The Truth of Ivanhoe

903 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The influence of the Norman invasion

The Truth of Ivanhoe

Is Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe a true representation of the Norman-Saxon feud? Yes, and through a comparison of statements and ideas from Ivanhoe, Arthur and the Anglo Saxon Wars, The Anglo Saxons, Scott, and England in Literature: America Reads it will be proven that the Norman-Saxon feud was accurately depicted by Scott in Ivanhoe.

In Ivanhoe, Prince John attempts to take over England while his brother, King Richard, is away fighting the Crusades. In the book there are basically two sides to this struggle for control of England, the Normans and the Saxons.

Prince John and his followers make up the Normans, while the Saxons are led by the title character Wilfred of Ivanhoe. The Saxons try to prevent Prince John from stealing the throne. The story occurs during the third crusade, but the feud between the Normans and the Saxons in 1066 well before this time.

In 1066 at the Battle of Hastings, the Normans, led by William I, defeated the Saxons and took over control of England. Before this the Saxons had ruled England for 600 years. During the battle both sides fought strongly. It was a bloody war and many people died. The Saxons had fought and had won 21 wars to preserve their reign of England before their loss at Hastings.

The Normans were from the English hated-France, so they didn’t have much of a chance of being liked by the Saxons. What little chance the Normans did have was destroyed by William. He established a new ruling class that was all Norman. He also took the land belonging to 5,000-6,000 Saxon nobles and gave it to 180 Normans who supported him. "The laws which William made were oppressive and severe and the taxes were heavy." Saxons commonly referred to William as a tyrant because of this.

The Normans and Saxons were further separated through language. The Normans spoke French, the Saxons spoke English, and both groups commonly refused to speak the other’s language. There was one instance in Ivanhoe where two Normans were guests at a Saxon castle. The Saxons refused to speak French, and the Normans refused to speak English. In the end both groups spoke their native language only, even though they were fluent in both French and English.

Another example of the Norman-Saxon feud from Ivanhoe occurred in the first several pages. Two Saxon servants came upon two Normans in the woods, and the Normans asked for directions to the nearest castle.

Show More
Related

  • Castle Development during the Middle Ages

    1316 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Normans were responsible for the development of Castles in England during the middle ages. The Normans were master castle builders and literally brought castles and feudalism with them on their invasion fleets. They transported pre-built wooden castles by boat and initiated the motte and bailey style of castle as they moved through England. Unlink stone castles, which could take years to build, these rapidly built, wooden castles created a quick network across large distances.

    Read More

  • William the Conqueror, Always Getting the Job Done

    903 Words  | 2 Pages

    Even though William the Conqueror descended from a line of Vikings who had lived in France for over 200 years, William had more of an impact on the English language than the majority of influential English people of the time. The “French-speaking Normans brought a whole new vocabulary to England, whose language was closely related to German”(Barlow 8). Although he is most well known for the Norman invasion of 1066 that overthrew the Anglo Saxon reign, which had lasted for over six centuries, William was a very religious man. He was moral and righteous by the standards of the time, and devoted much of his time to the Norman church.

    Read More

  • 1066: Year Of The Conquest

    910 Words  | 2 Pages

    1066: The Year of the Conquest, written by David Howarth, tells of one of the most important dates in the history of England. In 1066, William the Conqueror and William of Orange fought the historical Battle of Hastings. The outcome of this battle lead to many changes to the English people. The Norman people became assimilated into the English way of life. Howarth proceeds to tell the tale of the Battle of Hastings through the eyes on a common Englishman.

    Read More

  • The Portrayal of Socially Destructive and Over-Ambitious Richard, in Shakespeare's Richard III

    2911 Words  | 6 Pages

    Richard’s political ambition is revealed through his strategic calculations based on the order of birth in his York family which puts him third away from the throne. Ahead of him is his elder brother, George Clarence, a barrier which will have to eradicate. His brother, King Edward, is another political barrier, by simply being alive, in power and equally by being the father of the two young princes . Richard’s creates a political mistrust between his two brothers without directly implicating himself to clear his way to power.

    Read More

  • Norman Invasion of 1066

    720 Words  | 2 Pages

    In winter of 1066 the king of England, Edward III died without any heirs to the throne. This sparked a bitter rivalry between Harold Godwin son, William Duke of Normandy and Herald Harridan, all of whom had claims to the throne. Eventually, Harold II was elected into power despite William’s claim to the throne. The Norman leader felt cheated because he had to have a blood tie to the throne, despite him being Norman and Edward III being Anglo-Saxon. In spring of 1066 the Normans sent a mission to Rome to seek Papal support for an invasion of England, the rivalry for the throne had escalated into a full-fledged conflict that would alter the course of history.

    Read More

  • Rage to be King: William King of England

    1002 Words  | 3 Pages

    William raged to be the King of England. All he wanted was to be a king or ruler. In 1065, King Edward of England had become ill. Later on January fifth, 1066, King Edward died. Who would be the next king was the question...

    Read More

  • History

    1109 Words  | 3 Pages

    Further, Daughan covers the British blockade on American ports and the Napoleonic Wars. First, the British blockade on 1813 made difficult for American flagships to leave ports because the British Navy blocked almost all American ports with the exception of New England which provided goods to the British Navy during the war. Secondly, Daughan adds that the Napoleonic wars had a major impact on the American local war; exclusively, Napoleon’s defeat in Russia gave more confidence to Britain for supporting the War of 1812 longer. In contrast, A.J. Langguth did not include in his book, Union 1812: The Americans Who Fought the Second War of Independence, any international aspect that might influence the War of 1812.

