ntic spirit and heroic deeds. Into the framework of
his romance of chivalry he inserted a veiled picture of the struggles and
sufferings of his own people in Ireland. The _Faerie Queene_ might almost
be called the epic of the English conquest of Ireland. The poet himself and
many of his friends were in that unhappy island as representatives of the
queen's government, trying to pacify the natives, and establish law and
order out of discontent and anarchy. Spenser's poem was written for the
most part amidst all these scenes of misery and disorder, and the courage,
justice, and energy shown by his countrymen were aptly portrayed under the
allegory of a mighty spiritual warfare of the knights of old against the
power of evil.

Spenser's essay on _A View of the Present State of Ireland_ shows that, far
from shutting himself up in a fool's paradise of fancy, he was fully awake
to the social and political condition of that turbulent island, and that it
furnished him with concrete examples of those vices and virtues, bold
encounters and hair-breadth escapes, strange wanderings and deeds of
violence, with which he has crowded the allegory of the _Faerie Queene_.

II. THE AUTHOR OF THE _FAERIE QUEENE_

Edmund Spenser was born in London near the Tower in the year 1552. His
parents were poor, though they were probably connected with the Lancashire
branch of the old family of Le Despensers, "an house of ancient fame," from
which the Northampton Spencers were also descended. The poet's familiarity
with the rural life and dialect of the north country supports the theory
that as a boy he spent some time in Lancashire. Beyond two or three facts,
nothing is known with certainty of his early years. He himself tells us
that his mother's name was Elizabeth, and that London was his "most kindly
nurse." His name is mentioned as one of six poor pupils of the Merchant
Taylors' School, who received assistance from a generous country squire.

At the age of seventeen, Master Edmund became a student in Pembroke Hall,
one of the colleges of the great University of Cambridge. His position was
that of a sizar, or paid scholar, who was exempt from the payment of
tuition fees and earned his way by serving in the dining hall or performing
other menial duties. His poverty, however, did not prevent him from forming
many helpful friendships with his fellow-students. Among his most valued
friends he numbered Launcelot Andrews, afterward Bishop of Winchester