3 QUEEN
4
5 _Disposed into twelve books,
6 fashioning
fashioning > representing, exemplifying
7 twelve moral virtues_ 8 9 10 11 LONDON 12 13 Printed for William Ponsonby 14 15 1596 16 17 18 19 20 TO 21 22 THE MOST HIGH, 23 MIGHTIE 24 And 25 MAGNIFICENT 26 EMPRESSE RENOW- 27 MED FOR PIETIE, VER- 28 TVE, AND ALL GRATIOVS 29 GOVERNMENT ELIZABETH BY 30 THE GRACE OF GOD QVEENE 31 OF ENGLAND FRAVNCE AND 32 IRELAND AND OF VIRGI- 33 NIA, DEFENDOVR OF THE 34 FAITH, &c. HER MOST 35 HVMBLE SERVAVNT 36 EDMVND SPENSER 37 DOTH IN ALL HV- 38 MILITIE DEDI- 39 CATE, PRE- 40 SENT 41 AND CONSECRATE THESE 42 HIS LABOVRS TO LIVE 43 WITH THE ETERNI- 44 TIE OF HER 45 FAME. 46 19 20 TO 21 22 THE MOST HIGH, 23 MIGHTY 24 And 25 MAGNIFICENT 26 EMPRESS, RENOW- 27 NED FOR PIETY, VIR- 28 TUE, AND ALL GRACIOUS 29 GOVERNMENT: ELIZABETH, BY 30 THE GRACE OF GOD QUEEN 31 OF ENGLAND, FRANCE AND 32 IRELAND AND OF VIRGI- 33 NIA; DEFENDER OF THE 34 FAITH, etc., HER MOST 35 HUMBLE SERVANT 36 EDMUND SPENSER 37 DOES, IN ALL HU- 38 MILITY, DEDI- 39 CATE, PRE- 40 SENT 41 AND CONSECRATE THESE 42 HIS LABOURS TO LIVE 43 WITH THE ETERNI- 44 TY OF HER 45 FAME. 46 47 48 A 49 Letter of the Authors expounding his 50 whole intention in the course of this worke: which 51 for that it giueth great light to the Reader, for 52 the better vnderstanding is hereunto 53 annexed. 54 55 To the Right noble, and Valorous, Sir Walter 56 Raleigh knight, Lo. Wardein of the Stanneryes, and 57 her Maiesties liefetenaunt of the County of Corne- 58 wayll. 59 60 Sir knowing how doubtfully all Allegories may be 61 construed, and this booke of mine, which I haue entituled the 62 Faery Queene, being a continued Allegory, or darke conceit, I 63 haue thought good aswell for auoyding of gealous opinions and 64 misconstructions, as also for your better light in reading 65 therof, (being so by you commanded,) to discouer vnto you 66 the general intention and meaning, which in the whole 67 course thereof I haue fashioned, without expressing of any 68 particular purposes or by accidents therein occasioned. The 69 generall end therefore of all the booke is to fashion a 70 gentleman or noble person in vertuous and gentle discipline: 71 Which for that I conceiued shoulde be most plausible and 72 pleasing, being coloured with an historicall fiction, the which 73 the most part of men delight to read, rather for variety of 74 matter, then for profite of the ensample: I chose the historye of 75 king Arthure, as most fitte for the excellency of his person, 76 being made famous by many mens former workes, and also 77 furthest from the daunger of enuy, and suspition of present 78 time. In which I haue followed all the antique Poets 79 historicall, first Homere, who in the Persons of Agamemnon 80 and Vlysses hath ensampled a good gouernour and a vertuous 81 man, the one in his Ilias, the other in his Odysseis: then 82 Virgil, whose like intention was to doe in the person of 83 Aeneas: after him Ariosto comprised them both in his 84 Orlando: and lately Tasso disseuered them againe, and formed 85 both parts in two persons, namely that part which they in 86 Philosophy call Ethice, or vertues of a priuate man, coloured 87 in his Rinaldo: The other named Politice in his Godfredo. 88 By ensample of which excellente Poets, I labour to pourtraict in 89 Arthure, before he was king, the image of a braue knight, 90 perfected in the twelue priuate morall vertues, as Aristotle hath 91 deuised, the which is the purpose of these first twelue bookes: 92 which if I finde to be well accepted, I may be perhaps 93 encoraged, to frame the other part of polliticke vertues in his 94 person, after that hee came to be king. To some I know this 95 Methode will seeme displeasaunt, which had rather haue good 96 discipline deliuered plainly in way of precepts, or sermoned 97 at large, as they vse, then thus clowdily enwrapped in 98 Allegoricall deuises. But such, me seeme, should be satisfide 99 with the vse of these dayes seeing all things accounted by 100 their showes, and nothing