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There was also a ban on animals. Gwenda’s three-legged dog, Hop, had been banished. She wondered where he had spent the night.
Being hungry was worse than being whipped—it hurt longer.
Father reminded her that he was directly descended from the Thomas who became earl of Shiring in the year that Archbishop Becket was murdered by King Henry II. That Earl Thomas had been the son of Jack Builder, the architect of Kingsbridge Cathedral, and Lady Aliena of Shiring—a near-legendary couple whose story was told, on long winter evenings,
Caris had liked Merthin. His boring brother, Ralph, was just like every other boy in Kingsbridge, boastful and aggressive and stupid, but Merthin seemed different. He had intrigued her right from the start.
“Why learn heresy?” Anthony said scornfully. “Oxford students question the teachings of the church!” “In order to understand them better.”
It was said that pilgrims should not spend too much time planning their journey, for they might learn of so many hazards that they would decide not to go.
“Mankind is fallible, so we should not rely on our own reasoning. We cannot hope to understand the world—all we can do is stand amazed at God’s creation.
“A man who makes ointments and medicines is called an apothecary, but a woman who does the same runs the risk of being called a witch.
She wanted a lover, not a master; she wanted to live with him, not dedicate her life to him.
He did not say what they all knew: the king was in dire need of money because in the last few weeks he had declared war on France.
found guilty, and sentenced, by Prior Godwyn, to an appropriate punishment for those who robbed churches: he would be flayed alive. His skin would be cut off him, while he was fully conscious, and he would bleed to death.
Of course she had not forgotten him; but he could have figured out that she would not have spent nine years moping for him: she was not the type.
His affection for Ralph was always contaminated by his knowledge of the evil Ralph had done.
“When a man is proud, that counts for more than common sense.”
Anyway, she had no fear of traveling alone. “Too poor to be robbed, too old to be raped,” she joked.
