The New Student's Reference Work/Ivanhoe

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See also Ivanhoe on Wikipedia, and the disclaimer.


Ivanhoe, one of the best of the novels of Sir Walter Scott, was published by him in 1819. The book takes the hero’s name, Ivanhoe is the son of a Saxon freeholder who has not lost his mistrust of the Normans nor his own independence. Ivanhoe himself, however, is well-versed in Norman arms and manners; and in the Holy Land has been the bravest of the warriors of the lion-hearted Richard I of England. His return in the guise of a pilgrim, his victory in the admirably described tournament, his adventures, together with those of his royal master, and a motley but representative assemblage of characters (including the sluggish but powerful Saxon Athelstan, the greedy Norman Baron Front-de-Boeuf, the Templar Brian-de-Bois-Guilbert, the old Jew Isaac and his brave and lovely danghter Rebecca, the outlaw Robin Hood, the hedge-priest Friar Tuck, the swine-herd Gurth and the jester Wamba) make Ivanhoe one of the most delightful tales of the early middle ages written by any modern novelist.


See the full text of Ivanhoe.