Quest of Hope: A Novel (64 page)

“You’ve got more to say! Tell me of the
San Marcol”
bellowed Heinrich. He grabbed the surprised man by the beard and slammed his own broad head against the stunned sailor’s. The man collapsed to the floor as Heinrich snatched the Stedinger dagger from his belt. He laid its sharp edge against the throat of another. “Say more, or, by God, I shall slit you now!”

The sailor stammered. “Aye … by the saints I shall tell you!” The man’s face was tight with fear. “The
San Marco
is captained by Gaetano … the most wicked captain in all of Genoa. He … he is in league with a Frenchman to sell the children to the slave markets in Bougie … maybe Kairunan … I hear he’s found a fresh cargo of ‘em.”

Heinrich’s stomach cramped and his face drained of all color. His chest tightened as he charged out the tavern door.
What to do? What to do?
His mind raced. He first turned toward the city, then toward Solomon. “’Tis too far to be caught… is there no way to warn them?” He stared at the
San Marco
now lurching forward in a fresh breeze. “Perhaps when they near the point!”

Heinrich sprinted toward the jetty. His legs burned and he gasped for breath. At last he stopped and bent in two, wheezing. He lifted his head, and to his great delight, he saw Pieter seated on a large boulder by the sea. A host of children were gathered around the old man like goslings by a gander. Hopeful, the man strained to find his lads. None had the lean look of Wil nor the red curls of Karl. He closed his eye and clenched his jaw as if to hope his wishes true. Then, with a loud cry he shouted for Pieter and rushed forward.

The breezed carried Heinrich’s cry to the ears of the old priest who now turned. Spotting the oncoming stranger he rose with a firm hold on his staff. Then, like a spindly spider, Pieter climbed across the black rocks to the path’s end where he planted himself in defense of his beloved children.

Heinrich cried louder, “Father Pieter! ‘Tis me!” Suddenly, Solomon’s ears lifted and his eyes brightened. The dog bolted away from Heinrich and toward his old master like a gray comet speeding across the sky. And when he drew close, old Pieter’s legs went wobbly and his arms opened wide. The priest fell to his knees and cried for joy as his shaggy friend leapt into his happy embrace.

Heinrich finally reached the old man who was now tumbled onto the earth by his wiggling, licking companion. “Hear me, Pieter!” panted Heinrich as he scanned the faces of the curious children behind him.

Pieter stood and squinted. He shielded his face from the sun, then gasped. “Friend!” He lunged toward the man, speechless and wet-eyed. “By the saints above …”

Heinrich was in no mood for pleasantries; he was thinking only of his sons. The burly baker stumbled past the priest and over the rocks into the wary throng of children gathering about. Impatient, he cried, “Where are my sons?”

Confused, Pieter stared blankly. “Who … who are your sons?”

“Karl and Wil… My name is Heinrich, Heinrich of Weyer! Where are they?”

Dumfounded, Pieter pointed to a ship warping toward them from the docks. “Wil is aboard—”

“Hear me!” interrupted Heinrich. “The children needs off the ship. … They’re to be sold as slaves!” The frantic man stared desperately at the
San Marco
whose sails had gone limp and now bobbed lightly in a dead calm. His worst fears had come true.

Staring at the one-eyed, wheezing man in horror, old Pieter did not know what to do. “Are you sure, man?”

“Aye! I heard it with my own ears in the tavern just beyond.”

Pieter turned his face quickly toward the approaching ship, then rushed with all the others to the water’s edge where he fell to his knees in prayer. “Father, shield them, shield my lambs, my Frieda and Otto, Wilhelm and m’little Heinz! Protect them all, oh Father, save them this day!” The ship was now almost close enough for the cheerful faces of its crusaders to be seen smiling and laughing at their comrades on shore.

Heinrich jumped up and down, waving his arm in heart-wrenching desperation. “Wil… Karl!” he choked. If only he could fly across the waves!

Pieter suddenly leapt to his feet shouting, “Everyone, everyone, the signal … the signal! I have a signal… it shall call them to come!” The old man stretched his arms wide, like man on a cross, and began to spin. “Do this!” he cried. “Do as I do!” Round and round he turned, stumbling and falling atop the sharp rocks, only to stand and spin again. Solomon whirled, then one perplexed child, then another, all mimicking the strange secret signal.

Heinrich’s chest heaved, his mouth was dry, his mind raced. His eye fell upon Wil’s shining hair, and his hands naively waving less than two bowshots away.

“Herr Friend!” squealed a young girl. “Spin … y’must spin! ‘Tis Pieter’s call to come!”

