Note 699 — Chapter XII · HEATHENDOM.

It is with no disrespect to the unrivalled powers of Scott that I enter my protest here against the false costume of Ivanhoe; a far more serious objection no doubt is the way in which his brilliant contrast, necessary to the success of a romance, has misled the historian. Had Ivanhoe not appeared, we should not have had the many errors which disfigure Thierry’s Conquête de l'Angleterre par les Normands. But when Scott makes Ulrica (Ulrica a Saxon female name!) calling upon Zernebock, as a god of her forefathers, he makes her talk absolute nonsense. Some Mecklenburg or Pomeranian Saxons, in the immediate neighbourhood of Slavonic populations, or mingled with them, may possibly have heard of their god Czerny Bog, (the black god) contrasted with Bjala Bog, (the white god), but assuredly no Anglosaxon ever heard the name of any such deity; nor does the chaunt of the vindictive lady bear one single trace of Saxon character. In every matter of detail, the romance is only calculated to mislead; and this is to be regretted, inasmuch as the beauty of the whole work renders it a certain vehicle of error;—has rendered it already a snare to one estimable author. M. Thierry has related the effect produced upon his mind by Ivanhoe. See his Dix Ans d'Études Historiques: Preface.