Jørgen Riber Christensen
- the hint sheet
Prince Manfred, the tyrant of Otranto, has a devoted wife, Hippolita;
a son, Conrad; and a daughter, Matilda. At his wedding to Isabella
of Vicenza, Conrad is crushed to death by a vast, black-plumed helmet, which
belongs to the nearby statue of the Old Prince, Alfonso the
Good. A bold young man in the crowd is accused of causing Conrad's death and
imprisoned beneath the helm.
Manfred, distracted by a cryptic prophecy, determines that he must have an heir
to Otranto. Wildly he decrees that he will divorce Hippolita and marry Isabella,
at which the portrait of his grandfather descends accusingly from the wall,
beckons him away, and vanishes. Meanwhile the terrified Isabella tries to escape
through a gloomy vault at night, where she is assisted by the mysterious young
man who has escaped from the helm. Manfred begins a frenzied search for Isabella,
only to be confronted by Friar Jerome, who has given the girl sanctuary
in his nearby monastery. The young man, Theodore, now accused of being
Isabella's lover, is discovered to be Jerome's son, and Jerome is revealed as
the count of Falconara.
The black plumes wave, and Frederic of Vicenza arrives, demanding Isabella
and the resignation of Manfred. But Isabella has vanished from the monastery.
Matilda secretly frees and arms Theodore, who rescues Isabella in an eerie forest
cave and wounds her father, whom he mistakes for an enemy. When all are again
gathered at the castle he relates the story of his destitute and wandering life,
and Jerome confirms that Theodore's mother was indeed the daughter of Alfonso.
Both Isabella and Matilda have now come to love Theodore. Matilda refuses as
passionately to be given to Frederic as Isabella refuses to accept Manfred.
Blood runs from the nose of Alfonso's statue.
On hearing a rumour that Isabella is with Theodore in the churchyard, Manfred
rushes thither, and stabs the woman only to find it is his daughter, Matilda.
His grief, and Hippolita's, is terrible. The walls of the castle fall, and the
giant image of Alfonso rises to heaven. Manfred reveals that his grandfather
poisoned Alfonso in order to gain Otranto. He and Hippolita retire to the religious
life, and eventually Isabella marries Theodore, the new and rightful Prince.
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