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
Oswald identifies the visitor as Isaac of York. Aymer and Sir Brian protest being made to share the hall with an “unbelieving” and “dog” Jewish person, but Cedric replies that their prejudices do not rule his hospitality. Still, he won’t force anyone to share a table with Isaac or to talk to him. Even Brian’s Muslim servants hate and scorn Jewish people.
As much as the book focuses on Cedric’s and the Saxons’ sense of displacement and abuse, the reception that greets Isaac shows that the Saxons are not by far the most oppressed group in medieval England. Enmity toward Jewish people in medieval Europe was a complex and multifaceted phenomenon, rooted in religious beliefs (expressed by Aymer), social prejudice (expressed by Brian) and stereotyping Jewish people as avaricious and unprincipled businessmen—stereotypes often perpetuated by powerful people for the purposes of extorting or seizing wealth from Jewish communities. In general, the way that others react toward Isaac will betray their underlying value systems. Abusive, unprincipled Normans reject him entirely; Cedric treats him with suspicious and cold hospitality, showing more fairness than his Norman overlords but no more tolerance than would be expected in his era.
Themes
Isaac enters the hall bowing deferentially. He would have been handsome, had he not been marked by the aquiline nose, piercing black eyes, and “mean and unamenable” character that mark him as belonging to a race that was detested and persecuted by vulgar peasants and noblemen alike during “these dark ages.” Cedric speaks coldly to Isaac, and none of his servants or guests makes room for him at the table. Only the Palmer takes pity on Isaac, inviting him to sit by the warm fire.
Templeton offers an aside explaining how Jews were treated in “these dark ages,” thus distancing himself from some of the prejudice and racism of his medieval characters and as if the history he offers gives modern readers a chance to reflect on the differences between the past and the present. Yet, antisemitic stereotypes that were common in the Middle Ages persist to the modern era. His own tendency to blame the victims points to ongoing prejudice. Although he’s careful to acknowledge the role persecution plays in shaping Isaac’s actions, he still describes Isaac as “mean” and “unamenable.” In contrast to the others, the Palmer treats Isaac with civility and kindness, suggesting that he might know even more than Cedric about being oppressed, mistreated, and cast out.
Themes
Literary Devices
Aymer and Cedric’s conversation about hunting turns political when Sir Brian names French the natural language of “the chase […] love […] and war.” Cedric, in turn, claims that he hunts just as well in Saxon as Norman. When Cedric toasts the crusader armies, Sir Brian boasts about the Templars and Wamba points out that they failed at their job of protecting Jerusalem. Brian casts blame on others until the Palmer finally becomes impatient enough to interrupt.
Given the value placed on Norman French, which Templeton explained at the very beginning of the book, the disagreement between Sir Brian and Cedric about hunting terminology becomes an argument about who gets to lay claim to positions of authority in England. Sir Brian claims it’s the Normans, although Wamba’s retort pushes back by pointing out the ways in which their own lack of virtue disqualifies them from positions of authority.
Themes
The Palmer asserts that the English knights who followed King Richard I to Palestine outclassed everyone else. He recalls a tournament in which King Richard and five of his knights bested fifteen men—seven of whom were Templars, including Sir Brian. Sir Brian, humiliated and enraged, instinctively reaches for his sword as Cedric demands the names of the knights. The Palmer lists five of the six but claims to have forgotten the name of the last. Sir Brian hasn’t: it was the Knight of Ivanhoe, a man he says he would gladly face again in hopes of revenge. The Palmer, who seems to know Ivanhoe somehow, promises the Templar that, if given the chance, Ivanhoe will gladly meet his challenge. He wagers a fine reliquary on it.
The book shows respect for King Richard alone among its Norman characters, and in doing so follows a longstanding English reverence for Richard “the Lionheart,” in large part due to the chivalric reputation the Palmer describes here. The success of Richard and his knights against Sir Brian and his Templar companions suggests not so much that might makes right as proves it; the fact that Richard I, Ivanhoe, and their fellows win a mock battle in which they are outnumbered three to one suggests that they are better men than then Templars. Based on Sir Brian’s selfish, lustful, and decidedly un-chivalric behavior thus far, readers are likely to agree.
Themes
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Prior Aymer takes the Palmer’s and Sir Brian’s pledges on his promised rematch into safekeeping, then he decides it’s time for himself and Sir Brian to retire before high feelings in the hall lead to violence. As he passes by, Sir Brian accuses Isaac in unflattering terms of planning to practice usury at the tournament. Isaac protests that he goes there to ask other Jewish people for help raising funds for a fine imposed on him by the Exchequer of Jews. Declaring, “Beshrew thee for a false-hearted liar,” the Templar pushes past Isaac and speaks briefly to his servants before leaving the hall.
Yet again, when Sir Brian’s true colors show, they suggest the limitations of a chivalric code or set of ideals to influence men of bad character. He accuses Isaac of practicing “usury,” or making loans to people and then growing rich from charging (potentially excessive) interest, thus betraying his prejudice against Jewish people. Due to a range of factors, including religious conflict and Christian law, medieval European Jewish people were stereotypically cast as moneylenders, or people who enriched themselves off others’ misery by offering loans and charging excessive interest rates.
Themes
