The Pillars of the Earth

by Ken Follett

  A moment later two beturbaned Saracens marched solemnly into the church, carrying on their shoulders an ironbound chest.

  The villagers cowered back from them in fear. Even Philip was astonished. He knew, in theory, that Saracens had brown skin, but he had never seen one, and the reality was amazing. Their swirling, brightly colored robes were equally striking. They strode through the awestruck congregation and knelt before the Madonna, placing the chest reverently on the floor.

  There was a breathless silence as Jack unlocked the chest with a huge key and lifted the lid. People craned their necks to look. Suddenly Jack tipped the chest over.

  There was a noise like a waterfall, and a stream of silver pennies poured out of the chest, hundreds of them, thousands. People crowded around to stare: none of them had ever seen so much money.

  Jack raised his voice to be heard over their exclamations. "I have brought her home, and now I give her to the building of the new cathedral." Then he turned, looked Philip in the eye, and inclined his head in a little bow, as if to say: Over to you.

  Philip hated to be manipulated like this but at the same time he was bound to acknowledge that the way it had been done was masterly. However, that did not mean he was going to give in to it. The people might acclaim the Weeping Madonna but only Philip could decide whether she would be allowed to rest in Kingsbridge Cathedral alongside the bones of Saint Adolphus. And he was not yet convinced.

  Some of the villagers began questioning the Saracens. Philip stepped down from his pulpit and went closer to listen. "I come from a far, far country," one of them was saying. Philip was surprised to hear that he spoke English just like a Dorset fisherman, but most of the villagers did not even know that Saracens had a language of their own.

  "What is your country called?" someone asked.

  "My country is called Africa," the Saracen replied. There was more than one country in Africa, of course, as Philip knew--although most of the villagers did not--and Philip wondered which one this Saracen came from. How exciting it would be if it were a place mentioned in the Bible, such as Egypt or Ethiopia.

  A little girl reached out a tentative finger and touched his dark-brown hand. The Saracen smiled at her. Apart from his color, Philip thought, he looked no different from anyone else. Encouraged, the girl said: "What's it like in Africa?"

  "There are great deserts, and fig trees."

  "What's a fig?"

  "It's... it's a fruit, that looks like a strawberry and tastes like a pear."

  Philip was suddenly struck by a horrible suspicion. He said: "Tell me, Saracen, what city were you born in?"

  "Damascus," the man said.

  Philip's suspicion was confirmed. He was angered. He touched Jack's arm and drew him aside. In a quietly furious voice he said: "What are you playing at?"

  "What do you mean?" Jack said, trying to play innocent.

  "Those two aren't Saracens. They're fishermen from Wareham with brown dye on their faces and hands."

  Jack did not seem bothered about having his deception discovered. He grinned and said: "How did you guess?"

  "I don't think that man has ever seen a fig, and Damascus is not in Africa. What is the meaning of this dishonesty?"

  "It's a harmless deception," Jack said, and flashed his engaging smile.

  "There is no such thing as a harmless deception," Philip said coldly.

  "All right." Jack saw that Philip was angry. He became serious. "It serves the same purpose as an illuminated drawing on a page of the Bible. It's not the truth, it's an illustration. My brown-dyed Dorsetshire men dramatize the true fact that the Weeping Madonna comes from a Saracen land."

  The two priests and Aliena had detached themselves from the crowd around the Madonna and joined Philip and Jack. Philip ignored them and said to Jack: "You aren't frightened of a drawing of a snake. An illustration isn't a lie. Your Saracens aren't illustrations, they're impostors."

  "We collected much more money after we got the Saracens," Jack said.

  Philip looked at the pennies heaped on the floor. "The townspeople probably think that's enough to build a whole cathedral," he said. "It looks to me like about a hundred pounds. You know that won't even pay for a year's work."

  "The money is like the Saracens," Jack said. "It's symbolic. You know you've got the money to start building."

  That was true. There was nothing stopping Philip from building. The Madonna was just the sort of thing needed to bring Kingsbridge back to life. It would attract people to the town--pilgrims and scholars as well as the idly curious. It would put new heart into the townspeople. It would be seen as a good omen. Philip had been waiting for a sign from God, and he wanted very badly to believe that this was it. But this did not have the feel of a sign from God. It had the feel of a stunt by Jack.

