Nearly one hundred and thirty years have passed since the Norman Duke William the Conqueror defeated the Anglo-Saxon forces and captured England at the Battle of Hastings (1066). The English people are going through hard times. King Richard the Lionheart did not return from the last crusade, captured by the treacherous duke of Austria. His place of detention is unknown. Meanwhile, the king’s brother, Prince John, is recruiting supporters, intending in the event of Richard’s death, to remove the rightful heir from power and seize the throne. A clever schemer, Prince John spreads turmoil throughout the country, fueling a long-standing feud between the Saxons and Normans.

The proud Tan Cedric of Rotherwood does not give up hope of casting off the Norman yoke and reviving the former power of the Saxons, placing at the head of the liberation movement the descendant of the royal family Athelstan of Koningsburg. However, the dull and unpretentious Sir Athelstan for many causes distrust. To give more weight to his figure, Cedric dreams of marrying Athelstan to his pupil, Lady Rowena, the last representative of the family of King Alfred. When Lady Rowena's affection for Cedric's son, Wilfred Aivengo, stood in the way of these plans, the adamant Tan, not without reason nicknamed Sax for his dedication to the cause, expelled his son from his parents' house and deprived him of his inheritance.

And now Ivanhoe in the clothes of a pilgrim secretly returns from the crusade home. Not far from his father’s estate, he was overtaken by a detachment of the commander of the Order of the Templars Brian de Boisguillebert, who was sent to the knightly tournament in Ashby de la Zouche. Caught in a bad weather, he decides to ask Cedric for an overnight stay. The hospitable house of the noble Tan is open to everyone, even to the Jewish Isaac from York, who joins the guests already during the meal. Boisguillebert, who also visited Palestine, boasts at the table of his exploits in the name of the Holy Sepulcher. The pilgrim defends the honor of Richard and his brave warriors and on behalf of Aivengo, who once defeated the Templar in a duel, accepts the challenge of an arrogant commander for battle. When the guests leave for their rooms, the pilgrim advises Isaac to quietly leave Cedric's house - he heard Boisguillebert giving his servants orders to seize the Jew, as soon as he moves away from the estate. The insightful Isaac, who saw the spurs under the stranger's robe, in gratitude gives him a note to a relative, a merchant, in which he asks to borrow the pilgrim's armor and war horse.

The tournament at Ashby, which brought together the full color of English chivalry, and even in the presence of Prince John himself, attracted everyone's attention. The organizing knights, including the arrogant Brian de Boisguillebert, confidently win one victory after another. But when, it seemed, no one else dared to speak out against the instigators and the outcome of the tournament was decided, a new fighter appeared on the arena with the motto “Deprived of Inheritance” on the shield, which fearlessly summoned the templar himself to the mortal battle. Opponents converge several times, and their spears are scattered by debris to the very arms. All the sympathies of the spectators are on the side of the brave stranger - and he is lucky: Boisguillebert falls off the horse, and the fight is recognized as finished. Then the Knight Deprived of Inheritance fights in turn with all the instigators and decisively takes over them. As a winner, he must choose the queen of love and beauty, and, gracefully bowing his spear, the stranger puts a crown at the feet of the beautiful Rowena.

The next day, a general tournament is held: the party of the Knight of the Deprived Inheritance is fighting against the party of Brian de Boisguillebert. The templar is supported by almost all instigators. They oppress the young stranger, and if not for the help of the mysterious Black Knight, he would hardly have managed to become the hero of the day for the second time. The queen of love and beauty should lay a crown of honor on the head of the winner. But when the marshals take off the stranger's helmet, she sees in front of her a pale as the death of Ivanhoe, who falls at her feet, bleeding from wounds.

Meanwhile, Prince John receives a note with the messenger: "Be careful - the devil is unchained." This means that his brother Richard received freedom. The prince is in a panic, in a panic and his supporters. To enlist their loyalty, John promises them rewards and honors. For example, he proposes to the Norman knight Maurice de Brasi the wife of Lady Rowena - the bride is rich, beautiful and noble. De Bracy is delighted and decides to attack Cedric's detachment on the way from Ashby home and kidnap the beautiful Rowena.

Proud of his son's victory, but still unwilling to forgive him, Cedric Sachs with a heavy heart sets off on the return trip. The news that a wounded Aivengo had been carried away by a stretcher of some rich lady only inflames a feeling of indignation in him. On the way to the cavalcade of Cedric and Athelstan of Koningsburg, Isaac from York joins with his daughter Rebekah. They were also at the tournament and are now asking to take them under their protection - not so much for their own sake, but for the sake of a sick friend whom they accompany. But it is worth the travelers to go deeper into the forest, when a large detachment of robbers attacks them and they are all taken prisoner.

Cedric and his companions are being taken to the fortified castle of Fron de Bef. The leaders of the "robbers" are Boisguillebert and de Brasi, which Cedric guesses when he sees the battlements of the castle. “If Cedric Sachs is unable to save England, he is ready to die for her,” he challenges his invaders.

