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Die Kinder der Finsternis
In der Provence des 12. Jahrhunderts nimmt der Schäfer Barral den Kampf auf mit dem kargen Boden seiner Heimat, mit adelsstolzen Feudalherren und fuchsschlauen Bischöfen. Er bringt es zum Grafen, zum Herzog, gar zum Freund des Kaisers und gewinnt die Liebe der schönen Markgrafentochter Judith - sowie der nicht minder schönen Bauerntochter Maitagorry. Die mittelalterliche Welt ist geprägt von Kriegen und Seuchen, Inquisitionsprozessen, Turnieren, Minnehöfen, Hungersnöten und Pogromen. Ein Stoff, aus dem Wolf von Niebelschütz einen Traum gestaltet hat - der manchmal zum Alptraum wird.
591 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1959
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 28, 2025
Für mich ist “Kinder der Finsternis” der ultimative Roman über das Mittelalter. Als hätte sich der Sprachartist Niebelschütz eine der Haupt-Maximen von James Freys Ratgeber “Wie man einen verdammt guten Roman schreibt” zu eigen gemacht, nämlich eine überlebensgroße Figur in den Mittelpunkt stellen. Eine solche Gestalt ist der junge Barral in einem fiktiven Südfrankreich, das nach einen Sarazenen-Einfall teilweise verödet daliegt. Er ist vierzehn und “Fallobst”, ein Bastard, aber er will nach oben, sein Ehrgeiz und seine Intelligenz treiben ihn voran, aber auch seine Libido. Es gibt viele Kämpfe, Liebschaften und Unternehmungen mit ihm und um ihn herum. Christen, Juden und Muslime haben ihre Auftritte. Vermeintliche Wunder spielen eine Rolle, Verschwörungen und klerikale Intervenionen und religiöses Sektiertum.
Die Sprache ist hochartifiziell, aber das hat mich nicht abgeschreckt wie andere, sondern nur herausgefordert. Ich verbinde mit diesem Roman ein einzigartiges Leseerlebnis.
Die Sprache ist hochartifiziell, aber das hat mich nicht abgeschreckt wie andere, sondern nur herausgefordert. Ich verbinde mit diesem Roman ein einzigartiges Leseerlebnis.
April 29, 2014
If Thomas Mann had written historical fiction the result could have been this book. At least with regard to the language. The significance isn't up to the level of a typical Mann novel but it isn't a shallow affair either.
Kinder der Finsternis shows that von Niebelschütz possessed a lot of knowledge about the middle ages. It shows the author's love for the Provence which is the inspiration for the hypothetical barony Kelgurien. It's a complex story with lots of interrelations between the protagonists. Dialogues between characters are meaningful and challenging as direct speech is not attributed. Von Niebelschütz didn't compromise historical depth or richness of language for readability as usually done in modern days historical fiction aimed at a mass market. For this feat, Kinder der Finsternis is a worthy read for anybody interested in that time period.
What keeps it from getting more than an average rating is it's focus on a single larger-than-life hero whose single differentiating achievement is his historically highly unlikely willingness to accept enlightenment, first by accepting the moors as equals, then in the form of water management learned from them. That way, Barral rises from a life as a shepherd to finally being crowned as king of Kelgurien, solely on the legitimation of being the economically successful bastard of one subordinate feudlord. In the course of this life, he literally fathers dozens of offspring taking various prominent positions in nobility or church, often dying as quickly as they enter the story.
The novel is remarkable in a historical context. Realism was the big thing with German authors in the 50's. Von Niebelschütz and his book were an anachronism, representing a looked down upon form of escapism. This is even more obvious in his other major work, Der Blaue Kammerherr which purportedly discloses the author's monarchistical tendencies.
Kinder der Finsternis shows that von Niebelschütz possessed a lot of knowledge about the middle ages. It shows the author's love for the Provence which is the inspiration for the hypothetical barony Kelgurien. It's a complex story with lots of interrelations between the protagonists. Dialogues between characters are meaningful and challenging as direct speech is not attributed. Von Niebelschütz didn't compromise historical depth or richness of language for readability as usually done in modern days historical fiction aimed at a mass market. For this feat, Kinder der Finsternis is a worthy read for anybody interested in that time period.
What keeps it from getting more than an average rating is it's focus on a single larger-than-life hero whose single differentiating achievement is his historically highly unlikely willingness to accept enlightenment, first by accepting the moors as equals, then in the form of water management learned from them. That way, Barral rises from a life as a shepherd to finally being crowned as king of Kelgurien, solely on the legitimation of being the economically successful bastard of one subordinate feudlord. In the course of this life, he literally fathers dozens of offspring taking various prominent positions in nobility or church, often dying as quickly as they enter the story.