Confused, Heinrich raised his arm to shoulder height and began to twirl, round and round, trusting the old priest and his mysterious signal. The man spun the best he could. He turned and turned like a wobbly top until someone cried, “Look, Father Pieter! There … They’re jumping!”

Indeed, over the side of the wooden rail dropped one child, then another and another. “Could it be?” The anxious man sucked short gasps of air. His ears cocked to the muffled shouts and oaths that could be now heard above the cries of swooping gulls and splashing surf. He winced as he saw a flash of steel and groaned as a swarm of wool caps rushed from port to starboard, then fore to aft. Another crusader dropped over the rail; a stout lad, neither Wil nor Karl.

Splashing into the surf, Heinrich strained to see the little heads now bobbing anxiously in the waves; he scanned from bow to stern and then again. At long last he spied his eldest son, now dashing frantically across the deck. The brave lad had waited until the very end, until each of his comrades had fallen to the safe blue waters below. Heinrich’s muscles knotted and twitched and he moaned aloud. Feeling like a useless, aging cripple, he staggered about, bawling loud, anguished cries. And while he floundered in the rising tide of his own helplessness, young Wil’s life was imperiled on fortune’s delicate edge.

Heinrich could do little more. He stood paralyzed in thigh-deep water weak and confused, lost, and utterly helpless. Like a red-budded poppy closed and drooping beneath the weight of a deluge, Heinrich stood slump-shouldered and bowed by the burdens of his woe. He felt impotent; stripped of all he had ever hoped to be. He had failed his Order and it had forsaken him. Shamed by his weakness, he stared, vacant and mute, empty of confidence, void of hope.

Then it seemed as if the ocean’s breeze whispered words from far away and long ago. Heinrich’s hungry heart began to stir. The voices of wisdom past nudged and prodded him once more to break his horrid vow, to tear off the final shackle of his ways and, at long last, seek hope beyond himself. The man trembled and groaned as truth battled for his soul.

Warm waves rolled and their low-toned rumbles and soothing salt sprays seemed to urge the man all the more, for it was as if they carried Emma’s tender voice, imploring her beloved Heinz to remember. The struggling man listened and as he did he was carried away to memories of the Magi, of the dappled Laubusbach; to the colors of the garden, and of butterflies floating ‘neath the summer’s sun. It was then as if the wind and the waves conspired to boast more loudly the words he had been offered so very long ago. Heinrich closed his eye and strained to remember Emma’s soothing voice: “Someday, when your strength wanes and your virtues fail, when you long for hope once more, turn your eyes upward and find another way.”

It was enough. Heinrich seized upon her words and his spine tingled. He stood upright and boldly faced the sea. Then, with a loud cry, he gladly yielded to that which had pursued him all along. Like a springtime bud unfolding in all its wondrous glory, the simple peasant stretched his opened hand to the blue sky above. And as angels’ wings bore brave Wil toward the shimmering sea, the “Worm of Santa Maria” was no more. With his heart unfettered and his soul set free, Heinrich of Weyer broke free from the darkness to lift his tearful eye upward to the warm welcome of the smiling sun.

THE END

READERS’GUIDE

S
ince the very beginning, humankind has labored in bondage. Adam and Eve ensured that each new life would be born under a curse of slavery, and for generation upon generation there was no hope of freedom. But when Jesus came, he declared, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19). Finally, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, humankind need no longer be enslaved by sin. Regardless of temporal circumstances, men and women alike can once again walk in the Garden with God.

The simple, yet remarkable story of Heinrich of Weyer is a tale of God’s immeasurable grace and unconditional love. In twelfth-century Europe, few men were free. Heinrich, like those before him, was bound to the land and shackled by the Church. But Heinrich did not understand the true glory of the Gospel: that even a slave can be free in Christ. His story illustrates the battle that wages for every soul—and presents each of us with the opportunity to choose whether we will be slave or free.

Consider the following questions as you follow Heinrich’s journey. Though separated by centuries, our lives are ruled by the same Truth: God longs to walk with us in the cool of the day; to have us delight in His Creation. He longs to bring color and light to our lives. For whether our bodies are slave or free, rich or poor, young or old—He is the hope of every soul’s quest.

BOOK 1

Chapter 1

1. This story begins by establishing the theme that we all approach life from a context, whether it be familial—as in this chapter—or community (subsequent chapters). How in your own life might you test the perspective from which you live? How do you find the courage to change that point of view when called (or compelled) to do so?

