Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Ivanhoe, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Merits of Chivalry
Disguise and Discovery
Inheritance and Displacement
The Vulnerability and Power of Women
History vs. Romance
Summary
Analysis
The story begins in a forest in central England, late in the reign of King Richard I. At this time, Templeton explains, Richard’s subjects desperately want him to return and free them from the tyranny of the noble classes, but they have little hope of this happening any longer. The lower nobility, called the “Franklins” by their overlords, find themselves particularly pinched; the upper nobility harasses and oppresses those who remain independent, but those who place themselves under the protection of noble families can get sucked into their feuds and political jockeying.
Ivanhoe was written at a time of social change and political upheaval in England. The novel portrays a similarly tumultuous time, but it ends happily with the triumphant return of King Richard. It thus holds up a mirror to its initial 19th-century British audience, reminding them that their nation has persevered through periods of political upheaval before and can do some again. The England of Scott’s 19th-century audience suffers from social and racial divisions, yet from it, England will eventually emerge stronger and better than before.
Themes
Literary Devices
The strife between the upper and lower nobility dates back to the invasion of England by the Normans (from France) led by Duke William of Normandy. Once in power, the Normans began to oppress the native Anglo-Saxon population. Four generations later, the Anglo-Saxons still have no love for their Norman oppressors, and the Normans haven’t learned to treat their Anglo-Saxon subjects kindly. When they talk of “honour, of chivalry, and even of justice,” people use French; Anglo-Saxon speech belongs to “rustics and hinds,” although most people can communicate with a sort of patois blended of the two. This mixed speech forms the basis of modern English, as Templeton proudly notes in an aside. Still, in the period between the Norman invasion and the reign of Edward III, the social and cultural divisions between Saxons and Normans remain open wounds.
The Norman Conquest effectively disinherits all Saxon natives and replaces their social and political world with that of the abusive Normans. And although the novel frequently alludes to a later English identity which rises from both Saxon and Norman elements, it clearly casts the Saxons as admirable and the Normans as effete, corrupt, and invasive villains. This passage suggests that speaking the language of nobility does not guarantee that a person lives a life of virtue. Ultimately, only Richard and Ivanhoe, men capable of moving smoothly between Norman and Saxon contexts, provide models for future Englishness.
Themes
Literary Devices
Returning to the tale, two men, both clearly Saxons, occupy an ancient oak grove in the forest at sunset. The older of the two, Gurth, has a “stern, savage, and wild” expression. He wears simple, rustic, and well-worn clothing made of animal skins. He has a horn and a knife tucked into his wide leather belt and no head covering but his own thick and matted hair. He wears a brass necklace soldered around his neck, which bears his name and the name of his master, Cedric of Rotherwood. The second wears clothing similar in shape to Gurth’s but made of finer, more brightly colored material. It includes a purple jerkin, a short red cloak lined in yellow fabric, and a silver collar identifying him as Wamba. Wamba, clearly a jester, wears a fantastical belled cap. He has a wooden sword tucked into his belt.
The book lays out its concerns very clearly in this opening scene: readers find themselves in an oak grove (representative of English identity, but also of strength and perseverance) with not just two Saxons but two enslaved Saxons. Although much of the book will focus on the actions of wealthy and powerful men, this opening moment suggests that the true value of Englishness and England lies with the common people. Describing Wamba’s and Gurth’s outfits also introduces the men’s characters in a particularly vivid way: they’re both simple men yet feel no shame in their simplicity. Both are capable of defending themselves: Gurth with Strength, and Wamba—at least initially—with wit.
Themes
Gurth looks at the ground. Wamba stares vacantly into the distance with “fidgety impatience.” Although they carry on their conversation in Anglo-Saxon, Templeton assures readers that he will translate it for their ease of understanding. Gurth curses the pigs lounging in the grove, because they refuse to gather when he blows his horn. Gurth’s dog, Fangs, only scatters the animals further by his incompetent (or possibly malicious) efforts.
The difficulties and frustration Gurth expresses—he cannot get the pigs to heed his call—points to the larger disarray and disorder in England under Norman rule. The book suggests that without strong leadership (the kind King Richard—but not his brother Prince John—can provide), the world will fall apart.
Themes
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Wamba refuses to help Gurth, unwilling to dirty his fine clothes in the muck, and he suggests leaving the pigs to face their destiny. Maybe, he muses, they will be turned into Normans by the morning. Gurth demands to know what Wamba means, and Wamba explains that the living animals are called by the Saxon word, “swine.” Dead, they become “pork,” a Norman word. Wamba dryly observes that things that require work are Saxon, while things for the wealthy to enjoy are Norman. Gurth grumbles that the Normans take advantage of everything they can; without men like Cedric opposing them, he fears they’d have taken the Saxons’ very air.
Wamba’s linguistic joke here points to the history of the English language. In doing so he anticipates a moment in the future when all English subjects will speak one language rather than two—modern English does retain the Saxon and French words Wamba cites. But he also makes a broader point about the ways in which the Normans dispossess their Saxon victims, who provide the labor necessary to sate the Norman appetites for power and comfort.
Themes
Literary Devices
Wamba warns Gurth to still his treasonous words; he might get in trouble if someone other than a “fool” hears him. And he hears approaching horses. Grumbling that it’s just thunder, Gurth suggests they round up the pigs and get home before the rain begins.
Gurth’s worry about being overheard speaking treason against the conquering Normans points to the fraught political situation of medieval England at this moment in history; the native inhabitants of the land have no power and little safety.
Themes
