Ivanhoe – Walter Scott

"Chivalry!—Why, maiden, she is the nurse of pure and high affection—the stay of the oppressed, the redresser of grievances, the curb of the power of the tyrant."

Wilfred of Ivanhoe, a Saxon knight returning from the Crusades, fights to regain his inheritance and the hand of the Lady Rowena in a divided England ruled by the Normans. The story features tournaments, sieges, the outlaw Robin Hood, and the trial of the Jewish healer Rebecca.

Walter Scott's novel invented the modern image of the Middle Ages. It sparked a craze for chivalry and romance across Europe. While historically romanticized, it is a thrilling adventure story that explores the conflict between Saxons and Normans and the nature of national identity.