The pillars of the earth

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The Pillars of the Earth ( Engl. Original The Pillars of the Earth , published in 1989) is a historical novel by Ken Follett , who in medieval England plays of the 12th century. The story of Salisbury Cathedral is considered a model for the novel. In the foreword to the German edition of Jean Gimpels Die Kathedralenbauer , Follett writes how this book enabled him to create the novel.

The continuation of the novel with the title "World Without End" was published in English at the beginning of October 2007 and on February 29, 2008 in German under the title " Die Tore der Welt ".

On September 12, 2017, the third part of the so-called Kingsbridge series was published under the title “ The Foundation of Eternity ”.

For September 15, 2020, the publication of a fourth book in the Kingsbridge series, entitled "Kingsbridge - Der Morgen einer neue Zeit" (Original The Evening and the Morning ), was announced, which plays before "The Pillars of the Earth" .

background

In 1135, the then English King Henry I died at the age of 67 and, since his only legitimate son perished in a shipwreck , only a number of illegitimate sons and his daughter Matilda , who was to succeed him. However, the nephew of the late king, Stephan , contests her throne. His coronation as the new King of England and his non-recognition by Matilda lead from a war of succession to the throne to a civil war that lasted twenty years .

The consequences of this civil war have an impact on the lives of the fictional characters, including Prior Philip, the builder of a cathedral, Tom Builder, his master builder and family, and the nobles Aliena, Richard and William, whom the reader has followed for almost 50 years.

Part of the story is mainly devoted to the development of architecture in the construction of churches in the Middle Ages, which is presented very clearly and graphically. At the beginning of the story, the Romanesque is described in the massive construction and the typical round arches and barrel vaults . In the course of history, the trend towards more progressive building methods in the Gothic style was picked up, in which higher buildings with larger windows could be erected with less material expenditure - in this context Abbot Suger of Saint Denis near Paris appears . In addition, the construction techniques such as pointed arches and cross vaults are explained in detail.

Plot (overview)

Against the historical background of medieval England, the construction of a cathedral in the fictional town of Kingsbridge in southern England is the focus of the novel, which is divided into six books.

Philip, a progressive thinking young prior, wants to make his dream of peace a reality with the help of stonemason Tom Builder: the construction of a new cathedral. In a long period of bloody conflict between the nobility, the clergy and the people suffering from exploitation and need, they have to prevail against their adversaries Lord William Hamleigh and the power-obsessed Bishop Waleran Bigod with the help of the former count's daughter Aliena until they are completed .

Plot (detail)

prolog

A young man, unknown to the local onlookers, is hanged on the place of execution in a village, who has been found guilty of stealing a valuable chalice. A young woman from the crowd curses the three people who brought the delinquent to the gallows: a priest who claims to have seen the theft, a monk who identified the stolen object as the property of the monastery, and a knight from its custody the young man is said to have run away.

First book (1135–1136)

In search of work, the stonemason Tom Builder, his wife Agnes and the children Martha (7) and Alfred (14) go hungry and freezing through the country. When Agnes gives birth to a son in the middle of the forest, she dies of bleeding. Tom Builder abandons the child because he is unable to feed them. A priest named Francis finds the boy on his way to see his brother Philip, a young prior of a monastery cell nearby. Philip takes the baby and wants to raise it in the convent. The little boy is given the name Jonathan by the monks in the monastery cell.

After the death of his wife Agnes, Tom falls in love with the outlawed Ellen, whom they have already met while looking for work. She and her son Jack (11) join him, on their wanderings there are always tensions between Alfred and Jack. Tom's conscience is troubled by the abandonment of the infant. Ellen, however, observed Francis' discovery unnoticed and can convince Tom to leave the baby in the care of the monks. With a heavy heart, but happy that the boy is alive, Tom and Ellen move on with their children and find work and accommodation at the castle of Count Bartholomäus von Shiring.