The novel is remarkable in a historical context. Realism was the big thing with German authors in the 50's. Von Niebelschütz and his book were an anachronism, representing a looked down upon form of escapism. This is even more obvious in his other major work, Der Blaue Kammerherr which purportedly discloses the author's monarchistical tendencies.
February 10, 2016
This is my favourite book of all time. I must have read it 20 times. I read it at least once a year. My cousin told me 20 years ago “This is our family book.” I still don’t really know what she meant with this remark. I thought that everyone in the wider family must have read it, so I bought it and couldn’t stop reading. When I told my father about “our family book” and how great it is, he had no idea what I was talking about. And my cousin can’t remember telling me. So who told me to read this book? No idea. Maybe one of these dreams that after a while you think is true. But whatever. The book is fantastic, in German it is written in an ancient, almost mystical different language, using words long forgotten, sentence structure that makes you slow down to really understand, what is going on. The story is medieval, a imaginary land between the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation and the Caliphate to the east. The story follows young “badger” from Ghissi from his youth to his death. He is entangled in church business, Kings, Emperors and Queens’s politics and in love affairs with too many women. The story has betrayal, wars, peace, and scientific achievements, an easy to understand description of the live at a interesting time, when people start to question the church and start to think for themselves. I am not sure how this book will work out after translated into English, but everyone should try it.
October 4, 2019
Not gonna lie, I found this a very slippery eel of a read. This book didn't so much flow as lawnmower across my mind. I found myself almost constantly playing catch-up with who was who, who was speaking, what was happening, and just when I felt I had a grasp on things, bam, it's off to where the hell am I land again.
This is a gem of a book, despite all that, but a fractured one. Clearly there's something to be gained from this, and likely a re-read would sort a lot of it out. But for a first read, it was a nuggety book.
The cover of the Unicorn edition features a scene straight out of the first chapter, which is probably as far as the artist got. And the first chapter is a fair indication of the book as a whole.
Despite the setting being in a fictional realm, it is also within the larger historical setting of, where? Medieval Southern France? Spain? I would have thought Spain, only the directions in the map at the start would then only make sense if it were mirrored. Help, anyone? The story starts with a wreck, a corpse, and a survivor. It gripped me from the start. By the end of the chapter the titular character had arrived and improbably walks into an amorous situation, as this is clearly what was warranted by the wreckage of the opening scene. And that kind of sets the scene for the remainder of the book, with events and people popping up abruptly and melting away just as abruptly, with the reader (well, myself at least), trying frantically to keep up.
This book, even moreso than the Guy Gavriel Kay book I recently read, has both feet firmly planted in the Middle Ages, and takes an even less romantical view of the Middle Ages than 'A Song for Arbonne' did. Clearly von Niebelschutz had a functional, in-depth understanding of the tensions and nuances of the Middle Ages, and for that alone this book is an absolute gem. And while it may be said that he didn't waste a single word, he, or at least the translator (was this book even translated?) didn't exactly adopt the story into an easily accessible plot.
I don't recall being privy to any of the characters thoughts which didn't add to the accessibility of the story. The plot seems to weave around the rise of the shepherd Badger to the leader of the township Ghissi, ruined and burned out before the start of the book and rebuilt, resettled and rejuvinated through his efforts throughout the story which leaps forward over a number of years. Along the way he gets caught up in political intrigue and Church affairs as well as passion for Judith, minor royalty and apparently a distant relative according to the family tree at the start of the book (just had a peek, still confused). By the end, a sweeping, thunderous series of revenges against the Church and other royal families occur, for reasons I'm still not sure about, and the book ends with a sense of regret.
There were moments this story shone, and there were moments I glazed over or tried to catch up, so I take part of the responsibility for my not following all of the story. But this one was a tough chew, no doubt about it.
This is a gem of a book, despite all that, but a fractured one. Clearly there's something to be gained from this, and likely a re-read would sort a lot of it out. But for a first read, it was a nuggety book.
The cover of the Unicorn edition features a scene straight out of the first chapter, which is probably as far as the artist got. And the first chapter is a fair indication of the book as a whole.
Despite the setting being in a fictional realm, it is also within the larger historical setting of, where? Medieval Southern France? Spain? I would have thought Spain, only the directions in the map at the start would then only make sense if it were mirrored. Help, anyone? The story starts with a wreck, a corpse, and a survivor. It gripped me from the start. By the end of the chapter the titular character had arrived and improbably walks into an amorous situation, as this is clearly what was warranted by the wreckage of the opening scene. And that kind of sets the scene for the remainder of the book, with events and people popping up abruptly and melting away just as abruptly, with the reader (well, myself at least), trying frantically to keep up.