  The younger of the two priests said: "I'm Reynold and this is Edward--we work for the archbishop of Canterbury. He sent us to accompany the Weeping Madonna."

  Philip said: "If you have the archbishop's blessing, why did you need a couple of fairground Saracens to legitimize the Madonna?"

  Edward looked a little shamefaced. Reynold said: "It was Jack's idea, but I confess I saw no harm in it. Surely you're not dubious about the Madonna, Philip?"

  "You can call me Father," Philip snapped. "Working for the archbishop doesn't give you the right to condescend to your superiors. The answer to your question is yes. I am dubious about the Madonna. I am not going to install this statue in the precincts of Kingsbridge Cathedral until I'm convinced that it is a holy artifact."

  "A wooden statue weeps," Reynold said. "How much of a miracle do you want?"

  "The weeping is unexplained. That doesn't make it a miracle. The changing of liquid water into solid ice is also inexplicable, but it isn't miraculous."

  "The archbishop would be most disappointed if you refused the Madonna. He had a battle to prevent Abbot Suger from commandeering her for Saint-Denis."

  Philip knew he was being threatened. Young Reynold will have to work a lot harder than this to intimidate me, he thought. He said smoothly: "I'm quite sure the archbishop would not want me to accept the Madonna without making some routine inquiries about her legitimacy."

  There was a movement at their feet. Philip looked down and saw the cripple he had noticed earlier. The unfortunate man was dragging himself across the floor, his paralyzed legs trailing behind him, trying to get close to the statue. Whichever way he turned he was blocked by the crowd. Automatically, Philip stood aside to let him through. The Saracens were preventing people from actually touching the statue, but the cripple escaped their notice. Philip saw the man's hand reach out. Philip would normally have prevented someone from touching a holy relic, but he had not yet accepted that this statue was holy, so he did nothing. The cripple touched the hem of the wooden dress. Suddenly he let out a shout of triumph. "I feel it!" he yelled. "I feel it!"

  Everyone looked at him.

  "I feel the strength coming back!" he shouted.

  Philip stared at the man incredulously, knowing what would happen next. The man bent one leg, then the other. There was a collective gasp from the onlookers. He reached out a hand and someone took it. With an effort, the man pulled himself upright.

  The crowd made a noise like a groan of passion.

  Someone called out: "Try to walk!"

  Still holding the hand of his helper, the man took one tentative step, then another. The people watched in dead silence. On his third step he stumbled, and they sighed. But the man regained his balance and walked on.

  They cheered.

  He went down the nave with the people following him. After a few more steps he broke into a run. The cheering rose to a crescendo as he went out through the church door into the sunshine, followed by most of the congregation.

  Philip looked at the two priests. Reynold was awestruck, and Edward had tears pouring down his face. Obviously they were not in on it. Philip turned to Jack and said furiously: "How dare you pull a trick like that?"
>
  "Trick?" said Jack. "What trick?"

  "That man had never been seen in this district until a few days ago. In another day or two he'll disappear, never to be seen again, with his pockets full of your money. I know how these things are done, Jack. You're not the first person to fake a miracle, regrettably. There was never anything wrong with his legs, was there? He's another Wareham fisherman."

  The accusation was confirmed by Jack's guilty look.

  Aliena said: "Jack, I told you you shouldn't try that."

  The two priests were thunderstruck. They had been completely taken in. Reynold was furious. He rounded on Jack. "You had no right!" he spluttered.

  Philip felt sad as well as angry. In his heart he had hoped the Madonna would prove legitimate, for he could see just how he would use her to revitalize the priory and the town. But it was not to be. He looked around the little parish church. Only a handful of worshipers remained, still staring at the statue. He said to Jack: "You've gone too far this time."

  "The tears are real--there's no trick involved there," Jack said. "But the cripple was a mistake, I admit."

  "It was worse than a mistake," Philip said angrily. "When people learn the truth it will shake their faith in all miracles."

