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Ivanhoe 1:1

Prince John is at York with many nobles he is trying to persuade to follow him. He and Fitzurse, one of his chief advisors are arguing. As they are speaking, De Bracy enters with his armor still on and scarred from the battle. He tells John of the defeat, of Front de Bouef’s death, and that he spoke with King Richard. We now know that the Black Knight is King Richard. At this information, John becomes very frightened and almost incapacitated by his fear.

1:2

As soon as John regains himself, he decides, with the counsel of Fitzurse, that Richard should be assassinated. They try to persuade De Bracy to do it, but he will not. At the end of the debate, Fitzhurse leaves with the intention to kill Richard. John flatters De Bracy as he leaves. I think the author has done a good job in contrasting the leadership potential of John and Richard in this book, because John seems so pathetic. Isaac goes to Templestowe, the capitol of the Knights Templar, where Brian took Rebecca. The Grand Master of their order had just arrived, and was unhappy at the liberality of the knights.

1:3

Isaac appeals directly to him and asks him for his daughter. Over the course of the conversation, the Grand Master finds out that Rebecca knew healing arts and that she was the student of Miriam, a jewess ‘witch’. With this information he blames the sorcery of Rebecca on the infatuation of Brian. The Grand Master also decides that Rebecca should be killed and throws Isaac out. The Preceptory of the Temple goes to warn Brian, who refuses to submit to the will of the Grand Master. After a while, the Preceptory convinces him to give her up.

Ivanhoe 9:1

Cedric, The Black Knight, and Locksley prepare to attack. The Black Knight volunteers to lead, and the battle that has already been described commences. It is interesting to think of the qualities a leader must posses for people to want to follow him or her. I think respect is the biggest. After the assault attains the bulwark, they build a raft to set across the moat in order to cross it. Cedric and the Black Knight cross and begin to attack the door. They break through and the Black Knight defeats De Bracy who yields himself a prisoner.

9:2

As the castle continues to burn, Brian decides to abandon the castle. He takes Rebecca and leaves Ivanhoe shouting at him. The Black Knight finds Ivanhoe and carries him to safety. As Brian and his remaining followers attempt to leave the burning castle, they are stopped by the attackers. Athelstane and Wamba had escaped in the confusion and caught up with him. Athelstane thought Rebecca was Rowena and attacked Brian. Brian kills him, breaks through the line, and escapes. The castle collapses.

9:3

Victory being accomplished, the attackers meet in the forest to settle affairs and divides spoils. They can’t find the Friar, so people are sent to look for him. Gurth is given his freedom and Cedric leaves with his servants, Rowena, and the body of Athelstane. The Black Knight releases De Bracy but warns him. The Friar is then brought, who was found in the ruins of the castle. With him is Isaac. Many negotiations take place, and in the end, the Prior of Jorvaulx and Isaac are required to pay ransoms for their freedom. Locksley is a very just and merciful leader. It is ironic that a band of thieves if led by someone so noble.

Ivanhoe 8:1

A real priest enters the castle. He reports that the Prior Aymer is a captive of the outlaws. The author then takes us back to the lists, when Ivanhoe fainted from the loss of blood. Rebecca entreated her father to take care of him. Because Ivanhoe is a friend of King Richard, and Isaac had loaned money to Prince John, Isaac sees Ivanhoe as an investment in defense. However, Rebecca seems to see him as more. Rebecca begins to heal him and they decide to take him to York.

8:2

Rebecca remains Ivanhoe’s nurse at the castle. It is obvious she has feelings for him, but because she is a jew, he won’t even consider it, although he thought her very beautiful before he knew who she was. The author fills us in on Rebecca’s thoughts and feelings, and it seems like if only Ivanhoe knew her, he would love her very much for her qualities. This same circumstance sadly happens all the time, and the question is, how can we avoid it? Openness, maybe? The attackers begin their siege, and Rebecca describes the battle to Ivanhoe because he is so restless to fight.

8:3

We only see the battle from Rebecca’s eyes, and I think this is a very effective way to captivate the reader. The troops, led by the black knight, attack, and take over an outpost across the moat from the main castle. The black knight wounds Front de Bouef badly enough that he will die. After taking this fortress, the attackers rest and regroup. Front de Bouef is laying in bed, and Ulrica begins to harass him. She has set fire to the castle. I guess she finally gets her revenge.

Ivanhoe 7:1

The horn announces the delivery of an official defiance from the outlaws, Gurth and Wamba, and the black knight. The captors begin to be afraid and have doubts. Brian writes a reply that defies them and tells them to send a priest to confess Cedric and Athelstane because they will be killed. The outlaws receive the letter and decide to send Wamba in as a priest.

