1593? (possibly the play revised(?) by Day and Dekker that was registered in 1620 and is now lost)
a synoptic, alphabetical character list
ANGEL
An Angel appears to King Athelstone in a dream and instructs the Englishman to go outside of the castle and appoint the first person he sees as champion against the Danish giant Colbron. The angel also appears twice to Guy of Warwick. The angel first tells Guy that he will die in seven days. The angel returns a week later to tell Guy he has successfully completed his pilgrimage.
ATHELSTONE of WINCHESTER
Athelstone is the English king Guy serves. Athelstone's castle is in Winchester. When Guy marries Phillis, Athelstone promises to cease using her father's land as his own. In act four, the forces of the Danish King Swanus invade England. Swanus offers to allow the conflict to be settled in a duel between the Danish champion Colbron and an English champion of Athelstone's choosing. An Angel appears to Athelstone in a dream and instructs the king to walk outside of the castle and appoint the first person he sees as champion against the Danish giant Colbron. When Athelstone goes outside, he finds an aged Guy. Athelstone heeds the Angel's command and appoints Guy, who Athelstone does not recognize, the English champion. After Guy defeats Colbron, Athelstone asks the elderly champion his name and birthplace. Athelstone promises to keep Guy's identity secret for seven years, but resolves to reward Guy generously at the end of that time. Athelstone arrives at Guy's cave just after the knight passes away. Athelstone helps comfort Guy's widow Phillis and Guy's son Rainborn. The king announces that he will build a hermitage in Guy's cave to honor his loyal knight.
COLBORN
Colbron is a giant and the Danish champion King Swanus offers for one-to-one combat with the English champion Guy. Colbron is overconfident and disdainful of having to fight an elderly foe like Guy. Guy quickly slays Colbron.
ENCHANTER
Outside the Tower of Donather, an Enchanter meets Guy and freezes his feet in place. The Enchanter tells Guy that he will never move again. The Enchanter then leaves the stage.
FAIRIES
A group of Fairies attend the Fairie King Oberon as he arrives outside the Tower of Donather Castle to free Guy from the Enchanter's spell. The fairies pummel the foolish Sparrow.
FATHER EMMOT
Father Emmot is a hermit that Guy and Sparrow meet on their initial journey out of England. Before meeting Guy and Sparrow, Father Emmot had not spoken to anyone in forty years. Father Emmot blesses Guy's holy mission. He then offers Guy and Sparrow some humble provisions from his meager cottage before leaving their company.
GUY of WARWICK
Guy of Warwick serves the English King Athelstone of Winchester. The audience learns that before the play begins, Guy had earned a glorious reputation by defeating both the savage Bore of Called and the wild cow of Dunmore Heath. After seven years of wooing, Guy finally wins his true love Phillis' hand in marriage. After marrying and impregnating Phillis, Guy decides to repent for the sins of his life by leaving England in search of the Lord's Sepulcher. Even after Phillis informs Guy of her pregnancy, he remains determined to leave. Before he leaves, Guy takes Phillis' golden ring and tells her that if she ever sees the ring off his hand, it will be because he is dead. Guy takes the clown Sparrow with him. While traveling, Guy comes upon a hermit who had not spoken in forty years. The hermit blesses Guy's mission. At the Tower of Donather, Guy is trapped by an enchanter's spell. Oberon, King of the Fairies, rescues Guy and directs him to Jerusalem. Guy then saves the King of Jerusalem from an onslaught of Muslim warriors led by the Sultan Shamurath. Guy defeats the Muslims in spite of the sorcerer Zorastes' best efforts. Guy refuses the throne of Jerusalem; he instead forswears battle altogether. He puts on a palmer's weeds and becomes a hermit. He promises God that he will not see his family or friends for twenty-seven years. With seven years left on his self-imposed exile, Guy returns to England. Although he is now an elderly man, Guy is chosen by King Athelstone, thanks to the intervention of an angel, as the English champion against the Danish giant Colbron. Guy easily slays Colbron, but refuses any reward. He divulges his identity to his king, but he asks Athelstone to keep his return to England a secret. Athelstone agrees. Athelstone informs Guy that his father-in-law Rohon is dead, his son Rainborn is grown and his faithful wife Phillis is still alive. Guy builds a shelter within a cave a mile away from Phillis' house. He travels to see Phillis with a pair of palmers and is overcome with love when he sees her offer food to all palmers in the name of her husband Guy. Guy considers ending his exile early, but recommits to his obligation. One week before his twenty-seven year self-banishment ends, an angel comes to Guy and informs him that, ironically, Guy is going to die in seven days and that there is nothing to be done about it. Guy commits one final time to his mission and waits in his cave to die. As he lay dying, Guy's son Rainborn comes upon the cave. Rainborn comforts the dying man and agrees to take a gold ring to his mother Phillis. Guy dies before Phillis can arrive. His body is identified on account of the gold ring as well as a wart under his ear. King Athelstone honors his most extraordinary knight by swearing to build a hermitage in Guy's cave.
HEROD of ARDEN
At the beginning of the play, King Herod of Arden attests to Guy's brave feats. At the conclusion of the play, Herod returns to honor Guy while the knight lays on his deathbed.
KING of JERUSALEM
Sultan Shamurath's Muslim forces attack the King of Jerusalem's regime. The King refuses to surrender Jerusalem to the Sultan. His rule is saved by the heroic feats of Guy of Warwick. After the Sultan is defeated, the King of Jerusalem orders all of Babylon's Muslims to convert to Christianity.
