Death of William of Ockham
William of Ockham, the influential Franciscan friar and philosopher, lies dying in his friary cell in Munich, surrounded by his brethren and a physician. The Black Death has claimed many lives, and no
Setting
A small, dimly lit Franciscan friary cell in Munich, Bavaria. The room is sparse, with stone walls and a narrow window that lets in minimal light. The air is thick with the scent of illness and incense. A simple wooden bed dominates the space, surrounded by religious icons and a few personal belongings.
Characters
William of Ockham
primary
A gaunt, middle-aged Franciscan friar with sharp facial features and deep-set eyes. His once-prominent frame is now withered by illness, with hollow cheeks and thinning grey hair. His hands, once used for writing revolutionary philosophical works, now tremble weakly on the bedcover.
Franciscan Prior
secondary
An elderly man in his late 60s, with a gaunt frame and deeply lined face. His white hair is tonsured in the Franciscan style, and his pale blue eyes are sharp despite his age. His hands are bony but steady, with prominent veins.
Young Friar
secondary
A novice Franciscan in his early twenties, slender with a pale complexion and short-cropped brown hair. His youthful face is marked by worry lines and a faint shadow of stubble, suggesting days of vigil. His hands are delicate, more accustomed to prayer than labor, with ink stains on his fingertips from copying manuscripts.
Physician
background
A middle-aged man with a gaunt face and deep-set eyes, his skin slightly weathered from years of tending to the sick. His hands are slender and precise, bearing the marks of frequent washing and the occasional burn from medicinal preparations. His posture suggests both fatigue and resignation, his shoulders slightly hunched from the weight of countless lost battles against the plague.
Dialog
William of Ockham
Were it not for this pestilence... Ockham would argue that your syllogism fails... in the third term...
Franciscan Prior
Silence, frater! We administer the Extrema Unctio, not disputatio.
William of Ockham
Entia non sunt multiplicanda... praeter necessitatem... even in final hours...
Franciscan Prior
Your razor cuts nothing now, heretic. Confess your errors before Dis Pater claims you.
William of Ockham
The... universals... remain... whether Paris... or Munich... acknowledges them...