“Ivanhoe” is Walter Scott's most famous novel. This is a historical work, which is based on numerous archival documents studied by the author while working on the book. Thanks to hard work, he became the founder of the historical novel genre. To remind yourself of the main events, plot and important details from “Aivengo”, take a brief retelling from “Literaguru” as assistants.
Chapter i
The events of the novel take place at the end of the XII century, when the King of England, Richard the Lionheart was in French captivity, the Normans dominated the captured Saxons, but the Saxons were not going to put up with this.
In the forest, a peasant servant Gurt grazes pigs, and the Wamba buffoon, without ceasing, runs around him. Hurt calls for the dog Fangs, and they go to the owner, Saxon Tan Cedric Rotherwood, nicknamed Sax because he is proud of his ancient family.
Chapter II
Servants meet Eimer, a rich prior of the Abbey of Jorvo, and the knight of the Temple of Briand de Boisguillebert with his retinue, half-monk-half-knight, who returned from Palestine. They are going to the tournament in Ashby de la Zouche. Travelers ask how they can find Cedric Sachs. Responding to Gurt's rudeness and Wamba's jokes, Briand swings a sword at them, but Aimer reassures him. The jester shows them the wrong way, judging that such guests should not see the beautiful Rowena, the adopted daughter of Cedric, his distant relative. Once, when the son of Sax Aivengo looked at her, his father drove him out of the house.
The templar Briand is ready to argue with prior that the beauty of the Saxon will not impress him. Aimer asks his friend not to show his superiority in Sachs’s house, otherwise this tan is already in a quarrel with his Norman neighbors: Reginald Fron de Bef and Philippe Malvoisin. They reach the fork, from where the pilgrim (later it turns out that this is the knight Wilfred Aivengo) escorts them to the castle.
Chapters III - IV
Cedric is annoyed by the lack of servants and the delay of Rowena. Upon learning that the guests arrived are Normans, he is angry, but wants to show his hospitality, especially since heavy rain begins.
Cedric Sachs explains to the guests that he intends to speak only the Saxon dialect. He swears at the late servants, but Wamba successfully justifies himself by accusing the neighbor of the guard who cut his claws Fangsu. Briand lost the argument: Rowena is really extraordinarily beautiful.
Chapters V - VI
Due to a thunderstorm, a Jew, Isaac from York, has to be allowed into the house, despite the indignation of the guests. After arguing about the Saxons and Normans, the pilgrim reminds everyone of a series of fights in which only the Saxons won. One of them was Ivanhoe, who defeated Boisguillebert. The templar, for all, challenges that knight in Palestine.
Rowena asks the pilgrim about Ivanhoe, thereby confirming her love. The Pilgrim invites Isaac to flee: Briand ordered the servants of the Saracens to seize the Jew. He escorts the frightened Jew to a safe place, using the help of Hurt, who recognized the secret of the traveler. Isaac promises to reward the pilgrim with a horse and weapons.
Chapters VII - VIII
Instead of Richard, England was temporarily ruled by his brother, the arrogant Prince John, and he was not at all against conquering the throne. At the tournament in Ashby, he gives way to Cedric and Athelstan of Koningsburg - a descendant of the Saxon king - the Jewish rich Isaac and his daughter, the beautiful Rebekah.
The murmuring of his associates makes him abandon the idea of appointing Rebekah the queen of love and beauty of the tournament (due to the fact that Christians at that time hated the Jews, because according to the Bible they crucified Christ). Against five noble knights (including Boisguillebert), a Knight Deprived of Heritage is ready to fight, hiding his name. With the templar, he is going to fight to the death. The unknown knight defeats everyone, but the fight with Briand does not end in death, and the opponents intend to continue the fight at another time.
Chapters IX - X
John begins to suspect that the Legacy is Richard. The winner chooses Rowena as the queen of the tournament. The knight and the famous Saxon refuse to go to the banquet to John. Everyone disagrees before tomorrow's tournament, in which many people will participate immediately.
