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Ivanhoe chivalry
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Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe, a romantic story set in Medieval England; embodies the definition of how a novel’s themes are applied to human life. The representation of Jews in Ivanhoe, through the character Rebecca, outlines the most important themes within the novel such as chivalry, romance, and centuries long English Anti-Semitism.
Many interpret Ivanhoe as a solely Anti-Semitic work, focusing on the rituals of the Templar Knight, highlighted in the concluding chapters of Ivanhoe. The Templar Knights are described and consisted of a secret society of Christian militant men dressed in white, condemning any of dark-complexioned skin; all traits and rituals of the Ku Klux Klan. The Ku Klux Klan’s very name echoes the romantic “clans” in Scott’s fiction. However, Rebecca, a Jewess, is saved from the stake, after being condemned. Proving that Scott couldn’t have written Ivanhoe as an Anti-Semitic piece, otherwise his conclusion of the novel would have been completely contradictory to his views.
Chivalry and Romance are treated as one in Ivanhoe; the themes intertwine within the whole of the novel. Rebecca, the Jewess, is the vital element to cultural mixing and its effects on chivalry within the novel. Ivanhoe’s true love, before Rebecca and Rowena, is chivalry itself and his knightly career (page 292):
“thou knowest not how impossible it is for one trained to actions of chivalry to remain passive as a priest, or a woman, when they are acting deeds of honour around him. The love of battle is the food upon which we live—the dust of the 'melee' is the breath of our nostrils! We live not—we wish not to live—longer than while we are victorious and renowned—Such, maiden, are the laws of chivalry to which we are sworn, and to which we ...
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...s chivalry, romance, and Anti-Semitism stay jointly. While knights defend their honor and prose, it is the Jews who hold the world of Ivanhoe together, and Rebecca who is the main vessel that fastens the themes together. Rebecca’s defiance of injustice inspires hope within reader’s who admire Rebecca for her choice of religion over all. There is much controversy surrounding Scott’s representation of Jews in Ivanhoe, but Scott paints Rebecca, our Jewess heroine, in a sympathetic and positive manner which proves that Anti-Semitism, an impression that is commonly prevalent during Scott’s time, is a racist and unjustified notion. Rebecca is the agent that demonstrates that a Jew can reveal qualities of romance and chivalry that the Christian is noted for. Rebecca is an outstanding character whose humility defies all.
Life during the Middle Ages was full of social change, division, and classism. This feudal society of Britain was divided into three estates. (social classes) Within the second estate was the the knight who was a soldier for the king who fought in many battles. Even though the knight is expected to have the strength and the skills to fight in battle, all knights during the Medieval period additionally had a chivalrous aspect to them. Chivalry was the honor code of a knight which included bravery, courtesy, honor, and gallantry toward women. Within the stories of the “Wife of Bath’s Tale” and “Le Morte d’Arthur”, the code of chivalry was broken by knights which show the corruption of England’s feudal society.
In White’s work chivalry can be seen as the substance that pulls knights away from the ugly violence they possess within themselves. In my essay, I will use this source as an Example to show the positive perspective of chivalry within an anti-war society. Archibald, Elizabeth “Malory’s Ideal of Fellowship.” Arthuriana 43.171 (1992): 311-328. Web.
When Maurice Keen set out to write a book on the components and development of chivalry, he did not know it would be “the last word on a seductive subject,” as stated by one Washington Post reviewer. Instead, Keen was merely satisfying a curiosity that derived from a childhood fascination of stories filled with “knights in shining armour.” This juvenile captivation was then transformed into a serious scholarly interest by Keen’s teachers, the product of which is a work based upon literary, artifactual, and academic evidence. Keen’s Chivalry strives to prove that chivalry existed not as a fantastical distraction, as erroneously portrayed by romances, but instead as an integral and functional feature of medieval politics, religion, and society. The thirteen chapters use an exposition format to quietly champion Keen’s opinion of chivalry as being an element of an essentially secular code of “honour” derived from military practices.
In the Medieval Period, knights dedicated their lives to following the code of chivalry. In Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur, a number of characters performed chivalrous acts to achieve the status of an ideal knight. Their characteristics of respect for women and courtesy for all, helpfulness to the weak, honor, and skill in battle made the characters King Arthur, King Pellinore, and Sir Gryfflette examples of a what knights strove to be like in Medieval society. Because of the examples ofchivalry, Le Morte d’Arthur showed what a knight desired to be, so he could improve theworld in which he lived.
