But when he stayd, to flight againe she did her take.
XLV
By this the good Sir Satyrane gan wake
Out of his dreame, that did him long entraunce,
And seeing none in place, he gan to make
Exceeding mone, and curst that cruell chaunce, 400
Which reft from him so faire a chevisaunce:
At length he spyde whereas that wofull squyre,
Whom he had reskewed from captivaunce
Of his strong foe, lay tombled in the myre,
Unable to arise, or foot or hand to styre. 405
XLVI
To whom approching, well he mote perceive
In that fowle plight a comely personage,
And lovely face, made fit for to deceive
Fraile ladies hart with loves consuming rage,
Now in the blossome of his freshest age: 410
He reard him up, and loosd his yron bands,
And after gan inquire his parentage,
And how he fell into that gyaunts hands,
And who that was, which chaced her along the lands.
XLVII
Then trembling yet through feare, the squire bespake: 415
‘That geauntesse Argante is behight,
A daughter of the Titans which did make
Warre against heven, and heaped hils on hight,
To scale the skyes, and put Jove from his right:
Her syre Typhoeus was, who, mad through merth, 420
And dronke with blood of men, slaine by his might,
Through incest her of his owne mother Earth
Whylome begot, being but halfe twin of that berth.
XLVIII
‘For at that berth another babe she bore,
To weet, the mightie Ollyphant, that wrought 425
Great wreake to many errant knights of yore,
And many hath to foule confusion brought.
These twinnes, men say, (a thing far passing thought)
Whiles in their mothers wombe enclosd they were,
Ere they into the lightsom world were brought, 430
In fleshly lust were mingled both yfere,
And in that monstrous wise did to the world appere.
XLIX
‘So liv’d they ever after in like sin,
Gainst natures law and good behaveoure:
But greatest shame was to that maiden twin, 435
Who, not content so fowly to devoure
Her native flesh, and staine her brothers bowre,
Did wallow in all other fleshly myre,
And suffred beastes her body to deflowre,
So whot she burned in that lustfull fyre: 440
Yet all that might not slake her sensuall desyre.
L
‘But over all the countrie she did raunge,
To seeke young men, to quench her flaming thrust,
And feed her fancy with delightfull chaunge:
Whom so she fittest findes to serve her lust, 445
Through her maine strength, in which she most doth trust,
She with her bringes into a secret ile,
Where in eternall bondage dye he must,
Or be the vassall of her pleasures vile,
And in all shamefull sort him selfe with her defile. 450
LI
‘Me, seely wretch, she so at vauntage caught,
After she long in waite for me did lye,
And meant unto her prison to have brought,
Her lothsom pleasure there to satisfye;
That thousand deathes me lever were to dye, 455
Then breake the vow, that to faire Columbell
I plighted have, and yet keepe stedfastly.
As for my name, it mistreth not to tell;
Call me the Squyre of Dames; that me beseemeth well.
LII
‘But that bold knight, whom ye pursuing saw 460
That geauntesse, is not such as she seemd,
But a faire virgin, that in martiall law
And deedes of armes above all dames is deemd,
And above many knightes is eke esteemd,
For her great worth; she Palladine is hight: 465
She you from death, you me from dread, redeemd.
Ne any may that monster match in fight,
But she, or such as she, that is so chaste a wight.’
LIII
‘Her well beseemes that quest,’ quoth Satyrane:
‘But read, thou Squyre of Dames, what vow is this, 470
Which thou upon thy selfe hast lately ta’ne?’
‘That shall I you recount,’ quoth he, ‘ywis,
So be ye pleasd to pardon all amis.
That gentle lady whom I love and serve,
After long suit and wearie servicis, 475
Did aske me how I could her love deserve,
And how she might be sure that I would never swerve.
LIV
‘I, glad by any meanes her grace to gaine,
Badd her commaund my life to save or spill.
Eftsoones she badd me, with incessaunt paine 480
To wander through the world abroad at will,
And every where, where with my power or skill
I might doe service unto gentle dames,
That I the same should faithfully fulfill,
And at the twelve monethes end should bring their names 485
And pledges, as the spoiles of my victorious games.
LV
‘So well I to faire ladies service did,
And found such favour in their loving hartes,
That, ere the yeare his course had compassid,
Thre hundred pledges for my good desartes, 490
And thrise three hundred thanks for my good partes,
I with me brought, and did to her present:
Which when she saw, more bent to eke my smartes
Then to reward my trusty true intent,
She gan for me devise a grievous punishment: 495
LVI
‘To weet, that I my traveill should resume,
And with like labour walke the world arownd,
Ne ever to her presence should presume,
Till I so many other dames had fownd,
The which, for all the suit I could propownd, 500
Would me refuse their pledges to afford,
But did abide for ever chaste and sownd.’
