English Literature. 10(1). 23.11.2022

 English Literature. 10(1). 23.11.2022

Topic: Ivanhoe

1. Study the text and answer the questions:

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

Sir Walter Scott's book Ivanhoe was published in 1819 and was his first to be set in England in the Middle Ages rather than his mostly modern-day Scotland.

The story begins four generations after the Norman conquest of England. Tensions between the two peoples who inhabit England, the Saxons and the Normans, are at a peak. They refuse to speak each other's languages and squabble constantly. To make matters worse, the Norman king, King Richard, has been captured on his way home from the Crusades and is imprisoned in Austria.

Ruling in his absence, his brother, Prince John, is allowing the Norman nobles to steal the land of the Saxon nobility and turn them into serfs. This further enrages the Saxons, particularly Cedric of Rotherwood, who has disinherited his son Ivanhoe for following King Richard to war.

Ivanhoe's Return to England

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to his father, Ivanhoe has recently returned to England disguised as a religious pilgrim. He is in love with his father's ward, Rowena, whom Cedric intends to marry to Athelstane, a descendant of a long-dead Saxon king, hoping to re-establish the Saxon royal line.

Ivanhoe hears of his father's plans and disguises himself as the Disinherited Knight in order to win the hand of Rowena in the great jousting tournament at Ashby-de-la-Zouche.

With the help of a mysterious Black Knight, Ivanhoe defeats his mortal enemy, the Templar Brian de Bois-Guilbert, and wins the tournament. But he is badly wounded, and even as he claims Rowena, and reveals his identity to the crowd, he collapses on the field.

In the meantime, the wicked Prince John hears a rumor that Richard is free from his imprisonment, and schemes with his advisors, Fitzurse, de Bracy, and Front-de-Boeuf, to keep Richard from returning to power in England. He begins plotting to marry Rowena to de Bracy, thereby cementing his own power by virtue of an imposed Saxon/Norman alliance.

Cedric's Party Kidnapped

But unable to wait for John's scheme to bear fruit, de Bracy kidnaps Cedric and his party on the way home from the tournament and imprisons them in Front-de-Boeuf's castle of Torquilstone. In the party are Rowena and Athelstane, as well as Isaac and Rebecca, a Jewish father and daughter who have been tending to Ivanhoe after his injury, and Ivanhoe himself.

At Torquilstone, de Bracy tries to convince Rowena to marry him, while de Bois-Guilbert tries to seduce Rebecca, who has fallen in love with Ivanhoe. Both men fail, and the castle is attacked by the legendary outlaws of the forest, Robin Hood and his merry men, led by the Black Knight who helped Ivanhoe at the tournament.

De Bracy, de Bois-Guilbert, and Front-de-Boeuf are defeated and the prisoners are freed, but de Bois-Guilbert succeeds in kidnapping Rebecca and fleeing with her to Templestowe, the stronghold of the Knights-Templar. Ivanhoe follows them.

At Templestowe, de Bois-Guilbert is under fire for bringing a Jew into their sacred fortress. The Knights fear that Rebecca is a Jewish sorceress who has bewitched de Bois-Guilbert against his will, and so the Grand Master of the Templars orders a trial.

Trial by Combat for Rebecca

Rebecca is given a choice, and on the advice of de Bois-Guilbert, who has fallen in love with her, she demands a trial-by-combat. Much to his dismay, de Bois-Guilbert is appointed to fight for the Templars; if he wins, Rebecca dies, and if he loses, he himself will die. Rebecca's fate is now in the hands of a hero who will step up to defend her. But no one does, and Rebecca fears she will be executed as a sorceress after all. Then, at the last moment, Ivanhoe appears from the shadows where he has been hiding to defend Rebecca.

But even as de Bois-Guilbert and Ivanhoe charge towards each other, lances raised, de Bois-Guilbert falls dead from his horse, killed by his own conflicting emotions. Ivanhoe has won a strange victory, and Rebecca is freed.

In the meantime, the Black Knight defeats Fitzurse in an ambush, and reveals himself as King Richard, returned to England at last. Now restored to his kingdom, Richard banishes his brother, along with Fitzurse, de Bracy, and Front-de-Boeuf, pardons the Knights-Templar, and blesses the marriage of Ivanhoe and Rowena.

The story ends as Rebecca visits Rowena to thank her for Ivanhoe's role in saving her life, and then sails off, with her father, Isaac, to their new home in Granada. Peace now reigns between the Normans and the Saxons, and Ivanhoe will go on to serve heroically under King Richard for many years.

  • Why does Ivanhoe return to England in disguise?
  • Who is the Black Knight?
  • What is the event that Ivanhoe's loyalty to King Richard foreshadows?
  • What is the reason the Templars fear Rebecca?
Homework: follow the link and do the quiz

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