Thus ill bested, and fearful more of shame,
Than of the certain peril he stood in,
Half furious unto his foe he came,
Resolved in mind all suddenly to win,
Or soon to lose, before he once would lin;
And struck at her with more then manly force,
That from her body full of filthy sin
He raft her hateful head without remorse;
A stream of coal black blood forth gushed from; her corpse

Book 1, Canto 1