Ivanhoe Characters

Wilfred of Ivanhoe is our hero (obviously, since his name is the title of the book). He's a knight from a Saxon family recently returned from the Crusades in the Middle East. He's also estranged fr...

Brian de Bois-Guilbert is actually kind of unusual as a villain in a popular novel. We said in "In a Nutshell" that Sir Walter Scott was the J.K. Rowling of his day, responsible for the bestselling...

Rebecca, the daughter of Isaac of York, is basically a superhero. Think about how amazing Rebecca is. First, she is stunningly beautiful. The narrator tells us that her figure "might indeed have co...

It's hard to know where to start analyzing Rowena because we know so little about her. We know a lot about the people around Rowena: she's Cedric's ward, Ivanhoe's love interest, and Athelstane's t...

Athelstane is a good friend of Cedric's, so much so that Cedric decides to marry his ward, Rowena, off to the guy even though she doesn't love him. The reason Cedric is so keen on a Rowena-Athelsta...

Prior Aymer is the leader of the monks at the Priory of Jorvaulx. (A "priory," like a monastery or a convent, is a place where people under religious vows go to live.) As a guy who is pretty high u...

Lucas Beaumanoir may not appear in Ivanhoe until Chapter 35, but he makes a huge impression on the reader. Beaumanoir is the Grand Master of the Order of the Knights Templar. As the leader of an in...

Cedric seems like the kind of guy who sits around late at night with a cup of something highly alcoholic in his hand, ranting about the Good Olde Days. He must be an okay person at heart, since he...

Like Bois-Guilbert and Front-de-Boeuf, Maurice De Bracy is one of Ivanhoe's main Norman villains. His villainy focuses around Rowena. When Prince John offers to marry Rowena to De Bracy so he can c...

Waldemar Fitzurse is Prince John's primary counselor during his rebellion against his brother, King Richard. Fitzurse is a fairly standard character type: the older, wily advisor. He's like Gríma...

We mention in "Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory" (under "Heraldry") that Front-de-Boeuf means Ox Face or, even more literally, Ox Forehead in French. Now we've seen more than our fair share of cow fore...

We never meet Front-de-Boeuf's father in person (thank goodness, because he sounds terrifying), but we do know that he is cut from the same cloth as his bullying son, so he must be an awful person....

We sympathize with Gurth, since what he wants most in life is something most of us take for granted: he wants to be a free man. Gurth is a "thrall," which is an Old English word for a person who se...

Isaac of York is a moneylender. He has a fortune of gold, which he keeps tightly locked up. From that horde, he shells out money to people who want to borrow it – Prince John, for one – and the...

John Lackland, son of Henry II and future king of England after the events of Ivanhoe, is a real historical figure. Like his brother, King Richard I, John has left a huge impression on British cult...

King Richard I is a real, historical guy. He ruled England from 1189 to 1199 and led the Third Crusade of Christian knights to the Middle East to fight against the Muslims holding Palestine. He spe...

You may have heard of this guy – he goes around Sherwood Forest shooting arrows, stealing from the rich, and giving to the poor? That would be the legendary outlaw and do-gooder Robin Hood. The i...

We've talked about Ivanhoe's focus on anti-Jewish prejudice, but there is also a fair amount of ethnic racism at work in the book. Brian de Bois-Guilbert has two men in his service, whom he calls h...

Laurence Templeton is the pen name Scott uses in his "Dedicatory Epistle" to Ivanhoe. We get into this more in "In a Nutshell," but Scott didn't come out as the writer of his enormously successful...

Like his boss Robin Hood, the friar of the outlaws goes by many names. When we first meet him in the forest, he introduces himself to King Richard I (himself in disguise as the Black Knight) as the...

When we first meet the tragic figure of Ulrica, she goes by the name of Urfried. A Saxon woman in the castle at Torquilstone, she's obviously not happy to be there. She's a bitter, cruel old woman...

Like Gurth, Wamba is a servant/slave to Cedric. Wamba (son of Witless) is a fool – kind of like a medieval comedian. He's Cedric's live-in joker. We would be more jealous of Cedric having a comed...

AdelingAthelstane's deceased father.EdithAthelstane's mother Edith seems fairly disappointed when her son announces he doesn't want to be king of England at the end of the book. We guess we can't b...

Brother AmbroseBrother Ambrose is Prior Aymer's assistant and a monk at his priory. He seems kind of whiny, and no one gives him much respect. When Ambrose comes to Torquilstone for help when Prior...

Adelaide de MontemareWe never actually get to meet Adelaide de Montemare in person, but she's definitely worth noting. Adelaide is Bois-Guilbert's first love, but while he's off fighting the Crusad...

AnwoldAnwold is one of Cedric's servants, his torchbearer. When Ivanhoe refuses to share his gossip from the Holy Land with Cedric's servants, Anwold gets really huffy. He also makes several anti-S...

EngelredEngelred is some kind of servant or guard for Reginald Front-de-Boeuf. We know nothing more about him because he only appears in one sentence: "Go, search [the outlaws] out, Engelred" (25.3...

Jacques FitzdotterelJacques Fitzdotterel is a man Front-de-Boeuf mentions in passing to Isaac when he's threatening him at Torquilstone. Apparently Isaac took this man to court for calling Isaac a...

MalkinA riding horse belonging to the Prior of Saint Botolph, which he loans to the wounded Ivanhoe so he can follow King Richard through the forest as quickly as possible. It's on this horse that...

De BigotDe Bigot is Prince John's seneschal, which is an officer in a medieval household who keeps track of appointments, ceremonies, and rituals for his lord. We only hear about this guy in passin...

DamianA squire serving the Knights Templar at Templestowe.Herman of GoodalrickeOne of the four Templar leaders present at Rebecca's trial; the other three are Albert Malvoisin, Conrade Mont-Fitchet...

ButhanNeighbor to Higg and owner of the workhorse he rides to deliver Rebecca's message to Isaac about her trial by combat.HiggHigg, son of Snell, is a Saxon peasant from York. He's one of the witn...

BohunOne of King Richard I's lords who appears in the second-to-last chapter, along with the Earl of Essex. See our "Historical Allusions" for more on him.The Earl of EssexOne of King Richard I's l...

Allan-a-daleAllan-a-dale is a minstrel (a.k.a. traveling musician) who hangs around with Robin Hood's band of merry men. He's not only a musician; he's also an outlaw, a fighter, and a troublemaker...

HubertHubert is Philip de Malvoisin's hunting master. It's his job to make sure the local peasants (and Saxons) don't poach the animals that Malvoisin has reserved for himself on his lands. This mi...

Father DennetFather Dennet is the elderly priest to whom Friar Tuck tells his version of Athelstane's rise from the grave when he and Allan-a-dale are waiting for Rebecca's trial by combat. Gilbert...