The Evolution of the English Novel Series: Sir Walter Scott's "Ivanhoe" and the Rise of the Historical Novel

Foreword

The novel stands as a lasting testament to human creativity and narrative ingenuity, captivating readers across cultures and eras with its unique blend of accessibility and depth. Its remarkable ability to connect diverse themes and perspectives makes it an essential foundation of literary discourse, transcending temporal and spatial boundaries. The English novel, in particular, serves as a pivotal cornerstone in literary history. Its profound influence reverberates throughout global literature, shaping contemporary literary landscapes in complex and multifaceted ways. This series examines the genesis and evolution of the novel, focusing on its emergence and development within English literature from the 17th to the 19th centuries. Through an interdisciplinary lens, the articles will explore the works of luminaries such as Austen and Dickens, shedding light on the diverse narrative innovations and cultural commentary that define this influential genre.

The series will be structured into six articles:

1. The Evolution of the English Novel Series: The Rise of the English Novel

2. The Evolution of the English Novel Series: Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe" and the Emergence of the Modern Novel

3. The Evolution of the English Novel Series: Horace Walpole's "The Castle of Otranto" and the Birth of Gothic Fiction

4. The Evolution of the English Novel Series: Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" and the Bildungsroman Tradition

5. The Evolution of the English Novel Series: Sir Walter Scott's "Ivanhoe" and the Rise of the Historical Novel

6. The Evolution of the English Novel Series: Intricacies of Victorian Realism in Charles Dickens's "Bleak House"

Introduction

The historical novel has its origin in the brilliant work of the author Walter Scott and in particular with the publication of Ivanhoe (1819), which greatly contributed to the rise of the genre. The purpose of this article is to illustrate the birth of the genre by analysing the famous novel by Walter Scott focusing on aspects such as the issues regarding the writing process of a historical novel and the analysis of the plot.

Stevenson argued that the innovative element in Scott's narrative lies in the fact that the characters are not placed at the forefront but are instead overshadowed by the historical context (1874). The relationship between these two elements is constantly shifting: the characters are figures embedded within history.

The historical novel has a precise date of origin, 1814, the year in which Walter Scott's first historical novel Waverley was published. This novel was released anonymously, and Scott continued to publish his subsequent works under the same condition, which would become part of the so-called "Waverley Cycle," or the novels of the "Great Unknown" (Johnson, 1970). In 1827, Scott revealed his identity as the author and thus invented a new type of novel.

Walter Scott was born in Edinburgh in 1771 and died in 1832. Before launching his career as a novelist without disclosing his identity, Scott had already established a thriving poetic career. Between 1802 and 1803, he published the Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border (Johnson, 1970). Scott collected ballads with the intention of restoring them to what he believed to be their original form. This literary production and his interest in Scotland’s national cultural traditions created a pre-Romantic context for Walter Scott. His focus on indigenous Scottish literature was central to his antiquarian research.

Figure 1: The Accolade

From Minor Genre to Historical Significance

The novel was regarded as a minor genre due to its emergence outside the formal codification of literary genres. It was aimed at a bourgeois audience and centred on its referential function. Consequently, during the eighteenth century, the novel was stigmatized as a lesser genre, primarily intended for a female readership. The narrative scene of the time includes Jane Austen, Maria Edgeworth, and Walter Scott. Austen represents the centre and contemporaneity, Edgeworth the periphery and contemporaneity, while Scott combines centre and periphery, present and past.

Scott's work played a pivotal role in the rise of the historical novel as a popular genre among readers and writers alike. The peripheral space of Scotland is depicted in terms of archaic qualities, where traditions, customs, and practices have gone out of use in England but still survive in Scotland. The introduction of historical elements into the novel elevated its status as a genre. However, Walter Scott does not consider this process to be inherently ennobling. He distinguishes between his approach as a novelist and that of his contemporary female authors such as Austen and Mrs Edgeworth asserting that these women demonstrated a superior ability to observe society than any man (Scott, 1826). Scott does not establish any hierarchies; rather, he differentiates between various narrative approaches. A novelist contemporary to Walter Scott, Maria Edgeworth already begun to situate her novels in peripheral settings, notably in contemporary Ireland. Her novels are characterised by an emphasis on manners. Scott adopts the model established by Edgeworth but introduces differences in time and space with the novel Ivanhoe (Butler, 1958). 

From her, he borrows the omniscient narrator which belongs to an earlier tradition, namely that of Fielding. Nevertheless, in Scott's work the narrator is positioned as an external observer of the events.

