A Column of Fire

The act of burning serves as a symbolic representation of intolerance and religious persecution, and the most overt example of this dynamic can be found in the fact that heretics are executed by being burned at the stake. The burnings serve as a public spectacle and a grim manifestation of the fervent religious animosity that grips England and Europe during the period of history described in A Column of Fire. Philbert Cobley’s burning in Kingsbridge in Act 1 exemplifies the ruthless measures taken against those who are deemed to be religious dissenters. This particular burning also serves as a catalyst for Ned to finally join Elizabeth and pursue the goal of achieving religious tolerance in England. The burning of Sylvie's shop serves as another example, for she and her mother are targeted because they are Protestants during the French Wars of Religion, but this burning also occurs because of Pierre’s desire for vengeance. The shop, which was previously a haven for persecuted religious ideas, becomes nothing more than kindling: another example of the devastation of the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre. However, not all the examples of symbolic burning in the novel come from the Catholic side against the Protestants. In Antwerp, Carlos has a painting of the miracle at Cana commissioned to be hung in the cathedral.