Ivanhoe: Volume 3, Chapter 12 Summary & Analysis

As the steward leads King Richard and Ivanhoe up the precipitously steep stairs and into the castle, Ivanhoe covers his face to prevent being recognized before Richard can reconcile Cedric to his son. Cedric, seated at the head of a band of old Saxon lords, greets Richard as the Black Knight, whom he recognizes from the tournament. After Richard carefully returns Cedric’s Saxon greeting, Cedric shows him and Ivanhoe to the chapel, where a group of local monks pray for Athelstane’s soul with a zeal born of superstition and gratitude for the large donation made in Athelstane’s honor by his mother. 

Ushered by Cedric, King Richard and Ivanhoe pay their respects to Athelstane’s mourning mother. She thanks Richard (still disguised as the anonymous Black Knight) for freeing her son from Torquilstone, then bids them to enjoy the castle’s hospitality. Next, Cedric shows them to another room where Rowena leads some maidens in funeral hymns while others embroider Athelstane’s funeral pall and arrange the flowers for his bier. The young ladies attend to their tasks with seriousness but little sadness.

Finally, Cedric shows them to a room set aside for guests with “slight connection” to the deceased. But before he can take his leave, King Richard demands the reward Cedric promised his rescuer. Then he reveals his identity. Cedric refuses to bow to a Norman, but rather than becoming angry, Richard agrees that he has no right to Cedric’s homage until he has proved himself an equal friend to Saxons and Normans alike. Then King Richard names his reward: he wants Cedric to forgive his son. Ivanhoe steps forward and throws himself at his father’s feet. Cedric grants Ivanhoe full forgiveness but commands him to stop dressing and behaving according to Norman customs. And he warns his son not to speak of marrying Rowena yet, since she must complete two years’ mourning for Athelstane.

Then, as if summoned by his name, Athelstane himself, dressed for burial, stumbles through the door. He tells the astonished party an incredible tale: Sir Brian did indeed knock him unconscious but did not kill him. He recovered consciousness in a nearby abbey whose monks seemed dismayed at his survival, since it meant they wouldn’t be imminently receiving large donations from his family in his honor. The monks have kept him half drugged and locked in the abbey’s cellar for days while praying over an empty coffin at the castle. Only by luck—a somewhat drunk monk forgot to lock the cellar door—did Athelstane escape, find his horse, and ride back to Coningsburgh.

Cedric encourages Athelstane to immediately challenge Richard for the English throne. But Athelstane’s recent near-death experience and imprisonment have given him some clarity. He no longer cares to pursue his claim to the throne, nor does he want to waste English blood in civil war. He’s well aware of Rowena’s disdain for him. He’s ready to renounce both, offering his loyalty to King Richard and giving Rowena to Ivanhoe himself, but during his lengthy soliloquy, Ivanhoe, Rowena, King Richard, and the rest have all disappeared. At length, Wamba explains that Isaac appeared in the courtyard with a message that sent Ivanhoe for his horse. No one knows where Richard went. Shrugging, Athelstane prepares to dig into his own funeral feast.