When Philip learns of the planned overthrow of the new King Stephen through his brother Francis, he decides to send a warning to his superior, represented by the episcopal archdeacon Waleran Bigod. In Kingsbridge, the mother priory of the Philips monastery cell, he is nominated on the return journey to succeed the deceased prior and - with the support of Waleran - elected. In return, Philip must then support him in the election of a bishop . After his election as the new prior of Kingsbridge, Philip moves to the monastery in Kingsbridge with little Jonathan to take up his office there.

Waleran passes on the information he has received from Philip about the planned conspiracy to the Hamleigh landlord family, who have been enemies with the conspirator Bartholomew since the latter broke the wedding of their son William Hamleigh with Aliena von Shiring (15). The Hamleighs capture the castle of Count Bartholomew of Shiring and take him prisoner.

Tom, Ellen and their children, who had recently found work at the castle and met Aliena, are now unemployed again. They move on to Kingsbridge Monastery, where Tom recognizes his abandoned son, Jonathan. He does not reveal himself to the monks as the father of the little boy. After a fire started by Jack and the associated collapse of the ailing monastery church, Philip hires Tom to demolish the old church and build a new cathedral.

When Philip's opponent in the monastery, Brother Remigius, finds out that Tom and Ellen are living together out of wedlock, Ellen has to leave Tom, which is not difficult for her, because of Alfred's dangerous aggression towards her son, as well as because of her deep dislike for the church that she sees responsible for the death of Jack's father twelve years earlier.

Second book (1136–1137)

Bishop Waleran and Prior Philip have obtained an audience with King Stephen to ask him to finance the construction of the cathedral from the lands of Shiring County and its funds. They argue that the conspiracy was only exposed by the two clerics . But the Hamleighs are also making claims, since they set Bartholomew as a conspirator and handed over to the king. Through her Philip also learns that Waleran's interest in Shiring is purely selfish: he plans to build a castle for himself. So the prior secretly agreed with the Hamleighs, unbeknownst to the Walerans, to share the county with them, with the priory receiving grazing land for their sheep and the right to take stones from the quarry and wood from the Shiring forest for the Construction of the cathedral. The king agrees to this compromise and leaves the county to the Hamleighs. Philip has now made Waleran, his bishop, an enemy.

Meanwhile penniless, Aliena (17) and Richard (14), the children of the imprisoned Bartholomew von Shiring, live alone with one last remaining servant in the castle. That changes when suddenly the humiliated Lord William of Hamleigh (21) and his servant appear, kill the servant and rape Aliena in front of Richard's eyes. The siblings flee and make their way to the royal seat in Winchester to obtain the release of their father. Since the king is not currently there, the children try to at least see their father in the dungeon. With the financial help of a wool merchant and the bribe of the guard, the siblings meet their dying father in the dungeon. He takes the oath from them not to rest until Richard is again the rightful Earl of Shiring. Aliena vows to support her brother in this.

In their search for work, they suffer many setbacks before Aliena slowly starts to prosper by buying and selling wool, supported by Prior Philip, who also trades in wool. The siblings eventually move to Kingsbridge.

The construction of the cathedral in Kingsbridge is confronted with difficulties when the Hamleighs refuse the priory stone cutters promised entry to the quarry by force of arms. However, through a peaceful demonstration with all the monks to whom the armed men do not dare to harm, Philip succeeds in retaking the quarry.

Waleran and the Hamleighs now ally against Philip. They want to see that the construction of the cathedral continues in Shiring instead of Kingsbridge. To this end, they plan to show the responsible archbishop the desolate situation on the construction site. But Philip is warned that he calls on the residents of the surrounding villages to work in the church against forgiveness of their sins, with the result that the archbishop is presented with a handsome picture of a large construction site on his arrival. After all, the cathedral building will not be moved.

Ellen also returns to Tom. Alfred and Jack, now older, still hate each other, but hold back more than before. Jack also falls in love with Aliena.

Third book (1140–1142)

The third book begins with the death of Count Percy von Shiring. In addition to his son William (24), Richard von Kingsbridge (17), who is now a knight in King Stephen's service financed by Aliena, also makes claims to the county, but William can assert himself with the king. He rules his fiefdom with cruelty and arbitrariness. The prince, who is addicted to assertion, tries to gain respect through murder, rape and pillage.

