Ivanhoe Resources

Sir Walter Scott Websites

The Walter Scott Digital Archive

Given Scott's strong association with Edinburgh, it makes sense that Edinburgh University Library holds many of his manuscripts and papers. This digital collection is really worth a look. One of the fun parts is that you can look up each of his works and find out more about his writing process and the critical reception of the piece.

Sir Walter Scott on VictorianWeb

VictorianWeb is an incredible collection of articles and documents on 19th century British literature and culture. Not only is the whole collection really terrific, but they also have some great stuff on Scott in particular.

The Walter Scott Monument, Edinburgh, Scotland

Some of us here at Shmoop have been lucky enough to go to this monument, and it is <em>so cool</em>. It’s the largest monument dedicated to a writer in the world, and it dominates the Edinburgh skyline (if you ignore the large castle not that far from it). Awesome.

Abbotsford: Sir Walter Scott’s House

If you visit the Scott Monument in Edinburgh and decide you still need more Scott, his lovely house is also still around.

Sir Walter Scott: 1771-1832

A helpful introduction to Scott's life and times.

E-Texts

Ivanhoe

A complete, searchable e-text of the novel from Project Gutenberg.

Sir Walter Scott Online Library

A super-useful directory of online texts for Scott’s many, many novels

Historical Context

King John and Richard I: Brothers and Rivals

An article from the BBC's British History site about the real rivalry between King Richard I and his younger brother.

The Normans

Need to brush up on your history of the Normans in England? This BBC History site is the place to go. It covers topics from 1066 to 1154.

The Middle Ages

This BBC History section features info on the Middle ages, from 1154-1485.

Richard I

King Richard's biography of the official website of the English monarchy.

Prince John

Since he became king after his brother Richard died, we suppose we should say <em>King</em> John. Here's his bio.

Summary of the Crusades

History.com offers a brief summary of the Crusades. Richard I was a big figure in the Third Crusade.

Third Crusade

A podcast from BBC Radio 4 all about the Third Crusade. Scholars discuss all sorts of topics, including Richard the Lionheart.

Templars

A brief history of the Knights Templar from History.com.

Robin Hood

The BBC discusses the fact and fiction behind the Robin Hood legends.

Who Was Robin Hood?

A three-minute video about whether Robin Hood is fact or fiction.

Movie or TV Productions

Rebecca the Jewess, also titled Ivanhoe (1913)

The alternate official title of this silent film version proves that Rebecca is the most compelling character of the novel for many people.

Ivanhoe (1952)

Probably the most famous production of <em>Ivanhoe</em>, this one features a young Elizabeth Taylor (RIP) as Rebecca.

Ivanhoe (1982)

TV miniseries. Probably the biggest claim to fame for this one is that the guy who went on to play Gimli in Peter Jackson’s <em>Lord of the Rings </em>series plays Front-de-Boeuf.

Ivanhoe (1986)

An hour-long animated version of <em>Ivanhoe</em>. This one sounds pretty embarrassing...

Ivanhoe (1997)

Another TV miniseries – this one with pretty good reviews on IMDb. We haven't seen it, though.

Ivanhoe (2012 or 2013)

Coming soon to a theater near you (supposedly). Apparently there is a new <em>Ivanhoe </em>in development, but last we checked there was no director or cast is attached to the project, so who knows if it’ll actually happen. Fingers crossed, though.

Videos

Ivanhoe Trailer, 1952

Lots of awesome jousting, even in the preview.

Ivanhoe (1997)

The beginning of the 1997 TV miniseries, which features as Lucas Beaumanoir the fabulous Christopher Lee<em> – </em>a.k.a. Saruman if you’re an <em>LotR </em>fan and Count Dooku from the <em>Star Wars </em>prequel.

Ivanhoe (1982)

The beginning of the 80s TV series.

Rent Ivanhoe (1952) on YouTube

Watch the full Elizabeth Taylor movie.

Monty Python: Dennis Moore

A Robin Hood parody from our good friends at Monty Python

Audios

Audio Book

A free audio book of <em>Ivanhoe</em>, brought to you by LibriVox.

Images

Everyone's Favorite Knight

Ivanhoe looking jolly and kind of stupid.

Rebecca

Elizabeth Taylor looks stunning as Rebecca.

The Author

Scott looking serious and rather mournful.