Figure 2: The Meeting on the Turret Stairs

Complexities of the Historical Novel

The novel opens with a dedicatory letter addressed to Reverend Dr. Jonas Dryasdust, a fictional character who features in another of Scott’s works. Scott signs the letter with the pseudonym Laurence Templeton and delineates the rationale behind the novel and the obstacles he seeks to overcome. The initial challenge is to achieve a balance between historical accuracy and the imaginative scope of fiction. In the letter, Scott acknowledges the limitations he faced and admits that perfect accuracy was unattainable (Loops, 2018). Another challenge concerns the language spoken by his characters. The Saxons would have spoken Old English whereas the Normans would communicate in Franco-Norman; yet it was unfeasible to make them speak in three different languages as this would have rendered the text unintelligible to readers (Loops, 2018).

In order to justify his approach, Scott draws a parallel with The Thousand and One Nights, which was widely successful due to the process of adaptation. The work maintained its Oriental splendour while incorporating elements of familiarity such as sentiments and situations. Similarly, Scott was tasked with making medieval material accessible and engaging for a modern audience while remaining as faithful as possible to historical reality.

Scott outlines his method as the creation of a “marketplace” where he translates ancient customs into modern language without alienating the reader. He aimed to give depth to his characters without causing disorientation (Loops, 2018). The novel thus presents a vivid portrait of Richard the Lionheart’s England, depicting a comprehensive account of the customs and behaviours observed at the time through the meticulous description, beginning with an examination of the character's attire. Scott drew from a wide range of sources to construct this historical tableau, with a particular focus on the Saxon-Norman conflict. In order to achieve authenticity, he aimed to imbue modern language with an ancient patina, avoiding the use of excessively modern language that might detract from the novel's historical accuracy. Scott's argument is that human passions are immutable and universal, though shaped by historically specific contexts. Thus, readers can emotionally connect with the narrative, recognizing the constants in human behaviour.

Finally, Scott draws a parallel between the roles of the writer and the painter (Scalia, 2015), suggesting that neither should introduce elements that are incongruent with the setting. He acknowledges the presence of anachronisms in the narrative, and employs the device of the manuscript as a literary tool. Ivanhoe was a considerable success, widely imitated, and thereby exerted influence beyond the field of literature.

Figure 3: The Shadow

Ivanhoe

Scott situates the novel during a moment of crisis, wherein the old world is confronted with the new. Although this conflict is anachronistic—the Normans invaded Britain in 1066, and by 1192 the geopolitical and social landscape was not as violent as Scott portrays—he chooses this representation to draw a parallel between the historical conflict and the contemporary tensions between England and Scotland. At the time Scott was writing, there was a perception that English liberties had been diminished under the Norman yoke. It was argued that the Normans had vanished the Saxon spirit. This rewriting of history reflected contemporary political debates, with reformers appealing to a return to the past to legitimize calls for present-day freedom. The novel reflects this notion, namely that reinstating the ancient Saxon nobility could rectify the injustices of the present. This appeal to the past as a foundation for contemporary reform is a hallmark of English historical narratives, where revolutions are frequently conceptualized as restorations (Loops, 2018).

The opening presents a detailed geographical and topographical description, saturated with the historical and mythical past of the nation. It delineates the locations where key historical events, such as the Wars of the Roses occurred, inaugurating the Tudor dynasty. Scott introduces the historical context, focusing on the reign of Richard the Lionheart, and meticulously develops the social background, where tensions between characters and groups are gradually resolved by the end of the novel.

Ivanhoe is set during the period of the Third Crusade. Following the fall of the Roman Empire, two Germanic tribes, the Angles and the Saxons, invaded the British Isles. In the novel, King Richard participates in the Crusade in alliance with the French king, while his brother, John Lackland, assumes power in his absence. While Richard is in Palestine, on his return journey, he is imprisoned by the Duke of Austria and is released only after a ransom is paid. Upon returning to England in disguise, Richard does not immediately reveal his identity and is known as the Black Knight. John is portrayed as the antagonist who exercises arbitrary power, and Scott draws inspiration from Shakespearean antagonists such as Richard III.

Set in medieval England, Ivanhoe by Walter Scott offers a compelling immersion in a world characterised by tournaments, court intrigues, and clashes between different peoples. The protagonist Ivanhoe, a young Saxon knight, finds himself in a quandary, torn between his romantic attachment to the noble Lady Rowena and his sense of duty to the Norman king, Richard the Lionheart. Disinherited by his father Cedric for siding with the Norman king, Ivanhoe competes in a tournament in disguise, where he confronts the treacherous Templar knight, Bois-Guilbert. Ivanhoe’s love for Rowena is obstructed by the deep-seated tensions between the Saxons and Normans and his father's dream of restoring the Saxon rule.

