CABALISTS **1615
Only mentioned in Tomkis’ Albumazar. Albumazar’s magical cant includes this allusion.
CABLE
One of three young spendthrifts turned sea captains passing time in Plymouth waiting for the wind to change in Davenant's News From Plymouth. The other two are Seawit and Topsail. Lack of an estate has hindered his marriage chances, but he accompanies Seawit to Carrack's house nonetheless, where he enters into heated competition with Topsail in courtship of Lady Loveright. He rejects Carrack's offer of marriage, claiming that marriage only makes men cuckolds. When Topsail challenges him to a duel, he convinces Furious Inland to serve as his second as well as Topsail's. When Cable learns that a London strumpet has arrived and is looking for him, he abandons his hopes of achieving Lady Loveright and reconciles with Topsail. Upon learning that the strumpet is Carrack in disguise, he again rejects her offer of marriage. He is given cause to reconsider when he receives letters from his creditors demanding payment. Ultimately, Carrack agrees to pay his debts and marry him when he returns from sea.
CACAFOGO
A clown-like character: coarse, vulgar and stupid in Fletcher's Rule
a Wife and Have a Wife. Cacafogo is the wealthy son of a usurer, skilled
in exploiting his clients. He is hot-tempered, violent and lecherous, which makes
him easily gulled by Estifania who tricks him into paying her for Michael's false
jewels. Leon and Margarita then use him to gull Duke Medina by locking him in
the wine cellar where his drunken roaring sounds like a devil. After this, he
is removed from the house.
CADALLAN**1612
Cadallan is the Earl of March, and father of Caradoc in The Valiant Welshman. Cadallan supports Octavian in his battle against Monmouth, where he is wounded to the death.
CADALLAN**1625
A "ghost character" in Fisher's Fuimus Troes. He comes with an army of 18,000 Picts and Scots to join Cassibelane's army against Caesar.
CADE, JACK
I.
Encouraged by Richard, Duke of York, Jack Cade foments rebellion in Shakespeare's
2 Henry VI, promising to
reform the realm with such enticing innovations as the abolition of money, and,
famously, the death of all lawyers. Cade calls himself by the pseudonym Sir John
(or Lord) Mortimer, claiming to be the long-lost secret son of Edmund Mortimer,
Duke of March and the Duke of Clarence's daughter. The Duke of Buckingham and
Lord Clifford attempt to end the rebellion by promising that Cade's supporters
will be pardoned if they relent, but Cade persuades the rebels that such promises
cannot be trusted. When Clifford warns the rebels that they are making England
vulnerable to a French invasion, they recognize the danger of the rebellion and
transfer their support to King Henry. When Cade escapes, the commoners who had
been his supporters become his hunters, promised a reward for his head. After
five days of hiding following the failure of his rebellion, Jack Cade is hungry
enough to risk being caught. He ventures into a garden looking for sustenance,
but is captured by the landowner Alexander Iden, who kills him, and takes his
head to Henry.
II.
A "ghost character" in Thomas Heywood's 1
Edward IV, Cade is mentioned by Falconbridge in his oratory as a rascal
who rose up against a monarch over a trifle.
CADMUS
I.
Only mentioned in Jonson's The Alchemist. In an attempt to convince the skeptical Surly of the benefits of alchemy, Mammon claims that Cadmus's story is a parable of the alchemical secrets. In Greek mythology, Cadmus was the Phoenician founder of Thebes. Conforming to the oracle of Delphi, he followed an errant cow and in the place she stopped he killed a dragon and sowed its teeth, at Athena's orders. An army of warriors was born out of the dragon's teeth.
II.
A "ghost character" in Heywood's The Silver Age. King of Thebes and father of Semele, mentioned by Iris in her report of Semele's seduction by Jupiter.
CADOR
Cador is the Duke of Cornwall, Gueneuora's father, and Arthur's father-in-law
in Hughes' The Misfortunes of Arthur.
When the king seems determined to avoid a war against Mordred, Cador encourages
Arthur to take arms against his son using the argument that anyone who winks at
sin is in fact encouraging it. Cador is badly wounded by Mordred's ally Gilla
during the last battle, but he manages to slay Gilla, the earl to whom Mordred
had promised the dukedom of Cornwall.
CADOR, EARL of CORNWALL
A British courtier and soldier, and suitor to Constantia in William Rowley's The
Birth of Merlin: or, The Child Hath Found His Father. He also fights in
the war against Vortiger. A colourless, purely functional character.
CADWAL
Cadwal is really Arviragus, Cymbeline's son in Shakespeare's Cymbeline.
As an infant, Arviragus and his brother Guiderius were kidnapped by their nurse,
Euriphile, who raised them with her husband, the banished lord Belarius. Belarius
changed his own name to Morgan, and renamed the boys Cadwal and Polydore. See
"ARVIRAGUS."
CADWALLADER
A "ghost character" in Dekker and Webster's Northward Ho. Captain Jenkins misunderstands Bellamont when he talks about Astyanax and Hector, characters in his new tragedy: "Hector was grannam to Cadwallader, when shee was great with child"
CÆLESTINE
The daughter of Sir Quintilian Shorthose and the bride of Sir Walter Terill in
Dekker's Satiromastix, Cælestine
is a paragon of chastity, constancy and virtue. Her happy marriage to Terill at
the outset of the play is almost immediately threatened by the lecherous king,
William Rufus, who commands Terill to present Cælestine at court so that he may
deflower her on her wedding night. Torn between honoring with constancy her wedding
vows and her duty to the state, Cælestine decides to drink poison rather than
submit her body to the king. Terill presents the king with Cælestine's body and,
when William Rufus discovers that Cælestine has taken poison rather than relinquish
her chastity to any man other than her husband, he repents his actions. When he
declares her a truly constant wife, however, Cælestine revives, having unwittingly
consumed a potion of her father's devising to make her only appear dead. The king
is content now not to interfere between bride and bridegroom, and Cælestine and
Terill are happily reunited.
CAECILIUS
"A rich blinde Gentleman" in Wilde's Love's Hospital. He is landlord to characters such as Villanus, Caecilius is the father of Olimpa and Comastes who, determined to marry, decides that Facetia should be his and enlists his son to "sollicite" her on his behalf. Knowing full well that his son is in love with Facetia and is banished from Lepidus's house Caecilius instructs Comastes to adopt the guise and manner of one of his tenants in order to gain the access to Facetia that is required in order to fulfill this "filiall dutye." When in the presence of Facetia for the first time Caecilius claims that he is "most propheticall att palmestry" and can foresee the future, proceeds to read Facetia's palm, and informs Lepidus that he longs to become his son in law. In a cruel twist to the plot Lepidus and Lysander attempt to force Olimpa (who is disguised as the "blackamoore" Nigella) to pretend to be Facetia and, thus, marry the unknowing Caecilius. When Comastes attempts to explain this sinister plot to his father Caecilius believes that his son is attempting to hinder his marriage to Facetia and disinherits him, and although Olimpa also attempts to convince her father that she is not Facetia the marriage of father and daughter is only avoided due to the additional interference of Surdato and Macilento at Facetia's request. Brought home by Macilento and then lead to Lepidus's house by the Boy in order to check on Facetia, Caecilius finally comes to terms with Lysander's plot against him, is convinced by Facetia to reinherit Comastes, and is reassured by her that they will eventually marry. Now suspicious that further tricks will be played upon him, Caecilius brings Comastes (disguised as a Rustic) along with him to Lepidus's house in order to ensure that he is not "cozened" again. Despite the fact that Caecilius claims that the task which Facetia assigns to her future husband is "nothing," his blindness prevents him from being able to complete the mission. Although he threatens, again, to disinherit Comastes, he eventually blesses the marriage of his son to Facetia and is finally reunited with his daughter, Olimpa, who reveals her true identity near the play's end.
CAELESTIS, PATER
God or Heavenly Father, appears in Bale's God's
Promises seven separate times, complaining about the sinfulness of man.
His first complaint is about Adam, who ate the apple. God's second and third complaints
are against the sinfulness of humanity in general, and his third, fourth and fifth
are against the sinfulness and ungratefulness of the Israelites. In each case,
after threatening to destroy humanity all together, a human comes forward to beg
for mercy. In each case, God eventually grants that mercy, and establishes a new
promise, or covenant. With Adam, God establishes hatred between man and the serpent,
and the pain of woman in childbirth. With Noah, he establishes the rainbow as
a sign he will never again destroy humanity. With Abraham, he establishes the
covenant of circumcision. With Moses, David and Isaiah, God foretells the coming
of Christ. Finally over his anger, God appears, now amiable, before John Baptist
and tells him of the coming of Christ, and that he has chosen John to prepare
the way for Christ and to baptize him.
CAELIA
Caelia is a lady of the court in Lyly's Midas. She comforts Sophronia while they wait for news of Midas' trip to Pactolus
CAELIA**1638
Caelia is courted by four different men in Baylie's The Wizard and cannot make up her mind which to choose. She announces that she intends to leave the choice up to a conjurer. When the disguised Anthony is able to correctly identify her, despite changing clothes with her sister, she believes he is a true conjurer and agrees to his choice. When she is told that she will marry the man who most resembles the conjurer, she believes it is a sign that she should marry her oldest suitor, Sir Oliver, and commits herself to him. With her sister, she appears behind a screen to convince Sebastian that Antonio is a true conjurer. In the morning, she is ready to marry Sir Oliver, and goes over papers he has sent that promise to turn over all his money and property to her. Antonio enters disguised as his father, but is found out. Nevertheless, when Caelia finds out that Antonio disguised himself as the conjurer to win her, she agrees to marry him.
CAELIUS
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. Canidius lists him as one of the soldiers who is to fight by sea.
CAELSO
The Queen of Sicily's marshal in Markham and Machin's The Dumb Knight. He, with Florio, performs the formal questioning of the combatants at the contest for the Queen's hand.
CAENIS
Caenis is a concubine to Vespasian, the father of Domitian in Massinger's The
Roman Actor. When Domitia becomes empress, Caenis is forced to wait upon
her. Caenis joins with Aretinus and others in the plot to reveal Domitia's love
for Paris, for which Caenis is cast in the dungeon. Condemned to death, she joins
others in the final plot against Domitian.
CAENUS
Caenus is the brother-in-law of Philotas, and Alexander in Daniel's Philotas. He fears that he will mutiny if Philotas feels that he is being badly treated. He later appears in the trial scene, convinced of Philotas's guilt by the evidence presented by Alexander. With Craterus and Ephestion, Caenus advises Alexander to have Philotas tortured.
CAESAR **1597
Only mentioned in Shakespeare's 2
Henry IV, he is the Roman emperor referred to by Lord Bardolph in comparing an erroneously reported Percy victory at Shrewsbury. Caesar is not a character in the play.
CAESAR**1604
An alternative title referring to Alphonsus in the anonymous Alphonsus Emperor of Germany.
CAESAR**1607
The Emperor attends the double wedding of Lentulus and Flavia, and Terentia and Tully in Machin's(?) Every Woman in Her Humour. His gift to the couples is to release all of the prisoners (except the traitors) in honor of their nuptials. Acutus takes him up on the offer by presenting Philautus, imprisoned for robbery. Caesar calls for Philautus to sing for him, but one bar is all Caesar can abide: he immediately orders Philautus's release. Because of the appearance of Cicero in this play, Caesar is probably meant to indicate Julius. However, the facts militate in favor of viewing this as a fantasy Rome: Caesar is called emperor (he was dictator), the main action deals with Cicero's wooing of Terentia (his first wife) on behalf of his friend Lentulus, and a Friar appears (before the birth of Christ).
CAESAR**1637
A "ghost character" in the anonymous The Wasp. Marianus, Prorex of Britain, rules in his name. Which Caesar is meant is never made clear.
CAESAR, AUGUSTUS or OCTAVIUS
I.
Octavius becomes a third member in the triumvirate with Antony and Lepidus after
the murder of Julius Caesar in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. There is a subtle competition between Octavius and Antony reflected in their actions and relationships. Octavius sees Lepidus as a good soldier yet
allows Antony to relegate Lepidus to the position of underling, keeping this good
soldier away form the battlefields at Sardis and Philippi. Yet Octavius gives
notice, if only through subtle foreshadowing, that he will not be led by Antony,
for when Antony tries to assign areas of the battleground for each to cover, Octavius
is arbitrary but firm in choosing that field of battle that Antony had originally
marked for himself.
II.
Augustus Caesar is the emperor of Rome in Jonson's Poetaster. Caesar enters an apartment in the palace, where the poets are entertaining his daughter, Julia, disguised as Juno, in a game of licentious revelry, in which Ovid plays Jupiter. On seeing the debauched masquerade, the angry Caesar wants to kill his daughter, but then decides to exile Ovid and sentence Julia to confinement. Railing against the vice overpowering Rome, Caesar exits followed by his train. Caesar enters an apartment in the palace, followed by Maecenas, Gallus, Tibullus, Horace, and guards. Caesar announces he has pardoned Gallus and Tibullus and acknowledges the contribution of poetry to the fashioning of cultural values in Rome. Virgil is announced and, ascertaining that the other poets, including Horace, are not envious of Virgil, Caesar requests a reading from the Aeneid by the author. While Virgil is reading, Lupus makes a sudden entrance. At first, Caesar does not want to receive the tribune, whom he considers a detractor, but, hearing that he brings information concerning an attempted plot on Caesar's life, the emperor accepts to let him in. Lupus enters with Tucca, charging Horace with treason. Horace exculpates himself and manages to turn the charges against Lupus, who, in his turn, lays the blame on Aesop, the actor. When Aesop enters, followed by Crispinus and Demetrius, Caesar orders the player to be whipped and Lupus banished for his asinine credulity. Then, Caesar orders Horace to charge Crispinus and Demetrius with calumny and plagiarism. After the trial, the poetaster and the playwright are found guilty, and Caesar orders that Tucca should be gagged and taken away, so that he might not be able to slander anyone. When the detractors are punished, Caesar concludes that jangling rhymers should not disturb the great poets of Rome. Caesar exits with his train of poets, who praise his generosity and justice.
III.
Octavius Caesar, the adopted son of Julius Caesar, is the ruler of Rome in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. He is at first under attack by both Pompey and the wife and brother of Antony. The latter two are dealt with as the play opens, and Caesar sends for Antony to explain his level of involvement in their attacks. The two are reconciled and Antony even agrees to marry Octavia, Caesar's sister. Next, Caesar arranges a peace with Pompey, and that peace is sealed with a drunken banquet on Pompey's ship. However, Antony returns to Egypt and Caesar reports to his followers that he has set himself up as Emperor. Eros reports to Enobarbas that Caesar has returned to war against Pompey and won, before turning his attention to Antony.
Caesar declares war. The first battle is fought at sea, and Caesar is triumphant. During a second battle, Caesar at first is beaten, but then again overcomes Antony at sea. After the battle, he hears that Antony has committed suicide, and mourns the loss of such a great man. He then sends first Procleius and then Dolabella to persuade Cleopatra to surrender to him, because he wants to take her to Rome as a prize. He meets with Cleopatra and is convinced that she will surrender, which allows her to sneak asps into her monument and commit suicide. Caesar, now with sole control of the Roman Empire, promises to provide a state funeral for the famous lovers.
IV.
Augustus Caesar, heir of the dead Julius Caesar and rival of Antonius for control
of the Roman world, enters May's Cleopatra as a conqueror after the Battle of Actium. He shows himself clement, sparing the citizens of Alexandria (even the philosopher Fergusius), but most of his activity consists of a contest in double-bluff with the equally crafty Cleopatra After Actium, he sends
Thyreus to her with a declaration of fervent love, hoping to persuade her
to betray Antonius; she, for her own purposes, responds with equal enthusiasm.
When he finally visits her himself, after Antonius's death, he is for a moment
almost tempted in earnest, but he quickly recalls himself; perhaps because of
this momentary confusion, he speaks to her more harshly than he had intended.
As a result, Cleopatra, seeing through his protestations of affection, decides
to commit suicide rather than trust herself to him, and thus escapes his secret
plan to display her in a Roman triumph. The Psylls try to revive her,
but in vain; and Caesar takes it well, vowing to erect a proud monument to her
and Antonius.
V.
Caesar Augustus is the current Roman emperor in Markham's Herod and Antipater. Though stunned by Herod's audacity in trying to defend his support of Antony, Augustus does not execute Herod. He arrives in Judah to
learn of Antipater's treachery and to view Antipater's execution. When Herod dies,
Augustus names Prince Archelaus, Herod's grandson, as King of Judah.
VI.
The Emperor Augustus [Octavius, first Emperor of Rome] is a "ghost character,"
frequently mentioned in May's Julia
Agrippina; "Augustus" is also used as a title for the current Emperor,
Claudius.
CAESAR BORGIA**1607
The eldest son of Pope Alexander VI, brother to Lucretia Borgia and the Duke of Candy in Barnes's The Devil's Charter. Caesar is essentially as evil as his father and through that evil destroys the Borgias, the family for whom Alexander bargained away his soul. Caesar, like his father, is a Machiavel, interested only in power and personal gain. Initially, Caesar is the Cardinal of Valence, but soon after he assassinates his brother, he becomes a soldier and removes his Cardinal's robes. Alexander recognizes that his sons are not alike in temperament and this has caused a rift between them. He did not sell his soul to the devil only to have his family lose power because of petty differences. He calls his sons to him and divides his lands between them, explaining that they have to try to get along so that the family will survive. Caesar tells Candy that he argues with him because he loves him and wants to help make him a stronger man. Candy objects to Caesar's strong-armed tactics but in the end believes him to be sincere in his desire to create a united Italy under the Borgias. Both men agree to work together towards this end. Caesar, however, has different plans. He decides to kill his brother and for this task he hires a braggart, Frescobaldi to assassinate Candy. They meet in the night, accost Candy and stab him and then throw his body into the river. After the murder, Caesar grabs the surprised Frescobaldi and throws him into the river after Candy's body. After Candy's death, Caesar dons armor, claiming that he has to revenge the murder of his brother, and proceeds to invade the neighboring provinces. One castle is defended by women, and their leader is the Countess Katharine. When she refuses to surrender, Caesar brings forth her two sons. He has captured the boys and threatens to behead them in her sight. She still refuses either to surrender or to bargain with him and she encourages her boys to be brave and die rather than surrender their honor or their freedom. When she is defeated in battle, Caesar unexpectedly takes her to her sons, who are playing cards in his tent, unmolested. He treats her and the rest of the town fairly, but he continues his quest for power through might. Once he conquers Romania, he returns to Rome for the winter and furloughs his troops with extra pay. They promise to support him. He and his father recognize a threat to Caesar's power from the Cardinals Cornetto and Modina and the Borgia's realize that they must eliminate them. They contact Bandino Rozzi, the apothecary, and order poison, but this necessitates the elimination of the source of the poison as well. Caesar hires Frescobaldi's friend, Baglioni for the murder. Caesar then delivers the poisoned wine to his father for the banquet where the Cardinals will be murdered. Alexander praises Caesar's military exploits to the Cardinals and while he is distracted, Belchar switches the wine bottles. The Borgia's drink the wine and very quickly Alexander realizes that he and Caesar have both been poisoned. He tries to warn Caesar not to drink, but it's too late. Caesar does not die, but, the Chorus later tells us, he is "Reserv'd for more calamities to come" and he is eventually slain at Viano.
CAESAR, CLAUDIUS
I.
Emperor of Rome, who fights in the battle against the British in The Valiant Welshman. Caradoc
beats him, but does not kill him. In gratitude, Caesar offers him a golden lion,
so that he can find him in Rome. Later, when Caradoc is a captive in Rome, Caesar
recognizes the lion and frees him.
II.
The foolish Emperor Claudius dotes on his wife Valeria Messalina in Richards'
Messalina, even permitting
her marriage with Silius, but does finally turn on her when warned by Pallas,
Narcissus and Calistus that Silius plans to replace him as emperor.
III.
Emperor of Rome in Shakespeare's Cymbeline.
Though it is never mentioned which Caesar is meant, if Cymbeline is meant to be
the historic British king Cunobelinus, father of Caradoc (Caratacus) and Togodumnus,
then this Caesar would have to be Claudius, whose reign began in 41 A.D., two
years before the death of Cunobelinus's father, Cassivelaunus. However, the Roman
invasion represented in the play was carried out by Claudius after the death of
Cunobelinus and was resisted by his sons.
IV.
Emperor in May's Julia Agrippina.
Although he is noted as having built aqueducts and conquered Britain, Claudius
is essentially the dupe of Agrippina and Pallas, who diagnoses his dominant passion
as fear. Eventually he is persuaded by Narcissus to act against Agrippina, but
he reveals this to her when drunk, and she poisons him.
V.
Only mentioned in Shirley's The Maid's
Revenge. Claudius was the fourth emperor of Rome; his reign followed Caligula's.
Claudius, according to Sharkino, died from poisons given to him by Agrippina.
CAESAR, DOMITIANUS
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. (Also
listed under "DOMITIAN").
CAESAR, GAIUS or CAIUS
See "CALIGULA."
CAESAR, GOODMAN
A "ghost character." The father of Pompey Doodle, who christened him 'Pumpey'
in Middleton and Rowley's Wit at Several
Weapons.
CAESAR, JULIUS
I.
Undeclared, but clearly recognized as the Emperor in Kyd's Cornelia, Julius Caesar clearly loves Rome, and is proud of what he has accomplished in the name of Rome. He has conquered Rome's enemies and is building a vast colonial empire. He knows that the people of Rome love him and he can easily be crowned Emperor, but Mark Anthony, who rides by his side, warns Caesar that because Caesar is so powerful, so successful in war, and so loved by the people, there are Senators who will not only oppose him on his return, but will want him dead; a few may act on their desires. Caesar objects that what he has done has only enriched the state and he decides to leave his fate in the hands of the gods. He tells Mark Anthony that an unexpected and unlooked for death, might be the best way to die. After Pompey's murder, Julius Caesar captures Photis and Achillas and beheads them for the crime of murder. Caesar calls Pompey "honorable," but Cornelia does not believe he is sincere. She is one of the characters who longs for Caesar's death.
II.
Caesar has conquered Germany and Gaul and is about to invade Britain in Fisher's Fuimus Troes. In a letter to Cassibelane he demands that Britain pays tribute to Rome and sends noble ladies as hostages. Cassibelane declines to follow these orders. For Caesar, the Britons are worthier enemies than the Gauls. It grieves him to fight his own people, as both nations claim to be descendents of Troy, but the Britons have helped the Belgians, they are rude and must be frightened before they can become friends. In his first attempt to conquer the island he loses a lot of men who drown when they have to wade to the shore in their heavy armor. Cassibelane has managed to raise an army from all the kingdoms of the island. In the battle, Caesar fights with Nennius and wounds him mortally, but he has to flee nevertheless and he loses his sword "Crocea Mors". He decides to leave the country and come back with a bigger army. Mandubrace comes as a messenger to offer the succour of Androgeus and Themantius, and now Caesar can oppose Cassibelane with a stronger force. He encounters Cassibelane's army twelve miles off the coast and remains relatively successful, but in the meantime his fleet is destroyed by a storm. He has to accept Cassibelane's peace offer, they exchange gifts and become friends, but Caesar can still set up the conditions: Cassibelane remains in power till he dies, Themantius instead of Androgeus shall then wear the crown, Mandubrace shall get Troynovant, and Britain shall pay a yearly tribute of 3,000 pound silver to Rome.
III.
Caesar is a great general, fiercely ambitious but complex in Chapman's Caesar and Pompey. Although Chapman's "Argument" presents him as a villain, the play is much less straightforward. He is cunning: he sets up his henchmen, Mark Antony and the tribune Metellus, to demand that the Senate should allow Pompey to bring his army to Rome, so that they will be unable to deny the same privilege to himself; he is courageous–he insists on crossing the river Anio in order to continue the war, although he knows that Pompey's navy is all around and a storm is raging; and he is highly conscious of being blessed by fortune. He also has the generosity to be impressed by his opponents, e.g. Cato, and to praise them generously in their defeat. The play ends with his repudiation of Pompey's murder, and order that the murderers should be tortured.
IV.
Having just won the battle of Pharsalia as the anonymous Caesar and Pompey opens, Caesar then travels to Egypt, where he promises to restore Cleopatra to her throne, and then falls in love with her, though little is made of this. Returning to Rome, he is murdered. He later returns as a ghost, describes the underworld, reconciles Octavian and Antony, and haunts Brutus.
V.
Julius Caesar arrives in Egypt after beating Pompey in battle in Fletcher and Massinger's The False One. He is presented with Pompey's head, but is not at all pleased; rather, he mourns the dishonorable death Pompey has suffered and threatens to kill Ptolemy, although he does eventually forgive the king on grounds on of youth. That night, Caesar receives a large package, which turns out to be Cleopatra, who begs for his protection. Caesar is immediately infatuated by her, and promises her anything, even calling her a goddess. However, when Ptolemy invites Caesar to a masque displaying the wealth of Egypt, Caesar is overwhelmed by the display and ignores Cleopatra. After the masque, he comes to see her, but is refused entrance. When he forces his way in and tries to mitigate her anger, she bitterly accuses him of treating her as a mistress only, cast off in favor of a new mistress–:gold. When Caesar promises that she can be queen or anything she wishes, she tells him to make her a maid again, and then leaves, ignoring his command to stay. His captains then appear and tell him that while he was distracted by lust, the palace has been besieged. Antony suggests that Ptolemy and Cleopatra are behind the revolt, but Caesar refuses to believe Cleopatra is a traitor. He parleys with Photinus, and is appalled that he is not respected by the eunuch, and humiliated that he might have to seek help. Septimus approaches him and promises to take Caesar and others to a cave where they can hide, but Caesar rejects this offer as shameful and probably just a way to kill him. Instead, he has Septimus hanged and goes on the attack, entering to rescue Cleopatra from Photinus, kill Photinus and Achillas and hand over Egypt to Cleopatra.
VI.
Caius Julius Caesar is a politician in the last days of the Roman republic in Jonson's Catiline. In the Roman Senate, Caesar enters with the other senators. Following the election of Cicero and Caius Antonius as consuls, Cicero delivers his speech of gratitude. It seems that Caesar resents Cicero's self-commendatory remarks, and insinuates that he would not put it past Cicero's ambition to have invented rumors of conspiracy in order to pose as a savior. Caesar keeps secret connections with Catiline, assuring him of his and Crassus's support, and prompting him to go along with the plot. In the Senate, just before Cicero accuses Catiline of conspiracy, Caesar wants to know the allegations. On seeing that most senators do not support Catiline, Caesar also keeps a low profile. In his turn, Cicero does not indict Caesar and Crassus together with Catiline because, he says, they are powerful and popular men and it is dangerous to stir too many serpents at once. Before the final confrontation between the Senate's army and Catiline's troupes, Caesar and Crassus discuss the situation. Seeing that Catiline's boat is sinking, Caesar and Crassus desert Catiline. After the depositions against the conspirators in the Senate, the Consul rules that Statilius should be placed in Caesar's private custody. When the Senate is summoned urgently to decide on the conspirators' punishment, Caesar makes an eloquent plea for moderation, opposing a vindictive and ruthless majority in the senate. However, the conspirators are sentenced to death, but Caesar and Crassus are not involved in the plot.
VII.
Julius Caesar is an immensely popular and powerful man in Rome in Shakespeare's
Julius Caesar. Three times
he is offered the kingship by Antony and is likely to be made king by the Senate.
Caesar shows few overt signs of desiring kingship, yet he is nonetheless slain
on the Senate floor by a band of conspirators. Though the play is named for Caesar,
Caesar appears only moderately in the drama and is killed in II. His ghost reappears
later in the play.
VIII.
A "ghost character" in May's Julia
Agrippina, mentioned as a great Roman of the past.
IX.
Only mentioned in Shakespeare's Hamlet. In Q2, after the Ghost visits Barnardo, Marcellus and Horatio for the first time, Horatio describes how just before Julius Caesar was murdered, ghosts were seen walking the streets of Rome and the heavens rained fire. Later, just before the play within the play, Hamlet asks Polonius about his acting at university, and Polonius says that he played Julius Caesar. This is probably an in-joke, since it is likely that the actor playing Polonius did play the title character in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar; and Richard Burbage, the actor playing Hamlet, may have played Brutus.
X.
Only mentioned in Markham's Herod
and Antipater. Julius, or Julius Caesar, is mentioned by the First Slave
as he refuses to kill King Herod on Augustus' order.
XI.
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. The adopted father of Octavius Caesar and former lover of
Cleopatra. He is mentioned multiple times by characters as a guide for their
decisions and behavior.
XII.
Only mentioned in the anonymous Wit's Triumvirate. Julius Caesar is mentioned by Sir Cupid Phantsy when he is telling Doctor Clyster about 'good men' who have also been writers: "What say you to Julius Caesar, Augustus, and Germanicus, and most of the emperors?" Julius Caesar (c. 100-44 B. C.) formed part, with Pompey and Crassus, of the First Triumvirate, and was later elected dictator perpetuus. His account of his eight years of Gallic campaigns in De Bello Gallico (The Gallic Wars) has become a classic of ancient history and literature, and gained him a reputation as a great writer.
XIII.
Only mentioned in Rowley’s When You See Me. Wolsey compares himself to the great general.
XIV.
Only mentioned in Tomkis’ Lingua. When Tactus puts on Lingua’s robe and crown, he imagines himself a Caesar or Alexander.
XV.
Only mentioned in the anonymous Pathomachia. Pride boasts of how he aided him.
XVI.
A “ghost character" in Killigrew’s The Princess. Before the start of the play, Caesar would have put Facertes to death when he was captured despite Virgilius’s letters pleading to spare him because he had once spared Virgilius. Only Sophia’s prayer to Caesar saved Facertes. Note: although the famous Roman dictator is intended, this play bears no resemblance to the life, times, or family of the historical Caesar.
CAESAR, LODEVICO
A "ghost character" in Peele's The Battle of Alcazar. Lord Lodevico Caesar has the chief charge of the Portuguese
battalions–the fourth legion that consists solely of Portuguese soldiers.
CAESAR, NERO CLAUDIUS
I.
Nero, born Domitius A[he]nobarbus, is the son of Agrippina minor in May's Julia
Agrippina. He has been adopted by Claudius, and through his mother's scheming
eventually becomes Claudius's successor as Emperor. He takes first Acte and then
Poppaea from his friend Otho, neglecting his wife Octavia in the process, and
orders the deaths of first Britannicus and then Agrippina in his bid to consolidate
his power. n.b. Nero is a nickname, a cognomen of the Claudian family that
Agrippina bestowed upon him to stress and strengthen his Claudian relationship.
It had also been a cognomen of the Claudian family, the emperor Tiberius's father
was Tiberius Claudius Nero. Domitius A[he]nobarbus's regnal name was Nero Claudius
Caesar.
II.
An egotistical Emperor and an exhibitionist in the Anonymous Tragedy
of Nero. His self-indulgence and cruelty make him the worst of tyrants.
He has already murdered his first wife and his mother Agrippina minor amongst
others. The play begins after Nero's return to Rome after a wasteful vacation
in Greece. His obsessive love of sports, the performing arts, greed and sexual
depravity encourage a conspiracy against his rule, led by Piso and Scevinus. Nero
brags about his achievements and demands flattery from his followers. Critics
are executed or banished. Rivals, as Lucan, are suppressed. He is petulant and
oblivious to the growing hostility towards him. His blood lust grows beyond single
deaths, and he fantasizes about the mass destruction of Rome itself. Rome burns.
He plays the timbrell as he watches, growing delusional that he is watching his
own Troy. Bereaved victims of the fire entertain him with their suffering. He
later quarrels with his wife, who has discovered his effeminate marriage to the
eunuch Sporus; he resents her jealousy. Melichus's betrayal of the conspiracy
first makes him aware how vulnerable he is, and he afterwards becomes more paranoid.
He kills his wife in a sudden rage when she tries to intercede on behalf of a
Young Man he has condemned. His grief for her takes the shape of threatening a
massacre to accompany her in death. He becomes complacent after the conspiracy
is frustrated and is scornful at the news of the uprising of Vindex in Gaul. When
later news of Galba's uprising in Spain reaches him, he has a tantrum (offstage).
He is deserted by his flatterers and accompanied in his flight by Tigellinus.
He blames Tigellinus for his unpopularity; an ambiguous stage direction suggests
that at this point Tigellinus also abandons him. Two unnamed Romans bring him
news of the gruesome death sentence passed on him by Galba and leave him to die
alone. He ends his life dreading the revenge of his mother's ghost and the waiting
Furies.
III.
Only mentioned in Jonson's The Alchemist. Nero was a Roman emperor between 54–68 AD. Famous for his cruelty and licentiousness, he married one of his favorites, Poppaea, whom he kicked to death while she was with child. Mammon wishes to emphasize to the mysterious lady (Dol Common in disguise) the importance of their love story. He tells her that he will lavish such riches on her that, when her name is mentioned, the queens may turn pale with envy and the love story of Nero and Poppaea will seem insignificant by comparison. Ironically, the marriage of Nero and Poppaea, based on sexual desire and lust for power, ended unfortunately for the empress and is not one of the great love stories.
IV.
Emperor of Rome at the start of Hemminge's The Jews' Tragedy. He is faced with wars in several parts of his Empire, most recently Judea. He is characterized by his attention to superstitious ritual and his emotional tirades. He confirms the crown of Judea to Agrippa and sends his best general, Vespatian, to wage war on the rebellious province. He does not re-appear. His death and the brief reigns of intervening Emperors are glossed over before the succession of Vespatian.
CAESAR AUGUSTUS, TIBERIUS JULIUS
I.
Tiberius, Emperor of Rome in Jonson's Sejanus
His Fall. He is at first confident in Sejanus, but when Sejanus asks to
marry Tiberius' recently-widowed daughter-in-law, the Emperor realizes Sejanus'
ambition. He plots with Macro to have Sejanus tricked into presenting himself
at the Senate house. Once there, the Emperor orders Sejanus' arrest and execution
for treason. Tiberius is a corrupt man and a corrupt leader. He is susceptible
to flattery, self-indulgent to the point of hedonism, and lascivious. According
to legend, the part of Tiberius was originally played by William Shakespeare.
Historically, he was the son on Livia and her first husband, Tiberius Claudius
Nero.
II.
Tiberius becomes emperor of Rome in the anonymous Tragedy
of Tiberius. He begins the play feigning great lamentations over Augustus'
death. He resents his mother, Julia, who obviously wishes to be the power behind
his throne. He fears Germanicus, who may wish to lead his German legions in a
coup. He sends Germanicus to Armenia where he has him poisoned. He proceeds to
have his mother, Julia, and two enemies, Sabinus and Asinius, poisoned by Sejanus.
He has Germanicus' sons imprisoned, where they starve to death. He tries to poison
Agripinna but watches as she is strangled instead. In the course of the play he
stabs no fewer than six messengers and servants and poisons his own son. He is
killed at last when Caligula gives him a drink from the river Styx contained in
a mule's hoof and then smothers and stabs him while the Emperor writhes in agony
from the drink.
III.
A "ghost character" in May's Julia
Agrippina, mentioned as having offered a precedent for a Claudian to adopt.
IV.
Only mentioned in Jonson's The Alchemist. Mammon hopes to discover by alchemy the elixir of eternal youth and exceptional sexual prowess. He fantasizes about his future sexual encounters, which will happen in soft beds, in an oval room hung with licentious pictures, similar to those taken by the Roman emperor Tiberius from Elephantis and Aretine. Tiberius Augustus was the first Roman emperor, who died AD 14. When he became emperor, Tiberius was 56 years old, but he would rule for nearly 23 years and leave the empire more stable and prosperous than it had been. Yet, for all of the positive aspects of his reign, Tiberius is remembered as a monster and tyrant. Historians describe him as a man who had practiced every imaginable vice and who tortured and killed with ferocity.
CAESAREAN, MADAM
A "ghost character" in Jonson's The Alchemist. Madam Caesarean is a brothel keeper in London. When Face wants to terminate his association with Subtle and Dol Common, he says Dol should leave through the back door and he will send her letters to Madam Caesarean. Dol is angered by the suggestion.
CAESARIO
A young Florentine gentleman, son of Alberto and proud of his noble birth in Fletcher,
Ford, Massinger and Webster's The Fair Maid of the Inn. He lusts after Bianca, an innkeeper's daughter,
but refuses to marry her for fear of debasing his gentility. He is protective
of his sister, Clarissa, with an incestuous ardor, and forbids her to marry Mentivole
when a fight between them divides their respective families. Caesario's life is
turned upside down when his mother, Mariana, reveals that he is actually the adopted
son of a falconer. Desperate to retain a sense of gentility, Caesario contemplates
marrying his mother and then his sister, but both turn him down, as does Bianca.
Humiliated, he longs for death, but his problem is solved when Prospero reveals
that Bianca is in fact an aristocratic foundling: Caesario thus marries her and
all is well.
CAESARION
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. The son of Cleopatra and, reportedly, Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, at the last, attempts to persuade Caesar to give Egypt to him, but fails.
CAESAR'S DAUGHTER
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.
CAESAR'S GHOST **1582
Main character, though mute, of one of the five dumb shows Jupiter orders which features those slain by the machinations of Venus and Fortune in the anonymous Rare Triumphs Of Love And Fortune.
CAESAR’S GHOST **1604
Only mentioned by Macros in Verney’s Antipoe.
CAIGUBUS **1618
Achmetes' son in Goffe's Raging Turk, Caigubus is warned by his father about the perils of court life, and told to be especially wary of Isaack. When Baiazet throws the black mantle of death on his father he calls the janissaries to help. After his father is murdered by Baiazet he commits suicide before he, too, can be executed by the raging Turk.
CAIN
I.
A "ghost character" in Bale's God's
Promises. Mentioned by God as an example of man's sinfulness.
II.
Only mentioned in Shakespeare's 2
Henry IV, Cain is the biblical son of Adam who slew his brother, becoming
the world's first murderer whose example the enraged Northumberland plans to follow
after learning of the Shrewsbury defeat.
III.
Only mentioned in (?)Brome's The Cunning Lovers. Biblical character, brother to Abel, who lost God's favor for not choosing the best of his crops to be offered to the Lord.
CAITHNESS
A thane of Scotland in Shakespeare's Macbeth.
Loyal to King Duncan's son Malcolm, Caithness joins Angus, Menteith and Lennox
in leading the Scottish forces in the revolt against Macbeth.
CAIUS**1594
Caius, a kinsman of Titus in Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus, shoots arrows with messages to the gods at Titus's request. He also helps Titus capture Demetrius and Chiron.
CAIUS**1605
Caius is the name assumed by the banished Earl of Kent in Shakespeare's King Lear. Unrecognized by Lear or the king's entourage, Caius/Kent enters Lear's service as a plain-spoken man whose insults to and fighting with Oswald later land Caius in the stocks, by order of Cornwall and Regan. Caius does not reveal himself to Lear as Kent until the very end of the play.
CAIUS**1606
A judge in the trial of Piso and Havelittle in Sharpham's The Fleire.
CAIUS**1624
A "ghost character" in the Anonymous Tragedy
of Nero. Reported by Tigellinus to Nero for frowning at the Emperor's
performance as Orestes.
CAIUS**1628
The formal name of Caligula, sometimes used of him in May's Julia Agrippina.
CAIUS ANTONIUS
Caius Antonius is a consul of republican Rome, together with Cicero, but Catiline considers him his ally in Jonson's Catiline. In his address to the conspirators, Catiline lists his allies and possible enemies, saying he hoped to have Caius Antonius as a colleague. In the Senate, Antonius enters with the other senators. He has just been elected consul, together with Cicero. However, Cicero delivers his address of gratitude, while Antonius is strangely silent. When Crassus addresses him directly, telling him he looks neglected, Antonius responds he does not care. Having been privy to Catiline's plot, Antonius wants to keep a low profile, now that the things have turned out differently than he had expected. When Cicero accuses Catiline of conspiracy in the Senate, Caesar wants to know Antonius's position. Since Cicero had bribed him by naming him the governor of a province, Antonius responds he does not know anything and retires from the debate. In private, Antonius admits that Cicero has bought him with a province. When the Senate decides to send an army against the self-exiled Catiline, Antonius refuses to become involved in the conflict, pretending to be suffering from gout. However, since he cannot refuse Cicero, Antonius sends his lieutenant, Petreius, as a general of the senatorial army. Because he wants to keep aloof, Antonius has no further direct role in the conspirators' arrest and punishment.
CAIUS CANIDIUS CRASSUS
General of Antonius in May's Cleopatra. At the beginning of the play, he jocularly defends Antonius's relationship with Cleopatra against the muttering of Plancus
and Titius, and supports her bid to participate in the Battle of Actium. He flees from this battle, but remains loyal to Antonius, encouraging him up to his own last appearance in the play (just before the disastrous Battle of Tarentum). May seems to have worked up this character from a very brief hint in
Plutarch; he serves a small part of the purpose served in Shakespeare by
Enobarbus. Historically, this was Caius Publius Canidius Crassus.
CAIUS CETHEGUS
Caius Cethegus is a Roman general and a member of Catiline's conspiracy in Jonson's Catiline. At Catiline's house, Cethegus enters with the other conspirators, expressing his regret for the violent days of Sylla's dictatorship, when murder was the order of the day. After hearing Catiline's incendiary address, the confederates are invited to partake of fresh human blood as a symbolic seal of their pact. After the ritual ceremony, the conspirators exeunt. After the plot has been exposed in the Senate, the conspirators gather at Catiline's house to elaborate their strategy. The plan is to set Rome on fire on the night of the Saturnalia, and remove all the enemies at once. The incendiary materials are to be deposited at Cethegus's house. After each conspirator has been allotted his task, all depart secretly. After Cicero accused Catiline of conspiracy in the Senate, the confederates have another secret meeting, in which they decide to go along with the plot while Catiline is gone to exile. When evidence against the conspirators has been obtained Cethegus and his confederates are brought to trial before the Senate. When Cicero accuses Cethegus that his house contained an entire armory, Cethegus denies having any connection with the plot. When he is confronted with the incriminating letters intercepted from Allobroges, Cethegus says he did not know what he wrote. The Senate's resolution places Cethegus in Cornificius's private custody. When it is reported that the conspirators continued the seditious actions, the Senate decides the death penalty and Cethegus is executed.
CAIUS, DOCTOR
Dr. Caius is a French physician in love with Mistress Anne Page in Shakespeare's
The Merry Wives of Windsor.
He has been promised Anne's hand by Mistress Page. He finds Simple has been hidden
by Mistress Quickly in his closet and also discovers Slender's plot to woo Anne,
a plot conceived by Evans. Dr. Caius vows to fight Evans to the death. The Host
of the Garter sends the duelists to different places. When Caius and Evans discover
the cheat, they join forces and cozen the Host of three horses. While Falstaff
is being tormented in Windsor Park, Caius steals off with a person he thinks is
Anne but discovers that he has married a boy.
CAIUS LICINIUS
A "ghost character" in Jonson's Catiline. Caius Licinius is a Roman senator. Sempronia reports to Fulvia the political machination supposed to lead to Catiline's election as a consul. According to Sempronia, there are six competitors beside Catiline for the consulship. These are Caius Antonius, Galba, Longinus, Cornificius, Licinius, and Cicero. Catiline's arrangement is for Licinius, Longinus, Galba, and Cornificius to retire from the competition, while Cicero cannot be elected because he is not a patrician. Thus, Catiline and Antonius are left as the only candidates. In fact, the situation is changed and, following rumors of Catiline's plot, Cicero and Caius Antonius are elected. It seems that Licinius, like other senators, was privy to Catiline's plans, but did not get involved in the conspiracy.
CAIUS LUCIUS
Caius Lucius is Rome's ambassador and later the general of Rome's invading forces
in Shakespeare's Cymbeline.
After the Romans have been vanquished, Caius Lucius begs Cymbeline to ransom his
page, Fidele, who is really Cymbeline's daughter Imogen in disguise.
CAIUS MANLIUS
Caius Manlius is a lictor, a minor official who carried the fasces and cleared the way for the chief magistrates in Jonson's Catiline. He had formerly fought in the Cimbrian war and enlisted in Catiline's conspiracy. During the secret nightly meeting in which the conspirators devise their strategy of retaliation, Catiline informs his fellows of his plans. He says he has already sent Manlius to the province of Fesulae to raise an army to help the conspirators on the fated day, when they intend to set Rome on fire and kill Catiline's enemies at once. In his address against Catiline in the Roman Senate, Cicero accuses him of having sent his lictor, Caius Manlius, to raise an army and attack Rome on the calends of November, with the precise purpose of slaughtering all the Senate members.
CAIUS MARCELLUS
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. Menas identifies him as the previous husband of Octavia, although no mention is made of what has happened to him.
CAIUS MARTIUS
Caius Martius is Coriolanus's given name in Shakespeare's Coriolanus.
CAIUS MARIUS
Only mentioned in Jonson's Catiline. Caius Marius (155–86 BC) was a Roman general and political leader, who acted as a praetor or consul. He led victorious campaigns against Cimbri and Teutoni, but his rivalry with Sylla led to civil war. Sylla was an adherent of the senatorial party and marched with troupes on Rome. However, as soon as Sylla and his regions were safely out of the way to the war in Asia, Marius seized Rome with his army and massacred many of the senatorial leaders. Hovering over Catiline's head, Sylla's Ghost invokes the evil powers to help him to inoculate the germs of destruction in Catiline's mind. Sylla's Ghost makes an incursion in earlier Roman history, implying that Marius, his former political rival, was motivated by the same type of destructive ambition that he wanted to instill in Catiline's spirit.
CAIUS POMTINIUS
Caius Pomtinius is a praetor in Rome, responsible for the law and order together with Flaccus in Jonson's Catiline. At Cicero's house, Cicero tells his brother to summon a number of senators and loyal officials, among whom he mentions Pomtinius and Flaccus. The praetors witness the scene in which Cornelius and Vargunteius are not admitted to Cicero's house, because he has been warned that they intend to murder him. However, Cicero does not charge the praetors to arrest the would-be murderers because he lacks evidence. At Cicero's house, the consul instructs the praetors on the strategy of war, following the Senate's decision to send an army against Catiline. Pomtinius and Flaccus renew their allegiance to Rome, telling Cicero they will fight under the command of Petreius. Actually, only Pomtinius speaks, while Flaccus acts accordingly. Sanga enters announcing that the conspirators have taken the bait and the Allobroges must be intercepted at the Milvian Bridge. Pomtinius and Flaccus exeunt to execute the orders. The praetors intercept Allobroges, telling them to surrender, which they do easily, despite Volturtius's protests. The praetors arrest the entire party taking them to Rome. After the conspirators are brought to trial before the Senate, the consul rules that the praetors should be given public thanks for their handling of the conspirators' arrest.
CAIUS SOSSIUS
Like Domitius in May's Cleopatra, Sossius is a Roman consul banished from Rome for favoring Antonius. Sossius comes to Egypt to visit Antonius, and urges him to seize the moment to attack Caesar. [The character, also spelled Sosius, disappears early on, and May does not say what happens to him. Unlike Domitius and so many others, the historical character stayed loyal to Antonius; Dio says that he went into hiding after Antonius's death, but was pardoned by Caesar.]
CAJUS VOLUSENUS
An officer in Caesar's camp in Fisher's Fuimus Troes. Also spelled Uolusenus. He has to go to Britain as an ambassador and spy. He brings Caesar's letter to Cassibelane, in which Caesar asks the Britains to pay tribute for having helped the Gauls, and to submit ladies as hostages. When he comes back to Caesar, he says he has seen a paradise. The letter he brings back to Caesar says that the Britons refuse to follow his demands, as both Romans and Britons were descendents of Troy.
CALADRINO
Caladrino, the Country servant to Giovanni in Massinger's The
Great Duke of Florence, marries Petronella.
CALAMAH
A "ghost character," Calamah does not appear on stage in Denham's The
Sophy. He is described as the son of Abbas by another woman. At the last
moment, Mirvan hopes to put him on the throne as a puppet-king, to be directed
by Haly.
CALAMANCHA
Calamancha is the wife of Lyon-Rash in Marston's Histrio-Mastix. Along with the other characters, she follows the cycle that begins with the reign of Plenty and ends with Poverty.
CALAMINTA
Calaminta, Servant to Fiorinda in Massinger's The
Great Duke of Florence.
CALANDER
A lord in Shirley's The Arcadia. With Philanax, he counsels Basilius to leave his hiding place and
return to the throne. Assists in defeating the Rebels who try to capture
Philanax and Basilius.
CALANTHA
Calantha, the titular "broken heart" is primarily notable for her composure in
Ford's The Broken Heart. Although
she almost certainly favors Ithocles from the beginning, no one including the
audience is aware of her feelings until she asks her dying father, the king, to
marry him to her near play's end. When earlier Ithocles' sister, Penthea, tells
her of her brother's love, Calantha's response is characteristically ambiguous.
So, too, is her tossing the ring (her favor) to Ithocles instead of to her intended
spouse, Nearchus. The act barely betrays favor and could as easily be seen as
her displeasure (if any) with Nearchus. She is likewise composed in the act five
celebration where she successively learns of her father's death, the death of
Penthea, and the murder of Ithocles. Her reaction at each announcement is to call
for music and a change of partners. It seems an anticlimax, deflating the dramatic
situation, until at the very end we learn that she has been holding all inside.
The events conspire at last to break her heart. Her death, smiling, sums up the
whole of her emotional strain throughout the play. She becomes a fascinating study
of a seemingly emotionless woman at last consumed by emotion. Her name means "flower
of beauty."
CALCEPIUS BASSA
Also known as Bassa Calcepius in Peele's The Battle of Alcazar. Bassa is the leader of a trusty band of men
that carefully attend Abdelmelec's people in their camp–his men are
soldiers comparable to the guard of myrmidons that kept Achilles tent.
Sent by Amurath, the king of Turks, to repay Abdelmelec's service in
Amurath's father's dangerous war, Bassa's duty is to invade the Moor's
realm and seek revenge, and to install the proper emperor to the throne.
Given tokens of gratitude after helping Abdelmelec's people win the war
against the brutish Moor, Bassa returns to his home "as glorious as Great
Pompey in his pride."
CALCHAS**1587
Raised from the dead by Medea in Greene's Alphonsus, King of Arragon to foretell the outcome of Amurack's war.
CALCHAS**1602
I.
A Trojan priest who has sided with the Greeks in Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida. Father to Cressida, he urges the Greeks to exchange Cressida for Antenor.
II.
A Trojan priest and seer in Heywood's 1 The Iron Age, Calchas is the father of Cressida. He is sent by Priam to the oracle at Delphi to learn about the prospect for Trojan success in the war. He returns to Troy with Achilles, who had been sent to Delphi by Agamemnon to learn the same thing, and knowing that the attackers will ultimately destroy Troy, Calchas decides to stay with the Greeks. At the banquet Priam hosts for the Greek and Trojan leaders, Calchas urges his daughter Cressida to leave Troy (and her beloved Troilus) and to accept the marriage proposal offered by Diomedes.
CALDORO
Caldoro, Durazzo's nephew and ward in Massinger's The
Guardian. He is in love with Calista.
CALEB**1538
A "ghost character" in Bale's God's
Promises. Mentioned by David and God as an example of an upright, virtuous
man.
CALEB**1601
A desert shepherd and suitor to Epimenide in Percy's Arabia Sitiens. Epimenide offers to sleep with him if he brings her Geber's purse, so he swears on the Alcoron (Koran) to complete the task. He persuades Geber to give him his purse by telling the sorcerer that he will use it as part of love spell to enchant Epimenide. He and Tubal meet again near Mecha and share the stories of their thefts. They encounter Shebe and Nabatha, who are gorgeously dressed for their foretold wedding. When the women tell Caleb and Tubal that Epimenide has gone to Heaven, the men realize they will be unable to keep their sacred vow to bring Geber's posessions to Epimenide. They consult Sergius and he agrees to take the four of them to Heaven. Once there, Caleb presents the purse to Epimenide. She criticizes him for the fact that it is empty and dismisses him. Mahomet grants him Shebe as a wife instead.
CALEDONIAN BOAR**1611
A "ghost character" in Heywood's Brazen Age. Spelled Catalonian Boar in the text, this animal is a vicious beast sent to torment Oeneus's people because the king fails offer a suitable sacrifice. He kills a number of hunters, most notably Adonis, before finally being killed by Meleager and his entire band of hunters.
CALFSHEAD
Calfshead is a Puritan in Cokain's Trappolin. He is critical of drinking, but devoted to all other vices. He brings a suit against Bulsflesh to the disguised Trappolin, claiming that Bulflesh killed Calfshead's serving man. Trappolin's judgment is that Calfshead must become drunk and murder Bulflesh if he desires justice. Bulflesh is pleased with this judgment, while Calfshead finds it an outrage.
CALI BASHAW
Blames the defeat of the Turkish on John of Bordeaux in ?Greene and Chettle's John of Bordeaux.
CALI BASSA
Courtier of Bajazet and son of Hali Bassa in ?Greene's Selimus I. As Bajazet sleeps, Hali Bassa and Cali Bassa both argue with Mustaffa against Acomat gaining the crown during Bajazet's lifetime. They both support Selimus as successor and Mustaffa agrees to also support Selimus so long as they remain loyal to Bajazet during his lifetime. Witnesses the return of the mutilated Aga from his embassy to Acomat, and Bajazet's decision to send a force under Selimus against Acomat. Hali and Cali witness Selimus' return and appointment as head of the Janissaries. They shift their loyalty to Selimus and once Selimus has gained the crown they are sent with an army against Corcut's forces and orders to strangle Corcut. Hali and Cali encounter Corcut's Page, who leads them to the disguised Corcut and Bullithrumble. Hali apprehends Corcut, and Cali arrests Bullithrumble, who slips away as the party exits. Hali and Cali enter with the Page and present Corcut to Selimus as prisoner. They leave with Selimus and Sinam to join in the siege of Amasia. Hali, Cali, Sinam, the Janissaries and Selimus arrive at Amasia. During the battle with Acomat's forces, Hali and Cali are beaten in by Tonombey.
CALIANAX
Calianax is Aspatia's father in Beaumont and Fletcher's The
Maid's Tragedy. He is counselor to the King and was once a favorite. His
youth never promised valiance, but he is in his old age called upon to act against
his enemies. Chief among his enemies is Melantius. When Melantius comes to him
for assistance in a planned assassination, the old man tells the King of the treason.
The King does not believe Calianax, however, and the old man's dismissal from
court forces him to side with Melantius in the assassination of the King. His
main characteristic is proclaiming that he has discovered valiance in his old
age.
CALIB
Calib is a witch in Kirke's The Seven
Champions of Christendom. She lives in a cave with her son, Suckabus,
Tarpax the devil, and young George, whom she has doted on since she stole him
from his parents at a tender age. Tarpax prophecies to Calib that she will not
die until love clouds her judgment. Both Suckabus and George are keen to know
their true parentage, so Calib reveals to Suckabus that Tarpax is his father,
and tells George that she rescued him from his murderous mother. She shows George
the six champions that she has imprisoned in her cave, and gives him her magic
wand as a present. When George learns the truth, he uses the wand to imprison
her within a rock. Tarpax's prophecy is thus fulfilled. Tarpax later informs Suckabus
that Calib has become a duchess in Hell.
CALIBAN
Caliban, whose name is sometimes argued to be an anagram of "cannibal," is the
beastly son of Sycorax in Shakespeare's The
Tempest. Because she was pregnant with Caliban, Sycorax was spared execution
for practicing witchcraft and instead exiled from Algiers. She was taken to the
deserted island that Prospero would later inhabit, and there gave birth to Caliban.
Upon Sycorax's death, Caliban inherited the island and saw himself as king of
it. When Prospero arrived, he took control of the island away from Caliban, and
taught him how to be civilized. However, when Caliban tried to rape Miranda, Prospero
made him a slave. The play begins twelve years after this action. After Prospero
conjures the storm that strands Alonso's party on the island, Caliban meets Stefano
and Trinculo, Alonso's butler and jester. Stefano gives Caliban wine, and Caliban
thereby mistakes him for a god and pledges him fealty. They become drunk and conspire
to murder Prospero. Ariel overhears the plot and prevents it by leading the three
around the island until they fall into a pool. Caliban is later confronted by
Prospero, who indicates that he will pardon Caliban.
CALIBEUS **1637
Ozaca’s husband and an old, jealous Cham in Carlell’s Osmond. He fears to entertain Orcanes in his home lest he be cuckolded. He attempts to keep them from seeing one another and is annoyed when he accidentally puts her in the garden where Orcanes enters. Later, he drops a letter for Orcanes to find and pretends to be Ozaca at her window and thus discovers Orcanes’ intentions. He privately jeers at Orcanes’ protestations of chastity but is fooled into running to a garden house fire and leaving Ozaca unguarded from Orcanes while he puts it out. He discovers Orcanes in Ozaca’s bedroom but is duped into believing that he raped her and she is chaste. He determines to get his revenge upon the prince without resort to bloodshed. Calibeus goes to Malcosbus for justice over Orcanes’ ‘rape’ of Ozaca, but Melcosbus refuses to punish the prince. In his rage, he joins the captains and soldiers who plan Melcosbus’ overthrow. After the king punishes Orcanes with death, Calibeus returns to Ozaca with the happy news. To his surprise, she stabs him and herself whilst confessing she went willingly to the prince’s bed. He begs her to recover and repent her sins, saying he will forgive her. Servants bear him away as he orders that his wife be given an honorable burial.
CALIGULA
I.
Caligula (Caius), son of Agrippina in Jonson's Sejanus
His Fall . He is abducted by Macro and is last heard of living on Capri
and out of favor.
II.
Caligula, son of Germanicus in the anonymous Tragedy
of Tiberius, tells Tiberius he ought to become Emperor. He foolishly refers
to the imperial crown as gold worth the having. He plays the fool to divert suspicion
from himself. He knows Tiberius is a tyrant, but pretends even to his siblings
and mother that he thinks the Emperor is a "brave" man with a lovely crown. His
apparent folly (and subsequent harmlessness) wins him invitations to dine with
the Emperor. He witnesses the murder by strangulation of his mother, Agrippina,
and by starvation of his brothers, Drusus and Nero. He joins forces with the soldier
Macro in a righteous conspiracy against Tiberius. He gives the Emperor a mule's
hoof full of water from the river Styx (which he says killed Alexander the Great)
then smothers Tiberius in a sheet and stabs him to death. He becomes Emperor at
play's end.
III.
The ghost of the former Emperor Caligula speaks part of the Prologue, along with
the fury Megaera in May's Julia Agrippina.
He prophesies that Nero will be a worse emperor even than himself. n.b.
"Caligula" is a nickname meaning "little boots."
CALIMATH
Halibeck's fellow in hostility toward Anthony and Robert Sherley in Day, Rowley
and Wilkins's The Travels of the Three
English Brothers. He tries to denigrate Robert to the Sophy's Niece. He
also encourages the Sophy to be angry at Robert's deal with the Great Turk, and
at Robert's love for the Niece.
CALIN
Calin is a "ghost character" in Daniel's Philotas. According to the Nuntius, Calin is accused of involvement in the plot against Alexander by Philotas.
CALIPH
The Caliph, a subordinate of Abbas in Denham's The
Sophy. He is compelled against his will to support the plot to frame and
punish Mirza. After Abbas's death, he defends the right of Soffy to rule, but
he is executed nonetheless.
CALIPH of BABYLON
The Caliph's city is being attacked by the Egyptians in the anonymous Two Noble Ladies and the Converted Conjurer. He is angry when his son, Clitophon, refuses to fight until he is permitted to marry the Christian Justina. The Caliph pretends to agree, but secretly orders Justina to be drowned. When he finds out, Clitophon releases the captured Soldan and leaves, taking many of the soldiers with him. The Caliph agrees to settle the war in a single combat between Lysander and Armidan. But when 'Armidan' is revealed to be Lysander's lover, Miranda, the Caliph is furious. Before the Babylonians and the Egyptians can kill the couple, the Romans burst in and force the Caliph and the Soldan to submit to Rome. In the conclusion, the Caliph agrees that Clitophon may marry Justina and invites everyone to Babylon for a party.
CALIPOLIS
I.
Wife of Muly Mahamet in the anonymous Captain Thomas Stukeley, she tearfully bids him farewell on the eve of the Battle of Alcazar.
II.
Only mentioned in Shakespeare's 2
Henry IV, Calipolis is the wife of Muly Mahomet in Peele's play Battle
of Alcazan. Calipolis is referred to by Pistol in arguing with Doll Tearsheet
and Hostess Quickly at the Board's Head Tavern.
CALIPSO
Calipso, the confidant of Iolante in Massinger's The
Guardian. She suffers the wrath of Severino while serving her lady.
CALIS
The princess Calis is the sister of Astorax, the king of Paphos in Fletcher's The Mad Lover. When the general Memnon becomes infatuated with her and begins acting strangely, she is fearful and attempts to keep him at a distance. When Siphax, the brother of Cleanthe, one of Calis's ladies in waiting, visits the princess on behalf of Memnon, he is himself smitten and enlists his sister in an effort to gain her hand. A short time later, Polidor and the friends of Memnon visit the princess in an effort to convince her of Memnon's great love, but Calis instead falls in love with Polidor. Cleanthe lures Calis to the Temple of Venus to receive a fake message from the goddess that will lead her to Siphax, but in the event, the real goddess herself appears and tells Calis she will have a dead lover, but one which will please her. When Polidor stages his own funeral in an attempt to incline the princess to Memnon, he is forced to reveal himself when Memnon attempts suicide, accepts Calis, but then bestows her upon his brother. Returned to his wits, the general recognizes that Calis loves Polidor, and asks Astorax to honor his brother with the hand of the princess and to find a military action for himself. The king is so moved by the display of honor and generosity all around that he grants both requests and orders a public celebration to mark the union of Calis and Polidor.
CALIS' SISTER
A "ghost character" in Fletcher's The Mad Lover. After Cleanthe agrees to help her brother Siphax win the heart of Calis, she begins acting strangely in the presence of the princess. Calis calls attention to the odd behavior (which is seconded by Lucippe), remarking that strange things always seem to happen when Cleanthe acts this way. When Cleanthe objects, the princess points out that the last time the lady behaved in such a fashion was immediately before the death of the princess's unnamed sister.
CALISTA**1620
Calista is a daughter of Theophilus in Massinger and Dekker's The
Virgin Martyr. She is sent, along with her sister, Christeta, to convert
Dorothea to paganism. Instead, Dorothea converts them to Christianity.
CALISTA**1624
Wife to Clarindore in Massinger's The
Parliament of Love. She disguises herself as Beaupre, servant to Bellisant,
a noble lady. Bellisant tricks Clarindore into believing that he has seduced her.
But it is a bed trick in which she sends Calista (as Beaupre) in her place. At
the end of the play, she and her husband are reunited.
CALISTA**1633
Calista, daughter of Severino and Iolante in Massinger's The
Guardian. She is initially in love with Adorio but eventually falls in
love with Caldoro.
CALISTA or CALISTE**1634
Caliste, or Calista in the title of Massinger's 1634 Cleander, or Lisander and Calista (a revision of Fletcher's 1623 The
Wandering Lovers?), is wife to Cleander. She attempts to create a union
between Clarinda and Lisander, all the while being pursued by Lisander. At midnight,
Lisander visits her. Caliste awakens, and Lisander tells her of his love and affection.
Caliste is shocked, and asks if he would have her break her bonds of marriage.
Lisander responds that he would not, but then asks if he may kiss her hand. She
allows him. They then kiss. Lisander draws forth a pistol, asking Caliste to kill
him before his passion overwhelms him. Before she can respond, there are noises
from within. Lisander hides behind a curtain. Cleander enters. She assures him
that she is fine, and Cleander leaves. With the way now clear, Caliste entreats
Lisander to leave before they are caught. Soon after, Cleander is found dead with
Lisander's sword close by. Caliste and Lisander are accused of murdering Cleander.
Her father's attempts to clear her are ineffective, but she is exonerated by the
testimony of Lisander and Leon. Her maid and Leon are implicated for the murder,
and the king tells her that she can marry Lisander in one year's time.
CALISTO**1527
The insensate wooer of Melebea in ?Rastell's Calisto and Melebea, Calisto reveals his love to Sempronio, and offers to give the servant a gold chain if he can help in the conquest. Sempronio produces Celestina as the peerless agent in such affairs, and Calisto gives her 100 pieces of gold. He rejects Parmeno's attempt to show him the folly of his ways.
CALISTO**1610
Lycaon's daughter in Heywood's The
Golden Age. She resists Jupiter's amorous advances and swears virginity,
joining Diana's train. Disguised as a "manly lass" called Virago, Jupiter infiltrates
Diana's coterie, by turns raping and proposing to Calisto who refuses him again.
She retreats into the woods, where she raises her son (by Jupiter) Archas. Later,
Jupiter embraces his son and gives him the kingdom of Pelagia (now named Archadia
after Archas). Calisto refuses Jupiter's third proposal, preferring the solitude
of the forest and abjuring "all peopled cities."
CALISTO**1627
I.
Daughter of King Lycaon in Heywood's The Escapes of Jupiter. The play's first human love-interest for Jupiter. After her father is "beaten off" and Jupiter has replaced him as King of Pelagia, Callisto enters "as affrighted" and immediately inspires the new king with desire. She first reacts with hauteur, then, realizing her newly subordinate position, tricks him into granting her request: to allow her to become a follower of the virgin goddess Diana. She succeeds in becoming an initiate, and Atlanta, the leading follower, administers the virgins' oath to her; but Jupiter follows, disguised as another would-be votarist, and soon manages to isolate her from the others in the woods. There he is quick to take advantage of his situation, and her. Unlike the heroines who follow her, Callisto is clearly the victim of a rape. Homer, the chorus, supplies the end of her story: that she refuses his offer of marriage, and stays in the forest, hiding from the virgins. Juno, Jupiter's resentful wife, later reveals that Callisto has been transformed into a constellation. [Juno says that Callisto has become the Little Bear; usually, Callisto is identified with the Great Bear.]
II.
Only mentioned in Jonson's Epicoene. In Greek mythology, Calisto was a nymph who was turned into a bear by Hera then placed in the sky as the constellation Ursa Major by Zeus. Otter wants his gallant friends to persuade Mistress Otter to let him take his favorite silver cups to the party at Morose's house. Deriding Otter's pretended knowledge of Latin and classical mythology, Clerimont says that Mistress Otter must be convinced with solid classical arguments. Since one of Otter's cups was named bull and the other bear, in memory of his bachelor days at the bear-baiting arena, Clerimont brings examples from classical mythology related to these animals. Thus, he explains that Calisto was turned into a bear and made a star, a mistress Ursula in the heavens.
CALISTUS**1631
Calistus, a freedmen in the service of Flaminius in Massinger's Believe
As You List. Along with Demetrius, he acts as the Flaminius' henchmen.
CALISTUS**1635
Calistus in Richards' Messalina
joins Narcissus and Pallas in lamenting Claudius's gullibility and persuading
him to act against Messalina and Silius.
CALLADINE
Calladine is a counselor of the Duke in Davenant's Love and Honor. He fights on the battlefield with Alvaro and receives praise for his actions. When Alvaro discovers that Propsero has taken Evandra hostage, and threatens his life, Calladine is the one who stops him and makes the suggestion that Prospero hide Evandra until she can be freed or the Duke's plan to execute her can be changed. After Evandra is successfully hidden, Calladine brings the message to Alvaro and Prospero that the Duke is enraged. Alvaro goes to comfort him and Prospero confesses to Calladine that he has fallen in love with Evandra. Calladine is saddened that the two friends are in love with the same woman, and tells Prospero to be careful. Melora, pretending to be Evandra, seeks out Calladine and asks that she be taken to the Duke. However, Calladine is so impressed with her beauty and courage that he does not have the heart to take her to certain death. When Melora asks him to see that "Melora" (actually Evandra) is sent to Milan, Calladine instead plans to present her to the Duke. Evandra, of course, understands what is happening and gladly consents to go in "Evandra"'s place. They arrive after Melora has presented herself to the Duke as Evandra, and the Duke decides both will die since both claim to be Evandra. In the folio version of the play, Calladine is the one who leads Alvaro, Propsero and Leonell to the prison where Melora and Evandra are kept. He passes on to Vasco the Duke's command that a guard be assembled for the women. He meets with the Duke of Milan and the brother of the Duke (disguised as Ambassadors), and hopes that they can sway the Duke, so he leads them to the Duke, where all is revealed.
CALLAPINE**1589
Callapine in Marlowe's The Jew of Malta
appears—from an address by Calymath—to be the main Bashaw, although
he is not so identified in the stage directions.
CALLAPINE**1589
Bajazeth's son and Tamburlaine's prisoner in Marlowe's Tamburlaine the Great, Part 2. His full name is Callapinus Cyricelibes, and Orcanes says his nickname is Cybelius, but everyone including Callapine usually uses the form Callapine in the play. Callapine offers his keeper, Almeda, a thousand galleys, gold, virgins, chariot and slaves if he helps him escape from Tamburlaine. He offers him a kingship, which he swears by Mahomet to deliver. He escapes with the aid of Almeda and vows to avenge his father's death. He is reinstated as emperor in III.i before a host including Orcanes and the kings of Trebizon, Soria, and Jerusalem. He promises again to make Almeda a king. They march to Aleppo to meet Tamburlaine. At the parley, he flouts Tamburlaine by making Almeda king of Ariadan before Tamburlaine's eyes. In the battle that follows, Tamburlaine defeats Callapine's united forces, but Callapine escapes capture. He rallies more troops, allies himself to the King of Amasia, and marches to meet Tamburlaine outside the fallen Babylon. The army arrives believing that Tamburlaine is on his deathbed, but when Tamburlaine rises and appears on the field they all run away for fear of him.
CALLIAS **1638
A Bithynian courtier in Mayne’s Amorous War. He, Neander, and Artops, frightened by the invasion from Thrace, resolve to volunteer to guard Barsene and Roxane on a safe island beyond Bithynia. They go to Orythia and Thalaestris to ask that they be included in the ladies’ guard but the wives refuse them. Once made captain of a band of rough soldiers, the foppish courtier expounds upon their country habits. He advises the king to treat for peace and spare bloodshed. He offers the “Amazon ambassadors" that if the warrior women wish to return carrying Bithyan issue in their wombs, that he and the other courtiers would gladly oblige them. Whilst attempting to seduce the “Amazons" they dispraise their own court women (especially Orythia, Thalaestris, Menalippe and Marthesia, not realizing those are the very women to whom they speak.) Their soldiers threaten to mutiny, but the captains turn a deaf ear to them. Orythia, Thalaestris, and Marthesia tease Callias, Neander, and Artops by pretending they are prepared to bed them, but at the crucial moment an alarum sounds (by prearranged sign) that the camp is up in arms and the three men are “captured" by their own soldiers, Macrinus, Lacero, and Serpix, in disguise. Callias, Neander, and Artops are blindfolded and led away and made to exchange clothes with their soldiers (still believing them to be Thracians), and Macrinus, Lacero, and Serpix tease and taunt them with visions of slavery and gelding in Thrace. Callias begs to be hanged instead. They are further humbled by swearing never to bear arms against Thrace and agree to be paraded in women’s clothes before having their blindfolds put off to discover they are standing before the “Amazons," Theagines, and Meleager. To save their reputations, Callias, Neander, and Artops capture four of the “treasonous" Amazons only to discover they are Orythia, Thalaestris, Menalippe and Marthesia (newly unmasked) and the captains are again made fools.
CALLIDUS **1639
An envious lord in Sharpe’s Noble Stranger. He despises Honorio and Fabianus for gaining the glory he believes is his and vows to be revenged though he pretends friendship to both. He woos Marania. He is further angered, however, when the princess leaves him out in naming the three most worthy men Honorio, Fabianus, and Philomusus and bids them be friends. He opens act three with the play’s first soliloquy in which he hopes to thwart Honorio by revealing the man’s illegal love for the princess. He hides behind the arras to overhear them. He is yet even further enraged when the king gives his three rivals preferment and titles and gives him nothing. He tells the king of Honorio’s illegal wooing of the princess and that Fabianus is their agent. He leads the king to see the lovers’ garden tryst and hides him behind the arras before taking his leave. When Honorio and Fabianus draw their swords against the king to protect the ladies, he enters with his own sword drawn and calls them traitors. The king entrusts Callidus to guard the princess in her lodgings, but he secretly tells Honorio that he’ll arrange for them to meet before Honorio goes into banishment. He allows the conference, he says in his second soliloquy, to keep the princess from suspecting him as he fears her revenge after the king dies and she becomes monarch. He watches with private gloating as the lovers part. When it is revealed that Honorio is the Prince of Portugal, Callidus’ treachery is revealed and his punishment, meted out by Marania, is that Marania will not marry him but become a vestal virgin instead. The king scolds him, saying, “away and learn to amend hereafter."
CALLIGONE
Sylvia is identified throughout Rutter's The Shepherds' Holiday as Calligone by those who know her as the king's daughter, indicating that the name "Sylvia" is actually a part of the Smyrnian disguise which she dons in order to escape the court.
CALLIMACHUS
Only mentioned in Jonson's Poetaster. Callimachus was a third-century BC Greek lyric poet, born in Cyrene. Credited with some 800 works, including Actia, a collection of legends, Callimachus worked as a schoolmaster and as chief of Alexandrian Library. When Ovid praises the immortality of poetry, he says that Callimachus will live forever through his verses. Though Callimachus's invention is lower than that of the great Greek poets Homer and Hesiod, Ovid says, still his verses will be sung forever because they represent the immortality of art. When Tucca wants to show Ovid Senior that he is trying to persuade Ovid to give up poetry and study law, he calls the poet ironically Callimachus, telling him he must leave these poets because they are poor starved rascals, the very emblems of beggary. At the end of the play, after Virgil has Crispinus take an emetic and throw up all his bad words, he then prescribes a long-term cure. Virgil advises Crispinus to observe a strict and wholesome diet. Virgil suggests that Crispinus should read, with a tutor, the best Greek authors, among whom Virgil mentions Callimachus.
CALLIMELA
Philargurus' daughter, Lollio's sister in the anonymous Timon of Athens. She is ready to marry Gelasimus because he is rich and gullible. Immediately before their wedding ceremony she decides to marry Timon instead, because he seems to be richer. ("Who doth possess most gold shall me possess," III.2.31). Their wedding gets interrupted by a shipwrecked sailor, who announces that Timon has lost all his fortune. Callimela then tells her nurse Blatt to go to Gelasimus and tell him that she is again at his disposal. But Gelasimus declines because has heard Pseudocheus' stories about the Antipodes and he now intends to marry the Princess of the Antipodes. When Timon finds gold, Callimela entreats him again to marry her. Sarcastically, he tells her to marry his gold instead, and she agrees immediately.
CALLIOPE
Accepts Venus as her student in Greene's Alphonsus, King of Arragon in Venus' attempt to write the history of Alphonsus.
CALLOWE
Friend to Ranoffe in ?Cumber's Two Merry Milkmaids, this foolish Lord in the court of Duke Earnest pursues a suit for the newly arrived milkmaid Julia. Surprised, the courtier attempts to fight Frederick while he is invisible; recognizing the futility of this pugilism, he agrees to guide the invisible man.
CALODOULUS
Servant to Musidorus in Shirley's The Arcadia. Reveals the true identity of Musidorus and Pyrocles
to Euarchus after they are sentenced.
CALPHURNIA**1595
Caesar's wife in the anonymous Caesar and Pompey. Calphurnia warns him that her dreams presage ill if he goes to the Senate.
CALPHURNIA**1635
I.
Calphurnia is a professional prostitute in Richards' Messalina.
She loses to Messalina in the contest over who can couple with more men.
II.
A "ghost character" in May's Julia
Agrippina. Because Claudius admired her, Agrippina banished her.
CALPHURNIANUS
Calphurnianus in Richards' Messalina
colludes in Messalina's marriage to Silius and encourages Silius to seize the
empire. Captured by Pallas, he is condemned to death by Claudius.
CALPURNIA
Calpurnia is the wife of Julius Caesar in Shakespeare's Julius
Caesar. A sensitive woman devoted to her husband, she dreams that her
husband's statue pours forth blood in which Caesar's compatriots bathe their hands.
Caesar has decided to remain at home because of the portent of Calpurnia's dream,
but when Decius re-interprets the vision Caesar chooses to go to the Senate, and
Calpurnia's warning becomes ineffectual.
CALUMNY
Clutch's servant in Jordan's Money is an Ass. Clutch promises to consent to a marriage between Calumny and Felixina if he helps to deceive money. He privately confesses his love to Felixina and warns her that Money only desires to diminish her reputation. He realizes that Clutch means to marry the daughters to Gold and Jewel after deceiving Money and Credit. After overhearing conversations between the daughters and their true loves, he begins to contrive against all four men. He tells Featherbrain and Penniless (whom he believes to be Gold and Jewel) that Clutch's daughters have already slept with Money and Credit. He then tells Money and Credit that the daughters are already contracted to Gold and Jewel. His plan fails because Featherbrain and Penniless do not believe him, and the daughters arrange marriages with their true loves. He curses Clutch and the lovers, and Clutch banishes him from the house, hypocritically proclaiming him the "evil Genius" who "prompted me to deeds most vile."
CALVESKIN
Calveskin is one of the clowns in the Anonymous The
Faithful Friends. He boasts of his eagerness to go to war until he is
actually called to serve against the Sabines, when he suddenly gets cold feet.
CALVIN, JOHN
Only mentioned in the anonymous Wit's Triumvirate. Calvin is mentioned by Master Bead when he is revealing his Roman-Catholic religious scruples to Silence: "Sir, that lodging where the pictures of Luther and Calvin hang did so much trouble me that I was once in mind to have broken them, for I doubt that for the sin of us Romans, suffering those heretic pictures, we were after punished by the fall of Blackfriars House." John Calvin (1509-1564) was a lawyer, but he soon became saturated with the ideas of Northern Renaissance Humanism. He devoted himself to reform the church and got his chance to build a reformed one in Geneva, in the 1520s, when its citizens revolted against their rulers.
CALVISIUS
A "ghost character" in May's Cleopatra. Roman senator, opposed to Antonius: mentioned in I ii. Historically, this was Caius Calvisius Sabinus.
CALYMATH
Also known as Selim-Calymath in Marlowe's The
Jew of Malta, he is the son of the Turkish emperor and the leader of the
military. He arrives at Malta to demand ten years of unpaid tribute. When asked,
he gives Ferneze a month to raise the tribute. After Ferneze refuses to pay the
tribute, Calymath besieges the town and during that siege, meets with Barabas,
who has been thrown, apparently dead, over the city walls. Barabas helps the Turks
find a way into the city and as a reward, Calymath appoints Barabas governor.
Calymath and his officers are invited to dinner with Barabas, who means to betray
them. Calymath is fooled by this invitation and is only saved from death by Ferneze,
who then tells Calymath that he is their prisoner until the Turkish emperor frees
and repairs Malta. Calymath asks to be allowed to mediate for Malta in person,
but Ferneze is firm in his plan to keep him a prisoner.
CALYMATH'S FATHER
A "ghost character" in Marlowe's The Jew
of Malta. Calymath's father is the Turkish emperor, who has demanded the
tribute of Malta. Historically, the Turkish emperor at this time was Suleiman
the Magnificent.
CALYPHA
Calypha, a son of the king of Thessaly, is brother to Thelea and Delia in Peele's
The Old Wives' Tale. (The
text refers to him as the First Brother.) Along with Thelea, he seeks to rescue
Delia from the sorcerer, Sacrapant, but falls under the magician's spell and is
enslaved. He is released when Sacrapant is destroyed.
CALYPHAS
Tamburlaine's eldest son in Marlowe's Tamburlaine the Great, Part 2. He is content to let his brothers conquer and wishes merely to follow his mother and manage his father's conquests once those lands have been subdued. He earns his father's displeasure. He later sets a pillar warning all never to rebuild the city where Zenocrate died. When Tamburlaine tells his boys how to be soldiers, Calyphas shrinks from the descriptions of hardship. When Tamburlaine wounds his own arm to show them how a soldier wears his wounds, Calyphas pities it while his brothers beg to be wounded too. At Aleppo, Calyphas sleeps while his brothers encourage him to enter the battle with the Turks. When the battle begins, he calls Perdicas to come play cards with him, betting for who gets to kiss the Turkish concubines. When Tamburlaine returns victorious he drags Calyphas from his tent and, despite the pleas of Theridamas, Techelles, Usumcasane, and Amyras, Tamburlaine stabs the boy to death. Calyphas's corpse is carried from the stage by common soldiers, but Tamburlaine orders that Calyphas be buried by the Turkish concubines as he is too base to warrant the honor of burial at the hands of soldiers.
CALYPHO
Calypho is one of the Cyclops in Lyly's Sapho and Phao. He is teased by Cryticus and Molus.
CALYPOLIS
Wife to the Moor in Peele's The Battle of Alcazar. After her husband loses the war, Calypolis fears famine until her husband brings her the meat of a lioness. She contributes very little except a comment on the Moor's treachery.
CALYPSO
A "ghost character" in Lyly's Gallathea.
This nymph, who has a major role in The Odyssey, is mentioned as a possible
cause of the love plague, but she never appears onstage in the play.
CAM
Look under TAMAR and MANGO.
CAMBER
Son of Brutus and Junoger in the Anonymous Locrine.
Brutus gives him the south of England.
CAMBIO
Cambio is the disguise assumed by Lucentio in Shakespeare's The
Taming of the Shrew. As Cambio, Lucentio acts as one of Bianca's tutors,
thereby allowing him to woo her in secret.
CAMBISES
I.
A king who had slain his own children, driven before the furies Alecto, Megera, and Ctesiphonein the fourth act dumb show in Sackville and Norton's Gorboduc.
II.
King of Persia in Preston's Cambises. After inheriting the throne from his father, Cyrus, declares war with the Egyptians. Upon his victorious return, he hears charges of corruption against Sisamnes, and after a trial finds him guilty and sentences him to death. After being accused of drunkenness by Praxaspes, seeks to prove his sobriety by shooting an arrow through the heart of Sisamnes' youngest son. To calm his nerves, Cambyses has a drink of wine and proceeds to kill Sisamnes' son. After being lied to by Ambidexter, he has his younger brother executed by Cruelty and Murder. Dies, remorsefully, after accidently stabbing himself with his own sword while riding his horse.
CAMBRIA
King of Cambria, husband of Ragan in the Anonymous King
Leir. He travels to Leir's court, meeting Cornwall along the way, and
is warmly welcomed by Ragan. After their marriage, Ragan boasts that she rules
Cambria as she pleases. Unlike Ragan, Cambria is happy to see Leir, although he
does not actually recognize the king, apparently because Leir has arrived in such
an "unkingly" manner. He is completely unaware of Ragan's plan to have Leir and
Perillus murdered and starts an investigation into their disappearance. When Ragan
suggests that Cordella has plotted against Leir, Cambria tells her to trust in
the justice of Heaven and not to censure any until the truth is known. When the
Ambassador enters and is accused of murder by Ragan, Cambria wants to suspend
judgement and proceed only as news of Leir is discovered. He does, however, swear
on his kingship to punish Cordella if she is guilty. During the battle, Mumford
chases Cambria until the latter feels he can fight no more.
CAMBRIDGE
Richard, Earl of Cambridge, is a traitor to England in Shakespeare's Henry
V. Along with Scroop and Grey, Cambridge works to promote French interests.
After asking the men for their advice regarding the punishment of a petty traitor,
Henry reveals that he has discovered their plot, and that he plans to punish them
with as little mercy as they have shown to the petty traitor. After his arrest,
Cambridge rejects Henry's claim that French gold motivated the treason, but he
offers no alternative explanation. The three traitors are executed on Henry's
orders. Historically, he was Richard of Conisburgh, father of Richard, third Duke
of York, and grandfather of Edward IV.
CAMBYSES
In Shakespeare's 1 Henry IVFalstaff
plans to mimic Cambyses as a model for the part of King Henry in the charade between
Falstaff and Prince Hal. King Cambyses was the son of Cyrus, king of Persia. His
six-year reign involved the overthrow of Egypt and the interruption of the Jerusalem
Temple restoration.
CAMEL-DRIVER, FIRST and SECOND
Two camel-drivers figure in Henry Shirley's The
Martyred Soldier:
- The First Camel-Driver is ordered by King Henrick to rape Victoria, but he is struck mad, and beats out his own brains.
- The Second Camel-Driver is also ordered by King Henrick to rape Victoria, but he is instantly struck blind. Henrick orders him to rape her anyway, but the Camel-Driver cannot hear him because he has been struck deaf too.
CAMELIA**1600
Gullible and greedy younger daughter of Sir Edward Fortune in Marston's Jack Drum's Entertainment: sister to Katherine, but very unlike Katherine. Early in the play, Camelia believes herself to be in love with Brabant Junior, but her servant Winifred tells her that Brabant is not worthy of her love since he is a "younger brother" and cannot inherit the Brabant name or property. Camelia agrees to consider John Ellis instead, not knowing that her maid is in the employ of Ellis. She underestimates the love of Brabant who will continue to genuinely love her. She advises Brabant to pursue some kind of income and Planet tells her she isn't worth Brabant's love. In order to revenge his friend, Brabant Junior, Planet bribes Winifred to convince Camelia to woe him–the maid is wildly successful and Camelia drops Ellis for Planet and begins to chase him. When John Ellis asks Sir Edward for Camelia's hand in marriage, Camelia proceeds to humiliate and degrade him. She calls him a fool and an idiot. Sir Edward asks her to be more kind, but she only has eyes for Planet now–although he rejects her. His insults and refusal to love her make her even more interested in winning him and she pursues him aggressively. She has Winifred arrange a meeting. She wants to apologize to Planet, but mistakenly reveals herself to Brabant instead. Brabant then understands that Planet did not betray their friendship. Camelia ends up losing all of the men who had previously pursued her, but she is still part of Sir Edward's family and he envelops her into the warm feasting at the celebration for Katherine and Pasquil.
CAMELION
Camelion is originally a servant of Rawbone in James Shirley's The
Wedding. He resigns his post because he was poorly fed, and his position
is taken by Haver, disguised as Jasper.
CAMELIONS
Family name of Rafe and Hannah in Brome's The
New Academy.
CAMENA
Camena is one of the ladies of the Shepherd's Paradise in Montague's The
Shepherd's Paradise. She is in love with Melidoro, and her function is
to argue for feminine independence and to serve as a foil of sensible, rational
love. She marries Melidoro at the conclusion of the play.
CAMERADO
Camerado is the comic chamberlain of the inn where Antonio and Simplo take lodgings
in the Anonymous Two Wise Men and
All the Rest Fools; he is too slow-witted to prevent Antonio from leaving
without paying the bill.
CAMILLA
Camilla is a lady of the court in Lyly's Midas. She comforts Sophronia while they wait for news of Midas' trip to Pactolus
CAMILLO**1601
Camillo is a Venetian gentleman in love with Violetta in the Anonymous Blurt, Master Constable. Camillo gives a banquet at his house in honor of the war heroes, where Violetta and her ladies are invited. Telling Violetta that his
love for her inspired all his chivalric exploits during the war, Camillo mentions
he has taken a French gentleman prisoner in her name. After Fontinel is introduced
to Violetta, Camillo dances with Violetta. At Violetta's sudden departure from
the party, Camillo confesses to Hipolito that love is a maze of joy and suffering.
Outside the tennis court, Camillo sees Fontinel wearing Violetta's colors. Camillo
declares that Fontinel is his prisoner and has him sent to prison. In front of
Hipolito's house, Camillo learns that Imperia fell in love with Fontinel's picture.
Hoping to have Fontinel become entangled with Imperia and then dispatch him to
France, Camillo tries to convince the Frenchman to go to Imperia and leave Violetta.
On Fontinel's refusal, Camillo orders that he be taken back to prison and face
the death penalty. Hoping to win Violetta's love, Camillo sings a serenade below
her windows. When Violetta rejects his amorous declarations, Camillo says he will
take revenge against Fontinel. In his house, Camillo summons the warlike Venetian
gentlemen Hipolito, Asorino, Virgilio, Baptista, and Bentivolio to assault Imperia's
house and kill Fontinel. According to Camillo, Fontinel stole Violetta's love,
married her secretly, and then went to spend time at the courtesan's house. In
the street before Imperia's house, Camillo speaks in the name of all the Venetian
gentlemen, telling the Duke that Fontinel has dishonored a Venetian lady and must
be punished. Camillo speaks in the name of his friends before Fontinel is arrested,
but he is discredited when Violetta reveals that the courtesan-scheme had been
part of her plan to save Fontinel from Camillo's jealousy.
CAMILLO **1602
A ‘ghost character’ in Percy’s A Country Tragedy in Vacunium. Rhodaghond recounts how Guasto, the Duke of Vacunium, called forth a ‘solemn cheer’ and his noblemen came from far and near to participate, including Camillo, Bentivole, Lepido, Collinio, Ursino, Novoli, Gonsagua, Columna, Flaminio, ‘and twenty more’. It was during this event that Florimel, who once despised Amadour, grew to love him when he earned great praise from the Duke of Vacunium for his prowess in the games.
CAMILLO**1610
Camillo is a lord at Leontes' court in Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale. He responds to Leontes' irrational jealousy of Hermione and Polixenes by sacrificing loyalty to justice. Leontes first voices his suspicions
to Camillo, who upbraids him for suspecting Hermione unjustly. When Leontes orders
him to kill Polixenes, Camillo warns Polixenes that his life is in danger and
leaves Sicilia with him. Sixteen years later, Camillo returns to Sicilia, and
after a series of revelations Leontes recognizes Camillo's merits. As a gesture
of goodwill, Leontes suggests uniting Camillo and Paulina.
CAMILLO **1612
Camillo is a simple cuckold who must be eliminated in Webster's The White Devil. Brachiano wants him killed so that he may have Vittoria; Uncle Monticelso wants him sent away so he may trap Brachiano with Vittoria. He
is murdered when his brother-in-law Flamineo thrusts him from a vaulting horse
and breaks his neck.
CAMILLO**1620
An honest gentleman in Fletcher and Massinger's The Double Marriage. Camillo is a co-conspirator, along with Brissonet and Virolet, in a plot to depose the tyrant King Ferrand. When the plot is exposed via Ronvere's spying, Camillo is convinced to join the attack on Sesse's ship to recover Ferrand's nephew Ascanio. He does not survive the attack.
CAMILLO**1624
Camillo, along with his fellow noblemen Cleanthes and Menallo in Fletcher's A Wife for a Month, laments that Alphonso, rightful king of Naples, has been usurped by his wicked brother Frederick. He takes comfort in the fact that
since his wife is sick in the country she and he are safe from Frederick's libidinous
desires. He participates in the ultimately successful plot to restore Alphonso
to the throne.
