Ivanhoe

Rowena is Cedric’s ward, a young noblewoman from a leading Saxon family. She and Ivanhoe grow up together and come to feel a very deep affection for one another. When Ivanhoe is disinherited by his father, Rowena stays true to him: It is clear from early in the novel that she reciprocates his feelings for her. Rowena has no interest in marrying Athelstane, the man Cedric has chosen as her husband, treating him coldly and disdainfully.

Rowena is an image of the romantic Medieval lady: She is beautiful, modest, and queenly. She carries herself like a lady of her high status, speaks well, and always employs discretion. She is also very kind and always treats Rebecca generously despite the prejudice most of the characters in the novel feel against Jewish people. Though she can show courage when she needs to, she does not have the same indomitable will that characterizes Rebecca: When she is taken prisoner by de Bracy, for instance, she bursts into tears when she grasps the hopelessness of her situation. At the same time, Rowena is far from impotent. She has considerable power to sway her guardian Cedric, and she knows it. In the end, she gets what she wants and marries Ivanhoe.

Cedric is the father of Wilfred of Ivanhoe and the guardian of Lady Rowena. A nobleman from an important Saxon family, Cedric’s primary ambition is to restore England to Saxon rule. Cedric is an adamant defender of Saxon rights against the Normans, whom he views as outsiders and invaders. Even Richard, for whose brave and honorable character Cedric feels a grudging respect, is an imposter in Cedric’s eyes: Only a Saxon should sit on the English throne, as far as Cedric is concerned. So devoted is Cedric to his vision of a Saxon England that he disinherits his son Ivanhoe when he chooses to follow the Norman monarch Richard.

Despite Cedric’s willfulness and stubbornness—traits he shares with his son—he is also a goodhearted and generous man. He shares his home and table with any visitor who comes seeking his hospitality, including people he considers his enemies. When he sees his son injured at Ashby, he cannot help but worry about him, even though he refuses to reconcile with him until much later, when he realizes that he has no hope of installing a Saxon monarch on the English throne. He often acts before he thinks, however, and this can get him into trouble, as when he insults Prince John at his banquet.

Rebecca is the daughter of the Jewish moneylender Isaac of York. She is beautiful, intelligent, and honorable, though even these qualities are not enough to elevate her in the esteem of her prejudiced Christian contemporaries. In contrast to her father Isaac, who is often characterized in accordance with antisemitic stereotypes of Jews as greedy and cowardly, Rebecca is brave and generous. She is a strong character with an unshakeable moral compass. She refuses to give in to the advances of Bois-Guilbert even when this refusal puts her life in jeopardy. Nor does she abandon her religious beliefs when she is given the chance to escape being executed as a witch by converting to Christianity. The persecution and prejudice she experiences throughout her life, moreover, do not make her bitter or resentful. She is able to find meaning in her suffering and works hard to behave honorably in a dishonorable world, even having the moral strength to forgive Bois-Guilbert despite everything he has done to hurt her.

Over the course of the novel, Rebecca develops an affection for Ivanhoe that she recognizes as unwise. Sometimes Rebecca’s affection leads her to put herself in danger for Ivanhoe, as when she takes the trouble to heal his wounds after the tournament at Ashby. Yet Rebecca realizes that her feelings for Ivanhoe cannot come to anything because of their different backgrounds, and she has the discipline and strength not to hope for anything more than friendship.

Isaac is a Jewish moneylender from York. He is represented in accordance with antisemitic European stereotypes about Jewish people as greedy, fawning, and cowardly. Isaac frequently claims to be poor to avoid being robbed or ransomed, and he can be miserly and avaricious, as when he charges Gurth a higher price for the horse he gave Ivanhoe than it is worth. At the same time, Isaac can also be kind and even generous, as when he offers to equip Ivanhoe (then disguised as the Palmer) so he can participate in the tournament at Ashby. Isaac also genuinely loves his daughter, prioritizing her even above his money. When Front-de-Boeuf threatens to torture him if he does not pay him the price he wants, Isaac is willing to undergo any pain to see Rebecca set free.

Brian de Bois-Guilbert is the main antagonist of the novel. Bois-Guilbert is a Templar knight who has achieved prominence in the order through his bravery and skill. Though he is a strong knight, Bois-Guilbert is also unprincipled and cruel. He does not hesitate to use unscrupulous means to increase his power, wealth, and position, as when he plots to kidnap Isaac and ransom him or when he helps Maurice de Bracy attack and capture Cedric, Rowena, and the rest of their party as they are traveling back from Ashby. He is captivated by the beautiful Rebecca even though she is Jewish, and his lust for her slowly turns into genuine respect as she impresses him with her honor, courage, and integrity.

