The Talisman (1825)

''The Talisman'' is one of the Waverley novels by Sir Walter Scott. Published in 1825 as the second of his ''Tales of the Crusaders'', it is set during the Third Crusade and centres on the relationship between Richard I of England and Saladin.

Composition and sources

At the beginning of April 1824, two months before he completed ''Redgauntlet'', Scott envisaged that it would be followed by a four-volume publication containing two tales, at least one of which would be based on the Crusades. He began composition of the first story, ''The Betrothed'', in June, but it made slow progress and came to a halt in the second volume at some point in the autumn after criticisms by James Ballantyne. Scott then changed course and began work on the companion novel ''The Talisman'', and the first two chapters and part of the third were set in type by the end of the year. January 1825 was full of distractions, but a decision to resume ''The Betrothed'' was made in mid-February 1825 and it was essentially complete by mid-March. The way was then clear for the main composition of ''The Talisman'' which proceeded briskly. Its first volume was completed in April and its second at the very end of May or beginning of June.

Five clearly identifiable sources have been located for leading elements in ''The Talisman''. The disguised Saladin's account of the origin of the Kurds is taken from the ''Bibliotheque orientale'' by Barthélemy d'Herbelot (1777‒79). The character of Leopold of Austria and his tearing down of Richard's standard was prompted by the Anglo-Norman romance ''Richard Coer de Lyon''. The attempted assassination of Richard is recounted in ''The History of the Crusades'' by Charles Mills (1820). Saladin's beheading of Amaury comes from ''The History of the Knights of Malta'' by the Abbé de Vertot (1728). And the talisman itself is the Lee Penny used to cure people and animals up to Scott's time and preserved at the Lee near Lanark in the Scottish Borders. Scott's sceptical attitude to the Crusades, and his presentation of Richard and Saladin, follow three historians: David Hume, Edward Gibbon, and Mills.

Edward Said suggested that Scott's information on "Oriental" subjects for this novel "probably came from Byron and Beckford".

Editions

The first edition of ''The Talisman'' was published as part of ''Tales of the Crusaders'' in Edinburgh by Archibald Constable and Co. on 22 June 1825. It was advertised for publication by Hurst, Robinson, and Co. in London on the same date, but apparently not issued until 11 July. The price was two guineas (£2 2''s'' or £2.10). As with all of the Waverley novels until 1827 publication was anonymous. There is no conclusive evidence that Scott returned to the novel until the spring of 1831 when he revised the text and provided an introduction and notes for the 'Magnum' edition, in which it appeared as Volume 38 in July 1832.

The standard modern edition, by J. B. Ellis with J. H. Alexander, P. D. Garside, and David Hewitt, was published as Volume 18b of the Edinburgh Edition of the Waverley Novels in 2009: this is based on the first edition with emendations mainly from the manuscript; the 'Magnum' material appears in Volume 25b (2012).

Plot summary

During a truce in the third Crusade, Sir Kenneth and a Saracen Emir ride together towards the cave of the hermit Theodoric of Engaddi, where Theodoric gives Sir Kenneth some secret information. The Emir falls asleep and the other two men go to a chapel, where Sir Kenneth meets his old lover, Lady Edith.

Sir Kenneth travels to Ascalon, where Richard Coeur de Lion lies ill in his tent. Sir Kenneth and the King discuss Sir Kenneth's visit to the chapel and a doctor gives the King some medicine. While King Richard sleeps, Conrade of Montserrat, who wishes to become King of Jerusalem, incites Archduke Leopold of Austria to plant his flag in the centre of the camp. The King wakes up and when he discovers what Leopold has done, he tears down the flag. Philip of France persuades him to refer the matter to the council, and Sir Kenneth is asked to watch the English flag until daybreak. Soon after midnight, Sir Kenneth is lured away under false pretences. The flag is stolen and Sir Kenneth's dog is deliberately injured.

The camp doctor tells Sir Kenneth that Sultan Saladin wishes to marry the Lady Edith. Sir Kenneth tries to warn the King, but the King does not believe him and banishes Sir Kenneth from court. Sir Kenneth spends a few days in Saladin's court, disguised as a Nubian slave. Saladin gives the disguised Sir Kenneth to King Richard as a gift. Shortly afterwards, Sir Kenneth, still in disguise, saves the king from an assassination attempt. He promises King Richard he can discover who stole the flag.

At a procession of the Christian armies and their leaders, Sir Kenneth's dog attacks the Marquis Conrade, recognizing the Marquis as the man who injured him. The Marquis betrays his guilt by exclaiming, "I never touched the banner" and challenges the King to a duel. Since the King is not allowed to participate in a duel, he chooses Sir Kenneth as his champion. While preparing for the duel, the King discovers that his court physician was really Saladin in disguise. It is also revealed that Saladin was the Emir whom Sir Kenneth met on the road.

Sir Kenneth wins the duel and King Richard makes him Earl of Huntingdon and Prince Royal of Scotland. Sir Kenneth marries Lady Edith and the Crusade is abandoned. Richard, on his way homewards, is imprisoned by the Austrians in the Tyrol.

Characters

''Principal characters in bold''
* Sir Kenneth, afterwards the Earl of Huntingdon
* The Sultan Saladin, alias Sheerkohf or Ilderim (an Emir) and Adonbec el Hakim (a physician)
* Theodoric of Engaddi, a hermit
* Richard I, King of England
* Lady Edith Plantagenet, his kinswoman
* Blondel, his minstrel
* Queen Berengaria, his wife
* Lady Calista of Montgaillard, her attendant (of Montfaucon in some editions)
* Necbatanus and Guenevra, her dwarves
* Sir Thomas de Vaux of Gisland
* The Archbishop of Tyre
* Giles Amaury, Grand Master of the Templars
* Conrade, Marquis of Monserrat
* Leopold, Archduke of Austria
* Philip II, King of France
* Earl Wallenrode, a Hungarian warrior
* A marabout or dervise

Reception

Only a handful of reviewers dissented from the overwhelmingly enthusiastic reception of ''The Talisman''. It was generally ranked among the best of the Waverley novels, with admiration of its dazzling richness and high colouring. The plot was skilfully conducted, and the characters well discriminated and interesting, with Richard and Saladin outstandingly complex, and Edith and De Vaux both impressive. The small number of objectors tended to find the work extravagant and theatrical in a bad sense.

Film and television

The 2005 epic film ''Kingdom of Heaven'', directed by Sir Ridley Scott and starring Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson and Edward Norton, while set in an earlier period, took part of its plot from ''The Talisman''.

Legacy

In September 1956, British Railways named the 10 o'clock London King's Cross to Edinburgh Waverley non-stop express train ''The Talisman''.The Talisman ''The Railway Magazine'' issue 666 October 1956 page 47

References

External links

Page on ''The Talisman'' at the Walter Scott Digital Archive
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Talisman, The
1825 British novels
Novels by Walter Scott
Novels set during the Crusades
British novels adapted into films
Fiction set in the 1190s
Constable & Co. books
Novels set in the 12th century
The Talisman
Cultural depictions of Richard I of England
Waverley Novels