Dirk Schumer does not see his novel The Black Rose as a “direct sequel” to the world bestseller The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. In an interview with SWR2, the author, journalist and Italy expert admitted: “The book had a huge impact on me at the time.” 40 years after its publication, he read Umberto Eco’s novel again and found it publicly ended. “Prehistoric, beggary monks revolutionary against the very wealthy pope and the Inquisition, still open.”
A story about the state and its tyranny
He focuses in his work on the phenomenon of the state, which was invented at the time when ecological investigator William Baskerville lived. That’s why his book “has more to do with a story about the state and its tyranny,” Schumer says.
Schumer, like Echo, makes clear that he is committed to stylistic irony. The central character in the plot, a Dominican Westphalian apprentice named Wittekind, who lives at the Pope’s court in Avignon, is skeptical. “Maybe you brought it in from the modern age,” Schumer admits.
Schumer said he attaches special importance in his story to medieval sensuality, because at that time people were not living under social control as we do. What is recent in his book is the dispute between the individual and the state over power: “How do I deal with the state’s claim to power—I have tried to address that in an amusing way,” says Schumer.
Dirk Schumer Born in West/Westphalia in 1962. He studied German, Philosophy and Medieval History and was a correspondent for Europe and Italy for the FAZ Advantage Division until 2014 before moving to the WELT Group in the same position. Schumer is also an appointed member of the German Academy of Football Culture.
“Explorer. Communicator. Music geek. Web buff. Social media nerd. Food fanatic.”
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