The Faerie Queene is an epic poem written by Edmund Spenser and published in two parts, the first in 1590 and the remainder in 1596. The poem is divided into six sections, each of which highlights various knights on searches for the virtues of Holiness, Temperance, Chastity, Friendship, Justice, and Courtesy. The knights each encounter hardships and strife in their quests, but guided by mentors and these virtues, are able to overcome the obstacles.

The character Talus is introduced in Book V. As the first representation of a modern robot, Talus is described as an iron man. He is likely based off the bronze automaton of Greek mythology that defends Crete from invaders. In The Faerie Queene, Talus is a defender of justice, and he works along with Sir Artegal for equality and rights. However, Talus's detachment from humanity makes him an unbiased figure whose lack of consciousness sometimes prevents him from showing any mercy upon his victims. For a majority of his story, Talus acts as a sort of henchman for Artegal, and this is one of the first (if not the first) modern descriptions of a machine built just to accomplish a task, in this case, punishing and/or killing law breakers.