Now at the conclusion of our readings of The Faerie Queene, I have been left thinking of all the comparisons that can be drawn between Spenser’s story and more contemporary tales. Most notably in my mind (probably because I have watched it in the region of 50 times) is the scene in Monty Python’s The Holy Grail in which Sir Gallahad the Chaste wanders up to Castle Anthrax, where he is promptly met by a castle full of rather sexually frustrated maidens. The scene as a whole mirrors very closely the Castle Joyous scene in which Britomart’s chastity is tested by the castle’s maiden. There are countless other examples, but this one stood out to me particularly, and speaks more generally to the true epic nature of the text – a text so epic that, even now, it is still being drawn from for inspiration.