Redcrosse

Redcrosse Knight, commonly called Redcrosse, is the principal character of Book I of Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene (1590). He embodies Holiness, one of the poem's central allegorical virtues, and functions as a knight-errant whose quest embodies Christian piety and fidelity. His companion Una personifies Truth and the True Church; together they journey through the Faerie Land to pursue spiritual understanding and to challenge falsehood.

During their voyage Redcrosse faces temptations and illusions that test his virtue. He encounters enchantments personified as Archimago and Duessa, who symbolize deceit and hypocrisy, and he endures episodes that reveal the dangers of pride and skepticism. The ordeal culminates in a temporary fall from grace, when Redcrosse is misled by appearances and is brought low. He is ultimately restored through repentance, the aid of holy guidance, and the revelation of true faith, underscoring the poem's message that Holiness requires grace as well as merit.

Symbolism and legacy: Redcrosse's red cross emblem on his shield gives rise to his name and anchors his identity in Christian chivalric imagery. The narrative uses his trials to explore the conflict between truth and falsehood, faith and doubt, within an Elizabethan religious framework. The adventures of Redcrosse Knight establish the moral and allegorical framework for The Faerie Queene, and the following books introduce other knights who embody additional virtues. In modern scholarship, Redcrosse is a focal point for discussions of Spenser's religious politics, allegory, and the construction of virtue in late Renaissance literature.