Ivanhoe: Difference between revisions

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'''''Ivanhoe: A Romance''''' is an 1819 [[Historical Fiction|historical novel]] by Sir [[Walter Scott (Creator)|Walter Scott]], set in the reign of King [[Richard the Lion Heart]] and largely concerning the long-smouldering antagonism between the [[People of Hair Color|Normans and Saxons]] in the centuries after the Norman Conquest -- an antagonism which, at that date, is highly [[Anachronism Stew|anachronistic]] (one might call it a sort of [[Hollywood History]]) and largely the product of Scott's teeming imagination. In the face of severe criticism by his own contemporaries on this and other historical inaccuracies, Scott himself admitted, "It is extremely probable that I may have confused the manners of two or three centuries," but [[MST3K Mantra|comforted himself]] that "errors of this kind will escape [[Viewers ~~Are~~ Morons|the general class of readers]]." And indeed, despite the author's [[Author Tract|Whig history]] limitations and prejudices (which are [[Writer On Board|evident]]), ''Ivanhoe'' is a stirring and colourful tale, with plenty of action, lovable heroes and heroines and hissable villains, and a real feeling for the genuine -- if ''extremely [[Flanderization|exaggerated]]'' -- romance of [[The High Middle Ages]].

'''''Ivanhoe: A Romance''''' is an 1819 [[Historical Fiction|historical novel]] by Sir [[Walter Scott (Creator)|Walter Scott]], set in the reign of King [[Richard the Lion Heart]] and largely concerning the long-smouldering antagonism between the [[People of Hair Color|Normans and Saxons]] in the centuries after the Norman Conquest -- an antagonism which, at that date, is highly [[Anachronism Stew|anachronistic]] (one might call it a sort of [[Hollywood History]]) and largely the product of Scott's teeming imagination. In the face of severe criticism by his own contemporaries on this and other historical inaccuracies, Scott himself admitted, "It is extremely probable that I may have confused the manners of two or three centuries," but [[MST3K Mantra|comforted himself]] that "errors of this kind will escape [[Viewers are Morons|the general class of readers]]." And indeed, despite the author's [[Author Tract|Whig history]] limitations and prejudices (which are [[Writer On Board|evident]]), ''Ivanhoe'' is a stirring and colourful tale, with plenty of action, lovable heroes and heroines and hissable villains, and a real feeling for the genuine -- if ''extremely [[Flanderization|exaggerated]]'' -- romance of [[The High Middle Ages]].

The novel was originally something of a [[Money Dear Boy|Pot-boiler]]. Scott's popularity as a poet was waning in the face of the more exotic verses of Lord Byron, and his over-gentrified lifestyle and a life-threatening bout of illness had left his pocketbook in an equally sickly condition. His [[Bonnie Scotland|Scottish]] novels were popular enough, but of limited appeal; Scott felt, moreover, the need for a fresher source of inspiration -- so he turned to History and [[The Middle Ages]], the object of his lifelong and devoted -- if not always pedantically accurate -- study. The novel won immediate, long-lasting, and deserved popularity, restored Scott's fortunes, and helped to launch the entire [[Historical Fiction]] genre.

The novel was originally something of a [[Money, Dear Boy|Pot-boiler]]. Scott's popularity as a poet was waning in the face of the more exotic verses of Lord Byron, and his over-gentrified lifestyle and a life-threatening bout of illness had left his pocketbook in an equally sickly condition. His [[Bonnie Scotland|Scottish]] novels were popular enough, but of limited appeal; Scott felt, moreover, the need for a fresher source of inspiration -- so he turned to History and [[The Middle Ages]], the object of his lifelong and devoted -- if not always pedantically accurate -- study. The novel won immediate, long-lasting, and deserved popularity, restored Scott's fortunes, and helped to launch the entire [[Historical Fiction]] genre.

== Adaptations ==

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* [[The Caretaker]]: Rebecca the [[Florence Nightingale Effect|beautiful]] [[Culture Clash|Jewish]] maiden cares for [[Knight in Shining Armor|Sir Wilfred]] of Ivanhoe after he is wounded in the tournament at Ashby-de-la-Zouche.

