Ivanhoe (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) (79 page)
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Authors: Walter Scott
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12
(p. 21)
Ingulphus ... Geoffrey de Vinsauf:
Ingulphus’s twelfth-century “History of Croyland” (not Croyden) is now thought to be a forgery. Similarly, Geoffrey de Vinsauff, a poet supposed to have accompanied Richard I on the Third Crusade, is no longer thought to be the author of the account of Richard alluded to here by Scott. He inherited the mistakes from Robert Henry’s
The History of Great Britain
(1771-1785).
(p. 21)
Ingulphus ... Geoffrey de Vinsauf:
Ingulphus’s twelfth-century “History of Croyland” (not Croyden) is now thought to be a forgery. Similarly, Geoffrey de Vinsauff, a poet supposed to have accompanied Richard I on the Third Crusade, is no longer thought to be the author of the account of Richard alluded to here by Scott. He inherited the mistakes from Robert Henry’s
The History of Great Britain
(1771-1785).
13
(p. 21)
the gallant Froissart:
Fourteenth-century French poet and historian Jean Froissart provided romantic accounts of the age of chivalry in his
Chronicles of England, France, and Spain.
That work, which Scott read in the 1523-1535 translation by Lord Berners, had great influence on the writing of
Ivanhoe.
(p. 21)
the gallant Froissart:
Fourteenth-century French poet and historian Jean Froissart provided romantic accounts of the age of chivalry in his
Chronicles of England, France, and Spain.
That work, which Scott read in the 1523-1535 translation by Lord Berners, had great influence on the writing of
Ivanhoe.
14
(p. 22)
Sir Arthur Wardour:
Wardour is a Tory antiquarian in Scott’s
The Antiquary
(1816). The manuscript referred to is thus also fictitious.
(p. 22)
Sir Arthur Wardour:
Wardour is a Tory antiquarian in Scott’s
The Antiquary
(1816). The manuscript referred to is thus also fictitious.
15
(p. 22)
the Bannatyne MS., the Auchinleck MS.:
Scott refers to poetic manuscripts dating from the sixteenth and fourteenth centuries, respectively. The Auchinleck manuscript contains a fragment of the anonymous romance
Richard Coeur de Lion,
an important source for
Ivanhoe.
(p. 22)
the Bannatyne MS., the Auchinleck MS.:
Scott refers to poetic manuscripts dating from the sixteenth and fourteenth centuries, respectively. The Auchinleck manuscript contains a fragment of the anonymous romance
Richard Coeur de Lion,
an important source for
Ivanhoe.
16
(p. 22)
Robin of Redesdale:
This is the popular name given to the prehistoric image of a hunter carved into stone in a Northumberland field. In the late eighteenth century, the landowner was so annoyed by trespassing tourists that he blew up the stone.
(p. 22)
Robin of Redesdale:
This is the popular name given to the prehistoric image of a hunter carved into stone in a Northumberland field. In the late eighteenth century, the landowner was so annoyed by trespassing tourists that he blew up the stone.
17
(pp. 22-23)
Gath ... Arthur’s Oven:
With “Tell this not in Gath,” Scott quotes the Bible, 2 Samuel 1:20, where. David orders that news of Saul’s death not be broadcast among the Philistines; the phrase is used colloquially to mean keeping something secret. Arthur’s Oven was an ancient dome-shaped building thought to mark the northern edge of the Roman occupation of Britain. It was destroyed by the local landowner in 1743 and its stones used to repair a dam. The reference to King Arthur is to the site of his last battle, in nearby Camelon (Camlann).
CHAPTER I(pp. 22-23)
Gath ... Arthur’s Oven:
With “Tell this not in Gath,” Scott quotes the Bible, 2 Samuel 1:20, where. David orders that news of Saul’s death not be broadcast among the Philistines; the phrase is used colloquially to mean keeping something secret. Arthur’s Oven was an ancient dome-shaped building thought to mark the northern edge of the Roman occupation of Britain. It was destroyed by the local landowner in 1743 and its stones used to repair a dam. The reference to King Arthur is to the site of his last battle, in nearby Camelon (Camlann).
1
(p. 27)
epigraph:
The lines are from Alexander Pope’s translation of the
Odyssey
(1725; 14.453-456), slightly altered. The passage refers to the return of Odysseus, which is implicitly compared to Ivanhoe’s return from the Holy Land.
