Ivanhoe

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1819

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Volume 1, Chapters 1-6

Volume 1, Chapters 7-14

Volume 2, Chapters 1-7

Volume 2, Chapters 8-16

Volume 3, Chapters 1-14

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Heraldry

In a novel whose main characters are knights or Medieval nobility, it is no surprise that heraldry is so prominent. Heraldry refers to the symbols and designs a warrior—especially an aristocratic warrior—uses to represent themselves on their armor. A coat of arms is a good example of heraldry. Probably the most notable example of heraldry in the novel is the shield of the Disinherited Knight, painted with an uprooted tree and the word Desdichado, interpreted in the novel as the Spanish word for “Disinherited.” The Disinherited Knight is soon revealed to be none other than Wilfred of Ivanhoe, who really has been disinherited by his father Cedric. The uprooted tree apparently represents Ivanhoe himself, who has been figuratively uprooted by his banishment from his home. Bois-Guilbert, the main antagonist, bears several heraldic devices, including the red cross of the Templar order to which he belongs and a raven that represents his menacing character. Also important is the Black Knight (King Richard), whose armor and shield are all black, with no device at all, representing his anonymity.

Disguise

Disguise features prominently throughout the novel. Wilfred of Ivanhoe, the novel’s protagonist, appears in two different disguises in the first part of the novel, first as a Palmer and then as the Disinherited Knight. These disguises enable him to come home and interact with his father and Rowena without being recognized. Richard, similarly, first appears in the disguise of the Black Knight. Like Ivanhoe, he is thus able to avoid detection by his enemies. Other characters who employ disguises in the novel include Locksley (Robin Hood) and the Clerk of Copmanhurst (Friar Tuck). Similarly, Wamba uses a disguise to infiltrate Torquilstone and help Cedric escape to safety. The motif of disguise contributes to the novel’s romantic tone and recalls Scott’s heroic models, perhaps most notably the mythical Greek hero Odysseus, who in Homer’s Odyssey returns to his home on the island of Ithaca in disguise.

Epithets

Like heraldry, epithets are used throughout the novel to identify individuals in relation to the world they live in. Some epithets are used to represent a central aspect of a person’s character. Cedric, for instance, is known as “Cedric the Saxon” because he is such an outspoken champion of Saxons’ rights. Similarly, Cedric’s friend Athelstane is known by the epithet “the Unready” because of his undecisive nature. Other epithets are used by necessity for individuals whose identities are unknown, as with the “Disinherited Knight” or the “Black Knight. Some epithets, finally, reflect an individual’s socioeconomic or religious standing. Thus, Isaac of York is often referred to as “Isaac the Jew” because of his religion, which leads most of the novel’s antisemitic Christian characters to treat him with disdain.