2. Kurt pronounces a blessing upon his son, that “his eyes would be turned toward heaven and lit by the sun.” Yet Berta reaches to shield Heinrich’s eyes from the sun’s rays. Aside from a mother’s loving concern and attention, what symbolism is found in Berta’s action?

3. How is Berta defined by her beliefs? How do they control her? In what ways are Kurt and Berta markedly different? How do these differences affect the development of Heinrich’s character?

4. Jost addresses his family and demands that the feud against the Gunnars continue at all cost. He tells his family they “live to avenge, without quarter and without fear.” What price does Jost’s family pay for such a foolish vendetta? In what ways does this contradict Jost’s intelligent wit and undermine the value of his inheritance?

Chapter 2

5. Jost dreams of being honored by his family long after his death, and dies believing himself a “good and worthy man.” Is this a fair judgment? Is being good and worthy a sufficient legacy?

6. Emma willingly accepts Martin’s rebuke—even thanks him for it. In what ways is Emma a living paradox? Who is a better example of Christlikeness—Emma or the monk? What sets her apart from the other women of her time?

7. Sieghild is beaten and raped by the Gunnars and then is further brutalized by the insensitive treatment of her family. Which is the greater tragedy? How might love and compassion offered in those critical moments have altered her fate?

Chapter 3

8. Matthew 18:3 says, “Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” How is Heinrich’s loving acceptance of Ingelbert an example of this principle? In what ways do judgment, prejudice, and fear keep us from accepting others? How can Christians justify this kind of behavior?

9. Kurt willingly accompanies his brothers on a mission to avenge his family. Is there any honor in his death? What does the family of Jost gain from this ongoing feud? What do they lose? What significant, life-altering impact does Kurt’s death have on Heinrich?

Chapter 4

10. Why does Berta need someone to blame for her unhappiness? Why does her faith fail to offer much-needed comfort? How would a true relationship with Christ have made a difference in the outcome of Berta’s life—even in the midst of tragedy?

11. Despite her past sin and status as an outcast, of all the villagers only Emma offers Berta real friendship and love. What do these two women have in common, and in what ways are they strikingly different? When have you found acceptance or love in unexpected places? What does this teach us about Christ’s grace and compassion?

Chapter 5

12. Father Johannes is described as ignorant, yet “sincere and eager to do God’s work.” Is it possible to accomplish good things for God while being ignorant of His ways? How does Father Johannes’s misguided sincerity harm the villagers?

13. Baldric is a bully who torments many who cross his path. What motivates his behavior? Why does he decide to turn back and defend the village against its attackers? Is it possible for someone who is abusive and cruel to behave with honor? Might Baldric be considered heroic?

Chapter 6

14. Heinrich faced a moral dilemma when he considered the dog’s suffering: compassion was set against the law. How do we resolve such problems? Why does Heinrich choose to set the reeve’s dog free, despite his fear of the consequences? What similarities exist between the dog and Heinrich?

15. After his act of mercy, Heinrich is severely punished. How is mercy often rewarded? What is the true significance of being prohibited from “looking up”? What effect do humiliation, guilt, and terror have on Heinrich’s understanding of God?

Chapter 7

16. Emma tells Heinrich, “knowing who hates you can teach you much about yourself.” What wisdom can be found in this statement? Who hates Heinrich and why? What does this reveal about his character?

17. Lukas, Heinrich, and Richard discover that Emma is an “illuminator,” using artistry, light, and color to bring beauty to the written page. What is the “light” she speaks of? In what ways does she illuminate the lives of those she touches? What characters might be said to see life as black and white, and who would see the world in shades of color? How does this reflect various worldviews?

Chapter 8

18. Lord Tomas is determined to punish Ingelbert for the murder of his son—despite compelling evidence that points to his innocence. Why is Lord Tomas unwilling to listen to reason? Does he truly desire justice or is he seeking to fulfill some other need?

19. Ingelbert is unable to defend himself against those who desire to kill him. Simon, an honorable knight, chooses to fight in Ingelbert’s place and saves his life. What prophetic picture can be seen in these events? How does God defend and rescue His children when there seems to be no hope?

20. Lukas makes a provocative comment about how virtues can easily “become objects of our arrogance.” Why would this be true?

Chapter 9

21. When Heinrich fights (and helps murder) the Gunnars, Baldric declares he is now “proud” of his nephew. Why is Heinrich suddenly empty of fury and void of joy? What was the source of his rage unleashed during the fight? Why is he not happy to finally receive his uncle’s approval?

22. What is the significance—both eternal and temporal—of Heinrich’s role as the village baker? Why is Heinrich given such a remarkable opportunity, when he would normally have only worked the fields?

