Gender Masculine
Usage Literature
Meaning & History
In Sepnser's "The Faerie Queene", Arthegall is a brave knight who is first introduced as the lady knight Britomart’s future husband in Book III and who later goes on his own journey as the protagonist of Book V (in order to free Eirena from the clutches of Grantorto), where he represents the virtue of justice. Though Arthegall is bested by Britomart when they meet and fight due to a case of mistaken identity, he is a strong knight whose ideas about justice are strict and uncompromising. He rides with a metal man at his command named Talus who sometimes fights on his behalf, and he wields a powerful sword known as Chrysaor. Although Arthegall is ultimately a heroic character, he does occasionally go too far and has to be held back from slaying too many people. This demonstrates how justice can be tricky to carry out, even for a great knight like Arthegall.