DABON
One of the four worthy knights of Tartar in Verney’s Antipoe. He conspires with Liperus and Sapos to kill Dramurgon and agrees to take noble Macros into their conspiracy; the conspirators see Macros lying in his prophetic stupor and elect to leave him there for the time being. Upon catching Drupon about to murder the sleeping Macros, he along with Liperus and Sapos capture Drupon and lead him away to torture. He agrees with his friends Liperus, Macros and Sapos that Dramurgon has dishonoured them by refusing to fight the kings of Bohemia, Corinth and Thrace and believes that he will find some trick to avoid the fight on Thursday next. Fearing Antipoe dead by execution, he is delighted to see that Macros has rescued the hero and goes to fulfill his promised love with the king of Bohemia’s daughters. He stands beside Antipoe to kill the men Dramurgon sends to compel the fallen Bohemia from him. He and the other three knights appear before the President of Tartar identifying the four daughters of Bohemia as their ‘contracted wives’ and all go in to supper. He later objects to passing judgement upon Macros for the murder of Dramurgon. He is next to commit suicide after Macros commits suicide after Antipoe commits suicide for his failure to avenge Dramurgon’s murder. He is later seen as a ghost, clad in white, ascending to the throne with the others at the behest of Brutus.
DAFFODIL
Sir Lancelot's servant in The London
Prodigal: a strong man, useful in a duel. He is lustful (making advances
to Frances and Luce), and quarrelsome. When he steals Luce's bracelet, Sir Lancelot
dismisses him.
DAGGER
A short, stout, bladed weapon used for stabbing and thrusting, frequently in tandem with larger weapon such as a rapier or sword. "Dagger" also figuratively refers to a braggart or braggadocio, which accurately describes this character in the anonymous Work For Cutlers, who attempts to mediate the fighting between Sword and Rapier while boasting of his own ability as a weapon. After pointing out the faults of his fellow characters, Dagger offers to decide the "controversy" over which weapon is superior, calling himself an "impartial judge," and rules that Sword shall be the primary military weapon and "general of the field," while Rapier shall be swathed in velvet and live "quietly and peaceably" at court, since dueling is now illegal. If Sword is absent, Rapier may fight in his place, and Dagger will back them both.
DAGON
I.
Only mentioned in Jonson's Bartholomew Fair. Dagon was the god of the Philistines, and the term is used of an idol in general. When Busy interrupts the puppet-show, ranting against all forms of entertainment, including the theatre idol, he compares the puppet-play with a Dagon and an idol.
II.
Only mentioned in the anonymous Wit's Triumvirate. Dagon is mentioned by Narrowit when he is telling Master Silence about his religious scruples: "And, God forgive me, I have given money towards the repair of Paul's, and I fear it may help to the setting up of Dagon or some antique saint." According to Mesopotamian mythology, Dagonone of the oldest godswas the god of vegetation (his name meaning "corn"), responsible for having invented the plough and for having shared his wisdom of the lands with mankind, to aid them to feed themselves. According to the Bible, Dagon was a Syrian divinityportrayed as half fish and half manwho had sumptuously adorned temples in many of the Philistine cities.
DAGONET
I.
Only mentioned in Jonson's Every Man out of His Humour. Dagonet was King Arthur's jester. When Sogliardo and Shift are about to enter Puntavorlo's lodgings in London, Carlo Buffone announces them as Sir Dagonet and his squire. By referring to the newly knighted Sogliardo as Sir Dagonet, Carlo Buffone alludes to his mannerism as a jester and a fool.
II.
Only mentioned in Jonson's Cynthia's Revels. Dagonet was King Arthur's jester. When Crites challenges the affected courtiers to a fencing contest, he first challenges Amorphus and then Anaides, whom he calls ironically Sir Dagonet. The allusion is to Anaides's foolishness.
III.
Only mentioned in Beaumont's Knight of the Burning Pestle. George contends that Sir Dagonet was a nobleman who had once been a grocer's apprentice. In fact, George is mistaken. He was King Arthur's fool.
DAGONET, SIR
Sir Dagonet was a false title assumed by Justice Shallow during his youthful days as a member of the archery club in Shakespeare's 2 Henry IV.
DAHUMMA, DAVY
Whorehound's servant in Middleton's A Chaste Maid in Cheapside. He tells Allwit that Whorehound is about to marry Moll and frightens the wittol. Davy stands to inherit upon Whorehound's death and would be cut off if Whorehound produce any legitimate offspring. Like Allwit he, too, has reason to want the marriage stopped. He uses Allwit as his tool to that end. Dahumma is likely from the Welsh dewch yma meaning "come here."
DAIPHANTUS
Assumed name of Pyrocles at the trial for the murder of Basilius in Shirley's The Arcadia.
DAIRYWENCH
A fictional character in Jonson's Cynthia's Revels. In an apartment in Cynthia's palace, Phantaste, Philautia, Argurion, and Moria are expecting the miracle water from the fountain of Self-love, so much publicized by Amorphus. While waiting, the vain nymphs discuss fashion, their admirers, and fantasize on what they would like to be. While Moria and Philautia imagine they could be extremely powerful women, Phantaste fantasizes that she could impersonate many women and do various things. As a dairy-wench, Phantaste imagines that she could dance at spring festivals and make garlands.
DALAVILL
Scholar friend of Young Geraldine in Heywood's The English Traveler. Secret lover of Wife of Wincott. He pretends to be courting Prudentilla in order to deflect suspicion. After Young Geraldine confronts him, Wife faints in Dalavill's arms. He runs away, and she later dies.
DALIA
A maid in service to the prostitute Lamia in Whetstone's 1 Promos and Cassandra. Delivers a short soliloquy
praising Lamia's resourcefulness at seducing Phallax. Grimball tries to
woo her, but she rejects him because he is penniless.
DALIA, SANCTO
Attendant of King Phillip of Spain in the anonymous Captain Thomas Stukeley, he, along with Alva, advises his sovereign to pursue the Portuguese throne "either by force or corrupting gold."
DALIBRA
The maid, and confidante, of the Sophy's Niece in Day, Rowley and Wilkins's The
Travels of the Three English Brothers.
DALILAH
A reckless child in the anonymous Nice Wanton. She is the sister of Barnabas and Ismael and the daughter of Xantippe. Encouraged by Ismael, Dalilah renounces education in favor of indulgent pastimes. She quickly becomes the lover of the gambling, swearing Iniquity. When the two quarrel over money, and Iniquity strikes her, she leaves him in a rage. Soon after, she reappears, ravaged by disease and admits that her sickness is a just punishment for her sins. She blames her parents for not correcting her wayward behavior. Meeting Barnabas, she leaves with him to receive spiritual and medical comfort, eventually repenting sincerely before she dies.
DALIO
Servant to the feigned Erostrato in Gascoigne's The Supposes.
DALINEA **1636
Artless’ virgin daughter in Glapthorne’s Hollander. Popingay professes his love, but she turns from him in maidenly coyness. When her parents urge her marriage to Sconce, she refuses and privately hopes to die rather than marry the foolish boor. When Popingay woos her in the disguise of his elder brother, she admits a sympathy for him but when he unmasks she vows that she will hate her husband and therefore will not marry Popingay. She marries a man she thinks is Sconce but discovers it is Popingay in disguise and, relieved, promises to study to love him.
DALLIANCE
Dalliance is an allegorical figure residing in the court of Venus in Wilson's
The Cobbler's Prophecy; he
or she plays music with Folly, Niceness, Newfangle and Jealousy while Venus sings
a lullaby to Mars.
D'ALQUAVEZZES, MARQUESS
A Spanish nobleman, one of the judges at Sherris in the anonymous Dick of Devonshire. After Pike fights so bravely, the Marquess embraces him, and sends him honorably clothed and escorted to Madrid to be presented to the king.
D'ALQUAZZESA, LADY
A "ghost character" in the anonymous Dick of Devonshire. Pike reports that when he lodged with this lady on the way to meet the king, she extended wonderful hospitality to him.
DALTON, MICHAEL
Only mentioned in the anonymous Wit's Triumvirate. Dalton is mentioned by Doctor Clyster when he is explaining to Sir Cupid Phantsy that he can see he is getting worse, and, thus, he is going to put him on a 'reading' diet: "I prescribe you Littleton's Tenures to read in French, with Lambarde's Justice of Peace, Dalton, Crompton, and Fitzherbert, Pulton's Statutes, and Coke's Reports." Michael Dalton (d. 1648) wrote The Countrey Justice: Containing the Practice of the Justices of the Peace Out of their Sessions: Gathered for the BetterHelpe of Such Justices of Peace as Have Not Been Much conversant in the Studie of the Lawes of This Realme (1618) and Officium vicecomitum: The Office and Authority of Sheriffs (1623). He co-authoredwith Richard Crompton and William LambardeThe Complete Justice, published in 1636.
DALUA
Enters in a hearse carried by two mourners and hears the citizens' cheerful reaction to his "death" in the anonymous A Larum for London. He resolves that the citizens of Antwerp will regret having rejoiced at his death. He fights with the Marques d'Hauurye and Count Egmont. He defends Count Egmont because Egmont has shown bravery in face of death; eventually he captures Egmont with the plan to take him to Spain as a prisoner. He announces victory over Antwerp and plans to kill 10,000 citizens as retribution for Spanish losses. He divides the assets of Antwerp among himself, Danila, Verdugo, Romero, and Van End. He penalizes the English Governor forty thousand crowns for being in Antwerp and scorns the five thousand crown ransom that the Governor gives him. He sends the Governor back for the rest of his material goods. He demands a ransom from Factor equal to the ransom Factor has paid to Danila; he orders the on stage torture of Factor; see also LORD of ALUA.
D'ALVA
Only mentioned in Jonson's The Alchemist. D'Alva was the governor of the Netherlands from 1567 to 1573. When Surly, disguised as the Spanish nobleman, appears at Lovewit's house, apparently to meet a lady, Subtle says he looks too fat to be a Spaniard. Face supposes he is some sort of crossbreed between a Spaniard and a Hollander, begot in d'Alva's time.
D'ALVEREZ
D'Alverez is the Duchess' true love in Shirley's The Cardinal . He is more lowly born than his rival, Columbo, but when the Duchess wins the King's favor and a pretended release from Columbo, D'Alverez is free to marry her. He is lured from his wedding masque to be murdered by Columbo.
DALYELL
Dalyell is a Fordian lover in Ford's Perkin
Warbeck. He is willing to accept any extremity to be near the woman he loves even if he can never be her lover. He is noble, good, and bold. His most admirable act is volunteering to follow his rival, Warbeck, in order to protect the woman he loves, Katherine, who is Warbeck's wife.
DAM, CONSTABLE’S
Only mentioned in (?)Speed’s The Converted Robber. Autolius boasts that he has an ‘undaunted spirit’ that could choke a constable along with his dam’s tithing men and still outface the charge.
DAM of BEDFORD
King Edward's mother, the Duchess of York, uses this term to refer to the queen's
mother in Thomas Heywood's 1 Edward
IV.
DAMARIS
The alias adopted by Dorcas in Brome's The Weeding of Covent Garden. It is her name when in disguise as a Venetian courtesan.
DAMASUS
Appears in the first playlet of ?Tarlton's Three Plays in One.
D'AMBOIS, BUSSY
Chapman's Bussy D'Ambois begins with Bussy D'Ambois, a poor military officer, alone on stage bemoaning the fact that fortune does not take a man's intrinsic worth into account when deciding whether or not he'll be successful. Bussy claims that the majority of worthy men flounder while markedly inferior men flourish. He believes that each man should upon his virtue or be ruined. The king's brother Monsieur recruits the young soldier for his personal force. Bussy is convinced that a move with the Duke to court would not only be personally fortuitous, but would also be a virtuous service to the nation. Bussy is somewhat hesitant to appear at court: he does not want to make a living flattering pampered nobles. Ultimately, Bussy accepts one thousand crowns from the Duke's steward Maffe and proceeds to court. When Bussy arrives to court, he acts immodestly. He asks to serve the Duchess of Guise before first serving lower-born ladies. When the Duke of Guise objects to Bussy's pursuit of the Duchess' favor, Bussy ignores him, even after the Due threatens to cut his throat. Bussy dismisses the Duke's threat and counters that the Duke's real targets are the king and the rest of the nobility. The Duke threatens to have Bussy whipped out of the court, but Bussy persists in his conversation with Elenor until Monsieur breaks up the argument. After Bussy forced the Duke to back down temporarily, Barrisor, D'Alou and Pyrhot confront Bussy, Brisac and Melynell. The six resolve to settle their differences via the blade. According to Nuntius, Bussy faces off against Barrisor in battle. Barrisor initially offers to fight Bussy alone, but L'Anou and Pyrhot insist upon joining the fight against D'Ambois' comrades. During the battle, all five other men are killed. Bussy is the sole survivor. Henry and Guise are set to condemn Bussy for murder until Monsieur steps in and secures D'Ambois a pardon. Interestingly, when D'Ambois is pardoned by the king, Bussy thanks Henry but continues to plead his innocence. Bussy believes that when he is wronged, he is a king himself, authorized to deal out justice. Bussy soon reveals to the audience that Bussy is not really interested in the Elenor; he loves Tamyra. One night, Bussy is taken to Tamyra's bedchamber by Friar Comolet via a secret vault. Bussy tells Tamyra that he has broken into her room to ease her conscience. A rumor had been spread that the fight between Barrisor and Bussy was fought over Tamyra. Tamyra and Bussy leave the stage for a while and re-emerge to debate the nature of sin. Tamyra feigns guilt and Bussy professes contempt for fear of sin. He receives a gift from Tamyra and leaves. Bussy's frank observations attract Henry's attention. As the king begins to admire Bussy, Monsieur begins to hate his former champion. It is obvious that the king's compliments enrage Bussy's pride into an arrogant unsustainable crest. When Bussy is again confronted by Guise, Monsieur advises Bussy to back off, but the young warrior refuses to give ground. Bussy finally backs down when commanded to do so by the king. Henry tries to forge a truce between Bussy and Guise and calls them both in for a feast. Monsieur is found alone railing about how badly he wants to get rid of Bussy a Bussy enters the room. Bussy tells Monsieur that he will do anything for him except kill Henry. The Duke proposes that the two men speak freely of one another. Monsieur identifies Bussy as a thoughtless, soulless force of nature. Bussy suggests that all devious violence at the court originates with Monsieur. The two men then go off to dinner together. Bussy learns that Monsieur and Montsurry are plotting against him. The Ghost of the Friar visits Bussy and tells him to meet at Tamyra's chamber. Bussy is warned by Behemoth that Tamyra's next letter will bring death if obeyed. When Montsurry, dressed as the dead Friar, appears and delivers a letter from Tamyra, Bussy chooses to believe the spirit was either wrong or lying. Busy walks into the trap, even though Tamyra screams for him to stay away. The spirit of the priest appears as Bussy fights off a cowardly set of murderers. Bussy is horrified when he sees the spirit of the Friar, since it confirms the validity of Behemoth's prophecy.
DAME BEAUTY
Name given to Virginia by Apius and Haphazard in [?]Bower's Apius
and Virginia.
DAME CHAT
Owner of the alehouse where Diccon spends much of his time in [?]Stevenson's Gammer Gurton's Needle. She believes Diccon when he tells her that Gammer stole her rooster. Diccon makes Gammer believe that Dame Chat stole the needle. The two old women fight over the rooster and needle. When the needle is at last found in Hodge's breeches, she invites everyone over for a drink.
DAME KITELY
Dame Kitely is Kitely's wife, Wellbred's sister, and Downright's half-sister in Jonson's Every Man in His Humour. At Kitely's house in the Old Jewry, Dame Kitely enters to invite her husband to breakfast. Kitely says in an aside that she must have overheard him express his suspicions regarding the bad influence of so many gallants visiting the house on his wife's morality. After showing great care concerning her husband's health, Dame Kitely exits. At Kitely's house, Dame Kitely enters with Downright. While the squire shows his displeasure at her accepting so many gallants in the house, Dame Kitely exculpates herself saying that the gallants are Wellbred's friends and she cannot put herself against half a dozen men. When the gallants enter, Dame Kitely attends the scene of Mathew's ardent courtship of Bridget and the ensuing brawl. When Kitely enters and the gallants disperse, Dame Kitely takes Bridget's part in the conflict between Kitely and his sister, and then exits with Bridget. At Kitely's house, Dame Kitely is at dinner with her husband, Bridget, and Wellbred. When Kitely is lured outside under a false pretext, Wellbred insinuates that his brother-in-law frequents a camouflaged brothel at Cob's house. Dame Kitely's jealousy is aroused and she exits to check things out. Before Cob's house, Dame Kitely enters and finds Knowell already there. Dame Kitely asks Tib, above at the window, if her husband is in there, while Knowell thinks she is his son's mistress. When Kitely enters, his wife accuses him of adultery, while Kitely thinks Knowell is his wife's lover. The entire party of misled people exits to take their case before the judge. In the final scene before Justice Clement, Dame Kitely is reconciled with her husband and both see that their unfounded jealousy has obscured their clear understanding.
DAME PARTLET
Dame Partlet is a seldom-used name for the Hostess Mistress Quickly at the Boar's
Head Tavern in Eastcheap in Shakespeare's 1
Henry IV.
DAME PLIANT
Dame Pliant is a wealthy widow and Kastril's sister in Jonson's The Alchemist. Drugger, who seems to affect the lady, describes her as a young widow of nineteen, whose brother would not let her marry below a knight. Captain Face manipulates Drugger into luring Dame Pliant's brother to the house. When Kastril is introduced, Captain Face persuades him to bring Dame Pliant to the Doctor. When Dame Pliant arrives with her brother, Subtle pretends to read her palm. He tells her about her future husband, who will be no knight, as her brother wants, but a soldierand Dam Pliant will one day become a Spanish countess. Face grows enamoured of Dame Pliant. Subtle becomes Face's rival and menaces Face with Dol Common, who will know about his amorous trespasses. Face and Subtle agree finally to present the Spanish nobleman (Surly in disguise) as Dame Pliant's foretold future husband. Dame Pliant says that she cannot abide the Spanish since 1588, which was three years before she was born, but she agrees to meet the Spaniard. When Surly enters disguised as the Spanish nobleman, Dame Pliant does not understand his Spanish, and they go into the garden. There, Dame Pliant learns from Surly that he impersonated a Spaniard to reveal the deception happening in the house, but he wants to marry her now. Dame Pliant promises to think about the proposal. When Lovewit, also disguised as a Spaniard, marries her, Dame Pliant thinks she is marrying Surly in disguise. The marriage occurs offstage. When, in the final scene, Kastril is furious with his sister because she married without his consent, Dame Pliant is silent. When the truth is revealed, Kastril accepts Lovewit as a brother-in-law and leaves with Dame Pliant to smoke the pipe of peace.
DAME, THRACIAN
Only mentioned in Goffe's The Courageous Turk. The Thracian Dame is Phyllis, whose offer of love to Demophon goes unaccepted because he values the active life over physical pleasures. Eurenoses mentions this story approvingly as an example to be followed by Amurath.
DAMETAS**1606
Dametas is a parvenu courtier in Day's Isle of Gulls, who owes his advancement to the favour of duke Basilius. Basilius thinks him loyal, but Dametas is motivated entirely by personal gain. He is the husband of Miso and the daughter of Mopsa, and employs Manasses as his second-in-command. Dametas is placed in charge of Basilius's daughter Hippolita, and is also responsible for access to the court. The two Captains, Kalander and Philinax, bring Julio and Aminter before Dametas. Disguised as a poor soldier and a poor scholar, they present their petitions to Manasses. The two captains mock Dametas; Dametas overhears them and dismisses them despite their protestations that they are gentlemen. Dametas is about to dismiss Aminter and Julio when they remove their disguises. It turns out that they have been conspiring with Dametas to win the challenge, and Dametas is to help them seize Hippolita and Violetta during a hunting party. Lisander in his disguise as the Amazon Zelmane comes before Dametas and is advised by Manasses to bribe his master if he is to be successful. Dametas succumbs to the bribe and admits Lisander to the court. Lisander later helps Demetrius, disguised as the woodsman, Dorus, to gain a post in Dametas' service. Dametas' plan for Julio and Aminter to win the challenge is foiled when the princesses are rescued by Lisander and Demetrius. When Aminter and Julio brings news to Basilius in their new disguises as Lacedemonian intelligencers, Dametas is ordered to reward them with 200 crowns. Instead, he keeps them hanging on for two months and eventually gives them only 50 crowns. In order to give himself the opportunity to elope with Hippolita, Demetrius tells Dametas that he has discovered that Aristomones buried a large sum of money under Diana's Oak. Dametas leaves Hippolita in the charge of Miso, and goes to dig. He finds no money, but a mocking poem, and curses all poets. Dametas arrives at Adonis' Bower to find Mopsa with Manasses; he is pursued by Miso, who has been told that he is having an affair with Manasses' Wife. They realise that Hippolita has been left unattended.
DAMETAS **1628
Only mentioned in Shirley's The
Witty Fair One. In commenting upon Brains as a chaperon, Violetta compares
Brains to Dametas, the shepherd that the king placed in charge of his daughter
Pamela in Philip Sidney's Arcadia.
DAMETAS**1640
A shepherd, husband of Miso, father of Mopsa in Shirley's The Arcadia. Appointed guardian to Pamela while the royal family is in hiding. Gruff and demanding of the respect of Dorus, Pamela, Miso, and Mopsa. Tricked by Misodorus into looking for hidden gold buried under a tree. Finds Philoclea and Pyrocles together, and brings them to Philanax, who arrests all three for conspiracy in the death of Basilius. Dametas is sentenced to be executioner for life in response to the neglect of his duty in guarding Pamela.
DAMIANUS
A Vandal lord in Henry Shirley's The
Martyred Soldier. Hubert tells him of his encounter with the Lady all
in White. Like most of the other lords, Damianus contributes little to the plot,
and is merely a vehicle for plot exposition.
DAMME de BOIS
Damme de Bois is a skeptical man in the anonymous Wit's Triumvirate. He does not believe in superstitions nor in strange maladies. He actually reprimands Master Sickly, on the grounds that being "well enough", he is wasting his money on doctors who do nothing but make him sick. Thus, Master Sickly decides to take him to meet Doctor Clyster in an attempt to make him realize he should abandon his skepticism and trust the doctor. Once there, Damme de Bois spits to their faces that he believes they are mere cozeners and he asks for permission to smokewhich disturbs Master Silence. After a long speech on cozening, he asks for leave to take a nap, which he is granted. But, while he sleeps, Bill Bond Doctor Clyster and Master Silence will be busy devising a plot to cheat him; then, they suddenly wake him up and try to make him believe that he is dying. After a while, when they tell him that he seems to have come to himself, he realizes he is being cozened, and he decides to follow their game. Thus, after speaking to Master Silence, in an attempt to seek peace for his soul, and to Doctor Clyster, he expresses his wish to write his last will and testament before the lawyer. Once he has specified what he is going to leave and to whom, it is obvious he has found them outand he makes it evident when he tells Master Sickly that he leaves him "to be cozened by these honest gentlemen." Aware of the fact that they have been found out, Bond and the other two cheaters send Master Sickly away because they do not want him to realize he has been cheated. Damme finally leaves the place, but dressed in old clotheshaving been cheated by Doctor Clyster. Nevertheless, Damme de Bois was not going to accept being cheated so easily, and he comes back again, this time accompanied by all their cozened victims, encouraging them to ask for what they had offered them as recompense for their fake services. He demands, from the cheaters, a share in their exploits and his clothes to be restoredthreatening to bring trouble to them should his petition be unheard. But Doctor Clyster, in his cheating mood, remarks that, by his lousy looks, he looks like a thief rather than like a victim. On his insisting on his wanting his coat and cap back, Doctor Clyster takes the old ones from him, but, rather than restoring his, he locks the door, leaving him outside claiming for revenge. Thus, he comes with all the cozened people again and knocks on the door, not receiving any response. After a while, the cheaters reply, announcing they will keep their door shut until the authorities break it open. Then, Master Caution, incensed, suggests going to the Lord Chief of Justice for a warrant to apprehend them. But Algebra, who was passing by, offers to act as a judge, and he actually solves the case satisfactorily for all the parties involved, and he is recompensed.
DAMNATION
In Lupton's All For Money Damnation is the son of Sin, who is the Son of Pleasure, who is the son of Money.
DAMON**1565
I.
Damon is a gentleman of Greece and Pithias' friend in Edwards's Damon and Pithias. After many years of travel, Damon, Pithias, and their servant Stephano come to Syracuse to see the Roman monuments. Stephano reports that the two friends were students of the Pythagorean philosophy. On reports of King Dionisius' perfunctory executions, Damon declares these are the common practice of tyrants, who think their rule is safer if based on fear and suspicion. Damon disregards Stephano's warning to be circumspect regarding the city and its people and announces that the purpose of their visit is to see the variety of all nations. He concludes that a wise man can live anywhere. Unaware that Carisophus was eavesdropping, Damon meditates on the city's pleasant climate, inferring that such a region should not harbor treason and cruelty. Carisophus intervenes and tries to trap Damon into deprecatory remarks concerning King Dionisius. Damon, however, states that it is a sin to raise the sword against a king, who is God's deputy on earth. Damon tells Carisophus he is a philosopher who seeks to increase his experience by observing the state of various countries. In Carisophus' perverted interpretation, this affirmation is taken to mean that Damon is a spy. Damon is arrested and taken before the king. Without judging the case properly, Dionisius sentences Damon to death. Before the king, Damon pleads for a deferral of his sentence in order to settle his affairs in Greece and is granted a two months' respite. Having offered to vouch for him, Pithias is held as a hostage. On the allotted deadline, Damon returns within the hour of his time and claims his place on the scaffold, redeeming his friend. In his turn, Pithias maintains that Damon's deadline is past, and that he must die instead of Damon. Impressed with Damon and Pithias' devotion to each other, King Dionisius announces that he is willing to give up his kingdom in Damon's favor for the sake of his friendship. Damon replies that true friendship relies on equality, not on the imbalance of power between king and subject. Damon offers his friendship to the king selflessly, and it is received as such. Both Damon and Pithias are honored as King Dionisius' friends.
II.
Only mentioned in Marlowe's Tamburlaine Part 1. A Pythagorean and friend of Pythias. Mycetes terms Meander "a Damon" for his wise council.
III.
Only mentioned in Jonson's Epicoene. Damon and Pythias are two legendary faithful friends of ancient Greece, who are ready to die for each other. Their names are symbols of friendship. Damon and Pythias (1565) is a play by Richard Edwards. Truewit ridicules La-Foole and Daw by having them accept separately a proposal of humiliation by which, allegedly, the other would receive satisfaction. After Daw is kicked as if by La-Foole, and Dauphine twitches La-Foole's nose as if by Daw, Truewit instructs both foolish knights to go to their separate rooms and later behave as if nothing happened. Truewit tells La-Foole to greet Daw as his best friend and play the Damon and Pythias act. Since Damon and Pythias are considered symbols of friendship, it is implied that La-Foole and Daw should behave as the best of friends.
IV.
Only mentioned in Jonson's Bartholomew Fair. Damon and Pythias are two legendary faithful friends of ancient Greece, who were ready to die for each other. Their names are symbols of friendship. Cokes reads the playbill of the puppet play to be performed at the Fair, which says "The ancient modern history of Hero and Leander, otherwise called The Touchstone of True Love, with as true a trial of friendship between Damon and Pythias, two faithful friends o' the Bankside." When Lantern/Leatherhead shows Cokes the puppets as the "actors," the puppeteer says the one with a beard is Damon. Puppet Damon has a role in the play-within-the-play. In his imaginary game with the silly objects purchased from Leatherhead, Cokes assigns the representation of Damon to the drum.
DAMON**1566
Father to Polynesta in Gascoigne's The Supposes. Upon discovery, via the gossiping of Psiteria, of Erostrato's ongoing affair with his daughter, Damon has Erostrato (a.k.a. Dulippo, his servant), imprisoned. In the end, upon hearing that Dulippo is in fact Erostrato, and is the son of a wealthy father, agrees to let his daughter marry him.
DAMON**1592
Shepherd and friend of Correbus in ?Greene and Chettle's John of Bordeaux.
DAMON**1614
A "ghost character" in Daniel's Hymen's Triumph. An older shepherd who once felt the fires of love, Damon is cited as an authority on love and life when Thyrsis tells Palaemon about his own sufferings.
DAMON**1630
Son of Pilumnus the High Priest and brother to Urania in Randolph's Amyntas. The death of his brother Philaebus caused his father to invoke revenge, but provoked the goddess's general curse on marriage in the island. He is adored by Amaryllis, but loves Laurinda. He is rival to his best friend Alexis in Laurinda's love. Their courtship tactics are identical, both plead together for her favor but are thwarted by her riddling replies. They agree jointly to press her to a decision; in the meantime Damon resorts to the temple to avoid Amaryllis. He stubbornly rejects Laurinda's advice to accept Amaryllis and, like Alexis, grows more impatient for her to decide between them. The rivals resolve to fight each other with spears to decide the matter, but consent to her offer to allow an arbitress to choose between them the next day at the temple. Both swear to abide by this final decision. His hatred for Amaryllis turns to violence when she is revealed as the arbitress. Despite his oath, he rejects the authority of Amaryllis's decision and assaults her, profanely spilling her blood on sacred soil and incurring the death penalty if he is caught. He flees, leaving Amaryllis wounded, but has a change of heart and returns. He learns that, using her own blood as ink, Amaryllis has renounced him for Laurinda's sake. He falls passionately in love with Amaryllis for this act of selflessness, but having confessed to the assault on her is condemned to death for his sacrilege. Amyntas saves him by expounding the Oracle demanding the blood of Claius. Amaryllis's blood is her father's and has been legitimately shed by Damon (incidentally, and fortunately, a priest like his father, and permitted to perform sacrifice on sacred soil). Damon's death is averted and he is able to plan to marry Urania and live happily ever after.
DAMON**1635
A shepherd of Delos, brother of Florelle and kinsman of Florimène in [?]Queen
Henrietta's Florimène. Having
persuaded his friend Filène to leave Arcadia and come to Delos (the setting of
the play), Damon brings him to the temple of Diana, where he falls in love with
Florimène. He advises him to try a female disguise for his courtship.
DAMPIT**1637
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A Lombard broker in the anonymous The Wasp. He furnishes Kenwell, Grig Brandwell, Huntit, and himself as they go help Kenwell woo the "lusty widow" of "walltamstowe" Countess Claridon. He arrives in disguise to woo her himself but is frightened away by "Constable Fallbridge" who supposedly has a warrant against him for receiving stolen goods.
DAMPIT, HARRY
An elderly London usurer in Middleton's A
Trick to Catch the Old One. Suffering from senility and alcoholism, he
refuses to extend credit to Witgood's three creditors when they ask for the money
to cover Witgood's debts. Dampit's servant, Audrey, is perpetually chiding her
master.
DAMPLAY
In the Induction and between the acts of Jonson's The Magnetic Lady, one of two audience members who claim to represent "The People" and who interrogate the Boy-prologue as to whether the play will please them. He is particularly worried that some of the characters are meant to lampoon real persons.
DAMPORT
Family name of Jane and Rafe in Dekker's Shoemaker's Holiday.
D'AMVILLE
The French nobleman D'Amville is the father of Rousard and Sebastian in Tourneur's The Atheist's Tragedy. He is also the younger brother to Montferrers, and is the atheist of the play's title. Early in the action, he admits to Borachio his belief in nothing beyond the terrestrial sphere and sets himself to acquire as much wealth as he can for his own pleasure and for the enjoyment of those of his family who come after him. To gain his older brother's fortune, D'Amville underwrites his nephew Charlemont's journey to the war and then has Borachio falsely report that the young man has died in battle. The distressed Montferrers amends his will, leaving all his estate to D'Amville, whereupon the villain and Borachio arrange to murder him. The next part of D'Amville's plan is accomplished when he arranges a marriage between Charlemont's beloved Castabella, daughter to the wealthy baron Belforest, and his elder son, the sickly and impotent Rousard. When Charlemont returns from the war, D'Amville has him arrested, but Sebastian, the villain's younger son, uses his annual allowance from D'Amville to secure his cousin's release. When Charlemont confronts D'Amville about the apparent attempt to disinherit him, the latter concocts a story about his only positioning himself as Charlemont's guardian until the young man is ready to assume his obligations, and Charlemont seems to accept this explanation. Shortly afterward, D'Amville sends Borachio to murder Charlemont and then, in soliloquy, considers his options. Fearing that Rousard will never have children, D'Amville decides to impregnate Castabella himself to be sure of the family's continuance. When he proposes having sex, the virtuous Castabella objects, and D'Amville threatens to rape her. As she calls upon heaven to help her, he mocks her trust in a divinity, and thus shocks her further by his admission of atheism. The attack is thwarted by the sudden arrival of Charlemont disguised as his father's ghost. When D'Amville next enters, it is clear that his mind is beginning to turn. He speaks to the skulls in the graveyard as though they were accusing him of Montferrers' death, and concluding that his brother's ghost is indeed pursuing him, D'Amville wishes he were a cloud floating away into nothingness, but the arrival of the watch to investigate the killing of Borachio brings him back to his senses, and he piously (and hypocritically) laments as Charlemont and Castabella are led off under arrest. Later, he is truly visited by the ghost of Montferrers who calls him a fool whose evil projects are doomed to fail, and almost at once, the villain learns from the Doctor that Sebastian has been killed and that Rousard is nearly dead. When D'Amville urges the Doctor to do something, arguing that there must be some power greater than nature capable of restoring his sons, the Doctor responds that there is such a force-God-and D'Amville admits both to feeling ridiculous and to fearing death. During the trial scene that ends the play, a clearly distracted D'Amville enters demanding that the Judges explain why he should lose both his sons while others have heirs, and recognizing his disordered mind, the Judges assure him that they will resolve that question for him later. Shortly after Charlemont's trial begins, D'Amville interrupts and charges him with smiling at the deaths of Sebastian and Rousard, and with having "conspired with Fate" to eliminate D'Amville's progeny. When Charlemont leaps upon the scaffold to display how little he values the life in this world, D'Amville asks the court to order an autopsy to find out what allows his nephew to be so fearless, while he is in such agony at the prospect of his own death. Finally, D'Amville pressures the Judges to allow him to perform the execution, arguing that Charlemont needs someone other than a commoner for that task. Raising the headsman's axe to strike Charlemont, D'Amville accidentally brains himself, and admitting that he has overreached, claims that God has made him kill himself to demonstrate that there is indeed a power outside of and beyond the merely natural. He dies confessing to having plotted against Charlemont and to having attempted to rape Castabella.
DAN CORNUTO
Dan Cornuto is a derogatory nickname Valerio uses for Cornelio in Chapman's All Fools after discovering that the latter has made fun of him. "Cornuto"cuckoldrefers to Cornelio's jealousy.
DANAË
I.
Only mentioned in Jonson's Catiline. In Greek mythology, Danae was seduced by Jupiter, who came to her in the form of a golden shower. When Fulvia and Sempronia discuss their lovers, Fulvia suggests that they might exchange favorites. Fulvia implies she is tired of Quintus Curius, and Sempronia could have him, adding that the world is full of sexually rewarding men. In fact, Fulvia is dissatisfied because Curius is broke and he cannot pay for her extravagant tastes. Since it is known that Caesar had sent Fulvia a pearl as a gift, probably in exchange for sexual favors, it is inferred that Fulvia refers to Caesar, Sempronia's former lover, who now has turned to Fulvia, lavishing her with rich gifts. Showing her preference for a rich lover, Fulvia adds that she is not impressed with mere sexual prowess, and she would not be taken with a swan or a bull, like the foolish Leda or Europa. Only for the price of bright gold, like Danae, would she endure a rough and harsh Jupiter. Fulvia implies that she prefers material wealth beside sexual potency.
II.
Only mentioned in Jonson, Marston, and Chapman's Eastward Ho!. When she is deserted and penniless, Gertrude sings a sad song about Jove's seduction of Danae. Gertrude gives a personal interpretation to the classical
myth. She sings that Jove fell into Danae's lap in a shower of gold, and that
is how Danae got the clap.
III.
Renowned for her beauty, Danae is daughter to King Acrifius of Argos in Heywood's The Golden Age. Before her birth, an oracle foretold Acrifius that he shall have a beautiful daughter that will bring forth a boy who will, in turn, metamorphose his grandfather into stone. Fearing this fate, Acrifius locks his daughter up in a "brazen tower," where four Beldams guard her against men. Despite these precautions, Jupiter comes to Danae's tower disguised as a peddler and ravishes the princess. Upon learning of his daughter's subsequent pregnancy, King Acrifius puts her and her baby to sea, leaving them to the mercy of the stormy waves. At the end of the play, a Lord of Argos informs Jupiter that Danae has managed to land safely on the shore of Naples, where, assisted by a fisherman, she is presented to King Pelonnus who makes her queen.
IV.
A "ghost character" in Heywood's The Silver Age, daughter of Acrisius, who incarcerated her in a brazen tower to protect her from Jupiter's amorous pursuit. She was nevertheless made pregnant by the god, then sent to sea in a mastless boat with her infant children, Perseus and Danaus. In the play, her sons propose to introduce Andromeda to her in Naples, where she lives as wife of Pelonnus, but they return to Argos instead to restore Acrisius, .
V.
Daughter of King Acrisius of Argos in Heywood's The Escapes of Jupiter; second woman loved in the play by Jupiter. Acrisius, who has learned from an oracle that he will be turned to stone by his daughter's son, has confined her in a "brazen tower", out of the reach of man. Jupiter, having heard this story, comes to the tower together with his servant the Clown, both disguised as pedlars. He soon wins his way past the four greedy Beldams who are supposed to be guarding her, and reaches Danae: she, being very unhappy with her situation, puts up only a perfunctory resistance and says a tender farewell to him the following morningcoyly informing him of the "token" he has left with her. Homer explains that she is to be the mother of Perseus. [Traditionally, Jupiter came to Danae in the form of a shower of gold; the story was often interpreted as an allegory about the corrupting power of money. This presumably explains Heywood's version.]
VI.
Only mentioned in Armin's The Two Maids of MoreClacke. Danae was Jove's lover with whom she slept when he came to see her disguised as a supernatural element.
VII.
Only mentioned in (?)Brome's The Cunning Lovers. Mythological character, mother of the hero Perseus, who was sired by Zeus in a shower of gold when his husband locked her in a tower, as the Duke of Mantua does with his daughter.
VIII.
Played by Eugenia in Shirley's The Bird in a Cage. Danaë is a character in the inset play. Her father imprisons her, but Jupiter comes to her in a golden shower.
IX.
Only mentioned in the anonymous Ghost. Pinnario mentions Danae when he is about to enter Philarchus's closet, taking him for Aurelia. He metaphorically refers to Aurelia as "fair Danae," and bids her to open the doors ("these golden gates").
X.
Only mentioned in Dekker’s Match Me in London. Dildoman advises the king to drop gold into Tormiella’s lap to win her the way Jove won Danae.
DANAUS
Son of Danae and half-brother of Perseus in Heywood's The Silver Age, he accompanies Andromeda to Argos while her husband is helping Bellerophon defeat Chimera, and there participates in overthrowing Pretus and restoring Acrisius, then leaves for Naples to join his mother.
DANAUS **1636
Only mentioned in Strode's The Floating Island. The son of King Belus of Egypt and the father of fifty daughters. Memor describes Concupiscence as having more daughters than Danaus.
DANCER**1604
Used in stage directions to indicate Logire in the anonymous Wit of a Woman.
DANCER**1626
One of Bianca's foolish suitors in Fletcher, Ford, Massinger and Webster's The Fair Maid of the Inn. Requests Forobosco's help in learning the art of dissembling.
DANCER**1632
This unnamed Dancer in Shirley's Changes is employed by Caperwit to design dances for the masque that Caperwit has written.
DANCERS
Masquers in Rastell's Four Elements who dance and sing with Sensual Appetite for Humanity.
DANCING BEAR
Nickname of a patient of Bedlam (mental hospital), also called "the Bawd" in Dekker and Webster's Northward Ho. She lost her wits by a fire.
DANCINGMASTER**1618
Teaches Lisander to dance when he is trying to seem more youthful in Massinger,
Middleton and Rowley's The Old
Law.
DANCING MASTER**1637
A master of dancing and fencing in Carlell's The Fool Would Be A Favorite. He attempts to train Young Gudgen.
DANDALINE
Dandaline, the hostess (spelled hostis and hostesse), is the Host's wife in the anonymous The Contention Between Liberalitie and Prodigalitie. She wants to have her lodgings ready for the arrival of Prodigality, a young and lusty gentleman with plenty of money, because she thinks she can make a good business with him. To that aim, she even encourages her boy, Dicke Dicer, to seek Prodigalitie, and thus make sure he goes to her inn.
DANDALO
Dandalo is a servant of Contarini in Shirley's The Humorous Courtier. He is aware of the plots his master fabricates against Carintha.
DANDIPRAT
Dandiprat is Camillo's page in the anonymous Blurt, Master Constable. The name suggests a small coin worth three halfpence. In front of Blurt's house, Dandiprat enters with Doyt, and Pilcher asks them about the constable's home. Having pointed it out to Pilcher, Dandiprat tells Doyt that Lazarillo's page is very short. Doyt and Dandiprat crack a few jokes at Pilcher's name, alluding to the fact that he is short and lean. The three pages sing a comic song about their deprivation of good food. Attending to his master at the game of tennis, Dandiprat witnesses the dispute between Camillo and Fontinel. When Fontinel is taken to prison because of Camillo's jealousy, the Frenchman appeals to Truepenny to confirm his relationship with Violetta. Because the frightened Truepenny denies it and runs away, Hipolito sends Dandiprat after him to get the truth out of Violetta's page. Dandiprat runs for it, saying he is as light as is a clipped angel. Dandiprat implies that he will not be too fast, probably because Truepenny is his friend.
DANDIPRAT **1636
A nickname for Captain Pick in Glapthorne’s Hollander.
DANDOLO
Dandolo is used twice in Davenant's The Just Italian.- Dandolo is a Count of Milan He has been corresponding with Charintha for some time. He arrives a month before his appointed visit to find that Florello has usurped his name and no one believes who he is, especially since he does not bring expensive gifts the way Florello has. When he protests, Florello pretends that Dandolo is a bastard half brother. Dandolo hires Punto and Stoccata, two champions who can attest to his identity, but they turn out to be comic philosophers, more interested in deliberation than in fighting. After Niente reveals the truth, Rossa and Molard meet, off-stage, with Dandolo and his champions, who do not recognize them in their old uniforms, and ask for their help in killing Florello. They are then taken and bound. They are let go after Dandolo offers a ransom.
- It is the disguise Florello uses to win favor with Alteza and Charintha.
DANDOLO'S MOTHER
A fictional character in Davenant's The Just Italian. In attempting to maintain his disguise as Dandolo, Florello claims that Dandolo is his half brother, son of the same father, but his mother was a tripe-wife of Lucca.
DANE
Warns the disguised Philicia and Liriana to "avoyd [the] place" where "the Queene is coming," but "permit[s]" them "to see the Queen [. . .] as she passe by" in Carlell's 2 Arviragus and Philicia.
DANGER
An attendant on Lady Sensuality in Lindsay's Satire of the Three Estates. Her name means "coyness." She attends Lady Sensuality to King Humanity's court and enjoys the revelry with his courtiers, but is banished along with her mistress and sits with her among the Spirtuality.
DANGLATERO, SIGNIOR CAVALERO
The Spaniard in Heywood's 1 If You
Know Not Me uses this name to refer to an Englishman that he fights and
kills.
DANIEL**1538
I.
A "ghost character" in Bale's The
Temptation of Our Lord. After Satan tempts Jesus the first time, Jesus
describes how the word of God preserved Daniel.
II.
A "ghost character" in Bale's God's
Promises. Mentioned by John Baptist as an example of a prophet.
III.
Only mentioned in Markham's Herod
and Antipater. Daniel was a biblical prophet. Prince Aristobulus, son
of Herod, urges his father to become a Daniel to himself and his family, providing
guidance and safety instead of plots and death.
DANIEL **1550
A judge in the anonymous Nice Wanton. He refuses Iniquity's bribe and sentences Ismael to death. When Ismael blames Iniquity for his corrupt state, Daniel has Iniquity arrested and sentences him to death as well.
DANIEL, SAMUEL **1600
A "ghost character" in the anonymous 1 Return From Parnassus. According to Ingenioso, the poet Samuel Daniel is one of the writers pillaged by Gullio.
DANIEL, SAMUEL**1603
Only mentioned in the anonymous 2 Return From Parnassus. In praising Samuel Daniel for his skill at making sonnets, Iudicio nevertheless wishes that Daniel would move beyond imitation to true invention.
DANILA, SANCTO
Leader of the Spanish conspirators in the anonymous A Larum for London. He orders the Captain to open the castle to any forces that come. He sanctimoniously plans, with Cornelius, to overthrow Antwerp for her riches. He denigrates the preparedness of Antwerp's citizenry and predicts that they will hide when the 5,000 Spaniards come to take the city. He has planned that Don Alonzo de Verdugo, Julian de Romero, Emanuel, and Dalua (the Lord of Alua, who is playing dead) will join them with various forces. He plans to initiate conflict by firing on the castle under the pretense that Antwerp is giving the Prince of Orange's ships safe harbor. He orders the Gunner to fire the cannon through the statehouse where the Dutch are banqueting. He is quite irritated that the Gunner has prepared ineffective weapons but orders firing. While the Gunner leaves to shoot, Danila expresses his desire that every particle of shot be murderous to the Burgers. He explains that the attack is motivated by the insult of having the Prince of Orange's ships anchored at Antwerp. He is annoyed that they are doing commerce openly. He is also piqued that they deride Danila's power as evidenced by their failure to react to the supposed death of Prince Dalua. He welcomes Dalua and his forces, Alonzo Verdugo and his soldiers, and Julian Romero and his regiment to the castle. He celebrates the fact that all the conspirators have arrived, even Don Emanuel who does not enter on stage. He fights with the Marques d'Hauurye and Count Egmont and later brags that his combined forces defeated Antwerp in four hours. He threatens the Old Citizen to force him to reveal existence and then location of his daughter, whom he intends to rape. He confronts the agent of the London Merchant and takes the money the Factor has collected. He orders soldiers to take the Old Citizen and his daughter to his house while he goes to fight Stump and kills the daughter when he hears that the soldiers are doubtful about getting her to a safe house. He orders that her father also be killed. It is Danila that announces the Spanish forces have finally won though as much through the immorality of the Dutch as through the skill of the Spanish. He plans to leave most of the Dutch unburied, but will give an honored burial to the Captain and Lieutenant Vaughan (a.k.a. Stump)for their noble actions in defense of Antwerp.
DANIO
Danio is the father of Melebea in ?Rastell's Calisto and Melebea. He dreams that on her way to a healing bath she is instead driven to the brink of a deadly pit by a prick-eared cur pretending to be a spaniel. His account of the dream shocks her into a recognition of her folly in listening to the blandishments of Celestina. On hearing the story he urges her to beg God for mercy, and finishes the play with a speech on the importance of raising young people to be virtuous, industrious, and obedient.
DANISH CAPTAIN
The Danish "Captaine" welcomes Oswald to the "Ile" from Denmark at the beginning of Carlell's 2 Arviragus and Philicia. He discusses the war and Cartandes's well-being with him, and informs him of the "vow" which the Queen "made upon her landing."
DANISH GENERAL
A non-speaking character in Carlell's 1 Arviragus and Philicia. the Danish Generall is defeated in warre by Arviragus and is lead "in triumph" into the city along with other Captives and Prisoners by the victors.
DANISH SENTINEL
The Danish "Centinel" is taken prisoner in Carlell's 2 Arviragus and Philicia. He informs the Messenger to both Philicia and Artemia that Arviragus is "taken by the Danes" and "design'd for sacrifice," and that Guiderius "strives with Arviragus which should dye."
DANO
Probably the character known as Dives in the anonymous Wit of a Woman. Called "old man" on his first appearance, he is a rich old merchant, a patient of the fraudulent Doctor Niofell. He is a relative of Balia, and after his treatment he invites Niofell to Balia's house. He is presumably identical with the "Dano a sick merchant" named in the dramatis personae and otherwise unaccounted for.
DANSIKER
Pirate captain preparing to leave his life of crime for an amnesty offered by Henri IV, King of France, in Daborne's A Christian Turned Turk. His wife's letter explaining this reaches him in Tunis, where Ward and Francisco are headed in pursuit of the mutinous Gallop and Gismund. Dansiker will be pardoned if he agrees to turn his talents to the service of France, and wishing to return to his wife and children after four years of outlawry, he is prepared to submit. Unlike Ward, he has retained important ties to family and a sense of honor to admit the wrong he has done as a thief, while remaining justly proud of his reputation for valor and prowess as an adventurous pirate. His honor dictates that he cannot merely make a show of repentance for his past, but must offer to do some worthy deed to balance his account, even at the cost of his life. His crew unanimously agrees with him. He plans to destroy all the pirate ships in Tunis harbor - a grand gesture to be achieved by setting fire to a house in the city to provide a distraction for their escape. The victim is to be the 'renegade Jew', Benwash. The plan is revealed to have an ulterior motiveby destroying Benwash's house and escaping, he will avoid repaying the huge debt owed to the Jew. With his captain, Sares, at the house of Benwash, he flirts with Voada, who has already revealed her interest in him to her sister, before she falls in love with Fidelio (Alizia) at first sight. Here he meets Ward, and is disgusted by his inhumane treatment of the captive Raymonds ('I hate this villain'). Ward and Dansiker come to blows over Voada's favors and are parted by her brother, Crosman. Despite their hostility and his contempt for Ward, he cannot believe the rumor of Ward's conversion, until Sares gives him eyewitness confirmation. He plans to redeem the men sold into slavery by Ward (Albert and Ferdinand) and has prepared their ransom. Dansiker causes every ship in the harbor to be burned, except Ward's vessel, and that he uses for his own escape. Arrived in Marseilles, the Chorus narrates the dumbshow of Dansiker's surrender, humble penitence and petition for pardon. The amnesty agreed on is void since the death of the king, and Dansiker must swear to atone for his wrongs by returning to Tunis and capturing Benwash. He is allowed to greet his wife and family. Next seen back at the house of Benwash, accompanied by Sares, Ferdinand and Albert, all in disguise. Benwash blames his own murders on the 'strangers', whereupon Dansiker stabs Benwash and reveals his identity. He refuses to save his life by turning Turk, admits the justice of his fate and commits suicide with many pious words.
DANTER, JOHN**1603
In the anonymous 2 Return From Parnassus, Ingenioso offers the disreputable printer John Danter, otherwise known for satires and proto-Catholic devotions, his new pamphlet, a chronicle of Cambridge cuckolds. Danter is ready to pay forty shillings and a pitcher of wine.
DANTZIKER
A tortured soul in hell in Dekker's If It Be Not Good.
DANVILLE
A "ghost character" in Daborne's A Christian Turned Turk. Mentioned once by Dansiker as the captain of another ship in Tunis who is to join their escape. It in unclear whether he is another reformed pirate.
DAPHNE**1605
Daphne was in love with Menalcas, but was seduced by Colax in Daniel's The Queen's Arcadia. She consults Alcon about her health and asks him to give her the same medicine that he gave to Phillis; Alcon disturbs her by talking about "Colaxical hot humours" and "Menalchian Cordials". Left alone, she bewails her treatment at Colax's hands and her own behavior towards Menalcas. In the scene of general reconciliation, in which Menalcas does not appear, Ergistus sees that Daphne looks sad, and warns her to be careful in future. The future of Daphne and Menalcas is thus left uncertain.
DAPHNE**1625
Only mentioned in Davenport's New Trick to Cheat the Devil. Daphne is mentioned by Slightall when he is instructing his friends on how to love any creature, even if it is the "loathed'st", by taking no notice of their imperfections. He illustrates his point with the following words: "She that is puffed like Boreas in the cheeke, / Is but full fat, and Daphne she is like." According to Greek mythology, Daphne was a nymphrepresented in Renaissance pictures as a pleasantly plump ladywhom Leucippus, son to King Oenomaus of Pisa, fell in love with. But being Daphne believed to avoid the male sex, he decided to disguise as a maiden in order to approach her, and that way the nymph soon became very fond of himbelieving he was a daughter of Oenomaus. But Apollo, also in love with the nymph and terribly jealous, took revenge, making the nymph and her friends go swimming in the river Laddon. There, the girls noticing Leucippus would not strip, tore his clothes, and realizing he was no maid, feeling betrayed they stabbed him to death with their spears and daggers. Concerning the way Apollo fell in love with Daphne, Ovid explains that, after defeating Python, Apollo teased Cupid, for carrying the bow and arrow, with which Apollo excelled. Cupid decided to take revenge, and punish Apollo's pride. Thus, he shot a golden arrow, representing love, into Apollo's heart, and shot one made of lead, representing aversion to love, in Daphne's heart. From that point on, Apollo loved Daphne, but she hated him. When Apollo physically pursued her and caught her, she begged to her father Peneus to save her, and he turned her into a tree on the spot. Apollo, disappointed at the fact that she would not be his bride, instead made her be his tree, and thence the laurel tree became sacred.
DAPHNE **1637
A ‘ghost character’ in (?)Speed’s The Converted Robber. Jarbus wears a lace in his buttonhole as a favour from Daphne, which she gave him when he gave her cherries.
DAPHNES
A young man in Tatham's Love Crowns the End. In love with Cloë but rejected by her, Daphnes declares "What fickle things are women!" but admits that his energetic pursuit of Cloë may have turned her away. As the play closes Cloë is at his side and marriage seems in store.
DAPHNIS**1608
Daphnis is a shepherd in Fletcher's The
Faithful Shepherdess. In the past he had sent gloves to Amoret, but now
Cloë woos him. Although Daphnis is bashful and determined to preserve his chastity,
he agrees to meet her in the wood. Cloë is exasperated by his lack of sexual heat
and tells him that she will meet him in the hollow tree after they have meditated
apart (fully intending not to meet him). After the Sullen Shepherd injures Alexis,
Cloë decides to meet Daphnis after all, and the Satyr discovers them in the hollow
tree. Daphnis passes the chastity test imposed by Clorin and returns to the village.
DAPHNIS**1634
The young, handsome, rough, and rich shepherd who is Alcon's friend in Rutter's The Shepherds' Holiday, Daphnis is loved and pursued by Dorinda throughout the play but is Nerina's daily suitor. He is also the friend of Charinus, who repeatedly promises his daughter to the shepherd and works throughout the play to convince Nerina to not only marry Daphnis but also love him. Following Alcon's advice Daphnis presents Nerina with a looking glass which, apparently unbeknownst to him, is "poison'd" and produces in her a lethargy which is perceived as death. The shepherd then seeks out the traitor and, threatening his revenge upon him, is informed of the mirror's special powers as well as the fact that his friend possesses the restorative necessary to retrieve Nerina from her death-like state. Accompanying Alcon to Nerina's burial site Daphnis witnesses the application of his friend's medicine as well as Nerina's awakening, and attempts to force the nymph to go with him when she refuses to accompany him voluntarily. At Nerina's cries for help and her claim that Daphnis attempted to ravish her, Montanus questions whether or not the shepherd should be permitted to live, and Charinus, disgusted with Daphnis's behaviour, gives his daughter to Hylas. Ashamed of his villainous deed Daphnis fears the scorn of others and, claiming that he had "sued for love to [Dorinda] first, which obtain'd [he] struck disgraces on her," he asks for her forgiveness. Hand in hand with Dorinda and professing his eternal love for her, Daphnis hopes to be taken to her nuptial bed at the play's end.
DAPPER**1608
Family name of Jack and Sir Davy in Middleton and Dekker's Moll Cutpurse, The Roaring Girl.
DAPPER**1610
Dapper is an upstart London clerk in Jonson's The Alchemist. His weakness is gambling. Captain Face reports he met him a night before at the Dagger tavern. Subtle appears to Dapper in his Doctor's cap and gown, but he pretends to be wary of the clerk because magic practices were against the law and a magician had recently been convicted because a clerk denounced him. Captain Face recommends Dapper, who is heir to forty marks a year and keeps company with the small poets of the time. Subtle tells Dapper that he is blessed with the vision of the Queen of Faery, who will make him very lucky, enabling him to win at gambling. Dapper later returns in the hope of meeting his "aunt," the Queen of Faery. Captain Face extorts more money from Dapper while Subtle appears disguised as a Priest of Faery. He blindfolds Dapper with a rag, and Captain Face makes him throw away his purse and jewelry. While Dol Common plays the cither, Captain Face and Subtle stuff gingerbread into Dapper's mouth and lock him in the privy. When the gingerbread has melted into his mouth, Dapper starts crying against his "aunt," the Queen of Faery. This happens just when Lovewit and his neighbors are outside the house, raising suspicions about what is going on inside. Subtle tries to silence Dapper, telling him the charm is undone because he has spoken, but Captain Face tells him to show Dapper his aunt. Dol Common enters disguised as the Queen of Faery, who says she is angry with her "nephew." Subtle tells Dapper that, for the privilege of having seen the Queen of Faery, he must sell his rights for the revenue of forty marks a year. Dapper leaves to draw up the papers.
DARDANIUS
Dardanius is Brutus' servant in Shakespeare's Julius
Caesar. Brutus asks Dardanius to kill him so he might avoid capture, but
Dardanius refuses the request.
DARES
Page to Eumenides in Lyly's Endymion.
With his master in love, there is nothing left for him to do but devise mischief.
He and Samias seek out Sir Tophas. They first tease him with two young women,
Scintilla and Favilla, but when they discover he has fallen in love with the enchantress,
Dipsas, they agree to help him in his wooing for their sport.
DARIENE
Dariene is old Nicoletto Vanni's wife and Tibaldo Neri's love interest in Dekker's Wonder of A Kingdom. Despite her strategic importance in the plot, she is allocated only a short yet crucial appearance at the end of the play. The night Nicoletto attempts to seduce Alphonsina under the pretence of reading an important book, Dariene tells him she would be spending the night with a "femall bed-fellow"the disguised Tibaldo Neri. However, Dariene's daughter Alisandra persuades Tibaldo to spend the night with her instead. Meanwhile, Nicoletto's advances towards Alphonsina are suddenly discovered by Dariene. She scolds him for his infatuation and his attempts to win Alphonsina, and tells him that the girl is already promised to his own son, Trebatio. Finally, Dariene reveals that she, Alphonsina and Trebatio had long been mocking Nicoletto's dotage.
DARIOTTO
Dariotto is a courtier, famous for his many affairs with married women in Chapman's All Fools. Cornelio accuses Gazetta of having an affair with him, which she denies as completely false. Despite this, Cornelio appears to be friendly with Dariotto, since they conspire together to make him believe he can play and sing beautifully, and then tease him about his lack of skill. This changes after Valerio makes Cornelio believe his wife really has been unfaithful with Dariotto. Dariotto claims that he seeks only the consent of a woman, not the actual affair, and that he has not attempted to win Gazetta at all. Nevertheless, Cornelio attacks him and wounds him. Pock, the surgeon is brought in, and pronounces the wound shallow, and invites Dariotto to dinner. He is present when Cornelio has the Notary draw up divorce papers, but does not attempt to defend Gazetta. In the final tavern scene, Dariotto is part of the early merriment, calling for dice and pledging a toast to the women on his knees, but once Marc Antonio, Gostanzo and Cornelio enter, he has no more lines.
DARIUS
I.
Only mentioned in Marlowe's Tamburlaine Part 1. Former king of Persia defeated by Alexander the Great at Gaugamela. Ceneus says that Persians will celebrate more at Cosroe's usurping the throne than did Alexander's Macedonians at the defeat of Darius.
II.
Only mentioned in Jonson's Poetaster. King Darius the Great (550486 BC) ruled over the Persian Empire and was one of the most powerful monarchs of ancient times. King Darius is the title of a pathetic revenge tragedy interpreted by the First and Second Pyrgus for Histrio's benefit, at Tucca's command.
III.
Darius is a "ghost character" in Daniel's Philotas. He is the ruler of Persia who was defeated by Alexander. Antigona was one of his concubines. Under torture, Philotas claims that Parmenio decided to do nothing against Alexander while Darius was in power, but after Darius's defeat thought that their faction could take all 'the Orient and all Asia'.
DARIUS, SPIRIT of
A non-speaking character in Marlowe's Doctor Faustus. In the B-text only, the Spirit of Darius (Persian Emperor Darius III; reigned 336-330 B.C.E.) appears at the court of Charles, the German Emperor when Faustus conjures up Alexander. The two fight, and Alexander kills him and places his crown on the head of his own Paramour.
DASH**1608
Dash is a clerk in the service of Throat, for whom he prepares documents and runs
errands in Barry's Ram Alley.
Questioned by Throat, Dash gives a positive description of the social function
of the law, which is scorned by his master. Dash shows Thomas Boutcher and Constantia
Sommerfield into Throat's office and discusses the law with Constantia while Boutcher
talks to Throat. He is sent by Throat to find out whether Lady Sommerfield has
come to her house in St John's Street. Dash helps Throat to carry away "Constantia"really
the courtesan Francis impersonating Constantiaas the wedding party proceeds
to the Savoy. When Francis is arrested, Dash goes to warn Throat not to go to
Lady Sommerfield's house.
DASH**1635
Trifle's clerk in Davenant's News From Plymouth. He appears briefly when Trifle is distributing false news.
DASH**1637
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Clerk to "Justice Bindover" in the anonymous The Wasp. He joins in the mock trial between The Wasp and Countess Claridon to settle their disagreement.
DASHER
A tavern-keeper. He extravagantly compliments everyone who comes into his tavern, to the extent that his effusive praise becomes ridiculous. He appears only in act 4, which takes place entirely in his tavern. Toward the end of that act, he welcomes Dungworth, Dobson, and Ralph to the tavern as lodgers, then fears that he will be hanged for treason because he thinks Littleword is a spy. When Dungworth convinces him that Littleword will not inform on him, he declares himself to be Dungworth's servant.
DATHAN
A "ghost character" in Bale's God's
Promises. Mentioned by Moses as a sinful man punished by God.
DAUBENEY
Daubeney, a lord who becomes Lord Chamberlain when Stanley is executed for treason
in Ford's Perkin Warbeck.
He and Oxford act as Greek chorus, discussing events for the benefit of the audience.
It is Daubeney who ultimately captures the pretender Warbeck and brings him to
the king.
DAUGHTER
Another name for the Maid in the anonymous Pedler's Prophecy. Once her parents enter speech headings are variously "Ma." or "Daugh."
DAUGHTER, ALDERMAN’S **1636
A “ghost character" in Glapthorne’s Hollander. Sconce tells Urinal of a city captain who has a weapon salve that cured a hole in an Alderman’s daughter. She received the injury when a gentleman’s butt-shaft pierced her whilst he was shooting Pennyprick in her garden.
DAUGHTER, ANTIOCHUS'
Daughter of the King of Antioch in Shakespeare's Pericles.
She has an incestuous relationship with her father who attempts to prevent suitors
such as Pericles from marrying her. A suitor must solve a riddle before he can
marry the girl. The answer to the riddle, however, reveals the incest, and forces
Pericles to flee for his life. Along with her father, she is struck down by fire
from heaven.
