著者

鏡 ますみ

出版者

鳥羽商船高等専門学校

雑誌

鳥羽商船高等専門学校紀要 (ISSN:03879283)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.27, pp.31-40, 2005-02-28

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This essay concentrates on investigating how the victory against the Spanish Armada was represented in those works created after 1588. The first half examines two paintings: the Armada Portrait, which represents Queen Elizabeth's enormous power after defeating Spain by the arrangement of symbolic attributes around the Queen; and an allegorical painting, which is thought to depict the Battle of Gravelines. The second half of the essay discusses the use of the character of the mythological Amazon in The Faerie Queene, following the Earl of Leicester's comment on the Queen during her visit to Tilbury : "she passed like some Amazonian empress". In Book 3 of The Faerie Queene, Amazon is simply a simile for the prowess of the Queen, while in Canto 7 of Book 5, the story of the duel between Britomart and Radigund, the Queen of Amazon, is a political allegory representing the intense conflict between Elizabeth I and Mary Stuart. In this Book, the echoes of the defeat of the Armada are stronger in Canto 8 which is concerned with the story of Prince Arthur killing Saltan, who represents Philip II of Spain. Spenser does not treat the event directly in this canto, but some phrases are clearly linked to events from the Armada. In the book of Justice, the defeat is significant as a part of the liberation of Ireland, which is a goal of the quest for Arthegall, and also in ensuring release from the religious contagion of Spain.