Walter Scott, back in the day, would have enjoyed the same successes that J.K. Rowling or Stephen King would be lauded for today. His Scottish novels were immensely popular for English readers, as it portrays a world that coexists with their own, but unfamiliar, quaint. Ivanhoe broke this trend by bringing a story a few hundred years old, but nonetheless familiar in the English vein. By this time, the lore of Richard the Lionheart, Robin Hood and Ivanhoe have well entered the English mindset, England would have a few hundred years to have recovered from the humiliation of the Crusades and the “English” identity was very much established. They had just beaten the French in Waterloo a few years back and they’re well on their way to entrench their reputation as a maritime juggernaut.
But Ivanhoe, published in 1819 was a timely reflection of the English identity, an irony given that the Scot heritage of the author. Honestly, I’m not too familiar with the friction between the Scots and the English at this point in time and I’m not going to look too deep into it. But in the context of the novel, there was no such thing as “English”. The Normans with their hoity-toity French origins and bad Duolingo French ruled the castles and the armies, while the Saxons, descendants of cavemen-like Barbarians still have a lot of say in the populace. They have no time to learn French and have every intention to restore their bloodlines to the throne.
The king, Richard the Lionheart is under arrest after his exile in the Crusades, so his brother John is taking care of the house and running it badly. His fancy-ass Norman knights are wreaking havoc forwarding their own agenda whilst having the best hedonistic time of their lives. Everything comes to a head when Ivanhoe came back home, a mere vagabond, but dove in head first in the power struggles as he signed up for the games — a show of prowess in knightly skills to unearth who’s the best in the land, to the dismay of Prince John. He is helped by a mysterious black knight (not the same one from Monty Python [I think, as he’s got all his limbs]) as well as a yeoman who may or may not be Robin Hood, but has got the same SSS skill level in archery.
But the story takes its twist and turns and it is only in reading it will the reader do it justice, instead of reading a summary in a couple of paragraphs. Ivanhoe is a blast of colourful characters from different backgrounds and credible motivations. This is a lovesong to a lost time where though knighthood is being made a mockery, there were underdogs willing to uphold the principles of chivalry even at the cost of their lives. Call it escapism if you will, but I want to believe that people as loyal and brave as Ivanhoe and Robin of Locksley still exist. Principles are dead these days, as dead as the time I spent watching stupid-ass Instagram reels.
Ivanhoe also broke new ground as it explored otherisation and discrimination. Two pivotal characters, the Jewish father and daughter duo of Isaac and Rebecca, are constant victims of the prejudices of the people around them — from the spectators, the maidens, the knights themselves and Prince John. The latter seeing Isaac as a source of money even though he relies on Isaac to extend his credit to achieve his goals in the kingdom. It seems that despite the prejudices, the Jews already had a stronghold of finances significant enough to offer credit to nation-states. Conversely, their humane treatment by the main characters is a message in the book for a call to reflection on otherness — that the readers who may share the same prejudices are no worse that the bigots who sneer at Isaac and Rebecca.
But it is best to approach the book as an adventure novel, as Rob Roy kind of was, to let the plot follow along and to enjoy the twists and turns. It is the ultimate escapism — even I think, for the reader in the early 19th century. The absurd battles and events in the games, an assault of a castle and the damsel in distress make up the three acts of the novel, and each offer a different angle and excitement to the story. Historically speaking, some events reflect actual historical events but the reader is forewarned not to treat this as a history book. Walter Scott kicked off a whole genre of historical fiction with Ivanhoe and though the book now may not have the same impact as it had been, as a classic is defined, it is still a relevant text today as it had been a couple of centuries ago.