* [[Character Title]]

* [[Cold Blooded Torture]]: As when Front-de-Bœuf threatens to roast Isaac alive on a grill.

* [[Cold-Blooded Torture]]: As when Front-de-Bœuf threatens to roast Isaac alive on a grill.

* [[Christianity Is Catholic]]: The setting dictates this, though Sir Walter throws in a number of [[Writer On Board|hints]] that "it ain't necessarily so."

* [[Corrupt Church]]: Sir Walter, being a conventional if not convicted Presbyterian, invented quite a few corrupt churchmen as [[Take That|Take Thats]] against the Roman Catholic Church: the worldly Prior Aylmer, the proud, cruel, and lustful Bois-Guilbert, the ignorant and violent "hedge-priest" Friar Tuck, the unscrupulous Malvoisin, the fanatical Beaumanoir, the greedy and treacherous Abbot Wolfram who betrays Athelstane. Indeed, there is not a single completely ''decent'' cleric in the whole novel.

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* [[I Can Still Fight]]: What the wounded Wilfred asserts for Rebecca's trial by combat.

* [[I Gave My Word]]: As Bois-Guilbert tells Rebecca: “Many a law, many a commandment have I broken, but my sworn word, never.”

* [[~~Its All About Me|~~It's All About Me]]: Brian de Bois-Guilbert, who is too blind even to be aware of it.

* [[It's All About Me]]: Brian de Bois-Guilbert, who is too blind even to be aware of it.

* [[The Jester]]: Wamba

* [[Kick the Dog]]: Gurth doesn't care how badly you treat ''him'', but throw a javelin at ''his dog'', and he's lost all respect for you.

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* [[Medieval Morons]]: Averted for the most part; though some play is made of the credulity of the crowd during Rebecca's trial, it is made clear that the accusing witnesses found by Malvoisin are acting more out of greed, envy, and political corruption rather than out superstition. (Beaumanoir, though a [[Knight Templar|fanatic]], is not exactly a moron.)

* [[The Middle Ages]]: Scott's Early Romantic, "Look-to-the-Knight-of-the-Fetterlock-Fair-Rebecca" conception of the 12th century [[Useful Notes/Britain|England]] veers at times ''very'' close to the [[Theme Park Version]] of the mediæval period.

* [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast]]: A lot of these. The Templar Preceptor Albert de Malvoisin ("bad neighbour").and his brother Philip; Reginald Front-de-Boeuf ("Or 'Beef-head'" as Richard Armour put it, in ''The Classics Reclassified''). Waldemar Fitzurse's last name means "Son of the [[~~Everythings~~ Worse With Bears|Bear]]" -- which was also the surname of the ringleader of St. Thomas Becket's [[Rhetorical Request Blunder|assassins]].

* [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast]]: A lot of these. The Templar Preceptor Albert de Malvoisin ("bad neighbour").and his brother Philip; Reginald Front-de-Boeuf ("Or 'Beef-head'" as Richard Armour put it, in ''The Classics Reclassified''). Waldemar Fitzurse's last name means "Son of the [[Everything's Worse With Bears|Bear]]" -- which was also the surname of the ringleader of St. Thomas Becket's [[Rhetorical Request Blunder|assassins]].

* [[Never My Fault]]: Bois-Guilbert, refusing to realize that Rebecca is in danger of being sentenced to burn mainly because ''he kidnapped her''.

* [[Nobody Calls Me Chicken]]: How Wilfred goads Bois-Guilbert into dueling him in the third volume.

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* [[Obfuscating Insanity]]: Wamba

* [[Obliviously Evil]]: Bois-Guilbert so thoroughly buries himself under the tropes of [[Never My Fault]] and [[Playing the Victim Card]] that he honestly doesn't seem to understand that what he does to Rebecca makes him a villain, not her [[Knight in Shining Armor]].

* [[Eerie Pale Skinned Brunette]]: Rebecca of York is described as having "Bright eyes, black locks, and a skin like paper, ere the priest stains it with his [[Purple Prose|black unguent]]."

* [[Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette]]: Rebecca of York is described as having "Bright eyes, black locks, and a skin like paper, ere the priest stains it with his [[Purple Prose|black unguent]]."

