Ivanhoe is an excellent example of the historical novel, as developed by Scott and defined in his numerous prefaces and introductions to his Waverley novels. Scott reconstructs the fascinating struggle between the Normans and the Saxons. Into this cultural conflict, Scott presents fictional characters who participate in actual historical events, among actual historical figures. These characters reflect the effect that the historical events had upon individuals in medieval England.

Ivanhoe and the other Waverley novels brought a new perspective to historical writing. No longer would dull chronicles and lifeless collections of fact serve as models for historians; instead, a new kind of history was born that seriously recreated the spirit of the time. Nineteenth-century historians such as Thomas Carlyle and W. H. Prescott recognized that Scott had changed people's very awareness of history.