In mid-February 1825 the December decision was rescinded and composition was complete by mid-March, though Scott returned to the work to adjust the conclusion at the beginning of June.

For the prominent Welsh element he made considerable use of two sources, one dating from the twelfth century, the other a product of his own time: the translation by Sir Richard Colt Hoare from the original Latin of The Itinerary of Archbishop Baldwin through Wales by Giraldus Cambrensis (1806), and The Cambrian Biography by William Owen (1803).

There is no conclusive evidence that Scott returned to The Betrothed until the spring of 1831 when he revised the text and provided an introduction and notes for the 'Magnum' edition, in which it appeared as Volume 37 in June 1832.

Rebels led by Ranald Lacy attempt to kidnap her, and Damian fights them off, but a confused sequence of events convinces the King that she and her beloved are in league against him.

Baldwin, the Archbishop of Canterbury, had exhorted the Britons, and the Anglo-Normans who were settled on the borders of the Welsh principalities, to lay aside their feuds and join in the third Crusade.

Nerved by the presence of Eveline on the battlements, and supplied with food by a ruse of her father's vassal the Flemish weaver, the garrison, assisted by the military predilections of their chaplain, held out until Damian Lacy arrived with a large force, when the brave but unarmoured Britons were repulsed, and their prince Gwenwyn was killed.

On her way thither she passed a night at the house of a Saxon kinswoman, the Lady of Baldringham, where she occupied a haunted chamber, and saw the ghost of an ancestor's wife, who foretold that she would be Widowed wife, and married maid, Betrothed, betrayer, and betrayed.During her visit to the abbess she was formally espoused to Sir Hugo; but the archbishop having the next day commanded him to proceed to Palestine for three years, he offered to annul their engagement.

Eveline, contrary to her aunt's advice, promised to await his return; and it was arranged that she should reside in her castle, with Rose and Dame Gillian as her attendants, and Damian as her guardian.

Wearied with her monotonous life during this seclusion, she was induced one day to join in a hawking expedition unaccompanied by her usual escort, and was seized by rebels secretly instigated by Ranald Lacy.

Sir Guy Monthermer was, accordingly, sent to demand admittance to Garde Doloureuse, where he was reported to be concealed; and when Eveline ordered the portcullis to be dropped against him, a herald proclaimed her, and all who aided and abetted her, as traitors.

The constable and his squire, who were supposed to be dead, returned from Syria, disguised as palmers, just as the royal troops, headed by Prince Richard, had occupied the castle, Eveline at the same time being sent to a convent, and Damian consigned to a dungeon.

Having learnt the ill news from old Raoul and his wife, Sir Hugo made his way towards King Henry's camp, near which, surrounded by an assembly of spectators, Ranald Lacy, who by false representations had obtained a grant of Eveline's forfeited lands, and assumed his kinsman's dress and title, was about to present a royal charter of immunities to a procession of the Flemish settlers.

Cadwallon, the Welsh bard, had, however, attached himself to Sir Hugo as a Breton minstrel, in order that he might avenge the death of Gwenwyn; and mistaking Ranald for the returned constable, suddenly sprang behind him as he leant forward in his saddle, and stabbed him in the back.

Sir Hugo now made himself known, and was welcomed by the king, the assassin was executed, and, convinced that his betrothed's love had been given to Damian, the old Crusader resigned her to him, and consoled himself by taking part in the subjugation of Ireland.

Principal characters in bold Introduction (to Tales of the Crusaders): 'Minutes of sederunt of a general meeting of the share-holders designing to form a joint-stock company, united for the purpose of writing and publishing the class of works called the Waverley Novels'.

1: The Welsh prince Guenwyn plans to marry Eveline, daughter of his old Norman rival Raymond Beranger, and begins proceedings to divorce his wife Brengwain.

3: As the Welsh forces advance on the Garde Douloureuse, Raymond tells his squire Morolt and Wilkin Flammock that he has vowed to afford Guenwyn a fair field.

During Raymond's funeral obsequies Dame Gillian talks to a visiting merchant [Randal de Lacy in disguise] about her mistress's prospects, indicating that young Damian is generally considered a more appropriate match than Sir Hugo.

Randal de Lacy introduces himself to Eveline and asks her to arrange for him to be invited to the betrothal ceremony: Sir Hugo reluctantly agrees.

The abbess persuades Sir Hugo to allow Eveline to break off their engagement, but she declines to do so and decides to leave the Gloucester convent for the Garde Douloureuse.

11 (27): Eveline finds Damian in mental distress, and his page Amelot explains that a band of rebels against the nobles claim that the young man favours their insurrection.

As the party arrive at the village the defenders surrender, and Wenlock's head is brought to Amelot in the mistaken belief that Damian would approve of his execution.

Gillian and Raoul arrive with more accurate news: they tell of the innocence of the young couple, and of the villainy of Randal, who was behind the capture of Eveline in Ch.

15 (31): As Randal leaves the castle to deliver a royal charter to the Flemings in his capacity as the new Constable, Vidal kills him, believing him to be Sir Hugo from whom he has been finally alienated by his spurning in the previous chapter.

Conclusion: Confined in her aunt's convent, Eveline receives news from Rose of Sir Hugo's return and Damian's restoration to royal favour.

The reviewers generally found The Betrothed inferior to The Talisman, and their articles tend to concentrate on the latter, but more than half of them were decidedly favourable to the former, and only four highly critical.