Eifelheim

Historical Notes

I have tried to depict the milieu of the mid-14^th century Rhineland as accurately as possible, but that is difficult enough for early-21^st century America, let alone a time and place where the world-view was so different from our own categories of thought.

For one thing, they took Christianity seriously; in many ways, more seriously than modern Bible-thumpers. At the same time, they took it more matter-of-factly. It was Christendom — but the first stirrings of the nationalism that was to destroy it were being felt — at Crécy and elsewhere it had begun to matter which nation or race you were.

Natural philosophers studied nature with virtually no intrusions by theologians who were themselves natural philosophers. Natural philosophy formed the basic undergraduate curriculum, along with logic and the “exact sciences” of mathematics, astronomy, optics, statics, and music. Art and humanities were not taught. Theologians, lawyers, and doctors had to first master this curriculum. Never before or since has such a large proportion of the population been educated so exclusively in logic, reason, and science.

If God made the entire world, then invoking God to explain the rainbow or magnetism or rectilinear motion added nothing to human understanding. Natural philosophers therefore sought natural explanations to natural phenomena. That a later century would invoke religion over a trivial matter of the earth’s motion would likely have astonished, and perhaps angered them. In many ways Galileo would have had an easier time of it in the 14^th century than in the less tolerant and more literal-minded 17^th.

With two notable exceptions, the historical events and personages mentioned in the text were as described. The likeness of Margaret Maultasch, the Ugly Duchess of Tyrol, was used to portray the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland. The Markgraf Friedrich mentioned in the text was Friedrich III, who ruled in Baden, not his cousin, Friedrich IV, who ruled at the same time in Pforzheim. The months in which the Black Death struck various cities and regions were taken from at atlas compiled by Peter Ravn Rasmussen at www.scholiast.org/history/blackdeath/index.html.

Marshall Villars really did refuse to take his army through the Höllenthal, using the excuse quoted. The overthrow of the Strassburg town council and the Friday 13^th massacre of the Jews were described in the Chronicles of Strassburg. Duke Albert and King Casimir did offer their realms as sanctuaries to the Jews, and the guild militias did assemble and defend the Jewish quarter of Regensburg. The story of the Feldberg Demon is recorded in the Annals of St. Blaisien. The argument for natural rights of people against their prince was advanced by William of Ockham in his Opus nonaginta dierum. Ockham determined and incepted, but never took a doctorate. He was last heard from when he left Munich on 10 March 1349 to make his peace with the Pope. “Eifelheim” stands along one likely route. The date on his Denkmal in Munich is incorrect, as we know from documents that he was alive after that point.

The two major alterations to historical events are the Flagellant procession at Strassburg and the Storming of Falcon Rock. The Flagellants did not actually reach Strassburg until June of 1349 and the Papal Bull condemning them was not issued until 20 October of that same year, after the events of the story. I have moved both of them to February 1349, to coincide with the Benfeld conference.

The Freiburger militias stormed and took Falcon Rock in 1389. I moved it up by forty years, to March of 1349 and had Manfred participate. The romantic causus belli was as described.

A minor alteration: Nicole Oresme did not write De monete, in which he enunciated Gresham’s Law, until after the time of the story.