Walter Scott’s novel The Talisman is a wonderful example of a book that merges together historical accuracy and fiction. The action of the story takes place during the third crusade of 1189-1192, where the writer shows the dramatic clash of two cultures of the Middle Ages – European and Arab. The novel features such real historical figures as Richard the Lionheart and Saladin, alongside fictional characters. The merit of Scott’s writing lies in the fact that he considered the past not as a biography of individual heroes, but as a wide stream of popular movements.
An important feature of Scott’s work is the depiction of historical events through the perception of a fictional character leading the love affair, and it is especially prominent in The Talisman. This novel showcases the difference in the construction of the love canvas necessary for any story in the work of Walter Scott from previous historical books that endowed their historical characters with love interests. Scott acted differently, freeing real political figures from an invented love affair and transferring it to fictional characters. Thus, historical accuracy was observed, but at the same time, the obligatory romantic intrigue was also preserved.
The writer himself in the preface to the novel notes that the events of the story are fictitious, and the historical truth is mostly preserved only in the heroes. Analyzing the character of Richard, Scott (2011) says: “in the Crusade, the chivalric valour which both the age and the enterprise demanded was considered as debased if mingled with the least touch of discretion” (p. 125). This remark is extremely significant for the insight not only into the image of Richard, but also into the general creative concept of The Talisman.
Before The Talisman, oriental motifs were present in Western literature only as an exotic or historical background. They served as an entourage updating the plot or as a mouthpiece of ideas, and were of a superficial design nature. The Talisman took the leading place as a new type of historical work on the oriental theme. It clearly embodied not only the idea of the intrinsic value of the Eastern world, but also the notion of synthesis of two cultures. In writing the novel, Scott studied the great mass of oriental literature known in Europe at the time. It included oriental poetry and wisdom, as well as historical works on the crusades, oral traditions, ballads, and biographies of historical figures.
Reference
Scott, W. (2011). The Talisman. CreateSpace.