The Inquisitor’s Tale

Adam Gidwitz

80 pages 2-hour read

Adam Gidwitz

The Inquisitor’s Tale

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2016

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Character List

Meet the key characters, with insights into their roles, motivations, and relationships—spoiler-free.

Major Characters

Jeanne is a peasant girl who develops the power of sight and prophecy after experiencing convulsive fits. She is courageous and empathetic, using her visions to assist those who are overlooked by broader society. Relying on the upper classes' tendency to underestimate peasants, she cleverly tricks her pursuers to protect herself and her friends.

Key Relationships

Protected by Gwenforte the Dog

Friend of Jacob

Friend of William

Mentored by Old Teresa

Captured by Sir Fabian

Befriended by The King

Pursued by Michelangelo

William is an oblate at the Monastery Saint-Martin and the illegitimate son of a Crusader and an unknown North African woman. He possesses miraculous physical strength and a deep scholarly intellect. As a biracial youth in medieval France, he frequently faces bigotry and assumes he will be treated as an outsider by those around him.

Key Relationships

Friend of Jeanne

Friend of Jacob

Student of Brother Bartholomew

Subordinate to Abbot Hubert

Chronicled by Old Jerome

Investigated by The Inquisitor

Jacob is a young Jewish boy with miraculous healing powers. After hateful peasants burn his neighborhood, he sets out for Saint-Denis armed with deep faith and practical medical knowledge. He maintains a rational, pragmatic perspective that frequently contrasts with the credulous behavior of the knights and monks around him.

Key Relationships

Friend of Jeanne

Friend of William

Rescuer of Aron

Cousin of Yehuda

Cousin-in-law of Miriam

Antagonist of Blanche de Castile

Captive of Marmeluc

Subject of The King

Michelangelo, often called the Red Monk or Michelangelo de Bologna, is a gigantic, ruddy, and hairy figure. Initially appearing as a terrifying religious zealot hunting down suspected witches in peasant villages, his imposing stature terrifies those he approaches. His true motives slowly come to light as he tracks the magical children across the French countryside.

Key Relationships

Pursuer of Jeanne

Rescuer of Old Teresa

Enemy of Abbot Hubert

Friendly Debater with Yehuda

Supplicant to The King

Ally of William

The Inquisitor is a highly intelligent Papal spy tasked with investigating the supposed miracles of the three children and their dog. Originally seeking to distinguish himself by destroying their "pagan cult," he secretly tracks their movements, observing their powers firsthand while strictly documenting their actions for the church.

Key Relationships

Investigator of Jeanne

Investigator of William

Investigator of Jacob

Investigator of Gwenforte the Dog

Rescuer of Blanche de Castile

Subject of The King

Gwenforte is a beautiful white greyhound with a copper-colored nose. Revered locally as a holy beast after returning from the dead, she is deeply bonded to Jeanne and fiercely protects the children. She relies on her sharp animal instincts to judge the moral character of strangers they encounter on their journey.

Key Relationships

Guardian of Jeanne

Companion of William

Companion of Jacob

Antagonist of Blanche de Castile

Investigated by The Inquisitor

Hunted by Sir Fabian

Known publicly as "Hubert the Good," the Abbot of Saint-Denis is a religious authority who is completely incapable of lying. Driven to extreme paranoia by a terrifying supernatural encounter in his youth, he operates as a dangerous and bloodthirsty zealot.

Key Relationships

Superior of William

Enemy of Michelangelo

Persecutor of Jeanne

Persecutor of Jacob

Persecutor of Gwenforte the Dog

Subject of The King

King Louis of France is a powerful young monarch. Though he casually expresses bigotry toward his Jewish subjects and supports burning their holy texts, he strictly enforces their physical protection and shows genuine awe when interacting with the magical children.

Key Relationships

Son of Blanche de Castile

Employer of The Companion

Friend of Jeanne

Ruler of Jacob

Ruler of William

Approached by Michelangelo

Blanche de Castile is the King's intensely haughty mother. She instantly dislikes the children upon meeting them in the palace corridors, deliberately insulting Jacob and fiercely championing the mass burning of the Talmud.

