Such outlaws as he and his men
Will England never see again.

Died December 24th, 1247.




THE FAERIE QUEENE


Edmund Spenser, who was born in London in 1552 and lived at Dublin as
clerk to the court of Chancery, there wrote the Faerie Queene, of
which the first part was published in 1589 and dedicated to Elizabeth.
In this poem he purposed to depict the twelve moral virtues in twelve
successive books, each containing twelve cantos, written in stanzas of
eight short lines and one long one. But he completed only six books of
his poem in the course of six years.

The Faerie Queene is not only an epic but a double allegory, for many
of the characters represent both abstract virtues and the noted people
of Spenser's time. For instance, the poem opens with a description of
the court of Gloriana,--who impersonates Elizabeth and is the champion
of Protestantism. As queen of the fairy realm she holds annual
festivals, in one of which the young peasant Georgos enters her hall.
He kneels before her so humbly yet so courteously that,
notwithstanding his rustic garb, she perceives he must be of noble
birth. When he, therefore, craves as a boon the next adventure,
Gloriana grants his request, on condition that he will serve her
afterward for six years. Shortly after, a beautiful lady, garbed in