In Book 3 Canto XI, Britomart has a brief run in with a giant, Ollyphant, and the Norton mentions that Ollyphant and his sister (also a giant) had an incestuous relationship and that this was Bad. But it made me curious about the incest taboo during the Renaissance period—is it about the same as today, or are there any significant differences in terms of how we might understand it?  (Strong feeling that it’s going to be the latter.)

I did do a cursory Google search of this and there didn’t seem to be any smaller articles on the subjects—only books.

So I guess I am wondering if anyone (coughProfessorKitchcough) might have an answer to this off the top of their heads?

I was intrigued by the narrator’s praise of Belphoebe at the end of Book 3, Canto 5. When Spenser was writing The Faerie Queene, Queen Elizabeth was known for her cult following that focused on her status as a virgin. Here, Belphoebe is exalted for her “chastity and vertue virginall, / That shall embellish more [her] beautie bright” (3.5.53.6–7), meaning that her chastity only makes her more beautiful. It seems that virginity gets its value from the way men deem it a quality; somewhat ironically, being chaste makes the woman more beautiful and revered in men’s eyes.

In book 3 canto 1, Arthur and Sir Guyon chase after Florimell with the intention of saving her, as well as marrying her as we discussed in class. They were not able to fight off their temptation, but I find it interesting that later on in book 3 we find out that Britomart was not distracted by Florimell because she had to fulfill her own quest: to find her destined husband, Artegall. It seems as if Britomart, Sir Guyon, and Arthur are on the same chase. Although Britomart knows Artegall will be her husband as told by Merlin, is she able to fight her temptation of love? It is clear that she isn’t able to because Glauce is concerned about Britomart, and she is described as having a sickness:

Old Glauce call, to cure this Lady’s Grief:
Full many ways she sought, but none could find,
Nor Herbs, nor Charms, nor Counsel, that is chief
And choicest Med’cine for sick Heart’s Relief

In reading Spenser, I have been keeping the Bechdel Test in mind: that is, whether the work features two women discussing something other than a man or a boy. Our reading for Monday comes close, yet does not quite pass the test. Venus stumbles upon Diana and her nymphs in the woods while searching for her lost son, Cupid. Venus asks for their help in finding Cupid; Diana responds rather cattily that Cupid has aided Venus in her evil tricks, so she’s now getting what she bargained for. Venus persists, saying: “Faire sister, ill beseems it to upbrayd/ A dolefull heart with so disdainfull pride;/ The like that mine, may be your paine another tide” (3.6.21.187-189). So, the two are discussing a boy, therefore the conversation does not square with the Bechdel qualification. But there is something interesting here about entreating a common sisterhood: Venus addresses Diana as her sister, and presses that this–implicitly motherly–pain may inflict Diana another time. I’m interested in further exploring how women characters in the poem interact with one another.

In Book 1, I was struck by Spenser’s attention to detail and use of imagery–which would sometime span many stanzas, often making it more challenging to follow the plot. It seems, though, that when Spenser relies upon imagery and description he is directly invoking the use of sources into his poems, a technique that Chaucer and his contemporaries often used. In particular, Spenser uses the Mixed-Forest technique in the 8th and 9th stanzas of the first canto to describe the garden or forest. As the footnote says, Spenser is imitating Chaucer’s use of the rhetorical device, who originally got the idea from Ovid. Upon a closer examination of Chaucer’s use of the device in Parliament of Fowls (which I did last year for a paper in Professor Solberg’s Chaucer course), the mixed-forest serves a broaden purpose than simply idealizing nature, but uses the technique to represent broader ideas about love, philosophy, experience and knowledge. I wonder if upon closer examination of Spenser’s use of the technique if he falls more in line with Ovid or Chaucer. Finally, Spenser’s continual use of sources and classical and biblical references also further illuminates his and his contemporaries’ thoughts on invention vs. copia.

I thought Una’s encouragement for the Knight during the fight with Error was very interesting. As he is getting beat, she yells, “Now now Sir knight, she what ye bee, Add faith unto your force, and be not faint (1.1.19.164-165)”. Because of her strong warnings against his entering the den, it would be easy for her to have made certain that he knew she was right. She does come close to saying this, but in a more encouraging way. It comes across more as, “You said you could handle it, and I know you can. Now prove it.” This shows the strong unwavering support she has for the Knight during this episode.