Chapter 1 Summary

A Canticle for Leibowitz follows a Catholic monastic order in its 18-century effort to preserve the legacy of human knowledge as mankind repeatedly destroys itself in nuclear flames.

During his Lenten fast in the desert, novice Brother Francis Gerard of Utah sees on the horizon a wiggling iota of black, which terrifies him. Only monsters, which abound in the wilderness, or the addle-witted would hike the desert at noon. As the iota approaches, it resolves into a spindly old man with a spiked staff, hat, beard, sandals, and water skin. His loins are girded in burlap, and he seems too frail to be harmful, but Francis cautiously hides behind a pile of rubble to watch. Rarely do three strangers a year take the road from the Great Salt Lake to Old El Paso, past the abbey and its oasis. At noon, the ruins...