Sacred Texts  Sagas & Legends  England 

Stories from the Faerie Queene

by Mary Macleod

[1916]


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Spenser's The Faerie Queene is one of the masterpieces of English poetry, and certainly part of the literary pedigree that culminated in Tolkien. However, the original text is very difficult to follow for modern readers because of the archaic language and spelling. To the rescue comes Mary Macleod. Her late Victorian retelling in straightforward modern English allows one to plow through Spenser's intricate and allegorical plot. If you are planning to read the Faerie Queene, or want to understand the narrative but don't have the time or patience to tangle with an epic poem in early modern English, you've come to the right place.


Title Page
Introduction
Contents
Illustrations

The Red Cross Knight

The Court of the Queen
The Wood of Error
The Knight deceived by the Magician
The Knight forsakes Una
Holiness fights Faithless, and makes Friends with False Religion
Una and the Lion
In the Hands of the Enemy
The House of Pride
The Battle for the Shield
Una and the Woodland Knight
The False Pilgrim
Giant Pride
Prince Arthur
The Wondrous Bugle and the Mighty Shield
The Knight with the Hempen Rope
In the Cave of Despair
How the Red Cross Knight came to the House of Holiness
The City of the Great King
The Last Fight
''Ease after War''

''The Good Sir Guyon''

Sir Guyon meets the Magician
Friend or Foe?
The Story of the Knight and the Lady
The Three Sisters
Braggadochio
Fury's Captive
The Anger of Fire
The Idle Lake
The Realm of Pluto
The Cave of Mammon
The Champion of Chivalry
The House of Temperance
The Rock of Reproach and the Wandering Islands
Sea-Monsters and Land-Monsters
The Bower of Bliss

The Legend of Britomart

How Sir Guyon met a Champion mightier than himself
How Britomart fought with Six Knights
How it fared with Britomart in Castle Joyous
How Britomart looked into the Magic Mirror
How Britomart went to the Cave of the Magician Merlin
How Britomart set forth on her Quest
How Britomart came to the Castle of the Churl Malbecco
How Britomart walked through Fire
What Britomart saw in the Enchanted Chamber
How Britomart rescued a Fair Lady from a Wicked Enchanter
What Strange Meetings befell on the Way
How Sir Satyrane proclaimed a Great Tournament
What befell on the First and Second Days of the Tournament
How Britomart did Battle for the Golden Girdle
How the Golden Girdle was awarded to the False Florimell
How Sir Scudamour came to the House of Care
How the ''Savage Knight'' met the ''Knight with the Ebony Spear''
How Britomart ended her Quest

The Squire of Low Degree

The Giant with Flaming Eyes
''For his Friend's Sake''
The Giant's Daughter

The Adventures of Sir Artegall

The Sword of Justice and the Iron Man
The Adventure of the Saracen's Bridge
The Giant with the Scales
Borrowed Plumes, and the Fate of the Snowy Lady
How the Good Horse Brigadore knew his own Master
The Adventure of the Two Brothers and the Coffer
Radigund, Queen of the Amazons
How Sir Artegall threw away his Sword
The House of Guile
The Battle of Queen Radigund and Britomart
The Adventure of the Damsel, the Two Knights, and the Sultan's Horses
The Adventure at the Den of Deceit
The Adventure of the Tyrant Grantorto

Sir Calidore, Knight of Courtesy

The Quest of the Blatant Beast
The Proud Discourteous Knight
Coridon and Pastorella
In the Brigands' Den
The Beast with a Thousand Tongues