I finished World Without End, the second book of Follett’s “Kingsbridge” series. While I like the historical setting, this is not really my kind of book. It contains a lot of romance plot points with love triangles (not my thing); it is also quite explicit and contains some graphic violence. The first book in the series, The Pillars of the Earth (1989), contained these aspects with one or two scenes that were overly fanciful, but it was very well written and worth reading (however, be warned about the graphic violence, including violence against women, in it). The Pillars of the Earth was set in England in the 1100s. World Without End is a sequel set in the 1300s. (I have also previously read Follett’s The Evening and the Morning (2020), which is a prequel to The Pillars of the Earth and set around the year 1000.)
The title of the book “world without end” comes from the Gloria Patri hymn, which is one of the hymns sung to mark seven fixed prayer times of the day (the Liturgy of the Hours) in the early Christian church. The Church, as an institution, is a major component of the series.
I almost stopped reading it halfway through. There was a torture-execution scene that I did not want to visualize, and I skipped over the pages describing it (which is rare for me; I usually try to see it through and completely read a book). I read a bit more after that point and almost decided to stop and start another book (again, rare for me), but then it grabbed me and got interesting. I ended up double-checking the year it was published, 2007, while reading because some of the passages were eerily prescient. I don’t think it is a spoiler to mention that a pandemic erupted (it is, after all, set in the 14th century) and there were arguments about how to best guard against the spread of the disease, which became politicized by the characters. (One is forced to wonder, despite all our advances, are we living closer to the 14th century than we realize?)
There are some strong recycled archetypes between the two books. There is a political secret that spans the book, an engineeringly gifted young man, a fiercely independent woman, a manipulative political-genius mother, a hard-working understanding father, disagreements between brothers, corrupt officials, including an individual that is more cruel than usual that the reader ends up hating, a square-up near the end where the evil character(s) get justice (it would be disappointing without this, but it is predictable), a king or queen makes an appearance midway through, etc. One or two of these would be ok, but I found this broad reliance on the same types of characters disappointing. However, I must also say that it is well-knit and consistent between the three books that I have read at this point.
One thing that I have often wondered about is just what was life like in the European Middle Ages (and other periods and places in history and prehistory). It is hard to know because we have the foggy distorted distance of time, gaps in knowledge, and stereotypes that have accumulated. Was it really as dim and brutal as it is portrayed, not so bad, or worse? Could there be aspects that, in some ways, were better than today? How would people from then view how we live today? What would we be surprised by about their perceptions of us and our perceptions of them? In what ways are we more similar or more different than we realize? (Imagining other exchanges in history, besides the present day, of people and their views is also interesting.) Of course, a lot of this is unknowable, but I try to keep an open mind in thinking about the possibilities. Follett’s “Kingsbridge” series, right or wrong, puts you into the framework of thinking about daily life in the English Middle Ages.
That being said, the 1300s were a rough time in Europe. The Black Death was the worst of the bubonic plague pandemics that spread through Europe from 1346 to 1353. It is estimated to have killed over a third of the people in Europe. This came after the Great Famine in the early 1300s (where at one point, even the King of England could not find food for meals) that together with the pandemic may have killed over half of the people in Europe. The Medieval Warm Period ended and the Little Ice Age, a colder wetter period that lasted several centuries, was starting at the time which contributed to the famine. These events contributed to the Crisis of the Late Middle Ages, which saw increased political instability, overlaying wars with the other problems.
Reading the books in this series reminds me of a friend of mine that would go to check on his grandmother each day. She would have a soap opera playing on TV, and he didn’t like watching soap operas. However, he picked up on some ongoing developments in the show because he would be at her house at about the same time each day and it would always be playing. One time while driving there, he realized that he wanted to see what would happen next in the show and was surprised at himself. I feel drawn to read the other novels in this series not because I really like the writing but because I am curious about how the setting develops over time.
One last note: I avoid reading about a book before posting a review. I don’t want any plot spoilers, and I don’t want other people’s reviews to influence mine. I was putting together links to the book at the end of this post and found out that there was a 2012 miniseries based on the book, which was quite a surprise. Something similar happened to me with Weir’s (2011) The Martian. I was going to send the book to my brother to read, and not only had he already read it, but he told me that they were making a movie based on it.
Wordlist
- Abutment—a structure supporting the outward pressure of an arch.
- Acerbity—sharp, direct speech.
- Adroitly—in a clever or ingenious way.