(p. 27)
epigraph:
The lines are from Alexander Pope’s translation of the
Odyssey
(1725; 14.453-456), slightly altered. The passage refers to the return of Odysseus, which is implicitly compared to Ivanhoe’s return from the Holy Land.
2
(p. 33)
“A devil draw . . . confound the ranger of the forest”:
[Author’s note] The Ranger of the Forest. A most sensible grievance of those aggrieved times were the Forest Laws. These oppressive enactments were the produce of the Norman Conquest, for the Saxon laws of the chase were mild and humane; while those of William, enthusiastically attached to the exercise and its rights, were to the last degree tyrannical. The formation of the New Forest bears evidence to his passion for hunting, where he reduced many a happy village to the condition of that one commemorated by my friend, Mr. William Stewart Rose—
(p. 33)
“A devil draw . . . confound the ranger of the forest”:
[Author’s note] The Ranger of the Forest. A most sensible grievance of those aggrieved times were the Forest Laws. These oppressive enactments were the produce of the Norman Conquest, for the Saxon laws of the chase were mild and humane; while those of William, enthusiastically attached to the exercise and its rights, were to the last degree tyrannical. The formation of the New Forest bears evidence to his passion for hunting, where he reduced many a happy village to the condition of that one commemorated by my friend, Mr. William Stewart Rose—
Amongst the ruins of the church
The midnight raven found a perch,
A melancholy place;
The ruthless Conqueror cast down,
Woe worth the deed, that little town,
To lengthen out his chase.
The midnight raven found a perch,
A melancholy place;
The ruthless Conqueror cast down,
Woe worth the deed, that little town,
To lengthen out his chase.
The disabling dogs, which might be necessary for keeping flocks and herds from running at the deer, was called
lawing,
and was in general use. The Charter of the Forest, designed to lessen those evils, declares that inquisition, or view, for lawing dogs shall be made every third year, and shall be then done by the view and testimony of lawful men, not otherwise; and they whose dogs shall be then found unlawed shall give three shillings for mercy; and for the future no man’s ox shall be taken for lawing. Such lawing also shall be done by the assize commonly used, and which is, that three claws shall be cut off without the ball of the right foot. See on this subject the
Historical Essay on the Magna Charta of King John
(a most beautiful volume), by Richard Thomson.
lawing,
and was in general use. The Charter of the Forest, designed to lessen those evils, declares that inquisition, or view, for lawing dogs shall be made every third year, and shall be then done by the view and testimony of lawful men, not otherwise; and they whose dogs shall be then found unlawed shall give three shillings for mercy; and for the future no man’s ox shall be taken for lawing. Such lawing also shall be done by the assize commonly used, and which is, that three claws shall be cut off without the ball of the right foot. See on this subject the
Historical Essay on the Magna Charta of King John
(a most beautiful volume), by Richard Thomson.
3
(p. 35)
King Oberon:
Oberon is the fairy king in Shakespeare’s A
Midsummer Night’s Dream,
but Wamba is certainly referring to a text more contemporary (although still anachronistic) to the setting of
Ivanhoe,
namely
Huon of Bordeaux,
a thirteenth-century romance.
CHAPTER II(p. 35)
King Oberon:
Oberon is the fairy king in Shakespeare’s A
Midsummer Night’s Dream,
but Wamba is certainly referring to a text more contemporary (although still anachronistic) to the setting of
Ivanhoe,
namely
Huon of Bordeaux,
a thirteenth-century romance.
2
(pp. 38-39)
natives of some distant Eastern country:
[Author’s note] Negro Slaves. The severe accuracy of some critics has objected to the complexion of the slaves of Brian de Bois-Guilbert, as being totally out of costume and propriety. I remember the same objection being made to a set of sable functionaries whom my friend, Mat Lewis, introduced as the guards and mischief-doing satellites of the wicked Baron in his
Castle Spectre.
Mat treated the objection with great contempt, and averred in reply, that he made the slaves black in order to obtain a striking effect of contrast, and that, could he have derived a similar advantage from making his heroine blue, blue she should have been.
(pp. 38-39)
natives of some distant Eastern country:
[Author’s note] Negro Slaves. The severe accuracy of some critics has objected to the complexion of the slaves of Brian de Bois-Guilbert, as being totally out of costume and propriety. I remember the same objection being made to a set of sable functionaries whom my friend, Mat Lewis, introduced as the guards and mischief-doing satellites of the wicked Baron in his
Castle Spectre.
