The Pillars of the Earth

The Tudors is actually filmed in Ireland and I think they get tax breaks for doing that - so that's probably why it's called an Irish-Canadian production.
 
He'd probably have fed it with a rag dipped in milk, as that's what they did in the days before bottles if the mother wasn't around. :)

I really enjoyed this and watching it on Virgin On Demand was a great way to spend an autumn Sunday afternoon. The characters and the story gripped me from the start, and I found myself mentally cheering the goodies and hissing the villains.
One thing though, in my memories of the book, the young people - Alfred, Jack and Martha - were much younger.
 
Don't forget there's quite a lot of sugar in fruit. - rots your teeth just as much as white granulated does :cry:
A lot of "prehistoric" skeletons that have been unearthed have shown large quantities of plaque and I would expect that most people from the PotE times would be in the same situation.
 
It was common practice , whether the baby was an orphan , or the mother's milk dried up and there was no 'wet nurse.'


One gripe - Philip of Gwynedd's Welsh accent was awful.

I'm Welsh and it wasn't until Ian McShane referred to him as Welsh that I realised what the accent was, and I laughed.

I suppose I'll just have to get used to it.:D But its hard to take him seriously at the mo.
 
Bump!

Can't wait for this tonight. Have already booked my place on the sofa, baggsied the soft furry throw and told the Mini Sulkos that they're watching XCr&pster in the kitchen! :p

Who else will be watching?
 
Yes, it is filmed in Ireland, but being made in a particular place doesn't make that county a producer of the thing technically, otherwise virtually everything America films in Canada would be a "Canadian co-production."
 
Dunno if this helps but I saw her in a mini series called 'Rosamund Pilcher's Four Seasons' - it was on a few weeks ago in the afternoon. She played a concert pianist who was the daughter of a wealthy man and she had run away from home years ago.

I didnt see the credits to know her name but she has a very distinctive face and manner of speaking. So I'm certain it was her.

Well, not certain but I'm going to google her now.



I haven't read Pillars of the Earth but I'm so glad I recorded this. I just watched it this afternoon thoroughly enjoyed it.
 
Sweetmeats were the common 'dessert' - and were often made with a combination of nuts and honey, - something like marzipan- and later, probably in the 15/16th century elaborate desserts using sugar became particulalry popular amongst the wealthy and at court where there woud have been a cook soley in charge of 'delicacies'.
 
oh well lets bring in the daleks then! :D

of COURSE historical accuracy applies, it was set in arthurian times, the 5th centuary, the time between the romans and saxon invasion..
 
When faced with the loss of access to the quarry for all the new cathedral's stone, the prior asks Tom the master builder if they can continue without it! Tom manages to answer no without any hint of sarcasm at all! :D

A cathedral built without stone in the 12thC - well if Tom's invented Gothic in England 40y too early perhaps he's got a recipe for Portland cement 700y to early too! Or access to some corrugated iron and I beams instead?

What happened to the burnt church ruins and when did they dig any foundations for the new cathedral? I can see a tower collapse 100y off at this rate with foundations as thin as a picnic rug.

Liked the painted statue - wonder if they will be realistic and paint the inside of the cathedral in gaudy colours too when that is more complete?

Loving all the aged Norman/ Romanesque stonework that is at best a whopping 70y old by 1140s! Some poor sod had to age all that polysyrene and glass fibre molded stonework rather than leave it almost pristine as it would have been by then. And yes I know there is a smidgeon of pre conquest (ie Anglo-Saxon) Romanesque in England - but even that is still likely to be 11thC and thus ~140y old max.

Also, what happened to the them and us division between (mostly) Normal ruling class and Saxon (English) peasants? That was still an open wound. We won't even start on them writing modern English and the court not speaking Norman French - whatever that sounded like. The Tardis like mutation of all to modern English sound and writting has spread from Dr Who I see. Was the Norman/Saxon divide in the book but simplified away for TV I wonder?

But what I say is more dwarf nudity to distract me from the architectural faux-pas.;)
 
Ah, thanks for that, as it was confusing me too. I thought she was meant to be Matilda but the name Maud threw me off. I don't remember her being called that before. Also, this series makes a nice change from the usual period dramas and I'm enjoying it so far.
 
"Maud" is the Saxon version of the Latin name "Matilda." Different historical sources use either name, but Matilda is certainly more formal, and people tend to use the informal in conversation.
 
Really been looking forward to this, but off out to see a show tonight, then away for a few days, so won't be able to catch up for a while. How many episodes are there?
 
Weren't the villagers digging the foundations when the king came to visit? ISTR the word "foundations" being mentioned in that scene. Anyway, it's not Grand Designs, it's Cadfael meets Dallas: medieval intrigue and plotting - not architecture. So until Jonathan Meade gets a walk on part :) I'm quite happy to accept the architectural "ooopsies"
 
It may not have sounded very much like a 21st Century Welsh accent, but who can say that it wasn't an absolutely perfect 12th Century one? ;):D
 
Really didn't enjoy it so much last night. It was far too disjointed and the advert breaks drove me nuts.:mad: I can't really put my finger on it - but there was little time to get into a scene before it either switched to the next one or went to that annoying BT woman on the sofa. Think I'll wait and buy the DVD. Also, there were many incidents that didn't happen in the book in this episode.

Though I would like to add the Matthew M plays Philip exactly as I pictured him. Oh, and has anyone read AA Gill's write up in today's Sunday Times?:D Well, you have to laugh.............(I don't think he likes it:eek:) I mean, I think Donald Sutherland is miscast too, but I really hope the poor bloke doesn't read that missive!
 
I don't subscribe to Times Online (purely a financial decision), but a blogger has given us a taste of Gill's opinion:

It was a thatch of illogical unbelievability, wrapped in clich
 
Back
Top