Baudolino is a 2000 novel by Umberto Eco about a young man named Baudolino's adventures in the known and mythical Christian world of the 12th century. Fair use for article Baudolino Lowres copy of book cover. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... Photo of Umberto Eco by Robert Birnbaum Umberto Eco (born January 5, 1932) is an Italian medievalist, philosopher and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose and his many essays. ... Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on Jesus of Nazareth, whom Christians call Jesus Christ, and New Testament accounts of his life and teachings. ... (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ...

In the year of 1204, Baudolino of Alessandria enters Constantinople, unaware of the Fourth Crusade that has thrown the city into chaos. In the confusion he meets Niketas Choniates and saves his life. Niketas is amazed with his language genius, speaking any language he has ever heard, and on the question: if he is not part of the crusade, who is he? Baudolino begins to recount his life story to Niketas. // Events February - Byzantine emperor Alexius IV is overthrown in a revolution, and Alexius V is proclaimed emperor. ... Alessandria (Lisandria in Piedmontese) is a strongly fortified and impressive town and capital of the Province of Alessandria. ... Constantinople[1] was the name of the modern-day city of İstanbul, Turkey over the centuries that it served as the second capital of the unified Roman Empire, and after its division into East and West, of the Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire (from the city... The Fourth Crusade (1201–1204), originally designed to conquer Jerusalem through an invasion of Egypt, instead, in 1204, invaded and conquered the Eastern Orthodox city of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. ... Nicetas Choniates (c. ...

His story begins in 1155, when Baudolino is sold to and adopted by the emperor Frederick I. At court and on the battlefield, he is educated in reading and writing Latin and learns about the power struggles and battles of northern Italy at the time. He is sent to Paris to become a scholar. Events Frederick I Barbarossa crowned Holy Roman Emperor. ... Frederick Barbarossa in a 13th century Chronicle. ... It has been suggested that History of the Latin language be merged into this article or section. ... The Eiffel Tower, the international symbol of the city, with the skyscrapers of La Défense business district 3 miles behind. ...

In Paris, he gains friends (such as the Archpoet, Robert de Boron, and Kyot, the purported source of Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival), and learns about the mythical kingdom of Prester John. From this event onward, Baudolino dreams of reaching this fabled land. On a long journey, encompassing 25 years, Eco demonstrates the full width of his story-telling style. Baudolino meets eunuchs, unicorns and strange caricatures of men. At one point, a female satyr-like creature recounts to him the full Gnostic creation myth; Gnosticism was a pervasive presence in Eco's other novel Foucault's Pendulum. Philosophical debates are mixed with comedy, epic adventure and creatures drawn from the strangest medieval bestiaries. The avid Umberto Eco reader will notice in this work references from previous novels of Eco. The Archpoet, or Archipoeta, is a name given to the bibulous and boastful anonymous author of many of the poems contained in the Carmina Burana collection of mediæval Latin verse. ... Robert de Boron (also spelled in the manuscripts Bouron, Beron) was a French poet of the 13th century, originally from the village of Boron, in the département of Montbéliard. ... KYOT (Smooth Jazz 95. ... Portrait of Wolfram from the Codex Manesse. ... Parzival is one of the two great epic poems in Middle High German. ... Prester John The legend of Prester John (also Presbyter John), popular in Europe from the 12th through the 17th centuries, told of a mythical Christian patriarch and king said to rule over a Christian nation lost amidst the Muslims and pagans in the Orient. ... A eunuch is an infertile human male whose testicles have either been removed (deliberately or by accident) or are otherwise non-functional. ... The gentle and pensive virgin has the power to tame the unicorn, in this fresco in Palazzo Farnese, Rome, probably by Domenichino, ca 1602 The unicorn is a legendary creature embodied like a horse, but slender and with a single — usually spiral — horn growing out of its forehead (whence its... In Greek mythology, Satyrs (Σάτυροι - Satyri) are mythological half-man and half-goat nature entities that roamed the woods and mountains, and were the companions of Pan and Dionysus. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Foucaults Pendulum (original title: Il pendolo di Foucault) is a 1988 novel by Italian novelist and philosopher Umberto Eco. ... Photo of Umberto Eco by Robert Birnbaum Umberto Eco (born January 5, 1932) is an Italian medievalist, philosopher and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose and his many essays. ...