  "Why do they need to learn the truth?"

  "Because I'll have to explain to them why the Madonna is not going to be installed in the cathedral. There's no question of my accepting the statue now, of course."

  Reynold said: "I think that's a little hasty--"

  "When I want your opinion, young man, I'll ask for it," Philip snapped.

  Reynold shut up but Jack persisted. "Are you sure you've got the right to deprive your people of the Madonna? Look at them." He indicated the handful of worshipers who had remained behind. Among them was Meg Widow. She was kneeling in front of the statue with tears streaming down her face. Jack did not know, Philip realized, that Meg had lost her entire family in the collapse of Alfred's roof. Her emotion touched Philip's heart, and he wondered if Jack might be right after all. Why take this away from people? Because it's dishonest, he reminded himself sternly. They believed in the statue because they saw a faked miracle. He hardened his heart.

  Jack knelt down beside Meg and spoke to her. "Why are you weeping?"

  "She's dumb," Philip told him.

  Then Meg said: "The Madonna has suffered as I have. She understands."

  Philip was thunderstruck.

  Jack said: "You see? The statue eases her suffering--What are you staring at?"

  "She's dumb," Philip said again. "She hasn't uttered a word for more than a year."

  "That's right!" Aliena said. "Meg was struck dumb after her husband and boys died when the roof fell."

  "This woman?" Jack said. "But she just ..."

  Reynold looked bewildered. "You mean this is a miracle?" he said. "A real one?"

  Philip looked at Jack's face. Jack was more shocked than anyone. There was no trickery here.

  Philip was profoundly moved. He had seen the hand of God move and work a miracle. He was shaking a little. "Well, Jack," he said in an unsteady voice. "Despite all you have done to discredit the Weeping Madonna, it seems that God intends to work wonders with it anyway."

  For once Jack was lost for words.

  Philip turned away from him and went to Meg. He took her hands and gently pulled her upright. "God has made you well again, Meg," he said, his voice trembling with emotion. "Now you can start a new life." He recalled that he had preached a sermon on the story of Job. The words came back to him: "So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning...." He had told the people of Kingsbridge that the same would be true of them. I wonder, he thought, looking at the rapture on Meg's tear-stained face, I wonder whether this could be the start of it.

  There was an uproar in chapter when Jack presented his design for the new cathedral.

  Philip had warned Jack to expect trouble. Philip had seen the drawings previously, of course. Jack had carried them to the prior's house early one morning, a plan and an elevation, drawn on plaster in wooden frames. They had looked at them together in the clear early light, and Philip had said: "Jack, this will be the most beautiful church in England--but we're going to have trouble with the monks."

  Jack knew from his time as a novice that Remigius and his cronies still routinely opposed any plan that was dear to Philip's heart, even though it was eight years since Philip had defeated Remigius in the election. They rarely got much support from the broad mass of the brothers, but in this case Philip was uncertain: they were such a conservative lot that they could be scared by the revolutionary design. However, there was nothing for it but to show them the drawings and try to convince them. Philip certainly could not go ahead and build the cathedral without the wholehearted support of the majority of his monks.

  On the following day Jack attended chapter and presented his plans. The drawings were propped up on a bench against the wall, and the monks crowded around to look at them. As they took in the details, there was a murmur of discussion which rose rapidly to a hubbub. Jack was discouraged: the tone was disapproving, bordering on outrage. The noise grew louder as they began to argue among themselves, some attacking the design and others defending it.

  After a while Philip called for order and they calmed down. Milius Bursar asked a prearranged question. "Why are the arches pointed?"

  "It's a new technique they're using in France," Jack replied. "I've seen it in several churches. The pointed arch is stronger. That is what will enable me to build the church so high. It will probably be the tallest nave in England."

  They liked that idea, Jack could tell.

  Someone else said: "The windows are so big."

  "Thick walls are unnecessary," Jack said. "They've proved that in France. It's the piers that hold the building up, especially with rib-vaulting. And the effect of the big windows is breathtaking. At Saint-Denis the abbot has put in colored glass with pictures on it. The church becomes a place of sunshine and air, instead of gloom and darkness."

