Page "Ivanhoe" Paragraph 2

Other major characters include Ivanhoe's intractable father, Cedric, one of the few remaining Saxon lords ; various Knights Templar and churchmen ; the loyal serfs Gurth the swineherd and the jester Wamba, whose observations punctuate much of the action ; and the Jewish moneylender, Isaac of York, who is equally passionate about money and his daughter, Rebecca.

The book was written and published during a period of increasing struggle for emancipation of the Jews in England, and there are frequent references to injustice against them.