LORD
A lord accompanies King Athelstone to Guy and Phillis' wedding. The Lord testifies to Guy's brave acts of the past.
OBERON
Oberon is King of the Fairies. He arrives outside the Tower of Donather to free Guy from the Enchanter's spell. Oberon directs Guy to Jerusalem.
OLD PHILIP SPARROW
Old Philip Sparrow is the clown Sparrow's father. Old Philip demands that his son honor his obligations by marrying Parnell Sparling after the young man has impregnated her. Philip's son refuses the request and flees England.
PAGAN
In the battle of Jerusalem, the clown Sparrow temporarily captures a pagan and holds him in a halter. The pagan easily slips out of the halter and escapes.
PALMERS, FIRST and SECOND
Two palmers meet Guy upon his return to England. They inform Guy that Phillis is renowned as a friend to palmers. They ask Guy to travel with them to Phillis' home. When they arrive, they pray for Phillis and her husband Guy. One of the palmers tells Phillis that he knows Guy. They are fed.
PARNELL
Parnell Sparling is a young woman impregnated by the clown Sparrow. Sparrow's father Old Philip demands that his son marry Parnell. Sparrow refuses and flees his responsibilities instead.
PHILLIS
Phillis is Rohon's daughter, Guy's wife and Rainborn's mother. By marrying Guy, Phillis secures her father's control over his property. Guy abandons Phillis soon after their marriage. He leaves her pregnant with Rainborn. Phillis raises Rainborn into a strong young knight. She also offers sustenance to all palmers who appear at her door. When palmers offer her thanks and prayers, she requests that they pray for her husband Guy. When Rainborn delivers a gold ring to Phillis from Guy, Phillis recognizes it as a sign her husband is dead. She is able to identify his body by a wart under his ear.
RAINBORN
Sir Rainborn is the son of Guy and Phillis. He is raised without the benefit of his father's guidance because Guy leaves Phillis for a pilgrimage before Rainborn is born. When Rainborn becomes a man, he leaves England to search for his father. While traveling, Rainborn comes upon Sparrow, his father's clown and sometimes squire. Rainborn invites Sparrow to travel with him in search of Guy. Rainborn hears the doleful sound of a dying man and goes into Guy's cave to offer solace. Although Rainborn does not recognize his father, he nevertheless comforts the dying man. Rainborn delivers a gold ring to Phillis from Guy as a sign that the old man is dead. After Guy dies, Rainborn's mother arrives and informs her son that the old man was Guy. Rainborn tries to stop Phillis from crying over her husband's deceased body.
ROHON
Rohon is Phillis' father. After Phillis marries Guy, King Athelstone promises to cease using Rohon's land as his own. Rohon dies while Guy is abroad on his pilgrimage.
SERVANT
A servant assists Phillis in feeding the palmers.
SPARROW
The clown Sparrow is Old Philip Sparrow's son. He is told by his father to marry Parnell Sparling, a young woman Sparrow has impregnated. Instead of marrying Parnell, he travels with Guy to the Holy Land. When Guy and Sparrow come upon an elderly hermit, Sparrow's first thought is to kill the man for his possessions. Sparrow is disappointed first when the hermit has not heard of Squire Sparrow and then again when the hermit offers the men a meager meatless meal. Guy has to bodily threaten Sparrow in order to convince the Squire to enter into battle. When Guy instructs Sparrow to find a way into a castle Sparrow hides in a bush instead. The bush is hit by lightning and his backside catches fire. Sparrow is also pounded by fairies after he calls Oberon King Muttonbone. During a battle with the pagans, Sparrow again hides in the bushes. He finds a group of sleeping pagans and tries to rob them of their food; unfortunately for him, they wake up and chase him away. Sparrow believes he is doing good service by decapitating the corpses of Guy's slain foes. Sparrow temporarily captures a pagan soldier and ties him with a halter, but the pagan easily escapes. Sparrow loses track of Guy after the knight forswears combat. Swallow comes upon Guy's grown son Rainborn and enters into his service. Rainborn's Spartan provisions characteristically dissatisfy Sparrow. Sparrow gains renown in the English court as a world traveler. He suffers a disastrous defeat when he fails in an attempt to steal some pork. He devotes himself from then on to stealing lamb.
SULTAN SHAMURATH
Sultan Shamurath of Babylon invades Jerusalem and threatens the rule of the King of Jerusalem. Shamurath depends upon the assistance of Zorastes, his sorcerer. In battle against Guy's Christian soldiers, Shamurath's forces are routed. The Sultan is coerced into converting to Christianity. He returns to Babylon and promises to convert his people.
SWANUS
Swanus is King of Denmark. He invades England with a vastly superior force, but agrees to forego a full-scale battle so long as the English provide a champion to battle the Danish giant Colbron. The winning side will be declared the winner of the war. Swanus is overconfident and contemptuous of the elderly Guy's appearance as English champion. After Guy defeats Colbron, Swanus accepts defeat and returns with his forces to Denmark.
TIME
Time is the chorus of the play. He delivers an introduction to each act and a conclusion to the play.
ZORASTES
Zorastes is a Muslim sorcerer in service to Sultan Shamurath of Babylon. He promises to conjure spirits and fiends to defeat Guy; however, Guy fights through the Muslim forces. Zorastes attempts and fails to hurl Guy into the sea. As the Muslims fall to the Christians, Zorastes flees, never to be seen again.