The Pillars of the Earth

This article is about Ken Follett's novel. For the television miniseries adaptation, see The Pillars of the Earth (TV miniseries).

The Pillars of the Earth

1st edition
Author	Ken Follett
Language	English
Genre	Historical fiction
Publisher	Macmillan
Publication date	1989
Publication place	United Kingdom
Media type	print
Pages	816
ISBN	0-333-51983-3
Followed by	World Without End

The Pillars of the Earth is a historical novel by Ken Follett published in 1989 about the building of a cathedral in the fictional town of Kingsbridge, England. It is set in the middle of the 12th century, primarily during the Anarchy, between the time of the sinking of the White Ship and the murder of Thomas Becket. The book traces the development of Gothic architecture out of the preceding Romanesque architecture, and the fortunes of the Kingsbridge priory and village against the backdrop of historical events of the time.

Before this novel was published, Follett was known for writing in the thriller genre. The Pillars of the Earth became his best-selling work. The book was listed at no. 33 on the BBC's Big Read, a 2003 survey with the goal of finding the "nation's best-loved book." The book was selected in the United States for Oprah's Book Club in 2007. Follett published a sequel, entitled World Without End (2007).

Plot

Setting

Set during the reign of King Stephen and the Anarchy, the novel explores themes of intrigue and conspiracy against historical events. It explores the development of medieval architecture, the civil war, secular/religious conflicts, and shifting political loyalties.

The story is divided into six sections plus a prologue. The headings are:

• Prologue, 1123
• Part One, 1135–1136
• Part Two, 1136–1137
• Part Three, 1140–1142
• Part Four, 1142–1145
• Part Five, 1152-1155
• Part Six, 1170–1174

Plot summary

After the sinking of the White Ship. King Henry I of England is left without a clear heir, and the Anarchy begins upon his death. Two candidates (Henry's nephew Stephen of Blois and Henry's daughter Maud) present their claims, build their armies, and fight for the throne. Ambitious nobles and churchmen take sides, hoping to gain advantages.

Tom Builder and his family roam southern England, seeking work. In midwinter, his starving wife, Agnes, dies in childbirth. He encounters a woman Ellen, who lives in a forest cave with her son, Jack. (Jack's father was a French jongleur who was executed after washing ashore and meeting Ellen.) Tom settles in Kingsbridge with Ellen and Jack, and his own two children. He works for Prior Philip, who wants to expand his priory by rebuilding a cathedral. Conveniently, the old Romanesque cathedral burns down the night Tom arrives, and none suspect foul play. Tom offers to build a new church and Phillip agrees.

Philip appeals to King Stephen for financial support and is given land and the right to take stone from a nearby quarry, which has been granted to Percy Hamleigh as part of the earldom of Shiring. Percy's interests are not in supporting the cathedral. Hamleigh wants to topple the earl Bartholomew, as his daughter, Aliena, had rejected Hamleigh’s son William. William attacks Aliena and her brother Richard at the castle; he rapes the girl and injures the boy. Homeless and destitute, Aliena and Richard go to petition the king for aid; at the court, they find their dying father Bartholomew in prison, who demands they swear an oath to work for Richard to regain the earldom. Aliena supports Richard financially by becoming a wool merchant, with Phillip's help. Richard becomes a knight for King Stephen, fighting in the civil war against Maud. Richard gains the king's favour by defending him at the Battle of Lincoln.

Tom, meanwhile, has been building the cathedral, and living with his children, Alfred and Martha, his lover Ellen and her son Jack. Alfred bullies Jack. When Ellen and Tom are discovered to be unmarried, a charge of fornication is brought against them. Outraged, Ellen returns to the forest with Jack. Tom befriends Prior Philip and, when Ellen returns, he persuades Philip to allow them to marry. As masons, Jack and Alfred fight again. While the better mason and a skilled sculptor, Jack is expelled from the cathedral construction. He becomes a novice monk in order to stay in Kingsbridge.

