Ivanhoe (1819) set in twelfth-century England, marks…
1819 CE
Ivanhoe (1819) set in twelfth-century England, marks a move away from Scott's focus on the local history of Scotland.
Based partly on Hume's History of England and the ballad cycle of Robin Hood, Ivanhoe is quickly translated into many languages and inspires countless imitations and theatrical adaptations.
Ivanhoe depicts the cruel tyranny of the Norman overlords (Norman Yoke) over the impoverished Saxon populace of England, with two of the main characters, Rowena and Locksley (Robin Hood), representing the dispossessed Saxon aristocracy.
The institution of the Magna Carta, which happens outside the time frame of the story, is portrayed as a progressive (incremental) reform, but also as a step toward recovery of a lost golden age of liberty endemic to England and the English system.
Although on the surface an entertaining escapist romance, alert contemporary readers quickly recognize the political subtext of Ivanhoe, which appears immediately after the English Parliament, fearful of French-style revolution in the aftermath of Waterloo, have passed the Habeas Corpus Suspension acts of 1817 and 1818 and other extremely repressive measures, and during a period when traditional English Charter rights versus revolutionary human rights is a topic of discussion.
Ivanhoe is also remarkable in its sympathetic portrayal of Jewish characters: Rebecca, considered by many critics the book's real heroine, does not in the end get to marry Ivanhoe, whom she loves, but Scott allows her to remain faithful to her own religion, rather than having her convert to Christianity.
Likewise, her father, Isaac of York, a Jewish moneylender, is shown as a victim rather than a villain.
In Ivanhoe, as in the Waverley novels, religious and sectarian fanatics are the villains, while the eponymous hero is a bystander who must weigh the evidence and decide where to take a stand.
Scott's positive portrayal of Judaism, which reflects his humanity and concern for religious toleration, also coincides with a contemporary movement for the emancipation of the Jews in the United Kingdom, the nineteenth century culmination of efforts over several hundred years to loosen the legal restrictions set in place on England's Jewish population.