DAUGHTER, ANTONIO'S
A fictitious character in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. After Borachio has revealed the plot to discredit Hero, Claudio repents and offers to fulfil any penance Leonato can devise. Leonato tells Claudio to tell Messina of his error, to visit Hero's grave and pay tribute to her there, and finally to marry Antonio's daughter. It is, in fact, Hero he will marry under guise of being Antonio's daughter.
DAUGHTER, BONDUCA'S FIRST and SECOND
The Daughters of Bonduca were raped by Romans and thirst for revenge in Fletcher's Bonduca.
- The First Daughter prays to the gods for revenge, but no flame rises from the altar. She assists her sister in the capture of Junius and his friends, and the Daughters prepare to kill them in order to revenge their rapes. But Caratach rescues the Romans and tells the Daughters that they are to blame for their rapes because they failed to keep their legs closed. When Bonduca and her daughters are besieged in the fort, the First Daughter taunts the Romans, and is enthusiastic in committing suicide with a sword.
- Bonduca's Second Daughter is named Bonvica, but the name is only used once in the text. When she learns from Corporal Judas that Junius is in love with her, she sends him a letter inviting him to meet her. During the battle Junius and two friends come to find her, but she and the First Daughter capture them and prepare to kill them in order to revenge their rapes. But Caratach rescues the Romans and tells the Daughters that they are to blame for their rapes because they failed to keep their legs closed. When Bonduca and her daughters are besieged in the fort, the Second Daughter tries unsuccessfully to persuade Bonduca to act pitiful and soften the hearts of the Romans. She is initially reluctant to commit suicide, but is persuaded by her sister and mother.
DAUGHTER, CAESAR'S
A "ghost character" in Fisher's Fuimus Troes. She does not appear on stage, but Caesar hears of her death after he has lost the first battle against Cassibelane.
DAUGHTER, CHREMYLA'S **1627
A "ghost character" in Randolph's Plutophthalmia. Chremyla is spinning a smock for her when Carion interrupts her with news of her newly acquired wealth.
DAUGHTER, COUNTRYMAN'S
A "ghost character" in Shirley's Constant Maid. The Countryman's daughter is with child, and Startup is the father, thus Startup is already contracted to her.
DAUGHTER, DUKE of BRANDENBURGH'S**1600
A "ghost character" in Chettle, Dekker and Haughton's Patient Grissil. Gwalter claims he will marry her though he is already married to Grissil. In fact, the girl he brings out is Gratiana, the daughter of himself and Grissil.
DAUGHTER, DUKE'S
A non-speaking role in Wilson's The
Cobbler's Prophecy. Emnius plots to marry the Duke's Daughter, but his
plan is foiled. She appears alongside her father during the Priest's prayer.
DAUGHTER, EARL CHEPSTOW'S
A "ghost character" in (?Chettle and) Munday's Downfall
of Robert Earl of Huntington. When John asks Fitzwater to give him Matilda,
Fitzwater replies that John is married already to Earl Chepstow's daughter.
DAUGHTER, EMPEROR'S
A "ghost character" in Burnell's Landgartha. She is considered to be the fairest lady by Hubba.
DAUGHTER, EUSTACE STATVILLE'S
A "ghost character" in Munday and Chettle's Death of Robert, Earl of Huntington. Eustace Statville's daughter, a nun, was beaten and raped by Doncaster. She appealed to Richard and Doncaster was imprisoned,
but escaped. The story of her abuse is told by Chester after Doncaster poisons
Robin.
DAUGHTER, FRENCH KING'S
The French King's daughter (known in speech designations only as "The Ladie")
falls hopelessly in love with the shipwrecked Guy in Thomas Heywood's The Four Prentices of London. Repulsed in her amorous advances, she decides to follow him to the Holy Land disguised as a page named Jack. Jealous that Bella
Franca might favor Guy amongst her numerous suitors, she leaves the camp with
the her and subsequently redisguises herself as a maidservant. In the final scene,
amidst much gender joshing, she reveals her true identity to Guy and the two are
betrothed.
DAUGHTER, JAILER'S
Unnamed in Shakespeare's Two Noble Kinsmen, the Jailer's Daughter rebuffs the proposals offered by her Wooer and instead falls in love with Palamon while he is incarcerated. She allows Palamon to escape and accompanies him into the woods, where Palamon politely but firmly refuses her love. She becomes mentally unstable, telling fortunes and joining the morris-dancers. Saved from a suicidal drowning attempt by her Wooer, she is eventually seen by the Doctor, who can do nothing for her save suggest that the Wooer pretend to be Palamon. Palamon and his knights donate several purses to the Jailer's Daughter when they lose their battle challenge and face death.
DAUGHTER, KEEPER'S **1600
A "ghost character" in Chettle and Day's Blind Beggar of Bednal Green. She helped Young Plainsey when he was a prisoner in Amiens.
DAUGHTER, KNIGHT’S **1615
An imaginary character in Tomkis’ Albumazar. Trincalo imagines matching his ungotten son, Transformation, to a Knight’s daughter.
DAUGHTER, LAUNDRESS'S
A "ghost character" in Sharpham's Cupid's Whirligig. Lady Troublesome accuses her husband of sending money to the laundress's daughter as payment for sexual favors; he claims it was an act of charity.
DAUGHTER, LORD STEWARD'S
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's Two
Noble Kinsmen. The Lord Steward's Daughter is unnamed and does not appear
on stage in the play. Palamon and Arcite describe her as having once met Arcite
in an arbor.
DAUGHTER, MORE'S SECOND **1595
More's Second Daughter in Chettle, Dekker and Munday's Sir Thomas More, historically Elizabeth More, appears several times with her older sister Margaret, Lady More, and Margaret's husband William Roper, usually to exemplify the warm family life enjoyed in the More household and finally to exhibit the grief felt as More faces his execution.
DAUGHTER, OLD CITIZEN'S
She is found hiding at a convent after her father is tortured to reveal her in the anonymous A Larum for London. Danila plans to rape her, and she pleads to him for herself and her elderly father. When Danila is called back into battle, he kills her when his soldier doubts he can get her to a safe house. Her father is also summarily executed.
DAUGHTER, OSBRIGHT'S
A "ghost character" in Brome's The Damoiselle. She was left in England when her father sailed overseas.
DAUGHTER, PHLEGMATICO'S **1618
A "ghost character" in Holiday's Technogamia. Cheiromantes predicts that Phlegmatico will have a daughter who will die very young of black jaundice.
DAUGHTER, REYNOLD PENGUTLING'S
A "ghost character" in Brome's The Damoiselle. She was to marry Sir Amphilus, but she was rejected in favor of Alice.
DAUGHTERS
"Ghost characters" in Hawkins's Apollo Shroving. Museus claims (at the sentencing of disobedient characters at the play's end) that Apollo sentences Ludio to "play uncessantly" at dice with the "fifty daughters of Dinaus, whose play is still to fetch and fetch water in a sieve" as his eternal playfellows. However, the dice must be put into a "bottomlesse boxe" so that "they fall to the ground" whenever they are thrown, and Ludio must "take them up" each timerepeating this cycle for eternity.
DAUGHTERS, BOROSKIE'S
Boroskie's daughters are "ghost characters" and possibly "fictional characters" in Fletcher's The Loyal Subject. When the soldiers are dismissed from the army without pay and having no other means of subsistence, they become peddlers. The First Soldier tells Boroskie he mends cracked maidenheads. Ironically, he offers to help Boroskie's daughters, should they have cracked their maidenheads in a coach with too much tumbling. The fictional daughters' loss of virginity is described through the image of breaking their legs above the knee. There is no indication elsewhere in the play that Boroskie's daughters actually exist.
DAUGHTERS, DIONISIUS'
King Dionisius' unnamed daughters are "ghost characters" in Edwards's Damon
and Pithias. Aristippus reports that King Dionisius trusts no one around
him, including his own daughters. Grimme reports the gossip that the king turned
his daughters into fine barbers for fear of being killed by strangers. Grimme
lewdly remarks that he would gladly be washed and trimmed by the king's daughters,
in the hope of stealing a kiss.
DAUGHTERS, MELLISEUS'
The guardians of Jupiter as a baby in Heywood's The
Golden Age. They zealously guard his true identity.
DAUGHTERS, NEIGHBOURING LORDS'
These seventeen daughters of the lords of a country near Fairyland represent the
Protestant states of the Netherlands in Dekker's The Whore of Babylon. They have vowed to live as vestal virgins, but are besieged by evil agents of the Empress of Babylon who seek to rape them and to seize their
dowries. They seek and receive Titania's protection. When the Daughters appear
to thank Titania, they are referred to in the stage directions as 'the States
of the Countries,' making the allegory explicit.
DAUGHTERS, KING of MACEDON'S
Brandron the giant abducted the three Daughters of the King of Macedon in Kirke's
The Seven Champions of Christendom.
Before he could rape them, they prayed to God, and were turned into swans. When
Brandron dies, they change back into women, and marry Saints Denis, James and
Patrick.
D'AUMALE
A French exile at Brussels in Chapman's The
Conspiracy of Charles, Duke of Byron, enemy to King Henry.
D'AUMONT
A French nobleman in Chapman's The
Conspiracy of Charles, Duke of Byron. He asks Crequi to report on Byron's
visit to England, and Crequi tells him of the exchanges that took place.
DAUPHIN**1586
Son of Charles VII, king of France in the anonymous Famous Victories of Henry V. When Henry V of England claims the French crown, the dauphin sends him a mocking gift of tennis balls. The dauphin is prohibited
from participating in the battle of Agincourt by his father who is fearful for
his son's life. At the end of the play, he swears fealty to Henry V and kisses
his sword.
DAUPHIN**1591
Charles is dauphin and then king of France in Shakespeare's 1 Henry VI. After testing Joan la Pucelle's instincts and her strength in single combat, he humbles himself before her and agrees to trust her guidance
in the battle against the English.
DAUPHIN**1596
Louis, the Dauphin of France, is with his father Philip when England and France meet before the gates of Angers in Shakespeare's King John. He does not speak until after the first, inconclusive battle. When the Citizen suggests that peace be made by marrying Blanche and the Dauphin, he quickly finds her everything he could want in a wife. When Pandolf arrives and excommunicates John, the Dauphin immediately urges his father to war, and ignores his new wife's pleas that he consider her conflicting loyalties. When the Dauphin hears that Arthur has been taken, and presumably killed, he is despondent, until Pandolf points out that he can now claim the English throne through his wife. The Dauphin goes to war and subverts many of the English lords. However, John submits to Rome, and Pandolf returns to the Dauphin to make peace, only to find that the Dauphin refuses to stop. He swears to continue even after he hears that his supplies have been shipwrecked and the English lords returned to John, but in the final scene, Salisbury reports that Pandolf has at last persuaded the Dauphin to make peace.
DAUPHIN**1599
Lewis, the dauphin of France in Shakespeare's Henry V, is the eldest son of the French King Charles VI. He repeatedly underestimates Henry's abilities, helping to provoke England's invasion of France with an ill-advised gift mocking what he believes to be Henry's love of diversion. When the English do invade, Harfleur surrenders after the Dauphin cannot supply the troops needed to defend the town. On the eve of the battle of Agincourt, when Henry is preparing himself and his soldiers for battle, the Dauphin engages in a bragging session about his horse and about the victory he expects to savor in the morning. The French lose the battle, and he calls on the French nobles to stab themselves. The Dauphin's father signs a treaty capitulating to all of Henry's demands. In history Louis died in 1415 and was not present at Agincourt. He was succeeded by Jean, who died in 1416, and after by Charles, who became Charles VII. Shakespeare apparently conflates the three Dauphins here.
DAUPHIN **1604
A “ghost character" in Rowley’s When You See Me. He met the Lady Mary in Calais and escorted her to be married to the French king at Tours.
DAUPHIN**1608
A non-speaking part in Chapman's The Tragedy of Charles, Duke of Byron. Infant son of King Henry. He is brought to the King by his nurse and a lady in the first scene. The King places his sword in the infant's hand, and addresses a long speech to him, hoping that his reign will be a peaceful one.
DAUPHIN of FRANCE
A "ghost character" in Montague's The Shepherd's Paradise. The Dauphin of France is mentioned in the story about the founding of the Shepherd's Paradise. One of two gentlemen in love with Sabina, the daughter of a former King of Castile, he attacked and took the lands of the Prince of Navarre, Sabina's other suitor. Sabina promised never to marry Navarre if the Dauphin restored his lands, but the Dauphin was foiled when Sabina vowed eternal chastity and founded the Shepherd's Paradise instead. These events have occurred long in the past and the Dauphin is dead, and therefore does not appear in the play.
DAUPHIN, SIR GUICHARD
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's Henry
V Great Master of France. He is reported among the French dead on the
Agincourt battlefield. Henry refers to him as brave.
DAUPHINE
Dauphine is son to Rogat, a gentleman of France, and Octavian's brother in the anonymous Ghost. According to his father, when he learns that Babilas had murdered his brother and had escaped, he departs in search of the murderer to revenge his brother's death. In the Friar's cave Dauphine reveals he had never parted. Instead, he had always been there, disguised as Engin, taking part in a plot to take revenge on Philarchus, Pinnario, Procus, Valerio and Babilas. Finally, the plot succeeds, and Dauphine even manages to make his brother (who had not really died) ask Philarchus to settle on him two hundred pounds a year, as a recompense for his services.
DAUPHINE EUGENIE, SIR
Sir Dauphine Eugenie is a knight, Morose's nephew in Jonson's Epicoene. At Clerimont's house in London, Dauphine enters announcing his friends that his uncle intends to disinherit him because he thinks his nephew is the source of the malicious slanders about him. When hearing that his uncle intends to marry a supposedly silent woman, Dauphine contrives a plot with his friends to ruin Morose's marriage plans. In a lane near Morose's house, Dauphine enters with Truewit and Clerimont. When Cutbeard announces that Morose intends to marry Epicoene that day, the gallants decide to bring in a merry party of revelers. Dauphine exits with his friends. At Morose's house, Dauphine enters with his friends and musicians, thus adding to the already existing uproar. When Morose chases the noisy intruders away and then exits in a rage, Dauphine follows him, hoping to placate his uncle and regain his favor. Dauphine re-enters to inform his friends that his uncle intends to talk to a lawyer about his divorce, and the friends show their satisfaction at how they manipulated the events. Dauphine eavesdrops on the scene in which Truewit mocks the two foolish knights and he appears in disguise to scare Daw and La-Foole while the collegiate ladies are watching. Morose chases the gallants and the ladies away, then informs his nephew that he could not speak to the divorce lawyer because of the noise in court. After Morose's departure, Dauphine exits to fetch Otter and the barber, according to plan. In a room at Morose's house, Dauphine enters with Haughty, who courts him ardently. Each collegiate lady does the same in private, while Clerimont is watching the scene. When Truewit enters, the three friends arrange the next step in their plot and Dauphine exits to fetch his uncle. Dauphine enters with Morose, who is given counsel on divorce by two bogus advisers. When Epicoene enters followed by the ladies, and Morose's attempts at providing legitimate grounds for divorce have failed, Dauphine gives the final coup de théâtre. After making his uncle name him his heir, Dauphine reveals that Epicoene is actually a boy, thus annulling the marriage. By concealing this last part of the plot from his friends, Dauphine was able to play the last card and make sure that his uncle depended upon his rescue action.
DAUPHIN'S MESSENGER
The Dauphin's Messenger in Shakespeare's King John. He arrives to tell the Dauphin that Count Melun has revealed the Dauphin's plans to kill the English lords after the battle, and that they have therefore returned to John's side.
D'AUVERGNE
I.
A friend of Byron in Chapman's The
Conspiracy of Charles, Duke of Byron. He urges him to take care of what
he requests from the King upon his return from England, but Byron brushes off
his concern. When the King refuses Byron what he wants, D'Auvergne prevents him
from attacking Henry.
II.
A friend to Byron in Chapman's The
Tragedy of Charles, Duke of Byron. He reasserts his loyalty to his friend
in III. When the King attempts to persuade him to reveal Byron's treacheries in
IV, he states that he knows of none. He is arrested by Pralin following the arrest
of Byron.
DAVID
I.
David is the fifth human to request God's mercy in Bale's God's Promises. He reminds God not only of Moses, but other righteous men. He also lists those who were sinful, but asks that Israel not be judged by them,
since God's mercy is so great. God then lists David's sins, sleeping with the
wife of Uriah and numbering the people of Israel. David repents sincerely, and
when God offers him a choice of famine, exile or plague, David leaves it up to
God to decide. God chooses to inflict a plague on Israel, and when David protests
that he alone should suffer, God is moved and foretells the coming of Christ.
David rejoices and sings praises to God.
II.
Only mentioned in the anonymous Wit's Triumvirate. David is mentioned by Master Fright when, on his second visit to Doctor Clyster to have his fears cured, he is asked if the hangings ever trouble him. He replies that his "hanging story of little David had almost killed" him. Later, he points out that "they had made little David no bigger than Tom Thumb." David was the youngest of the eight sons of Jesse. They lived in Bethlehem. His task was to take care of his father's sheep, which grazed in the pasture fields around their village. His life in the fields, fighting against predators to defend his sheep, had made him brave and strong. His three oldest brothers were also brave men; in fact they were soldiers in King Saul's army. At that time, their country was at war with the Philistines, whose great armies were integrated by giants, as well as men. One of the tallest and strongest of the giants was Goliath, who challenged Saul's troops asking him to choose a man to fight against him. Should the soldier kill Goliath, the Philistines would be their servants, should it be otherwise, they would have to become servants of the Philistines. David offered the king his services to answer the challenge, but fearing for the young man's life, King Saul turned his offer down. But, not having other volunteers at hand, the king finally decided to allow David to confront the giant. He offered the boy his heavy iron coat and helmet, but being too heavy for him, the young man decided to take only his sling and a few stones. And, actually, that was all he needed to kill the giant: he slung a stone straight into his forehead, Goliath fell onto the ground, and David quickly took the giant's sword, stabbed him and cut off his head.
III.
David is the king of Israel in Peele's David and Bethsabe. As the play opens, his forces are engaged with those of the Ammonite king Hanon at Rabbah. In Jerusalem, David sees Bethsabe bathing, is overcome with passion for her, and begins an affair. When she becomes pregnant, David orders her husband, the warrior Urias, home from Rabbah, hoping that a conjugal encounter will remove suspicion about the child's parentage. When Urias refuses to visit his wife, David secretly orders Joab to place him in the thickest part of the battle so that he might be killed, thus opening a way for the king to marry Bethsabe. David joins his army at Rabbah and presides over the taking of the place, but is soon forced to confront another problem, for Absalon, David's favorite son, has killed Amnon, a half-brother, to avenge the rape of his sister Thamar. Peace is restored when Joab works a reconciliation of father and son, but Absalon soon decides to make an attempt on his father's throne. Before word of Absalon's death arrives, David is prompted by Nathan and Bethsabe to recognize Salomon, his son by Bethsabe, as the successor chosen by God, and he does so while asserting that his chief affection is still for the wayward Absalon. When Cusay reports the young man's death, David is nearly inconsolable. Stirred by Nathan, he recognizes that he has obligations to his people, and he recommits himself to the task of ruling Israel.
DAVID ap OWEN ap EVAN ap MEREDETH ap JUNKIN
A "ghost character" in Mountfort's The Launching of The Mary. One of the workers in the shipyard. His name is called out by the Clerk of the Check.
DAVID ap TUCK, FRIAR
Friar David ap Tuck is the name assumed by Friar Hugh ap David when he joins Lluellen and Elinor de Montfort in the Welsh mountains in Peele's Edward I, and all the rebels decide to assume the names of characters from the Robin Hood legends.
DAVID, SAINT of WALES
St. David is one of the six champions of Christendom imprisoned in the cave of
Calib the witch in Kirke's The Seven
Champions of Christendom. George releases the champions, and they make
him their seventh member. They vow to travel the world, doing battle with unbelievers.
St. David helps the Tartarians in their wars against the Persians, but then accidentally
kills Arbasto, the heir to the throne, in a joust. The King wants to kill him.
When David protests his innocence, the King of Tartary sends him on a mission
to slay the enchanter Ormandine, believing that he will fail. David fights off
Ormandine's sprits, but is unable to defeat Ormandine's wand. Ormandine then sends
spirits to tempt David with pleasures, and he succumbs. He is rescued when St.
George defeats Ormandine. Later, he joins with St. Andrew, St. Anthony, St. Denis,
St. James and St. Patrick, in an attempt to slay Brandron the giant and rescue
the King of Macedon's daughters. But they are betrayed by Suckabus, who tricks
them into disarming and then imprisons them. They are forced to support Brandron
or die, and so, when St. George arrives, they are obliged to fight him. George
defeats all six of them. When Brandron commits suicide, the champions are free
to join with George again. At the end of the play, they perform a dance to celebrate
the marriage of the Daughters of the King of Macedon to Patrick, Denis, and James.
DAVID, SCOTS KING
David is the King of Scotland in the anonymous King
Edward III. He besieges the Countess of Salisbury at the Castle of Roxbourgh.
There the Countess overhears him arguing with Douglas about the division of the
spoils, specifically the Countess and her jewels. He flees immediately upon receiving
news of the approaching English army. Later, he is captured by John Copland and
is brought to France to be surrendered to Edward III.
DAVID, SIR
At the christening of Edward of Caernarvon in Peele's Edward I, the king greets "Sir David" as a representative of all Welshmen. The fondness displayed by Edward here suggests that this may have been intended to be Sir David of Brecknock, even though that character had already shown his disloyalty and joined his brother Lluellen in an earlier scene. Many textual editors suspect that Peele's text had undergone a revision, and the playwright neglected to check for inconsistencies such as this.
DAVID of BRECKNOCK, SIR
The younger brother of Lluellen in Peele's Edward I. David of Brecknock pretends to be loyal to Edward and remains with the king after Lluellen's revolt. Edward prizes the Welshman greatly, making it possible for David to avoid suspicion and to spy on his brother's behalf. When Edward and Lluellen meet in single combat, David attempts to aid Lluellen, thus signaling his true loyalties. When Mortimer defeats the Welsh forces, he has David sent as a prisoner to the king, who promptly has him executed.
DAVIS (DAVIES), JOHN**1603
Only mentioned in the anonymous 2 Return From Parnassus. Iudicio lauds John Davies' mastery of plain style epigrams and his amorous disposition.
D'AVOLOS, RODERICO
Secretary to the Duke, he is the Machiavellian villain of Ford's Love's Sacrifice, serving the Duke's disaffected sister, Fiormunda, ultimately for his own purposes. Never overtly expressed, D'avalos appears to be motivated by pure ambition for power, to manipulate the Duke and rule through him. The Duke believes him loyal and trustworthy. The gradual discovery of his treachery by honest characters as his control of the Duke tightens, provides a major political theme in the play- the damage done by a predatory and self-serving politician. His credit with the gullible and volatile Caraffa allows him to slander others close to the throne. First seen delivering to Roseilli the news of his banishment, it is later made clear that D'avalos has exaggerated the Duke's sentence for his own reasons. He serves Fiormunda by breaking to Fernando the unwelcome news of her passion for him and his curiosity is sparked by the latter's improbable indifference to his romantic disclosure. Fernando's rejection of the most eligible lady at court prompts him to suspect rightly that Fernando has a secret and illicit love, but he regards it as policy to lie to Fiormunda about the failure of his mission. D'avalos has the cunning to persist in his allegations of disloyalty against Roseilli, when the Duke is made aware that his orders have been distorted. He weathers the threat to his credibility by turning the Duke's anger from his own fault to Roseilli's alleged defection to the court of Spain. (D'avalos's downfall will ultimately be his arrogance- his failure to recognize Roseilli in his disguise as Fiormunda's Fool, and careless plotting within earshot of the rival he believes absent from court. Having moved from the character assassination of Roseilli to his next target- the Duchess- he underestimates the hero's resilience and resourcefulness.) D'avolos is shrewd enough to spot the overt signs of Fernando's desire for the innocent Duchess. He tests his theory by showing Fernando portraits of the two ladies and notes the lover's emotional reaction to Biancha's image. He delights in this discovery, but it is clear that in his own corruption he cannot distinguish between the adulterous lust he infers and the emotional torment of unrequited passion, which Fernando is suffering. He reveals this to the furious Fiormunda, who realizes that Fernando's protestations of celibacy to her are false. The incident of the portraits thus turns her motivation in the play from desire to revenge. D'avalos's witnesses the compromising dialogue between Biancha and Fernando, when his interpretation of their intimate conversation based only on body language (and his cynical expectations) convinces him of their adultery. The audience, hearing their innocent words, are made aware of her indignant rejection of Fernando's advances. Ironically, Ford contrives here to produce a variation on Iago's jealousy-gambit, when D'avalos ultimately incites the Duke to murder his wife by telling what he believes to be the truth of her infidelity. D'avalos plays on the Duke's choleric nature and insecurity by dropping constant hints of his cuckoldry until the Duke challenges him to produce proof of his wife's adultery. D'avolos enlists the help of Fiormunda's maid, Julia, in spying on the Duchess, promising her a new gown and honorable marriage. This emphasizes her gullibility and his plausibility, as D'avolos nowhere else mentions any carnal desire for her or anyone else. D'avolos later leads the Duke, armed, to an intimately compromising meeting of the platonic lovers and takes charge of the house-arrest of the disgraced Fernando, leaving the Duke to murder Biancha in private. The Duke's volatile temper and guilt, combined with Fernando's subsequent unimpeachable honesty, which persuades honest courtiers of his innocence, finally prevail against D'avolos's cunning. The catalyst of the Abbot's return to visit his murdered niece provokes the Duke to denounce D'avolos as an 'arch-arch-devil and bloody villain' but he continues to trust in his use to Fiormunda and succeeds in brazening out a show of repentance when Roseilli reappears. The Duke sends word that D'avolos has been deprived of his court position but he is clearly already scheming to survive any regime change, even hinting that the Duke's suicide is 'labour saved'. His hopes of survival as the new Duchess's henchman are quashed by Roseilli's integrity and justice, and he is summarily sentenced to death by starvation- hanged in chains from the castle walls for all his earlier crimes.
DAVUS
Only mentioned in the anonymous Narcissus. Narcissus mentions him when, on hearing how Florida and Clois praise him, he states, "Oedipus I am not, I am Davus." His reply is based on a line in Terence's comedy Andria: a character named Davus, a scheming slave who, unwilling to offer an answer to a question, protests that he is Davus, not Oedipus. Therefore Narcissus' answer to the nymphs expresses his reluctance to confront a difficult questionboth of them love him, and he is not willing to choose.
DAVY **1598
Davy is the servant of Justice Shallow in Shakespeare's 2 Henry IV.
DAVY**1599
A servant of Powis in Munday, Drayton, Hathaway, and Wilson's Sir John Oldcastle, he fights and argues with the Herbert faction.
DAVY **1610
Monsieur Davy is master of the French merchant ship on which Lemot's party is traveling in Daborne's A Christian Turned Turk when captured by Ward on the way from Marseilles. Davy has been trying to outrun the pirate Francisco when intercepted by Ward. Lemot takes charge of their defense while Davy comforts Alizia, promising to preserve the secret of her boy's disguise and denouncing pirates in particular and general. It seems that he dies in the defense of his ship and passengers, as only five survivors are mentioned: four other characters and an unnamed sailor subsequently appear.
DAVY**1614
Davy is a "fictional character" in the Induction of Jonson's Bartholomew Fair. "Little Davy" was a well-known bully in Elizabethan London. The stage-keeper in the Induction complains that the Author of the play does not observe the characteristics of real life in his theatrical Fair. Among other things, the stage-keeper says the poet does not have a "little Davy" to take care of the bawds at the Fair, as it used to be in the stage-keeper's time. Actually, the play Bartholomew Fair does present a pimp, Whit, but he is rather a con man than a bully.
DAVY BRISTLE
Davy Bristle is one of the watchmen in Jonson's Bartholomew Fair. Bristle enters with Haggis, apparently to restore order at the Fair. Bristle tells Haggis that it appears they have come for nothing. It seems that Bristle is well acquainted with the Fair people, but is ignorant of their irony. Later, Bristle and Haggis bring Overdo/Madman to be put into the stocks. When he sees Overdo/Madman kissing the stocks in veneration, Bristle thinks he is a Catholic priest educated at the seminary, who takes the stocks to be a shrine. Bristle describes Overdo as a severe judge who can be angry at times. According to Bristle's peculiar logic, even when Justice Overdo is angry, be it right or wrong, he always has the law on his side. Bristle exits with Haggis, Poacher, and the other officers to take the madman (Overdo) and Busy before Justice Overdo. Following a drunken brawl, Bristle and the officers arrest Wasp, Northern, and Puppy. Since Whit suggests that Northern and Puppy will buy their freedom, Bristle puts only Wasp into the stocks. When Haggis enters with Overdo/Madman and Busy, they put the two prisoners into the stocks. While opening the stocks for the new prisoners, Wasp manages to escape, and Bristle and Haggis must run after him. When they return, Trouble-all creates confusion, Bristle starts fighting with the madman, and the officers forget to lock the stocks. While they are fighting, the prisoners escape. Seeing the empty stocks, Bristle blames it on witchcraft, saying that the madman was a devil and he is an ass.
DAVY DAHUMMA
Whorehound's servant in Middleton's A Chaste Maid in Cheapside. He tells Allwit that Whorehound is about to marry Moll and frightens the wittol. Davy stands to inherit upon Whorehound's death and would be cut off if Whorehound produce any legitimate offspring. Like Allwit he, too, has reason to want the marriage stopped. He uses Allwit as his tool to that end. Dahumma is likely from the Welsh dewch yma meaning "come here."
DAVY DAPPER, SIR
Friend of Sir Alexander Wengrave and father of Jack Dapper in Middleton and Dekker's
Moll Cutpurse, The Roaring Girl.
Sir Davy joins Sir Alexander, Sir Adam Appleton, and the gallants in Sir Alexander's
parlor while he laments his son's decision to pursue Moll Cutpurse. Sir Davy is
dismayed at his own son's behavior: Jack wastes his money on gambling and on his
companions. Sir Davy files a false arrest warrant against Jack, thinking that
time spent in jail will tame his son's spirits.
DAVY DICEPLAYER
A "ghost character" in Udall's Ralph Roister Doister. Davy Diceplayer is one of the many individuals Merrygreek admits to having sponged from before taking up with Ralph Roister Doister.
DAVY GAM
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's Henry
V. He is reported among the English dead on the Agincourt battlefield.
His title is esquire.
DAVY, SAINT of WALES **1627
Only mentioned in Randolph's Plutophthalmia. Caradoc, the Welsh soldier, swears by "St. Taffie."
DAW
Sir John Daw is a knight and a libertine in Jonson's Epicoene. At his house, Daw enters with Clerimont, Dauphine, and Epicoene. Daw courts Epicoene blatantly, exposing his self-conceit and disgracing himself. At Morose's house, Daw enters with Otter and La-Foole to join the company of gallants already carousing and partying in the sound of blasting trumpets and drums. When Morose enters in a rage, driving the noisy intruders away from his house, Daw and La-Foole run off. In a long open gallery at Morose's house, Daw enters with La-Foole and Haughty's party. While the collegiate ladies debate the advantages of women taking lovers as a cure for melancholy, Daw holds their point. In addition, he affirms that his mistress (Epicoene) knows of these things, because he has just tasted of her favors. Daw exits with the collegiate ladies and re-enters later with Truewit, who ridicules the knight's self-sufficiency. While Clerimont and Dauphine are eavesdropping, Truewit turns Daw and La-Foole against each other, locking each in a separate room and claiming that the other is offended and would not be placated unless he is offered a spectacle of private humiliation. Daw is taken out of his room and Dauphine, wearing a carpet over his head and pretending to be the offended La-Foole, kicks Daw six times, while the ladies are watching from above. Then, Daw is sent back to his room and instructed to behave with La-Foole as if nothing happened. When, later, Daw and La-Foole are summoned from their separate rooms they embrace and compliment each other. When the furious Morose menaces the party of intruders again, Daw runs off with the ladies and La-Foole. In the final revelation scene, Daw and La-Foole are forced to admit that Epicoene has been their mistress before her marriage. When, however, Epicoene is revealed to be a boy, the two foolish knights are publicly humiliated and Daw exits with La-Foole in disgrace.
DDA, HYWEL
A "ghost character" in Dekker, Ford and Rowley's The
Welsh Embassador. King of Wales from whom Penda has letters of credence.
de BARAMEDA, MARTINES CAZALLA **1611
Courtier in Dekker’s Match Me in London. His saucy manner to the king betrays him as one of the queen’s spies. He brings the king a heart-shaped jewel from the queen as token of her love. The king tricks him into appearing the queen’s lover and has both sent to prison.
de BARD, FRANCIS **1595
A Lombard residing in London in Chettle, Dekker and Munday's Sir Thomas More. Francis de Bard tries to abduct Doll Williamson after having earlier enticed Sherwin's Wife to leave home. His villainous behavior contributes to the Londoners' hatred for foreigners and leads to the May Day riots of 1517.
de BOIS, DAMME
Damme de Bois is a skeptical man in the anonymous Wit's Triumvirate. He does not believe in superstitions nor in strange maladies. He actually reprimands Master Sickly, on the grounds that being "well enough", he is wasting his money on doctors who do nothing but make him sick. Thus, Master Sickly decides to take him to meet Doctor Clyster in an attempt to make him realize he should abandon his skepticism and trust the doctor. Once there, Damme de Bois spits to their faces that he believes they are mere cozeners and he asks for permission to smokewhich disturbs Master Silence. After a long speech on cozening, he asks for leave to take a nap, which he is granted. But, while he sleeps, Bill Bond Doctor Clyster and Master Silence will be busy devising a plot to cheat him; then, they suddenly wake him up and try to make him believe that he is dying. After a while, when they tell him that he seems to have come to himself, he realizes he is being cozened, and he decides to follow their game. Thus, after speaking to Master Silence, in an attempt to seek peace for his soul, and to Doctor Clyster, he expresses his wish to write his last will and testament before the lawyer. Once he has specified what he is going to leave and to whom, it is obvious he has found them outand he makes it evident when he tells Master Sickly that he leaves him "to be cozened by these honest gentlemen." Aware of the fact that they have been found out, Bond and the other two cheaters send Master Sickly away because they do not want him to realize he has been cheated. Damme finally leaves the place, but dressed in old clotheshaving been cheated by Doctor Clyster. Nevertheless, Damme de Bois was not going to accept being cheated so easily, and he comes back again, this time accompanied by all their cozened victims, encouraging them to ask for what they had offered them as recompense for their fake services. He demands, from the cheaters, a share in their exploits and his clothes to be restoredthreatening to bring trouble to them should his petition be unheard. But Doctor Clyster, in his cheating mood, remarks that, by his lousy looks, he looks like a thief rather than like a victim. On his insisting on his wanting his coat and cap back, Doctor Clyster takes the old ones from him, but, rather than restoring his, he locks the door, leaving him outside claiming for revenge. Thus, he comes with all the cozened people again and knocks on the door, not receiving any response. After a while, the cheaters reply, announcing they will keep their door shut until the authorities break it open. Then, Master Caution, incensed, suggests going to the Lord Chief of Justice for a warrant to apprehend them. But Algebra, who was passing by, offers to act as a judge, and he actually solves the case satisfactorily for all the parties involved, and he is recompensed.
de BOUTEVILLE
Only mentioned in the anonymous Wit's Triumvirate. Monsieur de Bouteville is mentioned by Sir Conquest Shadow when he is reporting, to Doctor Clyster, his imaginary duels overseas: "Methought I fought and killed Monsieur de Bouteville, got a hurt in my hand only, and presently was sent for to the court, graced by the King and Queen." Monsieur de Bouteville was a famous French duelist called François de Montmorency, Comte de Bouteville (1600-27), whom Richelieu executed for challenging the banning of duels.
de BOYS
Family name of Sir Rowland, Oliver, Jaques (not the melancholic Jaques), and Orlando
in Shakespeare's As You Like It.
de BUBE **1619
One of the five cheating rogues (called mathematicians, they are fraud astrologers) in Fletcher’s Bloody Brother along with Norbrett, LaFiske, Russe, and Pippeau. He is the miser of the group. He and the others take Latorch’s money and tell him whatever horoscope he wishes to hear. Aubrey orders the “mathematicians" whipped for their knavery and also orders them to witness Latorch’s hanging.
de BURGH, HUBERT
I.
Appointed by John to guard Arthur in the anonymous 1 Troublesome Reign of John, Hubert de Burgh receives the king's warrant to put out the boy's eyes, and binds him to a chair in order to do so. Arthur's arguments persuade him, however, that his duty to God supersedes his duty to his king. He spares Arthur, but tells the king that the boy is dead. When the news alienates the lords and dismays the king, Hubert confesses that Arthur is still alive. The good news ends Part I.
II.
Arriving just after the three earls find Arthur's body at the foot of the castle walls in the anonymous 2 Troublesome Reign of John, Hubert, the boy's keeper, insists that he left him safe and well. He returns to the king with the fateful news.
III.
Hubert is a follower of King John in Shakespeare's King John. When Arthur is captured, John gives him over to Hubert for execution. Apparently that order is changed, since Hubert arrives with a warrant to blind Arthur. He gives in to the pleas of Arthur and promises to hide him. He returns to John and announces that the dead is done, but when John regrets his decision and blames Hubert, Hubert reveals that Arthur is still alive. He returns to the castle where Arthur was kept, only to find that the boy has tried to escape and fallen to his death. He is called a murderer by Pembroke, Salisbury and Bigot, but is defended by the Bastard, who believes him. During the battles against the Dauphin, Hubert meets with John, bringing him news of the battle, and then seeks out the Bastard to tell him John has been poisoned by a monk and seems likely to die.
de CASTRO**1622
A "ghost character" in Fletcher and Massinger's Spanish Curate. De Castro is the father of Alonzo Tiveria's wife, Leandro's grandfather.
de CASTRO**1623
A "ghost character" in ?Middleton and ?Rowley's Spanish Gypsy. De Castro is the deceased father of Don John. He was involved in a petty dispute with Alvarez that developed into a feud and resulted in his own death and Alvarez's banishment.
de CORDOVA, UGO
Don Ugo is Hernando's lieutenant in the anonymous Weakest Goeth to the Wall who accompanies Hernando, the Spanish general, in the invasion of France after the French king has left for his pilgrimage and Mercury has defeated Lodowick, his co-regent. He appears later being chased by Ferdinand. Ferdinand gains honor by wounding and then killing Don Ugo.
de CORTES, PEDRO
Pedro de Cortes is an old don in ?Middleton and ?Rowley's Spanish Gypsy. He is father to Clara, husband to Maria, and the guardian of Sancho.
de DIEU, PUCELLE **1627
Only mentioned in Randolph's Plutophthalmia. Caradoc compares Penia-Penniless with several great Amazons, including her. This blunder for Joan de la Pucelle is probably intentional.
de FOIX, GASPAR **1607
Master of Artillery or "Ordinance" under Charles VIII in Barnes's The Devil's Charter and, as such, he appears in battle with the king. He assures the king that the cannon are ready prior to the battle against Alexander's forces in Rome.
de GARD
De Gard is the brother of Oriana in Fletcher's Wild-Goose Chase. Upon returning from a three year trip to Italy, he discovers that his sister is pursuing Mirabel, a notorious gentleman who prides himself in seduction and the avoidance of marriage and in whose home she has been living, under the protection of La Castre. Despite De Gard's protestations, Oriana remains steadfast in her pursuit of Mirabel. In an attempt to guard his sister's reputation, he challenges Mirabel to a duel, but later decides to hatch a plan with Lugier which will trick Mirabel into loving his sister. His disguise as a wealthy lord pent on wooing Oriana is revealed by a servant who tells Mirabel of his real identity, and Lugier's plan is destroyed.
de GAUL, AMADIS
I.
Only mentioned as an epithet in Jonson's The Alchemist. Amadis de Gaul was a hero of Spanish chivalric stories. In the garden of Lovewit's house, while Surly is still in his Spanish costume, Kastril abuses the false Spaniard, whom he thinks responsible of seducing his sister. Kastril calls the Spaniard derisively an Amadis de Gaul.
II.
Only mentioned in Jonson's Epicoene. Amadís de Gaule is the hero of a chivalric novel by García Rodríguez de Montalvo, governor of Medina del Campo, which appeared at Zaragoza in 1508. Of all the European romances of the sixteenth century, this was the most popular story in the chivalric tradition. The heroes of chivalric romance are considered public nothings sent out to poison courts and infest manners. Truewit, Clerimont, and Dauphine discuss the behavioral characteristics of court ladies and their ways of hiding various defects. Truewit shows excellent expertise in this matter and offers instructions on how women should conceal their physical blemishes. Dauphine is impressed with Truewit's competence and asks him how he came to study court ladies so thoroughly and give such exact descriptions of their manners. Truewit responds that one must go out and study court ladies where they are, at court, not stay inside and read courtly romances. Truewit implies that it is not efficient for a gentleman to stay in his chamber and read Amadís de Gaule or Don Quixote, the stock romance characters. Instead, Truewit recommends a direct involvement in the life of the court and a live study of ladies' behavior, which would allow an educated choice of a future wife.
III.
Only mentioned in Jonson's The New Inn. When Lovel praises the noble education he received from Lord Beaufort, he distinguishes between the teaching of frivolous courtly manners and the profound righteousness inherited from the great classical epitomes of morality. Lovel illustrates the two types of education with examples from chivalric romance and classical antiquity. Deprecating the frivolity of chivalry, Lovel says his noble tutor taught him no such things, because his education had no Amadis de Gaules. Amadís de Gaule is the hero of a chivalric novel by García Rodríguez de Montalvo, governor of Medina del Campo, which appeared at Zaragoza in 1508. Of all the European romances of the sixteenth century, this was the most popular story in the chivalric tradition. The heroes of chivalric romance are considered public nothings, abortive notions of the fabulous, sent out to poison courts and infest manners. Lovel uses the name Amadís de Gaule deprecatorily.
IV.
A fantasy "ghost character' in The Grocer's Honour portion of Beaumont's Knight of the Burning Pestle. One of the Knight of the Burning Pestle's ancestor's according to Rafe's invented genealogy.
de GRANADA, ALPHOPNSO **1611
Courtier in Dekker’s Match Me in London. He arrives at Prince John’s to give Valesco a bunch of grapes. These are the grapes that the prince pretends are poisoned in order to trick Valasco into drinking poison disguised as medicine. In the king’s name, he gives “Lupo" five hundred pistolets.
de LIONS, PETER
Peter de Lions is a servant of Burbon in the anonymous Trial Of Chivalry. He is attracted to Thomasin, Bellamira's maid, and is thus a rival to Dick Bowyer, with whom, early on, he has a swordfight which is interrupted by the arrival of Pembroke. He steals Thomasina's key and lets Burbon into Bellamira's tent to poison Bellamira's face. When Burbon is later killed by Philip, Peter is on hand, but is too cowardly to fight against Philip. In the battle, he abducts Thomasin, who is taken off him again by Dick Bowyer. Dick Bowyer kills Peter de Lions on the battlefield.
de MAERSCHALCKE, LAURENCE
A "ghost character" in Mountfort's The Launching of The Mary. One of the underlings of Harman van Speult, listed by Sheathing-Nail.
de MAZO, JOHN **1604
Bishop of Paris, alternately called Lord of Paris in Rowley’s When You See Me. He has promised to help Wolsey to the papacy in return for his help with Henry.
de MEDICI, KATHERINE **1617
Only mentioned in the anonymous Pathomachia. She was a termagant as Hatred has become.
de MENYSIS, DON
The governor of Tangier in Peele's The Battle of Alcazar. He welcomes the fleet of Portuguese and the troop of Moors to his land.
de NARBON, GERARD
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's All's Well. A famous physician in the service of the Old Count of Rossillion and the father of Helena. De Narbon has died six months before the play begins, but it is one of his remedies that Helena uses to cure the King.
de PRIE
Supposed family name of Jaques and Rachel in Jonson's The Case is Altered.
de RYVIERS, FERIS
Alternate name for Perecell, used only by Bertie and Erasmus in Drue's The Duchess of Suffolk.
de RYVERS, FRANCISEI
Erasmus' Latin form of Perecell's alternate name, Feris De Ryviers in Drue's The Duchess of Suffolk.
de SYLVA, LEWES
Sebastian dispatches Lewes de Sylva with letters to Philip, king of Spain,
to tell him the Portuguese crave his aide in their behalf in Peele's The Battle of Alcazar.
de TAVERN, CHRISTOPHER
As Sebastian prepares his battalions in Peele's The Battle of Alcazar, Christopher de Tavern beseeches Sebastian to employ him in the war, Sebastian names him next unto himself, and he tells Christopher that they shall "live and die together."
de TAVERO, ALVARO PERES
A "ghost character" in Peele's The Battle of Alcazar. Alvaro Peres de Tavero leads the first of the Portuguese
battalions, which consists of light-armed horse and garrisons from
Tangier.
de VITRY
A disbanded officer at Theodoret's court in Fletcher and Massinger's Thierry and Theodoret. He brings the prince and Martell news of Brunhalt's flight and also the first suggestion that her revenge may lead to a war between the royal brothers. He is amoral, cynical and mercenary. When Brunhalt requires a dupe to take part in the scenario to re-establish Protaldy's courage, he is willing to be bribed by Lecure to stage a fight and lose. He resents Protaldy's use of fists, however, having agreed to a more gentlemanly sword fight, and easily beats him. He confesses the scheme to the assembled court. He is next seen banished, with a single coin left of the fifty-crown bribe he took from Bawdber. He auditions four soldiers for the job of his servant and outwits them all. They agree to turn to banditry under his leadership. Their first victim is Protaldy, who is ambushed and bound. Their interrogation of him is interrupted but De Vitry playing the part of a fellow victim, extracts the secret of his hidden jewels and treasonable letters from Brunhalt to Leonor. De Vitry's horrified response is to bring the treason to light. He is ultimately rewarded by the new king, Martell, who instructs him to take charge of whipping all Brunhalt's surviving servants from court.
DEACON, FRENCH **1637
Disguise assumed by Salewit in Frank’s strategem in Mayne’s City Match. His role is to marry Warehouse to Madam Aurelia. He reads not from the scriptures but rather from Rabelais when he “marries" Dorcas to Warehouse. He comes to bless the venison at the house, but Warehouse sends him away for marrying him to a notorious whore.
DEACONS
The Deacons of the congregation of Puritan Brethren are "ghost characters" in Jonson's Bartholomew Fair. When Dame Purecraft wants to prove her love for the madman Trouble-all (Quarlous in disguise), she makes a complete confession of her transgressions. Besides telling him that she is a rich widow, Dame Purecraft says that she is by office an assisting sister of the Deacons, and a consumer, instead of a distributor, of alms. Apparently the Deacons and their assistants shared the money raised from charity.
DEAD POET
A "ghost character" in [?]Heywood's The
Fair Maid of the Exchange. The Cripple tells Frank that he can provide
letters of rejection for Ferdinand and Anthony that seem to be from Phillis. When
Frank wonders how such things can be supplied so quickly, the Cripple reveals
that he has inherited a stock of stinging poems, form letters, and other documents
from a dead poet in the city. Verbal echoes throughout the play may indicate that
Heywood has Thomas Nashe in mind.
DEAD SHEPHERD
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's As You Like It. Phebe, in falling in love with Ganymede, invokes the "dead shepherd" that once asked "who ever loved that loved not at first sight?" The quotation is from Hero and Leander (published in 1598) and the "dead shepherd" is probably meant to refer to its author, Christopher Marlowe. Touchstone seems to refer to Marlowe's murder when he states, "It strikes a man more dead than a great reckoning in a little room."
DEAN of SEVILLE
A "ghost character" in Fletcher's Love's
Pilgrimage. Master Dean of Seville is the neighbor of Incubo and Diego.
Incubo mentions him as a man who knows how to dress.
DEATH**1495
Death is sent by God to call Everyman to his reckoning in the anonymous Everyman.
Though Everyman begs, Death refuses to allow him an extra day for his reckoning.
DEATH**1513
Only mentioned in the anonymous Hick Scorner. Several characters refer to Death as a person, and both Perseverance and Contemplation employ the threat of Death coming unannounced to convert Free Will and Imagination to righteousness.
DEATH**1589
Death allegorically appears to Sebastian, Muly Mahamet, the Duke of Avero,
and Stukley in the fourth dumb show of Peele's The Battle of Alcazar.
DEATH**1590
Death's character in Kyd's Soliman and Perseda appears in the first scene (induction), in scenes between acts, and in the final scene; Fortune, Love, and Death discuss their respective parts in the on-going events and serve as a chorus to the action.
DEATH**1636
Death appears to Antonio in a dream in Rawlins's The Rebellion. In the dream, Death strikes at Antonio three times; however, in each case, Death is diverted by Aurelia.
DEAWBEATER of HOUNDSDITCH **1641
A “ghost character" in (?)Shipman’s Grobiana’s Nuptials. A Grobian. He is on the list of invitees Oyestus is sent to cry into the Grobian feast.
DEBILEDOSSO, SIR AMOROSO
Herod's brother, "a sickly knight" in Marston's Parasitaster, or The Fawn. His name translates to "lover with a feeble back," i.e., impotent. He is accused of impotence during the Masque of Cupid's Council. His wife, Donna Garbetza, admits that her child is not her husband's during the Council, but as punishment, Sir Amoroso is forced to acknowledge that the child is his.
DEBON
One of Brutus' peers in the anonymous Locrine,
killed by Hubba in II.vi.
DEBORAH **1627
Only mentioned in Randolph's Plutophthalmia. Caradoc compares Penia-Penniless with several great Amazons, including her.
DEBORRA
Deborra is the nurse in ?Udall's Jacob and Esau. In a brief scene Abra gives Deborra the broom to continue cleaning while she goes into the garden to pick the herbs Rebecca wants to cook Jacob's goat. Alone, Deborra praises Abra for her looks, her honesty, and her industry, but comments that when Abra marries, her husband may find he has married a shrew if Abra's mother was herself a shrew. When Esau appears after being dispossessed and hurls vengeful threats at the servants, Deborra confirms Esau's belief that when the two brothers were born Jacob was holding Esau's heel.
DECASTRO
Decastro was appointed Regent by the late King of Aragon, father of the present queen in Habington's The Queen of Aragon. He wishes to marry the queen and has rallied the support of the people in his cause. He is now defending the city against the troops of Castile, who have come to rescue the queen from her own people. Decastro wins the initial engagement but is subsequently routed when the Castilians attack again under the leadership of an unknown soldier, who turns out to be the King of Castile in disguise as Ascanio. Decastro later returns at the head of a fresh army, but when he is reminded by his friend Ossuna that they both vowed to renounce the world if they survived a shipwreck, he tells the queen that she is free to choose for herself and leaves to become a hermit with Ossuna.
DECEIT **1540
One of the Three Vices or fools in the court of King Humanity in Lindsay's Satire of the Three Estates. He and the other two fools disguise themselves to avoid the censure of Good Counsel and Divine Correction. Deceit chooses the guise of a priest and, in a mock baptism, the name Discretion. Gaining access to the King, he and the other two Vices chase Good Counsel away from court, and put Verity and Chastity in the stocks. Hearing of the approach of Divine Correction, he resolves to hide among the Burgesses. He fights with the other two Vices over possession of the King's stolen treasure box. In the second part, when John the Common-weal identifies the Three Vices as the cause of this evil, he is put in the stocks. Betrayed by Flattery, he is hanged along with Falset.
DECEIT **1581
A "ghost character" in Wilson's The
Three Ladies of London. Fraud's brother, who, according to Simplicity,
bears the same coat-of-arms as Fraud.
DECIMUS BRUTUS**1594
A Roman commander in Kyd's Cornelia who wants to support Caesar, but is persuaded by Cassius that Caesar may be getting too powerful. Although Cassius is anxious to destroy Caesar, Brutus advises restraint. Brutus declares that he loves Caesar and that he took up arms and followed Caesar into battle willingly. He thinks Caesar is a good leader, but may be overly ambitious, as Cassius claims. Still, Brutus asks Cassius to wait and see what Caesar does once the wars are ended. Perhaps the factions and the dissent in the government can be resolved. But Cassius is convinced that Caesar wants to become an absolute monarch; Brutus wants to believe that Caesar will hand power back to the Senate and to the people.
DECIUS**1613
Decius is a Roman officer in Fletcher's Bonduca. He is a friend of Junius, who confides in him about his love-letter from the Second Daughter of Bonduca. Decius, Junius and Curius steal from the battle to meet her, but the Daughters of Bonduca capture them, and try to kill them. Caratach rescues the three Romans. Decius celebrates Junius's rejection of love. He is in charge of the breaching troops during the attack on Bonduca's fort. He teases Petillius about his love for the First Daughter. He accompanies Petillius and Junius in their mission to kill Caratach, but he is separated from the other two and so does not fight him.
DECIUS**1619
Antinous's best friend in ?Ford's The Laws of Candy. Decius tries to help heal the breach between Antinous and Cassilane by carrying a letter from Antinous to Cassilane, who threatens to kill him. He return to Antinous with the important news that Fernando, due to his love for Annophil, has revealed Gonzalo's plots against Candy.
DECIUS**1622
Decius serves as Roman officer to Caesar Augustus in Markham's Herod and Antipater.
DECIUS BRUTUS
A "ghost character" in Jonson's Catiline. Decius Brutus is a Roman patrician and Sempronia's husband. While he is away from Rome, his wife sides with Catiline's conspiracy and uses his house as a clandestine meeting place between the conspirators and Allobroges. At Decius Brutus's house, Allobroges meet with the conspirators Lentulus and Gabinius and they receive the incriminating letters, supposedly to be conveyed to their chieftains. When the conspirators are discovered and punished, Cicero takes no measures against Decius Brutus, probably because he was thought innocent and unaware of his wife's political machinations.
DECOY, LADY
Lady Decoy is the bawd in Shirley's The
Lady of Pleasure . She is not well developed in that Shirley gives us
little insight into why she delights in bringing people into licentious beds.
In this she may be favorably compared to Maquerelle from Marston's The Malcontent.
She initially wishes to help Lord into bed with Lady Bornwell. When Lord rejects
her, she helps Lady Bornwell cuckold her husband with Kickshaw. The trick with
Kickshaw is to keep him from knowing that it is Lady Bornwell he is enjoying.
Lady Decoy arranges to have Kickshaw believe that he is in bed with an enchanted
creature, a hag who becomes beautiful in the dark. Lady Decoy becomes the object
of Lady Bornwell's conversion when Lady Bornwell repents.
DECRETAS
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Decretas is a follower of Antony in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, but when Antony stabs himself, Decretas takes Antony's sword and the news of his death to Caesar to curry favor with him.
DEE, DR. JOHN
Only mentioned in Jonson's The Alchemist. When Drugger pays Subtle to find a suitable name for his tobacco firm, the bogus alchemist creates an anagram that incorporates the name Dee. Dr. John Dee was a reputed astrologer and mathematician, who died in 1608.
DEEP DECEIT
A "ghost character" in Wilson's The
Three Ladies of London. A guest at the wedding of Dissimulation and Love.
DEFAMATION
(spelled Dyffamacion and Diffamation in the margin and the main text of Udall's?
Respublica). This is a name that
Adulation thinks Oppression (Reformation) goes by.
DEFENSOR**1603
Perhaps from a place in the audience in the anonymous 2 Return From Parnassus, the Defensor comes to the defense of the play against Momus. His defense modulates into a proper prologue.
DEFINITION
A counselor in Zouche's The Sophister. Definition is one of Discourse's "trustiest and best knowne Councellers." He claims that he, Distinction, Division, Opposition, and Description have been sent by their "Soveraigne" (presumably Discourse) "to draw out for him the pedigree, which is a true lineall discent of all the chiefest inhabitants within these provinces, and view their ancient possessions, which are the Dominions and Lands, conveighed them by their Ancestors" in order to guard against the loss of "dignity and jurisdiction [. . .] from the noblest houses." Thus, the five partake in much debate over this business until Definition claims that he "can doe nothing without" Lord Demonstration. Proposition informs Definition and the others that Lord Discourse is "falne starke madde" and that "Demonstration, Topicus, and Fallacy, are hot in contention who must governe." Definition and the others go to visit Discourse before "tak[ing] order" with the Lord's sons. Definition presides over the pleadings of Discourse's sons concerning whom should succeed the King, though he wishes they would all "desist" from their "troublesome contentions." After hearing from Demonstration, Topicus, and Fallacy, Definition claims that they are each "carried by Ambition" and that he would rather not "commend" any of them, though he settles his vote on Demonstration. He informs the "yong Lords" that they will have to wait until "some other meanes" are devised to "compose these differences" after the issue remains unresolved. When Fallacy succeeds Discourse, he banishes Definition and Division from the Court and enlists Contradiction to inform them of their fates. Invention later claims that he has heard how "miserable" everyone has become since Discourse's "strange Distraction" from Definition and Division, who "are minded closely to return" with Lady Method. At the play's end, Discourse hopes that his "banish't friends / Are safe returned" by the time of the "Nuptialls" between his two sons and the two daughters of Lady Truth.
DEFLORES
DeFlores is a poor gentleman, and a servant of Vermandero in Middleton and Rowley's The Changeling. He suffers from a disfiguring skin condition. Beatrice-Joanna loathes him, but DeFlores is in love with her, and constantly finds excuses to be in her presence. Their relationship changes when Beatrice asks DeFlores to murder her fiancé, Alonzo. He agrees, but does in the mistaken belief that Beatrice has promised sex as a reward. When he returns to find that Beatrice is offering only money, DeFlores is angered. He reminds her that she is as guilty as him, and blackmails her into sleeping with him before her wedding night. After he has deflowered Beatrice, DeFlores is haunted by Alonzo's ghost and suffers the pangs of conscience. DeFlores kills Diaphanta when Beatrice fears that she will let slip her guilt. Beatrice is so impressed
by his diligence in protecting her that she begins to love him. Tomazo suspects DeFlores of his brother's murder, but when he challenges him, DeFlores is struck by conscience and cannot fight. When Beatrice confesses her crime to Alsemero, DeFlores admits his guilt with pride. Alsemero locks him in a closet with Beatrice, where he stabs her to death, and then stabs himself. He dies boasting that he has taken Beatrice's maidenhead, and calling on her to follow him.
DEFORMATION
This is a name Adulation thinks Oppression (Reformation) goes by in Udall's? Respublica.
DEGO
A "ghost character". Fellow servant of Lorenzo in Fletcher's Rule a Wife and Have a Wife.
DEGO, DON
Only mentioned in the anonymous Blurt,
Master Constable. When the hotheaded Lazarillo comes to Imperia's house
demanding the courtesans' undivided attention, Hipolito calms him down and calls
him Don Dego. This is a derisive term for a Spaniard, from a story circulating
around 1600 concerning a Don Dego who disgraced himself with flatulence in Saint
Paul's cathedral. Blurt also mentions Don Dego in relation to Lazarillo.
DEIANEIRA**1611
Daughter to King Oeneus and Queen Althea of Calidon in Heywood's Brazen Age. Spelled Deyaneira in the text. Sister to Meleager. Achelous and Hercules battle for Deianeira's hand in marriage at the beginning of the play. Deianeira is pleased when Hercules wins the contest. Deianeira is lusted after by the Centaur Nessus, a former foe of her fiancé. Hercules agrees to let Deianeira ride Nessus' back across the Euenus flood. Nessus takes her across the river and attempts to rape her. After Nessus is shot from across the river by Hercules with a poisoned arrow, the Centaur tricks Deianeira into soaking the tainted blood and touching Hercules with it to prevent him from committing adultery. After Hercules becomes enthralled by Omphale, Deianeira sends the bloody shirt to Hercules to win him back. After Hercules puts on the shirt and flies into a bloody homicidal and suicidal rage, Deianeira kills herself.
DEIDAMIA
A "ghost character" in Heywood's 1 The Iron Age, Deidamia (called Dedamia in the text) is the mother of Pyrrhus, Achilles's son. As Achilles dies, he instructs Ajax, Agamemnon, and the other Greek leaders to send for Pyrrhus, "my sonne begot on bright Dedamia," so that the young warrior might avenge his father's death.
DEILUS **1630
Roscius in Randolph's Muses' Looking Glass characterizes him as one "that from an atheistical distrust shakes at the motion of a reed." Flowerdew says he looks like Despair. His opposite is Aphobus.
DEIPHOBUS
I.
He appears early in Chettle and Dekker's Troilus and Cressida with Hector when they are met by Menalaus and Diomede and (a bit later) Cassandra. He next appears on the walls with Hector and Paris while Diomede pursues Antenor and is met by Ajax. He later speaks to Pandarus. In the next scene he appears with Priam, Hector, Paris, Helen, and Cassandra but exits before the others meet Ulysses and another Greek whose name is lost in the fragment. He does not appear again until later in the play when he accompanies Troilus and a proctor to meet Cressida and some beggars. In the final scene, he appears on the battlefield before the walls with Hector where they meet Achilles. It is likely, if the play follows Homer, that this last appearance is not really Deiphobus but rather Athena disguised as Deiphobus to trick Hector, but the fragmentary plot does not make this clear. The same actor would of course be used, and the plot would not make the distinction.
II.
A mute character in Heywood's 1 The Iron Age, Deiphobus is a son of Priam and Hecuba, and one of Hector's brothers. Present when his father suggests the expedition to Greece to seek the return of Hesione, Deiphobus accompanies his brother Paris on that voyage. He is later present at the marriage of Achilles and Polyxena, and is a member of the Trojan party that returns the corpse of Achilles to the Greeks.
III.
Son of Priam in Shakespeare's Troilus
and Cressida. He is seen briefly urging the Trojans to battle.
DEIRDRE
A "ghost character" in Dekker, Ford and Rowley's The
Welsh Embassador. Mentioned by Edmond in his disguise as an Irishman as
being the wife of Morrogh mac Breean, King of Leinster.
DELABRETH, CHARLES
Name of the Constable of France in Shakespeare's Henry
V. See "CONSTABLE of FRANCE."
DELAMORE
Beaumont's friend is only seen once in the action of Shirley's The Gamester, when he is
dragged, wounded, by Officers. He has been struck with Beaumont's sword in
a quick-tempered brawl between friends. He is reported to be dead. It is
eventually revealed that rumors of his death have been greatly exaggerated
as part of the scheme to test Beaumont's fidelity to Violante. Although
still recuperating, he will live to get the approval of Sir Francis Hurry
to marry his daughter, Leonora.
DELIA**1590
Delia is the daughter of the king of Thessaly and sister to Calypha and Thelea
in Peele's The Old Wives' Tale.
She is abducted by the magician Sacrapant and placed under a spell. Sought by
her lover Eumenides, her two brothers, and the braggart knight Huanebango, she
is released by Eumendies and the Ghost of Jack.
DELIA**1601
Only mentioned in Jonson's Cynthia's Revels. Delia is the poetic name of Tibullus's mistress. The poet dedicated his love elegies to her under this name. While waiting for the much-publicized miracle water from the Fountain of Self-love, Phantaste, Philautia, Argurion, and Moria compliment each other on their gowns and admirers. When Phantaste and Moria refer to Hedon as Phantaste's devoted lover, the nymph shows displeasure. She says she is not interested in Hedon, adding that he tires her and he is at her side only because he makes her look intelligent by comparison. Philautia says that she should be inspiring great poems of love, like some Delia. The allusion is to the Roman lady who inspired Tibullus's love elegies.