Kingsbridge has now grown into a city. A weekly market on the large construction site brings additional income to the monastery, which, however, competes with Williams' market in Shiring. Therefore, encouraged by Waleran, he takes possession of the priory's quarry in retaliation by force of arms. When Philip calls the king on this matter, Mathilde's rebels attack him before he can take care of Philips. The ensuing battle is won by the rebels, the king is captured, but both Richard and William escape; the latter runs over to Mathilde. The new ruler decides the dispute between the lord and Philip by awarding William the quarry, but at least granting the priory market rights.

Jack (17) and Aliena (22) become friends when they discover their mutual interest in nature and literature. Slowly more is developing, and at one of their meetings Jack even breathes a quick kiss on the lips. Alfred (20) and Aliena take over the organization of a new building for Kingsbridge Church. Alfred Aliena makes a marriage proposal; however, she refuses. The captured Stephan is released in exchange for the also captured leader of the rebels, Mathilde's half-brother Robert of Gloucester .

To save costs, Aliena is now processing her wool into cloth. But none of her workers want to take on the strenuous flexing work . That's why Jack designed a fulling mill powered by water power for this process. Thankfully, the two of them kiss. But because Aliena reminds her of her rape by William, she suddenly runs away and then doesn't speak to Jack for months.

After a provocation by Alfred, he and Jack engage in a hunt like before, in which the two damage the construction site. The guild then dismisses Jack, the lower rank. But Prior Philip appoints Jack as his building supervisor on the condition that he enters the monastery.

Kingsbridge is organizing its own to resist Williams' high lease fees at the Shiringer Wool Fair. It is very successful, especially for the market giant Aliena, until the jealous and humiliated Sir William arrives with his mounted men and the fair and the city burn down. Many people die in the massacre, including Tom Builder, while the livelihoods of many people, e.g. B. Alienas and thus also Richards, are destroyed. After this severe blow to the monastery, the building of the cathedral is on the brink.

Fourth book (1142–1145)

William Hamleigh (26) changes sides again immediately after the destruction of Kingsbridge; at Waleran's instigation he is now a follower of King Stephen again. Since he urgently needs every man in the civil war, William will be forgiven for his previous change of front.

Prior Philip plans to rebuild Kingsbridge and appoints Alfred Builder (21) as master builder. Aliena (22) has moved into a small house in the poor district. In order to find a financial backer for his military equipment, Richard (19) married his sister to Alfred. Jack (18) breaks out of disciplinary detention in the monastery to meet Aliena before her wedding. At this meeting there is an intimate encounter: the two kiss and sleep together, this time without Aliena's memories tormenting them. Jack cannot dissuade her from their marriage of convenience, however, as Aliena is committed to the oath she swore to her father. Eventually he learns from Alfred that he does not marry Aliena out of love, but only out of hatred towards Jack.

At Alfred and Aliena's wedding, Ellen curses the marriage while her son is already on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela , where he wants to look for the family of his dead father. Alfred is a bad husband from the start and Aliena quickly realizes that Alfred doesn't love her. She begins to regret her decision, and Alfred for his frosty and unpopular, z. T. brutal way of hating. She realizes that she is pregnant - from Jack, her real love.

Philip has promised the construction workers a bonus if they can finish the choir before Pentecost . This succeeds, but during Pentecost Mass, during the Aliena gives birth to her son and Bishop Waleran announces that Sir William has been confirmed as Count of Shiring, the vaulted ceiling falls down on the believers, because the stone vault built by Alfred against Tom's original plans was too heavy. There are many dead and seriously injured. Philip's energy is exhausted. He gives up the plan to build a cathedral. Together with her baby, Aliena then sets off to Spain to look for Jack.

He is now in Toledo , where he purchases a statue of the Madonna from an Arab convert that sheds tears when the temperature changes due to crystalline eyes. During his journey, Jack gets to know the Gothic architectural style and is fascinated by it. He realizes that higher and light-flooded cathedrals can be built with it, since the stability, in contrast to the Romanesque churches, is essentially based on supporting columns and pointed arches. Aliena and Jack meet again in the Paris suburb of St. Denis . Jack names his son after his late stepfather Tom.

