Ivanhoe, Chapter 2 summary

What happens

1. Prior Aymer and an armed Templar overtake Wamba and Gurth with their richly equipped attendants and ask for lodging.
2. Brian threatens Gurth for resisting his demands, but Aymer prevents violence and pays Wamba for directions to Cedric’s house.
3. Wamba deliberately sends the party the wrong way, hoping to keep the visitors away from Rowena and Cedric.
4. Aymer describes Cedric’s Saxon pride and warns Brian to restrain his temper and his interest in Rowena.
5. At the crossroads, the riders find a pilgrim who accepts a horse and guides them through the woods to Rotherwood.
6. The pilgrim challenges Brian’s absence from the Holy Land, and the Templar sounds his horn as heavy rain begins.

In this chapter

What to notice

Aymer explains Gurth’s resistance through hostility between Saxons and their conquerors. His account also reveals his dismissive attitude toward the conquered people.

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