Ivanhoe Introduction

The Saxons (Latin: Saxones, Old English: Seaxe, Old Saxon: Sahson, Low
German: Sassen, German: Sachsen, Dutch: Saksen) were a group of Germanic
tribes first mentioned as living near the North Sea coast of what is
now Germany (Old Saxony), in late Roman times. They were soon mentioned
as raiding and settling in many North Sea areas, as well as pushing south inland
towards the Franks. Significant numbers settled in large parts of Great Britain in
the early Middle Ages and formed part of the merged group of AngloSaxons who eventually organised the first united Kingdom of England.
The Germanic-speakers in Britain, themselves of diverse origins, eventually
developed a common cultural identity as Anglo-Saxons. This process occurred
from the mid 5th to early 7th centuries, following the end of Roman power in
Britain around the year 410. The settlement was followed by the establishment
of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the south and east of Britain, later followed by the
rest of modern England.
The Anglo-Saxons are a people who have inhabited Great Britain from the 5th
century. They comprise people from Germanic tribes who migrated to the island
from continental Europe, their descendants, and indigenous British groups who
adopted some aspects of Anglo-Saxon culture and language. Historically, the
Anglo-Saxon period denotes the period in Britain between about 450 and 1066,
after their initial settlement and up until the Norman conquest.
Use of the term Anglo-Saxon assumes that the words Angles, Saxons or AngloSaxon have the same meaning in all the sources. Assigning ethnic labels such as
"Anglo-Saxon" is fraught with difficulties. This term began to be used only in
the 8th century to distinguish the "Germanic" groups in Britain from those on
the continent. (anglosaxon world)

Ivanhoe is set in 12th century England. The general political events depicted in
the novel are relatively accurate; the novel tells of the period just after King
Richard's imprisonment in Austria following the Crusade and of his return to
England after a ransom is paid. Yet the story is also heavily fictionalised. Scott
himself acknowledged that he had taken liberties with history in his "Dedicatory
Epistle" to Ivanhoe. Modern readers are cautioned to understand that Scott's aim
was to create a compelling novel set in a historical period, not to provide a book
of history.

Saxon noble families at a time when the nobility in England was

overwhelmingly Norman. It follows the Saxon protagonist, Sir Wilfred of
Ivanhoe, who is out of favour with his father for his allegiance to the Norman
king Richard the Lionheart. The story is set in 1194, after the failure of
the Third Crusade, when many of the Crusaders were still returning to their
homes in Europe. King Richard, who had been captured by Leopold of
Austria on his return journey to England, was believed to still be in captivity.

The Anglo-Normans were the medieval ruling class in England, composed

mainly of a combination of ethnic Anglo-Saxons and Normans, following
the Norman conquest. A small number of Normans had earlier befriended
future Anglo-Saxon King of England, Edward the Confessor, during his exile in
his mother's homeland of Normandy. When he returned to England some of
them went with him, and so there were Normans already settled in England
prior to the conquest. Following the death of Edward, the powerful AngloSaxon noble, Harold Godwinson, acceded to the English throne until his defeat
by William, Duke of Normandy at the Battle of Hastings.
The invading Normans formed a ruling class in Britain, distinct from (although
inter-marrying with) the native populations. Over time their language evolved
from the continental Old Norman to the distinct Anglo-Norman language

Norman-Saxon conflict[edit]
The degree of subsequent Norman-Saxon conflict (as a matter of conflicting
social identities) is a question disputed by historians. The 19th-century view
was of intense mutual resentment, reflected in the popular legends of Robin
Hood and the novel Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott. Some residual ill-feeling is
suggested by contemporary historian Orderic Vitalis, who in Ecclesiastical
Historii (1125) wrote in praise of native English resistance to "William the
Bastard" (William I of England). In addition, a fine called the "murdrum",
originally introduced to English law by the Danes under Canute, was revived,
imposing on villages a high (46 mark/~31) fine for the secret killing of a
Norman (or an unknown person who was, under the murdrum laws, presumed
to be Norman unless proven otherwise).
In order to secure Norman loyalty during his conquest, William I rewarded his
loyal followers by taking English land and redistributing it to his knights,
officials, and the Norman aristocracy. In turn, the English hated him, but the
king retaliated ruthlessly with his military force to subdue the rebellions and