‘Ah! gentle squyre,’ quoth he, ‘tell at one word,
How many fowndst thou such to put in thy record?’
LVII
‘In deed, sir knight,’ said he, ‘one word may tell 505
All that I ever fownd so wisely stayd;
For onely three they were disposd so well,
And yet three yeares I now abrode have strayd,
To fynd them out.’ ‘Mote I,’ then laughing sayd
The knight, ‘inquire of thee, what were those three, 510
The which thy proffred curtesie denayd?
Or ill they seemed sure avizd to bee,
Or brutishly brought up, that nev’r did fashions see.’
LVIII
‘The first which then refused me,’ said hee,
‘Certes was but a common courtisane, 515
Yet flat refusd to have adoe with mee,
Because I could not give her many a jane.’
(Thereat full hartely laughed Satyrane.)
‘The second was an holy nunne to chose,
Which would not let me be her chappellane, 520
Because she knew, she sayd, I would disclose
Her counsell, if she should her trust in me repose.
LIX
‘The third a damzell was of low degree,
Whom I in countrey cottage fownd by chaunce:
Full litle weened I, that chastitee 525
Had lodging in so meane a maintenaunce;
Yet was she fayre, and in her countenaunce
Dwelt simple truth in seemely fashion.
Long thus I w
oo’d her with dew observaunce,
In hope unto my pleasure to have won, 530
But was as far at last, as when I first begon.
LX
‘Safe har, I never any woman found,
That chastity did for it selfe embrace,
But were for other causes firme and sound,
Either for want of handsome time and place, 535
Or else for feare of shame and fowle disgrace.
Thus am I hopelesse ever to attaine
My ladies love, in such a desperate case,
But all my dayes am like to waste in vaine,
Seeking to match the chaste wiht th’ unchaste ladies traine.’ 540
LXI
‘Perdy,’ sayd Satyrane, ‘thou Squyre of Dames,
Great labour fondly hast thou hent in hand,
To get small thankes, and therewith many blames,
That may emongst Alcides labours stand.’
Thence backe returning to the former land, 545
Where late he left the beast he overcame,
He found him not; for he had broke his band,
And was returnd againe unto his dame,
To tell what tydings of fayre Florimell became.
Faerie Queene Detailed Table of Contents
Glossary for ‘The Faerie Queene’
Canto VIII
The witch creates a snowy lady,
like to Florimell:
Who, wronged by carle, by Proteus sav’d,
Is sought by Paridell.
I
SO oft as I this history record,
My hart doth melt with meere compassion,
To thinke how causelesse of her owne accord
This gentle damzell, whom I write upon,
Should plonged be in such affliction, 5
Without all hope of comfort or reliefe,
That sure I weene, the hardest hart of stone
Would hardly finde to aggravate her griefe;
For misery craves rather mercy then repriefe.
II
But that accursed hag, her hostesse late, 10
Had so enranckled her malitious hart,
That she desyrd th’ abridgement of her fate,
Or long enlargement of her painefull smart.
Now when the beast, which by her wicked art
Late foorth she sent, she backe retourning spyde, 15
Tyde with her broken girdle, it a part
Of her rich spoyles, whom he had earst destroyd,
She weend, and wondrous gladnes to her hart applyde.
III
And with it ronning hast’ly to her sonne,
Thought with that sight him much to have reliv’d; 20
Who thereby deeming sure the thing as donne,
His former griefe with furie fresh reviv’d,
Much more then earst, and would have algates riv’d
The hart out of his brest: for sith her dedd
He surely dempt, himselfe he thought depriv’d 25
Quite of all hope, wherewith he long had fedd
His foolish malady, and long time had misledd.
IV
With thought whereof, exceeding mad he grew,
And in his rage his mother would have slaine,
Had she not fled into a secret mew, 30
Where she was wont her sprightes to entertaine,
The maisters of her art: there was she faine
To call them all in order to her ayde,
And them conjure, upon eternall paine,
To counsell her so carefully dismayd, 35
How she might heale her sonne, whose senses were decayd.
V
By their advise, and her owne wicked wit,
She there deviz’d a wondrous worke to frame,
Whose like on earth was never framed yit,
That even Nature selfe envide the same, 40
And grudg’d to see the counterfet should shame
The thing it selfe. In hand she boldly tooke
To make another like the former dame,
Another Florimell, in shape and looke
So lively and so like that many it mistooke. 45
VI
The substance, whereof she the body made,
Was purest snow in massy mould congeald,
Which she had gathered in a shady glade
Of the Riphœan hils, to her reveald
By errant sprights, but from all men conceald: 50
The same she tempred with fine mercury,
And virgin wex, that never yet was seald,
And mingled them with perfect vermily,
That like a lively sanguine it seemd to the eye.
