For during Saturnes ancient raigne it's sayd
That all the world with goodnesse did abound;
All loved vertue, no man was affrayd

Of force, ne fraud in wight was to be found;
No warre was knowne, no dreadful trompets sound;
Peace universal rayn'd mongst men and beasts:
And all things freely grew out of the ground:
Justice sate high ador'd with solemne feasts,
And to all people did divide her dred beheasts:

Most sacred Vertue she of all the rest,
Resembling God in his imperiall might;
Whose soveraine powre is herein most exprest,
That both to good and bad he dealeth right,
And all his workes with iustice hath bedight.
That powre he also doth to princes lend,
And makes them like himselfe in glorious sight
To sit in his own seate, his cause to end,
And rule his people right, as he doth recommend.

Dread soverayne goddesse, that doest highest sit
In seate of iudgement in th' Almighties stead,
And with magnificke might and wondrous wit
Doest to thy people righteous doome aread,
That furthest nations filles with awfull dread,
Pardon the boldnesse of thy basest thrall,
That dare discourse of so divine a read,
As thy great iustice praysed over all;
The instrument whereof loe here thy Artegall.

CANTO I.

Artegall trayn'd in Iustice lore
Irenaes quest pursewed;
He doeth avenge on Sanglier

His ladies bloud embrewed,

THOUGH Vertue then were held in highest price,
In those old times of which I doe intreat,
Yet then likewise the wicked seede of vice
Began to spring; which shortly grew full great,
And with their boughes the gentle plants did beat:
But evermore some of the vertuous race
Rose up, inspired with heroicke heat,

That cropt the branches of the sient base,

Wherefore the lady, which Irena hight,
Did to the Faerie queene her way addresse,
To whom complayning her afflicted plight,
She her besought of gratious redresse:
That soveraine queene, that mightie emperesse,
Whose glorie is to aide all suppliants póre,
And of weake princes to be patronesse,
Chose Artegall to right her to restore;

For that to her he seem'd best skild in righteous lore.

For Artegall in iustice was upbrought
Even from the cradle of his infancie,

And all the depth of rightfull doome was taught

By faire Astræa, with great industrie,
Whilest here on Earth she lived mortallie:
For, till the world from his perfection fell
Into all filth and foule iniquitie,

Astræa here mongst earthly men did dwell,
And in the rules of iustice them instructed well.

Whiles through the world she walked in this sort,
Upon a day she found this gentle childe
Amongst his peres playing his childish sport;
Whom seeing fit, and with no crime defilde,
She did allure with gifts and speaches milde
To wend with her: so thence him farre she brought
Into a cave from companie exilde,

In which she noursled him, till yeares he raught;
And all the discipline of iustice there him taught.

There she him taught to weigh both right and wrong
In equall ballance with due recompence,
And equitie to measure out along
According to the line of conscience,
Whenso it needs with rigour to dispence:
Of all the which, for want there of mankind,
She caused him to make experience
Upon wyld beasts, which she in woods did find,
With wrongfull powre oppressing others of their kind,

Thus she him trayned, and thus she him taught
In all the skill of deeming wrong and right,
Until the ripenesse of mans yeares he raught;
That even wilde beasts did feare his awfull sight,
And men admyr'd his over-ruling might;
Ne any liv'd on ground that durst withstand
His dreadfull heast, much lesse him match in fight,

And with strong hand their fruitfull ranknes did de- Or bide the horror of his wreakfull hand,

face.

Such first was Bacchus, that with furious might
All th' east before untam'd did over-ronne,
And wrong repressed, and establisht right,
Which lawlesse men had formerly fordonne:
There Iustice first her princely rule begonne.
Next Hercules his like ensample shewed,
Who all the west with equall conquest wonne,
And monstrous tyrants with his club subdewed;
The club of Iustice dread with kingly powre endewed.

