In the year 1482, on a freezing, winter night in the midst of a heavy snowstorm, a solitary and penniless young man, fleeing from an abusive and violent home, sought refuge in a Benedictine monastery in the German province of Sponheim. This young man was the legendary Johannes Trithemius. Within a few months of his entrance into the monastery, he attained the position of abbot, and very soon after, he established himself as the friend and confidante...