CAMILLO**1633
Camillo, a Neapolitan Gentleman, along with Lentulo and Donato, he offers advice
to Adorio on how to deal with Caldoro in Massinger's The Guardian.
CAMILLO**1635
Camillo attends on Flavia in Ford's The
Fancies Chaste and Noble. He and Vespucci are both attracted to her and
propose to share her favors. Each agrees to speak well of the other to her so
that she will be disposed to favor them. When Flavia reveals their courtship of
her to Romanello, both are penitent. At the end of the play the Marquis, Octavio,
gives Camillo, Vespucci and Romanello leave to court Floria and Silvia.
CAMILLO FERNEZE
Supposed lost at the age of two in Chamont's attack on Vicenze nineteen years
ago in Jonson's The Case is Altered. He was adopted by Chamont (the elder), and is known throughout most of
the play as "Jasper," Chamont's adopted brother and companion. His true
identity is revealed by Chamont.
CAMILLO'S WIFE
A "ghost character" in Fletcher's A
Wife for a Month. Because she is sick in the country she and Camillo are
safe from Frederick's libidinous desires. This fact gives Camillo comfort.
CAMILLUS
A "ghost character" in (?)Jeffere's The Bugbears. Camillus, Amedeus' next door neighbor, makes possible the make believe haunting of Amedeus' home by allowing his own home as staging area, and he also participates in the noisy charade to help Formosus win his wife. However, Camillus does not appear in the play.
CAMILLUS, FURIUS
In the introduction to Fisher's Fuimus Troes, Mercury enters with the ghosts of Brennus and Camillus. Brennus was the leader of the Gauls who crossed the Appenine in 391 AD, annihilated a Roman army of 40,000 men at the Allia in 390 AD, and then ransacked Rome. Marcus Furius Camillus was the Roman dictator who finally drew the Gauls under Brennus from the city (cf. Plutarch, Lives, "Camillus"). The two warriors are in complete armor, they have their swords drawn and want to continue their fight, till Mercury tells them that they can no longer kill each other because have already been dead for a long time. But now, so many years later, Romans and Britains are again at war, and the two ghosts should now incite their countrymen. In scene II.vii, the ghost of Brennus appears to Nennius and the ghost of Camillus to Caesar. Caesar later mentions that Camillus visits him every night, and after Nennius' death, Cassibelane mentions that Brennus has visited him. At the end of the play, the two ghosts comment on the braveness of their descendants, and Mercury convinces them to become friends at last.
CAMIOLA
Camiola, the Maid of Honour in Massinger's The
Maid of Honor, a rich and beautiful virgin, in love with Bertoldo.
CAMITHA or CONSTANCE HOLDUP
A cunning prostitute in Brome's The
Northern Lass who has recently borne a bastard child and with whom Sir
Philip may have been 'familiar.' Sir Philip mistakes Sir Paul Squelch's virtuous
niece Constance for her, giving rise to most of the plot's confusions. Tridewell,
Anvil and Mistress Trainwell enlist her in their plot to overcome Sir Paul's opposition
to a number of suitable matches. Thus, when Vexhem brings her before Sir Paul
for prostitution, she consents to become Sir Paul's mistress and to pass publicly
for his mad niece. She deceives Widgine and Howdee, neither of whom have ever
seen the real Northern Lass without a mask. Convinced that she is the poor, mad,
rich Constance, Widgine proposes to her on the spot and later beds and then marries
her. When he discovers that she is actually a prostitute, she accepts a hundred
pounds to release him from the marriage bond.
CAMPANELLA
Only mentioned in the anonymous Wit's Triumvirate. Campanella is mentioned by Master Algebra, when he is putting Master Silence, Doctor Clyster and Bill Bond to a test, to find out if they are just mere cozeners. As he talks about the nature of the world, and answers to Master Silence's claim that this world is "dead and with no sense", he replies: "You never read Campanella then." Tommaso Campanella (1568-1639) was an Italian Dominican friar and author of two scientific treatises–De Sensu Rerum (ca. 1593), and De Investigatione Rerum (ca. 1593). In fact, the hylozoism typical of Campanella's philosophy is here shared by Master Algebra.
CAMPASPE
Campaspe is a beautiful Theban woman captured by Alexander in Lyly's Campaspe. She becomes infatuated with her. However, Campaspe falls in love with Apelles, a painter under commission to paint her portrait. Eventually, Alexander discovers the truth and gives the couple his blessing.
CAMPEGGIO
A papal nuncio in Venice in Dekker's The
Whore of Babylon, based on the real-life nuncio of the same name. He supports
Paridel in his plot against the life of Titania. He brings Paridel the Empress
of Babylon's blessing on his enterprise and a free pass through all Babylonian
jurisdictions.
CAMPEIUS
A deeply learned scholar in Dekker's The
Whore of Babylon, he represents the English Jesuit Edmund Campion (St.
Edmund Campion in the Roman Catholic church). Parthenophil favors him and tries
to recommend him to Titania, but she has heard that his brilliance conceals pride
and unsteadiness, and refuses to accept him as a servant. Campeius' scornful response
confirms the justice of her opinion. His subsequent disaffection and penury opens
the way for the Third King, disguised as a scholar, to woo him into the service
of the Empress of Babylon. Initially brusque and resistant, Campeius is soon seduced,
drawn on by his own greed for money and preferment, and he departs for Babylon.
There, he agrees to kill Titania on the Empress' behalf, unaware that the Empress
plans to kill him when he has served her purposes. He reappears in England, conjured
from the earth by Falsehood, but Titania's counselors discover his plots, and
he is condemned to death.
CAMPEIUS, CARDINAL
Rumored as having been sent by the Pope in Shakespeare's Henry
VIII, Cardinal Campeius urges the case against Queen Katherine to proceed
without the presence of the Spanish advisors she requests.
CAMPEUS **1604
In Rowley’s When You See Me, the French bishops are sent to move him to help Wolsey to the papacy. He comes from Pope Julius with a Bull naming Henry and his posterity “defenders of the faith." (The timeline of this play is skewed as this occurred many years before the birth of Edward VI.) He requests Henry’s aid in fighting the Turks at Rhodes with either an army or twelve thousand pounds.
CAMPION **1627
Only mentioned in Randolph's Plutophthalmia. Edmund Campion's Jesuitæ Rationes Decem, referred to as his "ten reasons," is compared to Dicæus' argument against poverty.
CAMPUSANO
Does not appear in the play. Don Campusano is a captain of carbines to whom Clara
asks Juan de Castro to deliver a letter in Fletcher's Rule
a Wife and Have a Wife.
CAMURIUS
A Captain and a "creature" of the corrupt and murderous Aper in Fletcher and Massinger's The Prophetess. Camurius knows that the emperor Numerianus is dead but helps maintain the fiction that he is in seclusion. When Diocles, Maximinian, and Geta attempt to visit the emperor's covered litter, Camurius tries to prevent them and is killed by Diocles.
CANAIDUS
A "ghost character" mentioned by Quadratus as a satirist whose opinion he would respect.
CANBEE, FRANK**1600
Canbee is a cheat in the service of the Cardinal in Chettle and Day's Blind Beggar of Bednal Green. With Hadland and Snip, he steals Tom Strowd's cloak, but is forgiven. In disguise as a highwayman, he steals money from Tom and Swash, and then pretends to happen upon him and help him. Later, he meets Tom, again in disguise, but this time Tom recognizes him and beats him and Hadland while Swash handles Snip. They take back part of the stolen money, and Canbee suggests they can get the rest back by joining them and helping Young Plainsey. When Canbee and Hadland fight the disguised Mumford, they are soundly beaten. When the two sides fight in the final scene, Tom passes up any weapon but a cudgel and uses it to soundly beat the two again.
CANCKO**1639
Clown and servant to Bentivoli in Dekker's(?) Telltale. Enters to Elinor, Garullo and Fernese and reports on Bentivoli's defeat of Hortensio in the duel. After Garullo threatens to leave for his country home to avoid Bentivoli's anger, Canko takes up Gismond's suggestion that Garullo disguise himself and suggests that Garullo disguise himself as a fool in order to continue to have access to Elinor. He later visits Garullo and Lesbia, held prisoner on the order of Elinor, and joins the discussion of Garullo's melancholy. He witnesses Garullo drink the cup of supposedly poisoned wine.
CANCRONE
Along with Scrocca, Cancrone is one of the "two foolish Fishers" and "servants to old Tyrinthus" and Perindus who get lost at sea and arrive at "Circe's rocke" instead of home in P. Fletcher's Sicelides. Since Scrocca is the "Master at Sea," Cancrone is the "master" of any "land voyage." He claims to be a poet and composes short poems throughout the play, shares liquor with Scrocca, repeatedly recounts the "deflouring" of his "grand-sire" by the Cyclops (Rimbombo), and takes many precautions for fear of both the Orke and Cyclops (due, in large part, to Conchylio's tricks upon him). He and Scrocca take undeserved credit for "vanquish[ing] the Orke" and he makes a "suite" concerning "whom to be in love withall" to Conchylio (who is disguised as Cupid), settling on Cosma for his love. He follows "Cupid's" foolish advice in love and, under the impression that the disguised Conchylio is actually Cosma, "mount[s] the tree" to which Conchylio (as Cosma) later binds Rimbombo. After managing to escape the Cyclops, Cancrone (along with the disguised Conchylio) makes a failed attempt to kill him which results in Rimbombo's flight from "this shore." After helping to save Perindus from drowning by assisting in conveying him safely to a "shippe That rides in the havene" after Tyrinthus's son had "fallen from the rocke" in an attempt to offer his life in exchange for Glaucilla's, Cancrone (along with Scrocca) is arrested, "manacled," and led to the "hils [. . .] to the greedy Cyclops" to meet "the death of slaves," during which time he is reunited with Tyrinthus and informs him of Perindus's whereabouts. After Cosma confesses to her initial "foule offence" Pas convinces Nomicus to "pardon"Cancrone and Scrocca and, after Dicaus punishes Cosma by casting a "charme" by which she may only fall in love with "fooles" and "fooles only shall affect" her, Cancrone and the Nymph confess their love for each other and the "foolish Fisher" seeks to "bedde" her.
CANDIANO
Candiano is an honorable courtier in Shirley's The Gentleman of Venice. He has a reputation for success at the Academy.
CANDIDO
I.
Candido is a linen-draper and the husband of Viola in Dekker and Middleton's 1
Honest Whore. He is renowned as a man of unshakeable patience, a trait
that is constantly tested throughout the play. Castruchio lays a bet with Pioratto
that he can make Candido lose his temper. He is tested in several ways:
- Castruchio and Pioratto along with Fluello visit his shop, and Castruchio asks for a pennyworth of lawn cut out of the center of the middle of the cloth. However, Candido cheerfully does as requested. Candido then offers a drink to the gentlemen to express his content with his sale.
- Fluello next tells him that he intends to steal his silver and gilt beaker. When he does so, Candido sends George after the constable, but tells him to pursue the men mildly because it is all a jest. When the constable brings back Fluello, Castruchio and Pioratto, they try to get Candido to admit that he is angry, but he denies it and invites them and the constable to eat dinner with him.
- The next test to his patience has been previously arranged by his wife Viola with her brother Fustigo. He enters the shop, calls Viola "cousin" which is slang for mistress, kisses her and pulls her ring off her finger. George and the two Apprentices distract Candido, insult and then beat Fustigo, at which point Fustigo reveals that he is Viola's brother and that they were playing a trick on Candido.
- When Viola will not give the key to the chest where Candido's gown is kept, he has George cut a hole in a carpet and wears that to the Senate house.
- He returns from the Senate meeting to find George dressed in his clothes and pretending to be him. Rather than be angered, Candido dresses as an apprentice.
- The change in clothes causes George to be attacked by Crambo and Poh, rather than Candido, but Candido forces George and the Apprentices to return their weapons and let them go.
- At this point, Viola convinces the Officers that Candido is mad and has him restrained and taken to Bethlem Monastery. Even this does not move him to anger.
After he is gone, Viola has a change of heart and petitions the Duke for his release. At Bethlem Monastery, after the Duke is reconciled to Hippolyto, Viola pleads again for Candido's release. He is brought forward and proves still to be patient. He lectures the Duke and Viola on patience; Viola begs forgiveness and the Duke declares that wives who vex meek husbands shall be committed to Bedlem.
II.
The Milanese draper and husband in Dekker's 2
Honest Whore whose restraint and patience have made him a legend in the
city. Candido takes a new wife early in the action (his first wife, the shrewish
Viola, having died between Parts One and Two). The new wife, referred to only
as Candido's Bride, at first appears to be contentious and unruly, but she surprises
everyone by submitting to her husband. Candido's heralded patience is further
tested, however, by Hippolito's gentlemen who bring the Irish footman Bryan into
the draper's shop on the pretext that he is shopping for cambric. When he is not
understood because of his thick brogue, Bryan angrily tears some of the material
he has been examining and storms out, leaving the patient Candido to remark that
there will always be a market for remnants. When Candido is summoned later to
Matheo's house to examine some lawn for sale, the draper finds himself arrested
on suspicion of receiving stolen goods, and the Constable escorts him to Bridewell.
As he faces this latest adversity, patient Candido makes a remark that is one
of the clearest links between the two parts of this play: "Being not mad? They
had me once in Bedlam [i.e. in Part One]; now I'm drawn / To Bridewell,
loving no whores."
CANDIDO'S BRIDE
During her wedding reception in Dekker's 2
Honest Whore, Candido's Bride strikes one of the apprentices (possibly
Luke) for having served her a cup of sack instead of claret. Her behavior here
makes it appear that Candido, the patient husband, may have found in his second
wife another shrew like his first (Viola of Part One). However, when Lodovico
(disguised as an apprentice in order to teach her a lesson) arranges for Candido
to appear impatient with her and to feign being a domineering husband, the Bride
surprises everyone by immediately submitting to Candido.
CANDIUS
Candius is the son of Sperantus in Lyly's Mother
Bombie. Educated but penniless, Candius wishes to marry Prisius' daughter
Livia, who is good with a needle but has no dowry. Both fathers oppose the match
because they wish to marry their children to Accius and Silena respectively, the
wealthy children of Memphio and Stellio. Sperantus forbids Candius to woo Livia
and forces him to do manual labor instead of studying. This he hopes will drive
thoughts of marrying Livia out of his mind. He also instructs Candius to woo Silena,
which he does to appease his father. Momentarily tempted by Silena's beauty, Candius
soon discovers that she is a fool. Trusting their fates to the plot of the clever
servants(Dromio, Riscio, Lucio, and Halfpenny), Candius and Livia dress in the
clothes of Accius and Silena and receive the unwitting approval of the match from
their fathers. The fathers are angry when they discover they have been tricked
but are powerless to stop it, and Candius and Livia remain happily married at
the end of the play.
CANIDIA
Only mentioned in Jonson's Poetaster. Canidia is a witch's name in Horace (Epodes iii, 8; v.15 and 48; xii, 6 and Satires I). Epode v has the longest passage devoted to Canidia, who prays to Night and Diana. Canidia is a fictitious semi-historical character in Horace, such as Bolanus, Pantolabus, Persius, and Scaeva. Horace represents Canidia parodically. After Crispinus sings his love verses, apparently dedicated to his muse, Chloë, Gallus asks to see the written text. Gallus reads that the verses are dedicated "to his bright mistress Canidia," and observes that this is the name of Horace's witch. Thus, the poets discover that Crispinus's love ditty is plagiarized from Horace. The poets are furious at the poetaster's impudence, but Tucca and Demetrius take Crispinus's side.
CANIDIA **1617
A woman who practices magic in the sea cliffs in Goffe’s Orestes. Pylades suggests that he and Orestes go to her. She can tell who killed Agamemnon by examining his body. She calls forth three witches, Sagana, Veia, and Erictho, and warns Orestes and Pylades to sit quietly and watch. After showing them a vision of Agamemnon’s murder, she warns Orestes that piety stands between him and his revenge. She offers Orestes her aid in killing them with magic, but he rejects her suggestions as too tame and wishes to enact his own vengeance upon them himself.
CANIDIUS
I.
Canidius is Antony's second in command in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. After the Soldier begs Antony not to
fight by sea, Canidius agrees with him, but says that they are led by women.
After the sea battle, he reports their losses to Enobarbus.
II.
Caius Canidius Crassus is general of Antonius in May's Cleopatra. At the beginning of the play, he jocularly defends Antonius's relationship with Cleopatra against the muttering of Plancus
and Titius, and supports her bid to participate in the Battle of Actium. He flees from this battle, but remains loyal to Antonius, encouraging him up to his own last appearance in the play (just before the disastrous Battle of Tarentum). May seems to have worked up this character from a very brief hint in
Plutarch; he serves a small part of the purpose served in Shakespeare by
Enobarbus. Historically, this was Caius Publius Canidius Crassus.
CANOPE
Canope is a lady at Sapho's court in Lyly's Sapho and Phao.
CANTALUPO
Cantalupo pays 3,000 crowns in dowry to Amedeus to contract his daughter, Iphigenia, in marriage to Amedeus' son, Formosus in (?)Jeffere's The Bugbears. This rejection of Iphigenia's desire to marry Manutius plays on Amedeus' greed to remove Formosus as a rival for the hand of Rosimunda. Cantalupo lusts after the much younger Rosimunda even after he learns that she is pregnant by another man, but he is maneuvered out of the engagement by the contrivance of Trappola, the pretend astrologer, and Squartacantino, Cantalupo's own servant.
CANTHARIDES
A spirit, conjured by Cyprian; visible to him and Barebones in the anonymous Two Noble Ladies and the Converted Conjurer. At the command of Barebones, Cantharides causes Mistress Caro to fall in love with Sinew, and then with Barebones. But the magic lasts only a short while. Cantharides then makes fools out of Blood, Sinew, Barebones and Caro by biting them and forcing them to run up and down making various silly noises. Later, Cyprian orders Cantharides to inflame Justina with carnal desire, but the devilish magic fails against her faith. Cantharides is then banished by the Angel.
CANUTE
An alternative form for Canutus in the Anonymous Edmond
Ironside and also Brewer's The
Lovesick King.
CANUTUS
I.
Canute the Great, Dane, the son of the Viking Swaine or Swanus in the Anonymous
Edmond Ironside. Historically
he was Svein Haraldsson. The late Saxon King Egelredus (historically: Ethelrede
the Unready) was Swaine's tributary. Together with his son Edmond Ironside, Egelredus
tried to deliver England from the Danish yoke. Swaine and Egelredus are dead when
the play starts, and the Archbishop of Canterbury and a number of Saxon peers
have legally proclaimed Canute King. But Edmond Ironside has crowned himself,
and some of Canute's followers change to the Saxon side. Canute marries Southampton's
daughter Egina to bind her father to his side. As a Christian king, Canute is
inclined to mildness against his Saxon subjects, although his counselor Edricus
recommends cruelty. But when he hears that Leofricke and Turkullus have left him,
he has the hands and noses of their sons, his pledges, cut off. He besieges and
attacks London, but his army is dispelled and he has to flee to Worcester. Only
with the help of a new Danish army does he get the upper hand again. His counselor
Edricus deceives both him and Ironside several times. But in the end both follow
Edricus' advice to have a single combat to the death to decide who should be king.
After their even and chivalric fight the two rivals stop the fight, become friends,
and decide to share the kingdom. (Historically, Edmond got Wessex, and Canute
kept the rest of the country. After Edmond's death Canute became King of all England,
Denmark and Norway. He married Emma, Ethelready's widow.)
II.
Canutus or Canute, King of Denmark and title character of Brewer's The
Lovesick King. He leads the successful attack against the English in the
opening scene, but his first sight of Cartesmunda leaves him utterly besotted
and unable to pay attention to anything else–he does not even react when
told of the deaths of his sister and of his best friend Erkinwald. Eventually
Canutus accidentally kills Cartesmunda while trying to snatch her back from Huldrick.
He does then rally a little, but it is too late; he is taken prisoner by Alured,
though spared by him for the memory of Elgina.
CAPANEY
A "ghost character" in Gascoigne and Kinwelmershe's Jocasta. The first messenger describes how during the assault the Greek hero Capaney climbed to the top of the walls of Thebes, but as he exulted there was struck dead by a bolt of lightning; the event encouraged the Thebans and caused Adrastus to withdraw.
CAPCASE **1604
A watchman much given to malaprops in Rowley’s When You See Me. He is part of the watch set out to investigate the recent murder of two merchants in the stews. He helps to arrest Black Will and the disguised Henry when he finds them fighting in the street.
CAPERWIT
Caperwit is an opportunistic poetaster in Shirley's Changes. He courts Goldsworth's daughters with what he thinks is excellent poetry. He is very vain about his verse and quite the trickster; he has disguised his own page as a woman in hopes that Goldsworth's daughters, seeing how fascinated Lady Bird is with Caperwit, will therefore themselves become more interested in Caperwit. He succeeds with neither lady and ends up playing the role of Conjuror in the play's ending masque.
CAPHIS
There are two characters named Caphis in Shakespeare's The Life of Timon of Athens:- The first Caphis is a senator and a creditor of Timon's. He sends his servant, also named Caphis, to be one of the besiegers of Timon's house in II.ii.
- A servant of the first senator is, like the senator, named Caphis. Caphis the senator sends Caphis his servant to be one of the besiegers of Timon's house in II.ii.
CAPOLIN
An Egyptian in Marlowe's Tamburlaine Part 1. He tells the Soldan that Tamburlaine has attacked Egypt when she was unprepared. Later, he gives the Soldan a tally of the combined Egyptian and Arabian power: 150,000 horse, 200,000 foot.
CAPONI
Caponi, one of the servants to Charomonte along with Bernardo and Petruchio in
Massinger's The Great Duke of Florence.
CAPRITIO
Capritio is Triphoena's brother in Marmion's Holland's
Leaguer. On his sister's request he goes with Trimalchio, and he courts
Margery, who is disguised as a gentlewoman serving Milliscent. He weds Margery
at the play's end.
CAPTAIN**1588
This Persian soldier gives a detailed report of the death of Abradates in the anonymous Wars of Cyrus.
CAPTAIN**1588
The Captain is loyal to Marius in Lodge's The
Wounds of Civil War and kills Anthony at his command, reprimanding the
First, Second and Third Soldiers who were swayed by Anthony's oratory skills.
When Lectorius enters to announce that Marius has died, the Captain comments that
if they had known what was about to happen, Anthony would have lived.
CAPTAIN**1589
He is in league with Callapine and the King of Amasia in Marlowe's Tamburlaine the Great, Part 2. He asserts that God and Mahomet could not stand in the way of Callapine's vengeance. He is presumably among the army that flies at the sight of Tamburlaine in Aleppo.
CAPTAIN**1590
He reports the re-taking of Rhodes to Soliman in the final act of Kyd's Soliman and Perseda.
CAPTAIN**1591
A recruiting officer in the Anonymous Locrine who fetches Strumbo for Albanact's army.
CAPTAIN**1591
In the quarto version of Shakespeare's 2
Henry VI, the Lieutenant of the ship is called the Captain.
CAPTAIN**1592
The captain in Shakespeare's 1
Henry VI catches Falstaff deserting the battle at Rouen.
CAPTAIN**1594
The captain announces Titus's arrival in Rome in the opening scene of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus.
CAPTAIN**1599
Two Captains appear in the anonymous A Larum for London.- One Captain is of Antwerp. After appearing briefly with Lieutenant Vaughan when he identifies the slaughtered daughter and old citizen as former neighbors, this Captain reappears at the end of the play. He has been hiding at the friary because the citizens inhibited the ability of the soldiers to fight. The Captain agrees to join Stump and the soldiers. He releases the Burger, whom the Spanish soldiers have tied up, but he refuses his aid because the Burger has not assisted the military during peace times. He is eventually defeated, but he is praised for his valor by Sancto Danila, who buries him.
- Another Captain, designated Captain 1, is a Spaniard and appears only in the opening scene. He leaves with a companion to carry out Danila's command to open the castle.
CAPTAIN**1600
An officer in Prince Philip's army in the Anonymous Lust's Dominion who recommends a retreat during the battle.
CAPTAIN**1600
A soldier in Thomas Heywood's The
Four Prentices of London who recruits volunteers for the first crusade.
CAPTAIN**1601
The Captain is sent by Fortinbras in Shakespeare's Hamlet to greet Claudius and confirm their right to march over Danish lands on their way to fight the Poles. In F but not Q, he is met by Hamlet, on his way to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and inspires Hamlet with his tale of the coming war over a worthless piece of territory.
CAPTAIN**1602
This character is occasionally referred to as 'Bonvile' in Heywood's Royal King, but should not be confused with Lord Bonvile. The Captain is the leader of the band of ragged soldiers who have returned from the crusades in a state of poverty. The Captain says he has spent all his money on gaining valor, but once he has gained it, everyone spurns him except his faithful Clown. His kinsman, Lord Bonvile, refuses to help him, and although he has made a contract to marry Lady Mary Audley, her father, Lord Audley now rejects him. Mary is virtuous and accepts him despite his poverty. The Captain will not, however, accept any financial assistance from her; he wants to be accepted in society for his merit. He goes to his old ordinary, but cannot get served there, and the same thing happens at the brothel, because the Bawd turns up her nose at their ragged clothes. However, the Bawd changes her tune when the Captain shows that he has some money after all, and the Whores become friendly to him. At this point the Captain lectures them on moral corruption, and stalks off. The next time we see him, he is wearing rich clothes, and reveals that in fact he was only pretending to be poor; during the war, he found a house full of jewels and is in fact very rich. The Captain then lords it in front of the people who spurned him, pointing out that he has not changed; only his attire has. The King is impressed, and makes him a courtier.
CAPTAIN**1604
A Spanish officer in the Anonymous First
Part of Jeronimo, who appears once on the side of Andrea during the battle. Andrea sends him to find Balthazar.
CAPTAIN**1604
The Captain of the Citadel in Marston's Malcontent. He was appointed to his post by Altofronto, and he remains faithful both to his position and to the old Duke. He now guards Maria and leads her into the masque celebrating her return to court.
CAPTAIN**1604
The Captain is husband to Castiza in Middleton's The Phoenix. He regrets his marriage and longs to go to sea. He approaches Tangle, a crafty lawyer, and makes plans to sell his wife to Count Proditor. Caught
by Phoenix and Fidelio, the Captain is forced to return to sea without funds.
CAPTAIN **1605
An officer in Heywood's 2 If You Know Not Me who brings news of the continuing battle with the Spanish fleet.
CAPTAIN**1607
The captain of one of Thomas Sherley Jr's ships in Day, Rowley and Wilkins's The Travels of the Three English Brothers. He encourages mutiny against Thomas's plan to attack a Turkish island.
CAPTAIN**1607
The Captain in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra enters before the first battle and greets Antony.
CAPTAIN**1608
A Vandal captain in William Rowley's A
Shoemaker a Gentleman. He brings Rodrick the news of Huldrick's death.
CAPTAIN**1610
Represents law and order in John Marston's The
Insatiate Countess. He sees himself as the guarantor of Venetian security.
He discovers Mendoza Foscari, injured in the process of seducing Lady Lentulus,
and arrests Claridiana and Rogero as suspects.
CAPTAIN**1613
The Captain, the Traveller, the Poet and the Tobacco-Man are hangers-on to Young Loveless in Beaumont and Fletcher's Scornful Lady. They urge him to spend his money on drink and women, and are retained by him even after his marriage to the Widow. The Poet and the Captain are extremely loquacious, but the Traveller says little and the Tobacco-Man nothing at all.
CAPTAIN**1615
"Only mentioned" in P. Fletcher's Sicelides. Tyrinthus claims that he was taken years before "by Persians on the Gracian seas," claims that he "did please" his "captaine and the King," and reveals some details about where he has spent the past "thrice five summers."
CAPTAIN**1617
A Captain tries to bring Canutus news and to persuade him to leave Cartesmunda,
but he is condemned to death in Brewer's The
Lovesick King.
CAPTAIN**1618
The Captain appears at King Atticus' court in the anonymous Swetnam to inform him of the sad news that his missing son, Lorenzo, has disappeared in a valiant battle with the Turks at Lepanto and is either dead or captured. He praises Lorenzo's valour as "above belief."
CAPTAIN**1620
Conscripts the Farmer's son, Soto, to fight against the Duke of Siena in Fletcher's Women Pleased.
CAPTAIN**1621
A "ghost character" in Middleton's Anything
for a Quiet Life. The Captain is Sib's dead father. When Knavesbee describes
his past marital transgressions to his wife, he makes a parallel with a captain's
wages, reminding Sib she should know about it since her father was a captain.
Just as the soldiers continue to receive payments although they are no longer
in active service, Knavesbee admits to having continued his extra-marital affairs
long after he was married to Sib.
CAPTAIN**1621
A fictional character in Middleton's Anything
for a Quiet Life. When Old Franklin decides to pay all the debts of his
allegedly dead son, he asks George to identify Franklin's creditors for him. George
reads a list, which contains the name of one Pinchbuttock, a hosier, to whom Franklin
is supposed to owe fourscore pairs of breeches. When Old Franklin asks why his
son needed so many pairs of breeches, George explains Franklin supplied a Captain,
a friend of his, who went over to war to the Palatinate. George refers to the
campaign of July 1620, when Sir Horace de Vere left England with volunteers to
defend the region in Germany, West of Rhine, against the Spanish forces.
CAPTAIN**1621
A Captain in the army of the Governor of Terna in Fletcher's The Island Princess. He is with the Governor when the Portuguese soldiers, under the leadership of Armusia, blow up the prison and rescue the king. He then rallies the citizenry to fight the resultant fire.
CAPTAIN**1625
A "ghost character" in Webster and Rowley's A
Cure for a Cuckold. The Captain of Woodroff's ship is decapitated during
a Spanish attack. Rochfield takes over command and saves the ship.
CAPTAIN**1626
Commander of one of the English ships in the anonymous Dick of Devonshire. He reluctantly abandons Pike to his fate as a Spanish captive.
CAPTAIN**1629
The Captain in Randolph's Praeludium is a member of the hungry troupe of actors performing at the Gentleman's house in exchange for food and clothing. The Captain speaks in martial metaphors, using allusions to classical mythology to demonstrate he is hungry and wants a piece of pastry crust.
CAPTAIN**1633
An unnamed Captain is a suitor of Dorothea Constance in Mountfort's The Launching of The Mary. He tries to woo her by describing all the battles he's won, but she is unimpressed; she lectures him on morality, and he apologizes.
CAPTAIN **1633
The Captain in Shirley's The Young Admiral serves under the admiral Vittori's command and seems perplexed when Naples offers no welcome for the victorious admiral.
CAPTAIN **1634
The Captain in Fletcher and Massinger's A
Very Woman, knowing that Antonio is sure to be executed for the attempted
murder of Don Martino Cardenes, agrees to take Antonio to Malta. At the play's
close, the Viceroy rewards the Captain for his faithful service.
CAPTAIN**1634
The Captain is brought home by Sir Walter Peregrine in Shirley's The Example. He delivers Peregrine's challenge to Lord Fitzavarice.
CAPTAIN**1635
Sforza's disguise in Brome's The Queen and Concubine when he enters Gonzago's throne room to warn him that his rebellious soldiers seek Petruccio's death for the "murder" of Sforza.
CAPTAIN **1635
A “ghost character" in Killigrew’s The Prisoners. He reports through Eumenes that the Sardinian’s learned of the Sicilian attack too late to prepare to repel it.
CAPTAIN**1636
Fighting on the side of the King in Carlell's 1 Arviragus and Philicia, the Captain resists General Guimantes's order that he "lay hands on" Sinatus which prompts the Prince to "make" a "blow" at him that Sinatus receives.
CAPTAIN**1636
Claims to be "most happy" with "Arviragus government" in Carlell's 2 Arviragus and Philicia. He agrees with Aldred when the "Danish Captaine" accuses Oswald of hoping to "one day [. . .] get the Queene and Kingdome for himselfe" which, "thus crost, begets" his "murmurings against the Queen and Arviragus."
CAPTAIN**1638
The Captain is an Antipodean, a character in the inset play of Brome's The Antipodes. The captain is suing a coachman who has beaten him and a feathermaker who refuses to take payment for goods received.
CAPTAIN**1638
In Act Three of Carlell's 1 The Passionate Lovers the Captain announces that Agenor has managed to escape by sea. Later, in Act Five, he arrests Agenor in the isle of Ceris.
CAPTAIN**1638
This unnamed military Captain enjoys his profession; he even prays for war in Shirley's The Doubtful Heir. The Captain is most noted for his deception, however, of two local Citizens–merchants to whom the Captain owes money. Irritated by their pleas for repayment, the Captain convinces them first to forgive the debts, second, to become soldiers, and third, to become courtiers "extraordinary."
CAPTAIN**1638
Leads a band of soldiers hunting for the escaped prisoners Samorat, Nashorat, and Pellegrin in Suckling's The Goblins; the attempt led by the captain is unsuccessful, but two of his men soon after catch their quarry at a country wedding.
CAPTAIN**1638
Clerimont in Baylie's The Wizard disguises himself as a Captain in the first few scenes in order to insult his father's desire to marry Caelia and help his friend Sebastian to win her.
CAPTAIN**1639
Officer in the Florentine army in Dekker's(?) Telltale. Enters with the Lieutenant and the Ancient to Aspero complaining about his withholding of their pay and their rewards for the capture of the Venetian princes. When they threaten to complain to the Duke, Aspero gives them gold to share amongst themselves and their soldiers, and promises to divide the Princes' ransom amongst them when it arrives. Later, in the military camp, the Captain discusses with the disguised Duke the soldiers' grievances with Aspero over lack of pay. He rejects the Duke's suggestion that they use their power to pillage the countryside, the city, and the court, insisting that their quarrel is only with Aspero. When two Soldiers enter with the disguised Julio and Duchess and argue over who will be able to use the Duchess as camp prostitute first, the Captain intervenes and insists that she work only as his cook and laundress. Later, he orders his Barber to trim the disguised Duke, who, for the Captain, bears a strong resemblance to the missing Duke. He hopes that his Duke will be able to impersonate the missing Duke and allow them to gain revenge on Aspero. When Victoria enters and recognizes the Duke, the Captain takes this as proof his plan will work. He listens as Victoria outlines how the Duke wronged her. The remainder of this scene is missing from the manuscript. At the end of the play, the Captain returns to court with the Duke, Duchess, Julio, 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. They witness the Duke resume his authority, listen to Bentivoli's tale, witness the purged Garullo's return, and exit with the court to the weddings of Picentio and Isabella and Hortensio and Elinor.
CAPTAIN**1640
The Captain in Habington's The Queen
of Aragon is a braggart who fights in the first engagement against the
troops of Castile and flatters Sanmartino egregiously.
CAPTAIN**1641
The Captain and the Parson are archenemies in Killigrew's Parson's Wedding. The Captain and the Parson sling so many insults at each other that it's difficult to discern which are true and which are false. According to the dramatic personae, both of the men are "wits," but the Parson is "over-reached" by the "leading" wit, the Captain. The Captain claims to be the better soldier, but the Parson says that the Captain was born of a gypsy and a peddler and that it is actually the Parson who comes from the longer line of scholars and soldiers. The Captain threatens to print ballads against the Parson, but the Parson claims that the Captain is illiterate. If nothing else, the Captain is certainly a libertine. He refuses to marry or keep his girlfriend Wanton and threatens to break up with her unless she marries the Parson as a joke on the Parson. According to the Parson, the Captain is already married to a gypsy wife whom he's abandoned. After the Parson and Wanton marry, and Jolly seduces another of the Captain's lovers, Lady Love-all, Wild, Careless, and Jolly mock the Captain for having lost his bragging rights. But this means little to the Captain, who had arranged for the Parson's marriage in the first place and who has just come from Lady Love-all's with a better necklace, a written statement of affection, and a smile on his face. Later, at Lady Wild's dinner party, the four men, who have agreed to join forces, take on Sadd and Constant in a debate. The Captain and his cohorts extol the virtues of libertinism and the speak against marriage, love, and women. Sadd and Constant remain devoted to the notions of romantic love and marriage. In act three, the Captain accidentally addresses a letter meant for Wanton to Lady Love-all. Since the subject of the letter is the Captain having duped Love-all, whom the Captain describes as a "whore," Lady Love-all is understandably angry. But when she arrives at the Devil, the tavern where the Captain is drinking with his cohorts, the Captain easily deserts her, leaving her to pay the tab. The Captain and Wanton then scheme to play a trick on the drunken Parson. The Parson is put to bed with the Baud. The Captain pretends to be the constable and Jolly pretends to be the summoner, and they break into the house and arrest the Parson on charges of adultery. Wild, who pretends to be the justice, suggests whipping, but then Wanton says that the Parson should be allowed to go free if he promises to look the other way when she has affairs with other men, to which the Parson readily agrees. The Captain also initiates the plot to trick Mistress Pleasant and Lady Wild into marrying Ned Wild and Tom Careless. He persuades Wild and Careless to climb into bed with the ladies and then gives out that the two couples are married. After having been seen by half the town and court in bed with the men, the ladies reluctantly consent to marry them. At the end of the play, Lady Love-all finally catches up with the Captain and prepares to tell him off, but the Captain claims that he has already changed characters and is now Epilogue. He advises Lady Love-all to go in to the Parson and encourage him to seek revenge from the playwright for the way he's been unfairly represented in the play.
CAPTAIN ANVIL
A braggart in Brome's The Northern Lass, supposedly a soldier, who makes a hundred pounds a year as 'Governor' to the dim-witted Master Widgine. Having overheard Sir Philip calling Mistress Trainwell a bawd, he appears at her house in search of sex, but is beaten by Tridewell and Beavis for his impudence. Somewhat chastened, he joins Tridewell, Mistress Trainwell and Constance among the Masquers at Sir Philip's wedding, and explains its meaning to the wedding guests afterwards. He helps to set up Constance Holdup's seduction and deception of Sir Paul Squelch. In the end he departs on a European tour with Master Widgine.
CAPTAIN CARVEGUT
A soldier turned highwayman in William Rowley's A Match at Midnight. He works with Lieutenant Bottom. They try to rob Randall, but he escapes them and steals their stash of money. They are drinking partners of Alexander, and help him to gull Tim.
CAPTAIN CHUB
A chandler by trade in Thomas Heywood's 1
Edward IV, Captain Chub serves with the rebel Falconbridge. He reveals
his compatriot Captain Spicing and shares in the pursuant reward.
CAPTAIN, CITY **1636
A “ghost chartacter" 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.
CAPTAIN, DANISH
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."
CAPTAIN DENHAM
‘Another captain booted and spurred’ 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.
CAPTAIN, ENGLISH **1586
In the Anonymous Famous Victories
of Henry V, he impresses John Cobbler, Derrick, and Cuthbert Cutter into
military service during Henry V's campaign in France.
CAPTAIN, ENGLISH**1624
Joins Paget, Brunswick, and Clunie in Europe to search for the Duchess and her party bearing the warrant for their arrest in Drue's The Duchess of Suffolk. Appears at Palsgrave's court with Brunswick and soldiers to arrest the Duchess and her party. Has his warrant nullified when Atkinson arrives with news of Queen Elizabeth's ascent to the throne.
CAPTAIN, EUGENIUS'S
Presented by the King to the new General in Carlell's 1 Arviragus and Philicia. Eugenius, the Captain ensures the Lord that he and the other captains will "execute what [he] command[s]."
"CAPTAIN" FACE
A disguise adopted by Face in Jonson's The Alchemist. Face is first seen in his captain's uniform, bearded and with sword drawn, quarreling with Subtle, while Dol Common tries to calm them down. As Captain Face, the trickster goes through the London taverns, recruiting his assortment of gulls. Captain Face introduces Dapper to Subtle, who appears in his Doctor's cap and gown. Captain Face convinces Dapper that he can see the Queen of Faery. Captain Face pretends that Drugger is his friend and he will persuade the Doctor magician to help him. While Subtle is in another room to get rid of Tribulation and Ananias, Captain Face must manage Dapper and Drugger, with Kastril in tow. Captain Face promises Dapper to help him see his "aunt," the Queen of Faery. Subtle comes disguised as a Priest of Faery and Face blindfolds Dapper, telling him to throw away his purse and jewelry. While Dol plays the cither, they thrust some gingerbread into Dapper's mouth and lock him in the privy. Face must quickly change from the Captain to another disguise, Lungs, when Mammon comes to the door. After dealing with Mammon, Face reverts to his disguise as a Captain and greets Kastril, who invites him to kiss his sister, but Mammon's return forces Face to disguise as Lungs again. Captain Face tells Drugger he should get hold of a Spanish suit and come back with a Person to marry Dame Pliant. When Face learns that Lovewit is back home, he reverts to his disguise as Jeremy the butler, shaving off his Captain Face beard.
CAPTAIN, FIRST
Along with Aldred, The First Captain presents the prisoners (Arviragus and Guiderius) to Cartandes at the beginning of Carlell's 2 Arviragus and Philicia. He recounts the capture of Arviragus for her, and is ordered by her to bear Arviragus away and tend to his "wounds."
CAPTAIN, FIRST and SECOND**1635
Soldiers in Brome's The Queen and Concubine who threaten to kill Petruccio for the supposed murder of Sforza. When Petruccio informs them that Sforza is not dead, they arrest him for treason.
CAPTAIN, FIRST and SECOND**1636
The First and Second Captains discuss the King's request for an "enterview" with Arviragus and, likewise, Arviragus's consent in Carlell's 1 Arviragus and Philicia.
CAPTAIN, FIRST and SECOND GALLIAN
Two French sea captains land on Dover during the invasion in the Anonymous King
Leir:
- The First Captain enters, with the Second Captain, after the landing of the Gallian army. He swears at the missing Watchmen who allowed the town to be surprised and is ready to stab them when Mumford arrives.
- The Second Captain suggests that the Watchmen are probably drinking, and he claims (correctly it would appear) that this is the fault of having the beacon too close to the alehouse.
When Mumford arrives, both Captains flee.
CAPTAIN, FRENCH **1586
In the Anonymous Famous Victories
of Henry V, he converses with three French soldiers, mocking the English
king and his inadequate and depleted army, referring to him as "that womanly king
of England."
CAPTAIN, FRENCH**1590
The Captain in the Anonymous King
Edward III is a French soldier who delivers Salisbury and forty other
English soldiers to King John during the battle of Poitiers. This is apparently
a different captain than the Captain who attempts to negotiate the surrender of
Calais.
CAPTAIN, GYPSY
The Gypsy Captain in Middleton's More Dissemblers Besides Women allows Aurelia and Dondolo to join his band of gypsies; he rubs Dondolo's face with bacon to give him the right skin color.
CAPTAIN HARRY STRANGUIDGE
Captain Harry Stranguidge in Thomas Heywood's 2
Edward IV is a kinsman of Sir Robert Brackenbury. The Captain is condemned
for seizing a French ship, an act he committed without knowledge of the recently
formed peace between England and France.
CAPTAIN, KING'S
Part of the "prettie policy th'King us'd to know the certainty" of Philicia's feelings towards Arviragus in Carlell's 1 Arviragus and Philicia. The Captain delivers news of Arviragus's defeat to the King and his children. When Philicia "swounds," revealing her true affections for Arviragus, she leaves herself open to the future "torments" of her angry father.
CAPTAIN LACY
‘A captain booted and spurred’ in Percy’s Cuckqueans and Cuckolds Errants. He first appears at the opening of act three with Denham. He is headed to London with a press of men. He has come under orders to divert Denham to Colchester. He reports that the Spanish will despoil Colchester on their first day, London the second, and geld all the lawyers on the third day. He wishes Denham well and exits towards the Maldon side of the stage. When he meets Denham again, he learns that ‘the Spaniards be fled all’. Lacy declares that the Lord has fought on the English side this day and suggests that he and Denham repair to the Tarlton Inn for a drink. At the inn, Pearle asks that Lacy and Denham judge the cuckolds and cuckqueans. Lacy’s judgement is that each should take his own home. He tells them not to fret for even kings have ‘worn Vulcan’s badge’. He points out that each is already revenged upon the other by their acts.
CAPTAIN LANDBY
Captain Landby is a friend of Beauford and the nephew of Justice Landby in James
Shirley's The Wedding. He
believes Gratiana's profession of virginity and aids her in proving her chastity
to Beauford. He also works with Justice Landby in proving the cowardice of Rawbone.
CAPTAIN, LITTLE
A "ghost character" in Dekker's The
Whore of Babylon. Fideli describes this little captain as "he that plays
the fiend at sea" and as one who "swears Fleming-like" that the Babylonian Armada
is advancing on Fairyland. He represents Captain Fleming, who reported the sighting
of the Spanish Armada off the coast of England.
CAPTAIN NED SPICING
Captain Ned Spicing is one of the rebels serving under Falconbridge in Thomas
Heywood's 1 Edward IV.
He is taken to the Mayor by the Miller and is executed for his part in the rebellion
against the king.
CAPTAIN of BALSERA
He appears on the wall of Balsera with his son and wife, Olympia, when Theridamas sounds parley outside his besieged town in Marlowe's Tamburlaine the Great, Part 2. He bids Theridamas to 'do your worst.' During the siege, he is struck by a stray bullet and dies while Olympia attempts to help him escape through a cave. She burns his body along with their son's, whom she stabs to death.
CAPTAIN of BYRON'S GUARD
The Captain comes to court in IV to deliver a letter from a friend in Chapman's
The Tragedy of Charles, Duke of Byron.
He also tells Byron of various ominous portents that occurred in Dijon after his
departure.
CAPTAIN of CALAIS
The Captain of Calais in the Anonymous King
Edward III is a French solider who tries to negotiate a safe surrender
of Calais with Edward. He is apparently a different captain than the one who delivers
Salisbury and forty soldiers to King John during the battle of Poitiers.
CAPTAIN of the BANDETTY
The Captain leads a group of ruffians in Rawlins's The Rebellion and is responsible for the kidnapping and attempted gang rape of Evadne. The Captain orders Evadne tied to a tree and offers her to his men after confessing his own impotence. The Captain refuses Evadne's request that he kill her rather than defile her.
CAPTAIN of the BANDITTI
The Captain of the Banditti surprises Bess and her party after they arrive in
Italy in Thomas Heywood's The Fair
Maid of the West, Part Two. When Bess's companions flee or are driven
away, the Captain declares his intention to rape Bess but is interrupted by the
fortuitous arrival of the Duke of Florence. Roughman later kills the Captain and
takes his head to the Duke for the bounty upon it.
CAPTAIN of the CUTPURSES
The captain of the cutpurses is an Antipodean, a character in the inset play of
Brome's The Antipodes. He
is one of the dubious characters seeking public relief from poverty. Byplay readily
grants his suit.
CAPTAIN of the GUARD**1604
The captain of Alphonsus' guards in the anonymous Alphonsus Emperor of Germany takes part in the arrest and killing of the Palsgrave.
CAPTAIN of the GUARD**1622
He brings Chabot into the King's presence after he has been condemned in Chapman's
The Tragedy of Chabot, Admiral of
France. At the King's order, he arrests the Lord Chancellor.
CAPTAIN of the ILE of WIGHT
This Captain of the Ile of Wight attends Falconbridge's execution in Thomas Heywood's
1 Edward IV.
CAPTAIN of the MECHANICKS
Leader of the mutiny against priestly authority in Jerusalem in Hemminge's The Jews' Tragedy. A carnivalesque rioter given to exaggerated rhetoric. He is flattered by Zareck into attending the proclamation of anarchy by the Seditious captains.
CAPTAIN of the REBELS
Leader in Shirley's The Arcadia of a group of comic characters who, with Thumb, attempt to take over
the kingdom from Philanax in Basilius' absence. Trying to overpower
Philanax, they are beaten off by Basilius, Pyrocles, Philanax, and
Calander. The Captain leads the group of rebels and Thumb against the king,
who the captain thinks has abandoned his people. Suggests new laws
encouraging drunkenness and loose women, and a plan to empty the prisons
and burn them. When the rebels are defeated, he leads them into the woods
to become outlaws, where they capture the runaways Musidorus and Pamela and
take them back to the king to try to bargain for a pardon
CAPTAIN of the SCOTS FORCES
A wounded commander of the Scottish army that puts down Macdonald's and the Thane
of Cawdor's rebellion in Shakespeare's Macbeth.
The Captain reports to the Scottish king, Duncan, Macbeth's skill and valor in
battle.
CAPTAIN of the WATCH**1590
The Captain of the Watch in the Anonymous King
Leir tells the First and Second Watchmen to keep a lookout for ships and
to light the beacon if they sight any.
CAPTAIN of the WATCH **1604
In Verney’s Antipoe, he commits suicide rather than watch the dishonourable execution of Macros. Macros says that he was wrong to do so.
CAPTAIN of the WATCH**1605
Commands the soldiers in the graveyard, including the disguised Lysander in Chapman's
The Widow's Tears. He is afraid
the Governor and Viceroy will blame him for the disappearance of the crucified
body Tharsalio has stolen.
CAPTAIN of the WELSH ARMY
His army disbands after waiting for news from Richard but hearing nothing in Shakespeare's
Richard II. Some of his men
join Bolingbroke's rebel army. The captain is possibly the Glendower mentioned
in III.i.
CAPTAIN, OLD **1609
First mentioned as an "old grey ruffian" who leads the citizens in mutiny in Beaumont and Fletcher's Philaster, the Old Captain is indeed in charge of citizens who have captured the would-be heir, Pharamond. Loyal only to Philaster, the Old Captain takes bids from his countrymen for Pharamond's body parts. He is convinced to disband the citizens and release Pharamond only at the insistence of Philaster and the promise of Philaster's rightful succession to the throne.
CAPTAIN, PALSGRAVE'S
Officer in Palsgrave's service in Drue's The Duchess of Suffolk. Following Clunie's instructions, attempts to arrest Duchess and Bertie; when they resist, Bertie fights with the Captain and kills him. Known as Wisendrop to the Burgomaster.
CAPTAIN, PIRATE
A fictitious character in Daniel's Hymen's Triumph. In Clorindo's story (a thinly veiled version of Silvia's own history), Sulia is captured by pirates, who plan to see her in Egypt, but is released when the captain takes pity on her.
CAPTAIN PISTOL
Captain Pistol is an old confederate of Falstaff who is now his second lieutenant
and a loyalist to King Henry IV in Shakespeare's 2
Henry IV.
CAPTAIN, POLONIAN
The Polonian Captain in the Anonymous King
Edward III is the leader of a combined Russian/Polish force that promises
to fight with the French.
CAPTAIN, PRINCE'S
Claims that "no resistance can bee made" against Arviragus's army in Carlell's 1 Arviragus and Philicia. He decides that he and his soldiers should "yeeld."
CAPTAIN, ROMAN
At Milford Haven, a Roman captain tells Caius Lucius that reinforcements, headed
by Iachimo, are on their way in Shakespeare's Cymbeline.
When Caius Lucius discovers the "lifeless" body of Imogen, still disguised as
a boy, it is the captain who confirms that "he" is sleeping, not dead.
CAPTAIN, SEA
The Sea Captain has rescued Viola from the shipwreck and brings her to Illyria in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. He tells her of Olivia and her deep mourning, and also of Orsino, setting in motion Viola's decision to take on a disguise. He agrees to give her male clothing to wear and take her to Orsino's court. At the end of the play, the audience is informed that the Captain has Viola's female clothes, but that he is in prison on Malvolio's command.
CAPTAIN, SHIP'S
The Ship's Captain commands the vessel that carries the Merchant of Tharsus and his companions home in Greene and Lodge's A Looking Glass For London And England. Although he praises the maritime skills of his crew, he and they are powerless in the face of the storm that arises, and it is only when Jonas volunteers to be thrown overboard that the tempest subsides. The action of Jonas causes the Ship's Captain to declare his intention to embrace the Hebrew God.
CAPTAIN SMOKE
One of the rebels serving under Falconbridge in Thomas Heywood's 1
Edward IV, Smoke puns upon his name, claiming he will "smoke" those who
will not be still while Falconbridge speaks.
CAPTAIN, SPANISH
The Spanish Captain in Thomas Heywood's The
Fair Maid of the West, Part One commands the ship that takes the vessel
upon which Spencer is sailing. When Bess defeats the Spanish Captain, she releases
him with the order to "pray for English Bess." Perhaps because Bess is dressed
as a man, the Captain responds that he is not sure who that is, but if it is "Famous
Elizabeth," the queen, he will report to all that both she and her subjects are
merciful.
"CAPTAIN THOMAS MILLER"
The assumed and comic title of Tom Miller, the Clown in the anonymous Jack Straw.
CAPTAIN, TURKISH
A Turkish captain in Heywood's A Challenge for Beauty first captures and then sells Ferrars, Manhurst, and their crew as slaves in Spain.
CAPTAIN WESTFORD**1600
Captain Westford is the cousin of Robert Westford in Chettle and Day's Blind Beggar of Bednal Green, but unlike his cousin he is an honorable man. He does not believe Mumford is guilty of treason, and gives him 100 pounds after Mumford is denied the 1000 marks he is owed. He chides his brother for offering his daughter to the already engaged Young Plainsey and for turning Bess out of his house. When he comes upon the fight between Sir Robert, Young Plainsey and their men against the disguised Mumford, he is convinced by the latter's claims of treachery and joins him. In the final scene, he stands with Mumford, and is rewarded for his loyalty by King Henry VI, who makes him general of all the forces in France.
CAPTAINS**1585
Captains under Sardinapalus in ?Tarlton's Three Plays in One. Appear in the second playlet. They help
Arbactus defeat Sardinapalus.
CAPTAINS**1606
Leaders of the Fairy soldiers in Dekker's The
Whore of Babylon, who follow Florimell in the triumphant battle against
the Armada.
CAPTAINS**1611
"Ghost characters" in Jonson's Catiline. All the Captains of Sylla's troupes that have been laid off after the wars are likely to join Catiline's conspiracy. When Catiline discusses the necessity of enrolling Roman generals to his cause, he mentions the veteran Captains of Sylla's army, who have ample reason to be dissatisfied with times of peace. Since they are oppressed by material needs after Sylla's army has been disbanded, Catiline believes they would gladly join his conspiracy.
CAPTAINS**1627
The two Captains (not distinguished from each other in Heywood's The Escapes of Jupiter) are subordinate officers of Amphitryo, and return with him to Thebes. Like everyone else, they are baffled by the confusion of identity brought about by Jupiter.
CAPTAINS **1635
Three captains figure in Killigrew’s The Conspiracy. - Two guards and their captain attempt to stop Pallantus killing the usurping king. The mortally wounded king forbids them from taking vengeance upon Pallantus and, when Pallantus escapes them, they go to Timeus. When prepares to commit suicide, he is prevented by the captain and two guards, who bid him to take up the crown.
- A second captain attends Poliander, Menetius, and Comastes in their tent before the battle. He brings them wine. When the six soldiers attempt to desert, he is sent to punish them. When the battle is lost, Timeus, Menetius, Poliander, Comastes, and this captain take refuge in a fort.
- A third captain accompanies Pallantus when he breaks into Eudora’s chamber. When Eudora chastises Pallantus, the captain is enraged by her and only Pallantus can stop him harming her. Pallantus orders him and his soldiers from Eudora’s room.
CAPTAINS **1637
In Carlell’s Osmond, one captain appears early after the defeat of the Christian town. Two captains attend Haly and agree that Melcosbus dotes too much on Despina and neglects his duty to his people. Two other captains attend Odmer when he comes to meet Haly. They are aghast to think Odmer will tell the king that he has grown neglectful of his kingdom in his dotage over Despina. Later, soldiers appear with the captains to plan their overthrow of the “lazy" king. They eavesdrop and overhear Malcosbus refuse Calibeus’ plea for mercy, and afterwards they convince the old man to join their cause. When the king slays Dispina before his men, they agree she was worth all the king had said she was. One captain reports that the act has won the army back to the king. Haly sneaks into Melcosbus’ private arbor in the dark with some of the captains to kill the king. Osmond kills them as they are wounding Melcosbus. Other captains accompany Odmer and Hosa to the scene of Melcosbus’ death. They help convince Odmer not to commit suicide but rather to take the crown and rule the Tartars.
CAPTAINS, BRITISH
A British captain in Shakespeare's Cymbeline
announces that Caius Lucius has been captured, and a second captain orders the
arrest of Posthumous Leonatus, who is disguised as a British peasant.
CAPTAINS, THREE
Two captains in Verney’s Antipoe have seen fearful portents in camp, one commits suicide before Antipoe for shame in speaking saucily to his renowned leader. The third captain of the dramatis personae would technically be the earlier Captain of the Watch.
CAPTAINS, TWO
There are two captains in Fletcher and Massinger's Sir
John Van Olden Barnavelt:
- The First Captain goes along with the Second Captain to support him when he is sent to be punished for insurrection. Barnavelt receives them without sympathy. Later, the first captain is spokesman for the soldiers who do not want to defend the towns of Utrecht for Barnavelt against Maurice, and actually admit Maurice in spite of Barnavelt's orders. He is then sent by Maurice on a dangerous mission to Germany to abduct Modesbergen and bring him back for trial. The captain succeeds in this, and is then sent to arrest Barnavelt himself.
- The Second Captain is sent to Barnavelt to be punished for insurrection.
CAPTAINS, FOUR
Four Captains are ordered by Fortinbras to carry Hamlet's corpse away in honor in Shakespeare's Hamlet.
CAPTIVE
A disguise assumed by Ignoratio in Zouche's The Sophister. Ambiguity convinces Ignoratio to "counterfeit" himself as a "captive" for Scientia, has him practice reading Fallacy's letters, and leaves him gagged and blindfolded for Contradiction to find. Contradiction enters disguised upon the disguised Ignoratio, thinks (initially) that Ignoratio is Judicium, and proceeds to strike him and exit after he realizes that the fool is not Judicium. At this point, Ignoratio claims that his only revenge is "to hold [his] peace and be silent," asserts that he "must be better consell'd," and exits the play.
CAPTIVES, CHRISTIAN
"Ghost characters" in Marlowe's Tamburlaine Part 1. Slaves of Bajazeth. Tamburlaine promises to free them when he has conquered the Turks.
CAPTIVES, SPANISH
Taken prisoner at Fayal and interrogated in Thomas Heywood's The
Fair Maid of the West, Part One, the Spanish Captives tell Bess that,
when the Spanish forces retook the town, Spencer's body was removed from the church
because he was a heretic (that is, Protestant), buried in a field, and then disinterred
and burned by order of the Church. Mistakenly thinking that this shameful treatment
has been heaped upon her beloved Spencer, Bess swears to have revenge on all Spaniards.
CAPTAINS, THREE SEA
Three Sea Captains, in the navy of the young Malefort in Massinger's Unnatural
Combat.
CAPTAIN WHIBBLE
Whibble in Marmion's A Fine Companion
is a poor excuse for a Captain in any institution, for he is out for himself on
all occasions. He pretends to befriend Careless and urges the young man to sell
his land for ready cash. Later, he and his friends exit a dining establishment,
leaving Lackwit with the bill. His true feelings about Careless finally revealed,
Whibble eventually weds the Hostess (to whom he is in debt) and becomes himself
a Host.
CAPUCHIN**1617
A Capuchin monk in Webster's The Devil's Law Case. He mistakenly brings news that Contarino and Ercole have
killed one another. Later, he also reveals that Contarino is, in fact,
still alive.
CAPUCHIN**1638
Accompanies Arthiopa in her public penance in Davenant's The Unfortunate Lovers.
CAPUCHIUS, LORD
Lord Capuchius is Queen Katherine's nephew in Shakespeare's Henry
VIII. Sent by the king to Katherine following the coronation of Queen
Anne. Capuchius is commissioned by Katherine to deliver a request to the king
concerning the future kind treatment of Princess Mary and Katherine's serving
women.
CAPULET
A nobleman of Verona and father of Juliet in Shakespeare's Romeo
and Juliet. Capulet has long been an enemy of Montague. Early on, Capulet
seems inclined to peace, assuring Paris that there will be no further disputes
between himself and Montague and forbidding Tybalt to confront Romeo during the
feast at his house. Later, however, following the death of Tybalt and Juliet's
refusal to wed Paris, an enraged Capulet denounces and curses Juliet, driving
her to desperate measures. Following the death of Romeo and Juliet, Capulet pledges
to have a rich statue of Romeo built in his memory.
CAPULET, LADY
Wife of Capulet and mother of Juliet in Shakespeare's Romeo
and Juliet. She favors the match between Juliet and Paris. (See "ANGELICA").
CAPULET'S COUSIN
A guest at the Capulet feast in Shakespeare's Romeo
and Juliet. He and Capulet discuss the last masque they attended some
thirty years earlier.
CAPULET'S UNCLE
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's Romeo
and Juliet who, along with his wife and daughters, is invited to the Capulet
feast.
CAQUETEUR
Caqueteur is a friend of Freevill's and dances in his pre-wedding masque in Marston's Dutch Courtesan. Caqueteur is also one of Crispinella's suitors, but he ultimately loses out to Tysefew, in part because Caqueteur fibs to Crispinella that the diamond ring he had borrowed from Tysefew really belongs to him.
CARACTACUS
Popular but inferior spelling of the British warrior known in Roman history as Caratacus and in British history as Caradoc. See "CARADOC."
CARADOC
I.
Caradoc, son of Cadallan is the eponymous valiant Welshman in The
Valiant Welshman. After Caradoc defeats the usurper Monmouth, King Octavian
of Wales gives him his daughter, Guinever, and makes him heir to the Welsh throne,
in preference to his own son, Codigun. Caradoc leads a Welsh army to joins the
British war against the Romans. When the British King Gederus is made suspicious
by the malicious letters of Gloucester, the Welsh army is sent away, but Caradoc
dons a disguise and fights anyway. Caradoc beats the Romans single-handedly, and
fights Claudius Caesar, who is so impressed that he gives him a golden lion that
will make him recognized in Rome. Back home, Caradoc learns that Codigun has usurped
the Welsh kingdom. He beats him in single combat, and is crowned King of Wales.
Caradoc then defeats a Serpent and kills the Witch that conjured it. The Roman
Ostorius attacks Wales and kidnaps Guinever. When Caradoc fails to save her, he
goes to Venusius, Duke of York for help, but Cartamanda betrays him into the hands
of the Romans. Caradoc and his family are taken to Rome. Ordered to kneel before
Claudius Caesar, Caradoc refuses, and when Claudius Caesar recognizes the golden
lion, he frees him and his family and allows them to return home. In history,
the Romans called this person Caratacus (the spelling "Caractacus" is attested
in one minor source).
II.
His name is spelled Caratach in Fletcher's Bonduca,
and he is the uncle of young Hengo. He is known in Roman history as Caratacus
(the popular formulation, Caractacus, is found in only one inferior historical
manuscript) in British history he is better known as Caradoc. Although he fights
alongside his queen, Bonduca, he admires the Romans, and repeatedly argues that
Britons should treat them with respect. He is disgusted by Bonduca's undisciplined
generalship, and continually lectures her on the need for manly fortitude and
discipline such as the Romans possess. When Corporal Judas and his soldiers are
caught in the act of thieving, Caratach prevents them from being executed. Before
the second battle, Bonduca and her daughters pray to the gods, but the altar does
not catch fire until Caratach prays to the god of war. When the Daughters of Bonduca
try to kill Junius, Curius and Decius, Caratach rescues them; the daughters explain
that they want revenge because they were raped by Roman soldiers, but Caratach
tells them, "you should have kept your legs close then." He fights several Romans,
and exhausts them all. Caratach is furious when Bonduca's rash charge loses them
the battle, and he protects Hengo during the retreat. When Judas and his soldiers
try to capture Hengo, Caratach kills and beheads a soldier. He and Hengo hide
out on a rock in the forest. Penius's body is taken past the rock, and his bearers
permit Caratach to mourn for him. When Judas kills Hengo, Caratach kills him with
a stone. He fights off Petillius and Junius, who have been sent to assassinate
him. Finally, the entire Roman army captures him, but he is not displeased because
he admires Rome so much. Suetonius eulogizes Caratach, and they all march off
to Rome together. [Historically, he fled to Cartimandus, queen of the Yorkshire
Brigantes, and she surrendered him to Rome where, according to Tacitus, Claudius
spared his life to honor his valor.]
III.
Caractacus is a "ghost character" in May's Julia
Agrippina, mentioned by Claudius as having been sent as a prisoner from
Britain.
CARADOC **1627
A Welsh soldier who follows Penia-Penniless in Randolph's Plutophthalmia. He speaks in the comic stage dialect of his country. He claims the right to lead Penia's "tattered fleece" army because his lice are descended from great fighters' lice all the way back to Troy. In turns, he supports Brun, then Penia, and finally Higgen for captain. Nothing is seen of him after this in the play.
CARAFFA, CARDINAL **1607
An elderly Cardinal in Barnes's The Devil's Charter who stands with tradition and thus with Alexander. In his function as an elder, Caraffa advises the Pope about military action, comforts him when the Manfredi princes are found dead, and joins in the Pope's praise of Caesar at the banquet celebrating Caesar's military victories and gains for Rome. Caraffa witnesses Alexander's death and orders that Alexander's swollen corpse be placed on view, "that they may / See the reward for sin, amend and pray."
CARAFFA, PHILLIPPO
Phillippo Caraffa, the Duke of Pavia in Ford's Love's Sacrifice. Described (by his wife) as having a 'crooked leg', 'scambling foot' and 'bloodless lip' amongst other physical defects. A headstrong, volatile and gullible ruler, he has recently married Biancha, a Milanese gentlewoman, despite objections to her low birth. His sudden passion for her is indicative of his impetuosity. He is infatuated with her and equally devoted to his best friend, Fernando. Courtiers remark on the moral decline in the duchy since he came to power: he indulges the depravity of Ferentes, whom he relies on for entertainment and gossip. The Duke knows himself to be 'choleric' and has temper-tantrums on the least provocation. His Secretary, the scheming D'avolos, manipulates his orders, showing that the Duke is both credulous and complacent in delegating his power, easily enraged when he discovers the truth, but easily distracted by other topics. He is too quick to believe reports against his loyal courtier, Roseilli, slandered for her own reasons by his sister, Fiormunda. Having encouraged a close intimacy between his best friend and wife, he is initially oblivious of their growing romantic attachment, then too quick to trust his Secretary's reports of their (inferred) adultery. The Duke's absence hunting without his best friend allows Fernando, then Biancha, the opportunity to reveal their love for eachother, and to reach the decision to keep their relationship platonic out of the Duchess's respect for her marriage vows. Their indiscreet meetings in the Duke's absence, however, give scope to D'avolos's plots to disgrace them on his. He is incited to jealousy by D'avolos and declares that he has felt ill since the hunt. Like Othello, he rages at D'avolos to provide evidence of the guilt of his wife and friend; he remains able to dissimulate friendship for Fernando throughout and to provide a gracious reception for the Abbot. He denounces the murder of Ferentes during the masque as treachery by the three women, who in turn accuse him of flagrant injustice in neglecting their grievances against their seducer. He continues to act unjustly, imprisoning Maurucio for his innocent participation in the masque, condemning the women to death until the pleas of their fathers, and Fernando's for Morona, placate him. His sister provokes him to extreme revenge against the (innocent) lovers by reminding him of his family honor and the need to preserve the legitimacy of his heirs. He is moved by these ideas, and more by the fear of scandal and mockery. He retains the wit to challenge his sister to reveal any ulterior motives for her actions, but is easily fooled into believing circumstantial evidence which corroborates his worst fears. He makes a solemn vow of vengeance without ever confronting his wife or friend with his suspicions. He consents to the marriage of Maurucio and Morona, then exiles them from court without giving a reason. The Duke's passions are causing him to act 'distractedly' and 'distemperedly' and his rule is declining into impetuous tyranny. He tells Biancha he intends to seek a cure at the spa in Lucca, but instead confronts the lovers, has Fernando arrested, and murders his wife at the insistence of his sister. He challenges Fernando to a duel, but is finally persuaded of his wife's innocence, and must be prevented from committing suicide in remorse. Instead, he denounces D'avolos as a villain and removes him from office. At his wife's tomb, in the presence of the Abbot, he confesses his guilt to Biancha's ghost then stabs himself after Fernando's own suicide, demanding to be buried in the same tomb as the lovers.
CARAGIUS BASSA
A "ghost character" in ?Greene's Selimus I. Follower of Bajazet killed fighting against Ishmael.
CARANZA
I.
Only mentioned in Jonson's Every Man in His Humour. Hieronymo de Caranza was a famous sixteenth-century Spanish fencing master. He was the first fencing master to describe the "mysterious circle," the rapier's choreographed movement along a sophisticated pattern of chords and diameters. In his 1569 book, De la philosophia de las armas (On the Philosophy of Arms), Caranza argues that fencing is not mere physical exercise, nor is it even a necessary skill for a chivalrous gentleman. According to Caranza, the use of the sword implied an entire philosophy, an alchemical distillation of Christian mysticism and newly re-discovered classical science. At Bobadill's lodgings, the braggart and the foolish Mathew speak admiringly of the play The Spanish Tragedy, featuring a character named Hieronymo. Then, the discussion veers towards fencing. Bobadill boasts that he can teach Mathew the best methods for infallible coups warranted by the great Caranza himself. Bobadill gives a fencing demonstration on the spot and promises Mathew that, following his instructions, he will be able to control the enemy's point and kill him instantly.
II.
A "ghost character" in Fletcher's Love's
Pilgrimage. Caranza is a famous writer of the rules of dueling. Sanchio
demands satisfaction from Alphonso, by the rules of Caranza. Eugenia announces
that she is a kinsman of Caranza and will help them to duel properly; she uses
the opportunity to enforce rules so impossible that they must give up their quarrel.
III.
Only mentioned in Jonson's The New Inn. Hieronymo de Caranza was a famous sixteenth-century Spanish fencing master. He was the first fencing master to describe the "mysterious circle," the rapier's choreographed movement along a sophisticated pattern of chords and diameters. In his 1569 book, De la philosophia de las armas (On the Philosophy of Arms), Caranza argues that fencing is not mere physical exercise, nor is it even a necessary skill for a chivalrous gentleman. According to Caranza, the use of the sword implied an entire philosophy, an alchemical distillation of Christian mysticism and newly re-discovered classical science. In a learned discussion on fencing between Tipto and Fly, the latter says that Euclid's theory of the circle was prior to that of the Spanish fencing masters. Since Tipto's education is restricted to the theories of the Spanish Academy of the Sword, he tells Fly he does not mind the ancients and he wants a modern name. Fly mentions Hieronymo's name, but he says he was an Italian master. Host, who seems to be more learned than both Tipto and Fly in the art of fencing, intervenes and sets the discussion on the right track. Host says that the great fencing names, such as Caranza and Don Lewis, had their times, implying they are no longer in fashion.
CARATACH
Fletcher's spelling of the British warrior Caradoc in his Bonduca.
See "CARADOC."
CARAZIE
Carazie, an eunuch in Massinger's The
Renegado, is a servant first to Donusa and then to Paulina. He nearly
helps Gazet become a eunuch when the latter finds out that eunuchs are allowed
to sleep with the ladies they serve. He later aids in Vitelli's escape.
CARBO
Carbo is Marius' general and has been Consul three times in Lodge's The
Wounds of Civil War. Scilla captures him when the he retakes Rome. Carbo
refuses to kneel before Scilla or Pompey, proclaiming himself their equal and
that he honors only gods, not men. Scilla has him forcibly thrown down and puts
his foot on his neck, but Carbo says that only his body is humbled. When he demands
to be executed rather than mocked, Scilla agrees and Carbo is taken away, lamenting
that Rome is ruled by a tyrant.
CARCURGUS
Philogonus' servant in (?)Johnson's Misogonus. Carcurgus, acts the part of a fool before his master while craftily egging on his master's son, Misogonus on in his wildness. Carcurgus warns Misogonus that his father is wise to his carousing and that Eupelas is coming to try to reform him. Later, Carcurgus learns that Misogonus has a twin brother, warns him about this rival, and disguises himself as a traveling physician to truck two old women who know of the twin's existence to keep the secret quiet. Philogonus fails to recognize Carcurgus' deviousness until after Misogonus' twin, Eugonus, is brought back as Philogonus' heir. Carcurgus' wickedness exposed, he is dismissed from Philogonus' service.
CARDENES, DON MARTINO
Don Martino Cardenes, referred to throughout Fletcher and Massinger's A
Very Woman as either Don Martino or Cardenes, is the son of the Duke of
Messina. Originally, he is in love and engaged to Almira. When he hears that Antonio
also seeks Almira's hand, he fights Antonio for his honor, but is seemingly killed
in the confrontation. Antonio is taken away and does not see Cardenes' unexpected
recovery. When revived, his father promises a fortune if the surgeons can fully
restore him. However, his greatest change is not physical, but rather it is spiritual.
Having survived a deadly encounter over the lusts of the flesh, Don Martino Cardenes
swears an oath to forsake woman forever. Paulo attempts to cure him of an exaggerated
melancholy by taking a series of disguises. When cured, Cardenes swears to be
honorable and thoughtful. This opens the way for Antonio to take Almira for his
own, without Don Martino Cardenes objecting. Instead, Cardenes offers his apologies
for wishing to settle their dispute with violence.
CARDINAL
For a named Cardinal, search under that churchman's name, e.g. "WOLSEY, CARDINAL."
CARDINAL**1593
Cardinal of Lorraine and brother of Guise in Marlowe's Massacre at Paris. He supports the massacre of Protestants. He is murdered on the order of King Henry III.
CARDINAL**1600
The Cardinal, formerly Lord Bewford, is in love with the Lady Ellenor in Chettle and Day's Blind Beggar of Bednal Green. He visits her, disguised as his own servant, but she recognizes him and, by convincing him she will meet him in the garden, gets him to leave. He is later reported to be attempting to marry Ellenor by force, but in the last scene he comes to an uneasy peace with is rival Gloucester, as demanded by the King.
CARDINAL**1610
Having first performed Isabella's and Roberto's wedding ceremony, he later offers Isabella moral support on her way to the scaffold in John Marston's The
Insatiate Countess.
CARDINAL**1614
Brother to Ferdinand and the Duchess in Webster's The Duchess of Malfi. He is a secret villain, conducting his evil through agents. He and his brother do not want their widowed sister to remarry and threaten her if she should. The Cardinal is a libertine and is conducting an affair with Julia, wife to old Castruccio. When he fears he cannot trust his mistress, he murders her by having her kiss a Bible that he has poisoned. He orders the deaths of Antonio and the children of Antonio and the Duchess. He also has his sister, the Duchess, imprisoned. Through Bosola, the Cardinal has the Duchess tortured with visions of her family's death and the screaming of madmen. Finally, he has her strangled to death. Bosola turns upon him and murders him.
CARDINAL**1621
A "ghost character" in Fletcher's The Pilgrim. According to one of the gentlemen who visit the madhouse with Pedro, the Cardinal is very angry to hear that the Scholar is being kept there and has sent a letter asking for his release.
CARDINAL**1621
The Cardinal, who probably should be viewed as the voice of moral order in Middleton's
Women Beware Women, is not given
enough stage time to be anything more than a character type. He enters in some four brief scenes towards the end of the play to castigate the sinfulness of his brother, the Duke of Florence, and encourage the salvation of his soul. But his long, droning lines do not endear him in any particular way. He approaches his duty to God in a workmanlike manner. His preachings go wholly unheeded, and he becomes a figure of ineffectual spiritual guidance. Even though he has the final lines in the play, and even though he is obviously next in line to the throne, his impotence throughout his scenes goes a long way in demonstrating that the moral order is far from being restored in this dukedom.
CARDINAL [ALVAREZ?]**1626
There is a character only identified as the Cardinal in Dekker's Noble Spanish Soldier. Balthazar refers to seeing a picture of Hell in Cardinal Alvarez's gallery, but there is no clear indication that these two characters are the same person. The King sends the Cardinal to Onælia with a message that he intends to honor the contract. When the King destroys the contract instead, the Cardinal is outraged and promises that the act will lead to the King's great shame. He brings Medina (disguised as Dr. Devile) to the King. He advises the King against murder and hopes that Devile/Medina will be able to cure the King's soul. He attends the wedding of Onælia and Cockadillio.
CARDINAL**1627
A "ghost character" in Davenant's The Cruel Brother. The Cardinal is the Duke's brother and sends him a letter confirming a truce with Genoa, a fact which upsets the Duke.
CARDINAL**1631
A Cardinal in Brome's The Queen's
Exchange marries Bertha and Anthynus in a dumb show.
CARDINAL **1632
The Cardinal is everything bad in the Caroline view of the Roman church in Ford's
'Tis Pity She's a Whore. He
condones murder by protecting Grimaldi after the death of Bergetto. He mercilessly
condemns Putana to the auto de fe. And he confiscates the family goods
to the use of the church at his first opportunity.
CARDINAL**1639
In attendance at the supposed funeral of Clovis and intending to preside over Aphelia's execution in Hemming's Fatal Contract. A non-speaking character, whose presence, with a bevy of singing nuns, adds to the perverse solemn ceremonial of human sacrifice. When Clotair changes his mind and decides to marry Aphelia instead, he whispers to the Cardinal, whose co-operation can only be inferred.
CARDINAL **1641
The Cardinal is a Machiavel of the old school in Shirley's The Cardinal . His plot to marry his nephew Columbo to the Duchess is solely intended to improve his family. He manipulates the King to his best advantage
when he advises him not to execute Columbo after the murder of D'Alvererz. He
is impious and plots both ravishment of and revenge against the Duchess when she
has Columbo killed. When he believes himself stabbed to death by Hernando he fails
to shrive his soul. Instead, he takes poison in the guise of proving it is an
antidote to convince the Duchess to drink it. When he learns from the surgeon
that his wounds are not life-threatening, he discovers that in his poisoning of
the Duchess he has also succeeded in murdering himself.
CARDINAL of ARAGON
Cardinal of Aragon assists in the election of the new Pope (Monticelso) in Webster's
The White Devil.
CARDINAL of FRANCE
Asked by the Pope in Marlowe's Doctor Faustus to retrieve from the papal files the decree which condemns
Bruno, the Cardinal of France and the Cardinal of Padua are beset with lethargy
by Mephostophilis upon Faustus' request, allowing the latter two to impersonate
the two cardinals and free Bruno. When France and Padua return to the papal
banquet, their answers, ignorant of the impersonators' actions, so infuriate
Pope Adrian that he curses their souls and locks them in prison.
CARDINAL of LONDON
The Lord Cardinal of London in Shakespeare's Richard
III. The Cardinal conducts Elizabeth into sanctuary with her children,
excepting Prince Edward, in order to protect them from Richard III, who has arrested
Elizabeth's brother Rivers and her son Gray. The Cardinal is later reluctant to
remove Prince Richard from sanctuary until Buckingham persuades him that the Prince
did not claim and therefore does not deserve sanctuary.
CARDINAL of LORRAINE
A non-speaking character in Marlowe's Doctor Faustus. A guest of honor at the papal victory banquet in the A Text of the play, specifically invited by the Pope to sit and eat.
CARDINAL of MILAN
The Cardinal of Milan is a devout man in Middleton's More Dissemblers Besides Women. He cannot endure women near his lodgings. He admires the Duchess for her constancy, and sees her as a role model. When the Lords suggest that she be tested, the Cardinal agrees, but does not believe that she will ever yield. He also admires the chaste mind of his nephew Lactantio (not realizing that Lactantio is a womanizer who disguises his mistresses as men). The Cardinal is devastated when the Duchess falls in love with Lactantio (as he thinks), and decides to banish his nephew, but then decides it would be better if two chaste people married each other. When he finds Lactantio's "Page" (actually Lactantio's mistress in disguise) in tears, the Cardinal takes "him" away from Lactantio and gives "him" to the Duchess. Then he sets about the job of persuading Lactantio to marry the Duchess, and succeeds with (to him) surprising ease. Then, he and the Lords try to persuade the Duchess to marry, which offends her (though not because of her chastity but because she's secretly in love with Andrugio). At the end of the play, the Duchess's hopes of marrying Andrugio 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 her in man's apparel "because he was bashful / And never could endure the sight of woman." The Cardinal is furious, but the Duchess calms him by preaching forgiveness.
CARDINAL of PADUA
Asked by the Pope in Marlowe's Doctor Faustus to retrieve from the papal files the decree which condemns
Bruno, the Cardinal of France and the Cardinal of Padua are beset with lethargy by Mephostophilis upon Faustus' request, allowing the latter two to impersonate the two cardinals and free Bruno. When France and Padua return to the papal banquet, their answers, ignorant of the impersonators' actions, so infuriate
Pope Adrian that he curses their souls and locks them in prison.
CARDINAL of ST. PETER ad VINCULA**1607
An ally to the French King Charles VIII in Barnes's The Devil's Charter. He joins Charles, Montpensier, and Ascanio and Lodowick Sforza who are planning to invade Rome and remove Alexander as Pope. When the victory goes to Charles, Alexander negotiates a truce and Vincula, who wants Charles to press his military advantage, hatefully refers to Alexander as "Lucifer" sitting in St. Peter's chair.
CARDINAL of YORK
The Cardinal of York is one of several names and titles for Cardinal Wolsey in
Shakespeare's Henry VIII.
CARDINAL, FIRST
Either the Cardinal of France or the Cardinal of Padua, but not specifically identified in the speech headings in Marlowe's Doctor Faustus. In the B-text only, he answers the Pope in confusion, not realizing that Faustus and Mephistophilis have taken his place and the place of his companion Cardinal.
CARDINALS
A number of cardinals appear in the dumb show at the beginning of Dekker's The
Whore of Babylon, following the hearse of the dead Queen Mariana and singing
in Latin. After the accession of Titania, Time and Truth drive them out. At least
four of them seem to be the same Cardinals who later appear in attendance on the
Empress, reporting Titania's slanders against her. They are so angry at their
expulsion from Fairyland that they declare themselves willing to be transformed
into dogs if this will allow them to lick Titania's blood. Foremost among them
is Como, who evolves a number of cunning plots that he believes will entrap Titania;
the other cardinals merely support his Machiavellian schemes. (See "COMO").
CARDINALS**1607
Appear in the Dumb Show of Barnes's The Devil's Charter where Alexander pantomimes signing the charter with the devil.
CARDINAS, HENRIQUES DE
A "ghost character" in Fletcher's Love's
Pilgrimage. A neighbor of Theodosia and Philippo. The disguised Leocadia
tries to claim that she is the son of Don Henriques, but Philippo knows he has
no son.
CARDOCHIA
Cardochia, also known as Juanna in ?Middleton and ?Rowley's Spanish Gypsy, is a young woman who serves as host to the gypsies. She falls in love with Don John but accuses him of making obscene advances and stealing a jewel when he, being in love with Pretiosa, rejects her advances. She retracts her accusations at the end of the play and marries Diego.
CARDONA
Cardona is Gratiana's maid in James Shirley's The
Wedding. Marwood has brought her gifts and flattered her in an effort
to gain access to Gratiana. Cardona, hoping to gain a husband for her daughter
Lucibel, sends her daughter instead of Gratiana to Marwood. The trick fails, for
Marwood does not propose to the lady with whom he slept. He instead defames Gratiana
to her husband-to-be. Fortunately Cardona reveals the bed trick in time to help
effect the reconciliation between Gratiana and Beauford.
CARE
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.
CARELESS
Careless is brother to Aurelio in Marmion's A
Fine Companion. Though a younger son, he has the fortune of the father
because Aurelio has been disinherited. An irresponsible spendthrift, Careless
listens gladly to those who advise the sale of his land. He later dons a disguise
and learns Whibble's true feelings about him; again disguised, this time as Dotario,
Careless weds Littlegood's daughter Aemilia. Careless has learned something about
responsibility and honor throughout the course of the play, and he has discovered
there are more important things in life than being called "a fine companion."
CARELESS, TOM
Careless is Ned Wild's best friend in Killigrew's Parson's Wedding. At the beginning of the play, the two of them have just returned from three years in France, where he has developed continental tastes. Careless has no tolerance for platonic love. When Lady Wild and Mistress Pleasure invite Careless and his friends to dinner, Careless resists because women like Wild and Pleasure, "take a pleasure to raise a spirit that they will not lay," and he proposes to go to Banks, an ordinary, instead. Early in the play Wild and Careless join forces with the Captain and Jolly, and together they come up with a strange plan to rail against women and marriage in an effort to win the attentions of Mistress Pleasant and Lady Wild. They also help the Captain and Wanton play tricks on the Parson, Wild by pretending to be a justice and Careless by pretending to be a summoner. In return, the Captain helps Careless and Wild to marry Lady Wild and Mistress Pleasant. He persuades Wild and Careless to climb into bed with the ladies and then gives out that the two couples are married. After having been seen by half the town and court in bed with the men, the ladies reluctantly consent to marry them.
CARELESSE, GEORGE
George Carelesse is a young wild heir in Brome's A Mad Couple. In Act One, Carelesse asks Wat whether he has taken a letter to Mr Saveall to intercede for him with his uncle. He has been counting on his uncle's help lately to pay off his debts and on his advocates to defend him at court. However, Carelesse has gotten into trouble again. But that is not his single problem. Carelesse has to maintain Phoebe, and he does not know how. At the beginning, Carelesse plans a plot against his uncle and to open a brothel of he-whores. However, later on he prefers to defend his uncle and Mr Saveall. In Act Two, he has already paid all his debts and he sends a letter to tell Phoebe not to meddle in his affairs. But, the letter reaches Mistress Crostill by mistake. Carelesse has fallen in love with his aunt, whom he compares with Andromeda. He wants to give her an heir, and so he accepts her invitation. He misunderstands her intentions and he confesses that he is more obliged to her than to his mother because he has been reborn with the lady. When Carelesse finds out the truth, he runs to court Mistress Crostill, whom he marries at the end.
CAREW
The family name of Sir Henry and Sir Peter in Heywood's 1
If You Know Not Me. (See "HENRY CAREW, SIR" and "PETER CAREW, SIR").
CAREW **1604
A “ghost character" in Rowley’s When You See Me. Henry calls for Compton and Carew to attend him after the queen’s death.
CARFIELD, CAPTAIN **1599
A “ghost character" in Ruggle’s Club Law. Luce says that her husband is on a voyage with “Captaine Carifeild."
CARGO
Cargo is a witty and teasing character in Dekker's Wonder of A Kingdom who acts as Lord Nicoletto Vanni's man. He usually delivers news and invitations, and occasionally comments on his master's actions. Throughout the play he engages in witty exchanges, playing upon the theme of his old master's desire for Alphonsina. It is Cargo who first informs Vanni and Dariene of Angelo Lotti's banishment from Florence. Later, as his master reveals his plot how to win Alphonsina he mocks the old man's desire for so young a lady. He delievers a jewel and a letter declaring Vanni's desire to Alphonsina. In the denouement of the Lord Vanni-Alphonsina plot, he announces Dariene's arrival, but then disappears from the action.
CARILLUS **1636
Seleucus’s friend in Killigrew’s Claricilla. He acts as second to Seleucus in the duel with Melintus at the haven by the town. He fights Timillus and defeats him. He falls by the stranger’s rage before the king comes and has him taken to be tended in the town. A surgeon tells Seleucus that Carillus’s wounds are fatal.
CARINNA
Carinna is a lieutenant to Carbo in Lodge's The
Wounds of Civil War and is brought before Scilla after Carbo is taken
off to be executed. Unlike his general, Carinna begs for mercy and a pardon from
Scilla, but he is also taken off to be killed.
CARINTHA**1623
Carintha is the wife of Penda in Dekker, Ford and Rowley's The Welsh Embassador. 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.
CARINTHA **1631
Carintha is the wife of Contarini in Shirley's The Humorous Courtier. Though the two are relative newlyweds, Contarini urges Carintha to kill herself, for he feels he's been chosen to wed the duchess. She does not oblige Contarini, of course; neither does she allow herself to be seduced by Giotto. She and Contarini are reconciled at the play's end.
CARINTHA**1635
Carintha (also called Carinthia) is the maid of Violeta, princess of Trebizond
in Kirke's The Seven Champions of
Christendom. She and Violeta are attracted to the Saints Andrew and Anthony,
and are horrified when the Emperor orders them to be executed for failing to recant
their Christianity. The Emperor allows the saints to choose their executioners,
and they choose Violeta and Carintha, who refuse, saying they'd rather kill themselves.
So Andrew and Anthony offer to kill each other. The Emperor releases them and
provides swords, whereupon Andrew and Anthony frighten everybody away.
CARINUS **1587
The rightful heir to the crown of Arragon in Greene's Alphonsus, King of Arragon, he has been usurped by his younger brother, Flaminius. Has a dream in which he sees his son in triumph over his enemies. Meets the outcast Duke of Milan and stabs him after the Duke acknowledges that he wishes Carinus and Alphonsus dead. He finds his son and reunites with him, finally helping him to woo Iphigina.
CARINUS**1605
Carinus is the son of Lupinus in Daniel's The Queen's Arcadia. He is loved by Amarillis, but is himself in love with Cloris. He quarrels with Cloris' other admirer, Amyntas, watched by Ergastus and Meliboeus, and Colax and Techne. Amarillis lures Carinas' dog Lelaps away from him in an attempt to get Carinas' attention. Carinas, however, rebukes her for spoiling his hunting. She tells Carinas that Cloris loves Amyntas; Carinas vows that when Cloris loves Amyntas he will love Amarillis. On hearing Mirtillus recount Amyntas' suicide attempt and Cloris' reaction to it, Carinus realises that Cloris loves Amyntas and he will never have any hope of winning her. At the shepherds' assembly, Meliboeus asks Carinas to look favourably on Amarillis, and they are betrothed.
CARIO
Cario, a cook to Adorio in Massinger's The
Guardian.
CARIOLA
Servant to the Duchess in Webster's The
Duchess of Malfi. She is the hidden witness to her lady's secret marriage
to Antonio. While she remains faithful to her mistress, she is not as strong when
she is placed in the asylum with her. She is badly shaken during the ordeal and
must be psychologically propped up by the Duchess. At last she is removed from
the asylum to be murdered. She cries to be shriven and in a last desperate act
claims to be pregnant, but her plea goes unheeded. She is strangled and her body
carried from the stage.
CARION
The doctor's man in Gascoigne's The Supposes.
CARION **1627
Chremylus' witty servant in Randolph's Plutophthalmia. He complains of his master's poverty and foolish desire to follow blind Plutus. He helps Chremylus in his plan to befriend Plutus and heal his eyesight. Chremylus sends him to round up his poor but honest neighbors Clodpole, Lackland, and Stiff. He helps Chremylus and Blepsidemus take Plutus to be healed at the Temple of Esculapius. Later, he recounts the healing to Chremyla, who sends him to the goldsmith to buy her a ring. He complains humorously of all the gold, silver, ivory, and rubies that now adorn the house. He comes upon Goggle, who wishes to make a gift of his shoes and old cloak to Plutus. Never-good meets them. Never-good wishes to put out Plutus' eyes again. Carion encourages Goggle to strip off Never-good's finery as a better gift for Plutus. Later, he admits Mercurius as the household poet because "household chaplains are now out of date."