When Jack is able to bring a popular uprising to a standstill by presenting the weeping Madonna as a miracle of God, he comes up with the idea of ​​marketing her. On the advertising tour for the cathedral building in Kingsbridge, where the marvel would be kept from now on, Jack receives a lot of donations. In Normandy , he even unexpectedly meets his relatives before he returns to England with a pompous show in the church service and arouses new enthusiasm for the cathedral building with the attraction and the money raised. Jack becomes a cathedral builder, but Aliena's cohabitation with Jack - after all, she is still married to Alfred - cannot be tolerated. Jack is not allowed to stay with her and the children at night until the archbishop annuls the marriage.

Because Jack learns that Waleran Bigod has his father on his conscience, Waleran plans to have Jack killed in a second pillage by William. But Richard learns of the planned attack on Kingsbridge. As the commander of the city guard, he pulls up a temporary city wall, a rampart and a moat in one day, which means that the attack fails. Aliena is pregnant for the second time. However, she is not allowed to live with Jack because, at Williams' request, Waleran is delaying the annulment of the marriage indefinitely through his intervention with the archbishop.

Fifth Book (1152–1155)

At the beginning of the fifth book, the former cathedral builder and now run-down and unemployed Alfred (32) asks Jack for work, which Jack gives him after a long hesitation. Jack and Aliena (33) are still not allowed to live together, but with their children Tommy and Sally and unmarried Martha (24) they form a family at least during the day, but have to sleep in separate beds at night.

Shortly before his mother's death, Count William Hamleigh von Shiring (37) married fourteen-year-old Elisabeth von Weymouth. Despite all attempts, the young woman fails to get along with her sadistic husband and the court; it is difficult for her to get used to her new life.

At the dedication service of the new cathedral, the first Gothic structure in England, Bishop Waleran William proposes that a more imposing church be built in Shiring for the salvation of his mother's soul. William is ready for it.

During a storm, Aliena seeks refuge in a village church while traveling. There she met Elisabeth. The two women become friends. Aliena gives the younger one advice on how to make her life as a countess easier for herself and how she can purposefully gain recognition, for which Elisabeth is more than grateful.

The further construction of the cathedral at Kingsbridge is brought to a standstill by means of a conspiracy. After a strike instigated by Alfred, William's mole, among the workers there, the builders migrate to Shiring to build a church, whose prior Remigius is to become once Waleran has chosen them as his bishopric.

Shiring County is in dire straits due to crop failures and Williams's ruthless, people-exploiting policies. Hunger and misery drive them into the woods. A horde of these outlaws attacks Kingsbridge from hunger, but they have no chance against the well-developed, solid fortifications. Aliena sees through this attack, however, the chance how they can get Richard to raise an army against William.

From then on, well-organized militias terrorized outlaws Shiring, to the disgrace of Williams, but also to the suffering of the population. In an attack on a mill in which William is also staying for the purpose of leasing claims, Richard and William fight. Richard escapes successfully, William survives.

Meanwhile, Heinrich Plantagenet , Mathilde's son, invaded Normandy . Stephan and he finally agree: Stephan will remain king until his death, Heinrich is his undisputed successor. All fiefs are to be distributed again as they were in the time of Henry I, king before Stephen. Richard is thus the rightful Earl of Shiring. During William's absence, after 17 years with Elisabeth's help, he and Aliena take possession of their castle without much bloodshed. Waleran at least gives the betrayed the office of bailiff .

During a visit to Kingsbridge, the penniless Alfred - still married to Aliena - tries to rape her. Richard joins them; in the fight with Alfred he kills him. Thereupon the new Vogt William tries to arrest Richard for murder, but Richard escapes to the monastery. Philip persuades him to make an atoning pilgrimage to the Holy Land , approved by the king, where Richard dies years later. Jack, 30, and Aliena, 35, get married and she can whip the county back into shape.

