The story takes place in 1194, the year of King Richard I's (also known as Richard the Lion-Hearted) return to England from the Third Crusade, which was undertaken to rescue the Holy Land from the Turkish sultan, Saladin. The world of Ivanhoe is the picturesque Midlands and North country of England, specifically the counties of Leicestershire; Nottinghamshire, with the vast Sherwood Forest at its center; and Yorkshire. Using this time and setting enables Scott to examine the nature and role of chivalry at the height of the medieval age. He balances the reality of the twelfth century against the romantic ideal, juxtaposing knights in glittering armor, beautiful ladies, and the color and pagentry of the tournament at Ashby, against the bloody siege of Torquilstone and the mortal combat of Ivanhoe and de Bois-Guilbert at Templestowe.

He complicates the narrative by introducing the clash of two peoples, the Normans and...