7:2

Wamba is admitted and is taken to Front de Bouef. From there he is taken to Cedric. Wamba and Cedric switch places, but only after Cedric tries to convince Wamba to switch Cedric places. Here Wamba has an applicable line here, "Kind favor cannot be passed from hand to hand like [balls or money]." As Cedric is leaving, he meets Ulrica, the old woman that is the daughter of the conquered and deceased lord of the castle.

7:3

She tells Cedric her life story and wants to confess because she has decided to drastically revenge her captors. She finds out that the monk is Cedric and doesn’t turn him in. Front de Bouef finds Cedric and escorts him out of the castle as he asks him to send for his friends to help them in their position. Front de Bouef then returns and requests that Cedric and Athelstane be brought to him. He discovers Wamba, but Wamba is saved from death because de Bracy wants a jester. Humor is and always will be important, I think.

Ivanhoe 6:1

Isaac is thrown in a dungeon under the castle. Front de Bouf, the owner of the castle, goes to Isaac’s cell with the intent of torturing him to force him to pay for his freedom. They threaten to burn him, but he refuses to meet their demands. Only when they threaten Rebecca does he consent to pay. However, he will not pay on their terms, so they decide to torture him anyway. Suddenly they hear a horn and Front de Bouf leaves.

6:2

As Isaac is being pressured, De Bracy is trying to force Rowena to love him. She is very resolute and will not yield to him. He loses his temper and threatens Cedric, Athelstane, and Ivanhoe. Ivanhoe is wounded and in the castle, but Rowena didn’t know that. When she realizes that her situation is hopeless she begins to cry. Then the horn blows and De Bracy leaves. I’ve learned that if a woman loves someone else to forget it, women are resolute. It sucks to be in that situation so I almost feel sorry for De Bracy.

6:3

At the same time, Rebecca is thrown in a tower where she meets an old Saxon woman. The woman warns her of her fate (violation) and leaves. Then Brian de Bois Gilbert enters and speaks kindly to her. When she will not yield, he speaks harshly, and Rebecca jumps out the window and onto the rampart and threatens to jump. Brian is impressed by her resolution and decides that he needs her. The way she acted did seem rather attractive.

Ivanhoe: 5:1

As the Black Knight leaves the tournament, he heads into the forest. Throughout the course of the day, he becomes lost and decides to give his horse the reins. The horse leads him to a broken down church with a hermitage nearby. He appeals at the door, and a monk lets him in. At first the monk tries to maintain an air of ascetics, but eventually they drink and sing together.

5:2

Cedric and Athelstane leave the same day, and travel to a monastery. After spending some time there, they continue but are captured by bandits. The bandits are De Bracy’s men in disguise as outlaws. De Bracy wants Rowena. Wamba frees Gurth and they escape. As they are about to return in an attempt to rescue, the are stopped by the yeoman named Locksley. He takes them to a place in the forest where he has men waiting, and then to the hermitage that the black knight is at. He knows the monk, and both the monk and the black knight leave with them, preparing for battle.

5:3

As Cedric is marched with the rest of his company by his captors, he reminds them of the kindness he has shown the outlaws in his territory. But when he sees the castle he is being taken to, he realizes who his captors are. Their party is split up, and Cedric and Athelstane are locked in an old hall. I forgot to mention earlier that they picked up Isaac and Rebecca before they were captured. Cedric tells how his ancestors owned the castle once. The hall they’re in was the hall of King Harold. All Athelstane can think of is food. Cedric remarks how wasteful it is that the spirit of Athelstane resides in such a superior frame. I think the same waste is present when athletes with extraordinary ability refuse the work to get better.

Ivanhoe 4:1

After the Disinherited Knight receives money for his victories, he sends Gurth to repay Isaac. Gurth and Isaac barter with one another for awhile, and this reminds me of being in Mexico and trying to buy things for a lower price. As Gurth is leaving, Rebecca sneaks all his money back to him. On the way home Gurth is attacked by robbers, but they let him go because he tells the truth and beats one of them at quarter staff. I wish one could always be guaranteed safety from telling the truth.

4:2

The next day’s tournament is a melee battle between two ‘armies’. One side is led by Brian and the other is lead by the Disinherited Knight. It is a very real battle that is fought just for sport. Many people now sacrifice health to participate in violent sports like football, including myself. I guess the thrill of battle is a constant in human nature. The Disinherited Knight ends up winning, with the crucial help of a knight I black armor. As he receives his award, he faints from the loss of blood. He turns out to be Wilfred of Ivanhoe, Cedric’s son and the lover of Rowena.

4:3

Cedric sends one of his servants to attend his son, but Ivanhoe is gone before his servant find him. The servant does find Gurth and takes him back as a deserter. Cedric had disowned his son and didn’t much care about him. Later that day Cedric and Athelstane attend a banquet held by Prince John. It doesn’t go well with them, and they leave with John and themselves angry. Earlier that day John had received a note that warned him that his brother, King Richard had escaped from Austria and could be in Britain. John is terrified of his brother.

