Grand master

At the end of the 15th century, many skilled image carvers worked in Northern Europe. One of them, Claus Berg from Lübeck, created the beautiful and also enigmatic altarpiece, which today stands in Odense Cathedral, by royal commission. Very little is known about Berg's life; but Almester unfolds as a fantasy about this man who traveled far and wide and experienced people, warriors, artists, landscapes and much more. With this ballast, Claus Berg sets about creating the altarpiece, commissioned by Queen Christine of Denmark; a woman with whom he fell deeply in love.

In a fabulous and magical narrative style, with Claus Berg's eyes, we are whirled into the European consciousness around the year 1500 and taken to cities such as Lübeck, Danzig and Venice, where we encounter people such as Leonardo da Vinci and Albrecht Dürer, among others. The novel depicts a time when God and the Devil were perceived as quite tangible quantities.