THE FAERIE QUEENE, DISPOSED INTO TWELVE BOOKES, FASHIONING XII MORALL VERTUES. TO THE MOST HIGH MIGHTIE AND MAGNIFICENT EMPRESSE RENOWMED FOR PIETIE VERTVE AND ALL • GRATIOVS GOVERNMENT ELIZABETH BY THE GRACE of God queene of England FRAVNCE AND IRELAND AND OF VIRGINIA DEFENDOVR OF THE FAITH &c. HER MOST HUMBLE SERVAUNT EDMVND SPENSER DOTH IN ALL HUMILITIE DEDICATE PRESENT AND CONSECRATE THESE HIS LABOVRS TO LIVE WITH THE ETERNITIE OF HER FAME 1. LETTER OF THE AUTHORS, Expounding his whole intention in the course of this worke; which, for that it giveth great light to the reader, for the better understanding is hereunto annexed. TO THE RIGHT NOBLE AND VALOROUS SIR WALTER RALEIGH, KNIGHT. LO. WARDEIN OF THE STANNERYES AND HER MAIESTIES LIEFTENAUNT OF THE COUNTY OF CORNEWAY LL. IR, knowing how doubtfully all allegories may be construed, and this booke of mine, which I haue entituled The Faerie Queene, being a con This is the dedication of the edition of 1596. To the edition of 1590 the following brief compliment only is prefixed. "To the most mightie and magnificent empresse Elizabeth by the grace of God queene of England France and Ireland defender of the faith &c. Her most humble servant Ed. Spenser." Todd. tinued allegory, or darke conceit, I haue thought good as well for auoyding of jealous opinions and misconstructions, as also for your better light in reading thereof, (being so by you commanded) to discouer unto you the general intention and meaning, which in the whole course thereof I haue fashioned, without expressing of any particular purposes, or by-accidents, therein occasioned. The general end therefore of all the booke is to fashion a gentleman or noble person in vertuous and gentle discipline: which for that I conceived shoulde be most plausible and pleasing, being coloured with an historical fiction, the which the most part of men delight to read, rather for variety of matter then for profite of the ensample, I chose the historye of King Arthure, as most fitte for the excellency of his person, being made famous by many mens former workes, and also furthest from the daunger of enuy, and suspition of present time. In which I haue followed all the antique poets historicall; first Homere, who in the persons of Agamemnon and Ulysses hath ensampled a good gouernour and a vertuous man, the one in his Ilias, the other in his Odysseis; then Virgil, whose like intention was to doe in the person of Eneas; after him Ariosto comprised them both in his Orlando; and lately Tasso disseuered them again, and formed both parts in two persons, namely, that part which they in philosophy call ethice, or vertues of a private man, coloured in his Rinaldo; the other named politice in his Godfredo. By ensample of which excellente poets, I labour to pourtraict in Arthure, before he was king, the image of a braue knight, perfectly in the twelue priuate morall vertues, as Aristotle hath deuised; the which is the purpose of these first twelue bookes: which if I finde to be well accepted, I may be perhaps encoraged to frame the other part of polliticke vertues in his person, after that bee came to be king. To some I know this methode will seem displeasaunt, which had rather haue good discipline deliuered plainly in way of precepts, or sermoned at large, as they use, then thus clowdily enwrapped in allegorical deuises. But such, me seeme, should be satisfide with the use of these days, seeing all things accounted by their showes, and nothing esteemed of, that is not delightfull and pleasing to commune sence. For this cause is Xenophon preferred before Plato, for that the one, riding on a white asse, with a dwarfe behind her, leading a warlike steed, that bore the arms of a knight, and his speare in the dwarfes hand. Shee, falling before the queene of Faeries, complayned that her father and mother, an ancient king and queene, had bene by an huge dragon many years shut up in a brasen castle, who thence suffred them not to yssew: and therefore besought the Faerie Queene to assygne her some one of her knights to take on him that exployt. Presently that clownish person, upstarting, desired that adventure: whereat the queene much wondering, and the lady much gainesaying, yet he earnestly importuned his desire. In the end the lady told him, that unlesse that armour which she brought would serue him, (that is, the armour of a Christian man spe in the exquisite depth of his iudgement, formed a communewelth, such as it should be; but the other in the person of Cyrus, and the Persians, fashioned a gouernment, such as might best be: so much more