74 pages • 2-hour read
The Armor of Light: A Novel
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Symbols & Motifs
Kingsbridge Cathedral
Content Warning: This section of the guide mentions death by suicide.
Ever since 1989’s The Pillars of the Earth, set in the time of the cathedral’s construction in the 12th century, Kingsbridge Cathedral has played an important role in the Kingsbridge series. While the characters come and go, the cathedral endures. Once, the cathedral represented the new dawn of a bold architectural vision and was tied to the rise of Kingsbridge as a town. Now, however, the characters have grown so used to the cathedral that it has become a mundane part of existence. The cathedral that was once a symbol of the future is now a relic of the past; the statues inside commemorate people like Prior Peter who died many centuries earlier. Peter’s efforts to build the cathedral—which took up the entirety of The Pillars of the Earth—are reduced to a few lines of barely remembered history. In this sense, the cathedral represents societal change and collective forgetting. The cathedral remains physically the same, but its significance changes as the society around it changes.
In the industrializing world of The Armor of Light, the cathedral is an anachronism. Now, the mills occupy the cultural center that once belonged to the cathedral. That the mills are built of the same stone used to build the cathedral emphasizes the symbolism of this change. Not only technology and industry, but also faith itself has evolved. The Catholicism and Anglicanism of the past once gave the cathedral a purpose as the center of the community’s religious identity. Now, however, there is no prescribed religion, nor is any religion outlawed, as during the Reformation. Instead, many members of the community opt for the quiet, introspective Methodist approach to Christianity. As the town has adapted to the emergence of mills and steam engines, the cathedral has failed to adapt to the emergence of a new form of Protestantism. The bishop remains, as does the cathedral and the ceremony of the past, but it no longer dominates communal life.
Still, the innate symbolism of the building cannot be denied. Even the irreligious Elsie understands the function of the cathedral as a place for quiet introspection. Throughout the novel, Hornbeam has no particular interest in religion as anything other than a tool for social control. When he learns that his beloved grandson was saved by a man Hornbeam considered to be an enemy, however, Hornbeam is thrown into a crisis of introspection. Almost subconsciously, he wanders to the cathedral to mull over his thoughts. Hornbeam may not believe in any divine judgement, but the cathedral symbolizes a form of self-reflection that prompts him to fling himself from the building itself. The cathedral symbolizes this kind of reflection that can be beneficial or damning in equal measure.
Ned Ludd
Ned Ludd was a mythic figure who became the symbolic leader of the Luddites, a group of English workers in the early 19th century who protested the industrial machinery that threatened their jobs. As depicted in The Armor of Light, the Luddites engaged in direct action by destroying textile machines as a form of resistance against economic displacement and exploitative labor practices. Ned Ludd’s name was invoked as a rallying cry by men like Jarge, turning him into a folk hero representing the struggle of workers against the dehumanizing effects of rapid industrialization. In this manner, Ned Ludd serves as a symbol of the fight against the status quo. Whether there is actually a man named Ned Ludd becomes irrelevant, because the name itself symbolizes the struggle.
Invoking the spirit of Ned Ludd as a symbol invites the workers to take action against the new machines, while also giving them a plausible cover story for their sabotage. The invocation of Ludd in this battle takes on an almost spiritual symbolism: Ludd is like a ghostlike figure who moves from town to town, dealing out justice on behalf of the workers against the tyrannical masters. He is a harbinger of industrial resentment, an embodiment of the justified retribution that the workers wish to direct at the men and the machines that have been exploiting them. The symbolism of the name serves as both a rallying cry and a means to evade punishment. The symbolism has value in itself, confusing and distracting the masters from wielding the immense power that they have over the workers.
However, the protection offered by invoking the name Ned Ludd is purely symbolic. The Luddite movement alludes to a sense of worker solidarity, but when real men are tried in real courts, the name Ned Ludd is as ephemeral and as elusive as ever. There is no real protection for the Luddites against laws, written by the wealthy, that make the smashing of machines a capital offense. While Ned Ludd emerges as a symbol of the power that comes from solidarity, the depiction of the Luddites in the novel reminds the audience that the power of symbolism is nothing compared to the power of the state. The Luddites, as a decentralized movement dependent on symbolism, cannot compete with the vast resources, stacked courts, and threat of capital punishment as wielded by “masters” who have no need for such symbolism.
Napoleon Bonaparte
Though he does not appear as a character, the figure of Napoleon Bonaparte looms large over The Armor of Light. When the novel begins, the masters in Kingsbridge are fearful of the ideas of the French Revolution spreading to Britain. Later, when Napoleon emerges as the leader of the French armies, fear of the violent masses transforms into fear of Napoleon himself. He becomes the symbol of the foreign ideological contagion spreading to Britain through military force. This is a more palatable image for the masters, allowing them to focus their loathing on one man rather than a mass of people: The wars on the European continent switch gradually from a war against the French to a war against Napoleon. By the time the allied forces declare war on Napoleon (rather than the country of France), Napoleon has come to fully embody and symbolize the French Revolution and the threat it poses to the British social order.
The wars in Europe take place throughout the novel, and many of the characters do not remember a time when the country was not at war. In European historical terms, this era is defined by the Napoleonic Wars. The people of Kingsbridge, however, have little vested interest in patriotism or nationalism due to their pressing immediate circumstances. For the masters, Napoleon represents a threat to the social order. Yet Napoleon’s wars allow the rich to get richer. Hornbeam benefits greatly from the war, having secured through corrupt dealings a commission to produce military uniforms for the local militia. The working class do not benefit from these deals, as Hornbeam buys industrial machines to avoid hiring workers. At the same time, the poor must deal with the rising prices caused by wartime inflation and the threat of conscription. Their jobs pay less, if they have jobs at all, and they are constantly at risk of conscription into a war they don’t understand. Napoleon becomes a useful symbol for the ruling classes, giving them a person who can be demonized and blamed for the social turmoil in Britain, yet Napoleon’s many supporters in Britain show that the wars are not universally supported. Characters’ sentiments toward Napoleon symbolize the widening gap between social classes.
The finale of the novel takes place during the Battle of Waterloo. By this time, the British and allied forces cast Napoleon as an almost Satanic figure. He is blamed for everything, creating a useful enemy to inspire patriotism among the British working class who form the bulk of the army. Defeating Napoleon, they are told, is a matter of national pride. Yet, as Sal suggests, the war means very little to the working classes. The masters—rather than Napoleon—are responsible for much of the social strife. As the battle looms, Sal and Kit both come to realize that the reasons for the war are not as evident as they once seemed. Thus, the defeat of Napoleon becomes a bittersweet ratification of the British class system. Sal and Kit may have been on the winning side of the battle but—by defeating Napoleon—they may have lost the broader war for workers’ rights.
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