discontentment. Mike Ashley writes on this subject, "He [William I] may have
conquered them [the English], but he never ruled them." Not all of the AngloSaxons immediately accepted him as their legitimate king.[2]
Whatever the level of dispute, over time, the two populations intermarried and
merged. Eventually, even this distinction largely disappeared in the course of
the Hundred Years War, and by the 14th century Normans identified themselves
as English, having been fully assimilated into the emerging English population.
However, some, like William Marshall, 1st Earl of Pembroke, felt already
English in the 12th century.
Best
..The novel centers on the (1) general conflict the Norman rulers of England and
the native Saxons and (2) specific conflicts between individuals, notably the
conflict between Ivanhoe and his father. The narrator reports the status of
relations between Normans and Saxons in Chapter 1:
Four generations had not sufficed to blend the hostile blood of the Normans and
Anglo-Saxons, or to unite, by common language and mutual interests, two
hostile races, one of which still felt the elation of triumph, while the other
groaned under all the consequences of defeat. The power had been completely
placed in the hands of the Norman nobility, by the event of the battle of
Hastings, and it had been used, as our histories assure us, with no moderate
hand.
Thus, according to Scott, the animosity between the Saxons and French
noblemen remained intense in 1194, although most historians maintain that the
Saxon-French rivalry had died down by that time. 1194.
Conflict
Sir Walter Scott in his novel " Ivanhoe" uses tribal conflict as his central theme.
The tribes are those of the conquered Saxons and their ruling lords, the
Normans. Scott introduces the conflict by focusing on a dialogue between two
men of the lowest class, Saxon thralls. Next he presents the other side of the
conflict through two arrogant Norman churchman, a group whose status should
make them neutral in their prejudices. Scott then mixes the Saxons and
Normans of all ranks and degrees so that the reader may judge through their
interaction which is the victim and which is the victor. Using the characters
Gurth and Wamba, two Saxon thralls, Scott is able to show the specific conflict
of Norman vs Saxon slave, for instance, when Gurth's dog's feet are amputated
by a Norman. The guilty party of this crime uses the excuse that the dog was
chasing deer in the woods to chop off the dogs front toes. This shows how the

life of a Saxon slave is made more difficult by the Normans. The next conflict
presented occurs when the Priot Aymer And Gliber are introduced as two
arrogant churchman searching for the House of Sedric. Aymer, but mostly
Gilber give the Saxon slaves Wamba and Gurth hell when they won't cooperate
willingly. Gurth chooses to use fear to insult the Normans. The tormented Saxon
slave Gurth is forced into a battle of honor after Gilbert insults his rank and
position of power. Before blood can be spilled the battle is disolved by the Prior
Aymer. Wamba on the other hand, chooses deception to defeat their foes by
misleading them. The truth of the conflict is revealed when these two Norman
churchman, supposedly not prejudice, treat the Saxon thralls like scum. There is
yet another type of conflict between the Norman and Saxon. When the two
churchman impede at Sedric's domicile, a new type of battle is released. One
not with violence or swears, but one containing jealousy and the need to impress
the other race. The arrogant churchman Aymer and Gilbert do this a few times,
but one time in particular is when they change into very royal and expensive
cloths before arriving at the House of Sedric. Sedric on the other hand, uses
words to make his huge feast seem like a petty meal, making his status appear
higher. From these results, the victory and the victorless is obviously clear. It is
a stale mate. Both tribessucceeded in intimidating the other. The only difference
between the two tribes is the fact that the Normans out number the Saxons
greatly, yet both races still preserve their honor.
Story
Wilfred of Ivanhoe is the protagonist of the novel. He is the strong-willed son of
Cedric, who is disinherited for two reasons. First, he feels some acceptance for
the Norman king, Richard, despite his fathers obvious hatred for all Normans.
Ivanhoe believes that Norman rule is in England to stay and decides to accept it,
in sharp contrast to his father, who stubbornly clings to his hope for a new
Saxon line to the throne. Ivanhoes second offense is that he has fallen in love
with his fathers ward, a beautiful young woman named Rowena. His father
already has political plans to marry Rowena to a Saxon knight as part of his
insistent scheming.

