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WALERAN BIGOD portrayed by Ian McShane
Archdeacon of Shiring, he later becomes Bishop thanks to Philip’s help. Waleran believes that it is God’s will for him to gain power within the Church and therefore feels justified in using every possible means to that end. Waleran, like a spider, weaves his web and waits to spring on his prey. His thoughtfulness, patience, quick wit, and inherent shrewdness make him a force to be reckoned with in whatever situation comes his way. Given that these useful qualities are completely unhampered by any pangs of conscience, Waleran is a most dangerous adversary, and an equally dangerous ally -- for he will change sides in the blink of an eye if he sees an advantage in doing so. Waleran’s relationship with Regan Hamleigh, in particular, is a study in ruthless manipulation on both sides, each of them finding the other too useful to discard permanently. Other more innocent or more moral people, such as Prior Philip, are used by Waleran without mercy and then betrayed or simply cast by the wayside when they’re no longer useful. At length his power becomes so great that no one, especially Waleran, can imagine a time when his manipulations will finally catch up with him. But they do....
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BARTHOLOMEW portrayed by Donald Sutherland
Earl of Shiring at the beginning of our story, and supporter of Maud’s right to the throne. His conspiracy against Stephen’s usurpation of the throne is the cause of his downfall and his children’s (Aliena and Richard) dire suffering. Bartholomew feels he has no choice but to rebel against Stephen’s rule, especially when he feels that Stephen is going against the joint will of the English nobility in having himself crowned King by the Archbishop of Canterbury. When William attacks his castle, he fights bravely to keep it, but when defeat is inevitable, he bargains his own safety for that of his people. And Bartholomew bears his punishment with great dignity, more concerned for the welfare of his children and his lost earldom than his own fate.
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ALIENA portrayed by Hayley Atwell
Aliena is Bartholomew’s beautiful and intelligent daughter, and the object of William’s obsession. In fact, her kindness and beauty has set many hearts aflutter. After her family’s fall from grace, she uses her resourcefulness to survive and to help her brother win back to his rightful place as Earl. Aliena is our story’s heroine and the love of Jack’s life. Her courage and tenacity contrasts markedly with her brother Richard’s tendency to be easily discouraged and frightened by the unsettling events going on around him. While working with Prior Philip for the betterment of Kingsbridge and recovering from the terrible trauma of her rape by William Hamleigh, Aliena supports both physically and morally, aiding him in his difficult training as a young knight. Aliena’s long search for Jack across France becomes the solid foundation of their mature relationship, and her sufferings give Aliena an unexpected window into the pain of young Countess Elisabeth -- indirectly leading to the recovery of Shiring Castle and Aliena’s final triumph over William.
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REGAN HAMLEIGH portrayed by Sarah Parish
Percy’s ambitious wife. What her husband lacks in intelligence and savvy, she more than makes up for in the naked desire of the career social climber. Possessed with the desire to move her family up the social ladder, Regan will stop at nothing, readily partnering with Waleran to achieve her goals. Her disfigured face—scarred with a birthmark—is a mirror into her soul. Eaten up by envy and resentment of anyone who has more wealth and power than she and her immediate family, Regan inhabits a landscape of endless frustration where nothing she manages to achieve is ever good enough for very long. She feels that she’s cursed with a husband too dim to understand how to make anything of himself. But Regan’s son, who is a willing pawn in her plans, is entirely too much like her... so that they become closer than a mother and son have any business being. This does not save Regan, however, from suffering a terrible fate at the hands of the one she thinks loves her the most.
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PERCY HAMLEIGH portrayed by Robert Bathurst
A gentleman farmer. Percy is awarded valuable lands in the Earldom of Shiring after the mysterious death of Henry I’s only legitimate son -- when the ship in which the Prince and his pregnant bride were traveling sinks, leaving no survivors. Percy is a more cunning man than an intelligent one: a dangerous combination when combined with wealth and power. Whether his power does him much good, though, is questionable... Percy is one of those cursed by Ellen because of his involvement in the hanging of Jack Shareburg. In company with Waleran and Prior James, Percy conspired to kill Shareburg to avoid anyone discovering what they fear Shareburg knows -- Percy`s involvement in the sinking of the White Ship and the death of the legitimate heir to the throne of England. Since Shareburg’s death, Lord Percy has had little peace, as his ruthless and calculating wife Regan constantly pushes him to search for greater wealth (and thereby greater safety from any accuser who might know Percy’s secret) and influence. He does not suspect her fear that nothing he does will ever make him safe enough.
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WILLIAM HAMLEIGH portrayed by David Oakes
Percy and Regan’s strikingly handsome yet brutish son. William aspires, as per his mother’s wish, to become the Earl of Shiring. He is his mother’s pawn in her master plan to gain power and wealth for her family. William’s upbringing primes him for nothing less than pure evil. His obsession with the Earl of Shiring’s daughter, Aliena, becomes the driving force in his life, spurring him to a series of vengeances based on William’s sheer frustrated hatred of and desire for the girl. But time and time again, these black deeds fail to pay off as he expects them to, pushing William into yet more extravagant attempts to punish Aliena and anyone else near her whom he sees as thwarting his desires. William’s rage at being denied anything he wants is routinely paired with the aggrieved certainty that he’s being persecuted or badly used -- which tends to make him even more dangerous. No one is safe from him, not even his own mother. But he remains manipulable by Waleran, who sees William, even at the end, as a still useful tool for getting his own way.
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WALTER portrayed by Goetz Otto
William’s loyal right-hand man; a crude and violent thug. Walter takes a sadistic delight in inflicting pain on others, and assists William in his rape of Aliena, the mutilation of her brother Richard, and the near-crippling of Jack. He also accompanies William on his various murderous attacks on Kingsbridge. Walter survives in William’s service as long as he learns not to talk when his master is angry or scared... which is most of the time. He stays with William and defends him to the very end, misguided but steadfast in his nasty loyalty.
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RICHARD portrayed by Sam Claflin
Richard is Bartholomew’s son and heir to the title of Earl of Shiring. His sister Aliena helps her younger brother find his inner courage in order to fight for what was wrongfully taken from them. Richard becomes a knight in Stephen’s army, finding his true destiny as a warrior. His temperament is better suited to quick action than to long patient pursuit of any goal: though his loyalty, once given, is not easily shifted. If Richard has a weakness, it’s his automatic inability to see past his own needs, and his assumption that his sister will take care of him and provide for him as she always has since that terrible day they were forced out of Shiring Castle, orphaned, wounded and homeless. But his experience in battle and his physical prowess (along with his sister’s support) eventually provide him with the key to recovering his earldom.
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ELIZABETH portrayed by Skye Lourie
Young daughter of an Earl in Maud’s court. For political leverage, Regan arranges for her son William Hamleigh, then 24, to marry the very young Elisabeth. She is brutalized by William and reduced almost to the status of a servant in her own house. It is only when she meets Aliena that she starts becoming more courageous. Though she fears her husband’s temper and plotting mother-in-law, she bravely warns Kingsbridge of a planned attack. Later, moved by terror and loathing for her brutal and uncaring husband, Elisabeth participates willingly in Aliena’s attempt to regain Shiring for her brother.
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