The Evening and the Morning
| File:The Evening and the Morning.jpg | |
| Author | Ken Follett |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Historical fiction, Novel |
| Publisher | Macmillan |
Publication date | 2020 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 832 |
| ISBN | 978-1447278788 |
| Followed by | The Pillars of the Earth |
 | This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (April 2022) |
The Evening and the Morning is a historical fiction novel by Welsh author Ken Follett. It is a prequel to The Pillars of the Earth set starting in 997 CE, and covering a period in the late Dark Ages and under the backdrop of Viking raids, through the year 1007 CE. The book expands upon the history and founding of the fictional town of Kingsbridge, England, and the construction of the bridge and cathedral there (and the origin of the town's name is exapained). It was released on September 15, 2020.[1][2]
The title is in the opening lines of "The Merchant's Tale" from The Canterbury Tales.
A series based on the book is in the works at Legendary Television and Range Media Partners.[3]
An important aspect of the book's plot is that at the time, the Catholic Church has not yet gotten control of marriages, as it would in the later Middle Ages. In the Saxon England of the book, marriage is a civil ceremony rather than a religious sacrament; a man may marry two wives and in some cases a woman can also have two husbands; a husband may "put aside" his wife at his discretion; and inside the Church itself, Priests can and do get married, and are not yet bound to celibacy. Many turns of the book's plot would have been impossible in the later Medieval society, where the Church had a complete monopoly of marriage, polygamy and polyandry were totally forbidden and no marriage could be dissolved except by the Pope personally.
Plot
The novel begins in Combe, a fictional fishing village at the mouth of a river, just to the west of Portsmouth. Edgar, son of a boat builder, wakes up before dawn to sneak away with his lover, a married but unhappy woman, Sungifu (Sunni). Edgar has a job arranged in another village, and has prepared to sail himself and Sunni away to start a new life. Upon crossing the bay to Sunni's house, Edgar sees a Viking raiding party landing and rushes to raise the alarm. Edgar tries to save Sunni, but finds her dead at the hands of a Viking, whom Edgar kills, taking his axe, and then hiding. When the raid is over, Edgar sees his village destroyed, and his father murdered. Edgar's mother, and two dense brothers, Erman and Eadbald, are left penniless, homeless, and without even tools and lumber to build ships.
In the aftermath of the destruction, brothers Wilf, Ealdorman of Shiring; Wigelm, Lord of Combe (Wilf's subservient); and Wynstan, Bishop of Shiring, survey the damage. Wigelm laments that his income will decrease as his newly-homeless residents of Combe cannot pay rents. Wynstan, the lascivious but intelligent brains of the family, tells Wigelm that he must allow the residents to take lumber from the forest and forbearance on the rent in order to rebuild their lives. Edgar's mother complains to the lords about the situation, and Wynstan sees a chance to remove her as seditious influence in Combe. He offers the family a secretly bad farm in Dreng's Ferry, a small community with a nunnery and church a few days upriver from Combe, and the family accepts.
The family settles into their new farm near Dreng's Ferry. They meet the malicious Dreng, owner of the eponymous ferry and an alehouse, his spoiled daughter Cwenberg, and his two wives Leongifu (Leaf), Ethel, and a Welsh slave, Blod, who Dreng prostitutes. Degbert, Dean of the church, and landlord of the family, is brother to Dreng and a distant relation to Wynston, Wigelm, and Wilf. The extended family of Wystan is irredeemably corrupt and cruel.
One night, two thieves attempt to steal a pig from Edgar's family farm. The family kill one of the thieves, but the other, called "Iron-face," for the iron helmet worn, escapes. It is said that Iron-face has been marauding the land for years, eluding authorities.
Cwenberg attempts to seduce in succession, Edgar, who refuses, and then Erman and Eadbald. Erman and Eadbald fight over Cwenberg, resulting in both brothers marrying Cwenberg when she is discovered to be pregnant, but cannot identify which of the two brothers is the father. As depicted in the book, in English society of the time it is accepted, though unusual, for a man to have two wives and for a woman to have two husbands.
Meanwhile in Cherbourg, Lady Ragnhild (called Ragna), daughter of Count Hubert, is entertaining Father Aldred, a monk and the armarius (librarian) of Shiring Cathedral whose greatest wish is to create a center for books and learning. Aldred is gay and was exiled from Glastonbury Cathedral for a homosexual affair with a fellow monk. Ragna is not a typical noblewoman; she is literate, intelligent, and very interested in administering justice in her lands. Her parents hope for a good marriage with her and have some offers already.
Wilf visits Cherbourg to propose that Count Hubert stop sheltering Viking raiders in Normandy. Ragna and Wilf, both very good looking, are immediately attracted to each other, and have an exciting moment bringing down a boar together in a hunt. Later, a fire breaks out in a stable, and Ragna takes leadership of putting it out, impressing Wilf with her administrative skill. They illicitly have sex, and Wilf returns to England, to Ragna's disappointment. Bishop Wynstan returns with an offer of marriage from Wilf to Ragna, which is accepted.
Ragna heads to Shiring, but is robbed on the way by Iron-face. Ragna and her entourage take shelter in Dreng's Ferry, where she meets Edgar, who takes Lady Ragna to the nunnery for a bed, using a boat he has made to replace the aging canoe used as a ferry. She is impressed by Edgar's intelligence, honesty, and ingenuity, and remembers him. Edgar, meanwhile, has fallen in love with Ranga, though he believes a relationship with her is impossible.