Mat treated the objection with great contempt, and averred in reply, that he made the slaves black in order to obtain a striking effect of contrast, and that, could he have derived a similar advantage from making his heroine blue, blue she should have been.
I do not pretend to plead the immunities of my order so highly as this; but neither will I allow that the author of a modern antique romance is obliged to confine himself to the introduction of those manners only which can be proved to have absolutely existed in the times he is depicting, so that he restrain himself to such as are plausible and natural, and contain no obvious anachronism. In this point of view, what can be more natural than that the Templars, who, we know, copied closely the luxuries of the Asiatic warriors with whom they fought, should use the service of the enslaved Africans whom the fate of war transferred to new masters? I am sure, if there are no precise proofs of their having done so, there is nothing, on the other hand, that can entitle us positively to conclude that they never did. Besides, there is an instance in romance.
John of Rampayne, an excellent juggler and minstrel, undertook to effect the escape of one Audulf de Bracy, by presenting himself in disguise at the court of the king, where he was confined. For this purpose, he stained “his hair and his whole body entirely as black as jet, so that nothing was white but his teeth,” and succeeded in imposing himself on the king as an Ethiopian minstrel. He effected, by stratagem, the escape of the prisoner. Negroes, therefore, must have been known in England in the dark ages.
gw
gw
4
(p. 43)
Knights Templars:
The order, founded in 1118 during the Crusades, takes its name from the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, where the knights were headquartered. Their initial mission was to protect Christian pilgrims on their journeys to the Holy Land, but with the blessing of the pope, the order quickly spread throughout western Europe, gaining enormous wealth and political influence.
(p. 43)
Knights Templars:
The order, founded in 1118 during the Crusades, takes its name from the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, where the knights were headquartered. Their initial mission was to protect Christian pilgrims on their journeys to the Holy Land, but with the blessing of the pope, the order quickly spread throughout western Europe, gaining enormous wealth and political influence.
5
(p. 44)
Hereward... Heptarchy:
The Anglo-Saxon hero Hereward’s resistance to William the Conqueror significantly postdates the demise of the Heptarchy, the name given to the seven original Anglo-Saxon kingdoms before the Danish invasions beginning in the seventh century.
(p. 44)
Hereward... Heptarchy:
The Anglo-Saxon hero Hereward’s resistance to William the Conqueror significantly postdates the demise of the Heptarchy, the name given to the seven original Anglo-Saxon kingdoms before the Danish invasions beginning in the seventh century.
6
(p. 45)
houris of old Mahound’s paradise:
“Mahound” is a derogatory variation on “Muhammad”; the Prior is referring to a commonly held Western belief that the Koran promises virgins in paradise to the “blessed” who die in the name of Islam.
CHAPTER III(p. 45)
houris of old Mahound’s paradise:
“Mahound” is a derogatory variation on “Muhammad”; the Prior is referring to a commonly held Western belief that the Koran promises virgins in paradise to the “blessed” who die in the name of Islam.
2
(p. 52)
“I might even have made him one of my warders”:
[Author’s note] Cnichts. The original has
cnichts,
by which the Saxons seem to have designated a class of military attendants, sometimes free, sometimes bondsmen, but always ranking above an ordinary domestic, whether in the royal household or in those of the aldermen and thanes. But the term cnicht, now spelt knight, having been received into the English language as equivalent to the Norman word chevalier, I have avoided using it in its more ancient sense, to prevent confusion.—L. T.
(p. 52)
“I might even have made him one of my warders”:
[Author’s note] Cnichts. The original has
cnichts,
by which the Saxons seem to have designated a class of military attendants, sometimes free, sometimes bondsmen, but always ranking above an ordinary domestic, whether in the royal household or in those of the aldermen and thanes. But the term cnicht, now spelt knight, having been received into the English language as equivalent to the Norman word chevalier, I have avoided using it in its more ancient sense, to prevent confusion.—L. T.
3
(p. 54)
the most odiferous pigments:
[Author’s note] Morat and Pigment. These were drinks used by the Saxons, as we are informed by Mr. Turner. Morat was made of honey flavoured with the juice of mulberries; pigment was a sweet and rich liquor, composed of wine highly spiced, and sweetened also with honey; the other liquors need no explanation.—L. T.
