Robert Armin
The History of
THE TWO MAIDS OF MORE–CLACKE
1607–1608
a synoptic, alphabetical character list
ALES
A "ghost character." She is an old woman who brought up John. When she dies, she left John in a hospital.
APOTHECARY
Disguise that Humil uses not to be recognized after having written the letter to Sir William. He poisons the Lady.
AUDITOR
Auditor is Sir Robert Toures's father. He leaves the action with Sir Rafe when Sir William talks nonsense offering his daughter to the Auditor's son. Later, he will take the disguise as a Merchant. He will help Sir William to organize the final wedding party.
BOY
He is a minor character that plays word games with John.
DANAE
Only mentioned. Danae was Jove's lover with whom she slept when he came to see her disguised as a supernatural element.
DOCTOR
A "ghost character" in the song. He wants to know the reason of the pain that bothers the sad woman.
EARL of TUMULT
He is a minor character that helps Sir William to look for Mary and who gives a final monologue at the end of the play.
FERRIS
Ferris is a second waterman that plays jokes with Wat.
FILBON
Filbon is a gentleman, son of Sir Rafe. Together with Toures, he looks for the Lady's glove. Later, he proposes to Tabisha whom her father offers to him in a strange way. He also sends a letter to Tabisha through Tutch who tells him that his beloved lady loves him. After that, his father comes telling him about Toures's elopement. In order to see Tabisha who comes with the Auditor, he changes roles with his servant and gets disguised not to be recognized. He will go to the wedding party disguised as his servant.
FRIENDS
They are "ghost characters" within the song that want to know what is wrong with the sad woman.
GENTLEMAN
He is a minor character that tells the Governor about Sir William's scandal.
GOVERNOR
The governor is Sir William's brother who has just arrived to Sicily. He talks to a gentleman at his arrival. He is looking for his brother and he is told about Mary's elopement. Finding some utensils that are thought to belong to some sailors, they lift them and break them discovering Mary. He takes her to the final wedding party.
HENRY
Henry is a minor character in the play. He is a priest in Putney that marries Filbon and Mary.
HUMIL
Humil is a gentleman, son of James and the Lady. He wants to marry one widow from More-Clacke now that her father has offered her to him. When he meets James, Humil does not recognize him as his father although later he confesses that his father has treated him well when he was young. Humil accompanies Sir William to look for Mary instead of going to Richmond as he wanted. He writes a letter to Sir William telling him about the adultery of his mother with James. However, later he regrets having written such a letter. Nevertheless, he takes the disguise of an Apothecary to poison his mother. He takes his disguise off in front of his mother when she tells him that James is his father. But, it is too late and he becomes the murderer of his mother.
HUMIL'S FIANCÉE
A "ghost character." She is offered to Humil as his wife by her father.
HUMIL'S FIANCÉE'S FATHER
A "ghost character." He offers his daughter to Humil as his wife.
JAMES
James is the Lady's former husband. He is a knight that is thought to be dead when he writes to the Lady that he is very sick. When he comes back from his travels, he finds out that his wife is remarried and he wants to recover her. He attends the wedding and picks up the glove that the Lady drops. There, the Lady tells him that she will not sleep with Sir William. In the dance at the wedding, he stops Toures and Filbon who wanted to fight with Humil. In spite of defending his kid, Humil betrays his father telling Sir William about his affair with the Lady. James is caught in bed with the Lady and later forgiven by her second husband. At the end of play, he accuses Sir William for having poisoned the Lady with the help of Humil.
JOHN
John is a foolish gentleman who stays in a hospital where a nurse takes care of him. He was brought up by an old woman called Ales until she passed away. Then, he was taken to the hospital where he has been fed. He talks nonsense when he plays with a Boy. He will be interrupted by the nurse in his games to tell him that they are leaving for London where they will meet Sir William and the Lady.
JOVE
Only mentioned. Jove was the god of the sky in the Classical mythology. He came to see his lover Danae disguised as a shower of gold.
LADY
The Lady, thinking that her husband was dead due to what he tells her in his letters, marries again with Sir William Vergir. In her wedding, she loses one of her gloves. Later, she rejects Sir William's offer to marry her son with one of his daughters. When she meets her former husband, she promises him that she will not sleep with her new husband any more and that she has a son with James whom she has not stopped loving. She will continue their love story in spite of being recently married until she is caught in bed with James. She is distinguished from Vesta due to her fault. The Lady is forgiven by her husband in public but later she learns that he plans to poison her and she blames Humil for betraying her and his father. She is poisoned in the party and dies.
MADGE
Madge is a minor character that offers Toures, disguised as a Tinker boy, to sing in front of the Lady, Sir William and his daughters. Later, Madge comes back and tells Sir William that Mary has run away with Toures.
MAID
She is a maid that strews the room with flowers for the wedding of the Lady.
MARY
Mary is a maiden's sister on the wedding. She is Sir William's eldest daughter. She is looking for the glove for the Lady. Mary is in love with Toures whom she wants to marry, and with whom she will run away. She hides in a trunk until she is discovered by her uncle. She is thought to be dead by her father, but she finally shows up in the party with the Governor.
