The Faerie Queene · Book III · Canto 3 1 (1/2)

The famous Briton Prince and Faerie knight,

After long wayes and perilous paines endur’d,

Having their weary limbes to perfect plight

Restord, and sory wounds right well recur’d,

Of the faire Alma greatly were procur’d

To make there lenger sojourne and abode;

But when thereto they might not be allur’d,

From seeking praise and deeds of armes abrode,

They courteous congé tooke, and forth together yode.

But the captiv’d Acrasia he sent,

Because of traveill long, a nigher way,

With a strong gard, all reskew to prevent,

And her to Faery court safe to convay;

That her for witnes of his hard assay

Unto his Faery Queene he might present:

But he him selfe betooke another way,

To make more triall of his hardiment,

And seek adventures as he with Prince Arthure went.

Long so they traveiled through wastefull wayes,

Where daungers dwelt, and perils most did wonne,

To hunt for glory and renowmed prayse.

Full many Countreyes they did overronne,

From the uprising to the setting Sunne,

And many hard adventures did atchieve;

Of all the which they honour ever wonne,

Seeking the weake oppressed to relieve,

And to recover right for such as wrong did grieve.

At last, as through an open plaine they yode,

They spide a knight that towards pricked fayre;

And him beside an aged Squire there rode,

That seemd to couch under his shield three-square,

As if that age badd him that burden spare,

And yield it those that stouter could it wield.

He them espying gan him selfe prepare,

And on his arme addresse his goodly shield

That bore a Lion passant in a golden field.

Which seeing, good Sir Guyon deare besought

The Prince of grace to let him ronne that turne.

He graunted: then the Faery quickly raught

His poynant speare, and sharply gan to spurne

His fomy steed, whose fiery feete did burne

The verdant gras as he thereon did tread;

Ne did the other backe his foote returne,

But fiercely forward came withouten dread,

And bent his dreadful speare against the others head.

They beene ymett, and both theyr points arriv’d;

But Guyon drove so furious and fell,

That seemd both shield and plate it would have riv’d;

Nathelesse it bore his foe not from his sell,

But made him stagger, as he were not well:

But Guyon selfe, ere well he was aware,

Nigh a speares length behind his crouper fell;

Yet in his fall so well him selfe he bare,

That mischievous mischaunce his life and limbs did spare.

Great shame and sorrow of that fall he tooke;

For never yet, sith warlike armes he bore

And shivering speare in bloody field first shooke,

He fownd him selfe dishonored so sore.

Ah! gentlest knight, that ever armor bore,

Let not thee grieve dismounted to have beene,

And brought to grownd that never wast before;

For not thy fault, but secret powre unseene:

That speare enchaunted was which layd thee on the greene.

But weenedst thou what wight thee overthrew,

Much greater griefe and shamefuller regrett

For thy hard fortune then thou wouldst renew,

That of a single damzell thou wert mett

On equall plaine, and there so hard besett:

Even the famous Britomart it was,

Whom straunge adventure did from Britayne sett

To seeke her lover (love far sought alas!)

Whose image shee had seene in Venus looking glas.

Full of disdainefull wrath he fierce uprose

For to revenge that fowle reprochefull shame,

And snatching his bright sword began to close

With her on foot, and stoutly forward came:

Dye rather would he then endure that same.

Which when his Palmer saw, he gan to feare

His toward perill, and untoward blame,

Which by that new rencounter he should reare;

For death sate on the point of that enchaunted speare:

And hasting towards him gan fayre perswade

Not to provoke misfortune, nor to weene

His speares default to mend with cruell blade;

For by his mightie Science he had seene

The secrete vertue of that weapon keene,

That mortall puissaunce mote not withstond.

Nothing on earth mote alwaies happy beene:

Great hazard were it, and adventure fond,

To loose long gotten honour with one evill hond.

By such good meanes he him discounselled

From prosecuting his revenging rage:

And eke the Prince like treaty handeled,

His wrathfull will with reason to aswage;

And laid the blame, not to his carriage,

But to his starting steed that swarv’d asyde,

And to the ill purveyaunce of his page,

That had his furnitures not firmely tyde.

So is his angry corage fayrly pacifyde.

Thus reconcilement was betweene them knitt,

Through goodly temperaunce and affection chaste;

And either vowd with all their power and witt

To let not others honour be defaste

Of friend or foe, who ever it embaste;

Ne armes to beare against the others syde:

In which accord the Prince was also plaste,

And with that golden chaine of concord tyde.

So goodly all agreed they forth yfere did ryde.