CARIONIL
Carionil suffers from unrequited love for Lucora in Cokain's The Obstinate Lady. He is encouraged by his close friend, Falorus, and the servant Anclethe, not to give up hope, despite having overheard Lucora reject marriage and devote herself to Diana. Carionil confesses his love to Lucora, and she ridicules him for his excess passion. He imagines the destruction of the world, and the creation of a new one in which his desires might be fulfilled. Falorus reveals to Carionil that Lucora's father has chosen Falorus to wed Lucora, but insists that he will reject her. Carionil is nevertheless frantic, and challenges Falorus to a duel. Falorus refuses, and Carionil debates the relative values of friendship and love. Convinced that love outweighs friendship, he renews the challenge, but Falorus refuses, reassures him, and they exit together firm in their friendship. Carionil, convinced that he cannot win Lucora's heart, laments to Cleanthe and is comforted. As they speak, a response to his love-letter arrives, rejecting his suit and insisting that he desist from pursuing Lucora. In emotional agony, Carionil stabs himself intending to end his suffering. He fails in his attempt, recovers and demands the knife again, but is convinced by the recently entered Falorus that he may still achieve his desire. He is declared dead by Cleanthe and Florus, as part of their plot to reveal Lucora's true feelings for Carionil. Carionil takes a potion and achieves a death-like state; Lucora is summoned to witness his death, with hopes that she will relent in her rejection of him. She remains unmoved, vows she could never love him, and leaves. When he revives and is told what transpired, he becomes frantic once again, and Falorus hatches a new plot to win through which Carionil might win Lucora's heart. At Falorus's instigation, Carionil disguises himself as an Ethiopian, Tucapelo, and wins Lucora's heart immediately. They plan to elope, but as she arrives on the street to run off to Ethiopia with him, he realizes that he cannot love a woman who would choose such a man rather than himself, and he cruelly rejects her. When she threatens to kill herself because of his rejection, he reveals his actual identity, and she is instantly cured. He vows not to reveal her near-elopement, and they part. He reveals to Anclethe that he no longer loves Lucora, and Anclethe offers to introduce him to a new woman. He agrees, meets the undisguised Cleanthe the following morning, and falls instantly in love with her. She reveals her actual identity as the long-lost daughter of Rosinda and Polidacre, and he agrees to marry her before her father can object. Falorus enters, having suddenly fallen in love with Lucora. He is grieved by this transgression against Corionil, and begs Corionil to kill him. Corionil refuses, guesses the cause of his friend's grief, and again refuses to kill him. At last, Carionil explains that he no longer loves Lucora, and offers to intercede on his friend's behalf, to ensure that Lucora will agree to the marriage. After marrying Cleanthe, Carionil arrives with his new bride at the home of Polidacre, they both explain their former disguises, and they receive the blessings of her parents.
CARISOPHUS
Carisophus, a parasite at King Dionisius' court in Edwards's Damon
and Pithias, accuses Aristippus of having turned his philosophy into a
means of achieving his selfish ends. Despite their rivalry, Carisophus falsely
proposes friendship to Aristippus. He tells Aristippus his plan to deprive the
rich citizens of Syracuse of their money, and Carisophus roams the streets in
search of gullible persons to plunder. Seeking strangers for easy prey, Carisophus
eavesdrops on Damon and his servant Stephano. After Stephano's departure, Carisophus
entices Damon to speak ill of the king. Damon shows respect towards the institution
of kingship, but Carisophus accuses Damon of being a spy because he has traveled
abroad. Carisophus summons Snap, the sheriff's officer, and Damon is arrested
and taken before the king, who sentences him to death. After Damon's departure
to Greece, Carisophus rummages in Damon's baggage. Stephano discovers Carisophus
hidden in Damon's trunk and gives him a good beating. Carisophus learns that his
aggressor's name is Onaphets, and goes to the surgeon to have his wounds dressed.
Carisophus asks Aristippus, the philosopher, to use his influence to discover
the reason behind the king's displeasure with him. In Carisophus' view, he had
done nothing wrong, apart from having exposed a dangerous spy in Damon, and having
crossed Eubulus in his defense of Pithias. Carisophus appeals to Aristippus to
plead with the king in his favor. When Aristippus refuses, Carisophus accuses
him of false friendship. During the ensuing altercation, each accuses the other
of falsity, and Carisophus concludes that friendship exists only between honest
men, while evil people use friendship dishonestly to further their selfish ends.
Left alone, Carisophus feels betrayed and used. He sees his situation as God's
punishment for his dishonesty. He decides to leave things as they are, and exits
with the hope of better fortune in the future.
CARLISLE, BISHOP of
A loyal supporter of King Richard who speaks out against Bolingbroke's usurpation
of the crown and is subsequently arrested in Shakespeare's Richard
II. He plots against Bolingbroke with the Duke of Aumerle and the Abbot
of Westminster, however he is not executed but exiled by Bolingbroke (now King
Henry IV).
CARLO**1606
Hippolito's familiar name in [?]Middleton's The Revenger's Tragedy.
CARLO**1611
Carlo is the name of Bartervile's second Servant in Dekker's If It Be Not Good.
CARLO **1612
Carlo is one of Brachiano's attendants in Webster's The
White Devil. Secretly, he along with Pedro is in league with Francisco.
CARLO**1623
Carlo (spelled "Claro" in the Dramatis Personae to ?Middleton and ?Rowley's Spanish Gypsy) is a gentleman disguised as a gypsy.
CARLO**1626
He is present at Balthazar's return but has no lines in Dekker's Noble Spanish Soldier. He swears with Medina to enforce Onælia's contract to the King. He votes against killing the King. He attends the wedding of Onælia and Cockadillio.
CARLO**1633
Carlo is the servant in Shirley's The Bird in a Cage, who aids Bonamico in his confidence tricks but eventually betrays him by revealing his true identity to Grutti and Dondolo.
CARLO BUFFONE
Carlo Buffone is a foolish jester in Jonson's Every Man out of His Humour. The name suggests his personality, since buffone is the Italian for jester. In the countryside, Carlo Buffone enters with Sogliardo, who tells him he wants to be a gentleman. Carlo Buffone gives Sogliardo advice in the ways of a gentleman courtier. Before Puntavorlo's country house, Carlo Buffone enters with Sogliardo and Fastidious Brisk. The three men have a silly conversation about hobbyhorses and agreeable pastimes. Puntavorlo arrives and Carlo Buffone's party watches him perform a rehearsed game of courtship to his lady, making ironic comments at Puntavorlo's histrionics. In London, at St. Paul's, Carlo Buffone enters with Puntavorlo. Sogliardo enters announcing he has just bought a coat of arms, and Carlo Buffone pretends to admire the design. Carlo Buffone, Puntavorlo, Fastidious Brisk, and Sogliardo watch Shift brandishing his sword. Carlo Buffone makes ironic remarks relative to Shift and he exits with his party to have dinner. At Puntavorlo's lodgings in London, Carlo Buffone reports on Sogliardo and Fastidious Brisk to Puntavorlo, and when the knight exits with the others to sign the insurance papers for his journey, Carlo Buffone accompanies them as a witness. At Puntavorlo's house, Carlo Buffone enters with Sogliardo, Shift, and Macilente. Carlo says he wants to persuade Sogliardo to become a courtier. Carlo Buffone arranges to meet the whole party again at the tavern. At the Mitre Tavern, Carlo Buffone is waiting for the Puntavorlo party, drinking heavily in the meantime. When they enter, Carlo's alcohol-induced loquacity makes Puntavorlo get out of his benevolent humor, and he seals Carlo's lips with wax to reduce him to silence. They get into a fight and Carlo Buffone is arrested and taken to prison, without being able to say anything in his defense.
CARLOS, DON
A gentleman of Madrid in Shirley's The
Brothers; father to Jacinta and Luys, brother to Theodoro, and uncle to
Felisarda. His greatest concern is to settle his children in wealthy marriages,
especially his daughter, Jacinta. In his desire to achieve this, he betroths her,
in quick succession, to
- Fernando, the eldest son of his old friend Ramyres;
- Alberto, a friend and creditor of his son Luys; and
- Don Pedro, also a creditor of Luys and the wealthiest of the three.
He is shamelessly greedy in breaking off his daughter's engagements, and shows cruelty to his impoverished niece, Felisarda, banishing her from his house when it seems (rightly) that Fernando prefers her to Jacinta. Eventually, however, chastened by the brief fright of Jacinta's disappearance and encouraged by Ramyres' new financial arrangements, Don Carlos accepts his daughter's marriage to Ramyres' younger son, Francisco, his niece's marriage to Fernando, and his son's refusal to marry anyone at all.
CARLO TURBULENZO
A "ghost character" in Middleton's The
Phoenix. Carlo Turbulenzo does not appear in the play but is described
as a party who failed to appear in the prosecution of a lawsuit.
CARMAN
The carman is an Antipodean, a character in the inset play of Brome's The
Antipodes. He exchanges various refined pleasantries with the waterman
and the sedanman. His courtly behavior and refinement are a comic contrast to
the coarse vulgarity of the courtiers Will and Jack.
CARMELA
A "ghost character" in the anonymous Wars of Cyrus, daughter of the old King of Assyria, she was promised to Gobrias' son.
CARO
Mistress Caro loves the courtier Blood in the anonymous Two Noble Ladies and the Converted Conjurer, but she is the object of Sinew's affections. Cantharides the demon makes Caro fall in love with Sinew, then with Barebones. But the magic does not last long, and she soon returns to Blood. Then, Cantharides bites Blood on the arm; he "runs up and down hollering" and Caro thinks that he is running away from her. She laughs as Cantharides makes fools of all her suitors, but the demon then punishes her by biting her and making her laugh uncontrollably.
CARO, MADGE
Madge Caro is a stutterer in (?)Johnson's Misogonus. She is one of two old women who learn from their crony, Alison, that Misogonus has a twin brother. The other is Isbell Busby. When Madge seeks relief for a toothache from a passing physician, who is actually Cacurgus in disguise, the latter tries to persuade Madge and Isbell not to corroborate the existence of the second child, claiming that the latter is really the offspring of a fairy. Although Madge and Isbell promise to keep silent, their desire for a reward and jealousy of Alison and Codrus lead them to tell the truth.
CAROL
Carol rails against the concept of love in Shirley's Hyde Park. She would rather hear boring tales from Holinshed than amorous sonnets. She receives her suitor, Fairfield, with coldness. She berates Mistress Bonavent for agreeing to marry Lacy as soon as her seven-year wait is over. She should retain her widowed status, insists Carol. Frankly, she tells Mistress Bonavent that she only enjoys men's company when she is mocking them for sport. She laughs at the humiliation of Bonavent, and, more brutally, she mocks her other suitors, Rider and Venture. She agrees, however, to an oath with Fairfield: she will not seek his company. This intrigues and confuses Carol–after all, Fairfield wants her to desire his company. She even blunders into kissing Fairfield. Carol backs the Irishman in the race, winning a pair of gloves from Mistress Bonavent–mischievously, she wonders if the runners will be naked. She sees Fairfield walking in the Park with his sister, Julietta, and thinks that the pair are lovers, responding with obvious curiosity and jealousy. She meets up with Fairfield, claiming that she is sticking to her oath of not desiring his company. Trier receives money from her, but she goes too far in railing against Fairfield, provoking him to tell her that he will never countenance her company again. Later, she denies the company's suspicions that she has been shedding tears. Carol is delighted to hear that Julietta is actually the sister of Fairfield. On the horse race, she again bets on trivial articles of clothing–she does not seem to realize the scale of the men's gambling. In a private conference with Julietta, she expresses the fear that Fairfield will kill himself because of his estrangement from her. She shows Julietta a letter that supposedly comes from Fairfield, threatening suicide. So, Carol will marry Fairfield–but only for the sake of his health and longevity. When Fairfield denies any notion of distress at his separation from Carol, she announces that she loves him anyway: she asks for his consent in a marriage with her. Fairfield agrees. She announces her wedding plans to the company, including her two failed suitors, Rider and Venture. Carol is pleased to call Julietta 'sister'. Carol accepts the congratulations of the company.
CAROLINO
Carolino, servant to Manutius in (?)Jeffere's The Bugbears, assists in creating the illusion that Amedeus' house is haunted by vengeful spirits.
CAROLO**1605
Along with Beraldo, Astolfo, and Fontinell, Carolo is a gentleman in service to Hippolito in Dekker's 2 Honest Whore.
CAROLO **1610
A French gentleman, friend of Lemot and traveling with him to Alizia's wedding in Daborne's A Christian Turned Turk. Also captured by Ward and briefly the blinded Lemot's guide and support. After Lemot's murder, remains captive with Alizia and Fredericke, and continues to say very little of consequence. Together they are brought to Tunis and sold in to slavery by Gallop before Ward appears to claim the profits on their sale. He does not reappear.
CAROLO **1635
Julietta’s lover and Julio’s nephew in Rider’s The Twins. Lurco takes Carolo and Clarinda to see Alphonso and Julietta speaking alone and tries to sew the seeds of jealousy in them though it works only on Carolo. When Carolo and Clarinda slip away, Alphonso sees them and also grows jealous, thinking they have dishonest, guilty consciences. Lurco lures Carolo and Alphonso to meet in Pale’s wood where they fight and Alphonso falls. Carolo, fearing to be taken in the murder, determines to disguise himself and hide in the woods. He joins with Julio in the wood and calls himself Laberio. He privately feels guilt over the murder, not knowing Alphonso survived. Carolo wakes and sees Corbo in Alphonso’s garb and, believing it to be Alphonso’s ghost, confesses all to him. Julio overhears the confession and, realizing that the ‘murder’ was honorable (Carolo’s dagger to Alphonso’s sword), allows him to remain in Pale’s wood. In his sleep, he confesses in Julio’s hearing that he has slain Alphonso. When at the shepherd’s festival Julio challenges him to a fight, he bears his breast to receive the sword and only Alphonso’s intervention and unmasking sets all to rights again.
CAROLO CHAROMONTE
Carolo Charomonte, tutor to Giovanni in Massinger's The
Great Duke of Florence, and father to Lidia.
CAROLUS
A courtier and servant to Lord Raymond in ?Cumber's Two Merry Milkmaids. Surprised, the courtier attempts to fight Frederick while he is invisible; recognizing the futility of this pugilism, he agrees to guide the invisible man. He assists Raymond on his deathbed by summoning Julia who reveals Raymond's scheme to inflame the Duke against Dorigene, leading to Raymond's subsequent exile from the court.
CAROLUS, JOACHIM
Joachim Carolus, Marquess of Brandenburg, is one of the seven Electors of Germany, and Treasurer to Alphonsus in the anonymous Alphonsus Emperor of Germany. He and Trier are described as "simple men that wish the common good", and he himself is an aged man. He supports the election of Bohemia as co-Emperor; is physician in the revels; and fights for Alphonsus against Richard.
CAROPIA
Wife to Mura, first beloved of Abrahen, then of Abilqualit in Glapthorne's Revenge for Honor. She is unhappily married against her will to the gruff, old soldier, and is a melancholy and fatalistic heroine. Before the play begins, she has rejected the advances of Abrahen. Her beauty now tempts Abilqualit, who successfully seduces her. Her honor risks compromise by her husband's discovery of her adultery. She is treacherously advised by Abrahen to claim she was raped. This leads to the trial and apparent execution of Abilqualit. She decides to be revenged on both her husband and Abrahen. She kills Mura, but her attempt on Abrahen, now proclaimed Caliph, is frustrated by his persuasive offer to make her his empress. She agrees to marry him just before Abilqualit returns, still alive. She is stabbed by Abrahen and refuses Abilqualit's offer of a surgeon; she confesses her revenge on Mura and stabs Abilqualit with the knife she originally intended for his brother. In her dying words she explains that she wanted to be Abilqualit's empress and has killed him to prevent him taking another wife after her death.
CAROUSE, MONSIEUR
Timothy's drinking companion at St. Dunstan's and the Devil tavern in the anonymous Wisest Have Their Fools. He calls for women.
CARPENTER**1589
The carpenter in Marlowe's The Jew of Malta tells Barabas that the cords and pulleys are all fast. These instruments will
be used in Barabas' abortive attempt to assassinate Calymath—an attempt that
will end in Ferneze pulling the cord early and murdering Barabas instead.
CARPENTER**1631
One of the craftsmen who constructed the secret pit for Offa in Brome's The Queen's Exchange. He and the other craftsmen return disguised as devils to steal the money they assume Offa has hidden in the pit. Instead, they end up
freeing the outlaws and escorting Mildred and Edith out of the house.
CARPENTER**1638
Two Carpenters figure in (?)Brome's The Cunning Lovers.- The real carpenter takes part in the construction of the tower In Act One, he is asked by the Clown to make some doors that would only allow women–and no men–enter the tower, and that would not let any lover come closer.
- The carpenter is also a disguise that Ferrara uses to visit the tower in Act Five.
CARPENTERS
An unspecified number of Carpenters help Barabas build the platform over the cauldron
in Marlowe's The Jew of Malta.
They speak in concert, thanking Barabas for his offer to go in and taste his wines,
not realizing that Barabas has poisoned them.
CARRACK
The rich widow of a sea captain in Davenant's News From Plymouth. She is in love with Cable who reminds her of her dead husband and is housing Lady Loveright. When Cable refuses to marry her, she disguises herself as a London Strumpet. After enticing Cable in this disguise, she reveals her true identity and again offers to marry him. He rejects her for a second time, but changes his mind when he receives demands of payment from his creditors. She asks for time to consider the marriage, but in the final scene, she agrees to pay his debts and to marry him when he returns from sea.
CARRACUS
A gentleman, friend to Albert and in love with Maria in Tailor's The Hog Hath Lost His Pearl. He first enters just after Albert has gone into Maria's bedchamber, and delivers a soliloquy in which he praises the friendship of Albert and the love of Maria. He then wonders why Albert has not arrived and why Maria has not set out the light to signal him. Waiting for Albert's arrival, he thinks about the effect his eloping with Maria will have on her father, yet considering that lovers should not be constrained by parents. He resolves to wait for Albert in a nearby field where their horses await them. Later he meets with Albert, who tells him that he has already been to Maria's window and, imitating Carracus' voice, has gone to look for Albert. They both return to Maria's window and Carracus calls to her and assists her as she descends the ladder; they along with Albert exit to find the horses. Later, after he and Maria have been married for about a month, Carracus learns from his Servingman about Albert's inquiry after them. He criticizes his Servingman for not persuading Albert to stay and then, after the Servingman exits, wonders if Albert's seeming coldness arises from the perception that Carracus has put his love for Maria ahead of their friendship. While glad to know that Albert cares about them, Carracus is at the same time upset that Albert did not stay. Maria enters to him and tries to cheer him up regarding Albert's neglect. Carracus then notices a ring on Maria's hand which he recognizes as Albert's, and which Albert accidentally left behind in Maria's room on the evening he impersonated Carracus. Carracus and Maria uncover Albert's treachery and then, when Maria faints, Carracus calls for the Nurse. When the Nurse takes Maria in, Carracus in soliloquy compels his reason to assert control over his grief. The Nurse returns and tells Carracus that Maria is dead; Carracus becomes distracted and vows revenge against Albert. He goes in to see Maria. He next appears when Young Lord Wealthy arrives with a letter from Old Lord Wealthy. Carracus reads the letter, which asks him and Maria to travel with Young Lord Wealthy to the residence of Old Lord Wealthy. He tells Young Lord Wealthy that they cannot go, and invites him inside to visit with Maria, whom he thinks has been sleeping in her chamber for the past three days. Later, Carracus goes to the woods in search of Maria. He discovers Echo, who confirms his belief that women generally are unfaithful but also tells him that Maria was false against her will and that she still lives. Still distracted, he begins to dance; he is discovered by Albert who had heard Echo conversing with him. Albert leads Carracus towards a grove where he promises to give him curative water. After Carracus' reason is restored, Albert, still disguised as a hermit, asks Carracus to forgive Albert, whose complaints Carracus has read carved into the trees. When Carracus does so, Maria steps forward and is reunited with Carracus. Carracus reassures Albert, disguised as the hermit, that his penitence will have its reward, and when Carracus asks the hermit to lead them to Albert so that they may forgive him personally, Albert takes off his hermit disguise and is forgiven Carracus and Maria. Carracus plans to go with Maria to Old Lord Wealthy's house in order to receive his blessing on their union. Initially Albert plans to continue his life in the woods, but Carracus persuades him to return with them to civilization. Carracus, Maria, and Albert arrive at Old Lord Wealthy's, where they are warmly greeted, and the marriage of Carracus and Maria receives Old Lord Wealthy's blessing. When Young Lord Wealthy, Hog, and Peter enter, Carracus asks for Young Lord Wealthy's forgiveness over his earlier behavior. Carracus invites Maria and Albert to join him at Old Lord Wealthy's feast.
CARRADIN BASSA
Carradin Bassa is a Turkish governor in Goffe's The Courageous Turk who participates in the victory over Lazarus of Servia and Sesmenos of Bulgaria. Along with Lala Schahin, he presents to Amurath a group of Christian Men who have been captured, and endorses Lala Schahin's recommendation that they be trained as janissaries to serve as Amurath's bodyguard.
CARRIER, FIRST and SECOND
These Carriers in Shakespeare's 1
Henry IV are two deliverymen questioned by Gadshill about their approximate
arrival time in London.
CARROL
Carrol is the hot-tempered gentleman-bully in Thomas Heywood's The
Fair Maid of the West, Part One who insults Bess in the Castle pub and
who is then killed by Spencer, Bess's beloved.
CARTAMANDA
Wife of Venusius in The
Valiant Welshman. When Caradoc comes to Venusius to ask for aid, Cartamanda
betrays him to Ostorius, the Roman general.
CARTANDES
"Queene of the Danes" and "in love with Arviragus" in Carlell's 2 Arviragus and Philicia. Cartandes is loved by her "Cosen" (the Danish Captain,Oswald) who discusses her "conquest of [the] Isle" with another Danish Captaine at the play's beginning. Because she has vowed that "the first prisoner [. . .] take[n] upon the Ile" will be "offer[ed] up to Mars, by way of Sacrifice" there is much confusion over the fact that, while attempting to save Arviragus's life, Guiderius and his "Cosen" were taken "both at once." After Arviragus and Guiderius reconcile, each sues to the Queen for the other's life until she decides that they will both be sent to prison and, later in the play, that neither man will be sacrificed. "Inspir'd" to save Arviragus's life, Cartandes appoints him to take charge of the Danish army (agreeing to his proposed conditions), sets Arviragus free, and confesses her love to him. Suspicious that "Arviragus faith's engaged unto another" Cartandes questions Guiderius and, after he confesses his own love to her, rejects his advances. Although Arviragus pretends to love Cartandes, the Queen discovers him sleeping on the floor of Philicia's "chamber" and, despite the lovers' attempt to convince the Queen that the disguised Philicia is actually the Prince of Scotland, she has them each sent to prison. Although Cartandes tests Philicia's loyalty to her lover and claims to have set up a "combat" between Arviragus and Oswald due to the latter's request since she has "made a vow never to marry any man, but Arviragus, yet hee alive," Cartandes actually matches Arviragus with Guiderius in the intention of bringing about his "destruction" and preventing him from gaining his and Philicia's freedom. However, the Queen puts an early end to the fight, confesses her love for Guiderius, and promises to marry Arviragus and Philicia at the play's end.
CARTANDES'S BROTHER
Formerly "oppose[d]" by Arviragus in Carlell's 2 Arviragus and Philicia. The Queen's brother is the "dead Soveraigne" and previous King of the Danes whose hatred of Arviragus grew from "the sad newes [. . .] of such defeates as [. . .] his men received" in battle with the warrior. "At his death" he "engaged [Cartandes] in a promise, of passing with the Army then in readinesse into th[e] Ile," and "appointed that inhumane sacrifice to Mars" which the Queen vows to go through with at the play's beginning.
CARTER **1592
In the B-text only of Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, Carter brings Clown, Dick, and Horse-Courser to a tavern for beer and tells them about meeting Faustus on the way to Wittenberg and agreeing to let Faustus eat hay from his cart. Angered when Faustus eats the whole load, Carter confronts Faustus but the latter charms him dumb.
CARTER**1599
Mute character in Dekker's Old Fortunatus. Crowned as a king by Fortune.
CARTER**1600
The Carter, with the other workers in Chettle and Day's Blind Beggar of Bednal Green, comes to collect his debt from Mumford. Mumford gives the Armorer, the Carter and the Vitler 30 pounds to divide among themselves.
CARTER, HOB
Hob Carter joins the commoners leading a company of men from Essex after the group has successfully challenged the nobility in the anonymous Jack Straw. He is concerned about safety, and urges commoners group to eliminate anyone who opposes Jacke Strawe. He accepts King Richard II's pardon and promises to lead the Essex men home.
CARTESMUNDA
Cartesmunda is the head of the convent in Winchester in Brewer's The
Lovesick King. She is captured, and Canutus falls hopelessly in love with
her. She resists at first but ultimately yields. She is accidentally killed by
Canutus in his scuffle with Huldrick.
CARTHALO[N]**1605
Carthalo[n] is a Carthaginian senator in Marston's Sophonisba.
He enters wounded to bring the news of Scipio's attack and thus disrupts the wedding
night of Massinissa and Sophonisba.
CARTHALO**1631
Carthalo, one of the Carthaginian Senators in Massinger's Believe
As You List who, along with Asdrubal and Hanno, find Antiochus innocent
of treason and treachery.
CARTOPHYLAX
Cartophylax is a spirit in service to Behemoth in Chapman's Bussy D'Ambois. Cartophylax is ordered by Behemoth to find out what is written upon Monsieur and Montsurry's secret paper. Cartophylax reports that Monsieur had another spirit called up to guard the paper.
CARVILIUS
Petty King in Kent in Fisher's Fuimus Troes. The "four Kings of Kent" (Cingetorix, Carvilius, Taximagulus and Segonax) are followers of Cassibelane.
CARYNUS
Tesephon favors him as suitor to his daughter, Allcyane, in the anonymous Dead Man's Fortune. He and Prelior are the wicked suitors of the play. They plot with the women's fathers to drug and marry the women. Urganda punishes him and Prelior by driving them mad with a magic mirror. Both men are probably restored to their senses by play's end, but the sketchy nature of the surviving plor does not make this entirely clear.
CASANE
Nickname of Usumcasane in Marlowe's Tamburlaine Part 1. Used only once by Tamburlaine early in the play. Apparently a term of affection for his loyal friend.
CASCA**1595
Though the speech prefix in the anonymous Caesar and Pompey impossibly reads "Caes," it must be Casca who joins Cicero in lamenting Pompey's fall.
CASCA **1599
Casca is one of the conspirators wishing to see Caesar dead in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. He reports that Antony had three times offered Caesar the crown and had three times been refused. He adds that the Senators plan to make Caesar
king. On the day of Caesar's murder, Casca's knife stroke is the first.
CASEO
A "ghost character" and probably fictional in Chapman's All Fools. The Notary refers to the case of Butior and Caseo as proof of his learning and knowledge, but "butior and caseo" is bad Latin for "bread and cheese."
CASH
Old Matchil's deceitful apprentice in Brome's The
New Academy. Cash appears to serve Matchil humbly during the day, but
at night he sneaks out dressed in lace and a periwig to spend money stolen from
Matchil on feasts and prostitutes. Stigood, knowing of his exploits, blackmails
him. Cash receives the news of Philip Matchil's supposed death and is disappointed
that Joyce, as Matchil's heir (whom he had hoped to court), will now be a popular
marriage prospect. When Cash overhears Matchil reading a letter describing Philip's
death, he mistakes the description of Philip's riotous lifestyle for a description
of himself and assumes that someone has informed Matchil of his embezzlement.
After Matchil asks Cash to bring him a full account of his finances so that he
can make a will, Cash panics and fleas the house "with a strong and lusty Porter
/ Loaden with money." Dressed as a gallant, he discovers Joyce and Gabriella in
the New Academy. Strigood assumes that Cash, fearing Matchil, will not reveal
their location, so he makes Cash a confederate in his scheme. Despite the danger,
Cash goes to Old Matchil (who briefly mistakes him for Philip) and reveals Joyce's
location in hopes that Matchil will allow him to marry her, which he does not.
Matchil does, however, ultimately forgive Cash.
CASH, THOMAS
Thomas Cash is Kitely's cashier and confidence man in Jonson's Every Man in His Humour. According to Kitely, the merchant raised the foundling boy deposited at his door as if he were his son. Kitely christened him by his first name, Thomas, and the surname Cash, suggesting his trade. At Kitely's house in the Old Jewry, Cash enters following his master and Downright. After receiving instructions from Kitely regarding the business, Cash exits to run some errands. At Kitely's warehouse, Cash enters with Kitely, reporting the business of the day to his master. When Kitely asks him to keep an eye on his wife while he is away, Cash promises to do so. However, it seems that Cash is lamentably inefficient in this watchdog activity. While the gallants are with the ladies, Cash is mostly out of the room, and he only enters during the brawl when the ladies cry out for help. When Kitely enters, however, he finds Cash trying to part the fighters. Like a devoted man of confidence, Cash informs Kitely that Bridget admires Edward Knowell. When Kitely is summoned on a false pretext, Cash is brought in to guard the ladies, but he ends in accompanying Dame Kitely to Cob's house. It seems that Cash's allegiance lies more with his mistress than with his benefactor. It is understood that Cash attends the confusion scene happening before Cob's house and goes with the entire party before the judge, where all differences find a good resolution.
CASHER
Servant of London alderman Sir Thomas Curtis, in the anonymous Captain Thomas Stukeley. He vainly attempts to recoup some of his master's money after Stukeley marries Nell, Curtis' daughter and uses the proceeds to finance his various overseas adventures.
CASON
A "ghost character" and probably fictional in Chapman's All Fools. The Notary refers to the case of Butler and Cason as proof of his learning and knowledge.
CASSANA
A Persian princess kept as a companion by Aurelia in Fletcher and Massinger's The Prophetess. Aurelia demotes Cassana to slavery in defiance of the Persian ambassadors' effort to negotiate a ransom for their princess. During the dumb show, the ambassadors and Persian soldiers rescue Cassana. Later, when Persians capture Aurelia, Cassana shows her mercy.
CASSANDER
Cassander begins Shirley's Coronation as lord protector of Epire. He wants his sons Lisimachus to become king, and he therefore encourages his son's affection to Sophia, the heir to the crown. He arranges the coronation of Sophia when she claims she cannot wed Lisimachus until she is made queen absolute; when Sophia instead chooses Arcadius as her mate, Cassander plots with Eubulus to place Seleucus on the throne. Cassander is surprised to learn later that instead of being a counterfeit heir, Seleucus is Leonatus, the real heir to the crown.
CASSANDRA**1578
I.
A young gentlewoman and Andrugio's sister in Whetstone's 1 Promos and Cassandra. Outside Andrugio's prison, she laments her brother's fate and the sorrow caused by lust. Andrugio hears her and implores her to beg Promos for his life. She meets Promos in the street and begs for her brother's life. Promos is so taken with her that he agrees to stay the execution for a day to allow her to plead her case. Cassandra appears before Promos and pleads for Andrugio, arguing that his sexual encounters with Polina were consensual and he can mend the fault by marrying her. Promos confesses his passion for Cassandra and agrees to pardon Andrugio if she will sleep with him. She is disgusted by the irony of his proposition–he refuses to pardon Andrugio's crime unless she and he commit the very same crime. She argues that if he really loves her, his conscience should compel him to release Andrugio. He replies that one favor deserves another. She refuses his proposition. He offers her wealth and favors. She refuses again. He offers to marry her. She refuses once more. He tells her that if she changes her mind, she should come to him by night dressed as a page. She tells Andrugio of her encounter. He urges her to accept Promos' proposition, but she argues that honor is worse than death, for death is inevitable but the retention of honor gives distinction. She fears slander, but eventually agrees to accept Promo's offer. She goes to Promos dressed as a page and they have sex. When the jailer brings her what she believes is Andrugio's severed head, she wails and rages at Promos' treachery. She vows to tell the King about Promos' sins.
II.
A young gentlewoman and Andrugio's sister in Whetstone's 2 Promos and Cassandra. She has told the King how Promos offered to free Andrugio in exchange for sex and, after she capitulated, broke his word and ordered Andrugio executed. The King returns to Julio with her to investigate, but they part ways before entering the city so that Promos will not suspect the King's reason for visiting. At the King's public court, Cassandra arrives wearing a blue gown as a sign of adultery. She states her case against Promos and he confesses. The King orders Promos to marry Cassandra and restore her reputation, then face execution. Once they are married, Cassandra's hatred turns to pity and she begs the King to spare Promos' life. The King pities her but refuses her request. As Promos goes to execution, Cassandra vows to take her own life upon his death. After the husband and wife say farewell, Ganio appears and informs Cassandra and Polina that Andrugio
lives.
CASSANDRA**1599
I.
She appears early in Chettle and Dekker's Troilus and Cressida, entering apparently to speak to Deiphobus, Diomede, and Hector. About a third of the way into the play, she meets with Troilus and Pandarus, bringing with her a waiting maid who carries a light. She appears again with Priam, Hector, Deiphobus, Paris, and Helen. She enters later with beggars and meets Troilus, Deiphobus, and a proctor. In the next scene she is on stage with Priam, Hector, Paris, Helen, and Polixina when they are met by Antenor. In the final scene, she appears on the wall with the Trojans and descends to the Greeks.
II.
Daughter to the King of Troy in Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida. Cassandra is a prophetess whose visions are ignored. She foresees Hector's death and humiliation, but her presentiment goes unheeded.
III.
Cassandra is a daughter of Priam and Hecuba, sister to Hector, and a prophetess in Heywood's 1 The Iron Age. When Priam proposes the expedition to Greece to retrieve Hesione, Cassandra urges the Trojans to forbear because she knows the voyage will bring Paris into contact with Helen and lead to the destruction of Troy. She fails to move her father, who calls her mad, or to convince Hector's wife Andromache, even though the latter is warned that a war with the Greeks will result in her husband's death.
IV.
Priam's daughter in Heywood's 2 The Iron Age, loved by both Chorephus and Agamemnon, Cassandra (not obviously possessed) escapes from Synon and Thersites only to witness Aeneas' unwitting killing of Chorephus, and is killed by Diomed in Agamemnon's presence when Pyrhus directs the final solution of the Trojan problem.
V.
A “ghost character" in Goffe’s Orestes.After stabbing Agamemnon, Clytemnestra remembers how he acted the adulterer with Cassandra. Cassandra appears after Agamemnon’s death to glory in the Greeks enacting Troy’s revenge. After the murders of Clytemnestra, Aegysthus, and the boy, and after Strophius dies and Electra commits suicide, Cassandra enters to gloat again. She taunts Orestes, now mad, until he stabs the dead bodies of Strophius and Electra.
CASSANDRA**1624
The dramatis personae of Fletcher's A
Wife for a Month describes Cassandra as "an old bawd, waiting-woman to Evanthe." While striving to fend off the libidinous advances of King Frederick and at the same time honor her legitimate love for Valerio, Evanthe receives no help from Cassandra. Cassandra's first offense is to relinquish Evanthe's box of letters and writings to Sorano's creature Podramo so that Frederick learns of the love between Evanthe and Valerio. For this betrayal Evanthe curses Cassandra and calls her an "unconsiderate Ass" and a "brainless Ideot." Cassandra's response is to rail at Podramo and insist that he deceived her. Later in the play, King Frederick promises Cassandra that she will be married to a lord and made a lady if she will only help him to persuade Evanthe to sleep with him. Cassandra agrees, reasoning that "a little evil may well be suffered for a general good."
CASSANDRA **1633
As Vittori's mistress in Shirley's The Young Admiral, Cassandra dons mourning garb to issue forth from the city and warn Vittori of Cesario's amorous advances toward her and the lack of any welcome from the city in celebration of the admiral's victories. Given over by Vittori to the enemy king of Sicily, Cassandra finds her life pledged as assurance for Vittori's defection to Sicily. She and the Sicilian princess Rosinda concoct letters that lure the Neapolitan Cesario to the Sicilian camp; ultimately, a peace is obtained when captives Rosinda and Cesario plan to wed, as do Cassandra and Vittori.
CASSANOS, USAN
A "ghost character" in ?Greene's Selimus I. Soldan of Egypt and father of Tonombey. Enters into an alliance with Acomat.
CASSIANA
Cassiana is an attendant to Eugenia in Shirley's The Bird in a Cage. She voluntarily follows her into imprisonment by the duke. In the inset play, she plays an unnamed attendant of Danaë.
CASSIBELANE
Beli Maur's son, Nennius' brother in Fisher's Fuimus Troes. Cassibelane became Protector of Britain when his brother Lud, the former King of Britain, died, because the two princes Androgeus and Themantius were too young to rule the country. At the beginning of the play the two princes are still pleased with this arrangement. Cassibelane remains the ruler of the whole country with all its little kingdoms, but he keeps his court at Verulam and confers Troynovant (London) and Kent to Androgeus, and Cornwall to Themantius. When he hears of Caesar's plans to invade Britain, he sends his kinsmen to all parts of Britain to raise an army and he immediately gets support from all the kingdoms. He refuses to pay tribute to Rome and to send noble ladies as hostages, and he answers Caesar's demands with a letter in which he points out that their two nations are equal as they are both of Trojan origin. Caesar's first attempt at conquering Britain is not successful. The Romans are defeated and Caesar has to flee. After the funeral of Cassibelane's brother Nennius the Britains celebrate their victory. During this celebration Androgeus and Themantius play at foils, and two courtiers, Eulinus and Hirildo, start to play too. Hirildo, Cassibelane's nephew, is unfortunately killed before his uncle's eyes. Cassibelane gets angry and declares that Eulinus has to die, whereas Androgeus maintains that Eulinus as his own kinsman should have a fair trial by the laws of Troynovant. Eulinus escapes, but Cassibelane still insists on his authority. Because of this incident, Androgeus and Themantius plan to fight the usurper of their throne. Together with Mandubrace they contact the Romans. Caesar's second invasion is more successful now, although he loses his ships in a storm. Following his counselor's advice, Cassibelane goes to Caesar and offers peace. Caesar accepts, they exchange gifts and become friends, but Caesar can still set up the conditions: Cassibelane remains in power till he dies, Themantius instead of Androgeus shall then wear the crown, Mandubrace shall get Troynovant, and Britain shall pay a yearly tribute of 3,000 pound silver to Rome.
CASSIBELAUNUS
Imperator Britannorum in Fisher's Fuimus Troes. Latin name of Cassibelane
CASSILANE
A soldier for fifty years and general of the forces of Candy in ?Ford's The Laws of Candy. Cassilane returns triumphant from battle at the beginning of the play and contends with his son Antinous for recognition as the country's champion; according to Candy's laws, the man who gains that title, through recognition of the soldiers and Senate, earns the right to ask one boon of the government. Antinous eventually proves the winner but chooses to ask the Senate to recognize his father's fifty years of service as a soldier by erecting a statue to his father. Instead of being flattered, Cassilane believes that Antinous is simply gloating because nobody could see the statue without knowing that it was erected by Antinous after Antinous captured Cassilane's glory. Cassilane then casts off his son completely and determines to retire to the country, accompanied by his friend Arcanes and his daughter Annophil. Once settled in the country, the Senate sends Fernando to lodge there at Fernando's request; Cassilane at first believes that Fernando is mocking him but comes to believe that Fernando truly acknowledges Cassilane's excellence as a military leader and wishes to honor him. When Decius arrives bringing a letter from Antinous, Cassilane responds angrily, threatening to kill Decius; Arcanes and Annophil urge him not to, but he continues to be irate at his son. Cassilane is amazed at first when Gonzalo brings him money and says that Cassilane's mortgage is repaid, but when he realizes that Erota paid Gonzalo on Cassilane's behalf, Cassilane goes to the Senate and accuses his son formally of ingratitude, a capital crime according to the laws of Candy. Erota in turn accuses Cassilane of ingratitude because she paid his debts and asked only that he favor Antinous again, at which time Antinous accuses Erota of ingratitude. Cassilane only recants when Philander points out to Cassilane that he has single-handedly brought his country to the brink of ruin rather than saving it because the entire government is under sentence of death. He forgives his son and is forgiven by Erota. He supports the union between Fernando and Annophil.
CASSIMERE
Father of Hyanthe in the anonymous Wisdom of Doctor Dodypoll. Cassimere is a great admirer of the Jeweler Flores. When Flores is disgraced and Cornelia's other suitors abandon her, Cassimere marries Cornelia himself.
CASSIMERO
A Spanish nobleman in the Anonymous First
Part of Jeronimo. He takes part at Andrea's funeral. He is mentioned in
the stage direction, but does not speak.
CASSIMIRUS, GEORGE
George Cassimirus, Palatine or Palsgrave of the Rhine in the anonymous Alphonsus Emperor of Germany, is one of the seven Electors of Germany, and is also Taster to the Emperor. Alphonsus killed his father, and the Palsgrave is a supporter of Richard, leaving the court after the Electors abandon their plan to appoint him Emperor. He finds Richard in the woods after his fight with the boors, and accompanies him back to court. When Bohemia and (apparently) Alphonso are poisoned during te dinner, the Palsgrave, who drank from the cup immediately before them, becomes the prime suspect. The Englishmen flee the court, but the Palsgrave elects instead to hide in Isabella's closet, but he is discovered and is killed on the spot by Alphonsus's guards.
CASSIO
Lieutenant to Othello in Shakespeare's Othello.
Iago claims Cassio was appointed over him. He becomes the instrument of Iago's
revenge, and Othello is made to suspect him of being Desdemona's secret lover.
He enters into a drunken fight with Montano and is punished by Othello. Later
he defends himself against Roderigo's attack and is wounded. At end of play Cassio
is left in charge of Cyprus.
CASSIUS**1622
A "ghost character" in Markham's Herod
and Antipater, Cassius is named by Alexandra as the man who cut off her
father Antigonus' head.
CASSIUS**1628
A "ghost character" in May's Julia
Agrippina, mentioned as a great Roman of the past, possibly Caius Cassius
is meant.
CASSIUS, CAIUS
I.
A Roman Senator in Kyd's Cornelia; Cassius is eager to rid Rome of Julius Caesar because he believes Caesar to be overly ambitious and a threat to the Republic. Cassius is Caesar's chief opponent. He plots against Caesar but his determination to kill Caesar is tempered by Decimus Brutus who advises patience. Unlike Cicero, Cassius does not believe in the gods. As far as he's concerned, there is only "Fortune" and men's desires. Caesar is proof of that. If there were gods, they would have stopped a man who acts as though he were a god. Cassius declares that Caesar's ambition is boundless and will destroy the Republic. Because of his thirst for power, countless men lay dead and still Caesar is not satisfied. He will not rule a free Rome, but enslave all the people to his own ends. Cassius calls Caesar a Dictator.
II.
Caius Cassius is one of the conspirators wishing to see Caesar dead in Shakespeare's
Julius Caesar. Caesar distrusts
him, saying he has "a lean and hungry look." He urges (to Brutus) that Brutus
is indeed Julius Caesar's equal, and he carries out a plan to throw persuasive
messages in at Brutus' window. As Brutus' brother-in-law, Cassius remains a key
rebel throughout the political battles that follow Caesar's murder; at the end,
he is assisted in suicide by his servant Pindarus on the plains of Philippi.
III.
Cassius enters the anonymous Caesar and Pompey at the beginning of the third act after Discord has apostrophised him and predicted that he will kill Caesar. He declares that he has vowed revenge to Pompey's soul. He begins by persuading Brutus to action, then assures Caesar that it is safe for him to enter the Senate. Thinking Brutus already dead, he kills himself after the defeat at Philippi.
IV.
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. Cassius was one of the Senators who assassinated Julius
Caesar. Pompey refers to their attempt to keep Rome a republic as reason for his
own war.
V.
Only mentioned in the Anonymous The
Faithful Friends. Cassius the conspirator, familiar to us from Julius
Caesar, is invoked by Rufinus as the Roman model of courage in adversity.
CASSIUS LONGINUS, LUCIUS
Lucius Cassius Longinus is a patrician of senatorial rank and a member of Catiline's conspiracy in Jonson's Catiline. At Catiline's house, Longinus enters with the other conspirators. After hearing Catiline's incendiary address, the confederates are invited to partake of fresh human blood as a symbolic seal of their pact. After the ritual ceremony, the conspirators exeunt. Longinus and Lentulus accompany Catiline to the Senate. Since Catiline's plan has failed, and Cicero has been elected consul, Longinus and Lentulus express their dissatisfaction privately. After the plot was exposed in the Senate, the conspirators gather at Catiline's house to elaborate their strategy. The plan is to set Rome on fire on the night of the Saturnalia, and remove all the enemies at once. Longinus and Statilus have the specific charge of starting the fire, prompted by a trumpet sounded in twelve places at once. After each conspirator has been allotted his task, all depart secretly. When the conspirators are arrested and tried before the Senate, Allobroges testify that they have letters signed by all the members of the conspiracy, except for Longinus, who said he would not write because he was to come in person to see Catiline. It seems that, by not having provided material proof against him, Longinus might have saved himself. However, in his address to the Senate, Cicero includes Longinus's name among the conspirators and it is understood that he shares their punishment.
CASTA
Casta is a character in "The Triumph of Death," the third play within the
play of Fletcher's Four Plays in One. She is the virtuous daughter of Gentille. At his wedding to
Hellena, Lavall sees her and plots her seduction/rape. She escapes during
his attempt.
CASTABELLA**1609
Daughter to Belforest and Levidulcia in Tourneur's The Atheist's Tragedy. Castabella is the beloved of Charlemont and marries him privately before he goes off to war. After the false report of his death in battle, her family forces her into a loveless marriage with D'Amville's impotent elder son Rousard. When it becomes plain that his son will not produce the children to keep the family line and fortune growing, D'Amville decides to impregnate Castabella himself. In St. Winfred's churchyard, his attempt at rape is foiled by the appearance of Charlemont in disguise as his father's ghost. Following the discovery of Borachio's corpse, she is arrested with Charlemont, even though he attempts to counter her admission of responsibility, because the fact of her presence at the scene is something the watch cannot overlook. At the trial, she insists on dying with Charlemont, but she is spared when D'Amville, undertaking to execute Charlemont personally, manages accidentally to strike his own head. The two Judges free her and Charlemont, officially recognize her as the new Lady Belforest, and she instantly pledges herself to Charlemont, thus uniting the collective wealth of Montferrers, D'Amville, and Belforest.
CASTABELLA **1626
Castabella is Antonio's sister in Shirley's The
Maid's Revenge. She falls rapidly in love with Sebastiano and is heartsick
when he slays Antonio and returns to Avero. Entering Sebastiano's service disguised
as a Page, Castabella reveals herself after the deaths of all three of Vilarezo's
children. She indicates that her forthcoming life as a nun is likely to be short,
and she wishes to be buried near Sebastiano.
CASTADORA
A disguise in Daborne's Poor Man's Comfort adopted by Urania, daughter to the shepherd Gisbert. She uses the disguise to endear herself to the whore Gullman and her daughter Flavia where she is able to observe Lucius' suit for the prostitute. When Lucius' falls on hard times, she comforts him, reveals her true identity, and is reunited with her husband.
CASTALIA
A nymph in Glapthorne's Argalus and Parthenia. She principally appears as the chief singer in the play's several pastoral entertainments. Unlike the other nymphs, Aminta and Florida, and the shepherdess Sapho, she remains aloof from the wooing of the play's swains in comic scenes and her appearances signal her musical contributions to the action. Her song on Cupid and Venus at the pastoral entertainment given for Demagoras is derided as "too effeminate" by him.
CASTAMELA
Castamela is the heroine of Ford's The Fancies Chaste and Noble. She is the virtuous sister of Livio. At the outset, she is courted by Romanello, whom she has known since childhood. She tells him that she does not love him, but he dismisses this as ambition, and his worst fears seem to be confirmed when Livio sends her to join the Bower of Fancies which Octavio, the Marquis of Sienna keeps, apparently for his own private pleasure. Castamela is very disturbed by this development, particularly when the Marquis appears to court her. To punish Livio for sending her there, she allows him to think that she has been seduced and corrupted. She is finally told the chaste truth about the Bower by the Fancies (Clarella, Floria, and Silvia) and agrees to marry Troylo-Savelli.
CASTANNA
The virtuous sister of Spinella in Ford's The Lady's Trial. He is left in charge of her sister while Auria is away. She defends Spinella to the best of her ability against Auria and Aurelio. At play's end, Auria gives her in marriage to Adurni.
CASTARINA **1619
Shepherdess, daughter of the banished Peromett and in love with Lariscus in (?)Goffe’s Careless Shepherdess. She has vowed not to marry until her father is redeemed from banishment. She secretly loves Philaritus. She accepts him when he transfers his love from Arismena to her. When they see Arismena and Lariscus kissing, Philaritus rejects Castarina. She realizes that he was only pretending to love her in order to draw Arismena out. She finds the letter in which Philaritus challenges Lariscus to a duel over her and rushes to tell Bacheus. As Philaritus and Lariscus begin to duel, Arismena and Castarina come in with bows and arrows and threaten to kill Arismena should Philaritus wound Lariscus or Castarina should Lariscus wound Philaritus. Arismena admits love for Philaritus as Lariscus and Castarina reconciled, but the satyrs take up the weapons and steal the women away. It is a joke, however, and the women are safe with Cleobulus and Bacheus until the actual satyrs attack and steal them in earnest. She and Arismena briefly escape and fall asleep beneath an arbor where a satyr finds them and carries Arismena away whilst leaving Castarina to her fate. Castarina’s ‘Bonus Genius’ sings to her whilst she sleeps to prefer death to ravishment by the satyrs. She wakes to find Arismena gone. She and Arismena are reunited, disguised, and made to sing ‘Sigh, Shepherds, sigh’ to the captured men in the Grand Satyr’s presence. She and Arismena are brought in, coffined, but they rise up and explain that all was a ruse to bring exiled Peromett back into the good graces of the land. She happily takes Lariscus for her husband.
CASTER
A gamester at the ordinary in Cartwright's The
Ordinary. He is the victim or gull, along with Have-at-all, of a confidence
trick conducted by Heare-say, Meanewell, and Slicer.
CASTILE, DUKE OF
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.
CASTILIANO
A disguise in Haughton's The Devil and his Dame. Castiliano, a Spanish doctor, is the devil Belphagor's human persona. Except for his appearances at the sessions of Hell, Belphagor spends all of his time in this shape. See BELPHAGOR.
CASTILIO BALTHAZAR
A gentleman of the Venetian Court, one of five in Marston's Antonio and Mellida. Castilio Balthazar banters with Rossaline, with whom he is in love, dances with Flavia, perfumes himself for his mistress, and sings with Feliche for his beloved. Like the author, Baldassare Castiglione, whose name probably provided satirical inspiration for his own, Castilio loves "the perfection" of court life. He also claims to like court life because all the ladies send him love letters, but Feliche proves his boast false using a "letter" that is really a tailor's bill. He is likely the same character as CASTILLO in Antonio's Revenge.
CASTILLO
Castillo is a gentleman of the Venetian court in Marston's Antonio's Revenge. He first appears on stage with Antonio and a group of gentlemen. Castillo sings with Galeatzo to waken Mellida on her supposed wedding day. Castillo is charged with helping a fainted Maria off stage after the duchess learns that her husband is dead. Castillo and Forobosco attend Piero's young son Julio when the boy cannot sleep. They are sent to fetch Mellida for her trial. Castillo helps Piero strangle Strotzo during the trial. He also drags Balurdo off to prison. He is likely the same character as CASTILIO BALTHAZAR in Antonio and Mellida.
CASTINA **1606
One of Titania's ladies-in-waiting in Dekker's The
Whore of Babylon.
CASTINA **1637
A shepherdess in (?)Speed’s The Converted Robber. She parries Alcinous’ courtly praise of her beauty by saying that beauty is not found in the face but in the mind. Despite Palaemon’s love for her, and her tentative reciprocation, she finds herself enamoured of Alcinous. However, his wooing reveals his true nature, and she affirms her love to Palaemon, which angers Alcinous. When he threatens to rape her, she threatens to kill herself with her knife first, prompting an instantaneous conversion in Alcinous. She embraces him and must explain to Palaemon, who sees the embrace, that it is a chaste celebration of that conversion. She claims Palaemon for her husband and, when Alexis reveals that ‘he’ is actually her sister Clarinda, Castina bestows her upon Alcinous, whom Clarinda loves.
CASTIZA**1604
Castiza is married to the Captain in Middleton's The Phoenix. She is sad that her husband is no longer happy to be married. Nevertheless, she repulses Count Proditor's advances. She expresses woe and outrage when she discovers the Captain's intent to sell her and joy when Fidelio and Phoenix defeat the Captain's plans.
CASTIZA**1606
Sister to Vindice and Hippolito in [?]Middleton's The
Revenger's Tragedy. The object of Lussurioso's lust, she resists his importunities.
Vindice, disguised as Lussurioso's panderer Piato, tests his sister's honor. Castiza
remains honorable, but is disgusted at her mother, Gratiana, who is willing to
prostitute Castiza for preferment at court. After Gratiana's conversion, Castiza
pretends to be willing to go to Lussurioso, but the pretense is only to test Gratiana's
newfound moral fibre.
CASTIZA**1618
Castiza is the daughter of Devon in Middleton's Hengist. She is betrothed to Vortiger; he vexes
Constantius by presenting her to him as a prospective spouse. Having taken
monastic vows of abstinence, Constantius promptly convinces Castiza do so as well. After he has Constantius killed, Vortiger marries Castiza. He then falls in love with Roxena and plots with Horsus to rape Castiza and destroy her reputation so that he can have Roxena. When Aurelius claims the throne after the death of Vortiger, he takes Castiza for his queen.
CASTOR**1611
Castor is Fulvia's servant in Jonson's Catiline. At Fulvia's house, Castor attends the conversation between Fulvia and Galla, in which the maid is telling Fulvia about her dream of Sempronia, and then he announces Sempronia. Hearing that Sempronia is outside, Galla seems amazed, reminding Castor about her dream. Castor replies that, apparently, Sempronia is coming to see Fulvia, implying that Galla's dream might have been of consequence in the development of the relationship between the two Roman matrons. However, Castor has an argument with Galla, and he even assaults her at some point, because Fulvia intervenes, saying that the fool is wild. After introducing Sempronia, Castor exits.
CASTOR
I.
Castor of Lada serves Meleager and is one of Jason's Argonauts in Heywood's Brazen Age. He is Tyndarus's son and brother to Pollux and Helen. Castor travels to Lydia to rescue Hercules from Omphale. Castor is assigned to distract Omphale so that Jason and the Argonauts can free Hercules from his trance.
II.
Castor and his brother Pollux arrive in Sparta to visit their sister Helen at just the time Menelaus has left for Crete in Heywood's 1 The Iron Age. Helen uses the arrival of her brothers to cover her going to the port and her flight with Paris. When Castor and Pollux are informed by the unnamed Spartan Lord of their sister's departure, they set out in pursuit of Helen and her Trojan lover.
CASTRACAGNIO
Castracagnio is a general in the Duke of Tuscany's army in Davenant's The Siege. At the beginning of the play, his forces are besieging Pisa. He meets with Governor Foscari and demands that Pisa allow the Tuscan troops into the city. Castracagnio also wants Pisa to pay the tribute he believes they owe to the Duke of Tuscany. After Pisa refuses these two demands, Castracagnio demands additionally that Foscari surrender himself as a prisoner. Pisa's defiance causes Castracagnio to order a battery, or forced entry, into the city. At the last minute, Castracagnio postpones the attack at the recommendation of Florello, Castracagnio's most trusted officer and counsel. When Castracagnio receives orders to sack Pisa, he decides to wait until he can find Florello, who has vanished. When the general receives word of his officer's betrayal, Castracagnio is furious beyond words. Amazingly, the general is impressed with Florello's motivation for revolts and pardons the young officer. After Florello leads the Tuscans to victory, Castracagnio blesses Florello's betrothal to Bertolina and promises to intervene with the Duke of Tuscany on behalf of Foscari.
CASTRAGANIO
Follower of Fredeline and brother of Amandine in Davenant's The
Platonic Lovers. Castraganio becomes involved in two plots, both finally
unsuccessful:
- First, he tries to push the inexperienced Gridonell into marriage with Amandine by feeding him the love potion brought by Buonateste for Theander q.v.); and,
- Next, dazzled by Fredeline's gracious offers of patronage, he agrees to help in Fredeline's secret pursuit of Eurithea.
At first, Fredeline asks only that he should instruct Amandine to praise him to Eurithea. Finally, he asks him to pretend to have slept with Eurithea himself on her wedding night. Castraganio makes the claim and soon after finds himself betrayed. Fredeline has him and Amandine locked up in a garret prior to being shipped off as slaves. At the end of the play, when Fredeline's treachery has been revealed, it seems that Eurithea will be merciful to Castraganio and his sister.
CASTRATO
A disguise in Hemming's Fatal Contract. The name adopted by Crotilda in disguise as an Ethiopian eunuch in the apparently loyal service of Fredigond and her sons. Until the play's ending, when she reveals herself, Crotilda is known only as Castrato. See CROTILDA.
CASTRIOT
Castriot is a Knight of Malta in Fletcher's The
Knight of Malta. Along with Astorius, he arrives to ask Mountferrat if
he will attend the investiture of Gomera and Miranda. Both men comment on Mountferrat's
changed mood, but they do not know the reason for it. At the ceremony, when Gomera
refuses to become a knight, Castriot asks if he intends to return home to Spain,
which Gomera denies. Castriot attends the trial by combat with Norandine, but
does not speak individually after first commenting on Norandine's recovered health.
With the others, he is present at the disgrace of Mountferrat and the investiture
of Miranda.
CASTRONE
A eunuch in the service of Volpone in Jonson's Volpone. Castrone's main employment is to sing for his master.
CASTRUCCIO**1615
A "ghost character" in Fletcher's Monsieur
Thomas. The Venetian Merchant to whose care the child Francis was being
sent when he was lost in a sea-battle. Sadly, he died long before the adult Francis
could find him.
CASTRUCCIO**1624
According to the dramatis personae of Fletcher's A Wife for a Month, Castruccio is the "Captain of the Citadel" and "an honest man." He appears in act four, and it is his reluctant duty to part the lovers Evanthe and Valerio and keep them from consummating their marriage on the eve of Valerio's execution. When Alphonso is restored to health, however, Castruccio is one of the first to swear his duty to the rightful king. He lies to Frederick, telling him that Alphonso is indeed dead and his body thrown into the sea, all the while taking part in the plot to restore Alphonso to the throne.
CASTRUCHIO**1604
Castruchio is a gallant in Dekker and Middleton's 1 The Honest Whore, one of the followers of the Duke, and seems to be the one most closely allied to him. He is part of the mock funeral procession the Duke stages to convince Hippolyto that Infelice is dead. Later, he describes Candido's patience to Pioratto and Fluello, and proposes that they attempt to anger him, wagering one hundred ducats with Pioratto that he can move Candido to anger. At the shop, he demands a pennyworth of lawn cut from the middle of the cloth, but this fails to anger Candido and so Castruchio loses the bet. He is further amazed when Candido is not upset at the theft of his silver and gilt beaker. When he and the others go to visit Bellafront, he and Fluello argue over who will pay for the wine Roger is sent to fetch, but in the end both are gulled by the trickery of Roger who pretends to spill the wine. When all three return to Bellafront's to find out why she did not come to dinner, and are lectured by her to give up prostitutes. Castruchio stops a fight between Matheo and Fluello over whether or not Bellafront is serious. Castruchio, Pioratto and Fluello enter with the Duke when he meets with the Doctor, but they are immediately dismissed. When Matheo tells Castruchio that Infelice is still alive and planning to marry Hippolyto that day, he swears to keep silent, but immediately goes to tell the Duke. At the Monastery, he asks Anselmo if they may see some of the madmen in order to explain their presence there. With the others, he asks the Duke to accept the marriage and is pleased when the Duke does so.
CASTRUCHIO**1614
An old lord in Webster's The Duchess of
Malfi. Husband to Julia, who is Delio's erstwhile lover and the Cardinal's
mistress. Bosola sends him to Rome with a letter to the Cardinal when it is discovered
that the duchess has borne a child.
CASTRUCHIO **1620
Ferrand's court fool and parasite in Fletcher and Massinger's The Double Marriage. Castruchio envies the king's luxurious life. Overhearing this, Ferrand orders Castruchio to be dressed in royal robes and treated as if he were king. During public processions, Sesse and his crew mistake Castruchio for the king and attack him. During a mock banquet, Castruchio attempts to indulge in gluttony and lust, and calls for his players to perform a masque of cuckolds. Despite being subject to assassination attempts and the zealous attention of the court physician who prevents him from excessive eating, drinking, and fornicating, Castruchio continues to glorify kingship and its trappings until his final encounter with Sesse when he admits he is a rascal and promises neither to believe in nor obey kings again. The Gunner then takes Castruchio away for execution.
CASTRUCHIO**1627
Castruchio is a satirical courtier, similar to the melancholic in Davenant's The Cruel Brother. He employs a Singer to sing his satirical verses about courtiers, and complains constantly to his cousin Cosimo about the corrupt and unfair state of the world. He is especially appalled by the Duke's favors towards both Lucio and Foreste, the first because he is so young and the second because he is not noble. However, he attempts to win Foreste's favor as a means to approach the Duke about a monopoly. When Foreste rejects the notion of monopolies violently, they begin a duel during which Foreste disarms Castruchio, but they are discovered before any blood can be shed. Castruchio plays with Lothario, making him believe first that he is the Duke's favorite and then that Foreste has ruined that favor, urging him to confront Foreste, an action that ends with Lothario in jail. Castruchio is then approached by the Duke for aid in gaining Corsa. Castruchio, through his relationship with Duarte, brings the Duke to Corsa's bedroom and calms Duarte's fears that it is rape, not seduction, that is taking place. Castruchio then has Lothario freed from prison and encourages him to take revenge on Foreste. When the Duke becomes fearful that Corsa will reveal his rape, Castruchio suggests that he lie in wait for Lucio and Foreste and kill them. The Duke at first agrees, but then makes Castruchio promise not to kill Lucio. In the fight in the dark that follows, Castruchio is wounded by Foreste and tries to flee with Cosimo, but both are taken and returned to the scene, where all is revealed. Dorido promises that Castruchio and Cosimo will be tortured before their execution.
CASTRUCHIO**1642
A bandit in Shirley's The Sisters,
follower of Frapolo.
CASTRUCHIO'S SINGER
A "ghost character" in Davenant's The Cruel Brother. Castruchio's singer is mentioned by Dorido and Cosimo, who comment that he sings Castruchio's libelous songs and is a big man.
CAT**1599
A non-speaking character in Jonson's Every Man out of His Humour. Cat and Dog are permanently present at Puntavorlo's side, and two servants take care of them. Cat is in a bag carried by one of the servants. 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. Actually, Cat replaces Lady Puntavorlo, who changed her mind about taking the journey. Carlo Buffone says the choice of Cat is even better, because the cat has nine lives and his wife only one. Puntavorlo adds that Cat is never sea sick, which saves him a lot of food. After signing the insurance papers at his lodgings in London, Puntavorlo wants to go to court with his friends. He tells the servants in charge of the animals to stay at home with Cat, while he takes charge of Dog himself. At court, Saviolina asks Puntavorlo about his precious animals. When Puntavorlo says that Dog is with him, but Cat is at home, Saviolina asks how he can trust his Cat out of his sight, with so much money involved. Puntavorlo explains that Cat has sore eyes and stays mostly inside, guarded by two servants. Saviolina offers to give him water for Cat's eyes. It is not clear if this water is actually a poison, because Dog's death makes the whole travel enterprise redundant. The main inference is that Cat remained safely at home, guarded by the two faithful servants.
CAT**1610
A "ghost character" in Jonson's The Alchemist. Face as Jeremy invents a story to excuse his absence. He tells his master Lovewit that the cat died with plague, and he had to put the house under quarantine. That is why he has not been seen for a month or so. The neighbors attest that Jeremy has not been seen during that time.
CAT **1619
A “ghost character" in (?)Goffe’s Careless Shepherdess. When Bacheus comes home in a fury, he hits the whelp with his staff for yawning, and when the cat sees that, it ran out of the top of the chimney.
CAT**1625
A feline in Sampson's The Vow-Breaker whose given name is Tybert. Joshua's "poor silly harmless Puss," she comes with her master to the Scottish wars. Joshua rejects Miles' suggestion that he allow her to take his bullets for him, declaring, "my Cat, and I will enter battell 'gainst the wicked." Ball jokes that Joshua will appear in a painted cloth like his Hebrew namesake, but with "his Cat instead of a scutcheon." The cat is almost hanged onstage by her master for the sin of killing a mouse on the Sabbath, but Lord Grey declares her pardoned.
CATALIAN
A gallant in Chapman's An Humourous
Day's Mirth. He introduces Blanuel to Lemot and Colinet. In the guise
of a scholar, he sets up Lemot's encounter with Florilla. He arrives at the tavern
sweating from a tennis match, and kisses Jaquina when she fetches the coarse napkin
he requests. With Lemot, he challenges the tavern gallants to display their wits.
He participates, along with Berger, in the gulling of Labesha
CATALINA
The eldest daughter of Vilarezo in Shirley's The
Maid's Revenge, Catalina rejects Count de Montenegro as soon as her brother's
friend Antonio arrives. Jealous of her sister Berinthia, who is loved by Antonio,
Catalina plots to poison her sister and have her kidnapped by Velasco, who loves
Berinthia. The poison is never ingested, and Berinthia's captor is Antonio, not
Velasco. But the death of Antonio at Sebastiano's hand returns the distraught
Berinthia to Avero, and Catalina is poisoned by her vengeful sister.
CATALONIAN PRINCE
The King of Aragon in the Anonymous Mucedorus
rewards Tremelio's services by giving him a prisoner, the Catalonian prince.
CATAPIE
Catapie is the name that the Lord's Boy gives to himself in the Anonymous The
Taming of a Shrew when he disguises as Sly's wife.
CATAPLASMA
Although Cataplasma purports to be a "tire woman" selling clothing in Tourneur's The Atheist's Tragedy, she is in fact a bawd who lets rooms to be used by prostitutes and by ladies in need of a private place for assignations. She provides such a place for Levidulcia to meet with Sebastian and assures her that she need have no reservations about taking a lover when so many husbands have no compunction about taking mistresses. When the lady's companion Languebeau Snuff realizes the nature of the establishment, Cataplasma grants his request for a tryst with Soquette, but the sudden appearance of Charlemont in St. Winfred's churchyard interrupts that encounter. Along with Soquette, Snuff, and Fresco, Cataplasma is arrested, hauled before the two Judges, and tried. The First Judge notes her violation of the sumptuary laws (she is dressed above her social station), but finds her innocent of an formal wrongdoing in the deaths of Sebastian and Belforest. However, because those deaths are the result of the passions given vent in her residence, the Second Judge sentences her to be whipped, carted through the streets, deprived of her possessions, and set to hard labor.
CATCH, TOM **1599
Sergeant in attendance on the Burgomaster in Ruggle’s Club Law. He, Tavie, and Puff fail to capture Cricket after he hits Brecknocke with an apple. Later, he trips over Cricket’s rope and is beaten. He tells Rumford that he fears the “Athenians" know the black arts and that the students will make them all dance naked. After the fight, Puff suggests that Catch has stopped being a sergeant and gone to find work at the university insread. Catch is seen, however, attending and protecting Niphle as he leaves prison.
CATCHNEY, VICAR
A Cathedral singing man in Cartwright's The
Ordinary. Like the other three "clubbers," Bag-shot, Sir Christopher,
and Rimewell, he feels his professional skills would be improved with a good bit
more money and drink. Like them, he is arrested by the Constable.
CATCHPOLE
Part of the party which leads the prisoners to execution in Whetstone's 1 Promos and Cassandra. He goads the
gypsy prisoner and is rebuked by the preacher.
CATE**1513
A "ghost character" in the anonymous Hick Scorner. Along with Jane, Besse, and Sibley, Free Will refers to her as his "sweet trully mully."
CATELINA
Don John's wife in the anonymous Dick of Devonshire. She comes to Pike in prison to thank him for sparing her husband's life. During their conversation Don John arrives and accuses her of infidelity, but Pike offers to defend her honor in a duel.
CATELLA
Catella, Iphigenia's servant in (?)Jeffere's The Bugbears, supports her lady when Iphigenia is heartbroken over being engaged against her will to Formosus.
CATELYNA
The name given by Quicksands to Millicent in her disguise as a blackamoor servant in Brome's The English Moor.
CATESBY**1595
Catesby is More's household steward in Chettle, Dekker and Munday's Sir Thomas More. He informs the family servants of More's death sentence.
CATESBY **1627
Only mentioned in Randolph's Plutophthalmia. Carion calls him one of the "puisnies" along with Percy and lumps them both in with all knaves.
CATESBY, SIR WILLIAM
I.
Sir William Catesby is with Richard III in the anonymous True Tragedy of Richard III when he first comes on stage as the newly named Lord Protector. Catesby's enthusiastic congratulations to Gloucester on the occasion of his promotion spur Richard into a scathing soliloquy against his family and against Nature. After the death of her husband Edward IV, the Queen is informed by Catesby that her son Edward V is in the custody of his uncle Gloucester, the Lord Protector. She also learns from Catesby that her brothers Rivers and Gray, along with their men Vaughan and Hapce, have been arrested by Gloucester on the charge of treason. After the Archbishop of York persuades the Queen Mother to obey Gloucester's directive, Catesby takes custody of York and delivers him to the Tower of London. Richard informs Catesby of his intentions before cutting off Hastings. Catesby briefly attempts to intervene on behalf of his friend, but quickly ends his suit when it becomes clear that Richard is set upon killing Hastings. In fact, Catesby personally helps Richard's men drag Hastings before Richard for condemnation. Catesby is awarded Hastings' title and estates by Richard as a reward for the betrayal of his friend. It is Catesby who reports to Richard that Buckingham has been captured and executed. Catesby is one of the last remaining men loyal to Richard at Bosworth Field. He is beheaded at Lester.
II.
A supporter of Richard III in Shakespeare's Richard
III. Catesby is sent to sound out Hastings, to see if he would support
Richard; Catesby later conveys Hastings' head to Richard. Catesby also takes part
in the charade when Buckingham leads the Mayor and citizens in imploring Richard
to take the crown. Along with Lovell and Ratcliff, he was the target of William
Collingbourne's satiric attack
The catte, the ratte, and Lovell our dogge
Rulyth all England under a hogge.
Finally, Catesby fights alongside Richard in the Battle of Bosworth.
III.
Catesby in Thomas Heywood's 2 Edward
IV announces to Master Shore that king Edward IV has died and that Richard
has been made Lord Protector of the dead king's young sons, Edward and Richard
of York.
CATHERINA
Catherina is an attendant to Eugenia in Shirley's The Bird in a Cage. She voluntarily follows her into imprisonment by the Duke. In the inset play, she plays an unnamed attendant of Danaë.
CATHERINA BOUNTINALL
Catherina is the third prostitute examined by the duke in the final act of Dekker's
2 Honest Whore. When she greets
Mistress Horseleech as the bawd she is, Horseleech attempts to present herself
as an honest woman. Catherina then undermines Bots's posturing as an honest man,
thus contributing to the duke's sentence of punishment for the pander. Bountinall
exits in a most spirited way, even calling the duke "Master Slave," telling him
that her skirt is lined with silk and that gentlemen such as he would be glad
to wipe their noses on it. When the duke takes exception to her effrontery and
orders the First Master to inform her that the duke himself is present, she retorts
that she would not care if the Devil himself were on hand.
CATHERINE
See also "KATHERINE" and "KATHARINE."
CATHERINE
Queen mother of France in Marlowe's Massacre
at Paris. Mother to Charles, Henry (Anjou), and Margaret. Though others
officially wear the crown, she covets power over the kingdom, aiming to remove
Charles from power and rule through Anjou and Guise. Her plan fails as Anjou,
as King Henry III, turns against her and Guise is murdered. Abandoned and powerless,
she can only wish for death.
CATHERINE PARR **1604
Called Catherine (also Katherine) Parry in Rowley’s When You See Me. Henry mentions her the first time on line 1420 and by 1486 he is marrying her. Wolsey sees her as the chief puppet of Martin Luther who will turn England into a Protestant country. Once queen, she tries to intercede for Rooksbie, but Henry will not hear of pardon. She tries to intercede for Brandon and Mary but unnecessarily as the king is angry in jest only. Queen Catherine disputes with Bonner and Gardner on the question of whether Henry and all Christian kings should read Luther’s writings and decide if they make sense. When Henry is led to order her to the Tower, she takes advice from Compton and goes to plead her case before the king before she can be arrested. She wins Henry’s trust and regains her position with him thanks to Prince Edward’s intervention to allow her to speak with her husband.
CATHERINE WILLOUGHBY
Title character of Drue's The Duchess of Suffolk. Catherine Willoughby, Duchess of Suffolk, is not called by her proper name in the play. See DUCHESS of SUFFOLK.
CATHOLIC KING
A "ghost character" in Fletcher's Love's
Pilgrimage. The Catholic King is how Incubo twice refers to the King of
Spain. The first time, Incubo describes himself as an officer of the King, sent
to check on the quality of inns. The second time, Incubo calls himself a minister
of the King in order gain entrance for Philippo into Theodosia's room.
CATILINE, LUCIUS SERGIUS
Lucius Sergius Catilina is a Roman politician and conspirator in the last days of the Roman republic in Jonson's Catiline. In 63 BC, Catiline set up a conspiracy to be elected consul but was defeated. In his study in Rome, Catiline ponders on his intended scheme, inspired by the evil apparition of Sylla's Ghost. Aurelia enters and Catiline tells her his ambitious dream, instructing her to enroll the dissatisfied Roman matrons to his cause. When the conspirators enter, Catiline delivers his address and they seal the pact by drinking human blood. After Cicero has been elected consul, however, Catiline pretends to congratulate his rival in the Senate, but he meets later with the conspirators to discuss plans for retaliation. At his home, Catiline discusses secretly with Caesar, who tells him that he and Crassus are on his side, and he should go along with his plot. When the conspirators enter, Catiline presents the plan of setting fire to the city and attributes specific tasks to each member. In the Senate, Cicero accuses Catiline of conspiracy, but Catiline denies the allegations. However, he says he will go to banishment to clear all suspicions against him. When he meets the conspirators later, Catiline tells them to go along with their plan, despite his self-banishment, while he is raising an army abroad. After the conspirators have been arrested and tried in the Senate, the exiled Catiline delivers his final address to the army, inciting them to fight to the death. Later, Pomtinius reports to the Senate that Catiline resisted the assault till he died.
CATO
See also CATO, MARCUS PORCIUS; CATO, JUNIOR; CATO, YOUNGER; and CATO the ELDER.
CATO**1551
Only mentioned in Udall's Ralph Roister Doister. In an attempt to flatter the braggart, Merrygreek tells Ralph Roister Doister that he sometimes refers to him as the "third Cato."
CATO**1594
A "ghost character" in Kyd's Cornelia. Brutus tells Cassius that Cato tore out Scipio's entrails. Cato, too, is slain.
CATO**1601
Cato of Utica, the famous Censor, is the role that Quadratus proposes to act before
the Duke in Marston's What You Will.
CATO**1628
A "ghost character" in May's Julia
Agrippina, mentioned as a great Roman of the past.
CATO**1632
A nickname for Frank Barker in Shirley's The Ball.
CATO JUNIOR
Having failed to prevent his father's suicide in the anonymous Caesar and Pompey, Cato Junior fights on the side of Brutus and Cassius at the battle of Philippi, where he is killed.
CATO, MARCUS PORCIUS **1599
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's Julius
Caesar. Cato is Portia's butler. We hear that he committed suicide when
Caesar defeated Pompey's armies, choosing not to live under the tyrant he thought
Caesar would prove to be.
CATO, MARCUS PORCIUS**1620
I.
A "ghost character" in Fletcher and Massinger's The False One. Caesar describes Cato as a lover of Rome's freedom and stationed in Africa, ready to attack. After Caesar falls in love with Cleopatra, Scaeva wishes that Cato, Juba and the sons of Pompey would attack and rouse Caesar from his romantic lethargy.
II.
Marcus Porcius Cato, or Cato the Younger, is a Roman legislator and philosopher, great-grandson of Cato the Elder in Jonson's Catiline. As a senator in republican Rome, he was a violent opponent of Caesar and, outdoing Cicero in vituperation of Catiline's conspiracy in 63 BC, Cato tried to implicate Caesar in the plot, although maintaining his fairness to all. In the Roman Senate, Cato enters with the other senators. Following the election of Cicero and Caius Antonius as consuls, Cicero delivers a speech of thankfulness. From Cato's remarks addressed to Caesar, it is evident that the two men are in conflict. When Catiline pretends to congratulate Cicero, Cato expresses his distrust and tells Catiline he should expect the gods' judgment for his despicable actions. At Cicero's house, Cicero tells his brother to summon a number of senators and tribunes he could trust, among whom he mentions Cato. When Cornelius and Vargunteius try to gain access into Cicero's house under the guise of friends, but with the purpose of murdering him, Cato is in the group of Cicero's honest friends and clients who witness the scene. When the conspirators flee, and the remaining senators advise Cicero to follow the assassins and bring them to justice, Cato is very vocal in counseling Cicero to go after the murderers. In the Senate, just before Cicero accuses Catiline of conspiracy, Cato says he will not stay beside Catiline. When the conspirators are tried in the Senate, Cato tries to implicate Caesar in Catiline's conspiracy, but with no success. However, his speech against the conspirators is influential in the Senate's pronouncing the death sentence.
III.
Cato [the Younger] is an heroic patriot in Chapman's Caesar and Pompey. He is devoted to the Republic, and a Stoic, with a keen interest in philosophy (he defends at length the surprisingly Christian argument that the body, like the soul, survives death). He favors Pompey, in the hope that he can save the Republic from Caesar. Unlike his son-in-law, Brutus, he stabs himself, at Utica, after Caesar's victory.
CATO, MARCUS
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's Julius
Caesar. Marcus Cato is young Cato's father; his son serves with Brutus'
troops.
CATO SENIOR
Cato Senior in the anonymous Caesar and Pompey advises his son Cato Junior to show strength of mind although Rome's liberty is lost, and then stabs himself. Cato Junior returns and apparently persuades his father to seek help, but as soon as Cato Junior leaves to seek it Cato Senior stans himself again, this time fatally.
CATO the ELDER
Only mentioned in Jonson's Poetaster. Marcus Porcius Cato (Cato the Elder) was a Roman politician, orator, writer, and defender of conservative Roman Republican ideas, who lived between 234 and 149 BC. He was born into a wealthy family of Roman landholders during the early Republican period on a farm in the city of Tusculum. His early farm upbringing resulted in a lifelong interest in agriculture and the writing of his De Agri Cultura, which is the oldest Latin literary encyclopedia in existence today. His conservative views of traditional Roman Republican culture and the importance of the development of Latin literature and its survival as a written language resulted in his fear and dislike of the increasing Greek influence on the Romans. Cato helped insure the survival of Latin by being the first to write an encyclopedic history of Rome in Latin called Origins, of which only small fragments survive. After Virgil has Crispinus take an emetic to throw up his bad words he then prescribes Crispinus to observe a strict and wholesome diet, taking each morning a dose of Old Cato's principles next to his heart.
CATO, YOUNG
The son of Marcus Cato in Shakespeare's Julius
Caesar, Young Cato is a friend of Brutus and Cassius. He believes the
spirit of Caesar walks upon the earth and has caused the death of Cassius.
CATTAINS
Ambassadors from Cathay in the anonymous Tamar Cam. One of the groups of envoys sent from the conquered races. They enter in procession at play's end to do homage to their conqueror, Tamor Cham.
CATULLUS
I.
Only mentioned in Jonson's Epicoene. Catullus (84?–54? BC) was a great lyric poet of ancient Rome. He lived during the same time as did the statesmen Caesar, Pompey, and Cicero, all of whom he knew. His poetry strongly influenced poets of the following century: Virgil and Horace imitated him, and Ovid and Martial praised and commemorated his work. At his house, the self-conceited Daw boasts his learning and poetic talent, while Clerimont and Dauphine deride his pompousness covertly. Daw shows his contempt for many great minds of classical antiquity. When Clerimont asks him about the classical poets, Daw refers to them in a deprecating manner, including Catullus in the long list of unworthy poets.
II.
Only mentioned in Tomkis’ Lingua. Phantastes draws upon Catullus’ zonam soluit diu ligatem to craft a bawdy couplet.
CATULUS, QUINTUS
Quintus Catulus is a senator in republican Rome in Jonson's Catiline. He is trustworthy but rather gullible and judges people at face value. In the Roman Senate, Catulus enters with the senators. Following the election of Cicero and Caius Antonius as consuls, Cicero delivers a speech of gratitude. While Caesar is displeased with Cato's support of Cicero, Catulus remarks that, if all reports were true, the times needed an eager spirit to watch over Rome. Catulus makes vague and generalizing comments regarding the state of the nation, such as when he says that those states that are forced to buy their rulers' fame with their own infamy are in a miserable situation. When Catiline pretends to congratulate Cicero on his election, the naïve Catulus remarks that Catiline has been wrongly judged. At Cicero's house, Cicero tells his brother to summon a number of senators and tribunes he could trust, among whom he mentions Catulus. When Cornelius and Vargunteius try to gain access into Cicero's house under the guise of friends, but with the purpose of murdering him, Catulus is in the group of Cicero's honest friends and clients who witness the scene. When the conspirators flee, and the remaining senators advise Cicero to follow the assassins and bring them to justice, Catulus says that, if the allegations for murder are proved, the consul should let the commonwealth punish the conspirators. In the Senate, before Cicero accuses Catiline of conspiracy to murder, Catulus says that, like Cato, he will not stand beside Catiline. Catulus is used as a trustworthy witness, but does not get implicated in the events.
CATZO**1599
Page to Castilio in Marston's Antonio and Mellida.Catzo belittles the younger page, Dildo, whose name was synonymous with his in the Italian of the 16th century. Catzo tells Dildo that Balurdo was an idiot and recalls that both their masters, Castilio and Balurdo, showed cowardice in the sea battle with the Genoan fleet. Catzo flatters Castilio to his face but disparages him during asides.
CATZO**1617
A fool in Daborne's Poor Man's Comfort. He is boon companion to Prince Sigismund. The clown futilely attempts to rouse the prince's melancholic spirits.
CAUCAPH **1632
Only mentioned in Randolph's Jealous Lovers. Demetrius, disguised as an astrologer, rattles off a list of "the learned Cabalists and all the Chaldees." The list includes Asla, Baruch, Abohali, Caucaph, Toz, Arcaphan, Albuas, Gasar, Hali, Hippocras, Lencuo, Ben, Benesaphan, and Albubetes.
CAUSIDIUS**1618
A contemptuous term for an attorney in Holiday's Technogamia. 'Cavsidius' is consulted by Logicus after the latter's fight with Melancholico, but despite his varied legal advice he is unable to help.
CAUTION
Master Caution is a rich man and a usurer in the anonymous Wit's Triumvirate. He holds a conversation with Master Algebra, who believes "the greatest riches in this world is knowledge." But Master Caution–a more materialistic man–quickly replies that knowledge does not buy any of the necessary things in life. And he adds he is just saving money to make his best advantage of it. He explains he is not going to "labour for those that will give him no thanks for it or else will vainly spend it." Master Algebra listens, patiently, to his arguments, and then he reprimands him, since he realizes that the latter is a selfish man, as: "the prosperity of others, indeed, hinders your trade." Besides, when Master Caution explains how he uses his money, Master Algebra realizes he is a usurer–and no matter how hard the former tries to hide it, the latter faces him with the truth: he lends money at an interest rate, as if he were a Jew. They go on discussing on the subject, the former defending riches, the latter defending knowledge, until the matter is settled when Master Algebra reproaches Master Caution that he has nothing in his life but money and that he has forgotten how to behave. When Master Caution tells him about what he eats, he gives himself away as a glutton, and Master Algebra explains that "covetousness is a sluttish, sordid, and a base sin." Then he asks Master Caution where the "rare and learned men" he had promised to bring him to see were, but he is told that they will leave that visit for some other day, since Caution needs to deal with them about some business in private. The latter then goes to see Bill Bond seeking legal advice–he wants to know how much interest he can ask for his loans. After providing him with that information, Bond explains that, nevertheless, lawyers have tricks to save men from the punishment of the law. Master Caution goes on asking about the possibilities of getting away with other breaches of the law he is aware of committing, and Bond assures him he can help him even with those. The former offers the latter twenty crowns of gold for his services, but he soon realizes he will have to pay him more if he wants to receive proper service. When Master Caution learns he has been cozened, encouraged by Damme de Bois he comes to ask for what he had offered him as recompense for his fake services. But the moment Bond sees Master Caution, incensed, accusing him of having cozened him, the lawyer pretends to be crossed and leaves, threatening to sue him. Master Caution, on his part, since Bond threatened to sue him as soon as he heard his accusations, afraid of being sued, pays Clyster forty pounds of gold to kill Bond and save him–promising to make it a hundred when Bond is actually dead. Clyster assures he will do it for a hundred and twenty pounds, and he actually gets that sum from Master Caution. Encouraged by Damme de Bois again, he and the other cozened victims siege the house of the three cheaters. Master Caution, incensed, suggests going to the Lord Chief of Justice for a warrant to apprehend them. Finally, Master Algebra, who was passing by, offers to act as a judge, and he actually solves the case satisfactorily for all the parties involved, cures the cozened people and he is recompensed both by the victims and by the cheaters.
CAUTIOUS, SIR ARNOLD
Uncle to Walter Chamlet in Brome's The
Sparagus Garden. Sir Arnold is a fifty-year-old bachelor who loves beautiful
women but refuses to marry because he believes that no beauty remains a maiden
for long. Dubbed "the peeping knight" by Martha, he is a client of the Asparagus
Garden and likes to walk about it order to leer at the faces and peep at the pretty
insteps of its female clients. While there, he meets his nephew who is with Gilbert
and the soldier-poet Bounce (really Samuel Touchwood in disguise); when he insults
poetry, Bounce 'attacks' him and is 'attacked' in turn by Walter in a plot designed
to move Sir Arnold to help abet Walter's 'marriage' to Annabel. He goes to court
Annabel on Walter's behalf, but is so taken with her that he ends by courting
her for himself. He is about to marry her when she appears, seemingly heavily
pregnant, at which point he repudiates her, leaving her free to marry Samuel when
the plot's many strands come together in the lovers' favor.
CAVALERO DANGLATERO, SIGNIOR
The Spaniard in Heywood's 1 If You
Know Not Me uses this name to refer to an Englishman that he fights and
kills.
CAVEARE, BILBO **1611
Servant to Malevento and later journeyman to Cordolente in Dekker’s Match Me in London. He is the comic relief of the play and discovers Tormiella at Cordolente’s house and accepts his bribe to keep quiet while the newlyweds escape from Cordova to Seville. He runs away with them to help run Cordolente’s shop. In IV.ii he debates with Coxcomb over the relative merits of court versus city, taking the side of the citizen.
CAVELER**1595
A Lombard residing in London in Chettle, Dekker and Munday's Sir Thomas More. Caveler steals two doves from the carpenter Williamson, and when confronted with the theft, he refuses to return them. His behavior, like that of Francis de Bard and the other foreign merchants who abuse the London citizens with impunity, helps to provoke the May Day riots of 1517.
CAVENDISH, THOMAS
Only mentioned in the anonymous Wit's Triumvirate. Cavendish 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, and make greater fights, and then come home with sails of silk like Cavendish, ..." Thomas Cavendish (1555-1592) was known as 'the Navigator'. He sailed around the world in 1586-88 and returned to England, enormously rich. This voyage was known as the Golden Voyage, and after it, Queen Elizabeth knighted him.
CAVETAS
A "ghost character" in Sharpham's Cupid's Whirligig. A ferryman, identified as the father of one of Master Correction's pupils.
CAZALLA de BARAMEDA, MARTINES **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.
CAZZO
Alternate spelling of Catzo in Marston's Antonio and Mellida.
CEBALINUS
Cebalinus is the brother of Nichomachus in Daniel's Philotas. He accosts Philotas and tells him how Dymnus attempted to draw Nichomachus into a plot to kill Alexander. When Philotas does not consult Alexander, Cebalinus and vows to try another counsellor. Metron finally brings Cebalinus before Alexander and he recounts his story, accusing Philotas of neglect. Cebalinus later testifies before Alexander, and at the trial of Philotas.
CECIL
A "ghost character" in Sampson's The Vow-Breaker. William Cecil, Lord Burghley, Queen Elizabeth's
secretary. Lord Grey tells Monlucke that he is on his way to Edinburgh to
parley with the Queen Regent there. Cross later invokes his name as one of
the commissioners who have ordered the English forces to cease hostilities
in Leith until the talks are concluded.
CECILIUS
Only mentioned in Jonson's Every Man out of His Humour. When Mitis asks Cordatus about the comedy they are about to see, whether its author observes the classical rules regarding the unity of time, place, and action, Cordatus embarks upon a lengthy and learned incursion into the history of comedy. Cordatus mentions Cecilius among the Latin writers of comedy. According to Cordatus, they have utterly excluded the Chorus, altered the characters' properties and names, and invented several structural features. Cecilius Statius was a third-century A.D. Latin author of drama. He was a Roman slave, and from his ample creation remain only forty-two titles of comedy and various fragments. He followed the Greek model of comedy and his contemporaries admired him for the organization of plot and the dramatic force of the verses. Volcacius considered him on of the greatest comedy writers.
CELANTA
Celanta is the ill-favored but kind-hearted daughter of Lampriscus in Peele's
The Old Wives' Tale. She gains
a fortune in gold by acquiescing to the request of the Head in the Well of Life
to have his beard combed. She ultimately marries the blind clown Corebus (also
known as Booby).