- Alacrity—cheerful and eager.
- Alderman—a chief official presiding over a shire or district. Literally from “elder-man”.
- Alms—donations for the poor.
- Agog—very eager and curious.
- Aspergillum—a tool with a handle to shake and sprinkle holy water.
- Asperity—harshness.
- Assignations—a secret meeting.
- Bailiff—an officer that carries out legal orders.
- Bishopric—a district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
- Blandishments—flattery to coax someone into action.
- Bloodletting—The traditional European medical practice of removing blood to balance humors and restore health. This was in widespread use until the 19th century.
- Boudoir—a woman’s bedroom.
- Broached—to pierce something. Also, to raise a subject. Compare to brooch, which is jewelry held on with a pin (that pierces fabric).
- Brocade—fabric with a pattern woven into it.
- Bumptious—irritatingly proud and selfish.
- Carter—a cart driver. This seems obvious, but it feels odd to see it used by itself.
- Cathedra—a bishop’s throne (the big raised seat).
- Chancel—the front of a church near the altar.
- Charette—a meeting of designers to find a solution.
- Chilblains—itchy bumps and sores that can form from exposure to cold.
- Chirograph—a document that is written in duplicate on the same parchment and cut across a handwritten word (“chirographum” Latin for a handwritten agreement) so that it can be fitted together to prove that each is an authentic copy of the other. Each part would be held by one of the parties in the written arrangement. This is similar to the earlier split tally system where a debt would be recorded on a plank with long notches and the plank was split to record the arrangement and so that each party could verify the authenticity of the notches. The larger part was held by the lender and called a stock (the person was the stockholder). The shorter part was kept by the receiver and called a foil.
- Choleric—bad-tempered, irritable. It comes from the idea of being dominated by the humor choler. Choler is one of the four humors in medieval European medicine and is associated with bile. Choler is also associated with fire in the “four elements” system.
- Clerestory—the upper part of the central nave of a large church with windows for light into the main area of the church.
- Cloisters—a covered walk running along the outside wall of a building that is open to the outside along one side.
- Coquettish / coquettishly / coquetry—playfully flirtatious in a teasing lighthearted way.
- Corrodiary—a lifetime allowance for support of an individual from a religious institution.
- Debauch—excessive indulgence or to corrupt.
- Destriers—a warhorse of the Middle Ages.
- Desultory—without a plan or purpose.
- Dormer windows—a window that projects out from the slope of a roof and has its own small roof extension above it.
- Dovecote—a shelter for pigeons.
- Dross—worthless waste and impurities that are a by-product of smelting metal.
- Ebullient—full of cheerful energy. Related to the word boiling. It reminds me of effulgent, radiant and joyful.
- Efficacious—effective.
- Enjoined—instructed to do something or prohibited from doing something (a contronym!).
- Equanimity—calm in difficult situations.
- Evensong—a church service held near sunset that was a combination of vespers and compline.
- Extrados—the outer curve of an arch.
- Fisticuffs—fist fighting.
- Forestalling—preemptively obstructing someone from doing something later in time.
- Formwork—a mold used in construction. Today this is most commonly used with pouring concrete. In the book, it referred to a frame to temporarily hold stonework while an arch was being formed.
- Fracas—a loud quarreling disturbance.
- Fulling—a process of felting cloth, which involves cleaning, pressure, and water.
- Garrulousness—rambling tediously talkative.
- Gibe—to insult, taunt, or mock.
- Glazier—someone that cuts and installs glass.
- Guileless—without deception.
- Harrow—a heavy frame with tines to pull over land to break up the soil.
- Hauteur—prideful, haughty, disdainful.
- Heddle—a part of a loom that separates the threads for weaving.
- Heriot—a tax paid to a lord from the property of a tenant that has died.
- Heterodox—not conforming to standards.
- Hostlers—a stableman that is employed to look after horses.
- Implacable—relentless.
- Imprecations—a curse.
- Ingratiate—pleasing someone in order to gain their favor.
- Itinerant—a person that normally travels from place to place.
- Jilted—suddenly rejected.
- Lascivious—lewd.
- Lazar—a diseased person. In the book, it refers to people with leprosy.
- Livery—a servant’s uniform.
- Lugubrious—sounding sad.
- Madder—a plant (Rubia tinctorum) that produces a red dye from its roots.