Sixth Book (1170-1174)

At the beginning of the sixth book the cathedral is completed. Philip, now over 60, appoints the convent orphan Jonathan as subprior. Waleran uses this to accuse him of violating the vow of chastity and nepotism before a church court . So Jonathan tries to find his real father. Through Jack (already 46 at this point) he learns that it was Tom Builder; but only old Ellen can testify to this. She can't stand Philip, but still manages to make a statement. She exonerates Philip and discredits Waleran by reporting on his perjury that cost Jack's father his life (see prologue). Waleran, then Prior James, and Percy Hamleigh had gained significant personal benefits from the action. This is in turn confirmed by the old man Remigius, the prodigal son whom Philip had taken back to the monastery years before, on the verge of starvation.

King Heinrich and the Church are becoming more and more estranged. As a result of the clashes, even Philip's well-meaning Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, had to go into exile. After an argument with the king, Philip travels to France to persuade the archbishop to return, which he ultimately succeeds in doing. Heinrich and Thomas are reconciled, but the unity is fragile. Finally, before Philip's eyes, Heinrich's vassals , including William Hamleigh, assassinate the pacifist archbishop in his cathedral on their own initiative. The townspeople see the dead man as a martyr. With Philip as the initiator, a pilgrimage through the whole country begins, which develops into a popular movement.

Jack (50) is planning to replace the cathedral walls built by Tom with his own Gothic ones. His daughter Sally (26) paints the cathedral's windows. Thomas (28), his son, is now Count von Shiring. William Hamleigh (58) is hanged in Shiring as a participant in the attack on folk hero Thomas Becket. Waleran too is a broken, failed man; he reveals to Jack the motives for his father's death: He witnessed the attack by the barons on the heir apparent's white ship , which triggered 20 years of anarchy and boundless violence. How little Jack's father knew, however, was not clear to the barons.

Finally, King Heinrich publicly confesses his sins and complicity in Thomas's death and is symbolically scourged by the most important monks, bishops and abbots of England, including Philip. This is the high point in Philip's life, and he is overjoyed to think that it changed the world.

characters

main characters

Tom Builder

Tom is a builder and at the beginning of the novel he was already a father of two. You only learn about his childhood that he comes from the north of England. Tom has years of experience in his job and a good spatial sense. These characteristics make him a master of his trade. His biggest dream is to build a cathedral . He loves his wife and children so much that he foregoes meals during hunger winters so that the children can eat more. When he lived with Ellen, he preferred his birth son Alfred to Ellen's son Jack on the construction site. Tom towers taller than most men, is slim, has light brown hair, greenish eyes with brown spots and a curly brown beard.

Ellen

Ellen is Jack's mother and Tom's partner. As a teenager, she was put in a nunnery by her father. When she meets Jack's father in Kingsbridge, she falls in love with him and does not return to the monastery . After Jack's father was executed, she lived alone in the forest, gave birth to Jack and raised him there until she met Tom and his family eleven years later. She is characterized by great independence. Her youth in the monastery and the execution of Jack's father make her an opponent of the church, which in the eyes of her contemporaries repeatedly exposes her to the suspicion of being a witch. Twice, at the execution of Jack's father and the wedding of Alfred and Aliena, she performs a "magical" ritual with the head of a rooster. It remains unclear whether she herself believes in the effectiveness of this ritual or whether she is just taking advantage of the superstitions of other people. She is a loving mother to Jack. Even when Jack grew up, she stood up for him. Tom is her second love after Jack's father, she is a passionate lover. Important physical characteristics are: light gold eyes, lush dark hair, oval face, pale skin.

Jack

Jack is born to Ellen in the forest, where he spends the first eleven years of his life. Ellen teaches him everything she knows: reading, writing, Latin, French poetry, hunting. However, he does not learn any social behavior because he has no other people than his mother. When he and Ellen move around with Tom's family, he quickly finds his way in the world that is new to him. On the construction site of the cathedral it quickly becomes clear that he has talent as a builder and stonemason: even as an apprentice he surpasses the experienced stonemasons. This talent, coupled with a great thirst for knowledge, makes him a great builder. Discipline and obedience are not among his virtues. On the construction site, and especially in the monastery, it is difficult for him to submit to other people. Aliena is his only love: When he met her for the first time in Earlscastle at the age of eleven, he still adored her childlike as a "princess", at thirteen he fell in love with her for good. Its most prominent external features are carrot-colored hair and blue eyes. At the beginning of the novel, at the age of eleven, he looks stupid (Tom describes him in the following words: Dummerjan, village idiot, idiotic look), but even at this age he can read, write and draw. In the following years he grew up to be an attractive man.

