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Pillars Character

Lord Percy Hamleigh

Percy Hamleigh
Percy as he appears in the TV series.
Vital Stats
Gender Male
Rank First a Knight, then Lord.

Died as Earl of Shiring.

Nationality England
Status Deceased
Family Regan Hamleigh (Wife)

William Hamleigh (Son)

Civil War Allegiance King Stephen
Appearances
Novels Appeared The Pillars of the Earth (Appears)
TV Series Yes
TV Series Potrayal Robert Bathurst|-

Percy Hamleigh is a minor character featured in The Pillars of the Earth . He is an antagonist near the start of the novel, but very much dominated by his wife, Regan Hamleigh. Alone, his threat is largely diminished. He is responsible for taking Shiring castle froim Aliena and Richard and passing on the Earldom to his own line, through his son, William Hamleigh. He dies in the interlude between Part II and Part III of the novel and is not seen again.

Background[]

Percy Hamleigh was orginally a knight, with only very small landholdings. He agreed to take place in the conspiracy agaisnt Jack Shareburg in exchange for more land and titles. He is referred to as the 'Knight', and falsely identified Jack Shareburg as one of his serfs, aiding his co-conspiritors in leading to Jack Shareburg's execution. He gained the town of Hamleigh and presumably took on the name soon afterwards.

Appearance and Personality[]

Percy has the same strong build as his son William. He is, however, frequently described as 'fat' by the other characters. His once yellow hair is grey and he is estimated to be in his early fifties. Otherwise, little else is known of him.

Percy is not evil. He does what he has to in order to gain power, but his mind is not devious and he frequently relies on his wife to tell him what to do in order to gain more. He is a fighter, like his son, but not as well suited to the politics of the royal court as his wife. He has little conscience, as he doesn't care about what happens to Aliena and Richard after he takes their castle. He doesn't bear grudges though, very much unlike his son and wife, as he soon just tries to forget about Aliena rejectinh his son and the ensuring scandal.

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