The knight begs the woman that just saved his life to let him be. Is this the chivalry that knights were supposed to follow? I believe that Chaucer was trying to show, thought the knights selfishness, that there was no true chivalry.
with words and looks.” (pg.157) In turn the lady “Went to the window because of her lover, who, she knew was leading the same life, awake most of the night. Each took pleasure in the other’s sight since they could have nothing more.” (pg.157) Although the heroine is described as being wise, courtly, and unhappy with her marriage and the knight being regarded as brave and a man of valor; the couple continued in a relationship that is frowned upon. It is out of their wise and noble characters to lie and betray a fellow knight/husband. Love was the root of their deception bought upon the husband. However, love clearly can’t overcome all diffuculties, and those who don’t obtain the love they hope for endure the anguish of love more than those
...ness that is the fact how easily we forget that all the victims of the Holocaust where victims together, and they where not all Jewish. If it is a critics aim to have every account of the Holocaust told through the eyes of a Jewish person, then we would be at a great lost. Our existence in the society we live is not based on one sided accounts of our history. The more angles used to examine a situation, the better the solution can be seen, because the situation is better understood with every turn. Had Sophie's Choice been a story centered on a Jewish woman, it would be another account of a situation from the same angle, opening our eyes to nothing. The wisdom of one to appreciate the wisdom of another can have nothing but positive consequences. Styron's style of writing such much about who he is, as did it say much about his concern with the attitude of society.
Closely associated to the romance tradition are two idealized standards of behavior, especially for knights: courage and chivalry. The protagonist within many medieval romances proved their worth by going on quests, as many a knights went in those times, thus returning with great tales of their travels and deeds. Many modern people think of chivalry as referring to a man's gallant treatment of women, and although that sense is derived from the medieval chivalric ideal, chivalry could be seen as more than that. Knights were expected to be brave, loyal, and honorable-sent to protect the weak, be noble to...
... of all Christian knights: none could match you! You were the most formidable in battle and the most courteous in manners; in the company of warriors the most courageous, and in the company of ladies the gentlest of men, and in a righteous cause implacable. And of great lovers surely you were the truest. So it is you shall be remembered" (Malory 507).
During the Middle Ages, Courtly love was a code which prescribed the conduct between a lady and her lover (Britannica). The relationship of courtly love was very much like the feudal relationship between a knight and his liege. The lover serves his beloved, in the manner a servant would. He owes his devotion and allegiance to her, and she inspires him to perform noble acts of valor (Schwartz). Capellanus writes, in The Art of Courtly Love, “A true lover considers nothing good except what he thinks will please his beloved”. The stories of Marie de France and Chrétien de Troyes illustrate the conventions of courtly love.
In the past, literature for women strove to reinforce the culturally approved ideas of femininity. Tremendous volumes of literature were written to reinforce appropriate female behaviour. By the mid-eighteenth century, the ideological division of women into two classes, the virtuous and the fallen, was well developed (Armstrong, 18). Literature often portrayed both of these women, with the virtuous triumphing at the end and the fallen receiving her appropriate punishment. Chopin followe...
Respect and loyalty are two of the character traits that Ivanhoe not only possesses but also helps the reader to see their importance for a successful life. For example, in the very beginning of the book Ivanhoe is known as the Disinherited Knight because his father, Cedric the Saxon, disinherits him; however, even though he is abandoned, he still respects his father and is loyal to him. His respect is shown in the book when the castle burns and someone asks his father whether defeat is visible. Cedric responds by saying, "Not so,...
Being a mirror of the age, Elizabethan literature was not in isolation from the currents of the era including these stereotypes. All these attitudes of ethnocentrism and xenophobia was skillfully interpreted through literature in general and drama in particular. One example of this is Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice which is about a miser money-lender Jew. Portrayal ...
Sir Walter Scott is considered to be „one of the most delightful figures in English literature and probably the most famous of all the Scotsmen who have ever lived“(Fletcher 2002, p. 127). This Scottish writer is famous for his historical novels which were very popular in the nineteenth century, especially his work that is our subject to discuss in the essay – Waverley. Scott himself was a descendant of one fighting clan and knew a number of people who took part in Jacobite rebellion. This helped him to depict the events better. He enforces past events by the use of imagination and magnification. Scott introduces in his work „Waverley or ‘tis sixty years since” a protagonist who has many romantic features. The setting of the plot, the characters and the events that are going to happen represent romanticism. Sir Walter Scott published Waverley in 1814 anonymously. This work brought him a great success and popularity at that time (Sanders 1994, p. 375). There exist many opinions and critics about this work. Some consider his work a very long and boring story. They find the description of places and author’s style of writing long-winded. There are some passages about which even author claims that are lengthy. As it was part of my compulsory literature, I had to read it. I would not have started to read this work if I was not forced but I found it very interesting, though. Nevertheless, it brought closer look at history and culture of Scottish people, political and historical situation in eighteenth century. The nature of the Highlands and characters that are depicted in this work are truly fascinating for a reader.
"No man was not a true gentleman at heart, ever was since the world began, a true gentleman in manner." (page 175)