CELEBINUS
Tamburlaine's youngest son in Marlowe's Tamburlaine the Great, Part 2. Zenocrate praises his skill at tilting from a Scythian steed. He promises to be as valiant as his father. He later sets a tablet where his mother died that lists her virtues and perfections. When Tamburlaine wounds his own arm to show his boys how a soldier should bear his wounds, Celebinus and Amyras plead to be cut as well. Tamburlaine is pleased, but tells the boys they must shed no blood until they taste battle against the Turks. In Aleppo, Calyphas calls Celebinus a "tall stripling." When Tamburlaine falls fatally ill, Celebinus and Amyras are bequeathed all the unconquered world. He is present at his father's death.
CELERICK
A sycophantic West Saxon lord in Brome's The
Queen's Exchange. He supports Bertha's marriage to Osriick. Alternate
spelling of KELRICK.
CELERIUS, PUBLIUS
A "ghost character" in May's Julia
Agrippina. Pallas promises Agrippina that Publius Celerius, along with
Aelius, will poison Silanus.
CELESTINA**1527
According to Sempronio in ?Rastell's Calisto and Melebea, the old whore Celestina has aided men in the sexual conquest of more than a thousand maids, wives, and widows. He recruits her to help Calisto obtain the love of Melebea, and she agrees, for a price. She appeals to Melebea's charity, to rescue Calisto from his pain. The girl rebuffs her angrily, but relents when Celestina praises the young man to the skies, and gives the old woman her girdle to deliver to Calisto as a token of her good will.
CELESTINA **1635
Celestina in the sixteen-year-old widow happy to remain thus in Shirley's The Lady of Pleasure . She is one of the first women on stage who says directly "I don't need a man" and means it. She is never swayed even temporarily from her decision (unlike Olivia from Twelfth Night and even the Duchess from More Dissemblers Besides Women). She is courted by the fools Scentwell and Haircut. She admires Lord for his devotion to his departed wife but does not succumb to his obvious enticements. Rather, she upbraids him when he momentarily forgets himself and declares his love for her. She is saucy and intelligent and more than a match in the war of words that erupts between herself and the foppish Kickshaw and Littleworth.
CELIA**1590
Celia is one of Ceres' nymphs in Lyly's Love's Metamorphosis. She is being courted by Montanus but she refuses to return his love, despite a lecture from Cupid on the proper way for lovers to behave. Montanus complains to Cupid, who turns Celia into a flower. Celia is only returned to her true form when Ceres pleads with Cupid. However, Celia says she would rather be turned back into a flower than fall in love. Ceres tries to change her mind and eventually Celia agrees to be Montanus' lover.
CELIA**1599
Celia is Duke Frederick's daughter, niece of the banished Duke Senior and cousin
to Rosalind in Shakespeare's As You
Like It. When her father banishes Rosalind, Celia chooses to join Rosalind
in exile. Celia disguises herself as Aliena, and sets out for the forest of Arden
with her father's jester Touchstone and Rosalind in the male disguise of Ganymede.
When Oliver arrives in the forest, having repented his mistreatment of his brother
Orlando and reformed, Celia falls in love with him. Celia and Oliver's is among
the four marriages that close the play.
CELIA**1601
Celia is the wife of Albano in Marston's What
You Will. Believing him dead in a shipwreck, she is keen to marry Laverdure.
However, she seems content to be reclaimed by Albano at the end.
CELIA**1606
Wife of Corvino in Jonson's Volpone. She is admired for her beauty and thus is rarely allowed in public by her jealous husband. When Volpone, disguised as Scoto of Mantua, calls on the onlookers to throw a handkerchief, Celia throws hers to him. When her husband insists she sleep with Volpone, she is shocked and refuses. She is rescued from Volpone by Bonario but is then imprisoned on false charges of adultery. She is exonerated when Volpone is later forced to confess. Because of her husband's crimes, she is permitted to return to the home of her father with three times her dowry.
CELIA**1615
Celia is the Duchess's waiting-woman in Middleton's More Dissemblers Besides Women. When the Duchess starts to pretend to be in love with Lactantio, Celia warns her that Lactantio is the enemy of her true beloved, Andrugio. Celia evaluates the "Page" and decides that "he" needs dancing practice; she takes 'him' to be taught by Crotchet and Sinquapace, and while there demonstrates her skills in dancing. Later, Celia informs the Duchess of Andrugio's meetings with a gypsy-girl (Aurelia).
CELIA**1619
Celia is at first presented as a prisoner from unknown regions and the love of Demetrius in Fletcher's The Humorous Lieutenant. When Demetrius is sent to war, his father Antigonus tricks Celia into coming to the court. After meeting Celia, the king admires her beauty and independence and decides that he must have her for himself. Celia refuses the King's persistent advances and her virtuous behavior finally shames him into confessing his wrongdoing and reuniting Celia with Demetrius. While visiting the court, Seleucus encounters Celia and recognizes her as his daughter, thus revealing Celia's true identity as the princess Enanthe.
CELINDA
Celinda is the Duchess' proud waiting woman in Shirley's The
Cardinal . She prefers her mistress' suitor Columbo from the start. When
she convinces herself that he returns her love, she abjures her lady's chamber.
When Columbo is killed in a duel, she earns the scorn of the court by mourning
as if her had been her lover. In the end she runs away with the Duchess' secretary,
Antonio.
CELIO
The alias assumed by Sebastian in Thomas Middleton's The
Witch. He takes on this identity in order to become Isabella's servant
and lure her away from her false husband, Antonio, and back into the lawful bond
of marriage to which Sebastian is entitled by virtue of their precontract.
CELIO, LORD **1635
Julio’s title in Rider’s The Twins by which several characters refer to him.
CELLER, METELLUS
A "ghost character" in Jonson's Catiline. Metellus Celler is a praetor, a member of the senatorial army. When the Senate of Rome decides to send an army against the self-exiled Catiline, whom they suspect to have been the instigator of the conspiracy, Petreius is named the general of this army. At the same time, Cicero says that Metellus Celler will cut the retreat of Catiline's army for Gallia. Metellus Celler is expected to lead three legions to the north, stop Catiline's retreat, and arrest the army's leaders.
CELLIDE
Valentine's beautiful young ward, raised to be his submissive and loving bride
in Fletcher's Monsieur Thomas.
When Valentine perceives that his protégé, Francis, is desperately ill with love
of her, he asks her to save his life by loving him. Cellide is horrified by his
ability to part with her and renounces her former love for him. To test Francis,
she offers herself to him, claiming that Valentine is too old to satisfy her.
When he rejects her immodest offer, she reveals her true intention, declares that
she loves Francis for his great virtue and vows that she will live single with
only his memory as a companion. She flees Valentine's house in the night and enters
Saint Katharine's Nunnery. At Thomas' request and the Abbess' command, she consents
to leave again on an hour's pass. When she realizes that Francis is really Valentine's
lost son, she happily leaves the convent behind to marry him.
CELSI, LORENZO
Lorenzo Celsi is the dissolute, tobacco-smoking Duke of Venice in Marston's What
You Will. It is he who recognizes the real Albano.
CELSO
Celso, a friend to Duke Altofronto in Marston's Malcontent, is the only character that knows Malevole's true identity. Celso assists Malevole throughout the play.
CELSUS
Julius Celsus, Sejanus' friend in the anonymous Tragedy
of Tiberius. He enters to inform Sejanus that Tiberius has found letters
from Sejanus to Julia that reveal Sejanus' treachery. He is next seen in prison
where he hurls abuse at the Emperor and strangles himself to death with his own
chains.
CELTHUS
Celthus 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.
CELYBIN
Celybin is another follower of Abdelmelec in Peele's The Battle of Alcazar. He reports the enemy's whereabouts to the rightful ruler of Barbary.
CEMO, CARDINAL
A "ghost character" in Heywood's 2 If You Know Not Me. A cardinal who has promised absolution to Doctor Parry if he will murder the Queen.
CENEUS
A Persian Lord loyal to Cosroe in Marlowe's Tamburlaine Part 1. He supports the usurpation of Mycetes and reports that the soldiers and gentlemen of Persia threaten civil wars unless Cosroe seizes the throne. He is present when Cosroe promises to name Tamburlaine regent of Persia once Mycetes is slain.
CENSORINUS
A "ghost character" in Lodge's The
Wounds of Civil War. Censorinus is a supporter of Marius who is mentioned
in a letter by Cinna to Young Marius, which says that Censorinus will shortly
arrive to visit Young Marius.
CENSURE, GOSSIP
A wealthy citizen-wife in Jonson's The Staple of News. She has come to attend The Staple of News. She and her gossips sit on the stage and reveal their ignorance as to the conventions and standards of stage comedy. She expresses continuing dissatisfaction with the play.
CENTAURE, LADY
Lady Centaure is a member of Lady Haughty's college of society ladies in Jonson's Epicoene. They live at their husbands' expense and entertain the wits in town. At Morose's house, Centaure enters with Haughty, Mavis, and Trusty. 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. In a long open gallery at Morose's house, Centaure enters with the other ladies. When Mistress Otter enters rather ruffled for having been chased away by Morose, Haughty dispenses her invaluable guidance regarding how women should pin off their husbands. Centaure adds examples from her own experience, telling Epicoene to let her husband allow her own coach and four horses, in addition to many servants. The ladies discussion veers towards the passage of time and the necessity for women to have lovers and enjoy life while they are young. Centaure wonders who will wait on them in those forsaken times when they are old and lonely, or write to them, or make anagrams of their names. After debating on the advantages of having lovers as the best cure for melancholy, Centaure exits with Haughty's party. Centaure 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, Centaure and the ladies run off. In a room at Morose's house, Centaure enters while Haughty is ardently courting Dauphine. When Haughty exits, Centaure tells him he should not trust Haughty and she makes nasty allusions at her friend's age and the possibility of her having a venereal disease. Before Mavis enters, Centaure invites Dauphine to her chamber and then exits pretending to be looking for Haughty. Centaure re-enters with the collegiate ladies and attends the final revelation scene. Truewit warns the ladies against placing their trust in indiscreet men such as the foolish knights.
CENTAURS**1611
Only mentioned in Jonson's Catiline. In Greek mythology, Centaurs were horse-like creatures, half-human half-horse. They were renowned for their sexual prowess. 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. In exchange, Fulvia alludes to Sempronia's former beau, Caius Caesar, saying that these lords who used to be Sempronia's lovers are so passionate that they leap a lady at first sight, like Centaurs. 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's sexual potency, which she esteems to be like the Centaurs'.
CENTAURS**1629
Only mentioned in Jonson's The New Inn. When Host rails against the current decayed ways of the nobility, Lovel defends the good education received by the noble youths. Lovel says they learn, among other arts, the Centaurs' skill, or the art of Thrace, which is archery. In Greek mythology, the Centaurs were fabulous beings, half men half horses, believed to live in the region of Thessaly. The Centaurs were considered masters in archery, and they form the constellation Sagittarius. Later, Latimer describes ironically Tipto's drunken fight with Bust as the battle of the Centaurs with the Lapithes. In Greek mythology, the famous battle of the Centaurs with the nation of the Lapithes is an example of irrational war.
CENTELLA
Centella and Pineda are Spanish sycophants who fawn over Queen Isabella in Heywood's A Challenge for Beauty. They act as go-betweens when Valladaura purchases Ferrars and Manhurst at the slave-market. Queen Isabella sends them to England to retrieve the ring from Hellena that Bonavida gave her to test her virtue. They do so by seducing Hellena's maid, Rosara, and persuading her to steal the ring. They then return to Spain, triumphantly announcing that Hellena is a whore. They are present at the 'marriage' of Valladaura and Petrocella and its aftermath. Just before Bonavida's execution, Hellena arrives and reveals their duplicity.
CENTURION
Centurion of Germanicus in the anonymous Tragedy
of Tiberius. When he is honored for bravery, he delivers an encomium on
all of the great Romans that came before him—Coriolanus, Marius, Scylla under
Scipio—and claims to be only following their examples. After the war in Armenia,
the Centurion steps in to stop an argument between Germanicus and Piso as to which
should wear the laurel wreath of victory. Under Roman law, the Centurion reminds
them, the soldiers are to decide who receives the wreath. The soldiers choose
Germanicus.
CEPARIUS
Ceparius is a member of Catiline's conspiracy in Jonson's Catiline. At Catiline's house, Ceparius enters with the other conspirators. After hearing Catiline's incendiary address, the confederates are invited to partake of fresh human blood as a symbolic seal of their pact. After the ritual ceremony, the conspirators exeunt. After the plot was exposed in the Senate, the conspirators gather at Catiline's house to elaborate their strategy. The plan is to set Rome on fire on the night of the Saturnalia, and remove all the enemies at once. Ceparius's role is to set fire to the city at a prearranged place. After each conspirator has been allotted his task, all depart secretly. When the conspirators are arrested and tried in the Senate, it is understood that Ceparius shares their punishment.
CEPHEUS
Father of Andromeda, a character in the dumb show introducing II of the Anonymous
Locrine. According to Ate
he corresponds to Corineus.
CEPHISUS
Also called Cephise in the anonymous Narcissus. Cephisus is a river-god, husband to Lyriope and father to Narcissus. He describes himself as a "brave river / Who is all water." He loves his son for being an obedient boy. He is waiting for Tyresias, the Prophet, with his wife and son, but he is tired and wants to leave, because he thinks he is not coming. When Tyresias finally arrives, Cephisus explains to him that they want him to tell their son his fortune. But the wise man replies with a riddle: 'If he does not discover himself'. The moment the river-god learns the sad fate that is awaiting his beloved son, he despairs and wants to drown himself. According to Greek mythology, Kephisos was a River-God son to Oceanos and Thethys. In Ovid's Metamorphoses, Cephisus was husband to Liriope and father to Narcissus.
CERBERUS
I.
Only mentioned in Jonson's Every Man out of His Humour. In Greek mythology, Cerberus was the monster-dog with two heads that guarded the entrance to Hades. When Carlo Buffone drinks Canary wine, he mentions some poets' drinking habits. According to Carlo Buffone, the author of the play Every Man Out Of His Humor drinks with the players at the tavern. After several cups of wine, he looks villainous like a one-headed Cerberus. The reference is self-ironic, since Ben Jonson describes himself when drunk, as seen by the others.
II.
The three-headed dog who guards the entrance to the underworld in Heywood's The Silver Age, he kills Perithous and wounds Theseus as they are attempting to rescue Proserpine, but is defeated and bound by Hercules.
III.
Only mentioned in the Anonymous Blurt,
Master Constable. When he finds Frisco giving Hipolito information about
what happens in Imperia's house, Camillo asks if this Mercury brings him notice
from the courtesan. Frisco responds he may be a sort of Mercury for running Imperia's
errands, but he is certainly a "Cerebrus" because he is porter to hell. Cerberus
is the watchdog that guarded the entrance to the underworld. Frisco confuses Cerberus,
Hell's guard, with cerebrum, the Latin for brain.
IV.
Pluto's three-headed watchdog in Heywood's Love's Mistress, Cerberus is instructed to accompany Psiche during her visit to Hades.
V.
Only mentioned in Percy’s A Country Tragedy in Vacunium. Fulvia recalls Cerebus in her death speech, saying that the ‘snaky paw’ of that ‘threefold’ dog will not frighten her as she travels to be with her Affranio.
VI.
Sir John and Holdfast summon the mythological beast Cerberus in Massinger's The City Madam. The creature is placed strategically at one of the doors in Frugal residence in an effort to help persuade Luke to show pity to those he has either had imprisoned, sent away, or fired.
VII.
Only mentioned in the anonymous Ghost. Valerio mentions Cerberus when metaphorically referring to Engin, Aurelia's servant, when he arrives at Erotia's. According to Greek mythology, Cerberus was a huge and savage three-headed dog, which guarded the entrance to Hades.
CERES**1590
I.
The Greek goddess of fertility in Wilson's The
Cobbler's Prophecy. Mercury explains the opening dumbshow to her. As she exits, she "casts comfits" to the audience.
II.
Ceres is a goddess in Lyly's Love's Metamorphosis. Her nymphs dance around a tree that was also once a nymph. Erisicthon, a churlish huntsman, cuts down the tree and kills the nymph inside. In revenge, Ceres sends famine to him. Ceres then takes her nymphs to the god Cupid for instruction in love but, when the nymphs disobey Cupid's commands and reject their suitors, they are transformed into a rock, a flower and a bird. Ceres pleads with Cupid, who temporarily restores the nymphs to their proper form–but Ceres then has to persuade each of the nymphs that being in love is better than being transformed back again.
III.
Ceres accompanies Plenty in Marston's Histrio-Mastix.
IV.
A "ghost character" in Heywood's The
Golden Age. Neptune mentions the Queen of Grain as one of Jupiter's mistresses
and mother to his daughter, Proserpina.
V.
Goddess of fertility in Heywood's The Silver Age, she and her daughter Proserpine bless the earth with grain and flowers; during a brief separation, the girl is carried off by Pluto, and Ceres vainly asks Mercury, Triton, and Earth to tell her where she is; when they cannot, she vows to blast the earth with infertility. She learns from Arethusa of Pluto's rape, and recruits Hercules to rescue the girl. When he is only restrained by the arguments of Rhadamanth from carrying her back to earth, she agrees to abide by the judgment of the planetary divinities that Proserpine shall be with her while the moon is full and with Pluto while the moon is dark.
VI.
Roman goddess of the fertility in Shakespeare's The Tempest. A part taken by one of Prospero's spirits in the Masque or "revel" performed for Ferdinand and Miranda. The performance also includes spirits disguised as Juno, Iris, nymphs, and reapers.
VII.
Ceres is forced by Delphia to lend her a dragon-drawn throne in Fletcher and Massinger's The Prophetess. Ceres (or a spirit in the form of Ceres?) later appears to lead a dance of Shepherds and Shepherdesses choreographed by Delphia to honor Diocles and Drusilla.
VIII.
Only mentioned in the anonymous Narcissus. Clinias mentions her when, praising Narcissus's cheeks, he claims that they have a "farre better lustre / than Ceres when the sunne in Harvest busts her." Later, Narcissus refers to her when he falls in love with his own image in the water of the well, unaware of the fact that it is his own reflection. He states his intention to fast for love: "Not care of Ceres, Morpheus, nor of Bacchus, / That is meate, drinke and sleepe from hence shall lake us." According to Roman mythology, Ceres is the Corn Goddess, daughter to Saturn and sister to Jupiter.
IX.
A "ghost character" in Randolph's Amyntas. The goddess ruling Sicily through the enigmatic oracles given by her mouthpiece, the Ompha. Ceres has twice intervened at the demands of her high priest Pilumnus, for vengeance. When the son of Pilumnus, Philaebus, looses his bride, Lalage, to Claius, she duly curses Lalage, who dies in childbed. Philaebus then dies of grief for her and she is invoked for further revenge, which takes the shape of a general curse on marriage across the island, until the blood of Claius is sacrificed to her. Her oracle further dictates the Impossible Dowry by which Amyntas should win Urania. He must give her something that he cannot and may not have himself. The enigma has driven Amyntas into madness with frustration. When Urania comes to vow virginity to the goddess, the Echo of Ceres's Ompha provides the riddling answers which allow Amyntas to solve the Dowry at last, and also to interpret the goddess's wishes, proving that neither Damon nor Claius need die to satisfy her stated demands.
X.
Ceres represents summer in the third of the four interludes in [?]Queen Henrietta's
Florimène. She enters singing,
followed by five reapers, who dance.
XI.
Goddess of the field in Tomkis’ Lingua. Part of Gustus’s retinue. She wears a crown of ears of corn, a yellow silk robe and carries a bunch of poppies and an escutcheon with a dragon on it.
XII.
The goddess of harvest in Wild’s The Benefice. She appears ‘above’ in the first act, which has the structure of an induction. She is angry that Pedanto, Invention, Furor Poeticus, and Comaedia are in her barn to act their play. It would appear that the original production was presented in a granary barn. She demands to know what they intend. Upon learning they mean nothing but mirth, she allows them to continue and insists upon being their play’s prologue. She appears again after the Epilogue to say she wished the play had a better playhouse, yet she is graced with the players’ efforts.
CERES**1601
Plautia is disguised as Ceres at the masquerade banquet at court in Jonson's Poetaster. Ceres is the Roman counterpart of the Greek goddess of agriculture and marriage, one of the twelve major gods in mythology. During the entertainment presided by Ovid/Jupiter, Plautia/Ceres does not speak, but it is understood she enjoys the revelry. When Caesar enters and rails at the debauched party and banishes Ovid, it is understood that Plautia shares the fate of Julia and the other ladies. They are silent and subdued.
CERIMON
A Lord of Ephesus, famous for his skill in medicine in Shakespeare's Pericles.
When his servants find the coffin of Thaisa on the shore, he opens it, finds Thaisa
and revives her. He then helps establish her as a nun in Diana's temple in Ephesus.
Later, he is present for the reunion of Thaisa with Pericles and Marina.
CESARIA
A "ghost character" in Shirley's Royal Master. She was the wife of the King of Naples and sister to the Duke of Florence.
CESARIO**1600
Cesario is the name Viola uses while disguised as a boy in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Viola first states that she will disguise herself as a eunuch, but either she or Shakespeare has a change of heart, since it is unlikely Orsino would discuss the possible love life of a eunuch. As Cesario, Viola greatly resembles her brother Sebastian.
CESARIO **1633
As prince of Naples in Shirley's The Young Admiral, Cesario dislikes Vittori and is obsessed with Vittori's love, Cassandra. He has mildly courted the Sicilian princess Rosinda but fails to return her love, instead focusing his effort on finding ways to eliminate Vittori. He even uses Vittori's father Alphonso as a pawn in his schemes to win Cassandra. Ultimately Cesario is a prisoner of the king of Sicily, just as that king's daughter Rosinda is a prisoner of Naples. Cesario and Rosinda find love; their forthcoming marriage ends the hostilities between Naples and Sicily.
CESSIUS NASICA
A Roman tribune who is involved in the second attempt to invade Britain in The Valiant Welshman.
CETHEGUS
Cethegus is a supporter of Marius in Lodge's The Wounds of Civil War. He is with Young Marius when Cinna sends the message to seek out Marius and march on Rome. When Marius takes Rome, he orders Cethegus
and Young Marius to travel to Praeneste to stop Scilla's progress.
CETHEGUS, CAIUS
Caius Cethegus is a Roman general and a member of Catiline's conspiracy in Jonson's Catiline. At Catiline's house, Cethegus enters with the other conspirators, expressing his regret for the violent days of Sylla's dictatorship, when murder was the order of the day. After hearing Catiline's incendiary address, the confederates are invited to partake of fresh human blood as a symbolic seal of their pact. After the ritual ceremony, the conspirators exeunt. After the plot has been exposed in the Senate, the conspirators gather at Catiline's house to elaborate their strategy. The plan is to set Rome on fire on the night of the Saturnalia, and remove all the enemies at once. The incendiary materials are to be deposited at Cethegus's house. After each conspirator has been allotted his task, all depart secretly. After Cicero accused Catiline of conspiracy in the Senate, the confederates have another secret meeting, in which they decide to go along with the plot while Catiline is gone to exile. When evidence against the conspirators has been obtained Cethegus and his confederates are brought to trial before the Senate. When Cicero accuses Cethegus that his house contained an entire armory, Cethegus denies having any connection with the plot. When he is confronted with the incriminating letters intercepted from Allobroges, Cethegus says he did not know what he wrote. The Senate's resolution places Cethegus in Cornificius's private custody. When it is reported that the conspirators continued the seditious actions, the Senate decides the death penalty and Cethegus is executed.
CETHUS
Prince Cethus in Heywood's 2 The Iron Age (Oeax or some variant of it in the ultimate source, Dictys of Crete, and in every other version of the tale except Caxton's) is the son of the Argonaut King Naulus (more usually Nauplius) of Nauplia, and brother of Palamedes. He is staying with Clitemnestra in Mycene at the end of the war, and vows to avenge his brother's death at the hands of the Greek leaders, Agamemnon, Menelaus, and Ulisses. Frustrated when the Greeks escape the maritime trap he and his father have laid, he persuades his hostess and her lover that they should kill Agamemnon before he discovers their affair and has them killed. When Orestes' bethrothal to Hermione is ruptured by her father, Cethus enrolls the angry youngster in his plot. He forges a letter purporting to be from Menelaus that instates Clitemnestra and Egistus as rulers in Mycene, which allows its bearer, Orestes, to enter their citadel and kill them. Rejoicing at the success of all his schemes, he then urges the maddened youth to reclaim his betrothed, Hermione, from Pyrhus. In the melée that occurs when Orestes attacks the would-be bridegroom, Cethus kills Pillades, Diomed, Menelaus, and Thersites, and wounds Ulisses, and is exulting over the unparalleled extent of his revenge when Synon, who has been pretending to be dead, rises up, and the two malcontents kill each other.
CHABOT
Admiral of France in Chapman's The
Tragedy of Chabot, Admiral of France. He is renowned for his honesty and
integrity. In the first scene, he reconciles with his rival Montmorency. His father-in-law
expresses his concerns about this new amity, and a Courtier arrives to present
Chabot with a suit, already signed by Montmorency, that Chabot considers unjust.
He refuses to sign it. When challenged by Montmorency, the Chancellor, Secretary,
and Treasurer, he affirms his action and states that the Constable has broken
his oath. He meets with the King and in a long discussion insists that he has
maintained his integrity throughout his rise in the King's favor and will continue
to do so. He is brought to trial, and learns that Allegre has been put to the
rack. He believes the trial to be another test by the King, which will clearly
demonstrate Chabot's worthiness to all. He is found guilty of treason when the
Chancellor pressures the judges. Brought before the King, who pardons him, he
asserts that he cannot be pardoned because he is not guilty even though he has
been condemned. When the truth is revealed, he forgives the Lord Chancellor. Despite
his acquittal before the King, the power of the action against him weakens him.
The King comes to his home, and he asks the King to take Allegre into his service
and to pardon the Lord Chancellor. The King does, Chabot kneels to thank him,
and dies.
CHABOT'S WIFE
She, along with her father, attends her husband as he is brought to his arraignment
in Chapman's The Tragedy of Chabot,
Admiral of France; they both attempt to leave the scene after Chabot is
led off by guards and the Queen enters, but the Queen sends someone to ask to
speak with her. She defends her husband's honesty and her own virtue, and begs
the Queen's pardon if she has exceeded the limits she should have observed as
a subject. When Chabot is condemned, she comes to the King to beg that he not
believe the Queen (whom she believes is still allied with Chabot's enemies), but
show mercy to Chabot. She is with her husband when he dies; the King vows he will
provide for her and her family in honor of her husband's service.
CHAERILUS **1638
A nickname in Mayne’s Amorous War that Pistoclerus’ suburb mistress calls him.
CHAIR
Silent character in Act V of ?Brewer's The Country Girl. He comes with the doctor.
CHAIR, MOTHER
A midwife, brought to assist Placentia's labor in Jonson's The Magnetic Lady. She sends her son (and the father of the baby), Needle the Tailor, to find a nurse and secret the child away. She prepares a potion that allows Placentia to recover quickly enough so that Lady Lodestone won't suspect she's just delivered. She also reconciles Polish and Nurse Keep.
CHALDEAN (a)
A "ghost character" in Middleton and Rowley's The
Changeling. Alsemero says a Chaldean (i.e. a wizard) taught him
the virginity test. The Chaldean may be Antonius Mizaldus, whom Alsemero's Book
of Secrets lists as the inventor of the test.
CHALDEES **1615
Only mentioned in Tomkis’ Albumazar. Albumazar’s magical cant includes this allusion.
CHALISTHENES
Chalisthenes is a friend and counsellor of Philotas in Daniel's Philotas. He advises Philotas to follow the advice of his father Parmenio and downscale his public display in order to avoid antagonising Alexander.
CHALLENGER
Challenger is in love with Sir Godfrey's daughter Annabel in the Anonymous The
Fair Maid of Bristow. When his friend Vallenger also falls in love with
her, Challenger wounds him and flees. Hearing that Vallenger is to marry Annabel,
Challenger returns disguised as an Italian doctor named Julio. Vallenger, who
loves Florence instead, commissions him to murder Annabel, but Challenger reveals
the plot. At the end, however, he offers to die in Vallenger's place because of
his love for Annabel.
CHALON
A captain, charged by order of the King (with Aumale and Maillard) to capture
Clermont D'Ambois at Cambrai in Chapman's The
Revenge of Bussy D'Ambois. He orders two soldiers to invite Clermont to
view the staged battle, then to make the actual capture with himself as backup.
He is one of the group accompanying the captive when Baligny arrives with orders
for his release.
CHAM
Look under TAMAR and MANGO.
CHAM, GREAT
A "ghost character" in Marlowe's The Jew
of Malta. The Great Cham is the ruler of China, who is mentioned by Barabas
as having given him the gift of a hat.
CHAM of TARTARY **1615
A “ghost character" in Tomkis’ Albumazar. Albumazar pretends he has been busy casting a horoscope for the nativity of the Cham of Tartary.
CHAMBERLAIN**1597
The Chamberlain serves as the master of rooms at the Rochester Inn in Shakespeare's
1 Henry IV. He supplies
Gadshill with information concerning the movements of travelers carrying money.
CHAMBERLAIN**1602
Servant of Blague's neighbor in the Anonymous The Merry Devil of Edmonton. Sir Ralph and Sir Arthur take him for a servant of the St. George Inn. But the inn shields have been exchanged during the night, so that Sir Ralph and Sir Arthur lodge in the wrong house, while the wedding of Milliscent and Raymond takes place in the real St. George.
CHAMBERLAIN**1604
Keeper of the inn at Brainford to which the gallants and wives travel in Dekker and Webster's Westward Ho.
CHAMBERLAIN **1607
A "ghost character" in the King of Moldavia's house in The Grocer's Honour portion of Beaumont's Knight of the Burning Pestle. Rafe gives this character 12d by way of Pompiona so as not to be beholding to the king. As there is truly no such person, one must imagine that the actor playing Pomponia keeps this money for himself.
CHAMBERLAIN **1617
In Goffe’s Orestes, he and the boy make a room ready for Aegystheus and Clytemnestra to take physic from the disguised Orestes.
CHAMBERLAINS
Servants to Duncan, the two Chamberlains are drugged by Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare's
Macbeth. Their daggers are
used by Macbeth to kill Duncan. After the murder, Lady Macbeth smears them with
Duncan's blood to implicate them in the deed. When the murder is discovered, Macbeth
kills them to prevent them telling their story.
CHAMBERLINO **1607
A fantasy "ghost character" in The Grocer's Honour portion of Beaumont's Knight of the Burning Pestle. This is the cant name that the dwarf, little George, uses for one of the servants they are likely to meet at the Bell Inn in Waltham.
CHAMBERMAID**1625
Lady Alworth's chambermaid in Massinger's A
New Way to Pay Old Debts. She warns Lady Alworth of Welborne's poor hygiene
but later takes part in Welborne's charade. Along with the Waiting Woman she dotes
on Alworth, giving him marmalade, requesting kisses from him and pledging her
service to him until Order reminds her of her obligations to Lady Alworth.
CHAMBERMAID**1629
Mistress Fitchow's less-than-proficient maid in Brome's The Northern Lass. Her mistress castigates her for sending a wimble when asked for a wimple.
CHAMBERMAID**1629
The chambermaid mounted by the depraved young gentlemen is a fictional character in Jonson's The New Inn. When Host rails against the current decayed ways of the nobility, he says that the young gentlemen disregard their good education and physical exercise. Instead of riding their steed every morning, the libertine youths prefer to mount the Chambermaid.
CHAMBERMAID **1635
A “ghost character" in Rider’s The Twins. Lurco sends Jovio to watch the stairs to see Fulvio creep into Charmia’s chamber. Instead, Jovio returns with news of the chambermaid going upstairs followed by the monkey that has broken his chain.
CHAMBERMAID, DOROTHEA'S
A "ghost character" in Davenport's The City Night Cap. She is referred by Dorothea in her second sin because
Dorothea thinks that the chamber maid has almost gotten injured because of
her.
CHAMBERMAID, LADY THRIVEWELL'S
A "ghost character" in Brome's A Mad Couple. Lady Thrivewell reveals how Saveall had almost abused of her chambermaid one day that he was drunk.
CHAMBERS
Master Chambers is a gentleman of Bristol and Challenger's friend in the Anonymous
The Fair Maid of Bristow.
CHAMLET
- Family name of the deceased Chamlet and his son, Walter, in Brome's The Sparagus Garden.
- The elder Chamlet is a "ghost character". Walter's father and friend to Samson Touchwood, he was a well-reputed member of the City, now dead. He was known for his ongoing feud with Goldwire.
(See "WALTER (or WAT) CHAMLET").
CHAMLET, RACHEL
Rachel is Water Chamlet's wife in Middleton's Anything for a Quiet Life. She complains that she lacks contentment. The spiteful and jealous woman accuses her husband that the two children being raised in his house, Maria and Edward Cressingham, are actually his bastards. At her husband's denial, Rachel leaves infuriated to live with her cousin, Knavesbee. From the lawyer's house, Rachel sends a message announcing her intention to divorce on grounds that Chamlet has two illegitimate children living in the house. Later, Knavesbee informs her that he has been invited to Chamlet's house to celebrate Chamlet's wedding to a French lady. Rachel, mad with jealousy, rushes to her husband's shop to settle the affair. There she sees her husband entertain the French bawd Margarita. It is all innocent, but Rachel jumps to the conclusion that Margarita is the "French Hood" that Chamlet intends to marry. Rachel kicks her out and reinstates her position as mistress of the house. The wedding was all a trick dreamed up by their apprentice George, and when George is confronted he admits to having lied. Rachel seems to be appeased and to accept her husband's proposal of a second marriage celebration. However, Rachel dismisses George in punishment for having lied to her. Outside Beaufort's house, Rachel learns from Lord Beaufort that Chamlet intends to leave for the Bermudas because of her sharp tongue. She is caught in the echo game played by Beaufort and George, who is hidden behind the arras. When Rachel goes to seek George in order to apologize to him and have him back in the shop, George follows her. In the final reconciliation scene, George brings a very submissive Rachel in tow. She is willing to accept any conditions, including the promise that she will call her husband "Master Chamlet" as a sign of submission and wifely respect.
CHAMLET, WATER
Master Water Chamlet is a merchant in London, the owner of a cloth shop, "The
Lamb" in Lombard Street in Middleton's Anything for a Quiet Life. "Chamlet" is the name originally applied to some beautiful and costly eastern fabric. Chamlet says he is the cousin of the late Lady Cressingham, and therefore entitled to raise her children, Edward and Maria. His support of the children raises suspicion in Rachel, his wife. At Sir Francis's house, Chamlet reminds Sir Francis that he owes him money for the wedding expenses, besides the sustenance of his two children, Maria and Edward. Chamlet's philosophy of life is to "do anything for a quiet life." In his shop, Chamlet bears patiently Rachel's admonitions regarding the children and sees her leave in a rage. Hoping that George might be able to placate Rachel's temper, Chamlet promises him a new suit and sends him to Knavesbee's house to fetch his wife. Later Franklin comes into his shop disguised as "Sir Andrew," accompanied by George Cressingham disguised as his tailor, and Chamlet inflates the prices and makes the gentleman buy expensive cloth of gold. The imposters play a trick on Chamlet's apprentice Ralph and steal off with the expensive cloth. Outside the tavern "Man in the Moon", Ralph reveals to Chamlet that Franklin is the trickster who pretended to be "Sir Andrew" and cheated him of the golden cloth. Franklin thinks quickly however, speaks French, and pretends to be a French gentleman. Chamlet is gulled once more, and Franklin escapes him. Twice cheated without knowing it, Chamlet learns that Rachel is suing him for divorce, accusing him of having two illegitimate children. He sends George to conduct Sir Francis's children back to their father and to try to persuade his wife to come home. Unaware that George had devised a scheme of fooling Rachel into coming home by informing her that her husband is presently to marry a French woman, Chamlet receives Margarita in his shop and gives her money for her help as interpreter with the "French gentleman" (who was really Franklin). Rachel enters and, thinking that Margarita is Chamlet's intended bride, attacks her and makes her leave the shop. George's trick is soon discovered. It was his idea to pass the rumor of Chamlet's supposed marriage. Considering that George's ruse was for a good purpose, Chamlet proposes a second marriage to Rachel, promising her new clothes and a new suit for George. Rachel does not forgive George, however, and dismisses him as apprentice. Outside Beaufort's house, Chamlet takes his leave of his friends, announcing he intends to leave for the Bermudas for a quiet life. Hearing that Old Franklin is willing to pay for the cloth of gold, now that Franklin has apparently died, Chamlet decides not to leave after all. When Rachel arrives, George plays an echo game upon her. Chamlet overhears how his wife is persuaded to take George back into his apprenticeship and also that she intends to let her husband Chamlet have a quiet life. When George enters with a much-subdued Rachel, Chamlet is very happy.
CHAMONT**1597
A French soldier and son to the man (also named Chamont) who captured the Count's oldest son, Camillo, in battle when the boy was only two, nineteen years before the time of Jonson's The Case is Altered; longtime companion to the boy, now called Jasper. Chamont and Jasper are captured by Maximilian in the same battle in which Lord Paulo is captured by the French. Chamont poses as "Jasper" as a protective measure, and gallantly offers to remain imprisoned by Count Ferneze so that an even prisoner-exchange can be made, "Chamont" (actually Jasper) for Lord Paulo. After the exchange is approved, he is sent, as "Jasper," to escort Lord Paulo back home. He returns with Lord Paulo as promised, in time to rescue Rachel from Angelo. Chamont tries to soothe Lord Paulo's anger at Angelo unsuccessfully. They appear at Count Ferneze's in time to prevent Jasper's execution; at that time Chamont, learning that the Count had lost another son nineteen years ago, reveals that Jasper is the long-lost Camillo. He is rewarded with the hand of Aurelia. (Sometimes spelled "Chamount" in text.)
CHAMONT**1624
Chamont, a nobleman and former guardian to Bellisant in Massinger's The Parliament of Love, schemes with Dinant to fool Perigot and Novall into attempting a seduction of Lamira and Clarinda.
CHAMONT**1626
Chamont, along with Montaigne and Lanour, is an assistant to the governor in Massinger's
Unnatural Combat.
CHAMONT (the ELDER)
A "ghost character" in Jonson's The Case is Altered: the deceased French war leader who captured the Count's
oldest son, Camillo, in battle when the boy was only two, nineteen years before
the time of the play; he raised the boy, called "Jasper," as companion to
his son, Chamont.
CHAMPAIGNE, LADY
Wife to Monsieur Champaigne in the anonymous A Larum for London. She pleads for mercy from the soldiers who have robbed her and are trying to rape her. She offers to pay Stump, but after he refuses, she gets him to accompany her to safety by appealing to his honor.
CHAMPAIGNE, MONSIEUR
Champaigne declines an offer of defensive supplies in the anonymous A Larum for London. Even after appeals from the English Governor and Van Ends he refuses, believing that the army might become disorderly. After hearing the size of army, he asserts that the local garrison should be sufficient to defend the town. He agrees to allow the troops from the Prince of Orange to be housed in Antwerp. He is ultimately killed by Romero, Verdugo, and Van End.
CHAMPERNELL
An elderly gentleman and former pirate who lacks the use of one leg and one arm in Fletcher and Massinger's The Little French Lawyer. Champernell marries Lamira much to the dismay of her former suitor Dinant. Unable to defend himself and his bride against Dinant and Cleremont's cruel imprecations, and falling in the street when he attempts to attack Dinant, Champernell weeps on his wedding day, to his bride's disgust. Champernell defends his previous piracy by pointing out that Dinant's grandfather earned his money in the same way, and he provides a compelling account of a fight at sea. When Beaupre loses the duel against Cleremont and Dinant's unwilling substitute La-writ, Champernell is furious and orders Beaupre out of his house, excoriating the young man's fighting skills. Hearing that Dinant did not show up for the duel, Champernell relents. When Lamira defends Dinant's courage, Champernell becomes jealous despite the fact that Lamira genuinely loves him and has given up all interest in Dinant. Lamira responds to her husband's jealousy with defiance, and a repentant Champernell offers her exceptional liberty and agrees that Dinant is as courageous as she asserts he is. Champernell overhears the end of a secret conference Lamira has arranged with Dinant in order to expose the latter's lust. Champernell sees through the plot and admires his wife's efforts to humiliate her former suitor. On the way to their summerhouse to celebrate Lamira's triumph over Dinant, Champernell and his party are kidnapped by ruffian gentlemen in Dinant's employ. Champernell tries to reason with the kidnappers by describing his piratical past, and he asks them to take the goods but leave the people unharmed. He and Vertaigne are left behind, in part because Champernell, with only one leg, has trouble walking. Encountering La-writ in the woods, Champernell insults and beats the lawyer, which has the effect of returning La-writ to his senses and his former profession. Having summoned the Provost, Champernell is delighted to find the kidnapped party returning safely from the woods, and having received Lamira's assurances that there was no foul play, consents to the marriage of his niece Anabell with Cleremont.
CHAMPERTY
Champerty is the wife of Fourcher in Marston's Histrio-Mastix. Along with the other characters, she follows the cycle that begins with the reign of Plenty and ends with Poverty.
CHAMPION
Appears in Marlowe's Edward II. As medieval coronation etiquette prescribed, a Champion at King Edward III's coronation offers to fight anyone who refuses to affirm that Edward II's son is the true king of England.
CHANCE
A non-speaking character in Jonson's Every Man out of His Humour. Chance is Deliro's dog. At Deliro's house, Macilente shows his contempt for the rich merchant's fortune. Macilente says Deliro is a fool and does not deserve his fortune. When he sees Deliro's dog playing with his master, Macilente is envious of the dog. He says that dog, fortuitously called Chance, is luckier than he is, and why should a dog be treated better than he is? According to Macilente, he is a man with bones, and sinews, and has a soul, just as the dog, so he does not see why man and animal should be treated differently. Macilente's analogous spite makes him poison Puntavorlo's precious Dog.
CHANCELLOR of ENGLAND
A "ghost character" in the anonymous Jack Straw. One of the offices the rebels seek to assume.
CHANGEABLE TAFFETA
Changeable Taffeta is the widow of Master Taffeta, a rich merchant in Barry's
Ram Alley. She and her maid
Adriana sit in the widow and pass comment on the men who pass below. Seeing Thomas
Boutcher, Taffeta drops her handkerchief to get his attention and sends Adriana
to invite him into her house. After their inconclusive flirtation, she vows to
court him, noting that "women must woo, / When men forget what Nature leads them
to." Taffeta is also wooed by Sir Oliver Smallshanks, and Captain Face. When Captain
Face comes to her house claiming to be her rightful husband, she calls on her
men to eject him. Having lost her passion for Boutcher, she persuades him to rid
her of Captain Face, secure in the prospect of laughing at both men's disgrace.
Taffeta agrees to marry Sir Oliver because she wants to gain the social position
that being his wife would guarantee. She banishes Sir Oliver's son William Smallshanks
from her house when he disparages her desire to marry Sir Oliver. However, William
comes to her at night and woos her; he eventually draws his sword and forces her
to kiss him. She responds positively to this treatment and agrees to marry him,
disgusted by the inert behavior of her other suitors.
CHANGEABLE, MASTER
Master Changeable is husband to Mistriss Changeable and father to Anne in Davenport's New Trick to Cheat the Devil. He agrees to his daughter's wedding to Master Slightall, and promises not to tell his wife about it–aware of the fact that the has other plans concerning her daughter's future. That is the reason why, when Treatwell wants to talk to him in private, he actually offers him a public audience before his wife, his daughter and Master Slightall. And when he hears that Treatwell brings news from Lord Skales, announcing that he wants to marry his daughter, Master Changeable rejects him and, instead, supports the claim of Master Slightall. Thus, he is in for a nasty surprise when he hears his daughter change her mind–influenced by her mother's greed for aristocratic titles–and decide she will marry Lord Skales, rather than her beloved Slightall. Then, he will argue with his wife, because he would rather see his daughter married to a man of means–Slightall–than to a man of titles–Lord Skales. Nevertheless, despite his strongly disagreeing with his daughter's prospective match, he will have to behave when the latter comes to pay them a visit. However, realizing his daughter is aware of the fact that she has made a mistake, he assures her he will help her to recover her beloved Slightall. To that aim, when he learns that the young man has lost his mind, he disguises himself as the Divell, and makes Slightall agree to go to the house of the Changeables in order to get rid of a female spirit haunting one of their chambers. Then he goes back home, and, once there, he convinces his wife, Lord Skales, Geffrey and Treatwell of the fact that he has gone to see the gypsies in search of help, but all he got was their refusal. However, he managed to find a mad man ready to help them–Slightall. Aware of the fact that his wife would not be willing to have Lord Skales's rival sleeping in a chamber of their own house, he insinuates that making him face an evil spirit would be a good way to get rid of him, since the devil would most certainly tear him to pieces. Later, when Slightall arrives, he welcomes him–as the good host he is–and sees him to his chamber. After his deeds disguised as the Divell, he manages to have his daughter married to Slightall.
CHANGEABLE, MISTRESS
Also spelled Mistriss, Mristriss, and Mistriss Changeable and given the speech headings Wi. and Wo., Mistriss Changeable is wife to Master Changeable and mother to Anne in Davenport's New Trick to Cheat the Devil. She wants her husband to listen to Treatwell's message about Lord Skales wanting to marry Anne, because she supports that match, since becoming the wife of a young baron would offer her daughter the title of lady. Thus, she, the ambitious Mistriss Changeable, would be related to the nobility. Determined to reach her goal, she speaks to her daughter in private, facing her with the two options–Slightall and Lord Skales–and with each of them can offer her. Not surprisingly, she is really glad when Anne chooses Lord Skales. Then, when the latter comes to pay his fiancée a visit, Mistriss Changeable argues with her husband, because he insists that money is better than titles, and she disagrees. In fact, the thing that worries her is to teach her daughter how to behave as a noble woman in front of her prospective husband. Therefore, she will be greatly disappointed when she realizes that Anne decides not to marry Lord Skales the moment she sees him–just because she does not find him attractive. She tries to persuade the girl arguing that the important thing is the titles, but Anne is not to be impressed by that: she just wants a man she can fall in love with, and that is not definitely Lord Skales. Later in the play she explains to Lord Skales, Treatwell, Geffrey and two Gentlemen, that her house has been haunted for ten days, since strange noises can be heard in one of the chambers after midnight. Afterwards, her amazement will be great when she learns that Slightall–despite having lost his fortune–has rejected the money Lord Skales had gone to offer him. However, she will soon be happy to hear that her husband, who had gone to look for the gypsies in the hope that they should rid them of the spirit haunting one of their chambers, managed to convince Slightall to do it–she believed that would be a good and easy way to get rid of him, convinced, as she was, that the Divell would tear him to pieces. But, in the end, she will be cheated, since her daughter–with the help of her father–will marry Slightall.
CHANGE–COAT, MASTER
Name given by Haddit to the Player in Tailor's The Hog Hath Lost His Pearl.
CHANGELING BOY
The Changeling Boy presumably appears on stage, though he is given no lines in
Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's
Dream. He is the source of contention between Titania and Oberon, the
fairy Queen and King. The son of one of Titania's deceased devotees—a "votaress
of her order"—the Changeling Boy is the ransom demanded by Oberon before
he removes the love spell from Titania. Because his mother died in childbirth
and the fairy dissention started in "the middle summer's spring" when Titania
took the child, it is reasonable to suppose that the Changeling Boy is an infant
in swaddling rather than a youth.
CHANGELOVE, WILL**1634
An amorous gallant in Nabbes' Tottenham Court, friend of the Stitchwells and acquaintance of Frank. Along with Frank, George, and James, he represents the sensual, hedonistic form of love of which Nabbes disapproved. He flirts with Mistress Stitchwell and attempts to seduce her in front of her sleeping husband. But he becomes alarmed when Stitchwell, apparently sleepwalking, pulls Changelove's ears and calls him Sir Lancelot, apparently dreaming that they are in the court of King Arthur. Later it is revealed that Stitchwell was not really asleep, but was gulling Changelove along with his wife; upon hearing this, Changelove goes off with George to drown their sorrows in a cup of sack.
CHAPLAIN
Oldrents' chaplain in Brome's A Jovial Crew. In Oldrents' absence, he drinks with Oliver and Tallboy.
CHARALOIS
The embodiment of chivalric ideals of honor and virtue in Field and Massinger's
The Fatal Dowry. Unlike his
loyal friend Romont, who rarely contains his extreme emotions, Charalois acts
with self-discipline and deliberation. Distraught by the fact that he cannot give
his deceased father a proper funeral because his father's creditors keep his body
in exchange for his debts, he offers to go to prison himself to release the body.
Charalois' act so impresses the former judge Rochfort that he purchases his freedom
and gives him his daughter Beaumelle as a wife. Having at first dismissed Romont's
hints as audacious effrontery—hints that Beaumelle is deceiving him with
Young Novall, Charalois learns of his wife's adultery through Aymer's satirical
songs on wifely infidelity. He catches Beaumelle and Young Novall together, challenges
his wife's lover and kills him. He punishes his wife by putting on a mock trial
during which he forces Rochfort to sentence his own daughter to death for adultery
and carries out this judgement by, in essence, "executing" Beaumelle. In court,
where Du Croye and Charmi, the latter formerly his own lawyer, sit in judgement
over him, Charalois is acquitted of his deeds.
CHARALOIS SENIOR
A "ghost character" in Field and Massinger's The
Fatal Dowry. The embodiment of soldierly virtue and a role model for his
son, Charalois, as well as any other character aspiring to chivalrous ideals.
He is dead before the play begins.
CHARICLES **1635
Only mentioned in Rider’s The Twins. Charmia likens herself to Charicles who lived one hundred years without illness but, growing fearful that he may one day sicken, killed himself to prevent disease.
CHARILLA
Charilla is Sophia's companion in Shirley's Coronation and expresses concern about her mistress' passionate mature. After Seleucus is established as king, it is Charilla who urges Sophia to reaffirm her love to Cassander's sons Lisimachus.
CHARINO**1620
Father to Zenocia in Fletcher and Massinger's Custom of the Country, a noble man of the unknown 'country' of the title. Distraught that his daughter's imminent marriage to Arnoldo will entail the notorious droit de seigneur enforced by Count Clodio, he attempts to persuade her to capitalize on the opportunity to seduce and marry the Count instead. Her adamant refusal allows him to admit that he had been trying to persuade her under compulsion. The furious Count takes him hostage in pursuit of the newly-wed lovers, who flee the country. During their long and tempestuous pursuit, the Count repents his lustfulness; together they continue to search for the refugees in Lisbon, in disguise, but with the covert help of the Governor. Here they find Zenocia enslaved and Arnoldo under sentence of death: events forestall their need to intervene immediately, but with the Governor's aid they arrive to liberate Zenocia from bondage at the point when she is threatened with death by strangulation. The anticipated happy ending is again forestalled when Zenocia is struck down with a mysterious and actually magical illness. Charino believes that his daughter's suffering is a punishment on him, for previously attempting to subvert their happiness. He now sees the full extent of his son-in-law's devotion, suffering equally Zenocia and as likely to die, and is further grieved for Arnoldo when Rutillio confesses to the murder of the Governor's nephew. All ends well, and Charino, passing lightly over her two earlier attempts at his daughter's murder, particularly praises Hippolyta's generosity in the gift of a huge dowry for Zenocia.
CHARINTHA
Charintha is the sister of Alteza in Davenant's The Just Italian. Although Florello remembers her as modest and amenable, she has been taught by Alteza to believe herself superior to men, to demand as many material goods as possible and then to discard the men. When Florello appears disguised as Dandolo and giving out jewels to everyone, Charintha is thrilled, but promises her sister to simply use and then reject this suitor. When the real Dandolo appears, she rejects his identity since he does not bring any gifts. When the truth is revealed, Charintha rejects Florello, but when he appears in his old solider outfit and explains why he disguised himself, she is won over by his speech and manly looks. At that moment, however, Mervolle appears with the news that Altamont is dead and that Florello must leave her and go into mourning, which Florello does. In the final scene, after Altamont has revealed himself, Charintha arrives mourning the loss of her love, at which point Florello reveals himself and all the couples are happily joined.
CHARINTHUS
A servant to Antigonus in Fletcher's The Humorous Lieutenant. He along with Timon and Menippus, assists the king in his pursuit of Celia.
CHARINUS **1622
Brother of the Roman emperor Numerianus in Fletcher and Massinger's The Prophetess. Charinus is offered proof by his loyal servant Niger that Aper has murdered the emperor. Niger encourages Charinus to put a price on Aper's head, and Charinus offers half his empire and, at her suggestion, his sister Aurelia's hand in marriage to the successful assassin. After Diocles kills Aper, Charinus and Aurelia congratulate him and embrace him as co-partner of the empire, with Charinus asserting that virtue, not birth, is the source of nobility. After the flamen refuses to approve the marriage between Aurelia and Diocles, Charinus agrees to bury his brother first, then negotiate the marriage. Charinus' efforts to persuade Aurelia to stop making love to Maximinian are unsuccessful, as are his efforts in the dumb show to resist being captured by the Persian soldiers. Charinus proves a defiant prisoner, asserting Roman superiority at every opportunity. Freed after Diocles defeats the Persians, Charinus proposes additional honors for Diocles, who declines them and gives his share of the empire to his nephew Maximinian. Charinus and Maximinian quarrel over how to rule Rome. When Maximinian travels to Diocles' country retreat to kill his uncle, Charinus follows with his troops, but Delphia intervenes to prevent a war and to reconcile the two emperors.
CHARINUS**1634
Father to Nerina, a self-professed old man, and Daphnis's friend in Rutter's The Shepherds' Holiday, Charinus refers to the other shepherds as boys, reminisces about the days of his youth, promises his daughter to Daphnis, and works throughout the play to convince Nerina to not only marry the rich shepherd but also love him. He demands that Nerina accept the looking-glass from Daphnis, forgives her for not being the dutiful daughter she should have been when she grows deathly ill, and grants his daughter's final wish that she die the wife of Hylas despite his fierce desire to see her married to Daphnis. Helping to bear his presumably-dead daughter to her grave he re-enters to see her alive and seeking refuge from the villainy of Daphnis, at which point he quits his furtherance of the shepherd's suit, passes his daughter over to the deserving Hylas, and invites the other shepherds to help "solemnise" their nuptials"
CHARISIUS **1635
A “ghost character" in Killigrew’s The Conspiracy. When Timeus finds the body of his slain father he calls for support from Clitus, Charisius, Erastus, and Amathes but none are at hand.
CHARISSA
Daughter to Andrew Mendicant in Brome's Court Beggar. She is in love with Frederick, but her father is determined to marry her to someone with a sizable estate. She is secretly married to Frederick in the final scene.
CHARISTUS
Charistus is the prince of Crete in Cartwright's The Lady-Errant. His father is Dinomachus and he is in love with Lucasia, the princess of Cyprus. Because the two countries are at war, he is faced with
a difficult choice. Lucasia wishes for him to fight nobly for his own country,
but since that would mean fighting against hers, he is unwilling to do so. His
best friend is the lord of Cyprus, Olyndus, a young man who has been left behind
from the wars because of his poor health. Charistus becomes jealous of Olyndus,
and they fight a duel that nearly kills them both. After renewing their vows of
friendship and receiving assurances of Lucasia's love, Charistus then fulfills
the oracle of Apollo that peace will only come when he becomes his enemy's slave—that
is to say, when he marries Lucasia and forms an alliance between the two countries.
CHARITA
A "ghost character" in Shirley's The Arcadia. Said by Musidorus to be having an affair with Dametas, so that Miso will go after them and leave Pamela to him.
CHARITIE, FIRST, SECOND and THIRD
Hesiod explains that there are three Charites [sic] or Graces (Aglaia, Euphrosyne and Thalia) who personify beauty and charm in the anonymous Maid's Metamorphosis. In this play they only appear under their generic name. The First Charite urges Apollo to tell her the reason for his grieving, and the Second Charite offers evidence for his grief when he denies it. When they hear his story, they try to cheer him up. But he explains to them that there is nothing they can do to appease his pain, and they leave.
CHARITY**1513
A "ghost character" in the anonymous Hick Scorner. A royal preacher. 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.
CHARITY**1520
Brother to Humility in the anonymous Youth. Delivers prologue, emphasizing importance of the virtue charity for achieving salvation. Meets Youth and tries to persuade him to think about heaven and salvation. When Youth threatens Charity with violence, Charity leaves to take counsel with his brother Humility. Charity returns as Youth, Riot, Pride, and Lechery are on their way to the tavern and again tries to persuade Youth to follow virtue. Charity is put in the stocks by Youth, Riot, and Pride, who then leave him alone on stage. Charity tells the audience to note and lament how Youth freely chooses vice and evil over virtue and good. Charity is discovered and released by Humility and they join together to continue persuading Youth to forsake sin. Charity tells Youth that God through Christ's sacrifice has saved Youth's soul. After Youth's sudden change of heart, Charity tells him to abandon Pride and Riot; he then gives the contrite Youth new clothes. At the end of the interlude, Charity thanks the audience for their
attention.
CHARITY**1577
Charity is one of the four Virtues that conclude Lupton's All For Money. She reminds the audience of the value of helping the needy and the poor.
CHARITY **1617
A “ghost character" in the anonymous Pathomachia. One of the eleven virtues that regulate the affections. Charity is first to take the vanguard against the Vices. Malice, Self-Love, and Jealousy are the extremes of Charity.
CHARLEMAGNE
I.
Charlemagne is the legendary Holy Roman Emperor in the Anonymous Charlemagne.
An old man at the time of the play, he marries Theordora at the instigation of
Ganelon. Charlemagne's obsessive love for his new wife leads him to neglect affairs
of state, to shun his heir Orlando, and to refuse to bury Theodora after her death
in childbirth. Bishop Turpin discovers that the magical ring, which he finds under
her tongue, caused Charlemagne's love for Theodora; when Turpin and La Fue hold
the ring Charlemagne woos them in her place. Charlemagne banishes Ganelon for
his plot against Orlando and sets Ganelon's son La Busse a riddle that he must
solve to redeem Ganelon's fortunes. La Busse must come before Charlemagne on a
road never used by horse or man, riding on a beast that is neither horse, mare
or ass but that is nonetheless a 'usual thing for burden'. He must be neither
clothed nor naked, and bring with him his greatest friend and greatest enemy as
companions. La Busse solves the riddle by meeting the Emperor on a newly ploughed
field, riding a mule, clothed in a net and accompanied by his greatest friend
(a spaniel) and his greatest enemy (his wife). He thus regains Charlemagne's favor
for Ganelon. However, when Ganelon's crimes are discovered the Emperor imposes
a new sentence: Ganelon and Didier, as his associate, are to be broken on the
wheel. Finally, Bishop Turpin gives the magical ring to Charlemagne in order that
the Emperor should henceforth love only himself and not be under the influence
of any of his subjects.
II.
Only mentioned in Udall's Ralph Roister Doister. Charles le Maigne (Charlemagne) is one of the heroes Merrygreek claims all women think of when they see Roister Doister.
III.
Only mentioned in Fletcher’s Bloody Brother. Grandpree claims he carries Charlemagne’s sword.
CHARLEMONT
Charlemont is the son of Montferrers and the beloved of Castabella in Tourneur's The Atheist's Tragedy. Wishing to earn honor on the battlefield, he seeks his father's permission to go to the wars, but fearing for his son's safety, Montferrers refuses to support him. He is enabled to go, however, when his uncle, the villainous D'Amville, offers to underwrite the venture, hoping thereby to be in a position to receive Charlemont's inheritance from Montferrers should the young man die. He engages in a private marriage with Castabella before leaving. While Charlemont is away, D'Amville spreads a false report of his death and, after Montferrers changes his will, has Montferrers murdered. The ghost of Montferrers visits Charlemont in the field, urging him to return home but insisting that he not take personal revenge. Arriving just after D'Amville has presided over Charlemont's "funeral," the young man finds Castabella weeping at the grave, and after convincing her that he is no ghost, she curses the enforced marriage with Rousard that will keep her from the man she truly loves. When D'Amville learns of Charlemont's return, he has him arrested and imprisoned (for debt), but D'Amville's younger son Sebastian provides him money to secure his release. When Charlemont confronts his uncle, D'Amville claims that his actions have only been an attempt to position himself as Charlemont's guardian and protector until such time as the younger man is fully prepared to assume his proper obligations, and Charlemont seems to accept the story. A short time later, Borachio, acting on D'Amville's orders, stalks Charlemont in St. Winfred's churchyard and attempts to shoot him. His pistol misfires, however, and in the ensuing fight Charlemont kills Borachio. After considering a surrender to the authorities, Charlemont decides to flee, but temporarily hides in the churchyard, and it is there that he startles Languebeau Snuff and Soquette and gains possession of the ghost disguise Snuff has with him. When D'Amville and Castabella enter, and the villain attempts to rape his daughter-in-law, Charlemont appears disguised as his father's ghost and frightens D'Amville away. When the watch arrive and discover Borachio's corpse, both Charlemont and Castabella are arrested. During their trial, Charlemont admits to having killed Borachio but contends the act did not rise to the level of murder, and after being interrupted by an increasingly crazed D'Amville, the young man leaps upon the scaffold to demonstrate how little he values his life. When D'Amville asks Charlemont to explain where such peace of mind and conscience comes from, Charlemont replies that it proceeds from itself, and D'Amville admits his own desperate fear of death. With Castabella beside him on the scaffold, Charlemont finds himself facing D'Amville who, claiming no commoner should dispatch his nephew, insists on being the executioner himself. The young couple are spared, however, when D'Amville, in preparing to strike Charlemont, accidentally hits himself with the headsman's axe and with his last breath confesses to his crimes. The Judges then free the prisoners and officially bestow the wealth and titles of their respective families upon them, leading Charlemont to comment upon the "work of heav'n" that has given him the patience to wait for justice and not engage in personal revenge.
CHARLES I
I.
Only mentioned in the anonymous Wit's Triumvirate. Charles is mentioned by the Prologue before the King and Queen. The Prologue is here addressing to King Charles I (1600-1649), king of Great Britain and Ireland, who is a member of the audience.
II.
A "ghost character" in ?Clavell's The Soddered Citizen. The King is mentioned by Undermine at the end of the play. He would probably be part of the audience, as his address indicates: "[All humble thanks unto our gratious Queene], [That ask'd his pardon and our Kings thus gave it]." Taking into account that the approximate date of the play is 1629, the King at that time was Charles I (reigned 1625-49).
CHARLES V
I.
Charles V, a historical personage, reigned as Holy Roman Emperor from 1519 to
1556. According to the Chorus in Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, which calls him Carolus the Fifth, the German
Emperor hears of Faustus' fame and invites him to court. Charles asks Faustus to conjure up the Spirit of Alexander and the Spirit of Alexander's Paramour, which
Faustus does, and Charles rewards him by calling Faustus beloved.
II.
A "ghost character" in Marlowe's The Jew
of Malta. Charles V was the Holy Roman Emperor, engaged in a war with
France. Barabas boasts of slaying both friend and enemy in the war, under the
pretense of helping Charles V.
III.
The Holy Roman Emperor in Rowley’s When You See Me. He was prepared to invade Burgundy, but Henry VIII’s orders stayed him at Brabant. When the old French king dies, the league is broken between the emperor and the young French king, and Henry sends Wolsey to broker a peace between them. He arrives in England to visit his uncle, King Henry, at the end of the play.
CHARLES VI of FRANCE
Charles VI, King of France, is father of the Dauphin and Katherine in Shakespeare's
Henry V. Charles is less sanguine
than his son about France's ability to withstand an English invasion, and his
fears prove well founded when Henry's army triumphs. Charles acquiesces to Henry's
demands, which include Henry's marriage to Katherine. After Henry has wooed Katherine
and obtained her consent, Charles and Queen Isabel voice their approval of the
match.
CHARLES VII of FRANCE
I.
King of France in the Anonymous Famous
Victories of Henry V. Finding Henry's claim to the French crown "unreasonable,"
he offers him an alternative of fifty thousand crowns a year and the hand of his
daughter, Katherine, in marriage. When Henry V refuses, Charles is defeated at
Agincourt. The French king sends his daughter to negotiate with Henry, but the
English king does not relent: he claims the throne of France for himself and his
heirs. Charles responds by making Henry V regent of France and promising his heirs
the throne in perpetuity, an offer that Harry accepts.
II.
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.
CHARLES VIII of FRANCE
I.
Charles VIII, King of France in Massinger's The
Parliament of Love, resides over the Parliament of Love and issues decisions
resolving conflicts between all the lovers. He resolves that Cleremond marry Leonora,
and that Bellisant marry Montrouse.
II.
The King of France in Barnes's The Devil's Charter; Charles is an honest and just man who, upon hearing of Italy's suffering under Alexander, has come to invade Italy and negotiate with or depose the Pope. Charles's allies are the Sforza's and Charles Balbiano, along with the French contingent, Montpensier and the Cardinal of St. Peter ad Vincula. Charles can easily win a victory, but his respect for the Papacy prevents him from pressing his advantage and he negotiates with Alexander, who refuses to surrender Castell Angelo but promises Charles other concessions, including Terrocina, Civita Vecchia and Spoleto, and the Turk, Gemen Ottoman. They sign a truce, but soon after, Charles is stricken with apoplexy and dies suddenly and unexpectedly, leaving France and Italy open to invasion by Ferdinand of Spain.
CHARLES IX
King of France in Marlowe's Massacre
at Paris. Although Charles opposes the massacre of Protestants, he defers
to his vicious advisors such as Guise. By the time the massacre is nearly complete,
he regrets his inaction, swears revenge against the murderers, but dies before
he can act.
CHARLES**1599
Charles is Duke Frederick's wrestling champion in Shakespeare's As You Like It. He warns Oliver that Orlando is a challenger in a match scheduled for the next day from which he cannot escape uninjured. Oliver tells Charles to
kill Orlando if he can, but the match does not go according to plan and Orlando
vanquishes the champion instead. It is during the wrestling match that Rosalind
first notices Orlando. She awards him a chain for his victory.
CHARLES**1600
Third son to the destitute Earl of Boulogne in Thomas Heywood's The Four Prentices of London; he is an apprentice to a haberdasher. He abandons this vocation, however, to join the First Crusade. Shipwrecked in transit to the
Holy Land, Charles comes to shore in Italy where, conveyed through a dumb show,
he is attacked by bandits. Having killed their captain and assumed leadership
of the bandits, Charles discovers his father is their prisoner; the old Earl is
released, furnished with gold, and continues his pilgrimage escorted by the Clown
and the Villain. Charles fights with Eustace, believing him to be a rival outlaw,
but their combat is disturbed by the arrival of Bella Franca, whom they both fail
to recognize. Charles joins Tancred's crusading forces and confronts the French
forces upon their arrival in Lombardy. He engages in single combat with Godfrey,
whom he does not recognize, but Robert and Tancred halt the fight. All four unwitting
brothers reunite in the purpose of the crusade and Charles adopts the arms of
the haberdashers. He observes Bella Franca leave the camp, follows her, is captured
by the Soldan's forces. Guy, disguised as the Goldsmith Knight, rescues him. In
the final scene of recognition, Charles is made King of Cyprus.
CHARLES**1602
A "ghost character" in Chapman's Sir Giles Goosecap. He was Hyppolita's husband. He died on their wedding
day overwhelmed by the honor of marrying a lady of such a condition.
CHARLES**1613
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's Henry
VIII. Charles is Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and the nephew of Henry's
wife Queen Katherine. He does not want to see a close alliance develop between
Britain and France, and he bribes Cardinal Wolsey to help disrupt British and
French relations.
CHARLES**1625
A dedicated scholar in Fletcher's The Elder Brother. Charles is the older of the justice Brisac's two sons. Summoned home when his father and their neighbor Lewis propose a marriage between Lewis's daughter Angellina and one of Brisac's sons, Charles arrives with a large number of books and his witty servant Andrew. Questioned by his father to assess his suitability as a landowner and bridegroom, Charles fails miserably, assuring his father that Virgil is full of farming advice, and that he has learned all he needs to know about women by reading Greek and Roman literature. Confusing Andrew's wife Lilly with the title of his grammar book, and refusing to stop reading, Charles does not make himself welcome in his father's house. Allowing Brisac to persuade him to sign over his inheritance rights to his brother Eustace, despite the warnings issued by his loving uncle Miramont, Charles is content with assurances that he will always be given an allowance to buy books. When the noisy wedding preparations disturb his studies, Charles insists on seeing the bride, and after carefully contemplating Angellina, falls in love with her. Using his extraordinary verbal skills, and composing an ode on the spot, Charles convinces Angellina that he is the worthier brother and that his love for her is genuine and lasting, as is his new found interest in land ownership. Angellina accepts Charles's marriage proposal, and the two of them are immediately disowned by their fathers. Taking refuge with Miramont, Charles follows Angellina around the house obsessively, and wishes to accompany her to bed, although once there he plans only to watch her sleep. When Eustace, Cowsy, and Egremont arrive to recover Angellina, Charles defends her valiantly, disarming his brother and making Eustace look cowardly. Forced to relinquish his coach and four horses as well as his claim to Angellina, Eustace leaves in disgrace and, after a painfully revealing conversation with his courtier friends, decides to reform himself. He confronts Charles and demands the return of his sword, his coach, his horses, and his bride; Charles agrees to return everything but Angellina. The two men fight vigorously, and Miramont arrives and tries to separate them. Andrew arrives to tell them men that Brisac has been arrested and Angellina kidnapped by Lewis; Charles, Eustace, and Miramont rescue Angellina and the lovers are reunited.
CHARLES BALBIANO**1607
A "ghost character" in Barnes's The Devil's Charter. Listed in the Dramatis Personae as an Italian ally of the French King, Charles, Balbiano does not otherwise appear.
CHARLES BRANDON
I.
A "ghost character" in Dekker and Webster's Sir Thomas Wyatt. When Sir Thomas Wyatt pleads with Queen Mary to have mercy on Lady Jane Grey, he calls attention to their close blood ties, reminding her that the queen's own aunt Mary, Queen of France, (Henry VIII's youngest sister) married Charles Brandon, the first Duke of Suffolk. Their daughter Frances is Lady Jane's mother.
II.
Duke of Suffolk in Rowley’s When You See Me. He brings in the French ambassadors to meet Henry. He conspires with the king, who wishes to see London by night and in disguise. His part will be to await the king at Baynards Castle. When called, he goes with Compton to the counter and redeems the king. He tells Henry the old French king has died and is sent to France to collect Henry’s sister, the queen. It is unclear whether Brandon or Compton is sent to give a ring to Catherine “Parry" and send Anne of Cleves back to her home, but it is one of the two. He marries Harry’s sister, Mary, at Dover as they are returning from France. Henry pretends to send him to the Tower for it but relents and blesses the match.
CHARLES BRISSAC
Son of Old Brissac and brother of Aphelia in Hemming's Fatal Contract. A friend of Clovis, he assists the prince in wooing his sister and supports the legality of their betrothal in defiance of royal prerogative. He quits court to join the rebels to revenge his abused sister, and father (who has died of grief). He is made their general until Clovis also joins the opposition and takes over the leadership with his approval. He is one of the nobles who invade Clotair's citadel in time to see his dying sister. The repentant Clotair names him Duke of France to make amends for the wrongs done to his family.
CHARLES HOWARD, LORD ADMIRAL **1601
A ‘ghost character’ in Percy’s Cuckqueans and Cuckolds Errants. Queen Elizabeth as sent him ahead with his fleet to confront the Spanish invasion at sea. According to Denham, Howard, Commander of the Fleet during the Spanish invasion, acquitted himself well with a bold stratagem that sunk the enemy fleet. This would have been Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham, 2nd Baron Howard of Effingham (1536 – 14 December 1624), known as Howard of Effingham, Lord High Admiral under Elizabeth I and James I. He was was chiefly responsible after Francis Drake for the victory over the Spanish Armada.
CHARLES MERRYTHOUGHT **1607
Referred to as "Old Master" Merrythought in the dramatis personae in Beaumont's Knight of the Burning Pestle, he is father to Jasper and Michael and husband to Mistress Merrythought in The London Merchant portion of the play. He is always happy and singing despite his failing fortunes, much to his wife's consternation. He was charged to save up Jasper's portion while his wife saved for Michael's. He gives Jasper ten shillings. When Venturewell complains to him that Jasper has stolen Luce, he responds by singing and remaining merry, thus making Venturewell his enemy. When his wife returns, he is merrymaking with friends and will not open the door to her. He loses all of his money and credit but remains mirthful. When Jasper's coffin is brought to him, he sings. So, too, when Jasper arrives and reveals his love, Luce, hidden in the coffin. When Mistress Merrythought returns again and begs him to reclaim her, he takes her back provided she will sing. He next makes the repentant Venturewell sing. He has Venturewell forgive Jasper and agree to his marriage with Luce.
CHARLES de MONTFORT
A non-speaking character in Peele's Edward I. The stage direction for the scene of Edward's return from crusade mentions Charles de Montfort, brother to Signor Montfort, as one of the king's prisoners. Many editors take this as an error for Emerick de Montfort, the brother of Elinor de Montfort, because Guenther later reports to Lluellen that the lady and her brother had fallen into Edward's hands as they were making their way to Wales.
CHARLES DELABRETH
Name of the Constable of France in Shakespeare's Henry
V. See "CONSTABLE of FRANCE."
CHARLES, DUKE of BURGUNDY
Charles, Duke of Burgundy is a French nobleman in Thomas Heywood's 2
Edward IV. He delays providing promised aid for the British invasion of
France. The Duke has something of a game going with the ex-Constable of France
S. Paul; both men hope for personal gain from the English invasion, both promise
but delay aid to Edward IV, and both denigrate their own king. Both King Lewis
of France and King Edward eventually discover Burgundy's treachery.
CHARLES, DUKE of BYRON
I.
A nobleman and military leader of France in Chapman's The
Conspiracy of Charles, Duke of Byron. He proclaims his loyalty to Henry,
but allows himself to be flattered by those in the Archduke's court in Brussels.
Upon his return to Paris, he listens to La Fin's story and sympathizes with his
plight. When he fears La Fin is in despair, he takes him into his service and
plans to introduce him to Savoy, with whom he has allied himself. In their next
meeting, Savoy tells Byron that the King has downplayed Byron's military prowess
and Byron is incensed. After the King tells him he is sending him as ambassador
to England, he decides to go in disguise to consult an astrologer. The astrologer
reveals that the person whose horoscope he's reading (Byron pretends it is not
his own) will lose his head for actions he has taken. He beats the astrologer,
then states that he won't believe the predictions since he doesn't consider himself
subject to any law. When he returns from England, he asks Henry to grant to one
he names the keeping of the citadel of Bourg; Henry refuses. When Henry also accuses
him of conspiring with his enemies, he first protests and then asserts that he
will be his own king. He attempts draw his pistol as the King exits and is held
back by D'Auvergne. When he next encounters Henry, the King once more confronts
him with his apparent betrayal; Byron acknowledges all and repents, kneeling at
the King's feet. The King forgives him.
II.
A nobleman and military leader of France in Chapman's The
Tragedy of Charles, Duke of Byron. He wants to be even more. He makes
alliances with the Duke of Savoy (whose daughter is promised to him), the King
of Spain, and various Italian forces to once again stir up a military campaign
in France. His supporters include La Fin and D'Auvergne. When the King sends two
messengers to him at Dijon to request his return to court (Henry plans to put
him in charge of the forces he is raising to confront the foreign threat), Byron
refuses to do so. When La Brunel brings letters from La Fin that indicate it will
be safe for him to return to the court, he decides to do so despite La Brunel's
warning about La Fin's possible treachery. When he arrives at the court, he declares
that all the rumors of his treachery are false, as his willingness to appear should
indicate, but the King indicates that the charges made against him are serious
and must be discussed further. Byron and D'Auvergne note the way others in the
court refuse to speak with them. When Soissons encourages him to throw himself
on the King's mercy at the beginning of IV, he asserts that his loyalty is spotless.
He goes to the attend the King in the company of D'Auvergne, the Queen, Epernon,
D'Entragues, Montigny, another lady, and others. While playing cards, he proclaims
the virtues of the late King of Spain. When the King ends the game and dismisses
everyone but Byron from his presence, and once more asks Byron if he will confess
his treachery, Byron asserts his innocence once again. The King then leaves. Vitry,
Epernon, the Vidame, and two or three of the Guard enter and ask him to resign
his sword. Janin arrives to make the request again, and finally the King himself
returns and demands that Byron be taken away. When he appears at his trial, he
rails against the petty judges. After hearing the charges against him, he refutes
each one, and asserts that he had considered suicide when the King refused to
grant him the citadel he requested. When La Fin confirms Byron's treachery, Byron
launches into a long speech which accuses La Fin of jealousy and witchcraft. When
returned to his cell, he tells his captors that he has won the day. When the judges
arrive to deliver his sentence, he still proclaims his innocence and asks if he
might ask the King's mercy. He is told it is too late. His long final speech,
just before he is executed, ends the play.
CHARLES, EMPEROR of SPAIN
Charles the Emperor of Spain in Massinger's The
Duke of Milan.
CHARLES le MAIGNE
Only mentioned in Udall's Ralph Roister Doister. Charles le Maigne (Charlemagne) is one of the heroes Merrygreek claims all women think of when they see Roister Doister.
CHARLES MOUNTFORD, SIR
A Yorkshire gentleman, imprisoned after a quarrel with Sir Francis Acton, in which
two of Sir Francis' servants (his huntsman and falconer, q.q.v.) are killed in
Heywood's A Woman Killed with Kindness.
Almost destitute on release, his last remaining wealth is swindled away by Shafton,
and he is returned to prison, this time for his debts. When released by Sir Francis,
he voluntarily offers him his sister Susan, "as a rape or lustful prey." He is
moved when Sir Francis offers to marry Susan instead, and the two men are reconciled.
CHARLES of BLOIS
A "ghost character" in the Anonymous King
Edward III. Salisbury helps fight and kill Charles of Blois, Mountford's
enemy who has stolen Brittany. Mountford, Duke of Brittany, swears allegiance
to Edward for this service.
CHARLES, PRINCE**1590
Charles is Duke of Normandy and the eldest son of King John in the Anonymous King Edward III. Villiers, taken captive by Salisbury, is sent to Charles to obtain Salisbury's safe conduct in return for Villiers' freedom. Charles attempts to talk Villiers into remaining with him and simply not returning to Salisbury
and captivity. However, when Villiers honorably states that he must return, Charles
redeems Villiers by granting the safe conduct for Salisbury. Charles reads King
John a prophecy that claims England will not win France until the birds and stones
fight for the English, and that John will advance into England as far as Edward
advances into France. At the battle of Poitiers, he argues with his father, who
wants to kill the captured Salisbury, despite the safe-conduct, and he successfully
persuades his father to honor the safe-conduct. At the end of the battle of Poitiers,
Prince Edward captures him although he is not one of the prisoners presented to
Edward III in the last scene.
CHARLES, PRINCE**1602
Alternate name for Othos, or Sarlois in Chettle's Hoffman.
CHARLOTE
Lamira's lascivious waiting woman in Fletcher and Massinger's The Little French Lawyer. Charlote engages in bawdy conversations with her mistress about Lamira and Champernell's love life. When, after Lamira's defiant response to her husband's jealousy leads him to give her exceptional liberty and Charlote announces that her mistress has "won the breeches," Lamira strikes her. After Lamria arranges her false assignation with Dinant, Charlote carries pillows and nightclothes across the stage. On her way to the summerhouse with Lamira and others, Charlote is enticed by the sound of music to leave the party and go dance; she is kidnapped along with the others by two ruffian gentlemen who are disguised as dancers. She offers herself sexually to the kidnappers, and later compares notes with Lamira's Nurse about their sexual encounters with the ruffian gentlemen.
CHARLOTTE**1604
Charlotte is Beaupre's maid in Chapman's Bussy D'Ambois.
CHARLOTTE**1610
Sister of the late Bussy D'Ambois and Clermont D'Ambois in Chapman's The Revenge of Bussy D'Ambois. A fierce woman, she chides Clermont for his delay in revenging their brother, and in the final act disguises herself as a
man to effect the revenge herself. Clermont's arrival at the home of Montsurry
prevents this. After Clermont's suicide, she vows to lead a cloistered life.
CHARLOTTE**1613
Lamira's woman in Fletcher's The Honest Man's Fortune. Charlotte woos Montaigne and eventually wins his agreement to marry her; when Lamira chooses Montaigne as her husband, however, Charlotte reveals that Charlotte had wooed Montaigne on Lamira's behalf, and she relinquishes her claim on Montaigne. Although Charlotte originally suspects Veramour of being a girl in disguise, she is soon convinced.
CHARMI
A lawyer in Field and Massinger's The
Fatal Dowry pleading Charalois' case to release his father's body from
his creditors, albeit unsuccessfully: despite his long-standing experience in
court, he is rebuffed by the merciless Novall Senior, who is the successor to
the modest and just judge Rochfort. At play's end, Charmi heads the trial of Chalarois
after he has killed his wife Beaumelle and her lover Young Novall but acquits
him of both deeds.
CHARMIA **1635
Wife to Gratiano but in love with his twin brother, Fulvio, in Rider’s The Twins. She confesses her love to Fulvio, who upbraids her sin but agrees to sleep with her once Gratiano is out of town when she threatens to kill herself otherwise. She later chides him for his delay. When Gratiano must go to visit lord Fidelio for two or three days, Charmia plots with Fulvio to use this time to conduct their assignation. She hates her weakness but cannot help herself. When Gratiano comes to her disguised as Fulvio, in a reverse of the bed trick motif, she has an attack of conscience and sends him away saying she cannot be unfaithful after all. He tries her a second time and she resists again. In her bedchamber, when he tries a third time, she threatens to kill herself rather than yield, and he unmasks. She realizes that she has lain with her own husband, believing it to be Fulvio. Rather than extenuating the forehand sin, Gratiano makes her realize that she has been unfaithful in intention if not in fact. When a letter arrives from Gratiano at lord Fidelio’s, Charmia is confused. Though this Gratiano says it was a ruse of his to have the letter sent, Charmia believes he is in fact Fulvio trying to trick her into bed. She will go to the shepherd’s festival with him but will call him brother, not husband. At the festival, Fulvio appears unharmed and it is revealed that she is chaste indeed, never having lain with any but Gratiano, who forgives her. Her sin of lust was nothing more than the common ailment of Italy, and Gratiano winks at it.
CHARMIAN
Charmian is one of Cleopatra's maids in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. She advises Cleopatra to win Antony by
agreeing with him in everything, advice Cleopatra rejects with scorn. Charmian
tries to comfort her mistress after Cleopatra finds out that Antony is married,
and is the one to suggest, after the final battle, that Cleopatra lock herself
in her monument and send word to Antony that she is dead. After Cleopatra has
died, Charmian takes the time to fix her crown and then tells the guards who have
just arrived that they are too late. She then applies a snake and dies.
CHARMIO
Maidservant, along with Eira, to Cleopatra in May's Cleopatra. She appears once early on
in the play with Glaucus, but otherwise is absent until the last scene,
when she and Eira, in the tomb with Cleopatra, listen to their mistress's grand
resolve to go to the dead Antonius, and commit suicide with her. Cleopatra, and
perhaps also Eira, die from the asp's poison; Charmio stabs herself, and dies
last. [Shakespeare called this character Charmian.]
CHARMINUS
Father of Thyrsis in Daniel's Hymen's Triumph. Charminus is surprised to find that his son Thyrsis remains grief-stricken two years after the apparent death of Silvia. He tells this to Silvia's father, Medorus, who then regrets having insisted on her engagement to Alexis.
CHARNEL BONFIELD
Charnel Bonfield is one of the rebels against King Edward in Greene's George
a Greene. He is distressed because the towns will give no food to his
soldiers, causing Kendall to send Mannering to demand tribute. He is also distressed
because he is in love with Beatrice, but she is in love with George. He offers
her coronets and velvet hoods, but when she still rejects him, he declares that
he will send her George's head on a stick. When George strikes the disguised Kendall,
Bonfield reveals who it is out of shock. When George captures Kendall and Bonfield,
Bonfield appeals to George to send them to the King rather than the local justice
because he does not wish to be executed by serfs. George agrees to have them both
sent to the King, although only Kendall appears in that scene.
CHARON**1604
I.
Enters at the end of the Anonymous First
Part of Jeronimo to fetch the Ghost of Andrea, after a cry "Charon, a
boat, a boat"; After he has taken Andrea over the river, there are more cries
for him, and he complains about too much work.
II.
He appears at play’s end in Verney’s Antipoe with all of the deceased characters wearing white except for Dramurgon and Drapon who are dressed in black. While Brutus places the worthy dead upon a throne, Charon takes Dramurgon and Drupon into torment.
III.
Charon is the ferryman of Styx, whom Raph meets on his journey in Wilson's The Cobbler's Prophecy. Charon is exasperated and overworked because so many people are traveling to Hell these days.
IV.
Only mentioned in Jonson's Catiline. In Greek mythology, Charon was the boatman who rowed the dead souls to Hades over the river Styx. When he shows regret for the violent days of Sylla's dictatorship, when hatred and brotherly murder were the order of the day, Cethegus says that Charon had so much work to do in crossing the dead over to the underworld that he fainted of fatigue. In addition, Cethegus says, Charon should have asked for a navy rather than a single boat to ferry over the large quantity of dead souls.
V.
Charon complains to Pluto in Dekker's If It Be Not Good that he wants to quit ferrying souls for him, and demands a raise because business is slow. He turns in the devils Ruffman, Shacklesoule, and Lurchall for sleeping and drinking on the job.
VI.
Sir John and Holdfast summon Charon, along with Cerberus in Massinger's The City Madam. He does not speak. His presence alone is important in convincing Luke to show pity on those who he has had imprisoned, or fired, or sent away.
VII.
Only mentioned in the anonymous Narcissus. Clinias mentions Charon when he is seriously wounded by Dorastus, and about to die. At that moment he thinks of "Charons ferry." According to Greek mythology, Charon–son to Erebus and Nyx, and portrayed as a sulky old man, or as a winged demon carrying a double hammer–is the ferryman of the dead. He ferries the souls of the deceased (that are brought to him by Hermes) across the river Acheron. He only accepts those dead people that have been buried or burned with the proper rites, and if they pay a coin for their passage. But those who are not admitted by Charon are doomed to wander on the banks of the Styx for a hundred years.
VIII.
The rough-tongued boatman of the Styx in Heywood's Love's Mistress, he escorts Psiche through Hades.
CHARON**1617
Disguise taken by Stremon's servant in Fletcher's The Mad Lover. When Stremon disguises himself as Orpheus in an attempt to dissuade Memnon from having his heart cut out and sent to Calis, he has an unnamed servant disguise himself as Charon, the classical ferryman of the dead. He tells Memnon that he is not allowed to transport individuals who have killed themselves for love.
CHARON**1629
Disguise adopted by Makewell, the doctor, when he is about to cure Sir Wittworth in ?Clavell's The Soddered Citizen. Since the latter, in his madness, believes he is dead, the doctor pretends he is Charon. According to Greek mythology, Charon was the ferryman who rowed the dead across the River Styx into the underworld.
CHARTLEY, OLD
Friend to Sir Harry, and father to Young Chartley, Old Chartley arrives in London
near the end of the play in search of his wayward son in Thomas Heywood's The
Wise Woman of Hogsdon. Upon his arrival he encounters Sir Harry. The two
of them soon realize that Young Chartley has duped them both. He visits the Wise-Woman
of Hogsdon in the hopes of discovering what his son is up to, and ends up becoming
a member of the party who confront Young Chartley about his wrongdoings at the
Wise-Woman's house. He welcomes Second Luce as his daughter-in-law when it is
revealed that she and Young Chartley are married.
CHARTLEY, TOM
A trickster ("cony-catcher") in Dekker and Webster's Northward Ho, friend of Dick Leverpool, companion of Doll Hornet. He and Leverpool disguise as Doll's servants to make her victims believe that she is a gentlewoman. Together with Leverpool and Philip he accompanies Maybery's party to Ware.
CHARTLEY, YOUNG
A gamester, gallant, and prodigal son to Old Chartley in Thomas Heywood's The
Wise Woman of Hogsdon. Young Chartley fled the country to London the night
before his wedding to Second Luce. In London, he woos and proposes marriage to
Luce, but wishes to keep the marriage secret until he can secure his inheritance.
Luce arranges for them to be married secretly at the Wise-Woman of Hogsdon's lodgings.
But the Wise-Woman, who has her own grudge against Young Chartley, plans a disguised
double marriage plot in which Luce is actually married to Boyster, and Young Chartley
is married to the Wise-Woman's servant boy "Jack," who (unknown to all) is really
Second Luce in disguise. Believing he is married to Luce, Young Chartley nevertheless
affects Gratiana and resolves to woo and marry her. He presents a forged letter
to Gratiana's father Sir Harry, allegedly written by Old Chartley, indicating
Old Chartley's desire to have their children marry. Sir Harry is pleased with
the idea and urges Gratiana to accept Young Chartley as a suitor. The night before
his wedding to Gratiana, Young Chartley receives a letter from Luce promising
a last fling before his impending marriage. He only needs to meet her at the Wise-Woman's
house. Young Chartley determines to meet her, telling Sir Harry that the letter
is from his father on his deathbed and that he must leave immediately. All of
the characters whom Young Chartley has wronged, knowingly or not, gather at the
Wise-Woman's house before his arrival. They are stationed in rooms off of the
main room where he is to meet Luce. When Young Chartley arrives, the others overhear
his conversation with Luce and confront him with his lies and deceptions one by
one as each of the eavesdroppers reveal themselves. Young Chartley is utterly
deflated, rejected by both Luce and Gratiana, and vows to pursue an honest life.
He is saved from complete humiliation by the revelation that "Jack" is really
Second Luce, and that through her clever trickery she is now his lawful wife.
CHARTRES **1599
A French ambassador in Munday, Drayton, Hathaway, and Wilson's Sir John Oldcastle, he agrees to aid Gray, Scroop and Cambridge in their quest to make Cambridge king of England.
CHARYLUS **1632
A poet in Randolph's Jealous Lovers. A member of Asotus' roaring coterie. At Ballio's house he invents pretty praises for the courtesan Phryne, and Asotus crowns him with wine and laurels. He momentarily switches allegiance when Simo intercedes to seduce Phryne but returns to Asotus when Simo retreats. Later, he helps spread the false rumor of Tyndarus and Techmessa's suicide.
CHASE ILLIBEGGE
Chase Illibegge is a Turkish captain in Goffe's The Courageous Turk. Present when Amurath beheads Eumorphe, he accompanies the army to Thrace. Following the victory at Adrianople, Chase Illibegge recommends a further attack on Bulgaria as a place where Christians are resisting Turkish rule.