The unknown knight is helped by the squire Gurt. The Inherited takes part of the trophies from the defeated knights, but he refuses the armor and horse of Briand, since the battle is not over yet. Gurt returns the armor and interest to the Jew Isaac, but Rebekah, having learned from whom the swineherd bearer arrived, gives him a large sum of money.
Chapters XI-XII
On the way back, Gurt gets to the robbers, but they let him go, as they respect his master, who killed so many Normans. Gurt wins the Miller fight, and gains even more respect from the robbers.
The next day, Atelstan joins the team of Briand, despite his laziness and Saxon origin: he was jealous of Rowena to an unknown knight. At the end of the mass fight, the Inherited is forced to fight Fron de Beauf, Malvoisin and Boisguillebert alone. He is assisted by a knight, who had previously stood by without participating in the party, for which he was nicknamed the audience by Black Lazybones.
The Inherited fights with Briand, but John stops the tournament, recognizing as the winner first Black Lazybones, and then the Inherited, as the first is hidden from view. When a knight takes off his helmet in front of Rowena to receive a reward, everyone will recognize Aivengo in him. He faints from a severe wound.
Chapters XIII - XIV
Aivengo is Richard's favorite, so John begins to worry. The prince invites Rowena and Cedric to dinner, planning in the future to marry a Saxon and a close associate Maurice de Brasi. He receives a note from the French king that the Lionheart is free, so he decides to end the holiday today by setting up a Yeomen competition in archery. Yeomen Loxley, not afraid to be rude to the prince, gets an arrow into a small twig and refuses the prize.
At the banquet, Cedric Sachs is annoyed by ridicule of the Saxons. He does not recognize Ivanhoe as his son, since Wilfred betrayed him. Athelstan, carried away by plentiful food, does not participate in intense conversation. The Norman, whom Cedric least hates, is Richard the Lionheart. After such a confession, he leaves the feast, causing more than half of John's retinue to disperse awkwardly.
Chapters XV - XVI
The influential nobleman Valdemar Fitz-Urs meets de Bracy, disguised as a yeomen, in order to kidnap Rowena, supposedly saving him from the bandits led by Briand. Fitz-Urs is sure that Brian himself will not give Rowan to Maurice, but he does not back down.
Meanwhile, Black Lazy Dog at dusk reaches the Yorkshire border. He notices the hermit's home, which he has been trying to get to for a long time, but manages to enter only by using force. Black Lazybear asks to feed him. The hermit reluctantly takes out wine and a huge amount of food, making a curious guest a real feast.
Chapters XVII - XVIII
The monk and the knight are singing feast songs in the cell, but the fun is interrupted by a knock on the door.
Cedric was seriously scared for the fate of his son, and his servant Oswald recognized Hurt. Aivengo's mysterious disappearance after being wounded adds oil to the fire. Cedric rides with the chained Hurt from the feast, firing at the dog Fangs as a punishment for the escaped servant. Cedric Rotherwoods wants to marry Rowena and Athelstan, becoming akin to the royal Saxon family, but the girl is against: she loves Aivengo.
Chapters XIX - XX
Travelers meet Isaac and Rebekah. When they carried the wounded on a stretcher, they were abandoned by servants, frightened by the forest robbers. He has to help them, and during the turmoil, Hurt escapes from the owner. Robbers run out of the forest and grab Cedric with his companions. Wamba runs away from them and meets Hurt. Together they find Yeomen Loxley who agrees to help them.
Loxley brings the jester and swineherd to the Yeoman robbers and intends to assemble a gang. Prisoners are taken to the castle of Fron de Bef. Loxley knocks on the hermit’s cell, from where feast songs and then prayers are heard. Yeomen bursts into the monk and calls him to battle. Hermit brother Tuk quickly sobers up and changes into yomen. The knight offers his help, wanting, like Loxley, to hide his name.
Chapters XXI - XXII
Boisguillebert hurries de Bracy to change clothes. But de Brasi decides to carry out the "robbers" to the end, as he suspects Briand of treason. The templar is more interested in Rebekah, but Maurice refuses to believe it. In the castle, Rowena and Rebekah are placed in separate rooms. Cedric, listening to Athelstan's words about food, laments the fate of the Saxons. Athelstan passes through the butler a challenge to Reginald. The sound of a horn is heard.