DELIA**1601
Only mentioned in Jonson's Poetaster. Delia is the poetic name of Plautia. Tibullus dedicated his love elegies to her under this name. Tibullus and the other poets discover that Crispinus plagiarized his love elegy dedicated to Chloë as Canidia from Horace. Crispinus protests, saying that Canidia is just a borrowed poetic pen name, such as Corinna for Ovid, Cynthia for Propertius, or, Delia for Tibullus.
DELIA**1614
Only mentioned in Jonson's Bartholomew Fair. Delia is the name of the lady in Samuel Daniel's sonnet sequence. At the puppet-theatre, in an attempt to impress upon her that she is a romantic lady, not an ordinary wife, Edgworth tells Mistress Littlewit that she is a greater lady than Delia ever was. However, since he refers to a fictional character in a sonnet sequence, Edgworth points to the spuriousness of Mistress Littlewit's impersonation.
DELIA **1625
Delia is a chambermaid in Shirley's The
School of Compliment. She visits the Compliment School and exchanges flowery
phrases with Gasparo (disguised as Master Criticotaster). She and Gorgon (disguised
as Curculio) also bandy rhetoric with ease.
DELIA**1634
A court lady in Rutter's The Shepherds' Holiday, Delia is Sylvia's trusted friend who was "privy to [her] departure" from the court though not aware of the reason behind her escape. She encourages the "princess" to come clean with her father and, thus, be forgiven by him, but promises her friend that she will assist her in her desire to see Thyrsis (a deed for which Sylvia promises to crown her as queen). Approaching Thyrsis in the court's garden Delia wakes the sleeping lover who is unsure as to whether she is an angel or a fiend, prevents him from killing himself over his love of Sylvia, and delivers him to where his love is.
DELIA**1638
Delia is the waiting gentlewoman to Caelia and also a confederate of Hog's in Baylie's The Wizard. Together, they plan to convince Shallow that Delia is a lady, and in love with him. Shallow is fooled, but her station is revealed in the final scene. She is not punished however, as Caelia asks that there be no anger during such a joyful time.
DELIA SPURCOCK
Sir Lancelot's wisest daughter in The London Prodigal. Virtuous and charitable, she gives money to Flowerdale even when he tries to rob her, and is content to work as cook for Frances and Civet. Delia rejects all offers of marriage, including that of Oliver in the play's conclusion.
DELIGHT**1588
Delight, along with Desire and Devotion in Wilson's The Three Lords and Three Ladies of London, is one of the three lords of Lincoln who contest the lords of London for the hands of the three ladies of London. Delight
hopes to woo Love. The lords of London inform them that they may not have the
ladies, and must be content with the stones that the ladies stood on. So Delight
leaves, carrying the stone of Charity.
DELIGHT **1617
A “ghost character" in the anonymous Pathomachia. One of the nine inferior Affections. An agent of Joy who attended the Parliament during Joy’s absence.
DELIGHT**1624
One of the characters in Evanthe's and Valerio's wedding masque in Fletcher's
A Wife for a Month. Only Cupid
speaks, but Cupid's attendants include hopeful characters of Fancy, Desire, Delight,
Hope, and also the dire characters Fear, Distrust, Jealousy, Care, Ire, and Despair,
suggesting that in the lovers' marriage, misery will outweigh happiness. Valerio
finds this to be the case when shortly after the wedding the king forbids him
from consummating his marriage.
DELIGHT**1635
A Spirit sent by Ormandine in Kirke's The
Seven Champions of Christendom to tempt St. David. Delight, Free Excess
and Desire "embrace him to a lazy tune, they touch him, he falls into their arms,
so carry him away."
DELIO **1598
Delio is a French merchant, sometimes called Delion, and suitor to Mathea in Haughton's Englishmen for My Money. Delio speaks a comic English, like the other two merchant-suitors. The girls complain that they cannot understand what the foreigners say. Anthony (disguised as a French tutor) is horrified when Delio addresses him in French, but Mathea changes the subject by criticizing Delio's shoes. When Delio again speaks to Anthony in French, Harvey, Ferdinand and Ned interrupt and again save exposure. When Pisaro learns that his daughters plan to meet their English suitors that night, he tells the merchants to adopt the names of the Englishmen and arrive in their places; Delion is to claim to be Ned. When the three English suitors discover the merchants' plan, they wait outside Pisaro's house and misdirect the foreigners as they arrive. When Delio arrives, Ferdinand accuses him of breaking his glasses and of going to visit his mistresses. They mock Delio's English. They lie, telling him he is on Fanchurch Street, and Delio sets off to find "Croshfriars," where the daughters live. He leaves, becomes lost, and is further confused by Frisco, Pisaro servant, who takes him and Alvaro through London trying to find Pisaro's. Alvaro and Delio finally arrive, and Pisaro reprimands them for nearly losing his daughters, whom he has managed to confine. Later, through Anthony's trickery, Mathea marries Ned when he is allowed into Pisaro's house disguised as Susan Moore, thus defeating Delio and Pisaro.
DELIO**1614
Antonio's friend in Webster's The Duchess
of Malfi. A sounding board and confidant to Antonio, Delio seems a respectable man. Nevertheless he plots an assignation with Julia, his erstwhile lover who has since become wife to old Castruccio. He has both the first and last lines of the play, calling in both instances for nobility and integrity. In the end he appears with the eldest son of Antonio and the Duchess and plans to ease the child's way to the throne. The irony in Delio's plan is that the boy's horoscope earlier revealed that the boy would die young.
DELION
Delio is sometimes called Delion in Haughton's Englishmen for My Money.
DELIRO
Deliro is husband to Fallace, a rich London citizen in complete admiration of his wife in Jonson's Every Man out of His Humour. The name suggests exaltation, delírio in Italian. Delirio is Fastidious Brisk's merchant and, under this cover, Fallace has the opportunity of seeing her courtier beau. At his house, Deliro burns incense in honor of his wife, but Fallace shows total displeasure at everything her husband does for her. Fastidious Brisk enters, asking Deliro in private for a loan to pay for his new suit. At St. Paul's, Deliro enters with Macilente and Fastidious Brisk, but exits when Fastidious Brisk joins Puntavorlo party. At his house, Deliro enters with musicians, whom he dismisses when he sees that Fallace is not pleased. Macilente enters and they discuss Fastidious Brisk, and Deliro affirms that the courtier is heavily indebted to him and that he intends to claim his bonds. Fallace exits, visibly angered at her husband's declaration, and Deliro follows her solicitously. In another room at his house, Deliro enters with Macilente, who criticizes Fallace's impudent behavior to her husband. Deliro defends Fallace before Macilente, telling him nothing in the world could convince him that his wife is dishonest to him, as Macilente insinuates. At Deliro's house, Deliro enters with Macilente, who reports that Fungoso has been charged with the bills at the Mitre Tavern and Fallace would be pleased if Deliro covered his brother-in-law's expenses. Deliro exits to the tavern. At the Mitre Tavern, Deliro enters with Fungoso and George to redeem Fungoso's debts. Macilente enters announcing him that Fungoso is in prison, and Deliro exits to claim his bonds. At the prison, Deliro enters upon the scene in which Fallace is kissing Fastidious Brisk and thus the husband has the ocular proof of her infidelity. Deliro exits in anger, behaving out of his humor of admiration for his wife.
DELLIUS
A "ghost character" in May's Cleopatra. Roman who defects from Antonius to Caesar, mentioned at IV i. Historically, this was Quintus Dellius.
DELLO
Dello is servant to Motto in Lyly's Midas. He tries to protect his master from the plots of the other servants.
DELPHIA
A powerful prophetess and a holy Druid, the title character of Fletcher and Massinger's The Prophetess. Delphia makes the unlikely prediction that the humble Diocles will become emperor and marry Delphia's niece Drusilla. Delphia's magic is strong:- she detects and thwarts Maximinian's efforts to kill her by paralyzing his arm;
- she commandeers Ceres' dragon so that she and Drusilla can watch Diocles capture Aper and also serve as Diocles' guardian angels;
- she travels with Drusilla in "a Throne drawn by Dragons" to Rome to watch Aper's execution;
- she causes the music of the spheres to be heard when Diocles executes Aper;
- she causes thunder to be heard when Diocles violates the prophecy by accepting Aurelia as his wife.
Offended by Diocles' lack of faith, Delphia vows revenge and casts spells to make Aurelia and Maximinian fall in love with each other. Insulted and scorned by the newly promoted Geta, and then arrested by him and charged with whoredom and being a keeper of devils, Delphia offers Geta a free servant in the form of a she-devil. Delphia arranges for Drusilla to overhear Diocles's distressed soliloquy, and casts another spell to ensure that Aurelia will love Diocles only as much as Diocles loves Drusilla. Diocles appears to make up with Drusilla, but this is only part of a plan to reunite with Aurelia. Delphia reveals this to Drusilla to teach her niece a lesson about fidelity then decides she must remove Aurelia from Rome to ensure that Drusilla and Diocles marry. In an elaborate dumb show, interpreted by a Chorus, Delphia conspires with Persian soldiers, charming them with her magic rod to give them access to the Roman court. She raises a mist so the soldiers can escape with Cassana, Aurelia, Charinus, and Maximinian. Acknowledging her power, Diocles prays to Delphia, who appears before him but is not easily persuaded that he is sincere in his vows to be faithful to Drusilla. When Drusilla kisses Diocles to show her faith and forgiveness, Delphia casts a spell to help Diocles' fleet and troops defeat the Persians. After Diocles retires to the country, Delphia helps the local shepherds and shepherdesses arrange an entertainment for him. During the dance, a Spirit informs Delphia that Maximinian is on his way to kill Diocles. When Maximinian arrives and is unmoved by Diocles' powerful chastisements, Delphia calls up thunder, lightning, and an earthquake, then causes a hand holding a lightning bolt to descend from heaven to persuade Maximinian to repent. Maximinian acknowledges Delphia's power, and begs Diocles for forgiveness. Once the men are reconciled, Delphia calls for the dancing to begin again.
DELPHINO **1607
A “ghost character" in Tomkis’ Lingua. A vintner. Appetitus initially mistakes Mendacio for Delphino.
DEMAGORAS**1617
Demagoras is a servant to Memnon in Fletcher's The Mad Lover. He is sent to fetch the Surgeon when Memnon decides to have his heart removed and sent to Calis.
DEMAGORAS**1638
Suitor to Parthenia in Glapthorne's Argalus and Parthenia. He is unable to compete with the attractions of Argalus, whom he frequently slanders as "effeminate." He is a successful but arrogant general, rough-mannered and short-tempered, over-confident of his success in wooing. He ignores the tactful discouragement of the lord Philarchus, who accompanies him, and firmly believes that Parthenia's mother Chrysaclea will persuade her daughter to accept him. Welcomed formally to Arcadia by a full-scale pastoral entertainment, he is further provoked to rage when the interlude intended for Argalus (satirizing himself) is hastily staged for him. He stalks Parthenia, traps her and abuses her in his jealous rage: he is obsessed by the fact that, worse than her not loving him, she actually prefers the rival he so despises. He threatens her with worse than murder or rape, and drags her away. Offstage, he pours poison on her face and cruelly disfigures her, then flees. Next seen with his Servant, his revenge has not yet been sated with his personal attack on Parthenia: he has mustered forces to attack her uncle's castle and shed more blood to satisfy his rage. He ignores the Servant's warning not to proceed. His preparations are interrupted by Argalus, come to challenge him to single combat to avenge Parthenia. He is scornful, vicious and spectacularly misogynistic in his retorts. They fight. To his own surprise, he dies. His Servant returns to offer a cursory epitaph over his body.
DEMARCH
Earl Demarch is an English lord appointed co-governor with Dirot while William
is away in [?]Wilson's Fair Em, the
Miller's Daughter. In William's absence, he and Dirot get into a civil
war, but this seems to be forgotten as soon as William returns. He accompanies
William in his confrontation with Zweno in the conclusion.
DEMARCHUS
The king of Cyprus, which is at war with Crete in Cartwright's The
Lady-Errant. He is husband to Adraste and father to Lucasia. He is away
at war for most of the play, and returns to find that his wife and daughter have
been faithful. He happily gives away his daughter to Charistus and Eumela to Olyndus.
DEMEAS
One of Timon's false friends in the anonymous Timon of Athens, an orator. Two sergeants should take him to prison (II.5), but Timon releases him for 16 talents. Demeas then promises to be his friend and follows him to his parties, where he comments on the rhetorical figures the other guests use. When Timon asks him for money in Act IV.1, he pretends not to know him and only gives him one groan. Like the Poet and the Painter in Shakespeare's Timon, he reappears at Timon's banquet in IV.5 to make promises. In Act V he arrives with a "decree" that Timon, the son of Echeratides the Collitensian, had won the olympic games as a wrestler.
DEMETRIUS**1588
A "ghost character" in the anonymous Timon of Athens, one of Blatt's former lovers. Blatt rejected him because he was too thin.
DEMETRIUS**1594
Demetrius, a son of Tamora in Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus, helps his brother Chiron murder Bassianus, and then rape and mutilate Lavinia. Titus eventually kills Demetrius and Chiron, bakes them in a meat pie, and serves them to Tamora at a banquet.
DEMETRIUS**1596
Demetrius is the Athenian youth who, though in the past he "made love" to Helena, begins the play in love with Hermia in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. He has received her father's blessing to marry Hermia. Hermia rejects Demetrius, for she is in love with Lysander, another Athenian youth. Helena tells Demetrius that Lysander and Hermia are eloping into the woods. Demetrius, following them, is made to fall in love with Helena as the result of fairy intervention and the application of potent love-flower essence. Of the three characters placed under the influence of this flower essence, Demetrius is the only one left under the spell at play's end. He weds Helena in a triple wedding with the Duke and Hippolyta, Lysander and Hermia. The wedding party then watches the performance of Pyramus and Thisbe.
DEMETRIUS**1604
Demetrius is a "ghost character" in Daniel's Philotas. According to Dymnus, Demetrius is part of a plot to kill Alexander. He is brought to torture, and accused by Philotas; Philotas and Demetrius are eventually stoned to death.
DEMETRIUS**1605
A Roman noble, supporter of Pompey in Chapman's Caesar and Pompey. He escapes in disguise with Pompey to Lesbos, and is wounded trying to stop Pompey's murderers. Chapman's source for this character is not obvious. According to Plutarch, Life of Pompey 73.6, Favonius, a friend of Cato, attended Pompey at the end.
DEMETRIUS**1606
Demetrius is a friend of Lisander in Day's Isle of Gulls. He is in love with Hippolita, a daughter of duke Basilius and hopes to win her from the fortified island. He disguises himself as an woodsman, Dorus, and is reunited with Lisander, who helps him to gain a post with Dametas. Together the pair save Violetta and her sister Hippolita from Julio and Aminter. Demetrius woos Hippolita under the cover of wooing Mopsa, and Hippolita agrees to elope with him. In order to give them the opportunity to escape, Demetrius tells Dametas that he has discovered that Aristomones buried a large sum of money under Diana's Oak and tells Miso that Manasses's Wife has been having an affair with Dametas. He arranges to meet Mopsa at Adonis' Bower, where they are to be married by Manasses. Demetrius and Lisander escape with Hippolita and Violetta, but they make the mistake of trusting them to Julio and Aminter, who are disguised as Lacedaemonian intelligencers, while they return to the island to explain themselves to Basilius and claim their prizes. They are double-crossed by Julio and Aminter, who claim the princesses for themselves. Lisander and Demetrius are furious and draw their swords, but Basilius approves the claim of Julio and Aminter within the rules of the challenge.
DEMETRIUS**1607
Demetrius listens in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra while Philo describes how fallen Antony is since he took up with Cleopatra, and, when Antony refuses to see Caesar's messenger, expresses amazement that Caesar is held so lightly by him.
DEMETRIUS**1613
Demetrius is a Roman officer in Fletcher's Bonduca. Along with the other Romans, he celebrates Junius's rejection of love.
DEMETRIUS**1619
The son of King Antigonus and the love of Celia in Fletcher's The Humorous Lieutenant. Demetrius is a young prince eager to prove his valor in war. The King allows him to command the battle against the kings Seleucus, Lysimachus, and Ptolomie. His men are captured but released by Seleucus in the first battle and Demetrius feels shamed, but after being instructed by his father to charge again, he is victorious. He shows his compassion by making peace with the kings. When he returns from battle his father, who has fallen in love with Celia, tells him that she has been killed for being a witch who has charmed Demetrius in order to allow the empire to be defeated. In despair, he shuts himself up in his room until Antigonus, shamed by Celia's virtue, reunites the lovers. He is cruel to Celia at first, believing that she has lost her virtue, but with the help of Leontius, the two are reconciled.
DEMETRIUS**1631
Demetrius, a freedmen in the service of Flaminius in Massinger's Believe As You List. Along with Calistus, he acts as the Flaminius' henchmen.
DEMETRIUS **1632
Tyndarus' father, Evadne's unknown father, and Pamphilus' supposed father in Randolph's Jealous Lovers. Although the dramatis personae refers to him as "an Athenian," he is actually a Theban who fled to Athens and is now returning again. He fled Thebes with the two baby boys in order to escape Minos' "cruel tribute . . . to glut his ravenous minotaur." Now he must return disguised because the other parents resent him. He comes as an astrologer and is hired into Asotus' coterie. He is called to the wedding in the final act and is able to reveal the truth. Tyndarus is in reality his son Clinias and Evadne's brother. Pamphilus is in reality Chremylus' son Timarchus and Techmessa's brother. Demetrius exchanged his daughter, Evadne, for Chremylus' son, Timarchus, and fled with both boys, renaming them Tyndarus and Pamphilus, to save them from the minotaur.
DEMETRIUS **1635
The true name of Arcadius in Shirley's Coronation.
DEMETRIUS FANNIUS
I.
Thomas Dekker's allegorical self-portrait in his Satiromastix, Demetrius originally appeared in Ben Jonson's Poetaster as a satiric representation of Dekker. In Satiromastix, however, Demetrius is presented as a well-meaning character who, with his friend Crispinus, repeatedly attempts to facilitate reconciliation between themselves and Horace. His attempts to foster friendly relations are repeatedly
betrayed by the hypocritical Horace, who disparages Demetrius and Crispinus (and
their poetic abilities) behind their backs by satirizing them in epigrams circulated
amongst the city's gallants. Like Crispinus, Demetrius is at pains to convince
Horace that they do not resent Horace's abilities or accomplishments but merely
wish him to cease his satirizing attacks on others for his own good. In the play
it is Crispinus who takes on the lion's share of the role of rival poet, while
Demetrius acts more as a loyal companion to Crispinus. He does however aid Crispinus
in the public humiliation of Horace at the end of the play.
II.
Demetrius Fannius is a meager playwright in Rome in Jonson's Poetaster. He is probably meant to represent Thomas Dekker, Jonson's contemporary. According to Histrio, Demetrius is a dresser of plays, whom the actors have hired to abuse Horace and all the other gallant poets. The players expect to gain a great deal of money from the production of such a play. Histrio tells Tucca that Demetrius has one of the most overflowing rank wits in Rome, and would slander any man that breathes. At Albius's house, Demetrius enters with Crispinus, followed by Tucca. Albius introduces Demetrius to the poets of Ovid's party. After he hears Crispinus's verses, apparently composed for Chloë, but which prove to be plagiarized from Horace, Demetrius makes unfavorable remarks regarding Horace. According to Demetrius's vulgar description, Horace is like a sponge, which sucks from every society he is in and then comes home and squeezes himself dry. As regards his satires, Demetrius accuses Horace of arrogance and impudence. Although Tucca and Crispinus are invited to the ball at court, Demetrius is not. Neglected and marginalized, Demetrius exits telling Tucca he is going to do some writing. While Caesar is holding his court with the poets, Demetrius enters with Crispinus, following Aesop, because they think that Aesop is brought to testify against Horace. When Aesop and Lupus are chased in disgrace, Demetrius and Crispinus are charged with calumny and plagiarism. They sit a trial and are pronounced guilty. When asked what cause he had to malign Horace, Demetrius answers it was no great cause, save that Horace kept better company than he did, and that better men loved him. Demetrius is sentenced to wear a fool's coat and cap in public, thus showing what others have made of him. Demetrius and Crispinus are made to swear they will never publicly detract Horace or write against him.
DEMOCRITUS**1622
An early modern reincarnation of the laughing philosopher appears in Brewer's Knot Of Fools. Democritus enters as the Crew disperses (perhaps to reappear by ones and twos in various costumes). He castigates the knot of fools in a series of 26 rhymed apostrophes, which play off but do not directly respond to the speeches of the Crew. The targets, in order, are these: the miser; the dauber or city businessman who hides deceitful shifts under a cloak of seeming virtue; the woman whose beauty is all paint and fancy clothes; the abject lover who spends all his money, time, and honor on a loose woman; the drunkard; the gambler; the parasitic sycophant who changes mood, costume, and morals to suit the superior he apes; the dandy; the incautious litigant who takes a bad case to court and loses everything; the devious lawyer; the dishonest physician; the grasping landlord; the envious person whose only joy is in the discomfiture of anyone more virtuous or deserving than he; the forger; the prodigal heir; the calumniator; one who will swear false oaths for a fee; the loose woman in a coach who would more appropriately ride in a cart of shame; the heartless creditor and the bailiff or beadle who will evict a charitable woman at his behest; the rich man who preys on the poor; the simonist; the overreaching courtier (perhaps glancing at Carr and Buckingham); the monopolist; the antagonist who strikes without first giving a challenge; the tobacco smoker. Each of these provokes the old philosopher to laughter, until, tired out from the spectacle of so much folly, the old philosopher falls asleep.
DEMOCRITUS**1631
Only mentioned in Marmion's Holland's
Leaguer. Fidelio notes a similarity between Snarl and Democritus, a fifth century BCE Greek philosopher.
DEMOGORGON
A "ghost character" in Greene's Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay. Demogorgon is a devil who resents having a human create such an entity as the Brazen Head. Friar Bacon refers to him as the "master of the Fates."
DEMONSTRATION
The youngest son of Discourse in Zouche's The Sophister. He was "begotten on" Lady Necessity, and the brother of Topicus and Fallacy, Demonstration is to be married to Scientia. He is doted on by Discourse and hated by the jealous Fallacy, who contrives to prevent his marriage. He is sent by Discourse to call Intellect at the play's beginning and, thus, misses Fallacy's poisoning of the King. He returns with Intellect and is met with Topicus's concern that "all is not well" with Discourse, so the two sons exit to find their father. Definition claims that he cannot complete the task with which his Sovereign has charged him without the assistance of Lord Demonstration, and Distinction is sent to call for him. Proposition informs Definition, Division, and Opposition that Lord Discourse is "falne starke madde" and that "Demonstration, Topicus, and Fallacy, are hot in contention who must governe." Definition and the others go to visit Discourse before "tak[ing] order" with the Lord's sons. Definition presides over the pleadings of Discourse's sons concerning whom should succeed the King, though he wishes they would all "desist" from their "troublesome contentions." Demonstration pleads his case first, and asserts that he has "banished / Grosse ignorance, and that her cursed spawne / Vild superstitious Admiration" from the realm, and is "the chiefe Shewer to [his] Lord Discourse, / All the most strange and wonderfull effects / Of closer working Nature." Topicus and Fallacy dispute Demonstrations right to Discourse's throne, and Demonstration receives Definition's vote. However, Definition informs the "yong Lords" that they will have to wait until "some other meanes" are devised to "compose these differences" after the issue remains unresolved. When Fallacy resigns his right to his father's position and claims that one of his brothers can "rule the State" for him if they are able to agree upon whom it should be, Demonstration and Topicus are incited to battle for the succession in the name of courage and honour by Contradiction. Shortly after, Contradiction informs Fallacy that he has left them "breathlesse and wounded" and claims that they both "began / To faint with bleeding." Fallacy falsely informs Opposition and Contradiction that Scientia"notwithstanding all her promises / To Demonstration"has promised to "place her best affections" upon him if Judicium is killed, and that Judicium has, "for his noble friend," bid Fallacy to "combate." Proposition claims that Analysis "hath well nigh recur'd / the life-despairing brothers, Topicus and Demonstration," and Contradiction and Opposition later confess to thrusting "the worthy Brothers [. . .] into their desperate fury." At the play's end, Discourse claims that he "intend[s] forthwith in joy to celebrate, / Betwixt [his] sonnes and those admired Nymphs [Scientia and Opinion], / On either side long wish't for Nuptialls."
DEMOPHILUS **1635
A messenger in Killigrew’s The Conspiracy. He delivers good news to Aratus in act four that Phronimius and Eurylochus have not been captured along with the young king, Cleander. They are well and advancing to their positions. Two others were captured and slain by the enemy.
DEMOPHON or DEMOPHOON
Only mentioned in Goffe's The Courageous Turk. Demophon (called Demophoon in the text) is a mythological Greek hero mentioned approvingly by Eurenoses for having rejected the enticements of the "Thracian Dame" (Phyllis) in favor of active and warrior pursuits.
DEMOSTHENES
Only mentioned in Jonson's Cynthia's Revels. Demosthenes (384-322 BC) was an Athenian orator and statesman.
In his youth, he was not an outstanding speaker. To learn to speak distinctly he
talked with pebbles in his mouth and recited verses while running. To strengthen
his voice, he spoke on the seashore over the roar of waves. He initially gained
repute as a constitutional lawyer and speechwriter, and subsequently spearheaded
the Athenian resistance to Philip Macedon. After the death of Alexander the
Great, he led the unsuccessful attempt to throw off the Macedonian yoke and took
poison to avoid being captured alive. When Crites and Asotus wonder that
Amorphus has become a water drinker, the self-indulgent traveler says that the
water from the Fountain of Self-love is better than the metheglin, a kind of
Greek wine that Demosthenes usually drunk while composing his exquisite
orations.
DENAPOLL
The name the King of Gaul first gives to Mumford in the anonymous King
Leir while they are in England disguised as palmers. Mumford objects to
the name, claiming he will never remember it, and so it is discarded. The King
finally lights on the name Jack for Mumford.
DENHAM
‘Another captain booted and spurred’ and one of the cuckolds in Percy’s Cuckqueans and Cuckolds Errants. He first appears at the opening of act three with Lacy. He is headed to Tilbury with a press of men. Lacy brings him orders to divert away from the queen, however, and go to Colchester. He exits towards the Harwich side of the stage. When he meets Lacy again, he reports that ‘the Spaniards be fled all’. He then recounts the whole course of the Spanish invasion and defeat. He reports that in the action the English lost but one hundred men. He goes with Lacy to have a drink, and, at the Tarlton inn, Pearle asks that Lacy and Denham judge the cuckolds and cuckqueans. Denham’s judgement is that each should carry on and ‘feed their beasts as plentifully and in the same measure they did before’ the cuckolding occurred. When all is resolved and agreed, Denham offers to act as convoy to take them all to London.
DENIS
See also DENNIS.
DENIS
Denis is Oliver's servant in Shakespeare's As
You Like It.
DENIS, SAINT of FRANCE
St. Denis is one of the six champions of Christendom imprisoned in the cave of
Calib the witch in Kirke's The Seven
Champions of Christendom. George releases the champions, and they make
him their seventh member. They vow to travel the world, doing battle with unbelievers.
St. Denis, St. James and St. Patrick try to slay the enchanter Argalio, but he
escapes from them on an ascending throne. Nonetheless, they are satisfied to have
rid the land of him. Later, they join with St. Andrew, St Anthony, and St. David,
in an attempt to slay Brandron the giant and rescue the King of Macedon's daughters.
But they are betrayed by Suckabus, who tricks them into disarming and then imprisons
them. They are forced to support Brandron or die, and so, when St. George arrives,
they are obliged to fight him. George defeats all six of them. When Brandron commits
suicide, the champions are free to join with George again. When the King of Macedon's
daughters (who had been transformed into swans) are changed back into women, James,
Denis and Patrick marry them, and the champions perform a dance to celebrate.
DENIS, SIR THOMAS
A "ghost character" in the anonymous True Tragedy of Richard III.Sir Thomas Denis is reportedly a western gentleman who fights alongside Richmond at Bosworth Field against Richard III.
DENNIS
See also DENIS.
DENNIS
Servant to Duke of Averne in Heywood's The Captives. First appears with the Duke and his wife on their way to matins. Later joins the Duke when he receives Friar John's letter from Lady Averne. After reading the letter, the Duke sends Dennis for a pen, ink, and paper; after the Duke directs Lady Averne to write a reply to Friar John, he directs Dennis to fetch his horses and to accompany him on a three-day trip. Dennis is then privately directed by the Duke to order the servants to leave the gates open so that they can return in secret. After evensong, Dennis attends the Duke in preparation for their capture of Friar John; when the Friar arrives, Dennis assists the Duke as he strangles the Friar. When the Duke suddenly feels remorse over the murder, Dennis assists the Duke in plotting some means of hiding the crime. After the Duke decides to secretly convey the Friar's body back into the monastery, Dennis exits to fetch a ladder. Later, Dennis descends on a ladder with the Friar's body on his back; he sets the body up near the monastery and exits. That night Dennis is summoned by the Duke and told to check to ensure that Friar John's body is safely out of the way; as he searches, Dennis comes across the body of Friar John, which was left in the Duke's porch by Friar Richard. Dennis cries bring the Duke and Dennis then leaves to get the armor and horse they will use to get rid of the body. Later, the Duke and Dennis send the mounted and armed corpse of Friar John out of the gate; after hearing Friar John's horse collide with Friar Richard's, they gradually withdraw as they learn that Friar Richard has confessed to the murder of Friar John. At the end of the play, he joins the Duke of Averne and admits to his role in the murder of Friar John, thus sparing Friar Richard from execution.
DENNY, SIR ANTHONY
Sir Anthony Denny is commanded by King Henry to summon Cranmer, the Archbishop
of Canterbury, during Queen Anne's labor in Shakespeare's Henry VIII.
DENTEN, JACK
Jack Denten is hired by Miles Forest on behalf of James Terrell in the anonymous True Tragedy of Richard III to murder the two princes in the Tower. Denten agrees to the job, but has second thoughts once he sees the princes. Denten regains his resolve after his partner Will Slawter threatens to stab him to death. Denten and Slawter smother the boys and bury them within the Tower.
DENVILLE, GOSSELIN
Gosselin Denville is a local lord who helps Powesse and Sir Griffin regain their betrothed ladies in Munday's John a Kent and John a Cumber. John a Kent introduces Gosselin and Evan to Sir Griffin and Powesse as the lords that have raised an army for them. Gosselin tells Powesse and Sir Griffin that he has eighty archers ready in the nearby wood by the river Dee. Gosselin and Evan help Powesse and Sir Griffin to apprehend their ladies in an ambush in the woods and take them to Gosselin's castle. At the castle, Gosselin arrives with Sir Griffin, Powesse, and Evan. Seeing John a Cumber (disguised as John a Kent), the lords believe that he is preparing an entertainment for the weddings. Like the other lords, Gosselin is tricked into allowing the rival party enter the castle under the disguise of a pageant. When John a Cumber reveals the deceit and the opposing party has power over the castle, Gosselin leaves in the company of Evan, Sir Griffin, and Powesse. Gosselin is of the party that lures the ladies away from their guardians on their return to Chester, leading them back to his castle. In the revelation scene after the play within the play, Gosselin sees how all the disguises and misunderstandings are cleared. Gosselin and Evan stay behind at Gosselin's castle, and thus they are not present at the final set of disguises during the wedding ceremony.
DEPAZZI **1631
Depazzi is the foolish nephew of Comachio in Shirley's The Humorous Courtier. He believes he may be selected to wed the duchess and presents her with a ridiculous piece of poetry. He promises his servant Crispino a judgeship if selected by the duchess.
DEPAZZI **1631
Depazzi is Lorenzo's instrument in Shirley's The
Traitor. He is conscience-stricken, however, over the many plots to commit
treason against the Duke. His attempt to buy his way out of the plots for fifteen
hundred crowns fails, and he is banished.
DEPUTY **1588
(Judge), Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy.
DEPUTY**1633
The Deputy of the Governor of the East India Company accompanies his master to the shipyard in Mountfort's The Launching of The Mary. There, the Lord Admiral quizzes them on the claim that their business practices undermine the state. The Company members refute this claim at great length, and the Lord Admiral is convinced. There are two more of these debates at intervals throughout the play. At the end of the play, they all celebrate the launching of the Mary with a banquet, and watch the workmen dance.
DERBY**1590
Derby is an English Earl and an older man in the anonymous King
Edward III. He is sent by Edward III to solicit aid from the Emperor of
Almagne in the war against France, and he is successful. He helps with the knighting
of Prince Edward, presenting his helmet. He tells Edward to go to the aid of the
Prince during the battle of Crécy, a request that Edward refuses.
DERBY**1593
Alternative name of Lord Stanley in Shakespeare's Richard III. Stanley is the Earl of Derby.
DERIO
Apparently a typographical error for Ferio in the dramatis personae for the anonymous Wit of a Woman.
DERMOT
A "ghost character" in Dekker, Ford and Rowley's The
Welsh Embassador. King of Ulster. Mentioned by Edmond in his disguise
as an Irishman.
DERMOTT LAVE-YARACH
A "ghost character" in Dekker, Ford and Rowley's The
Welsh Embassador. Mentioned by Edmond in his disguise as an Irishman.
DERRICK
An apprentice to the shoemaker John Cobbler in the anonymous Famous
Victories of Henry V, he appears at the beginning of the play, where he
complains to his master and Lawrence Costermonger that he has been robbed and
asks for their help. He is pressed into service by the English Captain and joins
Henry V's campaign in France. While there, he tricks a French soldier who is about
to kill him by telling him to lay down his sword so he can give him as many crowns
as will lie on his sword. In order to escape the battlefield, Derrick would injure
his nose every day with a straw, so that the Captain would think he is "a bloody
soldier" and therefore exempt from service. Along with John Cobbler, Derrick escapes
to England by joining the Duke of York's funeral train.
DERVIS
A Mahometaine friar in Percy's Arabia Sitiens. He has received a water license from Chiause. When the lawyer and his associate Pyr come to collect payment, Dervis denies wrongdoing and curses Chiause. Pyr then takes Chiause prisoner. After they leave, Dervis rejoices in his good fortune and arranges to meet Chiause's wife Tib for sex. At their liaison, Whisk disguises himself as Tib and apprehends Dervis. Whisk brings him to Belpheghor, who listens to both Chiause and the Friar confess their worst misdeeds. Belpheghor takes them to Mahomet for judgment. Mahomet orders Chiause to toil carrying water for eternity and Friar Dervis to plod by his side preaching holiness.
DESCRIPTION
A companion of Definition in Zouche's The Sophister. Definition claims that he, Distinction, Division, Opposition, and Description have been sent by their "Soveraigne" (presumably Discourse) "to draw out for him the pedigree, which is a true lineall discent of all the chiefest inhabitants within these provinces, and view their ancient possessions, which are the Dominions and Lands, conveighed them by their Ancestors" in order to guard against the loss of "dignity and jurisdiction [. . .] from the noblest houses." Thus, the five characters partake in much debate over this business until Definition sends Description "to goe through the Countrey, and take notice of the names and Differences" and claims that he "can doe nothing without" Lord Demonstration. Description expresses the trouble which he has encountered from the "schollers" and voices his discontent when he claims, later, to be "quite dismaid from going any farther in this enterprize" and asserts that he will "deliver backe to the Lords their Commission, and rather sue for a Protection." He converses with Ambiguity but refuses to "come neare" the mad Discourse. He informs Invention of Topicus's recovery and listens to Invention describe his encounter with Lady Method, Division, and Definition. Along with Proposition and Conclusion, Description looks for Fallacy near the play's end. They find Ambiguity instead, who won't reveal to them where Fallacy is and who chides them for their disrespect towards him. Ambiguity is arrested by them on the charge of Capital Treason for his and Fallacy's contrivances against Discourse, Discourse's sons, the state, and the "Ladyes of poore Verona." Proposition suggests that they should bring Ambiguity to their "Soverigne," but there is no need when Discourse is led in with Invention and Judicium. Description remains present as Discourse thanks his friends, punishes the play's offenders, pronounces the forthcoming weddings of his two sons, and invites his friends to "associate" him "in feasting and delight." With Discourse, Description exits the play.
D'ESCURES
A French nobleman in Chapman's The
Tragedy of Charles, Duke of Byron. Travels with a message from the King
to Byron in Dijon, requesting that Byron return to court. Byron refuses and D'Escures
leaves. He last appears in the execution scene, where Byron asks him to ask the
Chancellor to allow his body to be interred with his ancestors at Byron.
DESDEMONA
Daughter to Brabantio and wife to Othello in Shakespeare's Othello. She marries Othello without her father's knowledge. After Cassio is punished by Othello, he goes to her (encouraged by Iago) to plead his case before her husband. She begs Othello to forgive Cassio. Iago leads Othello into misinterpreting her intercessions on his behalf and convinces Othello that she and Cassio are lovers. She loses her handkerchief, which is picked up by Emilia and given to Iago who gives it to Cassio. That token in Cassio's hand becomes the evidence that convinces Othello that Desdemona is unfaithful. Even though she declares her innocence, Othello strangles her in her bed.
DESIRE**1560
He describes to Destiny how Tom Tyler has asked him to find him a wife in the anonymous Tom Tyler And His Wife. The wife turns out to be a shrew who makes Tom's life miserable but, he points out, what happens after they meet is nothing to do with Desire.
DESIRE**1588
Desire, along with Delight and Devotion in Wilson's The Three Lords and Three Ladies of London, is one of the three lords of Lincoln who contest the lords of London for the hands of the three ladies of London. Desire hopes to woo Lucre. The lords of London inform them that they may not have the ladies, and must be content with the stones that the ladies stood on. So Desire leaves, carrying the stone of Care.
DESIRE**1612
Desire is a character in "The Triumph of Time," the final play within the
play of Fletcher's Four Plays in One. He unsuccessfully seeks wealth for Anthropos until he is released
from service.
DESIRE **1617
A “ghost character" in the anonymous Pathomachia. One of the fifteen affections and the subject of the play. Love gives his queen Disdain and Clemency as her guard while taking Reverence, Zeal, Desire, Pity, Justice, Charity, and Affability for himself.
DESIRE**1624
One of the characters in Evanthe's and Valerio's wedding masque in Fletcher's
A Wife for a Month. Only Cupid speaks, but Cupid's attendants include hopeful characters of Fancy, Desire, Delight, Hope, and also the dire characters Fear, Distrust, Jealousy, Care, Ire, and Despair, suggesting that in the lovers' marriage, misery will outweigh happiness. Valerio finds this to be the case when shortly after the wedding the king forbids him from consummating his marriage.
DESIRE**1635
A Spirit sent by Ormandine in Kirke's The Seven Champions of Christendom to tempt St. David. Desire, Free Excess and Delight "embrace him to a lazy tune, they touch him, he falls into their arms, so carry him away."
DESIRE, STUDIOUS
Humanity's attendant in Rastell's Four Elements. He promises Nature to help Humanity pursue his lessons. After Nature's departure, though, Humanity begins to wonder how to prove that the earth is round, and turns to Studious Desire to help him puzzle it out. He warns Humanity that he will learn nothing useful from Sensual Appetite, but leaves them together. He greets Experience, lamenting Humanity's distraction, but is unsuccessful in parting him from Sensual Appetite and Ignorance. The rest of the play is lost.
DESPAIR or "DYSPARE"**1515
Dyspare comes with Myschefe in Skelton's Magnyfycence
to prompt Magnyfycence to suicide after his ruin.
DESPAIR **1617
One of the nine inferior Affections in the anonymous Pathomachia. An agent of Fear who attended the Parliament during Fear’s absence. He wears a hat without a band and halter about his neck and is kin to Sadness.
DESPAIR**1624
One of the characters in Evanthe's and Valerio's wedding masque in Fletcher's
A Wife for a Month. Only Cupid
speaks, but Cupid's attendants include hopeful characters of Fancy, Desire, Delight, Hope, and also the dire characters Fear, Distrust, Jealousy, Care, Ire, and Despair, suggesting that in the lovers' marriage, misery will outweigh happiness. Valerio finds this to be the case when shortly after the wedding the king forbids him from consummating his marriage.
DESPERATO **1636
Desperato is one of the three Passions in Strode's The Floating Island to actually enter Prudentius' bedroom to kill him, and finds the crown where it has been left. At the coronation of Fancie, Desperato offers a Turkish turban, which Fancie rejects. Angered, Desperato decides to become a physician and enjoy the suffering of others. After Morphe faints, Amorous brings her to Desperato and asks him to treat her with a love potion so that she will return his affections. Malevolo, on the other hand, asks Desperato to poison her, but both plans are foiled when Intellectus Agens rescues her. Desperato holds a dinner party for all the Passions, with knives, ropes and poison instead of food. All the characters are prepared to kill themselves, but are stopped by the return of Intellectus Agens and Prudentius. Desperato asks forgiveness of Prudentius, but is directed to confess to a Priest instead.
DESPINA **1637
A fair Christian slave in Carlell’s Osmond. Two soldiers capture her in battle and rather than have them fight for her, she promises to serve both faithfully. She is shocked, however, to learn that they mean to lie with her. Osmond saves her and gives her as a gift to Melcosbus. She has fallen in love with Osmond, however, and begs him to become Christian for her sake. Melcosbus offers her all power, but she wants only her liberty. He goes to her and almost rapes her, but she talks him into trying to win her love rather than making a base conquest of her. She sends Osmond a letter begging him to become Christain, steal her away and marry her. She has the king pardon his Christian prisoners and makes him command Osmond to do what she asks of him. She asks him to fly with her, but his loyalty to Melcosbus prevents him. She at last yields to Melcosbus. She calls Osmond to her and says she still loves him but that her affection has turned to sisterly affection. She claims now to love Melcosbus but tells Osmond that he may still command her as a sister. She goes with Melcosbus before Haly, Odmer, the captains and soldiers where Melcosbus suddenly murders her to demonstrate he is still the warrior he was.
DESTINIES
Personified fates in Tatham's Love Crowns the End. Appearing when Gloriana and Lysander unexpectedly fall asleep while gathering flowers, the bloodthirsty Destinies sing to the couple to "sleep on," decreeing that Gloriana and Lysander "must bleed" and hoping that they "never rise" again.
DESTINIES, THREE
They work for Fortune in Dekker's Old
Fortunatus; mute characters throughout.
DESTINY
Destiny appears at the beginning and the end of the anonymous Tom Tyler And His Wife. He acknowledges that in matters of marriage and dying he is taken for an enemy but denies he is at fault. He next appears towards the end of the play when Tom Tyler is lamenting the dreadful life he has to lead with his wife. Destiny points out that people simply have to put up with whatever end they come to; Destiny can do nothing about it. If Tom accepts the truth of this, nothing will cause him grief. When Strife appears at the end in a bullying mood Destiny immediately announces his departure. He appears later to accept Patience's suggestion that all the characters should agree with each other.
DETRACTION
One of the characters in the Masque of Repentance by which Nicanor seeks to drive King Atticus to despair in the anonymous Swetnam. Detraction signifies the slanderous voices raised against Leonida, which the King was too quick to accept.
DEVENTURO, PETRO
Petro Deventuro is in charge of the Florentine naval force sent to deal with the
Moroccan fleet in Thomas Heywood's The
Fair Maid of the West, Part Two. He returns to Florence with Bashaw Joffer
as his prisoner.
DEVERE
Oxford, also addressed as de Vere, was apparently a replacement for Salisbury
who was not completely integrated into the text in Munday and Chettle's Death
of Robert, Earl of Huntington. He is addressed in the first scene after
John is king, but he has no entrance, and his speech-headings are all for Salisbury.
He does not appear again until after Salisbury and Queen Isabel have left the
battlefield in disgust at John's continued lust for Matilda. When the Queen next
appears, she is accompanied by Oxford, who inhabits the same character as Salisbury
had, and Salisbury is now missing from the play. Oxford attempts to comfort the
Queen and convince her that John loves her, describing his own infidelity to prove
that all men are tempted to stray. When that does not succeed, he points out that
Matilda is now a nun, and God will not allow John to have her. They decide to
visit Matilda at Dunmow and arrive after she has been poisoned, so they are there
for her death. They then bring the body to Windsor. It is mainly Oxford who talks
Leicester and the other lords out of rebelling and attempting to install the French
Dauphin on the throne. (See also "SALISBURY").
DEVERE, ROBERT
A "ghost character" in the anonymous Thomas of Woodstock. The Duke of Ireland. Late favorite of Richard II. His wife, the Duchess of Ireland, is a friend of the Queen, Anne o'Beame. De Vere does not appear in the play. [Historically, de Vere was the favorite defeated by the King's uncles; see general historical note for the playwright's contraction of historical sequence.]
DEVEREUX, ROBERT, EARL of ESSEX
The Earl of Essex, Robert Devereux, appears in Thomas Heywood's The Fair Maid of the West, Part One in the dumb show of I receiving petitions before his departure for the Islands' Voyage to the Azores and other Spanish territories (historically, in 1597). The Two Drawers, who are among the Petitioners, later comment favorably upon his having settled Caroll's tavern debt and praise the Earl for his "noble mind."
DEVICE
Irritating to Sir Francis and amusing to Sir Richard, Monsieur Device is a foolish dandy who speaks in frivolous verse to impress the ladies in Cavendish & Shirley's Country Captain. He is mocked by Dorothy and Sister, who invite him to Sir Richard's country estate for amusement. Device tries to court Sister. She enjoys his tall tales but thinks him an amusing fool. Upon hearing that she likes a man of valor, he tells her he will bring he the sword of Courtwell. He challenges Courtwell, but backs down when confronted and steals the sword, which he presents to Sister as if he had won it. Courtwell challenges him again, in front of Sister, and Device pretends to have been joking.
DEVIL
See also APPARITION(S), GHOST(S), SHE-DEVIL(S), SPIRIT(S), and related entries.
DEVIL**1588
A "ghost character" or, more accurately a vision in Lodge's The Wounds of Civil War. The assassin, Pedro, sees this devil after agreeing to kill Marius for forty crowns. When Pedro approaches the sleeping Marius, he
has a vision of a devil with flaming eyes and the voice of a bear who asks how
he dare attempt to kill Marius. The vision, apparently real to Pedro but not otherwise
depicted on the stage, forces Pedro to run away in fear.
DEVIL**1589
The Devil is summoned by Friar Bacon in Greene's Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay. He is ordered to carry Miles, the friar's lean-witted assistant, off to hell. Miles calls him "Master Plutus."
DEVIL**1592
The devil that comes to fetch the Bailiff of Hexham is a non-speaking character
in the anonymous A Knacke To Knowe
A Knave. Later in the play, Dunstan calls up a devil, whom he calls Asmoroth.
This might be the same devil.
DEVIL**1599
A fictitious character in Marston's Histrio-Mastix. The devil is a character in a play staged by Sir Oliver Owlet's Men.
DEVIL**1608
An incubus (rather than the Devil) who fathers Merlin by seducing Joan
in William Rowley's The Birth of Merlin:
or, The Child Hath Found His Father. He learns from Lucina that Merlin
has been given the art of prophecy (by the Fates). When the Devil returns to Joan
to claim her soul, Merlin protects her by using his magic to enclose the Devil
in a rock.
DEVIL**1616
The name Fitzdottrel calls Pug in Jonson's The Devil is an Ass; the ladies prefer to pronounce it "De-vile."
DEVIL**1625
Usually spelled Divell in the original of Davenport's New Trick to Cheat the Devil. The Devil is a disguise adopted by Master Changeable, in his attempt to help his daughter Anne to recover her beloved Slightall and marry him. He first enters as an 'anticke' dancer. He appears before Slightall wearing "I am a Divell" on his breast. (The word anticke (antique), apart from meaning 'old, ancient', also means 'disguised'.) Then, he enters again, this time "like a Gentleman, with eye-glasses", and he says to Slightall he can appear in different shapes and claims he is omnipotent. The Divell agrees to make Slightall's wishes come true and pay all his debts, on the only condition that he may then claim his soul. The young man agrees and they make a deal. Later, the Divell asks Slightall to go and sleep in a chamber he has haunted with a she-spiritone of his servants-assuring him that the lady, who appears deformed to other people, will seem fair and beautiful to him. Once Slightall is in the haunted chamber, the Divell arrives and claims the young man's soul, but, on the latter's request, he agrees to wait and take his soul the next time they meet. When that time comes, the Divell has to make Slightall see all his creditors for him to check that his debts have really been met. But the friars manage to cheat the Divell, telling him that, since the Divell has paid all Slightall's debts, now the young man is indebted to the Divell, therefore, since he is still indebted, the Divell cannot take his soul yet. Slightall still asks the Divell for one more favour: he wants to see the she-spirit (Anne) again, and that favour is granted to him. Finally, the disguise has worked and its purpose has been reached: both lovers will be together again, and the friars will marry them.
DEVIL**1634
A "ghost character" in Heywood and Brome's The Late Lancashire Witches, the Devil is mentioned by Young Greety as appearing to him in the form of a boy. According to Young Greety, he and the devil wrestle,
but the outcome of this fight is never revealed because Miller Greety, Young Greety's
father, interrupts the story with the information that he then found his son in
a trance.
DEVIL**1635
Only mentioned in the anonymous Wit's Triumvirate. The Devil is mentioned by Master Silence when he hears Master Ominous say that the only time he wanted his superstition to workhe dreamt of the death of his grandmother and his mother-in-lawit had not, because they were alive the following morning. Master Silence replies: "Now, I confess this was ill luck indeed, and here, sure, the Devil owed you a spite and paid you." After he hears another misfortune concerning the effort of putting on a left piece of clothing first, Master Silence says: "The devil then paid you on the left side, 'tis his own side." A few lines later Master Silence mentions him again: "The devil first taught the friar the art of shooting by that way." Afterwards, the devil is mentioned by Master Fright when he visits the doctor for a second time to tell him about his episodes of fear of darkness: "Anything that creaks with the wind puts me in mind of the spirits of the air and especially in the dark because the devil is the prince of darkness." Then, he is again mentioned by Master Fright when he goes to see Master Silence about his fear of darkness, as Doctor Clyster had recommended him to do. He concludes that, if in his dreams he sees things that he sees things that never were nor will be "What can that be but the devil?" Later, referring to a tune he sometimes has in his headand he cannot put outhe asks: "What, is that the devil? Why some chords should please us, others notis that the devil?" The devil is also mentioned by Master Silence when he is giving Master Fright a cure for his fear: "I would first have you purge yourself of all profane histories and wicked poets, which surely are the devil's library", and later, he adds: "But then, to blow him up (your subtle enemy, the devil) do but take Foxe's Martyrs and read him over ..." Master Silence mentions the devil once more when he is diagnosing the nature of Master Algebra's disease: "I do say it is the devil that haunt thy brain in the likeness of wit, the more for to delude thee." Finally, he is also mentioned by Doctor Clyster as he advises Master Algebra not to read the astronomers, especially Galileo, because: "He has de devil in a glass and a greater devil in his brain for persuassions." And later, when he is listening to Signor Jealousia on his second visit. As the latter tells him he has very strange dreams, Doctor Clyster replies: "The devil's dreams. A curethe devil's ring." According to the Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions, the devil was the master of hell and chief spirit of evil. Being a fallen angel, he had turned into an adversary of God and the tempter of mankind.
DEVIL **1637
Only mentioned in (?)Speed’s The Converted Robber. Jarbus tells of how the devil fell out with his wife thus causing a scorched mark still to be seen on Salisbury Plain.
DEVIL ALONZO
A Devil impersonating Alonzo in the macabre, prophetic 'show' that Roderick sees within the locked room in William Rowley's All's Lost by Lust.
DEVIL ANTONIO
A Devil impersonating Antonio in the macabre, prophetic 'show' that Roderick sees
within the locked room in William Rowley's All's
Lost by Lust.
DEVIL JACINTA
A Devil impersonating Jacinta in the macabre, prophetic 'show' that Roderick sees
within the locked room in William Rowley's All's
Lost by Lust.
DEVIL JULIANUS
A Devil impersonating Julianus in the macabre, prophetic 'show' that Roderick
sees within the locked room in William Rowley's All's
Lost by Lust.
DEVIL like MUSGRAVE
In III.ii of Haughton's The Devil and his Dame, a "Devil like Musgrave" enters with Musgrave's lover Honorea, and claims to repent their illicit relationship, telling her to bestow her "hot love" on her husband. She pleads with him to stay but he leaves her, and after reflection she decides that he is right and in later scenes she is faithful to her husband Earl Lacy. This devil in Musgrave's shape is a puzzleits appearance is not prepared for; and it does not seem to be either Belphagor or Akercock, nor do they seem to be aware of another devil or even of this incident. There is no indication that it has been sent by the judges of Hell to intervene in the plot. As the play's most recent editor says, "it is hard to guess how the theater audience would perceive that Honorea is not being jilted by the real Musgrave." He suggests that the incident may have been inspired by a similar one in A Knack to Know a Knave where St. Dunstan summons the devil Astoroth to impersonate a faithful husband in order to bring the lustful King Edgar to his senses. It seems possible that a brief scene, or even a dumb show, where St. Dunston brings a devil in the shape of Musgrave, has been omitted. A similar incident also occurs in the succubus scene of A Mad World, My Masters where a devil in the shape of Mistress Harebrain causes Sir Penitent Brothel to repent. In each case, the same actor would presumably play both the mortal character and the demonic doppelganger.
DEVIL MOOR
A Devil impersonating Muly Mumen in the macabre, prophetic 'show' that Roderick
sees within the locked room in William Rowley's All's
Lost by Lust. The Devil Muly Mumen is shown receiving the Devil Roderick's
crown.
DEVIL RODERICK
A Devil impersonating Roderick in the macabre, prophetic 'show' that Roderick
sees within the locked room in William Rowley's All's
Lost by Lust. The Devil Roderick's crown is taken by the Devil Moor, and
he is shown kneeling to his enemies.
DEVILE
A guise in Dekker's Noble Spanish Soldier. To test the King's conscience, Medina disguises himself as Doctor Devile, a French physician, and claims to be treating Onælia. He offers to kill her, and the King gladly accepts.
DEVILS **1592
A resplendent hierarchy of Devils appear in many guises and situations in Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, generally to force Faustus' wavering loyalty, but often to serve or entertain him. Lucifer and Belzebub sit at the top as the dual princes of hell, and their servant, Mephostophilis, becomes Faustus' servant when Faustus promises them his soul for 24 years of fame and pleasure.
DEVILS**1607
Mute characters in Barnes's The Devil's Charter. Two nameless devils that help drag Alexander's soul to hell.
DEVILS**1611
The unnamed Devils in Dekker's If It Be Not Good attend Lucifer's arrival at the black tree in Naples grove for the devils' progress report meeting, and after the reports of Ruffman, Shacklesoule, and Lurchall, they relate tales of their wrongdoing in and around the city.
DEVILS**1622
Non-speaking roles in the anonymous Two Noble Ladies and the Converted Conjurer. The Devils lurk around Justina's bed, trying to fill her mind with carnal longings. But they are terrified of her prayer-book, and when the Angel enters, they "sink, roaring; a flame of fire riseth after them."
DEVILS**1631
A disguise assumed by the craftsman in Brome's The Queen's Exchange. The Carpenter, Mason, and Smith, who have built Offa's secret pit, suspect he will hide treasure in it. They return disguised as devils
to steal the money. Instead, they discover that the pit is a prison and end up
freeing the outlaws and escorting Mildred and Edith out of the house.
DEVILS**1638
Disguises assumed by Craft, Snap, and Swift in the anonymous Oberon the Second in order to astonish and impress their various gulls (Politico, Covet, Spendall, and Losarello). Snap poses as the Devil to enchant Losarello with a spell that will help him beat the "giant" at Covet's home.
DEVILS, CREW OF BLACK **1604
They appear in Verney’s Antipoe and attempt to strangle the sleeping Macros, but Mercury stops them.
DEVILS, PANTOMIME**1607
Appear in the Dumb Show of Barnes's The Devil's Charter where Alexander is mimed signing the charter with the devil.
DEVILS, THREE
Three devils threateningly appear in the Third dumb show of Peele's The Battle of Alcazar.
DEVIL’S WIFE
Only mentioned in (?)Speed’s The Converted Robber. Jarbus tells of how the devil fell out with his wife thus causing a scorched mark still to be seen on Salisbury Plain.
DEVON
Devon is a lord and, initially, a supporter of Vortiger in Middleton's Hengist. He is also the father of Castiza, whom Vortiger marries. When Castiza refuses to take the oath of chastity and reveals her rape, Devon is seized by the guards and led away. He helps Aurelius in the overthrow of Vortiger and captures Hengist.
DEVON**1637
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A British Baron in the anonymous The Wasp. Comes to visit his sick friend, Gilbert, who has been stripped of his title Champion and lost £1,000 per annum by Varletti. He declares war on Marianus along with Elidure, Devon, and Tom Archibald. At the last moment, on advice from noble Archibald, they supplicate to Marianus, who in reward banishes Varletti. He is on hand to see the banished Archibald rescue Marianus, and when the traitorous letter from Varletti arrives, he and the other barons are sent from Marianus. He accompanies Archibald in his guise of Percy, uncle to the traitors, and stands loyally with Marianus at the crisis moment in the final act.
DEVOTION**1513
A "ghost character" in the anonymous Hick Scorner. A true monk. One among the "true religious" men and "holy women" whom Hick Scorner was glad to see drown in the Irish Sea at the Race of Ireland when their thirteen ships foundered and sank.
DEVOTION
Devotion, along with Delight and Desire in Wilson's The Three Lords and Three Ladies of London, is one of the three lords of Lincoln who contest the lords of London for the hands of the three ladies of London. Devotion
hopes to woo Conscience. The lords of London inform them that they may not have
the ladies, and must be content with the stones that the ladies stood on. So Devotion
leaves, carrying the stone of Remorse.
DEVOTION, FRIAR
The false name assumed by Flattery while disguised as a friar in Lindsay's Satire of the Three Estates.
D'HAUURYE, MARQUES
He brings defensive supplies to Antwerp on behalf of the Prince of Orange in the anonymous A Larum for London. He promises to bear the expense of the army if Antwerp will accept its protection. He is insulted when Champaigne suggests that he cannot control the behavior of the army. In an aside, he reveals that he will keep the army in Antwerp at his and the Prince's expense in order to protect Antwerp. He reveals that the castle is under attack from Danila and his forces and encourages his men to take up arms. He questions Danila and Dalua about their motives for attacking Antwerp, which has not harmed them. He is ultimately slain by Spanish forces.
di GONZAGA, FRANCESCO **1607
A "ghost character" in Barnes's The Devil's Charter. He was the first husband of Lucretia Borgia.
di MEDICI, ROSIMUNDA
A "ghost character" in (?)Jeffere's The Bugbears. Rosimunda, referred to once in Buggbears as Rosimunda di Medici, is married to and pregnant by Formosus, facts unknown to her father, Brancatius, who contracts her in marriage to the elderly Cantalupo. Although a key figure in the plot, she does not appear in the play.
di VASELLI, GISMOND **1607
An Italian nobleman married to Lucretia Borgia in Barnes's The Devil's Charter. Walking through the streets of Rome one night with Barbarossa, Vaselli sees posters maligning the character of the Borgia family. The last notice refers to Lucretia as a "noble whore" and to Vaselli as a cuckold. Vaselli is amazed that anyone could slander her so-even though he keeps her locked in her rooms because he so possessive of her. For this reason, and because she despises him, Lucretia will kill him. That night, Lucretia tricks Vaselli and ties him in a chair. Threatening him, she forces him to write a suicide note, a note that expresses his regret for his jealousy of her and his mistreatment of her. Once he has written and signed the note, she stabs him brutally and repeatedly.
DIAGORAS
Diagoras is a foolish servant to Calianax in Beaumont and Fletcher's The
Maid's Tragedy. He spars with his master and notes that Calianax has become
humorous since Aspatia was forsaken by Amintor.
DIANA**1585
I.
The goddess of hunting and virginity in Lyly's Gallathea,
she rules over the local woods and is most annoyed when all her nymphs begin falling
in love. She finds Cupid and takes him prisoner, making him pay for the damage
he has caused.
II.
Goddess of chastity and the hunt, Diana controls the location where Paris's affront
to Juno and Pallas has occurred, and it is she that Apollo argues should be called
upon to make a final determination about the golden apple in Peele's The
Arraignment of Paris. Diana is also addressed as Phoebe in the play.
III.
Diana is the goddess of chastity in Wilson's The
Cobbler's Prophecy. She brings up the rear of the pageant of gods in the
opening dumbshow, "wringing her hands" and making a "woeful moan."
IV.
Only mentioned in the anonymous Birthe of Hercules. Diana is mentioned by Alcumena when she is trying to make her husband understand that he had already slept with her the night before. In her despair, she cries: "Then let the vnspotted Diana plague me for my disloyaltie." She is unaware of the fact that the one that had seduced her was really Iupiter, in the shape of her husband.
V.
The goddess Diana delivers the epilogue for "The Triumph of Honor," the first play within the play of Fletcher's Four Plays in One.
VI.
A goddess in Shakespeare's Pericles.
She appears to Pericles in a dream, telling him to come to her temple in Ephesus.
Once there, Pericles discovers that Thaisa has become a vestal to Diana, and husband
and wife are reunited.
VII.
Queen of the virgins in Heywood's The
Golden Age. She admits Calisto into her train, but she casts her away
upon learning of her pregnancy by Jupiter.
VIII.
Only mentioned in the anonymous Wit's Triumvirate. Diana is mentioned by Sir Cupid Phantsy when he is describing the lady he is in love with to Doctor Clyster. He explains she is "beautiful like Venus, chaste as Diana, witty as ..." Later she is mentioned by Jealousia when he is telling Doctor Clyster about his obsession with horns since he thinks his wife is being unfaithful to him: "and Diana, for all her chastity, was the first woman that ever set horns upon any man's head." According to Roman mythology, Diana was the goddess for wild nature and forests, and, eventually, she was also associated to hunting. She was also a protector of womenrelated to chastity, marriage and childbirth. Her Greek equivalent was goddess Artemis.
IX.
Only mentioned in Haughton's The Devil and his Dame. Castiliano, who is being cuckolded, has a picture in his gallery of horned Actaeon spying on the naked goddess Diana.
X.
The goddess Diana descends twice in [?]Queen Henrietta's Florimène,
first to hunt and next to solve the love-tangles of the human characters, who
have gone to her temple to ask for help.
XI.
A mute character in Goffe's The Courageous Turk. Diana, the Roman goddess of hunting and chastity, appears in Lala Schahin's first masque and dances with Neptune.
XII.
Virgin goddess of the hunt in Heywood's The Escapes of Jupiter, whose band of virgin followers the princess Callisto is eager to join. Diana accepts Callisto; unfortunately, fooled by his disguise, she also accepts Jupiter, who is bent on taking Callisto as a mistress. [Heywood omits Diana's discovery of Callisto's pregnancy, which is included in dumb show in The Golden Age.]
XIII.