MERCHANT
Disguise that the Auditor uses to look for his son and Mary.
MESSENGER
He is a minor character that announces Sir William and the Auditor that the court has been taken from Richmond to Whitehall.
NURSE
The Nurse is a minor character that takes care of John. Later, she tells John that they are leaving for London.
OLD WOMEN
They are "ghost characters" in the song. They find out that the fruit is the reason why the sad woman is under the weather.
SAD WOMAN
A "ghost character" in the song. She is sad because she ate a fruit and now she has a stomachache.
SAILORS
There are two sailors that are minor characters in the play. They come to the action talking about a trunk that they think that somebody has left in the street and where Mary is hidden.
SERVINGMAN
Together with the maid, he perfumes the room where the wedding takes place.
SIR RAFE
Sir Rafe is Filbon's father. Hearing Sir William's offer, he says that he prefers honor rather than money as a dowry. Later, with Sir William's foolish promises, he gets angry and leaves the action with the Auditor. He will come back later to tell his son about Mary and Toures's elopement. After that, he will recognize his son's disguise to see his lover and he joins Filbon's party to Putney when the marriage is to take place.
SIR ROBERT MORGAN
A "ghost character." He is a Scottish gentleman thought to be very honorable.
SIR ROBERT TOURES
Sir Robert Toures is a gentleman, son of the Auditor. He wants to find the Lady's glove when she loses it. Later, he proposes to Mary although he has always thought that he was to be single. He is offered Mary by her father with a strange promise. He disguises himself as a Tinker boy to sing in front of the Lady. When he finishes, he is left with Mary and he discovers himself and tells his lover to go with him. Later, in the final wedding party, he is blamed for the death of his lover.
SIR WILLIAM VERGIR
Sir William Vergir is a knight. Sir William is the Lady's second husband. He offers 3,000 pounds a year to the Lady to marry his son, Humil, with his eldest daughter, but the Lady does not accept the offer and she tells Sir William that they will not sleep together. Sir William has two daughters: Mary and Tabisha. He is going to give the weight of his eldest daughter in gold and the weight of his second daughter in silver to their respective husbands. Being answered by Sir Rafe that honor is more important, he confesses that he has money, honor and beauty. He makes strange promises to his daughter's suitors: Toures will marry Mary when she dies, and Filbon will marry Tabisha when Filbon is a woman. Later, in a party, he does not like the song that the Tinker boy sings in front of the court nor that the singer is drunk, but he does not recognize him. After the performance, he does not like the fact that Filbon sends a letter to Tabisha through Tutch and he tells the clown not to come back to his house. He is also told that Mary has eloped with Toures and he is to look for his daughter. He asks Humil, some Lords, the Earl of Tumult and two of his men to go with him in his quest. They arrive at night with torches to a place where they decide to rest to continue in the morning. There, he is given Humil's letter and, catching his wife sleeping with her former husband, he is dishonored. He pretends to forgive them, but he decides to take revenge poisoning his wife with the help of Humil, who is disguised as an Apothecary in the party that he organizes. There, Sir William blames Toures for the death of his daughter. However, the accusations come back to him when it is found out that he has killed the Lady, and later when his daughter appears alive with his brother.
SIR WILLIAM VERGIR'S MAN
He is a minor character that brings a letter from Humil to Sir William where Humil writes about how he has seen James sleeping with the Lady.
SURGEON
A "ghost character" in the song. He wants to know the reason of the pain that bothers the sad woman
TABISHA
Tabisha is a second maiden's sister. She is Sir William's second daughter. Together with Mary, she seeks for the glove. Tabisha wants to marry Filbon who sends her a letter through Tutch. She proves her loyalty to her beloved Filbon rejecting the love proposals of Tutch and the Auditor. She finally marries Filbon in front of Sir Rafe who accepts her as his daughter.
TINKER BOY
It is a disguise that Toures uses to sing in front of the Lady. Being disguised, he drinks a lot together with his boy. Despite being drunk, he sings publicly. His song is about a sad woman who is sick, but nobody knows the reason of the pain which ends up to be a fruit. He disguises to see his beloved Mary as Jove had done to visit Danae in the Classical mythological story.
TOURES'S BOY
He is a minor character that goes to drink with Toures. He informs us that Toures has gone to Putney with Mary to get married.
TUTCH
Tutch is the clown. He checks if everything is alright for the banquet of the wedding. Later, in the music performance, he brings a letter from Filbon to Tabisha which annoys her father. He comes back to his master and informs Filbon that Tabisha will be faithful to him. To see her, he will get dresses as his master while Filbon will be his servant.
VESTA
Only mentioned. She was a minor goddess in Mount Olympus. She was the goddess of the hearth and due to her minor role she was substituted by Dionysus. In the play, she is distinguished from the Lady because she has lost her virginity in opposition to the goddess who kept her purity.
WAT
Wat is a waterman that carries luggage. He is a foolish character.
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