profitable and gratious is doctrine by ensample, then by rule. So haue I laboured to do in the person of Arthure: whom I conceiue, after his long education by Timon, to whom he was by Merlin deliuered to be brought up, so soone as he was borne of the lady Igrayne, to haue seene in a dream or vision the Faery Queene, with whose excellent beauty rauished, he awaking resolued to seeke her out; and so being by Merlin armed, and by Timon throughly instructed, he went to seeke her forth in Faerye Land. In that Faery Queene I meane glory in my generall intention, but in my particular I concciue the most excellent and glo-cified by St. Paul, v. Ephes.) that he could not rious person of our soueraine the queene, and her kingdom in Faery Land. And yet, in some places els, I do otherwise shadow her. For considering she beareth two persons, the one of a most royal queene or empresse, the other of a most vertuous and beautifull lady, this latter part in some places I doe express in Belphœbe, fashioning her name according to your owne excellent conceipt of Cynthia: Phoebe and Cynthia being both names of Diana. So in the person of prince Arthure I sette forth magnificence in particular; which vertue, for that (according to Aristotle and the rest) it is the perfection of all the rest, and conteineth in it them all, therefore in the whole course I mention the deeds of Arthure applyable to that vertue, which write of in that booke. But of the xii other vertues, I make xii other knights the patrones, for the more variety of the history: of which these three bookes contayn three. The first of the knight of the Redcrosse, in whom I expresse holynes: the seconde of sir Guyon, in whome I sette forth temperaunce: the third of Britomartis, a lady knight, in whome I picture chastity. But, because the beginning of the whole worke Seemeth abrupte and as depending upon other antecedents, it needs that ye know the occasion of these three knights seuerall aduentures. For the methode of a poet historical is not such, as of an historiographer. For an historiographer discourseth of affayres orderly as they were dome, accounting as well the times as the actions; but a poet thrusteth into the middest, euen where it most concerneth him, and there recoursing to the thinges forepaste, and diuining of thinges to come, maketh a pleasing analysis of all, The beginning, therefore, of my history, if it were to be told by an historiographer, should be the twelfth booke, which is the last; where I denise that the Faery Queene kept her annual feaste xii days; uppon which xii severall dayes, the occasions of the xii seuerall aduentures hapned, which, being undertaken by xii seuerall knights, are in these xii books seuerally handled and discoursed. The first was this. In the beginning of the feast, there presented himselfe a tall clownishe younge man, who, falling before the queene of Faries, desired a boone, (as the manner then was) which, during that feast, she might not refuse; which was, that hee might haue the atchieuement of any aduenture, which, during that feaste, should happen. That being graunted, he rested him on the floore, unfitte, through his rusticity, for a better place. Soone after entred a faire ladye in mourning weedes, succeed in that enterprise: which being forthwith put upon him with dew furnitures thereunto, he seemed the goodliest man in al that company, and was well liked of the lady. And eftesoones taking on him knighthood, and mounting on that straunge courser, he went forth with her on that adventure: where beginneth the first booke, viz. A gentle knight was pricking on the playne, &c. The second day there came in a palmer, bearing an infant with bloody hands, whose parents he complained to have bene slayn by an enchauntresse called Acrasia: and therefore craved of the Faery Queene to appoint him some knight to performe that adventure; which being assigned to sir Guyon, he presently went forth with that same palmer; which is the beginning of the second booke, and the whole subiect thereof. The third day there came in a groome, who complained before the Faery Queene, that a vile enchaunter, called Busirane, had in hand a most faire lady, called Amoretta, whom he kept in most grievous torment, because she would not yield him the pleasure of her body. Whereupon sir Scudamour, the lover of that lady, presently tooke on him that adventure. But being unable to performe it by reason of the hard enchauntments, after long sorrow, in the end met with Britomartis, who succoured him, and reskewed his love. But, by occasion hereof, many other adventures are intermedled; but rather as accidents then intendments: as the love of Britomart, the overthrow of Marinell, the misery of Florimell, the vertuousnes of Belphæbe, the lasciviousnes of Hellenora; and many the like. Thus much, sir, I have briefly overronne to direct your understanding to the wel-head of the history; that, from thence gathering the whole intention of the conceit, ye may as in a handful gripe al the discourse, which otherwise may happily seem tedious and confused. So, humbly craving the continuance of your honourable favour towards me, and th' eternall establishment of your happines, I humbly take leave. 