    Read More

  • The Battle of Bosworth Field and its Effect on Government and Society

    1229 Words  | 3 Pages

    After the death of Edward IV in 1483, his son Edward V ascended to the throne, as Edward was only 12 years old at the time, Edward IV had designated his brother Richard to act as protector. Richard had Edward V and his younger brother Richard taken to the Tower of London where it is likely that they were killed (it remains a mystery as to what exactly happened) (Funk and Wagnall’s Encyclopaedia, 1990). Richard was crowned king later that year. Richard was from the house of York and was greatly disliked by many Lords, particularly those from the house of Lancaster.

    Read More

  • Research Paper On William The Conqueror

    1218 Words  | 3 Pages

    William I was put into the spotlight from a very early age. He became the Duke of Normandy at the ripe age of eight years old, and pandemonium ensued almost immediately. Throughout his early years of power, a “breakout of authority” occurred all throughout Normandy, leading to many future problems that William would handily deal with (William I 2). Although he had many people seeking to overthrow him, William had support on his side, and was able to use the adversity he faced to his advantage. At a very young age, William was learning the tricks of the trade, and became very logical and rational in making decisions whether they be military or political based. Without his troubled upbringing, it is questionable whether or not he would have been as great of a leader as he turned out to be.

    Read More

  • history

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    Elected in 1932 following the Great Depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt took on his presidency as a challenge to reform the United States by finding ways to provide a larger amount of people economic security in an unequal financial environment. To accomplish this goal, Roosevelt not only implemented a variety of New Deal programs under the categories of reform, recovery and relief, but also redefined what the word “liberty” meant for Americans.

    Read More

  • The Rise and Fall of Richard the Third

    2543 Words  | 6 Pages

    	Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was the brother of King Edward IV of the House of York. The House of York had been in control of the throne of England for some time now, but with the entry of the Woodvilles, was in somewhat of a decline. Elizabeth Woodville, now queen to Edward, was thought of surrounded by sorcery, influencing Edward to the bidding of the Woodvilles and their rise to power. Edward's eldest son was in the primary care of the Woodvilles at the time of Edward's death, and had become very attached to influential lords in the family. These included his uncles, Rivers and Grey. They were rising lords who sought to control the young heir and supplant the House of York of their control of the throne. Thus enters Richard.

    Read More

  • Film Analysis: The Lion In Winter

    1465 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...historical background set forth in the film, with the broad details of the attempted rebellion propelled by Queen Eleanor and led by Richard and Geoffrey are accurate, as is the attempt by Philip of France to undermine the Angevin Empire to regain the provinces acquired by Henry through his marriage to Eleanor. As depicted in the film, the indecision, faced by Henry II in attempting to determine which son to name as successor resulted from his desire to have the empire that he had created remain intact, rather than dividing the empire between his sons and this, in turn, led to the fracturing of both family and political cohesion, leaving the empire vulnerable to outside forces. Both Richard and John eventually ruled the empire, supported and influenced by their mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, who was released from her Salisbury prison upon the death of King Henry II.

    Read More

  • The Wars of the Roses

    1196 Words  | 3 Pages

    The problem all started with the overthrowing of King Richard II by his distant family member Henry Bolingbroke, who at the time was the Duke of Lancaster. Later, because Richard II’s government was highly disliked, Bolingbroke was crowned King Henry IV. He was crowned king in 1399 and was the first one to hold the Lancaster throne. During his reign he was he was very lawless. After he was crowned, Henry was greeted with many rebellions in Cheshire, Wales, and Northumberland. All these rebellions later ceased. Henry IV died in 1413 and his successor was his son, Henry V, who was also a brilliant soldier and had much success in France in the Hundred Years’ War.

    Read More

  • Medieval England Change Over Time Essay

    411 Words  | 1 Pages

    The medieval period, also known as the middle ages, went from 1066 to 1500. During this, England went through many changes in rule. In 1042 Edward the Confessor, son of King Aethelred and Emma, became the King of England, after he learned the and the French culture, and people. After his Edward’s death in 1066, the Normans invaded England, which led to the defeat of the Anglo-Saxons elite. Under the rule of William the Conqueror federalism was introduced to govern England. Once Williams was crowned he started work on the Tower of London, and later Canterbury Cathedral, that lead to the Norman style of architecture. After William died his son Henry I took the throne; he then died without a male heir, so his daughter, Matilda, married Stephen of Blois, who was supported by the church, but his rule led to anarchy. Stephen reign lasted nineteen years.

    Read More

  • Chivalry Lesson in Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

    1589 Words  | 4 Pages

    In spite of the weaknesses, Ivanhoe and King Richard demonstrate true chivalric characteristics. They exemplify integrity, loyalty to the king, a love for adventure and bravery. Through this book, the reader learns the meaning of moral guidelines due to the examples set by King Richard and Ivanhoe. These examples challenge us to search for our own moral guidelines. Without these, we have nothing to strive for.

    Read More

More about The Truth of Ivanhoe

Open Document