Sir Walter Scott’s most popular novel, Ivanhoe, takes place during the 12th-century reign of Richard I. While historians took him to task for incorrectly extending the Saxon-Norman conflict into that century, the public enthusiastically received his tale of knights, displaced inheritance, what was later labeled anti-Semitism, deeds of derring-do and medieval jousts, romance, and the triumph of good over evil.

Scott begins his novel with a well-used premise as readers learn that Wilfred of Ivanhoe, heir apparent to the estate of his father, Cedric, has invoked Cedric’s disapproval by expressing his love for his father’s ward, Rowena, a descendant of King Alfred. Cedric’s displeasure in the desired union of his son and ward is due to his plans that Rowena marry Athelstane of Conningsburgh, also a descendant of Saxon royalty, and has resulted in Ivanhoe’s banishment. Ivanhoe has served with King Richard in the Crusades, but while Richard has been out of the country, his brother, John, attempts to usurp his position as monarch, gathering the Norman barons as his support.

Ivanhoe has returned to England in disguise and begins the book as a mysterious pilgrim who practices good deeds. He joins a Jewish traveler named Isaac and his daughter Rebecca, along with the Norman knight, Brian de Bois-Guilbert, in his own home. Cedric has unwillingly offered shelter to Bois-Guilbert, as the rules of chivalry and hospitality demand. Ivanhoe overhears Bois-Guilbert planning to ambush the wealthy Isaac, and he warns Isaac and Rebecca to depart the castle early, which they do.

John has celebrated his brother’s capture by Leopold of Austria, but, unbeknownst to John, Richard escapes and arrives in England in disguise as a black knight called the Black Sluggard, just in time to aid Ivanhoe during sporting games in the defeat of John’s knights, including the dastardly Templar, Bois-Guilbert. As victor, Ivanhoe must remove his helmet to accept the prize, awarded by Rowena, and she recognizes him just before he faints due to blood loss. Isaac and Rebecca decide to travel with Ivanhoe to nurse his wounds, and they join Cedric’s entourage, Ivanhoe’s father remaining unaware of his presence in England.

Bois-Guilbert has designs on the lovely Rebecca and kidnaps her, Isaac, Rowena, and the wounded Ivanhoe, spiriting them away to imprison them in his castle. All except Rebecca, who has fallen in love with Ivanhoe, are eventually liberated by the Black Sluggard, now revealed as Richard the Lion-Hearted, his Saxon force, and Locksley, better known by the locals as Robin Hood. Bois-Guilbert moves Rebecca to a high tower, where she vows to stand by her religious creed to the death, spurning the knight’s insistence that she convert to Christianity and marry him. He must check his desires when the Grand Master of the Order arrives.

Accused of witchcraft, Rebecca chooses Ivanhoe as her champion to fight Bois-Guilbert, who has been forced into accusing Rebecca. During the battle, Bois-Guilbert mysteriously falls dead on the field, supposedly due to the conflict between his romantic feelings and his loyalty to his political cause. Richard arrives to replace the Templar flag with his own royal standard, to which Robin Hood pledges allegiance.

Rebecca observes Ivanhoe’s love for Rowena and decides to depart England for Spain with her father, hoping for a better reception than that received in England. Athelstane agrees to drop his claim of Rowena, and Cedric recognizes his son as a great knight, agreeing to Ivanhoe’s union with Rowena.

Critics have noted that the two symbols of England’s rule, Richard and John, along with their supporters, Ivanhoe and Bois-Guilbert, represent nobility and debasement. The nobility derives from a love of God and loyalty to Saxon ideals, while the debasement grows from greed and a desire for self-aggrandizement. Scott indulged his love of medieval times in forming his tale, although he made known his hatred for the violence inherent to jousts and other forms of knight-testing games. He makes clear his negative attitude by having John and Bois-Guilbert begin each armed conflict, forcing Richard and Ivanhoe into combat.

Feminist critics find of interest the contrasts between Rowena and Rebecca. Rowena exhibits many stereotypes assigned to women not only during medieval times but also during Scott’s own era. Their fragility, their positions as objects of desire to be won or purchased, and their requisite stunning physical appearance are a few of those well-worn ideas. Rowena allows Scott to emphasize a common thought during medieval and Renaissance times, that the noble nature of an aristocratic female might inspire ennobled behavior among men.

Interestingly, however, Rebecca becomes the female protagonist in the view of many readers. In a mock trial for her supposed sins through witchcraft, she refuses to unveil her face before strangers, defending her modesty and her faith. Eventually she must drop the veil, in order to prevent the touch of strangers, and she delivers an accusatory invective, unusual for women normally forced to remain silent. She scathingly maintains her innocence and correctly predicts that God will send a champion to stand for her honor. She also makes the heroic choice to leave England and sacrifice herself for Ivanhoe’s happiness.

Chivalry

Bibliography
Duncan, Ian. Modern Romance and Transformations of the Novel: The Gothic, Scott and Dickens. Boston: Cambridge University Press, 1992.

Categories: British Literature, Literature, Novel Analysis, War Literature

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