History VideoGame / ThePillarsOfTheEarth

The point-and-click adventure game adapted from the [[Literature/ThePillarsOfTheEarth book of the same name.]]
It was developed and published by German studio Daedalic Entertainment in 2017-2018.

!!The game contains examples of:

* ArrangedMarriage: William and Elizabeth
* AxCrazy: William, to put it mildly.
* BigBadDuumvirate: Waleran Bigod and the Hamleighs, particularly William. Their schemes are the main source of problems that the people of Kingsbridge have to contend with.
* BigBadWannabe: Alfred Builder and Brother Remigius loathe protagonists Jack Jackson and Prior Philip, devoting their entire lives to ruining them. Though they do their part, they're but small pieces in the schemes of the story's true villains, Waleran Bigod and William Hamleigh.

* TheChessmaster: Bishop Waleran Bigod.
* ChristianityIsCatholic: {{Justified|Trope}}, not surprisingly, as the Reformation was still centuries away.
* CivilWar: The Anarchy.
* CreatorCameo: Ken Follett appears as a voice of Cantor.
* CorruptChurch: Played straight with Ministers like Waleran who are raised to the top of the hierarchy; averted with Philip, Jonathan and other monks who strive to be {{Good Shepherd}} and dislike corrupt ministers.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Waleran Bigod and William Hamleighvhave severe cases of this.
* CompositeCharacter: Phillip's brother Francis now is the one who finds baby Jonathan.
* DamselOutOfDistress: Aliena is often in danger, but she's still quite intelligent and resourceful.

* DeathByChildbirth: Agnes, Tom's first wife.

* DefrostingIceQueen: Aliena.
* DisappearedDad: Jack's father
* TheDogBitesBack: When William's abused wife helps Richard and his army to infiltrate and take over his castle and depose him as earl.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: Phillip, Aliena, Jack.
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: William
* EvilMatriarch: Lady Regan Hamleigh.
* FallenPrincess: Aliena.

* GoodShepherd: Prior Philip

* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Remigius]] and potentionally [[spoiler:William's right hand man, Walter]].
* HeroicBastard: Jack.
* HolierThanThou: Waleran Bigod.
* HonorBeforeReason:
** Aliena's father, much to Aliena's dismay. Like in the book, she resents her father for making her swear to restore the family's lordship
** Philip is this most of the time, even if he is considered a very practical man for a monk.

* HopelessSuitor: William.

* ImpoverishedPatrician: Aliena and her brother Richard.
* {{Jerkass}}: Alfred, Tom's son.
* LoveAtFirstSight: Jack and Aliena, at least for Jack.
* MamaBear: Ellen.
* MissionFromGod: Philip considers his work to raise a cathedral to be this.

* MultipleEndings: it's up to the player if [[spoiler:Richard lives]] and [[spoiler:who becomes the earl of Shiring]]

* ParentalFavoritism: Tom to Alfred.

* RomancingTheWidow: Ellen was doing this to Tom, although they had met when his wife still lived.
* SecondLove: Ellen and Tom are this to each other.
* SinisterMinister: Waleran Bigod.

* SuccessionCrisis: TruthInTelevision!

* TimeSkip: Happens between every “book”.
* TimePassageBeard: Jack
* TheHighMiddleAges: The novel is set in this era.

* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: For all that he fails to act like it most of the time, the very mention of Hell is usually enough to make William shake with fear.

* Such is the fate of several historical figures who feature in the novel, notably Thomas Becket and Henry of Blois, neither of whom is present in the game.
* Also Johnny Sixpence. He brought baby Jonathan to the priory and became a monk to care for him. In the game, baby Jonathan is saved by Phillip's brother Francis.

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Philip telling Waleran about Bartholomew of Shiring's plans to overthrow King Stephen, in an attempt to protect the Church and bestow the responsibility on someone higher in Church standing, starts a chain of events that leads to William's father becoming the new earl, William raping Bartholomew's daughter Aliena as revenge for her declining his proposal and insulting him, and Tom the Builder losing his first income in ages as well as [[spoiler:his life]] in good time. [[HeelRealization Philip seems to realize this]], since he buys Aliena's wool when no other merchant will buy from a woman and she needs the money.

* Composite Character: Phillip's brother Francis now is the one who finds baby Jonathan.

** ''Literature/WorldWithoutEnd'' is a SurprisinglyImprovedSequel in this regard, with the guild and feudal manor systems in particular playing a prominent role.

* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: For all that he fails to act like it most of the time, the very mention of Hell is usually enough to make William shake with fear.
* WomanScorned: Ellen is an unusual exa

* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Richard has the tendency to be a ball and chain to his big sis Aliena. He gets better as he gets older.

* ArrangedMarriage: William and Aliena would have become this (it ended very badly), but it was to be William and Elizabeth twenty years later.

* BreakTheCutie:
** From a modern perspective, young Aliena is a feisty and fetching noblewoman who wisely rejects the advances of a creep. [[DeliberateValuesDissonance She suffers very, very horribly for it.]]
** Played straight with Elizabeth, quite literally on her wedding night, when William sates his violent lusts on her.

* HopelessSuitor: William. Aliena suffers awfully for this.

* Such is the fate of several historical figures who feature in the novel, notably Thomas Becket and Henry of Blois, neither of whom is present in the series.

** Such is the fate of several historical figures who feature in the novel, notably Thomas Becket and Henry of Blois, neither of whom is present in the series.
** Also Johnny Sixpence. He brought baby Jonathan to the priory and became a monk to care for him. In the game, baby Jonathan is saved by Phillip's brother Francis.
* CreatorCameo: Ken Follett appears as a voice of Cantor.

* HeroicBastard: Jack Jackson.
* TookALevelinBadass: Richard
* TimePassageBeard: Jack

* Such is the fate of several historical figures who feature in the novel, notably Thomas Becket and Henry of Blois, neither of whom is present in the series.
* Also Johny Sixpence. He broght baby Jonathan to the priory and became a monk to care for him. In the game, baby Jonathan is saved by Phillip's brother Francis.

*

* Heroic Bastard: Jack Jackson.

* CreatorCameo: Ken Follett appears as a voice of Cantor.

* Also Johny Sixpence. He broght baby Jonathan to the priory and became a monk to care for him. In the game, baby Jonathan is saved by Phillip's brother Francis.

* Also Brother Johny. In the books he was a thief who found baby Jonathan. He broght him to the priory and became a monk to care for him. In the game, baby Jonathan is saved by Phillip's brother Francis.

* AdaptedOut: Such is the fate of several historical figures who feature in the novel, notably Thomas Becket and Henry of Blois, neither of whom is present in the series.

* AdaptedOut:
Such is the fate of several historical figures who feature in the novel, notably Thomas Becket and Henry of Blois, neither of whom is present in the series.

!!The game contains examples of: