The Faerie Queene

Una thinks of her parents, the King and Queen, who are still in their castle, captive to a dragon, and so she tells the Redcross Knight that they must ride in that direction. When they get there, they hear a hideous roaring sound from the dragon. The Redcross Knight asks Una to stand aside, so that he can go into battle. The narrator calls upon a muse as well as on Mars, the god of war, as he prepares to tell of the upcoming battle.

The dragon speeds toward the Redcross Knight. It is armored with seemingly impenetrable scales and has giant wings like sails. Its tail, claws, and jaw are dangerous, and its eyes burn with anger. The creature is so fearsome that even the Redcross Knight almost quakes.

Despite his fear, the Redcross Knight readies his spear and rides toward the dragon, trying to impale it, but he can’t pierce its hard hide, and he and his horse are knocked to the ground.

The dragon spreads its wings and lifts off the ground. It takes the Redcross Knight and his horse with it as it flies before coming back down. Once it’s down, the knight strikes a blow that glances off the dragon’s neck but pierces under its wing. The wound lets out a whole river of blood—enough to power a water-mill.

The dragon gets ready to blow fire. The Redcross Knight attempts to strike another blow, but this one doesn’t even leave a mark on the dragon, frustrating the knight. Suddenly the dragon breathes out its fire, burning the Redcross Knight under his armor. The knight takes off his armor and helmet.

The Redcross Knight is so wounded and exhausted that he feels like he wants to die. Luckily, the well of life is nearby, a miraculous well that can bring the dead to life and undo decay. The knight is thrown back and falls into the well. Seeing the knight go into the well, the dragon believes it has won.

Una watches everything from a distance in dismay. At last, however, the next morning she sees the Redcross Knight come out of the well, looking reborn. The dragon can’t believe what it sees. The knight hits the dragon right on the scalp, leaving a big wound and dazing it.

The narrator wonders whether the Redcross Knight’s blade was strengthened in the well. In any case, the wound enrages the dragon. The dragon uses its tail to sting the knight’s shoulder, where it gets stuck. Remembering his honor, however, the Redcross Knight doesn’t let the wound stop him and instead chops off the dragon’s tail, leaving only a stump.

The dragon is enraged again. It springs up, then grips onto the Redcross Knight’s shield. The knight tries to pry the shield away but isn’t strong enough. The knight strikes at the joint of the dragon’s foot, hewing it off, but it still hangs on to the shield.

Even more angry, the dragon spews out more flames. The Redcross Knight falls back, and even with God’s guidance on his side, he stumbles down. Fortunately, the tree of life (the blessed tree from the Garden of Eden) has a stream of Balm coming out of it like a well, and the knight falls into this stream. Like the well from earlier, the stream gives life and saves the knight from death.

Night falls, and the dragon leaves the Redcross Knight alone for the moment. Una is again worried about her champion, but his wounds are being healed, and by the next morning, the knight rises up again, fully restored.

The dragon is waiting for the Redcross Knight, dismayed to see him looking healthy but still too full of rage to give up the fight. The dragon tries to swallow the knight whole, but the knight takes the opportunity to run his sword right into the dragon’s mouth.

The dragon falls and dies, letting out clouds of smoke. The Redcross Knight and Una both tremble at how big the dragon looks as it falls. Una warns not to approach the dragon in case it’s still alive, but it doesn’t stir, and so finally she prays in thanks to God and also thanks her knight.