Alfred Builder

Alfred is the malicious son of Tom Builder and his first wife Agnes. Although Alfred shows neither talent nor enthusiasm for the profession of builder, Tom trains him in it. Alfred's strength is cunning and popularity with some of the construction workers. In this way he manages to get jobs and jobs that actually go beyond his capabilities. He is also encouraged by his father. Alfred is jealous of the talented Jack, so that deep enmity develops between the two characters. He is impotent towards Aliena. Whether he is impotent with other women remains open. Alfred looks like his father Tom: he is tall, has light brown hair and greenish eyes with brown spots.

Aliena

Aliena is the daughter of the Count of Shiring, at the beginning of the novel she is fifteen years old. As the daughter of a count, she enjoyed a carefree childhood and a good upbringing (she can read). She is a beauty: brown, curly hair, dark, large eyes, full lips, an imperious nose and large breasts. She shows her strong will for the first time when she consistently rejects Williams' marriage proposals. The rape by William and her subsequent escape from the castle are a turning point in her life. Together with her brother, who is not much help, she has to find her way in the for her strange world of the common people. She succeeds in doing this quickly, and by setting up the wool trade, she shows business acumen. The rape by William creates a trauma that has long made her shy away from relationships with men. She had to swear to her dying father that she would do everything to make her brother count again. She feels bound by the oath: she never loses sight of her goal of regaining the title of Count from William.

William Hamleigh

William comes from a family of lower landed gentry. His upbringing prepared him primarily for the craft of war, he can hardly read or write. He is under the great influence of his poisonous mother. In his childhood she scared him with tales of hell, and because of this fear William is still in agony as an adult. His planned wedding to Aliena, the daughter of the Count of Shiring, would mean a social advancement for him and his family. When Aliena breaks the marriage with him, William is humiliated. The conquest of Earlscastle finally gives him social advancement: his father becomes Count of Shiring, William later succeeds him in this post. In the turmoil of the civil war, he wants to defend his title of count against the claims of Aliena's brother Richard. Another goal is to prevent the cathedral from being built. Physical strength and family honor are what count for William. He's violent. This becomes most evident in the rape of alienas, which still casts a spell on him even after the wedding that has broken off, he is sexually obsessed with her. In other women, he can only get an erection if he abuses her. He is a passable, but not an outstanding fighter. His companion Walter often saves him from dangerous situations. He draws self-confidence primarily from frightening weaker people. Behind this is an insecure character: he is often afraid of losing face. He also knows that he is not intelligent, which he tries to cover up with bossy behavior. At the beginning of the novel, William is a tall, well-built, straw-blond man of twenty with narrow eyes. Excessive eating and drinking made him fat in the course of the novel, at 54 he had gout, had to hobble and was in great pain. At the end of the novel, he is hanged because he was involved in the assassination attempt on Thomas Becket.

Philip

At the beginning of the novel, Philip becomes prior of Kingsbridge Abbey and is therefore the builder of the cathedral . Philip's parents were murdered when he was six years old. An abbot rescued him and took him to the monastery . From this monastery in Wales he finally made his way to Kingsbridge. Basically Philip loves his fellow human beings: he develops fatherly feelings for Jonathan, he helps Aliena out of a tight spot when he buys the wool from her, he feels obliged to charity even towards the rebellious monk Peter von Wareham. However, his job as prior means that he has to be tough every now and then, but he doesn't like to do so. All in all, he knows how to tackle the monks: with carrot and stick, paired with an authority that he has acquired through his learning. His Christian faith is unshakable and firm, he himself strictly adheres to the rule of St. Benedict, and even as a prior does not indulge in any luxury. He regards carnal lust as dangerous, he is not entirely at ease with women. In order to ensure the survival of the monastery and to finance the construction of the cathedral, Philip manages to forge long-term, well-thought-out plans. Thanks to his trust in God, he does not allow himself to be discouraged by setbacks, but pursues his plans with perseverance and sophistication. He is a short, stocky man with short, black hair and light blue eyes.

