A complete, critically edited edition of the Waverley Novels as Scott originally wrote them! The first of Scott’s Waverley novels burst upon an astonished world in 1814. Its publication marked the emergence of the modern novel in the western world, influencing all the great 19th-century writers. This edition of Sir Walter Scott’s novels captures the original power and freshness of his best-loved novels. Going back to the original manuscripts, a team of scholars has uncovered what Scott originally wrote and intended his public to read before errors, misreadings and expurgations crept in during production. This edition offers: a clean, corrected text; textual histories; explanatory notes; verbal changes from the first-edition text; and full glossaries. Set during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comnenus (1081-1118), this novel focuses on the arrival of the first Crusaders in 1096. During the oath-taking ceremony on the eve of the Crusade, the haughty Count Robert insults the Emperor by seating himself on the imperial throne.