As is tradition in my country, the 1982 film adaptation of Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe was shown on television today, January 1st. A significant part of the later parts of the plot is the abduction and trial for witchcraft of a Jewish woman, Rebecca of York, by a group of zealous Knights Templar.
However, I was under the impression that the Catholic view at this time - the late 12th century, as the plot involves the return of Richard I from the Crusades - was that witchcraft did not exist, and that such accusations were superstition and themselves tantamount to heresy. Is the idea that members of a Catholic military order would conduct themselves in the manner portrayed in Ivanhoe at all plausible?
I find that he and Dickens - when juxtaposed against other classic authors - are both pretty much incomparable as far as plotting, characterization, rich historical detail and pacing. Stuff of Scott’s like Waverly, Quentin Durward, Ivanhoe, Redgauntlet, Old Mortality and Rob Roy I find are right up there with Bleak House, Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities in terms of perfection
I’ve looked online and it’s very hard to find other than vintage antique sets places to buy Sir Walter Scott’s complete novels. Penguin is a favorite publisher of mine but they only publish a small handful of his books and I want to collect them all. Does anyone know a place that sells quality editions that aren’t super expensive?
I read Ivanhoe long ago and loved it, so I'm going into the rest of Sir Walter Scott's work. Currently on Old Mortality and also loving it, but I'm finding the phonetic accent of half the dialogue a little difficult to get through. It's extremely Scottish, and I haven't had much exposure to the accent, so even sounding out works only half the time. Is there any sort of resource available to help me get a quick rundown of the written accent?
I get that Twain was a satirist. But this article by Twain, explored by a modern writer here, describes Scott as an overly romantic fantasist, whose writings popularised an idea of "good old days" that inspired the social structure and mindset of the American aristocracy. I figure there is hyperbole in play, but is there something to this idea? And if Scott cannot be solely blamed, can the wider literary tradition of his time?
Did popular literature have something to do with shaping the Southern character?
I ordered some.
In terms of freshness, i started with st james parish which i seem to recall someone saying lasts longer than the others, then i opened moro moro which i thought people said was moist and needed used first, but it looks dry and grainy as hell to me O_O?
