Calidore
The Knight of Courtesy in Edmund Spenser's "The Faerie Queene."
Introduction#
Calidore is the principal hero of Book VI of The Faerie Queene. As the Knight of Courtesy, he is commissioned by Gloriana, the Fairy Queen, to capture the Blatant Beast, a monstrous embodiment of slander and malicious speech. His quest takes him through both the chivalric world of knights and the peaceful pastoral world of shepherds, allowing Spenser to explore courtesy as a virtue governing human relationships and conduct.
The Quest for the Blatant Beast#
Calidore sets out to capture the Blatant Beast, following its trail through Fairy Land and witnessing the destruction and misery caused by its malicious tongue.
During his travels, however, he encounters the shepherd Meliboe and becomes fascinated by the simple and peaceful life of the pastoral community. He abandons his quest for a time and takes up the life of a shepherd. There he falls in love with Pastorella, a beautiful shepherdess.
Calidore’s pastoral idyll is interrupted when Pastorella is abducted by pirates. Calidore pursues and rescues her, eventually discovering that she is not a shepherd’s daughter but a princess of noble birth.
The revelation restores her to the social world appropriate to her lineage and enables Calidore to resume his own chivalric quest.
Capture of the Blatant Beast#
Calidore eventually returns to his original mission and catches up with the Blatant Beast.
The monster attacks him with its claws and poisonous tongues, attempting to overwhelm him with violence and malicious speech. Calidore remains steadfast, subdues the creature, and fastens an iron muzzle over its mouth before chaining it.
He then leads the captured Beast through Fairy Land as a public demonstration of his victory.
Allegorical Significance#
Calidore represents Courtesy, the virtue treated by Spenser in Book VI. Courtesy encompasses more than outward politeness: it involves proper conduct towards others, generosity, civility, and the ability to live harmoniously within society.
His temporary retreat into pastoral life allows Spenser to contrast the refined behaviour expected within the courtly and chivalric world with the simpler virtues of pastoral existence.
His eventual return to his quest demonstrates that courtesy must operate within the wider social and moral order rather than remaining merely a private ideal.
In the Arthurian Tradition#
Calidore is unique to Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene. He belongs to Spenser’s reimagined Arthurian world, where knights undertake quests that embody particular moral virtues.
Although Calidore is not drawn from the medieval Arthurian romances, his association with Gloriana and his place among the poem’s virtuous knights make him an important figure in the Renaissance Arthurian tradition.
Sources#
The Faerie Queene | Edmund Spenser, 1570-1599