William and Richard compete for the earldom, but it has been bankrupted by the prosperity of Kingsbridge at Shiring's expense. Attempting to restore his fortunes, William burns down Kingsbridge and kills many people, including Tom Builder. After losing her fortune again, Aliena agrees to marry Alfred, as he promised to support Richard in exchange. Jack and Aliena make love on the morning of her wedding. When she marries Alfred anyway, Ellen curses the wedding and renders him impotent.

Jack goes to France and hones his skills as a sculptor and mason. Having learned his father's identity, he meets his family in Cherbourg. He did not know that Aliena was pregnant.

In Kingsbridge, Alfred persuades Philip to replace the wooden roof with a stone vault. The building collapses during a service, killing many people. Aliena gives birth to a red-headed son, and Alfred abandons her, as he has been impotent: the baby can't be his.

Jack and Aliena return to England with their baby and they seek permission to marry. Philip forbids the union until her marriage to Alfred is annulled. This requires Waleran Bigod’s recommendation to the archibishop, but Bigod and the Hamleighs are allies, and they intend to ruin Philip and Aliena.

Meanwhile, Richard has joined the forces of Maud's son, Henry, Count of Anjou. When Henry invades, Stephen agrees to have Henry succeed him, with all properties to revert to those who had owned them prior to Stephen’s reign. Frustrated that Richard will not gain the earldom until Stephen's death, Aliena persuades William's young wife, Elizabeth, to hand the castle over to them. William returns to the village of Hamleigh as sheriff.

After many years, Kingsbridge cathedral is completed. Waleran accuses Prior Philip of fornication by claiming the monk Jonathan is Philip's son. Ellen swears that Jonathan is Tom Builder’s son. After Waleran accuses her of perjury, she exposes his complicity in a conspiracy to sink the White Ship carrying William Adelin, heir of King Henry I. Ruined, Bigod lives out his days as a monk.

Meanwhile, William Hamleigh has become involved with the plot to assassinate Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury. William is convicted and hanged for his part. The Pope forces King Henry’s public repentance and symbolic subjugation of the crown to the church.

Background

In the 1999 Preface to The Pillars of the Earth Follett tells readers that he grew up in a Puritan-based family, whose worship space was very spare. In preparing for writing, he was reading about medieval architecture, and

...developed an interest in cathedrals. Before too long, it occurred to me to channel this enthusiasm into a novel. I knew it had to be a long book. It took at least thirty years to build a cathedral and most took longer because they would run out of money, or be attacked or invaded. So the story covers the entire lives of the main characters. My publishers were a little nervous about such a very unlikely subject but, paradoxically, it is my most popular book. It's also the book I'm most proud of. It recreates, quite vividly, the entire life of the village and the people who live there. You feel you know the place and the people as intimately as if you yourself were living there in the Middle Ages.

The Preface includes the following sources:

1. An Outline of European Architecture, by Nicholas Pevsner.
2. The Cathedral Builders, by Jean Gimpel.
3. The Medieval Machine, by Jean Gimpel.

The novel's Kingsbridge is fictional. He set it in Marlborough, Wiltshire; Follett chose it as the cathedrals of Winchester, Gloucester, and Salisbury could be reached from there within a few days on horseback. Kingsbridge Cathedral as described is based on the cathedrals of Wells and Salisbury.

