The Pillars of the Earth

“This was the essence of a building, for it had a roof to keep the rain off and two walls to hold up the roof. A church was just a tunnel, with refinements.” 

This is Tom’s conception of a building, which is a sound and justifiable one. Though Jack’s precocious mind will expand this form to include large windows and an inspiring profile, what is important is that the concept is handed down and improved from one generation to the next.

“Of course you’re destined for something else. Born within sight of a monastery, orphaned at six, raised by monks, made cellarer at twenty-one--God does not take that much trouble over the formation of a man who is going to spend his life in a remote mountain principality.” 

The monk who saves Philip’s life and raised him here advises him at a young age to do great things. It is like the advice Philip will pass down to Jonathan years later. Their orphan status inspires them to do great things.

“Stephen’s relationship had been defined, right at the start of his reign, on the Church’s terms.” 

This is distinguished from the philosophy of Henry II’s later court, which clashed with the church and refused to be reined in. Here, Walerian and Philip discuss their qualified support for the claimant to the throne most likely to help them politically.

“Now there would be someone new, someone who would discipline their lazy servants, repair the tumbledown church, and harness the great wealth of the property, making the priory a powerful force for good.” 

This is Philip’s train of thought as he thinks back to his first campaign to run the Kingsbridge Priory. His sense of discipline and order will mostly be an asset, though it will prove to be a sticking point when it comes to governing Jack.

“We’re one of the proudest families in southern England, and she’s made us feel small. The thought infuriated him, and he longed to draw his sword and attack someone, anyone.” 

The way William reacts to Aliana’s refusal to marry him represents the sum of his forethought in governance. He is motivated by petty jealousy and revenge, and the fact that he is given unlimited power to enact his whim is a tragedy for those who must live life within his lands.

“I’d get up quietly while everyone else was sleeping, and sneak into the church, and start a fire with my flint, then creep back here while it was spreading, and pretend to be asleep when the alarm was raised.”

Without Jack’s act of impulsive destruction, nothing else in the novel could have happened. Follett, while in favor of the rule of law, is strangely silent about this act by Jack. Though it ultimately benefitted himself and Tom, it just as likely could have destroyed treasures or killed someone. Jack never gives the crime a second thought.

“The present church was old, ugly and impractical; and the fact that the northwest tower had fallen was a sign that the whole structure might be weak. Modern churches were taller, longer and—most important—lighter.” 

Here, Philip is describing his limited knowledge of contemporary architecture while acknowledging that change is necessary. It is only through Jack’s knowhow that Gothic style can be instituted in Kingsbridge.

“‘Yes. And what could be better than to make something beautiful for God?’ he said.” 

Tom and Philip agree: While the practical purpose of church architecture is to house bodies and relics, its ultimate purpose is to inspire people in their worship of the divine. It’s a testament to human love for God. This concludes Tom’s application for master builder.

“The mask of hatred opened its mouth, and Walerian hissed: ‘I swear by all that is holy, you’ll never build your church.” 

Just before, Philip had learned an important lesson about politics from Walerian, that “when you’re about to be turned down, go for a postponement” (315). Now, Philip learns the other side of realpolitik; beware the ire of powerful men. Walerian will continue to be a thorn in Philip’s side throughout the book.

“But all your life, others have served you, and even now you feel in your heart of hearts that things should be arranged to please you. High born people make poor servants.” 

When a Jewish goldsmith rejects Aliena’s request to become a servant in his house, these are the words he uses to rebuke her. Jewish people in The Pillars of the Earth are periodically mentioned in relationship to their medieval business practices, though they are rarely given voices or perspectives of their own. This is a rare exception.

“Having faith in God did not mean sitting back and doing nothing. It meant believing that you would find success if you did your best honestly and energetically.” 

This is a compromise between the heavenly calling Philip feels and the practical requirements he’s needed for on earth. For him, monastic life is not sedentary and contemplative, but active and in dialogue with human needs.

“William believed that a man was helpless unless people were afraid of him.” 

William is never more disarmed than when he is resisted, and he rarely goes anywhere where it’s likely he’ll be matched in a fair fight. The expression of his cowardice is through making others afraid.

“‘I’m not sure I can explain it to you,’ he said. ‘Philip believes that the law should be king.’” 

A fundamental rule of modern government is a set of legal requirements to which both leaders and citizens are subject. Such an idea is so foreign to Walerian and William that they must struggle to understand it.

“It was amazing, Philip thought, how a clear case of injustice could come to seem evenly balanced when argued at the court.” 

Dozens of people have been murdered by William in a craven attack by his armed knights against defenseless citizens. Yet far removed from the blood and dust of injustice, interpreters weigh the relative legality of one writ or another, written by kings who are in power one day and out the next.

“Those treacherous lying priests took his father but they’re not taking him.” 

In an echo of Ellen’s former life with Jack’s father, she reacts violently to the unjust treatment of her son at the hands of Prior Philip. Throughout the story, Ellen will be a thorn in Philip’s side, and a constant friend to those whose authority overreaches common consent.

“I’ve been fighting a war—all you’ve done is sell wool.” 

In this quote, Richard demonstrates his short-sightedness and unfitness to rule. The war Richard has been fighting is inconclusive and unrewarding, fought for fleeting and unconvincing glory. It is only through Aliena’s hard work that Richard doesn’t fall into obscurity and poverty.

“Jack was never meant for the cloistered life and Philip was wrong in pressuring him into it. Now Jack’s brilliance and energy had been lost to Kingsbridge.” 

As with many plot turns in the novel, Jack’s escape from Kingsbridge turns out to be a good thing for Philip and his church in the end. On Jack’s return, he brings new building techniques and a small fortune.

I thought there was only one way to build a church: thick walls with round arches and small windows topped by a wooden ceiling or a barrel-shaped stone vault….but Normandy changed my life.”

In 1244, the Basilica of St. Denis introduced elements of architecture essential to the Gothic style, including rib-vaulting, which allowed buildings to be constructed that were higher and slenderer than methods being used in England. The style, to which an impressionable Jack refers, was spreading throughout France.

“There was a difference between the way God worked and the way Jack worked, and this had the hallmark of Jack.” 

When Jack shows up with his theatrical Weeping Madonna, Philip finally realizes that the expediencies of politics are sometimes necessary to perform a larger good. Jack’s amorality does not mean that he’s a bad person as long as he does good work.

“There may come a time when savages like William Hamleigh aren’t in power; when the laws protect the ordinary people instead of enslaving them; when the king makes peace instead of war.” 

The tragedy of William Hamleigh is that, unlike his equally unscrupulous parents, the Anarchy has left him without perspective on his place in history. Ordinarily, a person of such unchecked impulse would be ruined by the civilizational forces around him. Under the Anarchy, however, barbarity such as his becomes normal.

“And when the future is uncertain, people are not willing to invest time and energy clearing new ground, increasing herds, digging ditches and building barns.” 

That economic health thrives on order and certainty is a bedrock assumption of modern economic theory. It’s an idea that Aliena and Philip instinctively understand, and that William ignores at his peril.

“In the world outside the monastery, nobody looks after you. The ducks swallow the worms, and the foxes kill the ducks, and the men shoot the foxes, and the devil hunts the men.” 

Here, William distils his philosophy to Philip. It is anachronistically close to a modern conception of social Darwinism, in which a cursory observation of physical nature is used as a justification for personal profit, social cruelty, and injustice.

“In both cases, weakness and scruples had defeated strength and ruthlessness. William felt he would never understand it.”

William is utterly unredeemed by the end, still scheming and unable to understand why “weak’ characters keep coming out ahead of him. He dies without dignity or honor.