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Ken Follett's "The Pillars of the Earth" is an epic historical novel that spans a generation in mid to late 12th century. The novel chronicles the lives of several 'ordinary' people- not kings or popes or crusaders, but monks, stonemasons, and local landowners- as they all take part in the construction of a grand cathedral, one of the most monumental undertakings of the medieval world. In the end, the lives involved are as grand and sweeping as the spires of the cathedral around which they are centered.
This book sparked my imagination in many ways. The subject of cathedral-building has always fascinated me, but somehow I never knew it. When I toured the cathedrals of Spain I was always mystified by their enormity. Great trees of stone would rise out of the floor and extend into the distant ceiling. And into this surface, this infinite canvas of masonry, would be carved the most intricate works of art. My mind could not grasp how men with simple machines and no modern technology could erect such a structure.
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Unfortunately, I never pursued the question. I appreciated the beauty of it all, but once I left the building it didn't occur to do some research or figure any of it out. But the novel goes into depth on the subjects of masonry and stonecarving. What the builders of the day lacked in technology they more than made up for in knowledge and passion. They knew stone- how to carve it, how to use it, how it behaved under pressure and weather and time. This combined with the passion to do something superhuman drove them literally to greater and greater heights. I am anxious for my next visit to a cathedral, for I will now see it in a new and even more wondrous light.
I was also taken in very much the description of life in the Middle Ages. Even now, several days after I have turned the last page, I am still enchanted by the world of Kingsbridge and the way of life there. I had read about the harsh and violent reality of life in the Middle Ages in history textbooks, and I usually dismissed life in that era as terrible and virtually unlivable by today's standards.
But it wasn't unlivable. This is a fact because- get this- people lived those lives! What I took away from "The Pillars of the Earth", among many other things, was the fact that during some of the most violent, corrupt, and unfair times in Western history, people were living, loving, having children, and sharing their joys and pains with one another. It was a time when survival was never a certainty from day to day, yes, but for some that meant that every day alive was a joyful event. Every meal was a blessing because starvation was much closer than we know it to be today.
In this old world might made right, as the saying goes. Those who were the better swordsmen could look forward to rich lives, for they could kill and take whatever they wanted. Sometimes good men held a sword and checked the power of others, but even in these cases there were surely self-serving motives involved. Fairness was an idea for philosophers and holy men; it had no place in daily life. Those who decried the unfairness soon died, and those who lived in spite of it were tougher for having done so.
There is a lesson there, at least for me. We condemn any unfairness now with an air of enlightenment (although for many 'enlightenment' merely means killing and taking in a more covert and acceptable manner). Every once in a while I see or hear of people who demand that nothing bad happen to them on the basis that it would be unfair, and nobody should be treated unfairly. They take this view as a sort of cover-all. The truth is it takes courage to live in a world that is inherently unfair, and it takes character to treat other people fairly in spite of it. Those two characteristics will probably take you the farthest, because, now as in the Middle Ages, there is little or nothing protecting you from the cruelties of the world except for yourself.
As usual, however, I digress. The fact that the story arouses all of these thoughts and feelings in me goes to show the remarkable job Ken Follett does crafting his characters and telling their stories. For a short time (or perhaps not so short, depending on how long it takes you to read a thousand-page novel) you live with them, fall in love with them, share their pain with them, and die with them. The book takes you away; can you ask for anything more?
To Keri- great Christmas gift! Thank you!
This book sparked my imagination in many ways. The subject of cathedral-building has always fascinated me, but somehow I never knew it. When I toured the cathedrals of Spain I was always mystified by their enormity. Great trees of stone would rise out of the floor and extend into the distant ceiling. And into this surface, this infinite canvas of masonry, would be carved the most intricate works of art. My mind could not grasp how men with simple machines and no modern technology could erect such a structure.
+062.jpg)
Unfortunately, I never pursued the question. I appreciated the beauty of it all, but once I left the building it didn't occur to do some research or figure any of it out. But the novel goes into depth on the subjects of masonry and stonecarving. What the builders of the day lacked in technology they more than made up for in knowledge and passion. They knew stone- how to carve it, how to use it, how it behaved under pressure and weather and time. This combined with the passion to do something superhuman drove them literally to greater and greater heights. I am anxious for my next visit to a cathedral, for I will now see it in a new and even more wondrous light.I was also taken in very much the description of life in the Middle Ages. Even now, several days after I have turned the last page, I am still enchanted by the world of Kingsbridge and the way of life there. I had read about the harsh and violent reality of life in the Middle Ages in history textbooks, and I usually dismissed life in that era as terrible and virtually unlivable by today's standards.
But it wasn't unlivable. This is a fact because- get this- people lived those lives! What I took away from "The Pillars of the Earth", among many other things, was the fact that during some of the most violent, corrupt, and unfair times in Western history, people were living, loving, having children, and sharing their joys and pains with one another. It was a time when survival was never a certainty from day to day, yes, but for some that meant that every day alive was a joyful event. Every meal was a blessing because starvation was much closer than we know it to be today.
In this old world might made right, as the saying goes. Those who were the better swordsmen could look forward to rich lives, for they could kill and take whatever they wanted. Sometimes good men held a sword and checked the power of others, but even in these cases there were surely self-serving motives involved. Fairness was an idea for philosophers and holy men; it had no place in daily life. Those who decried the unfairness soon died, and those who lived in spite of it were tougher for having done so.
There is a lesson there, at least for me. We condemn any unfairness now with an air of enlightenment (although for many 'enlightenment' merely means killing and taking in a more covert and acceptable manner). Every once in a while I see or hear of people who demand that nothing bad happen to them on the basis that it would be unfair, and nobody should be treated unfairly. They take this view as a sort of cover-all. The truth is it takes courage to live in a world that is inherently unfair, and it takes character to treat other people fairly in spite of it. Those two characteristics will probably take you the farthest, because, now as in the Middle Ages, there is little or nothing protecting you from the cruelties of the world except for yourself.
As usual, however, I digress. The fact that the story arouses all of these thoughts and feelings in me goes to show the remarkable job Ken Follett does crafting his characters and telling their stories. For a short time (or perhaps not so short, depending on how long it takes you to read a thousand-page novel) you live with them, fall in love with them, share their pain with them, and die with them. The book takes you away; can you ask for anything more?
To Keri- great Christmas gift! Thank you!
1 comment:
I have to admit that this post is rather inspiring; Pillars has been sitting on my bookshelf, largely ignored, for years. Time to pick it up and read it.
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