History Series / ThePillarsOfTheEarth

* EvilForeigner: part of the initial distrust Tom's wife and Alfred have for Ellen is that she isn't English (she's a Saxon whose father brought her to England to improve her education and have her join a nunnery)

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Elizabeth, William's Wife. Disappears after Richard retakes Shiring.

* RedHeadedStepchild: Tom is a redheaded [[HeroicBastard bastard]] child.

* TheAtoner: a minor character is a former thief who rescues Jonathon when Tom is forced to abandon him and becomes one of the monks of Kingsbridge

* TheAtoner: a minor character is a former thief who rescues the baby Tom abandons and becomes one of the monks of Kingsbridge

* RedHeadedStepchild

* RedHeadedStepchild: Jack is literally redheaded and figuratively Tom's stepson (Tom and Ellen never married).

* RedHeadedStepchild

* EvenEvilHasStandards: While [[spoiler:killing the pig boy that Waleran substituted for Eustace]], Walter looks distinctly unhappy about it. He still does it, because he's got orders, but he actually hesitates.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: While [[spoiler:killing the pig boy that Wailan substituted for Eustace]], Walter looks distinctly unhappy about it. He still does it, because he's got orders, but he actually hesitates.

* TookALevelInBadass: Richard went from a coward to a badass knight. All it took was ten years at TheCrusades.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: William and Waleran have moments when their conscious makes them feel guilty after the fact. Waleren usually scourges himself when that happens, while William fears he's going to Hell.

* ItWillNeverCatchOn: Philip accidentally invents the futures market some 500 years ahead of time, and Aliena has to convince him that it makes sense.

* HeyItsThatGuy: Jack is [[Film/BlackDeath Osmund]], [[TypeCasting a novice monk]].
** Aliena is [[TheDuchess Elizabeth Cavendish]].
** Prior Philip is [[PrideAndPrejudice Mr. Darcy]] from the 2005 movie, also called [[RobinHood2010 the Sheriff of Nottingham]].
** Tom Builder is [[Film/TheIllusionist crown prince Leopold of Austria]], aka [[AKnightsTale Count Adhemar]].
** Tom's wife, Agnes, is [[GameofThrones Lysa Arryn]].
** Empress Maud is [[ScottPilgrimVersusTheWorld Sex Bob-omb's drummer]].
** William is [[TheBorgias Juan Borgia]]
** Waleran is [[{{Deadwood}} Al Swearengen]].

* OneDialogueTwoConversations: Ellen/Aliena convincing [[TheDogBitesBack Remegius/Elizabeth to betray Waleran/William.]]

* VillainousIncest: William and Regan. Provides a bit of an explanation for why William [[CompleteMonster acts the way he does]]; one look at his face when he mother's coming onto him tells you that (1) he's really {{Squick}}ed out, and (2) this has likely been going on since he was very young. [[spoiler:One such overture directly leads to him killing Regan.]]

* MyRuleFuIsStrongerThanYours: Waleran tries to have Jack arrested on the cathedral site, and Philip invokes sanctuary. Waleran counts that the cathedral is unfinished and thus undedicated, so doesn't count as holy ground. [[spoiler:He's HoistByHisOwnPetard later when he tries to claim sanctuary himself.

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: William's troop of soldiers all promptley desert him and Waleran during the trial of Jack.

* DeadlyHug: [[William kills Regan by suffocation.]]

* CueTheSun: Masterfully invoked by Philip to put the fear of God into some quarriers.

* DarkerAndEdgier: The miniseries, in many respects. While it leaves out some of the gorier details of the novel, it also adds some incest to make the Hamleighs more villainous, and changes just about every death in the story into some sort of murder.

** Waleran whipping himself in classic TheDaVinciCode style.

** Also, Tom Builder’s idea of using glass to build cathedrals. Jack later invents stained glass windows.

* TookALevelInBadass: Richard went from a coward to a badass knight.

** And an earlier one while visiting Kingsbridge and seeing some paint on a newly finished statue drop on the [[spoiler: fake]] relic of St. Adolphus, causing it to look like the “saintly skull” is weeping, then noticing that Jack, its sculptor, is the fiery-haired artist boy he was warned about in a vision of Henry I.
* VillainousIncest: William and Regan. Provides a bit of an explanation for why William [[CompleteMonster acts the way he does]]; one look at his face when he mother's coming onto him tells you that (1) he's really {{Squick}}'d out, and (2) this has likely been going on since he was very young.