Only mentioned in Cokain's The Obstinate Lady. Lucora rejects marriage, and devotes herself to Diana, goddess of chastity.
XIV.
A "ghost character" in Heywood's Brazen Age. The Goddess Diana never appears on stage, but figures prominently in the play's action. She sets the Caledonian Boar against the Aetolian King Oeneus because he neglects her in his sacrifices.
XV.
In Killigrew’s The Conspiracy, she comes in the introduction lamenting the loss of one of her nymphs but is reconciled by Juno to the idea that the pure virgin has become a pure bride. They are likely alluding to Lady Villers whose nuptial this plays was intended to celebrate.
DIANA**1600
Diana is Lodowick's daughter in the anonymous Weakest Goeth to the Wall. As the exiled family take refuge at Jacob's house in Flanders, Lodowick, the Duke of Bullen, tries to comfort Diana, but she avers that she does not need to be comforted and accepts their situation with patience. When Lodowick has to leave the house and the women have to remain as surety, Diana urges her mother to go to her chamber and leave the monstrous Jacob. When later Oriana tells Jacob that they are leaving, Diana encourages her to leave at that very moment. Later Oriana and Diana meet Villiers, a merchant of La Rochelle. He has been looking after them and promises to marry Oriana. Diana says that she will be pleased to call him father. In the final scene, she is present when her mother and Lodowick are reunited.
DIANA**1602
A young woman of Florence in Shakespeare's All's Well. She is pursued by Bertram, but Mariana has warned her of his seductions, and she rejects his advances. On meeting Helena, and learning of her plight, Diana agrees to help her. Devising a "bed trick" she persuades Bertram to give her his ring, arranges for him to steal into her bedchamber, making him promise not to speak to her when he arrives, and to take a ring from her when he is there. Later, in France, she reveals Bertram's intended sins, and eventually reveals that Helena is still alive.
DIANA **1632
A character portrayed by an unnamed player in the masque to Shirley's The Ball.
DIANA**1638
Diana is the young, second wife of Joyless in Brome's The Antipodes. Suffering under the constraints of her insanely jealous husband, she admires the Antipodean world of the inset play because it shows women holding authority over their husbands. She ultimately proves her virtue by resisting Letoy's seduction and discovers that she is a changeling when he reveals himself as her father.
DIAPHANOUS SILKWORM
A foppish courtier and the suitor for Placentia's hand in Jonson's The Magnetic Lady. He is preferred by Placentia's foster-mother, Polish. Parson Palate agrees to help him in return for future favors, and Sir Diaphanous also bribes Doctor Rut to advocate for him. After the quarrel with Captain Ironside, Practice counsels him to sue, but Compass goads Sir Diaphanous into challenging Ironside by letter, with Bias as the messenger. The duel, after a long bout of verbal sparring, is interrupted before it becomes swordplay by Interest's announcement that Placentia is in labor.
DIAPHANTA
Diaphanta is Beatrice-Joanna's waiting-woman in Middleton and Rowley's The Changeling. She has a relationship with Jasperino. She is privy to Beatrice's secret love for Alsemero and brings him to her lady's chamber. After the wedding,
Beatrice is fearful of Alsemero's virginity test, so she persuades her to sleep
with Alsemero as a secret substitute. Diaphanta agrees enthusiastically, but when
she does the deed she stays so long that Beatrice becomes fearful that her ploy
will be revealed. DeFlores therefore kills Diaphanta by setting fire to her bedroom,
and shooting her as she guiltily runs back there.
DIAPHINES, SPIRIT of
He and Ascalon's spirit enter to Otanes in the anonymous Tamar Cam.
DIARCHUS**1638
Diarchus is the brother of Melesippus in Mead's Combat of Love and Friendship. He supports him in hoping that Artemone will marry Philonax.
DIAS, RUY**1621
A Captain in the Portuguese army, uncle to Pyniero, and suitor to the Princess Quisara in Fletcher's The Island Princess. When the Princess, who initially claims that she loves the valiant Ruy Dias, makes a proclamation that she will marry the man who rescues her brother the king, Dias hesitates too long and in so doing, loses face with the Princess who decides that he is a coward. To make up for the insult, and because he is jealous of Armusia, he challenges the latter to a duel. Armusia bests Dias, but stops short of killing him. After that, Dias recognizes the noble character of Armusia and fights alongside him. When Armusia is imprisoned for professing his Christian faith, Pyniero and Ruy Dias together attack the kingdom of Sidori with the intention of rescuing Armusia. Together, however, they reveal the Moor-Priest's true identity, thereby saving the kingdom instead of destroying it.
DICACHE
One of the gentlewomen guests at the wedding celebration of Cælestine and Sir
Walter Terill in Dekker's Satiromastix,
Dicache is also one of the guests of the party hosted by Sir Vaughan ap Rees,
and later of the party hosted by Sir Adam Prickshaft. She is also among those
who accompany Cælestine and Sir Walter Terill to the court of King William Rufus.
While Dicache sometimes comments on the action, she is primarily an on-stage audience
and sometime dance partner whose presence otherwise has little bearing on the
development of the plot. She is always in the company of Petula and Philocalia.
DICÆUS **1627
A rich parson in Randolph's Plutophthalmia. He stands è diametro opposite Penia-Penniless and disputes with her over the question of restoring Plutus' eyesight. He is successful in his debate, demonstrating that wealth is better than poverty. He rejoices in his wealth because he can forget his Latin and Greek and march about Westminster as he pleases. He will ask Plutus to reward his brother cleric Clip-Latin with twenty pounds per annum
DICAUS
"Neptune's chiefe Priest" and Tyrinthus's friend in P. Fletcher's Sicelides. Dicaus is called by Neptune with "thrice a thundring voice" after Olinda is tempted by Mago (who has taken on the "shape and habit" of Glaucilla in the garden near "Neptunes temple") to take one of the "golden apples" from the "Hyperian tree" situated in the "sacred garden." Dicaus "beares" the "halfe dead" Olinda to Neptune's temple, where Neptune sentences her to die at the hands of the sea monster, Malorcha. Dicaus presides over her execution and, after finishing "all rites," he "proclaimes" that anyone who "conquer[s]" the "monstrous beast" will gain Olinda as "his prize forever." At this point, Malorcha is "loos'd" and "hungry posteth to his ready feast" only to be blinded and killed by Atyches. Tyrinthus is cheered to hear from Pas, on his return to Sicily, that Dicaus still lives. Dicaus "condemnes" Glaucilla to fall from a "high rocke" after learning of Olinda's death and Cosma's (undisputed) vow that Glaucilla changed the "water" given by Cosma to Olinda meant to cure the maid's griefs over her love for Thalander to poison. Thus, he also presides over Glaucilla's execution. Perindus pleads with Dicaus to allow him to exchange his own life for Glaucilla's and, although "both loath to live, and both contend to die," Dicaus decides that Perindus may "buy" Glaucilla's life with the "losse" of his own. At such news, Perindus bids goodbye to his love and jumps from the rock. Perindus is rescued from drowning in the sea by Cancrone and Scrocca, who disregard Dicaus's "threatning voyce" and are, thus, arrested, "manacled," and led to the "hils [. . .] to the greedy Cyclops" to meet "the death of slaves" for their interference with the law. Nomicus informs Cosma, while transporting Cancrone and Scrocca to the "hils" that "the stay is onely in Dicaus, / At whose returne" Cancrone and Scrocca will "suffer" death by the Cyclops. However, when it becomes evident that Olinda is alive and that Cosma is behind the attempts to kill both Glaucilla and Olinda, Dicaus punishes her by casting a "charme" by which she may only fall in love with "fooles" and "fooles only shall affect" her.
DICCON the BEDLAM
Begins the play by stealing a rasher of bacon in [?]Stevenson's Gammer
Gurton's Needle. He tells Hodge that there is something upsetting Gammer
and Tyb. He pretends to raise a spirit to look for the needle and terrifies Hodge
in the process. The prankster tells Dame Chat that Gammer stole her rooster. He
tells Hodge that the spirit mentioned "Chat, rat, cat" in connection with the
needle. He next tells Gammer that he saw Dame Chat pick the needle up by the post
and that she intends to keep it. He is soon discovered, but it is his friend Master
Bayley the constable who decides upon his punishment, and he is only made to swear
on Hodge's breeches not to pay when Dr. Rat offers to pay for a meal, be good
to the cat, and the like. When instead Diccon kicks Hodge in the breeches, the
needle is found to be there. He is thanked for finding the needle.
DICEPLAYER, DAVY
A "ghost character" in Udall's Ralph Roister Doister. Davy Diceplayer is one of the many individuals Merrygreek admits to having sponged from before taking up with Ralph Roister Doister.
DICER, DICK
Dicke Dicer is Dandaline's boy in the anonymous The Contention Between Liberalitie and Prodigalitie. Following the Hostess's wishes, he has to look for Prodigalitie, because he has been given Money by Fortune, and he could be an interesting customer for her inn. But when he and Tom Tosse finally find Prodigalitie, they pretend they are not interested in Money, but in his company. Thus he and his friend lead Prodigalitie into a dissolute life, and make him waste Money. As a consequence, Money deserts Prodigalitie. Then Dicke informs the latter that the former has returned to his mother's, and he advises him to go there, climb the walls and recover his Money. But they soon learn that Money has been granted to Tenacitie, and, furious at the news, they decide to follow them (Money and Tenacitie) and trick the latter. They succeed, stealing Money from Tenacitie, but also murdering him cruelly. Dicke Dicer and Tom Tosse manage to escape, but Prodigalitie is caught and tried.
DICHOTOMY
A "ghost character" in Zouche's The Sophister. Division claims that "Dichotomy hath let mee bloud, and charged me I should neither use Horse nor Coach, but trust to mine owne two legges: nay hee will scarce permit me a staffe to leane upon."
DICHU
A nobleman in Shirley's St. Patrick For Ireland. Dichu attacks Patrick for his Christian discourse, reviling his 'blasphemy'. He makes to strike Patrick, but feels a bizarre sensation, and instantly converts to Christianity, joining Patrick's band and incurring the wrath of the Irish King. Living in the woods, dressed as a hermit, he hides away. His sons, Ferochus and Endarius, happen upon him when they are on the run. After assuring them that he had no role in the plot to have them killed, he gives them modest food and shelter. He welcomes the eventual meeting with Patrick's band, and announces the conversion to Christianity of his two previously sinful sons.
DICK**1570
Dicke is the youngest son to Chremes and Maud, and brother to July and Nane in the anonymous July and Julian. He is urged to go to school by his mother, but he complains, because he would rather go playing. Nevertheless, he is made to go to school, accompanied by Fenell. Then the boy opens his heart to his servant, denouncing the way he is being mistreated by his parents. He reveals that he has the impression that, no matter what he did, they would never approve of it. He explains how, each day, early in the morning, he is sent to Grammar School just to waste his time looking at a bookwhich is good for nothinglike a fool. He also complains about the fact that he is abused by his schoolmasters: both his Song-School Master and his Grammar- School Master beat him if he arrives late or if he makes mistakes. Then he states his intention to take revenge on them when he grows up. Actually, the boy was true because, when they finally arrive at school, his schoolmasters are there, ready to punish him for being late. When, later, he comes back home, he resolves not to go back to school any more, given that there he suffers ill treatment from his schoolmasters. Therefore, following Wilkin's advice, he decides to help his brother July to marry his beloved Julian, in hope that, when they leave the parental house to settle on their own, they should take him with them, far from the reach of his parents and schoolmasters. Thus, when he learns about his parent's plot to cheat July, by sending Misis instead of Julian to the date both lovers had arranged for that night, he runs to tell his brother all about it. In recompense, July speaks to Dick's schoolmasters, and he is dispensed from his scholarly duties for the rest of the day.
DICK**1585
One of three sons of a miller in Lyly's Gallathea,
the other two are Rafe and Robin. All three of them have been to sea and have
been shipwrecked on the coast at the beginning of the play. They vow not to go
to sea anymore, to seek their fortunes separately, and to meet again in a year.
DICK**1590
This is the name by which Sir Bartram refers to Eustace in Greene's James IV. Apparently it is a diminutive or a term of affection.
DICK **1592
In the B-text only of Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, Dick is one of Clown's rowdy companions and banters suggestively with him about conjuring, cuckolding, and boozing. With similar lowlifes Horse-Courser and Carter, he goes drinking and then demands that the Duke let them see Faustus, the Duke's guest. Admitted to the Duke's presence, they make demands of Faustus who turns each of them dumb in turn.
DICK**1597
Dick is a tapster at the Boar's Head Tavern in Eastcheap in Shakespeare's 1
Henry IV. He enjoys a drink with Prince Henry after the latter's joke
on Falstaff.
DICK **1599
A rebel under the command of Murley in Munday, Drayton, Hathaway, and Wilson's Sir John Oldcastle.
DICK **1599
One of the three colliers (also called Porters) who help Colby steal the students’ corn in Ruggle’s Club Law. He was once tripped by a student who then bit his buttocks. He told everyone he tripped on a stone. Philenius and Musonius arrest him on the warrant from Rector.
DICK**1604
A former gambling partner of Flowerdale, who refuses to help him in The
London Prodigal.
DICK**1605
A non-speaking role, presumably a boy. He is in the London tavern where Hoard
resorts in Middleton's A Trick to Catch
the Old One. The Drawer, who briefly attends Hoard and his retainers Lamprey
and Spitchcock, tells Dick to show a group of unseen characters "the Pomegranate"
room. It is unclear whether Dick actually appears on stage or is merely addressed
as an off stage character, as is William at the bar, in which case he is a "ghost
character."
DICK **1615
A “ghost character" in Tomkis’ Albumazar. Trincalo’s plow-boy. Trincalo wonders whether Albumazar can turn Dick into two guarded footmen to serve him now that he has turned into Antonio.
DICK**1617
An alternative name for Russell's servant Richard in Middleton and Rowley's A Fair Quarrel.
DICK**1625
A gamester in William Rowley's A New
Wonder: A Woman Never Vexed. When Stephen claims that there has been cheating in a game of dice, Dick and the other gamesters attack him, but they are beaten off by Robert and the Host. During the fight, the Bowlers sneak in and steal Stephen, Robert and the Host's cloaks.
DICK **1630
A "ghost character" in Randolph's Muses' Looking Glass. Son of Agroicus, the rustic clown. Dick is "a pretty bookish scholar of his age" but his learning has turned him into "such a Jack-sauce as to have more wit than his vorefathers."
DICK BLACKSTONE
A "ghost character" in the anonymous Captain Thomas Stukeley mentioned as Stukeley's armourer.
DICK BOWYER
Captain Dick Bowyer is an English soldier, serving the Earl of Pembroke in the anonymous Trial Of Chivalry. He is in love with Thomasin, and is thus a rival to Peter de Lions, with whom he is caught fighting early on in the play. Bowyer's company are sent out into the trenches to keep watch, and in the night Bowyer sees both Ferdinand, and Pembroke, on their way to their duel. Bowyer fights for Navarre during the battle at the end of the play, rescues Thomasin from Peter de Lions, and then kills Peter de Lions on the battlefield. In spite of the play's subtitle, Bowyer does not die in the course of it.
DICK COOMES
Dick Comes/Coomes is Goursey's chronically drunken butler/servant in Porter's 1 The Two Angry Women of Abingdon. At the Barnes house, he gets bowls (of drink) in the buttery while the young men, he observes are wasting their money playing bowls on the green. When they all meet again, he enters the conversation like the traditional clown, having got drunk with the other servants in Phillip's father's cellar. He engages in a witty but tedious conversation with Phillip, his master's friend. Hearing him talking, Frank, his master, tries to keep him quiet but he tries to get everybody drunk like himself. Mistress Goursey pays him an angel to accompany her that night to Mistress Barnes house, to start a fight with the servants so that he can hit Mistress Barnes. He talks of the puny rapier fighting that goes on nowadays, not like the days when he fought with a buckler and a really big sword. That night he goes with Mistress Gourcey to the Barnes house. He tells Frank to obey his mother and threatens to fight him. Later when everybody has run off into the dark fields, looking for one another, he accompanies Mistress Gourcey as she runs off to the rabbit green. He hears Frank's voice, enabling Frank's mother to nearly catch her son. All the characters spend the night in the pitch-black fields unsuccessfully looking for each other. Dick becomes exhausted looking for the boy and lies down to rest. When Hodge finds him Dick assumes Hodge is Mistress Gourcey and tries to kiss her, chasing him/her off into the dark. When Nicholas appears he threatens to fight him.
DICK DICER
Dicke Dicer is Dandaline's boy in the anonymous The Contention Between Liberalitie and Prodigalitie. Following the Hostess's wishes, he has to look for Prodigalitie, because he has been given Money by Fortune, and he could be an interesting customer for her inn. But when he and Tom Tosse finally find Prodigalitie, they pretend they are not interested in Money, but in his company. Thus he and his friend lead Prodigalitie into a dissolute life, and make him waste Money. As a consequence, Money deserts Prodigalitie. Then Dicke informs the latter that the former has returned to his mother's, and he advises him to go there, climb the walls and recover his Money. But they soon learn that Money has been granted to Tenacitie, and, furious at the news, they decide to follow them (Money and Tenacitie) and trick the latter. They succeed, stealing Money from Tenacitie, but also murdering him cruelly. Dicke Dicer and Tom Tosse manage to escape, but Prodigalitie is caught and tried.
DICK HELLGILL
Lethe's pander in Middleton's Michaelmas
Term, Hellgill encourages the Country Wench to travel to London without
her father's consent and become the mistress of Sir Andrew Lethe. Upon her arrival
in the city, he, along with Mistress Comings adorns her in the extravagant continental
fashions popular among London gallants.
DICK LEVERPOOL
Also spelled Liverpool in Dekker and Webster's Northward Ho. A trickster ("cony-catcher"), friend of Tom Chartley, companion of Doll Hornet. He and Chartley disguise as Doll's servants to make her victims believe that she is a gentlewoman. Together with Chartley and Philip he accompanies Maybery's party to Ware.
DICK PIKE
The hero of the play in the anonymous Dick of Devonshire. He is a squire of Tavistock in Devon and captain of the ship Convertine. He shines in the first attack, refuses treatment for a wound in his side, and tries to carry the initial naval advantage onto shore. There he defeats Don John in single combat, but as the Spaniard is surrendering, twelve Spanish musketeers arrive to capture the Englishman. Don John treacherously wounds him in the face after he has been disarmed, and while Pike is being led off to prison a Fleming wounds him again. When Don John's wife, Catelina, comes to thank him for his chivalric behavior, he first suspects but then thanks her. During his trial, he is examined on the strength of the English army, and speaks boldly if not accurately. He insists that it was Don John, not he, who attacked first; he only defended himself. Asked by Girona if he will fight, he says that he will, even in chains. Unchained but unarmed, he defeats Tiago; then, armed only with a quarterstaff, he defeats three Spanish soldiers armed with sword and dagger, killing one and disarming the other two. All of his judges honor him. Invited by the king to join the royal service, he declines, and is sent home to Devon laden with praise and with gold.
DICK REEDE
A sailor in the anonymous Arden of Feversham.
He curses Arden for taking the lands at the Abbey of Feversham to which he had
an interest. Arden's acquisition spelled the end of Reede's ability to provide
for his wife and children--the rents he received were small but adequate to keep
them clothed and fed. Arden is pitiless and passes Reede but not before Reede
curses him.
DICK ROBINSON
A "ghost character" in Jonson's The Devil is an Ass. Robinson is a real-life boy actor who Merecraft intends to hire to impersonate the "Spanish Lady," an instructor in fashionable etiquette. Wittipol substitutes himself for the boy actor in order to get close to Frances Fitzdottrel, but Robinson probably originated the part of Wittipol, making this an inside theatrical joke.
DICK the BUTCHER
Dick the butcher, John Holland, Smith the weaver, a sawyer and Michael are all
followers of the rebel Jack Cade in Shakespeare's 2
Henry VI. It is Dick who suggests that their first order of business should
be killing all the lawyers.
DICK WHAT-SHALL-I-CALL-'EM
A fictional character in the anonymous Wit's Triumvirate. Sir Conquest Shadow mentions Dick What-shall-I-call-'em, explaining thatshould he become a famous duelist and kill his adversarieshis name could be used to frighten young children by saying: "This is he that killed Dick What-shall-I-call-'em."
DICK'S MISTRESS
A "ghost character" in Marlowe's Doctor Faustus. In the B-text only, Dick states that his mistress has made him a cuckold.
DICKISON, GOODY
One of the witches in Heywood and Brome's The Late Lancashire Witches. Goody Dickison seems to be a part of Gill's plot to harass the hunting gallants by appearing in the form of a brace of greyhounds
to mislead the hunters and their dogs. However, the Boy, who recognizes the dogs
as belonging to a neighbor and determines to return them, intercepts her in this
form. When the Boy beats the dogs for not giving chase to a hare, one of them
transforms into Goody Dickison, who spirits the Boy off to a witches' Sabbat feast.
In the meantime, the witch Mall Spencer identifies Goody Dickison as one of the
witches responsible for bewitching the Fiddlers at Lawrence and Parnell's wedding
celebration. At the Sabbat, Goody Dickison plays hostess to the kidnapped Boy,
hoping to secure his silence, but he escapes during their revelry. At the end
Goody Dickison and the other witches agree to meet next at the mill. Although
not specifically named, she is likely one of the many witches who harass the Soldier
at the mill. She is one of the witches arrested and brought on stage by the Constable
in the final scene, and is one of the group that refuses to confess.
DICQUE
A witty, and sometimes surly, servant attending Marcellina in Chapman's Monsieur D'Olive.
DIDIER
Didier is a courtier in the anonymous Charlemagne
who has lost his own fortune and tries to rise through others. He agrees to poison
Orlando at the request of Ganelon, but he betrays Ganelon and testifies against
him to Charlemagne. He returns to Ganelon's service and buries the corpse of Richard
for him. He is sentenced by Charlemagne to be broken on the wheel when his actions
are discovered.
DIDIMO
As page to Rosinda in Shirley's The Young Admiral, Didimo executes a wild scheme to turn the servant Pazzorello into a "gentleman." He urges Pazzorello to engage in several types of battle-related foolishness, including convincing Pazzorello that a bewitchment has rendered the would-be gentleman immune to many types of battle wounds.
DIDO
I.
Queen of Carthage in Marlowe's Dido,
Queen of Carthage. Despite many suitors, including Iarbas, she has refrained
from marriage. But Cupid's arrow makes her fall in love with Aeneas, who lands
in Carthage enroute to Italy from the ruins of Troy. Her passion drives her to
desperation (she cedes her crown to Aeneas, and later steals the masts and sails
from the fleet she built for him when it appears he plans to leave); when he finally
embarks, she vows to sacrifice all remnants of his presence and ultimately commits
suicide on this pyre.
II.
Only mentioned in Jonson's Cynthia's Revels. Dido is the Queen of Cartage and a character in Virgil's Aeneid.
Before Aeneas's arrival, Dido is the confident and competent ruler of Cartage, a
city she founded on the coast of North Africa. She is resolute in her
determination not to marry again and to preserve the memory of her dead husband,
Sychaeus, whose murder at the hands of Pygmalion, her brother, caused her to
flee her native Tyre. Despite this turmoil, she maintains her focus on her
political responsibilities. Virgil depicts the suddenness of the change that
love provokes in the queen with the image of Dido as the victim of Cupid's
arrow, which strikes her almost like madness or a disease. Dido risks everything
by falling for Aeneas, and when this love fails, she finds herself unable to
reassume her dignified position. By taking Aeneas as a lover, she compromises
her previously untainted loyalty to her dead husband's memory. She loses the
support of Cartage's citizens, who have seen their queen indulge in an amorous
obsession at the expense of her civic responsibilities. Her irrational obsession
drives her to a frenzied suicide. When Cupid describes Moria's self-conceit and
loquacity, he says that she admires herself very much and would tell anyone who
would listen that, in her youth, she was thought to be the dame Dido and Helen
of the court.
III.
One of the chorus of men and women in Percy’s A Country Tragedy in Vacunium who enter at the beginning of the play and place the instrument of their deaths upon Cupid’s altar. She carries a sword. See CHORUS for more details. Also, as Florimel is dying, she says that she goes to view the ghosts of Dido, Myrrha and Phaedra.
DIDO WISPE
Lady Tub's waiting-gentlewoman in Jonson's A Tale of A Tub. She is invited to share Hannibal Puppy as
a Valentine with Lady Tub. She and Puppy are married by Canon Hugh after
Audrey's wedding is discovered, and share in the wedding masque at Squire
Tub's.
DIDO'S GHOST
Main character, though mute, of one of the five dumb shows Jupiter orders which features those slain by the machinations of Venus and Fortune. Spelled Dydo in the original in the anonymous Rare Triumphs Of Love And Fortune.
DIEGO**1616
Diego, also know as the First Host in Fletcher's Love's Pilgrimage, runs a very small inn, which has been suffering from lack of business. He rents out the entire inn (one room with two beds) to the disguised Theodosia in order to satisfy her request for privacy. When Philippo arrives and wants to stay, Diego feels honor bound to refuse him, leaving it to Incubo to invent a way for Philippo to gain entrance to the room. Diego then talks with Lazaro, his groom, and comments that every week he finds his conscience bothered by his trade, yet he manages to sleep soundly. He swears that he would be content only to steal a little, and when he is laid up by age, then he will repent. Diego wakes Theodosia and Philippo in the morning, and he believes the story that they are brothers. He then rides with them to Barcelona, meeting the disguised Leocadia, the Friar and Passengers who have been robbed. At the inn of the Second Host and Second Hostess (who is his sister), Diego demands wine, especially when it is revealed that there is no meat. After Leocadia has run away, Diego helps Philippo search for her, still unaware that she is female.
DIEGO**1622
Lopez's companion in Fletcher and Massinger's Spanish Curate. Diego is a foolish sexton, willing to go to great lengths for either a ducat or a laugh. When presented with the prospect of either remembering a man he never met or losing his share of 500 ducats, Diego helps Lopez to invent a very vivid memory of Alonzo Tiviera. As part of a practical joke at Bartolus's expense, Diego pretends to be both rich and near death, and claims he has made Bartolus executor of his will. He stretches the ruse, playing upon Bartolus's greed. When the joke concludes, Diego is quick to laugh in Bartolus's face and follow the lawyer into the streets to further ridicule him.
DIEGO**1623
A disguise of a blind singer taken on by Gerasto in Fletcher and Rowley's The Maid in the Mill.
DIEGO**1623
Diego is a friend to Lewys in ?Middleton and ?Rowley's Spanish Gypsy. Roderigo enlists his help, along with Lewys's, in abducting Clara. He is wounded in a fight with Don John, which he undertakes to defend the honor of Cardochia. He and Cardochia announce their engagement at the end of the play.
DIEGO **1626
Diego in Shirley's The Maid's Revenge
claims that his full name is Signior Baltazaro Clere Mautado. As Antonio's servant, Diego carries a secret message from Antonio to Berinthia and overhears Catalina's evil plans for her sister. Diego informs both Berinthia and Antonio of the plot and is instrumental in helping take Berinthia away to supposed safety at Elvas Castle.
DIEGO **1637
Roderigo’s father in Rutter’s The Cid. Against Gormas’ expectation, Diego is named governor of the Prince of Castile. He views it as a reward for his past services. When Gormas insults his age, Diego enlists Roderigo to avenge his honor. When Roderigo kills Gormas in the duel, he goes to the king and answers Cimena’s plea for justice by saying that if any should be punished it should be himself, for he sent Roderigo into the duel. Upon meeting Roderigo, he convinces his son to fight the Moors and earn honor in death or victory and so regain Cimena. Diego leads Roderigo’s captive Moorish kings to Fernando with the plea that he see the hero in Court again. When Cimena calls upon the ancient law that whosoever kills Roderigo may marry her, Diego refuses to let the king deny her right because it will cast Roderigo into dishonor to hide behind the king’s munificence.
DIEGO, DON
A name of convenience in Jonson's The Alchemist. Surly appears as a Spaniard, complete with ruff and hat, and Face and Subtle call him ironically Don John or Don Diego. Face reports to Subtle that Surly did not come to the appointment at Temple church, but he met a Spaniard instead, who looked like a person easily to be duped. The Spanish nobleman is Surly's impersonation when he intends to trap Face and Subtle.
DIEGO LOPIS
The Governor of Portugal's capital in Peele's The Battle of Alcazar. Diego Lopis welcomes the Irish Bishop, Tom Stukley, and Stukley's men to his city, which he calls, "the most reverent primate of the Irish Church."
DIGBY **1627
Only mentioned in Randolph's Plutophthalmia. One of the gunpowder conspirators. Carion mentions him, Garnet, and Faux (Fawkes) and lumps them together with the knaves of the world.
DIGGON
Like his friends Hobbinol and Thenot, Diggon is a shepherd in Peele's The
Arraignment of Paris. After Colin's death, they discuss the trials and
pains often caused by love that goes awry. When the nymph Oenone arrives complaining
that Paris has deserted her and that no males are finally to be trusted in love,
Diggon counters that she should not libel all men because of the betrayal of one.
As with Colin, Hobbinol, and Thenot, Diggon seems to be patterned after the characters
of Spenser's Shepherds' Calendar.
DIGHTON
I.
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's Richard
III. Servant to Sir James Tyrell. Tyrell orders Dighton, along with Forrest,
to carry out the murder of Prince Edward and Prince Richard in the Tower of London.
II.
Dighton is a hired murderer in Thomas Heywood's 2
Edward IV. He goes to the Tower with Forrest and with James Tiril. Upon
the strength of Tiril's warrant signed by Gloster, Dighton and Forrest enter the
Tower, and Dighton murders Prince Edward (now technically Edward V), son of the
late King Edward IV.
DILDO
Page to Balurdo in Marston's Antonio and Mellida.Dildo tells Catzo that Castilio is a fool and parodies Forobosco. He makes fun of Balurdo to his face, but Balurdo is too stupid to realize it. On another occasion Dildo praises Balurdo to his person while calling him "an ass" and "drunkard" aside.
DILDOMAN **1611
An old woman and a bawd; “the king’s nuthook" in Dekker’s Match Me in London. Her husband, a poor knight, lies in the Counter. She tells the lecherous king of the arrival of the newly married Tormiella in Seville and arouses his lust for her. At play’s end, the king orders her to be whipped four times around the town for inflaming his lust and causing all the play’s woes.
DILIGENCE**1540
King Humanity's herald in Lindsay's Satire of the Three Estates. He introduces the Three Estates and the argument of the play. Directs Chastity to sit with the Spirituality, who reject her. He informs Divine Correction, upon his arrival, of his failure to protect the King from Lady Sensuality and the courtiers. He calls a Parliament of the Three Estates at King Humanity's order, inviting the audience to drink during the interval. His introduction of Part Two is interrupted by the Poor Man, and Diligence allows him to plead his case. He directs the Parliamentary proceedings throughout the Second Part.
DILIGENCE**1561
Agrees with Attendance and Lord Smerdis in Preston's Cambises that Cambyses drinks too much, but that the three of them should remain quiet about it until Smerdis inherits the throne.
DILIGENCE**1568
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A servant of Instruction in the anonymous Marriage of Wit and Science. He tells Wit that he must work four years. He goes with Wit and Will to fight the giant, Tediousness, even though Wit is not ready. In the fight, he fears that Wit is slain. Later, when Wit has reformed, Diligence cheers him in defeating the giant.
DILIGENCE**1599
In Dumb Show III of (?)Heywood's A Warning For Fair Women Justice dispatches his servant, Diligence, to accompany Chastitie in search of George Sanders' murderer.
DILIGENCE, SERVICABLE
I.
A constable in Wilson's The Three
Ladies of London. He orders Simplicity to be whipped on suspicion of complicity
in the robbery of Mercadore. He also brings Love, Conscience and Lucre before
Judge Nemo.
II.
Referred to only as Diligence in Wilson's The
Three Lords and Three Ladies of London. He brings news of the Spanish
invasion. When the lords of London unmask Fraud, Diligence is ordered to take
him to Newgate prison, but Fraud tricks him and escapes. Diligence gives money
to Simplicity to prepare a 'show' for the wedding of the lords and ladies. In
the wedding parade, he marches with a truncheon.
DINA
A "ghost character" in the anonymous Locrine.
Dina with the Asse Tom is seen by Strumbo in I.iii.
DINAH
A "ghost character" in Bale's God's
Promises. Mentioned by God as an example of man's sinfulness.
DINANT**1619
A French gentleman in Fletcher and Massinger's The Little French Lawyer. Dinant has unsuccessfully courted Lamira who, obedient to her father's will, marries the elderly Champernell instead. Dinant waits for the wedding party outside the church and hurls violent insults at the bride and groom, questioning the ability of the one-armed, one-legged Champernell to consummate the marriage. Challenged to a duel by Lamira's brother Beaupre, Dinant is tricked by Lamira into defending her honor against imaginary slanderers on the other side of town and so misses the duel. As he waits for the non-existent slanderer to arrive, Dinant encounters La-writ, the little French lawyer, who has recently discovered his prowess as a fighter. Both men draw, and Cleremont stops the fight by explaining that La-writ took Dinant's place in the duel against Beaupre and won. Lamira decides to seek her own revenge against Dinant and has her nurse summon him again to arrange an assignation. Dinant asks for Cleremont's help with this project, which involves Cleremont taking Lamira's place in bed with the elderly Champernell so that he will not notice his wife's absence. The assignation begins in disaster as Lamira talks and laughs loudly and calls for music, noise that Dinant fears will rouse her husband, and ends in catastrophe as Lamira delays their encounter until she is able to expose Dinant's lust to the entire household. After an exchange of bitter insults, Dinant leaves to plot his counter-revenge. He arranges for Lamira, her friends, and her servants to be kidnapped, pretends to lead an unsuccessful rescue effort, has his hired ruffians bring him chained to Lamira and asks her to consider whether being his mistress isn't better than being raped by the ruffians. He then returns to "rescue" Lamira with an elaborate fiction about his love for her having persuaded the ruffians to release him. He next threatens to rape Lamira himself, then, when she kneels before him and admits that she deserves any abuse he might subject her to, exposes the false kidnapping plot and lets Lamira go. Giving up his pursuit of lust, and determined to champion Lamira's honor, Dinant is promised a previously unmentioned niece of Champernell's as his wife.
DINANT**1624
Dinant, physician to the court in Massinger's The Parliament of Love. He is married to Clarinda. He traps Novall in a plan devised in conjunction with Chamont. Novall takes him to court, but the King sides with Dinant.
DINDIMUS
A dwarf, page to Sir Pergamus in the anonymous The
Faithful Friends; Dindimus is given to sarcasm, including frequent asides
on his master's lack of valor.
DING'EM
Ding'em is Shave'em and Secret's pimp in Massinger's The City Madam. He is introduced, pretending to be a constable, along with Young Goldwire, pretending to be a Justice of the Peace, in III.i. The disguises are taken in order to rescue his ladies, Shave'em and Secret, from the ruffians, Ramble and Scuffle. He shows up again with Gettall, at the Frugal estate, to "congratulate" Luke, or rather to demand payment for Young Goldwire's outstanding debts. Luke agrees to pay these debts. He requests Ding'em to bring his ladies and then has them all arrested once at his home. He makes a final appearance to plead for mercy from Luke in the final scene V.iii.
DINOMACHUS
King of Crete in Cartwright's The
Lady-Errant. Like Demarchus, he is away at war for most of the play. He
arrives just in time to discover the whereabouts of his son Charistus and to enthusiastically
assent to his marriage to Lucasia.
DINON
Dinon, a great Assyrian lord in the anonymous Wars of Cyrus, is put in charge of Libanio disguised as Alexandra, and falls in love with his ward. He takes the cross-dressed boy to the bank of the Euphrates, expresses his love, falls asleep, and is killed by Libanio, who then escapes to rejoin Alexandra.
DIOCLES**1617
A "ghost character" in Fletcher's The Mad Lover. Diocles is a would-be usurper defeated by Memnon in the Battle of Pelusium shortly before the play begins.
DIOCLES**1618
A "ghost character." Although he does not appear in the play he is an old man whose death Cratilus describes in Massinger, Middleton and Rowley's The Old Law.
DIOCLES**1622
The bravest soldier of the Roman Empire in Fletcher and Massinger's The Prophetess. Diocles has no rank; despite this, the prophetess Delphia predicts he will be emperor "cum Aprum grandem interfeceris" ("when he has killed a great boar") and that he will then marry her niece Drusilla. In an effort to make the prophecy come true, Diocles spends his days hunting with the assistance of his jester Geta. Although he has killed many boars, he is still not emperor, and complains to Delphia of the delay. He agrees to help Maximinian test Delphia's powers, and is impressed when she recognizes and stops Maximinian's effort to kill her. Hearing Niger repeat Charinus' offer to make Aper's assassin co-emperor of Rome, Diocles undertakes this task. He kills Camurius for trying to deny him access to Numerianus, then discovers Numerianus' putrefying corpse. After he identifies Aper as the emperor's murderer, Diocles gains the support of the emperor's guards and captures the corrupt provost. As Drusilla and Delphia watch, Diocles presents Aper and the corpse to the Romans, then executes Aper, fulfilling the prophecy and causing Delphia to call for the music of the spheres. Diocles asks that his name be changed to Dioclesianus. Delphia and Drusilla are dismayed that Diocles does not acknowledge their assistance, and are even more dismayed when he accepts the offer of marriage to Aurelia, the sister of Numerianus and Charinus. When Delphia confronts Diocles, he insists that his new rank demands that he marry a princess, not someone of Drusilla's "cheap common sweetness." Delphia casts several spells to complicate Diocles' pursuit of Aurelia, including one that causes Aurelia and Maximinian to fall in love. After Aurelia rebuffs him, Diocles plots to kill Maximinian. Drusilla still loves and pities Diocles, and after Delphia reveals the spells, Diocles begs Drusilla's forgiveness. It is a ploy, however, to counteract Delphia's intervention, and saddens Drusilla when Diocles rejects her again. In the dumb show, Diocles fights Maximinian over Aurelia, lays his sword at Aurelia's feet, is rejected by Aurelia, and is unable to prevent her capture by the Persian soldiers and ambassadors. Blaming his behavior toward Drusilla and Delphia for the Persian attack, Diocles vows to redeem his friends from the Persians. With the loyal support of the Roman senate and guards, Diocles decides to attack Persia. He prays to Delphia for assistance. She scoffs at his vows to be faithful to Drusilla, but when Drusilla kisses Diocles, Delphia relents and casts a spell to assist his fleet and troops. Diocles defeats the Persians, and appears in triumph with the Persian captives. Charinus and Niger propose additional honors for Diocles, which Maximinian envies. Diocles, in a stoical speech, declines the honors and releases the Persian prisoners without ransom. Announcing he intends to dedicate his life to virtue, Diocles names Maximinian as emperor, renounces Aurelia, and proposes to Drusilla. Living in the country in retirement, Drusilla and Diocles are happy together, and on a walk through a grove, are presented with flowers and a song by a Spirit dwelling in a Crystal Well. Local shepherds and shepherdesses, assisted by Geta and by Spirits playing Pan and Ceres, dance for Drusilla and Diocles; the dance is interrupted when a Spirit informs Delphia that Maximinian is on his way to kill Diocles. Diocles vigorously chastises his nephew, but Maximinian is determined to kill his uncle and thus rule in safety. Delphia conjures thunder, lightning, and an earthquake, then summons a hand holding a thunderbolt to descend from the heavens. Maximinian repents moments before the drums of Charinus' army are heard. Diocles forgives his nephew, and the country dance resumes.
DIOCLESIAN**1608
Joint emperor of Rome, with Maximinus in William Rowley's A Shoemaker a Gentleman. Dioclesian leads the battles on the continent against the Goths and Vandals. During the wars, he is rescued from death by Crispianus, who also saves the Roman standard from capture. In gratitude, Dioclesian ennobles Crispianus. Back in Britain, Dioclesian's praise of Crispianus encourages Maximinus to end the persecution of Christians, and make the princes Kings of Britain.
DIOCLESIAN**1620
Dioclesian, Emperor of Rome in Massinger and Dekker's The Virgin Martyr, is father to Artemia, who is in love with Antoninus. He persecutes Christians throughout the play.
DIOCLESIANUS
The name by which Diocles is known in Fletcher and Massinger's The Prophetess after he kills Aper and is made co-emperor of Rome.
DIODORUS
A "ghost character" in the anonymous Tragedy
of Nero. A minstrel in Nero's favor, he is described riding alongside
the Emperor in his chariot.
DIOGENES
I.
Diogenes is one of the Theban philosophers in Lyly's Campaspe whom Alexander consults after his conquest. However, unlike the rest, Diogenes refuses to submit to Alexander and stays in his tub when summoned. He castigates the other philosophers and still refuses to see Alexander even when the King visits. Diogenes refuses to teach Sylvius' sons. Finally, Alexander talks to Diogenes and decides to move the philosopher's cabin nearer to court to which Diogenes responds that Alexander should then move the court further from his cabin.
II.
A "ghost character" in Edwards's Damon
and Pithias. Diogenes was a Greek philosopher, founder of the Cynical
School, who lived in a tub. Aristippus maliciously reports that Diogenes called
him Regius Canis, the King's Dog, alluding to the courtier's servility
to the king.
III.
Only mentioned by the Bawd in Heywood's Royal King. She compares the Captain to Diogenes the Cynic, who would have behaved similarly in a bawdy-house.
IV.
Only mentioned in Shirley's The Ball. Diogenes was historically a Greek cynic philosopher. In this play, Lord Rainbow calls Frank barkeralso a cynica Diogenes.
DIOGENES SCRIBEN
A "celebrated" writer and a Constable along with Clench, Medlay, and
To-Pan in Jonson's A Tale of A Tub. One of the "Council of Finsbury" that serves as a kind of Chorus to
the fortunes of High Constable Tobie Turfe, he is commissioned to write
Squire Tripoly Tub's masque in honor of Audrey's wedding. (Listed in d.p. as
"D'oge: Scriben")
DIOMEDES**1599
I.
Spelled Diomede, he appears first with Menalaus and others to meet Hector, Deiphobus, and (later) Cressida in Chettle and Dekker's Troilus and Cressida. He next pursues Antenor and is met (assisted?) by Ajax while Hector, Paris, and Deiphobus look on from the walls. In a badly damaged part of the fragment, he appears with Menalaus in a scene in which Hector is beaten in, apparently into Troy, but who does the beating is lost. He later is on hand in Achilles' tent when Patroclus is brought in "on his back." He is on the battlefield in the final scene and apparently engages with Troilus while Achilles, Hector, and Deiphobus fight and the Trojans look on from their walls.
II.
The Greek commander with whom Cressida betrays Troilus in Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida. Wearing Cressida's sleeve, he meets Troilus on the battlefield. Like the war itself, their battle remains undecided.
III.
Diomedes (called Diomed in the text) is one of the chief Greek kings and warriors at Troy in Heywood's 1 The Iron Age. He is present when Paris visits Sparta and indicates his low opinion of the Trojan by calling him a "capring, carpet knight" and a "mere toy." When the Greeks discover that Helen has fled with Paris, Diomedes leaves to summon all the kings of Greece while the Spartan Lord fetches Menelaus from Crete. At Troy, Diomedes falls in love with the Trojan maid Cressida, daughter of Calchas and the beloved of Troilus. He enlists the aid of Calchas in making an offer of marriage, one that she accepts upon learning that Troy is destined to be destroyed. Diomedes is present in the dumb show as the corpses of Achilles and Hector are exchanged.
IV.
Synon offers to show this Greek hero that Cressida, whom he has made unfaithful to Troilus, will be unfaithful to him in turn in Heywood's 2 The Iron Age. Synon makes good his boast, and Diomed rejects the wavering Trojan girl. He is one of the soldiers hidden in the horse, and at Pyrhus' behest kills Cassandra in the massacre. He accompanies the sons of Atreus to Mycene, and is killed by Cethus in the final melée.
DIOMEDES**1607
After Antony stabs himself in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, believing Cleopatra dead, Diomedes arrives to tell him that she is alive, and locked in her monument. He then returns to tell Cleopatra that Antony is dying, and at the foot of the monument.
DION **1609
Dion is a Lord in the king's court and is staunchly supportive of Philaster in
Beaumont and Fletcher's Philaster,
or Love Lies A-Bleeding. He is also the firm friend of Cleremont and Thrasiline.
Given to philosophical commentary in greater depth than his peers, Dion nonetheless
errs in believing Megra's remarks concerning illicit relations between Arethusa
and Bellario. Dion claims he himself "caught" Arethusa and Bellario together and
is thus the cause of Philaster's loss of faith in the princess. Dion is chosen
by Bellario as "confessor" near the story's end and at that time learns that Bellario
is in fact his own disguised daughter Euphrasia, thought to be away on a pilgrimage.
DION**1610
Leontes, in Shakespeare's The Winter's
Tale, sends his courtiers Cleomenes and Dion to Apollo's temple at Delphos,
where Apollo issues an oracle declaring Hermione's innocence. Despite the oracle,
Leontes persists with his accusation that Hermione has committed adultery with
Polixenes.
DIONISIA
Meanwell's daughter and Arthur's sister, a woman of "violent spirit" in Brome's The English Moor. She urges Arthur to revenge their father's death by murdering Theophilus. Upon learning from Rafe that her brother loves Lucy, she pretends to Arthur that she is in love with Theophilus, and angrily charges him with hypocrisy when he chides her. She leaves home, attended by the besotted Rafe, disguised as a soldier and Millicent's kinsman, and gains access to Theophilus' house. Touched by Theophilus' grief and his warm welcome of his beloved's "kinsman," she abandons her plan to kill him. However at Millicent's appearance, Dionisia realizes that Theophilus loves another, and attempts to murder him; she is prevented by the timely arrival of her father. The families are re-united, and she apologizes for transgressing against "mayden modestie" in Testy's court, agreeing to wait patiently for a husband.
DIONISIO FARNESE
The given name for the Duke of Parma in Shirley's The Duke's Mistress. The duke is besotted with Ardelia, finding her far more interesting than his wife Euphemia. He courts Ardelia, sending her jewels with Leontio, and he orders Leontio to imprison Euphemia. Visiting Ardelia in the garden, the duke responds to her demands that he state he has not been intimate with her, unaware that her betrothed Bentivolio is hidden and overhears their conversation. The duke later repeats his behavior and reconciles with his wife, realizing also the duplicity of Leontio, his former favorite.
DIONISIUS
Dionisius is the king of Syracuse in Edwards's Damon
and Pithias. Stephano reports that he reigns with a bloody hand and the
entire city bears the signs of his tyranny. Dionisius condemned a man, Marcia,
to execution on the mere report of his having dreamt of killing the king. On Carisophus'
false report that Damon is a spy, Dionisius condemns the stranger to death in
absentia. Despite Eubulus' rational arguments in Damon's favor, Dionisius is inflexible
in his decision of having Damon executed. The king becomes obsessed with Damon.
When Damon pleads for a deferral of his sentence in order to settle his affairs
in Greece, Dionisius asks for a guarantee of his return. Pithias offers himself
as a hostage, and Dionisius grants Damon two months' reprieve. Dionisius is impressed
with the selflessness of Damon and Pithias' friendship, but he trusts no one,
not even his daughters. According to Aristippus, the king forbade his barbers
to shave him with a knife and razor, commanding them to use burning coals instead.
Grimme the collier reports from hearsay that the king turned his daughters into
fine barbers, fearing the conspiracy of strangers. On the day of Damon's deadline,
Pithias is sentenced to die for his friend. Dionisius orders Eubulus to have the
scaffold ready for the execution. In the last hour of his time, Damon arrives
and the two friends argue over which of them should die for the other's sake.
Seeing the devotion of Damon and Pithias for each other, Dionisius is deeply moved
and pardons them both. King Dionisius repents his bloody actions and understands
that power cannot be maintained by terror, but with the help of faithful friends.
Dionisius offers his kingdom to Damon, claiming that he has come to appreciate
friendship beyond any form of authority. When Damon and Pithias declare they would
take the king's friendship without the power, Dionisius orders Eubulus to prepare
suitable garments for his new friends and give them due honors.
DIONYSIUS**1565
Dionysius is a variant spelling in Edwards's Damon and Pithias for Dionisius, king of Syracuse.
DIONYSIUS**1614
Only mentioned in Jonson's Bartholomew Fair. King Dionysius, a tyrant of Syracuse who turned into the friend of the two protagonists Damon and Pythias. Cokes reads the playbill of the puppet play to be performed at the Fair, which says "The ancient modern history of Hero and Leander, otherwise called The Touchstone of True Love, with as true a trial of friendship between Damon and Pythias, two faithful friends o' the Bankside." When Lantern/Leatherhead shows Cokes the puppets as the "actors," the puppeteer says that one puppet is the ghost of King Dionysius in the habit of a scrivener. Puppet Dionysius has a role in the play-within-the-play. In his imaginary game with the silly objects purchased from Leatherhead as a hobbyhorse seller, Cokes assigns the representation of the ghost of Dionysius to the pipe.
DIONYZA
Wife of Cleon in Shakespeare's Pericles.
Seeing that her own daughter Philoten suffers by comparison with the admirable
Marina, Dionyza plans Marina's murder, sending Leonine to commit the crime. Thinking
that murder done, she poisons Leonine and convinces her husband to remain silent.
When the word of their crime spreads, the citizens of Tharsus burn the palace
with Cleon and Dionyza inside.
DIONYZIA
The rich and witty daughter of Alonzo in William Rowley's All's
Lost by Lust. Dionyzia falls in love with Antonio and writes him love
letters. Antonio is so smitten that he commits bigamy in order to marry her. When
Dionyzia meets Antonio's first wife, Margaretta, over Antonio's corpse, she characteristically
makes light of the situation. Margaretta stabs herself and challenges Dionyzia
to be amused by it, but Dionyzia remains 'merry' and stabs herself too, since,
as she says, she may as well die now as any other time. She dies embracing Antonio
alongside Margaretta.
DIPHILUS **1610
Diphilus is brother to Evadne and Melantius in Beaumont and Fletcher's The Maid's Tragedy. He joins with his brother in teasing his sister after her wedding over loss of her maidenhead. Later, he and Melantius join in their plot to kill the King who has dishonored the family by taking Evadne as his whore.
DIPHILUS**1623
Diphilus, a senator of Syracuse in Massinger's The Bondman, fights nobly against both the Carthaginians and the slave revolt.
DIPSAS
An old Enchantress in Lyly's Endymion.
She agrees to thwart Endymion's love for Cynthia by planting suspicion in Cynthia.
She sets a curse upon Endymion while he sleeps that he should awake old and die
without knowing love. When Bagoa betrays her secret, Dipsas turns her into an
aspen tree. When she is confronted by her old and melancholy husband, Geron, she
repents and regrets that she sent him away to grow old. Cynthia banishes her into
the desert. Geron speaks for her. Dipsas forswears witchcraft, and she is pardoned
and reunited with Geron.
DIPSAS **1632
Chremylus' wife, Techmessa's mother, Pamphilus' unknown mother, and Evadne's supposed mother in Randolph's Jealous Lovers. She employs Ballio to thwart the courtships of both Evadne and Techmessa but will not tell why she crosses her daughters in their love. When it is discovered that Tyndarus has attempted to kill Pamphilus in a foolish, jealous rage, Dipsas tells Tyndarus that she has tried to drive the lovers apart because she actually lusts after Tyndarus herself. She now claims that she has repented and bids Tyndarus to meet Evadne at Ballio's house. She then bribes Ballio to fill up his house with debauched roarers for the meeting. Learning that Tyndarus and Techmessa have committed suicide, Dipsas goes to their coffins intent on swallowing poison. She confesses that she was motivated out of hatred of Evadne, whom Chremylus gave to her as a stepdaughter and made her jealous for Techmessa. Tyndarus and Techmessa prevent her suicide and reveal themselves. Dipsas is present at the wedding in the final act, but she says nothing.
DIRECTOR of the EAST INDIA COMPANY
The Governor of the East India Company is also called the Director in Mountfort's The Launching of The Mary. The first few occurrences of this character's name were altered to "Director" by the author, but this change was not carried through. The Governor and his colleagues meet the Lord Admiral at the shipyard, who quizzes them on the claim that their business practices undermine the state. The Company members refute this claim at great length, and the Lord Admiral is convinced. There are two more of these debates at intervals throughout the play. At the end of the play, the Lord Admiral and the company members celebrate the launching of the Mary with a banquet, and watch the workmen dance.
DIROT
Duke Dirot is an English lord appointed co-governor with Earl Demarch while William
is away in [?]Wilson's Fair Em, the
Miller's Daughter. In William's absence, he and Demarch get into a civil
war, but this is apparently forgotten as soon as William returns. Dirot keeps
'Mariana' (i.e. Blanch) until the wedding night, with the result that William
does not realize that he has eloped with the wrong woman until her father arrives
to reclaim her.
DISANIUS
A lord, brother to Adrastus in Brome's Love-Sick Court. At the beginning of the play, he returns to the court to help the King quell the unrest caused by the lack of a definitive heir to the throne. Disanius believes that the peace and prosperity have made the people presumptuous and suggests that the King would not be troubled now if he had beheaded a certain number of the populace a month ago. He repeatedly warns Stratocles that his ambition diminishes his accomplishments. To end his nephew's indecision over who shall marry Eudyna, he writes "friendship" on one slip of paper and "love" on another and forces them to draw a slip. The one who draws "friendship" is to leave the kingdom; the one who draws "love" is to marry Eudyna. When Philargus is poisoned, Disanius immediately suspects and apprehends
Varillus.
DISEASE
Disease is servant to the drug-seller Achitophel in Markham's Herod
and Antipater. He is privy to the machinations of his master in selling
poison to Antipater, and he is hanged for his complicity.
DISCORD**1593
Discord is one of Nature's maidens in Lyly's The Woman in the Moon. She complains to Nature about Concord and later, following Nature's instructions, gives Pandora her voice.
DISCORD**1595
Discord enters at the beginning of every act in the anonymous Caesar and Pompey to sum up the situation and outline what is going to happen.
DISCORD**1638
Discord is a character in the masque with which Brome's The Antipodes concludes. Folly, Jealousy, Melancholy, and Madness attend Discord.
DISCOURSE
Discourse is the King of Parrhesia and the father of Fallacy, Demonstration, and Topicus in Zouche's The Sophister. Fallacy contrives to make him mad through the use of a vial of poison. Fallacy claims that Discourse dotes too much on Demonstration and Topicus. Discourse sends Demonstration to call Intellect at the play's beginning, and claims that a report of Fallacy "from farre" has brought him disgrace, and that his son's "lewd behaviour" has brought him much grief. Discourse considers cursing and chiding Fallacy, but decides, instead, to "intreate" his son to "begin / Better to governe [his] misguided selfe." Fallacy defends himself and promises to "approve" his "deserts," and then places "poyson" in the drink which Topicus has brought for the King. Discourse immediately begins to show the effects of the poison as he praises Fallacy and departs with him to walk in "the Garden of the Muses." Topicus expresses his concern and suspicion over Discourse's look and "humour," and he and Demonstration "seeke him out" for observation. Definition claims that he, Distinction, Division, Opposition, and Description have been sent by their "Soveraigne" (presumably Discourse) "to draw out for him the pedigree, which is a true lineall discent of all the chiefest inhabitants within these provinces, and view their ancient possessions, which are the Dominions and Lands, conveighed them by their Ancestors" in order to guard against the loss of "dignity and jurisdiction [. . .] from the noblest houses." Proposition informs Definition and the others that Lord Discourse is "falne starke madde" and that "Demonstration, Topicus, and Fallacy, are hot in contention who must governe." Proposition notes that Discourse "seemes exceedingly to affect" Fallacy, and Definition and the others go to visit Discourse before "tak[ing] order" with the Lord's sons. Distinction recounts "Old" Discourse's ramblings, and Definition presides over the pleadings of Discourse's sons who make their various claims to their father's kingdom. It is revealed at these proceedings that Discourse begot Demonstration with the Lady Necessity, and Topicus with Probability. Fallacy is Discourse's bastard son. Ambiguity converses with the mad Discourse, Description refuses to "come neare him if he be mad," and Reduction appears to fetch the (presumably) escaped Lord. Invention claims that he has heard of the misery caused by "great Discourses strange Distraction," and when Judicium discovers that a drug can cause "madnesse" he and Proposition set out to entreat Analysis to cure Discourse. Analysis lets Discourse's blood, commenting on it as he works, and Invention "welcome[s] home [Discourse's] wandring senses" with "Musick and a Show." Discourse is brought to his "pallet" to rest, and Ambiguity informs Fallacy of the blood letting. This news is what, in part, makes Fallacy "looke about" himself and vow to "doe somewhat." Ambiguity plays the role of Discourse (after Fallacy and Ambiguity exchange clothes) in order to practice what Fallacy will say when inevitably called to appear before his cured father. Discourse is brought forward at the play's end "leaning upon Invention and Judicium" to thank his friends, punish the play's offenders, pronounce the forthcoming weddings of his two sons, and invite his friends to "associate" him "in feasting and delight."
DISCRETION**1495
An advisor to Everyman in the anonymous Everyman. Discretion represents Everyman's reasoning faculties and accompanies Everyman to the edge of the grave and then abandons him.
DISCRETION**1540
The false name assumed by Deceit while disguised as a priest in Lindsay's Satire of the Three Estates.
DISDAIN **1617
A “ghost character" in the anonymous Pathomachia. One of the fifteen affections and the subject of the play. Love gives his queen Disdain and Clemency as her guard.
DISLIKE **1617
A “ghost character" in the anonymous Pathomachia. One of the nine inferior Affections. A minion of Hatred who attended the Parliament during Hatred spitefulness.
DISOBEDIENCE
Disobedience states a wish to assume the counterfeit name Prosperity in the anonymous Temperance and Humility. He declares his freedom from every creature and strikes Temperance when she scolds him. He claims there is no obedience in the world and even the poorest wretch lacks love and dread (of authority?) He revels in the vice that men currently embrace, a vice that makes them untrue to their masters.
DISSIMULATION
I.
Dissymulacyion is a supporter of the Pope and one of Sedicyon's helpers in Bale's
King Johan, Part 1. He is
also Raymundus.
II.
As Simon of Swinsett, Dissymulacyon poisons King Johan in Bale's King
Johan, Part 2, but he has to drink the first half of the potion himself.
He dies, but Stevyn Langton has pardoned him in advance and assured him that he
will go to Heaven and be honored as a martyr.
DISSIMULATION, DAVY
I.
Sometimes referred to as 'Davy Dissimulation' in Wilson's The
Three Ladies of London. He wears "a farmer's long coat, and a cap and
pole, and beard painted motley" in order to make people think he is an honest
farmer. However, he does not fool Simplicity. Neither does he fool Love or Conscience
when he, Fraud, Usury and Simony ask to become their servants. They eventually
find service with Lucre who makes Dissimulation her steward. When Lucre is forcing
Conscience and Love into poverty, Dissimulation gives money to Love, but does
nothing to help Conscience. This is because he wants to marry Love, to improve
his reputation. Dissimulation and Love are married with a huge party. He escapes
trial at the end of the play, and is last heard of walking the streets in a citizen's
gown.
II.
Since the end of The Three Ladies of London, Dissimulation (who is no longer
called Davy) has been banished from London while his mistress, Lucre, is in prison,
but now in Wilson's The Three Lords
and Three Ladies of London, hearing that the three ladies may be released,
he is back, and he meets his old friends Fraud, Usury and Simony, in the hope
of renewing their "old entertainment." But the ladies, even Lucre, spurn them.
Dissimulation, Fraud and Simony then disguise as sailors in order to join with
the Spanish invasion. After the lords have defeated the Spanish, Dissimulation,
calling himself 'Fair Semblance,' presents himself to Pleasure as a servant. The
lords are not fooled, and try to brand Dissimulation, but he escapes. He and Fraud
disguise themselves to take part in the wedding parade; Dissimulation carries
the lance and shield of Pride. He helps Fraud to escape after he is recognized
by Simplicity.
DISTINCTION
Distinction enters Zouche's The Sophister with "papers in his hand," complaining about the "number of things in the world" and his duty to distinguish between them. Definition states that he, Distinction, Division, Opposition, and Description have been sent by their "Soveraigne" (presumably Discourse) "to draw out for him the pedigree, which is a true lineall discent of all the chiefest inhabitants within these provinces, and view their ancient possessions, which are the Dominions and Lands, conveighed them by their Ancestors" in order to guard against the loss of "dignity and jurisdiction [. . .] from the noblest houses." Thus, the five characters partake in much debate over this business until Definition claims that he "can doe nothing without" Lord Demonstration. Distinction is, thus, sent for Demonstration and misses Proposition's announcement of Discourse's madness and the dispute between Discourse's sons, though he remarks on Discourse's mad speech at his return. In order to convey Distinction away from the place set for Opposition to meet with Fallacy, Ambiguity professes his love for Distinction and invites him to have a drink. He agrees, and the servant proceeds to place "two or three drops" from the "Violl" into Distinction's drink which causes him to "talke on both sides" and then fall asleep. At this point Ambiguity steals Distinction's money and "cloake," leaving him to answer to the Drawer who later demands payment for the wine which Ambiguity had promised to pay for. Distinction is angered and thinks that Ambiguity has sent Ignoratio to laugh at him, but Ignoratio mistakenly believes that Distinction is Ambiguity (since Distinction is wearing Ambiguity's cloak) and gives him the keys, vial, and message which Fallacy has instructed "the foole" to deliver to Ambiguity. Distinction becomes "the author of [Intellect's] freedome" when he uses Fallacy's keys to open the closet in which he "found the young Lord Intellect in one roome, the Lady Truth and her daughters in others, all which [he] thence delivered." Distinction tests the contents of the vial on a Dog which he meets and, seeing that the animal "no sooner had tasted a dram of it, but dragging his tail on the ground he grin'd and snarl'd and presently ran mad," Distinction thought to "requite a kindnesse Ambiguity did [him]." Thus, he sends a tainted drink around to Fallacy's followers and is disappointed when he realizes that Ambiguity is not "amongst them." At Distinction's information, Proposition and Judicium realize that Discourse was likely poisoned by Fallacy and they set out to entreat Analysis to cure the ruler's madness. Distinction is present for the play's final scene, as he enters behind Discourse who is brought forward at the play's end "leaning upon Invention and Judicium" to thank his friends, punish the play's offenders, pronounce the forthcoming weddings of his two sons, and invite his friends to "associate" him "in feasting and delight." Distinction reminds Discourse not to leave Ambiguity unpunished at the play's end. Though Distinction suggests that Ambiguity be "rack't," Discourse claims that it would be "but folly to torture him" and pronounces that he must be "whipt out of these parts" and that Distinction may be Ambiguity's "friendly executioner." Distinction gladly accepts but, when he attempts to capture him, "Ambiguity flips his gowne and runs away" and "Distinction follows."
DISTRUST
One of the characters in Evanthe's and Valerio's wedding masque in Fletcher's
A Wife for a Month. Only Cupid
speaks, but Cupid's attendants include hopeful characters of Fancy, Desire, Delight,
Hope, and also the dire characters Fear, Distrust, Jealousy, Care, Ire, and Despair,
suggesting that in the lovers' marriage, misery will outweigh happiness. Valerio
finds this to be the case when shortly after the wedding the king forbids him
from consummating his marriage.
