Bauudoolino Sparknotes

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Recommended: Short note about crusades

In his historical fiction novel “Baudolino”, Umberto Eco provides the reader with a fantastical view of the history of the period between 1150 and 1204, through the eyes of the homonymous protagonist. The focus is on medieval Europe and Eco comically, yet accurately, chronicles the political and religious upheavals of the time of the Crusades with great attention to historical fact.
During the sacking of Constantinople of 1204, Baudolino saves the life of a high-ranking Byzantine historian – Niketas Choniate, an actual historian from the period, and proceeds to tell him the story of his life and how he shaped history, masterfully weaving together fact and fiction. Baudolino is born in a peasant family in Northern Italy. As a boy, he meets …show more content…

In this figure, the rulers of the European Christian civilization hoped for an ally against the Muslims in the battle to redeem the holy city of Jerusalem. A 13th-century chronicler, Alberic de Trois-Fontaines, recorded that in 1165, a letter was sent by this Prester John to Frederick Barbarossa as well as to the Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus. The chapter tells the story of the forging of this letter by Baudolino and his friends. It presents us with a funny, yet thought-provoking example of the process of making a realistic falsification. While reading this chapter, I was often reminded of the forgeries in the Scarith of Scornello. Like Curzio Inghirami, Baudolino begins by relating to universal history and the Bible. The story of Prester John and his kingdom closely matches the myths and legends that had circulated in Medieval Europe, in addition to featuring many Biblical allusions. The letter provides its readers with evidence for what they want to believe and with justification for what they want to do. Apart from trying to confirm the legends of Prester John, it also talks about the Holy Grail – another mythical reverie of the Christians of that age. The forgery is so persuasive, that by the time they finish it, even its authors have almost convinced themselves that the parchment had just arrived from the kingdom of Prester

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