Waleran Bigod

Waleran is a scheming, power-hungry bishop . He tries everything to prevent the construction of the cathedral , mainly for two reasons: firstly, he hopes that if the construction fails, he will gain power; secondly, he is enmity with Philip after he has tricked him into assigning the county . In order to achieve his goals he accepts deaths. He is not a Norman aristocrat, but an Englishman who made the way up on his own. He is intelligent and well educated, he also has acting talent, he usually hides his true feelings. Waleran is thin, has long arms and straight jet black hair, a pale face, a pointed nose and black clothes. It's elegant and menacing at the same time.

Richard of Shiring

Richard is Aliena's brother and the heir to County Shiring. After his father Bartholomäus was involved in a conspiracy against King Stephen, he and Aliena lose all of their possessions: the castle, the forests and farmland, as well as the quarry. During an attack by William Hamleigh and his henchman Walter, the latter cuts off one of his earlobes. From then on Richard fights as a knight in Stephen's army and wants to get his inheritance back one day. This is how the fearful young man turns into a brave and feared warrior.

Minor characters

  • Agnes: Tom's first wife.
  • Martha: daughter of Tom and Agnes.
  • Regan Hamleigh: mother of William.
  • Percy Hamleigh: father of William.
  • Walter: Williams servant and companion.
  • Elisabeth: William's wife.
  • Bartholomew: Aliena's father, Count von Shiring.
  • Matthew: Steward of Earlscastle under Count Bartholomew.
  • Catface: Knight of Bartholomew who is tortured by William.
  • Francis: Philip's brother.
  • Peter of Wareham: unruly monk under Philip.
  • Cuthbert Whitehead: Cellerar of Kingsbridge Monastery.
  • Milius: Master cook of Kingsbridge Monastery, close confidante of Philips.
  • Remigius: Subprior of Kingsbridge Monastery, Prior Philip makes life difficult.
  • Andrew: Sacristan of Kingsbridge Monastery.
  • Jonathan: Tom's son, is raised by Philip in the monastery.
  • Prior James: predecessor of Philips as Prior of Kingsbridge.
  • King Stephan : historical figure.
  • Bishop Henry : historical figure, Bishop of Winchester, brother of King Stephen.
  • Empress Mathilde : historical figure.
  • King Heinrich : historical figure, son of Mathilde.
  • Thomas Becket : historical figure, Archbishop of Canterbury.
  • Raschid: Jack's host in Toledo.
  • Ayscha: Raschid's daughter.
  • Tommy: Son of Jack and Aliena.
  • Sally: daughter of Jack and Aliena.
  • Meg: Wool merchant in Winchester.

Radio play and audio book

Games

At the end of September 2006 Kosmos-Verlag published a board game of the same name for two to four players. The authors of the game are Michael Rieneck and Stefan Stadler . In 2007 it was the winner of the German Games Prize and several prizes in other countries. In addition, a supplement for five and six players was released, with which other characters and locations of the book are included. In July 2009 Kosmos-Verlag published the two-person game The Pillars of the Earth - Duel of the Builders , in which two players slip into the roles of Prior Philip and Bishop Waleran and try to be the first to complete their cathedral or castle. The pillars of the earth followed in 2010 - the card game for three to four players, also by Michael Rieneck. All three games were illustrated by Michael Menzel .

In August 2017, the adventure computer game Die Säulen der Erde was released based on the novel, which was produced by the Hamburg software house Daedalic Entertainment .

filming

The novel was filmed as a multi-part for television by the Munich-based production company Tandem Communications in a German-Canadian coproduction . Production began in 2008 and was broadcast in four parts on Sat.1 and ORF in November 2010 .

successes

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ken Follett: Kingsbridge: Real or fictional? ( Memento of the original from June 23, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ken-follett.com
  2. ↑ Ken Follet: The Evening and the Morning. In: ken-follett.com. Retrieved on August 16, 2020 .