This book, even moreso than the Guy Gavriel Kay book I recently read, has both feet firmly planted in the Middle Ages, and takes an even less romantical view of the Middle Ages than 'A Song for Arbonne' did. Clearly von Niebelschutz had a functional, in-depth understanding of the tensions and nuances of the Middle Ages, and for that alone this book is an absolute gem. And while it may be said that he didn't waste a single word, he, or at least the translator (was this book even translated?) didn't exactly adopt the story into an easily accessible plot.
I don't recall being privy to any of the characters thoughts which didn't add to the accessibility of the story. The plot seems to weave around the rise of the shepherd Badger to the leader of the township Ghissi, ruined and burned out before the start of the book and rebuilt, resettled and rejuvinated through his efforts throughout the story which leaps forward over a number of years. Along the way he gets caught up in political intrigue and Church affairs as well as passion for Judith, minor royalty and apparently a distant relative according to the family tree at the start of the book (just had a peek, still confused). By the end, a sweeping, thunderous series of revenges against the Church and other royal families occur, for reasons I'm still not sure about, and the book ends with a sense of regret.
There were moments this story shone, and there were moments I glazed over or tried to catch up, so I take part of the responsibility for my not following all of the story. But this one was a tough chew, no doubt about it.
January 21, 2020
Das war mir schlicht und ergreifend viel zu speziell geschrieben.
Gut möglich, dass es genial ist (wie ja viele Rezensionen nahelegen), aber mein Fall war's leider nicht- bereits bei 20 Seiten ausgestiegen. Ich bin allerdings auch sehr plebeisch bei sowas.
Gut möglich, dass es genial ist (wie ja viele Rezensionen nahelegen), aber mein Fall war's leider nicht- bereits bei 20 Seiten ausgestiegen. Ich bin allerdings auch sehr plebeisch bei sowas.
March 28, 2018
one of my most favorite books. i agree with ulrich below -- the language is what makes this: it is fantastic, archaic, mythical. actually, i'll read this next (again.)
February 15, 2024
Einer der besten Romane über das frühe Mittelalter, den ich kenne. Hochemotional, spannend, viel Aussagekraft über die Lebens- und Machtverhältnisse.....
May 6, 2024
Viel mehr als ein „historischer Roman“. Gute, sprachgewaltige, unvergessliche Literatur!
July 25, 2011
Puh ... fertig! Ein ganz schöner Brocken im Umfang, aber es steckt immerhin auch ein großes Stück Mittelalter darin. Mittelalter in der Provence ... und was Niebelschütz dazu einfällt.
Das ist so einiges, hat er es sich doch nicht nehmen lassen zu recherchieren, zu studieren, um detailgetreu eine Kulisse für sein Spiel entstehen zu lassen.
Niebelschütz verzückt den Mittelalterfreund mit Schilderungen von Minneturnieren, ketzerischen Austritten gegen die Kirche, heidnischen Salbungsritualen und wilder Vielweiberei.
An manchen Stellen, vor allem dem Ende zu, sonderbar esoterisch-spirituell (falls man das so nennen kann), sehr fabulierfreudig, ging mir die Lektüre nicht allerorts nur leicht von der Hand. Die Hauptpersonen sind fast alle miteinander verwandt, zeugen so viele Kinder, dass die Finger zum Zählen (nein, auch nicht mit den Zehen beider Füße) gar nicht mehr ausreichen, weiters haben sie oft zusätzliche Titel-Bezeichnungen ... hinten und vorn im Buch ist zwar ein Stammbaum aufgezeichnet, manchmal ergab ich mich aber lieber der Unwissenheit.
Zu meiner Befriedigung wusste der Protagonist gegen Ende stellenweise selbst nicht mehr, ob er gerade einem seiner zahlreichen Kinder gegenüber stand.
Das ist so einiges, hat er es sich doch nicht nehmen lassen zu recherchieren, zu studieren, um detailgetreu eine Kulisse für sein Spiel entstehen zu lassen.
Niebelschütz verzückt den Mittelalterfreund mit Schilderungen von Minneturnieren, ketzerischen Austritten gegen die Kirche, heidnischen Salbungsritualen und wilder Vielweiberei.
An manchen Stellen, vor allem dem Ende zu, sonderbar esoterisch-spirituell (falls man das so nennen kann), sehr fabulierfreudig, ging mir die Lektüre nicht allerorts nur leicht von der Hand. Die Hauptpersonen sind fast alle miteinander verwandt, zeugen so viele Kinder, dass die Finger zum Zählen (nein, auch nicht mit den Zehen beider Füße) gar nicht mehr ausreichen, weiters haben sie oft zusätzliche Titel-Bezeichnungen ... hinten und vorn im Buch ist zwar ein Stammbaum aufgezeichnet, manchmal ergab ich mich aber lieber der Unwissenheit.
Zu meiner Befriedigung wusste der Protagonist gegen Ende stellenweise selbst nicht mehr, ob er gerade einem seiner zahlreichen Kinder gegenüber stand.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews