The Forester: A Wild Representation of Lust

The Forester is a minor character in book 3 of Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene. His entire role is to chase after Florimell, and not in a good way.

He is eventually tracked down by Timias, the squire of Prince Arthur, and together with his two brothers, the Forester battles Timias. Timias kills all three of them, but he is gravely wounded himself, only surviving thanks to the help of Belphoebe.

The Forester is a representation of wild lust and lawlessness, and is also associated with the wildness of an untamed forest.

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