Banished from England for seeking to marry against his father's wishes, Ivanhoe joins Richard the Lion Heart on a crusade in the Holy Land. On his return, his desire is to be reunited with the lady Rowena, but he soon finds himself playing a dangerous game as he is drawn into a struggle between the noble King Richard and scheming brother John.

Ivanhoe

It would be difficult to assign any good reason why the author of Ivanhoe, after using, in that work, all the art he possessed to remove the personages, action, and manners of the tale, to a distance from his own country, should choose for the scene of his next attempt the celebrated ruins of Melrose, in the immediate neighbourhood of his own residence. But the reason, or caprice, which dictated his change of system, has entirely escaped his recollection, nor is it worth while to attempt recalling what must be a matter of very little consequence.

The general plan of the story was, to conjoin two characters in that bustling and contentious age, who, thrown into situations which gave them different views on the subject of the Reformation, should, with the same sincerity and purity of intention, dedicate themselves, the one to the support of the sinking fabric of the Catholic Church, the other to the establishment of the Reformed doctrines. It was supposed that some interesting subjects for narrative might be derived from opposing two such enthusiasts to each other in the path of life, and contrasting the real worth of both with their passions and prejudices. The localities of Melrose suited well the scenery of the proposed story; the ruins themselves form a splendid theatre for any tragic incident which might be brought forward; joined to the vicinity of the fine river, with all its tributary streams, flowing through a country which has been the scene of so much fierce fighting, and is rich with so many recollections of former times, and lying almost under the immediate eye of the author, by whom they were to be used in composition.

The Monastery

Sur une lande désolée, le château dangereux se dresse, verrou stratégique où s'affrontent anglais et écossais. Un ménestrel et un pèlerin se dirigent vers ce château « hanté ». Emprisonnements, combats, évasions, grimoires, fantômes, chevaliers sortis du brouillard, le Moyen-âge flamboyant selon le grand art de Walter Scott.

Le château dangereux

Every quarter of Edinburgh has its own peculiar boast, so that the city together combines within its precincts, if you take the word of the inhabitants on the subject, as much of historical interest as of natural beauty. Our claims in behalf of the Canongate are not the slightest. The Castle may excel us in extent of prospect and sublimity of site; the Calton had always the superiority of its unrivalled panorama, and has of late added that of its towers, and triumphal arches, and the pillars of its Parthenon. The High Street, we acknowledge, had the distinguished honour of being defended by fortifications, of which we can show no vestiges. We will not descend to notice the claims of more upstart districts, called Old New Town and New New Town, not to mention the favourite Moray Place, which is the Newest New Town of all. We will not match ourselves except with our equals, and with our equals in age only, for in dignity we admit of one. We boast being the court end of the town, possessing the Palace and the sepulchral remains of monarchs, and that we have the power to excite, in a degree unknown to the less honoured quarters of the city, the dark and solemn recollections of ancient grandeur, which occupied the precincts of our venerable Abbey from the time of St. David till her deserted halls were once more made glad, and her long silent echoes awakened, by the visit of our present gracious sovereign.

St. Valentine's Day

In all Stair's offspring we no difference know,

They do the females as the males bestow;

So he of one of his daughters' marriages gave the ward,

Like a true vassal, to Glenluce's Laird;

He knew what she did to her master plight,

If she her faith to Rutherfurd should slight,

Which, like his own, for greed he broke outright.

Nick did Baldoon's posterior right deride,

And, as first substitute, did seize the bride;

Whate'er he to his mistress did or said,

He threw the bridegroom from the nuptial bed,

Into the chimney did so his rival maul,

His bruised bones ne'er were cured but by the fall.

The Bride of Lammermoor

Rob Roy


  Walter Scott


  Texte intégral. Cet ouvrage a fait l'objet d'un véritable travail en vue d'une édition numérique. Un travail typographique le rend facile et agréable à lire.

Robert Roy MacGregor (baptisé le 7 mars 1671, mort le 28 décembre 1734), communément appelé Rob Roy ou Red MacGregor, est un hors-la-loi et un héros populaire écossais du début du XVIIIe siècle. Il fut un brigand des Highlands, connu comme le Robin des Bois écossais. D'abord trafiquant de bétail, il devint lui même éleveur et vendait sa protection à ses voisins contre les autres voleurs de bétail. Un de ses clients n'était nul autre que James Graham (1682-1742), 4e marquis de Montrose, 1er duc de Montrose (en 1707). Il semble qu'il y ait eu une mésentente entre les deux hommes qui eut pour conséquence l'expropriation des MacGregor. Après la saisie de ses terres par le Duc, Rob Roy le combattit jusqu'en 1722, où il fut obligé de se rendre. Emprisonné, il fut finalement pardonné, en 1727. Il mourut le 28 décembre 1734 dans sa maison à Inverlochlarig Beg, Balquhidder. Sa tombe se trouve dans le cimetière de Balquhidder. La légende de Robert Roy MacGregor a inspiré le roman Rob Roy de Sir Walter Scott. Plusieurs adaptations de son histoire ont également été portées à l'écran, la plus récente étant Rob Roy, de Michael Caton-Jones en 1995.

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Rob Roy

Extrait: Le fils de Dandie Dinmont répondit le campagnard sans se déconcerter. Pardieu, vous vous en souvenez, je crois, car ce n'est pas le plus mauvais de la bande, à ce qu'il me semble. Je suis de société avec lui dans la ferme, voyez-vous et je puis devenir quelque chose de plus, et prendre une petite part d'actions dans votre manufacture de livres.

Ivanhoe

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