Braggadochio is one of the few intentionally comedic characters in Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene. He first appears in book 2, stealing Sir Guyon’s horse.
Braggadochio and his companion Trompart represent a false ideal of what a knight is supposed to look like.
Braggadochio is obsessed with the external elements that make up a knight, such as armor, swords, horses, etc. But when it comes down to the real virtues that make a knight (strength, courage, etc.) he completely lacks.
Throughout the text, we learn that he is a coward, he is impolite, and is easily manipulated by his squire.
In short, he is a comedic inverse of what a knight should be.
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.
