Illuminating Redcrosse's Way: Medieval Apocalypse Manuscripts as Sources for Spenser's Faerie Queene

Abstract:It has long been acknowledged that Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queene is indebted to the book of Revelation. What has not been recognized, however, is that one of the forms in which Spenser most likely encountered Revelation was illuminated Apocalypse manuscripts created in England in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries. These manuscripts hold many surprising correspondences with book 1 of The Faerie Queene: the translation of Revelation into vernacular poetry; the depiction of red-cross knights fighting dragons alongside wimpled ladies offering encouragement; the recasting of Revelation as romance adventure or hagiography; the association of Apocalyptic events with the English monarchy; and a moralized reading of Revelation that interprets this scriptural book less as historical prophecy and more as a guide for the pious Christian navigating the snares of this world. This essay examines these resonances between the medieval Apocalypses and The Faerie Queene, identifying nine manuscripts that were plausibly accessible to Spenser prior to his departure for Ireland in 1580. Reminding ourselves of the continued use of these medieval books both enriches our understanding of Spenser's aims and serves as a case study in the medievalism of early modern England.