DIVES**1577
In Lupton's All For Money Dives emerges from hell as an exemplum of the dangers of leading a selfish life, devoted to gluttony and lechery.
DIVES**1604
Dives (called "old man" on his first appearance in the anonymous Wit of a Woman) is a rich old merchant, a patient of the fraudulent Doctor Niofell. He is a relative of Balia, and after his treatment he invites Niofell to Balia's house. He is presumably identical with the "Dano a sick merchant" named in the dramatis personae and otherwise unaccounted for.
DIVINE**1590
The lawyer, the Divine and the Merchant in Greene's James IV discuss the poor state of the nation and each blames the other.
DIVINE**1609
Otter is disguised as Divine according to Truewit's plan to dupe Morose in Jonson's Epicoene. At Morose's house, Truewit enters with Otter as a Divine and Cutbeard as Canon Lawyer. After receiving instructions from Truewit on how to behave convincingly in their roles, Otter/Divine and Cutbeard/Canon Lawyer counsel Morose on the legal and theological grounds for divorce. Otter/Divine uses extravagant Latin vocabulary and he pretends to be in scholarly disputation with the learned doctor lawyer. From Otter/Divine's Latin babble, which merely echoes the Canon Lawyer's statements, Morose understands that if the man be frigid or the wife be proved corrupt there may be just cause for divorce. Consequently, when Epicoene enters followed by the ladies, Morose pretends that he is unable to perform his marital duties and wants to have the marriage annulled. Cannon Lawyer explains that the divorce cannot be proclaimed because, when the man is frigid, the wife is the injured party. If the wife accepts the situation, there is no ground for divorce. Otter/Divine says that it is the same in theology, but if the wife is found corrupt, then there is a possibility of divorce from the part of the husband. After Epicoene's infidelity has been confirmed, the two impostors find that the case is not applicable when the adultery happened before the marriage. Finally, Dauphine reveals that Epicoene is a boy, so the marriage is void, and both impostors accord that this is a just impediment in the first grade. When Morose agrees entirely to his nephew's conditions, Dauphine reveals the two impostors' disguise.
DIVINE CORRECTION
Also referred to as "King Correction" in the Second Part of Lindsay's Satire of the Three Estates. Arrives at King Humanity's court and orders that Chastity and Verity be released from the stocks. Confronting King Humanity, he informs him that his authority comes directly from God, and orders him to banish Lady Sensuality. He then admonishes and pardons the courtiers, Solace, Wantonness, and Placebo, ordering them to tempt the king to none but appropriate pleasures such as singing, chess, hawking, etc. He and King Humanity will henceforth reign jointly. In the Second Part, he interrogates the Three Estates to discover why they are "backwards." When John the Common-weal identifies the Three Vices as the cause of this evil, he orders them put in the stocks. He invites John the Commonweal to address the Parliament with suggestions for strengthening the Commonwealth, and orders the Three Estates to control thievery of all kinds. He orders the Spirituality despoiled.
DIVINES
The divines who become Mammon's hypothetical flatterers are "fictional characters" in Jonson's The Alchemist. Mammon imagines having a huge amount of money, which he gained because of the alchemical transmutation, and fantasizes that many divines will flatter him for his money.
DIVINITY
Divinity is a branch of the commonwealth (Utopia) represented in the aborted masque following the beggars' wedding in Brome's A Jovial Crew. It is to be played by Patrico. With Law, it "stretch[es] its wide throat to appease and reconcile" City, Court, and Country.
DIVISION
One of Discourse's "trustiest and best knowne Councellers" in Zouche's The Sophister. Division complains of his age and weakness, and claims that his blood was let by Dichotomy. Definition states that he, Distinction, Division, Opposition, and Description have been sent by their "Soveraigne" (presumably Discourse) "to draw out for him the pedigree, which is a true lineall discent of all the chiefest inhabitants within these provinces, and view their ancient possessions, which are the Dominions and Lands, conveighed them by their Ancestors" in order to guard against the loss of "dignity and jurisdiction [. . .] from the noblest houses." Thus, the five characters partake in much debate over this business until Definition claims that he "can doe nothing without" Lord Demonstration. Proposition informs Division and the others that Lord Discourse is "falne starke madde" and that "Demonstration, Topicus, and Fallacy, are hot in contention who must governe." Division and the others go to visit Discourse before Definition, Division, Opposition, and Proposition "take order" with Discourse's sons. After hearing from Demonstration, Topicus, and Fallacy, Division claims that Fallacy "hath no right at all" to Discourse's kingdom and casts his vote for Topicus. When Fallacy succeeds Discourse, he banishes Definition and Division from the Court and instructs Contradiction to inform them of their fates. Invention later claims that he has heard how "miserable" everyone has become since Discourse's "strange Distraction" from Definition and Division, who "are minded closely to return" with Lady Method. At the play's end, Discourse hopes that his "banish't friends / Are safe returned" by the time of the "Nuptialls" between his two sons and the two daughters of Lady Truth.
DOBINET DOUGHTY
A boy servant to Roister Doister in Udall's Ralph Roister Doister. Dobinet Doughty carries his master's ring and token to Dame Custance. He arrives after the widow has scolded Margery Mumblecrust for having accepted Roister Doister's letter, and he has to wait to find someone willing to deliver the love gifts. When Tom Truepenny and the maids arrive, Doughty passes himself off as a servant to Dame Custance's new "husband" and allows them to think he is employed by Gawin Goodluck. Hoping to ingratiate herself with her mistress, Tibet Talkapace grabs the gifts and takes them to the widow.
DOBSON
He and Ralph are the servants of Dungworth, the country gentleman who tries to become a city gallant in Nabbes' Covent Garden. Dobson speaks the opening line of the play, setting the scene along with Dungworth and Ralph as they arrive in London from the country, but soon disappears. Later he and Ralph appear drunk, and are tricked by Susan into robbing Warrant and Spruce; they try to rob Young Worthy, but flee when Artlove intervenes. They are later apprehended by the Constable in Dasher's tavern, but go free when Warrant denies that they robbed him; then Dobson pretends to be a constable in the mock-trial which ends the play.
DOCTOR
For named doctors, search under the particular name, e.g. "LAMBSTONES, DOCTOR."
DOCTOR**1495
The Doctor of Theology speaks the epilogue to the Anonymous Everyman, reminding the audience of the moral of the play: make sure you are prepared for the day of your reckoning before God.
DOCTOR**1599
The Doctor in (?)Heywood's A Warning For Fair Women comes to see Anne Sanders at Newgate Prison when she was with Anne Drurie, and he urges them both to prepare for death. When Anne Sanders confesses to her part in the murder of her husband, the Doctor congratulates her. He then tells her that her children are coming to say goodbye.
DOCTOR**1601
The Doctor in Shakespeare's Hamlet, to be understood as a Doctor of Theology, oversees the burial of the drowned Ophelia, and refuses to allow her the full funeral rites because her death was doubtful, possibly a suicide.
DOCTOR **1604
A name used indiscriminately in stage directions to identify both Giro and Niofell in the anonymous Wit of a Woman.
DOCTOR**1604
The unnamed Doctor in Dekker and Webster's Sir Thomas Wyatt who has been attending King Edward VI tells the Dukes of Northumberland and Suffolk that there is nothing further medicine can do to save the young monarch.
DOCTOR **1605
Appearing only late in the play, the Doctor is attached to the French encampment
in Shakespeare's King Lear.
With Cordelia he attends the sick and maddened Lear after the king has been brought
form his ordeal on the storm and heath.
DOCTOR**1608
A "ghost character" in the song in Armin's The Two Maids of MoreClacke. He wants to know the reason of the pain that bothers the sad woman.
DOCTOR**1609
The unnamed Doctor is summoned by D'Amville at the beginning of the last act of Tourneur's The Atheist's Tragedy to treat his sons Sebastian, who has died in a fight with Belforest, and Rousard, whose condition has become increasingly worse. After first assuring D'Amville that he will restore the two, the physician has to admit that there is nothing he can do, even though D'Amville gives him gold to have its "spirit" extracted for medicinal purposes. When Rousard dies, D'Amville, the atheist, exclaims that there must be some power above Nature to whom one might appeal, and the Doctor observes that there is (God). The Doctor's comment prods the atheist to begin seeing himself as "ridiculous" and spurs D'Amville's final obsession with and fear of death.
DOCTOR**1610
A disguise adopted by Subtle to dupe all the clients who come to Lovewit's house attracted by Face in Jonson's The Alchemist. As the Doctor, complete with his cap and gown, Subtle receives Dapper and leads him to believe he is blessed with the power of the Queen of Faery, extracting money from him via Face. Subtle receives Drugger and in grandiloquent terms (spiced with terms from astrology and chiromancy) tells Drugger how to orient his tobacco shop for best profit. He of course extracts money for his precious advice. Subtle as the Doctor performs an impressive alchemical experiment for Mammon's benefit. Subtle as the Doctor receives Tribulation and Ananias and explains how the benefits of the Philosopher's Stone will help further the Anabaptist Cause. Pretending to be able, among other gifts, to turn copper into golden Dutch dollars, Subtle as the Doctor sends Tribulation and Ananias to another room to see the goods and read the inventory. He next receives Kastril and Dame Pliant, pretending to read her palm. Subtle leads Kastril and Dame Pliant to another room, promising to show them his art. When the false Doctor surprises Mammon and the "mad" lady in an amorous state, Subtle tells Mammon the sanctity of the alchemical projection has been compromised and sends him away. Finally, after sending his former associates Subtle and Dol Common through the back door, Face as Jeremy lies to his master that he had let the house to a false Doctor and a Captain Face.
DOCTOR **1611
The Doctor appears with the Apothecarie when summoned by Jacques to Petruchio's sickbed in Fletcher's The Woman's Prize. The Doctor immediately declares that Petruchio has symptoms of "pestilent feaver" and directs the Pothecary to bleed him. Petruchio rejects both the diagnosis and the bleeding, and raves until the two medics flee the room.
DOCTOR **1611
Two doctors figure in Dekker’s Match Me in London. - The first has been tending to Prince John. The prince hires him to poison Don Pedro Valasco. He gives the old man a sleeping potion instead to fool the prince then goes and confesses all to the king.
- The second is a disguise adopted by Gazetto in order to cure Tormiella of her madness.
DOCTOR **1613
The Doctor in Shakespeare's Two Noble
Kinsmen is summoned to attend the Jailer's Daughter, a young woman whose
mind has faltered through excessive, unrequited love for Palamon. Unable to help
the girl, the Doctor suggests that the girl's rebuffed Wooer pretend to be Palamon
and thus help ease the girl back into some form of mental normalcy.
DOCTOR**1614
Two doctors figure in Webster's The Duchess
of Malfi:
- The First doctortells the Marquis de Pescara that Ferdinand is a werewolf in V.ii. He believes Ferdinand fears him and that by that he will be able to treat the distracted man, but instead Ferdinand throws him down and beats him.
- The Second Doctor is one of the Madmen who torments the Duchess.
DOCTOR**1618
The Doctor in Fletcher's The Knight
of Malta attempts to persuade Norandine not to attend Oriana's trial,
stating that he is not fit. When Norandine tells Astorius that the Doctor has
helped him regain his health, the Doctor replies that he has had nothing to do
with the cure, since Norandine refuses to follow his prescription.
DOCTOR**1619
Attends various of the "Lords Gentlemen" in ?Cumber's Two Merry Milkmaids; he sends Ferdinand to summon Doctor Lopez.
DOCTOR **1620
A court physician who attends Castruchio during his banquet in Fletcher and Massinger's The Double Marriage. He causes the foolish impersonator great frustration when, in the interest of the mock king's health, the Doctor refuses to allow him to eat the rich food or take advantage of the several beautiful women in attendance. Castruchio orders the Doctor's execution, causing Ferrand to end the fool's temporary reign.
DOCTOR**1620
The unnamed Doctor in Fletcher and Massinger's Custom of the Country, who by a medical miracle is able to restore the moribund Duarte to health after his near-fatal fight with Rutillio, together with an unprecedented access of moral integrity as part of his cure. He informs Duarte that the Governor has kept his survival a secret from his long-suffering mother, and agrees to continue to keep the secret further at Duarte's request. Two unnamed Doctors appear later, during the equally life-threatening illness of Arnoldo and Zenocia; the one who speaks may very well be the same as this first, as the senior physician in the service of the Governor.
DOCTOR**1625
A Doctor of Divinity in William Rowley's A
New Wonder: A Woman Never Vexed to whom the Widow explains her inability
to be vexed. Later, he marries her to Stephen.
DOCTOR**1626
A non-speaking role in Fletcher's The Noble Gentleman: an attendant on the Gentleman (Godfrey Marine)'s Lady.
DOCTOR**1629
Disguised as a Doctor in Brome's The
Northern Lass, Pate serves as a go-between for his master Sir Philip and
the mad Northern Lass, Constance.
DOCTOR**1631
The Doctor is the disguise taken by Angelo Lotti in Dekker's Wonder of A Kingdom.
DOCTOR**1632
Minor character in Act V of ?Brewer's The Country Girl. He takes care of Captain George when he is wounded.
DOCTOR**1635
One of the false witnesses in Brome's The Queen and Concubine called to testify at Eulalia's trial that she had an adulterous affair. He is hired (with the Midwife) by Flavello to approach Eulalia in the guise of a suffering pilgrim and murder her, but is prevented when Eulalia instantly recognizes him. At Eulalia's request, he is pardoned by King Gonzago at the end of the play.
DOCTOR**1638
One of the roles that Playfair's Cousin assumes in Shirley's Constant Maid. First, the Cousin plays a doctor who claims to have cured the melancholy of Hornet's niece.
DOCTOR**1639
A "grave doctor" is in serious conversation with a Gentleman in J.D.'s The Knave In Grain New Vamped. Julio tricks
him into telling the Sergeants that Julio is an honest man.
DOCTOR**1639
A Doctor in Dekker's(?) Telltale is charged by Aspero with curing Hortensio of his melancholy, brought on by his loss in a duel with Bentivoli combined with Elinor's scorning of his affection. The Doctor disguises the Boy as Elinor in order to cure Hortensio's lunacy. After curing Hortensio, he exits with the Boy and returns after Hortensio has encountered the real Elinor, who has denied any affection for Hortensio. The Doctor explains that since Hortensio revealed her love in public, she had no choice but to scorn him. The Doctor reassures Hortensio and tells him not to show any public signs of affection to Elinor nor to expect any from her. He enters with Aspero and the Ambassadors to Cosmo, Gismond, Fernese and Bentivoli, and observes with Bentivoli Elinor's reaction to the news of Garullo's marriage to Lesbia. When Horentsio enters and initially scorns Elinor, the Doctor commends his performance. The Doctor questions the sincerity of Elinor's grief at Hortensio's scorn and notes that he could change Hortensio's attitude if he was certain of her affection for him. He then facilitates their reconciliation. At the end of the play, the Doctor brings in Garullo, sleeping in a chair, and assures the Duke and his court that Garullo has been purged of his humors.
DOCTOR**1640
He helps Ferdinand feign madness in Brome's Court Beggar and allows him to attack and nearly rape Lady Strangelove. In retribution, she threatens to have him castrated, whereupon he reveals that Ferdinand is not mad. He composes music for the concluding masque and plays Jupiter.
DOCTOR DEVILE
A guise in Dekker's Noble Spanish Soldier. To test the King's conscience, Medina disguises himself as Doctor Devile, a French physician, and claims to be treating Onælia. He offers to kill her, and the King gladly accepts.
DOCTOR, FRENCH
A disguise adopted by Lorrique in Chettle's Hoffman. Lorrique, disguised as a French Doctor, gives Jerome poison (real) and an antidote (fake).
DOCTOR of DIVINITY
Assists Good Counsel in examining the Spirituality by interpreting Scripture in Lindsay's Satire of the Three Estates.
DOCTOR of LAWS
Assists Good Counsel in examining the Spirituality by interpreting ecclesiastical law in Lindsay's Satire of the Three Estates.
DOCTOR of PHYSIC
Summoned by Lady Macbeth's Waiting-Gentlewoman in Shakespeare's Macbeth,
the Doctor witnesses Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking and hears her reveal her guilty
secrets in her sleep.
DOCTOR, WELSH **1636
A “ghost character" in Glapthorne’s Hollander. Sconce has heard of a Welsh Doctor in London who also makes weapon salve, but Urinal declares it is far inferior to Artless’ mixture.
DOCTORS **1608
After Philocles takes his vow of silence in Markham and Machin's The Dumb Knight, two doctors are brought into the court to report on his condition and confirm that it is incurable.
DOCTORS**1617
Three physicians in Fletcher and Massinger's Thierry and Theodoret. They are unsuccessful in their treatment of Thierry's fatal insomnia.
DOCTOR'S MAN
The Doctor's Man in Dekker and Middleton's 1
The Honest Whore enters to tell the Doctor that Hippolyto has been waiting
to meet the Doctor for an hour and is cold.
DOCTRINA
Appears at end of [?]Bower's Apius
and Virginia with Fame and Memory bearing Virginia's tomb; they, along
with Virginius, conduct Virginia's funeral.
DODDS, MASTER
Master Dodds petitions Queen Mary about her promise to keep the faith of King
Edward in Heywood's 1 If You Know
Not Me.
DODGE
Dodge is Franckford's lawyer, hired to help in the legal debate over Compass's
custody suit in Webster and Rowley's A
Cure for a Cuckold. He does very little besides drink, and Franckford's
case is actually handled by a Counselor supplied by Woodroff.
DODGER
The "parasite" of Sir Hugh Lacy, the Earl of Lincoln, and his informer about the whereabouts of his nephew, Rowland Lacy, in Dekker's Shoemaker's Holiday. It is Dodger who tells Sir Hugh about Rowland's continuing presence in London, thus stoking the Earl's anger and fuelling his desire to prevent the match between his nephew and his middle-class lover Rose Oatley. Nevertheless, Dodger's spying does not measure up to the cunning of the London shoemakers, who fool Sir Hugh as well as Rose's father, Sir Roger Oatley and thus enable the lovers' elopement and subsequent
marriage.
DODYPOLL, DOCTOR
A doctor, apparently French, in love with Cornelia in the anonymous Wisdom of Doctor Dodypoll. He provides Flores with a powder meant to act as a love potion. When the powder drives Alberdure mad, Dodypoll explains to Alfonso the nature of Alberdure's madness, but claims that it was not due to the powder itself but to Flores' and Cornelia's overly large dose of it. After Flores is disgraced, Dodypoll renounces his interest in Cornelia. Later, the Merchant convinces him that Flores has plotted against him and Dodypoll rushes into court, making a fool of himself. "Dodypoll" seems to be an extension of the Doctor's real name, "Dody" by which he is sometimes called.
DOG**1567
A "ghost character" in Pickering's Horestes. Hodge refuses to apologize to Rusticus when the latter learns that his dog has worried one of his pigs to death. They ultimately make up and go for a brown ale at Rusticus's house.
DOG**1599
A non-speaking character in Jonson's Every Man out of His Humour. Dog and Cat are permanently present at Puntavorlo's side, and two servants take care of them. When Puntavorlo announces he will place a large sum of money as insurance upon the safe return of himself, Dog, and Cat from the journey to Constantinople, Carlo Buffone predicts that many unfortunate incidents are likely to happen to Dog. According to Carlo Buffone, he may prick his foot with a thorn, or take the long journey east very badly. Carlo predicts there will be many attempts against Dog's life, with so much money involved. After signing the insurance papers at his lodgings in London, Puntavorlo goes to court with his friends. He tells the servants in charge of the animals to stay at home with Cat, while he will take care of Dog himself. At court, Puntavorlo enters with Dog and his party and is looking for a place to leave Dog while he is in the palace. Puntavorlo says that Dog's value is too well known among the porters to leave him with them, as was Fastidious Brisk's suggestion, and decides to leave him with the first person passing by. When Groom enters, Puntavorlo leaves Dog with him. Groom is a careless person and is not very happy with his charge. When Macilente enters and gives Dog poisoned food out of spite, Groom does not even notice. After having poisoned Dog, Macilente kicks him out. When Puntavorlo enters and notices that Dog is missing, he sends Fungoso to look for him. Fungoso reports that Dog is dying in the wood yard. Macilente wonders why Dog is not dead yet, and blames Shift for Dog's theft and poisoning. Because of Dog's death, Puntavorlo is unable to go on his intended journey to Turkey.
DOG**1607
Getica's dog in Machin's(?) Every Woman in Her Humour. Bos tells us that the dog is such a good little creature that he is never unkind to anything except his meat. Indeed, Getica is extremely fond of him, and when he is missing, she is preoccupied with finding him. At the end of the play, Acutus (who had tied up the dog in the tavern in order to play a trick on the drunken Bos and the drunker Philautus) promises Getica that her dog will be returned. Getica is worried, and rightly so, that her dog was given alcohol and made drunk as well.
DOG**1617
Role taken by the Foole in Fletcher's The Mad Lover. In the masque of beasts (IV.i) that Stremon organizes in an attempt to restore Memnon to his wits, the Foole takes the role of the Dog.
DOG**1621
A devil in the shape of a black dog in Rowley, Dekker and Ford's The Witch of Edmonton. He makes a pact with Mother Sawyer, provokes Frank Thorney into murdering Susan, and gulls Cuddy. Once he has finished toying with
his human associates, he abandons them in search of new victims in London.
DOG**1631
A "ghost character" in Zouche's The Sophister. Distinction informs Intellect that he had tested the contents of the vial which he received from Ignoratio "upon a dog [he] met, which no sooner had tasted a dram of it, but dragging his tail on the ground he grin'd and snarl'd and presently ran mad."
DOG, CORIN'S
A shepherd's dog in the anonymous Clyomon and Clamydes. He accompanies Corin when they find Clyomon, wounded in the forest. Corin talks at length to the dog, describing how "Jack" (Neronis in disguise) has won the hearts of the country lasses.
DOGBERRY
Dogberry, Messina's constable in Shakespeare's Much
Ado About Nothing, stumbles and bumbles through the English language,
massacring the highbrow words he uses and performing his professional duties in
the most unprofessional manner. Despite his comic ineptitude, Dogberry manages
to reveal Don John's plot to defame Hero and becomes, rather unwittingly, the
hero of the play.
DOGREL
Dogrel, "a sharking poetaster," is the companion of Cutter, a fellow-tenant of
the Widow in Cowley's The Guardian.
He is a pale reflection of Shakespeare's Ancient Pistol. He and Cutter are briefly
rivals for Lucia, then Tabytha, but his real passion is for inventing and reciting
bad verse. He helps Aurelia in her successful plot to secure Puny as a husband,
and he himself devises a plot of revenge against Blade, disguising himself as
Blade's long-lost brother (See under Brother); this plot, however, is unsuccessful.
At the end of the play he is spouseless, but, as he grandly explains, "The thrice
three sisters [i.e. the Muses] are my wives."
[In Cowley's own 1658 revision of this play, Cutter of Coleman Street (performed 1661), Dogrel is renamed Worm and is no longer a poetaster but merely a fake-soldier, a slighter version of Cutter. He no longer declaims in Dogrel's execrable verse. He thus cannot be left with the Muses at the end, and the resourceful Aurelia promises to match him up with her silly maid, Jane.]
DOGSON**1606
A Catchpole in Middleton's(?) Puritan. He assists the Sheriff's deputy in attempting to arrest Pyeboard. Pyeboard manages to escape them with the assistance of a gentleman citizen to whom he appeals at random.
DOENIIT, LANCELOT ICK **1600
A "ghost character" in Chettle and Day's Blind Beggar of Bednal Green. A Scrivener. He is the secretary to Veleires in Amiens. Young Plainsey disguises himself as the Scrivener and gives a forged letter to the Switzer, so that Mumford will be accused of treason.
DOISTER, RALPH ROISTER
Ralph Roister Doister is a cowardly, conceited braggart enamored of the widow Dame Custance in Udall's Ralph Roister Doister. With encouragement from the parasite Matthew Merrygreek, he attempts to woo her, even though it is commonly known that she is devoted to the absent merchant Gawin Goodluck. When all of his overtures (a love letter, a ring and token, serenades before her house) are rebuffed, he takes Merrygreek's advice and confronts the woman directly in what degenerates into a comic battle royal between his servants and those of the widow. Because most people cannot stay angry with him for long, he is forgiven at the end of the play by the newly returned Gawin Goodluck and is invited to attend the feast in the happy couple's honor.
DOIT **1597
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's 2
Henry IV. John Doit is mentioned as a Staffordshire crony of Shallow from
the justice's law education days.
DOIT**1601
Doit is a page in Marston's What You
Will who discusses the nature of pages and their masters with Noose, Trip,
Holifernes Pippo, Bidet and Slip.
DOL COMMON
Dol, or Dorothy, Common is a prostitute of London in Jonson's The Alchemist. She helps Face and Subtle in their trickery. Her name is Dorothy, which means "God's gift" in Greek, and she is Face's mistress. At Lovewit's house, Dol Common calms the quarreling Face and Subtle, reminding the two tricksters that they must be united in their common goal of duping the fools. While Mammon attends Subtle's alchemical experiments, Dol Common allows herself to be seen passing before the door. When Mammon asks about her, Face (as Lungs) responds that she is a lord's sister who has grown mad with too much learning. Mammon wants to meet her and pays Face money for the pleasure. Dol helps Face and Subtle confuse Dapper. She plays the cither while Subtle and Face pinch Dapper and lock him into the privy. When Face (as Lungs) receives Mammon, Dol Common enters richly dressed, pretending to be the mad lady sent to Subtle to be cured. She pretends interest in Mammon. Subtle discovers them and scolds Mammon for having compromised the alchemical projection with his licentiousness. Dol announces that Lovewit has returned and is outside the house with some neighbors. She disguises as the Queen of Faery in order to dupe Dapper. When he is alone with Dol Common, Subtle insinuates that Face has betrayed her with Dame Pliant, whom he wants to marry. Subtle proposes that Dol cheat Face and abscond with the goods. Dol agrees, saying that she is wary of Face. When Face breaks his association with Subtle and Dol, sending them away through the back door empty-handed, he tells Dol that she will have letters from him at the brothel-keeper's. Mistress Amo and Madam Caesarean, two brothel keepers, are mentioned, and Dol Common will likely resume her profession as a prostitute.
DOL MAVIS
Dol Mavis is a member of Haughty's college of society ladies in Jonson's Epicoene. They live at their husbands' expense and who entertain the wits in town. At Morose's house, Mavis enters with Haughty, Centaure, and Tusty. During the ensuing party, the fashionable ladies ridicule Morose's horror of noise and welcome the loud musicians. As the party continues, the revelers interact, and the ladies retire at some point to debate Mistress Otter's doubtful right of membership in their select club. At Morose's house, Mavis enters with the other ladies. When Mistress Otter enters rather ruffled for having been chased away by Morose, Mavis dispenses her invaluable advice regarding a woman's most efficient methods of taming a husband. Regarding the matter of extramarital affairs, Mavis recommends that a wife should take lovers. She says that a women are like rivers that cannot be called back and she that now excludes her lovers may live to lie a forsaken old woman in a frozen bed. After the debate on the advantages of women having lovers as the best cure for melancholy, Mavis exits with Haughty's party. Mavis and the collegiate ladies witness the scenes of La-Foole and Daw's humiliation. When they come forward, all the ladies admire Dauphine's looks and ingenuity. When Morose enters furiously chasing everybody away, Mavis and the ladies run off. In a room at Morose's house, Mavis enters while Centaure is ardently courting Dauphine. When Centaure exits, Mavis gives Dauphine a letter that she pretends to be an Italian riddle for Dauphine to translate. In fact, it is a letter of amorous assignation, inviting Dauphine to her chamber. Mavis re-enters with the collegiate ladies and attends the final revelation scene.
D'OLIVE
An associate of Roderique and Mugeron in Chapman's Monsieur D'Olive. D'Olive thinks of himself as a witty man of learning, but is ridiculed behind his back. Asked by the Duke Philip to serve as an ambassador to St. Anne, D'Olive delivers an inane defense of tobacco before accepting. Buoyed by his new position, D'Olive resolves to act as a nobleman and to refuse, for example, to repay any debts. Soon, however, D'Olive resents his elevated status because it makes him a target for cheats and parasites. Still worse, before he can even set off on his mission, D'Olive is shocked to learn that the matter has already been resolved, and that he has become an object of contempt. Angered, D'Olive renounces the Court. He returns briefly when he is deceived into thinking Hieronime is in love with him, but quickly learns that he has once again been gulled.
DOLABELLA**1595
Dolabella consistently supports and flatters Caesar in the anonymous Caesar and Pompey, although he laments the necessity for civil war.
DOLABELLA**1607
Dolabella first appears in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra with Caesar after the sea battle, stating that Antony's
Ambassador is his schoolmaster, demonstrating how few followers he has left. He
is then sent by Caesar, as yet unaware that Antony has committed suicide, to try
to speed Antony's surrender. Finally, he takes over from Proculeius in an
attempt to persuade Cleopatra to surrender to Caesar; however, she barely allows
him to speak as she focuses on her memories of Antony. He returns after he death
with the others, and is the one to notice the marks on her arm and breast that
point to death by snakebite.
DOLABELLA**1620
Dolabella is one of Caesar's captains, but he has little individuality in Fletcher and Massinger's The False One. He is never on stage separate from Antony, and echoes what Antony, Scaeva or Caesar says. For example, he agrees with Antony that Caesar's tears at the death of Pompey show his greatness, and takes orders from Caesar. Once Caesar is in love with Cleopatra, Dolabella agrees with Scaeva that he is bewitched and no longer a true warrior. When Septimus enters, richly dressed, Dolabella tells him he smells rotten with betrayal. When Caesar is overwhelmed by the wealth displayed by Ptolemy, Dolabella hopes that dreams of wealth will continue to haunt him so that he will return to soldiering. After the palace is attacked, Dolabella tells Caesar to be himself and enjoy being in danger, and then follows his orders during battle. Although he is part of the party who rescues Cleopatra and kills Photinus and Achillas, he has no lines in the last scene.
DOLL**1553
Dame Chat's servant in [?]Stevenson's Gammer
Gurton's Needle. Dame Chat orders her to bring Diccon a glass of ale after
Diccon tells Chat that Gammer stole her rooster.
DOLL**1599
She admits to having a relationship with Wrotham in Munday, Drayton, Hathaway, and Wilson's Sir John Oldcastle. She consistently chastises Wrotham for being too jealous, and complains that they do not have enough money.
DOLL**1615
A nickname for Dorothy in Fletcher's Monsieur
Thomas.
DOLL **1630
A "ghost character" in Randolph's Muses' Looking Glass. "Heroic Doll" is one of Justice Nimis' "subsidy-women" along with Incontinence, "Jumping Jude," "bouncing Nan," and Cis, all of whom he sets free because of his relationship with them.
DOLL**1634
Mentioned by Mrs. Generous in Heywood and Brome's The Late Lancashire Witches, Doll is a witch called upon to help frighten the Soldier in the mill. She has no lines ascribed to her specifically, and it is unclear whether she appears in the play at all, but she is likely meant to be understood as one of the undifferentiated "Witches" that do appear in the play.
DOLL **1636
A “ghost character" in Killigrew’s The Princess. A bawd for Terresius’s soldiers. She is now old, but the lieutenant tells his men to be respectful of her age. She is a “jade" that brought loads of pleasure in her youth and is not to be forgotten.
DOLL**1641
A "ghost character" in Quarles' The Virgin Widow. Doll the dairymaid is mentioned by Cis and Madge.
DOLL HORNET
Doll (Dorothy) Hornet is a whore and a trickster ("cony-catcher") in Dekker and Webster's Northward Ho. She pretends to be a lady, and one of her companions, Jack Hornet, gives out to be her father. Dick Leverpool and Tom Chartley, two other friends, have to wear liveries and pretend to be her servants. She has several lovers whom she tricks out of their possessions: Philip, Bellamont's son, gets arrested for a debt of four score pounds which he has spent for her clothes, Jenkins, a Welsh captain, buys her a coach and two horses, Hans van Belch, a Belgian merchant and ship-owner, gives her a gold watch, and Master Allom lends her fifty pounds and some sugar. She asks Bellamont to make 12 poems for her. On their second meeting, Captain Jenkins listens while she confesses her tricks to Bellamont. Jenkings now sets out to find her other vicitms. Together with Allam and Hans he follows her to Ware with a warrant, but in the meantime she has got married to Featherstone, and he agrees to pay all her debts.
DOLL TEARSHEET
Doll Tearsheet is a friend of Mistress Quickly who tends to over imbibe Canary
wine in Shakespeare's 2 Henry IV.
Her given name is Dorothy, and Falstaff's page claims that she is some sort of
relation to Falstaff. According to Poins, however, Doll is not a gentlewoman but
rather a commoner. Her name might be a corruption from the term "TearStreet,"
a cant word for prostitute. If so, Hal's comment, "This Doll Tearsheet should
be some road," is explained.
II.
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's Henry
V. When Pistol and Nym fight over Nell Quickly, who has married Pistol
after promising to marry Nym, Pistol recommends that Nym forget about her and
pursue Doll Tearsheet instead. In 2 Henry IV, Doll Tearsheet had been involved
with Falstaff. Pistol later laments "my Doll is dead," which may be a corruption
in the text and meant to be "Nell" (Mistress Quickly). The reference could be
a vestige from an earlier draft that included Falstaff.
DOLL WILLIAMSON**1595
The wife of Williamson the carpenter in Chettle, Dekker and Munday's Sir Thomas More. Doll is targeted for abduction by Francis de Bard, but her fierce and spirited resistance inspires John Lincoln and the other Londoners who have suffered abuse at the hands of the foreigners to action, first by having a bill of their complaints read during the Easter sermons and later by taking up arms during the May Day riots. In the latter event, Doll enters wearing a coat of mail and a helmet, and carrying a sword and buckler. After More calms the crowd and convinces the ringleaders to surrender, Doll urges More to keep his word and gain a pardon for them from the king. When the Sheriff is ordered to begin the executions, John Lincoln is hanged first, and Doll then follows him up the scaffold. She delivers a touching speech defending her role in the matter, kisses her husband and tells him their next kiss will be in heaven, and urges the other ringleaders to face their executions bravely. The sudden arrival of the Earl of Surrey with an order from the king countermanding the death sentences and pardoning the offenders saves Doll's life and confirms her faith in More as a friend of the people.
DOLON
Dolon is a Trojan "ghost character" in Heywood's 1 The Iron Age. During the contest for the armor of Achilles, Ajax mentions that one of the very few things with which Ulysses can be credited is the killing of the unarmed Trojan spy Dolon and the similarly unarmed Rhesus, a Trojan ally from Thrace.
DOLOPHIN, JACK **1627
Only mentioned in Randolph's Plutophthalmia. Blepsidemus cries against Penia-Penniless, "Jack Dolophin and his kettledrum defend us!"
DOLPHUS
A villain in the anonymous Philander, King of Thrace, engaged by Phonops to help in the murders of Ascania and Aristocles, along with Panascaeus. But when the three attack Aristocles the latter kills him.
DOMBLEDON
Master Domledon is a tailor often serving Sir John Falstaff in Shakespeare's 2
Henry IV. He refuses, based on past experience, to continue supplying
cloth goods to Falstaff.
DOMINUS, SIR
A nickname for the Curate in Brome's The
Sparagus Garden that Touchwood snidely bestows. (See "CURATE").
DOMITIA (AUGUSTA)
Domitia is, at the beginning of Massinger's The
Roman Actor, the wife of Aelius Lamia. Domitian orders her divorce from
Lamiato which she readily complies. He makes her his wife and endows her
with the title of "Augusta." Domitia falls in love with Paris and attempts to
seduce him. Domitian interrupts this attempt but cannot initially bring himself
to order her execution. Instead, Domitia dominates Domitian completely and taunts
him for his weakness. When Domitian finally does write out the order for her death,
she joins the other conspirators in the final plot to kill him.
DOMITIAN or DOMITIANUS CAESAR
As Caesar, Domitian frequently asserts that his divine status automatically renders
all of his actions good in Massinger's The
Roman Actor. These actions include torturing and/or killing everyone who
opposes or displeases him. Domitian also enjoys the sexual favors of his niece,
Julia, his first cousin, Domitilla, and Domitia, the wife of Aelius Lamia. He
makes the latter his wife, giving her the title "Augusta," but when he discovers
her adulterous lust for Paris, Domitian cannot bring himself to order her execution.
As a result, she dominates him completely, although he does finally order her
death along with that of all the other remaining characters. These characters,
however, join together and assassinate Domitian in the play's final act.
DOMITILLA**1626
Domitilla is the first cousin of Domitian in Massinger's The Roman Actor. Prior to the action of the play, he has raped her. Domitilla is forced to serve Domitia, who addresses her as "Dwarf." Upon Domitia's orders,
Domitilla plays Anaxarete in the second inset play. She joins Aretinus and others
in the plot to reveal Domitia's love for Paris, for which Domitilla is cast in
the dungeon. Condemned to death, she joins in the final plot against Domitian.
DOMITILLA**1637
Domitilla is the fifteen-year-old daughter of Simphorosa in Shirley's Royal Master. Praised for her beauty, and far more fond of simplicity than of courtly niceties, Domitilla is certain that the husband promised her by the king is to be the king himself. Meanwhile, Montalto urges Domitilla's beauty to the Duke of Florence, who proposes to Domitilla despite his previous courtship of Theodosia. Domitilla refuses the duke's proposal, and when the king chooses to wed her to Octavio, she realizes she does indeed love Octavio well.
DOMITIUS A[HE]NOBARBUS
Nero's given name, he is occasionally referred to by this name in May's Julia Agrippina.
DOMITIUS ENOBARBAS
Enobarbas is a follower of Antony in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, although he is on the side of Roman restraint and is appalled by Antony's behavior around Cleopatra. When Antony tells him
they are leaving for Rome, Enobarbas mockingly responds that Cleopatra will
surely die, since she claims to die over far less important events. After the
reconciliation of Antony and Caesar, Enobarbas describes for Agrippa and
Maecenas how Cleopatra won Antony, and claims that Antony will never leave her.
When Caesar and Antony say goodbye, Agrippa and Enobarbas mockingly comment on
the display of emotions. Before the first battle, Enobarbas speaks out strongly
against fighting at sea, but is ignored. After the battle, he tells Cleopatra
that Antony is to blame for following her. Enobarbas turns against Antony
because he will not leave Cleopatra, and joins Caesar's side. However, when he
is told that Antony has sent his treasure after him, with extra, he is
overwhelmed by guilt and decides to die. He does so, calling on Antony at the
last.
DOMITIUS, TITUS
Like Sossius, Domitius leaves Rome in the middle of his consulship to
support Antonius against Caesar in May's Cleopatra. Discouraged by Antonius's behavior
and lack of success, he later deserts to Caesar. [For the name of this
character, May was misled by Suetonius in his Life of Augustus; his real name
was Gnaeus Domitius AhenobarbusShakespeare's Enobarbus. The historical
character died shortly after his defection to Caesar; May does not include this
detail, but it explains why he does not appear at the end of the play with the
other apostates.]
DON
For other characters with the title "Don," search under the particular name, e.g. "ANDREA, DON."
DON de MENYSIS
The governor of Tangier in Peele's The Battle of Alcazar. He welcomes the fleet of Portuguese and the troop of Moors to his land.
"DON" FACE
A nom-de-guerre in Jonson's The Alchemist. Don Face is the name under which Surly knows Face. Surly says that Don Face is a notorious bawd and the superintendent of all traffickers in town. When Face (as Lungs) tells Surly that a certain Captain Face expects him at Temple church, Surly comments in an aside that he is sure this is a bawdy house, because Don Face is a renowned dealer in sex. The cognomen "Don" also suggests Face's possible Spanish origin, an idea enforced by the fact that he understands Spanish and plays the interpreter when Surly comes to the house disguised as Spanish noblemen.
DON QUIXOTE
I.
Only mentioned as an epithet in Jonson's The Alchemist. In the garden of Lovewit's house, while Surly was still in his Spanish costume, Kastril enters and abuses the false Spaniard, whom he thinks guilty of seducing his sister. Kastril calls the Spaniard derisively a Don Quixote. Don Quixote is the hero of Cervantes's novel.
II.
Only mentioned in Randolph's Plutophthalmia. Carion compares his valor with that of Quixote.
DONABELLA
Donabella is Leonato's sister and lives at court in Ferrara in Shirley's The Imposture. She believes the woman that Leonato brings from the Mantuan nunnery is Fioretta, and she quickly falls in love with the visiting Honorio. She does not know that Lauriana, recently arrived in Ferrara, is actually Fioretta and the sister of Honorio. Eventually each impostor in the play is revealed, and Donabella is to wed Honorio.
DONADO
Donado, the father of the foolish Bergetto, is another good father image in Ford's
'Tis Pity She's a Whore. He
realizes the faults of his son but continues to seek after his betterment through
advantageous marriage to Annabella.
DONALBAIN
The younger son of King Duncan and brother to Malcolm in Shakespeare's Macbeth.
After Duncan's murder, Malcolm and Donalbain believe that their own lives are
in danger and flee, Malcolm to England and Donalbain to Ireland.
DONALD
Donald, King of Scotland in Brewer's The
Lovesick King, helps Alured by attacking York.
DONALDO
Gentleman usher to Gratiana and Castizain in [?]Middleton's The Revenger's Tragedy. Proud and haughty.
DONATO
Donato, a Neapolitan Gentleman, along with Lentulo and Camillo, he offers advice
to Adorio on how to deal with Caldoro in Massinger's The
Guardian.
DONATUS
Donatus gladly joins the conspiracy against Amedeus in (?)Jeffere's The Bugbears. He launders 3,000 crowns robbed from the latter's house and gives the ducats and crusadoes to his brother, Brancatius, as dowry for Rosimunda, Brancatius' daughter, to marry Amedeus' son, Formosus. Donatus, a bachelor, is the only one of the four old men in Buggbears who is not made fun of by the servants or taken in by the make believe haunting. At the end of the play Donatus proclaims Rosimunda his sole heir.
DONATUS **1617
Only mentioned in the anonymous Pathomachia. Pride boasts of how he aided him amongst the Christians and infinite other authors of heresies and schisms.
DONCASTER
I.
Sir Doncaster of Hothersfield was the gentleman who captured Scarlet and Scathlock
after seven years as outlaws in (?Chettle and) Munday's Downfall
of Robert Earl of Huntington. He attempts to capture Robin Hood, with
the help of Friar Tuck, but Tuck alerts Robin to the attack and Doncaster fails.
Despite this, when Friar Tuck reports that Doncaster, the Prior and a priest have
been attacked and wounded traveling to Bawtrey, Robin Hood immediately goes to
help them, and when the Prior and Doncaster enter, Scarlet greets them courteously.
II.
Doncaster, along with the Prior, conspires to poison Robin Hood in Munday and
Chettle's Death of Robert, Earl of
Huntington. He is a purely evil character, giving as his reason for killing
Robin simply that he is well loved and virtuous. He and the Prior attempt to persuade
Warman to join them, but when he refuses to betray Robin, Doncaster stabs him.
The Prior then convinces Robin that Warman committed suicide. When Doncaster is
taken, after Robin is poisoned, it is revealed that he beat and raped a nun, the
daughter of Sir Eustace Stutville, and was imprisoned. However, when he escaped,
he was forgiven by Henry II. Doncaster freely admits that he has defiled a thousand
and killed many. Salisbury then accuses him of killing his infant son and raping
the baby's nurse, which Doncaster admits to. Doncaster is ritually cursed by Ely
and then King Richard orders him hung in chains until he dies.
DONDOLO**1605
The court fool in Marston's Parasitaster, or The Fawn. He aids Donna Zoya by introducing the rumor that she is pregnant. In addition to general jokes about the courtiers, he announces the upcoming Masque of Cupid's Council, and also the news that Don Zuccone is divorcing Donna Zoya.
DONDOLO**1615
Dondolo, a clown-like character, is Lactantio's servant in Middleton's More Dissemblers Besides Women. He banters with the "Page" and enjoys listening to him sing, although he resents 'him' for lacking "good fellowship" and for refusing to go swimming in the nude. Lactantio sends Dondolo to the fort to convey a message to the imprisoned Aurelia, but Dondolo misinterprets Aurelia's sign-language, and so Lactantio calls him a fool. Annoyed, Dondolo decides to run away with the gypsies. He meets Aurelia and together they join with the band of gypsies by claiming to be expert thieves. Dondolo does not appear again in the play, and presumably lives with the gypsies for the rest of his life.
DONDOLO**1633
Dondolo is a courtier and a fop in Shirley's The Bird in a Cage. Along with Morello and Grutti, he seeks access to the women locked and guarded in the castle/prison with Eugenia. When Bonamico as Altomaro offers to make them invisible, they see this as the means by which they will elude the guards. When they perceive that they have been tricked, Dondolo and Grutti plot Bonamico/Altomaro's downfall.
DONELLA
Donella is an attendant to Eugenia in Shirley's The Bird in a Cage. She voluntarily follows her into imprisonment by the duke. She plays Jupiter in the inset play.
DONETTA
One of Dulcimel's female attendants in Marston's Parasitaster, or The Fawn. Her name means "little woman" or "flirt." She is one of the women Nymphadoro professes to love, and complains against him in the Masque of Cupid's Council.
DONNA JESABELLA **1636
A “ghost character" in Glapthorne’s Hollander. One of the sisters of the order of the Twibill Knights. She is the ‘mother’ of the maids of Lambeth Marsh.
DONNE, JOHN
Only mentioned in the anonymous Wit's Triumvirate. Doctor Donne is mentioned by Sir Cupid Phantsy when, considering the words Doctor Clyster is using in order to cure him are cruel, the former describes, in verse, how hard the latter is: "... and in our similes dawn Doctor Donne." John Donne (1572-1631), the most outstanding of the English Metaphysical Poets, was a churchman famous for his hard and threatening sermons. His poems, impregnated with wit ingeniously mixed with seriousness, mark a transition from classical models towards a more personal style.
DONNER
Donner is a sergeant in Field's Amends for Ladies. He and Pitts arrest Lord Proudly at the request of Seldom to whom Lord Proudly is indebted.
DONOBERT
A lord in the British court, and father of Modesta and Constantia in William Rowley's
The Birth of Merlin: or, The Child
Hath Found His Father. He plans for his daughters to marry Edwyn and Cador,
but they decide to become nuns instead. Although disappointed by their decision,
Donobert elects to embrace the suitors as sons-in-law regardless, and divide his
estate between them.
DONUSA
Donusa, niece to Amurath in Massinger's The
Renegado, falls in love with Vitelli, has sex with him, and is subsequently
arrested for her actions. After she shuns Mustapha, she is betrayed by her servant
Manto, who tells Mustapha of Donusa's deflowering by Vitelli. At her trial, she
confirms her conversion to Christianity, denying her Turkish faith and outraging
Asambeg. She is sentenced to death, but is allowed the chance to reconsider her
conversion with the help of Paulina. She escapes with Paulina and Vitelli on Grimaldi's
ship at play's end.
DONZEL DEL PHOEBO
A "ghost character" in Shirley's The
Maid's Revenge. Count de Montenegro tells Catalina that Donzel del Phoebo
was a mountebank of valor.
DOODLE, POMPEY
The clown figure in this play is Sir Gregory's servant in Middleton and Rowley's
Wit at Several Weapons. The
Niece flirts with him in order to antagonize Cunningham, but the Clown believes
her affection is real. Believing himself to be a made man, he resigns from Sir
Gregory's service, and takes to wearing 'gallant' attire. The Niece gets Pompey
out of the way by ordering him not to come to her until she calls him. Pompey
waits anxiously for a long time, whiling away the time on long walks in the countryside.
He is angered when Cunningham pretends that Sir Gregory has intercepted all of
the Niece's messages to him. Pompey is therefore amused to watch Sir Gregory being
gulled into marrying Mirabell, but is heartbroken to learn that the Niece has
married Cunningham, and the Niece increases his misery by pretending that she
has done so because Pompey never replied to her messages. The bewildered clown
exits sadly, but the Niece takes pity on him and orders that he be returned to
Sir Gregory's service.
DOORMAN
A doorman at the Family of Love house in Middleton's The Family of Love. A character who does not appear on stage, his voice is heard from the other side of a door when Mistress Purge and others seek entry to the Family of
Love meetings. He admits only those who identify themselves with the proper phrasing.
DOPPER
A Dutch Anabaptist woman in Jonson's The Staple of News. A customer at the Staple of News who requests news of the activities of Protestant sects in Amsterdam.
DORAN
Friend of Brennoralt in Suckling's Brennoralt. He is a cynical soldier in the service of King Sigismond. Doran brings Brennoralt the news that his beloved Francelia is engaged to the rebel Almerin; he responds to Brennoralt's transports with sympathetic irony.
DORANDO
A young gentleman, recently arrived in Cordua, who has fallen in love with Claramante
in Davenant's The Spanish Lovers.
Detecting this, her hot-blooded brother Leonte challenges him to a duel unless
he leaves Cordua. At Claramante's urging, he agrees to leave even though she will
not accept his proposals of love. Later, in the woods outside the city, he finds
Orgemon, who has been tied to a tree and left by Androlio; not knowing that Orgemon
is the accepted lover of Claramante, he frees him and they swear friendship and
support for each other in their love affairs. On discovering that they are rivals,
they fight. Orgemon wins, but Claramante will only accept him if Dorando, her
savior, will act as his sponsor. Dorando is brought to do this by an unexpected
discovery: he and Orgemon are both, without knowing it, the sons of Basilonte,
a Corduan nobleman who sent them away in their infancy. As the cadet of the family,
Dorando is obliged to support his elder brother's courtship.
DORASTUS
Dorastus is a young man in the anonymous Narcissus. He encourages Clinias to go and meet Tyresias, to ask him about their fortune. The prophet tells them they will die soon. But the boys misunderstand the old man, and they assume they are going to "dye," therefore Dorastus chooses to dye "orange tawny" and he advised his friend Clinias to dye white. Then both youths meet Narcissus. Dorastus praises his beauty and asks him to requit his love. But Narcissus explain he is a man, and, as such, he cannot fall in love with another man. Dorastus, however, does not seem to care about their gender, and Narcissus makes it clear that he has to turn him down. Later, Dorastus, seeking Narcissus, is fooled by Eccho. Thinking the challenging words of the nymph are Clinias' words, when, afterwards, he faces the latter, there is a misunderstanding between them, they fight and kill each other.
DORCAS**1610
Dorcas, a shepherdess in Shakespeare's The
Winter's Tale, was once the clown's sweetheart, but she has been displaced
by Mopsa.
DORCAS**1614
Dorcas is a forester and a companion of Montanus in Daniel's Hymen's Triumph. On learning that Montanus is suffering because Phillis has spurned his offer of love, and has given her affections to Clorindo, Dorcas urges him to scorn Phillis and punish Clorindo.
DORCAS**1632
Niece to Crosswill who, before the action of Brome's The Weeding of Covent Garden, was enamored of her cousin, Gabriel. Will Crosswill, fearing an incestuous liaison, separated son from niece, and Dorcas fell prey to the dishonorable attentions of a visiting gallant whom, the audience discovers, was Nicholas Rooksbill. Ruined, Dorcas fled her uncle's house to London where she presents herself to Madge, a bawd, as Damaris, an accomplished Venetian Courtesan. To Madge's consternation, however, Dorcas appears reluctant to ply her alleged trade and, solicited by an unwitting Nicholas Rooksbill, diverts him from his particular purposes by promising to tell him, later that day, her sad story. Intending to meet Nicholas at the Paris Tavern, she encounters her cousins, Gabriel and Mihil, and is revealed to them both. Through the kindly manipulations of Mihil, she is reconciled to her uncle and made honest by her marriage to Nicholas Rooksbill.
DORCAS**1637
A "ghost character" in Cartwright's The
Lady-Errant. One of the ladies involved in the rebellion but who never appears on stage.
DORCAS **1637
‘Madam Aurelia’s’ maid in Mayne’s City Match. She is Puritanical and sermonizes as she dresses her lady. She is so fanatical that she even sews religion into her mistress’ petticoats. Later, she comes to announce the arrival of the priest but she is out of her Puritan dress and dressed in fashionable clothes. She discloses a secret to Aurelia/Penelope, and she agrees to help Dorcas to win Frank for her husband. As part of the plan, she agrees to marry Warehouse but only if he first disinherits Frank and invests her with his property. Salewit, playing the French priest, reads not from the scriptures but rather from Rabelais when he “marries" Dorcas to Warehouse. Once ‘married,’ Dorcas will not let Warehouse touch her but claims to have married him for his money and to use him as her cloak when she has lovers come to her. It is all a ruse, of course, and she marries Frank (offstage) only to return with the news that she is really Susan Seathrift and had been betrothed to Frank many years before (when he left her).
DORCAS CLARE
Sir Arthur Clare's wife in the anonymous The
Merry Devil of Edmonton. She accompanies her daughter to the nunnery of
Chester.
DORDAN
Porrex's servant in ?Tarlton's Three Plays in One. Appears in the first playlet.
DORDON
A counselor that Gorboduc has assigned to Ferrex in Sackville and Norton's Gorboduc.
Dordon suggests that Ferrex has taken his birthright early, before his father's
death, which is a sign of favor.
DORIA**1637
Doria is the general of the troops in Glapthorne's Ladie's Privilege, returning from a successful campaign against the Turks. He is in love with Chrisea, but when she tells him she is in love with his best friend Vitelli, he promises to persuade Vitelli to return her love. He is successful in this task, because Vitelli values his friendship more than anything else. Doria is confronted by Bonivet about his apparently changed feelings for Chrisea and in a duel, Doria wounds Bonivet. When Bonivet apparently dies, Doria is arrested and sentenced to death. He rejects the life-saving marriage proposal of Corima but accepts that of the disguised Sabelli after he threatens to kill himself if Doria dies. After Sabelli reveals he is a boy, and Chrisea reveals her change of heart to be a test and Bonivet's death to be a fake, Doria is happily reunited with Chrisea.
DORIA, LAMPATHO
The egregiously vain and bombastic Lampatho Doria is the main butt of Quadratus's
satire in Marston's What You Will.
DORIALUS
Dorialus is a lord at the court of the duke Leontius in Beaumont & Fletcher's Cupid's Revenge. With his fellow lords Nisus and Agenor he speculates about Leontius' birthday gift to his daughter Hidaspes. Leontius has promised to grant Hidaspes any request she cares to make; the lords are doubtful about the wisdom of this decision. On hearing her demand that the cult of Cupid be suppressed in Licia they are even more doubtful: although they agree that the Licians have lived wickedly, they fear the revenge of Cupid and regret that they are unlikely to retain their sexual freedom. The three lords attend Leontius and witness his refusal to grant Hidaspes' request to be allowed to marry the dwarf Zoylus. They later comment cynically on the execution of Zoylus, the dispatch of Leontius' son and heir Leucippus to the wars, and the marriage of Bacha and Leontius. Having roused Leontius' suspicions about his son, Bacha sends Agenor, Nisus and Dorialus to Leontius to defend Leucippus, knowing that this will make him even more suspicious. The lords later discuss the prince's coming execution. Dorialus refuses to watch, and Agenor and Nisus witness Leucippus' rescue by the citizens. Ismenus, Agenor, Dorialus and Nisus bring the news that Leontius is dead. They take Bacha to Leucippus, where the lords witness her murder of Leucippus and subsequent suicide. They will accompany the new duke, Ismenus, and the body of Leucippus back to the court.
DORICLES**1596
Prince of Arcadia in Chapman's The
Blind Beggar of Alexandria. Doricles travels to Egypt to woo Princes Aspasia.
Queen Aegiale gives him some tips on courtship. By report of Count Hermes (Irus
in disguise), who confronts the two young royals, Ptolemy has declared him heir
to the throne. Count Hermes murders him. We later learn from Ptolemy that the
fates had decreed that had Doricles lived, Ptolemy would have added four kingdoms
to his own, and that Doricles would shield him from a "most abhorred death."
DORICLES**1610
Florizel disguises himself as Doricles, a shepherd, to woo Perdita in Shakespeare's
The Winter's Tale.
DORICUS
Doricus discusses Marston's What You
Will, the audience and the author with Atticus and Philomuse in the Induction.
DORIDO
Dorido is a courtier in Davenant's The Cruel Brother. He is first a friend of Cosimo, but it is clear from the first scene, when he will not speak ill of Lucio or Foreste, that he is not a villain. With Cosimo and Castruchio, he makes fun of Lothario and Borachio, but is not present when Castruchio convinces Lothario to attack Foreste. Dorido becomes suspicious of the Duke and Castruchio, and follows them to Lucio's house the night the Duke rapes Corsa. He overhears Castruchio and Duarte and learns everything, and swears to bring the crime to light. With an unnamed and silent friend, he helps Foreste prove that Luinna is chaste, entering in masks while Foreste promises to hand over Luinna to them. After the threat and Luinna's response, Dorido states that he believes, and always has, that Luinna is faithful. Dorido apprehends Castruchio and Cosimo after they have fought with Lucio and Foreste and, since the Duke is dead, takes command of the situation (and apparently the state).
DORIGEN
Dorigen is a character in "The Triumph of Honor," the first play within the
play of Fletcher's Four Plays in One. She is the chaste wife of Sophocles. When Sophocles refuses to bow
before Martius or beg for his life, Dorigen intercedes on her husband's
behalf. Martius falls in love with Dorigen and attempts to seduce her; she
asserts that she will not yield to his lust until "these rocks" be moved.
When Valerius creates the appearance of having moved the rocks, Dorigen
vows to kill herself rather than sacrifice her virtue, resulting in
Martius's repentance.
DORIGENE
A duchess in ?Cumber's Two Merry Milkmaids, whose ambition is to "advance greatness." She travels to the court of her husband, Duke Earnest, disguised as a milkmaid. To the chagrin of the Duke's courtiers, Earnest promptly falls in love with and subsequently marries Dorigene, installing her father Lodwicke as Earl. Despite her marriage, she encourages Dorilus' suit towards her, for which she and her family are banished form the court. She is subsequently tried on the behest of Raymond, who seeks to inflame the Duke against his wife, but is pardoned after a disguised Dorilus provides exculpatory evidence. She intercedes on behalf of Raymond, urging the Duke to banish him from the court rather than execute him.
DORILAUS
Dorilaus, father to Lidian and Caliste, arrives at the house of his daughter wounded
in Massinger's 1634 Cleander, or
Lisander and Calista (a revision of Fletcher's 1623 The
Wandering Lovers?). Attacked by men in the forest, Lisander saved him.
Dorilaus is with Cleander the first time that the ghost appears. After Cleander's
death, he tries to defend his daughter and Lisander. He believes that they are
both innocent.
DORILUS
Brother to Julia in ?Cumber's Two Merry Milkmaids, he falls in love with Dorigene who encourages his suit despite her marriage to the duke. He brings his beloved the garland of flowers she requested, seemingly acquired supernaturally by Landoffe, disguised as the spirit Asmody. When Dorigene accepts his suit despite her marriage to the Duke, Dorilus gives "her vows back freely" in an attempt to do what is most "righteous." When the duke discovers his suit for his wife, however, Dorilus is promptly imprisoned. After Landoffe provides him with a ring that makes its bearer invisible, Dorilus is able to escape with Julia and, appearing (again invisible) at Dorigene's trial, explains the true facts of the proceeding, advocates mercy, and procures the Duke's pardon for Dorigene. He subsequently loses the ring which is recovered by Frederick and later by Smircke before the Spirit retrieves it.
DORINDA**1605
Dorinda was in love with Mirtillus, but changed her affects to Colax at the prompting of Techne in Daniel's The Queen's Arcadia. She discusses her situation with Amarillis, who claims that Dorinda has no cause to complain because she is loved by Mirtillus. Dorinda, however, is torn between Mirtillus and Colax and envies Amarillis. Dorinda and Amarillis converse with Cloris, who recounts how she was betrayed by Techne and how she rejected Colax at Erycinas Grove. Dorinda realises that Colax has used exactly the same arguments to Cloris as he used to her. They discuss their dreams. Dorinda dreamed that she was gathering flowers and was surprised by a snake who ate into her chest and took her heart. She decides to try to make amends with Mirtillus. Mirtillus laments that Dorinda didn't witness Cloris' reaction to the suicide attempt of Amyntas, which he thinks might have softened her heart towards him. Amarillis tells Mirtillus that Dorinda is already his. At the shepherds' assembly and the arraignment of the outsiders, Ergistas urges Dorinda to accept Mirtillus, which she does.
DORINDA**1634
Enamoured of Daphnis in Rutter's The Shepherds' Holiday and identified by Mirtillus as one of his many lovers, Dorinda is a simple maid as well as Nerina's friend and confidante who works throughout the play to procure the love of the rich shepherd who claims at the play's end that he had sued for her love first before attempting to seek the love of Nerina. Dorinda attempts to convince Charinus on Nerina's behalf that he cannot demand his daughter's love of Daphnis, and is also present at her friend's death. Despite Daphnis's repeated dismissal of her advances Dorinda persists and, at the play's end, is asked for her forgiveness for his cruel behavior which, when given, produces a happy end to their love affair.
DORINE
Dorine is the name used by the hero, Filène, in his female disguise in [?]Queen
Henrietta's Florimène.
DORIO
Dorio, one of the four Fathers of the anonymous Wit of a Woman, is an old soldier. He is the father of Filenio and Isabella. He announces an intention to marry one of the daughters, to which end he officiates at the secret marriage of Erinta, one of the other daughters. However, he discovers at the end of the play that the girl he intended to marry is herself married. It is not clear which of the girls he has been intending to marry.
DORIS**1605
A "ghost character" in Daniel's The Queen's Arcadia. Doris has been treated by the doctor Alcon.
DORIS**1639
Waiting woman to Themyle in Brome's Love-Sick Court. When Eudyna's suitors send messengers to inquire about her after she faints, Doris gives a more encouraging assessment of her health to those messengers who give her a more pleasant greeting. She is courted by Geron, Tersulus, and Varillus. She hopes that Philocles will marry Eudyna as this will improve the standing of Varillus, whom she most loves. She rejects Geron's affection because she claims she cannot understand what he is asking of her in his mock-scholarly language. Ultimately, she agrees that if Eudyna marries Tersulus's master, she will marry Tersulus; if Eudyna marries Varillus's master, she will marry Varillus, and if Eudyna marries both, she will marry Geron. She then gives Varillus a sleeping potion (that he believes to be poison) made by her apothecary father with which to drug Philargus, so that Eudyna will be forced to marry Philocles.
DORITIE
See also "DOROTHY" and related names.
DORITIE
A "ghost character" in Lodge's The
Wounds of Civil War. Doritie is the daughter of Curtall and has been ruined
by one of Scilla's soldiers. It is not clear if she was seduced or raped, but
there is evidence from the speeches of Curtall and Poppey that she is now pregnant.
Scilla promises that the soldier will marry her.
DORMANT
Dormant serves Sir Solitary Plot in Shirley's The Example. He is rather lazy, preferring sleep to all other activities. At one point in the play he appears in the guise of a constable.
DORMOUSE **1604
He is part of the watch set out to investigate the recent murder of two merchants in the stews in Rowley’s When You See Me. He falls asleep almost immediately after the constable leaves. He helps to arrest Black Will and the disguised Henry when he finds them fighting in the street.
