Narcissus and Goldmund

In medieval Germany, the boy Goldmund is placed in a monastery school, where he befriends Narcissus, a young teacher devoted to study and prayer. Narcissus sees that his friend is an artist at heart, and Goldmund leaves to wander the land, driven by love, appetite and a longing for beauty, while plague and hardship surround him. The novel sets the life of the spirit against the life of the senses, and shows a lasting friendship between two very different men.