Book 1 presents a powerful allegory of the trials of good against evil. The Red Cross Knight with his companion, Una, sets out on a quest to rid the land of the dragon. The Knight is to become Saint George, and his betrothal to Una signifies the union of the newly established Church with the faithful. But, Spencer's tale moves beyond the allegory, reflecting his experience of human frailty in an imaginative romantic narrative that draws on the quest plots of medieval literature and Italian romances. His unique diction with its newly-coined words and rich description adds to the antique flavour of "The Legende of the Knight of the Red Crosse".