Sir Scudamore is a knight who is in love with Amoret in book 3 of Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene.
When he and Amoret first meet, their relationship does not start off well. Scudamore carries her off, after storming into the Temple of Venus to grab her.
Nevertheless, the two seem to have a, mostly, amiable relationship, that is until Busirane comes and steals Amoret away.
Busirane becomes the embodiment of forced rape, and Scudamore is left helpless, unable to do anything to help.
Paralized by Guilt
Indeed, this seems to be the role that Scudamore plays: a man paralyzed by feelings of helplessness and guilt. These emotions immobilize him, nearly killing him, and it becomes a staple of his character that he is unable to do anything. It takes a knight like Britomart to actually make a difference and save Amoret.
In the original ending of book 3, Spencer appeared to have a happy ending in mind for Amoret and Scudamore, as the two are reunited and become like a single being.
However, when Spenser published the next three books of The Faerie Queene, he changed the ending for book 3, where Scudamore has left after Britomart saves Amoret, and two remain separated.
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.