Key Relationships

Mother of The King

Antagonist of Jacob

Antagonist of Jeanne

Antagonist of William

Antagonist of Gwenforte the Dog

Rescued by The Inquisitor

Supporting Characters

Sir Fabian is the leader of a ragged group of knights tasked with destroying Gwenforte's grove. Disinherited by his family for killing innocent doctors during the Crusades, he suffers from severe trauma and night terrors that manifest as a high-pitched howling sound while he sleeps.

Key Relationships

Captor of Jeanne

Commander of Marmeluc

Marmeluc is one of the crusader knights who helps capture Jeanne and Jacob. Unlike his strictly hostile peers, he shows an open curiosity toward different cultures and engages Jacob in a thoughtful conversation to better understand the tenets of Judaism.

Key Relationships

Subordinate to Sir Fabian

Captor of Jacob

Old Teresa is the wise woman in Jeanne's peasant village. She takes Jeanne under her wing when the girl begins to predict the future, offering guidance and care until the imposing monk Michelangelo suddenly takes her away to face accusations.

Key Relationships

Mentor of Jeanne

Rescued by Michelangelo

Brother Bartholomew is a senior monk at the Monastery Saint-Martin. He delivers bigoted lectures claiming that peasants, women, and non-Christians are in league with the devil, which deeply offends William and sparks a destructive conflict.

Key Relationships

Teacher of William

Fellow Monk of Old Jerome

Old Jerome is the librarian of the Monastery Saint-Martin. Acting as a storyteller, he recounts William's early years at the monastery, describing the boy's incredible size and the intellectual disputes that lead to his expulsion.

Key Relationships

Chronicler of William

Fellow Monk of Brother Bartholomew

Fellow Storyteller of The Nun

Aron is a large butcher from Jacob's village. After his community is destroyed in a violent raid, his severe burn wounds are miraculously healed by Jacob using yarrow root and prayer.

Key Relationships

Saved by Jacob

Fellow Storyteller of Old Jerome

Yehuda is Jacob's cousin and a highly respected rabbi living in Saint-Denis. He provides a safe haven for the children and patiently explains the rising tensions surrounding the impending destruction of Jewish holy texts in Paris.

Key Relationships

Cousin of Jacob

Husband of Miriam

Friendly Debater with Michelangelo

Miriam is Yehuda's wife. She offers gentle care and comfort to Jacob, William, and Jeanne, putting the grieving and exhausted children to bed after they arrive in Saint-Denis.

Key Relationships

Wife of Yehuda

Cousin-in-law of Jacob

Caretaker of Jeanne

The Companion is an elegant, handsomely dressed man serving in the King's retinue. He acts as a decoy monarch in an abbey garden to protect the real king from strangers, though Jeanne's unique vision easily penetrates the disguise.

Key Relationships

Decoy and Companion of The King

Discovered by Jeanne

Marie is a brewster with close knowledge of Jeanne's early life. Sitting at a tavern table, she shares the history of Gwenforte's resurrection and details Jeanne's first prophetic fits to an eager audience.

Key Relationships

Storyteller of Jeanne

Fellow Storyteller of The Nun

The Nun is a mysterious little old woman who contributes significantly to recounting the children's journey. She possesses uncanny knowledge of the children's private thoughts and visions, leading others to suspect she has strange powers of her own.

Key Relationships

Fellow Storyteller of Marie

Fellow Storyteller of Old Jerome

Storyteller of Jeanne

The Jongleur is a clever, red-headed traveling entertainer. Observing the children and knights at a market town, he embeds himself with their captors by singing bawdy songs in exchange for food and protection.

Key Relationships

Storyteller of Jeanne

Entertainer of Sir Fabian

The Chronicler is a visiting monk from Scotland. He crosses paths with the children at Lord Bertulf's hall and vividly recounts their bizarre, dangerous encounter with a poisonous, flatulent dragon.

Key Relationships

Storyteller of Jacob

Guest of Lord Bertulf

Lord Bertulf is a local nobleman who hosts Sir Fabian's knights, the captive children, and a visiting chronicler. He demands that the knights slay a marauding dragon in exchange for an escort to Saint-Denis, setting up Jacob's bizarre confrontation with the beast.

Key Relationships

Host of Sir Fabian

Host of The Chronicler

Employer of Jacob