Acrasia is the driving force behind the narrative in book 2 of The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser. She is an evil sorceress who lures men through sexual seduction away from their wives and families.
It was Acrasia who killed Sir Mordant, causing his wife Amavia to kill herself, and leaving their baby and orphan.
It is Sir Guyon, after hearing this story, who makes it his quest to stop Acrasia.
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Acrasia lives in a location called the Bower of Bliss, which is an idyllic paradise, but not one that is ultimately a pleasant place to stay. In fact, many of the men she seduces eventually turn into beasts on this island, harkening back to Homer’s Odyssey.
Acrasia’s name means “giving into desire” and “badly mixed”, which is ironic since her name is kind of a mixture of Latin and Greek.
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
See also my ever-expanding list of primary and secondary sources.