De Bracy, meanwhile, comes to see Lady Rowena and, confessing everything to her, tries to win her favor. However, the proud beauty is adamant and, only having learned that Wilfred Aivengo is also in the castle (namely, he was in Isaac’s stretcher), prays to the knight to save him from death.

But no matter how hard Lady Rowena, Rebekah is in great danger. Captivated by the mind and beauty of Zion’s daughter, Briand de Boisguillebert was inflamed with passion for her, and now he persuades the girl to run with him. Rebekah is ready to prefer death to shame, but her indignant fearless rebuke only gives the templar confidence that he has met a woman of his fate, a kindred spirit.

Meanwhile, around the castle are gathering units of free yomen, brought by Cedric's servants who have escaped from captivity. The siege is led by Ivan Knight, who once came to the aid of the Black Knight. Under the blows of his huge ax, the gates of the castle crack and fall apart, and stones and logs flying to his head from the walls annoy him no more than raindrops. Having crept into the room of the battle in the room of Ivanhoe, Rebekah tells the bedridden young man what is happening around. Reproaching herself for her tender feelings for a Gentile, she is unable to leave him at such a dangerous moment. And the liberators conquer from besieged span after span. The Black Knight mortally wounds Fron de Bef, captures de Brasi. And what is strange - the proud Norman, after several words spoken to him, implicitly resigns himself to his fate. Suddenly the castle is engulfed in flames. The Black Knight barely manages to pull Ivanhoe into the free air. Boisguillebert grabs the fiercely resisting Rebekah and, putting her on the horse of one of the slaves, tries to break out of the trap. However, Athelstan rushed in pursuit of him, deciding that the templar had abducted Lady Rowena. The sharp sword of the templar with all the force falls on the head of the ill-fated Saxon, and he dead falls to the ground.

After leaving the dilapidated castle and thanking the free shooters for their help, Cedric, accompanied by a stretcher with the body of Athelstan of Koningsburg, goes to his estate, where he will be given the last honors. The Black Knight is parting with his faithful helpers - his wanderings are not finished yet. The leader of the shooters Loxley gives him a parting horn and asks him to blow it in case of danger. Released to the will of de Bracy, he jumps at full speed to Prince John to tell him the terrible news - Richard in England. The cowardly and sneaky prince sends his main henchman, Voldemar Fitz-Urs, to capture, or better yet, to kill Richard.

Boisguillebert takes refuge with Rebekah in the monastery of the Knights of Temple Temple. Grandmaster Beauvoir, who arrived at the monastery with a test, finds many shortcomings, in the first place he is outraged by the licentiousness of the templars. When he finds out that a captive Jewess is hiding in the walls of the preceptor, consisting, in all likelihood, in a love affair with one of the brothers of the order, he decides to arrange a trial of the girl and accuse her of witchcraft - for what, if not witchcraft, explains her power over the commander? The severe ascetic Bomanoire believes that the execution of a Jewess will serve as a cleansing victim for the love sins of the knights of the Temple. In a brilliant speech that won the sympathy of even her opponents, Rebekah rejects all the accusations of Beauvoir and demands the appointment of a duel: let the one who volunteers to defend her prove with her sword that she is right.

Meanwhile, the Black Knight, making his way through the woods to only one guided target, runs into an ambush. Fitz-Urs realized his vile plans, and the King of England could fall from a treacherous hand, if it were not for the free arrows that came to the sound of the horn, led by Loxley. The knight finally reveals his incognito: he is Richard Plantagenet, the rightful king of England. Loxley is not indebted either: he is Robin Hood from Sherwood Forest. Here, the company catches up with Wilfred Aivengo, traveling from Saint-Botolph Abbey, where he was recovering from his wounds, to the castle of Coningsburg. Forced to wait until his supporters gather enough strength, Richard sets off with him. In the castle, he persuades Cedric to forgive the disobedient son and give him to wife Rowena. The resurrected, or rather, never dying, but only stunned Sir Athelstan joins his request. The turbulent events of recent days have recaptured his last ambitious dreams. However, in the midst of a conversation, Ivanhoe suddenly disappears - some Jew urgently called him, the servants report. At Templestowe's cloister, everything is ready for the fight. There is not only a knight willing to fight with Boisguillebert for the honor of Rebekah. If the intercessor does not appear before sunset, Rebekah will be betrayed to burning. And now a horseman appears on the field, his horse almost falls from fatigue, and he barely keeps himself in the saddle. This is Wilfred Aivengo, and Rebekah trembles with excitement for him. Opponents converge - and Wilfred falls, unable to withstand the well-aimed blow of the Templar. However, from a fleeting touch of a spear Aivengo falls and Boisguillebert - and no longer rises. God's judgment has come true! The grandmaster declares Rebekah free and innocent.

Having taken his rightful place on the throne, Richard forgives his dissolute brother. Cedric finally agrees to the wedding of Lady Rowena with her son, and Rebekah with her father will leave England forever. “Ivanhoe lived happily ever after with Rowena. They loved each other even more because they experienced so many obstacles to their union. But it would be risky to ask in too much detail if the memory of the beauty and generosity of Rebekah came to his mind much more often than Alfred’s beautiful heiress could have liked ”.