Ivanhoe Chapter 27 Summary

This chapter's epigraph is two passages from George Crabbe's poem "The Hall of Justice." The first part of the quote is in the voice of a judge condemning the second speaker for his crimes. The second part of the quote is from the criminal, who wants to confess his terrible life.
Urfried doesn't lead Cedric out of the castle, as she promised.
Instead, she leads him to a room where they can talk.
Urfried knows that Cedric is a Saxon, and she wants to tell him her life story.
Urfried is the daughter of Torquil Wolfganger, Cedric's father's friend.
Urfried realizes that the man in front of her is none other than Cedric of Rotherwood.
Cedric is equally shocked to realize that Urfried is none other than Ulrica, whom the Saxons had all mourned as dead.
She was taken prisoner by Reginald Front-de-Boeuf Senior, the current Front-de-Boeuf's father.
Reginald Front-de-Boeuf Senior murdered Ulrica's father.
Throughout her captivity, she has hated the Normans. She has done her best to encourage their rivalries and in-fighting.
Her greatest achievement was in provoking Reginald Front-de-Boeuf Junior into killing his father.
But with the death of her rapist (Front-de-Boeuf Senior), Ulrica lost all of her power in the Front-de-Boeuf household.
She has been reduced to the status of a servant, and grown aged and vicious.
Cedric thinks it would have been better if she had died rather than live this sinful life.
Ulrica begs Cedric not to leave her behind.
Otherwise she will tell Front-de-Boeuf who Cedric really is underneath his friar disguise.
Cedric is so disgusted by her that he won't stand by her side. He tells Ulrica to repent for her evil life.
Ulrica resolves to live from now on as a true daughter of Torquil Wolfganger.
Reginald Front-de-Boeuf arrives and Ulrica disappears.
Front-de-Boeuf asks if the prisoners have been given their last rites.
Cedric says they have.
Cedric explains that he can only speak Saxon because he is a friar of Saint Withold (supposedly an Anglo-Saxon holy man).
Front-de-Boeuf instructs Cedric to tell the outlaws whatever he can think of to make them stay at Torquilstone for 24 hours.
Then Front-de-Boeuf asks if Cedric can read.
Cedric says he cannot.
Front-de-Boeuf instructs Cedric to take a written message to the castle of Philip de Malvoisin.
Front-de-Boeuf wants to use his "friar" to delay the outlaws and to bring Norman reinforcements to destroy them.
Front-de-Boeuf believes that the "friar" will help, even if he is a Saxon, because the outlaws rob churchmen and ordinary folk alike.
Front-de-Boeuf watches Cedric leave the castle.
Front-de-Boeuf then goes to Cedric's cell. He quickly realizes that the "Cedric" in the cell is an impostor, Wamba the jester.
Front-de-Boeuf finally gets that the "friar" to whom he was just talking was Cedric himself.
De Bracy sees that Wamba is willing to die for his master and tells Front-de-Boeuf to have mercy.
The Normans turn to Athelstane.
Athelstane offers them a thousand marks for his freedom.
They agree to let him go if he will pull back the Saxon outlaws from Torquilstone. Also, Athelstane's ransom does not include Rebecca and Isaac.
Athelstane is fine with that; he doesn't want to help two Jewish people anyway.
De Bracy wants to keep Rowena, and Front-de-Boeuf wants to keep Wamba so he can torture and kill him.
Athelstane protests that Rowena is his fiancé.
A monk arrives at the door of the castle.
This time, it's a real monk – Brother Ambrose, a servant of Prior Aymer.
Athelstane challenges the best knight among them to a duel, to pay for illegally capturing him.
Front-de-Boeuf will agree to a duel once Athelstane is free and the ransom paid.
The Saxon prisoners are taken away.
Brother Ambrose arrives bringing news that Prior Aymer has been kidnapped by the Saxons.
Prior Aymer hopes the Norman knights will ransom him.
Brother Ambrose also says that the Saxons outside are preparing to set siege on the castle.
Front-de-Boeuf calls his men to arms.
De Bracy recognizes the Black Knight among the castle's attackers.
Front-de-Boeuf wants revenge against the Black Knight for his defeat during the tournament.
The knights arrange themselves for battle.

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