Anti-Church Themes in Ivanhoe and A Connecticut Yankee

Introduction: The Church as Villain in Two Medieval Novels

In reading Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, one cannot deny that the blame for the collapse of Hank's new civilization falls on the Church. Throughout the novel, Twain paints a negative image of the Church and its priests. This negative image can also be found in Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe. Scott gives us characters such as the confused Templar and the misaligned Prior. Both writers hold poor views of religion, and this is evident in their unflattering portraits of the corrupt medieval Church.

Scott's portrait of the Prior is not a very pleasant one. Nothing about him seems to be spiritual. When we first meet him, his costume is essentially appropriate for a priest, but it is said to be "composed of materials much finer than those which the rule of that order admitted" (Scott, 38), and his countenance is described as "calculated to impress a degree of awe, if not of fear, upon strangers" (Scott, 39). Scott has already begun to use the Prior to paint a picture of what is wrong with religion in the Middle Ages. This commentary on religion continues in the Prior's interactions with the Normans he aligns himself with, and ultimately leads us to another character with far from pure spiritual motives: Brian de Bois-Guilbert.

Bois-Guilbert is an arrogant Knight Templar who is "specifically stated to be false in his oath, faithless to women, hypocritical in his religion. He is unwilling to fulfill his feudal responsibilities to the weak and oppressed and thinks only of his own freedom and ambition" (Chandler, 35). He proves himself a skilled knight in battle, yet lacks the morals one would attribute to a Knight Templar. It is in his lust for Rebecca that he violates his oath and defies the Church. Brian becomes the embodiment of evil, and his evil is attached to the institution of the Church.

Likewise, the theme of the Church as the villain runs throughout Connecticut Yankee. The Church is the greatest enemy of Hank and all of his ill-fated projects. Twain makes the Church the downfall of Hank's new civilization when the priests plot against him during his absence, frightening their parishioners back into their original mindset — back to being God-fearing people. It is because of the Church that so many die in the final battle.

Sir Walter Scott and His Critique of the Church

This theme can also be seen in the letters and criticisms that surround the novel, as well as in its illustrations. Twain asked his publisher Hall in a letter to "be careful not to get any of the religious matter in" the sales promotions, and told another associate to avoid mentioning any of the novel's "slurs at the Church." Why he did this was unclear, since he never made any secret of how he felt about religion. It is true, however, that his most scathing anti-religion material was published some years after his death. One hostile critic was among the few to state openly how much Twain's view of the Church as "an established slave-pen" disturbed him as a religious man.

This paper compares these two works and examines what was the source of both writers' anti-religion feelings, insofar as a specific source can be found. The paper speculates that, even though these writers are from different periods, they share the same view of religion — both in their own time and in the Arthurian period they depict. It will be interesting to consider whether this religious theme is unique to works set near the Arthurian era, or whether it extends more broadly through the output of both authors.

Also worth considering is whether Mark Twain was speaking entirely for himself when he wrote Connecticut Yankee, or whether he had been influenced by Sir Walter Scott's works and Scott's own opinion of religion. Why these two men harbored such intense dislike for the Church remains to be examined through their works and biographies. Whether Twain was considering revising his attitude toward the Church before he died is also a matter for speculation, though the evidence suggests he had no such plans.

This paper also attempts to understand these authors' anti-Church attitudes — where they came from and why they were embedded in their novels. Whether they were trying to make a specific point about the human condition, or simply expressing personal grievances against the Church, will be explored through close reading of their work. In conducting this examination, other sources including Scott's Rob Roy and Twain's Life on the Mississippi will be considered, along with period criticism and biographical materials.

The Prior and the Knight Templar: Corruption in Ivanhoe

Sir Walter Scott was regarded at one time as the greatest English novelist (Wright, 1996). This was largely due to the success of the Waverley novels, though some of his other work enjoyed popularity as well. Ivanhoe came along later in his career, by which time Scott was already quite famous. The book sold well, but critics of his day complained that it seemed more like a children's novel — hastily and somewhat carelessly written in places (Works, 1963).

His heroes and heroines were often considered uninteresting and dull, and he abandoned much of his Scottish heritage in his later books. This was somewhat odd, since he considered loyalty to one's country to be of the utmost importance. His country had a deeply religious background, and since he did not share that feeling, this may partly explain why some of his later work lacks strong Scottish influence (Works, 1963).

Eventually, Scott's popularity began to fade as other authors produced novels that were more philosophical and serious in nature. Some critics believed that Scott's decline stemmed from his extreme conservatism, which showed in his novels to the displeasure of the reading public (Works, 1963). Scott also reportedly had difficulties with the British government, and it is possible that this contributed to his dislike of authoritarian institutions generally (Sir Walter, 1999). What is clear, however, is that he saw the Church as aristocratic — growing richer off the trials and tribulations of the poor. Undoubtedly, this angered a man of conservative values who prized loyalty to one's country and heritage.

It is clear from Scott's works that he barely managed to conceal a deep-seated hostility toward the Church. By examining the available literature on both Scott and Twain, it is possible to determine what situations in the lives of these two writers caused their intense dislike for the medieval Church. Importantly, Scott is not anti-Christian in the broad sense; he is anti-Church. The distinction is one that many people have difficulty making, but once it is recognized it is impossible to overlook. Scott had no real complaints with God Himself — only with what misguided people on earth were doing in His name.

In Ivanhoe, Sir Walter Scott introduces the reader to Brian de Bois-Guilbert and to the Prior — both of them allegedly holy men. Immediately, the reader can see that Scott has no use for the Prior, who claims to be a religious man but partakes in many things inappropriate for a priest. His clothes are extravagant: though they resemble the proper garments of a priest, they are made of fine materials and craftsmanship far above what a man of God would be expected to wear.

The bags under the Prior's eyes suggest excessive drinking, and his heavyset figure is evidence of gluttony and eating habits well above his supposedly humble station. The sins that constrain the common people apparently do not apply to priests. Nothing about the Prior appears spiritual; his zest for life revolves around the very pleasures that a holy man should renounce. The Knight Templar is no better a person, though Scott's criticism of him is somewhat less bitter — possibly because he is not as strongly associated with the Church as the Prior is.

As a Knight Templar, Bois-Guilbert does have certain duties to the Church, including a vow of celibacy as part of the order's commitment. It seems, upon initial examination of these two characters, that Scott is conveying a strong message about how controlling and domineering the Church was during that period. While the Church was indeed more dominant in Scott's time than it is today, Scott makes it out to be even more oppressive than historical record strictly supports.

Conclusion: Comparing Two Writers' Anti-Church Views

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