Riassunto
Riassunto di Quentin Durward
A chi è rivolto
For readers who love adventure with real history behind it, clever rulers outwitting their enemies, and honour tested by court intrigue.
Che cos’è questo libro
Quentin Durward is a historical novel by Walter Scott, published in 1823. It follows a young Scottish gentleman who crosses the sea to France in the 1460s, poor, proud and alone. There he lands in the middle of a quarrel between two real rulers, King Louis the Eleventh of France and Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. Scott wrote it after a run of tales set in Scotland and England, and it was his first big novel set on the Continent.
The book gives you an adventure story with a clear hero, a threatened heiress, a crafty king and a gang of dangerous rebels. It also gives you a picture of a world changing shape. Knights and their codes of honour are still alive, but a new kind of ruler is rising, one who wins by lies, bribes and patience rather than by the sword. Quentin has to learn which of these worlds he can trust.
You will meet a nephew and his hard-bitten uncle, a king who dresses like a merchant, and two noblewomen on the run. Let us begin with Quentin himself, a young man with nothing but a name and a good heart, and with how he arrives in France.
In questo riassunto
- 1A penniless Scot arrives in FranceFree
- 2A stranger at breakfast is no merchant
- 3Louis the Eleventh, the spider at Plessis
- 4Two noble ladies flee the Duke of Burgundy
- 5A dangerous road toward Liège
- 6Charles the Bold and the quarrel of two princes
- 7The Wild Boar of the Ardennes
- 8Honour against cunning: what the book is about
- 9How Scott tells it: history as adventure
Punto chiave 1 di 9
A penniless Scot arrives in France
The story opens in 1468 on the banks of the river Cher, near the royal castle of Plessis-les-Tours. Quentin Durward is a young Scottish nobleman, the last of his family. His kin have been killed in a feud with a neighbouring clan, and his home is gone. With little money and few prospects, he has crossed to France to find his mother's brother.
That uncle is Ludovic Lesly, known to his comrades as Le Balafré, which means the scarred one. He serves in the Scottish Archers, the king's bodyguard, a corps of Scottish soldiers who guard the person of the French king. Quentin hopes that blood and shared homeland will win him a place among them. He has a strong young body, a quick temper and a firm sense of what is right.
Scott shows Quentin as a youth of honour but not of wisdom. He speaks his mind and cannot hide his feelings. He trusts that a good cause will protect him, and in France that trust will be tested again and again. A boy raised in the Scottish glens knows little of courts, spies and double meanings.
On his way to the castle, Quentin sees the countryside around Tours, rich and well farmed, yet marked with signs of the king's harsh justice. Along the road he meets people who seem friendly and are not. Scott uses these early scenes to tell the reader that in this France, nobody is quite what he seems.
The reader should hold on to one fact. Quentin comes as a stranger without a patron, and everything that happens to him afterward comes from the fact that he has nothing to lose. His poverty makes him free, and his honesty makes him useful to people who have no honesty of their own. That mix drives the whole plot.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
- Nothing to pay today · Renews every year
- We email you before you pay
- Cancel online in two clicks
Who’s who
- Quentin Durward
- A young Scottish nobleman seeking service in France, Quentin is Le Balafré's nephew and the countesses' escort.
- Louis XI
- The cunning king of France employs Quentin and counters Charles the Bold through secrecy, bargaining and patient schemes.
- Isabelle, Countess of Croye
- A wealthy young heiress and Hameline's niece, Isabelle flees the marriage intended by her guardian, Charles the Bold.
- Countess Hameline
- Isabelle's vain and easily flattered aunt accompanies her flight from Burgundy while cherishing romantic ambitions of her own.
- Ludovic Lesly, Le Balafré
- Quentin's scarred uncle serves among Louis XI's Scottish Archers and offers his inexperienced nephew a soldier's practical counsel.
- Charles the Bold
- The proud Duke of Burgundy is Isabelle's guardian and Louis XI's powerful, hot-tempered rival within the French realm.
- Hayraddin Maugrabin
- A sharp-tongued wanderer employed as a guide, Hayraddin accompanies Quentin and the countesses through dangerous territory.
- William de la Marck
- Known as the Wild Boar of the Ardennes, this brutal rebel captain threatens the country through which Quentin travels.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 187,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 12 h 25 min
- Listening time20 h 45 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 12 other languages
Questions about Quentin Durward
What is Quentin Durward about?
It follows a young Scottish archer in 1468 France who is sent to guide two noble ladies fleeing the Duke of Burgundy, and who gets caught between King Louis XI and his enemies.
Is Quentin Durward a true story?
No. Quentin is invented, but King Louis XI, Charles the Bold and William de la Marck are real figures. Scott bends dates and events to fit his plot. It was published in 1823.
Who is Maître Pierre in Quentin Durward?
Maître Pierre is the plain merchant Quentin meets near Tours and talks to with great freedom. He is in fact King Louis XI, who likes to move among his people in disguise.
Who are the Scottish Archers in the novel?
They are a body of Scottish soldiers who serve as the French king's personal guard. Quentin's uncle, Le Balafré, belongs to them, and Quentin hopes to join their ranks.
Is Quentin Durward hard to read?
It is easier than some of Scott's Scottish novels because there is little dialect. The plot moves along well.