| In the Book |
In the TV Show |
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In the book, Elfric Builder is a terrible man who works against Merthin (his apprentice) and is married to Caris' older sister, Alice. Alice survives him. |
In the miniseries, Elfric Builder is still terrible (and Merthin is his apprentice), but he also marries Caris against her will (so she can save her father's business). He forces himself on her, making both her and Merthin miserable. |
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Lady Phillippa, after being forced to marry Sir Ralph, eventually moves to the priory, has an affair with Merthin, then gets pregnant and has to go back to Ralph so he will think the child is his. Hers and Merthin's son, Roland, is thus raised as Ralph's 2nd son. Phillippa survives to the end of the book, taking pleasure in her daughter, son, and stepson. |
In the miniseries, after being forced to marry Sir Ralph, Lady Phillippa slits her wrists and dies on their wedding night rather than sleep with him.
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After Merthin's Florentine wife dies in the plague, he takes their daughter Lolla home to Kingsbridge with him. She eventually grows up to follow in Caris' footsteps as a healer. |
Merthin's wife and daughter both die in the Florentine plague, and he returns to Kingsbridge alone. |
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Young Gwenda's father is a terrible man who sells her into marriage (in fact, into prostitution) before she escapes. |
Young Gwenda's father not only sells her into marriage (in fact into prostitution), he is also sexually abusing her the whole time. Because the miniseries is just rapey-er
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Mattie Wise, the herbalist and healer, escapes Kingsbridge before she can ever be accused of witchcraft. However, a crazy woman named Nell is found guilty of witchcraft earlier on and is whipped through town to be hanged (but the bridge collapses first) |
Mattie Wise is the one found guilty of witchcraft. She is taken to the bridge to be hanged, and when the bridge collapses her body is dramatically whipped into the air. |
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Edmond Wooler dies of illness and old age. |
Edmond Wooler is murdered by his sister, Petranilla.
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Prior Anthony drowns when the bridge collapses. |
Prior Anthony survives the bridge collapse, only to be drowned by his sister, Petranilla. |
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Petranilla was once engaged to Sir Roland |
Petranilla got pregnant by Lord Roland, as a teenager, and gave the baby (Ralph) to the Fitzgeralds to raise as their own.
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Ralph murders his first wife, Phillippa's young cousin Matilda, after the birth of their son Gerald. He kills her in part so that he can marry Phillippa and become earl. |
Matilda and Gerry do not exist in the miniseries. |
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After running away from the plague (w/ the monks and the cathedral treasures), Godwyn also dies from the plague. Our heroes find the treasures buried in a coffin. |
Our heroes find the treasure while Godwyn has gone crazy from seeing everyone die, but Godwyn himself survives the plague to continue tormenting the town, and Caris, for the full second half of the story.
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Gwenda's brother Philomon (Holger) is a thief and a schemer who takes over as prior and antagonist after Godwyn dies. |
Gwenda's brother Philomon (Holger) is sweet and supportive. |
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In the book, Aunt Petranilla is a schemer who will seemingly do anything to advance her son, Godfwyn, in the church. But she doesn't kill people. |
In the miniseries, Aunt Petranilla is a multiple murderer, poisoning or drowning at least 4 (or more) characters.
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In the book, Aunt Petranilla (who hasn't killed anyone) dies of the plague |
In the series, Aunt Petranilla survives her illness, leaving her haggard and pocked, and kills yet again. |
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The book starts with 4 children--Merthin, his brother Ralph, Caris, and Gwenda-- playing in the woods when they see the knight, Sir Thomas Langley, being chased by the Queen's men. But they are only 11 or 12 years old. |
The miniseries starts with the characters in their teens. Merthin and Ralph are practicing sword fighting when they see Langley being chased by other soldiers.
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Toward the end, issues between Sir Ralph and Gwenda are resolved in a private confrontation between Gwenda, her teenaged son Sam, Sir Ralph, and his man at arms. |
The dramatic ending of the story is a major serf's revolt against their overlord, Sir Ralph, who is killed in the fight. |
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In the book, Sir Thomas Langley turns out to have been carrying a letter from Edward II which explains that he (Edward III) survived the assassination, thanks to Thomas. Thomas hides the letter as insurance, but Merthin knows where it is and digs it up after Thomas's death from old age. |
In the miniseries, Sir Thomas Langley *IS* King Edward II, who survived the assassination attempt by his wife. What he buries for insurance is his royal seal.
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