# Reginald Front-de-Boeuf — Ivanhoe character guide

> Reginald Front-de-Boeuf in Ivanhoe by Walter Scott.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Front-de-Boeuf, Sir Reginald, the gigantic Front-de-Boeuf

**First appearance:** 0005-ii

## Snapshot

A brutal Norman baron whose castle at Torquilstone becomes a prison for the novel's Saxon and Jewish travelers, and whose cruelty invites the siege that follows.

## Who they are

Front-de-Boeuf holds his lands by conquest and his prisoners by force, a man whose gigantic frame matches his appetite for gain and vengeance. When Ivanhoe falls wounded at Ashby, the baron quietly counts the day's outcome as his own victory, already scheming over the spoils. His seizure of Cedric's party and Rebecca and Isaac turns private greed into a public crisis, drawing Robin Hood, the Black Knight, and the novel's divided loyalties to his gates.

## In the story

### [Chapter I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ivanhoe_se/chapters/i)

A Norman baron mentioned as a threat to Cedric and the Saxons, symbolizing Norman tyranny.

### [Chapter VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ivanhoe_se/chapters/vi)

Mentioned as a Norman lord whose territory the travelers have passed; Isaac fears his domains.

### [The Disinherited Knight's Generosity and Isaac's Lament](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ivanhoe_se/chapters/x)

His squire offers a hundred zecchins for ransom, which Ivanhoe accepts.

### [Chapter XIV: The Banquet at Ashby](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ivanhoe_se/chapters/xiv)

Front-de-Boeuf joins the Templar in refusing the toast, highlighting Norman hostility.

### [Chapter XXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ivanhoe_se/chapters/xxi)

Master of Torquilstone Castle, he is the captor of Cedric and Athelstane, and is challenged by Athelstane.

### [XXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ivanhoe_se/chapters/xxii)

The savage Norman baron who demands ransom and threatens Isaac with torture.

### [XXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ivanhoe_se/chapters/xxiii)

Front-de-Boeuf is described as a ruthless rival to Ivanhoe, willing to kill for the barony, and a participant in the council that determined the prisoners' fates.

### [XXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ivanhoe_se/chapters/xxv)

Front-de-Boeuf is disturbed from his tyrannic cruelty, receives the letter of defiance, and debates the defense of the castle.

### [XXVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ivanhoe_se/chapters/xxvi)

Lord of the castle; admits the disguised Wamba and orders him to prepare the prisoners for death.

### [Chapter XXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ivanhoe_se/chapters/xxvii)

Front-de-Boeuf angrily interrogates the captives, threatens Wamba with death, and laments the escape of Cedric.

### [XXIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ivanhoe_se/chapters/xxix)

Mentioned as one of the commanders within the castle.

### [The Siege of Torquilstone](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ivanhoe_se/chapters/xxx)

Lies mortally wounded, tormented by guilt and fever, confronted by Ulrica who reveals his past crimes and sets the castle on fire.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ivanhoe_se/characters/front_de_boeuf
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ivanhoe_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ivanhoe_se/characters