Ivanhoe | Quotes

Unaware that his son is about to walk into the room, Cedric thinks he would like to hear the news from Palestine where Ivanhoe was last heard of. But then he reminds himself that he has renounced Ivanhoe for the very reason that he followed the Norman king on Crusade.

Here Locksley tells his men they will not steal from Gurth. He is stating the central principle that guides his band of outlaws: They don't steal from those who work hard for their money.

These are the words in the anonymous note John receives at Ashby saying Richard is free. He panics and cancels the third day of the tournament and begins worrying that his supporters will desert him.

When Cedric is taken captive by the Normans, Wamba is suddenly free. His love of Cedric and his role as Cedric's fool—and therefore counselor of sorts—mean that freedom has taken away the home and purpose he had in life.

Locksley has found Gurth and Wamba in the forest and offered to help them. They are trying to figure out just who he is. But Locksley hides his true identity preferring to be known for his deeds.

Locksley is looking for help to save Cedric from his Norman captors and hopes to find a native-born Englishman. No one knows the Black Knight is King Richard the Lionheart, but with these words he states what should, ideally, be true of any king, whether Norman or Saxon.

After capturing and imprisoning Rowena, de Bracy tries to woo her as a knight. But she answers him haughtily, trying to put him in his place. It doesn't work for her, but she still points out an important truth: Courtesy is about deeds, not words.

Worldly power is important to Bois-Guilbert, and he expects everyone to understand its importance. But when he says these words to Rebecca, trying to convince her to accept him as her lover, he is in for a disappointment. For Rebecca it is not political power but spiritual power that matters.

When changing places with his master in Torquilstone to save Cedric's life, Wamba makes one of his perceptive multilayered wordplays. It's hard to know who is meant. Is he the fool, or is it Cedric? He also ties fool and valor together as in the proverb "Fools rush in where wise men fear to tread."

Rebecca doesn't understand why Ivanhoe yearns to join the battle for Torquilstone. He replies that battle is what knights live for. It is what chivalry is all about, and knights would give everything for it.

Ivanhoe says knights live for glory, but Rebecca doesn't see how glory can compensate for having suffered and caused suffering or for having sacrificed love and pleasure and a peaceful happy life. The dead are forgotten, she thinks, and their glory with them.

When saying goodbye to Locksley after the battle for Torquilstone, the Black Knight must be thinking of both their situations when he says this. Locksley is a powerful outlaw leader and could easily do much evil. But as king, Richard has even greater power for good and for evil. It's just that no one around him knows that yet.

De Bracy has just brought the news that Richard is in England, Front-de-Boeuf is dead, and he himself has sworn to leave the country. Fitzurse is talking with de Bracy about their futures. John feels betrayed and deserted by his trusted co-conspirators. They are leaving before they are forced to do so—in a breeze, not a storm.

When he hears Rebecca is to be burned as a sorceress to atone for the sins of the Templars in England, Bois-Guilbert is incensed with the stupid, blind prejudice of his fellow knights, especially the grand master of the order. He has no such prejudice and sees past Rebecca's Judaism to a kind, intelligent woman. Of course such bigotry did exist in Scott's time, just as it does today.

Even if Bois-Guilbert is not the best example of Christian hypocrisy among the characters, Rebecca has seen plenty of examples among his fellow Templars, the Normans in general, and even the Saxons. They tout Christian forgiveness and charity, yet denigrate, torture, and kill Jews based on nothing but their Jewish identity.