Charissa: Charity in The Faerie Queene

Charissa is the third daughter of Caelia in the first book of The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser. She is also the only one that has a child.

Her name is close to the Latin for “charity”, which explains why she is the last sister to visit with the Redcrosse knight after Fidelia (meaning faith) and Sperenza (meaning hope), provide the first two virtues that the Redcrosse knight must master.

Together with her sisters, Charissa is able to prepare the Redcrosse knight for his fight with the Dragon, helping him to become holy.

See our complete list of Arthurian characters for more entries like this one.

Arthurian Bibliography

• Norris Lacy, Geoffrey Ashe, Debra Mancoff – The Arthurian Handbook (Second Edition)
• Alan Lupack – The Oxford Guide to Arthurian Literature and Legend
• Ronan Coghlan – The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Arthurian Legends
• Anonymous – Lancelot-Grail, the French Vulgate
• Sir Thomas Malory – Le Morte d’Arthur