Fron de Beauf demands from Isaac a large sum of money, threatening torture. The Jew agrees, but, having learned that Rebekah became a prisoner of Briand, refuses to yield. The sound of a horn distracts Reginald from the start of torture.
Chapters XXIII - XXIV
Rowena rejects Maurice de Brasi, after which he threatens the death of Aivengo, who is here in the castle of Thorkilston. Rowena is crying, de Bracy leaves, hearing the sound of a horn.
Rebekah settled in the room of the old woman Urfrida, which predicts the girl a loss of honor. The Jewess offers the templar money, but it does not save. Rebekah threatens suicide by standing on the edge of the tower. Now Brian respects her for such courage. He leaves after hearing the sound of a horn.
Chapters XXV - XXVI
A letter comes from the jester and swineherd to the castle demanding that the prisoners be released. They are sent an answer in which they ask to send a monk for the last confession of the captives. Brother Tuk has already become a Yeomen, so he has to send the disguised Wambu into intelligence.
A clown in a cassock is saved by jerky Latin phrases, reports Reginald about 500 yomen at the castle and penetrates Cedric, who proposes to save Athelstan instead. The jester and the master change places. Cedric leaves the castle, and the jester replaces him as a prisoner.
Chapters XXVII - XXVIII
Urfrida (the servant from the castle where the prisoners sit) leads the imaginary monk to her and confesses to him, gradually recognizing him. Urfrid (her real name is Ulrika) is the abducted daughter of Tan, a friend of Father Cedric, who became the concubine of Father Reginald. Sax is horrified: he despises her. But it was she who persuaded Reginald to kill his father. The abducted woman became the mistress of her son and father, settling contention in the family. Now she is old, but still remembers her shame.
Ulrika offers to give a sign when you can safely step on the castle. The Normans expose the jester, but Cedric has already escaped. They are ready to release Athelstan for a thousand gold. Aimer sends a request for help to the castle: he was captured by robbers and demand a ransom. But the attack on the castle is already beginning.
When Aivengo woke up at Rebekah, he thought he was back in Palestine: everything was oriental in her room. The beautiful daughter Isaac knows how to cure many diseases, so she decided to look after the knight. The fact that the wounded prisoner - Aivengo knows only de Bracy.
Chapters XXIX - XXX
Rebekah retells the wounded Ivanhoe the course of the battle, peering out of the tower. She sees the Black Knight struggling with incredible power. Yeomen breaks ahead. When asked by the girl about why people shed so much blood, Aivengo talks about fame, but for her she means nothing. The knight falls asleep, the Jewess feels that she will never be with a Gentile, and tries to overcome this love within herself.
Fron de Beauf is mortally wounded, Ulric comes to him, which he initially takes for an evil spirit. She rebukes him in cruelty and is about to set fire to Thorkilston Castle.
Chapters XXXI - XXXII
Yeomen make a floating bridge across the moat. Ulric with a red flag is visible from the castle tower. The castle begins to burn. The Black Knight defeats de Bracy, who surrenders to him when he hears his name. Briand abducts Rebekah, Black Lazy Dog frees Aivengo, Cedric leads Rowena, Wamba helps Atelstanu escape. But the descendant of King Alfred is killed by Briand, defending Rebekah. Arsonist Ulrika sings on a falling burning tower like a fury. The besiegers win.
The robbers masterfully share the booty. Cedric, at the request of his savior Wamba, frees Hurt. Prisoner de Bracy apologizes to Rowena. Cedric Sachs invites Black Lazybones to Rotherwood, who promises to ask for a great reward and frees de Bracy. The Yeomen give the Knight a horn with the help of which he can call them for help at any time. Brother Took leads a captive Jew, but the Knight opposes violence against the old man. The knight gives the hermit a slap in the face, after which he flies head over heels to the ground. The robbers bring captive Aimer.
