Britannica
Sources used in this answer
Which virtue does the Red Cross Knight represent in The Faerie Queene?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser, oil painting by an unknown artist; in the collection of Pembroke College, Cambridge, England.
In Edmund Spenser's epic poem The Faerie Queene, the Red Cross Knight represents the virtue of holiness.1
As the protagonist of Book I, he also serves as a symbolic figure for St. George and the Anglican church, acting as the chivalric champion of Una, who represents truth and true religion.1