DORON
A nobleman of Antioch in the anonymous Two Noble Ladies and the Converted Conjurer. He helps Justina escape the sacking of the city. Grievously wounded when rescuing her, he is killed by Babylonian soldiers.
DOROTHEA**1590
Dorothea is the heroine of Greene's James
IV. She is the daughter of the King of England and the wife of the King
of Scotland. (Historically, the wife of James IV was Margaret Tudor, but there
is no resemblance of name or character here.) When Dorothea discovers that her
husband wants her dead because he is in love with Ida, she escapes disguised as
a man and accompanied only by Nano. She is wounded by Jaques and rescued by the
Andersons. She reveals herself to them and is taken by Sir Cuthbert Anderson to
make peace between her father and her husband.
DOROTHEA**1612
Dorothea is a character in "The Triumph of Love," the second play within
the play of Fletcher's Four Plays in One. She is attendant to Violanta and helps conceal the birth of
Violanta's child. When Benvoglio gives her poison to give to Violanta,
Dorothea saves the day by replacing it with opium.
DOROTHEA**1620
The Virgin Martyr in Massinger and Dekker's The Virgin Martyr, she is the object of Antoninus' affections. She is arrested and tortured by Theophilus, and harassed by Harpex. She denies the pleasure offered
by Antonius, impervious to the tortures of Theophilus, and fearless before Harpex.
In the end, she is beheaded, but returns as a beatific spirit, who defeats Harpex.
DOROTHEA**1624
Dorothea is Lodovico's wanton Lady in Davenport's The City Night Cap. In Act One, when she is left with her
servant Francisco, Dorothea tells him that the verses that he is reading to her should be an example of the Christian doctrine. However, something is fishy in her guardian. Thus, when Francisco asks her for sexual favors, Dorothea delays her marital treason until the sun is set. She will give a drugged drink to Lodovico, who will fall sound sleep and she will send Pambo to bring Antonio to her at eleven. However, Dorothea takes advantage of such an opportunity to keep herself loyal to her husband by betraying her lover, who gets away with the offence. She needs to talk to her confessor, but in Act Three she is informed that Father Jacomo has passed away. Thus, she accepts Father Anthony as her new confessor. In the confession, she admits to have sinned three times. Her first sin is to have ordered a gown with short sleeves. Her second fault is that her chamber maid has almost broken her crown. And finally she confesses that she has lain in bed with another man. She is given a penance to be suffered during a masque. There, Dorothea tells her husband that she has dreamt of Francisco, and she is sent to a nunnery.
DOROTHEA **1632
A “ghost character" in Hausted’s Rival Friends. Sacrilege Hook’s dead wife. Seventeen years ago, she secretly purchased a baby from a lowly woman. That baby turned out to be Ursely, and the lowly woman was Anteros’s mother.
DOROTHEA CONSTANCE
Dorothea Constance is the wife of a seaman in Mountfort's The Launching of The Mary. She is loyal to her husband, despite the bad reputation that sailors' wives have. She meets Captain Fitzjohn and tells him she is sad about her husband is going to sea, and Captain Fitzjohn argues in favor of going to sea, pointing out the benefits. But when he implies that she is being lustful for wanting her husband nearby, she defends marital sexuality, and the Captain apologizes, and eulogizes her as an emblem of constancy. Dorothea is then shocked by the loose behavior of two other sailors' wives, Mary Spark and Isabel Nutt. Dorothea is then assailed by a series of suitors. First, a rich man, Locuples, sends her seductive letters, but she refuses to be tempted. Their letters are read by Hobab, who admires Dorothea's chastity. We then see Locuples accosting Dorothea, and she still refuses him. At this point, Locuples realizes that sailors' wives are not as bawdy as he'd thought, and begs "a gracious pardon for my bad opinion." Then the Lord Admiral, who has been observing, eulogizes Dorothea again. But Dorothea is besieged by more suitors. A Captain tries to seduce her by describing all the battles he's won; Dorothea lectures him on morality and he apologizes. A priest writes a letter with religious proofs that she should be adulterous, and she rejects this too. Captain Goodman is depressed because his wife is never content, even with the money he brings back from sea. Dorothea Constance lectures him on constancy and resists when he hints that she might love him. Then the workmen taunt her because they believe her to be a typical sailor's wife, but Captain Fitzjohn chases them away, and gives her his purse; she thanks heaven for showing that there are some good people in the world. She ends the play with a speech in which she insists that she is not the only honest seaman's wife.
DOROTHEA'S MOTHER, the QUEEN of ENGLAND
A "ghost character" in Greene's James
IV. She is mentioned by the King as having derived comfort from Dorothea's
marriage. Historically, she would be Elizabeth of York, but there is no indication
that Greene has remembered this or that he is attempting historical verity. Henry
VII and Elizabeth of York did not have a daughter named Dorothea, and James IV
married their daughter Margaret Tudor.
DOROTHEA TARGET
Dorothea is the first of the prostitutes brought before the duke in the final
act of Dekker's 2 Honest Whore.
Appearing in a rich costume, she exchanges insults with Astolfo, Orlando, and
Carolo. When Infelice asks her if she regrets finding herself in prison, Dorothea
mocks the countess and exists singing.
DOROTHIE
See under "DOROTHY."
DOROTHY **1591
The cobbler Strumbo writes her a love letter in the anonymous Locrine. When she receives it, she comes straight to see him and immediately accepts his marriage proposal. Together with Strumbo's boy Trompart they form a happy team
until Humber's Scythians destroy the city. Dorothie dies in Strumbo's house that
the Scythians have set on fire.
DOROTHY**1609
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's Cymbeline. In II.iii, Imogen sends Pisanio on an errand to find Imogen's missing bracelet; she tells him to ask Dorothy, her woman, to search for it.
DOROTHY**1609
A streetwalker and common whore in Beaumont and Fletcher's The Coxcomb. Called "the Tinker's troll." She and the Tinker accost Viola when they happen upon her in the middle of the night; they tie her up, and steal her belongings.
DOROTHY**1610
Dol Common's actual name in Jonson's The Alchemist. Dorothy means "God's gift" in Greek. See DOL COMMON.
DOROTHY**1615
Dorothy is both a character and a disguise in Fletcher's Monsieur Thomas:
- Dorothy, sometimes nicknamed 'Doll,' is Sebastian's daughter and twin sister to Thomas. She is Mary's friend and negotiates between Mary and Thomas, but she thoroughly disapproves of her brother's debauchery and approves of Mary's rejection of him. She lends Thomas her clothes so that he can gain access to Mary, but unbeknownst to him she sends her Maid ahead to reveal his plans, and she and Mary have a good laugh at his expense. She is flummoxed when Hylas suddenly claims her hand in marriage. Hylas does not realize that he has courted 'her' in the disguised shape of her brother. In the end, however, she agrees to marry himbut only if he can please her.
- Thomas disguises himself as his own twin sister Dorothy at one point. In this guise he hopes to can gain access to Mary. Unbeknownst to him the real Dorothy sends her Maid ahead to reveal his plans, and she and Mary have a good laugh at Thomas' expense. Hylas believes that he courts Dorothy when in fact he is wooing her disguised brother. Thomas (as Dorothy) promises to marry him.
DOROTHY**1640
Lady Huntlove's chambermaid in Cavendish & Shirley's Country Captain. She flatters Underwit on being made captain and mocks the entertaining Device with Sister. Underwit makes advances toward Dorothy, but is not interested in marriage. Dorothy deceives Underwit, through a letter from the fictional Sir Walter Littleland, that she is the long-lost daughter of the knight. Thinking she isn't beneath him in station after all, Underwit marries her. She threatens him with a charge of rape if he nullifies the marriage.
DOROTHY HORNET
Doll (Dorothy) Hornet is a whore and a trickster ("cony-catcher") in Dekker and Webster's Northward Ho. She pretends to be a lady, and one of her companions, Jack Hornet, gives out to be her father. Dick Leverpool and Tom Chartley, two other friends, have to wear liveries and pretend to be her servants. She has several lovers whom she tricks out of their possessions: Philip, Bellamont's son, gets arrested for a debt of four score pounds which he has spent for her clothes, Jenkins, a Welsh captain, buys her a coach and two horses, Hans van Belch, a Belgian merchant and ship-owner, gives her a gold watch, and Master Allom lends her fifty pounds and some sugar. She asks Bellamont to make 12 poems for her. On their second meeting, Captain Jenkins listens while she confesses her tricks to Bellamont. Jenkings now sets out to find her other vicitms. Together with Allam and Hans he follows her to Ware with a warrant, but in the meantime she has got married to Featherstone, and he agrees to pay all her debts.
DOROTHY, MISTRESS
A "ghost character" in William Rowley's A
Match at Midnight. A woman with whom Moll stays overnight after her midnight
meeting with Ancient Young.
DOROTHY TEARSHEET
Doll Tearsheet is a friend of Mistress Quickly who tends to over imbibe Canary
wine in Shakespeare's 2 Henry IV.
Her given name is Dorothy, and Falstaff's page claims that she is some sort of
relation to Falstaff. According to Poins, however, Doll is not a gentlewoman but
rather a commoner.
DOROTHY WORTHY
The daughter of Sir Generous Worthy and object of Theodore Artlove's affections in romantic plot of Nabbes' Covent Garden. Upon first meeting Artlove, she wounds him by mocking his extravagant flattery, but when her brother, Young Worthy, warns her about the charms of men such as Artlove, the independent and contrary Dorothy expresses displeasure at being told what to do. Later Young Worthy commends Artlove to her, but only after her brother pretends to have been testing her does Dorothy fully declare her love for Artlove. Dorothy also appears several times with her tippling waiting-woman Susan, who becomes involved in the Warrant-Spruce subplot.
DORSET, LORD MARQUES
I.
Dorset is the son of Edward IV's queen in Thomas Heywood's 2
Edward IV. He brings Mistress Jane to the Queen and urges his mother to
show no mercy to Shore. He is quite willing to take revenge upon the king's mistress
if his mother cannot or will not do so.
II.
Son of Elizabeth, Edward IV's queen, from her previous marriage to Lord Gray in
Shakespeare's Richard III.
The Marquis of Dorset, whose father supported Henry VI, was made a nobleman because
of his mother's influence with Edward. He is an enemy of Lord Hastings, as his
family is responsible for Edward imprisoning Lord Hastings in the Tower of London.
Before Edward's death, he forces an uneasy reconciliation between Dorset and Lord
Hastings. After Richard executes Dorset's uncle Rivers, brother Gray, and Sir
Thomas Vaughan, Dorset leaves England to join Richmond. He returns to England
to fight Richard and is last heard of "in arms" with Lovell in Yorkshire.
DORUS**1606
Dorus is the name used by Demetrius in his disguise as a woodsman in Day's Isle of Gulls.
DORUS **1637
A shepherd loving Avonia in (?)Speed’s The Converted Robber. He and Palaemon engage in a contest of words over which has the more worthy and beautiful love. He composes music for Avonia. When he hears of Alcinous’ redemption, he welcomes him as a true shepherd and calls for a dance. He claims and wins his Avonia to wife.
DORUS**1640
Assumed name of Misodorus, disguised as a shepherd in Shirley's The Arcadia.
DORY, JOHN **1607
FONT>
Only mentioned in Beaumont's Knight of the Burning Pestle. A character from a ballad that Humphrey mentions upon Jasper stealing Luce and beating him.
DORYLA
A "ghost character" in Ford's The Lover's Melancholy. Agenor's sister and mother of Amethus.
DORYLAS
A knavish boy in Randolph's Amyntas.
Too young for romantic involvements, but eager to grow, his mischievous interventions
and witty comments provide much of the play's broader comedy, pointing up the
absurdities and obsessions of adult behavior. He acts as messenger to Laurinda,
bringing her news of her impatient suitors. Mopsus the foolish augur and his brother
Iocastus, hopelessly infatuated by fairyland, are the chief butts of his mischief.
They are easy targets for his schoolboy humor. He finds the temptation of scrumping
the apples from Iocastus's orchard irresistible, and decides to pass himself off
as Oberon if challenged by their fairy-obsessed owner. He brings a 'Bevy of Fairies'
to the orchard (local boys disguised as elves), who sing a Latin catch. Their
song transports Iocastus into a fairy ecstasy, intensified when 'Oberon' actually
deigns to speak to him. He leads them in pinching the unbeliever, Bromius, and
rewards Iocastus by dubbing him a fairy knight. He hangs a sheep's bell round
Iocastus's neck as a sign of Oberon's favor. He later tricks Thestylis into taking
Mopsus as her husband after a long and hopeless courtship by secretly using Mopsus's
augur's pipe to convince her of auspicious birdcalls directing her to accept his
proposal. Meanwhile it is Dorylas who finds the stricken Amaryllis and delivers
her all-important letter to Laurinda. He accompanies a chorus of swains to the
intended execution of Claius. He mocks Iocastus further, with the ulterior motive
of helping the now-betrothed Mopsus. Iocastus has been moved to lead a Morris
dance dressed as Maid Marrion. As Oberon, Dorylas affects to desire him and offers
a potion to change his sex so they can marry, providing Iocastus divide his estate
between Oberon and Mopsus for their marriage portions. This agreed, Dorylas reveals
his identity and consents to give back a portion of his wealth to Iocastus, who
vows to be wiser in future.
DOTARIO
Dotario is an old gentleman, uncle of Aurelio and Careless in Marmion's A
Fine Companion. He plans to wed Littlegood's daughter Aemilia and has
her father's blessing although Aemilia strongly resists the marriage. When he
discovers that Careless-disguised as Dotario-has wed Aemilia, he agrees to leave
his fortune to Aurelio in exchange for everyone's silence about the wedding trickery.
DOTTEREL
A rich gull in search of a wife in May's The Old Couple. He is accompanied by Barnet, whose relationship to him, as friend or cousin, is not entirely clear. Dotterel's folly is principally seen as unworldly romanticism: he is determined to disguise his status as an eligible rich heir and seek a bride based only on his innate worthiness (which is lacking). Barnet clearly doubts his chances of succeeding in love on personality alone, but brings him to Freeman's house to meet Euphues and discuss Dotterel's strategy for wooing Artemia. This is abortive, as he falls in love with the worldly and witty Lady Whimsey at first sight. He begins to flirt with her during their visit to Lady Covet's house; she gives him her scarf to wear as a favor. He confides to Barnet that he is no longer interested in Artemia; Barnet further encourages his pursuit of Lady Whimsey. It now appears that Barnet is secretly working as Lady Whimsey's agent, on commission, to assist her in her quest for a new rich husband. He has learned that Dotterel has a fortune of £2000 per year. Dotterel rushes headlong into wedding plans. He reads the Lady a sonnet he claims to have written for her but which Barnet recognizes as stolen from a book. When they last appear, amid the general rejoicing of the other characters at Scudmore's survival, Eugeny's reprieve and the young couples' betrothals, it is to announce that their own marriage has already taken place. Dotterel remains unaware that Barnet has contrived the alliance, in collaboration with Lady Whimsey, in order to regain his own property, wrongly taken from him by Dotterel's father. Dotterel simply seems delighted with his older, more masterful bride.
DOTTYPOLL, MASTER DOCTOR**1513
A nickname in the anonymous Hick Scorner by which Free Will addresses Perseverance upon first seeing him.
DOUBLE
Double is a deceased acquaintance of Silence and Shallow in Shakespeare's 2
Henry IV. Shallow asks Silence about Double, unaware that his old friend
has died.
DOUBLE-DEALING
Double-Dealing comes to Love while she stands on her stone, in order to offer
her something that he will not name in Wilson's The
Three Lords and Three Ladies of London. But Nemo warns Love that Double-Dealing
has been sent by Dissimulation to gull her.
DOUCE
Douce is courted by Frog in the anonymous The
Fair Maid of Bristow and agrees to marry him.
DOUCEBELLA
‘Another gentlewoman Claribel’s wife’ and one of the cuckqueans in Percy’s Cuckqueans and Cuckolds Errants. She has sent for aid to her husband in Harwich because she has feted Floradin with masks, banquets and mummeries for the past year and, though she repents nothing, she has impoverished herself and must send to Harwich to have her husband save her from her creditors. She asks Floradin to return to his home in Harwich and live with his wife until she can straighten out her finances. When Claribel abandons her for her infidelity, she determines to follow him, traveling on a passport from the queen, and threaten to denounce him to the marshals as attempting to become a Capuchin in order to avoid military service in order to force either a reconciliation or at least money enough to live. Along the way, she comes upon Aruania and, recognizing a woman in like straights, swears to be her companion in sisterhood and share but one bed; the two turn for Colchester as dearest friends. They sing a duet. Arriving in Colchester, they meet Latro at the Tarlton tavern. He offers to give them his bed (the only one left in Colchester) in exchange for hearing their sad tales and telling them his. When all is at last revealed and resolved, she agrees to take Claribel again as her husband.
DOUGHTY
Old Seely's neighbor, Young Greety's godfather, and a local witch-hunter in Heywood
and Brome's The Late Lancashire Witches, Doughty is among the first to attribute the upheaval and reversal of the social
order in the Seely household to witchcraft. He is a guest at the wedding celebration
of Lawrence and Parnell and witnesses strange events:
- the transformation of the bride cake to bran
- the transformation of the wedding feast to inedible slop
- the bewitching of the Fiddlers
- and the sudden reversals of the Seely family dynamics.
Doughty also witnesses the Skimmington ritual performed by the rabble and the falling out of the recently wed Lawrence and Parnell; he makes sure that the Skimmington ends peacefully by giving the rabble money for drink. It is at this point that Doughty resolves to go "a-witch-hunting." He soon afterward listens with approval to his godson Young Greety's story of his fight with the devil in the shape of a boy. His witch-hunting exploits are not presented on stage, but Doughty appears in the final scene claiming to have caught "a whole kennel of witches," and proceeds to conduct a pseudo-judicial examination of the few witches brought before him. The witches vow silence, but one of the witches, Peg "Mother" Johnson, breaks under the pressure. Doughty extracts a damning confession from her before turning her over, along with the other witches, to the judicial authorities.
DOUGHTY, DOBINET
A boy servant to Roister Doister in Udall's Ralph Roister Doister. Dobinet Doughty carries his master's ring and token to Dame Custance. He arrives after the widow has scolded Margery Mumblecrust for having accepted Roister Doister's letter, and he has to wait to find someone willing to deliver the love gifts. When Tom Truepenny and the maids arrive, Doughty passes himself off as a servant to Dame Custance's new "husband" and allows them to think he is employed by Gawin Goodluck. Hoping to ingratiate herself with her mistress, Tibet Talkapace grabs the gifts and takes them to the widow.
DOUGLAS**1590
Douglas is a Scottish lord in the anonymous King Edward III. He asks King David for the Countess as his part of the spoils when they conquer her castle at Roxbourgh. When David declares the Countess is
his, Douglas is willing to settle for her jewels, but David insists that they
go with the Countess. Douglas flees with David immediately upon hearing of the
approach of the English army.
DOUGLAS**1590
Along with Morton and the Bishop of St. Andrew's in Greene's James IV, Douglas is one of the nobles who tells Dorothea how worried they are about the king's behavior. Later he surrenders Dunbar to the King of England.
DOUGLAS **1597
Part of the Percy faction against King Henry IV in Shakespeare's 2 Henry IV. Archibald the Earl of Douglas is mistakenly reported as having killed both Blunts and Prince Henry at Shrewsbury. In fact, we learn from Morton
that Douglas was captured at Shrewsbury while in cowardly flight.
DOUGLAS**1623
The Earl of Douglas is a Scottish lord in ?Dering's The History of Henry the Fourth. He is perpetual rebellion against English rule. At the beginning of the play, it is reported that Douglas has revolted and has been defeated and captured by Harry Percy. When Percy decides to revolt himself against Henry IV, he frees Douglas without ransom. Douglas agrees to lead his Scottish forces into battle alongside Hotspur. Douglas does arrive at Shrewsbury, unlike Northumberland and Glendower. Douglas and Hotspur want to attack immediately. They are unwisely convinced by Worcester and Vernon to wait until the next day for the attack. In the battle at Shrewsbury, Douglas prowls around the field killing Henry's body doubles. One of the royal imitators Douglas slays is Blunt. When Douglas finally finds the real Henry, he is chased off by Hal. Douglas is eventually captured, but he is released without ransom again because Hal admires his bravery.
DOUGLAS**1637
A Scottish lord who joins Wallace's revolt in J.W.'s The Valiant Scot.
DOUGLAS, ARCHIBALD, LORD of LOUGHENNELL
A "ghost character" in Sampson's The Vow-Breaker. One of the Scottish lords taken hostage by the English
after the battle of Dunbar.
DOUGLAS, EARL **1627
Only mentioned in Randolph's Plutophthalmia. To prove his mettle, the Scots soldier Brun mention his "blithe and bonny" service to Earl Douglas.
DOUGLAS, LADY
Lady Douglas is a neighbor of the Countess of Arran in Greene's James
IV. She, along with Sir Egmond, visits her after they have been hunting.
DOWNEFALNE, LADY
A "ghost character" in Massinger's A
New Way to Pay Old Debts. Lady Downefalne is a "new woman" that Overreach
provides for Margaret's service. Although Overreach claims that she was poor when
he hired her, Margaret contends that she once had many attendants herself and
claims to like her more as a friend than as a servant. At this assertion Overreach
cruelly promises to send the Lady Downefalne to "her knight" in a debtors' prison
if she refuses to serve his daughter in any way.
DOWNES**1595
Downes is the Officer of Justice who arrests More for treason in Chettle, Dekker and Munday's Sir Thomas More. The dramatis personae indicates that he may be one and the same with the Sergeant-at-Arms who appears elsewhere in the play.
DOWNFALL
Asotus's brother-in-law in Jonson's Cynthia's Revels. He wants to participate in the courtiers' party at Cynthia's palace but Amorphus and
Morphides deny him entrance. Though he insists, saying that his wife is the
sister of the gentleman who is inside (Asotus), the citizen cannot gain access.
Eventually, Asotus tries to placate the citizen, asking him to pardon the
guards, but husbands are not allowed at the party. Asotus lets his sister in,
promising to bring her back soon. In the meantime, the citizen is asked to wait
for them outside with a lantern.
DOWNFALL'S WIFE
Mistress Downfall is the citizen's wife and sister to Asotus in Jonson's Cynthia's Revels. Like her husband,
she wants to participate in the courtiers' party at Cynthia's palace, but
Amorphus and Morphides deny them entrance. When the citizen insists, saying that
his wife is the sister of the gentleman inside, Asotus comes forward. However,
he lets only the citizen's wife inside, telling his brother-in-law that husbands
are not allowed at the party. The party starts, and Hedon courts Mistress
Downfall, saying that he is sorry her husband could not get in. The citizen's
wife says it is no matter for him, and Anaides adds that, in this way, the wife
has more liberty for herself. The citizen's wife attends the entertainment and
she exits with the other nymphs and gallants.
DOWNRIGHT, GEORGE
George Downright, a "plain squire," is Wellbred and Dame Kitely's half brother in Jonson's Every Man in His Humour. He is dissatisfied with the fact that Wellbred brings his gallant friends to his brother-in-law's house. At Kitely's house in the Old Jewry, Downright enters with Dame Kitely, reprimanding his sister for having allowed the gallants into her house. When the gallants enter, Downright is appalled at their frivolity and exits furiously, saying he can endure the stocks better than their conversation. Downright re-enters and tries to chase the gallants away provoking a scandal. When Kitely enters, the gallants disperse, and Downright exits soon after that, revolted at the ladies' defense of the frivolous young men. At Moorfields, Downright challenges Bobadill to a duel, but when the braggart hesitates, Downright disarms and beats Bobadill. In a street, Downright enters to find himself under arrest. Brainworm, disguised as a city Sergeant, pretends he has a warrant for his arrest, following a complaint from Bobadill and Mathew. Downright exits with the party to take their case before the judge. In the final revelation scene, Downright discovers Brainworm's disguises and the confusion created by Stephen wearing his cloak. When Justice Clement reprimands him for having been so foolish as to accept being arrested without seeing the warrant, Downright is silent for fear of seeming a gull.
DOWSABEL
Dowsabel is the term used by Dromio of Syracuse in Shakespeare's Comedy
of Errors to refer to Nell, the kitchen maid of Adriana, who would like
to marry Dromio of Ephesus. She is also called Luce and just as unable as anyone
else in the play to distinguish among the two sets of twins-the Antipholi and
the Dromios.
DOWSECER
Son on Count Labervele from an earlier marriage in Chapman's An Humourous Day's Mirth. Dowsecer is a model of melancholy, observed in his humor by the King, his entourage, and Martia (all apparently in hiding). He
expresses reluctance to participate in typical masculine pursuits, but when he
sees Martia, he is immediately love-struck (as is she). When he learns that Moren
has (apparently) ravished her, he heads to the tavern to rescue her and finds
her with the king. The situation ends happily when the King blesses the union
of Dowsecer and Martia.
DOWSON
A carpenter in Whetstone's 2 Promos and Cassandra. He is foreman for the building of the stages and other structures used in the Pageant of the Nine Worthies. He takes orders directly from Phallax.
DOWZE **1635
Sometimes spelled Douze in Rider’s The Twins; Silvio’s daughter, beloved of Corbo. She goes into Pale’s wood with Corbo but goes home again when he’d rather jest than woo. She mistakes Corbo for a gentleman when he dresses in Alphonso’s clothes. He refers to her as a ‘gray-coated, straw-hatted, hobnailed, hopper-arsed wench.’
DOXY
Several of the beggar women are referred to as doxies in Brome's A Jovial Crew. Two figure significantly in the story.- A "ghost character." She gives birth to a child in Oldrents' guesthouse while the beggars laugh and sing to drown out her cries. Oldrents can hear them despite this. He suggests a christening, but the beggars say they will not stay long enough to see it.
- Patrico offers Oldrents a virgin doxy for his pleasure, which Oldrents declines.
DOYSELLS
With Mortigue in Sampson's The Vow-Breaker, one of the Colonels of the French army in Scotland. He
treacherously conducts his soldiers out of Leith to stand against the
English army, taking advantage of their parley with the Queen Regent of
Scotland. After retreating and losing the French colors at the Battle of
Leith, he and Mortigue lead a party of Frenchmen in women's clothing
into the English camp in hopes of surprising and killing them. He boasts
of being perfect in the Scottish language, and leads the seduction of
Miles, Joshua and Bell. Once this succeeds, he orders his men to fight the
English and leads them back to the walls of the town of Leith, where they
hang out the head of one dead Englishman. After the siege of Leith,
he leaves the town with Mortigue, ready to fight hand-to-hand with the
English, but the fight is stopped by a message from the rival queens'
commissioners in Edinburgh.
DOYT
Doyt is Hipolito's page in the anonymous Blurt,
Master Constable. The name refers to a small Dutch coin worth a trifling
sum, half a farthing. In front of Blurt's house, Doyt enters with Dandiprat. Doyt
seems to be acquainted with Pilcher. Doyt and Dandiprat crack a few jokes at Pilcher's
name, alluding to the fact that he is short and lean. The three pages sing a comic
song about their lack of good food. Pilcher asks them about the constable's home.
Having pointed it out to Pilcher, Doyt tells Dandiprat that Lazarillo is a coward
who ran from the battlefield. Attending to his master at the game of tennis, Doyt
witnesses the dispute between Camillo and Fontinel. When Doyt invites the gentlemen
to the serving table for dinner, Camillo reprimands him, ordering his men to arrest
Fontinel. Hipolito expresses his aggressive philosophy of winning a woman, according
to which the only way to triumph over a woman is to make her fall; Doyt strengthens
the argument by saying that the only way to make her fall is to throw her down.
Though Doyt apparently says nothing brilliant, Hipolito reads sexual innuendo
and compliments him on his "cunning." Doyt replies flatteringly that he had a
good master in this matter. When Hipolito sends Doyt to give Fontinel's picture
to Imperia, the page notes that the courtesan likes to have pictures of men in
her chamber, implying that he is acquainted with Imperia's intimate quarters.
Giving Fontinel's picture to Imperia, Doyt has a bawdy exchange with her. Doyt
warns Imperia that Hipolito is coming at nine o'clock that night.
DRACULEMION
Disguise of Phyginois in Cokain's The Obstinate Lady. Disguised as Draculemion, Phyginois poses as an itinerate clown who gives windy speeches in exchange for donations.
DRAKE
An English officer in Heywood's 2 If You Know Not Me who reports the English victory over the Spanish to the Queen. Probably intended to be Sir Francis Drake.
DRAKE, A
A "ghost character" in Dekker's The
Whore of Babylon. Transparently representing Sir Francis Drake, this lusty 'Drake' is said to have goaded the Babylonian fleet into action by besieging the flocks of all Babylon's best and bravest birds. Fideli reports that mere mention of his name hushes naughty Babylonian children.
DRAKE, SIR FRANCIS
I.
Only mentioned in Jonson's Every Man in His Humour. Sir Francis Drake (1543?-96) was the first Englishman to sail around the world. He also took a leading part in defeating the Great Armada sent by Spain to invade England. Drake's great voyage around the world, between 1577 and 1580, had the secret financial support of Queen Elizabeth I. On his return, he was warmly acclaimed, and Elizabeth honored him by dining on board his ship and by raising him to knighthood, though she knew this would infuriate the Spaniards. More than any other of England's bold privateers, Drake had helped to set England on the way to becoming the mistress of the seas. When Edward Knowell wants to persuade his cousin Stephen to accompany him to the Old Jewry in order to visit his gallant friends, he uses flattery to move the gullible Stephen. Thus, Edward Knowell says that a man of his cousin's stature should not conceal his resplendent qualities inside, but attempt to show them in society. Rather than let his cousin be discouraged by his natural shyness, Edward Knowell argues, Drake's old ship at Deptford may sooner circle the world again.
II.
A ‘ghost character’ in Percy’s Cuckqueans and Cuckolds Errants, mentioned in connection with the Spanish invasion. Denham calls him ‘the mirror of the day’.
III.
Only mentioned in Jonson's Bartholomew Fair. Sir Francis Drake (1543-96) was the first Englishman to sail around the world. In the final revelation scene, Justice Overdo reveals himself under the Porter's disguise. He prepares to deliver his exemplary justice to the people at the Fair, and compares his grand discoveries to those of his countryman Drake.
IV.
Only mentioned in the anonymous Wit's Triumvirate. Drake is mentioned by Sir Conquest Shadow when he is telling Doctor Clyster about his imaginary fights at sea: "Methinks I'm sailing about this our globe and do discover more than ever Magellan, Drake, or Cavendish did." Sir Francis Drake (1540-1596) was a navigator and privateer, and a great English sea-captain. Drake was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe. He represents the self-made Elizabethan privateer: a rapacious treasure-hunterespecially when those treasures were Spanishand a daring and visionary explorer.
V.
A "ghost character" in the anonymous Dick of Devonshire. Mentioned by the first Devonshire Merchant as a prime cause of the war by the example of his successful attacks on Spain.
VI.
Only mentioned in Hausted’s Rival Friends. Lively declares he’s discovered more than “our own waterfowl, Drake" when he discovers his ‘boy’ is Constantina in disguise.
VII.
Only mentioned in Mayne’s City Match. The captain tells the onlookers that the fish can speak and, when caught, already knew to say Drake and Hawkins, undoubtedly learning those names when the men sailed around the world.
DRAMURGON, KING of TARTARE
He returns in victory from Africa in Verney’s Antipoe and wonders if Cleantha smiled to learn of his success. He orders Antipoe imprisoned for reporting danger abroad because, in is pride, Dramurgon refuses to believe that the world does not quake before his might. He then has his messengers killed and mutilated when they bring in reports that support Antipoe’s. He entreats Drupon to spy out Antipoe’s friends, whom he believes to be his foes. He slips away from the sleeping Macros, whom he fears, ‘running lightly, with his shoes off.’ He meets the armies of Bohemia, Corinth, and Thrace but refuses to fight man-to-man while scorning their suggestions that he is a coward, making them agree to meet and fight on Thursday next. He woos Cleantha, who despises him, but collects her dropped glove and wins her promise to love him if he can demonstrate his honour in battle on Thursday next. He goes to the President, who refuses to execute Antipoe without charges or trial and chastises Dramurgon for his tyranny. Dramurgon endures the old man only because he is Cleantha’s father. When at the prison he finds that Antipoe has escaped, he has the torturers hang up the Jailor, Jailor’s wife, and servants. On the Thursday of the single combat, Dramurgon takes his spear but falls in a swoon and must be carried back to his pavilion. He returns after Antipoe has defeated the three kings and attempts to claim Bohemia, who has yielded, for himself. When Antipoe refuses, he calls down his knights but runs away when Antipoe and the four worthy knights kill his men. Unaware that Clentha has secretly married Antipoe, Dramurgon goes to renew his wooing with her but is rebuffed because he did not show the bravery he promised in the combat. He returns to rape her but is run away by Antipoe. He meets the army returning from Africa to fight Antipoe though he proposes to remain behind and not enter the fight personally. In the battle, his army loses and he is taken prisoner and grovels before Antipoe, who relents and spares him. He tells the trusting Antipoe what he wants to hear in order to regain the crown but secretly intends to return to his tyrannous ways. Macros appears, having heard all, and kills Dramurgon while he pleads for his life on his knees. He is later seen as a ghost, clad in black, descending to torture with Drupon at the behest of Charon.
DRAMURGON’S BROTHER
A ‘ghost character’ in Verney’s Antipoe. Dramurgon murdered him.
DRAMURGON’S FATHER
A ‘ghost character’ in Verney’s Antipoe. Dramurgon stabbed him.
DRAMURGON, GHOST of
He returns in Verney’s Antipoe to remind Antipoe that he vowed to avenge Dramurgon’s murder, which has not been accomplished. He later returns with Charon clad in black.
DRAMURGON’S MOTHER
A ‘ghost character’ in Verney’s Antipoe. Dramurgon raped and murdered her.
DRAMURGON’S SISTER
A ‘ghost character’ in Verney’s Antipoe. Dramurgon ravished her.
DRAMURGON’S UNCLES
‘Ghost characters’ in Verney’s Antipoe. Dramurgon strangled them.
DRAPE
A country gentleman in Markham and Machin's The Dumb Knight. He hires Prate the Orator to present his suit to the king and who is enraged when Prate fails to do so. After the King has resolved his differences with the Queen, he grants the suit.
DRAPER
The Draper and the Milliner in (?)Heywood's A Warning For Fair Women deliver goods Anne Sanders has ordered when she is speaking with Anne Drurie in the presence of her husband's servant. When Anne asks the servant for the money she had requested from her husband to buy the items, he replies that her husband had told him not to give her any. The Draper offers to let her have the linen on credit, but she, embarrassed and in pain, declines. Drurie seizes upon her disappointment to foretell that she will soon be a widow and marry George Browne.
DRAPER **1600
The Draper in the anonymous 1 Return From Parnassus complains to the Tayler that Philomusus and Studioso have left for London without paying their debt.
DRAWER**1599
The drawer works at The Salutation Inn in Chettle's(?) Looke About You. He serves sack to the fugitive Gloster dressed as Faukenbridge. Gloster, who needs a new disguise, uses the sack to administer a drug to the pursuivant-messenger Winterborne in order to obtain his clothes along with the warrant and message
box, which incidentally contains the old King's pardon for the porter of the Fleet.
When later the real Faukenbridge arrives at the inn accompanied by Prince John
and Richard, the drawer accuses the confused Faukenbridge of drugging and robbing
Winterborne.
DRAWER**1599
Drawer is supposed to bring wine to Carlo Buffone in Jonson's Every Man out of His Humour. At the Mitre Tavern, Drawer wants to draw wine for Carlo Buffone. Since he probably knows that Drawer waters the wine, Carlo Buffone asks him to call George. When George brings the wine, Carlo Buffone chases Drawer away, calling him a "false scabbard," which alludes to the fact that Drawer tampers with the wine. Drawer re-enters after the tavern brawl, complaining that all the meat ordered by Carlo was left on their hands and is wasted. Drawer and George charge Fungoso for the entire bill and they take him to the master of the Mitre Tavern, where it is understood that Fungoso will pay with the value of his new suit.
DRAWER**1602
A servant at the Emperor's Head in Chapman's May Day. He does his best to provide suitable wine to Quintiliano and his company.
DRAWER**1604
Serves drinks at the George Inn in The
London Prodigal.
DRAWER**1604
The Drawer, in the final scene of Chapman's All Fools, sets up the stage as a tavern and then promises to bring Valerio as much music and tobacco as he can.
DRAWER**1604
A "ghost character" in Marston's Dutch Courtesan. The drawer does not appear in the play, but Freevill speaks him of as one of the two people who were nearby when Cockledemoy and Mary Faugh stole three of Mulligrub's bowls. The drawer had left the room so that Cockledemoy and Mary Faugh could have their privacy, leaving behind the couple and a blind harper, who was none the wiser as Cockledemoy and Mary Faugh collected the loot and escaped out the window.
DRAWER**1605
Serves wine in the tavern where Doll Hornet lodges in Dekker and Webster's Northward Ho.
DRAWER**1605
The Drawer in Jonson, Marston, and Chapman's Eastward Ho! draws and serves wine in Billingsgate at the Blue Anchor tavern. While Seagull, Spendall, and Scapethrift are waiting for Sir Petronel on their appointment to sail to Virginia, the Drawer asks the captain if they would have more wine. Receiving the order to fill all the pots in the house with wine, the Drawer exits promising the Captain they will have all they can command. When Sir Petronel and his party, including the fugitive masked lady, are ready to leave, the Drawer enters announcing that one of the watermen warned that they cannot leave at once because there is a storm coming and it is dangerous to go against the tide. Expecting a wreck to happen, the Drawer is around when Winifred is cast ashore at St. Katherine's and he offers her shelter in his friend's house. The Drawer recognizes Winifred and reports that a porter hired by the gentleman accompanying Winifred brought some clothes to the tavern. He believes the clothes belong to Winifred and he offers to fetch them.
DRAWER**1605
An employee of William, a London tapster in Middleton's A Trick to Catch the Old One, the Drawer briefly attends Hoard and his retainers Lamprey and Spitchcock in a London tavern.
DRAWER**1607
The Drawer appears in II.iv of Machin's(?) Every Woman in Her Humour. He agrees to Acutus's request to bind Getica's dog to a post.
DRAWER**1608
The Drawer in Barry's Ram Alley
works in the Counter where Francis is held after her arrest. He stands aside to
listen to the exchange between Francis and the Sergeant. After the departure of
Francis and Lieutenant Beard, the Drawer attends Captain Face.
DRAWER**1609
An assistant to the Constable in Beaumont and Fletcher's The Coxcomb. Nevertheless, he tells Ricardo and his three "merry friends" that he can get them wine and women.
DRAWER**1611
Delivers wine to Bubbles at Staines' behest in Cooke's Greene's Tu Quoque.
DRAWER**1611
The Drawer works in a tavern in Turnbull Street in Field's Amends for Ladies. He tries to moderate the behavior of the delinquent "roarers" Bots, Spillblood, Tearchaps and Whorebang. After the fight and the flight of the roaring boys, he thanks Welltried and Lord Feesimple for ridding the house of them.
DRAWER**1617
A Drawer in Fletcher's Queen of Corinth is called upon to serve Crates and Conon at the tavern they visit. True to the habit of other stage drawers, he responds to his master's commands with the immortal phrase, "Anon, anon, sir."
DRAWER**1618
Serves drinks in the tavern where Gnothos and the servants of Creon celebrate
in Massinger, Middleton and Rowley's The
Old Law.
DRAWER**1627
The drawer in St. Dunstan's and the Devil tavern is referred to only as Boy in the anonymous Wisest Have Their Fools. He fetches wine and women, Lais and Bebia, for Timothy and Carouse.
DRAWER **1631
This unnamed tapster in Shirley's Love's Cruelty serves Bovaldo and Sebastian as the former makes certain the latter becomes inebriated enough to offer disrespectful remarks to the duke.
DRAWER**1631
A "ghost character" in Zouche's The Sophister. The Drawer awakens Distinction and threatens to send him to the prison if he does not pay for the wine which he and Ambiguity have consumed. Since Ambiguity had promised to pay for the drinks and did not, and then stole Distinction's money and "cloake" while he was asleep, Distinction is angry.
DRAWER**1632
Employed at the Goat Tavern in Covent Garden in Brome's The Weeding of Covent Garden.
DRAWER**1633
Drawer in the tavern where Trunnel drinks with Isabel and Mary in Mountfort's The Launching of The Mary. May be the same character as the "Boy" in a previous scene.
DRAWER**1633
A very minor character, also known as Boy in Nabbes' Covent Garden. He appears with Hugh Jerker and Jeffrey at the beginning and end of act IV and only speaks three lines.
DRAWER**1638
A drawer in Squirrel's tavern who appears briefly in act two of Nabbes' The Bride, first as a comic foil for Squirrel, and then in a brief comic misunderstanding with Theophilus.
DRAWER **1638
He tells Busie that Alderman Covet is below in the tavern inquiring after him in Glapthorne’s Wit in a Constable.
DRAWER**1639
The drawer in Julio's leaguer in J.D.'s The Knave In Grain New Vamped.
DRAWER**1640
The bartender at the tavern where Underwit, Thomas, Captain, Courtwell and Engine go to drink in Cavendish & Shirley's Country Captain. On Captain's orders, he locks up the insane-acting Engine.
DRAWER**1640
The Drawer pours wine in the tavern where Pandolfo works in Shirley's The Imposture.
DRAWER**1641
Newman jokingly offers the suspended Formal to the Drawer in payment for tavern
charges in Cavendish's The Variety.
DRAWER**1641
The Drawer, who works at the Devil in Killigrew's Parson's Wedding, proves unsympathetic to Lady Love-all who gets stuck paying the tab after she's deserted by the Captain, Wild, Jolly, and Careless.
DRAWER, FIRST and SECOND
Tapsters at the Boar's Head Tavern in Eastcheap in Shakespeare's 2
Henry IV. They lend their jerkins and aprons to Poins and Prince Henry
so they might eavesdrop on Falstaff.
DRAWERS**1605
Two Drawers at the Mitre, where the Gallants and their victims drink and dice in Middleton's Your Five Gallants.
DRAWERS**1609
Serve drinks in the tavern where Rainsforth kills Frank in Heywood and Rowley's
Fortune by Land and Sea.
DRAWERS**1633
In Shirley's The Gamester, they busily pour drink for the gamesters at the taverna drinking spree
that is funded by Hazard's money received from Old Barnacle. One Drawer
has a few perfunctory lines, such as telling Hazard that the Barnacles have
arrived to see him.
DRAWERS**1638
Accompany the Gaoler in his search for the escaped Orsabrin in Suckling's The Goblins. (Their part in this is not wholly clear: Nashorat and Pellegrin involved in the plot to rescue Orsabrin, shout for a drawer, who brings them drink; this perhaps leads the drawers (number unspecified) to help the Gaoler.)
DRAWERS**1641
Three Drawers figure in Jordan's Walks of Islington and Hogsden:- The Drawer of the Feathers Tavern is identified during his appearance as Hugh (see separate entry).
- The Drawer of the King's Head at Hogsdon serves drink to the gallants and demands payment for it from Trimwell.
- The Drawer of the Saracen's Head at Islington serves drink to the gallants and is beaten by Alice Drowzy when he gets in her way.
DRAWERS in PLYMOUTH
The two Drawers work at the Castle tavern in Plymouth in Thomas Heywood's The
Fair Maid of the West, Part One. They provide verbal humor in their exchanges
with Spencer, Bess, and Goodlack early in the play. They appear among the Petitioners
in the dumb show, and they inform the audience, after Spencer's departure, of
Bess's having settled her affairs in Plymouth and of her remove to Foy in Cornwall,
there to assume the management of the Windmill tavern and to await the return
of Spencer.
DRAYTON, MICHAEL**1603
Only mentioned in the anonymous 2 Return From Parnassus. Iudicio praises Drayton's work, and ironically dispraises his well-regulated behavior, so different from that of many writers.
DREAD **1617
A “ghost character" in the anonymous Pathomachia. One of the nine inferior Affections. An agent of Fear who attended the Parliament during Fear’s absence.
DRIAPON
Driapon is a shepherd in Lyly's Midas. He and the other shepherds learn that Midas' ears have been transformed into those of an ass. The reeds overhear the shepherds talking about Midas.
DRIBLOW, CAPTAIN
Captain of the Philoblathici, a confraternity of roisterers, rogues, and rascals
all committed to the supposed ideals of outlandish and outlawish behavior in Brome's
The Weeding of Covent Garden.
An equal-opportunity organization, the membership is comprised of both men, the
Brotherhood of the Blade, and women, the Sisterhood of the Scabbard. Driblow is
the ceremonial officer of the order. With a whimper rather than a bang, the crew
is ultimately ejected from Covent Garden.
DRIOPE
A "ghost character" in Fletcher's The
Faithful Shepherdess. The Satyr recounts that Driope had ordered him to
fetch nuts for her.
DROCENUS
Drocenus is a "ghost character" in Daniel's Philotas. According to Dymnus, Drocenus is part of a plot to kill Alexander.
DROMIO**1589
A servant to Memphio in Lyly's Mother
Bombie. Dromio is enlisted by his master to negotiate a marriage between Memphio's foolish son Accius and Stellio's foolish daughter Silena. En route, he encounters his friend Riscio, servant to Stellio, who has also been assigned to negotiate the same marriage. The two band together with their servant friends Lucio and Halfpenny and plot to cozen their masters. After concocting their plan, Dromio and his co-conspirators consult the cunning woman Mother Bombie to see if their plan will work. They are told cryptically that they will succeed even though they will be revealed as cozeners. They arrange to have Livia and Candius dress as Accius and Silena and trick blessings from their fathers for their marriage. Accius and Silena also meet dressed as Livia and Candius. However, Stellio and Memphio catch their children at their rendezvous and bid Accius and Silena home, furious over their servants' deception. In secondary action, the Hackneyman and Sergeant threaten Dromio with arrest over the issue of a hired horse. Dromio and the other servants convince the Hackneyman to agree to a bond for the debt, and they enlist the aid of the Scrivener to draw up the contract. However, the servants get the Hackneyman, Sergeant and Scrivener drunk and pass them a useless bond. Although their tricks are discovered, Dromio and his servant friends are forgiven because the various plots end happily. Memphio agrees to pay Dromio's debt to the Hackneyman.
DROMIO**1604
Dromio is servant to Amphitruo in the anonymous Birthe of Hercules. He is sent by the latter, after Sosia, to deliver a message and a ring to his wife. However, Iupiter, in order to procrastinate his arrival at his master's house, and prevent him from disturbing his seducing Alcumena, causes him to be shipwrecked. Luckily, Dromio escapes drowning. Despite his misfortune, he is determined to go to his mistress and deliver his master's message to her. Dromio distrusts Sosia, whom he takes for a cozener. Thus, when he sees Mercurius in the shape of Sosia at his mistress's door, he is reluctant to believe what he says and refuses to give him the ring because he does not trust him. Nevertheless, after a while, he is finally convinced by Mercurius's/Sosia's insistence and he lets him give the diamond ring to Alcumena. When his master/Iupiter asks him about the ring he had given him as a token for his wife, Dromio thinks he is being teased, but, realizing that his master/Iupiter is being serious, he has to admit that he has been teased by Sosia/Mercurius. However, his anger disappears when Amphitruo/Iupiter reveals that he has been talking to him in jest, that he had indeed asked Sosia to take the ring from him, but that he could not put the prisoners under his custody yet, because they were still to arrive. Later, Dromio, back at his master's house, and aware of the fact that he/Iupiter is in with Alcumena, cannot believe his eyes when he sees Amphitruo outside, asking him to let him in. This provokes Dromio's confusion, since he can see his master is in two places at the same time, and he resolves not to open the door. Once Alcumena has given birth to her twins, Dromio sees his real master again, and he seems to be really glad, and tells him about a strange dream he had: that his wife, Alcumena, had given birth to two sons and two serpentsone of the serpents would kill one son, and the other son would kill both serpents.
DROMIO of EPHESUS
Dromio of Ephesus is the twin brother of Dromio of Syracuse in Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors. He is bond companion to Antipholus Sereptus. Antipholus Erotes mistakes this Dromio for Dromio S. In turn, Dromio of Ephesus mistakes Antipholus
Erotes for his own master Antipholus Sereptus. His plan is eventually to wed Nellalso
known as Lucethe kitchen maid in the house of Adriana.
DROMIO of SYRACUSE
Dromio of Syracuse is the twin brother of Dromio of Ephesus in Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors. He is bond companion to Antipholus Erotes. He finds himself mistaken for the Ephesian Dromio by the kitchen maid Nell and experiences several
hilarious moments with this unknown woman who treats him with uncomfortable familiarity.
DROMO
Appearing briefly prior to the play's final scene at Parnassus in the anonymous Pilgrimage To Parnassus, Dromo instructs the Clown on proper clown behavior. Dromo and the Clown's scene ostensibly seeks to be a kind of comic relief before the conclusion, drawing attention to the play's artifice and foreshadowing the disillusionment experienced by the pilgrims upon their arrival at Parnassus.
DROWZY, ALICE
Alice Drowzy is a kitchen-wench in Jordan's Walks of Islington and Hogsden whom Flylove has made pregnant. She is described by the other characters as whorish, ugly and greasy. She tries to confront Flylove, but he runs away, and she therefore (at Mr Trimwell's instigation) has him arrested. Flylove, however, is released, and marries his true love Bellaflora: nothing further is heard of Drowzy at the end of the play.
DRUCE
A "ghost character" in Fletcher's Love's
Pilgrimage. The Second Hostess tells the Wench to invite Druce, as well
as his worship and his worship's wife, to dinner the next day.
DRUDO
Museus's "Booke-bearer" in Hawkins's Apollo Shroving. Drudo assists Lauriger and Preco with the Proclamation of Apollo's "yeerly visitation." He expresses his desire to be "a pretty water Poet" and talks with the others about Apollo's approaching visit. Lauriger orders Drudo to "looke [. . .] betweene the Temple and the hill" for people, and Preco to "looke into the Grove." When no one can be found, Preco climbs a tree to proclaim Apollo's coming, and the three "returne" to Museus to "acquaint" him with what they've done. Lauriger claims later that, after he, Preco, and Drudo informed Apollo of their "publishing of his Mandates," Apollo "charged [them] that this inquiry should be more strickt then heretofore" and, for this reason, Preco and Drudo go about notifying those who must appear in the Court at Apollo's command. After notifying Siren, the "goddesse" tries to tempt them from their work, but Drudo puts a stop to this by charging Preco to take her to Apollo while he goes to "cite Slug." Drudo lectures Slim Slugge on his laziness and discourages him "from hope of admittance." When Slugge asks Drudo to play the part of Apollo so that they won't have to complete the trek to Apollo's Court, Drudo refuses but allows him to "say what [he] canst" since "Apollo sees and heares all things in all places." Thus, Drudo listens to and comments on Slugge's "clayme" until he's had "enough" and forces the "drunken Beare" to move along. He is present at the sentencing of disobedient characters at the play's end, where he helps to bring about order, provides information about the overturning of Indulgence's coach, and comments on the action.
DRUGGER, ABEL
Abel Drugger is a shy little London tobacconist in Jonson's The Alchemist. He is very superstitious, and comes to the magician to learn about the perfect location of his shop, from an astrological perspective. Captain Face recommends Abel as an honest fellow, who gives him good tobacco for free. Using many terms from astrology and chiromancy, Subtle tells Drugger nothing that he does not know already. Drugger wants Subtle to look over his almanac and cross out his unlucky days. Drugger later returns with Captain Face, telling him he wants to introduce a young widow to the Doctor. According to Drugger, this lady wants to know her fortune, but her brother restrains her. Face asks Drugger to bring both brother and sister to the Doctor and give the alchemist a damask suit. In the garden of Lovewit's house, Drugger enters bringing the damask suit just when Surly, still in his Spanish costume, threatens to reveal Face and Subtle as charlatans. Face turns Drugger against Surly, who leaves in defeat. Face tells Drugger that Surly, disguised as a Spanish nobleman, tried to cheat Drugger out of his widow. Drugger, who boasts of having played the fool in several plays, hands Face the damask suit and leaves to procure a Spanish costume, presumably to marry Dame Pliant in it. Drugger returns with the Spanish costume and a Parson, but he is made to wait in another room while the Parson marries Dame Pliant to Lovewit in the Spanish suit. Drugger enters upon the angry congregation of Surly, Mammon, Ananias, Tribulation, and Kastril who are complaining to the officers of the deceits happening in the house. Because Lovewit seems to think Drugger is another extremist Puritan, he beats him away with the others.
DRUID
The Druid is a Physician in Carlell's 2 Passionate Lovers that enjoys great popularity in the kingdom of Neustrea as he is thought to be an oracle. In Act One, he puts up Cleon and his sister, whom he leaves to go disguised to court to work. In Act Three, the druid is to help Cleon and the Prince of Aquitain to take revenge. However, he still wants to keep his reputation and then his clients are not to be allowed to enter his house when they are called to be kidnapped.
DRUIDS
The Druids sing in Fletcher's Bonduca
during the Britons' prayers to the gods.
DRUM
A mute role in Fisher's Fuimus Troes. A soldier who enters with Caesar.
DRUM, A
Appears in the First Dumb Show, Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy.
DRUM, JACK **1599
Only mentioned in Ruggle’s Club Law. While waiting to catch Colby with the corn, Cricket says he will get up to something rather than to stand about like Jack Drum.
DRUM, JACK **1600
A servant of Sir Edward Fortune, who calls Drum "a knave" in Marston's Jack Drum's Entertainment. Jack Drum opens the action of the play. He entertains the Morice dancers and then tells Fortune that they should not be hospitable to Mamon, but they should give him "Jack Drum's Entertainment;" in other words, they should send him on his way with nothing. Drum recognizes Mamon's greed and warns Sir Edward repeatedly about the dangers of associating with usurers. Winifred uses Drum in her plan to humiliate both Drum and the Frenchman, fo de King. She tells Drum that she wants to have sex with him, but she needs him to hide in a sack and be carried to her. Instead, fo de King picks up the sack and carries Drum to the inn. Both men are surprised to discover that Winifred is not there. Drum attends a celebratory entertainment at Sir Edward's after Katherine and Pasquil are reunited.
DRUMNED **1607
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A "ghost character" also called Ned of Aldgate in Beaumont's Knight of the Burning Pestle. He is a fondly remembered person whom the grocer George recalls having acquitted himself well in a past muster at Mile End.
DRUMMER
There are many supernumerary drummers, or "drums," in the period drama that are not listed here because they appear primarily to decorate a scene.
DRUMMER**1586
A French drummer in the anonymous Famous
Victories of Henry V. He plays dice with three French soldiers, mocking
Henry V.
DRUMMER**1596
A non-speaking character in the anonymous Captain Thomas Stukeley under the command of Stukeley.
DRUMMER **1607
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A "ghost character" in The Grocer's Honour portion of Beaumont's Knight of the Burning Pestle. He took the stone of the Second Soldier's piece (firearm) to light tobacco.
DRUMMER**1638
A servant to Spendall in the anonymous Oberon the Second.
DRUMMER **1638
He comes in before Macrinus, Lacero, and Serpix in Mayne’s Amorous War.
DRUMMERS
Mute characters in the anonymous Trial Of Chivalry. Both Philip and Ferdinand bring drummers onto the stage: Ferdinand's beats a parley to summon the French King.
DRUNKENNESS
A non-speaking role in Marston's Parasitaster, or The Fawn: one of the allegorical attendants in the Masque of Cupid's Council.
DRUPON
Dramurgons’ mignon in Verney’s Antipoe. He stabs the first messenger who comes with a report of revolution in Bohemia, Corinth, and Greece. He next pulls out the tongue of the second messenger, who reports that the treasure city has been sacked. Instructed to spy out Antipoe’s friends, he finds Macros sleeping (in Mercury’s prophetic slumber) and draws his rapier to kill him but not before plucking his hair before his eyes so as not to see. He is interrupted in the act by Dabon, Liperus and Sapos, who lead him away to torture. When Dramurgon swoons on the field of battle, he claims that the kings of Bohemia, Corinth and Thrace have bewitched him. He is placed in charge of the royal army to fight Antipoe’s army as it returns from Africa, but when he learns that Dramurgon will not personally fight, he secretly determines to be sick that day as well and not face Antipoe. In battle, he drinks Canary wine for valour but runs away and falls on his face pretending to be dead. When confronted, he grovels before Macros, who spares him in imitation of Antipoe’s mercy to Dramurgon. He is tied to a tree and watched over by Marcos’ page. He is taunted by the Page and remains tied to the tree throughout the murder of Dramurgon and the capture, trial and thwarted execution of Macros. Upon Macros’ deliverance from execution, Macros calls for the killing of Drupon, still tied to the tree, and then kills Drupon. He is later seen as a ghost, clad in black, descending into torture with the Dramurgon at the behest of Charon.
DRURY, ANNE
Also spelled Drurie and Drewry in (?)Heywood's A Warning For Fair Women. Surgeon, soothsayer, and widow; employer and partner of Roger, her trusted associate and companion in crime; and false friend to George and especially Anne Sanders; Drewry agrees to accept George Browne's money to lure Anne Sanders into sleeping with him. Knowing how devoted Anne is to her husband, she cunningly uses her soothsaying prowess to convince Anne that she is destined to marry Browne. Anne resists but succumbs to adultery. Drewry then pushes and abets Browne into murdering George Sanders, providing Roger's help at every stage, particularly when Browne waivers in his intention. After the murder she helps Browne escape, fearing for her own safety, by enlisting Roger to sell plate to raise the necessary funds. When Browne is caught, and she, Roger, and Anne Sanders are brought in for questioning, she pleads not guilty but later accepts her fate. She implicates Anne Sanders and refuses to recant when Anne asks her to do so to save her life. She is with Anne Sanders at the end when they both make confession to the Doctor before their execution.
DRUSILLA
Niece of the prophetess Delphia in Fletcher and Massinger's The Prophetess. Drusilla is in love with Diocles. Delphia has predicted Diocles will marry Drusilla when he becomes emperor, a possibility that seems unlikely given Diocles' lowly social station. Drusilla begs her aunt to make Diocles love her or at least to moderate her passion for him. When Diocles kills Aper and becomes co-emperor of Rome, Drusilla asks Delphia to be allowed to witness his triumph, and the women travel to Rome in "a Throne drawn by Dragons." They are dismayed to find that Diocles appears to have forgotten them because his co-emperor, Charinus, has promised his sister Aurelia's hand in marriage to Diocles. Drusilla is jealous of Aurelia's beauty, and is rejected by Diocles because of her low social standing. When Aurelia in turn rejects Diocles, because of a spell cast by Delphia, Drusilla sees him in his misery and forgives him. She does not realize he is asking for her forgiveness in order to further his relationship with Aurelia. When Delphia shows Drusilla proof of Diocles' infidelity, Drusilla is greatly saddened. After the Persians, with Delphia's assistance, capture Charinus, Aurelia, and Maximinian, Diocles prays to Delphia for assistance. Delphia is unconvinced by Diocles' new vows to be faithful to Drusilla, but Drusilla immediately forgives and kisses him, persuading her aunt to cast spells to help Diocles' fleet and troops defeat the Persians. When Diocles returns in triumph and is offered additional honors, he declines them, gives the empire to his nephew Maximinian, and proposes to Drusilla, who gladly accepts. Living in the country in retirement, Drusilla and Diocles are happy together, and on a walk through a grove, are presented with flowers and a song by a Spirit dwelling in a Crystal Well. Local shepherds and shepherdesses, assisted by Geta and by Spirits playing Pan and Ceres, dance for Drusilla and Diocles; the dance is interrupted when a Spirit informs Delphia that Maximinian is on his way to kill Diocles. Delphia thwarts this plot and the dance continues.
DRUSIO
Drusio, a follower of Ferdinand in Massinger's The
Maid of Honor.
DRUSIUS
Drusius (also called Drusus in the text) is a Roman officer, an associate of Penius
in Fletcher's Bonduca. He
listens to Penius's fears about the ensuing battle, and watches it with him from
a distance. When Penius kills himself, Drusius takes his body back to the camp;
on the way, he allows Caratach to mourn over it.
DRUSO**1596
A serving man to Samathis in Chapman's The
Blind Beggar of Alexandria. His duty is to keep her from wanton talk and
dalliance. He reveals to her that Leon (Irus in disguise) is betraying her with
Elimine.
DRUSO**1601
A "ghost character" in Dekker's Satiromastix.
Although he does not appear in the play, Horace mentions the gallant Druso as
a recently acquired admirer. Horace enlists his companion Asinius Bubo to deliver
a prefabricated letter to him to further impress the gallant with Horace's poetic
abilities.
DRUSUS**1605
A servant of Cornelia in Chapman's Caesar and Pompey.
DRUSUS**1613
Alternative spelling of Drusius, often used in the text of Fletcher's Bonduca.
DRUSUS (GERMANICUS)
Drusus, son of Germanicus in the anonymous Tragedy
of Tiberius, pleads with Tiberius to take the imperial crown. He later
wishes to unseat the tyrant but is talked out of it by his brother Nero. He is
angered by his brother's lack of action. Germanicus scolds him and makes them
friends. He and Nero are captured and imprisoned as enemies to Tiberius. They
try to survive by cannibalizing one another's arms, but they ultimately die together
of starvation.
DRUSUS JUNIOR
Drusus Junior, son of Agrippina in Jonson's Sejanus
His Fall. In a ruse to divert suspicion from his plans against Agrippina,
Tiberius presents Drusus and his brothers Nero and Caligula to the Senate for
preferments. He is arrested on orders of Sejanus for treason.
DRUSUS SENIOR
Drusus Senior, Tiberius' son in Jonson's Sejanus
His Fall . He is nicknamed Castor after he beats Sejanus. Sejanus plots
with Drusus Senior's wife, Livia, to poison him. When the plan works, Tiberius
laments his son's death.
DRUSUS TIBERIUS
Drusus Tiberius, son of the Emperor in the anonymous Tragedy
of Tiberius. He delivers a stately encomium at Augustus' funeral. Sejanus
convinces the Emperor that Drusus Tiberius is ambitious and wishes to murder him.
The Emperor gives his son a cup of poisoned wine and kills him. The Emperor only
later learns that Drusus Tiberius was guiltless.
DRYFAT
A merchant in Middleton's The Family of Love. Dryfat joins The Family of Love and later aids Gerardine in his deception of Glister.
DRYGROUND
Family name of Sir Humfrey and his wife in Brome's The Damoiselle.
