Saint Leibowitz

Saint Leibowitz was a character in the science fiction novels "A Canticle for Leibowitz" and "Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman" written by Walter M. Miller, Jr. His full name was Isaac Edward Leibowitz and he was married to a woman by the name of Emily. He lived during a time when there was a great deal of concern about nuclear war in the United States which Miller referred to as “The Flame Deluge.” Leibowitz was a technician who drafted a blueprint for a transistorized control system. This blueprint was later discovered and replicated by a monk named Brother Frances centuries later.

After the disappearance and assumed death of his wife Emily, he took a vow and became a priest. After many years in the priesthood and a lot of moving around he received permission to establish a religious community that was dedicated to preserving history for the generations to come. The community consisted of people who smuggled books that were hidden for preservation and memorizers that would rewrite the books in case the smugglers were caught and the books were destroyed. Leibowitz felt it was very important to preserve documents so that children of the future would be able to educate themselves about their heritage. He was considered to be a martyr for the cause of preserving history because he was caught and strangled by the mob while smuggling books. The mob destroyed a great deal of the documents and books that were hidden in kegs and when all was said and done after the war only a few books and documents remained. Centuries later the monks still kept the items preserved in hopes that the future generations would want to know their heritage.

He was considered to be a hero to the monks who resided at the abbey. A carved statue of Leibowitz was kept at the monastery which was named after him in honor of his contributions to society. The monks referred to him as Beatus, which means blessed, Leibowitz prior to the canticle ceremony but he was officially called Saint Leibowitz afterward (Brians 2007, 3).

Saint Isaac Edward Leibowitz was certainly a pioneer for archivists. He was revered and respected by many, especially the monks at the abbey. Even centuries after his death his example influenced other monks to continue the work of preserving written documents for the sake of future generations. Had it not been for Saint Leibowitz’s foresight, the future generations could have been deprived of their heritage.

References

Miller, Walter M., Jr. 1959. "A canticle for Leibowitz." New York: Bantam Books.

External Sources

Brians, Paul. Study guide for Walter M. Miller, Jr.: a canticle for Leibowitz (1959). http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/science_fiction/canticle.html (accessed March 14, 2008).