O! goodly usage of those antique tymes,

In which the sword was servaunt unto right;

When not for malice and contentious crymes,

But all for prayse, and proofe of manly might,

The martiall brood accustomed to fight:

Then honour was the meed of victory,

And yet the vanquished had no despight.

Let later age that noble use envy,

Vyle rancor to avoid and cruel surquedry.

Long they thus travelled in friendly wise,

Through countreyes waste, and eke well edifyde,

Seeking adventures hard, to exercise

Their puissaunce, whylome full dernly tryde.

At length they came into a forest wyde,

Whose hideous horror and sad trembling sownd,

Full griesly seemd: Therein they long did ryde,

Yet tract of living creature none they fownd,

Save Beares, Lyons, and Buls, which romed them arownd.

All suddenly out of the thickest brush,

Upon a milkwhite Palfrey all alone,

A goodly Lady did foreby them rush,

Whose face did seeme as cleare as Christall stone,

And eke, through feare, as white as whales bone:

Her garments all were wrought of beaten gold,

And all her steed with tinsell trappings shone,

Which fledd so fast that nothing mote him hold,

And scarse them leasure gave her passing to behold.

Still as she fledd her eye she backward threw,

As fearing evill that poursewd her fast;

And her faire yellow locks behind her flew,

Loosely disperst with puff of every blast:

All as a blazing starre doth farre outcast

His hearie beames, and flaming lockes dispredd,

At sight whereof the people stand aghast;

But the sage wisard telles, as he has redd,

That it importunes death and dolefull dreryhedd.

So as they gazed after her a whyle,

Lo! where a griesly foster forth did rush,

Breathing out beastly lust her to defyle:

His tyreling Jade he fiersly forth did push

Through thicke and thin, both over banck and bush,

In hope her to attaine by hooke or crooke,

That from his gory sydes the blood did gush.

Large were his limbes, and terrible his looke,

And in his clownish hand a sharp bore speare he shooke.

Which outrage when those gentle knights did see,

Full of great envy and fell gealosy

They stayd not to avise who first should bee,

But all spurd after, fast as they mote fly,

To reskew her from shamefull villany.

The Prince and Guyon equally bylive

Her selfe pursewd, in hope to win thereby

Most goodly meede, the fairest Dame alive:

But after the foule foster Timias did strive.

The whiles faire Britomart, whose constant mind

Would not so lightly follow beauties chace,

Ne reckt of Ladies Love, did stay behynd,

And them awayted there a certaine space,

To weet if they would turne backe to that place;

But when she saw them gone she forward went,

As lay her journey, through that perlous Pace,

With stedfast corage and stout hardiment:

Ne evil thing she feard, ne evill thing she ment.

At last, as nigh out of the wood she came,

A stately Castle far away she spyde,

To which her steps directly she did frame.

That Castle was most goodly edifyde,

And plaste for pleasure nigh that forrest syde:

But faire before the gate a spatious playne,

Mantled with greene, it selfe did spredden wyde,

On which she saw six knights, that did darrayne

Fiers battaill against one with cruell might and mayne.

Mainely they all attonce upon him laid,

And sore beset on every side arownd,

That nigh he breathlesse grew, yet nought dismaid,

Ne ever to them yielded foot of grownd,

All had he lost much blood through many a wownd,

But stoutly dealt his blowes, and every way,

To which he turned in his wrathfull stownd,

Made them recoile, and fly from dredd decay,

That none of all the six before him durst assay.

Like dastard Curres that, having at a bay

The salvage beast embost in wearie chace,

Dare not adventure on the stubborne pray,

Ne byte before, but rome from place to place

To get a snatch when turned is his face.

In such distresse and doubtfull jeopardy

When Britomart him saw, she ran apace

Unto his reskew, and with earnest cry

Badd those same six forbeare that single enimy.

But to her cry they list not lenden care,

Ne ought the more their mightie strokes surceasse.

But gathering him rownd about more neare,

Their direfull rancour rather did encreasse;

Till that she rushing through the thickest preasse

Perforce disparted their compacted gyre,

And soone compeld to hearken unto peace.

Tho gan she myldly of them to inquyre

The cause of their dissention and outrageous yre.

Whereto that single knight did answere frame:

“These six would me enforce by oddes of might

To chaunge my liefe, and love another Dame;

That death me liefer were then such despight,

So unto wrong to yield my wrested right:

For I love one, the truest one on grownd,

Ne list me chaunge; she th’Errant Damzell hight;

For whose deare sake full many a bitter stownd

I have endurd, and tasted many a bloody wownd.”

“Certes,” (said she) “then beene ye sixe to blame,

To weene your wrong by force to justify;

For knight to leave his Lady were great shame

That faithfull is, and better were to dy,

All losse is lesse, and lesse the infamy,

Then losse of love to him that loves but one:

Ne may love be compeld by maistery;

For soone as maistery comes sweet Love anone

Taketh his nimble winges, and soone away is gone.”

