aug 26, 1590 - 'The Faerie Queene', Edmund Spenser

Description:

Chivalric romance
Set in legendary Arthurian times. Each book related an exploit by a knight embodying one of the cardinal virtues. But Arthur's quest for Gloriana unites the work. The allegory is political (G=Elizabeth I), moral (knights=virtues: Holiness, Justice...) and religious (poem is a defense of Protestantism). It is a celebration of mythical British past and of the contemporary national power