Ivanhoe · Chapter
XV explained
Waldemar Fitzurse works tirelessly to reunite Prince John's faction, using promises of power, wealth, and license to win over nobles and mercenaries.
What happens
Waldemar Fitzurse works tirelessly to reunite Prince John's faction, using promises of power, wealth, and license to win over nobles and mercenaries. He argues against fears of King Richard's return, claiming Richard would return alone and impoverished. Later, Fitzurse encounters De Bracy in yeoman disguise, who reveals a plan to abduct Lady Rowena in the manner of the tribe of Benjamin, with aid from Brian de Bois-Guilbert. Fitzurse criticizes the scheme but ultimately accepts it as a tool for his own ambitions.
Themes in this chapter
Power and Tyranny
Fitzurse manipulates Prince John's faction through promises of wealth and power, while De Bracy's plan reflects tyrannical disregard for Saxon rights.
Norman-Saxon Conflict
De Bracy's plot to abduct Rowena and his desire to complete the Conquest highlight the ongoing ethnic and political strife.
Love and Loyalty
De Bracy's pursuit of Rowena is driven by self-interest and ambition rather than genuine love, contrasting with the theme of loyalty to Prince John.
Characters to notice
- Waldemar Fitzurse
The cunning politician works to consolidate Prince John's support, distributing promises and bribes, and later confronts De Bracy about his reckless plan.
- Maurice de Bracy
Disguised as a yeoman, De Bracy reveals his scheme to abduct Rowena, inspired by the biblical tribe of Benjamin, with Bois-Guilbert's help.
- Prince John
Referenced as the weak and tyrannical prince whom Fitzurse and De Bracy hope to elevate for their own gain.
- Brian de Bois-Guilbert
The Templar is mentioned as the co-conspirator who helped devise the abduction plan and will pose as an outlaw.
- Lady Rowena
The target of De Bracy's abduction plot, described as a wealthy Saxon heiress.
- Wilfred of Ivanhoe
Mentioned by Fitzurse as an example of a broken and beggared crusader returning from Palestine.
- King Richard the Lionheart
Discussed as a feared potential return, but Fitzurse argues he would come alone and powerless.
- Prior Aymer
Referenced as the teller of the biblical tale about the tribe of Benjamin that inspired De Bracy's plan.
Key passages
“No spider ever took more pains to repair the shattered meshes of his web, than did Waldemar Fitzurse to reunite and combine the scattered members of Prince John's cabal.”
Fitzurse worked as diligently as a spider mending its web to bring Prince John's scattered supporters back together.
Highlights Fitzurse's meticulous and manipulative efforts.
“If Richard returns, he returns to enrich his needy and impoverished crusaders at the expense of those who did not follow him to the Holy Land.”
Fitzurse argues that Richard's return would mean taxing those who stayed behind to reward his crusaders.
Fitzurse's rhetoric to sway nobles against Richard.
“I mean to purvey me a wife after the fashion of the tribe of Benjamin; which is as much as to say, that in this same equipment I will fall upon that herd of Saxon bullocks, who have this night left the castle, and carry off from them the lovely Rowena.”
De Bracy plans to abduct Rowena from the departing Saxons, imitating the biblical tribe of Benjamin's bride-snatching.
Reveals De Bracy's scheme and its biblical inspiration.
