The Faerie Queene

The Faerie Queene Summary | Book 1, Canto 1 Summary

The Red Cross Knight is riding across the plain (wearing borrowed armor that doesn't quite fit him and bears marks of battles he has not yet seen) with the Lady Una (wearing white but covered with a black veil and leading a white lamb) and a dwarf. The Knight has been assigned his first quest by Gloriana, the queen of Faerie, and is supposed to defeat the dragon that has ravaged Una's homeland and kidnapped her parents. The weather threatens to turn nasty, so the party seeks shelter in a nearby wood. The forest is a comfortable retreat, but the travelers soon lose their way and cannot find the path out. The knight strikes out into a dark, creepy den, despite Una's warning to take his time and be careful, for they are in the Den of Error, a monstrous half-woman, half serpent hybrid. The foolhardy knight battles with this creature and is nearly dispatched by her poisonous stingers and vomit of moldy books and papers, but Una calls out to him at the last moment to have faith, and the Red Cross Knight is finally able to prevail, cutting off the beast's head. Error's children scuttle forth to feast on her blood until they burst. The Red Cross Knight is disgusted by the scene, but is quickly restored by Una's praise of his battle prowess.

The group continues on their quest, now able to find the path, of course, and soon they come upon an old man in black who offers them rest for the night in his cottage. The travelers agree and Archimago leads them back to his hermitage. That night, Archimago uses dark spells to first give the Red Cross Knight some passionate and lustful dreams, then makes it appear as though Una has appeared in his room intent on dishonoring herself with him. The knight manages to talk his way out of the encounter, stunned that the virtuous Lady Una would stoop to such levels, but willing to forget the matter. The evil spirits return to Archimago to report their failure.