A Knight's Tale

By Sir Walter Scott

The story takes place in England, during a time when the Saxons and the Normans do not like each other. Ivanhoe is the son of a Saxon, Lord Cedric. Lord Cedric disinherits Ivanhoe after he follows King Richard, a Norman, to a crusade. Lord Cedric is the guardian of Lady Rowena. She is a distant relative. Ivanhoe loves Lady Rowena, but his father wants Rowena to marry a Saxon of royal blood.
Ivanhoe returns to England, traveling in disguise. In fact he is staying at his father’s castle, with Isaac of York as guests. Ivanhoe overhears Brian de Bois-Guilbert tell his men to rob and kidnap Isaac. It is planned for the following day. Before it could happen, Ivanhoe sneaks into Isaac’s room, and warns him. Ivanhoe and Isaac leave through the back gate with the help of Ivanhoe’s old friend and squire, Gurth. To repay the stranger for helping him, Isaac offers Ivanhoe a horse and armor to compete in the knights’ tournament.
On the first day of the tournament Ivanhoe, still in disguise, defeats all the other knights. Ivanhoe is rewarded by picking the Queen of the Tournament. He chooses Rowena. The next day Ivanhoe leads his group of knights against Brian’s. Ivanhoe’s is about to win, when he is wounded. Brian and two other knights continue to battle the wounded Ivanhoe. Suddenly a black knight enters the tournament. He defeats Brian and his group, but quickly leaves. Ivanhoe is declared the tournament winner.
At the winners’ ceremony, Rowena declares Ivanhoe the King of the Tournament. He takes off his helmet, is crowned, and then faints from his wounds. Ivanhoe is taken to get medical help, by Isaac and Rowena. They take him to Rebecca, who happens to be Isaac’s daughter. Rebecca recognizes Ivanhoe, whom she has always loved.
After a few days of rest, the group starts to travel to Isaac’s home. On the way, they join Cedric’s party. Cedric does not recognize his son. The group is kidnapped by people claiming to be Saxons. The group is taken to a castle that King Richard gave Ivanhoe. Richard’s evil brother, Prince John, had taken the castle away from Ivanhoe.
Gurth witnessed the kidnapping. He tries to get help, but he is stopped. Gurth gets help from Robin Hood. Robin Hood gets his men, and the black knight to storm the castle to free Ivanhoe, Cedric, and the others.
The kidnappers are really Brian and Maurice. They want Rowena and Rebecca to marry them. They threaten to kill Cedric. Robin Hood offers a priest before Cedric’s execution. The priest is really Gurth. Gurth switches places with Cedric. Once Cedric is out of the castle, Robin Hood, the black knight, and the men attack the castle.
Meanwhile, Isaac starts a fire in his cell that races out of control. The castle burns, and starts to fall apart. Gurth rescues Rowena, and Brian takes Rebecca. Rebecca does not want to go, but Brian forces her. The black knight rescues the others.
Brian takes Rebecca to Prince John to get married. Before that happens, Ivanhoe and the black knight find them. Ivanhoe kills Brian. The black knight reveals himself as King Richard, and Cedric reunites with Ivanhoe. Rowena and Ivanhoe later marry.
I liked this book because it had adventure, and romance. I would recommend this book to others.