Thomas Dekker
(and John Ford?; possibly Samuel Rowley?)

THE WELSH EMBASSADOR, or
A COMEDY OF DISGUISES

circa 1623?
(a reworking of Dekker's The Noble Spanish Soldier from circa1622–1631? "S.R." on that title page suggests Samuel Rowley)
(Related to Dekker & Drayton's Connan, Prince of Cornwall that Henslowe purchased 16–20 October 1598?)

a synoptic, alphabetical character list

ARMANTE
Armante is the daughter of the Duke of Colchester and the cast-off mistress of the king. She had borne a son to the king but he tricks her out of the written promise of marriage. She resents this treatment, and the king's suggestion that she should marry the Welsh ambassador instead, but she declines Voltimar's offer to kill the king and wants to disregard her father's advice not to send her son to court. When she is overruled on this, she takes her son to see Carintha, by whom she is reassured that all will be well. At the end of the play the king agrees to marry her.

ATHELSTANE
King of England. When the play opens, Athelstane has solicited the murder of his two brothers because he thinks they are ambitious, and of Penda, because he wants Penda's wife Carintha. He has also cast off Armante, the mother of his son, and proceeds to trick her out of the written promise of marriage he gave her. When Carintha pretends to be a harridan who will not rest until Armante's son is dead, the king repents his behavior and contemplates a monastery, proposing to leave his throne to Armante's son. When Voltimar and the prince assure him that all is well and that neither Penda nor his brothers is really dead, the king is overjoyed. He forgives the Duke of Colchester and the Earl of Kent, who have conspired against him, and promises to marry Armante.

BISHOP of WINCHESTER
The Bishop of Winchester is sent by the king to assure Armante (who is the bishop's kinswoman) that the king will marry her. He is furious when he learns that she has been tricked out of the written marriage promise and plots revenge with Colchester and Kent, although he tells them he will defend the king if any attempt is made on his life. He disguises himself as a friar to take the prince to his father and tells him that Armante has become a nun.

BRIAN MACTEAGE
This is one of the two names to which Edmond answers in his disguise as an Irishman.

CARINTHA
Carintha is the wife of Penda. Apparently forewarned that he is still alive, she nevertheless tells the king that she will marry him if he rids himself of Armante. She also shows him what she says is a sculpture of Penda's death at the hands of Voltimar, which is really a tableau created by Penda and Voltimar posing. Carintha pities Armante and secretly returns to her the written marriage promise that the king has given her, but she keeps up the pretence of meaning to marry the king and asks him to kill the prince, which shocks him into repentance.

CONON
This is the name adopted by Penda when he first returns in disguise from France.

CRAMMO
This is one of the two names to which Edmond answers in his disguise as an Irishman.

DEIRDRE
A "ghost character," mentioned by Edmond in his disguise as an Irishman as being the wife of Morrogh mac Breean, King of Leinster.

DERMOT, KING of ULSTER
A "ghost character," mentioned by Edmond in his disguise as an Irishman.

DERMOTT LAVE-YARACH
A "ghost character," mentioned by Edmond in his disguise as an Irishman.

DUKE of COLCHESTER
The Duke of Colchester is the father of Armante. 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, but nevertheless wholeheartedly supports the king's plan to marry Carintha 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.

EARL of CHESTER
Unthinkingly loyal supporter of the king, although he does offer a disapproving aside when Carintha demands the murder of the prince. At the end, he and Cornwall are the two people on whom the king lays the blame for his poor rule.

EARL of KENT
The Earl of Kent plots with Colchester and Winchester. They intend to avenge the wrong done to Armante, his kinswoman, and would have taken part in the masque at the end during which it was proposed to take action against the king (though that action is not specified).

EDMOND
Edmond is one of the king's two brothers. He has been fighting in France, but he and the other brother, Eldred, have returned in disguise after learning of the king's plans to murder them. At first he pretends to be his own supposed murderer, Gildas, but when the king rejects him he disguises himself as a servant attending on the Welsh ambassador.

ELDRED
Eldred is one of the king's two brothers. They have returned from France after hearing of the plans for their murder. He first pretends to be Uffa, his own supposed murderer, but when the king says he has no more need for soldiers he disguises himself as an Irish footman attending on the Welsh ambassador.

FRENCH KING
A "ghost character." Cornwall asks the disguised Edmond, Eldred and Penda if the French king fought in person.

GILDAS
Name adopted by Edmond when he first returns to England. As Gildas he poses as his own murderer, but the king dismisses "Gildas."

HYWEL DDA
A "ghost character." King of Wales from whom Penda has letters of credence.

LADIES
An unspecified number of ladies, along with the Bishop of Winchester, step between the opposed factions in the last scene.

LAPLAND the CLOWN
Lapland is a clown who serves Armante, but craves to be a chronicler. When Colchester dismisses him after Armante's household is broken up by order of the king, Voltimar promises to secure him this post. He duly presents his 'chronicle' to the king at the end, but it proves to be more of a comic prophecy, in the vein of Lear's fool. The clown was to have played Vulcan in the final masque.

LAPLAND the SCRIVENER
A "ghost character," mentioned by Lapland the Clown as being his cousin.

LORD LANDOSS
A "ghost character," mentioned by Lapland the Clown.

MACDERMOND
A "ghost character." King of Connacht. Edmond recalls drinking whiskey with him after a battle in Ireland.

MORROGH MAC BREEAN
A "ghost character." King of Leinster. Edmond recalls drinking whiskey with him after a battle in Ireland.

OSHA HANASSAH
A "ghost character," mentioned by Edmond as being the brother of Morrogh Mac Breean, King of Leinster.

PENDA
Penda is the valiant son of the Duke of Cornwall. The king has tried to have Penda murdered because he desires Penda's wife, Carintha. The intended assassin, Voltimar, reveals the plot to Penda, who returns disguised as Conon, together with the king's brothers Edmond and Eldred, whose deaths the king has also tried to arrange. When the king rejects the supposed Conon on the grounds that he no longer needs soldiers, Penda disguises himself as Powis, an ambassador from Wales. The king tries to marry him to Armante, but the supposed Powis rejects her when he discovers that she has borne a bastard. Eventually his true identity is revealed and he and Carintha are reunited.

POWIS
Name adopted by Penda in his disguise as a Welsh ambassador.

PRINCE
The son of the king and Armante is called the prince, despite his bastardy. He is an appealing child whose trust in his father helps to soften the latter's heart. He is due to play Cupid in the masque at the end.

REESE AP MERIDITH AP SHON (AP VAUGHAN) AP LEWELLIN AP MORRIS
Name adopted by Eldred in his disguise as a Welsh servingman. The first time he says it, it lacks the 'ap Vaughan.'

UFFA
Name adopted by Eldred when he first returns to England. As Uffa he poses as his own murderer, but the king dismisses "Uffa."

SERVANT of CARINTHA
Carintha's servant announces Armante.

TEAGE MAC BREEAN
A "ghost character," mentioned by Edmond in his disguise as an Irishman.

VOLTIMAR
Voltimar is the man commissioned by the king to murder his brothers and Penda. Instead Voltimar warns them and accompanies them back to England, taking them via Wales, where they secure letters of credence from the Welsh king, Hywel Dda. He reproaches the king for the death of Penda but agrees to spy on Armante for him. To test her, he offers to kill the king; when she refuses, he encourages her to send the prince to court. He suggests to the king that he should marry Armante to the Welsh ambassador and escorts the prince to court. When the king begins to repent, Voltimar reveals that Edmond, Eldred and Penda are in fact still alive.