esteemed of, that is not delightfull 101 and pleasing to commune sence. For this cause is Xenophon 102 preferred before Plato, for that the one in the exquisite depth 103 of his iudgement, formed a Commune welth such as it should 104 be, but the other in the person of Cyrus and the Persians 105 fashioned a gouernement such as might best be: So much 106 more profitable and gratious is doctrine by ensample, 107 then by rule. So haue I laboured to doe in the person of Arthure: 108 whome I conceiue after his long education by Timon, to 109 whom he was by Merlin deliuered to be brought vp, so soone 110 as he was borne of the Lady Igrayne, to haue seene in a dream 111 or vision the Faery Queen, with whose excellent beauty 112 rauished, he awaking resolued to seeke her out, and so being 113 by Merlin armed, and by Timon throughly instructed, he 114 went to seeke her forth in Faerye land. In that Faery Queene I 115 meane glory in my generall intention, but in my particular I 116 conceiue the most excellent and glorious person of our 117 soueraine the Queene, and her kingdome in Faery land. And 118 yet in some places els, I doe otherwise shadow her. For 119 considering she beareth two persons, the one of a most royall 120 Queene or Empresse, the other of a most vertuous and beautifull 121 Lady, this latter part in some places I doe ezpresse in Belph{oe}be, 122 fashioning her name according to your owne excellent 123 conceipt of Cynthia, (Ph{ae}be and Cynthia being both names 124 of Diana.) So in the person of Prince Arthure I sette forth 125 magnificence in particular, which vertue for that (according to 126 Aristotle and the rest) it is the perfection of all the rest, and 127 conteineth in it them all, therefore in the whole course I 128 mention the deedes of Arthure applyable to that vertue, which 129 I write of in that booke. But of the xii. other vertues, I 130 make xii. other knights the patrones, for the more variety 131 of the history: Of which these three bookes contayn three. The 132 first of the knight of the Redcrosse, in whome I expresse 133 Holynes: The seconde of Sir Guyon, in whome I sette forth 134 Temperaunce: The third of Britomartis a Lady knight, in 135 whome I picture Chastity. But because the beginning of the 136 whole worke seemeth abrupte and as depending vpon other 137 antecedents, it needs that ye know the occasion of these 138 three knights seuerall aduentures. For the Methode of a Poet 139 historical is not such, as of an Historiographer. For an 140 Historiographer discourseth of affayres orderly as they were 141 donne, accounting as well the times as the actions, but a Poet 142 thrusteth into the middest, euen where it most concerneth him, 143 and there recoursing to the thinges forepaste, and diuining 144 of thinges to come, maketh a pleasing Analysis of all. The 145 beginning therefore of my history, if it were to be told by an 146 Historiographer should be the twelfth booke, which is the 147 last, where I deuise that the Faery Queene kept her Annuall 148 feaste xii. dayes, vppon which xii. seuerall dayes, the 149 occasions of the xii. seuerall aduentures hapned, which 150 being vndertaken by xii. seuerall knights, are in these 151 xii. books seuerally handled and discoursed. The first 152 was this. In the beginning of the feast, there presented him selfe a 153 tall clownishe younge man, who falling before the Queen of 154 Faries desired a boone (as the manner then was) which 155 during that feast she might not refuse: which was that hee 156 might haue the atchieuement of any aduenture, which during 157 that feaste should happen, that being graunted, he rested him 158 on the floore, vnfitte through his rusticity for a better place. 