VII
In stead of eyes, two burning lampes she set 55
In silver sockets, shyning like the skyes,
And a quicke moving spirit did arret
To stirre and roll them, like a womans eyes:
In stead of yellow lockes, she did devyse,
With golden wyre to weave her curled head; 60
Yet golden wyre was not so yellow thryse
As Florimells fayre heare: and in the stead
Of life, she put a spright to rule the carcas dead:
VIII
A wicked spright, yfraught with fawning guyle
And fayre resemblance, above all the rest 65
Which with the Prince of Darkenes fell somewhyle
From heavens blis and everlasting rest:
Him needed not instruct, which way were best
Him selfe to fashion likest Florimell,
Ne how to speake, ne how to use his gest; 70
For he in counterfesaunce did excell,
And all the wyles of wemens wits knew passing well.
IX
Him shaped thus she deckt in garments gay,
Which Florimell had left behind her late,
That who so then her saw would surely say, 75
It was her selfe whom it did imitate,
Or fayrer then her selfe, if ought algate
Might fayrer be. And then she forth her brought
Unto her sonne, that lay in feeble state;
Who seeing her gan streight upstart, and thought 80
She was the lady selfe, whom he so long had sought.
X
Tho, fast her clipping twixt his armes twayne,
Extremely joyed in so happy sight,
And soone forgot his former sickely payne;
But she, the more to seeme such as she hight, 85
Coyly rebutted his embracement light;
Yet still with gentle countenaunce retain’d
Enough to hold a foole in vaine delight:
Him long she so with shadowes entertain’d,
As her creatresse had in charge to her ordain’d. 90
XI
Till on a day, as he disposed was
To walke the woodes with that his idole faire,
Her to disport, and idle time to pas
In th’ open freshnes of the gentle aire,
A knight that way there chaunced to repaire; 95
Yet knight he was not, but a boastfull swaine,
That deedes of armes had every in despaire,
Proud Braggadocchio, that in vaunting vaine
His glory did repose, and credit did maintaine.
XII
He, seeing with that chorle so faire a wight, 100
Decked with many a costly ornament,
Much merveiled thereat, as well he might,
And thought that match a fowle disparagement:
His bloody speare eftesoones he boldly bent
Against the silly clowne, who, dead through feare, 105
Fell streight to ground in great astonishment:
‘Villein,’ sayd he, ‘this lady is my deare;
Dy, if thou it gainesay: I will away her beare.’
XIII
The fearefull chorle durst not gainesay, nor dooe,
But trembling stood, and yielded him the pray; 110
&
nbsp; Who, finding litle leasure her to wooe,
On Tromparts steed her mounted without stay,
And without reskew led her quite away.
Proud man himselfe then Braggadochio deem’d,
And next to none, after that happy day, 115
Being possessed of that spoyle, which seem’d
The fairest wight on ground, and most of men esteem’d.
XIV
But when hee saw him selfe free from poursute,
He gan make gentle purpose to his dame,
With termes of love and lewdnesse dissolute; 120
For he could well his glozing speaches frame
To such vaine uses, that him best became:
But she thereto would lend but light regard,
As seeming sory that she ever came
Into his powre, that used her so hard, 125
To reave her honor, which she more then life prefard.
XV
Thus as they two of kindnes treated long,
There them by chaunce encountred on the way
An armed knight, upon a courser strong,
Whose trampling feete upon the hollow lay 130
Seemed to thunder, and did nigh affray
That capons corage: yet he looked grim,
And faynd to cheare his lady in dismay,
Who seemd for feare to quake in every lim,
And her to save from outrage meekely prayed him. 135
XVI
Fiercely that straunger forward came, and nigh
Approching, with bold words and bitter threat,
Bad that same boaster, as he mote on high,
To leave to him that lady for excheat,
Or bide him batteill without further treat. 140
That challenge did too peremptory seeme,
And fild his senses with abashment great;
Yet, seeing nigh him jeopardy extreme,
He it dissembled well, and light seemd to esteeme;
XVII
Saying, ‘Thou foolish knight! that weenst with words 145
To steale away that I with blowes have wonne,
And broght throgh points of many perilous swords:
But if thee list to see thy courser ronne,
Or prove thy selfe, this sad encounter shonne,
And seeke els without hazard of thy hedd.’ 150
At those prowd words that other knight begonne
To wex exceeding wroth, and him aredd
To turne his steede about, or sure he should be dedd.
XVIII
‘Sith then,’ said Braggadochio, ‘needes thou wilt
Thy daies abridge, through proofe of puissaunce, 155
Turne we our steeds, that both in equall tilt
May meete againe, and each take happy chaunce.’
This said, they both a furlongs mountenaunce
Retird their steeds, to ronne in even race:
But Braggadochio with his bloody launce 160
Once having turnd, no more returnd his face,
Complete Works of Edmund Spenser Page 64