Introductions are Necessary

We are scheduled to read in during September and the kids will present projects and have a discussion on the first Monday in October.  I’ve never seen a movie or TV show about Ivanhoe so where do I start? I like to start by doing some internet searches about when it was written and who wrote it. Then I look for events that were going on during the time the author wrote the book or even during his life time. Culture affects us and therefore it affects an author’s writing.  Next I read up on the time period of the setting. If I only have time for one or the other researching the setting is my favorite. Ivanhoe is set in the 1190s. Here are some facts to get you started.

1100–1300

Construction of Cathedral at Chartres, France.

1144

Second Crusade begins.

1162

Thomas á Becket named Archbishop of Canterbury, murdered by Henry II’s men (1170). Troubadours (wandering minstrels) glorify romantic concepts of feudalism.

1169

 Aristotle’s works are translated.

1189

Richard I (“the Lionhearted”) succeeds Henry II in England, killed in France (1199), succeeded by King John. Third Crusade.

What about you? Have you read Ivanhoe?