Ivanhoe 3:1

The competition at Ashby is starting, and spectators are filling the stands. Isaac and his daughter Rebecca are in attendance. As Prince John enters the lists, he stops and comments on the beauty of Rebecca. He then attempts to force Isaac and his daughter to sit with Cedric and his associations. Cedric’s friend refuses to move, and one of the knights with Prince John tries to hit him with his lance. Cedric chops the lance in half, and an argument ensues. I think its interesting how much strength and physical power came into play back then, and how little it does so now. I almost wish it were more important now.

3:2

After Cedric hacks the lance, the audience cheers, and prince John singles out a confident archer in the same section. Prince John finally sits down, and the contest begins. There are five defending knights, chosen as the best that contend against newcomers. These five defeat several sets of challengers. By the way, the five are Knighs Templars and Knights of St. John, and are Normans. Cedric is not happy about their victories. Then a knight titled Disinherited enters and challenges Brian de Bois-Guilbert to a sharp-lanced contest. Both shatter their lances the first time, and Brian and his horse are thrown down on the second one. The Disinherited Knight proceed to defeat each of the five knights.

3:3

The Disinherited Knight refuses to take off his helmet and reveal his face, but chooses to crown Rowena the ‘Queen of Love and Beauty’ of the tournament. During the battles, Isaac was very apprehensive of the knight’s performance, because he paid for his horse and armor (the knight must be the palmer that slept at Cedric’s). This reminds me of sponsors of athletes, and how they react to their athletes’ performance. After the knight returns to a courtesy tent, he refuses to accept the horses and armor of the knights he defeated.

Ivanhoe 2:1

Cedric is waiting at his dinner table for the return of Gurth and Wamba. He is worried that his monarch neighbors waylaid them and stole his pigs. He is also waiting for Rowena, a beautiful Saxon of whom he has charge, to arrive for dinner. While he is waiting, the Prior Aymer and Brian de Bois-Gilbert arrive, being led by the palmer. Cedric only speaks to them in his language. Before they begin eating, Rowena arrives. Brian and the Prior had a wager that she was the most beautiful woman Brian had ever seen, and he admits the loss. Halfway through the meal, a Jew arrives, requesting hospitality. He is barely accepted.

2:2

The palmer gives up his seat to the Jew because no one else would. He then stands closer to the table of Cedric and the guests, where the conversation has drifted to the performance of the knights of England. Brian says they were second only to the Knights of the Templar. At this point the palmer interjects that they were second to none, and describes a tournament that they were victorious at, in the Holy Land. He goes on to say the names of the six knights, one of whom was King Richard. Then he pretends not to know the name of the last knight, who Brian introduces as Ivanhoe, because Brian lost to him in that same tournament. From Rowena’s reaction to the name of Ivanhoe, it sounds like they had something going on before he left for the Holy Land.

2:3

After dinner, the guests go to bed. On the way, the palmer is stopped by the attendant of the hall to hear new of Ivanhoe. Aparently, they all know him. The palmer declines but is later entreated by Rowena for information. He does not decline this time, but can you blame the guy? She sounds like a babe. Because he declined the attendant, he is put in the room next to the jew, whose name is Isaac. The next day the palmer ends up rescuing Isaac and in return receives a note for a horse and armor. There is to be a tournament held that day. The palmer has a lot more going for him than the author lets on.

Ivanhoe 1:1

The first few pages of the book describe the setting. This story takes place in England, during the reign of King Richard I. I did some research and found out that he is also called Richard the Lionhearted. Normans and Anglo-Saxons inhabit the land, the former being conquerors since the Battle of Hastings, a full four generations before this story takes place. There is still a large distinction between the races, one of the most evident being the language. The Normans speak French, and the Anglo-Saxons speak their language. Apparently, the combination of both of these languages latter became English. I wonder where Latin became an influence. Anyway, there is a pig-herder as well as a jester, both owned by the same master, watching a herd of pigs.

1:2

They are both wearing what we would call tunics, and the jester has a long hat adorned with bells. They detect an oncoming storm and decide to head home. I think it’s interesting how people can predict the weather, but I guess that if you live outside all the time you become acquainted. As they are leaving the pasture, they hear horses moving down the road. They are soon overtaken and discover that it is a procession consisting of a Monk and a Templar, and their attendants. I remembered that the leaders of the church at this time initiated quests in the name of the church for Knights to undertake in the Holy Land. I wonder how the church leaders benefited from these quests.

1:3

The Monk and the Templar ask the two servants where they can go for shelter. I guess the Monk can predict the weather too. The servants are somewhat insolent in there answers, but the jester finally gives them directions. After the procession leaves, the pig-herder, whose name is Gurth, remarks that the directions Wamba (the jester) gave were false. The procession meets a palmer who takes them to the house/fortress of the master of Wamba and Gurth. His name is Cedric the Saxon.