At Shiring, Lady Ragna is married and settles into life governing and running the household. She takes control of lands she was granted in her marriage contract, and begins to dispense justice and administer Shiring on behalf of Wilf, who has no interest in governing. Ragna comes into direct opposition to Wilf's extended family, who see her as a threat. Wilf tires of Ragna and begins to sleep with other women, wounding Ragna, who begins to hate him.
Father Aldred crosses Bishop Wynstan and is "rewarded" with the position as prior of a newly-created monastery at Dreng's Ferry. Aldred meets Edgar, who he is attracted to, all the more so since Edgar will refuse his advances. Aldred and Edgar cooperate on improving the community.
The alehouse burns down, so Edgar proposes to build a stone alehouse for Dreng, who agrees. He transports the stone from a quarry owned by Ragna. Unbeknownst to Ragna, she is being cheated by her quarryman, and Edgar finds out and eventually informs her.
Edgar "the Builder" continues to improve the community. He fixes the church wall in exchange for reading lessons from Aldred. After a field floods their lands, Edgar develops a fish trap to feed the family. This ends up generating enough income to transform the family's livelihoods. Aldred brings a holy relic -- the bones of St. Adolphus (fictional but a plausible Medieval Saint) - to the church to attract pilgrims and increase the income of the priory. A jealous Wynstan has Dreng remove his ferry on a key festival day, so the pilgrims cannot get across. Aldred and Edgar build a pontoon bridge, which draws back the pilgrims and increases commerce. People begin to move to the new town, granted rental plots by the priory. Wynstan, Dreng, and Wigelm burn down the bridge, killing Leaf in the process. The elimination of the bridge inconveniences King Æthelred who is on a military campaign and cannot cross the river at the expected bridge. Aldred convinces the king to grant a charter to Dreng's Ferry for a bridge, a weekly market, and an annual faire, turning the town into "Kingsbridge."
Ragna offers the job of quarryman to Edgar, who accepts. He greatly improves Ragna's income. Edgar builds a canal to more easily transport stone for sale to the river, and a new town grows around the quarry. Dreng dies from a heart attack and his remaining wife, Ethel soon follows, tended by Blod and another slave, Mairead. Ethel leaves the tavern to the slaves, freeing them on her death.
Wilf is injured in a military campaign and permanently mentally disabled as a result. Ragna has Wilf dictate a will making her regent. Looking to dislodge Ragna, Wigelm and Wynstan kill Wilf and steal his treasury and Ragna's money. On visiting the quarry, Ragna and Edgar become attracted to each other and have sex. Wigelm pressures Ragna to marry him, but she refuses. Edgar plans to sneak Ragna to the nunnery to hide, but she is betrayed by a servant and Wigelm kidnaps her to a hunting lodge for a year. He rapes her repeatedly and Ragna becomes pregnant and gives birth to a boy, Alain. Faced with losing her children, Ragna returns to Shiring with Wigelm. Edgar, in love with Ragna, leaves to Normandy to study cathedral building.
Ragna continues to resist Wigelf and to punish her, he takes Alain away from her. Ragna is "set aside" and she moves to Kingsbridge as lady of the lands around the quarry. She works with Aldred to get Edgar to return, unsuccessfully. One day, Wigelm and his men come to the quarry and get drunk. In the night, a drunk Wigelm tries to rape Ragna. She murders him and dumps his body in the canal. Foul play is ruled out at an inquest led by Ragna.
Ragna returns to Shiring and takes possession of the compound, her family, and the lands as regent. The local Sheriff, Den, agrees to share power with Ragna (Ragna as administrator and the Sheriff as military leader) and the King affirms their plan. Bishop Wynstan resists the plans, but is losing his edge due to dementia caused by a sexually-transmitted disease, "Whore's Leprosy." Wynstan's condition, and his lustful habits, become public knowledge and he is blocked from becoming Archbishop of Canterbury. The new Archbishop becomes friends with Ragna, who recommends Wynstan be removed, and the Archbishop makes Aldred Bishop of Shiring, on condition the seat of the diocese be moved to Kingsbridge when the new cathedral is ready for use. Wynstan is imprisoned in Wilf's hunting lodge, then moved to leper island where the nunnery resides.
At the conclusion, Edgar arrives back from Normandy. Ragna proposes to him, and he agrees. Ragna grants lands to Edgar, making him a thane (a knight), and they are married by permission from the King.
Characters
- Ragna: Daughter of Count Hubert of Cherbourg, travels to England after marrying Ealdorman Wilwulf of Shiring.
- Aldred: A young monk who wishes on making Shiring a center of learning by creating a vast library.
- Edgar: The son of a boatbuilder that dreams of being a builder himself.
- Ealdorman Wilwulf (Also referred as Wilf): The older half-brother of Wynstan and Wigelm, and ealdorman of Shiring. He marries Ragna against the king's will after falling in love with her on a trip to Cherbourg.
- Bishop Wynstan: a greedy bishop obsessed with power, who uses his wit in order for his family to increase their wealth and social status.
- Wigelm: the younger brother of Wynstan and half-brother of Wilwulf.
References
- ^ Sheehan, Bill. "Review". Washington Post. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
- ^ Saunders, Tom Whipple. "The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett review; Eleven Lines to Somewhere by Alyson Rudd review". Retrieved 2021-01-14.
- ^ Del Rosario, Alexandra. "Ken Follett's 'The Evening And The Morning' To Be Developed As TV Series By Legendary TV & Range Media Partners". Retrieved March 30, 2021.
External links
- The Evening and the Morning on Ken Follett's website