Major characters

• Jack Jackson (known also as Jack Builder): son of Jack Shareburg (Jacques Cherbourg) and Ellen; he becomes an architect and skilled stonemason.
• Tom Builder: A builder whose lifelong dream is to build a cathedral.
• Ellen: daughter of a knight. She was unusual in knowing English, French and Latin, and in being literate. The lover of Jack Shareburg and the mother of Jack Jackson, she is discovered by Tom Builder while living in the woods.
• Prior Philip: A monk who dreams of Kingsbridge rising to greatness with a cathedral.
• William Hamleigh: The son of a minor lord, he temporarily gains the earldom of Shiring but eventually loses it to Richard, the son of the former earl, Bartholomew.
• Aliena: daughter to the Earl of Shiring, and the intended bride of William Hamleigh.
• Richard (Richard of Kingsbridge): Aliena's younger brother, a knight who becomes a skilled soldier and leader, depending on Aliena for revenues from her wool business.
• Alfred Builder: Tom's son, a mason who later marries Aliena.
• Agnes: first wife of Tom Builder and mother of Martha and Alfred.
• Martha: daughter of Tom, sister to Alfred, stepsister to Jack.
• Bishop Waleran Bigod: an ambitious and corrupt cleric constantly scheming his way to more power.
• Jonathan: Son of Tom and Agnes Builder, he was raised from infancy by Prior Philip.
• Lord Percy Hamleigh, Earl of Shiring: father of William, he disposes of the rebel Earl Bartholomew and gains the earldom.
• Lady Regan Hamleigh, Countess of Shiring: William Hamleigh's mother.

Minor characters

• Jack Shareburg (Jacques Cherbourg): a jongleur who survives the wreck of the White Ship to become the lover of Ellen and father of Jack Jackson; executed.
• Francis of Gwynedd: Philip's brother, orphaned with him in Wales and raised by monks; became a secular priest with royal connections.
• Tommy (later called Thomas): son of Jack and Aliena. With a talent for administration and command, he becomes the Earl of Shiring.
• Sally: daughter of Jack and Aliena. She becomes a stained glass artisan working on the Kingsbridge Cathedral.
• Raschid Alharoun: Jack's friend in Toledo, a Christian Arab merchant who introduces him to the scholarly world.
• Walter: William Hamleigh's groom/squire. Accompanies him through much of the novel.
• Johnny Eightpence: A monk who cares for baby Jonathan.
• Remigius: The former Sub-Prior of Kingsbridge who tries to secure the position of Prior.
• Cuthbert Whitehead: Kingsbridge Priory's cellarer. An early ally of Philip after his arrival in Kingsbridge.
• Milius Bursar: Kingsbridge Priory's bursar, he is an early ally of Philip.
• Elizabeth: betrothed to William Hamleigh, she is beaten by him on their wedding night. Later befriended by Aliena and surrenders the keep to Richard's forces.
• Bartholomew, Earl of Shiring: father of Aliena and Richard, he earns the enmity of the Hamleighs and is jailed for treason.

Adaptations

Board games

Three separate board games have been developed that are based on The Pillars of the Earth:

• A German-style board game by Michael Rieneck and Stefan Stadler was published in 2006 by Kosmos and released at the Spiel game fair as Die Säulen der Erde . The game sold out long before the fair ended. It has been awarded the 2007 Deutscher Spiele Preis, the Spanish "Game of the Year 2007" and the Norwegian "Best Family Game of 2007" and the GAMES Magazine Game of the Year 2007.
• A 2-player game was published by Kosmos in Germany and reprinted in the US as Pillars of the Earth: Builder's Duel.
• A trivia game, attributed to E. Follett, was first published in 2008 by the British publisher Sophisticated Games.

Television adaptation

Main article: The Pillars of the Earth (TV miniseries)

A German-Canadian co-production was developed by the Munich-based Tandem Communications and Montreal-based Muse Entertainment, in association with Ridley Scott's Scott Free Films, to adapt the novel for a television movie. It premiered on July 23, 2010, in Canada on The Movie Network/Movie Central and in the United States on Starz. Its UK premiere was in October 2010 on Channel 4. The Australian premiere was 9 December 2012 on ABC1.

See also

• The Cathedral by Joris-Karl Huysmans
• Anno 1404

External links

• The Pillars of the Earth on Ken Follett's website
• IMDb listing for Mini-series
• Tandem Communications' Pillars pages