The Faerie Queene

The Faerie Queene makes it clear that no single virtue is greater than the rest. Each of the six books is dedicated to a specific virtue: holiness, temperance, chastity, friendship, justice, and courtesy, and while some virtues are superior to others, they require one another to strengthen the integrity of the whole person. For example, Redcrosse’s Holiness requires rescuing by Britomart’s Chastity, while Britomart’s Chastity seeks Justice to complete it in the social realm.