CHASTITY**1540
Enters the King's court in Lindsay's Satire of the Three Estates lamenting her recent estrangement from the King. Directed by Diligence to sit with the Spirituality, she is rejected by them. She then approaches the Temporality and the Burgesses, who also reject her. She finally approaches the Common People, and is welcomed with libations by the Soutar and Tailor. Lady Sensuality sees her and asks King Humanity to banish her from court; she is put into the stocks with Verity. She is released by Divine Correction and joins King Humanity's court. In the Second Part, she (along with Verity) begs the Parliament to chastise the Spirituality for rejecting her.
CHASTITY**1599
In Dumb Show I of (?)Heywood's A Warning For Fair Women Chastitie, dressed in white, tries to pull Anne Sanders back as Lust leads her to George Browne. When Anne embraces Lust and thrusts Chastitie aside, Chastitie "wringes her hands, and departs." In Dumb Show III Chastitie tries to tell her grief to Mercy, but Mercy will not listen, so Chastitie wakes sleeping Justice who helps her. Chastitie accompanies the Officers of Justice to bring in the corpse of George Sanders along with Anne Sanders, Drury, and Roger. Later, Chastitie goes with Diligence to locate George Browne.
CHASTITY **1617
A “ghost character" in the anonymous Pathomachia. Her name is Lucretia. Chastity is not amongst the Virtues if it is constrained. If it is voluntary, it is part of Temperance.
CHASTITY**1626
A part taken by one of the Roman soldier masquers performing in honour of Titus's Triumph in Hemminge's The Jews' Tragedy. They appear as Time, Piety, Temperance, Chastity, Friendship, Constancy and Patience. Their masque underlines the royal virtues of Titus and incites him to judgement of the prisoners-of-war.
CHATTILION
I.
Ambassador of Philip, King of France in the anonymous 1 Troublesome Reign of John, Chattilion brings John Philip's endorsement of Arthur's claim on the English throne.. He has barely returned with news of John's contempt for the claim when John himself arrives with his army.
II.
The Chatillion of France delivers Philip's message that France believes Arthur is the rightful king of England and will fight to put him on the throne in Shakespeare's King John. He returns to France with the message that he is only a step ahead of John, due to the winds, and that John has decided to bring the battle to France rather than wait for an invasion.
CHATILLON, GHOST of
The ghost of Chatillon (the Huguenot leader Coligny) appears in a dramatic tableau
in V of Chapman's The Revenge of Bussy
D'Ambois along with the ghosts of Guise, Cardinal Guise, Bussy D'Ambois,
and Monsieur (the King's brother and designated heir), following Clermont's murder
of Montsurry.
CHATTENREAULT, DUKE
A "ghost character" in Sampson's The Vow-Breaker. Presumably a French aristocrat, he has drawn up the roll
of names of Scottish nobleman who have been vanquished by the English at
the battle of Dunbar and are now hostages to the Queen of England.
CHAUALERO WHIFFE**1629
The tutor at the Drinking Academy in Randolph's(?) The Drinking Academy. He teaches Knowlittle to smoke, drink and quarrel, and promises Worldly that he too can become a gentleman under his tutoring. He teaches Knowlittle ridiculous poetical compliments to speak to Pecunia, and has him practice on Worldly. He is with Wordly and Knowlittle when they are tricked by Bidstand, Nimmer and Shirke, and he loses his possessions and clothes.
CHAUCER, GEOFFREY
I.
Only mentioned in the anonymous Wit's Triumvirate. Chaucer is mentioned by Master Fright when he decides he will also need the help of the church to get rid of his fear of the devil "for Chaucer said long ago (and these poets are shrewd fellows), describing a physician, 'His food was nourishing and digestible, / His study was but little on the bible.'" Geoffrey Chaucer (ca. 1343-1400) was the author of The Canterbury Tales. The passage quoted here belongs to the General Prologue (1386-87, lines 435-38).
II.
Only mentioned in Jonson's The New Inn. When Host rails against the current decayed ways of the nobility, Lovel defends the good education received by the noble youths. Among other arts, Lovel says the young gentlemen study the art of rhetoric, to make their English sweet upon their tongue, as reverend Chaucer said. Geoffrey Chaucer was called the father of the English language, and he was considered one of the three or four great English poets. Chaucer was the first court writer to use the English language, and his writings did much to set the language in the form it is today. During the first session of the love court, Lady Frampul listens to Lovel's love declarations. She commands him to go on procession to love's altar and say some hundred penitential verses there out of Chaucer's Troilus and Crisseyde, a legendary love story.
III.
Only mentioned by Ingenioso in the same breath as Homer and Spencer [sic] in the anonymous 2 Return From Parnassus.
CHAUNUS **1630
Roscius in Randolph's Muses' Looking Glass characterizes him as "a fellow so highly conceited of his own parts, that he thinks no honor above him." His opposite is Micropsychus.
CHEATERS
The Cheaters appear while Simon is preparing festivities for Hengist in Middleton's Hengist. They pose as itinerant actors and, during their audition, stage a play in which they play the part of thieves who rob a clown. When Simon insists on playing the clown himself, they rob him, throw meal in his face, and run away.
CHEINY, LORD
Jack Fitten stole plate from Lord Cheiny and Bradshaw is accused in the Anonymous
Arden of Feversham. While on the
road to invite Arden to supper, Lord Cheiny meets Black Will and, not suspecting
that he has been laying an ambush for Arden, gives him a crown and tells him to
be on his way.
CHEIROMANTES**1618
A gypsy fortuneteller in Holiday's Technogamia. Along with Physognomus, he tells Poeta's future, declaring the one he marries will be as beautiful as the stars, which Poeta takes to mean he is destined for Astronomia. This enraptures Poeta, allowing Cheiromantes to pick his pocket. Magus provides magic rings to Astrologia, Physiognomus and Cheiroantes which will allow them to become invisible. However, Geometres reveals the rings to Polites and they are captured.
CHELDRICHUS
Cheldrichus is the King of the Saxons in Hughes' The
Misfortunes of Arthur. He allies himself with Mordred in return for the
promise of all the land between the Humber River and the land of the Scots, and
for as much of Kent as was held by Horsa and Hengist (the Anglo-Saxon leaders
who first aided the Celtic king Vortigern and later turned on him to lead their
troops against the Celts). Cheldrichus is beheaded by Arthur in combat during
the final battle in Cornwall.
CHENEY, THOMAS
A supporter of Woodstock and his brothers in the anonymous Thomas of Woodstock. Cheney brings news and messages on several occasions from King Richard to Woodstock in his house at Plashy and to Anne o'Beame: he reports to Anne how extravagantly Richard is living, and brings the "blank charters", instruments of Richard's new, unprecedented tax policy, to Woodstock to sign. (On this occasion, he also disabuses the Courtier of an embarrassing mistake.) Cheney brings Woodstock the double news that Anne is sick -news which prompts him to send away his wife to Anne's bedside - and that some "country gentlemen" are planning to bring a masque in his honour to Plashy; at the last minute, Cheney realizes that mischief is planned, and tries to warn Woodstock, but he is too late. In the final battle, Cheney fights on the side of York and Lancaster against the King and his followers.
CHEPSTOW'S DAUGHTER
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.
CHEQINNO
A lawyer in Brome's The Novella. He represents Guadagni in negotiating the marriage contract between Fabritio and Flavia. After Francisco steals away with Flavia, he advises Guadagni to have the Peddler taken into custody. He accompanies Guadagni to the Novella's lodging.
CHERESEOLI
Follower of Bajazet in ?Greene's Selimus I. Enters with Mustaffa after Bajazet's opening monologue and tries to console him, claiming his subjects remain loyal. After Bajazet responds to Selimus' message sent by Occhiali, he sends Chereseoli along with Occhiali in order to deliver the gift of the territory of Samandria. Chereseoli accompanies Bajazet when he encounters Selimus and his army on the way to Byzantium. In the ensuing battle Chereseoli encounters Ottrante and is killed by him.
CHERSEOGLES **1618
The viceroy of Greece in Goffe's Raging Turk, Cherseogles admits that his country has not sufficiently recovered from military defeat at the hands of the Turkish army to mount effective resistance to Turkish rule. At various points, the emperor confides in him, and sends him to stop Selymus' advance from Thrace. After Baiazet is deposed, he goes disguised as common soldier to Selymus, and says that he has persuaded Achomates to come from his camp at midnight, armed but unaccompanied, expecting to confront Selymus in single combat, during which Cherseogles will suddenly join Achomates in the fight. He intends, however, to assist Selymus. To Achomates, subsequently, he proposes the same plan in reverse. Still in disguise, he then persuades the bassas to come to the same place, expecting to surprise Achomates and Cherseogles. All taking the bait, Cherseogles inveigles the bassas into killing both brothers; then, ambition and confusion seizing all of them, the remaining conspirators, including Cherseogles, kill one another.
CHESTER**1598
I.
After the murder of Hugh Lacy in (?Chettle and) Munday's Downfall
of Robert Earl of Huntington, Chester enters with the Bishop of Ely. He
claims that John does not have the right to kill Hugh, and supports Ely as Regent.
After John leaves, Chester confers with Ely, indicating his belief that this quarrel
is part of a larger plan. When John plans to usurp the throne, Chester does not
oppose him, claiming that he will do wrong to keep the peace but still attempts
to protect Ely from a public trial. When Leicester arrives and expresses his shock
at Chester and Salisbury's support of John as king, Chester says that John will
resign when Richard returns home. His lukewarm support for John vanishes when
he hears that Richard is in England, and with Salisbury he makes plans to seek
a pardon of Richard.
II.
Chester enters with King Richard during the hunt and claims that he has killed
two bucks in Munday and Chettle's Death
of Robert, Earl of Huntington. When Doncaster is brought in by the poisoned
Robin, it is Chester who reveals that he beat and raped a nun, the daughter of
Sir Eustace Stutville, and explains how Doncaster escaped his imprisonment. After
Robin's death, Chester requests that Tuck not end the play, but instead tell the
story of Matilda. He may also be the one who, with Tuck, explains the events between
Robin's death and early events of John's reign (see note under "CHO"). He enters
with John at Fitzwater's banquet and insults Leicester and Richmond for turning
against their king, and then leaves with John. When John arrives at Guildford,
he asks Chester and Hubert to stand guard (although the stage direction has Winchester
as the guard in the next scene, it is Chester who is named in the speech-headings).
Although he is with John during the battle against Fitzwater, Leicester and Richmond,
he does not speak, and he has only one individual line in the final scene, when
he questions Blunt about the relationship between Lady Bruce and her son. His
rapidly diminishing role suggests that he was seen by the authors as a holdover
from the previous play rather than integral to this one.
III.
The Earl of Chester opposes—together with the Earl of Lancaster—the
bill to release the Queen from prison in Chettle's(?) Looke
About You. Both Chester and Lancaster are of the old King's party.
IV.
A ruthless Earl of the King's party in Davenport's King
John and Matilda. First seen betraying Matilda's trust, tricking her into
a compromising meeting with the King. The King sends him with the Queen to follow
Matilda to Hertford and force her into another meeting. He captures Young Bruce
meanwhile and threatens him with torture and madness. In turn, Young Bruce captures
him. From prison Chester sends his servant Brand the fatal letter, which orders
him to treat his prisoners as he is treated himself. Despite his escape, the letter
leads Brand to starve Lady Bruce and her young son to death. He is inferred to
be one of the disguised masquers who accompany the King to abduct Matilda again.
Before the King learns of Matilda's death, Chester brings news of the approach
of the forces led against the King from France by Richmond and the Dauphin. (A
slight discrepancy here, as Chester is also listed amongst the retinue, in mourning,
who later arrive with Matilda's cortège: it is not clear how he can do both in
the same scene).
CHESTER**1599
Noble at the Court of England in Dekker's Old
Fortunatus. He receives gifts from Andelocia. He also introduces Andelocia,
who is disguised as a French Doctor.
CHESTER, LORD**1588
His banishment for reprehending John moves Chester to join the conspiracy against the king in the anonymous 2 Troublesome Reign of John.
CHESTER, LORD**1602
Lord Chester, and his friend Lord Clinton, are jealous of the Marshall's ascendance in the King's affections in Heywood's Royal King. They plot to undermine him by suggesting to the King that the Marshall's loyalty is insincere. The King believes them, and orders the Marshall to give up his office to Chester. When the Marshall is banished, it is Chester who delivers the King's demand that the Marshall send him his fairest daughter. He also returns Isabella when the King rejects her. For a while, Clinton and Chester are happy, but when the Marshall is eventually restored to the King's affections, the two lords begin plotting again. Luckily for them, the King is angered when the Marshall returns a dowry, and they work hard to keep him angry. The King sentences the Marshall to death. But the Marshall is saved when Isabella, Katherine, thee Prince, and the Princess save him by begging the King to remember his familial ties. The King realizes his folly and denounces Chester as a traitor instead.
CHESTER, RANULPHE, EARL of
Ranulphe, Earl of Chester is father to Sydanen in Munday's John a Kent and John a Cumber. At his court, Chester receives Pembrooke and Moorton, the promised bridegrooms of Marian and Sydanen. On the night before the wedding, Chester appears in his nightgown at the country house where the bridegrooms are lodged, confirming the ladies' disappearance from Chester castle. When he corroborates what he knows with what the bridegrooms learned, namely that the ladies are gone, Chester sends the clowns and his servants in search of the Countess, Marian, and Sydanen. John a Cumber offers to help them retrieve their ladies by outsmarting John a Kent and his party, and Chester leaves with the lords to Gosselin's castle. At the castle, Chester arrives disguised as the Second Antique for a masque arranged by John a Cumber to gain entrance into the castle. On the lawn before Gosselin's castle, Chester, Llwellen, Pembrooke, and Moorton prepare to attend the play John a Cumber has arranged for them. When John a Kent arrives disguised as John a Cumber and asks these lords to act as themselves in the play, they agree thinking this is part of the performance. They are unaware that the ladies also act as themselves in the play. In the revelation scene, Chester sees how, by his cunning, John a Kent has expunged John a Cumber's offense. At Chester Abbey, just before the weddings of Sydanen to Moorton and of Marian to Pembrooke are to be celebrated, Chester and his party expect the bridegrooms. Chester attends and approves unwittingly the marriages of Sydanen to Sir Griffin (disguised as Moorton) and of Marian to Powesse (disguised as Pembrooke). Faced with the fact of his daughter's marriage to Powesse, Chester has no choice but to accept, since he has promised John a Kent to agree to anything should John a Kent outwit John a Cumber once again.
CHESTERFIELD
Does not appear in the play. Delia's cousin, whom she is visiting when Flowerdale
attempts to rob her in The London
Prodigal.
CHEYNEY
Master Cheyney is Franklin's third creditor, a non-speaking character in Middleton's
Anything for a Quiet Life.
When Old Franklin decides to pay all of his son's debts, he comes accompanied
by three creditors, whom Chamlet identifies by name. Master Cheyney does not speak
but Chamlet names him and shakes hands with him.
CHIAUSE
A Mahometaine lawyer in Percy's Arabia Sitiens. He holds a monopoly on water, from which he seeks to profit in this dry year. He has granted a water license to Friar Dervis and maintains that the Friar has failed to meet the terms of the contract. Pyr offers to help him collect from Dervis in exchange for half of the take. When they confront Dervis, the Friar curses Chiause. Pyr takes custody of Chiause and 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.
CHIEF of DOVER
Possibly a mute character in the Anonymous King
Leir. The Chief, or Mayor, of the coastal town (presumably Dover) where
the Gallian King's army lands. He is mentioned in the dramatis personae
and brought in after the army lands, bound, but does not speak. It is possible
that the speech designated for the "Nobles" is his because there is no entrance
marked for them.
CHILAX**1614
A Greek freedman in Fletcher's Valentinian,
who helps to prepare Valentinian's rape of Lucina, Maximus' chaste and virtuous
wife. A coward, he is unable to kill Aëtius at Valentinian's behest and instead
is slain by the valiant Pontius during the attempted assassination of Aëtius.
CHILAX**1617
A veteran soldier in Fletcher's The Mad Lover. Chilax returns to Paphos with Memnon and there reconnects with his old lover the Priest of Venus. When Siphax and his sister Cleanthe try to trick the princess Calis into marriage with Siphax, Chilax has Cloë , the discarded mistress to Siphax, impersonate the princess and trick Siphax into marrying her instead.
CHILD**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. Possibly the same character as "Son."
CHILD**1604
Hedewick's unnamed baby, fathered by Alexander, has its brains dashed out on stage by Saxony in the anonymous Alphonsus Emperor of Germany.
CHILD **1607
A "ghost character" in Beaumont's Knight of the Burning Pestle. The grocer George and Nell talk of their child that wandered off to Puddle Wharf and would have drowned but for a sculler. The details remain vague in the dialogue.
CHILD**1608
The unnamed male child of Crispinus and Leodice in William Rowley's A Shoemaker a Gentleman.
CHILD**1617
The baby that Jane Russell gives birth to in Middleton and Rowley's A Fair Quarrel. A Dutch Nurse looks after it until Jane is reconciled with her father.
CHILD**1618
After Oriana is rescued from her tomb in Fletcher's The Knight of Malta, she gives birth. She appears veiled before Gomera, and Miranda claims the child is his. Gomera, denying the claim, calls for the woman
to unveil and is thereby reunited with his wife.
CHILD**1625
The daughter of Ann and German in Sampson's The Vow-Breaker, described by Mother Prattle as a
"well-appointed imp."
CHILD, DAVID and BETHSABE'S
The unnamed Child in Peele's David and Bethsabe is the product of David's illicit relationship with Bethsabe, the wife of Urias. Sick from the beginning, the Child soon dies, an event that David interprets as God's punishment for having arranged the death of Urias.
CHILD, FIRST, SECOND, and THIRD
First Child is named Jack and he introduces the play together with Second and
Third Child in Jonson's Cynthia's Revels. The Children of Queen Elizabeth's Chapel, among whom Nathaniel
Field and Salathiel Pavy acted the play in 1600. After the second sounding,
First Child enters with Second and Third Child. They are struggling over who
should speak the Prologue. First Child snatches the cloak, symbolic attire of
the Prologue's speaker. The three children actors quarrel and, finally, First
Child suggests that they should draw lots. When Third Child tells him to make
the cuts, First Child fears that the others might snatch his cloak while he is
stooping. Agreeing that the shortest cut will show the winner, the three
children draw cuts. First Child wins, and he adds metaphorically that the
shortest is come to the shortest, which implies that he must be the shortest of
the three children actors. First Child says he hopes he can go forward now
without raising his fellows' envy. Despite this, however, Third Child advances
to the front of the stage and speaks a prologue in prose, introducing the play's
characters and plot. When Second Child protests against this intrusion, First
Child says that this anticipation of the plot was only meant to show his
colleague's good memory. When Third Child asks for the cloak, First Child
refuses at first, lest his fellow might speak his prologue in it. However,
seeing that Third Child has already introduced the play, First Child gives him
the cloak reluctantly, reminding him that he has sworn not to speak the
prologue. First Child is amazed when Third Child wants to say his speech at the
front of the stage, standing on a stool, but he complies with everything and
plays a silent role while Second and Third Child have a dialogue on poets and
their critics. Finally, Third Child returns the cloak and First Child speaks the
Prologue at the third sounding. After the Prologue, the three children leave the
stage.
CHILD, JACK'S
A child who is being looked after by Jack, but whose parenthood is uncertain in
Webster and Rowley's A Cure for a
Cuckold. Jack is bringing him up as his younger brother.
CHILD, NEWBORN
A "ghost character" in Brome's A Jovial Crew. At Oldrents' guesthouse, one of the beggar women, or "doxies," gives birth to a child. The other beggars laugh and sing to drown out her cries, though they are audible to Oldrents. He proposes a christening, but Randall informs him that the beggars will not remain long enough to hold one.
CHILD, PHOEBE'S
A "ghost character" in Brome's A Mad Couple. He is Carelesse and Phoebe's child.
CHILD, URLSEY’S **1641
A mute character in Wild’s The Benefice. After Ursley gives birth, Marchurch sells the bastard to a gypsy beggar woman. The woman, Tom Tinker’s wife, is next found carrying the child with her.
CHILD, URSE'S
The offspring of Franckford and Urse is the subject of a paternity suit when Urse's
husband, Compass, returns from the dead in Webster and Rowley's A
Cure for a Cuckold. Compass successfully wins the suit.
CHILD, YOUNG **1617
A newborn when first seen in Goffe’s Orestes. Aegystheus and Clytemnestra’s child. The sweetest baby the nurse has ever kissed. When Orestes and Pylades return, Orestes wishes to use the child in his revenge. By that time, the child is old enough to report he has his father’s face and mother’s eyes, which does not stand him well in Orestes’ esteem. He also says that he reminds Electra of Orestes, whom the child says he loves though never say, which puts Orestes off. Agamemnon’s ghost whets Orestes’ revenge and he stabs the child before his father’s eyes.
CHILDERICK
The old king of France in Hemming's Fatal Contract. He is the husband of Fredigond and father of Clotair and Clovis, said to be good, but impotent against the machinations of his vengeful and lecherous wife. He accidentally discovers the Queen's affair with Landrey and before he can take action, is poisoned by her. Before the poison acts, he welcomes back to court the banished Dumain and Lamot, just in time for them to be framed for his murder, as Fredigond intended. Clovis later impersonates his father's ghost in an attempt to shame a confession of adultery out of his mother, and he is unexpectedly treated to her confession of his murder as well.
CHILDREN**1599
The young, unnamed children of Anne Sanders in (?)Heywood's A Warning For Fair Women, who included Young Sanders and Son to George and Anne Sanders, both listed among The Characters, as well as a daughter, are allowed to visit her just before she is hung. When she tells them that she is not worthy of being called mother, they plead with her not to turn away but to bless them. She urges them to learn from her fall, to follow virtue and not sin, and she gives them each a kiss and a book of holy meditations.
CHILDREN**1603
The Frankford's two children in Heywood's A
Woman Killed with Kindness. Non-speaking roles, but important for their
pathos during Anne's repentance.
CHILDREN**1604
With the exception of his marriageable daughter, Gratiana, Sir Harry's children
do not appear on stage in Thomas Heywood's The Wise Woman of Hogsdon. They are nevertheless the reason that Sir Harry hires Sir Boniface into his household to act as their tutor.
CHILDREN**1611
Toward the end of Middleton's A Chaste Maid in Cheapside, Davy Dahumma brings all of Allwit's children on stage. They are placed before Whorehound, their true father, and he sees them as the reminder of his adultery that will keep him from heaven.
CHILDREN, ALICIA'S
"Ghost characters" in Brome's A Mad Couple. Mr Saleware is suspicious that he may not be the father of one of his children.
CHILDREN, DOLL'S**1595
These are "ghost characters" in Chettle, Dekker and Munday's Sir Thomas More. When it appears that Doll Williamson is to be hanged, she tells the crowd that her only regret is leaving her two "babes," but she trusts that some honest friend will come forward to raise them.
CHILDREN, DORCAS’S **1637
Fantasy characters in Mayne’s City Match. After the faux marriage, Frank and Roseclap convince Warehouse that Dorcas is infamous and has had three (or four) children out of wedlock by a Frenchman, a Dutchman, and a Moor.
CHILDREN, SAGAR'S **1615
"Ghost characters" in S.S's Honest Lawyer. Benjamin tells Bromley, in the trial scene, to surrender his lease to Sagar's wife and children.
CHILDREN, THREE
The three otherwise unnamed children of the Duchess and Antonio in Webster's The
Duchess of Malfi. The night that eldest is born, Antonio drops his horoscope
and Bosola finds it thus revealing the Duchess' secret. The horoscope predicts
the child will die young. Two more children are then born to the Duchess and Antonio.
Later, Antonio escapes with the eldest to Milan. When the Duchess is being tortured
in the asylum for the insane, she is shown a waxwork of Antonio and the elder
son slain and made to believe that the waxwork is real. At play's end, Delio brings
in the elder son to become Duke and restore order to Amalfi. See also Duke
(of Malfi)'s son.
CHILDREN, TWO
The Two Children in the Anonymous King
Edward III are mute characters who accompany the Woman and the Citizens
who are fleeing from Crécy.
CHILEAB
A non-speaking character in Peele's David and Bethsabe. Chileab is another of David's sons. He appears only in the scene in which David learns of Absalon's death.
CHIMNEY–SWEEPERS
"Ghost characters" in Jonson's Epicoene. The chimney-sweepers make loud noises crying their trade in front of Morose's windows. When Truewit discusses Morose's noise-hating idiosyncrasy with Clerimont, he mentions that Morose has tried to bribe all the vendors bellowing under his windows. While Morose was able to conclude a treaty of silence with the fish-wives and orange-women, it seems he was not so successful with the chimney-sweepers, broom-men, and costermongers, who stood out and continued to shout their wares in the street.
CHIONIDES
Only mentioned in Jonson's Every Man out of His Humour. When Mitis asks Cordatus about the comedy they are about to see, whether its author observes the classical rules regarding the unity of time, place, and action, Cordatus embarks upon a lengthy and learned incursion into the history of comedy. According to Cordatus, Phormus and Chionides devised to have four actors in the comedy, with a prologue and a chorus. Chionides was a fifth-century B.C. Athenian writer of the Old Comedy. Aristotle refers to him as the first to introduce to Athens the complete form of comedy originated in Sicily by Epicharmus and Phormus. It is possible, however, that Chionides was giving spectacles of the old Megarian type at Athens.
CHIP
Assists Shaving in the construction of the scaffold on which Mariana is to be executed in Markham and Machin's The Dumb Knight, and takes part in a pun-filled discussion of ways to cause a woman to die.
CHIRON**1594
Chiron, a son of Tamora in Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus, helps his brother Demetrius murder Bassianus and rape and mutilate Lavinia. Titus eventually kills Demetrius and Chiron, bakes them in a meat pie, and serves them to Tamora at a banquet.
CHIRON**1611
A Centaur in Heywood's The Silver Age, invited to the wedding of Hypodamia and Perithous, presumably killed in the battle.
CHIRURGION
See "SURGEON."
CHITOPHER
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's All's Well. A commander in the Florentine army.
CHLOË
See also CLOË.
CHLOË
Chloë is Albius's wife in Jonson's Poetaster. At Albius's house in Rome, Chloë enters with two maids, bringing flowers and perfumes to the guests. Chloë feels she is above her husband in social status and she wants to mimic the manners at court. When Crispinus enters, apparently to study her and then dedicate her a poem commissioned by Albius, Chloë seems to find affinities with the poetaster. Albius announces the arrival of important guests and the poets of Ovid's circle and their mistresses enter. During the conversation, Chloë does not notice that her notable guests flatter her only because they want to meet in her house. After light conversation and some musical entertainment, Chloë and the guests go to the banquet hall. At Albius's house, Chloë enters with Cytheris, fully dressed for a masquerade ball at court. Gallus and Tibullus enter, prepared to escort the ladies to court in Princess Julia's coach. Chloë is disguised as Venus at the carnival. After Crispinus sings a poem dedicated to Chloë as Canidia, which is plagiarized from Horace, Chloë exits with the poets' party, eager to attend the ball at court. Disguised as Venus, Chloë enters an apartment in the Palace together with the entire party of poets and their ladies, each characteristically dressed as gods and goddesses. All the masks play their assigned roles. During the party, Chloë/Venus does not speak but Tucca/Mars courts her insistently. When the angry Caesar enters and interrupts the revelry, Chloë adopts a humble attitude, explains that she is only a jeweler's wife and exits with Albius.
CHLORIS
A "ghost character" in Rutter's The Shepherds' Holiday. Mirtillus claims that the character who went from Hylas, Charinus, Daphnis, and himself is not Nerina (as everyone else correctly asserts) but Chloris–one "that's nothing like" Nerina and whom he identifies as one of his many lovers.
CHO
This ambiguous speech-heading is attached to three speeches during the shift from
act one, which finishes the story of Robin Hood, to the rest of Munday and Chettle's
Death of Robert, Earl of Huntington,
which concerns John and Matilda. The speaker, along with Tuck, cover the events
from the death of Robin Hood to the first rebellion against John. It is likely
that "Cho" is short for "Chorus." However, there is another probable explanation.
Just before the appearance of "Cho," Chester enters to Tuck, and asks that the
play not end so quickly. Tuck agrees and then tells Chester to remove his Kendal
green, since Matilda's story is a tragic one. There is no exit for Chester, but
the next stage direction reads "enter in black" suggesting that the actor who
plays Chester exits briefly to change clothes. It is thus possible that "Cho"
is a misreading for "Che" and that the lines are part of Chester's character.
CHOIR
Several friars sing a short Latin hymn praising the charity of their patron the Duke of Averne in Heywood's The Captives as he, his wife, and their servant pass by on their way to matins.
CHOLER**1618
Choler is one of the "four humors" characters in Holiday's Technogamia and the servant to Grammaticus, a probable reference to the corporal punishment of students in Renaissance grammar schools. Choler fights and beats Sangius, then regrets it in case his master needs the services of Medicus. With Musica, the four humor characters act out a Morris entertainment in one scene of act four.
CHOLMLEY, SIR ROGER **1595
Present in Chettle, Dekker and Munday's Sir Thomas More when the Earls of Surrey and Shrewsbury discuss the many indignities heaped upon the Londoners by the city's foreign residents, Cholmley remarks that, in some ways, they and the other great lords are at fault for not making the king aware of his subjects' plight.
CHOREBUS
A prince in Heywood's 2 The Iron Age, who has joined the Trojans for love of Cassandra, Chorebus is suspicious of the horse. When the treachery is confirmed, he fights bravely, routing Thersites and putting on the armor of a dead Greek so as to meet guile with guile. So disguised, he rescues Cassandra from Synon and Thersites, but then is killed as a Greek by his friend Æneas.
CHORISTERS
"Christ's Hospital Boys" in Middleton's Michaelmas
Term. These characters are part of the entourage in Quomodo's funeral
procession after he fakes his own death.
CHORUS**1564
This is probably a reference to all the cast members joining in the song which ends (?)Jeffere's The Bugbears. If a separate character, this song marks his/her only appearance.
CHORUS**1566
The Chorus in Gascoigne and Kinwelmershe's Jocasta, four women of Thebes, comes on at the end of the first scene and remains on stage throughout the rest of the play, commenting on the action and occasionally making an introduction or asking a question of one of the characters.
CHORUS**1566
Four gentlemen of Salerne serve as Chorus in Wilmot's Gismond of Salerne, coming on stage after each of the first four acts and commenting on events. Following the imprisonment of Guishard, the Chorus questions Renuchio and learns about Guishard's death.
CHORUS**1587
The Chorus in Peele's David and Bethsabe first appears to inform the audience of David's having sent Urias to his death, and he announces the birth of the Child of David and Bethsabe. Later, the Chorus returns to comment upon the justice to be seen in the death of Absalon and to alert the audience to the play's approaching end. Because the first speech of the Chorus is in fact labeled Second Chorus and his second passage is called Third Chorus, this speaker and the character termed Prologus who delivers the opening address to the audience may be one and the same.
CHORUS**1588
The Chorus of four men enters as Hughes' The
Misfortunes of Arthur begins. The members provide commentary as follows:
- Between Acts One and Two they comment upon the ultimate origin of Arthur's current trouble, viz. Uther Pendragon's affair with Igerna,
- Between Acts Two and Three on the mass destruction sure to follow from Mordred's decision to oppose Arthur,
- Between Acts Three and Four on the great burdens laid upon princes, and
- Between Acts Four and Five on the peculiar horrors attendant upon civil wars.
In V.i, the Chorus actually engages in conversation with Cador and the dying Arthur, and after the exit of Arthur and Cador from that scene, its members deliver concluding commentary on the transitory nature of human life.
CHORUS**1591
Four maids constitute the Chorus in Wilmot's Tancred and Gismunda. They accompany Gismunda when she first enters the stage and silently listen as she laments the death of her husband. Then they join her in song to cheer her spirits. They also sing after Lucrece reports to her niece Tancred's decision not to allow her remarriage. After the execution of Guiszard, the Chorus questions Renuchio about the deed and hears him praise the victim of Tancred's revenge. When Gismunda announces her intention to follow her lover by killing herself, the Chorus brings the news to Tancred. At the end of each act except the last, each maid speaks individually, commenting on events.
CHORUS **1592
The Chorus in Marlowe's Doctor Faustus sets the stage, provides the moralistic epilogue, and gives background and explanation at key junctures throughout the play. It explains passage of time, describes off-stage action, and paints scenery, characterization, and historical context. It has the first and last words of the play.
CHORUS**1594
The Chorus in Kyd's Cornelia carries the action of the play from scene to scene. In the beginning of the play, the Chorus objects to Cicero's argument that the fall of Rome is due to internal strife and corruption that led to the present civil war. The gods are punishing Rome, the Chorus sings, for the crimes and wrongdoings of her ancestors. In addition, if Rome does not "seek to calm" Jupiter, even worse things will happen to Rome; the people will be punished with plague, famine, and more bloody and senseless wars. Even more fine Roman's will die. Without peace, the crops will not be tended, there will be no harvest, no livestock, no fishing, nothing to sustain the nation. Without peace, Rome will ultimately fall. When Cornelia believes that she has seen the Ghost of her husband, Pompey, the Chorus tells her that she has been tricked and is mistaken; a false demon has appeared to her disguised as her dead husband, Pompey. In Act IV.i, the Chorus replies to the argument between Cassius and Brutus concerning the possibility of assassinating Caesar, by praising all those who would free people from tyrants. When the Messenger reports the details of Scipio's death to Cornelia, the Chorus provides a voice of wisdom to Cornelia, who might otherwise have decided to commit suicide. It is the Chorus who convinces her that her father died bravely, just as she must bravely live.
CHORUS**1595
A chorus in the Anonymous Edmond Ironside comments upon the battle before London's city gates in III.
CHORUS**1595
Introduces Shakespeare's Romeo and
Juliet with a prologue that outlines the plot. Reappears to comment on
the action of the first act.
CHORUS**1596
The chorus in the anonymous Captain Thomas Stukeley provides substantial narration for the last act of the play that depicts the Battle of Alcazar, most of which is staged in a dumb show.
CHORUS**1596
A character in the anonymous Tamar Cam employed throughout to divide the play into its five (otherwise unmarked) acts.
CHORUS**1599
In act II of Dekker's Old Fortunatus,
the chorus reminds the audience of the necessity of believing that the stage is
able to represent the whole "circumference of heaven." In act IV he gives exposition
for the travels of Andelocia. He could be the same character who appears as Prologue
to begin the play.
CHORUS **1599
The Chorus in Thomas Heywood's 2
Edward IV enters at the close of the "French" segment of the play to provide
an oral bridge that returns Edward to England after his French campaign and introduces
a "new tale" of Matthew Shore and his wife Jane.
CHORUS**1599
Explains the dumbshow of the shipwreck in [?]W. Rowley's The Thracian Wonder, and apologizes for skipping so many years in a narrative, which he symbolizes by turning over the hourglass that Time had set down.
CHORUS**1599
In the Folio but not the Quarto version of Shakespeare's Henry V, the Chorus introduces each act of the play and speaks an epilogue. His prologue apologizes for the shortcomings of the spectacle, perhaps Shakespeare's most famous and sustained instance of meta-theatricality in which the amphitheatre is referred to as a "wooden O." Sometimes the Chorus' speeches glorifying Henry's war are undercut by the ensuing action: his introduction to the second act begins "Now all the youth of England are on fire," but the act begins in Eastcheap with a conversation between the reluctant soldiers Bardolph and Nym. The Chorus' epilogue reminds the audience that although Henry V ends on a positive note, with the union of Katherine and Henry, their son would assume the English throne as a boy (in history only nine months of age) and soon lose all that his father had won in France.
CHORUS**1600
The prologue to Heywood's Four Prentices of London consists of three figures with "long black velvet coats." The members of the chorus, one of whom represents the "author," debate the necessity for three discrete prologues, agreeing that three hundred are really necessary. The three choristers appeal to the audience to "amend" any errors in the forthcoming dramatic performance. One member of the chorus serves as the "presenter" to narrate the subsequent travels of the four apprentices.
CHORUS **1600
At the start of Act two of the anonymous Thomas Lord Cromwell the Chorus explains to the audience that Cromwell is now in Antwerp and that Banister is also there in his efforts to escape Bagot who is pursuing him with "bills of debts" he has bought cheap from Banister's creditors. Later Chorus explains that after Cromwell engineered Bedford's escape form Bononia he refused the earl's offer to accompany him to France because he wanted to continue this travels, this time to Spain. In the same speech Chorus explains that we now have to consider several years to have passed and that now Cromwell is back in England, where he is private secretary to the Master of the Rolls, Sir Christopher Hales. At the start of Act 4 Chorus explains that Cromwell now begins a new life at the height of hs power. Wolsey has died, having given Cromwell all his treasure, and Gardiner, his man, has become Bishop of Winchester. The Chorus apologizes for not giving more information about Wolsey but the play "depends on" depicting Cromwell's fall following his great rise.
CHORUS **1602
Eight paramours in Percy’s A Country Tragedy in Vacunium, men and women, crowned with garlands of myrtle, carrying the instruments of death in their hands. Cleopatra, Dido, Artemesia/Sophonisba (as corrected in MS), and Portia carry asps, sword, hazer (or cup), and burning coals while Antony, Narcissus, The ‘Unnamed Athenian’, and Iphis carry a dagger, looking-glass (well stuck about with white daffodils, the whiter the better), a carved idol of Venus, and a halter. These items they lay upon the altar to Cupid before singing the opening song of the play whilst they are arranged, kneeling, about the Presenter. Once they sing their praise of Cupid, they take their seats on either side of the stage. For the remainder of the play, they sing the transitions between acts, accompanied by the Waits, in imitation of a Greek Chorus. They conclude the play with a final choral ode, assisted by the Presenter. They bear witness to the Presenter’s final ceremony at the altar of Cupid and finish the play with a song. (n.b. in the Paul’s version, only Antony and Cleopatra were employed for the chorus, and special dialogue written for that production.)
CHORUS**1604
The Chorus in Daniel's Philotas is comprised of the First Grecian, the Second Grecian, the Third Grecian and the Persian. The Chorus describe themselves as 'the vulgar', but assert their ability to tell the truth; they fear for Philotas, who 'acts his goodness ill' and consistently support him. In the chorus before Act 5, the Grecians and the Persian debate the merits of Greek and Persian government and justice. The Persian claims that the Greeks, for all their claims, are no different from the 'sovereign tyrants of the East'; the only difference is that the Greeks proceed by form of law. The Grecians agree that Alexander is behaving autocratically, but blame it on the influence of 'feeble Asia'. The Chorus watches the exchange between Polidamus and Sostratus, in which Polidamus reveals that he has been ordered by Alexander to assassinate Philotas's father Parmenio. The Persian Chorus remarks that this is a 'Persian trick', and the Greek chorus replies that Persia has 'no cause to rue, / For you have us undone, who undid you'. Told about Philotas's final submission and confession by the Nuntius, the Chorus are dismayed but still supportive.
CHORUS**1607
Francesco Guicciardini in Barnes's The Devil's Charter. The chorus speaks six times, once at the beginning of the play and again at the end of each of the five acts.
CHORUS **1610
First presents the Prologue to Daborne's A Christian Turned Turk, which combines a description of Ward–the baseborn Englishman turned pirate and later, Turk. Warns of the bloody adventures to follow, and provides an explanation of the opening scene. The Chorus's second appearance is to narrate the ceremonies of Ward's formal conversion, reminding the audience that what they see is historical fact, not the author's invention. The third and final Chorus speech narrates Dansiker's reception and surrender in Marseilles, with the stipulation insisted in by French merchants that Dansiker atone by capturing Benwash.
CHORUS**1610
I.
Before V in Thomas Heywood's The
Fair Maid of the West, Part One, the Chorus figure appears and apologizes
for having to narrate the action that occurs between IV and V, but he notes that
the stage can "express a sea" only poorly. He then recounts how Bess and her crew
take many prizes from the Spanish and the Turks, and how they have now put in
for water at Mamorah on the Barbary Coast where Bess will be summoned to Mullisheg's
court.
II.
Between acts III and IV of Thomas Heywood's The Fair Maid of the West, Part Two, the Chorus figure informs the audience of the attack upon Bess's ship by a French pirate, an assault during which Spencer
and Goodlack find themselves aboard the pirate vessel and unable to return. He
relates how they drift ashore on wreckage, Spencer landing in Ferrara, Goodlack
in Mantua, at a time when the dukes of those places are at odds with one another.
The Chorus next introduces a dumb show depicting how the two Englishmen, having
been selected as champions by the dukes, manage to work a reconciliation, and
how they then make their way to Florence. After the dumb show, the Chorus segues
into the next action by describing how Bess and her crew have been shipwrecked,
find themselves in the vicinity of Florence, and are now wandering in a countryside
rife with dangerous bandits.
CHORUS**1610
The character of Time in Shakespeare's The
Winter's Tale is called "the chorus." See "TIME."
CHORUS**1611
Chorus comments on the decayed political situation in the last days of republican Rome in Jonson's Catiline. After Catiline's address to the conspirators, Chorus describes the increased power of Rome and the corruption at all levels of government and society. Chorus concludes that Rome's conquest of Asia has turned against the Romans, since all the vices of the East have overwhelmed the ancient Roman virtue. In another intervention, Chorus invokes Rome's great fathers, Jove and Mars, to see the city's corrupted state. According to Chorus, the consuls deserted virtue and modesty, replacing it with lechery, lust for power, and bribes. Chorus enumerates the great Roman families that gave their lives for the honor of Rome, maintaining that the men descended from these families were true magistrates, who worked for Rome's good, and were not corruptible. After the conspirators' failed attempt at murdering Cicero, Chorus has another intervention. Chorus deplores the corrupted state of republican Rome, concluding that guilty states must suffer the misfortunes they deserve. Chorus forebodes imminent punishment for Rome's faults and crimes. Before the final confrontation between the Senate's army and Catiline's troupes, Chorus deplores the ambivalence of ethical principles and the decayed state of morality in the republic. Chorus draws the attention on the duplicity of the political game and the relativity of opinion. Describing the opposite views belonging to Cicero's or Catiline's parties, Chorus wonders when the Senate was right: when they thought that Cicero had accused Catiline unjustly of conspiracy, or when they decided to send an army against Catiline. Finally, Chorus deplores the ethical situation in an age when the values are distorted, when diligence is called deceit, and virtue vice. Chorus wishes they could pluck the evil spirit from Rome's body and calls for the times when every noble deed is called by the name it merits.
CHORUS**1615
Comprised of Priests and Fishers in P. Fletcher's Sicelides. The Chorus delivers the Prologue and Epilogue and comments on the action of the play at the end of each Act. They also sing as they follow the procession of characters who accompany Olinda to her execution, convey Atyches home after his victory over Malorcha, singing his praises and chanting "lowd his conquest," and present a song near the end of the last scene.
CHORUS**1622
A complex piece of Fletcher and Massinger's The Prophetess plot–the capture of the Roman emperor and his train by Persian soldiers–takes place in an elaborate dumb show. The slightly self-conscious Chorus introduces and then interprets the dumb show. The Chorus returns after Diocles' retirement to explain Maximinian's metamorphosis into a tyrant.
CHORUS**1625
Five bards (or Poets Laureate), accompanied by a harper, sing two songs at the end of every act in Fisher's Fuimus Troes. At the end of the first act, they sing songs of spring and love. At the end of act II, they sing of the ancestors, of ancient Brute who tamed the giants and founded a second Troy, of his son Locrine and Elstrid, of Leill, Rex Pacificus and Elud, Badud and Mulmutius, and in the second song they praise the living kings, Cassibelane and Nennius. At the end of act III, they rejoice over the victory, in act IV they complain Alecto's raising (the Roman army) and Landora's death, and in act V, before Mercury and the two ghosts finish the play, they sing songs of peace.
CHORUS**1626
Appears twice in Hemminge's The Jews' Tragedy. First he narrates the dumbshow of Vespatian's coronation and next, speaking as a citizen of Jerusalem, describes the famine in the city.
CHORUS**1632
A chorus, a collective of singers, is summoned by Holdfast at the request of Sir John in Massinger's The City Madam. The chorus sings sad music, led by the musicians and Orpheus. Pretending to be an Indian demon-worshipper, Sir John Frugal raises the spirits of all of Luke's victims, and watches his brother for signs of pity. As the music plays, parades of Luke's victims pass.
CHORUS**1634
Singers in Davenant's Love and Honor. They sing the chorus of the love song requested by Frivolo and Tristan on the morning of Vasco's wedding to the Widow.
CHORUS**1634
Made up of shepherds and shepherdesses, the chorus in Rutter's The Shepherds' Holiday takes part in Sylvia's song and also appears with Mirtillus as a group of "masquers" who will "trip it Before the king" as Paris, Enone, Venus, and the Graces. Their sport is disrupted by Nuntius's news that Nerina "lies a-dying," and Mirtillus instructs them that they must cease their practicing since "the king Must see't" that night. Accompanying Mirtillus to the court, the First and Second Shepherds later express their puzzlement over the king's decision not to view their show.
CHORUS**1635
A Chorus in Kirke's The Seven Champions
of Christendom appears in Act III and relates the story of St. George
and the dragon.
CHORUS **1635
Each act ends with a chorus in Killigrew’s The Conspiracy. The chorus summarizes the situation in preparation for the following act. At play’s end three Flamen and the chorus call for blessings upon the new regime.
CHORUS**1639
At the start of T.D.'s The Bloody Banquet, the Chorus verbalizes the action of the Dumb Show. The King of Lydia and the King of Lycia attempt an uneasy truce. Lapyrus, a nephew of the Lydian King, courts Eurimone, the daughter of the Lycian King; so, he rejects his own country. Lydia goes to the King of Cicilia for help; having defeated the Lycians, the tyrannical Cicilian King, Armatrites, subjugates Lydia and takes the throne. The Queen of Lydia flees with her two infants. At the end of Act Two, the Chorus reappears, again giving words to explain the significance of a Dumb Show. This time, the death of one of the Queen of Lydia's children is dramatized; the other infant is lost, but is found and returned by the two Shepherds. The King of Lydia, and his faithful helpers, continue to look for their Queen.
CHORUS of CAESAR'S FRIENDS**1594
When in Kyd's Cornelia Mark Anthony warns Caesar that there is a conspiracy against his life, Caesar dismisses the threat by saying that his fate is in the hands of the gods. The Chorus of Friends praises, in rhymed couplets, the deeds of Caesar and his greatness as well as the benefits he has brought to Rome. The Chorus of Friends sadly condemns those who would allow envy and spite to destroy what is good for all of Rome.
CHORUS of SPIRITS
Sings the fifth song in Percy's Arabia Sitiens–a debate about the relative importance of the virtues–along with Mahomet, Gabriel, Adriel, and Metraon.
CHOUGH
Chough is the clown character in Middleton and Rowley's A
Fair Quarrel; he is a rich but stupid Cornish gentleman. He arrives in
London, accompanied by his servant Trimtram, in order to marry Jane Russell. Jane's
father is delighted at the prospect, but Jane is not because Chough is a vulgar
boor obsessed with wrestling. He longs to be a 'roaring boy,' and visits the 'Roaring
School' where he learns to do combat with outrageous insults rather than with
swords. In order to try out their new skills, Chough and Trimtram pick a fight
with a cowardly pimp, Captain Albo, and roar at him. When Albo demands that they
draw arms, Chough and Trimtram respond by farting at him, and this overpowers
him. The clowns sing a song with the whores and wish them good luck. Back at Russell's
house, Chough encounters the Physician, who informs him that Jane has just given
birth to a child. Chough is outraged and refuses to marry her for fear of catching
the pox. Russell accedes, but begs Chough not to say anything about the child
when he tries to match Fitzallen with Jane. Chough agrees, but when Fitzallen
enters, he sings a warning instead of saying it. When Jane and Fitzallen plan
to seal their marriage vow, Chough promises to dance and roar at their wedding.
CHREMES
Chremes is an old man, married to Maud and father to July, Nane and Dick in the anonymous July and Julian. When his wife reveals that their elder son intends to marry her maid–Julian–he is not too happy with the thought that his son should marry a poor lady of inferior rank, he devises a plan to punish them. But he is soon misled by his own son into believing that Julian is a false lady and that he does not feel any affection for her. Therefore, in the belief that the girl is not trustworthy, when Chremes is offered to have his debts met by a Merchant if he sells Julian to him as a slave, the old man consents to the transaction. But he is going to regret it soon, when he realizes that July is desolately grieving for his beloved Julian. Later, as he is trying to find a solution to restore happiness to his son's heart, he is tricked and made drunk by Bamford, Wilkin and Fenell. These mislead the old man into believing that there is a wealthy and worthy girl (Julian) in Bamford's house who could indeed serve as a wife for his son. Overjoyed (partly due to his large ingestion of alcohol) at the news, he goes to his son and makes him a rash promise: he will grant July three wishes. Thus, in the end, he has to approve of his son's marriage to Julian, grant freedom to his servants -Wilkin and Fenell–and give a house to Bamford. Note: A character of the same name appears in Terence's Heauton Timorumenos (163 B. C.). That character had a neighbor called Menedemus. The latter also appears in July and Julian. He is actually Chremes's neighbor as well.
CHREMYLA **1627
Chremylus' wife in Randolph's Plutophthalmia. When Carion recounts to her how Plutus regained his eyesight and that she will now be a countess, she sends him to the goldsmith to buy her a ring. She takes sweetmeats to Plutus and invites him into her house.
CHREMYLUS **1627
An honest, decayed old gentleman in Randolph's Plutophthalmia. He went to the Delphic oracle and was told to follow the first person he saw until he got home. He finds and follows Plutus. He promises to cure Plutus' blindness if the god of wealth will favor him in return. He intends to have Plutus return to his old ways of enriching only honest men and impoverishing knaves. He must defend himself to his friend, Blepsidemus, who believes that he has grown dishonest because he has become rich. Later, he complains when everyone now wants to be his friend, realizing that they are interested only in his money. When he comes upon Anus and Neanias, he ridicules the lustful old woman, and she beats him. Neanias tries to palm her off on him, but no one wants Anus.
CHREMYLUS **1632
An old man in Randolph's Jealous Lovers. He is Techmessa's father, Pamphilus' unknown father, and Evadne's supposed father. He angered his wife Dipsas when he brought Evadne to live with them. He intercedes in time to prevent Tyndarus killing Pamphilus in a jealous rage. He is present at the final act's wedding where he greets his old friend Demetrius and is reunited with his son Timarchus (Pamphilus).
CHRESTUS
Chrestus is a worthy gentleman at Cynthia's court and a "ghost character" in Jonson's Cynthia's Revels. In a
soliloquy about detraction, Crites says that he disregards Anaides and Hedon's
slanders, because the perpetrators are not worthy of his attention. Had the
opprobrious words emanated from good Chrestus, Euthus, or Phronimus, Crites
argues that he would have been moved and tried to question and improve his
actions.
CHRISACLEA
Also called "Chrysaclea" in Glapthorne's Argalus and Parthenia. Mother to Parthenia and sister to the lord Kalander. At first she insists on the merits of Demagoras as her daughter's suitor, at the same time failing to persuade him to woo more gently in order to compete with the preferred paragon, Argalus. She fails to calm the revengeful rage of Demagoras when he feels slighted by Parthenia, and reproaches her daughter for dismissing him. This causes a crisis of conscience between love and filial duty for Parthenia, resolved by the Queen's favor for Argalus, which makes him an acceptable husband after all. Still campaigning for Demagoras, she is appalled when the pastoral entertainment intended to welcome him backfires (intended for Argalus, it offends him) and she fails to calm his rage and desire for revenge. She later fails to take her brother's warning that Demagoras is dangerous, believing instead that he will peacefully take his leave. She does not reappear, either to witness her daughter's catastrophic assault by Demagoras, her triumphant return, cured, from exile, or even her wedding to Argalus.
CHRISEA**1637
Chrisea is the daughter to the Duke and beloved of Doria in Glapthorne's Ladie's Privilege. When Doria returns from war, she asks him to swear to do whatever she asks, then reveals that she has fallen in love with his best friend Vitelli, and asks him to persuade Vitelli to return her love. She resists all entreaties by Doria, Eurione and Vitelli to change her mind, but refuses to do so until the final scene, where she reveals that everything has been a test of Doria's love and also of Vitelli's worthiness to wed her sister.
CHRISIPPUS
Chrisippus is the father of Cornelia in J.D.'s The Knave In Grain New Vamped. When her husband, Fransiscus, stabs
Antonio, Chrisippus assumes that the rumors about Cornelia and Antonio are
true, and disowns her. The truth is revealed in the final scene, and the
family is reunited.
CHRISOGANUS
Chrisoganus is a scholar and a pedant in Marston's Histrio-Mastix. He is thought to be a parodic representation of Ben Jonson. At the beginning of the play, rather than choosing to pursue one of the arts, he chooses all of them. Chrisoganus preaches against the folly of envy and pride and is the only character not swept up in the cycle that leads to war and poverty; however, he is unable to prevent the larger society represented in the play from pursuing its self-destructive course. At the end of the play, Mavortius, Philarcus and others yield themselves to Chrisoganus's instruction.
CHRIST, JESUS
I.
Jesus in Bale's John Baptist's Preaching
in the Wilderness first gives the audience the story of his birth and
mission, and then tells them that he is here to be baptized and that they should
follow his example. He asks John to baptize him, and when John protests that he
is unworthy, Jesus insists, stating that he must not break any of God's laws,
and being baptized is one of those laws. John is persuaded, and baptizes Jesus.
When The Heavenly Father appears and blesses Jesus, John rejoices at the coming
of the Son, who will purify all of us.
II.
When Jesus first enters in Bale's The
Temptation of Our Lord, he directly addresses the audience, describing
how God wishes him to be tempted as a lesson to Man, and how this does not mean
he wishes Christians to fast as he has fasted. Although he knows Satan is coming
to tempt him, when Satan does enter, disguised as a Religious Christian, Jesus
talks with him. When Satan tempts him to turn stones into food, Jesus says that
to do so is unnecessary, since God will provide him with meat when the time is
right. He also says that others, such as Moses and Daniel, have been preserved
by God's word, and he expects no less. Satan tempts him the second time, saying
that it is written that if he throws himself off a mountain, God will send angels
to catch him. Jesus points out that Satan is reading the Psalm incorrectly, since
he protects those who are godly in all ways, and to test God is not godly. Further,
he points to other biblical passages that say not to tempt God and asks why Satan
does not quote first, the verse about crushing the serpent underfoot. Satan tempts
Jesus a third time, offering him all the cities of the world if Jesus will worship
him. At this point, Jesus becomes angry, and reveals that he knows who Satan is.
He promises to destroy Satan's kingdom and bring God's word to the whole world.
Two Angels then bring Jesus food, which he gratefully receives. He ends by speaking
directly to the audience, stating that the only way to know God is through him.
III.
A "ghost character" in Bale's God's
Promises. Mentioned multiple times by Bale and God as the ultimate example
of goodness and mercy, and foretold to Moses, David, Isaiah and John Baptist by
God. God also tells John that he will be the one to baptize Christ, and that he
will recognize him in the flesh because the Holy Spirit will appear in the form
of a dove when Christ arrives to be baptized.
CHRISTALLA
Christalla, "the crystal," is along with Philema one of the maids of honor who
rebuke the lusty courtiers in Ford's The
Broken Heart.
CHRISTETA
Christeta is a daughter of Theophilus in Massinger and Dekker's The
Virgin Martyr. She is sent, along with her sister, Calista, to convert
Dorothea to paganism. Instead, Dorothea converts them to Christianity.
CHRISTI LEX
The law of Christ, represented by the book of the New Testament, which redeems mankind in Bale's Three Laws. The Law of Christ is the law of love which, after Infidelity has been banished by the Wrath of God, is set above the other laws to rule and guide them.
CHRISTIAN **1601
Pearle’s wife in Percy’s Cuckqueans and Cuckolds Errants. She receives the ‘standing Bolle’ from Wright and then gives it to Nim in exchange for a hare. Nim tells her that he has come from Wright and will return with Pearle in disguise as a joke. Later, she mistakes Sanders for Nim in disguise and tells Pearle that she gave him the ‘Bolle’ in exchange for the hare.
CHRISTIAN**1604
Birdlime's maidservant in Dekker and Webster's Westward Ho, nicknamed "Opportunity" by Luce.
CHRISTIAN**1604
Along with Roger, Christian is one of two named servants of Mistress Mulligrub in Marston's Dutch Courtesan. After Cockledemoy tricks Mistress Mulligrub into believing that Master Burnish and his wife are on their way to the Mulligrubs' for dinner, Roger and Christian help their mistress to furnish the table.
CHRISTIAN CUSTANCE
Dame Christian Custance is a widow in Udall's Ralph Roister Doister betrothed to the absent merchant Gawin Goodluck. For much of the play, she is the unwilling target of amorous advances by the braggart Ralph Roister Doister, and she can only make him desist by having her maids and servants, aided by Matthew Merrygreek, attack the coward near the play's end. When Goodluck returns from his business abroad, he receives information from his servant Sim Suresby that could indicate Dame Custance was involved with the braggart, and the merchant is at first reserved. The widow, however, calls Goodluck's best friend Tristram Trusty to be a witness to her constancy, and she and Goodluck are reunited happily.
CHRISTIAN in TURK'S HABIT
A Christian forced to join the Turkish army in Day, Rowley and Wilkins's The
Travels of the Three English Brothers. He brings a message from Thomas
Sherley Jr. to Robert Sherley.
CHRISTIAN, RELIGIOUS
The disguise Satan uses when he tempts Jesus in Bale's The
Temptation of Our Lord.
CHRISTIANA
Christiana is gentlewoman who is disguised as a gypsy in ?Middleton and ?Rowley's Spanish Gypsy.
CHRISTIANS of GEORGIA
"Ghost characters" in Marlowe's Tamburlaine the Great, Part 2. They are a group within the walls of Babylon. The first citizen says that Tamburlaine has always pitied and relieved them and for their sake he might spare Babylon if they surrender.
CHRISTIAN, TURKISH
A non-speaking Turkish captive in Daborne's A Christian Turned Turk. He plays a symbolic role in the rites of Ward's conversion. After Ward has sworn his allegiance and donned his Turkish robes, the Christian offers him wine. Ward symbolically rejects the cup and abuses him.
CHRISTIANS, TWO
Two Christians, their tongues cut out, are brought before King Henrick and ordered
to kneel to Jupiter in Henry Shirley's The
Martyred Soldier. Henrick does this to demonstrate to Bellizarius the
weakness of the Christian spirit. But the Christians refuse to kneel, so Henrick
orders them to be burnt at the stake.
CHRISTOPHER
The name adopted by Old Flowerdale when disguised as a sailor in The
London Prodigal. Also known by a nickname, 'Kester'.
CHRISTOPHER**1600
A "ghost character" in Marston's Jack Drum's Entertainment. Apparently a servant of Mamon.
CHRISTOPHER CLOTE
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.
CHRISTOPHER de TAVERN
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."
CHRISTOPHER HALES, SIR **1600
He is Master of the Rolls, a high position of state in the anonymous Thomas Lord Cromwell. He appears with Cromwell, now Hales's servant, after Cromwell's return from years of travelling. He explains to that the banquet he is providing is very important and costs far more than is usual. He explains that Cromwell is far above the usual common men and that he will do what he can to find a position for him working for the state rather than just for him. At the banquet he explains to Wolsey that the difference between the Spanish and English appetite (that Wolsey had alluded to) was the result of the English being "freer souls"; the Spanish using all their money to buy fancy clothes. The three great evils of the Spanish , he states, are pride, the Inquisition and their problems with eating. He grants Wolsey's request to take Cromwell onto his staff. In Act 4 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, Sir Christopher Hales, and Cromwell. Hales, More and Gardiner comment on how the wheel of state brought the proud Wolsey down.
CHRISTOPHER, SIR**1593
A priest who supports Richmond in Shakespeare's Richard
III. Sir Christopher conveys a message to Richmond from Lord Stanley,
that George Stanley is being held hostage by Richard III to ensure Stanley's loyalty.
CHRISTOPHER, SIR **1635
A curate in Cartwright's The Ordinary,
and another of the song and drink loving "clubbers" who is arrested.
CHRISTOPHER SLY
In the induction to Shakespeare's The
Taming of the Shrew, Christopher Sly is a drunken tinker. Thrown out of
a tavern for breaking glasses, Sly falls asleep outside, where he is found by
a Lord's hunting party. As a practical joke played by the Lord, Sly is made to
think that he himself is a lord who has been ill. To entertain Sly, travelling
players stage a performance of The Taming of the Shrew as a play
within a play. Sly finds the play tiresome and, along with Bartholomew (who is
pretending to be Sly's wife), disappears from the text.
CHRISTOPHERO or CRISTOFERO **1600
A Spanish courtier in the Anonymous Lust's
Dominion. He is not pleased when Eleazar becomes King of Spain, but Eleazar
makes him king of Granada and so ensures his loyalty.
CHRISTOPHERO**1597
Steward to Count Ferneze in Jonson's The Case is Altered. When Onion asks him to woo Rachel de Prie for
him, Christophero plans to woo Rachel for himself. He asks the Count for
permission to marry Rachel, not knowing that the Count is in love with her
himself. He asks Jaques de Prie for his daughter's hand, but de Prie puts
him off, fearing Christophero knows about the stolen treasure.
Christophero leaves, planning to return when de Prie is more reasonable. He
returns to de Prie's with Angelo, who advises Christophero to lure de Prie
out of the house with a trail of gold coins and then hide. Meanwhile,
Angelo claims, he will take Rachel to a priory and await Christophero to be
married. However, Angelo really plans to marry Rachel himself. As de Prie
follows the golden trail, Christophero becomes worried and calls for Rachel
at the door, but finds only Jaques, who raves that his gold and his
daughter are stolen. Christophero hurries to the Count's, where he joins
the lamenting Jaques and Count Ferneze. When Paulo and Rachel arrive, he
chides her, but is silenced by Angelo.
CHRISTOPHERO **1612
Christophero is the physician Julio's assistant in Webster's The White Devil. He assists Julio to burn poisoned incense that kills Isabella. He is a ghost character (non-speaking role).
CHRISTOPHERO**1621
A soldier and friend to Pyniero and Pedro in Fletcher's The Island Princess. Christophero largely serves the function of observer and describer. He recognizes the beauty of the Princess and her chaste virtue, and in the same scene, the nobility of character of Armusia, foreshadowing their eventual marriage. He also describes the Kings of Bakam and Siana, calling one a blowhard and the other a "well-tempered fellow." He also informs Pyniero that the king is saved and the Princess must now marry his rescuer. Christophero is with Pyniero when the Moor-Priest's disguise is removed.
CHRISTOPHIL
Servant in the house of the Duke of Castile. Lorenzo's servant, Bel-imperia's
servant; Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy.
CHROMUS
A ‘ghost character’ in (?)Speed’s The Converted Robber. Father to Castina and Clarinda, ‘only spoken of’ according to the dramatis personae.
CHRONICLER **1607
A “ghost character" in Tomkis’ Lingua. Nowadays, the chronicler misuses both Memorie and Phantestes. Common Sense opines that the historian be balanced in all reports.
CHRYSALUS
Chrysalus, a servant of Antiochus in Massinger's Believe
As You List. He, along with Syrus and Geta, fought with Antiochus in the
Achaian War. They are able to provide proof from their experience that Antiochus
is in fact who he says he is. Flaminius has them systematically killed.
CHRYSANDER
A "ghost character" in Markham's Herod
and Antipater. Chrysander is the absent man to whom Antipater plans to
attribute the writing of treasonous and plotting letters given to Animis. Antipater,
of course, is the true author of those letters.
CHRYSANDUS
One of Cyrus's noble warriors in the anonymous Wars of Cyrus, Chrysandus or Chrysantus shares in the spoils of the victory over the Assyrians, and, as he does in Xenophon, serves along with Hispaspis as a mouthpiece for the play's discussion of the arts of governance.
CHRYSAPIUS
Chysapius is one of three eunuchs of the emperor's chamber in Massinger's The
Emperor of the East. The others are Timantus and Gratianus. They are at
first suspicious of Pulcheria and her motives but change their minds when they
realize she is only attempting to protect her brother. Chrysapius becomes a conspirator
with Pulcheria as they scheme to curb Theodosius' generosity. Pulcheria tricks
Theodosius into signing his own wife into slavery.
CHRYSOLINA
One of Goldsworth's two daughters in Shirley's Changes. Chrysolina loves Gerard, as does her sister Aurelia. Chrysolina was born but one minute before her sister; the girls are close and do not want to fight about Gerard. Having told Gerard that he must choose between the sisters, Chrysolina rejects the suit of Caperwit when she sees how he has treated Lady Bird. Because Gerard seems to have chosen Aurelia, Chrysolina vows to pretend a love for Thornay, but when she learns from Yongrave that Thornay has received a letter from another woman, Chrysolina also rejects Thornay as a suitor. The solution to the merry maze of relationships comes at the play's ending masque, when Chrysolina weds Yongrave, Aurelia weds Gerard, and Eugenia weds Thornay.
CHURCHMEN, TWO **1611
In a dumb show in Dekker’s Match Me in London, they prepare for the wedding of the king to Tormiella.
CHURCHYARD, THOMAS**1603
Only mentioned in the anonymous 2 Return From Parnassus. According to Ingenioso and Iudicio, Thomas Churchyard's Jane Shore will not live to sustain his memory.
CHURL
The Churl is an ill-favored rustic in Peele's The
Arraignment of Paris. Because the maid Thestylis has rejected the love
of the swain Colin and caused his death from unrequited love, Venus takes revenge
by arranging for Thestylis to dote upon the Churl and for him to reject her just
as she had her earlier lover.
CHURMS
Churms is the wily knave of the title who is beguiled in the anonymous Wily Beguiled. He is the lawyer in whom Gripe places all his trust to deal with his debtors and also to establish the union between Lelia and Peter Ploddall. Churms desires Lelia, however, and with his friend Robin Goodfellow, plots to win her for himself. He suggests using Habeas Corpus to oust Ploddall's tenants who are behind with their rent while simultaneously suggesting the union of their children. When Ploddall and Gripe meet, Churms reminds the latter to have some of Ploddall's land conveyed to him to make up for the money Peter Ploddall will get when he marries Lelia. Churms explains his secret intentions to his friend Robin Goodfellow. While he is acting on Gripe's behalf to persuade Lelia to marry Peter Ploddall, he alone will gain access to Lelia. When Lelia has him carry messages to Sophos, the man Lelia loves, Churms will not hand over her messages but will instead read them and so learn of Sophos's plans. He tells Robin to work on Peter Ploddall and to convince him that Robin Goodfellow can make Lelia love him. Churms then tells Sophos that he will aid Sophos in his love for Lelia. He then tells Gripe that he will work to make Lelia accept Peter Ploddall. He then declares his own love to Lelia. She rejects him but agrees to be his friend, and he agrees to persuade her father to let her make her own choice in love. He is delighted that she has agreed to be his friend, anticipating more to follow, and that despite her father, she refuses to hold Peter Ploddall's hand. He has a scheme for making money from Gripe's debtors, and that Sophos has been entrusting him with letters for Lelia. Robin announces his plans to dress up and frighten Sophos in the woods. When Lelia asks Charms to go with her the next night to a friend's, two days' journey away, Churms is overjoyed. He makes clear that he will need money for the excursion with Lelia, and will gain it from Gripe's debtors by offering to forgive their debts in exchange for a small proportion of what they owe Gripe. He arrives in the woods expecting to take Lelia on the long journey, instead, he is attacked by Fortunatus who has been lying in wait. He must flee after it is clear Lelia loves Sophos and not him. When Churms meets Robin Goodfellow later and learns that Goodfellow has not succeeded in frightening Sophos away, the two leave to go to a place where they are unknown and there set up their knavery afresh.
CICELY**1604
A kitchen maid to Sir Harry, Cicely is only listed as "a Kitchen-maid" in the
Dramatis Personae, but she is addressed by name by her fellow servant,
Taber in Thomas Heywood's The Wise
Woman of Hogsdon. She and Taber consult the Wise-Woman of Hogsdon together,
where it is revealed that she is Taber's love interest, although little is made
of this relationship in the play.
CICELY**1634
A milkmaid in Nabbes' Tottenham Court, the daughter of the keeper of Marylebone Park, who befriends Bellamie after Bellamie and Worthgood are separated in the park. The two women switch clothes to help Bellamie escape her pursuers. Cicely is wooed by Frank, one of the gallants who represent the sensual love of which Nabbes disapproved, and is mistaken for a prostitute by James, another of the gallants. Cicely, in contrast, is one of the play's chief proponents of a more idealistic, Platonic love. She discovers in the play's final scene that she is actually the natural brother of Worthgood, Bellamie's fiancé, and she ends up engaged to Sam, Bellamie's brother, after the keeper provides her with a marriage portion.
CICELY**1592
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's Comedy
of Errors. Cicely is a serving woman at the Phoenix Inn belonging to Antipholus
Sereptus and his wife Adriana. Dromio of Ephesus calls to her and the other serving
women to open the door to him and their master. Inside, Dromio of Syracuse responds
"coxcomb" (i.e. fool) to this name.
CICELY**1613
Cicely is a "ghost character" in Shakespeare's Two
Noble Kinsmen. She is the daughter of a seamstress and does not arrive
as promised to take part in the morris-dancing performance planned for the Duke.
CICELY BONAVENT
Mistress Bonavent's husband was a maritime trader in Shirley's Hyde Park. They had a pact: if he disappeared, Mistress Bonavent would wait for seven years before remarrying. The end of this time is approaching fast: she will marry Lacy as soon as the seven-year wait is over. She does not enjoy the way in which Lacy mocks and forces the strange newcomer (who is actually her husband in disguise) to dance. She loses a small bet with Carol on the foot race–wrongly, she predicted that the English runner would win. She is angry with the newcomer when he humiliates Lacy in revenge for the earlier forced dancing incident. She wonder aloud what his credentials are to be among the company–and who let him join them. On receipt of a note, she realizes that the newcomer is her husband in disguise. She promises not to reveal his identity, and will go along with his plan. She announces to the company that she has known that her once-lost husband has been present since they were in the Park earlier. She enjoys the theatricality with which Bonavent reveals himself, and celebrates the reinvigoration of her own marriage and the new bond between Carol and Fairfield.
CICELY of the WIGHTON
A "ghost character" in Greene's James
IV. She is mentioned by Slipper as one of the two possible wives he considers
but rejects.
CICERO
See also TULLY and TULLIUS.
CICERO, MARCUS TULLIUS
I.
Cicero in the anonymous Caesar and Pompey laments the fall of Pompey but then also laments at Caesar's funeral.
II.
A great Roman orator and a seer of sorts, who predicts the fall of Rome in Kyd's Cornelia. He recognizes that the factions within the government and the resultant civil war, itself caused by the tyranny and ambitions of Caesar, will lead to the ultimate destruction of Rome and the overthrow of Caesar. He appeals to the god, Jupiter as the sole protector of Rome, to spare those Romans who have remained faithful to Rome's ideals and to the gods. Some Romans are honorable in spite of the prevailing atmosphere in the Capitol. Cicero mourns the deaths of Crassus and the other Roman soldiers who have been killed in Pharsalia, leaving Rome divided and weakened. He berates the Roman citizens for allowing greedy and ambitious men to destroy what was once a powerful and unified state. Rome could rule the entire world with the gods' blessings, but because of personal ambitions and envy, the gods are turning against this once blessed city. Rome alone can destroy Rome, and Cicero predicts that Rome will fall. After the brutal assassination of her second husband, Pompey, Cornelia considers suicide as preferable to enduring a cursed and miserable existence. Cicero convinces her that death is appointed by the gods and is not determined by the individual. Suicide would be dishonorable in her case, even though later on in the play, Cornelia's father, Scipio, kills himself rather than allow his enemies to capture him. Only a warrior can commit suicide and retain his honor.
III.
Marcus Tullius Cicero is a consul in republican Rome in Jonson's Catiline. He is a forceful speaker whose eloquence has raised him to the highest office in the Roman republic, the consulship. Cicero enters the Roman Senate with the other senators, delivering his address of gratitude for having been elected consul, despite his humble origin. It is inferred that word had transpired about Catiline's plot to become consul, and the citizens elected Marcus Antonius and Cicero instead of Catiline. At Fulvia's house, Cicero persuades Fulvia and Curius to spy for him in Catiline's party. Concurrently, Cicero sends his brother for Caius Antonius, whom he wants to bribe with a rich province in order to prevent him from siding with Catiline. At his house, Cicero enters with Fulvia and his brother. Fulvia has warned him about Catiline's plot of assassination, and Cicero sends for his trusted friends and clients to act as witnesses for him. Cicero confronts the conspirators sent to murder him with their guilt in front of witnesses, inviting them to repent, but the attempting murderers steal away. In the Senate, Cicero addresses his discourse against Catiline, indicting him for the conspiracy. Since Catiline denies the allegations and goes to exile, Cicero sets out to obtain material proof against the conspirators. Having been informed that Catiline's allies intended to enroll Allobroges in their party, Cicero instructs the ambassadors to request letters explaining their designs. The praetors intercept the incriminating letters and thus Cicero is able to bring proof of the conspiracy before the Senate. Since the conspirators deny all evidence, they are placed in private custody. When reports come that the conspirators continued their seditious actions, Cicero summons the Senate urgently and the death sentence is pronounced. Cicero is awarded the Civic Garland for services rendered to the nation. Cicero has the final oration in the Senate, thanking the gods for having given him the opportunity to save Rome.
IV.
Cicero is a Roman Senator in Shakespeare's Julius
Caesar. He offered a Greek oration when Caesar was offered the crown;
Casca claims not to have understood any of that oration. Cicero dies by the order
of the triumvirate after Caesar's death.
V.
The famous Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero, or Tully, the name that he claims to prefer, has a dilemma in Machin's(?) Every Woman in Her Humour. He is in love with Terentia, a senator's daughter who is not only out of his reach but also the beloved of his friend Lentulus. Tully is so devoted to Lentulus that he agrees to woo Terentia on his friend's behalf. But all of his rhetorical ability is useless in this case: Tully cannot persuade Terentia to love Lentulus because Terentia is in love with Tully. She convinces Tully that his low birth is of no matter; she loves him for his virtue and learning. Unfortunately, Terentia's father, Flaminius, is not at all pleased with the match that his daughter has made for herself, and he promises to take the matter to the Senate and the Emperor if necessary. Tully's chief worry is that he has betrayed his friend; however, Lentulus is quick to accept the couple and to propose to Flavia instead. The four solemnize their vows in a double ceremony at which the Emperor is in attendance.
VI.
A "ghost character" in May's Julia
Agrippina, mentioned by Seneca as having approved of Caesar's Commentaries.
VII.
Only mentioned in Jonson's Every Man out of His Humour. When Mitis raises objections regarding the structure of the comedy they are seeing, Cordatus responds in defense of the author. He says that, when trying to give an outlining of comedy, one is not content with Cicero's definition and should propose a better one. Cordatus refers to Cicero's dramatic criticism. In his Letters, Orations, and various treatises, Cicero evolves interesting ideas on drama, but nowhere sums up any complete theory. Cordatus exploits the ambiguity about Cicero's dramatic criticism and alludes to the idea that comedy authors are allowed to innovate within the genre.
VIII.
Only mentioned in the anonymous Wit's Triumvirate. Vincent was mentioned by Master Silence when he is offering Master Ominous a solution to put an end to his misfortunes: "Then throw away Tully, De divinatione, that heathen lawyer, ay, and De Dis Syris too." Marcus Tullius Cicero attacked divination in De divinatione (44 B. C.). De Dis Syris–Concerning Wealthy Syria–was written by John Selden (1584-1654). Tully is later mentioned by Sir Cupid Phantsy when he is explaining to Doctor Clyster that "love's language is the finest language", he adds "Tullys spoke them." 'Tullys' is used here as an extensive name for 'Ciceroes', referring to poets in general. Marcus Tullius Cicero (c. 106-43 B. C.) was an accomplished poet, a forensic orator, lawyer, politician, and philosopher. He was an important actor in many of the significant political events of his time, which coincided with the decline and fall of the Roman Republic.
CICERO, QUINTUS
Quintus Cicero is Cicero's brother and a tribune of the people in republican Rome in Jonson's Catiline. When Cicero learns of Catiline's conspiracy, he is preparing to take measures. Thus, he sends for his trusted brother Quintus Cicero and the tribunes, as well as for his colleague Caius Antonius, the other consul. At his house, Cicero welcomes his brother, telling him to order the Porter to let no one into the house that night. When Quintus Cicero asks if his brother would not admit his clients or his colleagues, Cicero says that his murderers are coming under the guise of friends. According to intelligence obtained from Curius via Fulvia, Catiline's plan was to have Vargunteius and Cornelius introduce themselves into Cicero's house as friends and then murder him. Cicero asks Quintus Cicero to send for Cato and Catulus to act as reliable witnesses, and for the praetors. Quintus Cicero is surprised at his brother's excessive caution, warning Cicero that, by behaving like that, he might make his friends angry with him, while his enemies would laugh at his stupidity. Later, Quintus Cicero reports the arrival of Cato, Catulus, and Crassus, as well as some of his clients and friends, among whom are Vargunteius and Cornelius. Quintus Cicero attends the scene in which the conspirators are not admitted in, and then steal away cowardly, while the other witnesses enjoin Cicero to send the praetors after the alleged assassins.
CICILIA **1636
Sister to Facertes and Lucius in Killigrew’s The Princess. Virgilius has fallen in love with her. She is captured by the soldiers where Nigro and the viceroy fall. The soldiers at first want to rape her but, fearing the lieutenant and Terresius’s wrath, decide instead to sell her in Naples. Virgilius intends to by her freedom for two thousand sestertia but Bragadine pays for her first. She falls in love with Virgilius when he fights for her, but Bragadine takes her nonetheless. The intervention of Paulina sees her safely stowed in her house where Facertes comes to her and reveals that he is alive and free. She is horrified to learn that the man she loves is none other than Virgilius, the conqueror she hates. She vows revenge upon him despite loving him. When he speaks to her, though, her love for him causes her to forgive him (though she cannot forgive herself for doing so). When Virgilius is wounded in rescuing her, she begs him to forgive her for wanting vengeance. Shipwrecked, she is recaptured along with her brother and Paulina by the same pirates that sold her. Cicilia’s prayers for Facertes’s life wins Cilius, who spares him. When the pirates discover who she and Facertes are, they release her. She is reunited with Virgilius and her lost brother Lucius/Cilius, and all ends happily.
CILIUS **1636
Supposed name of Lucius by which he is known throughout Killigrew’s The Princess. He has been reared by Terresius and believes his name is Cilius, the name he was given in infancy to protect his identity from the Romans. He has been a Roman prisoner but as the play begins is returning to the pirate band led by Terresius. In five days, he will become captain of the band himself. He wants nothing better than to kill Virgilius who has conquered his Sicily. He falls in love with Sophia at first sight and wishes he were the commander already so he could free her. He learns from Nigro that a beautiful woman was taken by the pirates and resolves to go to save the innocent girl. He conspires with the lieutenant to arm the captives and thus free Sophia. He has fallen in love with her and does not know what to do about it. He and the pirates discover the shipwrecked Facertes and takes him, Cicilia, and Paulina captive. Cicilia’s prayers for Facertes’s life wins Cilius, who spares him. Cilius is enraged when Virgilius burns his galleys. The two meet and fight, wounding one another before Terresius and Nigro find and part them. They learn then that Cilius is Prince Lucius and Virgilius the beloved of Lucius’s sister Cicilia. Cilius/Lucius recants his interest in Sophia in favor of his elder brother, and all ends happily.
CILLARUS
A centaur in Heywood's The Silver Age, invited to the feast of Perithous and Hypodamia, killed in the battle.
CIMBER, METELLUS
Metellus Cimber is one of those who plot Caesar's death in Shakespeare's Julius
Caesar. He begins the deadly series of events at the Senate by kneeling
before Caesar and asking for the recall of his banished brother Publius Cimber.
CIMBER, PUBLIUS
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's Julius
Caesar Publius Cimber is the banished brother for whom Metellus Cimber
kneels before Caesar and begs his return from banishment. He does not appear on
stage during the play.
CIMBRIO
Cimbrio, a slave along with Gracculo in Massinger's The
Bondman; he revolts, and runs amok through the city. He is spared at the
end of the play by Timoleon on condition that he return to his master.
CIMENA **1637
Beloved of Roderigo and Sancho in Rutter’s The Cid. She is pleased to learn that her father prefers Roderigo, but her heart misgives. When Roderigo kills Gormas in the duel, she goes to the king and begs for justice and revenge. She admits to Elvira that she loves Roderigo and is resolved to first see vengeance for her father and, after Roderigo is dead, kill herself. Roderigo steps forth, having heard her, and offers her his sword to kill him, but she will not. Despite Roderigo’s victory in vanquishing the invading Moors, she resolves to remain true to her honor and duty to see her father’s death avenged. When Cimena calls upon the ancient law that whosoever kills Roderigo may marry her, the king modifies it by allowing her only one champion and whoever wins Cimena must marry. She accepts Sancho as her champion. When Roderigo comes to her to say he intends to die at Sancho’s hands and so deliver himself into the punishment she wishes, she begs him to defend himself because she loves him. During the contest, she realizes that if Roderigo wins her father’s honor will not be avenged and she fears she can never be a bride to her father’s murderer. When Sancho appears before her, she upbraids him and scolds him for murdering her love and will not let him speak. She begs the king to give Sancho all she owns but to allow her to pine away for her lost love in a cloister. Having betrayed her love for Roderigo, she can scarcely refuse to marry him when she discovers he has won but refused to spill the blood that fought for her. Instead, she accepts the king’s decree that her father’s honor has been satisfied and agrees to marry Roderigo after she has mourned her father for one year.
CIMYNTAS
An alternative spelling for Amyntas in Lyly's Midas.
CINEDO
Cinedo is Fastidious Brisk's page in Jonson's Every Man out of His Humour. Cinedo seems to be a short person, because Carlo Buffone says he looks like a colonel of the Pigmies or one of the moving figures of an antique clock. Before Puntavorlo's country house, Cinedo enters with his master, Fastidious Brisk, who is accompanied by Carlo Buffone and Sogliardo. Cinedo receives the instruction to watch for Puntavorlo's arrival from hunting and let them know when he comes. Cinedo re-enters and says he thinks Puntavorlo is due to arrive presently, because his hounds always precede him. As Cinedo is going out, Sogliardo takes him aside and probably makes him some proposition, considering the vague allusions to Sogliardo's homosexuality. In an apartment at court, Cinedo serves tobacco to Fastidious Brisk. While smoking, Fastidious Brisk complains the tobacco is not dry, or the pipe is defective. He asks Cinedo to mend the pipe. When Fastidious Brisk tells Macilente about Saviolina, praising her qualities, Cinedo reinforces his master's comments. When Fastidious Brisk says the lady loves activity, Cinedo invokes an image in which, even if a gentleman had but his long stockings on, he would still like to dance a lively dance in triple time with Saviolina. It seems that this image has been triggered to Cinedo's memory by what he saw his master do in Saviolina's presence. After mending Fastidious Brisk's pipe, Cinedo exits.
CINGETORIX
Petty King in Kent in Fisher's Fuimus Troes. The "four Kings of Kent" (Cingetorix, Carvilius, Taximagulus and Segonax) are followers of Cassibelane.
CINIFRED
A "ghost character" in Haughton's The Devil and his Dame. Cinifred was the mother of Saint Dunston.
CINNA, LUCIUS CORNELIUS
I.
Cinna is a consul and a supporter of Marius in Lodge's The Wounds of Civil War. During the opening debate, he agrees with the Senate's censure of Scilla and supports Marius. There is no stage direction for him to
leave with Marius, but he has no speeches after that, and since he is an open
supporter of Marius, it may be assumed he exits with the others. He sends a message
to Young Marius stating that he has managed to make those neutral to Scilla revolt
against him. The letter also directs Young Marius to seek out his father and march
on Rome. He represents and organizes the young citizens, who rally for Marius.
There is almost a battle between the two factions when several peals of thunder
convince the older faction to break off. Cinna takes the thunder a sign that Jove
is on the side of Marius. When Marius takes Rome, Cinna complains that Octavius
made Cinna nothing but a figurehead, and asks Marius for justice. Marius responds
that he submits to the will of Cinna, as consul, and Cinna immediately has Octavius
stabbed to death. After Octavius' body is carried away, Cinna points to the empty
consul seat and offers it to Marius, who accepts. Cinna then publicly decrees
Scilla and his friends traitors and exiles.
II.
Only mentioned in Jonson's Catiline. Lucius Cornelius Cinna was a Roman patrician and consul of the republic between 87–84 BC. He was a principal supporter of Marius against Sylla. When Sylla was at war in Africa, Cinna and Marius declared themselves consuls, and a great slaughter of Sylla's followers took place. After Marius's death, Sylla remained consul. When Sylla set out for Rome, Cinna raised an army to oppose him, but before the civil war began, Cinna was murdered in a mutiny. His daughter, Cornelia, was the first wife of Julius Caesar. When Catiline discloses to Aurelia his plan of becoming consul, he admits the necessity of enrolling dissatisfied Roman generals and patricians to his cause. Among others, Catiline mentions Lentulus, who descended from the Cornelius family. According to the prophecy in the Sibylline Books, a third man from his family shall be king in Rome. Catiline admits to having paid the Augurers to interpret this prophecy as meaning Lentulus, since the other two Cornelii, Cinna and Sylla are dead. The relativity of such an interpretation is obvious.
CINNA the CONSPIRATOR
Cinna is part of the conspiracy against Caesar in Shakespeare's Julius
Caesar. He reports to Casca and Cassius of several strange sights about
the city on the eve of Caesar's murder. Cassius directs Cinna to deliver certain
anonymous letters and signs meant to urge Brutus to join the conspiracy.
CINNA the POET
Cinna the Poet in Shakespeare's Julius
Caesar has no family tie to the conspirator Cinna but is accosted on his
way to Caesar's funeral by vengeful citizens and is condemned simply because his
name is Cinna and torn to pieces by the angry mob.
CIPHER
See also CYPHER.
CIPHER **1599
'Headsman' or member of the Corporation along with Colby and Rumford in Ruggle’s Club Law. As his name implies, he takes any side that seems stronger and agrees with whoever speaks last. “He will saye nothing all the day but, yea: indeed: it is even so: by all means: or by no means: true: right: good: well." He is sycophantic in the presence of Niphle, the new Burgomaster. After the fight, he sides with the townsmen and Brecknocke that they should make peace with the students and agrees to Niphle’s compromise plan to appear to make peace with the students and look for an opportunity for revenge.
CIRCE
I.
A non-speaking character in P. Fletcher's Sicelides. A "plaguie witch" whom Alcippus claims can "raise the dead," Circe was previously "move[d]" to "madness" over Glaucus's "scornd love" for Scylla, "quenche[d]" Scylla's "beautie and his [Glaucus's] loves" and, thus, helped to "eas[e] his greife." Later "with charmes, and prayers and gifts" she "wone him" and, with him, conceived the twins Thalander and Glaucilla. Atyches presents Olinda with a pipe which he claims is Thalander's "mother Circes gift" to her son and, along with Glaucus, Circe leads Olinda from the "rocke" where she is supposedly buried, and "retire[s]" (leaving Olinda with the amazed Thalander).
II.
Only mentioned in Fletcher's The Humorous Lieutenant. Demetrius, influenced by his father's false claim that
Celia is a sorceress, accuses her of being a Circe. In classical
mythology, Circe was an enchantress, or a witch, known for turning
Odysseus's men into beasts.
III.
Only mentioned in Randolph's Plutophthalmia. Carion jokes that, like Circe, he will turn Clodpole, Lackland, and Stiff into hogs.
CIRCUMSPECTION or "CYRCUMSPECCYON"
A moral abstraction in Skelton's Magnyfycence.
After having ascertained Magnyfycence's moral regeneration, together with Perseveraunce
and Redresse, Cyrcumspeccyon restores him to his previous condition.
CIS **1630
A "ghost character" in Randolph's Muses' Looking Glass. Cis is one of Justice Nimis' "subsidy-women" along with Incontinence, "Jumping Jude," "bouncing Nan," and "heroic Doll," all of whom he sets free because of his relationship with them.
CIS
Cis is a chambermaid in Quarles' The Virgin Widow who thinks about buying a love-potion from Quack so that her suitor Frank the Falconer will no longer be so interested in his hawk.
CISS **1627
Only mentioned in Randolph's Plutophthalmia. Carion imagines when everyone is rich even the milkmaids will be addressed formally as "Madame Kate" or "Madame Ciss." The names Kate, Ciss, and Jane are used several times throughout the play as the names for generic young maids to be loved and kissed.
CITIZEN**1604
A kind old citizen, who gives a coin to Flowerdale in The London Prodigal, but warns him off begging.
CITIZEN**1591
A citizen approaches Morton early on in the anonymous True Tragedy of Richard III and demands repayment of a loan. Morton informs the citizen that he cannot repay the loan now because of England's uncertain political landscape in the wake of Edward IV's death. After a brief conversation with Edward's mistress, Morton concedes that Mrs. Shore's position might be weakening at court.
CITIZEN**1591
In Shakespeare's 2 Henry VI
he informs Lord Scales that Jack Cade is still alive and has taken London Bridge.
He informs Scales that the Lord Mayor has requested his aid in repulsing the rebels.
CITIZEN **1604
A “ghost character" in Rowley’s When You See Me. One of the cardinal’s men took up commodities from him valued at a thousand pounds in the cardinal’s name but deferred payment and ruined him. By him, Henry learns how the servants of lords may, in their lord’s name, ruin poor honest men. When Henry is discovered, he tells all such men to petition him at court and receive recompense for their ill treatment. This could be the Second Prisoner, who blesses the king for his grace.
CITIZEN**1610
A wealthy citizen of London is a "fictional character" in Jonson's The Alchemist. In his sexual fantasy regarding his exceptional sexual prowess gained because of the magical elixir, Mammon imagines he will take every wealthy citizen's wife as his mistress in exchange for a thousand pounds.
CITIZEN**1641
An alternate designation for City in Brome's A Jovial Crew. City is a branch of the commonwealth (Utopia) represented in the aborted masque following the beggars' wedding. It is to be played by Springlove. City vies for superiority with Country and Court.
CITIZEN**1632
The man over whom Betty and Francesca initially draw swords in Brome's The
Weeding of Covent Garden. He is subsequently beaten by the two prostitutes
for impugning their professional health. Based upon the Citizen's particular complaint
of assault, Cockbrain weeds Covent Garden. In the spirit of concluding goodwill,
he drops all charges.
CITIZEN**1598
This is a disguise Robin Hood takes on to deceive John in (?Chettle and) Munday's
Downfall of Robert Earl of Huntington.