23 January 1589. Yours most humbly affectionate, ED. SPENSER. VERSES ADDRESSED TO THE AUTHOR'. A VISION UPON THIS CONCEIPT OF THE FAERY QUEENE. Me thought I saw the grave where Laura lay, At whose approch the soule of Petrarke wept, W. R. ANOTHER OF THE SAME. THE prayse of meaner wits this worke like profit brings, As doth the cuckoes song delight when Philumena sings. If thou hast formed right true Vertues face herein, Vertue herselfe can best discerne to whom they written bin. The two sonnets signed W. R. are understood to be written by sir Walter Raleigh, who was certainly a poet of no mean fame: the verses signed Hobynoll are the very elegant production of Gabriel Harvey, by which signature he is described in The Shepheards Calender: the poem R. S. may be attributed to Robert Southwell, or Richard Stanyhurst, or Richard Smith, or Richard Stapleton, who were poetical writers contemporary with Spenser; and of whom, Stapleton and Smith are known as authors of other commendatory verses; yet Mr. Upton would assign this little poem to Robert Sackville, eldest son of lord Buckhurst, the Sackvilles (he says) being not only patrons of learned men, but learned themselves: I am at a loss to whom to ascribe the poem signed H. B., and can offer no other opinion in respect to the author of the next, subscribed W. L., than what the compiler of the Bibliographia Poetica has given, that it might be William Lisle, the poetical translator of part of Du Bartas, and (which the compiler of the Bib. Poet. appears not to have known) of part of Heliodorus: the last poem bears a signature assumed by several writers in the age of Elizabeth; and I am unable to fix on the author. Todd. ΤΟ THE LEARNED SHEPHEARD. COLLYN, I see, by thy new taken taske, Some sacred fury hath enricht thy braynes, That leades thy Muse in haughty verse to maske, And loath the layes that longs to lowly swaynes; That liftes thy notes from shepheardes unto kinges: So like the lively larke that mounting singes. Thy lovely Rosalinde seemes now forlorne; And all thy gentle flockes forgotten quight: Thy chaunged hart now holdes thy pypes in scorne, Those prety pypes that did thy mates delight; Those trusty mates that loved thee so well; Whom thou gav'st mirth, as they gave thee the bell. Yet, as thou carst with thy sweete roundelayes Didste stirre to glee our laddes in homely bowers; So moughtst thou now in these refyned layes Delight the daintie eares of higher powers. And so mought they, in their deepe skanning skill, Alow and grace our Collyns flowing quill. And faire befall that Faery Queene of thine! In whose faire eyes love linckt with vertue sittes; Enfusing, by those bewties fyers divine, Such high conceites into thy humble wittes, As raised hath poore pastors oaten reedes From rusticke tunes, to chaunt heroique deedes. So mought thy Redcrosse knight with happy hand Victorious be in that faire ilands right, (Which thou dost vayle in type of Faery land) Elizas blessed field, that Albion hight: [foes, That shieldes her friendes, and warres her mightie Yet still with people, peace, and plentie, flowes. VERSES ADDRESSED, BY THE AUTHOR OF THE FAERIE QUEENE, TO SEVERAL NOBLEMEN, &c. TO THE Which so to doe may thee right well befit, Sith th' antique glory of thine auncestry Under a shady vele is therein writ, RIGHT HON. SIR CHRISTOPHER HATTON, And eke thine owne long living memory, LORD HIGH CHAUNCELOR OF ENGLAND, &c. THOSE prudent heads that with their counsels wise, So you, great lord, that with your counsell sway TO THE E. S. RIGHT HON. THE LORD BURLEIGH, LORD HIGH THREASURER OF ENGLAND. To you, right noble lord, whose carefull brest And the dim vele, with which from commune vew TO THE E. S. RIGHT HON. THE EARLE OF OXENFORD, RECEIVE, most noble lord, in gentle gree, Succeeding them in true nobility: And also for the love which thou doest beare To th' Heliconian ymps, and they to thee; TO THE RIGHT HON. ་ E. 5. REDOUBTED lord, in whose corageous mind E. S. |