* [[People of Hair Color]]: Although Scott’s assertion of a lingering racial animosity between Normans and Saxons was not ''absolutely'' without basis (there was in Henry II's time a Saxon noble called "William with the Beard" who refused to shave as a protest against the Conquest), there can be absolutely no doubt that such feelings were highly eccentric, uncommon, and of no practical social or political importance by the reign of [[Richard the Lion Heart|Richard I]].

* [[Perverse Sexual Lust]]: William Makepeace Thackeray was in love with Rebecca.

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* [[Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil]]

* [[Reality Is Unrealistic]]: The almost impossibly noble Rebecca is said to be the only character based directly one of Scott's contemporaries -- a friend of Scott's friend Washington Irving -- a Jewish lady from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, named Rebecca Gratz.

* [[The Reason You Suck Speech]]: Rebecca constantly tries to acquaint Brian de Bois-Guilbert with [[Obliviously Evil|how wrong he is]] about his [[Scarpia Ultimatum|actions]] and [[~~Its~~ All About Me|motivations]] regarding [[Playing the Victim Card|his treatment of her]], to no success.

* [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]]: Rebecca constantly tries to acquaint Brian de Bois-Guilbert with [[Obliviously Evil|how wrong he is]] about his [[Scarpia Ultimatum|actions]] and [[It's All About Me|motivations]] regarding [[Playing the Victim Card|his treatment of her]], to no success.

* [[Retcon]]: Sir Walter invented a role for [[Robin Hood]] against Prince John in [[Richard the Lion Heart]]'s absence to plug some holes in his plot.

* [[Rightful King Returns]]: "Take heed to yourself, for the Devil is unchained!"

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** Maurice de Bracy to Rowena: "Marry me, or I'll kill your guardian and your boyfriend." (This is over in the same chapter it appears in.)

** Brian de Bois-Guilbert to Rebecca: "Marry me, or at least have sex with me, or I'll let them kill you." (This lasts until {{spoiler|Bois-Guilbert's death}}.)

* [[Screw This I'm Outta Here|Screw This -- I'm Outta Here]]: Maurice de Bracy's reaction to {{spoiler|King Richard's return}}.

* [[Screw This, I'm Outta Here|Screw This -- I'm Outta Here]]: Maurice de Bracy's reaction to {{spoiler|King Richard's return}}.

* [[Secondary Character Title]]: Wilfred of Ivanhoe is physically present only for about 25% of the book and unconscious or incapacitated for half of that.

* [[Servile Snarker]]: Wamba -- it's probably in his job description as a jester.

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* [[Shown Their Work]]: Scott appended notes to later editions, justifying some of the historical assertions he made, or at least showing what historical incidents had suggested them.

* [[Spoiled Brat]]: Rowena

* [[Star Crossed Lovers]]: Wilfred and Rebecca

* [[Star-Crossed Lovers]]: Wilfred and Rebecca

* [[Storming the Castle]]: Torquilstone

* [[Swashbuckler]]: More in its adaptations than in Scott's original novel.

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* [[Useless Protagonist]]:: Wilfred Not quite useless, but useless for most of the book.

* [[Warrior Prince|Warrior King]]: [[Richard the Lion Heart|Cœur-de-Lion]]

* [[Well Excuse Me Princess|Well, Excuse Me, Princess]]: Rowena, especially when she tells off de Bracy.

* [[Well, Excuse Me, Princess!|Well, Excuse Me, Princess]]: Rowena, especially when she tells off de Bracy.

* [[Woobie Destroyer of Worlds]]: Ulrica

* [[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds]]: Ulrica

* [[You Can Barely Stand]]: Wilfred of Ivanhoe meets Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert as challenger in a trial by combat despite barely having recovered of his wounds from the tournament.

* [[You Got Spunk]]: Brian de Bois-Guilbert's opinion of Rebecca's attempted suicide to escape him.

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== Tropes Present in the 1952 Movie ==

* [[Adaptation Distillation]]: Condenses the plot while retaining the basics of everyone's characterization, and avoids the [[Useless Protagonist]] problem by making Ivanhoe and Rowena more [[Villains Act Heroes React|active.]]

