Belphoebe is a huntress maiden of the forest who eventually becomes lady of Timias (the squire of Arthur) after rescuing him in the woods. When Timias is tempted to be unfaithful to Belphoebe with her twin sister Amoretta, she becomes angry with him, and he spends a long time doing penance and living humbly until he is finally worthy of her again. With her chastity and her warrior spirit, she is another character that resembles Queen Elizabeth.
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Belphoebe Character Timeline in The Faerie Queene
The timeline below shows where the character Belphoebe appears in The Faerie Queene. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book II: Canto III
Braggadochio and Trompart set off again, and they meet a lady in hunting clothes (Belphoebe). She is fair and resembles the hunter goddess Diana. She spots Trompart and addresses him....
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Book III: Canto V
...still bleeding heavily. He passes out. Fortunately for Timias, he is found by the huntress Belphoebe, who recently won her battle with Braggadochio and has been pursuing a wild beast through...
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Timias awakes and is amazed to find that Belphoebe has dressed his wounds. He praises her, saying she’s like an angel, causing her to...
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Unintentionally, however, Belphoebe has only healed one wound to create another, patching up Timias’s body but causing his...
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Book III: Canto VI
The narrator begins to describe the birth of Belphoebe and how she became so perfect in her manners and so chaste. Her mother is...
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...birth to twins. The goddesses decide to each take a twin, with Diana naming hers Belphoebe and Venus naming hers Amoretta.
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Book IV: Canto VII
...with the carle chasing her. As it turns out, she’s in the same forest where Belphoebe was being chased by Timias (Arthur’s squire) earlier. Just as Amoretta is overtaken by the...
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The carle believes Belphoebe will be the cause of his death, so he flees back to his den. Belphoebe...
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Timias tries to follow after Belphoebe, but she threatens him with arrows. He retreats to a solitary place and decides to...
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...the rude exterior. He looks around and sees that every tree in the area has Belphoebe engraved into it. Arthur leaves, hoping that one day the hermit man will be restored...
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Book IV: Canto VIII
Timias continues to live in penance for his unfaithfulness to Belphoebe. One day, a turtle dove happens to visit him. The bird sings and seems to...
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Belphoebe recognizes the ruby and the ribbon around the turtle dove. She tries to get the...
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...them a liquor to cure them. They explain how they were saved by a virgin (Belphoebe) who killed the carle but then left before they could discover her identity.
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Book VI: Canto V
...have been plotting ways to overthrow Timias (who is back in the good graces of Belphoebe). These villains sent the Blatant Beast his way. Timias couldn’t resist fighting the evil monster,...
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