Fotoreproductie van een tekening, voorstellende Redcrosse op een paard en Una op een ezel before 1871

This photogravure reproduces a drawing that illustrates Edmund Spenser’s epic poem, *The Faerie Queen*. The print depicts Redcrosse, a knight of holiness, riding a horse and Una, his lady, riding a donkey. Made in the late 19th or early 20th century, this image belongs to a period when there was a great surge of interest in medievalism and in defining a specifically English national identity. Spenser’s poem, written in the 16th century, was mined for imagery and themes that could lend themselves to this project. Note the idealised figures, landscape and narrative; all of which are visual codes that evoke chivalry, courtly love and Christian virtue. Understanding this image requires us to engage with institutional histories of literary criticism, publishing, and the art market. Research in these areas can illuminate how such images have been used to shape our understanding of the past and our cultural identities.