The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett [547]
When he had confessed he took off his cloak. Beneath it he wore a green tunic and a hair shirt. He knelt down again, bending his back.
The bishop of London flexed a cane.
The king was to be whipped.
He would get five strokes from each priest and three from each monk present. The strokes would be symbolic, of course: since there were eighty monks present a real beating from each of them would have killed him.
The bishop of London touched the king’s back five times lightly with the cane. Then he turned and handed the cane to Philip, bishop of Kingsbridge.
Philip stepped forward to whip the king. He was glad he had lived to see this. After today, he thought, the world will never be quite the same.
I owe special thanks to
Jean Gimpel, Geoffrey Hindley,
Warren Hollister and
Margaret Wade Labarge
for giving me the benefit
of their encyclopedic knowledge
of the Middle Ages.
I also thank Ian and Marjory Chapman
for patience, encouragement
and inspiration.
NOW AN ORIGINAL 8-PART MINISERIES starz.
WALERAN BIGOD (Ian McShane)
ARCHDEACON OF SHIRING, HE LATER BECOMES BISHOP.
WALERAN BELIEVES THAT IT IS GOD’S WILL FOR HIM TO GAIN
POWER WITHIN THE CHURCH AND THEREFORE FEELS JUSTIFIED
IN USING EVERY POSSIBLE MEANS TO THAT END.
ALIEN A (Hayley Atwell)
ALIENA IS BARTHOLOMEW’S BEAUTIFUL AND INTELLIGENT DAUGHTER
AND THE OBJECT OF WILLIAM’S OBSESSION. AFTER HER FAMILY’S FALL
FROM GRACE, SHE USES HER RESOURCEFULNESS TO SURVIVE AND HELP
HER BROTHER WIN BACK HIS RIGHTFUL PLACE AS EARL.
BARTHOLOMEW (Donald Sutherland)
EARL OF SHIRING AND SUPPORTER OF MAUD’S RIGHT TO THE THRONE.
HIS CONSPIRACY AGAINST STEPHEN’S USURPATION OF THE
THRONE IS THE CAUSE OF HIS DOWNFALL AND HIS CHILDREN’S
(ALIENA AND RICHARD) DIRE SUFFERING.
BATTLE AT LINCOLN FIELD
THE BATTLE BETWEEN KING STEPHEN’S AND QUEEN MAUD’S ARMIES
WAS SHOT ON LOCATION OUTSIDE BUDAPEST, HUNGARY, MARSHALING
THE COMBINED EXPERTISE OF ACTORS, STUNTMEN, SPECIAL EFFECTS
EXPERTS, FIGHT MASTERS, HORSE MASTERS AND MANY MORE.
REGAN HAMLEIGH (Sarah Parish)
POSSESSED WITH THE DESIRE TO MOVE HER FAMILY UP THE SOCIAL
LADDER, REGAN WILL PARTNER WITH WALERAN TO ACHIEVE HER GOALS.
WILLIAM HAMLEIGH (David Oakes)
WILLIAM ASPIRES, PER HIS MOTHER’S WISH, TO BECOME THE EARL
OF SHIRING. HE IS HIS MOTHER’S PAWN IN HER MASTER PLAN. HIS
OBSESSION WITH ALIENA BECOMES THE DRIVING FORCE IN HIS LIFE.
KING STEPHEN (Tony Curran)
PROMISING TO FAVOR THE CHURCH IN ALL HIS DEALINGS, STEPHEN
IS CROWNED BY THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY UPON KING HENRY’S DEATH.
HE IS A MAN TORTURED BY THE DARK PAST AND THE POSSIBLE FUTURE.
QUEEN MAUD (Alison Pill)
KING HENRY I’S DAUGHTER AND ONLY SURVIVING LEGITIMATE CHILD.
SHE MARRIES FRANCE’S GEOFFREY OF ANJOU AND BEARS A SON (HENRY II).
SHE AND HER BROTHER GLOUCESTER ARE EVENTUALLY SUCCESSFUL IN TAKING
BACK LINCOLN FROM STEPHEN, AND MAUD BECOMES QUEEN.
PRIOR PHILIP (Matthew Macfadyen)
NEWLY APPOINTED PRIOR OF KINGSBRIDGE, HE QUICKLY LEARNS
THE GAME OF POLITICS WHEN WALERAN TRICKS HIM, AND
AS A RESULT, WALERAN BECOMES BISHOP.
KINGSBRIDGE CATHEDRAL
THIS ENORMOUS INTERIOR SET WAS BUILT FROM THE GROUND UP
INSIDE A STUDIO IN BUDAPEST, HUNGARY. THE SCALE IS TRUE TO THE
HUGE EXTERIOR CATHEDRAL SET WHICH WAS BUILT IN
A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT LOCATION.
TOM BUILDER (RufusSewell)
MASON AND FIRST BUILDER OF THE CATHEDRAL. HIS FAMILY FIRST
MEETS ELLEN AND JACK IN THE FOREST WHEN THEY OFFER HELP FOR
HIS DAUGHTER WOUNDED BY AN OUTLAW.
JACK (Eddie Redmayne)
SON OF ELLEN AND SHAREBURG, HE IS AN ARTIST,
ARCHITECT, DREAMER, AND OUR STORY’S HERO.
ELLEN (Natalia Worner)
AS A NOVICE NUN, ELLEN FINDS SHAREBURG ON THE BEACH. SHE LEAVES
THE CHURCH AND BEARS HIM A SON. A HEALER, SHE RELIES ON HER
INSTINCTS AND EDUCATION TO HELP OTHERS AND HER SON, JACK.
CONSTRUCTION OF WALERAN’S CASTLE
SHOT ON LOCATION IN VIENNA, AUSTRIA, IN COLD AND SNOWY
CONDITIONS. THIS LOCATION WAS CHOSEN FOR ITS RICH TEXTURE
AND STYLE TO REPRESENT