CHAPTER IV(p. 54)
the most odiferous pigments:
[Author’s note] Morat and Pigment. These were drinks used by the Saxons, as we are informed by Mr. Turner. Morat was made of honey flavoured with the juice of mulberries; pigment was a sweet and rich liquor, composed of wine highly spiced, and sweetened also with honey; the other liquors need no explanation.—L. T.
1
(p. 55)
epigraph:
The lines, slightly altered, are from Pope’s translation (1725-1726; 20.314-317, 322-324).
(p. 55)
epigraph:
The lines, slightly altered, are from Pope’s translation (1725-1726; 20.314-317, 322-324).
3
(p. 61)
a truce with Saladin:
Saladin was the Western name given to the Sultan of Egypt and Syria whose attack on Christian Jerusalem in 1187 prompted the Third Crusade (1189-1192), in which Richard I participated. After mixed success, and never reaching Jerusalem itself, Richard negotiated a truce with Saladin in 1192.
CHAPTER V(p. 61)
a truce with Saladin:
Saladin was the Western name given to the Sultan of Egypt and Syria whose attack on Christian Jerusalem in 1187 prompted the Third Crusade (1189-1192), in which Richard I participated. After mixed success, and never reaching Jerusalem itself, Richard negotiated a truce with Saladin in 1192.
1
(p. 62)
epigraph:
The quotation is from Shylock’s famous speech from
The Merchant of Venice
(act 3, scene 1). Scott borrowed much from Shakespeare, most notably the stagy, pseudo-medieval language spoken by the characters in
Ivanhoe.
With the choice of this epigraph, he explicitly holds up Shylock as his model for Isaac.
(p. 62)
epigraph:
The quotation is from Shylock’s famous speech from
The Merchant of Venice
(act 3, scene 1). Scott borrowed much from Shakespeare, most notably the stagy, pseudo-medieval language spoken by the characters in
Ivanhoe.
With the choice of this epigraph, he explicitly holds up Shylock as his model for Isaac.
2
. (p. 65) “
all the babble of the fabulous Sir Tristrem:
[Author’s note] Sir Tristrem. There was no language which the Normans more formally separated from that of common life than the terms of the chase. The objects of their pursuit, whether bird or animal, changed their name each year, and there were a hundred conventional terms to be ignorant of which was to be without one of the distinguishing marks of a gentleman. The reader may consult Dame Juliana Berners’s book on the subject. The origin of this science was imputed to the celebrated Sir Tristrem, famous for his tragic intrigue with the beautiful Ysolte. As the Normans reserved the amusement of hunting strictly to themselves, the terms of this formal jargon were all taken from the French language.
. (p. 65) “
all the babble of the fabulous Sir Tristrem:
[Author’s note] Sir Tristrem. There was no language which the Normans more formally separated from that of common life than the terms of the chase. The objects of their pursuit, whether bird or animal, changed their name each year, and there were a hundred conventional terms to be ignorant of which was to be without one of the distinguishing marks of a gentleman. The reader may consult Dame Juliana Berners’s book on the subject. The origin of this science was imputed to the celebrated Sir Tristrem, famous for his tragic intrigue with the beautiful Ysolte. As the Normans reserved the amusement of hunting strictly to themselves, the terms of this formal jargon were all taken from the French language.
3
(p. 65)
Northallerton
. . .
the Holy Standard:
The English defeated the Scots in a famous battle on Cowton Moor, near Northallerton, in 1138, at which the English carried the banners of Saints Peter, John, and Wilfred.
(p. 65)
Northallerton
. . .
the Holy Standard:
The English defeated the Scots in a famous battle on Cowton Moor, near Northallerton, in 1138, at which the English carried the banners of Saints Peter, John, and Wilfred.
4
(p. 66)
Knights Hospitallers:
A militant order of monks founded in 1120 to superintend the Christian Hospital in Jerusalem. Their importance as a military force grew with the Crusades, and by the late twelfth century they were the Knights Templars’ principal rivals.
(p. 66)
Knights Hospitallers:
A militant order of monks founded in 1120 to superintend the Christian Hospital in Jerusalem. Their importance as a military force grew with the Crusades, and by the late twelfth century they were the Knights Templars’ principal rivals.
5
(p. 66) St.
John-de-Acre:
A strategically important port in northern Israel taken by Saladin in 1187, St. John-de-Acre was recaptured by the Crusaders four years later. The legend of a victory tournament began with the romance
Richard Coeur de Lion
(see note 15 to the Dedicatory Epistle, above), which is also Scott’s source for significant details of the Ashby tournament in
Ivanhoe.