And such was he of whom I have to tell,
The champion of true Justice, Artegall:
Whom (as ye lately mote remember well)
An hard adventure, which did then befall,
Into redoubted perill forth did call;
That was, to succour a distressed dame
Whom a strong tyrant did uniustly thrall,
And from the heritage, which she did clame,

Whenso he list in wrath lift up his steely brand:

Which steely brand, to make him dreaded more,
She gave unto him, gotten by her slight
And earnest search, where it was kept in store
In loves eternall house, unwist of wight,
Since he himselfe it us'd in that great fight
Against the Titans, that whylome rebelled
Gainst highest Heaven; Chrysaor it was hight;
Chrysaor, that all other swords excelled,
Well prov'd in that same day when love those gyants
quelled:

For of most perfect metall it was made,
Tempred with adamant amongst the same,
And garnisht all with gold upon the blade
In goodly wise, whereof he tooke his name,
And was of no lesse vertue then of fame:
For there no substance was so firme and hard,
But it would pierce or cleave whereso it came;

Did with strong hand withhold; Grantorto was his Ne any armour could his dint out-ward;

name.

But wheresoever it did light, it throughly sheard

And sayd; "Now sure this doubtfull causes right
Can hardly but by sacrament be tride,
Or else by ordele, or by blooddy fight;
That ill perhaps mote fall to either side:
But if ye please that I your cause decide,
Perhaps I may all further quarrell end,

So
ye will sweare my iudgement to abide."
Thereto they both did franckly condiscend,
And to his doome with listfull eares did both attend.

"Sith then," sayd he, "ye both the dead deny,
And both the living lady claime your right,
Let both the dead and living equally
Devided be betwixt you here in sight,
And each of either take his share aright.
But looke, who does dissent from this my read,
He for a twelve moneths day shall in despight
Beare for his penaunce that same ladies head;
To witnesse to the world that she by him is dead."

Well pleased with that doome was Sangliere,
And offred streight the lady to be slaine:
But that same squire to whom she was more dere,
Whenas he saw she should be cut in twaine,
Did yield she rather should with him remaine
Alive then to himselfe be shared dead;
And rather then his love should suffer paine,
He chose with shame to beare that ladies head:
True love despiseth shame when life is cald in
dread.

CANTO II.

Artegall heares of Florimell;
Does with the Pagan fight:

. Him slaies; drownes lady Munera ;
Does race her castle quight.

NOUGHT is more honourable to a knight,
Ne better doth beseeme brave chevalry,
Then to defend the feeble in their right,
And wrong redresse in such as wend awry:
Whilome those great heröes got thereby
Their greatest glory for their rightfull deedes,
And place deserved with the gods on hy:
Herein the noblesse of this knight exceedes,
Who now to perils great for justice sake proceedes:

To which as he now was uppon the way,
He chaunst to meet a dwarfe in hasty course;
Whom he requir'd his forward hast to stay,
Till he of tidings mote with him discourse.
Loth was the dwarfe, yet did he stay perforse,
And gan of sundry newes his store to tell,
As to his memory they had recourse;
But chiefly of the fairest Florimell,

How she was found againe, and spousde to Marinell.

For this was Dony, Florimells owne dwarfe,
Whom having lost (as ye have heard whyleare)
And finding in the way the scattred scarfe,
The fortune of her life long time did feare:
but thine I But of her health when Artegall did heare,
And safe returne, he was full inly glad,

Whom when so willing Artegall perceaved; "Not so, thou squire," he sayd,

deeme
The living lady, which from thee he reaved:
For worthy thou of her doest rightly seeme.
And you, sir Knight, that love so light esteeme,
As that ye would for little leave the same,
Take here your owne that doth you best beseeme,
And with it beare the burden of defame;

Your owne dead ladies head, to tell abrode your
shame."

But Sangliere disdained much his doome,
And sternly gan repine at his beheast;
Ne would for ought obay, as did become,
To beare that ladies head before his breast:
Untill that Talus had his pride represt,
And forced him, maulgrè, it up to reare.
Who when he saw it bootelesse to resist,
He tooke it up, and thence with him did beare;
As rated spaniell takes his burden up for feare.

Much did that squire sir Artegall adore
For his great justice held in high regard;
And as his squire him offred evermore
To serve, for want of other meete reward,
And wend with him or his adventure hard:
But he thereto would by no meanes consent;
But leaving him forth on his iourney far'd:
Ne wight with him but onely Talus went ;
They two enough t' encounter an whole regiment.

And askt him where and when her bridale cheare
Should be solemniz'd; for, if time he had,

He would be there, and honor to her spousall ad.

