The worst of the damage was en the south aisle of the chancel, which had been empty of people during the service. The congregation was not admitted to the chancel, and the clergy had all been in the central part, called the choir. Several monks had had narrow escapes, which only heightened the talk of miracles, and others had had cuts and bruises from flying chips of stone. The congregation suffered no more than a few scratches. Evidently, they all had been supernaturally protected by St Adolphus, whose bones were preserved by the high altar, and whose deeds included many instances of curing the sick and saving people from death. However it was generally agreed that God had sent the people of Kingsbridge a warming. What he was warming them about it was not clear.
An hour later four men were inspecting the damage. Brother Gowdyn, the cousin of Caris, was the sacristy, responsible for the church and all his treasures. Under him as a matricularius, in charge of building operations and repairs was Brother Thomas, who had been Sir Thomas Langley ten years ago. The contract for cathedral maintenance was held by Elfric, a carpenter by training and a general builder by trade. And Merthin tagged along as Elfric’s apprentice.
The east end of the church was divide by pillars into four sections called bays. The collapse had affected the two bays nearest the crossing. The stone vaulting over the south aisle was destroyed completely in the first bay and partially in the second. There were cracks in the tribune gallery, and stone mullions had fallen from the windows of the clerestory.
Elfric said. ‘Some weakness in the mortar allowed the vault to crumble, and that in turn caused the cracks at higher levels’. That did not sound right to Merthin, but he lacked an alternative explanation.
Merthin hated his maser. He had first been apprenticed to Elfric’s father, Joachim, a builder of high experience who had worked on churches and bridges in London and Paris. The old man had delighted in explaining to Merthin the lore of the masons – what they called their ‘mysteries’, which were mostly arithmetical formulas for building, such as the ratio between the height of a building and the depth of its foundations. Merthin liked numbers and lapped up everything Joachim could teach him.
The Joachin died, and Elfric took over. Elfric believed the main thing an apprentice had to learn was obedience. Merhin found this difficult to accept, and Elfric punished him with short rations, thin clothing and outdoor work in frosty weather. To make matters worse, Elfric’s chubby daughter Griselda, the same age as Merthin, was always well fed and warmly dressed.
From the book ‘World without end’ by Ken Follet