  Several of the monks were nodding approval. Perhaps they were not as conservative as he had thought.

  But Andrew Sacrist spoke next. "Two years ago you were a novice among us. You were disciplined for striking the prior, and you evaded that discipline and ran away. Now you come back wanting to tell us how to build our church."

  Before Jack could speak, one of the younger monks protested: "That's nothing to do with it! We're discussing the design, not Jack's past!"

  Several monks tried to speak at the same time, some of them shouting. Philip made them all shut up and asked Jack to answer the question.

  Jack had been expecting something like this and he was ready. "I made a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela as penance for that sin, Father Andrew, and I hope my bringing the Weeping Madonna to you may count as recompense for my wrongdoing," he said meekly. "I'm not destined to be a monk, but I hope I can serve God in a different way--as his builder."

  They seemed to accept that.

  However, Andrew had not finished. "How old are you?" he said, although he surely knew the answer.

  "Twenty years."

  "That's very young to be a master builder."

  "Everyone here knows me. I've lived here since I was a boy." Since I burned down your old church, he thought guiltily. "I served my apprenticeship under the original master builder. You've seen my stonework. When I was a novice I worked with Prior Philip and Tom Builder as clerk of the works. I humbly ask the brothers to judge me by my work, not by my age."

  It was another prepared speech. He saw one of the monks grin at the word humbly, and realized it might have been a small error: they all knew that whatever other qualities he had he was not humble.

  Andrew was quick to take advantage of his slip. "Humbly?" he said, and his face began to turn red as he feigned outrage. "It wasn't very humble of you to announce to the masons of Paris three months ago that you had already been appointed master builder here."

  O
nce again there was a hubbub of indignant reactions from the monks. Jack groaned inwardly. How the devil had Andrew got hold of that little tidbit? Reynold or Edward must have been indiscreet. He tried to shrug it off. "I was hoping to attract some of those craftsmen to Kingsbridge," he said as the noise died down. "They will be useful, no matter who is appointed master here. I don't think my presumption did any harm." He tried an engaging grin. "But I'm sorry I'm not humbler." This did not go down very well.

  Milius Bursar got him out of trouble by asking another prearranged question. "What do you propose to do about the existing chancel, which has partly collapsed?"

  "I've examined it very carefully," Jack said. "It can be repaired. If you appoint me master builder today I will have it usable again within a year. Furthermore, you can continue to use it while I'm building the transepts and the nave to the new design. Finally, when the nave is finished, I propose demolishing the chancel and building a new one to match the rest of the new church."

  Andrew said: "But how do we know the old chancel won't fall down again?"

  "The collapse was caused by Alfred's stone vault, which was not in the original plans. The walls weren't strong enough to hold it up. I propose to revert to Tom's design and build a timber ceiling."

  There was a murmur of surprise. The question of why the roof had fallen in had been a matter of controversy. Andrew said: "But Alfred increased the size of the buttresses to support the extra weight."

  This had puzzled Jack, too, but he thought he had found the answer. "They still weren't strong enough, particularly at the top. If you study the ruins you can see that the part of the structure that gave way was the clerestory. There was very little reinforcement at that level."

  They seemed satisfied with that. Jack felt that his ability to give a confident answer had enhanced his status as a master builder.

  Remigius stood up. Jack had been wondering when he would make his contribution. "I should like to read a verse of the Holy Scriptures to the brethren in chapter," he said, rather theatrically. He looked at Philip, who nodded consent.

  Remigius walked to the lectern and opened the huge Bible. Jack studied the man. His thin mouth was nervously mobile, and his watery blue eyes bulged a little, giving him a permanent expression of indignation. He was a picture of resentment. Years ago he had come to believe that he was destined to be a leader of men, but in truth he was too weak a character, and now he was doomed to live out his life in disappointment, making trouble for better men. "The Book of Exodus," he intoned as he turned the parchment pages. "Chapter Twenty. Verse Fourteen." Jack wondered what on earth was coming. Remigius read: "Thou shalt not commit adultery." He closed the book with a bang and returned to his seat.