23. What possible motivation does Baldric have in “selecting” a wife for Heinrich? Why does Baldric choose (and Pious approve of) Marta? How are Heinrich, Marta, and Katharina each victimized by the arrangement? What are some reasons that we will allow others to control us?

Chapter 10

24. As a young girl, Sieghild has a reverence for the holy things of the Church and desires to do what is right. What changes within her? Is she driven by insanity or hatred? What tragic consequences result from her choices? What can be said about human limitations?

25. Heinrich is manipulated into a marriage that he despises. Why did he not break the engagement when Baldric dies? Which is the greater wrong—to break his vow, or to marry one woman when he loves another? How does this one decision affect the entire course of his life?

Chapter 11

26. What does the pomp and pageantry of the Feast of Lammas reveal about the people of this kingdom—rulers and peasants alike? How do the different classes relate to one another, and what purpose does each serve? Are all equally vested, or do some receive more than others? What pertinent biblical lessons can be seen in the festivities?

27. The Church dominates every aspect of the peasants’ lives, and they live in constant fear of eternal judgment and damnation. What key components are missing from Christendom’s “gospel?” How can we differentiate between superstitious legalism and God’s uncompromising truth?

Chapter 12

28. Heinrich is unable to deny his feelings for Katharina, yet he also is uncomfortable in her presence. Is this due to his overly developed sense of guilt, or is God speaking to him? How might the two be different? Could Heinrich have “willed” his feelings to change? Is Heinrich unfaithful to Marta? Does God always expect the same commitment to what is right—even when our circumstances seem unbearable?

29. What symbolism can be found in the Laubusbach? What is significant about the fact that the same water source that brings Emma and Ingly life, joy, and comfort is also responsible for Ingly’s death?

30. Like others, Emma has suffered many terrible losses in her life. Why is she able to grieve without becoming embittered? How does she continue to find joy? Why is she uniquely able to understand the tragedy of Heinrich’s marriage?

Chapter 13

31. When Heinrich and Marta lose two of their sons, she bitterly accuses him of “secret sins.” By banishing him from her bed, is she really punishing him or merely protecting herself from more pain? What different choices might both Marta and Heinrich have made that would have changed their marriage?

32. Heinrich places his confidence in penance and vows and labors. He claims to have achieved humility by “keeping his face to the earth.” Is this really humility or an expression of pride? What does the Bible say about living life with a “works” mentality?

Chapter 14

33. When speaking of the peasants of the manor, Abbot Stephen says, “We guard their souls, [Prince Heribert] their flesh; I oft wonder which they treasure most.” Which do they really value more? How can contemporary ministry be prone toward the same trap? Does the abbey really protect the spiritual lives of the people? What evidence suggests otherwise? If the people saw more of Christ in their “shepherds,” how would that affect the way they view eternity?

34. Why is Wil tormented by visions of the hanging? What wisdom does Heinrich share that changes the boy’s perspective and allows him to conquer his fear? In what ways has Heinrich failed to take his own advice?

35. Do you agree that mercy is greater than justice? Why is there tension between these two godly attributes?

Chapter 15

36. Karl is a cheerful child and offers much-needed comfort after Emma’s passing by recalling happy memories of times spent together. Does Karl really belong in the village of Weyer? How does he maintain his innocence and joy in the midst of such melancholy and oppressive surroundings?

37. Heinrich loses much of the value of Emma’s inheritance during his “negotiations” with the monastery’s steward. Why is he so easily manipulated, while Wil is quick to discern their true intent?

Chapter 16

38. Marta tells Heinrich that she would “rather be rich and safe than poor and free!” What does this statement reveal about Marta and the choices she has made? In what areas of her life is she enslaved? What hope is there for those who don’t want to be helped?

39. Why do the villagers resent Heinrich for his prosperity? Why is Pious particularly furious? Is there something about Heinrich’s character or person that Pious envies? What heavy price does Heinrich pay for foiling Pious’s plans?

Chapter 17

40. The fathers of Heinrich and Blasius are both killed on the same night—possibly by each other’s hands. Why does Heinrich insist on finally breaking his family’s “code” in order to save the wounded Templar? What is significant about his willingness to risk his own life for his “enemy”? How does this special friendship reveal God’s ability to work for our good even in the most tragic circumstances?

41. Pious accuses Heinrich of being guilty of all seven deadly sins: anger, avarice, envy, gluttony, lust, pride, and sloth. Yet Pious himself is guilty of all these and more. Why does Heinrich accept this accusation as truth, when Pious himself is so obviously wicked and hypocritical? What does this say about the danger of religious abuse?