Then spake one of those six; “There dwelleth here

Within this castle wall a Lady fayre,

Whose soveraine beautie hath no living pere;

Thereto so bounteous and so debonayre,

That never any mote with her compayre:

She hath ordaind this law, which we approve,

That every knight which doth this way repayre,

In case he have no Lady nor no love,

Shall doe unto her service, never to remove:

“But if he have a Lady or a Love,

Then must he her forgoe with fowle defame,

Or els with us by dint of sword approve,

That she is fairer then our fairest Dame;

As did this knight, before ye hither came.”

“Perdy,” (said Britomart) “the choise is hard;

But what reward had he that overcame?”

“He should advaunced bee to high regard,”

(Said they) “and have our Ladies love for his reward.

“Therefore aread, Sir, if thou have a love.”

“Love have I sure,” (quoth she) “but Lady none;

Yet will I not fro mine own love remove,

Ne to your Lady will I service done,

But wreake your wronges wrought to this knight alone,

And prove his cause.” With that, her mortall speare

She mightily aventred towards one,

And downe him smot ere well aware he weare;

Then to the next she rode, and downe the next did beare.

Ne did she stay till three on ground she layd

That none of them himselfe could reare againe:

The fourth was by that other knight dismayd,

All were he wearie of his former paine;

That now there do but two of six remaine,

Which two did yield before she did them smight.

“Ah!” (said she then) “now may ye all see plaine,

That truth is strong, and trew love most of might,

That for his trusty servaunts doth so strongly fight.”

“Too well we see,” (saide they) “and prove too well

Our faulty weakenes, and your matchlesse might:

Forthy, faire Sir, yours be the Damozell,

Which by her owne law to your lot doth light,

And we your liegemen faith unto you plight.”

So underneath her feet their swords they mard,

And, after, her besought, well as they might,

To enter in and reape the dew reward.

She graunted; and then in they all together far’d.

Long were it to describe the goodly frame,

And stately port of Castle Joyeous,

(For so that Castle hight by commun name)

Where they were entertaynd with courteous

And comely glee of many gratious

Faire Ladies, and of many a gentle knight,

Who, through a Chamber long and spacious,

Eftsoones them brought unto their Ladies sight,

That of them cleeped was the Lady of Delight.

But for to tell the sumptuous aray

Of that great chamber, should be labour lost;

For living wit, I weene, cannot display

The royall riches and exceeding cost

Of every pillour and of every post,

Which all of purest bullion framed were,

And with great perles and pretious stones embost;

That the bright glister of their beames cleare

Did sparckle forth great light, and glorious did appeare.

These stranger knights, through passing, forth were led

Into an inner rowme, whose royaltee

And rich purveyance might uneath be red;

Mote Princes place be seeme so deckt to bee.

Which stately manner whenas they did see,

The image of superfluous riotize,

Exceeding much the state of meane degree,

They greatly wondred whence so sumptuous guize

Might be maintaynd, and each gan diversely devize.

The wals were round about appareiled

With costly clothes of Arras and of Toure;

In which with cunning hand was pourtrahed

The love of Venus and her Paramoure,

The fayre Adonis, turned to a flowre;

A worke of rare device and wondrous wit.

First did it shew the bitter balefull stowre,

Which her essayd with many a fervent fit,

When first her tender hart was with his beautie smit.

Then with what sleights and sweet allurements she

Entyst the Boy, as well that art she knew,

And wooed him her Paramoure to bee;

Now making girlonds of each flowre that grew,

To crowne his golden lockes with honour dew;

Now leading him into a secret shade

From his Beauperes, and from bright heavens vew,

Where him to sleepe she gently would perswade,

Or bathe him in a fountaine by some covert glade:

And whilst he slept she over him would spred

Her mantle, colour’d like the starry skyes,

And her soft arme lay underneath his hed,

And with ambrosiall kisses bathe his eyes;

And whilst he bath’d with her two crafty spyes

She secretly would search each daintie lim,

And throw into the well sweet Rosemaryes,

And fragrant violets, and Paunces trim;

And ever with sweet Nectar she did sprinkle him.

So did she steale his heedelesse hart away,

And joyd his love in secret unespyde:

But for she saw him bent to cruell play,

To hunt the salvage beast in forrest wyde,

Dreadfull of daunger that mote him betyde,

She oft and oft adviz’d him to refraine

From chase of greater beastes, whose brutish pryde

Mote breede him scath unwares: but all in vaine;

For who can shun the chance that dest’ny doth ordaine?