He takes it just before he leaves for the forest as he waits for Marian to join
him.
CITIZEN**1638
The citizen is an Antipodean, a character in the inset play of Brome's The
Antipodes. He is a mercer who refuses to accept payment from the gentleman
for goods provided. Instead, he demands that the gentleman sleep with his wife,
in order that his sons might be gentlemen by birth. He sues the gentleman and
the judge finds in the citizen's favor.
CITIZEN, ANOTHER**1595
The character labeled simply Another Citizen in Chettle, Dekker and Munday's Sir Thomas More appears during the May Day riots and supports Lincoln's view that, unless something is done about the gouging of the common people by the foreign merchants, the price of essential foodstuffs will become ruinous.
CITIZEN, FIRST and SECOND **1600
Two citizens appear in the anonymous Thomas Lord Cromwell. They appear together in a brief scene immediately after Cromwell is arrested by the nobles at Lambeth. They express amazement and disappointment at the arrest because he has performed so many charitable acts. They acknowledge that although he is loved by the king, at court so many are jealous of him that he is not safe. They agree to meet again later. Citizen 1 goes off to court to hear what happens to Cromwell. Citizen 2 says he will go to the city where he expects to hear more information than Citizen 1.
CITIZEN, FIRST and SECOND FRENCH
There are several French citizens fleeing Crécy before the invading English army
in the Anonymous King Edward III.
Two of them have speaking parts:
- The First Citizen argues that to wait and see if Crécy is attacked is like the grasshopper that is surprised by winter.
- The Second Citizen fears the worst and will not be convinced that King John can protect them.
CITIZEN, FIRST and SECOND
Two quarrelsome citizens figure in Barry's Ram
Alley:
- The First Citizen is a friend of the Second Citizen. They had fallen out, but consulted with Throat and are now reconciled. Throat advises them to go to the tap-house, to drink and then quarrel again, so that they will be forced to return to him for arbitration.
- The Second Citizen is a friend of the First Citizen. They had fallen out, but consulted with Throat and are now reconciled. Throat advises them to go to the tap-house, to drink and then quarrel again, so that they will be forced to return to him for arbitration.
CITIZEN, FIRST, SECOND and THIRD
While Bunch is singing merrily in the anonymous Weakest Goeth to the Wall, three citizens rush in, announcing the invasion of the city by Anjou, and looking for somewhere to hide their valuables. Lodowick enters ordering the citizens to take up arms to defend themselves. They flee declaring that the help he is expecting is actually fighting for the Duke of Anjou.
CITIZEN, FIRST, SECOND, THIRD, and FOURTH**1599
In the gathering after Caesar's murder in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, four citizens speak from the crowd:
- The First Citizen urges a triumph for Brutus after Caesar's murder, claiming that Caesar was a tyrant.
- The Second Citizen responds at the beginning of Antony's eulogy of Caesar by suggesting a statue of Brutus be commissioned. By the end of the eulogy, however, the Citizen decries Brutus and company as murderous traitors.
- The Third Citizen, upon hearing the beginning of Antony's eulogy, suggests that Brutus assume Caesar's title. By the end of Antony's oration, however, this Citizen fears that someone worse than Caesar is likely to end up ruling Rome.
- The Fourth Citizen initially believes that Brutus is a much better person than was Caesar, and he wants Antony to speak no ill of Brutus. After hearing Antony's eulogy of Caesar, however, this Fourth Citizen recalls that Caesar had indeed refused the crown three times. He is the first to demand that Antony read Caesar's will.
CITIZEN, FIRST, SECOND, THIRD and FOURTH**1608
The Citizens hear that Leucippus has been condemned to die, and decide to take action to save him in Beaumont & Fletcher's Cupid's Revenge. The lords Agenor and Nisus witness Leucippus' rescue by the citizens.
CITIZEN, FIRST, SECOND, THIRD and FOURTH**1638
Four citizens figure in Shirley's The Doubtful Heir. The First and Second Citizens are local garter merchants to whom the Captain owes money. Because the Captain threatens the Citizens with a charge similar to vagrancy, the debt is forgiven, and the Citizens become soldiers. After the war, the Citizens are convinced by the Captain to try their luck at court, spending large sums to become courtiers extraordinary. The Third and Fourth Citizens come to court in search of city acquaintances, the First and Second Citizens. All four Citizens have been garter merchants in the city.
CITIZEN, FIRST, SECOND, THIRD, and OTHER**1621
There are several citizens that figure in Fletcher's The Island Princess:
- The first citizen of Terna is first to cry out when the explosion set by Armusia, Emanuel, and Soza causes a fire to break out in the city, threatening all of their homes, businesses, and possessions. He heard a voice cry "Treason" when the fire started. He informs the Governor that the fire ignited from an explosion in the newly arrived Merchant's home, giving away the Portuguese plot and setting the Governor on his course of revenge.
- The second of the citizens of Terna brags about how brave he was to fight the fire until it was extinguished.
- The third of the citizens of Terna brags about the bravery of all of the citizens who fought the fires caused by the explosion.
- The other citizens are comic, common characters. The citizens of Terna run into the street when the prison explodes and the resultant fire quickly spreads through the town. They frantically try to put out the fire with water or wine or anything that might douse the flames.
CITIZEN, GENTLEMAN **1606
In Middleton's(?) Puritan, he is convinced by Pyeboard, whom he has never met and who picked his home at random, to help him escape from the catchpole, Dogson, and the Sheriff's deputy.
CITIZEN of ANGIERS
The Citizen of Angiers appears on the wall in Shakespeare's King John. He declares that the city is loyal to the King of England, but that the citizens do not know yet if that is John or Arthur. They prefer to wait until a battle has demonstrated who the correct king is. After an inconclusive battle, the Citizen suggests that the Dauphin marry Blanche and thus create peace between France and England. This proposal is accepted.
CITIZEN of BABYLON, FIRST and SECOND
Two Babylonian citizens figure in Marlowe's Tamburlaine the Great, Part 2:
- The first citizen begs the governor to set out the flags of truce even though Tamburlaine wears his colors that pronounce 'no quarter.'
- The second citizen says he will leap from a wall rather than fall under Tamburlaine's sword.
CITIZEN of SHAMONT, FIRST and SECOND
The boastful and arrogant Hernando, the Spanish general in the anonymous Weakest Goeth to the Wall, invades deep into France and is ready to raze the town of Shamount. Two of the citizens offer him gold if he will spare their town, but he dismisses their request saying he needs no money, and kills them.
CITIZEN of VENICE
Promises Anthony Sherley that the Venetian state will help him in his case against
Zariph in Day, Rowley and Wilkins's The
Travels of the Three English Brothers.
CITIZEN of WESTCHESTER
The Citizen is the father of Elner, whom Manvile woos after he has spurned Em
in [?]Wilson's Fair Em, the Miller's
Daughter. He approves the match, but is disturbed when Valingford warns
him of Manvile's inconstancy.
CITIZEN, OLD
He tries to protect his daughter from Sancto Danila who threatens his life in the anonymous A Larum for London. He reveals that his daughter is in a convent and is taken away to be tortured. He will be made to reveal the location of the convent so that Danila can rape the daughter. He returns with his daughter, who pleads with Danila for their safety. The old citizen offers money to Danila but is killed on Danila's orders.
CITIZENS**1578
Two citizens of Julio in Whetstone's 2 Promos and Cassandra. In response to the royal proclamation on corrupt
officials, they complain to Ulrico that Phallax has bonded them for failing
to repay a debt by a vague deadline. They also tell Ulrico that Phallax
keeps Lamia.
CITIZENS**1599
Three citizens figure in the anonymous A Larum for London:- The First Citizen rejoices over the "death" of Dalua, whom the Citizen calls a bloody villain. He worries that their lack of discipline will mean victory for the Spanish.
- The Second Citizen cheers the "death" of Dalua, whose death the Citizen says will please the devil. He worries about losing his life.
- The Third Citizen delights in Dalua's "death," only wishing he could see into the hearse.
CITIZENS**1606
A group of citizens in Middleton's A
Mad World, My Masters. They are not individualized, but they attend the
feast hosted by Sir Bounteous during which the players of Lord Owemuch (really
Follywit, Mawworm, Hoboy, and their cronies) stage The Slip and Follywit
reveals his recent marriage to the courtesan Frank Gullman.
CITIZENS**1624
Two men and a woman mock and deride Bonner as he is led by the officers to prison at the end of Drue's The Duchess of Suffolk.
CITIZENS**1621
On the King's birthday in Fletcher's The Pilgrim, the citizens of Segonia beg the Governor to rid them of the scourge of Roderigo and his fellow outlaws.
CITIZENS**1619
The citizens in Fletcher's The Humorous Lieutenant and their wives fail at trying to convince the Ushers to allow
them in the court to view the Ambassadors.
CITIZENS and CITY WIVES
Early in Fletcher's A Wife for a Month,
the city wives want to go to the wedding, and they request admission from Tony,
the king's fool. Wife One and Wife Two are young and beautiful, so they are allowed
in. Wife Three is old and is denied entrance, but she and her husband vow to enter
nonetheless. Tony, Cleanthes, Camillo, and Menallo think that these ladies have
come to court to rendezvous with noblemen. In the second act of the play, while
Camillo, Cleanthes, and Menallo are calling for the entrance of the "handsome
wives" and the exclusion of their husbands, it is revealed that some of the wives
are citizen men in "queans" clothes.
CITIZENS of ANGIERS
The commencement of hostilities between England and France in the anonymous 1 Troublesome Reign of John concerns the city of Angiers, which has been subject to England but is now claimed by France for Arthur. The citizens decline to choose, resolving to close their gates to both until their lawful ruler is identified. After the first inconclusive passage at arms between the two kings, the Citizens propose that the quarrel be settled by the marriage of Lewes of France to the Lady Blanche and so save the town.
CITIZENS of ROME
When Scilla once again conquers Rome after the death of Marius and Young Marius
in Lodge's The Wounds of Civil War,
the Citizens unanimously consent to have Scilla as Dictator of Rome.
CITIZENS of NAPLES
Three Citizens figure in Fletcher and Massinger's The Double Marriage. The Citizens of Naples are subjected to the tyrannical behavior of King Ferrand. The king, fearing assassination plots, has ordered that his citizens not communicate in words or writing.- The first Citizen uses sign language to communicate with fellow Neapolitans, but breaks his silence to warn Sesse and his followers that to be seen talking is a capital offense. The Citizen returns to tell Sesse to flee because Ferrand is coming. When Sesse and his crew, disguised as Switzers, launch a coup to depose Ferrand, the Citizen calls for liberty and expresses his support and admiration for Sesse. Once the Duke removes his Switzer disguise, he is recognized and followed by the citizens, whom he advises to use moderation as they exact their revenge on Ferrand. After Ferrand is beheaded, the citizens accompany Sesse in triumph and the first Citizen asks the Duke to be Naples' king.
-
A second Citizen also uses sign language to communicate with fellow Neapolitans, but breaks his silence to warn Sesse and his followers that to be seen talking is a capital offense. The second Citizen returns to warn Sesse to flee because Ferrand is coming. When Sesse and his crew, disguised as Switzers, launch a coup to depose Ferrand, the Citizen calls for liberty and expresses his support and admiration for the Duke. Once Sesse removes his Switzer disguise, he is recognized and followed by the citizens who he advises to use moderation as they exact their revenge on Ferrand. After Ferrand is beheaded, the citizens accompany Sesse in triumph.
-
When the pirate Duke Sesse launches his rebellion against Ferrand, the tyrannical king of Naples, the third Citizen joins in the cry of liberty and swells the number of citizens shouting their compliments to Sesse. The third Citizen suggests that Sesse be named king in Ferrand's place.
CITIZENS of the WATCH
Citizens of Verona who attempt to keep the peace in Shakespeare's Romeo
and Juliet. They help stop the brawl between the Capulets and the Montagues
at the beginning of the play and investigate the deaths of Tybalt and Mercutio,
CITIZENS, OLD and YOUNG
When fighting breaks out in the Senate, two groups of citizens figure in Lodge's
The Wounds of Civil War. Each
group has a spokesman.
- The Old Citizen speaks for the old men. It seems likely that the Old Citizen is for Scilla, as a contrast to the Young Citizen, since he responds mockingly to Anthony's claim that the gods are controlling them all, it is also possible that he is a Marius supporter.
- The Young Citizen speaks for the young men in supporting Marius when the battle breaks out. He promises that they will live and die for Marius.
CITIZENS, ROMAN
The seven Roman citizens in Shakespeare's Coriolanus,
in their conversations with and discussions about Coriolanus, remind the audience
of the contradictory responses elicited by the hero. At times the citizens generally
see Coriolanus as the "chief enemy of the people," but they occasionally admit
that his service to the state should not be ignored. In the end, the citizens
play into the hands of the tribunes Brutus and Sicinius and demand the banishment
of Coriolanus.
CITIZENS, SIX RICH FRENCH
In the Anonymous King Edward III,
during the siege of Crécy, Edward demands that six rich citizens come before him,
naked except for their shirts and with halters around their necks, to beg for
mercy for their city. When Calais surrenders, the six citizens appear in the required
garb and beg for mercy. Edward grants the city mercy, but plans to have the six
citizens killed as an example. However, Queen Phillipa successfully pleads for
their lives.
CITIZENS, THREE
Citizens of London in Shakespeare's Richard
III. The three meet each other in the street and discuss the death of
Edward IV and the youth of Prince Edward. They recall that Henry VI was crowned
while still an infant, and that England was ruled by his contentious uncles until
he was old enough to take over; during this time, the Wars of the Roses began
and England lost control of France. The citizens fear that the situation with
Prince Edward will be similar.
CITIZENS, THREE **1619
They come to see Otto’s body in Fletcher’s Bloody Brother and believe Rollo’s lie that Otto was a traitor. They bless Rollo and thank the heavens for delivering him from treachery.
CITIZENS, TWO **1638
In the second act of Mayne’s Amorous War, the first citizen has heard that the island castle has been burnt and the Thracians are coming next to pillage Bithynia. The second says he will hang himself to avoid being tortured.
CITIZEN'S WIFE
Gives a coin to Flowerdale when he is begging, but takes it back in offence when
he offers to give her a "secret service" in The
London Prodigal.
CITIZEN'S WIVES
Two of the Wise-Woman's clients in Thomas Heywood's The
Wise Woman of Hogsdon. Only one of the citizen's wives speaks. She is
a widow who comes to inquire how many husbands she shall have. But other than
helping to reveal to the audience the Wise-Woman's cozenage, her presence in the
play has no impact on the plot.
CITWIT
An overbearing gentleman of the city in Brome's Court Beggar. He insults people in their absence, flatters them in their presence and always avoids a fight. He helps rescue Lady Strangelove when Ferdinand attacks her and helps her take her revenge on the Doctor. He is in love with Philomel. When she is courted by Dainty, Swainwit finally manages to push him into fighting. He challenges Dainty to fight by repeating every slander he has heard during the play. When Citwit serendipitously calls him a pickpocket, Dainty thinks he has been discovered and confesses. Citwit happily marries Philomel and is unperturbed by the revelation that she had a child out of wedlock. He plays Activity in the concluding masque.
CITY
Also Citizen or Merchant in Brome's A Jovial Crew. City is a branch of the commonwealth (Utopia) represented in the aborted masque following the beggars' wedding. It is to be played by Springlove. City vies for superiority with Country and Court.
CIVET
Master Tom Civet is the heir to a great fortune in The
London Prodigal. Although a foolish character, he marries the equally
foolish Frances, and they have fun spending his wealth on frivolous things. The
other characters warn Civet not to overspend, but he and Frances remain happy
at the end of the play.
CIVIL ORDER
I.
Cyvyle Order is one of King Johan's three estates in Bale's King
Johan, Part 1. He swears allegiance to the King.
II.
One of King Johan's three estates in Bale's King
Johan, Part 2. Cyvyle Order is persuaded by Stevyn Langton (who is really
Sedicyon in disguise) to be disloyal to King Johan, who has been excommunicated
by the Pope. After the King's death, listening to Veritas's words, Cyvyle Order
repents and is forgiven. He then swears allegiance to Imperyall Majestye, who
represents King Henry VIII, promises to hang Dissymulacyon and puts Sedicyon to
death.
CLACK
Master Clack is a Justice with a tendency to dominate conversations in Brome's A Jovial Crew. He is guardian and uncle to Amie, whom he plans to marry to Tallboy, and father to Oliver. When Clack entertains Oldrents and Hearty, his niggardliness stands in direct contrast to the generosity and hospitality of Oldrents. He finally agrees to Amie's marriage to Springlove when Oldrents acknowledges that Springlove is his son and promises him part of Oldrents' estate.
CLACK the MILLER
Clack the Miller is the rival of Grim the Collier for the love of Joan the virtuous country maid in Haughton's The Devil and his Dame. Clack conspires with the shifty Parson Short-hose to win Joan, unaware that the Parson covets her for himself. The Parson takes advantage of a fight between Clack and Grim to try to steal Joan away, but Akercock as Robin Goodfellow intervenes, invisibly beating both Clack and the Parson so that Grim wins Joan and his rivals run away.
CLAIUS
A wild Sylvan in Randolph's Amyntas.
He is father to the twins, Amyntas and Amaryllis. Long missing from Sicily, where
he is under sentence of death for long ago stealing as his own wife Lalage, the
intended bride of Philaebus, son of the vengeful high priest, Pilumnus. Only Claius's
blood, the long-standing Oracle says, will release the people of Sicily from the
curse of Ceres, which prevents everyone from enjoying happy courtship and marriage.
During his sixteen-years exile, he has studied medicine. He returns in disguise
after hearing of his son's madness, prepared to risk capture and death to try
to cure Amyntas. He is not recognized by his sister Thestylis, whose explanation
of Amyntas's condition informs him in detail of the circumstances of his son's
romance, and curse. He remains incognito and cures Amyntas, requesting only that
Urania vow herself to chastity to prevent a relapse by putting their marriage
beyond all hope. Still fearing recognition and arrest, he attempts to cure the
wounded Amaryllis. He reveals his identity to her, to make her tell the truth
about her assailant. He is captured by the priests and condemned to death, requesting
only to see his children before he is sacrificed to Ceres. Amyntas wisely interprets
the oracle concerning the spilling of his father's blood in time to save his life.
Claius is reconciled with his old enemy, Pilumnus, as they celebrate their children's
betrothals to each other.
CLAMYDES
The White Knight and son to the King of Swavia in the Anonymous Clyomon
and Clamydes. Juliana saves him from a sea tempest as the play opens.
She grants him safe harbor in Denmark. In return, he promises to slay the flying
serpent that terrorizes the women of Denmark. Though he promises to do this, he
must first go to Swavia to be dubbed a knight. In Swavia, Clyomon, the Knight
of the Golden Shield, takes the King's honorable blow meant for Clamydes and so
steals his knighthood. Clamydes vows revenge for the insult. His father charges
him to discover the name and country of the Knight of the Golden Shield or else
never return to Swavia. Only after this charge is he knighted and allowed to proceed
upon his quest. He takes Subtle Shift as his servant, thinking the Vice to be
Knowledge. Clamydes finds Clyomon but is persuaded to fight with him—and
so learn his name—in Macedonia before Alexander the Great. In the fifteen
days before their meeting, Clamydes determines to fulfill his promise to slay
the flying serpent. The slaying is accomplished offstage, and he enters in vii
with the creature's head on his sword. He has ten days remaining before he must
meet Clyomon in Macedonia, and he determines to fill the time by freeing the knights
that Bryan Sans Foy holds captive. Bryan enchants him into a ten-day sleep, steals
his garment, shield, the sword with the beast's head on it, and puts him in his
prison. When Clamydes awakes, he finds Subtle Shift pretending to free him. Like
Clyomon, Clamydes fears that he will be dishonored for having missed the contest
in Macedonia. He learns that the Knight of the Golden Shield is on the Isle of
Strange Marshes and goes there. There be becomes Champion for Mustantius in the
contest for the crown. A deal between the queen of the island and Mustantius stops
the contest, but Clamydes recognizes the disguised Clyomon (champion for the queen),
and begs Alexander the Great that they may be allowed to fight. Instead, Alexander
orders Clyomon to reveal his name in a manner that allows him not to break his
vow. Learning that Clyomon is brother to Juliana, Clamydes swears friendship to
the Knight of the Golden Shield. In Denmark, he unmasks the imposter Bryan Sans
Foy and is reunited with Juliana. A double wedding is then planned for Clamydes/Juliana
and Clyomon/Neronis.
CLAPA
Daughter to Bohemia and sister of Marba, Nama and Reba in Verney’s Antipoe. Along with her sisters, they love the Tartar knights, Dabon, Liperus, Macros and Sapos and agree to be wooed by them once the strife has ended, hoping noble Antipoe will be freed from prison. She climbs into the masquers’ chariot when they arrive to take her and her sisters away to Egypt. She and her sisters appear before the President of Tartar identified as their ‘contracted wives’ of the four worthy knights of Tartar. Upon learning of her husband’s death, she is next to kill herself after Cleantha. She is later seen as a ghost, clad in white, ascending to the throne with the others at the behest of Brutus.
CLARA**1624
Donna Clara is a friend of Estifania in Fletcher's Rule a Wife and Have a Wife. She visits the soldiers with a message, and allows her friend to accompany her, so that she can meet Michael Perez.
CLARA**1623
Clara is the daughter of Pedro and Maria de Cortes in ?Middleton and ?Rowley's Spanish Gypsy. She is abducted and raped by Roderigo. Afterwards, she extracts from him a promise to amend his life and be faithful to whomever he marries. She reveals Roderigo's crimes to his father, Fernando, the Corigidor of Madrill. He resolves that his son must die, but Clara offers to marry Roderigo, an arrangement to which their parents consent.
CLARA**1625
Clara, daughter to Eugenia and Alvarez in Fletcher, Beaumont, and Massinger's,
Love's Cure, is valiant and
chaste. She is the martial maid of the alternate title. Raised by Alvarez to act
and dress like a man, she negotiates the release of her father and protects Vitelli
when he breaks into her house. Forced to act as a female, she is uncomfortable
giving Vitelli any feminine love-tokens. Instead, she gives him her sword. She
accompanies Piorato, and witnesses first hand Vitelli's courtship of Malroda.
She takes him as her husband anyway. Willing, as are Eugenia and Genevora, to
be shot and stabbed, she is instrumental in stopping the duel between Alvarez
and Vitelli.
CLARA **1639
Moronzo’s daughter and Marania’s sister in Sharpe’s Noble Stranger. She is the princess’ confidante regarding the princess’ love of Honorio. When Fabianus courts her, she plays coy by rebuffing him as insincere. She nevertheless gives him her ring. When the princess is discovered in her illegal courtship with Honorio, the king pardons Clara of her part in it in deference to the duty her father has shown the king. She bravely takes her leave of Fabianus. When it is revealed that Honorio is actually the Prince of Portugal, she is allowed to marry Fabianus.
CLARA PECUNIA, AURELIA
The Infanta (heiress) of the mythical "Mines," i.e., the source of all money in Jonson's The Staple of News. Her name translates to "golden bright money." More a symbol than a real person, she represents investment capital. Her attendants are named, symbolically, Mortgage, Band, Statute, and Wax, and all are depicted as little better than bawds. As a character, she is the ward of Pennyboy Senior, who has promised her to Pennyboy Junior but desires her for himself. Simultaneously dignified and flirtatious, aloof and accessible, she reluctantly goes along with Pennyboy Junior's directions to kiss and compliment the jeerers (idle hecklers) who are courting her to invest in their various schemes. Given to the protection, in turn, of Pennyboy Senior, Pennyboy Junior, and Pennyboy Canter, she is nearly claimed by Picklock before being restored to Pennyboy Senior "[t]o use her like a friend, not like a slave/Or like an idol." He in turn gives her back to Pennyboy Junior. She promises, in an epilogue, to "teach them all/The golden mean."
CLARAMANTE
Sister to Balthazar and Leonte in Davenant's The
Spanish Lovers. Mistress to Orgemon, she is the chief focus of desire
in the play. Dorando falls in love with her at first sight, and saves the life
of Balthazar for her sake. Faithful to Orgemon and oppressed by the fierce protectiveness
of Leonte, she elopes with her lover in male disguise; for safety he leaves Claramante
at the house of his friend Androlio, who sees through the disguise at once and
harasses her. She is able to send word to Orgemon, who comes to rescue her, but
Androlio, with a hired gang, pursues them to the woods, where he ties Orgemon
up and takes Claramante to the house of Marillia as his captive. He does her no
further harm, however, and leaves her asleep. His second servant betrays the secret
to Leonte, who is trying to carry her off when Dorando appears in answer to her
protests: he defeats Leonte, but spares his life for Claramante's sake. Orgemon,
freed by Dorando, now finds Dorando with Claramante and they realize that they
are rivals. They fight; Orgemon wins; but Claramante, who feels great obligations
to Dorando, swears she will not marry Orgemon unless Dorando urges her to do so.
Finally, after learning from Basilonte that he is Orgemon's younger brother, Dorando
agrees to do this, and Orgemon and Claramante are united.
CLARANGE
Clarange, rival to Lidian for the love of Olinda in Massinger's 1634 Cleander,
or Lisander and Calista (a revision of Fletcher's 1623 The
Wandering Lovers?). Olinda has declared that she will love only the last
man to visit her. Clarange agrees to a duel with Lidian to settle matters, but
Lisander convinces him not to fight. He hears that Lidian has become a hermit.
He uses this to trick his friend and win Olinda: Clarange fakes his death so that
Lidian will be forced to return to Olinda. Disguised as a friar, he accompanies
Lidian back to court. When Lidian enters to inform Olinda of Clarange's death,
he becomes the first to see Olinda again. Clarange then reveals himself and wins
the contest. Once there, however, Clarange decides that he prefers the monastic
life and gives up Olinda. He asks that he be allowed to marry her to Lidian.
CLARE **1628
Clare is a gentleman in Shirley's The
Witty Fair One who delivers a message from Violetta to Aimwell; he is
also a witness to their wedding.
CLARE**1602
The family name of Arthur, Dorcas, Henry, and Milliscent in the Anonymous The
Merry Devil of Edmonton.
CLARE**1625
Clare is a guest at the wedding of Bonvile and Annabel in Webster and Rowley's
A Cure for a Cuckold. When
Lessingham woos her, she responds with an enigmatic letter that says that the
only way to gain her love is to kill his best friend. Lessingham misinterprets
her letter and the next day announces that he's killed Bonvile. Clare explains
that she was in fact intending that he should kill her, since she was suicidal
over her unrequited love for Bonvile and was planning to make Lessingham the unwitting
agent of her death. Clare is then amazed to meet Bonvile and find that Lessingham
only killed him metaphorically. She tells Bonvile that she used to love him, and
explains Lessingham's mistake. Bonvile angers her by saying that he will work
to reconcile Clare and Lessingham, since Lessingham deserves the punishment of
being married to her. But when Lessingham encourages division between Annabel
and Bonvile, Clare works to reconcile them by explaining her actions to Annabel,
and at the end of the play she and Lessingham forgive each other.
CLARE**1637
The nickname sometimes used for Gilbert, Baron of Claridon in the anonymous The Wasp.
CLARE **1638
Niece to Alderman Covet, also spelled Clara in Glapthorne’s Wit in a Constable. Thorowgood and Clare have conspired that he should pose as a scholar himself to win Alderman Covet’s acceptance of him. She complains to her uncle of his sharp practice in keeping her, Grace, and Maudlin in mean circumstances. She insists upon being married to a courtly gentleman whose wit equals his estate and who can maintain a couch with four fair horses. She plays a trick on Thorowgood by pretending not to know him when he puts on his disguise. In revenge, he disavows her and makes it seem that she is dishonest when he plants Valentine in her chambers. In act four, she conspires with Grace and Busie to be revenged upon both Thorowgood and Valentine. The women assure Sir Timothy and Jeremy that they will make them terrible wives. Thinking they jest, both men take them at their word and agree to be complacent cuckolds and to marry the women immediately but in such secrecy that absolutely no one will know of it. “Freewit," Jeremy, Clare, and Grace meet in the street and exchange insults bred of wounded feelings until the men realize that the women still love them. They offer marriage, but the women scorn them. Nevertheless, she marries Thorowgood (aka Freewit) mistakenly believing he is Sir Timothy. She is much relieved by the match.
CLARE, DAME ANNESSH
Only mentioned in Jonson's Bartholomew Fair. Annis Clare was a rich London widow, and a spring was named after her. When Whit invites Mistress Littlewit to sample Ursula's porcine wears, he says the lady will have the clean side of the table, and a dry glass washed with water from Dame Annessh Clare. Since Whit's accent is "stage Irish," he seems to have a problem with pronouncing sibilants and the name is distorted, but recognizable.
CLARE, GILBERT de
Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Glocester, is in love with King Edward's daughter Joan of Acon in Peele's Edward I. He enlists the aid of Queen Elinor in winning the king's approval for the marriage. It is de Clare who explains to the pregnant queen that Edward has insisted she come to Wales so that the Welsh will have to accept his son as a native-born Welshman.
CLARE HARCOP
Clare Harcop is daughter to Sir John Harcop a Yorkshire country gentleman in Wilkins's
The Miseries of Enforced Marriage.
She is the trothplight wife to William Scarborrow and commits suicide (in order
that she might save Scarborrow from adultery and his issue from bastardy) when
she learns of William's marriage to Katherine, Lord Falconbridge's niece.
CLARE TENTERHOOK
Tenterhook's wife, in love with Monopoly in Dekker and Webster's Westward Ho. She agrees to Justiniano's invitation to meet the gallants, but leaves the tavern-party suddenly upon learning that Monopoly is back in town. She urges her husband to have Ambush arrest Monopoly for debt, but bribes Ambush with her diamonds to bring him to her privately, and brings Monopoly to the assignation at Brainford. She and the other wives travel with the gallants to Brainford, but are disappointed in the men, who insist on either drinking or smoking to excess. Left alone with the other wives, she suggests they agree to abandon the gallants; she will pretend to be ill so that they will pay for conveyance home. Confronted by her husband, she is rescued by Birdlime, whose possession of the diamonds proves Tenterhook (and the other husbands) to be hypocritical whoremongers. She and the other wives ungratefully condemn Birdlime for enticing their husbands, and then forgive and reconcile with the men.
CLARELLA
Clarella, along with Floria and Silvia in Ford's The
Fancies Chaste and Noble, is one of the three Fancies, daughters of the
Marquis's only sister, whom the Marquis keeps secluded from the world in the Bower
of Fancies. Romanello, Livio and Castamela suppose them to be his mistresses.
Clarella may be the eldest of the three, for at the end of the play the Marquis
specifically bestows her on Livio as a mark of favor, while the other two are
left free to be courted by the remaining single male characters.
CLARENCE**11591
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's 2
Henry VI. Jack Cade claims that his real name is John (or Jack) Mortimer,
and that he is descended from the house of the Duke of Clarence, who was Lionel,
the second son to Edward III, and therefore Cade has a stronger claim to the throne
than has the Lancaster Henry VI, who descends from John of Gaunt, third son of
Edward III.
CLARENCE**1597
I.
He is the second son of Henry IV in Shakespeare's 2 Henry IV. King Henry tells him to guide his brother, Prince Hal, when Hal becomes king.
II.
Thomas, Duke Duke of Clarence in Shakespeare's Henry V is the second son of Henry IV, brother of the Duke of Bedford, the Duke of Gloucester and Henry. He appears at Troyes in V.ii but is not listed in any
edition of the dramatis personae.
CLARENCE**1602
Clarence is a gentleman, friend to Lord Monford for 20 years in Chapman's Sir Giles Goosecap. He loves his
friend's niece. But, he has no many expectations in that relationship
because he realizes that he has less property than his beloved lady.
However, to her he writes a letter that is taken by Lord Monford. Under his
protection, he will also pretend to be sick to win Eugenia's love, which he
gets at the end of the play.
CLARENCE **1632
Clarence, third son of Edward IV, brother of Henry VII's wife, Elizabeth of York,
and also of the murdered "little princes" Edward V and Richard of York. Henry
VII makes him Earl of Warwick in Ford's Perkin
Warbeck.
CLARENCE, GEORGE DUKE of
I.
George, afterwards Duke of Clarence, is the son of Richard, Duke of York in Shakespeare's
3 Henry VI. After George's
brother Edward Plantagenet has been crowned king and has married Lady Grey, Clarence
complains that the new queen's relatives are usurping the benefits that should
have accrued to Edward's brothers. When Clarence learns of Warwick's defection
from the Yorkist cause, he decides to ally himself with Warwick against Edward.
In return, Warwick promises that Clarence shall marry his daughter. When Henry
is freed from prison thanks to Warwick and Clarence's efforts, he abdicates power
to them. Later, Clarence once again defends his brother's claim to the throne.
II.
Son of York and brother of Edward IV and Richard III, and father of the boy and
girl in Shakespeare's Richard III.
Also known as George, Edward IV has the Duke of Clarence imprisoned in the Tower
of London because of a prophecy concocted by Richard that a person with the initial
"G" will murder Edward IV's sons. While being escorted by Brackenbury to the Tower,
Clarence is met by Richard, who claims the imprisonment is the working of Elizabeth,
Edward's queen, and that he will try to have Clarence released. In the Tower,
Clarence dreams that he is on a ship with Richard and that Richard slips on the
deck and accidentally knocks him overboard, where he drowns; he goes to Hell,
where his father-in-law Warwick and brother-in-law Edward, son of Henry VI, accuse
him of perjury for breaking his vow to fight for them during the Wars of the Roses.
Clarence is murdered by one of the two murderers sent by Richard, and his body
is put into a barrel (or "butt") of malmsey wine. His ghost visits Richard and
Richmond the night before the Battle of Bosworth, cursing Richard and blessing
Richmond.
III.
Clarence is one of many in the royal line in Thomas Heywood's 2 Edward IV who is murdered as a result of falsely interpreted prophecy. Doctor Shaw claims that the "G" in Friar Anselme's prophecy is George, indicating that the Duke of Clarence is a danger to the King. George is taken to the Tower; his body is later discovered there sealed in a butt of Malmsey wine.
CLARENCE, THOMAS, DUKE of
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.
CLARENCE'S GHOST
The ghost of George, the Duke of Clarence, appears on stage at the opening of the anonymous True Tragedy of Richard III to represent all of Richard III's victims.
CLARENTIA
Clarentia is Elizabeth's gentlewoman attendant both at home and in the Tower in
Heywood's 1 If You Know Not Me.
CLARE, SIR ARTHUR
Sir Arthur Clare, husband of Dorcas, father of Milliscent and Henry Clare in the
Anonymous The Merry Devil of Edmonton. His daughter Milliscent and Raymond Mounchensey have been engaged for two years
and are prepared to marry the next day. The two families meet at the St. George,
an inn in Waltham. But Sir Arthur Clare has heard that Sir Richard, Raymond's
father, has lost his fortune. He therefore wants to prevent the marriage. He takes
Milliscent to the nunnery in Chester, where she has to stay for a year, after
which she is to marry Frank Ierningham, whose father, Sir Ralph, is more prosperous
and has already agreed to the match. The young men, Harry Clare, Raymond Mounchensey
and Frank Ierningham hear about this plan. Together with Peter Fabell, Frank's
friend and university teacher, they try to cross Sir Arthur's plans. Milliscent
wants to confess her sins before she enters the convent. Her mother, Dorcas, has
to remain in the nunnery and keep an eye on her, while Sir Arthur goes to fetch
the nuns' confessor, friar Hildersome. This scene is not dramatized, but we hear
later that Peter Fabell, disguised as Father Hildersome, duped Clare. Sir Arthur
accompanies Father Hildersome's novice Benedic to the nunnery, but the young monk
is actually Raymond Mounchensey in disguise. The lovers arrange Milliscent's escape
from the nunnery. Sir Arthur Clare and Sir Ralph Ierningham try to catch the lovers
in Brian's Wood, but the gamekeeper Brian and his men delay them. In the meantime
the inn signs in Waltham have been exchanged, and when the two knights return
they sleep in the wrong house. In the morning they find that Milliscent and Raymond
are in the real St. George and have already been happily married by Sir John,
the vicar of Enfield.
CLARIANA **1631
Clariana's opening role is that of mistress to Bellamente in Shirley's Love's Cruelty. She is intrigued when Bellamente brags about his rare and good friend who shuns all loves but Bellamente. Seeking out this rare friend Hippolito, Clariana does not identify herself as Bellamente's beloved until after Bellamente has found her in Hippolito's house. Instantly wedding Bellamente, Clariana continues to entertain Hippolito; when Bellamente caches the two together, Hippolito is banished from the house and Clariana from Bellamente's bed. Found with Hippolito yet again as she urges Hippolito not to wed Eubella. Clariana stabs Hippolito, and he returns a mortal sword thrust.
CLARIANA **1635
Clariana is daughter to Lady Marlove in ?Glapthorne's The Lady Mother. She mocks her sister's suitors, and teases Belisia for her love of Bonville, insisting she finds nothing appealing in him. When pressed for a reason, with sisterly devotion she explains that he belongs to Belisia, and that is enough to eliminate his appeal for Clariana. When Bonville, and then Thorowgood, claim to have gotten their slanderous information about Belisia from Lady Marlove, Clariana warns her that perhaps she is too ready to reject the possibility that their mother is the soource. In response to the love suit of Thurston, Clariana explains that despite her undying affection for him, his mere presence threatens her chastity, and she is resolved never to see him again. It is later revealed that her mother has instigated this rejection because she loves him herself. Belisia and Clariana are summoned by their mother and chastised for their uncivil refusal of the suits of Sir Geffery and Crackby, and admonished to welcome their unworthy suitors or suffer disinheritance. Crackby, nephew of Geffery, shifts his suit from Clariana to Belisia, leaving the field open for his uncle. Despite her mother's warning, when the frustrated Sir Geffery renews his marriage suit for Clariana's hand, she continues to reject him. When Belisia is happily reunited with Bonville, Clariana expresses pleasure at their happiness, but laments her own continued ill fortune. She agrees to keep their plans to elope a secret. When her mother summons her and confesses her love for Thurston, Clariana steps aside and submits to her mother's superior right to this suitor. Her mother then commissions her to win Thurston's heart for her. She makes a concerted attempt to win Thurston for her mother, then exits to die of grief. She accompanies her mother on a heartbroken search for the bodies of Belisia and Bonville, and is with her when news arrives that Young Marlove has killed Thurston. With everyone out of the way, Clariana secretly marries Thurston. At the end of the trial of Young Marlove for the murder of Thurston, Grimes, Timothy, Clariana, Belisia, Bonville, and Thurston enter in disguise and offer to perform a masque to instruct the condemned Lady Marlove. They perform a dance, then reveal themselves to her, explaining that Thurston and Young Marlove had concocted the plot to reveal Lady Marlove's error to her, and her mother is forced to yield to her daughter's now incontrovertible right.
CLARIBEL **1601
‘Another gentleman his [Floradin’s] friend booted and spurred’ and one of the cuckolds in Percy’s Cuckqueans and Cuckolds Errants. A note in the dramatis personae reads that both he and Floradin are ‘gentleman like both in their attires and colours; they had low perukes, lowe wyves and coloured upswept gowns both; fair blouses both and crump-shouldered. For robes of silk and perukes both.’ His first entrance is in I.iv. where the s.d. calls for him to wear black velvet. Receiving a letter from his wife, Doucebella, he must leave his love, Aruania, in Harwich and return to Maldon, but he vows to return. In Maldon, he discovers rhymes and horns at his gate informing him of Doucebella’s unfaithfulness. He upbraids her and leaves her, saying he will retire to Harwich and leave her to her ‘mighty friends’ who might ‘downpoise’ him after he makes her falsehood public. He heads for the clefts of Harwich to hide from his wife until his creditors are satisfied. He lodges for the night with Olivel, promising to remain quiet lest her jealous husband, Latro, detect him there. He and Floradin are saved from Latro only when Olivel pretends to kill herself and Latro runs away in fear. Only then does he see Floradin (as they both have been obscured in the darkness of the yard) and recognizes him as his former chamber-fellow at Broadgates, Oxford. He learns that his friend, like himself, has an unfaithful wife, and Floradin convinces him to forgo being a hermit and instead join with him as a soldier, taking Olivel with them and furnished with forest livery and weapons from Olivel’s lodge. They stop in at the Tarlton Inn on the way to the camp where they find Latro sharing his bed with Doucebella and Aruania. When Claribel bellows that ‘the other woman’ (Aruania) was his sweetheart in Harwich, Floradin tells Claribel that they have also caught Latro in bed with his wife ‘and the other woman [Doucebella] was my whore in Maldon’. The two men then accuse each of wronging the other. Claribel is persuaded by Lacy and Denham’s judgement, declares that they have all been but ‘errants’ and takes Doucebella again as his wife.
CLARIBEL**1610
Only mentioned as an epithet in Jonson's The Alchemist. Claribel was the heroine of a romantic ballad. Seeing that Subtle pretends to be afraid of revealing his magic art before Dapper, Face wants to reinforce the idea of Dapper's honesty. Since magic practices were against the law, and a clerk had denounced a magician, Subtle pretends to be wary of Dapper. Face recommends Dapper as an honest man, no cheating Claribel.
CLARIBEL**1611
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's The
Tempest. Daughter of Alonso. Alonso and his train are stranded on Prospero's
island while returning from Claribel's wedding to the King of Tunis.
CLARIBELL
The disguise of a Sylvan Nymph in which Leonida appears before her father, Atticus, after the Masque of Repentance in the anonymous Swetnam. He seals her marriage to her lover, Palemon, before realizing that the latter is really Lisandro.
CLARICE
A nymph of Diana in [?]Queen Henrietta's Florimène.
She is included in the Dramatis Personae but not named in the synopsis;
probably she is the "one nymph" called by the goddess to follow her in the hunt.
CLARICILLA **1636
The princess in Killigrew’s Claricilla. She is a captive of Silvander’s as the play opens. The king has taken advantage of Silvander’s love of Claricilla and employed her power over him to make him withdraw to a villa where the king hopes to attack him. During the siege of Silvander’s villa, she and Olinda escape. Melintus catches up to her as she escapes and, removing his disguise, professes his love for her. She is also in love with him. Seleucus takes her hand from Melintus, saying that he is unworthy such a reward as Claricilla, but Claricilla returns her hand to Melintus. She confesses to Melintus that she knew Philemon had loved her but because she preferred Melintus she pretended not to know. When Seleucus barges into their conference, Melintus braves him and Seleucus challenges him to duel but Claricilla convinces Melintus to put off the fight until she can convince her father that Seleucus aims at her because he envies the crown. She confides in Appius that Melintus has returned in disguise. She meets Melintus in the garden where Seleucus leads the king to discover them. Later, Appius is able to tell her that Melintus escaped safely after his duel with Seleucus. Appius also warns her not to trust Olinda, and Claricilla promises to keep a wary eye on her maid. When Manlius gives her a letter from Malintus telling her he is well and Philemon is alive, she hastens to see them. She reveals to Appius in V.v that Melintus has long been subject to the hate of the king and Seleucus but does not reveal why. She learns from Manlius that Olinda is indeed her betrayer. She agrees in the plan to meet Melintus in the garden as a trap to catch the king and Seleucus (who believe they will be trapping Claricilla and Melintus). She and Appius appear to be captured, and she again scorns Seleucus’s plan to marry her. When the tables are turned on Seleucus and he is about to stab himself, Claricilla attempts to stay his hand by forgiving him. Her angelic offer only drives Seleucus to despair, and he kills himself with hatred on his lips for all except the heavenly Claricilla.
CLARIDIANA**1601
Only mentioned in Jonson's Cynthia's Revels. Claridiana is a character in a comedy by Pedro Calderón de la
Barca, entitled El Castillo de Lindabrides. This play deals with the chivalric
world and Claridiana is a lady rival to Lindabridis. When Amorphus instructs
Asotus in the art of being a courtier, Asotus says he will call his fictional
lady "my dear Lindabrides." Since Amorphus wants details about this
exotic-sounding name, Asotus explains that Lindabrides is the emperor
Alicandroe's daughter and the Prince Meridian's sister in The Knight of the Sun.
According to Asotus, Lindabrides should have been married to a prince, but the
princess Claridiana... Amorphus interrupts Asotus's peroration, under the pretext
that he betrays his reading. It seems that Asotus collates two chivalric
romances, taking the title from one and using the badly distorted characters'
names and plot from the other.
CLARIDIANA**1610
Only mentioned as an epithet in Jonson's The Alchemist. Claridiana was the heroine of a popular prose novel. Dol Common succeeds in making peace between the quarreling Face and Subtle, convincing them to be united in tricking the fools instead of arguing with each other. Proud of her wisdom, Face says she has spoken like Claridiana.
CLARIDIANA**1610
Abigail's husband in Marston's The
Insatiate Countess. He is engaged in a hereditary feud with Rogero and
even begins a fight with him on the day of both of their weddings. Following the
interception of Guido and Mizaldus, Claridiana makes an insincere promise to keep
the peace, but immediately vows revenge. He falls for the ploy set up by Abigail
and Thais against him and Rogero, is discovered in Rogero's house and is imprisoned
for the attempted murder of Mendoza Foscari. Not wanting to be taken for a cuckold,
he insists that he attempted Mendoza's murder and demands to be executed. He is
finally released when Abigail and Thais reveal the truth to the Duke of Venice.
CLARIDON, COUNTESS**1637
Gilbert's wife in the anonymous The Wasp. At Gilbert's "death" she becomes inconsolable and becomes a Vestal, vowing never again to marry. She moves to Walthamstowe where she lives happily away from pride and ambition that "waits on greatness." She likes The Wasp's honest tongue and accepts the disguised Howlet into her service. To keep away suitors, she agrees to pretend that she had married The Wasp, but in pretense she finds that she loves him in fact and worries about breaking her vow to Vesta. She gives him full management of her estate but becomes cross when she perceives that he misuses his power. She grows enraged when the mediator sent for, Justice Bindover, turns out to be her servant Howlet in disguise. She goes to plead her case in Marianus' court. She drops her complaint, however, when Gilbert reveals his true identity in court and is happily reunited with him.
CLARIFLORA
Clariflora is called Dulciflora at the beginning of J.D.'s The Knave In Grain New Vamped; this is presumably a printing error. She is a whore, beloved of Stultissimo, whom she despises.
CLARIMANT
I.
Clarimant is the King of Burgony's youngest son in Carlell's 1 The Passionate Lovers. He enjoys the favor of a loving father, but not that of his beloved Clorinda, which makes him feel sad. In Act Two, he is visited by his brother, whom he blames for his sadness. Clarimant fights for Clorinda and gets what seems like a victory with the departure of his brother, who asks him to take a picture of his to Clorinda. His loyalty is not rewarded later by the lady when she finds out that he is leading an army against Agenor. Quite the contrary. He receives her scorn for such an appointment. In Act Four, Clarimant is crowned king of Burgany at the death of his father, who had been unfair to his eldest brother. In Act Five, Clarimant comes to Neustrea looking for Agenor after being informed that he stays at that court. He also hopes that Clorinda is still alive and that she loves him now that Agenor has left her for another woman. Clarimant arrives on the outskirts of Neustrea waiting to have Agenor turned in. He wants to avenge his father and mistress. However, when Agenor is handed over, he is not punished but crowned king because Clarimant prefers to give him back what he has been deprived of before killing him. Clarimant hopes to take revenge of Clorinda's abuse. But, Clorinda herself stops him. Clarimant recognizes her although he does not say anything for the moment but to promise to be her servant.
II.
Clarimant is the King of Burgony's youngest son and Agenor's brother in Carlell's 2 Passionate Lovers. In Act One, in Neustrea, Clarimant finds Clindor fighting one of his soldiers. Clarimant stops them and administers justice stating that Clindor is not a coward and that the soldier is a fool for believing it. Clarimant is sad because his beloved Clorinda does not love him but his brother Agenor, who rejects her. Thus, Clarimant believes that there is still a possibility that their lives meet, but he realizes that he does not deserve her love. Nevertheless, Clarimant goes to see Agenor's brother, what he thinks to be the disguise under which Clorinda hides. Clarimant quarrels with her and challenges her to fight, what makes Clorinda discover herself. Thus, Clarimant promises to be her servant. The first service that he is entrusted is to kill the lady, but he cannot do so because that would mean his own death. In Act Two, Clarimant arrives when Clorinda is fighting the Prince of Aquitain, whom he challenges. He is finally wounded, but he is saved by Agenor who has come to help him. In Act Three, Clarimant is recovering from his wounds and receives the visit of Clindor, who promises to help him to have Clorinda's love. Clorinda herself comes to see him but she turns out to be too sad to take care of him, what makes her ask him to forget her. However, he cannot do so and he still has some expectations. Then, he goes with Clorinda to see the druid, what turns out to be a trap. Clarimant fights the soldiers and swims after the boat. He is taken on board by Cleon, who ties him up. Clarimant wants to set Clorinda and Olinda free. However, he almost perishes when the kidnappers want to get rid of him. But, he is saved first by Clorinda, who convinces the Prince to leave him on the boat, and later by a sailor, who releases him. Clarimant swims ashore and there he helps Clorinda to face the Prince. He will be finally awarded when he is saved by Agenor and Clindor, with whom he goes to celebrate his marriage to Clorinda after killing the Prince.
CLARINDA**1621
Clarinda, Camiola's servant in Massinger's The
Maid of Honor.
CLARINDA**1622
Clarinda is one of the shipwrecked Portuguese settlers, the daughter of Rosellia
and Sebastian in Fletcher and Massinger's The
Sea Voyage. Clarinda is separated from Crocale, Hippolita and Juletta
while hunting; she finds them with Albert and falls in love with him. With the
other women, she persuades Rosellia to allow them to bring the other shipwrecked
men to their island. Albert tells Clarinda that Aminta is his sister; when Tibalt
later allocates Albert to Clarinda, she is delighted. Clarinda tries to comfort
Aminta, though she doesn't know what is troubling her. When the men insult the
women by offering them the Portuguese treasure they have taken by force, Clarinda
urges Rosellia not to have them put to death instantly and plots that she and
the other women will 'temper' Rosellia's desire for revenge. Clarinda confesses
to Aminta her love for Albert and asks Aminta to press her case to Albert. Clarinda
discovers Albert and Aminta together; Albert is returned to strict captivity,
and Aminta is bound to a tree by Hippolita and Juletta—who pity her but do
not dare to go against Clarinda's orders. Raymond finds Aminta and begins to release
her but is instead captured by Clarinda, Crocale and Juletta. Clarinda vows that
she will now support Rosselia's plan to sacrifice the French settlers and sailors,
but she later seems to regret that Raymond is to be killed with the others. Sebastian
enters to prevent the sacrifice, and he is reunited with his wife and daughter;
he betroths Clarinda to Raymond, and she does not protest.
CLARINDA**1624
Clarinda, the wife of Dinant in Massinger's The
Parliament of Love. She aids in her husband's attempts to trick Novall
by pretending to be interested in his sexual advances. He takes Dinant to court,
but the King rules against him.
CLARINDA**1627
A "ghost character" in Massinger's The
Great Duke of Florence. Clarinda is the deceased wife of Cozimo, the Duke
of Florence.
CLARINDA**1629
Daughter to Count Utrante in Carlell's The Deserving Favorite. She is in love with Lysander. When her father tells her of the Duke's love for her, she cries but, rather than reveal her love for Lysander, replies that she does not want to marry anyone. Despite Lysander's objections, she deceives the Duke by promising to marry him in one month if he returns her father's estate. She intends to use the money from the estate to flee the country and live with Lysander. After securing the return of the estate, she meets with Lysander in an arbor. He tries to convince her that he is not actually honorable, but she sees through his ploy and promises to kill herself if he does not agree to flee the country with her. Later she receives a letter from Lysander informing her that he has been killed in a duel with the Duke and asking her to marry the Duke. She refuses to take possession of the missing Duke's land and begs the King to forgive Lysander if he proves to be alive. Cleonarda informs her that Lysander is, indeed, alive. Clarinda shares this information with Jacomo, who helps her disguise herself as a boy to travel to Lysander. Once in the forest, Jacomo tells her that, unless she has sex with him, he will tell the King of Lysander's location. When she refuses, he tells her that he will rape her and reveal Lysander's location to the King anyway. He leaves her tied to a tree while he fetches the King. She is discovered by the Duke, who is disguised as a visitor to the country. He agrees to lead her to Gerard's lodge, but they lose their way and end up at Count Orsinio's dwelling, where the Duke has been staying. Orsinio informs them that the King has taken Lysander prisoner and offers the two a single bed for the night. To prevent discovery that she is a female, she sleeps in her doublet. She returns to court the next day and accuses Jacomo of trying to rape her. The Duke verifies her account and Jacomo is arrested. When it appears that Lysander is going to be executed, Clarinda faints and is carried home. She is brought back after the Duke secures Lysander's release. She is in the act of marrying Lysander when Orsinio reveals that she and Lysander are siblings. Upon learning this, she agrees to marry the Duke.
CLARINDA**1634
Clarinda in Massinger's 1634 Cleander,
or Lisander and Calista (a revision of Fletcher's 1623 The Wandering Lovers?) is a lustful woman and maid to Caliste. She plays Leon and Malfort off of each other in order to avenge herself on Lisander, who has
abandoned her for Caliste. She arranges a secret meeting between Caliste and Lisander
only to raise the house with an alarm. Lisander escapes. But Leon uses his sword
to kill Cleander thus implicating Lisander in the death of Caliste's husband.
But Leon, her lover, betrays Clarinda when he confesses to the murder. The king
has her and her conspirator Leon taken away and then frees Lisander and Caliste
of all charges.
CLARINDA **1635
Niece to Gratiano and Charmia in Rider’s The Twins. She is ready to be married and is always merry. Lurco takes Carolo and Clarinda to see Alphonso and Julietta speaking alone and tries to sew the seeds of jealousy in them though it works only on Carolo. When Carolo and Clarinda slip away, Alphonso sees them and also grows jealous, thinking they have dishonest, guilty consciences. She receives a letter from a soldier (Alphonso in disguise) telling her that Alphonso has been killed by Carolo and Carolo has fled Italy. She says she has lost her merry heart, and she becomes as sad as Julietta used to be. At the shepherd’s festival, she is gladdened to discover that Alphonso is not dead indeed and all ends happily.
CLARINDA **1637
Sister to Castina enamoured of Alcinous in (?)Speed’s The Converted Robber, ‘follows him by fame’. The play opens with her in disguise as Alexis. In an aside she tells the audience that she loves Alcinous but must not reveal herself to him. When she attempts to speak to Castina and Avonia of her plight, she inadvertently encourages Castina’s affection for Alcinous and is thereby forced to persevere in her disguise. At the end, when all are redeemed for their sins, ‘Alexis’ steps forward to say that ‘he’ has one sin more, revealing that ‘he’ is in fact Clarinda, whereupon Castina binds her little sister together with her beloved Alcinous.
CLARINDO
On returning to Arcadia after her apparent death, Silvia disguises herself as a boy named Clarindo in Daniel's Hymen's Triumph. She retains the disguise until Montanus stabs her and Thyrsis discovers her true identity. However, she hints at the truth when she tells Thyrsis the thinly disguised story of Sulia.
CLARINDORE
Clarindore, a wild courtier in Massinger's The
Parliament of Love. He attempts to seduce Bellisant, however, he ends
up in bed with his own wife, Calista, who is disguised as the Moorish slave, Beaupre.
Charles VIII reunites him with Calista at the end.
CLARINGTON, SIR ARTHUR
A wealthy landowner, who has sexual relations with his maid, Winifred, and reneges
on his promise to support her and Frank when they marry in Rowley, Dekker and
Ford's The Witch of Edmonton.
When Frank is executed, the Justice names Sir Arthur as the cause of his misfortune,
and he agrees to pay a fine to Winifred in ompensation.
CLARISSA
Sister of Caesario (or so they think) in Fletcher, Ford, Massinger and Webster's
The Fair Maid of the Inn.
Clarissa tries to escape her brother's protective jealousy by secretly plighting
her troth to Mentivole, but when Caesario quarrels with Mentivole, he discovers
what she has done, and bans her from marrying him. When it is revealed that Caesario
is an adopted commoner, not a gentleman, Caesario decides to marry Clarissa, but
she and her mother Mariana refuse to allow this. She and Mentivole threaten suicide
if they are not allowed to marry, but the crisis is solved when Prospero reveals
the aristocratic birth of Bianca: Caesario marries Bianca, and Mentivole and Clarissa
are thus free to marry each other.
CLARKE
A painter who lives nearby and worries Michael because he also has designs on
Susan in the Anonymous Arden of Feversham. Mosbie has contracted with the painter to paint a poisoned picture of Alice that,
when Arden looks at it, will kill him. He, like Michael, has been promised Susan
if he helps to kill Arden. He gives Mosbie a subtle poison to put in Arden's broth.
Mosbie asks him to create a poisoned wax crucifix, the viewing of which blinds,
the odor stupefies, and the touch kills. He is not party to the final murder.
Franklin tells us that Clarke fled and was never heard of again.
CLARKE, FRANCES
The Porter enters when supper is over, and offers the master and mistress
of the house, and their guests, some Christmas entertainment in the anonymous Narcissus. First, he
lets in the choir boys, who sing a song. Then, when they finish, he does
not let them go, and he even decides to keep their earnings for himself. As
he realizes they are getting angry, he urges them to dance a morris dance.
Furthermore, he invites them to offer a play to his master and mistress,
and the play the boys choose to perform is the story of Narcissus. When the
performance is over, the Porter is also responsible for the epilogue. At
the end, he reveals his name is Frances. Frances Clarke was the Porter of
St John's College, Oxford.
CLAUDE HAMBLETON, LORD
A "ghost character" in Sampson's The Vow-Breaker. Fourth son of Duke Robert Douglas and brother to Lord
James Stuart, he is one of the Scottish lords taken hostage by the English
after the battle of Dunbar.
CLAUDIA**1566
A woman of Gismond's privy chamber in Wilmot's Gismond of Salerne. She observes her mistress' restlessness and distracted mood. Claudia reports that Gismond suffers from disturbing dreams and keeps to her bed during the day. Later Claudia runs to Tancred, reporting that Gismond has poisoned herself.
CLAUDIA**1614
One of Lucina's two bawdy waiting women in Fletcher's Valentinian. Together with Marcellina she accompanies her mistress to the court, but is separated from her. While Lucina is raped by Valentinian, Claudia and Marcellina are possibly seduced by Valentinian's panders, Balbus, Chilax, Lycinius and Proculus. Claudia
announces her mistress's death to Lucina's husband Maximus.
CLAUDIA**1632
A young woman in Tatham's Love Crowns the End. On a walk with Florida in a dangerous area of the countryside, Claudia hears groans and discovers Lysander stabbed and bleeding to death. The two of them carry Lysander off, and he is instantly healed. When Lysander thanks Claudia's "hand divine" for saving his life, she replies that "the gods," not she, saved his life.
CLAUDIANA
Claudiana is Cornari's wife in Shirley's The Gentleman of Venice. Her husband, desperate to produce an heir other than his nephew Malipiero, hired the Englishman Florelli to impregnate Claudiana. When she and Florelli are thrust together, however, they simply pray about their awkward situation and do not become intimate; Claudiana remains a faithful wife.
CLAUDIO**1598
Claudio is a Florentine count in the service of Don Pedro in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. As the play opens, peace has been restored, and soldiers like Claudio enjoy a well-deserved holiday in Messina. Claudio asks Don Pedro's
permission to court Hero, and Don Pedro agrees to woo the lady on Claudio's behalf.
In a foreshadowing of events to come, Claudio reveals his jealous nature when
he suspects that Don Pedro has been courting Hero for himself. The misunderstanding
is resolved and a wedding date is set. Before the wedding can take place, Don
John orchestrates a plot to make Claudio believe that Hero has been unfaithful.
Claudio is convinced, and at the wedding ceremony he makes Hero's supposed crime
public. Hero faints and is believed dead. After Don John's plot is revealed, Claudio
contritely agrees to marry Hero's cousin (Antonio's daughter) in penance, but
at the altar the veiled bride is revealed to be Hero and the couple is finally
married.
CLAUDIO**1601
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's Hamlet. The Messenger brings Claudius Hamlet's letters and when asked who brought them, the Messenger can say only that he had them from Claudio. These letters were given to Horatio in an earlier scene, and it is possible that Claudio is a mistake for Horatio.
CLAUDIO**1604
Claudio is a courtier and friend of Dariotto in Chapman's All Fools. When Valerio complains about the law, Claudio remarks that the greatest poet is he who rails the most. He joins in the gulling of Cornelio, asking after his wife. He enters to tell Rinaldo that Cornelio is enraged and convinced Gazetta is unfaithful and to egg on the Page in his defense of women. Claudio declares himself true in nothing but secret lechery, but when Cornelio has papers of divorce drawn up, Claudio reveals to him that Valerio has tricked him and that Gazetta is not unfaithful. He is part of the final tavern scene, although he does not speak after calling for dice.
CLAUDIO**1604
A young gentleman of Vienna in Shakespeare's Measure for Measure. He is imprisoned and set to be executed for impregnating his legitimate but secret wife Juliet. The brother of Isabella, Claudio has Lucio
take her to plead with Angelo on his behalf. When Angelo propositions Isabella,
promising to free Claudio in exchange for her yielding her virginity to him, Claudio
unexpectedly urges Isabella to do so. After Angelo has intercourse with Mariana,
believing her to be Isabella, he orders the execution of Claudio anyway. But the
disguised Duke Vincentio persuades the Provost to trick Angelo by substituting
the head of Ragusine for Claudio's. In the end, the Duke has the still living
Claudio revealed and pardons him.
CLAUDIO**1620
Until he reveals his passion for Belvidere in Fletcher's Women Pleased, Claudio is Silvio's best friend. When Silvio shoots at the disguised Soto (mistaken for Claudio), he resolves to let Silvio think he's dead. Disguised as a merchant named Rugio, he pays Penurio in food to allow him access to his sister, Isabella, who does not recognize him, and begins a lengthy seduction. Entrapped by her into agreeing to murder her husband, he reveals that he is actually her brother, who only pretended to attempt her seduction in order to prove her virtue. Participates as a dancer in the wedding masque for Silvio and the hag.
CLAUDIO**1633
Claudio, a confidential servant to Severino in Massinger's The Guardian. He brings together all of the characters at the end and so precipitates the resolution.
CLAUDIO**1640
Claudio is dedicated to Flaviano in Shirley's The Imposture. Disguising themselves, Claudio and Flaviano seek Honorio in Ferrara and hope to murder him there. Eventually, however, it is Claudio who stops Flaviano from killing Honorio.
CLAUDIUS**1564
A lord in [?]Bower's Apius and Virginia. As part of Apius's and Haphazard's plan to gain possession of Virginia, Claudius accuses Virginius of kidnapping Virginia from him when she was an infant. After
Virginia's death and Apius' punishment by Reward and Justice, Claudius begs for mercy through Virginius to Reward and Justice; they allow him to live but order him banished.
CLAUDIUS **1599
Claudius is Brutus' servant in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. He is asked to sleep inside Brutus' tent when his master feels ill at ease because of war and ghostly visitations.
CLAUDIUS**1601
Claudius is the King of Denmark in Shakespeare's Hamlet, a title he assumed after murdering his brother. He quickly marries his brother's wife, Gertrude and at first shows himself to be a good king: winning over the nobles and dealing with the threat of Fortinbras. He rebukes Hamlet for continuing to mourn publicly for his father and, with Gertrude's help, persuades Hamlet not to return to Wittenberg. When Hamlet appears to go mad, he summons Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two school friends of Hamlet's, to try to find out what is wrong. With Polonius, he spies on Hamlet and Ophelia, and comes to the conclusion that his nephew is not mad for love, and hatches the plan to send him to England (in Q1, he does not make this decision until after Polonius' murder). He agrees to attend the play Hamlet arranges, but leaves when the players reenact his murder of his brother (some have noted that his reaction may well be to the implied threat from his nephew Hamlet of having Lucianus, nephew to the duke, murder him). Struck with guilt, he attempts to pray, but cannot. Once he discovers that Hamlet has killed Polonius, he acts quickly, first confronting Hamlet and then sending him to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who carry Hamlet's death warrant. When Laertes returns from France to revenge his father, Claudius sooths him and together, once they discover that Hamlet is returning to Denmark, they plan his murder. Claudius arranges a supposedly friendly duel between Hamlet and Laertes, but Laertes carries a sharp and poisoned sword, instead of a bated one. In addition, Claudius offers Hamlet a cup of poisoned wine, but the plan goes awry when Gertrude instead of Hamlet drinks from it. Hamlet stabs Claudius with the poisoned sword and forces him to drink the wine, killing him.
CLAUDIUS**1622
A Roman general in the anonymous Two Noble Ladies and the Converted Conjurer. He leads an army against Egypt to prevent its empire building. He joins with Clitophon on the way. He forces the Caliph and the Soldan to submit to Rome and orders that Lysander be made King of Antioch.
CLAUDIUS TIBERIUS NERO CAESAR
I.
Emperor of Rome, who fights in the battle against the British in The Valiant Welshman. Caradoc beats him, but does not kill him. In gratitude, Caesar offers him a golden lion, so that he can find him in Rome. Later, when Caradoc is a captive in Rome, Caesar recognizes the lion and frees him.
II.
Only mentioned in Percy’s Cuckqueans and Cuckolds Errants as a king who has ‘worn Vulcans badge’ by being cuckolded.
III.
The foolish Emperor Claudius dotes on his wife Valeria Messalina in Richards' Messalina, even permitting her marriage with Silius, but does finally turn on her when warned by Pallas,
Narcissus and Calistus that Silius plans to replace him as emperor.
IV.
Emperor of Rome in Shakespeare's Cymbeline. Though it is never mentioned which Caesar is meant, if Cymbeline is meant to be the historic British king Cunobelinus, father of Caradoc (Caratacus) and Togodumnus, then this Caesar would have to be Claudius, whose reign began in 41 A.D., two years before the death of Cunobelinus's father, Cassivelaunus. However, the Roman invasion represented in the play was carried out by Claudius after the death of Cunobelinus and was resisted by his sons.
V.
Emperor in May's Julia Agrippina. Although he is noted as having built aqueducts and conquered Britain, Claudius is essentially the dupe of Agrippina and Pallas, who diagnoses his dominant passion as fear. Eventually he is persuaded by Narcissus to act against Agrippina, but he reveals this to her when drunk, and she poisons him.
VI.
Only mentioned in Shirley's The Maid's Revenge. Claudius was the fourth emperor of Rome; his reign followed Caligula's. Claudius, according to Sharkino, died from poisons given to him by Agrippina.
CLAUSE
Clause is the alias used in Fletcher's Beggars'
Bush by Gerrard, the father of Florez, while he resides in disguise among
the beggars.
CLAVEELE
Wife of Pedro, and mother of Margaretta in William Rowley's All's
Lost by Lust. Unlike Pedro, Claveele is delighted by Margaretta's marriage
to the aristocratic Antonio. But her husband's fears are confirmed when Antonio
later commits bigamy. Claveele and Pedro silently accompany Margaretta when she
carries the body of Lazarello to Muly Mumen.
CLAY, JOHN
A tile-maker in Jonson's A Tale of A Tub. He is chosen by her parents as Audrey Turfe's husband solely
on the basis of her drawing his name as her Valentine. This was engineered
by Clay's sponsors, the "Counsel of Finbury," Clench, Medlay, To-Pan, and
Scriben. Just before the wedding, Basket Hilts falsely accuses Clay of
robbing the pseudonymous "Captain Thumb," and has Clay arrested. Squire
Turfe and his Constables, however, believe Clay's protestations of
innocence. Clay disappears while Turfe is retrieving Audrey from Justice
Preamble, and his absence makes Turfe suspect he really is guilty of the
crime, especially when Canon Hugh, disguised as "Captain Thumb," accuses
Turfe of allowing Clay to escape. He hides in a barn and is not discovered
for some time, until Hannibal Puppy finds him and mistakes him for the
Devil. After learning that, although his bride has been married to another
man, Tobie Turfe expects him to pay back the 100 pounds he sent to "Captain
Thumb" for restitution, he spends the wedding dinner at Squire Tripoly Tub's
weeping.
CLEANDER**1566
A doctor and suitor to Polynesta in Gascoigne's The Supposes. Cleander, with the help of Pasiphilo, is attempting to marry Polynesta. As he tells Pasiphilo early in the play, many years earlier he lost most of his money and a young son to Turkish pirates. In the final act, while discussing the missing son of Philogano, he discovers that Dulippo, who was raised by Philogano, is in fact his missing son; the same Turkish pirates who took Cleander's goods and son were captured by Philogano's countrymen, who auctioned the young boy as a slave to Philogano, who changed the boy's name to Dulippo. Once he receives this news he gives up his claim to Polynesta.
CLEANDER**1634
Cleander, husband to Caliste, has a close relationship with his father-in-law,
Dorilaus in Massinger's 1634 Cleander,
or Lisander and Calista (a revision of Fletcher's 1623 The Wandering Lovers?). He is visited by and Apparition, the ghost of a Host, who warns him of his impeding death. He visits his wife's room in the middle of
the night because of a dream. Leon, who is sleeping with his own cousin, Clarinda,
kills him. The point of the murder is to frame Lisander and Caliste.
CLEANDER**1634
The son of Eubulus in Rutter's The Shepherds' Holiday, Cleander has searched for and discovered the escaped Sylvia in the woods, walking alone and, promising her that he would convey her to where the King would have no knowledge of her, has returned her to the Court. Because Eubulus has come to recognize his son's "passionate heat" for the princess he is compelled to inform him that she is not actually the king's daughter but, rather, his own and, thus, Cleander's sister. Eubulus also relates to his son the secrets surrounding Thyrsis's birth and abandonment, and Cleander promises that he will bear only "a brother's friendship" to Sylvia in the future. Much to his father's surprise, Cleander informs King Euarchus that he has spied Sylvia walking in the garden with a shepherd which prompts the king to order both of their deaths. Shocked at the king's rage Cleander offers his own blood in order to save her life, but asserts that the shepherd deserves to die for his bold attempt. Although Cleander means to have Thyrsis killed by a servant in his presence despite Sylvia's pleas for her lover's life, he discovers the golden circle around the prince's neck and, recalling his father's story, stops the murder, witnesses their marriage, and informs his grateful father of the events which have come to pass.
CLEANDER **1635
Achates discovers him sleeping in Killigrew’s The Conspiracy and wakes him rudely as he dreams of being a king. He is taken to a secret meeting where Aratus reveals to him that he is in fact the country’s true king. He has been kept hidden during the sixteen-year reign of the current usurper. Later, Clearchus brings news to Aratus and Pallantus that Phronimius and Eurylochus were captured along with the young king, Cleander. The camp mutinies at the news. Demophilus 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. When Pallantus assassinates the usurper, Cleander’s speech headings subtly change to ‘King.’ He is reunited with his sister, Hianthe, and promises her in marriage to Clearchus but only after she has been allowed to sit as queen of her homeland awhile. He grants Clearchus’ request to be allowed to continue upon the business his father sent him on before the storm drove him to Crete. When Pallantus and Hianthe beg Cleander for mercy in helping Eudora’s misery, he allows Aratus to offer clemency to Timeus if he be found worthy of mercy. He grants mercy to all, including the foolish Comestes, and hopes Pallantus and Eudora shall marry.
CLEANDER**1638
Disguise that Cleon takes to hide himself in front of Clorinda in Act Four of Carlell's 2 Passionate Lovers. Cleander is a servant. On board, Cleander realizes that Clorinda controls the Prince's mind. Thus, he renounces to her love because if he attacks the Prince, she would go with Clarimant. Furthermore, he is very interested in counting with an accomplice as the Prince. In Act Five, Cleander is visited by Clorinda who begs him to free the hostages and who reveals her intentions to take revenge on the Prince. Next night, Cleander is arrested by some guards who obey the Prince when he tries to demonstrate how Clorinda is controlling him. When the boat is on fire, he is left to be burnt until Selina comes to save him and he promises to marry her. However, his savior stabs him taking the heart out of his chest, and he dies.
CLEANTHA **1604
The President’s daughter in Verney’s Antipoe. Beloved of Dramurgon, she rejects him when he comes to woo, making clear that she abhors him for his bloody usurpation. She drops her glove for him, however, and agrees to reverence him if he demonstrates his honour in battle on Thursday next. Her father insists that she should marry the worthy Antipoe instead, and she submits. In III.iv. she enters into a de praesenti marriage with Antipoe. When Dramurgon calls, however, she must pretend interest in him as she is the only obstacle the tyrant has to killing her father. She uses the fact that he did not fight bravely, as he promised, to rebuff his wooing, then lies down to sleep upon the grass. Dramurgon attempts to rape her, but Antipoe runs him away. Upon learning of Antipoe’s death, she lays his body in their crimson bed and lay down beside it. Placing his sword to her heart, she kills herself. She is later seen as a ghost, clad in white, ascending to the throne with the others at the behest of Brutus.
CLEANTHA **1640
Sanmartino courts Cleantha, the most beautiful lady at court, even though he is
married to her friend Floriana in Habington's The
Queen of Aragon. She warns Floriana about this and, when Floriana will
not take it seriously, arranges a rendezvous with Sanmartino at which she exposes
him to Floriana. She eventually marries Oniate, who sees through her pretence
of frivolity.
CLEANTHE**1617
Cleanthe is one of Calis's serving women and the sister to Siphax in Fletcher's The Mad Lover. When the later becomes smitten with love for the princess, he urges Cleanthe to help him, and she agrees to arrange for Calis to receive a fabricated message from Venus instructing the princess to marry the first man she meets outside the goddess's temple. Siphax will be positioned there and fulfill the terms of the letter. The ruse by Chilax and others to substitute Siphax's discarded mistress Cloë (disguised as the princess) and to see the two of them married undoes Cleanthe's scheming.
CLEANTHE**1639
Long-lost daughter of Polidacre and Rosinda, sister of Philander and Lucora in Cokain's The Obstinate Lady. Her actual identity remains undiscovered until the end of the play. With the aid of Phyginois, Cleanthe adopts the disguise of Anclethe and retains it throughout most of the play. She takes on this disguise in order to follow, serve, and observe her beloved Carionil. Discovered weeping in this disguise by Carionil, she "confesses" that she cries out of sympathy for her master's unhappiness over his unrequited love of Lucora, and pledges her life to recovering Carionil's happiness. She reassures him as he loses hope, and when he stabs himself out of frantic misery at his most recent rejection, she believes him dead, agonizes, curses Lucora, and vows to follow him in death. Before she can kill herself she is interrupted by Falorus, and agrees to spread the word that Carionil is dead, although he has merely fainted and quickly recovers. She participates in Falorus's plan to reveal Lucora's true feelings, by bringing Lucora to the feigned deathbed of Carionil. In her last scenes in this disguise, Anclethe is told by Carionil that he no longer loves Lucora, and she offers to introduce him to another woman, who will be herself undisguised. When they meet, he falls in love with her, kisses her, and asks if she is the one he was intended to meet. They agree to wed. It is finally revealed that Cleanthe was stolen as an infant by her Nurse, Phyginois' mother, and raised in that household with the intention of marrying her to Phyginois' older brother, in order to improve his fortune. With Phyginois' aid, she returned to her own realm, disguised herself to fulfill her own desires, and helped him in return by disguising him as a gentleman so he could woo Nentis. She reveals her identity at the end of the play, wins her father's approval of her marriage to Carionil, and with a few words convinces her older sister Lucora to marry Falorus.
CLEANTHES**1584
Cleanthes is one of the Theban philosophers in Lyly's Campaspe whom Alexander consults after his conquest.
CLEANTHES**1605
Physician to Cato in Chapman's Caesar and Pompey.
CLEANTHES**1618
Cleanthes is the virtuous son of Leonides, and husband of Hippolita in Massinger,
Middleton and Rowley's The Old
Law. When the Old Law is announced, condemning all men over the age of
eighty to death, Cleanthes is horrified. He persuades Leonides to hide in a country
lodge, and fakes his funeral, claiming that he died naturally. Cleanthes is a
preachy character; he upbraids old Lisander for behaving in a youthful manner,
and Eugenia for being a strumpet. In revenge, Eugenia reveals to Duke Evander
that Leonides is in hiding. Cleanthes is arrested and brought to trial, where
he debates with Simonides, arguing for the transcendence of common sense and reason
over the laws of kings. When Evander reveals that the Old Law was a fiction, Cleanthes
apologises for doubting him. Evander makes Cleanthes a judge; his job will be
to decide whether young heirs are sufficiently mature of mind to receive their
inheritances.
CLEANTHES**1624
Cleanthes, along with his fellow noblemen Camillo and Menallo in Fletcher's A Wife for a Month, laments that Alphonso, rightful king of Naples, has been usurped by his wicked brother Frederick. He takes comfort in the fact that
since his wife is old she won't be a target for Frederick's lust. He participates
in the ultimately successful plot to restore Alphonso to the throne.
CLEANTHES**1636
I.
A Lord and Arviragus's friend in Carlell's 1 Arviragus and Philicia, Cleanthes fights on Arviragus's side and helps to cause disorder in the King's Campe. He is questioned by Arviragus as to whether or not Eugenius escaped "with life out of the Battle," and he accompanies the General to an "enterview" with Philicia and her father where he advises Arviragus not to trust the King.
II.
A Lord and Arviragus's friend in Carlell's 2 Arviragus and Philicia. Cleanthes's name is considered in the wounded warrior's attempt to identify the man who saved his life in battle. He also accompanies Arviragus throughout the play, introduces Arviragus to the "Pictish youth" whom he "cannot call [. . .] to memory," is appointed to "make all things ready" in the "chamber" for Philicia and her lover, and is unsuccessful when attempting to bar Cartandes's entrance into the room where Philicia and Arviragus are sleeping.
CLEANTHES (DUKE, LATER KING)
A disguise of Irus in Chapman's The
Blind Beggar of Alexandria. In this role, Irus wins the love of Aegiale,
is exiled, returns to lead the forces of Egypt to victory, and is declared King
by his peers following Pompey's death in the battle.
CLEANTHES'S WIFE
A "ghost character" in Fletcher's A
Wife for a Month. Because she is old, she won't be a target for Frederick's
lust. Cleanthes takes comfort in this fact.
CLEARCHUS
Clearchus is a courtier in the royal household in Chapman's The Blind Beggar of Alexandria. He assists Aegiale in posting pictures of
Cleanthes (who in reality is Irus in disguise), and appears in the scene in which Prince Doricles is introduced; in the play's final scene, he reveals the reported suicide of Leon (another disguise assumed by Irus).
CLEARCHUS **1635
He has been driven to Crete by the storm that foundered Pallantus’ ship in Killigrew’s The Conspiracy. He and Haimantus are in quest for their captured princess and have heard two peerless women live upon this island. Though he is met and escorted by Aratus and the rest, he is offended that the princes did not meet him and that his accommodation is unfitting to his station. He is dumbfounded when Comastes tells him that the king loves drunkenness best of all things. After a cold greeting by the king, he accidentally comes upon Hianthe and her ladies. He apologizes and withdraws at once. He falls in love with Hianthe at first sight. He and Haimantus disguise themselves as holy men and with Aratus’ assistance courts Hianthe. He learns that Cleander is the country’s true king and promises Aratus that he will be a friend to the conspiracy to replace the usurper. He offers his great navy to their service. Later, he brings news to Aratus and Pallantus that Phronimius and Eurylochus were captured along with the young king, Cleander. The camp mutinies at the news. The war won, the young king promises Hianthe in marriage to Clearchus but only after she has been allowed to sit as queen of her homeland awhile. The king grants Clearchus’ request to be allowed to continue upon the business his father sent him on before the storm drove him to Crete.
CLEM
I.
A clownish tapster in service to Bess at the Windmill tavern in Foy in Thomas
Heywood's The Fair Maid of the West,
Part One, Clem is devoted to her and accompanies her on the voyage to
retrieve what they believe to be the remains of Spencer. During the visit to Morocco,
Clem will be the agent (for a fee, of course) for the return of goods and ship
to the French Merchant, and for the release of the imprisoned crew of the Italian
Merchant.
II.
Clem is a clownish former tapster in service to Bess in Thomas Heywood's The
Fair Maid of the West, Part Two. He is separated from her when the bandits
attack in Italy. Concluding that he has been left to his own devices, he drifts
into Florence and seeks work in his old trade as a drawer. He is there reunited
with Spencer, Goodlack, and Roughman, and he informs them of Bess's presence at
the Florentine court.
CLEM the SOW GELDER
A "ghost character" in Greene's George
a Greene. He is a rival with Jenkin for Madge's affections. Jenkin describes
how 'Clim' orders him to watch his horse, while Clim goes off with Madge. Jenkin
says that he repaid Clim because, although he let the horse stand on his coat,
as soon as Clim had gone, Jenkin cut four holes in the coat and made the horse
stand on the ground.
CLEMATIS
Eglantine's servant in Knevet's Rhodon and Iris. Clematis informs the audience of Eglantine's history with Rhodon and "retire[s]" while the Shepherdess sings and plays a mournful song on the Lute. Clematis attempts to console Eglantine and, when she fails to do so, calls upon the gods to cure the Lady's woe. She is "enjoined" by Eglantine to procure a long list of "devices," and describes her mistress's late fickleness as well as the measures which she has been going to in order to beautify herself for Rhodon. Clematis is mocked by Gladiolus, "strikes him," and exchanges threats with her fellow servant. Eglantine faults Clematis for persuading her to wear less makeup, and claims that the maid "goes about utterly to undoe" her.
CLEMENS, ARETINUS
Aretinus is Caesar's spy in Massinger's The
Roman Actor. He accuses Paris and the other players of treason for their
libelous depictions of the state. He curries favor with Caesar by informing against
Junius Rusticus, Palphurias Sura, and Aelius Lamia, leading to their execution.
However, when he informs Domitian of Domitia's love of Paris, his reward is to
be strangled.
CLEMENCY **1617
A “ghost character" in the anonymous Pathomachia. One of the eleven virtues that regulate the affections. Cruelty and Indulgence are the extremes of Clemency. He is one of the vanguard and rides with Charity in the war against the Vices. Love gives his queen Disdain and Clemency as her guard.
CLEMENT
Clement, along with Mason and Burden, is an Oxford scholar in Greene's Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay. Unlike the dismissive Burden, Clement welcomes Bacon to Oxford, assuring him that the university is delighted to have him join the faculty.
CLEMENT, FRIAR
The name of the Subprior at the Neapolitan priory in Dekker's If It Be Not Good. He is the only friar to resist Shacklesoule's corrupting influence.
CLEMENT, JUSTICE
Justice Clement is an old merry magistrate in Jonson's Every Man in His Humour. He lives in Coleman Street and likes to impart facetious justice. According to Wellbred, he is a city judge and a good lawyer, also a great scholar, but the only mad merry old fellow in Europe. Edward Knowell reports he has heard about many of his pranks at university. It seems that Justice Clement would commit a man for riding his horse, or wearing the cloak on one shoulder, or serving God. At his house in Coleman Street, Justice Clement enters with Knowell followed by his clerk. Showing his whimsical character, Justice Clement decides that Cob should go to prison for having spoken against tobacco and, the next moment, he rules against it, deciding to give Cob a warrant for Bobadill's arrest. Seeing Knowell downhearted because of his son's frivolity, Justice Clement tries to comfort him, telling the father that this is not a real reason to worry and things should be allowed to run their course. Justice Clement exits with Knowell to have a cup of sack. In the final revelation scene, when all the cases are brought before the judge, Justice Clement hears all the parties involved, and so all the disguises and misunderstandings are revealed. Showing his bonhomie in setting things right, Justice Clement also proves to be a fine connoisseur of poetry, since he recognizes that Mathew's verses are plagiarized. Justice Clement has the final speech in the play, inviting everyone to a celebration of friendship, love, and laughter. His name may have been suggested by the London legal institution of Clement's Inn.
CLEMENT KINGCOB
Clement Kingcob is a small character in Chapman's Sir Giles Goosecap. He is a knight who
attends supper.
CLEMENT PERKES
Clement Perkes does not appear on stage but is mentioned in passing by Davy in
Shakespeare's 2 Henry IV.
CLEMENT, SIR
Sir Clement is the local justice in Shirley's Constant Maid. Within his house, Hornet's Cousin pretends to be king, Hornet is "knighted," and Clement's nephew Playfair weds Hornet's niece.
CLENCH, RASIS
A farrier and a constable, along with Scriben, Medlay, and To-Pan in Jonson's A Tale of A Tub. He
claims to be the godson of "King Harry's" doctor, the famous Arabian
physician Rasis. One of the "Council of Finsbury" that serves as a kind of
Chorus to the fortunes of High Constable Tobie Turfe, and who recommend
Medlay and Scriben to create Squire Tripoly Tub's masque for Audrey's wedding.
(Listed in d.p. as "Rasi: Clench")
CLEOBULUS **1619
A gentleman of Arcadia and the rich father of Philaritus in (?)Goffe’s Careless Shepherdess. He disapproves of his son loving a lowly shepherdess. He once married beneath his station but had no father to offend. He therefore disowns Philaritus though he privately admits to pitying him. He threatens to ruin Bacheus if their children should marry. Bacheus later informs him that Philaritus and Lariscus intend to duel. He accepts Bacheus’ plan for stopping bloodshed, and they are reconciled. He sends a letter to Philartus forgiving him and allowing him to marry Arismena. The young men return with news that the women have been stolen by satyrs. He calls for a magician and disguises as a satyr to demonstrate that it was all a jest and he, Baccheus, and servants only pretended to steal the women. When the actual satyrs attack and steal the women in earnest, he goes in pursuit with the others. He is captured along with the others and taken before the Grand Satyr. He weeps over the hearses of Arismena and Castarina. When the women rise up, however, and all is explained, he happily calls Peromatt back from exile and leads the lovers to their weddings.
CLEODORA
Although never referred to as Cleodora in Habington's The
Queen of Aragon, either in speech prefixes or the dramatis personae,
the play's alternate title is Cleodora, and it is not unreasonable to assume
that Cleodora was (perhaps in an early draft) the name given to the Queen of Aragon.
CLEOMENES
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.
CLEON**1608
Governor of Tharsus in Shakespeare's Pericles. He is lamenting the famished and ruined state of his land when Pericles arrives bringing corn to feed the people. Later, when Pericles stops at Tharsus during
his voyage home, Cleon and Dionyza take Pericles' daughter Marina into their care.
Believing Dionyza's attempt to have Marina killed was successful, Cleon is outraged.
Nevertheless, he conceals his wife's actions. When word of their crimes spreads,
the citizens of Tharsus burn the palace with Cleon and Dionyza inside.
CLEON **1610
Cleon is a gentleman of the court in Beaumont and Fletcher's The Maid's Tragedy. He assists in the preparations for the wedding masque and announces the arrival of Melantius.
CLEON**1623
Cleon, a fat, impotent lord in Massinger's The
Bondman, is married to the randy Corsica. He is the father of the foolish
Asotus. He mistreats his slaves, but after the slave uprising, forgives his family
for their infidelities to him, and blames himself for the riots.
CLEON**1631
Cleon is a traveler and friend of Paulinus in Massinger's The Emperor of the East. He discusses the power and beauty of Pulcheria with Paulinus at the beginning of the play. He delivers the apple to Theodosius, prompting
the cycle of mistrust.
CLEON **1635
A Sicilian lord in Killigrew’s The Prisoners. He is on hand in several scenes but does not add materially to the forward motion of the plot.
CLEON**1637
A libertine, companion to Ergasto in Berkeley's The Lost Lady. Aided by Phormio, he tries to win Hermione's favors for Ergasto, discusses his master's taste for women, and plots to stop Lysicles in the race to win Hermione's love. He fancies Phillida.
CLEON**1638
I.
Cleon is a lord disaffected from the Prince Agenor in Carlell's 1 The Passionate Lovers. In Act One, Cleon tells Agenor that his last military victories have made him forget how to obey the king. Cleon wants to convince Agenor to overthrow the king as a trap to get rid of the prince who has won too much power. Cleon poisons Agenor's mind telling him that Clarimant has been chosen as the king's favorite in spite of being younger than him, and that Clarimant is courting Clorinda to win support before he is crowned king. But, Cleon awaits his time, which arrives when he advises the king to keep the prince there to avoid any attack of his supporters. In Act Two, he also cheats Selina by confessing his love for her when he really wants to conquer Clorinda, who will crown him. Cleon is thought to have conquered the heart of many women before, so when he confesses his love to the princess, she thinks that his beloved is another lady. Later, knowing that Agenor has left the court, he comes with a letter in which allegedly Agenor asks him to join his army in the frontier with Germany, at Lassent, to overthrow the king. He leads the king's army against Agenor and when he finds out that he has escaped he thinks that he has gone to ask the king of Neustrea for help as he is a foreign enemy. Thus, Cleon wants the king of Burgondy to prepare an army led by Clarimant to march against Neustrea, which is to annoy Clorinda. To see how Clarimant reacts to Clorinda's letter of hatred, he hides himself and sees how the prince suffers, which shows him that his plan is working. In Act Four, Cleon comes to Neustrea with Clorinda and Selina. Cleon still wants to marry Clorinda and, finding the opportunity to protect her, he unsuccessfully confesses his love to her, what makes him threaten Clorinda to be raped and carry out the evil deed, and he runs away.
II.
Cleon is a lord disaffected to the Prince Agenor in Carlell's 2 Passionate Lovers. He is thought to be dead after his fight with Agenor in Part One. But, he actually hides at the Druid's house, where he is planning against Clarimant, Clorinda and Agenor to be crowned king of Burgony, as they are depriving him of his rights to the throne. In Act Three, Cleon is to kidnap Clorinda and Olinda, and arrests Clarimant with the Prince of Aquitain, Selina and a bunch of Soldiers. In Act Four, Cleon sees the mistake of having kidnapped Olinda with the Prince of Aquitain. Cleon also realizes that Clorinda has given him a lot of problems. He is to get rid of her as she competes with him for the throne of Burgony. He decides to marry Clorinda and later poison her but he needs Selina to help him. Cleon promises Selina to marry her first, but she mistrusts him when he justifies his denial with the fact of being controlled by the Prince. Cleon wants to fool Selina again to keep her loyal to him and con Clorinda disguising himself under the name of Cleander.
CLEON, HONESTY **1627
An honest scrivener's daughter in Randolph's Plutophthalmia. Plutus loves her because she is honest. She goes with him at play's end to be married.
CLEONA
Sought after by the duke in Shirley's Grateful Servant, Cleona is Foscari's mistress. Because everyone believes Foscari dead, Cleona prepares to accept the duke's courtship. Foscari, however, is alive, and Cleona welcomes back her lover near the play's end.
