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 Templar knights sit arranged by rank in the improvised courtroom, joined by curious locals. Beaumanoir remarks to Mountfitchet about the downcast and ashamed aspect of Sir Brian, who stands in a corner of the hall, distractedly tracing lines on the floor with his sword. Then Beaumanoir addressed the crowd, outlining the grave charges against Sir Brian, who has broken several of the Order’s rules. He deserves to be excommunicated and driven from the Order, unless he was driven to his crimes by enchantment. Several witnesses testify to the lengths Sir Brian went to protect Rebecca when they escaped Torquilstone, exaggerating their accounts to the crowd’s great delight.
Sir Brian is still clearly struggling with his feelings for Rebecca, and the conflict between these and his worldly ambitions (which depend on retaining his status as a Templar knight). Beaumanoir interprets Sir Brian’s struggle in the way that best suits his own goals, however, pointing toward the essential injustice and corruption that arises when those in charge put their ambition and reputation above all else. The charges also dramatize the vulnerability of women in this male-dominated society; although Sir Brian has committed crimes against his Order and his God, the victim—Rebecca—will pay.
Themes
Albert testifies about Sir Brian’s arrival with Rebecca, carefully seasoning his account with suggestive comments about the knight’s unusual—perhaps enchanted—state of mind. Then he receives his own penance for allowing an unbelieving woman within the preceptory walls. Then Beaumanoir turns his attention towards Rebecca’s conduct, calling first on Sir Brian’s testimony. Sir Brian asserts that he won’t participate in the sham trial, and Beaumanoir takes his reticence as further evidence of bewitchment. A disabled peasant named Higg testifies to Rebecca’s healing skills. Beaumanoir assures him that it’s better to be bedridden than to court damnation by consorting with Jewish medicine.
Despite presenting themselves as representatives of God on earth, the Templars show little sign of mercy or honesty in this trial. Albert lies directly, and Beaumanoir callously and piously informs a poor peasant that a life of chronic illness and suffering is better than acknowledging the humanity or skill of a Jewish person. In drawing attention to Higg’s disability, the book highlights the weakness of the Templars’ case: his incomplete cure suggests that Rebecca’s powers remain natural, not magical.
Themes
Beaumanoir finally asks Rebecca to testify, threatening to forcibly remove her veil so that the court and its audience can see her face. She complies while still begging the rights of her maidenly modesty, and her strength of character impresses Beaumanoir despite himself. Appreciation for her beauty ripples through the crowd. Even the two men who Albert has bribed to testify against her feel their resolve weaken when they see her face, but a stern look reminds them of their duty. Templeton glosses over their testimony, noting that a modern court would consider half of it immaterial—Rebecca’s exotic clothing, her Hebrew prayers, and her great beauty—and the other half impossible, like the tale of her ability to pull crossbow bolts from men’s wounds with magic.
Yet again, the Templars’ willingness to resort to violence belies their claim to moral superiority over Rebecca just because they are Christians. She demonstrates what true moral uprightness looks like and shows more courage than her allegedly chivalric captor, Sir Brian. Templeton inserts an aside here which works to excuse both his medieval characters and modern readers from complicity in the trial, suggesting that modern standards would discount much of the testimony. In this way, he tries to gloss over a moment which should give modern readers pause, for the forces of self-interest, dishonesty, and persecution still operate in the world.
Themes
Beaumanoir demands that Rebecca answer the charges against her. In a calm voice, she asserts the futility of begging for his pity, or of contradicting clearly fabricated evidence. Invoking God as the judge, she appeals to Sir Brian, calling on his honor as a knight and his morals as a Christian, to confirm that the accusations are false. With a tortured look on his face, Sir Brian hisses, “The scroll!” and for the first time Rebecca looks at the paper he put in her hand earlier. It tells her to “Demand a champion!” Still maintaining her innocence, Rebecca appeals to the Normans’ “fierce laws” and demands trial by combat, trusting God to provide a champion for her.
Earlier, in her debate with Ivanhoe, Rebecca expressed doubt in the value of chivalry, claiming that it encouraged violence and domination rather than virtue. Her experiences with Sir Brian tend to confirm this belief. And the fact that she can demand a champion to decide her fate and overrule any ostensible justice a trial might provide also raises questions about Norman customs. But when her appeal to Brian’s sense of nobility and obligation fails, she can only ask for the question to be settled with violence. The theory of judicial combat is that God will favor the knight fighting for the side of right and truth, therefore allowing him to win.
Themes
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