Chapters XXXIII - XXXIV
A Jew and a prior appoint a ransom for each other, but Loxley forgives Isaac, since Rebekah once healed him of his illness. He agrees to let Aymer go without jewelry if the prior writes a letter to Brian asking him to let Rebekah go for a ransom. Yeomen advises a Jew not to spare money for the sake of her daughter's life and honor. Isaac goes on the road with a letter.
De Bracy informs John of the prisoners and that Richard is back. He is forced to retreat, since the king personally defeated him. After the general confusion, Waldemar Fitz-Urs is going to arrest Richard. Prince sends spy for Maurice, as he ceases to trust him.
Chapters XXXV - XXXVI
Rabbi Nathan Ben-Israel informs Isaac that Templestow is now controlled by the old grandmaster, Luca Bomanoir, who hates Jews. The grandmaster reads a letter from Isaac, in which Aimer, in addition to the account of the captivity, too explicitly warns Briand of Beauvoir. Isaac is kicked out, since Rebekah is a pupil of Miriam, whom everyone considered a sorceress. Rebekah is waiting for death.
Beaumoin scolds Albert Malvoisin, Templestowe's receptor, for disorderly conduct. Briand is against Rebekah’s death, despite the fact that she once again rejected him. She is brought to court, and someone from the crowd gives her a piece of parchment.
Chapters XXXVII - XXXVIII
Beauneoir is going to have mercy on Briand, justifying the knight of the Temple by the fact that he is bewitched. At the trial, false witnesses speak against Rebekah, talking about her witchcraft. Higg, a peasant, tries to justify her by describing how a Jewess cured him. Everyone is amazed at the beauty of the pagan and her eloquence. Briand tells her to look into the parchment, and after reading the prompt, she asks for a defender.
At the "divine court" with Briand will fight a man who wants to defend Rebekah. Higg relates Rebekah’s letter to Isaac and Nathan asking him to find Ivanhoe who can bring a defender.
Chapters XXXIX - XL
Briand says he wanted to be a defender himself. He is ready not to come to the duel, but if he fights, he will not be able to lose. Rebekah rejects him again. Albert persuades Briand not to refuse the fight, because then he will be considered a traitor.
Aivengo feels within himself the strength to leave the abbey into which the Black Knight brought him. A jester steals Richard's horn by cunning. An attack on the legitimate king begins, the clown blows a horn, after which a crowd of Yeomen, led by a hermit and Loxley, beats the attackers. Among the traitors is Fitz-Urs, who actually took revenge on Richard for personal reasons. The Lionheart expels Waldemar, who revealed his name. Loxley, swearing allegiance to the king, admits that he is Robin Hood.
Chapters XLI - XLII
Aivengo and Gurt catch up with the king. Robin Hood makes a feast, and stops him himself to let the Black Knight hit the road. Richard and Aivengo come to Coningsburg for the funeral of Athelstan.
Richard reveals his name to Cedric and asks to forgive Ivanhoe. But the wedding is still too early to think, Rowena in mourning. Athelstan bursts into the heroes and says that the fight with Briand has ended in a swoon. He was buried alive and kept in prison, trying to prove that he was in purgatory.Finally, Athelstan managed to escape. The descendant of King Alfred pacified his vanity: he is hungry, does not want to fight with anyone, refuses Rowena. Aivengo runs away after a Jew comes for him. Richard rushes after him, and Athelstan is left at a loss.
Chapters XLIII - XLIV
Rebekah, sitting at the campfire prepared for her in the arena, asks for a delay in the fight, hoping for the appearance of a defender. She refuses in response to Briand's offer to escape. Weakened Aivengo arrives at the arena. In a clash, both knights fall off their horses, but Briand does not get up, dying without a single scratch from a storm of passions. Beauvoir recognizes Ivanhoe's victory.
Richard arrests Malvoisin, the grandmaster is outraged and leaves the tournament. Isaac takes Rebekah home. Richard forgives John and returns to the throne, Ivanhoe and Rowena marry. Rebekah comes to Rowena and conveys thanks to Wilfred. She gives the Saxon expensive jewelry and leaves with her father from England. Aivengo sometimes remembers her. With the death of Richard, all the aspirations of the son of Cedric Sachs died.
