Sansjoy: Saracen Brother in The Faerie Queene

Sansjoy is one of three brothers in Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene. (the other two being Sansfoy and Sansloy). He is a Saracen, meaning a Muslim or nonbeliever, and his name means “without joy” or “joyless”.

While trying to get revenge for the death of his brother, Sansfoy, Sansjoy engages the Redcrosse knight in battle and loses. However, unlike his brother, he survives with the help of Duessa, who takes him into the underworld to be cured by Aesculapius.

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