The friar of Wittenberg: Classic Book Guide and Free Edition
The friar of Wittenberg: author and translator credits, catalogue synopsis, subjects and links to the Gutenberg reading formats.
The friar of Wittenberg is catalogued by Project Gutenberg with author credits for Davis, William Stearns (1877–1930).
Catalogue synopsis
Project Gutenberg supplies this automated synopsis of the opening text:
The friar of Wittenberg by William Stearns Davis is a historical novel written in the early 20th century. Set amid the splendor and corruption of Renaissance Rome on the eve of the Reformation, it follows Gualtiero, Conte di Palaestro (Graf von Regenstein), an Italian-bred German noble entangled with cardinals, artists, and courtiers whose path bends north toward Martin Luther and a crisis of conscience. Expect intrigue, romance, and grand pageantry turning into moral reckoning as Italian humanism collides with German reforming fervor. The opening of The friar of Wittenberg plunges into Vatican intrigue: Cardinals Forli and Rocca plot to unseat—and, by hired dagger, remove—the favored Archbishop of Bari, dangling church advancement before Gualtiero, who refuses to join a murder. Between a glimpse of Raphael’s new painting and a glittering Chigi banquet, Gualtiero woos Forli’s brilliant daughter Marianna, defends Germans against Bembo’s jibes, then is abruptly arrested when the bravo Ettore Orosi blames him for a failed attack on Bari. Before Pope Leo X, Gualtiero will not betray Forli or Rocca; Leo soothes Bari with a prebend, stays the bravo’s fate, and banishes Gualtiero from Italy. The section closes with his journey north and stark arrival at his ancestral fortress of Regenstein, signaling a turn from Roman luxury to a harsher, awakening world.
Book and edition facts
- Title: The friar of Wittenberg
- Author credits: Davis, William Stearns (1877–1930)
- Catalogue language: English
Catalogue subjects
- Germany -- History -- 1273-1517 -- Fiction
- Germany -- History -- 1517-1648 -- Fiction
- Luther, Martin, 1483-1546 -- Fiction
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Source notes
Catalogue metadata is public domain and is supplied through Gutendex, which imports Gutenberg's machine-readable catalogue. The automated synopsis is source-supplied, not an independently verified review. Author dates above describe the credited people; no ebook release date is presented as the book's original publication date.
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