IVANHOE SUMMARY

It's the 1190s, and England is in a shambles. It's been 150 years since the Normans
invaded England from northern France. Since then they have been dominating the
Saxons, descendants of Germanic tribes who came to England many centuries before.
The Saxons, you won't be surprised to hear, are not happy about this situation. But they
don't have much of a defense against the Normans, who control the best lands and
riches in the kingdom.
To make matters worse, the great king Richard I (a good guy, even if he is a Norman)
has been out of the country for years. On his way back from fighting a Crusade against
Muslim forces in Jerusalem, King Richard was captured by the Duke of Austria. He is
currently being held prisoner, waiting for someone to ransom him from the Duke. In King
Richard's absence, his awful brother John has been ruling the roost. Prince John clearly
favors the Normans over the Saxons, and he has been letting the Norman lords behave
even more harshly than usual towards their Saxon subjects. In response to this bad
treatment, law-abiding Saxons have been fleeing into the forests to become outlaws
and avoid heavy taxes and exploitation by the Normans.
With all of this in mind, we head to the hall of landowner Cedric of Rotherwood in South
Yorkshire, a county in the north of England. The first and most important thing to
remember about Cedric is that he is Saxon. He despises the Normans for stealing
England away from his people. In fact, he hates the Normans so much that he has
disinherited his only son, Wilfred of Ivanhoe, for joining the army of King Richard I and
going on a Crusade to Palestine. Cedric thinks that the rightful place for any Saxon is in
England, not off gallivanting abroad under the flag of a Norman king.
Even if he does hate the Normans enough to cast off his own son for joining them,
Cedric can't attack the two Normans who arrive at his hall this night looking for a place
to stay: monk Prior Aymer and Crusader Brian de Bois-Guilbert. As a nobleman, Cedric
has to obey the rules of hospitality.
Unlike her guardian, Cedric's beautiful ward Rowena is eager to meet these visitors.
Rowena is curious about news from the Crusades and she asks Prior Aymer and Bois-
Guilbert what they have seen in Palestine. Bois-Guilbert boasts about the strength of his
military order, the Knights Templar. Another visitor, called the Palmer (meaning he's a
pilgrim who traveled to Jerusalem, the Holy Land) speaks up: the Norman Knights
Templar are fine, but the true English knights are even better! The Palmer reminds
Bois-Guilbert that he lost to Wilfred of Ivanhoe at a tournament in Palestine before they
all left the Holy Land. Tempers flare, and Bois-Guilbert eventually swears that if he ever
sees Ivanhoe again, he'll challenge him to another duel.
To this tense mix of people we now add Isaac of York, a Jewish man. Anti-Semitism
(prejudice against Jewish people) is rampant in 12th century England, so Isaac has a lot
of difficulty just traveling from place to place without getting attacked. Isaac asks Cedric
if he can stay at Rotherwood for the night. Cedric agrees, but he treats Isaac really
badly, refusing to give him space even at the servants' table in the hall. It's only thanks
to the Palmer's help that Isaac gets anything to eat at all.
Later on that night, the Palmer helps Isaac even more. He knows that Prior Aymer and
Bois-Guilbert are plotting to rob Isaac as he travels through the forest the next day, so
he volunteers to help Isaac reach the nearby town of Sheffield safely. The Palmer
seems to somehow know Gurth (Cedric's slave and pig-herder), because he convinces
him to let him and Isaac sneak out of Rotherwood in the middle of the night. In thanks
for the Palmer's help, Isaac offers to loan him a full suit of armor and a horse. Isaac
knows the Palmer wants to compete in an upcoming tournament – and to wipe the
snotty smirk off the face of that Norman knight, Brian de Bois-Guilbert. The Palmer is
thrilled and swears that he will repay Isaac for the loan ASAP.
At the tournament at the local castle of Ashby-de-la-Zouche (which is a real place),
Brian de Bois-Guilbert and a bunch of other Norman knights appear ready to take on all
comers. Prince John is also there to watch the action and sneer at the Saxons. But just
as it seems that the Normans have wiped the floor with all the locals, another knight
appears. (Sounds like the Palmer is competing.) This knight refuses to say his name or
take off his helmet. His shield announces that he is El Desdichado – which Scott
translates as "The Disinherited." (It actually means something more like "the unlucky,"
but no one has ever said that Scott is careful with the details in his novels.)
The Disinherited Knight takes on Brian de Bois-Guilbert and wins. Then he goes on to
fight all four of the remaining Norman knights, each in single combat. He wins all four
duels. Watching this mysterious knight defeat all these bullying Norman lords, the
Saxons in the audience are filled with patriotism. As the winner of the first day of the
tournament, the Disinherited Knight gets to select the tournament's Queen of Beauty
and Love. He picks Rowena. Then he rides off without ever revealing his identity, not
even under the orders of Prince John. The Disinherited Knight uses the money he wins
in the tournament to pay back Isaac of York for his loan. (Aha! The Disinherited
knight is the Palmer.) Isaac's daughter, Rebecca, refuses the gift. What's her interest in
the Disinherited Knight, we wonder?
On the second day of the tournament, it's time for group battles. Basically the knights
split into two teams and throw themselves at each other. The Disinherited Knight is
leading one team and Bois-Guilbert the other. On the Disinherited Knight's side is
another unidentified knight dressed all in black. He doesn't seem to be participating very
actively, so the audience calls him the Black Sluggard. (A sluggard is a lazy man.) For
the sake of politeness, we'll just call him the Black Knight. Keep an eye on him; he'll
come up later.