* [[Adaptation Distillation]]: Condenses the plot while retaining the basics of everyone's characterization, and avoids the [[Useless Protagonist]] problem by making Ivanhoe and Rowena more [[Villains Act, Heroes React|active.]]

* [[All Love Is Unrequited]]: Ivanhoe does not, as in some versions, return Rebecca's affection.

* [[Beard of Evil]]: Prince John has a villainous weedy beard. And De Bracy has a nasty little moustache.

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== Tropes Present in the 1982 TV Adaptation ==

* [[Hey ~~Its~~ That Guy]]: Ivanhoe is [[Brideshead Revisited|Lord Sebastian Flyte]] and [[The Scarlet Pimpernel 1982 (Film)|Sir Percy Blakeney]]; Rebecca is [[Romeo and Juliet|Juliet]]; Bois-Guilbert is [[Jurassic Park|Alan Grant]]; Front-de-Bœuf is [[The Lord of the Rings (Film)|Gimli]]; and The Black Knight is either [[Star Wars|General Veers]] or [[The Last Crusade (Film)|Walter Donovan]].

* [[Hey It's That Guy]]: Ivanhoe is [[Brideshead Revisited|Lord Sebastian Flyte]] and [[The Scarlet Pimpernel 1982 (Film)|Sir Percy Blakeney]]; Rebecca is [[Romeo and Juliet|Juliet]]; Bois-Guilbert is [[Jurassic Park|Alan Grant]]; Front-de-Bœuf is [[The Lord of the Rings (Film)|Gimli]]; and The Black Knight is either [[Star Wars|General Veers]] or [[The Last Crusade (Film)|Walter Donovan]].

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* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: John.

* [[Defeat Means Friendship]]: Little John to Gurth after a quarterstave duel.

* [[Cold Blooded Torture]]

* [[Cold-Blooded Torture]]

* [[Clear My Name]]

* [[Crouching Moron Hidden Badass]]: Wamba

* [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass]]: Wamba

* [[Eye Scream]]: What happens to Bois-Guilbert at the trial by combat. [[Squick|And then he turns his head so we can get a good look at the empty socket.]]

* [[Expository Hairstyle Change]]: Lampshaded. Gurth asks why Ivanhoe is so shaggy.

* [[Good Scars Evil Scars]]: Bois-Guilbert has a villainous scar on his cheek.

* [[Good Scars, Evil Scars]]: Bois-Guilbert has a villainous scar on his cheek.

* [[Have You Told Anyone Else]]

* [[Have You Told Anyone Else?]]

* [[Hey ~~Its~~ That Guy]]: [[Rome|Julius Caesar]] is Bois-Guilbert and [[Christopher Lee]] is... Christopher Lee.

* [[Hey It's That Guy]]: [[Rome|Julius Caesar]] is Bois-Guilbert and [[Christopher Lee]] is... Christopher Lee.

* [[Historical Hero Upgrade]]: Somewhat played with, as is the [[Historical Villain Upgrade]]. {{spoiler|Near the end of the plot Eleanor of Aquitane confronts both her sons and lambasts not only John, but Richard as well. If anything she's more annoyed with the latter, since he's spent all but three or four months of his reign in the Holy Lands and has near bankrupted England to pay for his war, leaving John to do the unpleasant but necessary task of raising the money and, oh yeah, keep the country running. As she says, 'John may be a miserable little runt, but at least he's ''been'' here!'}}

* [[I Want My Beloved to Be Happy]]: Rebecca.

* [[Important Haircut]]

* [[~~Its~~ Personal]]

* [[It's Personal]]

* [[Kick the Dog]]

* [[Well Done Son Guy]]

* [["Well Done, Son" Guy]]

* [[Meaningful Echo]]: When Bois-Guilbert is about to rape Rebecca, she tells him that "Reason is a gift of God to civilized men; it has no place here." He repeats this to Beaumanoir during the trial.

* [[My God What Have I Done]]

* [[My God, What Have I Done?]]

* [[Pet the Dog]]: Little John defending Rebecca from a random lech at the tournament; and later, helping Gurth carry the injured Fangs.

* [[Sanity Ball]]: John, Fitzurse, and Bois-Guilbert juggle it.