Wednesday Wisdom

An immense and moving epic, The Pillars of the Earth is among the greatest historical fiction novels. Ken Follet’s work conveys an amazing view of 12th century life in England, in his novel, he creates a story about the love, hate, passion and tragedy that are all a backdrop of the fictional town of Kingsbridge as it attempts to build a cathedral in honor of God.

WHO?

Ken Follett is a best-selling British author known for his gripping historical and thriller novels. Born on June 5, 1949, in Cardiff, Wales. Follett's breakthrough work came with the publication of Eye of the Needle (1978), a World War II spy thriller that earned critical acclaim and commercial success After his success with spy novels, he moved to historical fiction, writing his opus The Pillars of the Earth in 1989. This tale is set in 12th-century England, focusing on the construction of a cathedral in the fictional town of Kingsbridge. This book became a cornerstone of his career, spawning sequels such as World Without End (2007), A Column of Fire (2017), and The Evening and the Morning (2020) in what is known as the Kingsbridge series. Over his career, Follett has written over 30 books, selling more than 170 million copies worldwide, making him one of the most successful historical fiction writers of all time.

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett is set-in 12th-century England during a time of political and religious upheaval. The story revolves around the construction of a cathedral in the fictional town of Kingsbridge. Through the lives of a diverse cast of characters, the novel explores themes of ambition, power, love, betrayal, and resilience. The novel describes the everyday life of the builder, the architect and the village people as they live through life, war and strife yet maintain a passion to honor God with a magnificent house of worship. He details medieval life along with the extraordinary efforts in building a cathedral. Follet is expressive in the details to the work, effort and resources that the town put into building this monumental artifice.

The novel begins with a mystery surrounding the death of a knight and gradually weaves together the lives of various characters, Tom Builder, a skilled mason who dreams of building a grand cathedral. Jack Jackson, a gifted young architect with a mysterious past who plays a critical role in the cathedral's creation. Tom Builder’s and Jack’s dreams drive the cathedral's creation, reflecting the transformative power of vision and determination. The novel spans multiple decades, chronicling the personal and political struggles of its characters. Kingsbridge becomes a microcosm of medieval England, grappling with challenges such as famine, war, and the clash between feudal lords and the church. The cathedral, with its architectural innovations, serves as a symbol of human achievement and perseverance. The church is both a force for good and a tool for political manipulation. The historical novel vividly portrays the anarchy, civil war and chaos in England during King Stephen’s reign. Follet also includes the intricate details about building and development of the Gothic style church, including pointed arches and flying buttresses making architectural details of Medieval period intricately woven into the story.

2024- why you should care

Built between the 12th and 14th centuries, Notre Dame has been a central place of worship for the Catholic Church in France. Notre Dame is one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture, showcasing innovations like ribbed vaults, flying buttresses, and pointed arches, all built with crude technology. Among the first structures to use flying buttresses extensively, Notre Dame revolutionized cathedral design by providing external support that enabled higher walls and expansive windows. The cathedral is known for soaring heights and large stained-glass windows, creating a sense of lightness and divine inspiration which are both ethereal and aesthetic.

What is beautiful? Philosophers will try to understand, qualify, and quantify what makes art and architecture appealing. Aesthetics also takes a deeper look at the artwork itself, trying to understand the meaning behind it, both what it means to society and the arts appeal on an individual level. A question an aesthetic philosopher would seek is to address is whether or not beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder, is a Gothic structure still considered beautiful in an age of glass and steel?

Ken Follet’s well written masterpiece gives us an insight and an understanding into the passion and effort of building of grand gothic structures. However, we don’t have to imagine what a grand cathedral looks like as there are many across Europe with Paris’s Notre Dame being one of the finest. While Follet’s novel is an imaginary town and cathedral, this great novel and gothic structure in Paris occupy the same vision of understanding and honoring incredible past achievements.

Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris suffered severe damage as a random electrical issue caused a fire in April of 2019. It was a devastating event that severely damaged the iconic Gothic structure, including the collapse of its spire and significant damage to the roof. The structure looked beyond hope to restore, yet 100s of million dollars poured in from France, Europe and the United States. Why? Wouldn’t it make sense to tear it down and build a new better cathedral, that has new technology and amenities?

Notre Dame took 182 years to complete, and King Louis VII never saw its completion. So why build these great Cathedrals when one won’t even be alive to see its completion, or why restore an 800-year-old, damaged building?

Ken Follet’s epic, The Pillars of the Earth, answers those questions.

“A cathedral isn’t just a building. It’s an aspiration. It’s a statement of faith, a beacon of hope, and a work of art that speaks to the generations yet to come. Building a cathedral is an act of defiance against time, against the ephemeral nature of life. It says: We were here, we believed, and we created something that will endure.”

And now you know...

Thanks, Dad, for the gift of curiosity!

Philosophy is the art of thinking, the building block of progress that shapes critical thinking across economics, ethics, religion, and science.

METAPHYSICS: Literally, the term metaphysics means ‘beyond the physical.’ Typically, this is the branch that most people think of when they picture philosophy. In metaphysics, the goal is to answer what and how questions in life. Who are we, and what are time and space?

LOGIC: The study of reasoning. Much like metaphysics, understanding logic helps to understand and appreciate how we perceive the rest of our world. More than that, it provides a foundation for which to build and interpret arguments and analyses.

ETHICS: The study of morality, right and wrong, good and evil. Ethics tackles difficult conversations by adding weight to actions and decisions. Politics takes ethics to a larger scale, applying it to a group (or groups) of people. Political philosophers study political governments, laws, justice, authority, rights, liberty, ethics, and much more.

AESTHETICS: What is beautiful? Philosophers try to understand, qualify, and quantify what makes art what it is. Aesthetics also takes a deeper look at the artwork itself, trying to understand the meaning behind it, both art as a whole and art on an individual level. A question an aesthetics philosopher would seek to address is whether or not beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder.

EPISTEMOLOGY: This is the study and understanding of knowledge. The main question is how do we know? We can question the limitations of logic, how comprehension works, and the ability (or perception) to be certain.