Barbara Blomberg — Volume 07

A fierce storm drives Barbara toward the remote Prebrunn castle, where she is met not by the expected welcome but by a sudden confrontation with a young Wittenberg theologian, Erasmus Eckhart, who has been caught in the darkness near the gate. Mistaking his presence for theft, the marquise orders his capture, and despite Barbara’s protests that he is a respectable scholar, the guards bind him and haul him away amid the howling wind and the clamor of servants.

The incident quickly draws the attention of the castle’s clergy, who assert ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the property and plan to hand Erasmus over to the Spanish Dominicans for a harsher judgment. As the storm subsides, Barbara retreats to her chambers, weighed down by the clash of duty, loyalty, and the looming threat to Erasmus’s fate. The scene sets a vivid picture of medieval intrigue, where personal honor and institutional power collide under the shadow of a tempestuous night.