Baudolino was translated into English in 2001 by William Weaver. The novel presented a number of particular difficulties in translation, not the least of which is that there are ten or so pages written in a made-up language that is a mixture of Latin, medieval Italian, and other languages. William Fense Weaver (b. ...

Historical Characters in the Novel

• Frederick Barbarossa
• Niketas Choniates
• Robert de Boron
• Kyot
• The Old Man of the Mountain
• Henry II Jasomirgott
• Henry the Lion
• Hypatia of Alexandria
• Pope Alexander III
• Beatrice, Countess of Burgundy
• The Archpoet, whose name everyone has forgotten
• Otto of Freising

Frederick in a 13th century Chronicle Frederick I (German: Friedrich I. von Hohenstaufen)(1122 – June 10, 1190), also known as Friedrich Barbarossa (Frederick Redbeard) was elected king of Germany on March 4, 1152 and crowned Holy Roman Emperor on June 18, 1155. ... Nicetas Choniates, sometimes called Acominatus, was an historian like his brother Michael whom he accompanied from their birthplace Chonae to Constantinople. ... Robert de Boron (also spelled in the manuscripts Bouron, Beron) was a French poet of the 13th century, originally from the village of Boron, in the département of Montbéliard. ... KYOT (Smooth Jazz 95. ... Artistic Rendering of Hassan-i-Sabbah Hassan-i Sabbah, modern Persian Hæsæn-e Sæbba (Persian: بن صباح or حسن صباح) (circa 1034 - 1124), also known as The Old Man of the Mountain (Arabic: شيخ الجبل), was an Iranian IsmāīlÄ« NizarÄ« missionary who converted a community in the late 11th century in the... Heinrich (Henry) II, (1107 – January 13, 1177), Count Palatine of the Rhine 1140-1141, Margrave of Austria from 1141 to 1156, as Heinrich (Henry) XI also Duke of Bavaria from 1141 to 1156, Duke of Austria 1156-1177, was a prince from the dynasty of Babenberg. ... Coronation of Henry the Lion and Matilda of England (1188) Henry the Lion (face of statue on his tomb in Brunswick Cathedral) Henry the Lion (1129 - August 6, 1195; in German, Heinrich der Löwe) was a member of the Welf dynasty and Duke of Saxony as Henry III since... For other uses of Hypatia, see Hypatia (disambiguation). ... Alexander III, né Orlando Bandinelli (c. ... Beatrice of Burgundy (died November 15, 1184) was the daughter and heiress of Renaud III, Count of Burgundy, and the second wife and Empress of Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor. ... The Archpoet, or Archipoeta, is a name given to the bibulous and boastful anonymous author of many of the poems contained in the Carmina Burana collection of mediæval Latin verse. ... Otto of Freising (c. ...

Legendary Characters in the Novel

• Prester John
• Gagliaudo, saviour of Alessandria

Prester John The legend of Prester John (also Presbyter John), popular in Europe from the 12th through the 17th centuries, told of a mythical Christian patriarch and king said to rule over a Christian nation lost amidst the Muslims and pagans in the Orient. ... Alessandria (Lisandria in Piedmontese) is a strongly fortified and impressive town and capital of the Province of Alessandria. ...

Editions

• Harcourt (October 15, 2002; hardcover; ISBN 0151006903)
• Grasset (February 12, 2002; paperback, French; ISBN 2246615011)
• Recorded Books (October 2002; audio cassette; ISBN 1402528140)
• Distribooks (January 2003; Italian; ISBN 8845251950)
• Harvest Books (October 6, 2003; paperback; ISBN 0156029065)