The Saxons were germanic invaders who (along with the Angles (hence AngloSaxon referring to England) and numerous other tribes) invaded England and
set up kingdoms. The Saxons were able to become the most powerful kingdom,
ergo the default King of England.

In the meantime Norsemen (aka Normen) starting their own raiding spree.
Ended up settling in many areas across Europe. One particular location is a
peninsula in France that they took over from the French. You may have heard of
this particular piece of land: Normandy.
One day the king there,William, get the old conquering spirit going again and
decides to cross the English channel. He lands on the south coast in 1066 and
beats the Saxon king at Hastings and becomes the king of England.
This is where Ivanhoe comes into play. The resident Saxon nobles (eq Ivanhoe)
have no love for the ruling Norman lords descended from the invading Norman
army.

Started out with the Celts living in the British Isles (the Picts were probably
there first, but they don't really come into this). Then the Romans showed up,
kicked Celt butt, and integrated most of the island, and the Celtic inhabitants,
into the Empire. Eventually, the Roman Empire crumbled. Britain got cut loose
fairly early on... it was way out on the edge of the Empire. Several of the
northern Germanic tribes - the Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Frisians, etc. - probably
spurred on by climatic problems causing loss of agricultural land in their home,
decided they were going to move to Britain. So they packed up, hopped across
the North Sea, and moved in, pushing the Celts west into Wales and Cornwall.
This is the probable origin of the Arthur legends... he would've been a Celtic or
leftover Roman war leader resisting the Saxon invasion - and eventually failing.
The Saxons hadn't really had time to get settled in when the Vikings started
raiding around... moving semi-permanently into Britain and France. The French
ended up cutting a deal with them... they gave them Normandy as their own
duchy in exchange for their fealty to the King of France.
The Saxons, meanwhile, fought off the Vikings, more or less, and eventually
consolidated the numerous small kingdoms in Britain into a single kingdom
encompassing most of what's "England" today.
And then, in 1066, Edward the Confessor, King of England, died, leaving the

succession in question... Harold Godwinsson, Edward's brother-in-law, was

accepted by the council that appointed kings, but William, Duke of Normandy,
claimed that Edward had appointed him to be his successor. Harold took the
throne, and William put together an invasion force to cross the Channel and
claim the throne for himself. He was delayed by bad weather in the English
Channel, however, and while he was waiting it out, Harold Hardrada, King of
Norway, decided he was going to hop across the North Sea and grab as much
English land as he could. Godwinsson called up his household troops, marched
north, met Hardrada at Stamford Bridge, kicked Viking ass, and left Hardrada
with his English land... six feet of it.
Meanwhile, the weather'd cleared up down south, and William's troops had
crossed the Channel and landed at Pevensey, and were digging in and pillaging
south of London. Godwinsson took his troops, turned around, and forcemarched south again to meet William at Hastings. The Saxons, already tired and
weakened by the battle at Stamford Bridge and the subsequent march, were
defeated, Harold Godwinsson was slain in the battle, and William of Normandy
took the throne.
The Saxon lords, for the most part, didn't accept him as their ruler, and he spent
the next six years or so crushing rebellions and replacing Saxon lords with
Normans. This caused a lot of tension, because the Saxons and the Normans had
distinctly different ways of running things, and this was seen by the Saxon
populace and the remaining Saxon minor nobility as trampling on their
traditional rights. And that's where Ivanhoe - and Robin Hood - entered the
picture.