Cathedrals as Characters Trivia Quiz

Answer: William Golding

"The Spire" is a 1964 novel by the English author William Golding (1911-1993). "The Spire" tells the history of Jocelin, the Dean of the Salisbury Cathedral, who believes he was chosen by God and wanted to add a 404-foot-high spire to the cathedral in order to be closer to God. Roger Mason, the medieval Master Mason, and others were against the construction, as they knew that the cathedral's foundations were insufficient to support the weight of the spire.

The novel portrays a man's obsession and arrogance, with dire consequences for everyone around him.

Answer: Victor Hugo

The novel whose original French title is "Notre-Dame de Paris", translated into English ​​as "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame", was published in 1831 and written by the French novelist and poet Victor Marie Hugo (1802-1885).

Victor Hugo, when writing "Notre-Dame de Paris", had it as one of his goals to draw the attention of his contemporaries to the value of Gothic architecture. This novel was considered a landmark in French literature, and has been adapted for cinema dozens of times, as well as for television and musical series.

Answer: Nelson DeMille

"Cathedral" is a novel by the American author Nelson DeMille (born 1943) published in 1981. On St. Patrick's Day many are celebrating at St. Patrick's Cathedral. However, the situation changed completely when Brian Flynn and other members of the Irish Republican Army - IRA - started a terrorist act, the seizure of the cathedral, and several people were killed including the main terrorist.

Answer: Ken Follett

"The Pillars of the Earth" is a historical novel written by Welsh author Ken Follett (born 1949) and published in 1989. The main theme of the work is the construction of a cathedral in the fictional city of Kingsbridge in England. The book covers the period 1123 to 1174 and shows the development of a generation that lived in the period known as Anarchy, when there was a civil war in England.

In the novel, the historical figures are only supportive, the focus is on the development of the small town of Kingsbridge and the construction of this cathedral. It is clear throughout the book that the story is driven by opposition between the interests of different groups and by the people that lived in the place.

Answer: Charles Dickens

"The Mystery of Edwin Drood" is the final novel by Charles Dickens (1812-1870) whose story takes place in Cloisterham, a place similar to Rochester and whose main characters are Edwin Drood, Rosa Bud and Drood's uncle, John Jasper an opium addict, precentor and choirmaster at Cloisterham Cathedral. Edwin Drood disappeared and was probably murdered.

Charles Dickens planned that the novel would be published in twelve chapters but, when he died in 1870, only six installments had been published. The novel was unfinished and the author left no detailed plans for the other chapters and for the solution of the crime that must have occurred. Many authors made adaptations of the novel and wrote the continuation of the story. Films, television and radio mini-series, theater plays were made based on the novel.

Answer: T. S. Eliot

Thomas Stearns Eliot (1888-1965) was an American-English poet, essayist, publisher, playwright and editor. He is considered one of the greatest poets of the 20th century, being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1948.

"Murder in the Cathedral", a verse drama by T. S. Eliot, portrays the assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170, during the reign of Henry II. To write the text he relied on the works of Edward Grim, a priest who witnessed the event. The work was first presented in 1935 and since then it has appeared countless times in theater, television, movies and opera.

Answer: Ildefonso Falcones

"La Catedral del Mar" or "Cathedral of the Sea", is a historical novel, published in 2006, which takes place in the 14th century in Barcelona, ​that at this time was an important commercial and military center in the Mediterranean Sea. In addition to telling the life of the characters in the novel, the author discusses several aspects of the history of Catalonia and the construction of the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar in Barcelona, ​​built between 1329 and 1383. The book was used as the basis for the television series with the same name.

The book is authored by the Spanish lawyer and writer Ildefonso Falcones (born 1958). His first book was "La Catedral Del Mar" and later he published five more successful books until 2019.

Answer: William Harrison Ainsworth

"Old St. Paul's" also known as "Old Saint Paul's: A Tale of the Plague and the Fire", was published in chapters in the Sunday Times between January, 3 to December, 26, 1841. It is a work of the English novelist William Harrison Ainsworth (1805-1882), who published 39 novels during his lifetime.

This historical novel describes the events of the the Great Plague of London and the Great Fire of London. The story covers the period that ranges from April 1665 and September 1666 and tells events of merchant Stephen Bloudel's life and his family. During this period, the plague was raging in London and St. Paul's Cathedral was transformed into a large hospital until it was destroyed by the Great Fire of London.

Answer: Anthony Trollope

Antony Trollope (1815-1882) was an English novelist and a public servant of the Victorian era. While working on the reorganization of rural mail delivery he visited several places including the Salisbury Cathedral.

According to his biography, when visiting the Salisbury Cathedral Trollope conceived the plot of "The Warden" published in 1855. This book was his fourth novel and the first in the series of six works which were placed in the fictional county of Barsetshire and its cathedral town of Barchester . The novels describe the relationships and intrigues between the clergy and the nobility.

Answer: Ken Follett

"Notre Dame: A Short History of the Meaning of Cathedrals" is a small and fascinating book published in October 2019, by Welsh author Ken Follett (born 1949). In the book, in addition to describing the emotions that he felt when he learned about the fire at Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, one of the largest cathedrals in the world, which took place on April 15, 2019, the author writes about its construction and the influence that this cathedral had on the construction of other cathedrals around the world.