II. Oh How
Unlike the Place From Whence They Fell!: Book V
In
a time of civil unrest and political upheaval a “hero” is one who protects from
both internal and external threats. Considering the historical circumstances in
Ireland and England of the disturbance caused by the
Counter-Reformation—beginning with the council of Trent (1545-1563) and ending
at the close of the Thirty Years’ War (1648), Arthegal is such a hero.[1] Arthegal
is a protector against both internal and external threats. For example, he
mercilessly executes those who practice idolatry and those who destroy any form
of “protestant” church property. “Protestant” can be loosely interpreted here
because it must be taken in the context of Spenser’s political reality.
Elizabeth, as chief architect of a nation of diverse religious views, had to
delegate work of maintaining law and order to keep her nation together. In
Arthegal, harsh punishments issued through him and carried out by his fervent
muscle, Taulus, constitute Elizabethan acts of uniformity for the sole purpose
of maintaining law while allowing for a diversity of beliefs. This tolerance
was only extended to variants of Protestant beliefs, such as Lutheranism,
Calvinism, Puritanism, not to
Catholics.[2] In
this sense, Arthegall represents the Christian Everyman serving Gloriana’s call
to wipe out all the injustice that has infected both her people and the nature
of her land. His actions are therefore heroic, aiming to impose Gloriana’s
right to rule as Spenser saw it. Two key episodes illustrate Arthegal’s
heroism: the killing of the false prophet, the giant, and the brutal execution
of Grantoro, or the “great wrong.”
The
giant is pride. In Book I, Spenser resoundingly advocates for the outright
execution of pride by having Redcrosse kill Orgoglio, but only after
establishing Orgoglio is linked with Duessa through pride, for Duessa is to
Mary Tudor as Orgoglio is to Philip of Spain, both patrons of the Catholic
church, which, for Spenser had been irrevocably corrupted by pride.[3] In
the giant, a similar evil and pervasive pride is manifested. When Arthegal and
Taulus come across giant preaching a sermon literally on a mound to subjects
gathering at his feet, a deep philosophical discourse follows on equity, or how
to assess each individual case and in what light, and redistribution of wealth.
The Giant rejects “the Aristotlean principle of proportionate distribution
because he speaks for the many-headed multitude, reducing all things “unto
equality.” Arthegal opposes this idea because it is a disruption of God’s
system of distribution as advocated by Elizabeth herself. He raises the “counter-argument
that wing, light, and right or wrong cannot be quantified and redistributed”.
After persuasion fails to win over the giant, force is used as a last resort.
At that point, Taulus then “shouldred [the giant] from off the higher ground |
And down the rock him throwing in the sea him drouned, (V.ii.49.7-9). Arthegal is a Christian hero, not least
because he ensures that Elizabeth’s societal order is upheld, even though the
natives to whom the giant are preaching become furious. Interestingly, this
episode also highlights Arthegal’s heroism because the giant’s death is
compared to another death Bible, in the episode of Antiochus, who “thought he
might… weigh the hie mountains in ye balance, was now cast on the
ground…declaring vnto all the manifest power of God’ (2 Macc. 9.7-8).
In
the last canto of Book V, Arthegal encounters the “great wrong,” Grantoro.
Grantoro has held the lady Irena as his captive and kept the salvage people
mesmerized under his spell. It is only through Arthegal’s divine calling to
implement an equitable justice here that finally ends the Grantoro’s reign of
terror:
“Which when the people round about him saw,
They shouted al for joy of his
success,
Glad to be quit from that proud
Tyrants awe,
Which with strong power did them
long time oppresse;
And running all the greedie
joyfulnesse
To faire Irena, at her feet did fall,
And her adored with due humblenesse,
As their true Liege and Princess
natural;
And
eke her champions glorie sounded ouer all.” (V. xii.24)
Only after Arthegall slays Grantorto, do
the salvage people realize that Irena is the one to whom they owe allegiance. Arthegall
slaying of Grantorto effectively rescues the “heritage” and “franchisement”
that Grantorto had stolen as his to claim.[4] Irena
is thus once again their legitimate ruler, rescued by a battered hero, because
she is”liege”. She is a loyal subject of Elizabeth, even perhaps an emblematic
of her rule of law. In this episode,
Grantoro represents one who aims to restore Catholicism in Ireland, which, for
Protestants, was an accursed threat.[5] Grantoro’s
enterprise, then can be seen as a religious one when taken in context with
Spenser’s life in Ireland, for to the English Protestant of the Elizabethan
church, Grantoro stands for the Spanish monarchy and papal authorities seeking
to help the natives in Ireland overthrow Gloriana, while Arthegal is the heroic
Christian Everyman chosen to delegate justice against the forces of the papal
banner.