DUARTE**1620
A braggart gentleman, son to Guiomar, nephew to the Governor of Lisbon, and currently a heartbreaking liability to both of them in Fletcher and Massinger's Custom of the Country. Don Duarte is an undutiful, arrogant prodigal. His character and career prospered, thanks to his mother's care, after his father's early death. At first a credit to all at the university of Salamanca, time as a courtier in the Emperor's court (presumably Spain), has corrupted his morals, honor and temper while he outwardly gained the highest refinements of polite society. He is obsessed with the vacuous fashion for dueling and is deeply resentful of the interference of his family. He pursues a quarrel with Alonzo, who is said to have slighted him; Rutillio intervenes to defend the unarmed stranger, and defeats Duarte, who is believed dead until much later in the plot. His reputed passing is scarcely mourned, except by his mother. His cure includes a complete moral rehabilitation from his earlier vices and excesses. Still thought dead, he intends to use his anonymity both to seek out and thank his unknown assailant for being the first cause of his reformation, and also to test the true extent of his mother's grief. Prat. In disguise, he tracks Rutillio to his ordeal at Sulpitia's brothel and befriends him, gives him money to buy his freedom from prostitution and his hospitality to recover from his debilitation. He agrees to take a letter for Rutillio, which turns out to be a love-letter to his own mother. Duarte is secretly outraged to learn that his mother had rescued Rutillio from arrest for his own presumed murder, despite knowing all the facts. He fears for his mother's honour in this, and further doubts the sincerity of her maternal devotion. Delivering the letter in disguise, he approves of her appearance of mourning but is appalled at her overjoyed reaction to the letter, mistaking as lust her intention to use a further meeting with Rutillio for revenge on her son's killer. Duarte accompanies Rutillio to the meeting, wallowing in gloom until his mother summons the Governor and denounces her suitor. Both his mother and presumed murderer proving honorable, Duarte reveals himself, thanks his new friend as planned, and rejoices in the true-love-match that now is made between Guiomar and Rutillio.
DUARTE
Duarte is the handmaid to Corsa in Davenant's The Cruel Brother. She is romantically involved with Castruchio, who uses that relationship to gain the Duke access to Corsa's bedroom. Duarte is troubled by what takes place, citing Corsa's shrieks as evidence that she was not willing, and regrets allowing the Duke access. But she is persuaded by Castruchio that women are like wax, willing to accept any impression. When Corsa confronts her maid, Duarte attempts to excuse both of them by pointing out that other women have done worse, but she is dismissed by Corsa, who gives her money to go on pilgrimage and pray for Corsa's "fault."
DUBON
At the end of Marston's Dutch Courtesan, when Franceschina's plot to revenge her betrayal at the hands of Freevill is coming to a head, she calls for someone to escort her to the place where she will disclose their relationship and claim that Malheureux murdered Freevill. In order to thwart her plans, Freevill disguises himself as her guide, going by the name of Don Dubon, a pander.
DUBOYS
A loyal servant of Montaigne in Fletcher's The Honest Man's Fortune. Duboys pretends to be Longavile's and Amiens's enemy in order to take service with Orleans while continuing to serve Montaigne's interests. He disobeys Orleans' order to kill Montaigne, instead saving him from arrest and helping him to flee.
DU CHAMP, RICHARD
Possibly a "ghost character" and more probably a fictitious character in Shakespeare's
Cymbeline. When Caius Lucius
asks Imogen about the headless corpse lying beside her, she claims that the body
is that of her dead master, Richard du Champ. She actually believes that the dead
man is Posthumous Leonatus, and she does not realize that it is Cloten's headless
trunk in Posthumous's clothes.
DUCHESS**1601
A fictional character in Jonson's Cynthia's Revels. In an apartment in Cynthia's palace, Phantaste, Philautia, Argurion, and Moria are
expecting the miracle water from the fountain of Self-love, so much publicized
by Amorphus. While waiting, the vain nymphs discuss fashion, their admirers, and
fantasize on what they would like to be. While Moria and Philautia imagine they
could be extremely powerful women, Phantaste fantasizes that she could
impersonate many women and do various things. As a Duchess, Phantaste imagines
that she could keep her high state and play the grand dame.
DUCHESS**1604
A "ghost character" in Chapman's All Fools. Gostanzo, appalled by Valerio's apparent shyness around women, reminisces about his youth, when, at twenty-five, he was able to entertain the Duchess with courtly bows, talking and dances. He even claims he could have written verse, if needed.
DUCHESS **1604
Wife of Duke Philip in Chapman's Monsieur D'Olive.
DUCHESS**1606
The young and lusty bride of the old Duke in [?]Middleton's The Revenger's Tragedy. She has designs upon the old Duke's bastard son, Spurio, and cuckolds her new husband. She is successfully seduced at an inn while her
husband, the Duke, is forced secretly to look on while he dies, poisoned at the
hands of Vindice and Hippolito. When Lussurioso becomes Duke he banishes her.
DUCHESS**1615
Only superficially a submissive and obedient wife in Thomas Middleton's The Witch, she loathes the psychological brutality of her husband, the Duke, and seeks revenge. She hires Almachildes to murder her husband, leading him to believe that she will marry him as a reward, without actually intending to do so. Instead, as soon as she thinks that her husband is dead, she tries to seduce the Lord Governor of Ravenna, who also seems to respond to her advances. When he confronts her with the body of her dead husband, the Duchess, by now guilt-ridden, admits to her plan to have him murdered and is sentenced to death. At this moment, the Duke, who had merely pretended to be dead in order to test his wife's virtue, miraculously comes back to life, pardoning her and promising to be a better husband.
DUCHESS **1634
Duchess of Fridland, wife to Wallenstein, mother of Fredericke and Albertus in Glapthorne's Albertus Wallenstein. [Historically she is Isabella Katharina von Harrach, daughter of a senior ally to the Emperor.] Either a modest or neglected wife, she says little but always in the cause of preserving family harmony. She first appears when Wallenstein is furious at the delay in their son Fredericke's marriage to Emilia. Her gentle intervention is largely overlooked as the happy couple appears just in time to placate his anger: it is unclear whether Wallenstein actually paid her any attention. She later attempts to intercede for Albertus, whose proposed marriage to her own waiting-woman, Isabella, has incensed him. He ignores her appeal for moderation. The Duchess returns to interrupt the fierce quarrel between husband and son with the sudden news that she has lost a precious jewel and accuses Isabella of stealing it. The consequences are catastrophic, leading to the deaths of Albertus and Isabella, despite the Duchess's laments. She later finds the missing jewel and grieves over the senseless deaths and her thoughtless part in the slaughter. She does not re-appear.
DUCHESS**1638
The Duchess is a widow in (?)Brome's The Cunning Lovers. The Duke of Mantua is to send a message of love to her though the Architect, but she meets Montescelso who begs for her love. She promises him loyalty but they have to keep it in secret because they are to pretend that she has accepted the Duke of Mantua. Later, she is asked to sleep with Valentia in the tower, where they are visited by the Duke to whom she confesses that she thinks that he is a noble man, and that she will be honored to marry him. In Act Four, when she hears about the Architect's death, she falls in pain and loses sanity. She will recover it when the Necromancer "resurrects" the ghost of his beloved Architect whom she will marry.
DUCHESS, DEAD
A “ghost character” in [?]Middleton's The Revenger's Tragedy. Duke’s first wife and mother of Lussurioso.
DUCHESS of ALANSON
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's Henry
VIII. The Duchess is sister to the French king. It is this lady that Wolsey
wishes King Henry to marry once he has divorced Katherine.
DUCHESS of BEDFORD
A "ghost character" in Thomas Heywood's 1
Edward IV. The Duchess of Bedford is the mother of the queen and does
not appear in the play.
DUCHESS of FLORENCE
A beloved and virtuous ruler and mother to Belvidere in Fletcher's Women Pleased. Touched by the unselfish love he expresses for Belvidere at his trial, she commutes Silvio's death sentence and banishes him for a year to find the answer to a riddle in order to win her daughter's hand. Fooled by Belvidere's seeming penitence, she tells her daughter the answer to Silvio's riddle, and proclaims Silvio a traitor when her daughter escapes. She honors the disguised conqueror of the Duke of Siena; upon learning that he is Silvio, however, she arrests him, but allows him to answer the riddle she gave him a year ago. When the hag (Belvidere in disguise) claims his hand in marriage, the Duchess compels Silvio to honor his promise. Upon the revelation that the hag is Belvidere, the Duchess forgives the Duke of Siena and gives herself to him in marriage.
DUCHESS of GLOUCESTER**1591
Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester, second wife of Humphrey in Shakespeare's 2 Henry VI, encourages her husband to usurp King Henry and claim the crown for himself. At Eleanor's behest, the duplicitous priest Hume arranges a séance
in which Roger Bolingbrook, the priests Hume and Southwell, and the witch Margery
Jourdain conjure a spirit who will ostensibly help Eleanor to become queen. Hume
is secretly working for Cardinal Beaufort and Suffolk, who plan to use Eleanor
to discredit her husband. With Hume's collusion the séance is interrupted and
the participants arrested. King Henry condemns the three men to the gallows, Margery
Jourdain to Smithfield where she will be burnt as a witch, and Eleanor to the
Isle of Man where she will live in exile. As a prelude to her banishment, Eleanor
is led through the streets barefoot.
DUCHESS of GLOUCESTER**1592
Devoted wife to Thomas of Woodstock in the anonymous Thomas of Woodstock. When Woodstock sends her away from their home at Plashy to wait on the sick Queen, Anne o' Beame, the Duchess is reluctant to go: she has had a warning dream in which Woodstock was murdered. While she is away, Richard II and his friends capture Woodstock by trickery and convey him secretly to Calais. The Duchess's presence at Court, howevercaring for the Queen, comforting the King, innocently unaware of her husband's dangerinspires agonizing guilt in Richard, who almost calls off the assassination. She is last seen weeping for Woodstock's death.
DUCHESS of GLOUCESTER**1595
She is the widow of Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester in Shakespeare's Richard II. She is also sister-in-law to John of Gaunt (Duke of Lancaster) and Edmund of Langley (Duke of York). She is eager for her husband's death to be avenged. Her "seven vials of [Edward's] sacred blood" speech is a showpiece although her one scene in the play (I.ii) is likely the playwright's device to allow actors time to change costumes for the grand entry of I.iii. Her death is reported in II.ii. Historically she was Eleanor de Bohun.
DUCHESS of GUISE
Wife of Guise, but in love with Mugeroun in Marlowe's Massacre
at Paris. She is turned out by Guise when he discovers a letter she has
written to her beloved.
DUCHESS of IRELAND
Widow of Robert de Vere in the anonymous Thomas of Woodstock, former favorite of Richard II. She blames Richard for alienating her husband's affections from her.
DUCHESS of MALFI
The titular character in Webster's The
Duchess of Malfi. A strong woman, she calls Antonio, her steward, to her
to dictate to him her will, both literally and figuratively. She confesses her
love, and they secretly marry per verba de præsenti much against the threats
of her two brothers, the Cardinal and her younger twin, Ferdinand. She has three
children by Antonio. When the brothers come near to discovering her secret, she
sends Antonio away pretending he has absconded with her wealth. She plans to join
him by feigning a pilgrimage to Ancona, but she confides her plans to Bosola,
her brothers' spy, whom she has mistakenly thought her friend. She is captured
and tortured in an insane asylum, but demonstrates a strength of character that
cannot be broken. At last she is murdered at her brothers' commandment. Her death
occurs in IV. Bosola strangles her while she kneels in a prayerful attitude. Her
nobility in distress and death and her last word, "Mercy," prompt Bosola to cast
off his evil and become her avenger in V.
DUCHESS of MANTUA
The Duchess of Mantua, claiming that she distrusts political alliance marriages, argues that she should select a lover from her own court in Shirley's The Humorous Courtier. She keeps informed of all the plots and subterfuges undertaken by the several hopefuls for her hand, selecting an evening during which she states she will make her choice after trying each man's heart privately. During these personal talks, she tells each man what she has learned about him, promising not to publicize the men's errors. Finally, Foscari the Duke of Parma is revealed as her choice; disguised as Giotto, he has been part of almost all of the covert plots.
DUCHESS of MILAN
The Duchess of Milan is a widow who has vowed never to marry again in Middleton's More Dissemblers Besides Women. She has been cloistered for seven years, but on the recommendation of the Cardinal, she decides to venture outside, to prove her constancy in the world. As soon as she steps onto her balcony, however, she sees Andrugio and falls in love with him. She decides to tell the Cardinal that she is in love, but decides to be "cunning" and names Lactantio as the object of her affection, hoping that the Cardinal will accept her choice to break her vow if it is broken with his chaste nephew. But the Cardinal decides to banish Lactantio, which upsets the Duchess's plans. Then, Celia warns the Duchess that Lactantio is the secret enemy of Andrugio. The Duchess forms a new plan: she meets Lactantio and tells him she'd like to see his enemy destroyed. She asks him to forge a love-letter from Andrugio to her, so that Lactantio can use it to have Andrugio arrested. Meanwhile the Cardinal reconsiders his rashness, and decides to persuade the Duchess of the joys of marriage. She pretends to be shocked, but is of course pleased. She has Andrugio brought before her, and interrogates him, pretending to be outraged by his love-letters. When they are alone, she reveals her love for him, and, to keep their love secret, keeps him in prison in the palace. She is later angry to learn that Andrugio has been meeting a gypsy-girl in prison. She is furious that he could prefer an unworthy gypsy before her. When Andrugio rejects this assessment of his beloved, the Duchess orders the gypsy brought forth, but Aurelia appears in her own attire. The Duchess admits that Aurelia is worthy and pretty, and allows her to marry whoever she wants. Aurelia eventually chooses Andrugio. The Duchess's hopes have been dashed, so when the Cardinal enters and asks the Duchess to choose her husband, she says she will remain a vowed virgin forever. The Duchess then reveals Lactantio's "Page," explaining that Lactantio has been wooing a woman in man's apparel "because he was bashful / And never could endure the sight of woman". She gives money for the "Page's" dowry, and speaks the play's moral at the end: "There's more dissemblers than of womankind."
DUCHESS of NAVARRE
The Duchess represents an improvement over the earlier ingenue who can do nothing
for herself in Shirley's The Cardinal
. She remains virtuous throughout, and is willing to go through a hated
wedding to Columbo for honor's sake. She does not reject Columbo until she truly
believes he has released her from her promise. She then becomes a true, loving,
and devoted wife to her true love, D'Alverez. Still, she demonstrates more spirit
than most characters of her ilk. When D'Alverez is murdered during their wedding
masque, she plots revenge with Hernando. She has strength enough to feign madness
and so avert suspicion. She might even be favorably compared to Hamlet in this
respect. She is tricked into swallowing poison only after she has seen both of
her enemies, Columbo and the Cardinal, murdered at her instigation.
DUCHESS of NORFOLK
This old Duchess does not speak during Shakespeare's Henry
VIII. Her role is to carry Anne's coronation train.
DUCHESS of PAVIA **1639
A “ghost character" in Sharpe’s Noble Stranger. She is the young and beautiful sister to the King of Naples. When she married the Duke of Pavia instead of the elderly King of Portugal, it began a war between Naples and Portugal.
DUCHESS of SUFFOLK
Title character of Drue's The Duchess of Suffolk. Catherine Willoughby, Duchess of Suffolk, important literary and religious patron and supporter of the English Reformation. Enters, attended by Foxe,
Cranwell, Bertie, a Gentlewoman, and Gentlemen, and distributes alms to beggars.
Receives a note from the king asking her to consider marriage to Palsgrave. As she and her party continue to Sussex House, she meets former Catholic bishops Gardner and Bonner being led to prison; she taunts them for their former persecution of English Reformers. When Bertie suggests she remarry, the Duchess sends out the rest of her party to listen to his suggestion that she marry Palsgrave; in an aside, she reveals her affection for Bertie. Receives Palsgrave, Arundell, Northumberland, and Erbaigh, and then announces to them that she will marry her servant Bertie. After the Catholic Queen Mary assumes power, she bids farewell to Bertie, who is fleeing to Europe to escape persecution, and learns from Cranwell of the seizure of her property and dismissal of her servants: she orders Cranwell to fetch her a citizen's gown as a disguise for her escape to Europe to join Bertie. When Foxe enters with Clunie and she learns from Clunie that she can keep only two of her servants, she chooses Cranwell alone, which upsets Foxe; she then leaves in Clunie's custody. Later, the Duchess, disguised as the citizen's wife Mistress White, with Susan,
Cranwell, and the Nurse make their way to the port to await the boat Bertie has arranged for their escape, barely avoiding capture by Clunie and his guard. She waits in disguise at port with Cranwell, the Nurse, Susan, and Dr. Sands at the home of Goseling for a favorable tide and is almost discovered by the Constable and almost betrayed by Foxe, whose loyalty overcomes his sense of being slighted by the Duchess. The Duchess and her party are able to board ship and escape Bonner and Clunie after Foxe knocks Bonner into a well for a distraction. Arrives in Europe with the Nurse, Susan, Cranwell, and Dr. Sands, where she is briefly reunited with Bertie. Leaves for Santon without Bertie in order to avoid parties searching for her, and meets a group of thieves who rob her. The Duchess is rescued by Bertie, who arrives disguised as an outlaw, draws off most of the thieves with a distraction, and attacks and binds the thief who robbed the Duchess. The Duchess then insists Bertie join her to search for the Nurse, who fled with Susan during the thieves' attack. They find Susan in a bush next to the injured Cranwell. The Duchess insists that Cranwell seek a surgeon; she then goes into labor as snow, rain and thunder begin. Bertie takes her and Susan to shelter in a church porch; he shortly returns with Erasmus, who helps Bertie to carry her in a chair back to Perecell's home. At Perecell's home, she gives birth to a son, Peregrine. After escaping the town in a coffin, the Duchess, Bertie, and their children are discovered by Foxe, Clunie, and a band of soldiers led by the Palsgrave's Captain. As Bertie begins to fight the Captain and his soldiers, the Duchess takes a sword and joins him, driving off the soldiers. They flee after Bertie kills the Captain, and are apprehended by the Burgomaster and his soldiers. As Bertie is led to the statehouse for trial, the Duchess discovers that she has lost her children in the confusion. When the Duchess and Bertie are brought by the Burgomaster before Palsgrave for trial, Erbaigh recognizes them and Palsgrave protects them against the murder charge as well as the warrant brought by Brunswick and the English Captain. The Duchess rejoices in the news of the ascent of Elizabeth to the throne of England brought by Atkinson as well as in the return of her children with Foxe. She forgives both Clunie and Brunswick, and vows to return to England as soon as possible.
Arriving in London, the Duchess distributes alms to the beggars in Marshalsea prison and is then greeted by Lord Hunsdon, the Lord Admiral, and Lord Clinton, who restore her aristocratic titles and her property. She gives more money to the Marshalsea prisoners and then meets the imprisoned Goseling, whom she vows to free by paying off his debts as a sign of gratitude for his service to her when she was disguised as Mistress White. She then praises Foxe's extraordinary loyalty and rewards him with a pension of 100 pounds per year. Finally, the Duchess leads her party off to see the Queen at Whitehall.
DUCHESS of VALOIS
A "ghost character" in Fletcher and Middleton's The
Nice Valour. During the first of Cupid's masques, the Passionate Lord
asks Cupid to pursue the Duchess and two of her ladies on his behalf.
DUCHESS of VANHOLT
The Duchess of Vanholt in Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, a "great bellied" woman, asks Faustus for grapes out of season and he has Mephostophilis fetch some for her. In the text she is referred to as "Lady."
DUCHESS of YORK (FIRST)
She is the wife of Edmund Langley, first Duke of York and the mother of the Duke
of Aumerle in Shakespeare's Richard
II. She successfully persuades Bolingbroke (now King Henry IV) to pardon
her son for treason. Historically, she was Joan Holland, second wife to Edmund
of Langley and not Aumerle's mother as Shakespeare portrays her.
DUCHESS of YORK (THIRD)
I.
Historically, she was Cicely Neville, wife of the third Duke of York and mother
of Edward IV, Clarence, and Richard III in Shakespeare's Richard
III. The Duchess of York has despised her son Richard from his birth,
and is one of the few people who never trusts him. She accompanies Elizabeth into
sanctuary and joins with her in cursing Richard.
II.
Mother of the king in Thomas Heywood's 1
Edward IV, the Duchess of York is quite displeased with her son's choice
of wife.
DU CROYE
A lawyer sympathetic to the Novall faction in Field and Massinger's The
Fatal Dowry. Critical of Charalois' deceased father and hostile to his
son's plight, he nevertheless has to judge in favor of Charlalois in the end of
the play.
DUDGEON
Dudgeon is the servant of Hobs the Tanner who announces the arrival of Hobs' dinner
guests in Thomas Heywood's 1 Edward
IV. The guests are actually the king and Sellenger disguised.
DUDLEY
Family name of the Duke of Northumberland and his sons Guildford and Ambrose in Dekker and Webster's Sir Thomas Wyatt.
DUDLEY **1604
He brings in the French ambassadors to meet Henry in Rowley’s When You See Me. Dudley, Gray, and Seymour think Wolsey has grown too great and dangerous and begrudge his attempt to gain the papal crown.
DUDLEY **1627
Only mentioned in Randolph's Plutophthalmia. One of the "prime sequestrators" of his age. Never-good envies Empson and Dudley because they died before Plutus impoverished such knaves.
DUDLEY, JACK
A "ghost character" in the anonymous Captain Thomas Stukeley allegedly involved with Stukeley in various gambling exploits throughout London.
DUESSA **1617
Justice’s nickname for the disguised Superstition when she passes herself off as Religion in the anonymous Pathomachia.
DUFF, GOODMAN
A "ghost character." Goodman Duff of Barson does not appear on stage, but Falstaff compares himself
to this less-than-gentlemanly acquaintance in Shakespeare's 2 Henry IV.
DUKE **1599
A “ghost character" in Ruggle’s Club Law. Rumford says he’ll go tell the duke about his troubles. Niphle decides the town must complain to the duke.
DUKE**1606
A lecher who is responsible for the deaths of Vindice's sweetheart, Gloriana and father in [?]Middleton's The Revenger's Tragedy. He has two sons, Lussurioso (his legitimate issue) and Spurio (his bastard). He has recently married a young woman with three children of her own, Ambitioso, Supervacuo, and a Younger Son. The Younger Son has raped the noble Antonio's wife, and the weak-willed Duke chooses to jail him rather than execute him for the crime. Vindice lures him to a country inn with the promise of bedding a young virgin. Instead, he is shown the skull of Gloriana made up and dressed as if alive. The Duke, momentarily fooled, kisses the skull only to discover it is poisoned. He is then forced to watch, his tongue pinned to the balcony floor, as his bride cuckolds him with his own bastard, Spurio. After death, the Duke's corpse is dressed as Piato (Vindice's disguise) and in that guise Vindice stabs him while Lussurioso witnesses the deed. It is then thought that Piato murdered the Duke and changed clothes with him to effect his escape from the country.
DUKE**1612
A "ghost character" in Fletcher's The
Captain. He sends for Frederick to tell him that a war is probably imminent.
DUKE**1615
His loathsome brutality is spectacularly expressed by the chalice made of the skull of his wife's father, which the Duke passes around during Antonio and Isabella's nuptials in Thomas Middleton's The Witch. After his wife, the Duchess, has made arrangements to have him killed, he is mysteriously absent from the play, leading her (and probably also the audience) to believe that her plan was successful. His death, however, is a mere test of his wife's virtue. Confronted with his body, the guilt-ridden Duchess admits that she has murdered her husband and is sentenced to death. At this point the Duke reveals that he is still alive after all, pardoning the Duchess and promising to be a better husband.
DUKE**1618
The Duke is the ruling prince of Moscow, son to the Old Duke and brother to Olimpia in Fletcher's The Loyal Subject. When his father was alive, the young prince did not like to be told he was wrong and formed a distaste for his tutor, the general Archas. He favors Boroskie as the new general over Archas. Meantime, he forms an infatuation for Olimpia's lady-in-waiting, Alinda. When word comes that the Tartars have crossed the Volga and are approaching Moscow, the Duke turns to Archas. When Archas returns victorious from the war, however, the Duke retires and gives Boroskie a chance to humiliate the soldiers. At Archas's house in the country, the Duke discovers a locked room, which contains a fortune. The Duke seizes the treasure and orders Archas to send his two daughters, Honora and Viola, to court. Alone with Alinda at court, the Duke makes amorous advances to "her." When Honora and Viola are introduced to the Duke, he asks if they would become his mistresses. Honora is sexually aggressive to the Duke. Defeated by this display, the Duke tells Honora she has cured him of his womanizing. Alinda accuses the Duke of having caused her dismissal from Olimpia's service, and the Duke promises to amend her situation. At the court banquet, the Duke allows the arrest of Archas. In a private conversation with Burris, however, the Duke reveals that the arrest is meant only to try Archas's integrity. When Boroskie oversteps his authority and orders Archas's torture, the Duke has Archas freed and promises to punish the Boroskie. In the final reconciliation, the Duke offers Olimpia's hand in marriage to Young Archas, offers himself successfully to Honora, and gives Viola's hand to Burris. The Duke orders the three marriages to be celebrated at once.
DUKE**1627
The Duke at first appears to be a perfectly moral man in Davenant's The Cruel Brother. He is appalled by the press of suitors begging for unearned favors and promotes Foreste to the position of secretary based on his worth rather than birth. When Foreste and Lucio beg pardon for Lucio's marriage to Corsa, the Duke forgives them before he even knows the fault. The first sign of a malevolent character comes when he teases Corsa about how her "use" of Lucio has weakened him and drained him of his beauties. The Duke then immediately sets about trying to seduce Corsa, first stating that she will be high in his favor if she will recant her out-of-fashion modesty, then sending her jewelry through Luinna, and finally gaining direct access to her through Duarte's treachery, after sending Lucio away for a day. Before the rape, he worries about betraying Lucio's love, and afterwards, he first asks Castruchio to make him safe from discovery, but then insists that Lucio not be hurt. When Foreste and Lucio confront the Duke in his chamber, Lucio insists that they cannot kill their Prince. In all, the homosexual subtext barely remains under the surface. After they leave, the Duke follows them to warn them of Castruchio, Cosimo and Lothario, who are waiting to kill Foreste, and is himself killed by Lothario who mistakes him for Foreste.
DUKE**1629
A kinsman and favorite to the King in Carlell's The Deserving Favorite. Prior to the action of the play, he helped Lysander in an inheritance dispute with Lysander's uncle (later revealed to be Jacomo) and saved his life from a wild boar. He is in love with Clarinda, but he rejects the King's suggestions that he coerce her into marriage. Instead, he tries to court her by inviting her to a dinner, where he speaks to her in overwrought courtly metaphors, comparing her to a saint and offering to sacrifice his own heart on an alter. He is skeptical of Jacomo's claim that Lysander is contracted to Clarinda, but he accompanies Jacomo to the arbor where he overhears Lysander's suggestion that Clarinda cuckold or kill the Duke. Enraged, he sends a message instructing Lysander to meet him in the forest. He also arranges to send a letter to the King acknowledging Clarinda as his wife and specifying that she should inherit his land if he, not Lysander, is killed in the forest. In this letter, he also asks that Lysander be forgiven for his death. When the two men meet, the Duke regains his opinion of Lysander's honor but still fights him for Clarinda's love. After wounding Lysander, the Duke is wounded and appears to be dead. In actuality, he is revived by Orsinio but wishes to be thought dead to test the King's love for him and Clarinda's love for Lysander. He reappears in the fourth act disguised as a traveler and finds Clarinda tied up in the forest disguised as a boy. Believing that she is a boy, he unties her and offers to take her to Gerard's lodge, but they lose their way and end up at Count Orsinio's dwelling. Orsinio informs them that the King has captured Lysander and offers them a bed for the night. The next day, he learns Clarinda's true identity and corroborates her story that Jacomo left her tied up in the forest. He then reveals himself to the King to prevent Lysander's execution. He secures an unconditional pardon from the King for the Hermit, who then reveals himself as Orsinio. Clarinda agrees to marry the Duke after learning that she is Lysander's sister.
DUKE**1629
A "ghost character" in Davenant's The Just Italian. The Duke is Alteza's uncle. Altamont and Mervolle agree he is responsible for her haughtiness. She remarks that her marriage to Altamont resulted in their estrangement, but later suggests using the Duke's power to get rid of Altamont.
DUKE**1637
The Duke in Glapthorne's Ladie's Privilege welcomes Doria and the other soldiers home and then oversees Doria's trial and false marriage. He refuses to release Doria from him marriage, until Sabelli reveals his gender. His name, Trivulci, appears only in the stage directions.
DUKE ANONIMO
A "ghost character" and probably fictional in Chapman's All Fools. The Notary refers to the case the duke as proof of his learning and knowledge, but "anonimo" is Latin for "anonymous."
DUKE DIROT
Duke Dirot is an English lord appointed co-governor with Earl Demarch while William
is away in [?]Wilson's Fair Em, the
Miller's Daughter. In William's absence, he and Demarch get into a civil
war, but this is apparently forgotten as soon as William returns. Dirot keeps
'Mariana' (i.e. Blanch) until the wedding night, with the result that William
does not realize that he has eloped with the wrong woman until her father arrives
to reclaim her.
DUKE FREDERICK
Before the action of Shakespeare's As
You Like It, Duke Frederick seizes power from his brother, Duke Senior,
and begins a paranoid and short-lived reign. In the play his paranoia manifests
when he banishes his niece, Rosalind, fearing she will become a popular reminder
of her father. When he banishes Rosalind, Duke Senior's daughter, his own daughter
Celia chooses to share in her cousin's banishment. Reacting to a report that Celia's
attendant Hisperia had overheard Celia and Rosalind praising Orlando, Frederick
orders Oliver to find Orlando in the hope that he will lead them to Celia. After
a spate of banishments and threats, Frederick enters the forest of Arden himself,
where it is reported he met a reverend father and repented, choosing to enter
holy orders. The rightful duke is thereby restored to power.
DUKE HUMPHREY
Only mentioned in the anonymous Wisest Have Their Fools. His crypt at St. Paul's was a gathering place for beggars, and "to dine at Duke Humphrey's" was a euphemism for going hungry. Musophilus sends the four lying soldiers there.
DUKE MEDINA
An admirer of Margarita in Fletcher's Rule
a Wife and Have a Wife. He knows her to have a reputation for wantonness
in the court. Appalled by her marriage, he tries to have Leon sent to the wars
so that he can gain access to Margarita. When Leon foils his plot, he then pretends
to be wounded, so that he can be given a bed in the house. But Leon and Margarita
discover this plot too, and gull the Duke into thinking that the drunken Cacafogo
is a devil come for his soul. The frightened Duke repents of his lust; afterwards
he forgives his antagonists, and promotes Leon to captain.
DUKE MENAPHON
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's Comedy
of Errors. Duke Menaphon is the uncle of Antipholus Erotes.
DUKE of ANJOU
The Duke of Anjou is a character in "The Triumph of Death," the third play
within the play of Fletcher's Four Plays in One. He is the father of Lavall. At the end of the play, he
sees to the burying of Lavall, Perelot, Gabrielle, and Maria.
DUKE of AQUITAIN
Fights Rodamant with Orlando.
DUKE of ARGOS
A "ghost character" in Berkeley's The Lost Lady. Mentioned by Phormio to recount the story of Milesia's alleged murder. Commander of the Spartan fleet, he is defeated by Arimon, governor of Thessaly and father to prince Lysicles. He plans the death of his own niece, Milesia, because she loves Lysicles, but at the end we learn that Milesia is alive, and that her uncle, seeing that his servants had killed Milesia's servant instead, clothes the dead body in Milesia's robe and leaves a note saying that she has died for her love, hence he has stirred all the confusion in the play.
DUKE of AUMERLE
Son of the Duke and Duchess of York and cousin of King Richard and Bolingbroke
in Shakespeare's Richard II.
When Bagot turns against the king he accuses Aumerle of involvement in the Duke
of Gloucester's murder. He is later called Rutland as he is deprived of his dukedom
but remains the Earl of Rutland. He is loyal to Richard throughout and is involved
with the Abbot of Westminster and the Bishop of Carlisle in a plot against Bolingbroke's
usurpation. Although York warns the king about this treason, Bolingbroke pardons
Aumerle after hearing the Duchess of York's entreaties. [ed. note: He is the same
man as the Duke of York in Henry V]. Historically, he died at Agincourt
(as he does in Shakespeare).
DUKE of AVERNE
Patron of the monastery run by the Abbot and housing Friars John and Robert in Heywood's The Captives. First appears with Lady Averne and his servant Dennis on their way to matins, where they are greeted by the Abbot and Friars John and Robert and serenaded by a choir of friars. Later he along with Dennis joins Lady Averne and her Maid and reads the letter from Friar John that Lady Averne gives to him. The Duke is outraged and plans to destroy the entire monastery until Lady Averne counsels him to only punish Friar John. He orders Dennis to fetch him pen, ink and paper, and he writes down a note for Lady Averne to copy and send to Friar John; the note instructs the Friar to visit Lady Averne in her chamber that evening. He then sends Dennis to prepare his horses for a three day journey for himself and Dennis alone. He privately orders Dennis to arrange for the gates to be left unlocked so that they can return in secret. He then tells Lady Averne and the Maid to deliver the reply to Friar John at evensong. Later, when the Maid returns from delivering the letter, he instructs her to wait for Friar John and show him up to Lady Averne's chamber. He also tells Lady Averne, who has counseled him to be patient with the Friar, to retire to her chamber to avoid facing his anger. He then, along with Dennis, hide themselves to wait for Friar John's arrival. When the Friar arrives and is waiting for the Maid to return with a light, the Duke strangles him. After killing the Friar, the Duke is suddenly struck by his guilty conscience and begins to plot with Dennis some means to avoid punishment for murder. The Duke eventually decides to secretly convey the Friar's body back into the monastery in the hopes that the long-standing enmity between Friar John and Friar Richard will cast suspicion on Friar Richard. Later, unable to sleep, the Duke enters and refuses to tell Lady Averne what is troubling him; he sends her back to her chamber. He calls for Dennis and sends him to check again that Friar John's body is safely out of the way; he then exits. He reenters when Dennis cries out upon discovering Friar John's body in the porch. He decides to get rid of the body by dressing it in armor, tying it on to a horse, and turning the horse out of the gate; he sends Dennis to fetch the necessary equipment. Later, the Duke and Dennis send the mounted and armed corpse of Friar John out of the gate; after hearing Friar John's horse collide with Friar Richard's, they gradually withdraw as they learn that Friar Richard has confessed to the murder of Friar John. At the end of the play, the Duke interrupts Friar Richard on the way to his execution and tell the Sheriff to free Friar Richard. When the Sheriff insists on royal authority for such a pardon, the Duke confesses to his and Dennis' parts in the murder of Friar John and gives himself up to the Sheriff. When Lady Averne arrives with a pardon for her husband from the king, the Duke vows to do penance for Friar John's murder. He ends the play by inviting everyone to a feast.
DUKE of AVERO**1589
The Duke of Avero is Sebastian's loyal servant in Peele's The Battle of Alcazarthe duke even tells
Sebastian that he lays his life before the king's feet. Sebastian orders
the Duke of Avero to call in Stukley's Englishmen that landed in Lisbon;
Sebastian gives him the charge of taking the muster of the Portugal's and
bravest bloods of all the Country. The Duke is finally slain in the Battle
of Alcazar.
DUKE of AVERO**1596
Part of the Spanish contingent at the Battle of Alcazar in the anonymous Captain Thomas Stukeley. He is involved with the duplicitous plot of King Phillip to control the Portuguese throne by having Antonio adopted Sebastian's heir, but their defeat by Abdelmeleck during that battle ends the plot, and the Duke flees along with the rest of the combined European forces.
DUKE of BARCELES
The Duke of Barceles in Peele's The Battle of Alcazar. He is sent to Antwerp to hire mercenary men for
Sebastian. Sebastian recognizes that the Duke's ancestors have always been
loyal to Portugal.
DUKE of BEDFORD
A "ghost character" in Thomas Heywood's 1
Edward IV. The Duke of Bedford, mentioned early in passing and not appearing
in the play, is the father of the queen.
DUKE of BOETIA
The Duke of Boetia is represented as virtuous, despite the idleness and indolence
that stalks his land during peacetime in Wilson's The Cobbler's Prophecy. When Sateros asks for preferment, the Duke sympathizes but is unable to employ him in a time of peace. Raph's prophecy saves the Duke
from Emnius's treachery. The Duke forces Emnius to confess his plots, but then
foolishly forgives him. When Zelotas kills Emnius, the Duke sends her and Raph
to prison for murder. War then breaks out with the Argives and Thessalonians,
and the Duke finds employment for Sateros. The Duke is present when the Priest
prays to the gods; when the war is won, he rejoices, and pardons Raph and Zelota.
DUKE of BRABANT
Only mentioned in Ford's Love's Sacrifice. The report of the Duke's innovative masque welcoming the Archbishop of Mentz to his own court, notably featuring the performance of 'female Antickes', is the inspiration for Ferentes's plans for a similar masque to welcome the Abbot of Monaco. The novel inclusion of female performers allows the disgraced ladies (Colona, Julia and Morona) to achieve their revenge on Ferentes, by murdering him during the performance.
DUKE of BRITTAINE
A "ghost character." He does not appear on stage in Shakespeare's Richard II, but he is mentioned as the supplier of eight ships and three thousand soldiers for Bolingbroke's army.
DUKE of BRUNSWICK
Joins Clunie and Paget in Europe to search for the Duchess and her party in Drue's The Duchess of Suffolk. Later appears at Palsgrave's court with the English Captain and a writ for the arrest of the Duchess, Bertie, Cranwell and Sands, and demands that Palsgrave turn them over. After the arrival of Atkinson and the annulling of the writ, Brunswick is forgiven by the Duchess and they part as friends.
DUKE of BUCKINGHAM**1591
The Duke of Buckingham sends his messenger Percival to Richard Gloucester in the anonymous True Tragedy of Richard III to inform the Lord Protector that any past bad blood between the men is forgotten. Buckingham instructs Percival to inform Richard by word of mouth that Buckingham has assembled a company of men in support of Richard. Buckingham also reports that Lord Hastings will join the power play. The Duke accompanies Gloucester in the ambush of Earl Rivers at an inn. Buckingham is also at Richard's side for the arrests of Gray, Hapce and Vaughan. The page reports that Buckingham works behind the scenes to find support for Richard's claim to the throne. After Richard is crowned, he hires Buckingham's servant to betray his master. Buckingham stabs his servant Banister to death. A herald then appears with orders to arrest Buckingham. Buckingham followers attempt to rescue him, but he accepts his fate willingly. He states that he has already readied the way for Richmond to return to England from Brittany. Buckingham wishes Richmond success against Richard and expresses the hope that Richmond will marry the princess Elizabeth. Catesby reports that Buckingham has been executed at Salisbury Castle.
DUKE of BUCKINGHAM**1613
Edward Bohun, Duke of Buckingham, also known as Lord High Constable and Earl of
Hereford, Stafford, and Northampton in Shakespeare's Henry VIII. He only thinly disguises his hatred of Wolsey's ambition and calls the churchman treasonous. It is Buckingham, however, who is maligned by his own
surveyor and executed for high treason.
DUKE of BULLEN
A non-speaking character in the anonymous Weakest Goeth to the Wall. At the play's opening, a dumb show shows the old Duke of Bullen being killed by Mercury.
DUKE of BURGUNDY**1586
He is also known as the Archbishop of Bourges and Monsieur Le Cole in the anonymous
Famous Victories of Henry V.
See "LE COLE."
DUKE of BURGUNDY **1599
A "ghost character" in Thomas Heywood's 1 Edward IV. The Duke of Burgundy is mentioned as having sent friendly letters to King Edward.
DUKE of BURGUNDY**1630
The Duke of Burgundy in Wilson's The Inconstant Lady depends heavily upon Lord Busario for counsel and assistance in ruling his duchy, not knowing that Busario is a murderous lecher who years earlier had abandoned the Duke's only child in the wild to die. While hunting one day the Duke, a widower, happens upon Cloris and is so taken by her beauty and nobility that he immediately decides to make her his wife. He takes her to his palace and locks her in a room under Busario's charge, hoping to persuade her to him. Busario appoints Gratus, the disguised Millecert, to guard Cloris and woo her on the Duke's behalf. When Gratus discovers that Cloris is really Bellaura and tells the Duke about it, the latter banishes Busario and confiscates all his worldly possessions. More importantly, the Duke consents to his daughter's marriage to Aramant and promises her a rich dowry. The Duke also restores Millecert's lands to him and persuades him to take Emilia back as wife. Addressing Emilia in the concluding line of the play, the Duke declares, "You, lady, have been inconstant; therefore, now endeavor a reformation--better late than never."
DUKE of CALABRIA**1611
The Duke of Calabria is the father of Erminhilde, who is engaged to the King of Naples in Dekker's If It Be Not Good. When Erminhilde disappears, he marches against Naples. When Lurchall reveals that the courtiers are hiding at Bartervile's, the Duke captures and beheads them. He then uses the devil Ruffman to find the King at the priory. When the Subprior reveals that Erminhilde has been hiding at the priory, the Duke calls off the war.
DUKE of CALABRIA**1614
The title of Ferdinand in Webster's The
Duchess of Malfi.
DUKE of CANDY**1607
Son of Alexander and brother to Caesar Borgia and Lucretia Borgia in Barnes's The Devil's Charter. Candy is a soldier, but in Caesar's eyes he is weak and ineffectual. The brothers are constantly at odds. Alexander tries to have them reconciled and, although Caesar pretends to accept Candy, he plots his brother's murder. Candy is instrumental in demanding that his father's Castell Angelo not come under fire or be taken by the French. He and Barabrossa discover the mutilated body of Gismond di Viselli. This gives Candy a premonition of evil to come, although he does not realize that it his own murder. Candy, uneasy and suspicious, nevertheless walks the streets one night with Caesar and Frescbaldi who attack and kill him, dumping his body in the Tiber River.
DUKE of CASTILE
I.
A Spanish nobleman in the anonymous First
Part of Jeronimo.
II.
Father of Lorenzo and Bel-Imperia in Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy. Also called Cyprian. Suggests the political marriage of Bel-Imperia to Balthazar to the King of Spain, his brother. Hieronimo suspects that Castile is in the plot against him and vows to be revenged upon him as well. Castile unsuspectingly throws down the gallery key to Hieronimo, thus locking them in. He is killed when Hieronimo calls for a penknife and stabs both himself and Castile.
DUKE of CLARENCE
Thomas, the Duke of Clarence is Henry IV's son in ?Dering's The History of Henry the Fourth. He is one of the younger sons. Henry tells Clarence not to neglect his eldest brother Hal. Near the end of the play, Clarence attends his dying father. Clarence also informs Hal about Henry's health.
DUKE of COLCHESTER
The Duke of Colchester is the father of Armante in Dekker, Ford and Rowley's The
Welsh Embassador. He received his dukedom when his daughter became the
king's mistress. He pretends to be foolish and to acquiesce in the king's treatment
of her, but he secretly resents it. He resists Voltimar when he comes for the
prince. Later he sends the boy to court to disarm suspicion while he and Kent
plan to take action against the king during the concluding masque (it is not clear
how far they intend to go).
DUKE of CORNWALL
The Duke of Cornwall is the father of Penda in Dekker, Ford and Rowley's The Welsh Embassador, Nevertheless, he wholeheartedly supports the king's plan to marry Carintha (Penda's wife) and has no qualms about his treatment of
Armante. The king says at the end that if anyone is to blame, it is Cornwall and
Chester.
DUKE of DROWNEDLAND
The title Merecraft gives Wittipol in Jonson's The Devil is an Ass for fronting his scheme to sell undrained swampland.
DUKE of EXETER
A "ghost character" in Thomas Heywood's 2 Edward IV. The Duke of Exeter is found dead in the sea. His death is falsely attributed to Captain Stranguidge and crew.
DUKE of FERRARA**1604
The Duke of Ferrara has ruled for forty-five years and now feels his age quite
keenly in Middleton's The Phoenix.
He wants his son Phoenix to travel and learn how to rule. When at the play's end
it is revealed that Phoenix has remained about the dukedom in disguise and has
learned a great deal about his own people, the Duke bestows his power and title
upon his worthy son.
DUKE of FERRARA**1607
The Duke of Ferrara in Mason's Mulleasses. He is a warlike, masculine suitor to Julia who enjoys the support of her Uncle Borgias at the beginning of the play. After Julia is reported dead, Ferrara agrees to stay in Florence for the funeral. At that time, Ferrara ends hostilities between himself and the Duke of Venice, a competing suitor of Julia's. Ferrara walks alone at night tormented by the sense that Julia wants him to somehow avenge her. When Eunuchus dashes across the stage followed by the ghost-like Timoclea, Ferrara stabs Eunuchus to death. Mistaking Timoclea for Julia, Ferrara then disguises himself as Eunuchus in order to gain access to the secrets of the household. Ferrara comes upon the lifeless body of Borgias after the former has leapt from a ledge and faked his death. When Ferrara lifts the body for removal, Borgias stabs Ferrara to death.
DUKE of FERRARA**1625
The Duke is hunted by Petruccio for seducing and abandoning Constantia in Fletcher's The Chances. In reality, however, the Duke was secretly contracted to Constantia, and he pledges to make the marriage public in a church wedding. He is searching for Constantia in Bologna despite warnings that rumors of how he ruined her make it dangerous for him to be there; Petruccio and his men ambush him, but John saves him. The
Duke appreciates John's valor but declares that his own identity must remain secret. He does, however, give John his hat, John having lost his own in the fight. The Duke is happy to find John again when John brings the challenge, and defuses John's anger by explaining how he did not in fact dishonor Constantia. He is upset when Constantia is not, as intended, at John and Frederic's lodgings and is further angered when John and Frederic produce Second Constantia and her Bawd instead of Constantia and Gillian; he gives John and Frederic until the next day to find his wife. Meanwhile, he goes to Peter Vecchio's with Petruccio, where Peter Vecchio produces Constantia, Gillian, and the Baby in a "summoning" and the family is reunited.
DUKE of FERRARA**1631
The Duke of Ferrara employs Spencer as his champion in settling a dispute with
the Duke of Mantua in Thomas Heywood's The Fair Maid of the West, Part Two. When, in the dumb show, the Mantuan champion turns out to be Goodlack, the two Englishmen behave in such a way (not described
in the text) as to work a reconciliation between the two dukes, who later travel
to Florence to display their new-found amity.
DUKE of FERRARA **1631
The duke courts Eubella intensely in Shirley's Love's Cruelty, offering her jewels, advancing her father Sebastian, and engaging Hippolito to assist in wooing her. Enraged when a drunken Sebastian speaks disrespectfully to him, the duke imprisons Sebastian and is angry about the newly formed romantic relationship between Hippolito and Eubella. Relenting, however, after Hippolito dies by the hand of Clariana, the duke releases Sebastian and offers honorable marriage to Eubella.
DUKE of FERRARA**1634
The Duke of Ferrara disguises himself as an ambassador to the court of the Duchess Urbino in Shirley's The Opportunity. In his disguised role, the duke is able to watch Aurelio pretending to be Borgia and attracting the attention of both the duchess and Cornelia. The Ambassador/Duke is also involved in the sundry games and series of mistaken meanings and identities presented by Cornelia and the duchess. The Ambassador is revealed as duke at the play's end and will wed the Duchess Urbino.
DUKE of FERRARA**1640
A "ghost character" in Shirley's The Imposture. The Duke of Ferrara is the father of Leonato. He dies offstage.
DUKE of FLORENCE**1602
The Duke of Florence is at war in Shakespeare's All's Well, and while he seeks the help of the King of France, he is aided only by certain young French lords, including Bertram.
DUKE of FLORENCE**1607
A "ghost character." He feasts and honours Thomas Sherley Jr in Day, Rowley
and Wilkins's The Travels of the Three
English Brothers.
DUKE of FLORENCE**1621
A "ghost character" in Middleton's Anything
for a Quiet Life. Franklin reports that, after an unfortunate expedition
to Guyana, he entered the service of the Duke of Florence, who sent him against
the Turk.
DUKE of FLORENCE **1621
The Duke of Florence lusts after a married woman in Middleton's Women Beware Women. He resorts to threats, bribes, and flattery to win Bianca. He kisses her for her wit on several (at least two) occasions, but never says
anything about love. He has no scruples about paying off the husband of his mistress,
Leantio, to keep him out of the way. Then he does not hesitate to kill the husband
in order to marry the woman. He equivocates with his brother/spiritual advisor
about his redemption. He exchanges murder for adultery after which he cannot seem
to see that he has not absolved himself in the eyes of God. He dies when he inadvertently
takes the poison meant for his brother, the cardinal.
DUKE of FLORENCE**1626
The Duke of Florence selects Alberto to be commander in the Turkish wars in Fletcher,
Ford, Massinger and Webster's The Fair Maid of the Inn. He also makes recommendations on how to solve the
problem of Caesario's status when it is revealed that he is basely born, ordering
his adopted mother Mariana to marry him unless she can come up with a better solution.
In the conclusion, it is the Duke who suggests that Caesario marry Bianca
DUKE of FLORENCE**1627
Cozimo, the Duke of Florence, is widower of Clarinda in Massinger's The Great Duke of Florence. Alphonzo, Hippolito and Hieronimo, beg the Duke to remarry, preferably to the rich and single Duchess of Urbin. But the Duke, who three years since, lost his wife, is planning on marrying her to his nephew, Giovanni. The Duke affects one Lidia. Contarino, following Sanazarro's lead, reports that the girl is plain. The Duke then asks Prince Giovanni about her, and he too tells the Duke that she is "Not disproportioned." Satisfied that the matter is settled, the Duke dismisses everyone. The Duchess Fiorinda then enters and asks if Lidia can be her maid-in-waiting. He asks why she is so interested in Lidia. The Duchess tells him that the Prince sings her praises endlessly. The Duke, outraged that both the Prince and Sanazarro have lied to him, orders that the court ride out to Charomonte's house in the morning. There, Lidia's maid, Petronella, a woman as foul and simple as Lidia is fair and sophisticated, takes her place. The Duke is horrified, and, after learning that she can't use cutlery, calls her a 'monster,' and begins to force feed her like a barnyard animal. Charomonte enters and the Duke asks if his daughter is the same girl who is now full and drunk to boot. Charomonte has no idea what he is talking about and soon returns with his child. The Duke now understands why everyone tried to hide the truth from him. She is wondrously beautiful. But a lie is a lie. The Duke orders the arrest of both the Prince and Sanazarro. Lidia begs the Duke for mercy and swears that she would rather live in a convent than have her beauty cause so much pain. She faints from the emotional strain. The Duke, lifting her up, tells her to 'take comfort.' The Duke has the women judge whether the men have acted properly, but the women decide that only the Duke can make so complicated a ruling. He considers having Lidia for himself, but decides to honor the memory of his own departed wife, Clarinda, and allows Lidia and Giovanni to marry. Calandrino then enters with Petronella. They too are engaged. The Duke agrees to pay for Calandrino's wedding.
DUKE of FLORENCE**1631
The Duke of Florence is the father of Fiametta and Piero in Dekker's Wonder of A Kingdom. Pondering his old age the Duke announces his plans to marry Fiametta to the Prince of Pisa, and thus to unite Florence and Pisa. He charges his courtiers to go and invite Signior Torrenti and Iacomo Gentili to the marriage. Meanwhile, Fiametta seemingly falls ill, and the Duke questions a Nurse about her illness. Desperate to find a cure and to appease the Prince of Pisa, who has realized that Fiametta does not desire to marry him, he receives a Doctor from France, the disguised Angelo. The Duke approves of the Doctors proposed cure to give Fiametta Angelo's heart to drink, and commands to have Angelo brought to court. Meanwhile, Fiametta, after Angelo has revealed his true identity to her, craves from her father a pardon for Angelo, whom, she tells him, is the French doctor. The Duke thinking she has gone mad, tries to soothe her, but to no avail. Angelo, who took refuge with a friar, is finally discovered by Piero and brought before the Duke of Florence. Here Angelo seemingly abjures Fiametta and refuses to marry her. The Duke, who thinks her cured, and the way for the marriage with the Prince of Pisa free, discovers on the next morning that he has been deceived when his daughter proclaims she has secretly married Angelo the night before. Furious about the deceit he threatens Angelo with death, but is finally persuaded by his son Piero to accept the marriage.
DUKE of FLORENCE**1631
The Duke of Florence rescues Bess from the Captain of the Banditti in Thomas Heywood's
The Fair Maid of the West, Part Two. Smitten by her beauty and the good report of the Italian Merchant, he has her
taken to his palace where she is set up in great style and is given ten thousand
crowns. He later employs Spencer as a messenger to Bess after making the Englishman
swear he will have nothing to do with the woman. Bess later makes the Duke promise
that she will be allowed to sentence Spencer for seemingly having stolen one of
her jewels, and she uses the occasion to reveal that she and Spencer are married.
The Duke, moved by Bess's devotion to her husband, releases Spencer from his oaths,
and when Spencer offers all he has to ransom the Bashaw Joffer, he grants release
without ransom.
DUKE of FLORENCE **1631
Duke of Florence is an interesting variation on the lustful monarch in Shirley's
The Traitor. Without the constant influence of Lorenzo, the traitor, the Duke would probably be able to restrain his lust. He is converted when the object of his desire, Amidea, demonstrates her honor. The conversion lasts only a short time, however, and he is soon plotting to rape her. Lorenzo goads him and provides him opportunity. He reminds one of the Everyman character with his Vice/Lorenzo on one hand and Virtue/Amidea on the other. His weakness is not at the center of this plot, however, as it provides only a device to move the action forward. When he discovers Amidea dead in his bed and calls on Lorenzo and Petruchio to kill him, they do.
DUKE of FLORENCE**1633
The Duke of Florence in Heywood's A Maidenhead Well Lost accepts Ambassador Stroza's proposal from the Duke of Millaine that his son should marry Julia if the Prince will consent, witnesses the Prince's challenge of Julia's chastity and the revelations around the bed-trick, and agrees at the end that the young man should marry Lauretta.
DUKE of FLORENCE**1635
A "ghost character" in Ford's The
Fancies Chaste and Noble. Mentioned by Troylo-Savelli as presiding over
a corrupt court and by Romanello as the ultimate authority in Sienna.
DUKE of FLORENCE**1637
The Duke of Florence is suitor to Theodosia, sister of the King of Naples in Shirley's Royal Master. Thanks to the lies and twisted truths of Montalto, however, the duke becomes suspicious of Theodosia's love and faithfulness. At the same time, the duke becomes fascinated with Domitilla, giving her diamonds and eventually proposing marriage. That proposal refused, the duke finally learns of how all have been manipulated by Montalto; he no longer believes that Theodosia contracted with Montalto.
DUKE of FLORENCE**1639
Duke of Florence in Dekker's(?) Telltale. Married to Victoria, the Duchess. Begins the play by expressing his jealousy towards his wife Victoria over her supposed affair with Picentio. When Fidelio brings him news of Aspero's capture of the Venetian princes Hortensio and Borgias and their desire to be ransomed, the Duke orders him to fortify his castle. After agreeing to ransom terms, the Duke welcomes Hortensio and Borgias (who enter with the court party) as royal friends and then invites them to join in the court's Valentine game: each woman has set her name on a jewel which also contains an emblem. The men each choose a jewel, interpret the emblem in relation to themselves, and become the servant of the woman named on the jewel. The Duke draws first and becomes the servant of Lesbia, Elinor's chambermaid. Later, as the dispute between Garrullo, Bentivoli and Hortensio escalates, the Duke intervenes and tells Bentivoli and Hortensio to become friends. Bentivoli replies with an Aesopian fable, which the Duke interprets to mean that Bentivoli would rather retain his freedom to criticize others than to surrender it for the comforts of court life. The Duke again tries to create harmony between Bentivoli and Hortensio, but when they agree to duel instead, the Duke turns his attention back to the revels. After Picentio chooses Victoria, the Duke ends the Valentine game. When Victoria asks if he is offended by the choice, he replies by appointing Picentio ruler in his absence, and refuses to explain to the court why he must suddenly depart. After the rest of the court leaves, the Duke speaks with Aspero, ordering him to spy on Victoria and Picentio, to catch them together, and to send them to trial and execution. He also provides Aspero with a warrant providing the Duke's authority for these actions, and tells him to keep the army ready in case Victoria and Picentio try to raise a faction. The Duke disguises himself as a hermit and returns to the court to bring news of the Duke's death. He gives Aspero a note from the Duke, which claims the Duke was murdered by associates of the Duchess and Picentio and that the Duchess and Picentio should be put to death, but only after allowing the Hermit to be their confessor. Aspero orders Julio, disguised as Corbino, to bring the Duchess and Picentio to him, but Corbino reports that they are dead. The final message the Hermit conveys from the Duke is to deliver the Duke's signet and his authority to Aspero, who is the Duke's choice as successor. The Hermit also tells Isabella that the Duke willed her to marry Aspero. The Hermit refuses Aspero's offer of money, and Aspero promises to fulfill the Duke's will. After leaving the court, the Duke meets Fidelio and reports the deaths of Picentio and the Duchess. He tells Fidelio his next job is to look into the soldiers' camp and ensure the soldiers do not threaten the state. Still disguised as a hermit, the Duke arrives in the military camp and questions the Captain, Lieutenant, and Ancient about their grievances. He suggests they use their power to pillage the countryside, the city, and the court, but they refuse, insisting that their quarrel is only with Aspero. When two Soldiers enter with the Julio, disguised as Corbino, and the disguised Duchess, the Duke notes the Captain's insistence that the Duchess be treated civilly and not hired out as camp prostitute. The Duke, alone, reflects on how the camp is a better model of justice and loyalty than his court. The Duke allows the Captain's Barber to trim him, as the Captain has noticed his resemblance to the missing Duke. After the Duke has been transformed, Victoria enters and recognizes him, and he asks her to make any complaints she may have against the Duke to him. Victoria blames the Duke for destroying her reputation and attempting to murder her. The remainder of this scene is missing from the manuscript. At the end of the play, the Duke returns to court with Victoria, Julio, the Captain, Lieutenant, and Ancient, all impersonating their spirits. Picentio, disguised as the French Doctor, commands them to indicate their approval or disapproval of Aspero. After showing signs of approval the spirits perform a dance, during which the Duke takes the crown and the Duchess the scepter. The Duke resumes his authority and as punishment condemns Aspero to work as Julio's slave. When Julio begs him to revoke the sentence, the Duke strips Aspero of his title and freedom instead. The Duke then permits Bentivoli to tell his tale of the lion and the ass and witnesses the return of the purged Garullo. The Duke ends the play by renouncing his jealousy and leading the court to the weddings of Picentio and Isabella and Hortensio and Elinor.
DUKE of GENOA**1616
The Duke of Genoa is a just and compassionate ruler in Fletcher and Middleton's
The Nice Valour. He tolerates
his cousin the Passionate Lord's extreme humors. The Duke's favorite, Shamont,
the man of nice valor, considers himself insulted beyond redress when the Duke
"[g]ives him a touch with his switch" to get Shamont's attention. After Shamont
leaves the court, the Duke makes careful efforts to persuade him to return, going
as far as to pardon Shamont's brother the Souldier who the Duke believes has killed
his cousin the Passionate Lord. The Duke finds Shamont's nicety wearing, however,
and, disgusted by over-courtly behavior, asks La Nove, a court Gentleman, to find
him a new set of servants; among those La Nove hires is Lapet, the professional
masochist, who is immediately dismissed by the Duke. The Duke's sister is courted
by Shamont, and at the play's conclusion the Duke consents to their marriage.
DUKE of GENOA**1626
A "ghost character". The Duke is the uncle of Juliana, and is infuriated
by her secret marriage to Baptista in Fletcher, Ford, Massinger and Webster's
The Fair Maid of the Inn.
He banishes Baptista from Genoa. Later, Juliana's illness persuades him to send
her to Lucca, whereupon she escapes.
DUKE of GIRONA
Also called Giron in the anonymous Dick of Devonshire. He is one of the four judges at Sherris.
DUKE of GLOUCESTER**1591
The Duke of Gloucester is Richard III's title before he assumes the throne in the anonymous True Tragedy of Richard III as well as Shakespeare's 3 Henry VI, Richard III, and Thomas Heywood's
1 Edward IV.
DUKE of GLOUCESTER**1592
I.
Duke of Gloucester in the anonymous Thomas of Woodstock. Hero of the play. "Plain Thomas", as he is proud to be known, is uncle to the young King Richard II and begins the play as Protector of the realm. Woodstock seems originally more sanguine than his brothers, Lancaster and York, about the King: he is confident, unlike them, that Richard was not behind the plan of the Carmelite friar to poison them, and is hopeful that the imminent marriage between Richard and Anne o'Beame will have a calming effect. He makes the gesture, costly for him, of dressing "bravely" - in expensive clothes, not his usual frieze - for the coronation; but his good humour is fragile, and when Richard teases him about his "golden metamorphosis", he soon starts on an angry, public speech about the King's extravagance. This backfires: Richard at once loads his favorites Greene and Bagot, and the lawyer Tresilian, with further honours, and soon afterwards his favorite Bushy makes the discovery that Richard is of age to rule alone. He demands Woodstock's "council staff", and Woodstock relinquishes it, announcing that he will now withdraw from Court to his country house at Plashy. There he receives news from his friend Cheney of the King's disastrous policies, including the "blank charters" of unlimited taxation; he declines Richard's "entreaty" that he should return to Court. Angered by this, and afraid of "Plain Thomas"'s popularity in the country, Richard resolves to get rid of him. Tresilian has the idea of arresting him secretly, under cover of a masque at Plashy, and conveying him to Calais, English territory abroad, where he can be privately murdered. They carry out this plan: Woodstock recognizes the King among the disguised masquers, and appeals vainly to his better naturethus starting off, perhaps, the prolonged but useless guilt that Richard will shortly manifest. Under house arrest in Calas, Woodstock is visited by the two Ghosts, one of his brother, the Black Prince, the other of his father, Edward III: both warn him of his coming danger, but in vain. Engaged by the corrupt governor Lapoole, the two Murderers attack him from the back, and kill him by strangling and suffocation. To the last, Woodstock is confident of his integrity, and wishes to write to Richard "Not to entreat, but to admonish him". His death leaves his wife, the Duchess of Gloucester, distraught, and inspires his brothers Lancaster and York to take up arms against the King and his favorites. The play ends with their victory.
II.
Thomas of Woodstock, a "ghost character" in Shakespeare's Richard II. Although he never appears on stage, he is the brother of John of Gaunt and the Duke of York and the uncle of King Richard and Bolingbroke. We learn that
was murdered before the action of the play begins. The circumstances of his death
were suspicious and during the play both Thomas Mowbray and the Duke of Aumerle
are accused of being involved.
DUKE of GLOUCESTER **1600
The Duke of Gloucester, also called Protector in the list of characters in Chettle and Day's Blind Beggar of Bednal Green, is in love with the Lady Ellenor. He visits her, disguised as his own servant, but she recognizes him and, after getting rid of the similarly disguised Cardinal, she agrees to marry him. Gloucester presides over the trial of Old Stoward, who is accused of killing Sir Robert. When Robert appears, Gloucester is grateful to free Stoward. He is then brought news that the Cardinal is attempting to marry Ellenor by force, and rushes off. In the final scene he comes to an uneasy peace with the Cardinal, as demanded by the King. He then provides advice to the King on how to deal with the two parties of Sir Robert and Mumford, suggesting allowing the fight, and afterwards advising banishment for the traitors.
DUKE of GLOUCESTER, HUMPHREY
Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester is Henry IV's son in ?Dering's The History of Henry the Fourth. He attends to his dying father throughout the latter part of the play. When Henry assumes the throne, Gloucester is assured that the new king will be generous with all of his brothers, including Gloucester.
