EDMUND SPENSER (C. 1552-1599)
The Faerie Queene : disposed into twelve books, fashioning XII morall vertues
1590RCIN 1081217
The Faerie Queene, an incomplete epic allegorical poem on virtue dedicated to Elizabeth I, was in effect a commentary on society and the Queen herself. Spenser’s work had profound influence on his contemporaries, including Shakespeare, and earned Spenser a pension from Elizabeth I. This copy was added to the Royal Library on the assumption that the crowned Tudor roses on the covers denoted this as the copy that had belonged to Elizabeth I.