Book 6, Canto 8 Summary

Arthur and his newfound knightly friend Enias come upon Mirabella and her train (which now includes Timias) and immediately act. Jumping on the two beasts, they nearly succeed in freeing the lady from her tormentors. At the last moment, they finally listen to her pleas, and she explains that riding with these two creatures is her punishment for being a snooty woman who disdained love and rejoiced when her suitors pined away for her. She cannot allow the knights to kill these companions because they are necessary assistants in her road to recovery.

Meanwhile, Serena is captured by another band of savages after fleeing into the woods (she ought to know better by now). In direct counterpoint to the honorable Salvage Man, these savages strip her and prepare to feast on her in true cannibal style. Obviously, not all uneducated people...