DUKE of IRELAND
A "ghost character" in the anonymous Thomas of Woodstock. The Duke of Ireland. Late favorite of Richard II. His wife, the Duchess of Ireland, is a friend of the Queen, Anne o'Beame. De Vere does not appear in the play. [Historically, de Vere was the favorite defeated by the King's uncles; see general historical note for the playwright's contraction of historical sequence.]
DUKE of LANCASTER**1592
Lancaster (John of Gaunt) in the anonymous Thomas of Woodstock is brother to Thomas of Woodstock and the Duke of York and disapproving uncle to the young King Richard II. After the attempt by the Carmelite to murder them, he and York urge Woodstock to banish the King's corrupting favorites and to change his own style of dress to something less "plain" and more conventional for one of his rank; Woodstock persuades him that they must be less direct with the favorites, but promises to dress up for the coronation. Soon after it, the King seizes power into his own hands, and Woodstock retires to his house at Plashy. His brothers visit him there with gloomy tidings of the Court; when Cheney arrives with the "blank charters" of the new taxation, they leave Plashy for their own estates, in the hopes of calming the likely rebellion. On receiving news of Woodstock's death, Lancaster and York decide to raise an army against Richard and his followers. The King accuses Lancaster of having a Carmelite murdered in prison; Lancaster does not bother to deny this, but instead reminds Richard of the Carmelite who recently tried to murder the King's uncles. Lancaster and York win the battle, and are imposing punishment on the favorites when the play breaks off.
DUKE of LANCASTER **1597
The Duke of Lancaster is the title held by Prince John, son of King Henry IV in
Shakespeare's 2 Henry IV.
At Gaultree Forest he parlays peace with the Archibishop, Hastings, and Mowbray,
promising that their griefs will be addressed if the opposing faction's troops
are disbanded. Once they are disbanded, he orders the traitors arrested.
DUKE of LORRAINE
A "ghost character" in Fletcher's The Chances. He is mentioned, possibly spuriously, as being seven thousand strong.
DUKE of MACADA
A Spanish nobleman, one of the four judges at Sherris in the anonymous Dick of Devonshire. Before the trials start he announces the king's proclamation that the soldiers who fled from Cadiz will be summarily executed, and Bustamente's extended sentence.
DUKE (of MALFI)
A "ghost character" in Webster's The Duchess
of Malfi. The duchess' former husband. He is dead before the play begins.
DUKE (of MALFI)'S SON
A "ghost character" in Webster's The Duchess
of Malfi. Mentioned only once and likely a mistake of Webster's. He is
the child of the duchess and her late husband, but although he should probably
take the dukedom at play's end, he is completely forgotten after his first mention.
DUKE of MANTUA**1631
The Duke of Mantua, at odds with the Duke of Ferrara in Thomas Heywood's The
Fair Maid of the West, Part Two, uses the recently rescued Englishman
Goodlack as his champion in the unspecified action of the dumb show. Whatever
the action is that Spencer and Goodlack perform, it impresses the two dukes, who
settle their differences and travel together to Florence to demonstrate the end
of their feud.
DUKE of MANTUA**1633
The Duke of Mantua is the father of Eugenia in Shirley's The Bird in a Cage. While he is negotiating his daughter's marriage to the Prince of Florence, he confines his daughter to a newly built castle/prison so that no man can have access to her. Infuriated by Rollyardo's (Philenzo's) boastful claim that given sufficient means he can do anything, including gaining access to Eugenia, the Duke makes a wager: he will provide Rollyardo with unlimited means and one month in which to gain access to Eugenia. If he fails, he dies. When Rollyardo claims that he has won the wager, the Duke condemns him to death anyway. The Duke does, however, experience a sudden change of heart when the Embassador of Florence announces that Florence has ended marriage negotiations: he calls off the execution and gives his blessing to the marriage of Eugenia and Rollyardo.
DUKE of MANTUA**1638
The Duke of Mantua is the ruler of a neighboring dukedom to Verona in (?)Brome's The Cunning Lovers. He breaks the promise to marry his daughter to the heir of the Duke of Verona. Thus, to protect her from any suitor, he plans to jail his daughter in a tower with twelve doors whose keys he keeps. The Duke wants her to inherit his dukedom in two months, which annoys Julio, who plans his death. However, he has the luck of being saved by Prospero. He thanks Prospero for his brave action and Julio for his help. Then, the Duke discovers his plan to jail his daughter, what makes him be compared to king Acrisius. He asks Antonio to call the Architect, and later he makes Antonio be in charge of the protection of the tower instead of the suitors. Also, the Duke is to send a message of love to the Duchess through the Architect. He is informed about how his love is requited by his beloved lady, when the three suitors come to tell him about Antonio's visit to the tower. However, he is convinced by the noble man that it has been part of their imagination. Nevertheless, the Duke pays a visit to the tower and he realizes that the princess has not been alone when she doubts about showing him the diamond ring that he had given her. Thus, he asks the Duchess to sleep with the princess. That does not deter the Veronan lord to see the lady once more. The Duke is told by Julio about the second visit and he runs to the tower, but when he arrives to the chamber, he only finds two ladies sleeping, who are compared to Endymion. He uses that occasion to ask his daughter about whom she loves most, and the Duchess about her permission to marry him. With her, he is told about the Architect's death by the Clown and he compares himself with Cain as both of them lost the favor of their Godin this case, the Duchess. In Act Four, the Duke recognizes his daughter in the character of the Spanish Lady so he runs to the tower to verify his guess. He excuses himself by saying that he is to look for a ring that he has lost. However, when he sees her there, he gives up and accepts the product of his imagination. In Act Five, he comes to the Necromancer who tells him the miracle that he is to make to cure the Duchess. If he succeeds, the Duke is to reward him with anything that he might wish. Later, he is brought the traitors and is told that his daughter has disappeared. With all the courtiers, he finds out the trick that he has been played but he cannot do anything to nullify the marriage. He will also discover the real identity of the Necromancer, to whom he has to give the Duchess as the gift he promised to him. Thus, he loses his daughter and his Duchess all together.
DUKE of MANTUA**1640
The Duke of Mantua in Shirley's The Imposture has promised to wed his daughter Fioretta to Leonato of Ferrara in exchange for Ferrara's military assistance. Fioretta vanishes, however, and the duke then agrees to Flaviano's suggestion that Juliana be substituted for Fioretta, for Leonato has seen no picture of Fioretta and has never met her. When his son Honorio goes to Ferrara looking for vengeance, the duke shortly follows, offering himself in exchange for Honorio if need be. The duke eventually banishes Flaviano for treachery.
DUKE of MANTUA'S ARMY
Non-speaking characters in (?)Brome's The Cunning Lovers. In Act Five, they arrest the suitors who try to enter the tower through the secret door.
DUKE of MEDINA**1604
A Spanish nobleman, father of Alcario in the anonymous First Part of Jeronimo.
DUKE of MEDINA**1610
Embodies order and harsh justice in John Marston's The Insatiate Countess. While he pardons Don Sago, who murdered Massino at Isabella's behest, he condemns Isabella to death.
DUKE of MEDINA**1621
A "ghost character" in Fletcher's The Pilgrim. Juletta tells the Master of the madhouse that she comes with a commission from the Duke for the incarceration of Alphonso, and produces a letter to back up her claim. Curio and Seberto later prove that this is impossible, as the Duke of Medina has never met Alphonso.
DUKE of MEDINA**1626
One of the judges at Sherris in the anonymous Dick of Devonshire. He indicates the honor in which Pike is held by appointing a guard of 200 men to accompany the Devonshire captain to the courtroom.
DUKE of MEDINA**1626
Uncle to Onælia in Dekker's Noble Spanish Soldier. He arrives at Onælia's after the King has stolen the contract and arrives at court after it has been destroyed. He forms an opposing faction and has them swear on his sword to enforce Onælia's contract to the King. Balthazar informs him of the King's desire to kill Onælia and her son. Wishing to test the King's conscience firsthand, he disguises himself as Devile, a French doctor, and offers to poison Onælia. The King gladly agrees, even offering to pay more than is asked of him. Medina then sends letters to the King proposing a marriage between Onælia and Cockadillio to secure peace. The King agrees. Medina plans to kill the King, but Balthazar dissuades him from it. At the end of the play, he sees to it that state business is secure by entrusting Sebastian to the care of Balthazar and Onælia and by ensuring the Queen's safe return to Florence.
DUKE of MESSINA
The Duke is the father of Don Martino Cardenes in Fletcher and Massinger's A Very Woman. He demands justice when he hears that his son has been killed, and suspects a foul intrigue when Antonio is given bail and soon after escapes.
He accuses Don Pedro and even the Viceroy of aiding in the plot. He orders his
daughter, Leonora, to cease all contact with Pedro, whom she loves. When his son
is found to be no more than wounded, he pays Paulo and two surgeons to restore
him to health.
DUKE of MILAN **1587
After the fall of Milan in Greene's Alphonsus, King of Arragon, the Duke disguises himself as a pilgrim and meets Carinus, to whom he mistakenly confesses that he wished death to Carinus and Alphonsus. He is then stabbed to death by Carinus.
DUKE of MILAN **1593
The Duke of Milan is Silvia's father in Shakespeare's The Two Gentlemen of Verona. He banishes Valentine after the failed elopement attempt and prefers Thurio as a suitor for Silvia. Eventually the Duke applauds
Valentine's spirit and extends a blessing for Valentine and Silvia's marriage.
DUKE of MILAN**1604
The Duke of Milan in Dekker and Middleton's 1 The Honest Whore, whose given name is Gasparo Trebatzi, refuses to allow his daughter Infelice to marry her beloved Hippolyto because Hippolyto's family is locked in a feud with the Duke's. Instead, he drugs her and stages a mock funeral to convince Hippolyto that Infelice is dead. When Infelice awakes, he convinces her that she fainted and became ill when she heard news of Hippolyto's death, and suggests she retire to Bergamo. When the Duke wishes that Hippolyto really were dead, the Doctor offers to poison him, and the Duke promises to leave him half his goods. The Doctor tells the Duke that he has successfully poisoned Hippolyto, although he has not, and the Duke rejects him, stating that although great men love treason, they hate the traitor. The Duke is in the act of preparing a warrant for Viola to release her husband, Candido, from the madhouse, when he learns that Hippolyto is alive and planning to marry Infelice at Bethlem Monastery that night. He immediately dismisses Viola and sets out there, ordering his followers each to approach the place separately, as if they only came to visit the madmen. He and the others are greeted by the Sweeper, who describes the inmates, and then Anselmo, who shows them three madmen, the first of whom mistakes the Duke for his second son. When Bellafront reveals that the three friars are actually Hippolyto, Infelice and Matheo in disguise, the Duke at first orders his followers to draw their weapons, but through the pleading of Hippolyto, Anselmo and Fluello, he is reconciled to the marriage. Viola then appears and asks for her husband's release. The Duke sends for Candido and after questioning him, he is convinced that Candido is not only sane, but is an example to all men and women.
DUKE of MILAN**1606
Duke of Milan is in love with Oriana and finally marries her in Beaumont and Fletcher's The Woman Hater. In a street at night, Duke enters in disguise, followed by Arrigo and Lucio, disclosing his intention to see Valore's sister. Duke confesses he is in love with her. After a discussion about the responsibilities of a prince and the inadvisability of accepting his subjects' flattery, Duke exits with Lucio and Arrigo. At Gondarino's house, Duke enters with his companions. Having been caught in a hailstorm, Duke seeks shelter in the house. When Gondarino complains that a woman has offended him by arranging an amorous assignation in his house, Duke realizes this woman is Oriana. After secret conference with his companions, Duke exits. Duke re-enters to see Gondarino being pursued by Oriana, which strengthens his belief that Gondarino has a secret relationship with her. Since Gondarino persists in telling Duke that Oriana is a whore, Duke demands proof and exits. Duke and Valore, disguised, follow Gondarino to the house where Oriana allegedly entertains her lover. Seeing Oriana at the window of the brothel, Duke tends to believe she is unchaste, especially since Gondarino pretends to speak to her as if he were the lover whom she expects. Duke decides to give Oriana a chance to explain and orders her to come down. At the palace, Duke enters followed by Valore, Gondarino, and Arrigo. Duke confronts Gondarino with his base attempt at discrediting Oriana, yet he decides that Oriana is going to die in Gondarino's presence. In a room with a gallery in the palace, Duke, Valore, and Gondarino enter above, while Oriana and Arrigo enter below. Duke observes the scene in which, under peril of death, Oriana refuses to relinquish her chastity. Duke intervenes and finally asks Oriana's hand in marriage. Duke's last words in the play suggest that true love can find relief after much vicissitude.
DUKE of MILAN **1620
A "ghost character" in Fletcher's Women Pleased whose attempt to abduct Belvidere occurs before the play begins.
DUKE of MILAN**1621
Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan in Massinger's The Duke of Milan. Sforza has placed himself squarely against the Spanish, whom he hates. The French, freshly funded by Sforza, have taken the field. Should they loose to the Spanish, Sforza will be bankrupt and defenseless before the Spanish. He holds a birthday party for his wife, Marcella, and swears his undying loyalty to her. During the party a courier arrives. His letter is clear: the Duke's French forces have been defeated. The Duke tells his Duchess that he could be taken prisoner, his lands and titles stripped from him, his mother murdered, and his sister ravished, and he'd be fine. But if anything should happen to his wife, he'd be disconsolate. If faced with that circumstance, she promises to kill herself. Perscara councils the Duke to surrender immediately to the Spanish Emperor, and hope for mercy. The Duke agrees. He then makes Perscara promise that should the Spanish Emperor execute him, Perscara will kill the Duchess. Perscara is horrified, but agrees. The Spanish Emperor is surprised by Sforza's surrender, and decides to hear his case. Rather than flatter, the Duke proclaims himself the Emperor's enemy and demands immediate death. The Emperor is so touched by the Duke's courage that he reinstates him as Duke of Milan. The Duke is happy to return to his loving and constant wife. Francisco, however, has convinced the Duchess that the Duke is unfaithful and wishes her death. He also protests his love to her. The Duke is surprised that his wife doesn't rush to greet him upon his return. She replies that her blood is more temperate than he suspects. Graccho sees this as proof that the Duchess is having an affair with Francisco; the Duke is enraged by her cold affection and swears never to think of her again. A trick is planned, and the Duchess is led in. On hearing that Francisco is dead, the Duchess retorts, 'thou hast killed then/ A man I do profess I loved; a man/For whom a thousand queens might well be rivals.' The Duke stabs her. Proclaiming that he was innocent, the Duke then calls for Francisco. Sensing that she has been manipulated, the Duchess says that it was he, not she, who was the sexual aggressor, but the Duke does not believe her. Before the Duchess can be arrested, however, she dies. The King is broken hearted. He learns that Francisco is the villain and calls for doctors to attempt to revive the Duchess. Francisco and his sister, Eugenie (a woman the Duke once wronged), enter disguised as doctors and attempt to fool the Duke into believing the Duchess will revive. They are discovered and arrested but not before Eugenie manages first to poison the Duke. He dies slowly of the poison.
DUKE of MILAN**1624
In Act Five of Davenport's The City Night Cap, the Duke of Milan is worried about his son's reputation and so he follows Antonio to take care of him. In his journey, with Sanchio and Sebastiano, he discovers the corpse of Antonio's Turk wearing his owner's garments so they think that his son has been murdered.
DUKE of MILAN**1633
Also spelled Duke of Millaine in Heywood's A Maidenhead Well Lost. When Sforsa's wife petitions the Duke to relieve her husband, whose siege of Naples on Millaine's behalf is going badly, he tells her that the fault is not with him but his officers, who have failed to fulfill his orders for money and supplies to be sent to the General, and promises the fault will be made good; it is not clear whether the assurance is honest or slippery. He assents reluctantly to his daughter's insistence that Lauretta be banished, and agrees to urge a quick marriage between Julia and Parma. When she tells him of her pregnancy, however, and urges him to kill her, he vainly tries to apprehend the Prince and to devise some way to rescue the family honor. After the baby is born and given to Stroza to dispose of, he proposes that Julia marry the Prince of Florence instead, and sends Stroza to negotiate. Coming to Florence for the wedding, he mendaciously supports Julia's denials of unchastity, and gives Stroza money which which to suborn Lauretta to undertake the bed-trick. When the Prince reveals the plot, however, he confesses his part, and is profoundly relieved when Parma reappears to make his daughter an honest woman, and happy to restore the Widow and Lauretta to places of honor in Millaine.
DUKE of MILAN**1634
The Duke of Milan enters Savoy in disguise as the First Ambassador in Davenant's Love and Honor. He has hopes of pleading for Evandra's life. The Duke refuses, although he changes his plans to executing Leonell when the latter reveals himself as the son of the Duke of Parma. When the Duke remains firm, the Duke of Milan reveals himself and declares that he will take Leonell's place, a plan which suits the Duke. All the deaths are averted by the revelation that the Second Ambassador is actually the lost Duke's brother.
DUKE of MILAN**1637
Father to Aurelia and Agenor in Carlell's The Fool Would Be A Favorite. He is amused by Young Gudgen's belief that he has purchased the position of favorite but has no time to deal with him because of the combat between Adrastus and Philanthus. After the combat he warns the friends of Adrastus not to attempt to harm Philanthus. He then witnesses Young Gudgen's mock challenge. At the end of the play, he has grown tired of Young Gudgen and orders him back to the country. He then commands preparations for his children's marriages.
DUKE of NORFOLK**1591
A "ghost character" in the anonymous True Tragedy of Richard III.The Duke of Norfolk is slain at the battle at Bosworth Field.
DUKE of NORFOLK**1597
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's 2
Henry IV. The Duke of Norfolk is the deceased father of Thomas Mowbray
whose estates were restored to Thomas by King Henry IV.
DUKE of NORFOLK **1600
In Act four of the anonymous Thomas Lord Cromwell, after the Chorus has announced Wolsey's death, Gardiner (formerly Wolsey's man and now Bishop of Winchester), discusses Wolsey's plots against the state with the Duke of Norfolk, the Duke of Suffolk, Sir Thomas More and Sir Christopher Hales. Norfolk and Gardiner ask Cromwell for the writings Wolsey has given him and Cromwell offers them up. Norfolk announces that Cromwell has been appointed to the Privy Council and takes him off to see the king.. Norfolk replies to Gardiner, both members of Cromwell's grand procession through London, when Gardiner has commented that Cromwell will come to a sad end, that he dislikes Cromwell but the king loves him. When Gardiner has witnesses insist that Cromwell had said he wished a dagger in King Henry's heart, Norfolk questions them and agrees to have Cromwell arrested and executed by next morning. In the scene of Cromwell's arrest Norfolk announces the traitor's arrival and gives orders that Cromwell's men should be killed if they try to defend Cromwell. He announces that it is time the king heard about Cromwell's actions and refuses Cromwell's request to speak with his men before he is taken away. Cromwell leaves for prison remarking to Norfolk that he will be next to fall. In the last scene Norfolk tells Cromwell the king had been informed of Cromwell's cause. (Although very soon after the execution a reprieve comes from the king.) Norfolk closes the play announcing that he will go to the king.
DUKE of NORFOLK**1602
A "ghost character" in the anonymous The
Merry Devil of Edmonton, he does not appear in the play. "To serve the
Duke of Norfolk" is Banks' favorite euphemistic expression for poaching and drinking.
DUKE of NORFOLK**1604
The Duke of Norfolk in Dekker and Webster's Sir Thomas Wyatt (the historical Thomas Howard) was a supporter of Queen Mary. Late in the play, he leads a force against Sir Thomas Wyatt and places the five hundred Londoners under Alexander Brett in the vanguard. Along with the Earls of Pembroke and Arundel, Norfolk receives the surrender of the wounded Wyatt at London. He is present during the trial of Guildford Dudley and Lady Jane Grey. Along with Arundel, he is moved to ask that mercy be shown to the young couple, but it is refused by the Bishop of Winchester. After Guildford is taken off for execution, Norfolk has the concluding lines in the play and calls attention to the effects upon the young of their fathers' pride and ambition.
DUKE of NORFOLK **1604
A "ghost character" in Heywood's 1
If You Know Not Me. Norfolk is mentioned as attending the dying Queen
Mary.
DUKE of NORFOLK**1613
Norfolk is first to break the news to King Henry about taxations that have been
troubling the people: taxations that Henry knew nothing about in Shakespeare's
Henry VIII. Often a court
insider, Norfolk recognizes the treachery done to Buckingham as well as that perpetrated
by Wolsey. Norfolk is to become Earl Marshal after the new queen's coronation.
DUKE of NORFOLK**1625
A "ghost character" in Sampson's The Vow-Breaker. Lord Grey says that he awaits the arrival of the English
army in Berwick after their success at Leith. Queen Elizabeth then recalls
him from his position as Governor of Berwick, replacing him with Lord Grey.
DUKE of NORMANDY **1619
A “ghost character" in Fletcher’s Bloody Brother. Rollo and Otto’s dead father. He divided his dukedom equally between his sons because he loved both equally. He had hoped his equal love and care would have united them, but their ambition has divided the brothers. There are factions now in the dukedom who keep them warring because it enriches them so to do.
DUKE of NORTHUMBERLAND**1604
The Duke of Northumberland in Dekker and Webster's Sir Thomas Wyatt (the historical John Dudley) was the father of Guildford Dudley and a supporter of Lady Jane Grey. Having encouraged the dying Edward VI to name Lady Jane Grey to the succession, Northumberland has her proclaimed queen immediately after Edward's death, and initially the royal commission is inclined to support the king's will over the claims of Edward's sisters Mary and Elizabeth. The plan falls apart, however, when the commission reverses itself and sides with Mary, and the new queen orders the arrest of Northumberland and his sons. When he is taken by the Earl of Arundel, he recognizes that Mary will have his head and prays only that she will spare his family.
DUKE of NORTHUMBERLAND**1624
Enters with Earl of Erbaigh to introduce the Earl to the Duchess in Drue's The Duchess of Suffolk. Witnesses, along with Palsgrave, Arundel, Erbaigh, Foxe, Cranwell, and Bertie, Duchess' surprising choice of Bertie for her new husband.
DUKE of ORLEANCE
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's Henry
VIII. This French duke was at one time considered as a possible match for Henry's daughter Mary.
DUKE of ORLEANS**1602
A character from the badly deteriorated plot of the anonymous 2 Fortune's Tennis. Because of the state of decay, nothing more can be deduced regarding the character's function in the otherwise lost play.
DUKE of ORLEANS**1605
A "ghost character" in Dekker and Webster's Northward Ho. The poet Bellamont hopes that his new tragedy will be played at the weddings of the Duke of Orleans and the Admiral of France, in the presence of the King of France.
DUKE of ORLEANS**1613
When Fletcher's The Honest Man's Fortune begins, the Duke of Orleans is suing Montaigne for lands in Montaigne's possession. Envious of Montaigne's popularity and resentful that Montaigne was originally his wife's preference as husband, Orleans believes that Lady Orleans has been cuckolding him. He throws her out of the house to live with Montaigne as soon as Montaigne loses the court case. Orleans rewards Duboys for defending his name in a tavern dispute and takes Duboys into his service. Duboys offers to kill Montaigne for Orleans, which offer Orleans accepts; unbeknownst to Orleans, Duboys saves Montaigne from prison instead of killing him. Orleans and Amiens once again prepare to duel; Orleans rejects all efforts to prevent the duel until Longavile takes one of the dueling pistols, declares he will kill Orleans for the good of mankind, and shoots. Lady Orleans falls, and Orleans repents his harshness to his wife. Fortunately, Lady Orleans simply fainted from fear that Orleans had been shot, and the two are reconciled. During the final feast, Orleans also admits having cheated in the court case against Montaigne and returns Montaigne's lands.
DUKE of PADUA
Enters from the hunt with Turqualo, Vesuvio, Alberto, and attendants just after Pertillo's murder in Yarington's Two Lamentable Tragedies. They discover Allenso wandering lost in the woods and he asks them to direct him back to Padua. They then discover the bodies of Pertillo and the first Ruffian, along with the wounded second Ruffian. The Duke orders his lords to apprehend Allenso on the belief that his presence indicates some involvement in the killings. When Allenso proclaims his innocence, the Duke asks the Second Ruffian who was responsible. After the Ruffian reveals that Fallerio paid him and his companion to kill Pertillo, the Duke orders his men to carry away the corpses and begin the pursuit of Fallerio. The Duke also warns Allenso, on pain of death, not to give any assistance to Fallerio. Later, after his lords have apprehended Allenso disguised as Fallerio, the Duke confronts him with the plot to kill Pertillo. The Duke becomes increasingly enraged as Allenso denies responsibility for the murder and even denies that he is Fallerio. When Allenso pulls off his disguise, the Duke vows to track down Fallerio and orders that Allenso be hanged for aiding his father. The disguised Fallerio, observing the scene and moved by his son's actions, steps forward and asks that Allenso be freed, since he alone was responsible for the deaths. The Duke only recognizes Fallerio after he removes his shepherd's disguise. The Duke orders Fallerio hanged and again rejects Fallerio's plea to spare Allenso.
DUKE of PARMA
A "ghost character" in Davenant's Love and Honor. In the final scene, Leonelle reveals that he is not a Milanese knight, but the son of the Duke of Parma and that furthermore, the Duke of Parma was the one who took the Duke's brother prisoner and then gave him to the Duke of Milan. Therefore, he argues, if the Duke wants to kill someone for the death of his brother, it should most rightfully be the son of the man who caused it.
DUKE of PISA
The Duke of Pisa, anxious to observe the vulgar in his duchy, is disguised through
most of Marmion's The Antiquary.
He is thus able to take part in teasing the Antiquary, convicting Moccinigo, humbling
Petrutio, blessing the union of Aurelio and Lucretia, and even watching another
play his own role as Duke.
DUKE of SAVOY**1608
Chapman's The Conspiracy of Charles,
Duke of Byron begins with Savoy's embassy to Paris, where he meets with King Henry and is present when the King banishes La Fin. He then conspires with La Fin to lure Byron to their cause against Henry. When Henry discusses Byron's exploits with him and indicates that others were valiant too, Savoy later uses this information in rouse Byron's anger against Henry. Among his other activities, Savoy also becomes involved with three ladies of the court, and in the final act his entrance with these three provides a moment of comic relief for the King and Byron, who withdraw and watch their conversation. Savoy then declares that he is leaving the court and bestows gifts upon both Henry and Byron. Byron refuses, stating that Savoy is a stranger to him. When Savoy departs from court, Henry warns him against becoming involved in a conflict with the King of Spain.
DUKE of SAVOY**1629
The Duke of Savoy has planned to wed Leonora in Shirley's Grateful Servant, but when she disappears he turns his attentions toward Cleona. Presiding over a ceremony that will induct Foscari and Dulcino into the church, the duke discovers that Dulcino is Leonora, disguised as a page in order to test the duke's love. The duke then brings Cleona and Foscari together as he plans his own union with Leonora.
DUKE of SAVOY**1634
The Duke of Savoy lost his brother ten years ago in a battle with the Duke of Milan in Davenant's Love and Honor. He believes his brother was killed. Therefore, when he hears that Evandra, the daughter of the Duke has been taken prisoner, he swears he will have her executed to repay the debt. When Evandra is hidden from him, he is enraged and threatens to torture Prospero for her location. When his son, Alvaro, begs him to change his mind, the Duke is further enraged and declares that if Evandra is not presented by the next day, he will execute Alvaro in her place. Both Evandra and Melora present themselves to him, and since neither will admit which is the true Evandra, he orders them both killed. Two Ambassadors arrive from Milan to beg for their lives. The Duke refuses and Leonell then steps forward to ask if a man allied to the Duke of Milan's family will be a suitable replacement. When the Duke agrees, Leonell reveals himself as the Duke of Parma's son, and allied to Milan. The Duke agrees to kill Leonell instead of Evandra, whereupon the First Ambassador reveals that he is the Duke of Milan himself, ready to die for both. The Second Ambassador then reveals himself as the Duke's lost brother, and instead of executions, there are reunions, reconciliation, and marriages.
DUKE of SAXONY**1589
A non-speaking character in Greene's Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay. The Duke of Saxony accompanies the German Emperor to England.
DUKE of SAXONY**1620
The Duke in the anonymous Costly Whore accepts his daughter's version of the dispute between Montano and Constantine, travels to Meath for his brother the Archbishop's funeral, makes Alfrid and Hatto his regents, falls in love with the courtesan Valentia, and resolves to marry her, however base she may be. When he presents her to the parliament, Frederick, Rinaldo, and Alberto resist. The Duke leads his forces against the rebels. Frederick prevails, and captures Valentia, but the Duke persuades him to give her up and disband the army in exchange for his pardon. But Montano, Valentia, and his sycophantic brothers persuade him to break his word and jail his son. He also imprisons Euphrata and Constantine. The petitions of the poor against Alfrid and Hatto, which Euphrata delivers, he scorns. When Valentia presents him with Frederick's body he remains hard, but is moved by the discovery of the fidelity of Otho and Julia, and when the bodies of Euphrata and Constantine are brought in, he recognizes what a tyrant he has been, cedes power to Frederick, and retires to a hermitage with Valentia.
DUKE of SAXONY'S NEPHEW
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. He is one of the first group of Portia's suitors, described by Nerissa who leaves without attempting to find the correct casket.
DUKE of SESTOS
Duke of Sestos first appears traveling to Athens to meet his son in the anonymous
The Taming of a Shrew. On
the road he meets Ferando and Kate, traveling to the weddings of Aurelius and
Phylema, and Polidor and Emelia. He is addressed as a young maid first by Ferando
and then, obediently, by Kate, and is frightened off by their seeming madness.
He arrives to hear Valeria promise gifts from the Duke of Sesto to Alfonso and
threatens both Valeria and Aurelius. However, he is persuaded to accept the marriage
by the combined appeals of Aurelius, Phylema, Polidor and Emelia.
DUKE of SIENA
The monarch to whom Belvidere's hand is promised in Fletcher's Women Pleased. Learning of her escape, he wages war on Florence. Conquered by the disguised Silvio, he submits penitently to the Duchess and is rewarded with the Duchess' hand.
DUKE of SOMERSET
A "ghost character" in the anonymous Arden
of Feversham. He sends letters patent via the Franklin to Arden for the
Abbey at Feversham. This gift of land, because it displaces so many, causes much
of the trouble in the play. It is the reason Reede curses Arden and Greene joins
in the conspiracy to kill him.
DUKE of SUFFOLK **1600
After the Chorus has announced Wolsey's death in the anonymous Thomas Lord Cromwell, Gardiner (formerly Wolsey's man and now Bishop of Winchester), discusses Wolsey's plots against the state with the Duke of Norfolk, the Duke of Suffolk, Sir Thomas More and Sir Christopher Hales. When Norfolk and Gardiner ask Cromwell for the writings Wolsey has given to him and Cromwell offers them up, Suffolk explains the king will reward him for his fine behaviour. He knights Cromwell and takes him off to the king. Suffolk is present at Cromwell's banquet but says nothing. When Gardiner has witnesses confirm that Cromwell had said he wishes a dagger in King Henry's heart, Suffolk agrees to have Cromwell arrested and executed by next morning. In the scene of Cromwell's arrest Suffolk tells his soldiers to kill Cromwell's men if they draw their swords. He tells Cromwell his matter will be tried (although it won't be). In the last scene he explains to Sir Ralph Sadler that the reprieve for Cromwell from the King has arrived too late.
DUKE of SUFFOLK**1604
The Duke of Suffolk in Dekker and Webster's Sir Thomas Wyatt (historically Henry Grey) was Lady Jane Grey's father. When the royal commissioners decide to shift their support from Jane to Queen Mary, Suffolk goes into hiding, aided by his follower Holmes. After three days alone in a cabin, the duke is joined by Holmes who brings food and drink. A short while later, he is betrayed by Holmes and is arrested by the Sheriff and his officers. Brought to the Tower just before Lady Jane's arraignment on charges of treason, he speaks to her briefly about the regret he has for placing her in a situation where she will surely die.
DUKE of SUFFOLK**1613
Charles the Duke of Suffolk attends Queen Katherine during her first audience
with the king early in Shakespeare's Henry
VIII. Suffolk sees Wolsey's power as creating a form of slavery for everyone.
DUKE of SURREY
A nobleman who supports the Duke of Aumerle in the face of Bagot's and Lord Fitzwalter's
accusations of his involvement in the murder of the Duke of Gloucester in Shakespeare's
Richard II.
DUKE of SYRACUSE
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's Comedy
of Errors. The Duke of Syracuse is ruler of the merchant Egeon's homeland.
Solinus remarks that this Duke is responsible for several outrages perpetrated
against Ephesian merchants.
DUKE of TUSCAN
A "ghost character". Offers hospitality to Thomas Sherley Jr's expedition
in Day, Rowley and Wilkins's The Travels
of the Three English Brothers, but Tuscan merchants corrupt Thomas's crew
by encouraging mutiny.
DUKE of TUSCANY
A "ghost character" in Jonson's Volpone. While disguised as Scoto of Mantua, Volpone claims the Duke is an established customer.
DUKE of TUSCANY, LATE
A "ghost character" in Cokain's Trappolin. The late Duke is the deceased father of Prudentia and Lavinio.
DUKE of VACUNIUM, GUASTO
A ‘ghost character’ in Percy’s A Country Tragedy in Vacunium. Rhodaghond then recounts how Florimel, who once despised Amadour, grew to love him after he earned great praise at Guasto, the Duke of Vacunium’s games.
DUKE of VANHOLT
Faustus entertains the Duke and Duchess of Vanholt in Marlowe's Doctor Faustus by erecting an enchanted castle in the air before them. Their party is crashed by the half inebriated common folk, Clown, Horse-Courser, and Carter, who demand revenge of Faustus but who retreat when struck dumb by him. "Vanholt" presumably refers to the historic German Duchy of Anhalt.
DUKE of VENICE**1596
The Duke of Venice presides over the trial of Shylock and Antonio in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. He tries in vain to persuade Shylock to be merciful, but admits that he cannot break the law. In the end, he shows mercy by reducing Shylock's sentence to a fine only and placing Shylock's estate in a deed of gift and a trust to ensure Jessica's ultimate inheritance.
DUKE of VENICE**1601
The Duke of Venice imparts final justice and pleads for reconciliation in the anonymous Blurt, Master Constable. In the street before Imperia's house, the inflamed and revenge-seeking Venetian youths enter with torches and swords to kill Fontinel. The Duke, accompanied by Blurt and his watch, tries to pacify the young men. Warning the Venetian gentlemen against this reckless action, the Duke sends Blurt to arrest Fontinel. When Fontinel is brought out of Imperia's house under arrest, the Duke warns the Venetian gentlemen against killing him and sends Blurt to fetch Imperia from the house. Seeing that the masked "courtesan" is actually Violetta, the Duke requires clarification. When Violetta's plot to save Fontinel from Camillo's jealousy is revealed, the Duke pacifies the gentlemen, making them promise to forgive each other and be friends. The Duke turns his attention to Curvetto and Lazarillo, also under arrest. Informing Curvetto that Imperia accused him of burglary, the Duke announces that Curvetto's penalty is either death or marriage to Imperia. At Curvetto's strong refusal to marry the courtesan, the Duke pardon's him magnanimously. The Duke also pardons Lazarillo, promising to pay Lazarillo's debt of twenty shillings to Blurt for the lodgings. The Duke has the final word of reconciliation, concluding that all potentially tragic situations have ended in a comic event, so that everything may close with banquet and music.
DUKE of VENICE**1604
Along with Senators of Venice, he sends Othello to Cyprus to defend it against the Turks in Shakespeare's Othello. He first hears Brabantio's accusations of witchcraft against Othello. When Desdemona testifies that the warrior's stories won her heart, the Duke is convinced and says that such stories would likely win his own daughter's love and so dismisses Brabantio's complaint.
DUKE of VENICE**1607
The Duke of Venice is a passionate lover in Mason's Mulleasses. He begins the play as the senate-endorsed suitor for Julia's hand in marriage. In his courting, he is rivaled by the Duke of Ferrara. When Venice first hears from Borgias that Julia is dead, Venice does not completely trust the report. Venice makes amends with his rival Ferrara and agrees to remain in Florence for Julia's funeral. In a sign of devotion to his lost love, Venice promises to remain chaste for the rest of his life. Venice and others come upon Bordella standing over the dead body of Timoclea and accuse the traveler of her murder. After witnessing the exposure of Borgias and Mulleasses' plots and their deaths, Venice is engaged to marry Julia.
DUKE of VENICE**1624
The Duke of Venice is brother to Abstemia in Davenport's The City Night Cap. When he hears about Abstemia's punishment, he asks his troops in Bergamo to march towards Verona to avenge his sister's dishonor. Abstemia's stain dirties his family's name. Therefore, there is to be another trial to administer justice with the same witnesses. Then, he restores Abstemia's name and punishes Lorenzo.
DUKE of VENICE**1639
The Duke oversees the trial of Fransiscus in J.D.'s The Knave In Grain New Vamped, and administers punishment to
Julio. He delivers the epilogue at the end.
DUKE of VERONA**1624
The Duke of Verona is the highest representative of justice in his kingdom in Davenport's The City Night Cap. To him Abstemia is to be taken accused with the charges of adultery. He will punish Abstemia by grating Lorenzo a divorce, and Philippo by banishing him from the dukedom. Later, in Act Three, he will change his
judgment when it is found out that there were false witnesses.
DUKE of VERONA**1638
The Duke of Verona in (?)Brome's The Cunning Lovers plans to marry his son, Prospero, to a noble lady, the fair daughter of a neighboring friend, to join their two dukedoms. But, when he is told that the engagement has been broken, he threatens his friend with war. Meanwhile, he allows his son to travel around the world for a year to make him forget about the lady. Nevertheless, he does not trust his offspring, and the Duke decides to follow them disguised as a Pilgrim, leaving the dukedom in the hands of Cosmos. With him, he will come at the end of the play to make sure that the marriage is to be respected.
DUKE of VERONA'S ARMY
Non-speaking characters in (?)Brome's The Cunning Lovers. In Act Five the army is led by Cosmo to confirm the marriage of prince Prospero.
DUKE of YORK**1586
He is first sent as an English ambassador in the anonymous Famous
Victories of Henry V who delivers Henry V's claim to the French crown
to the French King. Upon his request, Henry V gives him the vanguard in the battle
of Agincourt where he is slain.
DUKE of YORK**1592
I.
Brother to the Duke of Lancaster and Thomas of Woodstock in the anonymous Thomas of Woodstock, who acts together with Lancaster throughout the play.
II.
He is the brother of John of Gaunt and the late Duke of Gloucester and uncle of
King Richard and Bolingbroke in Shakespeare's Richard II. Richard appoints him Lord Governor of England whilst he is away in Ireland. York initially attempts to defend England against Bolingbroke's invasion but is unable to do so adequately because Richard has taken all available troops to Ireland. Although loyal to the king at first, as both Richard and Bolingbroke are his kinsmen he feels he owes loyalty to both. He eventually joins Bolingbroke. York is a traditionalist and is strongly opposed to any kind of treason against the crown. When he discovers that his son the Duke of Aumerle is involved in a plot against Bolingbroke (now King Henry IV) he is eager to inform the king. Historically he was Edmund of Langley.
DUKE, OLD
A "ghost character" in Fletcher's The Loyal Subject. A good ruler of Moscow who earned the loyalty of his people, especially Archas. He placed his son and heir in the tutorship of Archas, his trusted general. Before his death, the old Duke entrusted a great treasure to Archas and Boroskie by way of ensuring the dukedom would remain solvent even if the new Duke fell on hard times.
DUKE'S DAUGHTER
A non-speaking role in Wilson's The
Cobbler's Prophecy. Emnius plots to marry the Duke's Daughter, but his
plan is foiled. She appears alongside her father during the Priest's prayer.
DUKE SENIOR
At the beginning of Shakespeare's As
You Like It, Duke Senior has been overthrown and banished by his brother,
Duke Frederick. With his loyal courtiers, Duke Senior sets up a kind of court-in-exile
in the forest of Arden. There Duke Senior finds a new sort of contentmentfar
from the intrigues of courtwhere there are "sermons in stones, books in
the running brooks, and good in every thing." Duke Senior's daughter Rosalind
is later exiled and arrives in the forest disguised as the young man Ganymede.
Near the end of the play, all of the characters reunite in the forest, Jaques
de Boys arrives to announce that Duke Frederick has repented, and Duke Senior
is restored to power with an improved sense of his duties as ruler.
DUKE VINCENTIO
The governor of Vienna in Shakespeare's Measure
for Measure. The Duke wishes to have the city's laws against fornication
enforced but not by himself. Instead, he appoints Angelo to govern in his place
while he secretly disguises himself as Friar Lodowick in order to observe what
occurs. Thus disguised, the Duke visits the prison, where he becomes acquainted
with Claudio and Isabella. He eavesdrops on them and overhears Isabella relate
Angelo's proposition to her: Angelo has promised to pardon Claudio in return for
her yielding her virginity to him. The Duke confronts Isabella and tells her that
Angelo was once betrothed to Mariana, whom he forsook when her brother Frederick
drowned at sea with her dowry. The Duke directs Isabella to agree to Angelo's
demands, but to perform a "bed trick, " substituting Mariana for herself. Angelo,
thinking he has bedded Isabella, orders Claudio executed anyway to hide his misdeed.
The Duke then conspires with the Provost to execute Barnardine in Claudio's place
and show Angelo his head as proof of Claudio's execution. When the prisoner Ragusine,
who more resembles Claudio than does Barnardine, dies of a fever they decide to
use his head instead. Plotting to ensnare Angelo, the still-disguised Duke tells
Isabella that Claudio is dead and directs her and Mariana to reveal everything
to the Duke when he "returns" to Vienna. In the end, the Duke publicly disgraces
Angelo and forces him to marry Mariana, reveals that Claudio is still alive and
pardons both him and Barnardine, orders Lucio to marry the prostitute Kate Keepdown
as punishment for slandering him and impregnating her, and declares that he will
marry Isabella.
DUKE'S BROTHER
The Duke's Brother was lost and presumed dead in a battle with Milan, ten years ago in Davenant's Love and Honor. It is his death which causes the Duke to declare that Evandra must be executed. In fact, the Duke's brother has spent the last ten years hidden away from public life by the Duke of Milan, to prevent him from continuing the war. The Duke's Brother enters Savoy disguised as the Second Ambassador to plead for Evandra's life. When the Duke refuses to change his mind, his brother reveals himself and announces that he has been completely happy living a studious and retired life. His appearance overjoys the Duke, and all plans for revenge or war are put aside.
DULA
Dula is a lady of the court in Beaumont and Fletcher's The
Maid's Tragedy. She openly envies Evadne her wedding night with Amintor,
teasing her with gentle bawdy about the forthcoming loss of maidenhead.
DULCIFLORA
Clariflora is called Dulciflora at the beginning of J.D.'s The Knave In Grain New Vamped. This is likely a printing error.
DULCILLA
Listed in the dramatis personae of the anonymous Philander, King of Thrace. Characteristics and actions not given in the surviving plot.
DULCIMEL
Gonzago's daughter in Marston's Parasitaster, or The Fawn. Her name is a variation on dulcimer (the musical instrument). Her witty welcome to Tiberio invites him to fall in love with her, and she further encourages Tiberio's love by convincing her father to warn him against loving her on the grounds that she is indeed susceptible to Tiberio. She confides to Philocalia that she loves Tiberio chiefly because she has been told not to, and that she plans to take advantage of her father's foolishness to secure him as a husband. She tells Gonzago that Tiberio has given her scarves embroidered with love messages and asks him to return them to Tiberio with accusations that he loves Dulcimel. Gonzago does so, not realizing that Dulcimel is delivering the scarves to Tiberio with her own message of love. At the next formal audience, she loudly "confides" to her father in Tiberio's hearing that he plans to climb a convenient tree to her window that night and marry her secretly. The plan is successful, and her marriage is blessed by both Dukes at the close of the play.
DULCIMENTA **1639
The king’s nickname for his disobedient daughter, the princess, in Sharpe’s Noble Stranger.
DULCINO
Dulcino is Leonora in disguise in Shirley's Grateful Servant. Uncertain of the Duke of Savoy's love, and wary of being thrust into a state marriage, this Milanese lady assumes the role of Foscari's page in order to test the duke's love. Leonora is tested herself, however, when as Foscari's servant she must go along with her master's plan to enter a religious house. When she accompanies Foscari to the duke's home and would don a churchman's habit along with Foscari, the churchman Valentio reveals Leonora's identity. The play ends with Leonora confident of the duke's honor and planning to wed him.
DULIPPO
(a.k.a. Erostrato) Servant to Erostrato and suitor to Polynesta in Gascoigne's The Supposes. Having exchanged identities with his master Erostrato, Dulippo acts as if he is the suitor to Polynesta in order to counter the candidacy of Cleander. He hatches a plan to disguise a stranger visiting Ferrara from Siena as Philogano, who will confirm Erostrato's fortunes. Upon meeting Philogano outside his supposed home, Dulippo must act as if he has never seen Philogano, and that he is, in fact, Erostrato; this lie causes him so much grief that he vows to search out his master, give up his disguise, and to banish himself to a strange country. However, upon hearing that Erostrato is imprisoned, he decides to confess everything to Philogano. In the play's final scene, he is reunited with his real father, Cleander, from whom he was separated as a young boy.
DULL, ANTHONY
A constable in Shakespeare's Love's
Labour's Lost, Dull brings Costard before Ferdinand and gives him into
Armado's custody. He is a pragmatist with words. In the pageant of the Nine Worthies,
he agrees to dance and play the tabor.
DULLPATE **1627
A parson and Scrape-all's son in Randolph's Plutophthalmia. Plutus says that he has a thriving name, that he should teach in private, and he will be rich. Towards the end of the play, he comes upon the Pope, who is starving for want of wealth, and glories over him. In exchange for a crust of bread and some mutton, Dull-pate has the Pope absolve him of all sin forever. He calls in the Quire to sing benedictus while the Pope blesses Plutus.
DULMAN **1641
A “ghost character" in (?)Shipman’s Grobiana’s Nuptials. An apothecary and Grobian. He is on the list of invitees Oyestus is sent to cry into the Grobian feast.
DUMAIN**1602
The name of the First Lord of France in Shakespeare's All's Well. He is one of the four lords who attend the King. He is a friend of Bertram's and is passed over by Helena before she chooses Bertram as her husband. Later, he encourages Bertram to test Parolles' honesty and loyalty.
DUMAIN**1639
Presumed the only survivor of Fredigond's vendetta against his family in Hemming's Fatal Contract. When Clotair raped his sister, Crotilda, and his family killed the Queen's brother in mistaken revenge, he was safely away at 'Witenburge' with his kinsmen, Lamot. The two lords are still banished, but have been serving in the army in the guise of common soldiers. The Queen sends them word of repeal, money and fine clothes via her eunuch Castrato (Dumain's sister Crotilda in disguise). They are welcomed back to court but made the scapegoats for the old king's murder by the Queen. They flee. Dumain joins his noble comrades Martell, Bourbon and Lanove, in preparation for a revolutionary war to depose the king. He continues to meet with Lamot, still living at court in disguise and serving Clovis. Charles Brissac and Clovis later join their forces. When the citadel is stormed Dumain discovers at last that the dying Castrato is in reality his long-lost sister, pursuing her own vendetta. The dying king repents the wrongs done to both the Dumain and Brissac families. Dumain is made Mayor of the Palace by way of amends.
DUMAINE**1593
A Duke in the court of France in Marlowe's Massacre at Paris. The brother of Guise and the Cardinal. He supports and participates in the massacre of Protestants. When his brothers are killed by King Henry III, he plots with a Friar assassinate the king.
DUMAINE**1595
With Longaville and Berowne, Dumaine is a lord attending Navarre's King Ferdinand
and a member of the Academe that Ferdinand founds as Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost opens. As Ferdinand explains, the men will achieve an immortality of sorts, living on in the memories of future generations. Dumaine agrees to adhere
to Ferdinand's statutes, which bind the academics for a period of three years
and include a vow to eschew the company of women. When the Princess of France
arrives in Navarre, the men's vows are soon forgotten, and Dumaine begins courting
the princess' attendant Katherine. At the end of the play, Dumaine, like the other
men, is told that he will have to postpone his wooing for one year.
DUMAIN'S BROTHER
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's All's Well. Brother to the First Lord of France, and a captain in the Florentine army.
DUMBE
Master Dumbe is Mistress Quickly's minister in Shakespeare's 2
Henry IV. Quickly names Dumbe as guarantor concerning remarks she made
concerning swaggerers in her tavern.
DUNCALION
Only mentioned in ?Clavell's The Soddered Citizen. Brainsicke mentions Duncalion while, in his attempt to make Undermine drunk, he tells him the story of Duncalion and Pirra. According to Ovid's Metamorphoses, Prometheus warned his son Deucalion and his wife Pirra (Epimeteo and Pandora's daughter) about the flood that Jupiter was planning to send to the earth. Deaucalion and Pirra are the new modellers of the human race as they are the only survivors and they are closely related to Prometheus. They probably used the stones Pausanias to create men and women. Notice this is one the mythological versions of Noah's flood.
DUNCAN
The king of Scotland and father to Malcolm and Donalbain in Shakespeare's Macbeth. When the wounded Captain reports Macbeth's heroism to him, Duncan makes Macbeth the Thane of Cawdor as reward. Duncan later proclaims Malcolm the Prince of Cumberland, the title of the Scottish heir apparent. Duncan and his court then travel to Macbeth's
estate at Inverness, where Macbeth murders Duncan in his sleep.
DUNGO **1641
The name of one of the watchmen in Wild’s The Benefice. Sometimes he is identified as the first watchman, sometimes as accompanying the first watchman. See WATCHMEN, TWO.
DUNGWORTH, ROGER
A country gentleman from Sussex in Nabbes' Covent Garden. He arrives in London at the opening of the play with his servants Dobson and Ralph. His "humor" is that of the upwardly-mobile country gentleman, intending to become a city gallant by selling "some few dirty acres" to buy a knighthood and turn his "farm of Dirtall into the manor of No-Place". After asking Mistress Tongall about lodging, he disappears for most of the play before showing up later to take a room at Dasher's tavern. When Mistress Tongall brings in Littleword, whom Dasher fears is a spy, Dungworth tricks Dasher into becoming his servant. In the mock-trial which concludes the play, Dungworth's servant Ralph reads him an impudent but witty indictment as "a gallant out of fashion all the year" who will be "ship't at Cuckolds haven, and so transported into Cornwall".
DUNOIS
Jean, Count Dunois in Shakespeare's 1
Henry VI, illegitimate son of the Duke of Orleans and thus King Charles's
first cousin, is referred to as the Bastard of Orleans. He is the first to introduce
Joan on stage, presenting her as a heaven-sent prophetess.
DUNSTAN, BISHOP
A bishop, counselor to King Edgar, Ethenwald's uncle in the anonymous A Knacke To Knowe A Knave. He is more severe than the King, so long as his nephew is not concerned. When Philarchus' father comes to accuse his son of disobedience and wants him sentenced to death, the King does not know how to react, but Dunstan wants him to be as severe as his new laws. Together with the King he is always present when Honesty presents his "knaves." To catch Cutbert the Coneycatcher, he disguises as a farmer while the King disguises as a Gentleman who wants to pay Coneycatcher to swear a false oath. The King asks Dunstan what the punishment should be for somebody who dissembled in front of the King, and Dunstan recommends death. He notices too late that the King's question refer to his nephew, Ethenwald, who also dissembles in front of the King. At Osrick's place Dunstan calls the devil Asmoroth to ask him what the King's intentions were. He tells him that the King plans to murder Ethenwald. Dunstan wants to prevent this and asks the Devil for his help.
DUNSTON, SAINT
Saint Dunston (also Dunstan, c. 924-88) was Abbot of Glastonbury and later Archbishop of Canterbury, reputed something of a necromancer during his life. In Haughton's The Devil and his Dame, a dream of St. Dunston's provides the frame within which the rest of the action takes place. In the opening soliloquy St. Dunstan recounts his origins and story. Then "he layeth him down to sleep" and dreams of an arraignment in the court of Hell where Pluto king of the devils and his judges have decided to send a devil into the world to marry a human woman. Dunston awakens suddenly and issues a warning to women everywhere that the devil is come to earth. When the devil Belphagor, in the guise of Castiliano the Spanish doctor, first arrives in the world he finds St. Dunston about to attempt the cure of Honorea, the mute daughter of Morgan Earl of London. The devil silences St. Dunston's magic harp and performs the cure himself. In III.ii St. Dunston may be responsible for summoning another devil, who impersonates Musgrave and jilts Honorea. Then St. Dunstan brings the elderly Earl Lacy to where he can see his wife Honorea importuned by her former lover Musgrave, and see her rebuff him. Later St. Dunston brings the news of Earl Lacy's seeming death, watches as the earth swallows Belphagor when his allowed term on earth expires, and welcomes the reawakened Earl Lacy. Finally, he gives a summing speech to the audience in which he declares Earl Lacy's house to be full of joy, and "jars all ended." He invites the audience to watch the "infernal synod" in the next scene, and asks them to "judge if we deserve to name/ this play of ours The Devil and his Dame."
DUNVALLO MULMUTIUS
Only mentioned in Fisher's Fuimus Troes. Dunvallo Mulmutius was a former king of Britain, a lawgiver, whose sons have "climbed the alps" and invaded Rome, as the bards sing. Nennius in his dying speech hopes to see him in heaven.
DUNWALLIS
A "ghost character" in William Rowley's A
Shoemaker a Gentleman. The deceased father of Winifred, who is his heir.
DUPATZO
A "ghost character" in Marston's What
You Will. Former suitor of Meletza.
DUPONT, TIBALT
Tibalt Dupont is a friend and comrade of Albert in Fletcher and Massinger's The
Sea Voyage. He supports the demand of the Master to throw the ship's cargo
overboard, mocking the obsession of the gallant colonizers Lamure, Franville and
Morillat to save their belongings. Tibalt refuses to let the gallants take a large
share of the Portuguese treasure, and fights with them. He rescues Aminta from
Lamure, Franville, Morillat and the Surgeon when they plan to kill and eat her.
When the 'amazons' arrive, he volunteers to allot each man to a woman, assigning
Clarinda to Albert, Crocale to the Master and Rosellia to himself. He advises
the other men to use the Portuguese treasure to woo the women, not realizing that
it once belonged to them. Tibalt and the Master are placed in the custody of Crocale,
who is impressed with their cheerfulness and bravery. Crocale takes Tibalt with
her when she goes to the other part of the island to find Sebastian and Nicusa.
They return just in time to prevent Rosellia from sacrificing Albert and Raymond.
Tibalt claims Crocale for his wife, a result that seems to please her.
DUPRETE **1619
Captain of Otto’s faction in Fletcher’s Bloody Brother. When Rollo and Otto pledge mutual amity, Grandpree, Verdon, Trevile, and Duprete realize that their own ambitions will falter and form an unholy alliance to undo the union. He does not appear again after the first act.
DURABLE, MISTRESS
Mistress Durable is Clariflora's bawd in J.D.'s The Knave In Grain New Vamped.
DURAZZO
Durazzo, The Guardian of Caldoro in Massinger's The
Guardian. He helps his ward in all of his endeavors.
D'URFE
Only mentioned in Jonson's The New Inn. Honors D'Urfe, Marquis de Valbromey, Comte de Chateauneuf (1568-1625) was a French novelist and miscellaneous writer. He wrote a novel Astree, a leisurely romance, in which the loves of Celadon and Astree are told at immense length with many digressions. The shepherds and shepherdesses of the story are of the conventional type usual to the pastoral, and they discourse of love with an elaborate delicacy that is by no means rustic. Astree set the fashion temporarily in the drama as in romance, and no tragedy was complete without wide-drawn discussions on love in the manner of Celadon and Astree. Lady Frampul shows her admiration for Lovel's eloquent speech on love, and she says his words breathe the true divinity of love, as if they were inspired from the writings of all the great fathers who wrote of this subject. Lady Frampul mentions D'Urfe among these great writers of love romances. It seems that Lady Frampul's idea about great names in the literature about love is restricted to the writers of romance.
DURHAM
Richard Fox, Bishop of Durham, refuses King James IV's order to accept the "true"
king of England at Norham in Ford's Perkin
Warbeck. When James offers single combat with Surrey, Durham seizes the
opportunity and instructs Surrey to enter into treaty with the Scots king. He
later meets with James and (along with Hialas) concludes an agreement for James
to marry Margaret, Henry VII's daughter.
DURT
Durt is a local laborer working on the restoration of the Temple in Markham's
Herod and Antipater.
DUSTBOX
The scrivener in Middleton's Michaelmas
Term who prepares the requisite legal bond for the sale of cloth on credit
from Quomodo to Shortyard (alias Blastfield) with Easy acting as the cosigner
to the loan.
DUTCH BOY
A servant to the Dutch Merchant in Middleton's No
Wit, No Help Like a Woman's. Savorwit uses the boy's inability to speak
English to persuade Twilight that his wife is dead and, therefore, will not return
to England. Upon further examination from Oliver Twilight and the Dutch Merchant,
the boy's actual report that Lady Twilight is alive is discovered.
DUTCH MERCHANT
As a well-traveled merchant in Middleton's No
Wit, No Help Like a Woman's. This Dutchman verifies that he has seen Lady
Twilight in Antwerp and that she is not dead, as the family has been led to believe.
Although Savorwit denies this information and uses the unintelligible Dutch of
the merchant's boy to verify this, upon further inspection, Twilight believes
the merchant. Later, the merchant also confirms the supposed parentage of Grace
as Twilight's daughter, alarming Philip who married her in Antwerp two months
prior unaware that they were siblings.
DUTCH NURSE
A Dutch Nurse with a comedy accent is paid to look after Jane's baby and keep
it hidden in Middleton and Rowley's A Fair
Quarrel.
[DUTCH WIDOW]
This character's name appears in the manuscript of Fletcher and Massinger's Sir
John Van Olden Barnavelt, but it is scored through. In an excised scene,
she flirts with Holderus.
DUTCH WOMEN, FOUR
The four Dutch women in Fletcher and Massinger's Sir
John Van Olden Barnavelt are Arminian and liberated (doubly bad within
the context of the play). During the siege, they try to persuade the Englishwoman
to live like them, instead of conceding all power to her husband, and to attack
Maurice. When Maurice enters, they panic, thus proving that they are cowardly
as well as disobedient.
DUTCHMAN**1609
The Dutchman, Philario's friend in Shakespeare's Cymbeline,
participates in the conversation that leads to Iachimo's wager that he can seduce
Imogen.
DUTCHMAN**1618
A "ghost character" in Fletcher's The
Knight of Malta. When Norandine teases the Watch by making bizarre noises,
they at first believe it is an escaped sow belonging to the Dutchman.
DUTCHMAN**1632
A disguise adopted first by Swatzenburgh and then by Fabritio in Brome's The Novella. When Pantaloni wishes revenge and plans to discredit the Novella, he arranges to send her "a Dutchman." The disguise was earlier worn by the German Swatzenburgh. This time, however, it is to be the universally loathed hangman, Rastrofico, who will wear the disguise and so ruin her reputation by being seen with her. The plan is foiled, however, when Fabritio (with aid from Nicolo) finds the disguise and wears it. In this guise, Paulo mistakes him for the German Swatzenburgh and tells him of Flavia and Francisco's marriage. He is allowed into the Novella's home, where he reveals himself, and Paulo marries them.
DUTY
Duty sits with Amity at Horestes's wedding in Pickering's Horestes, thus thwarting the Vice's disruptive plans. With Truth he closes the play, praying for Elizabeth and her Council.
DUX PICTORUM
This unnamed leader of the Picts is allied to Mordred in Hughes' The
Misfortunes of Arthur and is promised the crown of Albany, that held by
Gawin, if the rebels are successful.
DWARF **1618
Isaack presents the clownish Dwarf to Baiazet as a witness of Selymus' flight in Goffe's Raging Turk; he is then required to remove the body of the unsuccessful assassin, the Monk, and reappears briefly in the aftermath of the battle between Baiazet and Selymus.
DWARF**1626
Domitia's nickname for Domitilla, who is forced to serve Domitia (renamed Augusta)
in Massinger's The Roman Actor.
DWARF**1629
A fictional character in Davenant's The Just Italian. While in disguise as Dandolo, Florello pretends that he has, as one of his train, a dwarf who serves as a fool. He claims that he intends the Dwarf as a present for his future wife, to keep her amused since she will not be allowed to go to court.
DWARFS **1607
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Only mentioned in Beaumont's Knight of the Burning Pestle. On his first entrance as the grocer in The Grocer's Honour portion of the play, Rafe reads from Palmerin d'Oliva (misidentified in the s.d. as Palmerin of England) in which these characters are named.
DWINDLE
Young Barnacle's servant in Shirley's The Gamester. He meekly follows his instructions at the
tavern. He encourages his master to play in the gambling games at the
ordinary. He observes his young master's disastrous losing of much money.
He humours Young Barnacle's self-delusion about fighting prowess.
DWINDLE, GREGORY
Mister Gregory is a country gentleman that courts Lady Mosely in ?Brewer's The Country Girl. He always remembers to mention the fact that his father will die one day soon in his waiting. Mr. Gregory is to fight with Mr. Rash in a duel to show his bravery in front of Lady Mosely, but at the end they do not fight. He meets Barbara in the lower end of Lymestreet. He confesses that he wants to be the only one to have the lady. When he loses his chance, he courts the Old Gentlewoman to be his wife.
DWINDLE'S FATHER, GREGORY
A "ghost character" in ?Brewer's The Country Girl. His son remembers his future death all along the play.
DYAR, SIR EDWARD
Only mentioned in Jonson's Every Man out of His Humour. Sir Edward Dyer was an Elizabethan poet. A friend of Sidney and Spenser, he was celebrated in his day as an elegy-writer. When Fungoso wants to extract some money from his father in order to buy a new suit, he asks Sogliardo to tell Sordido that he wants to buy some books at bargain price. Fungoso says that the books by Plowden, Dyar, and Brooke can be bought at half-price.
DYMNUS
Dymnus is a follower of Alexander in Daniel's Philotas. Cebalinus describes him as one of 'low estate, and high affections', which have led him into 'outrageous practices'. Dymnus has befriended Cebalinus's brother, Nichomachus and attempts to bring him into a plot to kill Alexander. He claims that the plot also involves Loceus, Demetrius, Nicanor, Amyntas, Archelopis, Drocenus, Aphebetus and Leuculaus. When Nichomachus refuses to join the plot, Dymnus threatens him in an attempt to keep him quiet, but Nichomachus eventually tells his brother. When Metron brings Cebalinus before Alexander to tell of the plot, Alexander orders that Dymnus should be brought before him. Dymnus is brought on stage, but is already dying from a self-inflicted wound. The body of Dymnus is brought on stage again during the trial of Philotas.
DYON **1635
A Sardinian commander in Killigrew’s The Prisoners. He appears in several scenes but does not add to the forward movement of the plot.
DYSCOLUS **1630
Roscius in Randolph's Muses' Looking Glass characterizes him as one "who, hating to be a slavish parasite, grows into peevishness and impertinent distaste." His opposite is Colax.