"Within three daies," quoth he, "as I do heare,
It will be at the Castle of the Strond;
What time, if naught me let, I will be there
To do her service so as I am bond.
But in my way a little here beyond
A cursed cruell Sarazin doth wonne,
That keepes a bridges passage by strong hond,
And many errant knights hath there fordonne;
That inakes all men for feare that passage for to.
shonne."

"What mister wight," quoth he, "and how far

hence

Is he, that doth to travellers such harmes ?"
"He is," said he, "a man of great defence;
Expert in battell and in deedes of armes ;
And more emboldned by the wicked charmes,
With which his daughter doth him still support;
Having great lordships got and goodly farmes
Through strong oppression of his powre extort;
By which he stil them holds, and keepes with
strong effort.

"And dayly he his wrongs encreaseth more;
For never wight he lets to passe that way,
Over his bridge, albee he rich or poore,
But he him makes his passage-penny pay:
Else he doth hold him backe or beat away.
Thereto he hath a groome of evill guize,
Whose scalp is bare, that bondage doth bewray,
Which pols and pils the poore in piteous wize;
But he himselfe upon the rich doth tyrannize.

His name is hight Pollentè, rightly so,
For that he is so puissant and strong,
That with his powre he all doth over-go,
And makes them subiect to his mighty wrong;
And some by sleight he eke doth underfong:
For on a bridge he custometh to fight,
Which is but narrow, but exceeding long;
And in the same are many trap-fals pight,
Through which the rider downe doth fall through
oversight.

"And underneath the same a river flowes,
That is both swift and dangerous deepe withall;
Into the which whomso he overthrowes,
All destitute of helpe doth headlong fall;
But he himselfe through practise usuall
Leapes forth into the floud, and there assaies
His foe confused through his sodaine fall,
That horse and man he equally dismaies,

And either both them drownes, or trayterously slaies.

"Then doth he take the spoile of them at will,
And to his daughter brings, that dwells thereby:
Who all that comes doth take, and therewith fill
The coffers of her wicked threasury;
Which she with wrongs hath heaped up so hy
That many princes she in wealth exceedes,
And purchast all the countrey lying ny
With the revenue of her plenteous meedes:
Her name is Munera, agreeing with her deedes.

"Thereto she is full faire, and rich attired,
With golden hands and silver feete beside,
That many lords have her to wife desired;
But she them all despiseth for great pride."
"Now by my life," sayd he," and God to guide,
None other way will I this day betake,
But by that bridge whereas he doth abide:
Therefore me thither lead." No more he spake,
But thitherward forthright his ready way did make.

Unto the place he came within a while,
Where on the bridge he ready armed saw
The Sarazin, awayting for some spoile :
Who as they to the passage gan to draw,
A villaine to them came with scull all raw,
That passage-money did of them require,
According to the custome of their law:

To whom he aunswerd wroth, "Loe there thy hire;"
And with that word him strooke, that streight he did
expire.

Which when the Pagan saw he wexed wroth,
And streight himselfe unto the fight addrest;
Ne was sir Artegall behinde: so both
Together ran with ready speares in rest.
Right in the midst, whereas they brest to brest
Should meete, a trap was letten downe to fall
Into the floud: streight leapt the carle unblest,
Well weening that his foe was falne withall:
But he was well aware, and leapt before his fall.

There being both together in the floud,
They each at other tyrannously flew;
Ne ought the water cooled their whot bloud,
But rather in them kindled choler new:
But there the Paynim, who that use well knew
To fight in water, great advantage had,
That oftentimes him nigh he overthrew:
And eke the courser whereuppon he raď
Could swim like to a fish whiles he his backe bestrad.

Which oddes whenas sír Artegall espide,
He saw no way but close with him in hast;
And to him driving strongly downe the tide
Uppon his iron coller griped fast,

That with the straint his wesand nigh he brast.
There they together strove and struggled long,
Either the other from his steed to cast;
Ne ever Artegall his griple strong

For any thinge wold slacke, but still upon him hong

As when a dolphin and a sele are met
In the wide champian of the ocean plaine,
With cruell chaufe their courages they whet,
The maysterdome of each by force to gaine,
And dreadfull battaile twixt them do darraine;
They snuf, they snort, they bounce, they rage, they
That all the sea, disturbed with their traine, [rore,
Doth frie with fome above the surges hore:
Such was betwixt these two the troublesome uprore.