III, the Holy Roman Emperor. He arrived in Frankfurt in it more than a decade ago."

"Are you joking?" my father asked.

"It's no joke," the juggler said, smiling. "On his way back from Frankfurt, the Emperor and his knights were attacked by a gang of rogues. The carriage was set on fire and badly damaged. The Emperor got off lightly. I happened to be working as a coach builder at the time and, together with another journeyman, we were given the job of repairing the carriage. The wheels and leather harness had to be completely replaced. The carriage had been badly damaged in the fire. He turned and pointed to a heavily sooted area. "See, quite a bit of it burned away up there."

I looked at where his hand was pointing. The damage had been irreparable - even as a layman that was clear to me.

"Not good enough for our emperor! That's why he didn't want to drive his old carriage anymore and gave it to us," Eberlein finished his story.

I swallowed. "That was generous."

My father turned to me. "I'm going now. You're in good hands here." He grabbed my neck and pulled me towards him. "Come back to me when you are a monk and pick up the icon. Goodbye, boy."

He left me quicker than I would have liked. I looked after him and a mixture of unease and freedom came over me. I got over it quickly, though, as my new surroundings distracted me from the pain of parting.

In the royal Ark, Eberlein had set up a hammock for me. "So you'll be weighed like a baby on the journey!"

I laughed. I had never seen that before. Then he introduced me to his troupe. I could only count to ten at the time, and when I assigned each person to one of my fingers, I was two fingers short.

"This is our Hannes Harnisher, also known as the evil tongue of our troupe," Eberlein introduced. Hannes bowed and even took off his hat for me. He was a small, thin man with a remarkably large mouth. "I am the singer of the troupe and the shame of the meagre man. My satirical songs are the best way for us to get food, drink, clothes, gold rings and money when we visit the castles and houses of the nobles. For only my mocking songs teach them to fear us, for in them I tell the whole world of their greed if they do not pay us!"

"You've always been good at showing off! You're not the only one who keeps us alive," Eberlein replied.

"But the best!" shouted Hannes Harnisher proudly and disappeared.

Our next stop was the witch Walpurga. Her red curls were blowing wildly around her face in the rising wind. "We've already had the honour of meeting," she said cheekily, trying to stroke my chin with her fingers again. This time I grabbed her hand and held it tightly before she could touch me. We remained in this position, our eyes locked.

"Walpurga frightens her audience by getting involved with the devil on her little stage," Eberlein explained.

I took a step back. The woman was monstrous to me.

"And who are you?" I asked a little girl whose hair was as red as the witch Walpurga's. "Hildegard," the little girl replied, looking at me with innocent blue eyes.

"She is my daughter, the child of a lonely vagabond," Walpurga explained, disappearing in a short, violent gust of wind that ruffled the leaves around her.

Hildegard took my hand. "Would you like to play with me?"

"I'd love to," I replied, "maybe later."

Two more women joined us. Their clothes were unusual because they stopped just above the ankles. The women were heavily made up and wore their hair like Walpurga, open and without headgear.

"These are Margaid and Gertrude, our dancers. The noble barons and ecclesiastical lords find them irresistible," Eberlein said, looking at one of them from top to bottom with a grin. That puzzled me. Normally, such women were offensive and unwelcome in society as I knew it.

Eberlein pulled me by the arm and we walked on. I saw the quack from afar. He was an elderly, bearded man, wearing a pointed cap under which his long hair spilled out, and a wide, coarse robe. He wore round glasses on his nose, which gave him a wise look. As we approached him, he stopped what he was doing and looked down at me over the rim of his glasses. "I am Laurin, named after the figure in the heroic legend of the dwarf Laurin. People believe that dwarves have great knowledge of the healing power of plants."

"And do they?" I asked curiously.

"Do dwarves exist?" he asked back.

I shrugged. "I don't know." I thought for a moment. "Maybe in caves and holes in the ground where we can't see them?"

"I've only met dwarves in fables," he said, winking at me.

Eberlein laughed. "Don't confuse the boy, you old fool!"

The devil Godfrey joined us. The men greeted each other with a quick nod of the head. "Orontius and I have met before," he said, turning to me. "Let me know, boy, if you need anything. I'll be at your side on our travels." He took me by the arm. "Come, I'll introduce you to the two warriors."

Leonard and Vincent were in the middle of a murderous battle. They were half-equipped as knights, which was obviously just to hint at their role. One of the men was having trouble with his breastplate, which kept slipping. The other lost his armour when his opponent struck him. It was clear to me that they were only playing. They laughed at each other's clumsiness.

"Would you like to try?" one of them, whom I recognised as Leonard, asked me. Why? Well, he fought and roared like a lion. As he handed me his sword, I noticed his muscular arm. To my astonishment, mine sank under the weight of the sword. I could not offer him much resistance.

"You must train your muscles or you will never become a fighter," he said.

"I don't want to be a fighter. I'll be a monk."

He looked at me and took his sword back. "Good, we need the monks for our wine."

"And the scriptures!" I objected.

"You will learn to read and write," the other warrior, Vincent, said. "I envy you," he added softly.

"Why?" I asked.

"I always wanted to be able to read."

"Why?" I asked a second time.

"You can travel without having to move."

I had never thought of that before. I silently thanked my father for sending me on two journeys. He had really meant well for me.

I walked slowly back to the Ark in the twilight. Hildegard appeared out of nowhere and grabbed my hand. "Do you want to play with me?"

"What do you want to play?"

"We can play with my marbles," she suggested, pulling a small bag out of her pocket. "Come on!"

I followed her to a small area lined with wooden slats that looked as if it had been made especially for the marble game.

"Look, there's the hole." Hildegard pointed to the middle of the area. It looked like a...