In the beginning of the novel, “The Pillars of the Earth”, an innocent young man is hanged as a priest, monk, and knight watch. Who this man is, his importance overall, and his connections to other characters’, shapes and molds the story. This young man acts as the central point, as someone who ties in everyone else’s paths to create the storyline, despite the fact he dies in the prologue, before the book even begins. At the very start of the novel, Ken Follett, the author, introduces a nameless young man. He is described as having carrot like red hair and startling bright green eyes. It is revealed he is a Frenchman by his dialogue. He is guilty of stealing a jeweled chalice, something impossible to sell because …show more content…
The three men in the prologue are mentioned throughout the novel, and revealed in the end their true identities and significance in the unjust execution. The knight is Sir Percy Hamleigh, the father of William Hamleigh, who dies before this information is given to Jack. Percy Hamleigh falsely testified against Jacques Cherbourg in order to gain power and land. The monk is Prior James, who is promoted and given power as well for his false accusations against Cherbourg. Prior James dies in the beginning of the novel, and it is said that he believed the downfall of the priory in Kingsbridge was due to the sin he committed involving the hanging. He confessed this on his deathbed to a monk at the time, Regimus. The priest in the prologue is Waleran Bigod. A cruel, corrupt, and manipulative man, he is the only one of the three men who is living throughout the entire novel. Waleran Bigod condemned Cherbourg for his own personal motives, like the others. In then novel, several hints are given that Percy Hamleigh, Prior James, and Waleran Bigod were involved with the hanging of the innocent man in the prologue, even though this is not confirmed until the end of the book. When both Waleran Bigod and Regimus, who knows Prior James’ secrets, both seem unsettled and taken aback by Ellen appearance in Kingsbridge, although they act as if she is a stranger to