Knight, Death, and the Devil
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Master of Arts
Major
Creative Writing
Date of Defense
4-17-2015
Graduate Advisor
John Dalton, MFA
Committee
Mary Troy
Minsoo Kang, Ph.D.
Abstract
“Knight, Death, and the Devil” is the beginning of a novel set in Nürnberg, Germany, in the years before the Reformation. As a historical fiction piece, it includes actual historical events and personalities. Poetic license has been taken with character, personality, and (in limited cases) chronology. One of the purposes of historical fiction, so conceived, is to show the often unintended effects an individual has on his time and place. It is my opinion that life’s most vital moments often occur in the gaps between major historical events; that trivial, even petty actions have the ability to alter the course of history. It is on these trivial actions that I focus my attention. Primary characters include humanist scholars (Willibald Pirkheimer, Conrad Celtis, etc.) and pre-Reformation artists (Albrecht Dürer, Veit Stoss, Hans Baldung Grien, etc.).
Recommended Citation
Sjerven, Jeff, "Knight, Death, and the Devil" (2015). Theses. 106.
https://irl.umsl.edu/thesis/106