CHAPTER VI(p. 66) St.
John-de-Acre:
A strategically important port in northern Israel taken by Saladin in 1187, St. John-de-Acre was recaptured by the Crusaders four years later. The legend of a victory tournament began with the romance
Richard Coeur de Lion
(see note 15 to the Dedicatory Epistle, above), which is also Scott’s source for significant details of the Ashby tournament in
Ivanhoe.
2
(p. 76)
misery of Lazarus:
It would be unlikely for a medieval Jew to refer to the New Testament (Luke 16:20-21), the parable of the poor man at the rich man’s gate. A further irony is that Isaac more resembles the rich man in the story than the beggar.
(p. 76)
misery of Lazarus:
It would be unlikely for a medieval Jew to refer to the New Testament (Luke 16:20-21), the parable of the poor man at the rich man’s gate. A further irony is that Isaac more resembles the rich man in the story than the beggar.
3
(p. 79)
the Jews of this period:
Scott significantly underplays the extent of persecution of the Jews at this time. Brought to England with the Normans, they were given royal protection by the Conqueror in return for enormous loans, but their situation in England deteriorated significantly under Richard I, whose coronation day itself was marred by pogroms. Isaac and Rebecca’s departure at the end of the novel is an implicit signal of how intolerable the combination of extortion and violence had become for the Jews in twelfth-century England. They were officially expelled in 1290 by Edward I and not readmitted until 1655.
(p. 79)
the Jews of this period:
Scott significantly underplays the extent of persecution of the Jews at this time. Brought to England with the Normans, they were given royal protection by the Conqueror in return for enormous loans, but their situation in England deteriorated significantly under Richard I, whose coronation day itself was marred by pogroms. Isaac and Rebecca’s departure at the end of the novel is an implicit signal of how intolerable the combination of extortion and violence had become for the Jews in twelfth-century England. They were officially expelled in 1290 by Edward I and not readmitted until 1655.
4
(p. 80)
the host of the Pharoah:
Isaac recalls the biblical account of the fate of Pharoah’s army at the crossing of the Red Sea in Exodus 14:25.
CHAPTER VII(p. 80)
the host of the Pharoah:
Isaac recalls the biblical account of the fate of Pharoah’s army at the crossing of the Red Sea in Exodus 14:25.
1
(p. 83)
epigraph:
The lines are from John Dryden’s medievalist romance
Palamon and Arcite; or, The Knight’s Tale
(1699; 3.453—463).
(p. 83)
epigraph:
The lines are from John Dryden’s medievalist romance
Palamon and Arcite; or, The Knight’s Tale
(1699; 3.453—463).
2
(p. 92)
Bride of the Canticles:
Solomon is the ”wise king” whose Temple in Jerusalem Richard has failed to recapture. He is also the supposed author of the biblical Song of Songs, also known as the Canticle of Canticles, a set of poems famous for their lustrous evocation of female beauty.
(p. 92)
Bride of the Canticles:
Solomon is the ”wise king” whose Temple in Jerusalem Richard has failed to recapture. He is also the supposed author of the biblical Song of Songs, also known as the Canticle of Canticles, a set of poems famous for their lustrous evocation of female beauty.
3
(p. 94)
William Rufus:
William II of England went hunting in the New Forest in 1100 and never returned. He was shot, presumably by his companion Walter Tyrrell (who fled abroad), but whether by design or accident was never determined.
CHAPTER VIII(p. 94)
William Rufus:
William II of England went hunting in the New Forest in 1100 and never returned. He was shot, presumably by his companion Walter Tyrrell (who fled abroad), but whether by design or accident was never determined.
2
(p. 99)
The knights are dust ... with the saints, we trust:
[Author’s note] Lines from Coleridge. These lines are part of an unpublished poem by Coleridge, whose muse so often tantalises with fragments which indicate her powers, while the manner in which she flings them from her betrays her caprice, yet whose unfinished sketches display more talent than the laboured master-pieces of others.
(p. 99)
The knights are dust ... with the saints, we trust:
[Author’s note] Lines from Coleridge. These lines are part of an unpublished poem by Coleridge, whose muse so often tantalises with fragments which indicate her powers, while the manner in which she flings them from her betrays her caprice, yet whose unfinished sketches display more talent than the laboured master-pieces of others.
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