- Martinet—someone that enforces strict discipline, sometimes to the extent that the rules are more important than ethics or common sense. It comes from the name of a short disciplinary whip with multiple lashes and a wooden handle.
- Matins—a church service held before sunrise.
- Matricularius—a timekeeper assistant to the sacrist who was in charge of church services.
- Maudlin—overly sentimental.
- Mendacious—lying.
- Minx—a bold, impudent, flirtatious, or scheming woman.
- Mordant—a chemical that fixes a dye into a material.
- Mullions—the vertical bars that separate panes of glass.
- Murrain—an infectious disease of livestock.
- Nave—the large main area of a church for the public inside the entrance.
- Oaf—a stupid or clumsy person. I wrote this down because I was curious about the word history. In some older definitions, it can indicate a child suspected of being a changeling. The word oaf may be related to elf.
- Obedientiaries—monastery officials that served under the prior and sub-prior.
- Obsequies—burial rite. (This would be easy and dangerous to confuse with Obsequious.)
- Obsequious—ready to help to an excessive degree in an insincere or irritating way in order to gain favor.
- Palliasse—a straw mattress.
- Paramour—a lover.
- Peccadillo—a small, unimportant offense.
- Penitence—showing sorrow and regret for wrongdoing.
- Pensive—deep thought.
- Penury—extreme poverty.
- Perfunctorily—indifferent, lacking enthusiasm.
- Peroration—the last part of a speech that is intended to stir motivation in the audience.
- Perspicacity—insightful.
- Petulant / petulance—sulky, fretful, cranky.
- Phlegmatic—unemotional. One of the four temperaments related to humourism.
- Physiognomy—general appearance or assessing someone’s character from their facial features.
- Pinnacles—architectural caps on top of features of a building.
- Prato—a field of grass on low ground.
- Precipitately—impulsively.
- Prie-dieu—a type of prayer desk.
- Prime—one fo the seven fixed prayer times at the first hour of daylight and facing in an eastward direction.
- Prior—the head of a monastery.
- Priory—a monastery headed by a prior.
- Propitiation—appeasing a diety.
- Refectory—a room where communal meals are held.
- Rictus—a fixed grin.
- Rueful / ruefully—sympathy, sorrow, or regret.
- Sacrist—a church official in charge of the sacristy, a room containing furnishing, sacred objects, and records.
- Solar—the upper story of a home or building used as a family’s private living quarters as opposed to the great hall on the ground floor.
- Squire—a knight’s apprentice.
- Subverted—undermine power and authority.
- Supercilious—behaving superior to others.
- Sybaritic—self-indulgent, fond of pleasure.
- Sycophant / Sycophantic—fawning flatterer toward someone of influence.
- Tabula—plate, tablet, or full-page print.
- Tactiturn—unsocially reluctant to speak.
- Tactless—blunt and undiplomatic.
- Tearaways—unruly and reckless people.
- Temerity—confident and bold.
- Tetchy—irritable.
- Transept—a crosswise open area of a building that runs across the main open area (known as the nave) as in a cross-shaped floor plan of a church.
- Trestle / trestle table—triangular or x-shaped support or frame. A board can be placed on top of trestles (like saw horses) to make a table.
- Tribune—a raised platform where a crowd can be addressed.
- Unctuously—overly agreeable, “oily” in manner.
- Virago—a domineering bad-tempered woman.
- Virgate—approximately 30 acres of land.
- Whitsun / Whitsunday—Pentacost, the seventh Sunday after Easter. There were similarities to Beltane (the traditional start of summer midway between the Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice, often on May 1st). The week following Whitsunday was known as Whitsuntide, and serfs had a week-long holiday from work for their lords this week. There were a lot of celebrations this week, with parades, dancing, and fairs. It was a very popular holiday, like the Winter Holidays today. Note the similarities to May Day and Labour Day (not the US Labor Day).
- Wiles—devious strategy to manipulate someone.
- Wryly—dry mocking humor.
Memorable phrase
- “Money sticks to that man like wet leaves”
Links
- World Without End (2007)
- The Pillars of the Earth (1989), if you read this series, start here. In my opinion, this is the best-written of the three books I have read so far.
- The Evening and the Morning (2020). This can be read either second or third after The Pillars of the Earth.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Ages
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Death
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Ice_Age
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Famine_of_1315%E2%80%931317
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crisis_of_the_Late_Middle_Ages
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloria_Patri
Leave a Reply to David Cancel reply