Answer: The Red Cross Knight, who is the hero of Book-I of ‘The Faerie Queene’ has not been given any name. He is known by his designation which is the Red Cross Knight. He is so called because he wears on his armour the sign of the Cross, and because the same sign is also inscribed on his shield. The Cross, as we know, symbolises the martyrdom of Lord Jesus Christ. The Knight who is the hero of Book- I, is an ardent follower and disciple of Jesus Christ; and that is why he carries the sign of the cross on his armour and on his shield. The sign of the cross is depicted on the armour and on the shield of this Knight in red colour, and so he is called the Red Cross Knight or the knight of the Red Cross. ‘Red’ symbolises the blood of Jesus Christ who was crucified on the cross.
The Red Cross Knight is deputed by the Fairy Queen to relieve the distress of Lady Una, whose parents dwell in perpetual dread of a fierce dragon that has laid waste their whole Kingdom and threatened them with death and destruction. The Red Cross Knight symbolises Holiness or Righteousness. His mission is to champion the cause of Una (Truth) and regain the rights of her parents (Human race) held in subjection by the mighty force of the Dragon (evil). Historically the Knight of the Red Cross is St. George or the Reformed Church of England or England as a militant spiritual force, fighting corruption, pride and manifold evils of the papacy, Paganism and Catholicism.
Although the Red Cross Knight stands for an abstract idea (Holiness), Spenser has humanized him. We get a wonderful picture of a Medieval Knight in the figure of the Red Cross Knight as described by the poet:
“A Gentle Knight was pricking on the plaine,
Ycladd in mightie armes and silver shielde”
The Red Cross Knight riding on the horse was of noble birth. On his breast, he bore a bloody cross as a token of his love and allegiance to Jesus Christ who had died on the Cross. The sign of the cross was also inscribed on his shield. He was a follower of Christ both in word and deed. The medieval institution of Knight errantry had a peculiar fascination for Spenser and we get a lasting impression and detailed word-paintings of fighting, knightly encounters and bloodshed through the character portrayal of the Red Cross Knight.
The Knight’s first adventure is to be noticed in his encounter with the monster Error. The knight of the Red Cross, accompanied by Lady Una, proceeded on his journey to accomplish the task entrusted to him. As he was going through a wood, he found himself before a cave. This was the cave of monster Error, who was a horrible creature, with the face of a woman and the hind part of a snake.
The fight between the knight and the monster proved to be the most fierce one. At one stage of his fighting, the Knight found himself in the tight grip of the monster’s huge tail. At this time Lady Una shouted to him to show his bravery. She urged him to have faith in himself and in Jesus Christ and fight bravely. Being inspired by the lady’s advice, the Knight fought with redoubled vigour and courage: At last, he was able to release himself from the grip of the monster’s tail. He then pressed the monster’s throat with such force that she threw out a lot of filth from her mouth. The monster had many young ones which had all taken shelter inside her mouth when the Knight had entered the cave. These little dragons also now emerged from the monster’s mouth. Ultimately the knight succeeded in cutting off the monster’s head and killing her. Her offspring now began to drink the blood which was flowing from her large wound. They drank so much blood that their bodies swelled with it and their bellies burst open with the consequence that they all died. This was the first adventure of the Red Cross Knight.
As the Knight proceeded further on his journey he met the guileful magician Archimago who tried to separate the knight of the Red Cross from Lady Una with his magical charm. The Red Cross Knight was yet inexperienced and immature. So he fell into the trap laid for him by the magician Archimago who personifies Hypocrisy. Even Una’s wisdom did not on that occasion prove of any help because she thought the ‘old sire’, namely Archimago to be a deeply religious and holy man. Thus both the knight and the maiden made the mistake of thinking this old man to be a pious man. They both judge him by his outward appearance and took shelter at his house for the night. When they fell asleep, Archimago tried to misguide him with the help of a false dream, brought by Morpheus, the god of sleep. But Archimago’s intrigues against the Red Cross Knight and Lady Una were foiled by the strong personality and purity of the knight. This is declared by the poet at the end of the Canto-I of The Faerie Queene, Book-I:
“But when he saw his labour all was vaine
With that misformed upright he backe returned againe”
To sum up, the character of the Red Cross Knight has been presented allegorically. Religious as well as political issues of the day are intermingled in this allegory. The Knight of the Red Cross is St. George or the Reformed Church of England or England as a militant spiritual force, fighting corruption, pride and manifold evils of Papacy, Paganism and Catholicism. Una is truth as embodied in the doctrines of the English Church. The fight between the Red Cross Knight with the monster Error is the conflict between Protestantism and Catholicism. In the mission of the Red Cross Knight (True Religion) and Una (Truth) we have seen so long as truth and holiness or true religion are united, Error (Antichrist) however founded on learning can not stand against holiness. That is, Error or Antichrist is not powerful enough to dismay Holiness armoured by the power of Truth. Holiness must be grounded in Truth in order to remain pure and immaculate in the world. So the force of Truth fortifies Holiness.
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