Hallie on FQ 1.11

Una shows Redcrosse where her parents are being held captive; it is in a tower guarded by a fierce dragon. Upon Una and Redcrosse seeing this tower, the dragon prepares for battle with Redcrosse. The dragon is covered in impenetrable scales, the gory remains of his last victims in his mouth. Redcrosse and the dragon engage in battle, and Redcrosse is knocked over by the dragon. The knight’s sword strikes the dragon, but doesn’t penetrate the scales of his foe—later, Redcrosse wounds the dragon’s neck, causing an immense gush of blood that partially floods the surrounding land. Subsequently after this, the dragon scorches Redcrosse, causing agony, as he is burned through his armor. After this, Redcrosse is exhausted, wanting to give up.

By luck, he finds himself stumbling into a well called “The Well of Life;” the dragon throws him into it. In this well, Redcrosse is not only restored to physical wellness, but is simultaneously cleansed of his sins. The dragon believes that he has won the battle; all night, Una is terrified, believing this Redcrosse has been defeated. In the morning, Redcrosse emerges from the fountain, stronger than before, and Una is amazed. The dragon is frustrated and also perplexed by Redcrosse’s recovery, and battle ensues once more. The dragon stabs Redcrosse with his poisonous tail, after Redcrosse lands a successful blow to the dragon’s skull. The wound, though severe, does not inhibit Redcrosse from slicing off the tail of the dragon, as he remembers his oath to Una. The fight between the dragon and Redcrosse continues, and the dragon breathes a plume of fire into the sky. This heat is so intense that Redcrosse has to retreat; as a result, he just so happens to stagger into a stream that runs from the Tree of Life. This holy space does not allow the dragon to approach it. In this time, Redcrosse is healed once more by the water of the stream and the healing balm that Una simultaneously applies to his wounds. The next morning, Redcrosse has healed once again. This greatly distresses the dragon, and for the third day, the knight and the dragon engage in battle. The dragon attempts to swallow Redcrosse, hoping to once and for all end his life. However, Redcrosse stabs the dragon through the mouth, which kills the dragon. Dismayed at the fact that the dragon is dead, Una thanks Redcrosse and prays.

Canto 11, stanza 46:

There grew a goodly tree him faire beside,

Loaden with fruit and apples rosie red,

As they in pure vermilion had beene dide,

Whereof great vertues over all were red:

For happie life to all, which thereon fed,

And life eke everlasting did befall:

Gread God it planted in that blessed sted

With his almightie hand, and did it call

The tree of life, the crime of our first fathers fall.

Image: Walter Crane’s 1897 illustration in The Faerie Queene.

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