Bois-Guilbert is in many ways the foil for Ivanhoe. Where Ivanhoe is a model of chivalry and honor, Bois-Guilbert is entirely self-serving. Ivanhoe beats Bois-Guilbert on multiple occasions, humiliating Bois-Guilbert and causing him to hate Ivanhoe. Though Bois-Guilbert has some respect for the rules of chivalry, he is also willing to bend them when doing so suits his purpose, as when he abandons his enemy Ivanhoe to die because, as he claims, a knight should be able to save himself. Rebecca characterizes him very well when she observes that there is some nobility in him, but that that nobility has been overgrown by ambition and cruelty. In the end, Bois-Guilbert is torn between his desire for Rebecca and his ambitions for advancement in the Templar order. Unable to reconcile these competing impulses, his heart finally fails him, and he dies in his final fight with Ivanhoe.

Gurth is Cedric’s swineherd. Modeled on Odysseus’s swineherd Eumaeus in Homer’s Odyssey, he is a loyal and reliable enslaved laborer who goes to great lengths to support his enslaver. Though Gurth is sometimes quick-tempered, he is genuinely devoted to Cedric and Ivanhoe. He is also very brave, helping rescue Cedric and Ivanhoe when they are captured and locked up at Torquilstone.

Wamba, like Gurth, is one of Cedric’s bondsmen. He is a fool, or jester. Wamba uses humor to get by in the world and amuse those around him, and his wit often allows him to say things to those in power that most ordinary people would not be allowed to say. Wamba is loyal to Cedric and can display great bravery, as when he trades places with Cedric so that he can escape Torquilstone.

Athelstane comes from one of the most important Saxon families in England. Because he is indecisive and slow to think and act, he is nicknamed “the Unready.” Though he goes along with the ambitious plans his relative Cedric has for him, his governing passion is food (when he is held prisoner, first by the Normans and then by the monks, what bothers him most is how poorly he is fed). He agrees to marry Rowena because it would be a smart marriage alliance, not because he has any feelings for her, and so it does not bother him too much to give her up so that Ivanhoe can marry her.

Maurice de Bracy is a handsome young Norman knight. Like the other Normans of Prince John’s court, he is ambitious and unscrupulous, though he is a brave warrior. He falls in love with Rowena and tries to court her, though his plan to impress her fails from his lack of good judgment. Though he is quick to act, he is unequipped to deal with setbacks (such as Rowena’s tears when he reveals himself to her at Torquilstone). He hopes to rise through the ranks in Prince John’s court, but he also knows when to accept defeat once he finds out that Richard has returned from captivity.

Richard I is the king of England; he is known as Richard “the Lionhearted” (“Coeur de Lion” in French). He is known as one of the leaders of the Third Crusade, which had some success in Palestine but failed to win back Jerusalem from Saladin. In the novel, he is identical with the “Black Knight,” a moniker he earns from the disguise he is wearing when he first returns to England.

Richard is admired by many people of different backgrounds, and this admiration wins him strong allegiances. Ivanhoe, despite his Saxon upbringing, follows Richard to Palestine. Friar Tuck and Locksley fraternize with him and later swear loyalty to him when they realize who he is. Wamba travels with him and entertains him. Even Cedric admits that he respects Richard (as much as he can respect any Norman). Whether in his own person or as the Black Knight, Richard cuts a formidable figure: He is a brave knight, a skilled tactician, and a good fighter. Unsurprisingly, his brother John fears his return to England and does everything in his power to prevent it. When dealing with his enemies, Richard is presented as courageous and fair (for the most part), though he can have a temper. Despite his admirable qualities, however, the narrator feels compelled to note on a few occasions that Richard was more of an adventurer than a king, and that, from a historian’s perspective, he was not a particularly effective administrator.

Prince John is the younger brother of King Richard I, and he spends the novel plotting to steal the throne of England from his absent brother. John is represented as arrogant, impulsive, and cowardly. He is in constant fear of his brother’s return, which he does everything to prevent with the help of his circle of Norman supporters. In contrast with his older brother, John does not trust even his closest supporters, and the result is that he is constantly alienating his supporters and enemies alike. John delights in displaying—and abusing—his power, though his lack of discretion causes him to often make a fool of himself, as he does when he tries to humiliate the yeoman archer (Locksley) at the tournament at Ashby. Richard, however, does not seem to consider him a true threat, and barely punishes him when he returns to England.

Locksley (later revealed to be the alias of the legendary outlaw Robin Hood) is the leader of a group of bandits. He is a very skilled archer and is as brave as any of the aristocratic knights in the novel. Though he is an outlaw himself, Locksley holds himself and his men to a code of honor and justice, robbing the rich so that he can give to the poor. Locksley represents the defiance of the disenfranchised elements of English society against laws that treat them unfairly. That Locksley is not simply a criminal for the sake of being a criminal is evidenced by the allegiance he swears to Richard when he learns his identity.