Figure 4: Parsifal In Quest of the Holy Grail

The situation is further complicated by the presence of Rebecca, a courageous and astute Jewish woman who nurses Ivanhoe back to health after he is wounded. Rebecca introduces a compelling contrast: her ethereal beauty and intellect stand in opposition to Rowena's traditional grace and noble lineage. The novel is filled with dramatic twists: Richard the Lionheart’s return to England in disguise, the siege of Front-de-Boeuf’s castle by Robin Hood and his men, and the kidnapping of Rebecca by Bois-Guilbert, who falsely accuses her of witchcraft.

In the conclusion, it can be stated that love and justice prevail. The marriage of Ivanhoe and Rowena symbolically marks the conclusion of hostilities between the Saxons and Normans. Cedric has come to recognise the futility of his political aspirations and reconciles himself with the new reality. Rebecca, with dignity, departs England with her father, bearing with them their wealth and cultural heritage.

Scott’s descriptive method is characterised by a top-down, right-to-left pattern, which is consistently applied to all the characters. Through a comprehensive and detailed examination of the attire, the reader is able to contextualize and visualize the broader scene more clearly. The narrator justifies these historical digressions by appealing to his knowledge of the sources, and he employs description extensively to inform the reader of historical conditions. Description plays a central role in the novel, creating a backdrop on which both historical and fictional characters emerge. The narrator showcases his erudition by referencing manuscripts and sources, and when the descriptive interlude ends, the story begins, marking the transition from historical reconstruction to a fictional narrative.

Conflicting Value Systems

The novel portrays a confrontation between two distinct value systems: the pietas embodied by Rebecca and the chivalric ideals represented by Ivanhoe. The Jewish question is also central to the novel. The price for the unification of the Saxons and Normans is the expulsion of the Jews from England, which historically occurred in 1290, almost a century after the events depicted. Isaac and Rebecca's persecution serves to illustrate the discrepancy between the Normans and the chivalric values of loyalty to a legitimate ruler, devotion to women, and the defence of the weak; ideals that Richard the Lionheart and Robin Hood's characters strive to uphold. Yet, even the noblest chivalric values stand in contrast to the compassion embodied by Rebecca. The sacred respect for life that Rebecca holds clashes with the honour and glory cherished by the knights, whose culture subordinates life to values that give it meaning. For Rebecca, nothing is more important than life itself, which is a viewpoint that Ivanhoe ultimately rejects. The marriage between Ivanhoe and Rowena occurs with the departure of Isaac and Rebecca, symbolizing that Rebecca's values are incompatible with those of England. In this way, Scott suggests that, although the world of the Crusades forged the warrior spirit that would later shape English society, it also paved the way for future conflicts like the Wars of the Roses.

Figure 5: I am sir launcelot du lake, king ban's son of benwick, and knight of the round table

Conclusions

Walter Scott's Ivanhoe represents a pivotal moment in the evolution of the historical novel, intertwining personal and political narratives that reflect the social tensions of its time. Through its exploration of the Saxon-Norman conflict, the novel not only addresses contemporary issues but also engages with timeless themes of identity, loyalty, and cultural intersection.

Scott's nuanced characterizations, especially the contrast between Ivanhoe and Rebecca, elucidate the conflict between chivalric ideals and more profound humane values, prompting readers to reflect on the complexities of human experience. As this series continues to explore the evolution of the English novel, Scott's groundbreaking work serves as a foundation, illustrating the enduring capacity of literature to engage with universal themes and enhance our understanding of historical events.

Bibliographical References

Butler, R. F., Scott, W., & Edgeworth, M. (1958). Maria Edgeworth and Sir Walter Scott Unpublished Letters, 1823. The Review of English Studies, 9(33), 23–40. http://www.jstor.org/stable/511422

Ferris, I. (1988). The Historical Novel and the Problem of Beginning: The Model of Scott. The Journal of Narrative Technique, 18(1), 73–82. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30225204

Johnson, E. (1970). Sir Walter Scott: The Great Unknown (2 volumes). MacMillan.

Loops, M. (2018). The dedicatory letter in Ivanhoe [Lecture notes]. University of Salerno.

Saintsbury, G., & Ray. (2005). A Short History of English Literature. Atlantic Publishers & Dist.

Scalia, C. J. (2015). Walter Scott’s “Everlasting Said He’s and Said She’s”: Dialogue, painting, and the status of the novel. ELH, 82(4), 1159–1177. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24735516

Scott, W. (1826, March 14). Sir Walter Scott on Austen [Journal entry]. Retrieved from https://janeausteninvermont.blog/2009/03/13/sir-walter-scott-on-austen-march-14-1826/

Stevenson, R. L. (1874). R.L. Stevenson on Scott's place in literary history. In Walter Scott (1st ed., p. 3). Routledge.

Visual References