CLEONARDA
Sister to the King in Carlell's The Deserving Favorite. She normally resides in Gerard's hunting lodge in the forest and only accepts visitors by invitation. The Duke speaks of her skill at hunting, recounting an occasion when she pursued a wolf and cut its head off unaided. She vows that she will not allow her brother to choose her husband without her approval. En route to bathe in the river after hunting, she and Mariana discover Lysander wounded and the Duke apparently dead. After debating whether or not to help the man who apparently killed her kinsman, she decides to nurse Lysander back to health. She hides the Duke's body behind a bush and later sends Gerard to fetch it, only to discover that it has disappeared. While caring for Lysander, she falls in love with him but tells him that she will not love him if he proves inconstant by not loving Clarinda. She begs the King to forgive Lysander if he proves to be alive but to no avail. She informs Clarinda that Lysander is alive and tells her to come to the lodge in disguise. Later, fearing that something has prevented Clarinda from traveling to the lodge, she gives Lysander permission to escape to Florence. He is prevented from doing so by the arrival of the King. When the King is unmoved by Lysander's claim to have forced Gerard to lodge him, Cleonarda reveals that she willingly assisted him out of love. She claims that if the King puts him to death, she will kill herself. After Lysander is released and proven to be Clarinda's brother, she and Lysander agree to marry. To secure her brother's permission, they stand with swords to their hearts and promise to kill themselves if he denies the match. At first he does deny the match, but while they are deciding who should commit suicide first, the King announces that they have proven their worth and consents to the match.
CLEON'S BROTHER
A "ghost character" in Carlell's 1 The Passionate Lovers. Cleon's brother is thought to be homosexual as he courts men.
CLEON'S SISTER
Disguise that Selina takes to accompany Cleon and Clorinda to Neustrea in Carlell's 1 The Passionate Lovers.
CLEOPATRA
I.
Cleopatra is the sister of Ptolemy and, as Fletcher and Massinger's The False One opens, she has been confined and placed under guard because her brother and advisors fear that she may be the focus of a coup to place her on the throne. She finds this captivity unendurable, even though, as her guard Apollodorus points out, it is very mild, and plots to escape. She has Apollodorus deliver her to Caesar, wrapped up in a packet. Caesar is infatuated at once, much to the discomfort of his captains, and promises to do whatever she wishes. However, when Ptolemy invites Caesar to a masque showing the wealth of Egypt, Cleopatra finds herself ignored as Caesar is dazzled by the display. She is humiliated and rages against herself and Apollodorus for ever approaching Caesar. When Caesar appears before her, not even aware of what he has done, she bitterly accuses him of treating her as a mistress only, cast off in favor of a new mistress–:gold. When Caesar promises that she can be queen or anything she wishes, she tells him to make her a maid again, and then leaves, ignoring his command to stay. When the palace is besieged, Cleopatra is not afraid, and instead heartens her sister by reminding her that they have a royal nature, which cannot be taken from them. At that moment Photinus enters and declares that all his plotting has been to have Cleopatra. She rejects him absolutely, and he then threatens to hand both her and Arsinoe over to his soldiers, but Cleopatra remains unmoved, declaring that she will die as she was born, in command. When Caesar rescues her, Cleopatra regrets that she ever rejected him. As the play ends, Caesar gives Egypt over to her.
II.
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 asps. See CHORUS for more details. (n.b. in the Paul’s version, only Antony and Cleopatra were employed for the chorus, and special dialogue written for that production.)
III.
Having persuaded Caesar to restore her to the Egyptian throne in the anonymous Caesar and Pompey, Cleopatra, a ravishing blonde, then discovers that he has fallen in love with her.
IV.
Cleopatra is the ruler of Egypt and the lover of Antony in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. She personifies
Egyptian values, and is passionate, sensual and changeable. When Antony
announces that he is going to Rome, she is deeply upset and refuses to see him,
but then insists on sending messengers to him daily. When the Messenger brings
word that Antony has married, she beats him, and is only mollified when he
reports that Octavia is brown, short and boring. Antony soon returns to her,
and, according to Caesar, Antony declares himself Emperor of Egypt, causing a
war between Antony and Caesar. Despite Enobarbas' advice, Cleopatra insists on
being part of the battle at sea. This turns out to be a mistake; Cleopatra flees
the battle out of fear, and Antony follows her, leading to defeat. She
apologizes and rouses his spirits, but when he finds her with a messenger of
Caesar's, Antony accuses her of plotting against him. Cleopatra manages to calm
his suspicions, but when the next battle is again lost at sea, he turns against
her completely, viciously accusing her of joining Caesar. Unable to convince
him, Cleopatra locks herself in her monument and sends word that she has died.
This works better than she could have expected, and Antony stabs himself out of
grief. He is brought to her monument, but Cleopatra refuses to come down, for
fear of being taken. Instead, she and her maids haul Antony into the monument,
where he dies. Cleopatra meets with Proculeius, who uses the opportunity to
seize the monument, and to stop her from stabbing herself. Both he and Dolabella
try to convince her that Caesar plans to treat her well, but she is not fooled.
She pretends to submit to Caesar, but then describes to Iras how they will be
paraded through Rome and mocked. She has already arranged for the Clown to bring
her a basket of figs, with asps hidden in them, and when she has the snakes she
has herself dressed in royal robes and then commits suicide by snakebite.
V.
Queen of Egypt, lover of Antonius, heroine of May's Cleopatra. She first appears, as in Shakespeare, conducting a public flirtation with her lover–though the scene is considerably statelier than Shakespeare's. May's Cleopatra not only statelier but much more explicitly calculating. She induces Canidius to persuade Antonius to let her fight with him against Caesar at Actium; her reason, as she explains in a soliloquy, is that she wants to prevent Octavia from reconciling Antonius and Caesar, which would destroy her own
powerful position. She quickly deserts the battle, followed by Antonius, who
thus loses it; wasting no time, she sends a humble message to Caesar, offering
him a store of treasure (kept secret from Antonius) in return for her own
freedom. At the same time, she is secretly experimenting (just in case) with
fast-acting poisons trying out the asp-bite on a prisoner who has been
condemned to death. Her caution is justified: Caesar, an equally devious
character, wants Cleopatra to display in a triumph at Rome. Concealing his true
intentions, he sends her a messenger, Thyreus, who assures her of his
master's love for her. Cleopatra receives Thyreus, twice, with every show of
favor; she indignantly denies this, however, when caught in the act by
Antonius, and he is so besotted that he quickly accepts her denial. As the two
sides prepare for another battle, Cleopatra is in a rather awkward position: she
muses in a soliloquy that, if Antonius wins, he may find out about her dealings
with Caesar, and, if Caesar wins, he may not really love her at all. With this
in mind, she withdraws to her tomb, from which news comes to Antonius–who has
lost the battle–that she is dead. He decides on death, and stabs himself, but
does it so badly that he is still alive when Mardio tells him that
Cleopatra is still alive too. We are told by Epaphroditus that he dies
in her arms, though there is no final scene between them. After Antonius's
death, Cleopatra quickly works out that Caesar is planning no good for her, and
makes the best of the situation by staging a grand self-immolation in the tomb,
preparing herself in robes of state and applying the asp to her breast.
VI.
A "ghost character" in Markham's Herod
and Antipater. Cleopatra is Queen of Egypt. Aristobulus the Elder and
Alexandra have received a letter from Cleopatra urging them to flee Herod and
come to Egypt. Cleopatra's suicide is also mentioned during the course of the
play.
CLEOPES **1632
The actual name of the rival lover, Neander in Hausted’s Rival Friends. This is the name by which Constantina knows and loves him. The rumor is he has been lost in Belgia. In truth, he put on the disguise of Neander in order to woo Pandora, but his sudden friendship for Lucius prevented him pursuing that girl. He is known as Neander throughout most of the play, and the bulk of his actions are described under that listing.
CLEOPHILA**1608
Cleophila and Hero are attendants on Hidaspes in Beaumont & Fletcher's Cupid's Revenge. Cleophila is sent by Hidaspes to send a page to bring the dwarf Zoylus to her. She is appalled by the way that Hidaspes dotes upon him, but realises that this is Cupid's revenge, and begs Venus to persuade her son to be merciful. When Hidaspes lies on her deathbed, dying of grief after the execution of Zoylus, Hero attends to her while Cleophila prays frantically to Cupid. On Hidaspes' death, Cleophila goes to inform Leontius.
CLEOPHILA**1628
Cleophila is the younger daughter of Meleander and sister to the vanished Eroclea in Ford's The Lover's Melancholy. Since her father's banishment and fall into madness, she has been reduced to poverty and to a sad life of nursing her failing parent. She is in love with Amethus, and is beloved of him, but feeling herself both unworthy to marry so great a courtier and unable to leave her ailing father, she refuses his suit. She is one of the ladies coveted by the would-be lover Cuculus, and it is he who brings her the letter in which Thamasta acquaints her with her sister's return. Having received the same news, Corax calls on her to help him to cure her father's madness; together, they give Meleander a cordial to make him sleep, barber and dress him, and then prepare him for the restoration of his fortunes and his daughter. Cleophila is also the agent of reconciliation between Thamasta and Menaphon when Thamasta, chastened by her experience with Parthenophill, comes to apologize to Cleophila for having proudly frowned on her. With the restoration of Eroclea, all the play's characters are reconciled and Prince Palador asks (and receives) Meleander's blessing on the marriage of Cleophila and Amethus.
CLEORA**1623
Cleora, daughter of Archidamus in Massinger's The
Bondman, is pursued by both Leosthenes and Marullo. At first, she seems
interested in Leosthenes, and promises to wear a band around her eyes so that
she remain blind to temptation in his absence. But she quickly fancies Pisander,
whom she intends to marry at the close of the play.
CLEORA**1637
A "ghost character" in Cartwright's The
Lady-Errant. A lady involved in the conspiracy but who does not appear
on stage.
CLEPHIS
Old nobleman, father of Selina, mortal enemy of Antharis in Wilson's The
Swisser. Clephis is an honest statesman and courtier who dares to say
what he thinks, and who cares for the welfare of the state. His daughter Selina
is in love with Alcidonus, the son of his mortal enemy Antharis. Although he does
not like this, he is not opposed to their relationship, because he respects his
daughter's choice. He suspects that Antharis is trying to separate the couple
at all costs and manages to exchange the poison that the two lovers decide to
take for a sleeping drug.
CLEREMOND
Cleremond, a noble, is in love with Leonora in Massinger's The
Parliament of Love. He supposedly slays his best friend in an attempt
to win Leonora's love. At the close of the play, he marries Leonora.
CLEREMONT
See also CLERIMONT and related spellings.
CLEREMONT **1609
Cleremont is one of the noble Gentlemen in the king's court in Beaumont and Fletcher's
Philaster, or Love Lies A-Bleeding.
He is a loyal supporter of Philaster's claim to the throne throughout, and he
sees the would-be heir Pharamond as a typical braggart. He is consistently in
the company of Lord Dion and the gentleman Thrasiline.
CLEREMONT**1619
Dinant's close friend in Fletcher and Massinger's The Little French Lawyer. Cleremont is a merry gentleman whose initial commitment to peaceful solutions to problems turns out to be part of a three-hour penance assigned after his most recent confession. Cleremont helps Dinant confront Lamira, who rejected Dinant's suit, at her wedding to Champernell, and comforts his friend by announcing that marriage is the perfect front for those who want "To play the wanton, without losse of honour." Agreeing to serve as Dinant's second in a duel against Beaupre and Verdoone, Cleremont is shocked when his friend fails to arrive in time to fight. He hastily seeks a replacement, stopping an Old Gentleman who has no sword, two other gentlemen who are on a way to a duel of their own, and finally La-writ, whom Cleremont forces to take part in the fight. La-writ proves a fine fighter, much to his own and Cleremont's amazement, and they defeat Beaupre and Verdoone. Cleremont then stops La-writ and Dinant from fighting, and tries to keep Dinant from keeping an appointment with Lamira. Meeting La-writ, Cleremont accepts the task of delivering the newly fierce lawyer's challenge to the judge Vertaigne even though he fears arrest for doing so. Cleremont gracefully explains that the challenge is from a madman, and Vertaigne decides to send his nephew Sampson in his place, which Cleremont arranges. Dinant asks for Cleremont's help in his assignation with Lamira: Cleremont is to climb in bed with Champernell so that the old man will not suspect that his wife is elsewhere. After many objections, Cleremont agrees to do this; he enters above several times to express his terror that Lamira and Dinant are being too loud, which is part of Lamira's plan, and is later extremely embarrassed to discover that he has, as another part of Lamira's plot, actually been in bed with the 16-year-old Anabell, with whom he promptly falls in love. Cleremont assists with Dinant's counter-revenge, coaches La-writ on his upcoming duel with Sampson, and uses that duel as an excuse to leave the two lawyers in their shirts and steal their swords. Cleremont pretends to come to the rescue of the kidnapped party and pretends to be defeated by the kidnappers. He reminds Anabell that she once had a chance to sleep with him and asks her if she regrets not doing so. After she is threatened with rape by the second gentleman, Cleremont enters in disguise, seizes Anabell, and then reveals himself to her. They kiss and leave the vault, abandoning Lamira who is later rescued by Dinant. Cleremont offers a long, improbable account of the "kidnappers" and how he got free of them. After Champernell discovers that Cleremont and Anabell have had sex, he consents to their marriage.
CLEREMONT**1626
Monsieur Marine's cousin in Fletcher's The Noble Gentleman. Cleremont (also spelled "Cleremon") is referred to as "Cozen" in the speech headings and dramatis personae. He advises Marine not to waste his estate by becoming a courtier. However, he believes the gallants' story that the Gentleman (Godfrey Marine) is to be made a Duke, and resolves to use his family connection to become one as well. He flees with his Wife upon learning that the Duke's title has been rescinded.
CLERGY
I.
Clergye is one of King Johan's three estates in Bale's King
Johan, Part 1. Being accused of having misused England, he swears allegiance
to the King, but he covertly operates in support of the Pope.
II.
One of King Johan's three estates in Bale's King
Johan, Part 2. Clergye is persuaded by Stevyn Langton (who is really Sedicyon
in disguise) to be disloyal to King Johan, who has been excommunicated by the
Pope. After the King's death, listening to Veritas's words, Clergye repents and
is forgiven. He then swears allegiance to Imperyall Majestye, who represents King
Henry VIII, promises to exile Usurpid Power and helps to catch Sedicyon.
CLERIMONT
See also CLEREMONT and related spellings.
CLERIMONT**1609
Clerimont is a gallant, Dauphine's friend in Jonson's Epicoene. At Clerimont's house in London, Clerimont enters followed by his page. Clerimont is getting ready to go to a party, when his friend Truewit enters. While Clerimont and Truewit discuss Morose's noise-hating idiosyncrasy, Dauphine enters and announces that his uncle wants to disinherit him. At Sir John Daw's house, Clerimont enters with Daw, Dauphine, and Epicoene. Truewit enters and the three gentlemen discuss the situation created by Morose's intention to get married. Dauphine explains that he and his friend have been plotting for four months to introduce Epicoene to his uncle, in order to ruin his plans for marriage. When Cutbeard enters announcing that Morose intends to go on with his marriage plans, Dauphine and Epicoene leave with the barber to arrange their imbroglio, while Clerimont exits with Truewit. In a lane near Morose's house, Clerimont enters with Truewit and Dauphine. When Cutbeard announces them that Morose intends to marry Epicoene that day, the gallants decide to bring in a merry party of revelers. Clerimont exits with his friends to Otter's house. Using clever persuasion, the gallants manage to persuade Mistress Otter to relocate her party to Morose's house. Clerimont exits with his friends to make the arrangements. At Morose's house, Clerimont enters with musicians, thus adding to the already existing uproar in the house. When Morose chases the noisy intruders away from his house, Clerimont exits with Truewit. In a long open gallery at Morose's house, Clerimont enters with Truewit. While Clerimont and Dauphine are eavesdropping, Truewit mocks the foolish knights Daw and La-Foole. In another room at Morose's house, Clerimont enters with the foolish knights and then he walks aside and watches the scene in which the collegiate ladies, in turn, are courting Dauphine. When the ladies leave, Truewit enters and the three friends arrange the next plot of disguise. Clerimont witnesses the scene in which the false Lawyer and Divine counsel Morose on the possible grounds for his divorce. Although Clerimont has been instrumental in making La-Foole and Daw testify on Epicoene's infidelity, he is amazed like the others when Morose's presupposed wife is revealed as a boy. Clerimont attends the final revelation and reconciliation scene.
CLERIMONT**1620
A gentleman, friend and confidant to Philocles, conveniently next-door-neighbor to Polymetes in May's The Heir. A witty and occasionally bawdy bachelor, he invites Philocles to see the beautiful Leucothoë, whose recent fame as a rich heiress has interested his friend. Clerimont himself claims to have loved her but mastered his affection since, as a younger brother without a decent jointure, the lady is unobtainable. He first suggests to Philocles that as an heir himself he would be an eligible suitor, but Philocles explains that the long enmity of their fathers prevents such a hope. When Philocles falls in love with her at first sight, Clerimont promises to do all he can to help his friend to meet the lady, advising caution that Philocles impetuously ignores. Clerimont is a happy pragmatist. When his friend throws a love-letter to her out of the window, he reflects that if she hates him on account of their family feud, he hasn't wasted much time, if she is prepared to love him, however, he will have made quick progress. Clerimont next sees the difficulty of subverting Virro's success in courting the lady and suggests that the option of cuckolding him in future can always be relied on. In the meantime, he curses Virro on behalf of his friend. He accompanies Philocles to meet Leucothoë at their appointed elopement and joins with him in fighting the Officers brought along by her father to trap them all. He is arrested but released on Polymetes's decision that he is an unimportant accomplice. He attends Philocles's trial and joins in the general rejoicing at the happy outcome.
CLERIMONT YOUNGLOVE**1638
Clerimont is the youngest son of Sir Oliver Younglove and the brother to Antonio in Baylie's The Wizard. He first appears disguised as a Captain in order to help his friend Sebastian win Caelia. After insulting Sir Oliver's suit, Clerimont is challenged to a duel by Antonio and must reveal himself before blood is drawn. At this point, Clerimont agrees to help Antonio with his suit. Clerimont overhears Penelope complaining about being overshadowed by her sister, and sees Hog and Delia ensnare Shallow. When Caelia declares that she will leave her choice of suitors to a conjurer, Antonio despairs and decides to exile himself, but Clerimont persuades him to disguise himself as an ancient conjurer instead. Clerimont then forces Hog to steal plate and plants it for the Cook to find where the "conjurer" tells him to look. Clerimont continues to help his brother, all the while declaring his immunity to love, a character note that is never explained. When all the deceptions have been revealed, Clerimont apologizes for helping Antonio rather than Sebastian, and is forgiven because he owes more loyalty to his brother than his friend.
CLERK**1586
He accompanies the Judge and the Jailor in the Anonymous Famous Victories of Henry V and reads Cuthbert Cutter's indictment.
CLERK **1594
Clerk of the Venetian Court (also called the Scribe and Register) reads out the charges and sentence at Lelio's trial in the anonymous Knack To Know An Honest Man.
CLERK **1599
The Cleark in (?)Heywood's A Warning For Fair Women tells George Browne to step up to the bar and raise his hand. He then reads the indictment against Browne, giving the location, date, and time of the killing. He asks Browne how he pleads. After Browne is sentenced and led out, the Cleark reads the indictments and asks the pleading of Anne Sanders and Anne Drurie.
CLERK**1601
The Clerke works in Court in the anonymous The Contention Between Liberalitie and Prodigalitie. Following the orders of the Judge, he is in charge of calling the prisoner, and of reading the indictment.
CLERK**1602
The clerk in the anonymous Wily Beguiled is called by Wil Cricket to arrange for his marriage to Pegge. He explains that Sir John (the vicar) won't be able to call the banns at evening service the next Sunday because a band of players will be present and Sir John will not leave their company. The vicar will be working with them to build a stage.
CLERK**1614
Justice Overdo's clerk is a "ghost character" in Jonson's Bartholomew Fair. Trouble-all is so obsessed with Justice Overdo that he tells Cokes he needs a written warrant from Adam Overdo, or from his clerk, in order to be able to guide him home.
CLERK**1615
The Clerk in S.S's Honest Lawyer calls Marion Sorrow (Vaster's wife) to stand forward, and reads the charge of attempting to poison her against Gripe.
CLERK**1618
A parish clerk in Massinger, Middleton and Rowley's The Old Law. He is persuaded by Gnothos to alter Agatha's date of birth in the parish register. The Clerk also makes a list of elderly widows for the servants
of Creon to marry—rich women who are soon to be executed under the Old Law.
CLERK**1620
Spelled "Clarke" in dramatis personae in Fletcher's Women Pleased: an official at Silvio's trial.
CLERK**1626
The clerk aids in the business of all the various trials in the anonymous Dick of Devonshire.
CLERK**1626
One of Bianca's foolish suitors in Fletcher, Ford, Massinger and Webster's The Fair Maid of the Inn. An advocate's clerk who "speaks pure fustian."
CLERK**1629
Clerk to Sir Paul Squelch in Brome's The
Northern Lass. He is alarmed when his usually miserly master gives him
a lot of money and instructs him to organize a dinner party.
CLERK**1634
A "ghost character" in Rutter's The Shepherds' Holiday. Montanus recalls how he "could never find so great a clerk As could tell how t'expound the meaning" of the message inscribed in the circle that hangs around the neck of Thyrsis.
CLERK or CLARK of the ASSIZES
He is called to the court in the Anonymous A
Knacke To Knowe A Knave to tell King Edgar how many people he has in custody
because of Walter. He informs the court that Walter stocks his corn to raise the
prices, or exports it to the enemy, and that he raises the rents of his houses
till people like Piers Ploughman are no longer able to pay them.
CLERK of CHATHAM
When Jack Cade launches his commoners' rebellion in Shakespeare's 2
Henry VI, the Clerk of Chatham is among the first casualties. Cade sentences
him to death by hanging for the crime of doing his job.
CLERK of the CHECK
The Clerk in Mountfort's The Launching of The Mary calls out the names of the workers as they begin their shift. Then he discusses the launching with Naupegus, and hopes that the Queen will come to watch.
CLERK of the CROWN
At the trial in Dekker and Webster's Sir Thomas Wyatt, the unnamed Clark (Clerk) of the Crown reads the indictment against Guildford Dudley and Lady Jane Grey.
CLERK of the PRIVY COUNCIL**1595
Just before the arrival of Sir Thomas Palmer at the Privy Council in Chettle, Dekker and Munday's Sir Thomas More, the Clerk informs the Earl of Surrey that it is past eight-o-clock in the morning.
CLERK of the 'SIZE
The Clerk of the Assizes officiates in the trial of Conscience, Love and Lucre
in Wilson's The Three Ladies of London.
CLERK, PARISH
The Parish Clerk appears in Udall's Ralph Roister Doister when Ralph Roister Doister, having been spurned by Dame Custance, feigns that he is dying of a broken heart. As Matthew Merrygreek engages in a parodic version of the Roman Catholic service for the dead, the Clerk and the musicians ring bells as though the braggart truly is about to die.
CLERMONT D'AMBOIS
Brother of the murdered Bussy D'Ambois, and friend of Guise in Chapman's The Revenge of Bussy D'Ambois. He has sworn to revenge his brother's murder. Guise describes him as noble and valorous, exceeding his brother in all parts.
Indeed, he is so perfect a hero that even those who betray him (like the various
captains) feel guilty about it. He fights fiercely before being captured; his
captivity is short-lived, since Guise persuades the King to release him. He is
in love with the Countess of Cambrai. Despite some qualms about the appropriateness
of revenge, he finally kills Montsurry. Then, upon learning of the death of Guise
at the hands of the King's guards, he asks to be left alone and commits suicide.
CLESIPHON
The younger son of Alcon and Samia in Greene and Lodge's A Looking Glass For London And England, Clesiphon is the first to suffer pangs of hunger after the family cow is taken by the Usurer. His need for food is the occasion of his parents' visit to Radagon at court. When the haughty Radagon turns his back on his family because of their humble birth and refuses to recognize them, Clesiphon remarks that getting a kingdom (as Radagon has from Rasni) can be the cause of losing one's wits.
CLEVELAND, MISTRESS **1605
A "ghost character" in Middleton's Your Five Gallants. One of Tailby's conquests, who sends her Servant to him with a new suit of clothes.
CLIENTS**1619
Three clients are bewildered by La-writ's sudden transformation from lawyer into duelist in Fletcher and Massinger's The Little French Lawyer. They shift their business to Sampson who promises to use his family connections to get their cases heard. After La-writ's beating by Champernell and subsequent reform, two clients become the lawyer's loyal "Mirmidons" and defend La-writ from Sampson's mockery.
CLIENTS**1625
Two Clients of Pettifog, who give him money in order to be mindful of their business
in Webster and Rowley's A Cure for
a Cuckold. Their brief appearance seems intended as a satire on avaricious
lawyers.
CLIFFORD**1632
Sir Robert Clifford was once in league with the pretender in Ford's Perkin
Warbeck. He switches alliance and comes into Henry VII's camp. There he
betrays the spies in Henry's court. They include Henry's best friend, Lord Chamberlain
Stanley. Clifford's information is acted upon, but Clifford is sent to virtual
prison in his own home.
CLIFFORD**1637
Clifford and Percy are the leaders of the English army against Wallace and the rebel Scots in J.W.'s The Valiant Scot. When Wallace maims the English ambassadors, Clifford and Percy decide to lure him into a trap, but their plot is foiled easily because Wallace, in disguise, is present while they discuss this. Clifford has great respect for Wallace, and comes to admire him, longing to slay him nobly in single combat. He encourages Robert Bruce to see that the English sneer at him behind his back, and sends him twelve silver pence and a pair of spurs, to suggest that he is a traitor to his country and ought to flee. He then tells Bruce that he must lead the next attack on the English; Bruce confides in him that he is going to defect, but Clifford makes no promise to keep his secret. At the end of the play, Clifford delivers the final speech, praising Bruce for stabbing Coming so that "the ghost of Wallace shall sleep in peace."
CLIFFORD, LORD
I.
Lord Clifford and the Duke of Buckingham attempt to end Jack Cade's rebellion
in Shakespeare's 2 Henry VI
by promising that Cade's supporters will be pardoned if they relent, but Cade
persuades the rebels that such promises cannot be trusted. When Clifford warns
the rebels that they are making England vulnerable to a French invasion, they
recognize the danger of the rebellion and transfer their allegiance to King Henry.
Clifford dies defending his king against the Yorkist rebels, slain by York himself.
Historically he was Thomas de Clifford, eighth Baron of Westmoreland, and grandson
of Hotspur through his mother.
II.
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's 3
Henry VI. Lord Clifford is described in the opening moments of the play,
bravely dying, sword in hand, at St. Albans–York says in this play that common
soldiers cut him down.
CLIFFORD, YOUNG
I.
When in Shakespeare's 2 Henry VI
his father is slain defending Henry from the Yorkist rebels, Young Clifford tends
to his father's corpse and vows revenge on the House of York. Historically, he
was John de Clifford, ninth Baron of Westmoreland.
II.
The Lord Clifford who appears onstage in Shakespeare's 3
Henry VI is the son of the Lord Clifford who fought on King Henry's side
in 2 Henry VI. Like his father, the Clifford of 3 Henry VI defends
Henry's right to the throne. In fulfillment of his vow to avenge his father's
death on the Duke of York and his progeny, Clifford slays York's youngest son
Rutland. Clifford dies defending the Lancastrian cause, delivering a speech of
some thirty lines after being mortally wounded. When Edward Plantagenet, Richard,
Duke of Gloucester, and Warwick find the body, Warwick suggests that "measure
for measure must be answerèd" and so they should take York's head down from the
gates of York and replace it with Clifford's.
III.
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's Richard
III. A lord who supported Henry VI during the Wars of the Roses. He murdered
York's young son Rutland, brother of Edward IV, Clarence, and Richard III. He
then captured York in battle and killed him. Clifford later died in battle with
the Yorks.
CLIFTON
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's 1
Henry IV, Clifton is a loyalist to whom Prince Henry plans to appeal for
reinforcements at Shrewsbury.
CLIFTON, SIR JARVIS
The local lord of Clifton in Nottinghamshire in Sampson's The Vow-Breaker, his first name is also
spelled "Gervase." Described by Lord Grey as a lamb in peace but a
ravening lion in war, he is an aged yet still flamboyant soldier who
habitually punctuates his speech with the oath, "My holy dame." As the
play begins, he is organizing an expeditionary force to serve the Queen in
the wars against the Scots at Leith, and takes Young Bateman into his
service. Arriving in Scotland, he assures his commander, Lord Grey, that
he will happily fight alongside his five-hundred-and-fifty Nottinghamshire
lads. Having helped to secure the English success on the first day of
battle, he is reluctant to let the gallant Young Bateman return to
Nottinghamshire, but finally accedes to his request and sends him home with
letters. He rallies his men after the attack of the Frenchmen in women's
clothing by taunting Mortigue and declaring that "England's Royal
Bess" surpasses her cousin, Mary Stuart, in beauty and virtue. After the
two fight in single combat, Clifton takes Mortigue prisoner but sets him
free. He holds the "green bulwark" opposite Doysells' position during the
Battle of Leith, and takes Doysells' armour as a prize. He is not pleased
when the fighting at Leith is halted by the message of the peace
commissioners in Edinburgh. Nevertheless, when news of a definitive peace
arrives, he proclaims it to the soldiers and welcomes it. He returns to
Nottingham to greet Queen Elizabeth, who makes him her deputy Lieutenant
and Lord Warden of Nottingham Castle.
CLIM
See also "CLEM."
CLIM–O'–THE–CLOUGH
Only mentioned as an epithet in Jonson's The Alchemist. Clim-o'-the-Clough was the hero of a romantic ballad. Seeing that Subtle pretends to be afraid of revealing his magic art before Dapper, Face wants to reinforce the idea of Dapper's honesty. Since magic practices were against the law, and a clerk had denounced a magician, Subtle pretends to be wary of Dapper. Face recommends Dapper as an honest man, no cheating Clim-o'-the-Clough.
CLINDOR
I.
Clindor is a Captain and friend to Agenor in Carlell's 1 The Passionate Lovers. In Act One, he is depressed because he has wasted a monthly payment with a bawd and he does not know how to recover it now. Clindor asks Lucidor for 20 crowns to pay his debts, and when he refuses him this favor Clindor goes to Senon, who humiliates him. Later, he is asked to meet Prince Agenor at his chamber. Leaving his lord, he goes to court Selina. In Act Three, he comes to Agenor to tell him that his father's army is coming and that they have to defend themselves. When Agenor escapes, Clindor stays and is arrested for helping his friend. Later, in Act Five, he comes to Neustrea as a soldier and Clindor talks to his mates to convince them that they should not surrender to Clarimant, but keep on fighting to have women and money, and be able to humiliate the king. Clindor also thinks that Agenor should be kept alive and be allowed to rule a territory as viceroy.
II.
Clindor is a Captain, friend to Agenor in Carlell's 2 Passionate Lovers. In Act One, talking to one of his soldiers, he is accused of having made himself comfortable in his post at court, what offends him. Clindor challenges the soldier to defend his honor, but he is stopped by Clarimant who administers justice. In Act Two, Clindor is asked for 10 crowns, which he refuses to give to his soldier. Later, he goes to talk to Cleon's sister but her knave forbids him to enter the room, what makes him pay attention to the boy and he discovers that she is a woman. But, he is to keep the secret. In Act Three, he visits Clarimant, whom he is to help to seduce Clorinda. Later, Clindor asks Agenor for 1,000 crowns that he will return him when he conquers a city for him, but he is denied such an order. In Act Four, he comes to Agenor, Austrella and the King to tell them that the princesses have been kidnapped and that Clarimant has been arrested too when he was chasing them. With Agenor, he is to lead the troops that follow the Prince. In Act Five, Clindor arrives to help Clarimant and Clorinda and later he goes with them to celebrate their wedding.
CLINIAS**1603
Clinias is a young man in the anonymous Narcissus. He goes with Dorastus to meet Tyresias, because they want to know their fortune. The Prophet replies that they will die soon. But they misunderstand him, and think the old man meant "dye" instead of "die." Later, Clinias meets Narcissus and, infatuated by the looks of the boy, he praises his beauty and competes with Dorastus for his love. But Narcissus explains that he is also a man, and, therefore, he cannot love them. Clinias insists on it, but he is made to realise that his love is unrequited. Afterwards, while he is seeking Dorastus, he is fooled by Eccho and, believing that Eccho's challenging words were Dorastus', as soon as he faces him, there is a misunderstanding between them, then they fight and kill each other.
CLINIAS**1605
Gentleman Usher to Eudora in Chapman's The
Widow's Tears. Tharsalio dismisses him and puts Argus in his place when
Clinias refuses to announce him to Eudora.
CLINIAS **1632
Tyndarus' real name in Randolph's Jealous Lovers. Demetrius reveals at the wedding near play's end that Tyndarus is Evadne's brother Clinias, and both are Demetrius' children.
CLINTON**1600
Captain Clinton in Haughton's The Devil and his Dame is the friend of the gentlemen Musgrave and Miles Forrest, and the beloved of Mariana, waiting-maid to Honorea, daughter of Morgan Earl of London. Clinton, the first man Belphagor (disguised as Castiliano) meets on earth, introduces him to Earl Morgan but then conspires with Forrest to help Musgrave win Honorea from her other suitors. When the "bed-trick" frustrates their plans, Clinton finds that not only is Honorea married to Earl Lacy after all, but that his own lover, Mariana has been wed to Castiliano. Clinton and Forrest plot with their apothecary friend Ralph Harvey to gain access to the doctor's house and gardens. They intend to use it as a trysting spot for Musgrave and Honorea as well as for Clinton and Mariana. When Castiliano surprises Clinton and Mariana together, they outface him, but later decide that for their love to continue they must do away with him. Mariana sends Clinton off to ambush the doctor and pretends to reconcile with her husband while really plotting to rob and poison him. As Clinton prepares to attack him, Castiliano, already dying of poison and his allowed time on earth expired, is swallowed up by the earth and returns to the safety of Hell.
CLINTON**1609
Clinton and Purser are notorious pirates, proud of their lack of conscience in
Heywood and Rowley's Fortune by Land
and Sea. They attack the Merchant, and capture his ship, but they are
then attacked and captured by Young Forrest. As they are led away to execution,
they lament their misfortune, but also take pleasure in the memory of their misdeeds.
CLINTON**1632
A young man in Tatham's Love Crowns the End. Hiding in a grove and groaning with a nightmare when the play opens, Clinton is awakened by Alexis to whom he confesses to having murdered his beloved Florida in a jealous rage. Urged by Alexis to do holy works in contrition, Clinton assumes the life of a hermit, bearded and with an aged appearance. In this role he encounters Gloriana grieving the death of Lysander and tries to console her. In the final scene he rejoices that a "celestial matron" had restored Florida's life, and as the play closes it appears that Clinton and Florida will marry.
CLINTON, LORD**1602
Lord Clinton, and his friend Lord Chester, are jealous of the Marshall's ascendance in the King's affections in Heywood's Royal King. They plot to undermine him by suggesting to the King that the Marshall's loyalty is insincere. The King believes them, and orders the Marshall to give up his ceremonial key to Chester. For a while, Clinton and Chester are happy, but when the Marshall is eventually restored to the King's affections, the two lords begin plotting again. Luckily for them, the King is angered when the Marshall returns a dowry, and they work hard to keep him angry. The King sentences the Marshall to death. But the Marshall is saved when Isabella, Katherine, thee Prince, and the Princess save him by begging the King to remember his familial ties. The King realizes his folly and denounces Chester as a traitor instead.
CLINTON, LORD**1624
Clinton, along with Lord Hunsdon and the Lord Admiral, greets the Duchess, Bertie, Sands, Cranwell, and Foxe as they return to London from Europe after Queen Elizabeth comes to the throne in Drue's The Duchess of Suffolk.
CLIO
I.
Clio is the Muse of History in Wilson's The
Cobbler's Prophecy. She is idle because nothing memorable can happen during
peacetime.
II.
"A Muse" and one of Museus's assistants in Hawkins's Apollo Shroving. Clio appears only at the play's end. She attends the sentencing of disobedient characters and responds to a comment made by Siren. Museus claims that her help is not needed in the search of Siren's person which is "onely of her upper garment," and Clio closes the play (along with Euterpe) when she states, "It joyes my heart, that we poore Muses, / Now have redresse of our abuses."
CLIP–LATIN, MASTER **1627
A poor curate in Randolph's Plutophthalmia. Stiff calls him their "ficar" (vicar). In growing rich, he will not need Latin or Greek, and he preaches only by the Book of Common Prayer and rejects speaking ex tempore. He is "for the king and the Prayer-Book."
CLITOPHON**1622
Son of the Caliph of Babylon in the anonymous Two Noble Ladies and the Converted Conjurer. He intercedes when he finds Miranda protecting Justina from the Babylonian Soldiers who are threatening her and subsequently falls in love with Justina. He refuses to help his father fight the Egyptians until he is permitted to marry her. Having been granted permission, he fights valiantly against the Egyptians, but when the Caliph reveals that has had Justina drowned, Clitophon releases the captured Soldan of Egypt and leaves Babylon with an army. But he then regrets his actions, and joins with the Romans against the Soldan. After the Romans subdue the rival armies, Clitophon is reunited with Justina. The Caliph permits him to marry her, but she decides to remain a virgin; Clitophon is not displeased, and is so moved by her faith that he converts to Christianity.
CLITOPHON**1638
An 'inconstant shepherd', which in practice means an incorrigible flirt and occasionally spiteful misogynist in Glapthorne's Argalus and Parthenia. Seen with his fellows Alexis and Strephon and in the company of the nymphs Aminta and Florida and the shepherdess Sapho. His first attempt to flirt with Aminta leaves her sceptical and scornful. His second attempt fares no better, giving Strephon the hope that she might prefer himself. Next he tries to flirt with Florida, who also snubs him. He persists in denouncing women generally, even when Alexis confides that he has fallen in love for real. After Strephon's latest verses in dispraise of women, he offers to cap them with his own, going further 'in hatred of them'. In their next scene, his companions, male and female, unite against his offensive misogyny. His latest verses have gone too far and they nag him into a semblance of remorse. In a brief scene after their pastoral performance for the wedding of Argalus and Parthenia, he is still grovelling to Sapho for his earlier behavior. He expresses his melancholy, to be fated to love all women indiscriminately. Strephon counters with vanity, feeling his fate is to be loved by all women irresistibly. Clitophon finally tries to flirt with Sapho, who also rejects him as too fickle to be taken seriously. He is matched with Sapho in a lovers' dance but does not reappear to make clear whether the match is permanent, or mutually desired.
CLITUS **1599
Clitus is Brutus' servant in Shakespeare's Julius
Caesar. He reports that Statilius is missing after a signal torchlight
is waved, and he refuses his master's request to assist in Brutus' suicide when
the battle seems lost.
CLITUS**1604
Clitus is a lord at the court of Alexander in Daniel's Philotas. He confers with Craterus and Ephestion about the threat which they feel Philotas poses to Alexander, and worry that Alexander is underestimating him.
CLITUS **1635
A “ghost character" in Killigrew’s The Conspiracy. When Timeus finds the body of his slain father he calls for support from Clitus, Charisius, Erastus, and Amathes but none are at hand.
CLO:
This fragment begins at the end of a first scene of Wilson’s The Corporal wherein both a Clo: and Rod: address some ‘choice gentlemen’ saying that ‘we’ are your humble servants. When asked if he likes the plan Erf: is hatching as go-between for Theo:, Clo: comments that it is an old trick that he has seen before.
CLOAKED COLLUSION or "CLOKYD COLUSYON"
A court vice in Skelton's Magnyfycence.
One of the evil counselors who mislead Magnyfycence and bring him to ruin and
despair.
CLOANTHUS
Trojan lord who lands in Carthage with others (Ilioneus, Sergestus) and is reunited
with Aeneas in II.i of Marlowe's Dido,
Queen of Carthage.
CLOCQ, LEONART
A "ghost character" in Mountfort's The Launching of The Mary. One of the underlings of Harman van Speult, listed by Sheathing-Nail.
CLOD
Clod is a countryman and an aging suitor of Lady Riches in Shirley's Contention for Honor and Riches. He claims to love Riches deeply, and he argues with Gettings over who loves Riches the most and deserves her best. He challenges Gettings, but the arrival of Foul-Weather-in-Harvest ruins Clod's appetite for fighting.
CLODIMIR
A "ghost character" in Hemming's Fatal Contract. Fredigond's late brother, dead before the play begins. His murder by Crotilda's family, in mistaken revenge for her rape by Clotair, provokes the Queen's vendetta against the whole family before and throughout the play.
CLODIO **1602
‘A puisne gentleman, a younger brother, an Italian’ in Percy’s A Country Tragedy in Vacunium. He seeks to know whom Florimel affects and so enlists Sir Jeptes’s aid. He eavesdrops on a conversation between Florimel and Rhodaghond but, not learning who her lover is, tricks Florimel when she is alone by ‘hoodwinking’ her with his hands from behind. When she believes him to be Amadour, he slips away unseen with the knowledge. He has Jeptes make up a poison for Amadour and carries it away, vowing to kill his rival. He comes upon Amadour at the secret nuptial spot in Amadour’s garden, pretending friendship and claiming to have been long away in Padua. He gives Amadour a citron (lemon) ‘in friendship’ but makes a secret, disparaging gesture as he leaves that only the audience sees. He comes to the wedding party just in time to see that Florimel is poisoned and have Amadour run him through—mid-sentence—with a rapier. He dies without a word more.
CLODIO**1620
Tyrannical and lecherous Count of the unknown 'country' of the title in Fletcher and Massinger's Custom of the Country. It may be an Italian city-state distant from Rome (birthplace of our two heroes, Arnoldo and Rutillio) or anywhere else in the Mediterranean a long sea-voyage from Lisbon. Clodio's ruthless determination to indulge his libido in upholding the traditional droit de seigneur over new brides in his domain precipitates the armed defiance and subsequent flight of the newly-married Zenocia and Arnoldo from the threat of his unacceptable attentions. His tyranny had already appeared in compelling the bride's father, Charino, to attempt to woo for him instead, and in gloating over the prospect of ravishing Zenocia despite her revulsion and contempt. With threats of violence against Charino, his hostage, he pursues the refugees as far as Lisbon. A long and stormy voyage has given him time to repent of his tyranny and lust: he now vows to pursue Zenocia fairly as a prospective suitor. His political influence as an ally of Portugal allows him to monitor the adventures of the unhappy couple, in disguise. Part of the Governor's party who liberate Zenocia from slavery (and rescue her from strangulation), he does not immediately dispel her fears by insisting on his reformed character. Zenocia's later suffering and likely death from Hippolyta's black magic provokes a more outspoken show of his repentance, pity and admiration for the true devotion of the afflicted lovers. He vows to abolish the cruel custom of his country hereafter, continues to show princely mercy by interceding for the life of Rutillio, and continues to think of Zenocia as a sister, when the cruel spell is revoked and all ends happily.
CLODIUS, MARCUS
Marcus Clodius is a conniving devil closely associated with Appius in John Webster's
Appius and Virginia. It is
Clodius who suggests to Appius that the best way to obtain Virginia as wife is
to withhold supplies from her father, Virginius, and his Roman troops. When that
scheme fails, Clodius first tries wooing Virginia with letters signed by Appius.
He then arranges for false testimony to demonstrate that Virginia is a bondwoman
and not freeborn. Tried before Appius, Virginia asks her father to kill her rather
than allow her to live disgraced. Virginius complies. Clodius is finally imprisoned
for his treachery when Virginius and his army march upon Rome. Clodius attempts
to exculpate himself by arguing that he had only acted under orders. He is offered
the chance to commit an honorable suicide; when he refuses, he is sent to die
by hanging.
CLODPOLE **1627
A rustic swain in Randolph's Plutophthalmia. One of Chremylus' honest neighbors. When Carion tells him that Plutus will make him rich, he dreams of throwing away his leather slops and pitchfork. He later delights in seeing parson Dicæus defeat Penia-Penniless in a disputation over the superiority of wealth over poverty.
CLOË
See also CHLOË.
CLOË**1608
Cloë is a shepherdess in Fletcher's The
Faithful Shepherdess. Desperate to lose her virginity, she first woos
Thenot, who rejects her because he is in love with Clorin, then Daphnis, and then
Alexis. She agrees to meet both Daphnis and Alexis in the wood. Rejecting Daphnis
as being too cold, she rids herself of him by telling him that they should meditate
apart and meet later in a hollow oak. She then pursues Alexis, who returns her
fervor. Before they can consummate their attraction, however, the Sullen Shepherd
sets them upon and wounds Alexis. Resigned, Cloë keeps her appointment with Daphnis
in the hollow tree, where the Satyr finds them. Cloë at first fails Clorin's chastity
test, and her presence reopens Alexis' wounds and prevents his healing until the
Satyr removes her. She repents and passes the test before returning to the village
with the other shepherds.
CLOË**1617
The cast off mistress of the soldier Siphax in Fletcher's The Mad Lover. Cloë follows him to Paphos where Chilax arranges for her to impersonate the princess Calis. Believing his sister Cleanthe has devised a plan allowing him to win the hand of the princess, Siphax is tricked instead into marrying the disguised Cloë.
CLOË**1619
A "ghost character" in Fletcher's The Humorous Lieutenant. Cloe is one of the young women pursued by the bawd Leucippe for the pleasure of the King.
CLOË**1632
A shepherdess in Tatham's Love Crowns the End. Pursued by the Lustful Shepherd, shepherdess Cloë calls for help, and Lysander rescues her by chasing the Lustful Shepherd away. Smitten by his heroism, Cloë asks Lysander to take her. She cannot understand why Lysander rejects her because the other shepherds always chase her, but she offers to be his servant and cook. Singing a love song, Cloë runs into the woods where she encounters Daphnes who greets her as his love. She rejects Daphnes and runs off to sing more about her love. The Nymphs appear and carry Cloë off to Florida's dwelling where they all work to make Lysander well. Reunited with Daphnes, the two appear headed for marriage as the play closes.
CLOË**1637
A "ghost character" in Cartwright's The
Lady-Errant. A lady involved in the conspiracy but who never appears on stage.
CLOG
Only mentioned in Jonson's Every Man out of His Humour. When Sogliardo praises his excellent friendship to Shift before Puntavorlo and his company, Puntavorlo notices that Shift is a rascal. Sogliardo introduces his friend as Cavalier Shift, and Puntavorlo makes the connection with a famous thief executed for robbery. He asks Shift if he knows Signior Clog, who was hanged for robbery at Harrow on the hill. Proud of his new friend's astuteness, Sogliardo responds that not only did Shift know the famous thief but also he gave Clog all the directions for action.
CLOIS HOFFMAN
Hoffman begins Chettle's Hoffman vowing revenge for his father's (Hance Hoffman's) death. The Senior Hoffman was arrested, tortured and executed for piracy. Hoffman too was arrested but was released after Otho's mother, Martha, pleaded on his behalf. Hoffman has stolen his father's corpse and keeps it hanging in plain view to remind him of the outrages done to his family. His son swears that after killing his enemies, he will join his father in paradise. He enlists Lorrique, who serves young Leningberg, also known as Otho. Lorrique and Hoffman inspire each other to greater villainies. Hoffman kills Otho by having a red-hot crown placed on his head. Soon after, disguised as the monk Rodorick, Hoffman convinces Lodowick that Ferdinand wants him dead and then provides a Greek disguise for him. Now adopting the identity of the murdered Otho, he tells Mathias, Lodowick's brother, that Lucybel has run off with a Greek lover. Mathias hunts them down and stabs them both. Lodowick's wound is fatal. Once Mathias realizes he has killed his brother, he blames Otho (really the disguised Hoffman), but Otho/Hoffman blames Rodorick. Lucybel, bleeding but alive, corroborates that it was a Monk who gave Lodowick the Greek disguise and told them to run away. Thus, Mathias believes, at least for a short time, Otho/Hoffman. Hoffman then plans to kill Otho's mother, the newly arrived and blameless Martha, but is unable to do so. Instead, he confesses to her that he killed Otho but has hidden the fact from the world because he knew it would upset her. Amazingly, she agrees to play along, essentially adopting Hoffman as the new Otho. He then decides that he wants to rape her and plans with Lorrique for opportunity to do so. Afraid that Lorrique will expose him, Hoffman stabs his companion, but the wound, while fatal, is not immediate. Lorrique then exposes Hoffman, who remains unrepentant for his crimes.
CLORA
Franck's friend in Fletcher's The
Captain. Clora discovers that Franck is in love with a soldier. She and
Franck later make music at an upstairs window below which Jacamo, Frederick, and
Clora's brother, Fabritio, stand. When Clora and Franck see the men, Clora insults
Jacamo while Franck defends him. Thus, she is sure that Jacamo is the particular
soldier Franck loves. When she first meets Jacamo, Clora is polite, but as soon
as Jacamo is rude, Clora replies spiritedly, mocking him and substantiating Jacamo's
opinion of women. When Jacamo arrives drunk and declares his intention of kissing
all of the women, Clora objects when it is her turn, afraid that he will bite
her, but he kisses her. Clora, Franck, and Frederick all laugh at Jacamo when
he mistakes Frederick for a woman and kisses him. After Jacamo draws his sword
and attacks Frederick, who falls, Clora calls for officers and tells Fabritio
that Jacamo should be hanged. Clora is slower to forgive Jacamo than Franck when
they discover that Frederick is not really dead. The following morning when Jacamo
will not enter the house, Clora suggests dumping a bucket of urine on Jacamo's
head in order to draw him inside. Although the attempt is unsuccessful, Jacamo
ultimately does enter. Clora, along with Frederick and the Maid, helps hold Jacamo
in a chair while Franck declares her love. She confirms to Jacamo that Franck
has wasted many nights' sleep for him, then is chagrined when Franck reveals that
Clora herself has spent many nights weeping for and writing to Julio. When Franck
and Jacamo prepare to leave to be married, Clora wishes that she might marry Julio,
a wish that comes true at the church. She joins in the nuptial festivities afterward.
CLORIN
Clorin is a shepherdess in Fletcher's The
Faithful Shepherdess. She vows to remain forever chaste for the sake of
her dead lover and also to stay by his grave practicing herbal healing magic.
Her virginity sustains her magic and gives her power over the Satyr. She is wooed
by Thenot but rejects him. Seeing that her attraction to him lies in the fact
that she is unattainable, Clorin cures Thenot's love for her by pretending to
seduce him. She heals Alexis and Amoret and brings Cloë to repentance. Perigot
seeks her out in order to purge his guilt and is reunited with Amoret. Clorin
tests the chastity of the Priest of Pan. She advises him on how best to regulate
the behavior of the shepherds and shepherdesses. She remains in her bower in the
wood when the other characters return to the village, and the Satyr vows to patrol
the woods on her behalf.
CLORINDA
I.
Clorinda is the King of Burgony's niece in Carlell's 1 The Passionate Lovers. She is thought to be courted by Clarimant to win royal support as her ancestors legally claimed the throne of Burgony. However, she loves Agenor. But, for the moment, she has to hide her feelings. In Act Two, she receives the visit of Cleon asking her for help to conquer the heart of a lady, and she promises to do it. Later, she receives Agenor's picture, which makes Clarimant long for her love. Seeing how her rejection affects the prince, she promises him to be his friend but not his lover. However, when she finds out that Clarimant is leading an army against Agenor, Clorinda does not want to hear about Clarimant any more. She decides to disguise herself as a man to seek for Agenor. But, before that, she writes a letter to Clarimant through Selina showing her hatred. Later, in Act Four, she comes to Neustrea with Cleon, where she finds out his secret intentions. Nevertheless, she rejects him again, what puts her honesty at risk. Being dishonored, she is saved by Agenor who helps her by letting her come with him, disguised as his brother.
II.
Clorinda is the King of Burgony's niece in Carlell's 2 Passionate Lovers. Having come to Neustrea, she takes the disguise of Agenor's brother and serves Austrella as her page. She is discovered in Act Two when she has to fight the Prince of Aquitain, who has humiliated Olinda. In Act Three, she comes to see Clarimant and she is asked by Austrella to take care of the prince as she is the medicine that he needs to be cured, but she is too miserable and she begs Clarimant to forget her. If not, she will have to leave the court as she will always love Agenor, although he does not feel the same for her. Later, Clorinda is suggested visiting the druid and she thinks that it is a good idea as she will know what to do from now on. She will see him in the morning and there she is kidnapped with Olinda and Clarimant. On board, Clorinda visits Clarimant, who has been tied up, and asks him to calm down because he can only make things worse. They are to be friends and nothing else. Therefore, when Cleander and the Prince come to throw him overboard, she convinces the kidnappers that Clarimant is more helpful alive than dead. She also shows the Prince that after signing the peace he would be able to marry anybody, what helps her to attract his attention. In Act Five, knowing that she already controls the Prince, Clorinda goes to Cleander asking him to free Clarimant and Olinda as that will facilitate his pardon. She also begs him not to reveal her true intentions, which are to take revenge on the Prince. Later, having made the Prince arrest Cleander, she realizes that now she has to repay his support and she deplores having to sleep with the Prince to save her friends. She is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea when she has to choose between the Prince and Clarimant. However, she is lucky as somebody sets fire to the boat and they have to abandon it. She leaves the boat with the Prince, whom she convinces to free his hostages. Coming ashore with all the crew, she is questioned again and this time she decides to face the Prince together with Clarimant, to whom she gives herself. At that moment, Agenor and Clindor arrive to save them and they go to celebrate their marriage.
CLORINDA'S ANCESTORS
"Ghost characters" in Carlell's 1 The Passionate Lovers. They are used as a claim to the right to the throne of Burgony.
CLORIS**1603
Clois, also spelled Cloris, is a nymph in the anonymous Narcissus. She praises Narcissus's beauty as she converses with Florida. Then, when she meets him, she woos him, and declares her faithful love to him. But she is turned down by Narcissus, and decides to go and die of love with her friend Florida, whose love for Narcissus is also unrequited. According to Greek mythology, Cloris is the goddess of flowers.
CLORIS**1605
Cloris is the daughter of Acrysius in Daniel's The Queen's Arcadia. She is loved by Amyntas and
Carinus. Silvia discusses her disappointment in Palaemon with Cloris, telling her to be warned by her example. Techne teases Cloris about the quarrelling of Amyntas and Carinus; Cloris, thinking of Silvia's experiences, says that she will not be moved by either wooer, even though she had been inclined to favor Amyntas. She thinks that Carinus should pay attention to Amarillis. Techne tries to win Cloris' affections for the seducer Colax, but Cloris maintains that she intends to remain chaste. Techne informs Colax that she has arranged meet Cloris at Erycinas Grove to fit her with new clothes, and that this will give him an opportunity to work on her; she doubts, however, that Colax will succeed with Cloris. Techne attempts to destroy Amyntas' faith in Cloris by telling him to go to Erycinas Grove. After Cloris returns from the Grove she converses with Dorinda and Amarillis and explains how she was betrayed by Techne and how she rejected Colax's advances. They discuss their dreams. Cloris dreamed that "the fairest of Montanus" lambs"–Amyntas–was chased by a "cruel cur" from which she eventually rescued him. They are joined by Techne, who tries to persuade Cloris to come with her to save Amyntas. Although she is suspicious of Techne and still resistant to Amyntas' attentions, Cloris sees that this may be the fulfillment of her dream about the lost sheep and agrees to help. Mirtillus later describes how they found Amyntas, and the arrival of Cloris, how they saw her love for Amyntas manifest itself in her face, and how she held him in her arms. Amyntas is healed by Urania, and Cloris brings him to the shepherds' assembly, where she reunites him with Montanus. Montanus and Acrysias welcome the betrothal of their children.
CLORIS**1611
Cloris is a nymph and serves as Venus's handmaid in Heywood's Brazen Age. Her job is to set the bed for Venus's affairs. Vulcan is able to set a trap for Venus and Mars by tracking Cloris.
CLORIS**1614
The shepherdess Cloris employs Clorindo, the disguised Silvia, to tend her sheep in Daniel's Hymen's Triumph. She also sends Clorindo as her emissary to Thyrsis, with whom she is hopelessly in love. She alone recognizes that Clorindo looks remarkably like Thyrsis' lost love, Silvia. After learning that Silvia and Thyrsis are to be married, she agrees that all has happened for the best.
CLORIS**1630
An attractive noblewoman in Wilson's The Inconstant Lady. Cloris is locked in her room by her sister, Emilia, who is jealous of her beauty. When Emilia abandons Aramant for Millecert, Cloris takes pity on Aramant and her pity grows into love. When Lavia frees her from confinement, Cloris seeks out Aramant in the forest, disarms him with her words and beauty, and sings him to sleep. The Duke of Burgundy, out hunting, happens upon the couple and is stricken by Cloris' beauty and noble behavior. Desirous of making her his duchess, the Duke orders Cloris to the palace where he confines her and begins to woo her. She diplomatically tries to talk him out of loving her, but his goodness and virtue make her love and admire him. Endeavoring to block this marriage, jealous Emilia confides to Gratus that Cloris is not her biological sister but rather an adoptee of unknown parentage and therefore unworthy of the Duke. Gratus helps Cloris escape the palace in Aramant's care, telling the Duke that she has died of poisoning. In the final scene Gratus reveals that Cloris is really Bellaura, the Duke's own daughter and heir, a startling revelation not only to the Duke, but also to Aramant, Emilia, and Cloris herself. Cloris persuades her newly found father to allow her to marry Aramant.
CLORIS**1640
Only mentioned in the anonymous Ghost. Engin mentions Cloris when he explains to Pinnario, Procus and Valerio that they will know Aurelia is in the cave if they hear her sing the melody "Come Cloris hie we to the Bower". Later, Erotia, disguised as Aurelia, will utter that name and sing the melody in the cave, as a trick is being played on Philarchus. That line is included in Wits Interpreter (1655), but it is probably earlier.
CLOSE
Close is a servant to Hartwell in Shirley's Constant Maid. He stays with his master when Hartwell's financial problems force him to release all of his servants. Because he remains loyal and on the scene, Close is able to discover how Frances' nurse plans to sneak Startup into Frances' chamber; Close thus helps to foil the plot to compromise Frances in that fashion.
CLOSET
Closet is an old crone, nurse-keeper to Lady Thrivewell in Brome's A Mad Couple. She has brought up Lady Thrivewell, who is a young sweet lady. She wants her to have an heir to die in piece after having done her job, and therefore she makes a broth for Sir Thrivewell as a stimulant. In Act Two, she takes a letter from her lady to Carelesse.
CLOTAIR
Son and heir of Childerick and Fredigond, brother of Clovis in Hemming's Fatal Contract. He raped Crotilda before the play begins; his uncle was wrongly suspected of the crime and killed by Crotilda's kin. This murder has provoked Fredigond's vendetta against the entire family. Clotair becomes king after his mother poisons his father. He lusts after his brother's fiancée, Aphelia, and attempts to rape her. His brother intervenes and is apparently killed when they fight. Clotair is told by Castrato of his mother's adultery with Landrey and tries to catch them in flagrante delicto. He is fooled by Landrey's disguise as his brother's ghost and, in guilty fear, decides to sacrifice Aphelia on his brother's tomb. He then chooses to marry her instead, outraging Clovis and provoking his revenge for Aphelia's (unwilling) betrayal of their vows. Clovis fakes proof of Aphelia's infidelity with Landrey, and Clotair is fooled into homicidal jealousy. He considers murdering her on their wedding night–she flees but he re-captures her and tortures her to death. He orders Castrato to kill him when his brother's revolution appears on the point of success. Castrato (actually Crotilda in disguise) forces Clotair to kill 'him' with the revelation of Castrato's part in the deaths of Clotair's father and mother. "Castrato's" revelation that she is Crotilda in disguise awakes his repentance. Dying, he is reconciled to both his moribund victims and tries to make amends by awarding honors to their surviving brothers.
CLOTE, CHRISTOPHER
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.
CLOTEN
Cloten is the Queen's son, Cymbeline's stepson and stepbrother to Imogen in Shakespeare's
Cymbeline. The Queen's plan
to garner power by marrying Cloten to Imogen is foiled by Imogen's unsanctioned
marriage to Posthumous Leonatus. After Imogen disappears from court, Pisanio sends
Cloten on a wild goose chase to Milton Haven to find her. Cloten decides to wear
some of Posthumous Leonatus' clothes, but when he is beheaded by Guiderius and
Imogen wakes up next to him she mistakes him for her husband.
CLOTHERIUS
Only mentioned in Shakespeare's Henry
VIII. Clotherius was a seventh century Frankish king mentioned in passing
by Lord Chamberlain.
CLOTHIERS, FOUR
‘Ghost characters’ in (?)Speed’s The Converted Robber. The hue and cry is up for Alcinous, Autolius, and Conto for their robbery of four clothiers. This is the reason they have gone onto Salisbury Plain, here they mean to rob shepherds and ‘sport’ with shepherdesses.
CLOTHO
Clotho, with her fellow Fates Lachesis and Atrops, pays homage to Queen Elizabeth
when the golden apple is offered to the monarch at the end of the play by tendering
the distaff upon which is wound the thread of life in Peele's The
Arraignment of Paris.
CLOTPOLL, MUN
A simple gull in Brome's The Weeding
of Covent Garden, desirous to join the swaggering ranks of the Philoblathici,
the fraternity of the Blade and Baton.
CLOTYN
Duke of Cornwall in Sackville and Norton's Gorboduc.
He is incensed against the tyrants who have committed or attempted fratricide
(Ferrex and Porrex(q.q.v.)) and murder (Videna). Still, he is shocked that the
people have arisen and killed the "guiltless king" and the queen. He helps to
put down the rebellion, but must then take arms against Fergus, Duke of Albany,
who means to take over the kingdom.
CLOUT
Clout is one of Sir Oliver Owlet's Men in Marston's Histrio-Mastix.
CLOVE
Clove is a city-born con man, the inseparable twin of foppery to Orange in Jonson's Every Man out of His Humour. Cordatus says that Clove and Orange are not within the scope of this play, but he gives a brief characterization of the two. Cordatus says that Clove is a youth who would spend a whole afternoon in a bookseller's shop, reading Greek, Italian, and Spanish when he does not understand a word of these languages. At St. Paul's in London, Clove enters closely after Orange, greeting their common acquaintance, Shift. Clove knows Shift by a different name than his friend does, and it seems he attended wild parties with Shift as Master Apple-John and some wenches. When Puntavorlo and Carlo Buffone enter, Clove and Orange witness the conversation between the two. They are also present at the discussion between Fastidious Brisk, Deliro, and Macilente. When he sees them eavesdropping, Macilente describes Clove and Orange as a couple of fine tame parrots. Clove wants to show off in front of these gentlemen and tells Orange to pretend they are two learned scholars. Clove embarks in a one-sided conversation scattered with incongruous references to classical and contemporary philosophy, punctuated by Orange's brief commendatory statements, which are part of his linguistic idiosyncrasy. Clove and Orange join the group of Deliro and Macilente. When Deliro exits with Macilente, disgusted at the spectacle of Shift brandishing his sword, Clove and Orange call Shift aside, asking him about his dispute with the gentlemen. Clove and Orange greet Shift by his two different names, which allows Carlo Buffone to deduce Shift's double impersonation. Clove exits with Orange.
CLOVIS
Younger son of Childerick and Fredigond, Clotair's relatively virtuous and heroic brother in Hemming's Fatal Contract. His secret betrothal to Aphelia is the 'Fatal Contract' of the play's title. In the chaos following his father's murder, he rushes to rescue Aphelia from his brother's attempt to rape her. They fight and he is presumed killed. He is secretly cured by Lamot and attends his own funeral in order to save Aphelia, doomed to be sacrificed on his tomb. When Clotair decides to marry her instead, he reveals himself but is powerless to prevent the marriage. In revenge for her (unwilling) betrayal of their vows, he slanders her with faked proofs of her infidelity with Landrey to provoke his brother to jealousy. Acting on information from Castrato, he captures his mother with Landrey in flagrante delicto. He confronts her, disguised as his father's ghost, to shame her into a confession of adultery, but in addition shocks her into confessing to his father's murder–he also hears her confession to his own supposed murder. He leaves the lovers in Castrato's keeping and joins the revolutionary army against his brother. He becomes its victorious leader, and finally, King.
CLOWN**1578
A poor man of Julio in Whetstone's 2 Promos and Cassandra. He approaches the King with a grievance at the end of
public court, and the King refers him to Ulrico. He sings a song
praising King Corvinus for defending his poor subjects.
CLOWN**1588
The Clown is a servant of Anthony in Lodge's The Wounds of Civil War during the time that Anthony is in hiding from Marius. The Clown is drunk and, while he will not directly tell Marius' soldiers where
Anthony is, does not stop them from following him while he sings about how he won't reveal Anthony to them. He ends up pointing out the farmhouse where Anthony is in fact hiding, while claiming that Anthony is not there. When Anthony enters, having become worried at his long absence, the Clown tries to warn him to fly, and then curses wine. Although there is no separate exit for the Clown, he announces that he is leaving, and it seems most likely that he would depart before the scene turns serious and Anthony attempts to save his life through rhetoric that almost succeeds.
CLOWN**1590
An alternative designation for Mouse in the Anonymous Mucedorus, a rustic who is the clown of the play.
CLOWN**1590
The Clown is an indentured servant or apprentice to the Smith in Greene and Lodge's A Looking Glass For London And England. Called Adam by the Smith and his wife, the Clown is much given to disorderly behavior. Early in the play, he leads his group of friends in a night of drunken revelry that ends with the stabbing death of the First Ruffian (Peter). He later seduces the Smith's Wife, and when the Smith discovers them together, the Clown beats him until he agrees to become a willing cuckold. After his encounter with the Man in Devil's Attire, the Clown wins some favor (and many rounds of drinks) at court by retelling how he handled that attempt to play a practical joke on him. Unable or unwilling to participate in the movement towards repentance that sweeps through Nineveh, he violates Rasni's orders that everyone fast, and instead he hides food and drink in his clothing. His violation of the king's command is discovered by the two Searchers just five days before the end of the fasting period, and he is taken off by the officials, presumably to be hanged.
CLOWN **1592
The Clown in Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, whose real name is Robin, cares for horses at a hostelry and banters about drink, women, and magic with Dick, Rafe, and other illiterates. After Wagner forces the Clown into his service by calling upon devils, in the B-text only the Clown steals one of Faustus' conjuring books to gain his own servant, Dick, the hostler. They try unsuccessfully to use magic to steal a goblet from the Vinter and obtain beer from the Duke. To dampen his foolery, Mephostophilis at one point puts a squib on his back and then turns him into an ape.
CLOWN**1594
The clown in Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus is paid by Titus to deliver a gift of pigeons and a message wrapped around a dagger to Saturninus. Saturninus orders that the Clown be killed when he receives the gift.
CLOWN**1595
The character identified as Clown in some of the speech headings is Ralph Betts in Chettle, Dekker and Munday's Sir Thomas More.
CLOWN**1598
The Clown is one of the actors in the frame story of (?Chettle and) Munday's Downfall
of Robert Earl of Huntington, and the only one who speaks with Skelton.
He plays Much. (See "MUCH").
CLOWN**1599
Appearing briefly near the play's conclusion at Parnassus in the anonymous Pilgrimage To Parnassus, the Clown is drawn onstage by Dromo, who has tied a rope around him. Dromo tells the Clown that all plays require a clown and instructs him to "drawe thy mouth awrye, laye thy legg ouer thy staffe, sawe a peece of cheese asunder with thy dagger, lape vp drinke on the earth," and the audience will laugh. When Dromo leaves him on stage alone, the Clown delivers a mock soliloquy lamenting his pain from the "great pinne" that "Cupid hath latelie prickt mee in the breech with." Dromo ushers the Clown from the stage when Philomusus and Studiosus arrive at Parnassus.
CLOWN**1599
The play's clown character is a shepherd, the brother of Serena and son of Antimon
in [?]W. Rowley's The Thracian Wonder. The Clown wears ribbons at the shepherds' festival, and the mad Palemon mistakes
him for Serena, so the Clown ends up dancing a 'mad dance' with him. He tricks
old Antimon out of some of his rich clothes (by making him fear that all the girls
will chase him). In the war against Pheander, Antimon and the Clown are sent as
the shepherd's herald, and the Clown looks after Palemon during the battle.
CLOWN**1599
An alternative designation for Touchstone in Shakespeare's As You Like It.
CLOWN**1600
One of the Italian bandits, and partner, in both crime and saucy banter, to the
Villain in Thomas Heywood's The Four
Prentices of London. Assigned to guide the Earl of Boulogne through the
mountains, the Clown steals the Earl's gold; his dastardly plan to murder the
Earl is thwarted by the arrival of Eustace. In the Holy Land, he attempts to rape
Bella Franca but is repulsed by the plucky maid, who bests him in swordplay.
CLOWN **1600
Alternate designation for Hodge in the anonymous Thomas Lord Cromwell.
CLOWN**1601
A servant of Lady Katharine in the anonymous Trial Of Chivalry, the Clown is ordered by her to follow Pembroke. At one point he claims that his name is Bow Wow, probably in jest. In the night, he is arrested by Bowyer's men on his way to spy on Pembroke and Ferdinand. Later, he is dispatched by Katharine to accompany Bellamira to the hermit's, and (dressed as a gentleman) he returns with the cured Bellamira at the end of the play.
CLOWN**1602
The Clown's name in Heywood's Royal King is 'Cocke' and the stage directions and speech prefixes intermittently name him as such. He becomes the Captain's 'man', and accompanies him everywhere, without contributing anything to the plot.
CLOWN**1604
The unnamed Clown appears at Cambridge in Dekker and Webster's Sir Thomas Wyatt, cracking jokes about Alexander Brett's having been ordered to quarter his troops in the town when they had not even been drawn yet. The Clown happens upon the cabin where the Duke of Suffolk has just been arrested and observes Holmes enter with a halter about his neck, watches as he buries the gold he has received for betraying the duke, and then witnesses Holmes' hanging himself. The Clown retrieves the gold, saying he will buy himself some new clothes and go to London, and he leaves dragging the corpse to be dumped in a ditch. Later, as Brett attempts to rally his men against Sir Thomas Wyatt, the Clown interposes insulting comments about the Spanish that help to make Brett aware that Wyatt's cause (preventing a Spaniard from marrying the English queen) is in fact his own.
CLOWN **1604
This Clown in Heywood's 1 If You Know
Not Me is loyal to Elizabeth. He has a good deal of fun at Beningfield's
expense, pulling a chair out from under the knight upon one occasion and falsely
claiming that a man had scaled the garden wall to see Elizabeth on another (the
"man" turns out to be a goat).
CLOWN**1605
Referred to as a servant of Nobody in the Anonymous Nobody and Somebody, the clown's marriage to an unnamed wench is nullified by King Archigallo who makes her a lady-in-waiting. The clown attends Nobody in his
travels and rescues him from death at the hands of the braggart.
CLOWN **1605
A servant of Thomas Gresham's in Heywood's 2 If You Know Not Me.
CLOWN**1607
Pompie, also referred to as "Clowne," is a servant of Collatine in Heywood's The Rape of Lucrece. He offers comic commentary on the doings of the court and country. He further suggests that the only reason he serves Collatine is his lust for Lucrece. Lucrece says that Pompie is in love with Mistress Mirable, but he denies it; fearful that their lust might taint Lucrece's reputation, she fires them both. However, she later employs Pompie to seek out Collatine. The night Sextus visits her, Pompie wonders why he and the Servingman have not been ordered to attend to Sextus. In the morning, Pompie readies Sextus' horse. Soon after, Lucrece has Pompie deliver a letter enjoining that Brutus, Collatine, Horatius Cocles, Mutius Scevola, Valarius and Lucretius come to her as soon as possible.
CLOWN**1607
The Clown in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra brings Cleopatra asps in a basket of figs. He makes several off color jokes about "the worm" and then departs.
CLOWN**1608
The brother of Joan in William Rowley's The
Birth of Merlin: or, The Child Hath Found His Father. He helps her to
search for her child's father. Once the child's father is found, he contributes
little to the plot. A typical clown figure, his earthy comedy undermines a number
of otherwise serious scenes, such as Uter's speech about Artesia, and Merlin's
prophecy about Britain's future.
CLOWN**1609
A clown-figure and servant of the Harding family in Heywood and Rowley's Fortune by Land and Sea. He is a greedy pragmatist, but nonetheless takes Philip and Susan under his wing when they are forced to become his fellow servants. The
Clown tries to gull Goodwin and Foster into lending Philip money by pretending
that Philip has made a fortune and is testing the generosity of his companions:
but the scheme is ruined by Philip's honesty. Having a loud voice, he assists
the Pursuivant in reading the proclamation of the bounty on Purser and Clinton,
but gets the words wrong, with hilarious results. Finally, he announces the death
of Old Harding, and reveals the fates of the dissolute John, Will, Goodwin and
Foster, by displaying them as if they were in a masque.
CLOWN**1610
The comic in Heywood's The Golden
Age. He announces that Sybilla is with child and praises the deeds of
Saturn, who has taught his people plowing, sowing, reaping and brought them "that
strange engine, called a Bow and Arrow." The clown also serves as messenger between
Saturn and Jupiter, essentially acting as the agent informing Jupiter of his true
parentage. The clown also instructs Jupiter in the art of disguise when they masquerade
as peddlers to enter Danae's tower. The clown diverts the Beldams with gold while
Jupiter converses with the young princess. In the tradition of a more farcical–and
outmoded–style of clowning pioneered by Will Kemp, the clown (almost certainly
portrayed by Thomas Greene) adds a comic energy to the generally solemn play with
witty and often sexual puns.
CLOWN**1610
The Old Shepherd's son in Shakespeare's The
Winter's Tale. He is a clown in the sense of being a rustic young man. He finds and buries Antigonus after the bear's attack. After the Old Shepherd discovers the infant Perdita on the Bohemian shore, she is raised as the clown's sister. During the sheep-shearing festival, the shepherdesses Mopsa and Dorcas vie for his attention. Autolycus overhears his conversation with his father in which Perdita's true identity is discussed. The clown accompanies his father to Sicilia. When his father reveals Perdita's true identity, they are both proclaimed "gentlemen born," and the clown determines to act the gentleman by lying.
CLOWN**1612
Along with the other Neighbours, the Clown bears away the body of Gloucester,
which they have found in The
Valiant Welshman. He jokes with Morgan because they can both speak Welsh
dialect, and engages in a comic discussion with his Neighbours about Gloucester's
death.
CLOWN**1616
Eventually identified as Galoshio, the Clowne is the servant first of the Passionate
Lord and then of the professional masochist Lapet in Fletcher and Middleton's
The Nice Valour. During the
Lord's angry fit, he beats the Clowne severely; later, the Clowne and Lapet compare
notes on the blows they have borne. The Clowne serves as a go-between when Lapet
sends his table and book on beatings to the printer, and assists with the proofreading.
CLOWN**1618
Swetnam's servant, Swash, is also referred to as 'Clown' in speech prefixes of the anonymous Swetnam.
CLOWN**1618
The Clown is a jailor in Henry Shirley's The
Martyred Soldier. He appears several times, bantering with the Watchmen,
the Huntsmen, and Eugenius in prison. He jokes with two Pagans about the impending
burning of Bellizarius and Eugenius. He also laughs with Epidophorus about conditions
in the jail, and the torture of Victoria. He is last seen wondering at an appearance
of an Angel in the jail. The Clown contributes nothing at all to the plot and
is simply a source of low comedy.
CLOWN**1623
Lapland is a clown in Dekker, Ford and Rowley's The Welsh Embassador 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.
CLOWN**1624
Comic servant to Raphael in Heywood's The Captives. Called James by Scribonia. Fetches Mildew for Raphael. Later joins Raphael and Treadway in the search for Mildew after he fails to keep his appointment with them. Raphael sends the Clown off on his own to continue the search, and he meets with the two Fishermen. He asks them if they have seen Mildew and the two women, but they think he is mocking them and they exit. He then encounters Scribonia who has come from the monastery to the town to fetch water. After hearing about Scribonia's and Palestra's shipwreck and recovery he exits in search of Raphael to give him the news. The Clown encounters John Ashburne and Godfrey and asks for their help to rescue Palestra and Scribonia from Mildew and Sarleboys until he can return with Raphael. He brings Raphael and Treadway to the village where Mildew and Sarleboys with the two women captives are confronting John Ashburne, Godfrey, and the assembled villagers. Later, as the trial of Mildew and Sarleboys is proceeding, the Clown is sent back to the village to keep Palestra and Scribonia occupied. On the way he encounters the Fisherman Gripus who has just caught Mildew's bag, containing his gold, and he attempts to gain a portion of the treasure for himself. As the Clown argues that he knows the bag's owner and thus could deprive the Fisherman of all the gold, the Fisherman counters by arguing that he has the right to anything he fishes from the sea. They hear the argument between John Ashburne and his wife and agree to suspend their argument and hide for the moment. After Ashburne's wife exits, the Clown and the Fisherman bring their argument over ownership of Mildew's bag to Ashburne; as they argue he sends Godfrey to fetch Palestra and Scribonia, and the debate over ownership of the bag becomes lost during the discovery of Palestra's true identity as Mirable, John Ashburne's long lost daughter. Ashburne tells the Clown to fetch Raphael and to inform him that Palestra is Mirabel; in return, the Clown makes Ashburne agree to negotiate the Clown's freedom from Raphael. The Clown returns with Raphael and Treadway, confirming the discovery of Palestra's true identity as Mirabel and that John Ashburne will consent to Raphael's marriage to Palestra/Mirabel. After Raphael and Treadway exit, Ashburne stops the Clown and asks to be taken to the Ashburne Raphael, Treadway and the clown were discussing; the Clown agrees in return for money. He then brings Thomas Ashburne to witness the reunion of Raphael and Palestra/Mirabel. After the entry of Friar Richard on his way to execution is halted by the Duke of Averne, who confesses to Friar John's murder, the Clown advises Friar Richard to get his neck out of the halter.
CLOWN**1625
Clown and messenger of Wincott's household in Heywood's The English Traveler. Involved in the riotous parties at Young Lionell's. Tells Young Geraldine that his friend Master Wincott misses him and wants to see him, though Old Geraldine has asked Young Geraldine not to go near Wincott's Wife.
CLOWN**1625
The Clown is the Widow's servant in William Rowley's A New Wonder: A Woman Never Vexed. Although his name is given as Roger, the Quarto labels him 'Clown' throughout. He loves his mistress, and when the
Widow decides to marry the impoverished prodigal Stephen Foster, the Clown is
offended because he considers himself a worthier choice. He contributes little
to the plot apart from finding the Widow's wedding ring in the belly of a fish.
CLOWN**1626
The Clown is Forobosco's assistant, and his job is to prove the latter's skills
in magic in Fletcher, Ford, Massinger and Webster's The Fair Maid of the Inn. His method is to quarrel in public with Forobosco and loudly denounce him as a charlatan. Forobosco then 'conjures' him into dancing
like a frog. The Clown is of course only pretending to be conjured, but the onlookers
are convinced that Forobosco's powers are real. The Clown is captured, along with
Forobosco, in the act of stealing from Prospero's room, and he is sent to the
galleys.
CLOWN**1627
The Clown (not otherwise identified in Heywood's The Escapes of Jupiter) accompanies and aids Jupiter in his plan to trick the four Beldams appointed by Acrisius to guard his daughter, Danae. Disguised as pedlars, the god and the Clown induce the greedy old women into admitting them to Danae's tower. The Clown distracts the Beldams as Jupiter begins his courtship of Danae; while Jupiter and Danae are making love, the Clown sleeps. Before leaving, he cheerfully invites the Beldams to kiss him, on the grounds that though they may scratch him, they have no teeth to bite.
CLOWN**1633
The Clown, the widow Sforsa's servant in Heywood's A Maidenhead Well Lost, agrees to accompany her and Lauretta from Millaine to Florence, and there offers to beg for their sustenance. He exchanges witticisms with the Prince and Mounsieur, and otherwise provides low-comic interludes.
CLOWN**1634
In an interlude in Heywood's Love's Mistress, this rustic interrogates the swains about their neighbor Cupid, observes all the pains and follies of love, ascribes its continuing power to poets, and briefly rehearses the story of the Trojan War as a sample of the idiocies of love. Cupid appears, and takes his vengeance by shooting the Clown with a leaden arrow; he exits to look for some Amarillis to woo. In a second interlude, he is asked to sing as Pan's champion in a contest against a Page who similarly represents Apollo. His song runs through a series of puns on Pan's name-Roasting Pan, etc. He returns in a further interlude to celebrate the hideous charms of his new love, Amarillis. When Psiche returns from Hades with the box of beauty, he is an onlooker, and resolves to obtain this treasure for himself and his beloved. Cupid, however, substitutes a box of face paint. The swains laugh at the self-infatuation that deludes him into thinking that the makeup can alter his natural ugliness, or that of Amarillis, but he persists.
CLOWN**1635
The Clown is Lord Bonavida's servant in Heywood's A Challenge for Beauty. He accompanies him on his search across Europe. When Bonavida is sentenced to death after Hellena's seeming inconstancy, the Clown becomes a misogynist.
CLOWN**1635
Suckabus is referred to as 'clown' in all speech-prefixes and stage directions
in Kirke's The Seven Champions of
Christendom.
CLOWN**1638
The Clown is a servant to the Duke of Mantua in (?)Brome's The Cunning Lovers. He is asked by the Duke to supervise the building of the tower where Valentia is to be locked. Thus, he talks to a Smith, a Mason, a Bricklayer and a Carpenter to divide their responsibilities. However, they are not more that nonsensical directions. He is told by the Architect to build a secret door on the wall. In Act Three, when he thinks that the Architect is committing suicide, he comes back to the court to tell the bad news to his master. He says that the Architect has killed himself not to be a traitor to the Duke. In Act Five, he stays with the Necromancer and learns about the real identity of Antonio, but he has to keep it for himself because the Necromancer also knows about his making of a secret door. He is persuaded by him to call the Duke to stop the suitors that try to see the princess. He catches them red-handed and arrests them with the Duke's army. He takes them to the Duke of Mantua to whom he tells that he saw them going into the tower through a door and that the princess is gone.
CLOWN**1638
A rustic character in Suckling's The Goblins. He is at the country wedding that Samorat, Nashorat, and Pellegrin infiltrate in the guise of fiddlers.
CLOWNS**1591
Beaten by a mad Orlando in the woods in Greene's Orlando Furioso. One of the clowns dresses up as Angelica and is again beaten by Orlando.
CLOWNS**1601
There are two Clowns in Shakespeare's Hamlet:- First Clown, often called the Gravedigger after his profession, discusses the merits of Ophelia's Christian burial, makes several jokes based on class, and then sends the Second Clown for some drink. He sings and throws up old skulls while digging the grave, causing Hamlet to wonder at his treatment of the dead. When Hamlet speaks to him, the Clown jokes with him about graves and then shows him Yorick's skull.
-
The Second Clown talks with the First Clown/gravedigger about whether or not Ophelia should have a Christian burial; he is of the opinion that if she were not a gentlewoman, she would not be so buried. He and the First Clown banter and then the First Clown sends him off to fetch some drink from Johan.
CLOWNS**1631
Four Northumbrian laborers in Brome's The
Queen's Exchange. They are anxious to celebrate the "holy day" proclaimed
by Osriick in anticipation of his marriage to Bertha. When their masters will
not provide them enough wood for a bonfire, Jeffrey convinces them to burn their
tools instead. They are prevented from doing so by the constable.
CLOWN'S FATHER
A "ghost character" in (?)Brome's The Cunning Lovers. As his son, he was a loyal servant to the Duke of Mantua.
CLUB **1599
A servant at the Bell Inn in Munday, Drayton, Hathaway, and Wilson's Sir John Oldcastle. He has his clothing stolen by Sir John Oldcastle. He is forced to wear John Oldcastle's clothes, and as a result, he and Kate are arrested for heresy by the Mayor of Albany.
CLUB
Apprentice to the apothecary Purge in Middleton's The Family of Love. Club frequently attends Mistress Purge
and serves as the crier during the trial staged by Gerardine.
CLUNCH
Clunch is a smith and the husband of the "old wife" Madge in Peele's The
Old Wives' Tale. He discovers the pages Antic, Frolic, and Fantastic lost
in the woods and invites them home. There, Frolic and Fantastic are treated to
the old wife's tale of the magician Sacrapant and the rescue of Delia by Eumenides
and the Ghost of Jack.
CLUNIE
A parator or summoning officer for an ecclesiastical court in Drue's The Duchess of Suffolk. Brings news of
Edward VI's death and Mary I's succession to Gardner and Bonner; also brings word of their restoration to their religious and political offices. Sent by Paget to fetch Bertie, whom he brings before Paget, Gardner, and Bonner. Then sent by Bonner to seize the Duchess' London residence and dismiss her servants.
Later enters with Foxe to apprehend the Duchess, allowing her to take several servants with her as attendants; exits with the Duchess. Enters with the watch in pursuit of Dr. Sands and is sent off on a false lead by Sands disguised as a tiler. When Clunie and the watch return they encounter Hugh Tiler and Jenkin, who deny any knowledge Clunie or Sands; Clunie has them arrested as accomplices to Sands. Clunie next appears with his Guard searching for the escaped Duchess, nearly catching her as she goes to port to escape on the boat provided by Bertie. Next appears before Bonner and Gardiner with Hugh Tiler and Jenkin, whom he accuses of helping Sands to escape. Joins Bonner and Foxe in the search near Goseling's home for the Duchess and her party. When Foxe knocks Bonner into the well, Clunie fetches rope and the watch for help. After Bonner is pulled out and learns of the Duchess' escape, he sends Clunie and Foxe to pursue her in another boat. Clunie arrives in Europe with Brunswick, Paget, and soldiers to search for the Duchess; he is tricked by the Duchess and her party's bogus funeral procession. Clunie and Foxe are near the Palsgrave's Captain and his soldiers when they apprehend the Duchess, Bertie and the children. Clunie hides in a tree so that the Duchess and Bertie will cooperate with the captain. He falls out of the tree after Foxe cuts the branch, and creeps off vowing vengeance on Foxe. Clunie arrives at Palsgrave's court after the change of regime in England and demands justice against Foxe for cutting the branch, but Palsgrave dismisses his charge and the Duchess forgives him.
CLUTCH**1604
Ambush's Yeoman in Dekker and Webster's Westward Ho.
CLUTCH **1629
Clutch is one of Brainsicke's keepers in ?Clavell's The Soddered Citizen. He, and often Shackle, accompany the young man everywhere he goes after he is released from jail. Clutch reminds Brainsicke of the fact that he has to write to his father, but when he hears what the young man intends to say in his letter, he is shocked by its contents and tries to dissuade him. Instead, he argues that in the event that his father should not die when reading the letter, he would remember its contents and wish to take revenge on his son. Afterwards, he accompanies Brainsicke and Fewtricks when they go to see Undermine, and there, they meet a Creditor's servant. Clutch advises him to join the rest of the creditors in a "Comission of bankerupt."
CLUTCH**1635
A usurer in Jordan's Money is an Ass. He has arranged for his daughters, Felixina and Feminia, to marry Money and Credit respectively. But he is secretly conspiring against the suitors and has promises Calumny Felixina's hand in marriage in exchange for his help deceiving Money. Once Money and Credit sign over their estates to him in return for his consent that they should marry his daughters, he plans to instruct the daughters to withhold their consent and marry Gold and Jewel instead. Delighted that his daughters are of the same mind as he, he agrees to give them half of the estates of Money and Credit as a dowry. Prior to the wedding, Gold and Jewel reveal themselves to be Featherbrain and Penniless, but Clutch sanctions the match anyway. When Calumny denounces him and the lovers, he banishes him from the house, hypocritically claiming that Calumny was the "evil Genius" who "prompted me to deeds most vile."
CLYMENE
A "ghost character" in Lyly's Gallathea.
A nymph of Diana. She does not appear in the course of the play, but is mentioned
as one of the victims of the love plague, having fallen in love with "Tityrus."
CLYNTON
Clynton is an English lord in Smith's The Hector of Germany. He is in league with Old Fitzwaters to protect their respective properties by coercing his, Clynton's, daughter Floramell to marry Old Fitzwaters. When Clynton and Old Fitzwaters discover the two young lovers wooing in the garden, Clynton banishes Young Fitzwaters from the house. Clynton does not care that his daughter wants to marry Young Fitzwaters and does not want to marry Old Fitzwaters. Clynton calls for a bishop to come marry his daughter to his friend; however, a Page in Floramell's dress dupes him. Floramell herself escapes with Young Fitzwaters by sea. Clynton and his friend fall out after the aborted wedding. Clynton and Old Fitzwaters blame each other for the calamity and are about to duel when King Edward stops them. He recruits them to assist him in the war. Clynton hosts King Edward and reports to the audience on how well Edward and the Palsgrave performed at the tournament. Clynton is sent with Old Fitzwaters to Germany to free Savoy, Bohemia and Brandenburgh. They are successful and deliver Savoy on stage to be crowned Emperor of Germany. King Edward rules that Young Fitzwaters was betrothed to Floramell before his father and that Floramell should therefore marry Floramell. Clynton and his friend Old Fitzwaters agree to be good fathers-in-law.
CLYOMON
Son to the King of Denmark in the Anonymous Clyomon and Clamydes. He is a lover of martial games and is known throughout the world only as The Knight of the Golden Shield. Years before the play's start,
he took his leave of his father with a solemn vow that he would never reveal his
name to anyone who did not first defeat him in battle. Since then, he has become
famous, but because he is anonymous, his people believe he has died. He won his
golden shield when Alexander the Great gave it him after his defeat of Sir Samuel
in a contest. We first meet him in Swavia, where he finds Subtle Shift stuck in
a mire. Thinking that Subtle Shift is Knowledge, Clyomon accepts him as a companion
and servant. Together, they go to see Clamydes dubbed a knight, but he rakishly
interposes himself as the King lowers his mace onto his son and takes the honorable
blow himself, thus stealing Clamydes's knighthood. Clamydes pursues him and is
willing to fight him to learn his name. Clyomon convinces him to delay the contest
fifteen days and gain more honor by meeting in Macedonia in order to fight before
Alexander the Great. On his way to Macedonia, however, Clyomon is caught in the
play's second tempest and forced to land on the Isle of Strange Marshes, too seasick
to continue. Like Clamydes, he fears he will be dishonored for failing to keep
his appointment in Macedonia. On the island, Princess Neronis discovers him and
nurses him to health. They fall in love, and she gives him a jewel in return for
his promise to return in sixty days. He is honor-bound to seek out Clamydes and
so continues towards Macedonia. He meets one of the captive knights, whom Clamydes
recovered, and is told that Clamydes also missed the Macedonian contest. Relieved,
Clyomon decides to return to Neronis, but he learns from Rumor that the King of
Norway has kidnapped her and that her father, King Patranius, has died of grief.