159 Soone after entred a faire Ladye in mourning weedes, riding on a 160 white Asse, with a dwarfe behind her leading a warlike steed, 161 that bore the Armes of a knight, and his speare in the dwarfes 162 hand. Shee falling before the Queene of Faeries, complayned 163 that her father and mother an ancient King and Queene, had 164 bene by an huge dragon many years shut vp in a brasen Castle, 165 who thence suffred them not to yssew: and therefore 166 besought the Faery Queene to assygne her some one of her 167 knights to take on him that exployt. Presently that clownish 168 person vpstarting, desired that aduenture: whereat the 169 Queene much wondering, and the Lady much gainesaying, yet 170 he earnestly importuned his desire. In the end the Lady told 171 him that vnlesse that armour which she brought, would serue 172 him (that is the armour of a Christian man specified by Saint 173 Paul v. Ephes.) that he could not succeed in that 174 enterprise, which being forthwith put vpon him with dewe 175 furnitures thereunto, he seemed the goodliest man in al that 176 company, and was well liked of the Lady. And eftesoones taking 177 on him knighthood, and mounting on that straunge Courser, 178 he went forth with her on that aduenture: where beginneth the 179 first booke, vz. 180 181 A gentle knight was pricking on the playne. &c. 182 183 The second day ther came in a Palmer bearing an Infant 184 with bloody hands, whose Parents he complained to haue 185 bene slayn by an Enchaunteresse called Acrasia: and therfore 186 craued of the Faery Queene, to appoint him some knight, to 187 performe that aduenture, which being assigned to Sir 188 Guyon, he presently went forth with that same Palmer: 189 which is the beginning of the second booke and the whole 190 subiect thereof. The third day there came in, a Groome who 191 complained before the Faery Queene, that a vile Enchaunter 192 called Busirane had in hand a most faire Lady called Amoretta, 193 whom he kept in most grieuous torment, because she would 194 not yield him the pleasure of her body. Whereupon Sir 195 Scudamour the louer of that Lady presently tooke on him 196 that aduenture. But being vnable to performe it by reason of 197 the hard Enchauntments, after long sorrow, in the end met 198 with Britomartis, who succoured him, and reskewed his loue. 199 But by occasion hereof, many other aduentures are 200 intermedled, but rather as Accidents, then intendments. As 201 the loue of Britomart, the ouerthrow of Marinell, the misery 202 of Florimell, the vertuousnes of Belph{oe}be, the 203 lasciuiousnes of Hellenora, and many the like. 204 Thus much Sir, I haue briefly ouerronne to direct your 205 vnderstanding to the wel-head of the History, that from 206 thence gathering the whole intention of the conceit, ye may 207 as in a handfull gripe al the discourse, which otherwise may 208 happily seeme tedious and confused. So humbly crauing the 209 continuaunce of your honorable fauour towards me, and 210 th'eternall establishment of your happines, I humbly take leaue. 211 23. Ianuary. 1589. 212 213 Yours most humbly affectionate. 214 Ed. Spenser. 215 47 48 A 49 letter of the author's, expounding his 50 whole intention in the course of this work: which, 51 +for+ that it gives great light to the reader, for
for > [in]
52 the better understanding is hereto
53 annexed.
54
55 _To the Right Noble and Valorous Sir Walter
56 Raleigh, Knight, Lord Warden of the Stannaries, and
Raleigh > (1552-1618, poet, scholar, soldier, explorer, statesman, and
a favourite of Queen Elizabeth, who granted him, in 1584, a patent
for the exploration and settlement of the Americas. Later he fell
from her good graces, and after many hardships and adventures was
beheaded by James I. Probably an exact contemporary of Spenser.
He had a huge estate near Spenser's in southern Ireland, and under
his auspices FQ was published and dedicated to Elizabeth)
Stannaries > (The districts comprising the tin mines in Devon and
Cornwall, under the jurisdiction of the Stannary courts)
57 Her Majesty's Lieutenant of the County of Corn-
58 wall._
59
60 Sir, Knowing how doubtfully all allegories may be
doubtfully > ambiguously
61 construed, and this book of mine, which I have entitled The 62 Faery Queen, being a continued allegory, or dark conceit, I
dark > concealed, veiled conceit > conception