Glory, honor, loyalty just a few qualities one chivalric hero would possess when faced by the brink of tension between two forces to which he is devoted to both. Since the Battle of Hastings, England was quickly conforming under the Norman rule of a lion-hearted Crusade fighter, King Richard. Ivanhoe, the hero of this historical romance, represents a possible resolution to the growing strains between the Normans and the Saxons, for he is a Saxon knight who is passionately loyal to a Norman king. The characteristics of women, the portrayal of the supernatural, and the role of Christianity modeled in Ivanhoe can be analogous to the legends of King Arthur, the epic of Beowulf, and the classic code of chivalry.
In the ideal English romance, women are central and placed on pedestals, revered and somewhat worshipped. In the tale of Sir Gareth, the maiden Sir Gareth falls in love with is of high birth and rejects him because she does not know his lineage. If she really loved him, she would not care what family line he came from. This act reflects the selfish and unethical spirit of the women of that time. Also, although Ivanhoe loved and named Rowena the "Queen of Love and Beauty" at the tournament at Ashby, Rebecca's, a Jew, love for him continues to grow as she selflessly tends to his wounds from the tournament. Rebecca was never placed on a pedestal, but on the contrary, was treated as a criminal when she was kidnapped and taken to Templestone. Rebecca is the heroine of this story whose present seems quite tragic, for her love for Ivanhoe is so deep, yet she is a Jew and he is a Christian, and he also will never love her because of his adoration of Rowena. .
The use of a supernatural force in these epics eludes to something other than the true God. The presence of this supernatural power is present in the legends of King Arthur in the form of magic and sorcery. Merlyn, a wizard, is constantly appearing in mysterious occurrences such as the sword in the stone.