His death has caused a power struggle on the island between his pregnant queen
and his brother Mustantius. They are vassals of Alexander, and it is he who must
decide the matter. Clyomon resolves to go to Norway and liberate his love from
Thrasellus. He comes upon Thrasellus searching for the escaped Neronis. He fights
the Norwegian king and kills him, but is himself grievously wounded in the fight.
Corin discovers him, binds his wounds, and together they bury Thrasellus. He places
his shield on the grave and also his sword, point downward to signify a defeated
knight. However, when he later learns that the Queen of the Isle of Strange Marshes
is begging for a champion, he reclaims his shield and sword and disguises himself
before setting out. In disguise, he meets a page, who is actually his love Neronis
in disguise. Not recognizing one another, Clyomon take Neronis into his service.
He arrives too late to fight in the queen's name, but he there begs Alexander
to be allowed to fight Clamydes for his vow's sake. Alexander, wishing to avoid
conflict between two such fine knights, asks him to reveal his name. Clyomon responds
that a solemn vow forces him not to. But when Alexander then asks his country
and his birth, he is obliged to answer that he is Prince of Denmark, and by that
answer all know him. Because Clamydes is the beloved of Clyomon's sister, they
become fast friends. They return to Denmark where Clyomon stands beside the real
Clamydes in the face of the imposter Bryan Sans Foy. When all is resolved, "Cur
Daceer" reveals that she is actually Neronis, and they are reunited. They plan
a double wedding with Clamydes and Juliana.
CLYSTER, DOCTOR
Clyster went to university, but he, as well as Silence, "endured expulsion from the College" in the anonymous Wit's Triumvirate. Then he served as a soldier in the Low Countries during the war with Spain, and there "he felt the miseries of a siege and the dangers of an assault," and he suffered "under brave officers and state's policies." Nevertheless he explains that was nothing compared to what he has to endure now that he is working for an attorney: he has to carry his bag from his office to Westminster, and back again, and he also has to be his pack horse. He finds he has no honour left. Then, he is invited by Silence to take part in a plot he is planning with Bill Bond. However, he will only accept when he is assured they will be "equal all three in this our policy." Bond informs him that he will have to play the role of a grave physician. But Clyster is not sure about whether he will know how to do it, thus, he shares his doubts with Bond, who quickly reassures him. Once he begins to perform the role of Doctor Clyster, his first patient arrives–Master Fright. After learning that the latter is afraid of the dark, and that his fear made him see strange things, related to evil, Doctor Clyster reaches the conclusion that he has been "unseasonably catechized" and frightened with the devil. Therefore he will make the devil leave him alone. His patient thanks and rewards him, and Master Fright leaves content. Later Doctor Clyster is visited by another patient–Sir Cupid Phantsy–who gives him clear hints that the root of his disease lies in the fact that he is in love. Thus, he informs Sir Cupid about all the possible symptoms of his disease, and the latter realizes that he has them all. Besides, from time to time, he also suffers from poetic fits. Doctor Clyster witnesses one of those fits, and he thinks his patient's disease is a serious thing. Sir Cupid then explains the change he has experienced since he is in love: on the one hand, now he can speak long speeches in verse, and, on the other, he has become obsessed with clothes and fashion–a characteristic of lovers. The doctor tells him he will have to study his case, but, meanwhile, he advises him to "forbear all pastorals and quit the church while the psalms are singing." He wants to keep him away from songs and poetry, and advises him to read prose instead. Then he receives some money from his patient, as a token of gratitude, and his 'victim' happily leaves. His next patient is Master Sickly. He admits he goes to see him only after he has been treated by doctors in England and abroad. When Doctor Clyster asks him to tell him about his symptoms, his new patient specifies all sorts of silly affections, nevertheless the doctor seems to have a cure for each of them, though he pretends that to cure his many diseases is going to be hard work–he also explains that, should he fail, he would put his reputation at risk. Then, Master Sickly offers him twenty pounds in gold then, and forty more, when he finishes. Still, the doctor pretends to be reluctant, since so many doctors had failed to cure him before. Master Sickly raises his offer to a hundred pounds when he is recovered. But, still, the doctor goes as far as to ask him for fifty now, and his 'victim' accepts. Finally, Clyster offers his patient a 'medicine' he has prepared as a remedy for his disease, as well as a paper containing a fake charm for sweaty toes–thus, the doctor receives the sum of fifty pounds in gold they had agreed on. The next patient to visit Doctor Clyster is Signor Jealousia. His problem is that he is terribly jealous of his wife, to the extent that he tries to avoid anything related to horns–from hunting to even staying at the Bull's Inn, or at the Saracen's Head, just because both the Bulls and the Saracens have horns. The cure Clyster offers for his patient's disease is to find his wife in the act, but he reacts affirming that he would "rather be still in doubt than know that." Then the doctor tries another solution, and promises to prepare a cure for him. Signor Jealousia, very grateful to him, offers him ten pieces of gold. When his victim leaves, Clyster swears he will cozen him as well as the rest. Besides, he complains that his earnings have fallen from fifty pieces of gold to ten–though he also admits that is far more than what he used to earn before. Afterwards, he is visited by Master Fright again and, on listening to more of his episodes of fear of darkness–which turn out to be perfectly explainable in daylight–he concludes he suffers from 'melancholy'. And hearing all his patient had to say, Clyster explains that "it was more in a divine than a physician to cure" him, and he advises him to go and see Master Silence, whom he describes as "one of the rarest men in Europe." Then, Doctor Clyster receives Master Ominous, who was recommended to him by Master Silence. Master Ominous starts to report the somatic effects of his superstitions, and the doctor diagnoses he suffers from "melancholy, which must be purged", and he assures him he knows how to do it. Thus, he tells him to "forbear the Roman history awhile, to forget the entrails of beasts, birds, flying or pecking of chickens," and to forget about "augurs and soothsayers" and all their superstitions. When Master Ominous offers him a recompense for his services, Clyster refuses it at first "till the cure is finished", but, on his victim's insistence, he takes it. A new patient enters–Sir Conquest Shadow. He explains he suffers from imaginary valour: he thinks of quarrels with brave swordmen, and he always ends up being victorious. The trouble is that, if he is brave in his imagination, he is a coward in real life: he dares not fight when he is conscious. The doctor–impressed by his fantastic accounts–exclaims that if he had that imagination, he would not want to be cured. But his patient explains that those thoughts "trouble me very much and keep me from my business." He then begs Doctor Clyster to cure him, and he offers him ten pounds in gold aforehead, if he does. The doctor forbids him "all foreign corantos, be they gazettes either in French or Dutch," conversing with merchants, living near the coast–so that he cannot hear of "setting out of ships"–and being in the company of swordmen. Besides, he will not read stories about fights, nor letters or news in times of war. Doctor Clyster explains to his 'victim' that, should his prescription fail to work, he would try a "physical cause" with him. Later, Master Algebra arrives and Doctor Clyster and his two friends agree to listen to him. At some point, the doctor is urged, by the philosopher, either to cure him, or to accept he is right. Clyster then decides to offer a cure, advising him "not to taste Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, or Kepler, but especially Galileo." Clyster decides not to charge Master Algebra for his advice. The reason for that is revealed when the patient leaves: Clyster calls Silence and explains to him he had recognized Master Algebra–he was a bright man, who might have discovered their ignorance, if not their knavery. Then, Signor Jealousia comes back to Doctor Clyster again, in search of his cure–but it is not ready yet. Instead, the doctor explains he needs more information from him, so that he can "add or diminish my ingredients according to the accidents." Thus, when he hears his patient say he has strange dreams, he offers him "the devil's ring" as a cure. In fact, Clyster guesses the suspicions, problems and even conversations that Signor Jealousia may have with his wife, so precisely, that the former starts to think that the doctor may have been spying on them. But Clyster urges him to dismiss that thought, since his words are just intended to cure him. And, to that aim, he enquires about the origins of his illness, to which his patient replies his disease began when he was a knight bachelor: he was jealous of the husband of a married lady he was in love with. Now, he explains, the problem is that he does not trust his wife because she is a widow–in fact, he does not trust woman's nature. After listening to him, Doctor Clyster offers him a solution: "to wear a purse of a cuckoo's skin [...] and have a stag's head in your chamber to hang your hat on and other things." He wants him to be surrounded by horns "to make them familiar to you." Furthermore, he asks him to acquaint himself "with country knights and gentlemen, that bring up their fair wives and daughters to a lodging in the Strand," so that he gets accustomed to that place, and take a lodging for his wife in the Strand. He assures him that, if he follows his prescription, he will be cured. But Signor Jealousia would rather take a medicine than follow the doctor's advice. Nevertheless, Doctor Clyster assures him that, should his advice fail, he would have a medicine ready for him the next time he came. Then Clyster is gladly surprised to see that he receives ten extra pieces of gold from his 'victim'. Once again, Sir Cupid Phantsy comes to see the doctor–suffering from new fits of poetic speech. He wants the doctor to cure him, but not before he writes a play. However, Doctor Clyster explains that writing a play can be dangerous for him and tries to dissuade him. Then his patient encourages his doctor to write some poetry, to which the latter replies he lacks the main ingredient: he is not in love. And that is precisely the source of his patient's illness: his being in love makes him speak in verse. After discussing about poetry and about Sir Cupid's beloved lady's attitude to him, the doctor decides it is time to cure him. He finds out his patient did not follow his former prescription, and now he forbids him to rhyme in his company, and to make or think in verse; and, since he seems to be getting worse, he is going to put him on a 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." And he threatens him that, should he put those into verse, he will prescribe him "huge volumes of civil law." But, as soon as Doctor Clyster leaves him alone for a moment, Sir Cupid Phantsy starts writing verses again. However, when the doctor comes back, he catches him at it. Then, he urges to give him or throw away any token from his lady he may have. Sir Cupid happens to have a purse, which was hers, and which is tied so hard that he is unable to get the twenty pieces of gold it contains out of it. Hearing that, the doctor insists on keeping the purse, he gets it and they part. Later, when Master Sickly comes with Damme de Bois 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 reveals that he believes they are mere cozeners. 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 Doctor Clyster, he expresses his wish to write his last will and testament before the lawyer. Damme finally leaves the place, but dressed in old clothes–having 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. Master Caution, since Bond threatened to sue him as soon as he heard his accusations, afraid of being sued, pays Clyster forty pounds of gold to kill Bond and save him–promising to make it a hundred when Bond is actually dead. Clyster assures he will do it for a hundred and twenty pounds, and he actually gets that sum from Master Caution. Then, Master Sickly comes to Bond, seeking counsel with respect to what legal action he can take against Doctor Clyster, on the charges of having cozened him. Bond then offers to indict the Doctor for practicing without a license. Master Sickly still rewards him with ten pounds of gold and assures him he will give him more when the matter is over. Signor Jealousia also accuses Clyster of having cozened him, and he threatens to "have him indicted for a man-witch." When Master Fright arrives, also accusing him, the fake doctor threatens to raise "strange apparitions and ghosts" to haunt him, and his fearful victim ends up leaving. Then, it is Sir Cupid Phantsy's turn to ask for his money back and also for satisfaction, but Clyster threatens to tell his mistress about his folly, and this victim also leaves. Later, Sir Conquest Shadow also comes, aware of the fact that he has been cozened, to see the doctor. But, being a coward, he leaves as soon as the doctor threatens him with proclaiming him a coward. Damme de Bois, on his part, demands, from the cheaters, a share in their exploits and his clothes to be restored–threatening 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. Then the three cheaters discuss whether they can find a means of getting away with it with the help of the law. But, soon, they are sieged by all their cozened victims, and they resolve to hide on the upper floor of the house. Their victims knock 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 both by the victims and by the cheaters.
CLYTEMNESTRA
I.
Mother of Horestes and wife of Agamemnon in Pickering's Horestes. After murdering Agamemnon, she jointly took over the throne of Mycenae with her lover Egistus. She first appears exchanging a love song with Egistus. When the Messenger from Horestes's invading army arrives, she offers to remain and organize the defense of Mycenae while Egistus goes off to raise more men. Soon afterwards she scornfully rejects the Herald's request for surrender. She is captured and executed by Revenge at Horestes's command.
II.
Spelled Clitemnestra in Heywood's 2 The Iron Age. While her husband has been off fighting the Trojans, she has entered into an adulterous relationship with Egistus. Cethus persuades her and her lover that her husband will kill them when he discovers their adultery, and that their only choice is to strike first; they do so, flee from Mycene, and take refuge in a strong citadel, where they plot to kill Orestes and rule all Argos. Orestes and Pillades, in disguise, gain entrance, and Clitemnestra first watches Orestes kill her lover, then is killed in turn by her maddened son. See also MOTHER of ORESTES.
III.
The queen in Goffe’s Orestes. She makes a show of greeting Agamemnon home with pomp. (There is now purple tapestry in this play for her to entreat her husband to walk upon.) She goes with Aegystheys in I.iv to stab Agamemnon in his bed. She is first to stab him whilst remembering how he raped Briseis. She next appears in her night clothes and pretends to faint when Orestes tells her that Agamemnon is murdered. She kneels with Orestes and formulates a curse upon the murderer. Secretly, she and Aegystheus congratulate themselves and gloat on their victory. When Orestes scolds her for her lack of mourning, she chafes, tells Aegystheus to cut off his head, and says a son’s disobedience is “more harsh than adders hisses." She does not mourn to learn Orestes has died but weds Aegystheus as planned. The sorceress Canidia calls up an image of her murdering Agamemnon for Orestes and Pylades to witness. In court, Clytemnestra bears Aegystheus a baby. She is moved by the pleas of the disguised Orestes and Pylades to save the other and begs Aegystheus to excuse the murder of Mysander. She goes to take physic and the disguised Pylades ties her to her chair. Orestes murders her youngest child, shows her Agamemnon’s bones to remind her of her sin, and makes her drink the child’s blood before stabbing her. She dies confessing she deserves it.
CLYTUS
Clytus is one of Alexander's warriors in Lyly's Campaspe. On return from Thebes, Clytus praises Alexander's courage.
CLYTUS **1638
Thracian lord in Mayne’s Amorous War. Clytus and Hyppocles bring in the captured Orythia, Thalaestris, Menalippe, and Marthesia trussed like Amazons in golden fetters pinioned with silken cords. They release their prisoners, with gallant apologies, after their prince reveals all to be a ruse to get close to and woo Barsene.
CNEUS PISO
A "ghost character" in Jonson's Catiline. Cneus Piso is a Roman general, commander of the army in Spain. He is Catiline's ally. When Catiline incites the conspirators to rebellion against the Roman Senate, he lists their main allies and enemies. While Pompey in Asia is considered an enemy, Cneus Piso is listed as an ally.
CO—
A character played by Singer (so W.W. Greg) in the anonymous 2 Fortune's Tennis. The name has been lost in the disintegration of the plot. Greg warns against identifying this fragmentary name with the character Compaine listed elsewhere.
COACHMAN**1605
The Coachman in Jonson, Marston, and Chapman's Eastward Ho! is hired to take Gertrude on her journey to Sir Petronel's fictional castle in the country. Early in the morning at the inn, the Coachman complains
that these citizens who want to go away from London are too impatient. Still eating,
the Coachman complains that these lords and ladies want him to move so fast that
he cannot have his breakfast.
COACHMAN**1608
A coach driver of London, hired by Laxton in Middleton and Dekker's Moll Cutpurse, The Roaring Girl. Laxton intends to have sex with Moll Cutpurse in the coach.
COACHMAN**1618
Unlike most of his servants, Creon's Coachman (like his footman) is retained by
Simonides when he inherits his father's estate in Massinger, Middleton and Rowley's
The Old Law. He retains
the Coachman because he needs someone to transport him to his whores.
COACHMAN**1627
A "ghost character" in Hawkins's Apollo Shroving. Indulgence instructs Jugge Rubbish to tell her Coachman to "lay the Coach-bed backward" since they will be climbing uphill to Apollo's Court. Jugge later informs her Mistress that "the Coachman talks like a rogue, and sayes that nothing but a wife will tame him" and Indulgence claims that he is likely "three quarters drunke." At the sentencing of disobedient characters at the play's end, Drudo informs the crowd that Indulgence's coach overturned after she "scowred away in her Coach with her sonne" following her appearance in Apollo's Court.
COACHMAN**1641
Near the end of Cavendish's The Variety, Simpleton tries to spirit Lucy away to his country house with the aid of a "lusty"
coachman. Simpleton's man, James, exposes the plan to Newman, who rescues Lucy.
COACHMAN, LADY THRIVEWELL'S
A silent character in Brome's A Mad Couple. In Act Two, he opens the door of the coach to his lady when she goes shopping.
COB
A "ghost character" in Greene's Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay. When the disguised Lacy at Harleston Fair claims to be a farmer from Beccles, Richard inquires after "goodman Cob" who had sold his father a worthless horse there years before.
COB **1641
A “ghost character" in (?)Shipman’s Grobiana’s Nuptials. Grobiana’s favorite suitor, or so she says. He has a large, half-moon beard with crumbs that stick in it “like stars." At dinner with Grobiana and her father, he made a “pretty jest" of letting a tremendous fart, which they all laughed at.
COB, OLIVER
Oliver Cob is a water bearer and Tib's husband in Jonson's Every Man in His Humour. Bobadill lives in his house as a lodger. Cob is a loquacious character, always ready to share his homespun philosophy with his interlocutors. At Kitely's house, Cob enters with his tankard to deliver the water for the household. After emitting some of his witticisms concerning the maids' immorality, Cob exits. Cob re-enters with his tankard for his afternoon delivery and sees the gallants smoking. Cob speaks vehemently against tobacco, which attracts Bobadill's anger and a good beating. At Justice Clement's house, Cob enters with Kitely, reporting on the party of gallants at the merchant's house. When Kitely exits abruptly, Cob is contaminated with the merchant's jealousy and reveals his suspicion that Tib seems to treat their lodger Bobadill too gently. When Justice Clement enters, Cob complains against being beaten and requires a warrant for Bobadill's arrest. Though narrowly escaping another beating, Cob finally obtains his warrant from the capricious judge. In a lane before his house, Cob enters and knocks at his own door, calling for Tib. When his wife opens the door, he accuses her of immorality and shows her the warrant against Bobadill. Cob instructs Tib to go inside the house and lock the door. Cob re-enters to find Dame Kitely, Knowell, and Kitely before his house. Each is accusing the other of adultery, and Kitely tells Cob that Tib is the bawd who encouraged the illicit assignations. Cob beats his wife and then joins the party of misguided people, all intending to take their case before the judge. In the final scene before Justice Clement, Cob is reconciled with his wife and declares that she is honest.
COBBLER
One of the Madmen of Goteham (together with Miller and Smith) in the Anonymous
A Knacke To Knowe A Knave.
In a comic interlude they decide to deliver a petition to the King. They want
a license to brew strong beer three times a week.
COBBLER **1637
Disguise adopted by Warehouse in Mayne’s City Match. He hears Frank declare himself glad that Warehouse has drowned.
COBBLER, JOHN
A poor shoemaker in the Anonymous Famous
Victories of Henry V, neighbor to Lawrence Costermonger and Robin Pewterer.
He is impressed by the English captain and joins Henry V's military campaign in
France. During the war, both he and Derrick constantly try to escape the battlefield,
rob the shoes of the dead French soldiers, and eventually return to England disguised
as members of the Duke of York's funeral procession.
COBBLER, RAPH
Raph is the eponymous cobbler, who is chosen by Mercury to deliver a prophecy
to Mars in Wilson's The Cobbler's
Prophecy. Raph is alarmed and upset when Mercury punishes his shrewish
wife, Zelota, by driving her mad. But he accepts the mission, and sets off on
an epic journey to find Mars. On the way he encounters Sateros the Soldier, Emnius
the Courtier, the Scholar, and the Country Gentleman debating who is the most
worthy. Raph prophesies the absurdity of their pretensions in the face of the
end of the world. He travels to Mars with Sateros the soldier, who plans to deliver
a petition to Mars. They meet the Muses but Raph is misled by an Echo and runs
off, thinking it is a person calling to him. He meets Charon and learns that Hell
is overflowing with sinners. He and Sateros then meet the Porter and Herald of
Mars, from whom they learn that Mars now resides at Venus's court. Raph delivers
his prophecy to Mars. The prophecy announces that Mars is a cuckold. Raph then
accompanies Sateros to the Duke of Boetia's court, where he saves the Duke's life
by prophesying Emnius's treachery. Emnius is forgiven, but he then attacks Raph,
who is saved by the mad Zelota who kills Emnius. The Duke sends Raph and Zelota
to prison for murder. Raph leads the prisoners in a jailbreak, and they join the
army Sateros is raising against the invaders of Boetia. At the end of the play,
Raph complains to Mercury of his treatment, and Mercury asks Sateros to ensure
that Raph and Zelota are pardoned by the Duke. The Duke obliges and all ends happily.
COBELITZ
A Christian captain in Goffe's The Courageous Turk, Cobelitz attempts to counsel Lazarus of Servia and Sesmenos of Bulgaria in their campaigns against the Turks. The seemingly inexorable advances of the Turkish forces causes him to wonder why the Christian deity would allow his enemies so to triumph, but he always concludes that his God must have a reason and convinces the two rulers to believe that as well. Grievously wounded by Eurenoses in the final battle in Servia, he revives on the battlefield just as Amurath is surveying the aftermath and pretends to be seeking the king's mercy. When Amurath approaches him, however, he plunges a dagger into the Turk, expresses his joy at having been allowed to be God's instrument, and dies of his wounds.
COBHAM **1599
Title of Lord and Lady Oldcastle in Munday, Drayton, Hathaway, and Wilson's Sir John Oldcastle.
COBHAM, ELEANOR
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.
COBHAM, LADY**1599
Worries in Munday, Drayton, Hathaway, and Wilson's Sir John Oldcastle that her husband, John Oldcastle, is not well and is not spending enough time at home.
COBHAM, LORD (REIGNOLD)
A "ghost character." A member of Bolingbroke's army, which, the Earl of Northumberland
tells us at the end of II.i, is making its way to England in Shakespeare's Richard
II.
COBWEB
Cobweb is one of the fairies in service to Titania the fairy queen in Shakespeare's
A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Titania encourages Cobweb to "be good" to Bottom, and Bottom plans to make good
use of Cobweb in the event of a cut finger because cobwebs were often used at
the time to stop minor bleeding.
COCK or COCKE
Gammer's boy in [?]Stevenson's Gammer
Gurton's Needle. He is called to bring a candle so Hodge can search the
house for the needle. He relates Hodge's humorous search to Gammer and Tyb. He
finds a straw that he at first thinks is the needle. Gammer sends him to Dr. Rat
the parson to have him persuade Dame Chat to return the needle.
COCKADILLIO
The King's foppish barber, also identified as a don in Dekker's Noble Spanish Soldier. He is disdainful of Balthazar upon his return. At the end, he is married to Onælia to secure peace, but the King invalidates the marriage on his deathbed by recognizing Onælia as his own lawful bride.
COCKATRICE **1636
A “ghost character" in Glapthorne’s Hollander. One of the sisters of the order of the Twibill Knights.
COCKBRAIN
- Family name of Cockbrain and his son Anthony.
- A Justice of Peace and the Weeder of Covent Garden in Brome's The
Weeding of Covent Garden. He is also the title character of the play's
alternate title, The Middlesex
Justice of the Peace. Cockbrain adopts the role of an itinerant minstrel
to infiltrate the criminal elements of Covent Garden. He is a keen observer
of dishonest retail practices and notes the various illicit activities of
the neighborhood rogues. While defending the Citizen from Betty and Francesca,
he is himself attacked and his disguise (though not his true identity) is
discovered. He is then protected by his estranged though still disguised son,
Anthony. At the complaint of the Citizen, he arrests wholesale the various
members of the Philoblathici, but, in the final swell of amity, merely banishes
them from Covent Garden.
(See also "ANTHONY COCKBRAIN").
COCKE
The Clown's name in Heywood's Royal King; he is intermittently named as such in the speech prefixes and stage directions.
COCKLEDEMOY
The dramatis personae of Marston's Dutch Courtesan describes Cockledemoy as "a knavishly witty city companion." He is the lover of the bawd Mary Faugh, his sometime accomplice, and to everyone else he is a trickster. In particular, Cockledemoy's attentions are directed at Master Mulligrub, the swindling owner of a bawdy tavern, whom Cockledemoy attempts to reform by giving him a taste of his own medicine. Assuming a series of disguises, first as Gudgeon, then as Andrew Shark the barber, then as a French peddler, then as the servant to Master Burnish the goldsmith, then as a sergeant, Cockledemoy tricks Mulligrub out of three bowls, a bag full of money, a cup, and a salmon, and he ends up getting Mulligrub sent to the stocks and then to prison. On his way to be hanged, Mulligrub delivers a confession and offers to forgive Cockledemoy. Upon hearing this, Cockledemoy, disguised as a sergeant so as to more easily steal Malheureux's purse, reveals himself. Mulligrub, now a free man, is overjoyed.
COCKPIT
The only one of three creditors that is named in Middleton's A
Trick to Catch the Old One. Cockpit and his two comrades have financed
Witgood's wanton lifestyle, but they are persuaded from calling in their loans
because of his impending marriage to Jane Medler. They are even convinced to furnish
Witgood with more goods to hasten the upcoming match, Cockpit offering goods from
his shop. Consequently, they spread rumors of Medler's wealth to Hoard.
COCKSTONE
Along with his fellows Salewood and Rearage, Cockstone is a London gallant in
Middleton's Michaelmas Term. Although
he does not play a major role in the play's plot aside from his loyalty to Rearage
in his suit for Susan, Cockstone nevertheless represents the typical behavior
of London gallants, fawning to Easy and Quomodo and unduly impressed with the
Lethe's courtesan, the country wench.
COCLES, HORATIUS
Horatius Cocles is a supporter of King Servius in Heywood's The Rape of Lucrece. After Servius' death, Horatius Cocles instantly switches allegiances to Tarquin. Soon after, he voices dissatisfaction with Tarquin, whom he finds to be too proud and too tyrannous. He is ordered to join Sextus, Collatine, Brutus, Valarius, and Mutius Scevola in Ardea, leaving Porsenna's forces in charge of Rome He is part of a drunken banquet in which Sextus belligerently denies Collatine's claim to having the most virtuous wife. Collatine decides that is might be nice to visit Horatius Cocles', Aruns', Valarius' , and Mutius Scevola's respective wives, and then Collatine's wife, Lucrece. Soon after, Pompie delivers a letter to Horatius Cocles, Brutus, Collatine, Mutius Scevola, Valarius, asking them to come quickly to Lucretius' house. When they arrive, Lucrece tells how she was raped. Brutus swears revenge. They all agree. Lucrece then kills herself. In the civil war, Tarquin and his army are beaten off but for reasons that are not fully explained, Brutus retreats, leaving Horatius Cocles to man the bridge alone. Tarquin and his army re enter and attack. For reasons that are not explained, the bridge falls. Was it by divine intervention or the sheer weight of Tarquin's army? Inexplicably, Horatius Cocles then decides to kill himself by jumping from the bridge. Miraculously, he survives and swims to shore, where Brutus' cheering army greets him. Later in the same battle, he further distinguishes himself by killing Aruns.
COD
Cod is the local perfumer in James Shirley's The
Wedding; by the morning of the wedding, he has not yet brought the wedding
gloves to Belfare's house.
CODIGUN
Codigun is a base-born son of Octavian, King of Wales in The
Valiant Welshman. He is angered when Octavian spurns him by making Caradoc
his heir. When Caradoc is away fighting the Romans, Codigun allies with Gloucester
and Cornwall. They poison Octavian, and imprison Guinever and Voada. Codigun is
then crowned King of Wales, and leads an army against Caradoc. He agrees to a
single combat with Caradoc, and is defeated. Spurning Caradoc's offer of half
the kingdom, he joins with the Romans and encourages them to fight Caradoc. Gald
kills him in the final battle.
CODPIECE, GEOFFREY
'Geffery Codpeice' is the insulting title Master Slightall gives to his former servant Geffrey when the latter offers to kick him in Davenport's New Trick to Cheat the Devil.
CODRETO, FATHER ANNIBALL A
A "ghost character" in Dekker's The
Whore of Babylon. The priest who confesses Paridel when he arrives in
Venice and receives him back into the service of the Empress of Babylon.
CODRUS**1570
Family name of Custer and Alison in (?)Johnson's Misogonus.
CODRUS**1590
A wretched man in Wilson's The Cobbler's
Prophecy. He wants to travel to Hell because he thinks it will be less
tormenting than life on earth. Charon tells him there is no room in Hell, and
he will have to wait until it has been enlarged.
COELUM **1607
He is part of Visus’ grand entrance of III.vi in Tomkis’ Lingua. He is clad in azure taffeta, dimpled with stars, a crown of stars on his head and a scarf of the zodiac about his shoulders.
CŒUR D'ACER
The name Neronis adopts in her second disguising as a page in the Anonymous Clyomon
and Clamydes. This is her guise while in service to Clyomon. Clyomon glosses
the name for the audience "Heart of Steel." In this disguise Neronis accompanies
Clyomon to the Isle of Strange Marshes and, after Clyomon and Clamydes become
friends, is sent to Denmark to announce to the King and Queen that Clyomon is
alive and returning home.
COGGIN
Coggin is Dissimulation's man in Wilson's The
Three Ladies of London. He reads the guest-list for Dissimulation's wedding,
and fetches Doctor Hypocrisy.
COINT, FRANCIS
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's Richard
II. Although he does not appear on stage, he is a member of Bolingbroke's
army, which, the Earl of Northumberland tells us at the end of II.i, is making
its way to England.
COKE, SIR EDWARD
Only mentioned in the anonymous Wit's Triumvirate. Coke 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." Sir Edward Coke (1552-1634) was a lawyer of the Inner Temple. He was the founder of English administrative law. He is also the author of Le Reports, a compendium of law bearing on cases which was published in 11 volumes between 1600 and 1615.
COKELY
A "ghost character" in Jonson's Bartholomew Fair. Cokely was a Jacobean jester and entertainer. Speaking of the puppeteer (Lantern/Leatherhead), Trash describes him as a man who is invited at the great City suppers to represent Coryat and Cokely, making people laugh.
COKES, BARTHOLOMEW
Bartholomew Cokes is an esquire of Harrow, soon to be married to Grace Wellborn in Jonson's Bartholomew Fair. Cokes comes to Littlewit's house, accompanied by Mistress Overdo and Grace, apparently to retrieve his marriage license. Cokes does not sparkle by his wit, and Grace is none too happy at the prospect of marrying a fool. Cokes goes to the Fair, in the company of Mistress Overdo, Grace, and Wasp. At the Fair, while Cokes listens to Overdo's anti-tobacco speech, Edgworth pinches Cokes' purse. In another scene at the Fair, Cokes admires all the junk that Leatherhead and Trash have for sale. In his naiveté, Cokes offers to buy the entire shop of Leatherhead, and Trash's gingerbread basket. Nightingale and Edgworth enter, and Cokes boasts his full purse, defying any cutpurse around. Nightingale pretends to have a spell against cutpurses. While Nightingale is singing, Edgworth tickles Cokes in the ear to make him draw his hand out of his pocket, and he pinches his purse. When Cokes notices that his purse is gone, he blames the Madman (Overdo disguised) for the theft. Cokes follows Overdo/Madman to the stocks, and he is thereby separated from his companions and becomes lost at the Fair. Cokes falls into a third trap designed by Nightingale and Edgworth, who steal his sword, cloak, and hat. Unable to find his way home, Cokes wanders to the puppet-theatre, where he sees Littlewit and asks him to lend him some money, which he uses to pay his entrance into the play. During the play, Cokes makes foolish remarks regarding the plot. In the final scene, when he learns that his marriage license is no more, Cokes seems to be easily placated with the promise of a puppet show. When Overdo invites everybody to his home for supper, Cokes tells them to bring the actors along and have the rest of the play performed there.
COLACTUS
A flattering Egyptian lord whom the Soldan makes Lieutenant of Damascus in the anonymous Two Noble Ladies and the Converted Conjurer. Colactus supports the Soldan in his bid to marry Miranda, and persuades him that Lysander aided Miranda's escape. He is wounded by Miranda/Armidan during the battle with the Babylonians.
COLATINE
Only mentioned in Marmion's Holland's
Leaguer. Ardelio compares Fidelio to Colatine (also known as Tarquin),
whose son raped Lucrece.
COLAX
Colax is a serial seducer and the son of Nicoginus in Daniel's The Queen's Arcadia. He was born and brought up in Arcadia, but has been corrupted by his travels in other lands. He is a confederate of the bawd Techne and an associate of the corrupt lawyer Lincus, the physician Alcon and the "disguiser of religion Pistophoenax. They have come to Arcadia and plot to exploit and corrupt the innocent nymphs and shepherds. Colax and Techne watch Carinus and Amyntas quarrel over Cloris. Colax mocks the fervour of Carius and Amyntas, and asks for Techne's help in getting Cloris for himself. Techne objects that he will thus desert Dorinda, whose affection she took great pains to gain for Colax. Colax, who has already seduced Daphne and has spread lies about Palaemon and Silvia in the hope of gaining Silvia's attentions for himself, explains that he desires variety. When Techne tells him of Cloris' resistance to him, it makes him keener. Techne informs Colax that she has arranged meet Cloris at Erycinas Grove to fit her with new clothes, and that this will give him an opportunity to work on her. Cloris later describes how she was accosted by Colax and how she rejected him. Colax comes before Ergistus and Meliboeus, together with Techne, Alcon, Lincus and Pistophoenax. When the outsiders are banished, Colax proposes to Techne that they must now marry each other and relocate to Corinth or another city in order to continue their trade.
COLAX **1630
Roscius in Randolph's Muses' Looking Glass characterizes him as one "that to seem over-courteous, falls into servile flattery." His opposite is Dyscolus. He remains on stage to flatter the other vices and so demonstrate how all are susceptible to base sycophancy.
COLBORN
Colbron is a giant in the anonymous Guy Earl of Warwick. He is 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.
COLBRAND
Only mentioned in Udall's Ralph Roister Doister. Colbrand is a Danish warrior killed by Guy of Warwick in the medieval romance that bears the latter's name. Merrygreek asserts that he is one of the heroes all women think of when they encounter Roister Doister.
COLBY **1599
A collier in Ruggle’s Club Law. 'Headsman ' or member of the Corporation along with Colby and Rumford and Cipher. He gets permission from Niphle to carry away the students’ corn under the guise of his coal wagon. Philenius and Musonius arrest him on the warrant from Rector. The Rector soon releases him with a hefty fine, and Philenius believes it is to allow Colby to get himself into real trouble. In the fight, Musonius bests him. He and Rumford plan to complain to the duke with Niphle, but Brecknocke changes Colby’s mind. He agrees to Niphle’s compromise plan to appear to make peace with the students and look for an opportunity for revenge.
COLBY, BESSE **1599
Colby’s wife in Ruggle’s Club Law. She would do anything for Musonius but is annoyed with him that he doesn’t seem to understand her hints to bed her. She tells him of her husband’s plan to have the town’s boys beat the students with their own clubs at the Cudgill play. She conspires with Musonius to let the students steal the townsmen’s arsenal of staves and poles from Colby’s storehouse.
COLE, FRIAR
A Friar in the Anonymous Lust's Dominion.
One of the two friars that the Queen Mother knows, Cole and Crab, who would do
anything for money. They are promised a cardinal's hat if they spread the news
that Prince Philip is a bastard. In Eleazar's castle they help Philip and the
Cardinal to escape an assassination planned by Eleazor to be carried out by Baltazar
and Zarack. The friars give Philip and the Mendoza their robes and have themselves
gagged. When they are discovered, they say that Philip and Mendoza had done this
and fled. Baltazar kills Cole, and Zarack kills Crab, just as the two are spreading
the news of Philip's bastardy, propagating Eleazar as the new king.
COLEVILE
Colevile is a knight of the Percy faction in Shakespeare's 2
Henry IV. He is accosted by Falstaff and surrenders to him just prior
to the Gaultree disband announcement. He is ordered executed as a famous rebel.
COLEWORT, AQUITAINE
An aging knight in Middleton's A Mad
World, My Masters who, along with Sir Andrew Polcut, is a companion to
Sir Bounteous Progress. Neither knight plays a significant role in the play's
action.
COLIN
A typical lovesick swain from the pastoral tradition in Peele's The
Arraignment of Paris. Colin is inconsolable when his beloved Thestylis
rejects him, and after singing of his pain, he dies of a broken heart. Because
his name appears with those of the shepherds Diggon, Hobbinol, and Thenot in Spenser's
Shepherds' Calendar (1579), the assumption is that Peele has borrowed these
pastoral figures from Spenser's work.
COLINET
A gallant in Chapman's An Humourous
Day's Mirth. He goes on Lemot's (as well as his own) behalf to request
Foyes to allow his daughter Martia, with whom he is in love, to visit the Countess
Moren. Foyes will not allow him to wait upon Martia, whom he puts under Labesha's
care. When he appears at the Count and Countess Moren's home after Martia's arrival,
he allows the Count to woo on his behalf, but does not seem unduly distressed
when Lemot allows Labesha to take her home. He urges the others to go wait upon
the King to see Dowsecer's humour. While he appears and has a single line in scene
7, no more is made of this plot element.
COLLAQUINTIDA
A friend of Lollia's in Markham and Machin's The Dumb Knight. Collaquintida scorns husbands, provides a frank account of female sexual desires, and serves as a go-between for Lollia and Alphonso. Collaquintida witnesses the near-confrontation between Alphonso and Lollia's husband Prate when the latter returns home unexpectedly during his wife and Alphonso's assignation.
COLLAR
A character in the Anonymous Band, Ruff, and Cuff. He represents the part of an article of clothing that encircles the neck, or a separate detachable piece worn to cover the neck. Collar is referred to as an ally of band, and during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the terms were frequently interchangeable. Ruff seems threatened by the late appearance of Collar, and alludes to the fact that bands and collars came into fashion at about the same time: bands did not "peep out" before "Collar came to town." If we accept the definition of collar as being part of the shirt, it is possible that Ruff is referring to the fact that bands fastened on the collar, thus could not be seen without the collar, or perhaps that the prominent standing band was not in fashion before the collar was there to support it.
COLLATINE
Collatine is the husband to Lucrece and is loyal to Servius in Heywood's The Rape of Lucrece. When he meets the singing Valarius, Collatine alone suspects that his friend is merely mad-in-craft, biding his time before striking at Tarquin. He soon after councils Brutus and Valarius, Horatius Cocles and Mutius Scevola to be a frivolous and apolitical as possible, thus seeming "offencelesse"; however, he also counsels them to plot secretly against Tarquin carefully. He, Mutius Scevola, Valarius, and Horatius Cocles visit Lucrece as part of a bet to see who has the most virtuous and most beautiful wife. Riding back to camp, Collatine asks Sextus to deliver a ring to Lucrece. Pompie delivers a letter to Brutus, Collatine, Horatius Cocles, Mutius Scevola, and Valarius, asking them to come quickly to Lucretius' house. When they arrive, Lucrece declares that Sextus forced himself upon her. She blames Collatine for sending Sextus with the ring. He seems deaf to what she says and forgives her for being raped. Brutus swears revenge. They all agree. Lucrece then kills herself. As civil war breaks out, Sextus is captured and confesses his guilt. He argues, however, that if the army kills him, Collatine will loose honor. Brutus agrees to a single combat in which they are both killed. Collatine is made Counsel. (Why Collatine did not fight Sextus himself is unclear.)
COLLEN, ALBERTUS, ARCHBISHOP of
Cologne is Chancellor of Galia and one of the seven Electors of Germany in the anonymous Alphonsus Emperor of Germany. A supporter of Richard's candidature, he was the first who sent for Richard to come to Germany. In Fortune's Revels, Collen draws the lot of cook. He solemnizes the wedding of Edward and Hedewick. He leaves the castle with Richard and turns soldier, putting his small army at Richard's disposal. He is captured along with Richard in the battle, but is vindicated at the end of the play, pronouncing Richard the new Emperor.
COLLIER, FIRST and SECOND
Two Colliers are responsible for the arrest of Ely in (?Chettle and) Munday's
Downfall of Robert Earl of Huntington:
- The First Collier is one of the men who finds Ely dressed as a woman and trying to escape after falling from John's favor. The First Collier is the more talkative of the two, who describes how the "monster" was taken, and is surprised to discover the disguised man is Ely. He hopes the colliers will not be hanged for arresting him, and he is quite relieved to be given one hundred marks instead.
- The Second Collier is the other who finds Ely dressed as a woman and trying to escape after falling from John's favor. The Second Collier calls him a monster and claims he must be the thief that robbed Master Michaels. The First Collier addresses someone offstage as "Robin" and this appears to be the Second Collier.
COLLIERS
An unspecified number of colliers in Brewer's The
Lovesick King are under Grim's command and fight in the final battle with
him.
COLLIERS or PORTERS, THREE **1599
A group of colliers help Colby steal the students’ corn in Ruggle’s Club Law. The first is named John, the second Dick, and the third remains unnamed. They gloat as they put coal in the top of their sacks already full of corn. Philenius and Musonius arrest them on the warrant from Rector.
COLLIN
Collin is the King of Aragon's faithful advisor in the Anonymous Mucedorus.
COLLINIO
A ‘ghost character’ in Percy’s A Country Tragedy in Vacunium. Rhodaghond recounts how Guasto, the Duke of Vacunium, called forth a ‘solemn cheer’ and his noblemen came from far and near to participate, including Camillo, Bentivole, Lepido, Collinio, Ursino, Novoli, Gonsagua, Columna, Flaminio, ‘and twenty more’. It was during this event that Florimel, who once despised Amadour, grew to love him when he earned great praise from the Duke of Vacunium for his prowess in the games.
COLLINS
Only mentioned in the anonymous Wit's Triumvirate. Collins is mentioned by Narrowit when he is explaining to Silence how a brother in the Low Countries established his faith, and now believes in all the stories contained in Foxe's Book of Martyrs, including "Collins his dog and all." According to Foxe's Acts and Monuments or The Book of Martyrs (c. 1554, p. 570), in 1538, Collins, having lost his wife–and also his mind–entered a church while a mass was in progress, and "beynge beside his wyttes seyinge the priest hild up the host ouer his head, and shew it to the people, he in like manner counterfaytinge the priest, taking vp a little gogge by the legges, holdinge him ouer his heade, shewed him vnto the people." The outcome of this unfortunate episode was that both Collins and the dog were burned.
COLLONNA
After the sea battle won by Norandine and Miranda in Fletcher's The
Knight of Malta, Collonna approaches Miranda and describes himself as
a Turkish slave who broke his chains and swam to shore. He asks Miranda for help,
and Miranda agrees to take Collonna as a servant. Miranda then sends him to collect
Lucinda from Norandine. When Miranda, after a considerable delay, finally sends
for Lucinda, Collonna counsels her first to be glad that she is the prisoner of
such a respectful gentleman and then to make herself look as ugly as possible
for the meeting. When Miranda attempts to seduce Lucinda, Collonna, apparently
hidden, comments on the action, and praises Lucinda for rejecting Miranda and
Miranda when the latter claims he was only testing Lucinda's virtue. Collonna
accompanies Miranda and Norandine to Oriana's tomb and helps to transport the
revived Oriana to Miranda's house. When Oriana is restored to her husband, Miranda
asks that she allow Lucinda to serve her in Abdella's place, and Collonna steps
forward and refuses. He then reveals that he is actually Angelo, an Italian captured
by the Turks, who fell in love with Lucinda in Constantinople, and not only became
engaged to her but also converted her to Christianity.
COLLUMELLO
A leading Arragonian lord and counsellor to the Queen in ?Ford's The Queen. He always attends the Queen, and is with her at Alphonso's planned execution, where he condemns the rebel's "prating." Like Almada, Collumello shows respect for Alphonso once the Queen has married him, but is shocked and reproachful at the younger man's ill-treatment of his new wife, especially when Alphonso accuses the Queen and Petruchi of adultery. With Almada, Collumello decides to offer a large reward in gold to any champion who will fight for the Queen's honour against her own wishes. The two lords use the reward to convince Salassa to release Velasco from his vow of non-violence, but when an angry Velasco refuses to bend to her will they condemn Salassa to death as a destroyer of the realm's peace. Collumello speaks unkindly to Salassa at her execution, but is very pleased when Velasco relents and agrees to stand as champion to the Queen. He supports the Queen at her own trial and enjoys the play's happy ending.
COLMOGRA
A character in the anonymous Tamar Cam whose name comports with geography more than history. He is described at one point in the plot as entering disguised "like a post." Shortly after this entrance, a group of rebels are discovered and executed. The disguise could well be part of a trap in the play.
COLONA
Daughter to the Duke's counselor, Petruchio, and cousin to Fernando in Ford's Love's Sacrifice. She is the Duchess's maid. Besotted by the lecherous courtier, Ferentes, Colona is one of the three court ladies to be seduced and made pregnant by him. Like the others, she his innocently believed his promises of marriage. When he rejects her and her disgrace is made public, her father first disowns her. Together with Julia's father, Nibrassa, Petruchio insists that the betrayed women seek revenge on Ferentes. They join with Morona, his third victim, and contrive to murder him during the masque they perform as part of the ceremonial welcome to the Abbot of Monaco. They present the Duke with their infants, but he is unmoved. He first condemns them to death for treachery, but the extenuating circumstances of their revenge allow them to be pardoned later, after their fathers plead their provocation. She continues to serve the Duchess, escorting Fernando to her presence for an innocent tryst, and shouts an ineffectual warning that the Duke has contrived to discover them together. She is not subsequently mentioned by name, but her attendance at the Duchess's tomb with the rest of the court, may be inferred.
COLONEL**1617
The hot-blooded Colonel in Middleton and Rowley's A
Fair Quarrel is a quarrelsome soldier. He and Captain Ager engage in verbal
sparring and fall into an argument about the cruelty of Ager's Uncle Russell toward
the Colonel's kinsman Fitzallen, which results in the Colonel calling Ager "son
of a whore." Ager demands a duel to defend this slander. At the dueling field,
the Colonel is disgusted when Ager utters a Christian speech on the folly of dueling.
He calls Ager a coward and is bewildered when Ager immediately leaps into battle.
Ager wounds the Colonel grievously. The Colonel's Surgeon claims that death is
near. On hearing this, the Colonel's anger abates, and he becomes incredibly generous.
He decides to leave everything in his will to his Sister, and then orders her
to marry Ager so that Ager will inherit all his wealth. Ager is touched by this
offer, and decides to accept the Sister but return the will. At this point, the
Colonel recovers. He sends the will back to Ager with even more riches. Ager falls
into the Colonel's arms, and the friends are reconciled.
COLONEL**1629
The colonel is an officer in Pisa's military and is the personal friend of Foscari, governor of Pisa in Davenant's The Siege. He is by disposition calmer than Foscari. He frequently tries to comfort the governor. For instance, the colonel tries to temper Foscari's fury after Bertolina imperils Pisa by refusing Florello's suit.
COLONEL'S SISTER
The Colonel's Sister tends her injured brother in Middleton and Rowley's A Fair Quarrel. On his deathbed (as he thinks) the Colonel leaves her all his wealth in his will, but he orders her to marry Ager so that his friend will
inherit everything. The Sister is reluctant, but the Colonel angrily demands her
compliance, so she goes to Ager and submits to him. She remains silent throughout
the play's conclusion.
COLONNIA, FRANCISCO
Friend to the Ferneze family in Jonson's The Case is Altered. Courts Phoenixella. One of those who tries
to dissuade Count Ferneze from hanging Jasper. (Sometimes spelled
"Francesco" in text)
COLOR **1607
He is part of Visus’ grand entrance of III.vi in Tomkis’ Lingua. She wears “changeable silk with a rainbow out of a cloud on her head."
COLOSSUS **1627
Only mentioned in Randolph's Plutophthalmia. Penia-Penniless says there is no such giant that follows in her train.
COLUMBO
Columbo is nephew to the Cardinal in Shirley's The
Cardinal . He is betrothed to the Duchess in an alliance that will secure
his place in court. When he dismisses Hernando in battle for cowardice, he earns
that man's enmity. When he returns from war only to murder his rival, D'Alverez,
during that man's wedding masque, he earns the Duchess' hatred. He is killed in
a duel with Hernando.
COLUMBUS
I.
Only mentioned in Jonson's Bartholomew Fair. In 1492, Christopher Columbus stepped ashore on an island in what has become known as the Americas. 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 Columbus.
II.
Only mentioned in Fletcher's The Knight of Malta. The Second Gentlewoman claims it requires a new Columbus to find chaste Knights.
III.
Only mentioned in Hausted’s Rival Friends. Lively declares he’s discovered more than Columbus when he discovers his ‘boy’ is Constantina in disguise.
COLUMELLA
Piscinus's friend and interpreter in Wilde's Love's Hospital. Columella verbalizes the dumb man's promises of love to Facetia in conjunction with the suitor's actions and, in general, deals verbally with all other characters on Piscinus's behalf. For this task he is rewarded by his friend who, at the play's end, turns over to him the refunded bag of money which the dumb suitor had given to Lysander in order to safeguard his suit to Facetia.
COLUMNA
A ‘ghost character’ in Percy’s A Country Tragedy in Vacunium. Rhodaghond recounts how Guasto, the Duke of Vacunium, called forth a ‘solemn cheer’ and his noblemen came from far and near to participate, including Camillo, Bentivole, Lepido, Collinio, Ursino, Novoli, Gonsagua, Columna, Flaminio, ‘and twenty more’. It was during this event that Florimel, who once despised Amadour, grew to love him when he earned great praise from the Duke of Vacunium for his prowess in the games.
COMACHIO
Comachio is an old lord and uncle to Depazzi in Shirley's The Humorous Courtier. He, Contarini, and Depazzi all think they might be chosen as husband for the duchess. To eliminate his nephew Depazzi from the list of hopefuls, he tries to have his nephew killed. At the end of the play, the duchess reveals that she knew of Comachio's plot but will not publish his fault.
COMAEDIA **1641
A pretty girl in Wild’s The Benefice. She appears in the first act, which has the structure of an induction. She is trussed up in a trunk since dialogues and Latin speeches have become the rage ‘under every sign-post.’ Invention raises her up with his white wand. She calls Invention her servant and Furor Poeticus her companion.
COMASTES
The sole son of Caecilius in Wilde's Love's Hospital. He is also brother of the presumed-dead Olimpa (who is disguised as Nigella for the majority of the play), and Facetia's lover, Comastes is barred from Lepidus's house despite the fact that he claims to be the heir of a great family in Naples. In response to Facetia's feigned refusal of his advances in front of Lepidus at the play's beginning he offers to kill himself, but is stopped by Nigella who orders him that he must "doot'e at home." After singing the blessings of his father's blindness Comastes is ordered by Caecilius to "sollicite Facetia" for him, a task which he undertakes with caution as he warns his father that he cannot extinguish his own love for Lepidus's daughter. At Caecilius's suggestion, Comastes decides to disguise himself as one of his father's tenants ("a down right country man" with a rustic dialect) in order to gain access to Facetia and, thus, inform her of his "landlord's" love. Under this guise Comastes promotes Caecilius's suit as well as the benefits of loving a blind man before eventually revealing his true identity to Facetia and furthering his own cause. After discovering that Lysander plans to marry the unsuspecting Caecilius to Olimpa, whom Comastes believes to be Nigella and whom his father believes to be Facetia, Comastes attempts to stop the wedding and, in the process, is disinherited by Caecilius. He then hires The First and Second Sergeants to make sure that Nigella is delivered back to Facetia's house safely after the marriage of father and daughter is successfully averted. After learning from Facetia that his birthright has been restore Comastes is charged with the task of derailing the marriage of Facetia and Lysander. Disguised, again, as a Rustic in "clownes habitt" Comastes accompanies Caecilius to Lepidus's house so that "noe more such Tricks" will be played on the blind man. Because Lepidus believes that Comastes is a Rustic he instructs him to conduct Facetia to St Clares where he has appointed one to join his daughter and Lysander in marriage. Returning from St Clares stripped of his disguise and "joynde Hande in hande" with Facetia, Comastes announces their marriage, is threatened with disinheritance for the second time by Caecilius although, again, Facetia works to reinstate him, discovers that Olimpa is not actually dead, reconciles with Lysander, and is welcomed as Lepidus's son-in-law.
COMASTES **1635
The usurping king’s fool in Killigrew’s The Conspiracy. He tells Clearchus that the king loves to be drunk and surrounded by drunkards best of all. Later, he conjures the ‘monster’ Pallantus as if he were a devil. He next appears in his tent as a captain. Polyander, Menetius, and Comastes are together in their tent where they drink wine and jest about killing the enemy. He is not on hand when news arrives that the usurper and the prince are dead and Polyander and Menetius agree to commit suicide. Timeus, Menetius, Poliander, Comastes, and a captain take refuge in a fort. When Pallantus treats peace with the usurpers and convinces them of the new king’s mercy, Comastes determines to go to the new king and play the same fool’s part he had for the usurper. The king will not accept him as a fool but rather allows him a place in court to prove his honor.
COMBATANT, MOUNSIER GRAND **1599
A Frenchman played with a broad stage-French accent in Ruggle’s Club Law. He tells Puff that he will go to the Burgomaster’s feast. Once there he becomes the butt of jokes. Henceforth, he decides to go to the “Academics" where the food is better anyway. He is amongst the group to assist Musonius in stealing the arsenal of staves and poles from Cobly’s storehouse where he boasts of breaking the townsmen’s pates. He takes offense at Cricket’s suggestion that he will be the first to run away. In the fight, Rumford bests him. When the fight is over, he crawls out from under a stall to swagger and taunt Puff, one of the beaten townsmen. He boasts to Musonius that he has killed five.
COMEDY**1590
The Anonymous Mucedorus is
framed by an induction and epilogue in which Comedy and Envy vie for control of
the play. Comedy triumphs, and the play ends happily.
COMEDY **1599
In the Induction to (?)Heywood's A Warning For Fair Women Comedie spares verbally with Tragedie and assures Hystorie that Tragedie cannot banish them from the stage because people would then stop coming the theater. Tragedie becomes angry, cracking her whip at Comedie, throwing her and Hystorie off the stage for the day. Comedie departs, promising to return "with myrthfull jeasts" the next day.
COMEDY **1630
Roscius in Randolph's Muses' Looking Glass calls her Thalia (the muse's actual name) though the stage directions and speech headings refer to her only as Comedy. She argues with her sister Tragedy over which of them is superior. She claims that her ability to move men through shame (which produces laughter) has a greater effect than Tragedy's to move men through fear.
COMEDY **1635
A “ghost character" in Killigrew’s The Conspiracy. In the introduction, Juno calls for a play to celebrate the nuptials and at first favors a comedy, but Tragedia convinces her that a tragedy is nobler and better able to bless the viewer.
COMFORT
Appears after Virginius has cut off Virginia's head in [?]Bower's Apius
and Virginia. Comfort consoles Virginius and tells him to take Virginia's
head to Apius and to look forward to Apius' punishment.
COMING
Coming and Mentith are supporters of Wallace throughout his campaign in J.W.'s The Valiant Scot. But when, after the battle, they hear of the price on Wallace's head, they ambush him and take him to the English. When Wallace manages to kill Mentith before being taken to execution, Coming expects to receive the bounty. But when Bruce is crowned king, he stabs Coming to death.
COMINGS, MISTRESS
An attendant of Hellgill and the Country Wench in Middleton's Michaelmas
Term. Comings is integral in introducing the wench to the fashions popular
among London gallants.
COMINIUS
Cominius leads the Roman army against Carioles in Shakespeare's Coriolanus.
After the city's defeat, he first proclaims Martius as "Coriolanus" and then seeks
to have the hero made consul of Rome. When Coriolanus allies himself with Aufidius
and besieges Rome itself, Cominius is the first emissary to entreat the warrior
to spare the city, but he returns from the visit to the Volscian camp unsuccessful.
COMIUS ATREBAS
Officer in Caesar's army in Fisher's Fuimus Troes. Being a Gaul, Comius tries to help both sides, he sees himself as a mediator, and he is also used in this capacity by both sides. When he first comes to warn Cassibelane to be friendlier to Caesar, Cassibelane calls him false-hearted and a spy and has him put in chains, but after his first victory over Caesar he sets him free again. Comius and Belinus advise Cassibelane to surrender in the end.
COMMANDERS, INSOLENT
"Ghost characters" in Carlell's 1 The Passionate Lovers. They are mentioned in Act One by Senon. They are expected to be punished by the prince.
COMMENDATORE
A court official in Jonson's Volpone.
COMMISSIONER, FIRST and SECOND
The First and Second Commissioners are men of authority in ?Clavell's The Soddered Citizen. They do not believe Sir Wittworth when he accuses Undermine of having cheated all his creditors. Then, when they hear Mountayne offering to meet the wealthy man's debts they wonder at his generosity. Later, Brainsicke arrives, and when he also offers to meet Undermine's debts, the First Commissioner takes him for an honest young man, but the Second Commissioner wants to know what goods he exactly owns. In the end, they learn the truth, and Undermine has to pay. (There are some lines spoken by Commissioners which are missing from the playtext)
COMMITTEES
Two "Committees"–board members of the East India Company–accompany the Governor and his deputy 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.
COMMON, DOL
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.
COMMON PEOPLE**1538
The Common People, represented by a single speaker, listen to the preaching of
John Baptist in Bale's John Baptist's
Preaching in the Wilderness. He tells Common People to repent and turn
to God. Common People states that he knows the best way to heal is to expose the
sore, and therefore he confesses his sins. Having done so, John baptizes him,
and, when asked for godly precepts, tells him to give charity rather than animal
sacrifices and to succor the poor both with food and the word of God. Common People
then leaves, having been given what he came for.
COMMON PEOPLE**1540
Also called the Poor People in Lindsay's Satire of the Three Estates, a group representing the artisans and other commoners. They stand at the edge of the stage, probably in the audience. The Soutar, Tailor, Soutar's Wife, Tailor's Wife, and Jennie are among them.
COMMON THEFT
Also referred to as "Theft" in Lindsay's Satire of the Three Estates. He runs into the Parliament while evading capture and is arrested by the Sergeants and hanged.
COMMONALITY
Commynalte represents the English people in Bale's King
Johan, Part 2. He is poor and blind, and, because of his infirmity (as
spiritual blindness brings men out of the way), he forsakes King Johan and chooses
to follow the Pope.
COMMONER, FIRST and SECOND
As Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
opens, a group of commoners are in a celebratory mood in the streets. Two of these
commoners have lines:
- The First Commoner is a local carpenter. Accosted on the street by Flavius, the First Commoner explains that he is not working because he is celebrating Caesar's triumph.
- The Second Commoner is a cobbler also caught in the streets celebrating the victories of Caesar.
Their mood angers the two tribunes, Flavius and Marullus, who set about pulling the celebratory scarves from the statues of Caesar.
COMMONS
At his coronation at the end of Pickering's Horestes, Horestes consults the Commons to discover their views. They are happy with the state of the world Horestes has introduced.
COMMON'S COMPLAINT
Complaint seconds the charges leveled by Common's Cry against Sisamnes in Preston's Cambises. To support the charges, Complaint brings along Proof and Trial.
COMMON'S CRY
Reveals Sisamnes' corruption to the returning King Cambyses in Preston's Cambises.
COMMONSENSE the JUDGE**1636
A "ghost character" in Strode's The Floating Island. Malevolo worries about how he will react to the Passions' plan to revolt against Prudentius. Amorous claims that he will sensibly accept the will of the more powerful majority and not stand with Prudentius.
COMMUNIS SENSUS **1607
Called Common Sense in the text of Tomkis’ Lingua; he is vice governor of Microcosmus by ordination of Queen Psyche. He wears a black velvet cassock like a councilor. He finds it hard to please the many-headed multitude. When he learns the five senses are about to battle, he has Lingua go to call them to him. After each of the five senses display their qualities, he awards Visus the crown and Tactus the robe. He names Auditus intelligencer to Queen Psyche, Gustus the queen’s taster and purveyor to the dominion, and Olfactus chief priest. He rules against Lingua as there can be only five senses, but he allows a sixth sense to women, that of speaking. When he learns of Lingua’s crimes, Common Sense sentences her to be imprisoned in Gustus’s house behind two great gates and thirty guards (the teeth) until she be eighty. He also sentences Mendacio to a whipping.
COMO
The leader among the Cardinals attendant on the Empress in Dekker's The
Whore of Babylon, he is referred to openly by his 'real-life' name: that
of Galli, Cardinal of Como, chief minister of Pope Gregory XIII. He counsels his
fellow Cardinals to retaliate against Titania by tearing down her new church.
When subtle means to this end fail, he counsels the Empress of Babylon to employ
(and, indeed, to canonize) an assassin willing to kill Titania. Scarcely has she
acceded to this counsel before Como goes further, suggesting that she ensure her
triumph by destroying not only Titania but the whole of Fairyland with an Armada
led by the Third King, Satyran. He describes the Armada and its leaders with great
satisfaction, and is utterly confounded by its fall. Nevertheless, he encourages
his fellows to remain loyal to their 'mother,' the Empress.
COMODUS
Comodus is the husband of Artesio's shrewish daughter Marina in Quarles' The Virgin Widow. He is a reasonable man who, along with Artesio's other son-in-law Formidon, attempts to moderate Pertenax's behavior and ensures that his estate is transmitted to Kettreena after his death.
COMOEDUS **1607
Part of Auditus’ retinue in Tomkis’ Lingua. Twin of Tragedus. He wears a light colored green taffeta robe, silk stockings, pumps, and gloves.
COMOLET, FRIAR
Friar Comolet assists Bussy's pursuit of Tamyra in Chapman's Bussy D'Ambois. The Friar accompanies Bussy to Tamyra's bedchamber at night via a secret vault. The Friar tells Bussy that Barrisor, a man Bussy had recently killed, was madly in love with Tamyra as well. Comolet advises Bussy not to let Tamyra know that Bussy suspects she desires him. The Friar calls the spirit Behemoth up in order to gather intelligence about Monsieur and Montsurry's plot against Bussy and Tamyra. The spirit advises that Tamyra should not write a letter in her blood. The Friar sets out to stall the Duke's plot against Bussy. When Montsurry physically compels Tamyra into writing a letter to Bussy, the Friar briefly tries to foil the plot. Unwisely, he leaves unsuccessful in his mission. The Friar breaks back into the room with his sword drawn as Montsurry stabs furiously at his wife. The Friar drops dead upon the floor. The Friar's Ghost, the Umbra Friar, tells Bussy to meet him in Tamyra's bedchamber. Behemoth suggests that the Friar died of natural causes. The Ghost of the Friar informs a bleeding Tamyra that Bussy is being led to slaughter. When Bussy finally sees the spirit of the Friar, D'Ambois understands that Behemoth was speaking the truth. Montsurry breaks into the room and confronts Bussy. Bussy assails Montsurry and takes him to the ground. Shots are fired from off stage and it turns out that Bussy is fatally wounded. The Friar asks Montsurry to forgive Tamyra after Bussy is shot dead.
COMPAINE
Campaine? Champaine? 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. All that remains of the name is —mpaine.
COMPANIONS, PARIS'S
Fictitious characters within the story of Paris and Enone which the Chorus intends to perform before the king in Rutter's The Shepherds' Holiday.
COMPANY, PHILENIUS’S and MUSONIUS’S **1599
Mute characters from the university in Ruggle’s Club Law. An undisclosed number of Philenius’s company help to arrest Niphles and carry him and the beggar-wench away to jail in the tub. They later return to assist Musonius in stealing the arsenal of staves and poles from Cobly’s storehouse. They show up in force with those weapons at the start of the fight and surprise the townsmen, who have just discovered that their own weapons are missing.
COMPASS**1625
Compass is a rumbustious sailor, husband of Urse, who has long been thought drowned
at sea in Webster and Rowley's A Cure
for a Cuckold. When he returns to his home in Blackwall, he learns that
Urse has had a child by the merchant Franckford. Urse is repentant, but Compass
is delighted: he is happy to have a child, whoever its father. He is less happy
to learn that Franckford is bringing the child up himself, because he wants an
heir. Compass determines to regain 'his' child. He accosts Franckford on his doorstep,
and when he is rebuffed, organizes a meeting in the Three Tuns between the two
parties and their lawyers. After Franckford's Counselor has his say, Compass makes
an argument for matrilineal custody of children that convinces everyone, even
Franckford. But Compass has another problem - the stigma of being a cuckold. Raymond
suggests a solution. Compass and Urse will pretend they have died, then meet the
next day as if they are strangers, and marry. This remarriage 'cures' Compass's
cuckoldry, and they live happily ever after.
COMPASS**1632
A "Scholar, Mathematic" in Jonson's The Magnetic Lady. Compass is also a wit who enjoys exposing the foibles of the "humorous" suitors visiting Lady Lodestone. Brother to Captain Ironside, he boasts that he has collected a variety of fools together on the pretext of wooing Lady Lodestone's niece, Placentia, in order to "reconcile" the various humours, and becomes interested in Pleasance, Polish's supposed daughter. He convinces Ironside to pick a quarrel with Sir Diaphanous Silkworm, apparently just to enjoy the cowardly posturing that will follow, but the duel is interrupted by Placentia's labor and delivery. When Practice, uninterested in Placentia, asks Compass to help him woo Pleasance instead, Compass agrees to arrange for the Parson and a license, planning in an aside to marry Pleasance himself. He inadvertently learns from Nurse Keep that Placentia is actually Polish's daughter and Pleasance the real heiress. When Pleasance innocently tells him about Placentia's delivery, he proposes and she accepts. Waiting for the Parson, Practice foolishly brings Compass the license sealed, but without his own name specified as groom; Compass promises to fill it in while Practice goes in secret to the church. Palate is hesitant, but Compass threatens him with his brother, Captain Ironside, and the Parson agrees to perform the ceremony. After the marriage, Compass reveals to Pleasance that she is really Lady Lodestone's niece and the heiress. After the marriage, Compass is identified as the father of Placentia's child, which he angrily denies and then reveals the truth about the switched girls. He puts Interest in Captain Ironsides' custody and invites all the rest to celebrate his marriage at dinner. However, Pleasance disappears, there is no evidence either for Placentia's delivery or Polish's switching of the girls, and Compass continues to face Sir Moth's Interest's accusations and threats. When Pleasance is found, locked in a scullery, Compass again confronts Polish and this time is backed up by Nurse Keep and Pleasance. With Captain Ironsides' help, he pressures Sir Moth Interest into releasing Pleasance's inheritance, and also threatens to charge Polish, Sir Moth Interest, and Mother Chair with infanticide if they do not produce the child. They do, and all is reconciled.
COMPASSION
An alternate name for Mercy, Misericordia in Udall's? Respublica.
COMPLEMENT, CAPTAIN
"A teacher of gestures and fashions" in Hawkins's Apollo Shroving. He is described by Museus as "toying," "apish," and "prating," Complement employs a Page, Jacke Implement, and is John Gingle's Tutor. As his name suggests, he is constantly fishing for compliments (mainly from Implement) and incessantly reinvents the past in order to make himself appear to be more important than he actually is. He claims to have once been an "Ambassadour" to "the great Mogull" from the King of Calecut and, near the play's beginning, he orders Implement to recite the titles which he received from the Mogull and chides his Page for having initially left them out of "the Alphabet of [his] Titles." Novice is impressed by the Captaine and offers Implement various bribes in order to entice the Page to speak on his behalf to "the mighty man." Implement presents Novice's "suit" to Complement - that Novice may "be [his] schollar for an houre in a day"– and, after much ado, Complement agrees "to entertaine" Novice "upon probation." Philoponus has previously informed the Captaine that "Apollo should bee complained unto, and [Complement] accused of robbery, for stealing away his best hopes." However, Complement thanks Implement for bringing "a pretty fat fowle to [their] net" and sets off "to give accesse and interview to Sir Orgolio. John Gringle claims to like Complement better than Museus and his mother, Mistress Indulgence Gingle, compliments the Captaine repeatedly, sends Complement extra money for his "favour," and has instructed her son to "obey him, and follow his instructions." Indulgence is also "suiter to Apollo for him, that he may continue his schoole of fine feats." Complement claims that he has Siren's love, but expresses "griefe & anger" over Sir Orgolio's acceptance of his dinner invitation. He makes much fuss with Implement over this issue, until the Page comes up with some possible solutions to the problem and the matter is forgotten about. Complement sends a "Broker" (presumably Implement) to "proffer" Lauriger with a "pension" if he can "procure a patent from Apollo" that will allow the Captaine to "hold on his apish trade" which Lauriger identifies as a "trap" and refuses. For this reason, Lauriger vows to "accuse them both anon at Apollos Judgement seat." Complement delivers a lengthy lesson to Gingle on what to do if the boy finds "a Lady weeping and mournfull, for that her Monkey is sicke of the mumps," claims that he has written "a large booke of instructions," chides his "disciple" for wearing a knife, and hastens to "muster up" friends and "advocates" to plead his case at Apollo's Court. He delivers a second lesson to Gingle on the art of shrugging, which is borne out of a dispute over money and the number of months in the year, until it is "high time" for him to "appeare" at "the Session" of Apollo. Ludio later informs Thuriger that Indulgence "never ceased crying out to Apollo" in Court on Complement's behalf, and that "Apollo himselfe was faine to command her silence." At the sentencing of disobedient characters at the play's end, Preco calls his name as "Complement, pretended Captaine, alias Captaine Comp. Fasionmonger," and Drudo claims that he has "fled." Museus states that "Apollo had doom'd him to be blowne up with Vulcans bellowes into the middle Region of the ayre." Lauriger then describes the way in which "the boyes in the outer-court of Apollos Pallace"–after perceiving that the Captaine "was like to be banished"–tied "squibs to his skirts; which being fired [. . .] mounted up into the ayre as high as a Larke." The Verger also claims that he is likely on "the Iland of Coxcombria, a place thicke impeopled with such riffe raffe."
COMPTON, SIR WILLIAM **1604
Often spelled Cumpton in Rowley’s When You See Me. He entreats Wolsey’s presence to speak privately to Henry before the French embassy arrives. He informs Henry that it is St. Edward’s day, and so the king names his infant son Edward (note: this is an inaccuracy in the play. October 13 is the feast of Edward the Confessor, but Prince Edward was born the day before on the twelfth). He brings news that Lady Mary has married the king of France. He goes with the king in disguise to see if London is well secured. When called, he goes with Brandon to the king in the counter and redeems him. It is unclear whether Brandon or Compton is sent to give a ring to Catherine “Parry" and send Anne of Cleves back to her home, but it is one of the two. He is sent to banish Cranmer from the court and Prince Edward’s side. He tells Queen Catherine that she is to be sent to the Tower and advises her to plead her case before Henry before she can be arrested. He takes her to Henry and begs him to admit her.
COMUS
Only mentioned in Jonson's Poetaster. On the Via sacra in Rome, Tucca manages to save Crispinus from being arrested for debt. Moreover, he manages to make the gullible Minos pay for a fictional play-writing enterprise, commissioning Crispinus to write a play against Horace. Satisfied with himself, Tucca invites everyone to make peace, take their hands, and honor the gods sometimes. The gods Tucca proposes to be honored are Bacchus, Comus, and Priapus, who patronize alcoholism, debauchery, and sexual excess. In late Greek mythology, Comus was the god of revelry, son of Circe and Bacchus.
CONALLUS
Younger son of Leogarius, the king of Ireland in Shirley's St. Patrick For Ireland. He worries about his father's mental state and conduct. Conallus enjoys fleeting moments of bliss with his love, Emeria, not realising that his brother is plotting to take her from him. He dislikes his father's plot to murder Patrick–''Tis not like a king'; he does betray the plot to a serene Patrick. He is told by Emeria about her rape by the 'god'. He vows revenge, and asserts that when the rape is avenged, he will treat Emeria as if she was still a virgin; but he seems perplexed and uncommitted when she tells him that it was a 'god' who ravished her. He observes his father's breakdown at the blood sacrifice at the temple. Emeria tells him that it was his brother who raped her: he finds this news, and the news that Emeria killer her assailant, difficult to comprehend. He is surprised to see that his mother, the Queen, has survived the inferno, thanks to Patrick's guidance and support. He determines to tell the story of Emiria's rape and rescue to Patrick. He ends the play as a dedicated follower of Patrick.
CONAN
Mordred's good adviser in Hughes' The
Misfortunes of Arthur. Conan urges Arthur's son not to oppose his father.
He argues that fighting Arthur will most likely lead to the destruction of the
realm.
CONCEIT or "CONSAYTE"
The disguise assumed by Foly in Skelton's Magnyfycence
to mislead Magnyfycence.
CONCEITED PEDLAR
Speaker of the comic monologue in Randolph's The Conceited Pedlar. It is addressed to the Gentlemen of the University (of Cambridge, Trinity College). His wit throughout includes both bawdy and political
jokes. He introduces himself as being no Lawyer, Soldier, Townsman, Alderman,
nor Justice of the Peace. He is neither Alchemist, Lord, Knight, Landlord nor
a Gentleman of the Inns of Court. He is a 'Socraticall Citizen of the vast universe,'
a Pedlar of laughter, selling wit, trading in jests, which he proceeds to demonstrate
with great exuberance.
CONCHYLIO
Cosma's page in P. Fletcher's Sicelides. Conchylio's chief duty is to find suitable lovers to appease the sexual appetite of the "inconstant" Cosma, whom he refers to throughout the play as his "mistress." He criticizes "fishers," makes fun of Pas's grief over Cosma's changeable affections, and taunts the old Fredocaldo by "throw[ing] down his spectacles," "snatch[ing] his verses," and making jokes about his age. When he learns that the fishers Cancrone and Scrocca are afraid of the Orke and are not aware that Atyches has killed him, he decides to frighten them. He agrees to "ridde" them of their fears if they worship him, and then delivers to them a foolish prophecy from the Oracle, tricking them into hiding under their boats. He promises both Fredocaldo and Armillus a meeting with Cosma in return for gifts, although he only fulfills his vow to the latter suitor. For the purpose of making a fool out of Cancrone, he disguises himself as Cupid, convinces the fisher to make a petition of love to Cosma, and instructs the fisher in the foolish actions he must take to win Cosma. He then disguises himself as Cosma and goes to extravagant measures to trick Fredocaldo, Rimbombo, and Cancrone. Along with Cancrone, Conchylio attempts to kill Rimbombo. After this failed attempt, Conchylio reveals his true identity to both Cancrone and Rimbombo, informs Cancrone of his previous disguise (as Cupid), and, laughing over the success of his tricks, exits the play.
CONCLUSION
Conclusion is, presumably, a servant to Discourse in Zouche's The Sophister. Definition instructs the offstage Reduction, "Charge Conclusion to keepe him [the mad Discourse] fast, and if he chance to breake from him, doe you assist him." Conclusion also enters at the play's end with Proposition and Description to look for Fallacy. Instead, they come across Ambiguity and arrest him of Capital Treason for his and Fallacy's contrivances against Discourse, Discourse's sons, the state, and the "Ladyes of poore Verona." He is present when 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."
CONCORD
Concord is one of Nature's maidens in Lyly's The Woman in the Moon. She unites the oppositions created by Discord (another maiden) and, following Nature's instructions, joins together Pandora's spirit and flesh.
CONCUBINES, DAVID'S
Forced to be present when Absalon has himself crowned king in Peele's David and Bethsabe, the First Concubine calls Absalon a graceless man, and the Second Concubine predicts that God's angels will punish him for attempting to usurp David's throne.
CONCUBINES, TURKISH
In Marlowe's Tamburlaine the Great, Part 2 Tamburlaine orders that they should bury the cowardly Calyphas, who is too base to deserve burial at any soldier's hands. They are then brought on stage and given away to the soldiers, who are told to divide them and their jewels amongst themselves. Though the captured Turkish kings demand that their honor be spared, Tamburlaine derides them and says the women have no honor.
CONCUPISCENCE**1636
Concupiscence is the daughter of Amorous in Strode's The Floating Island and begins the play banished from The Floating Island by Prudentius. After Fancie becomes queen, Concupiscence is her main lady-in-waiting. She aggressively pursues Timerous, offending Fuga by her unfeminine behavior. After her coronation, Fancie becomes enamored of the Persian style and suggests that Concupiscence marry her brother, Hilario, as this is a Persian tradition. Both reject the idea. Fancie desires more ladies around her and asks about Concupiscence's children, of which there are many. None are suitable, and she suggests turning Timerous into a woman. Concupiscence then wishes to marry Melancholio and pretends to have reformed, taking on the name Temperance. In order to seem more saintly, she asks Audax to rape and impregnate Fuga. After the marriage, however, she reveals her true self and makes Melancholio miserable. Despite his desire for a divorce, Prudentius rules the marriage remain intact.
CONDÉ
Prince of Condé and friend of Navarre in Marlowe's Massacre
at Paris.
CONDELL, HENRY
Henry Condell, an actor of the King's Men at the Globe Theatre, argues with Sly and Sinklo about the play, and theatrical issues in general, in the Induction to Marston's Malcontent.
CONEYCATCHER, CUTBERT CUTPURSE the
One of the four sons of the Bailiff of Hexham, the brother of Walter, the farmer;
John, the priest; and Perin, the courtier in the Anonymous A
Knacke To Knowe A Knave. He lives by his wit, even his father thinks that
he needs no council. He usually dresses as a gentleman and cheats merchants by
taking commodities on credit, which he never pays. As an intermediary between
a broker and a gentleman he earns £40. King Edgar, who is disguised as a gentleman
detects him when he agrees to swear a false oath in front of the judge. For his
punishment at the end of the play, Honesty decides that he has to stand at the
market cross with his tongue pinned to the breast till the birds pick out his
eyes.
CONEY-SKIN WOMAN
The coney-skin woman of Budge Row is a "ghost character" in Jonson's Bartholomew Fair. Budge Row was a street in London where fur was sold. When Mistress Littlewit appears wearing a velvet cap, her husband admires it. He says it is much prettier than the one she used to wear, made of rough country beaver with a copper band, like the coney-skin woman's. Presumably, the coney-skin woman was a dealer in furs from Budge Row. "Budge" means lambskin fur.
CONFEDERATES
Appear in scene 10 of the Anonymous plot of Frederick
and Basilea; played by Black Dick (Jones) and Rob.
CONFESSION
A holy man in the Anonymous Everyman.
He helps Everyman prepare for his reckoning by showing him the importance of penance.
Also called Shrift in the play.
CONFESSOR
The confessor carries Fernando's request for a blessing to his supposedly dying
father, Ramyres in Shirley's The Brothers.
CONFIDENCE
Only mentioned in Chapman's The Widow's
Tears. Goddess to whom Tharsalio prays, instead of Fortune, to aid him
in his wooing of Eudora.
CONFIDENT RAPTURE
Confident Rapture is a pretended wit in Shirley's The Example who follows Lord Fitzavarice. Solitary Plot considers Rapture to be a lascivious gamester; indeed, when Rapture visits Lady Peregrine, he is full of flowery love words that he offers in the name of Fitzavarice. When Fitzavarice is challenged by Peregrine to a duel, Rapture is chosen as Fitzavarice's second, and the cowardly Rapture does everything he can to the out of the duel.
CONINGHAM, JAMES
A "ghost character" in Sampson's The Vow-Breaker. Son of the Earl of Glencorn, he is one of the Scottish
lords taken hostage to the English at the battle of Dunbar.
CONJUROR**1606
A magician in the pay of the Third King in Dekker's The Whore of Babylon, he seems to be a composite figure who represents all those accused of using the black arts against Queen Elizabeth. The Conjuror tells
the Third King that he has created a wax image of Titania, which he intends to
pierce with pins and bury in a putrid dunghill; as it rots, Titania will languish
and die. Needless to say, the Third King is pleased with this plan. Scarcely has
he left the Conjuror alone, however, when the latter's plot is discovered by Truth,
Time, and Titania's trusty counselors, who order his execution and refuse his
pleas for mercy.
CONJUROR**1632
The role of Conjuror is adopted by Caperwit during the ending masque of Shirley's Changes.
CONNIVER, DOCTOR
Insulting name in the anonymous Wit's Triumvirate used by Signor Jealousia to address to Doctor Clyster, once he has found out the latter had been cozening him.
CONON**1617
Conon is a Corinthian nobleman in Fletcher's Queen of Corinth. He has lost his Corinthian estate due to "a riot." On his arrival back in Corinth after an absence in the wars, he drinks with Crates and angers him by praising Euphanes, Crates' estranged brother. Crates wagers Conon that Euphanes, as the Queen's new favourite, will snub his old friend; however, he is proved wrong when Euphanes arrives and greets Conon very affectionately. Euphanes goes on to regain Conon's lost estate for him (much to the anger of Crates, who had gained some of it.) Euphanes and Conon become inseparable, with Conon often urging Euphanes to be less accepting of his elder brother's rudeness. When Euphanes is accused of Merione's rape, Conon tries to convince him not to face Agenor and Leonidas unarmed, but agrees to announce him when he insists on doing so. Conon then challenges Crates to a duel, wounding him. Euphanes threatens to fight Conan in his turn, as the latter has wounded his brother; he makes up his quarrel with Crates and moves Crates to repentance, whereupon Conon reveals that he started the duel to achieve precisely this effect. He then joins with Euphanes, Crates and others to expose Prince Theanor's sins against Merione and Beliza, helping to bring about the play's happy ending.
CONON**1623
This is the name adopted by Penda in Dekker, Ford and Rowley's The Welsh Embassador when he first returns in disguise from France.
CONON**1637
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. Disguised as Archibald's keeper, he reveals a letter he has acquired exposing the plot to bring Katherine's Uncle Percy out of exile in France to lead the conspirators in rebellion. 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.
CONQUEST SHADOW, SIR
Sir Conquest Shadow is a coward in the anonymous Wit's Triumvirate. He can act as a brave man only in his imagination. He visits Doctor Clyster to tell him about his disease–"strange imaginations"–and he explains he suffers from imaginary valor: he thinks of quarrels with brave swordsmen, and he always ends up being victorious. He actually reports several interesting quarrels, duels in England and overseas (with their subsequent trials and all) and fights at sea he imagined, in so much detail that they sound as if they had really been true. The trouble is that, if he is brave in his imagination, he is a coward in real life: he dares not fight when he is conscious. The doctor–impressed by his fantastic accounts–exclaims that if he had that imagination, he would not want to be cured. But his patient explains that those thoughts "trouble me very much and keep me from my business." He then begs Doctor Clyster to cure him, and he offers him ten pounds in gold, if he does. The doctor forbids him "all foreign corantos, be they gazettes either in French or Dutch," conversing with merchants, living near the coast–so that he cannot hear of "setting out of ships"–and being in the company of swordsmen. Besides, he will not read stories about fights, nor letters or news in times of war. When he hears the doctor's prescription he manifests his consternation because he is in pension with a soldier. Then he is advised to either withdraw his pension or let the soldier have it, and leave. Doctor Clyster also explains to him that, should his prescription fail to work, he would try a "physical cause" with him. Later, Sir Conquest Shadow, aware of the fact that he has been cozened, goes to see the doctor again. But, being a coward, he leaves as soon as the doctor threatens him with proclaiming him a coward. Encouraged by Damme de Bois, he and the other cozened victims siege the house of the three cheaters. Finally, Master Algebra, who was passing by, offers to act as a judge, and he actually solves the case satisfactorily for all the parties involved, cures the cozened people and he is recompensed both by the victims and by the cheaters.
CONRADE
Conrade is one of Don John's henchmen in Shakespeare's Much
Ado About Nothing. Another henchman, Borachio, is apprehended by the night
watchmen when he is overheard telling Conrade about the plot to make Claudio believe
that Hero and Borachio are lovers. He and Borachio undergo interrogation by Dogberry
in front of the sexton.
CONSCIENCE**1508
Conscience, as his name implies, serves as the conscience of the main character Infans in the anonymous Mundus et Infans. Dressed as a friar, he counsels Manhood (and Age, Manhood's later incarnation) to reject the masters recommended to him by the tempter Mundus (such as the seven deadly sins). In particular, he warns him of the danger of Folly.
CONSCIENCE **1553
A "ghost character" in Udall's? Respublica.
Conscience is reported by People to have disappeared along with (the genuine)
Policy.
CONSCIENCE**1564
A personification of Apius' conscience in [?]Bower's Apius and Virginia. Conscience along with Justice both "come out of" Apius after he plans to detain and rape Virginia. After Apius exits, Conscience laments Apius'
subordination of conscience to Will and Lust. Conscience appears again as a voice
"within" warning Apius again of his folly.
CONSCIENCE**1581
I.
Conscience is, along with Love and Lucre, one of the eponymous ladies of London
in Wilson's The Three Ladies of London. She and Love are fearful that Lucre will take over London. They refuse to take
on Dissimulation, Simony, Usury and Fraud as servants. Conscience is dragged into poverty by Lucre. She is unable to help Sincerity in his search for a benefice but writes a letter to Lucre asking her to help him. Her house is taken over by Lucre's agent Usury. She is unable to prevent Usury from murdering Hospitality. Conscience is eventually forced to become a broom-seller. She is then ready for corruption by Lucre, who buys all her brooms, and asks her to spend the money on beautifying up her house so that they can have frivolous fun together. In the final scene, Conscience is brought before Judge Nemo, who accuses her of being Lucre's bawd. Conscience admits that she has been corrupted, and the Judge then spots a letter, hidden in her bosom. The letter is from Lucre, ordering Conscience not to give her away. Lucre is thus symbolically unmasked by Conscience. Conscience is punished for her corruption by being sent to prison.
II.
In Wilson's The Three Lords and Three
Ladies of London Conscience, Love and Lucre have been in prison since the end of The Three Ladies of London. Various men have petitioned for the release of Love and Lucre, but no one has ever petitioned for the release of Conscience. Nemo releases the ladies on the request of the three lords of London. They are released from prison by Sorrow, who places them, veiled, on three stones, upon which they lament. Conscience's stone is marked 'Remorse' in brazen letters. There, the spots and deformities of the ladies disappear, symbolizing their moral rebirth. They refuse to be cajoled into accepting Fraud, Dissimulation, Usury and Simony into their service. Nemo then leads in the three lords who are awed by the beauty of the ladies. Conscience is brought new clothes by Sincerity. Unfortunately, all three lords prefer Lucre, so Nemo tricks them by bringing in Conscience, dressed "all in white" and telling them that she is Lucre. Nemo asks 'Lucre' to choose her favorite lord and she chooses Pleasure, who accepts her before learning who she really is. Pleasure is content despite having been gulled, and in the final scene Pleasure and Conscience are married alongside the other lords and ladies.
CONSCIENCE**1606
A "ghost character" in Dekker's The
Whore of Babylon. Plain Dealing says that Conscience has beaten him to the task of sweeping the abuses from the Fairy camp at Beria (Tilbury).
CONSCIENCE, MADAM
Only mentioned in Day's Humour Out of Breath. Aspero tells his father Anthonio a fable of Madam Conscience who married a lawyer but could not live with him.
CONSILIODORUS
From the Latin "consilio," referring to one who advises or consults and possesses great mental ability and capacity for judgement. Philomusus's father and Studiosus's uncle in the anonymous Pilgrimage To Parnassus, who offers them his "gray-bearded counsell" as they embark upon their pilgrimage. Consiliodorus advises Philomusus and Studiosus to be "warie pilgrims" and stay away from "graceless boys," "lozell, lazie, loiteringe gromes," "foggie sleepers," and "idle lumps," who will attempt to entice them into the taverns and away from their pilgrimage. As a scholar who "lives but poore," Consiliodorus believes in thriftiness and devotion to study.
CONSTABLE**1588
A constable in Wilson's The Three
Lords and Three Ladies of London orders Simplicity and his neighbors to
keep the peace and lay down their weapons.
CONSTABLE**1589
In Oxford, the Constable arrests Rafe (who is disguised as Prince Edward) on charges of brawling and injuring an innkeeper in Greene's Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay.
CONSTABLE**1592
On the behalf of the innkeeper in ?Greene and Chettle's John of Bordeaux, the constable tracks down Perce and the young scholars and accuses them of not paying their bill.
CONSTABLE**1594
Enters with three Watchmen to arrest Merry and Rachel in Yarington's Two Lamentable Tragedies. They discuss their surprise that a respected Puritan like Merry could be guilty of such a crime. They knock at Merry's door and the Constable asks Rachel to allow him in. He arrests her, and then wakes up Merry and arrests him as well. When Merry tries to claim that Williams and Rachel are innocent, the Constable reveals that Williams has confessed what he knows about the murders.
CONSTABLE**1599
The constable and a watch twice intercept Skinke in his disguise as Redcap in
Chettle's(?) Looke About You.
First time round they take him directly to the Tower, the second time they present
him first at the house of Faukenbridge and then escort him to the Tower.
CONSTABLE**1599
Constable arrives on the scene during the brawl at the Mitre Tavern in Jonson's Every Man out of His Humour. During the fight, Constable knocks at the door and demands immediate entrance, threatening to break the door open. It is understood that Constable finally breaks the door and enters with the officers. He seizes Fastidious Brisk as he is rushing by, telling the officers to pursue the other fugitives. When Fastidious Brisk asks why he is under arrest, Constable says it is because he was involved in a riot. Fastidious Brisk tries to exculpate himself. He says that Carlo Buffone can speak for him, testifying he was not involved in any violence. Since Carlo's lips are sealed with wax, he cannot speak for Fastidious Brisk, thus behaving out of character. Seeing that Carlo Buffone cannot speak, Constable concludes the witness is not in a position to answer and this makes the case arbitrary. When Fastidious Brisk appeals to the drawers as witnesses, George says there is none of them around. Fastidious Brisk finally appeals to George, but Constable determines that George was not there when the events happened. Constable orders the officers to take Fastidious Brisk and Carlo Buffone to prison.
CONSTABLE **1599
The constable banishes Sir Oliver Owlet's Men before they can resume their regular vocations in Marston's Histrio-Mastix.
CONSTABLE**1599
Along with Harpool in Munday, Drayton, Hathaway, and Wilson's Sir John Oldcastle, he discovers that Wrotham keeps a prostitute at the lodging of the Aleman.
CONSTABLE**1604
Only mentioned in the anonymous Birthe of Hercules. The Constable is mentioned by Sosia when, as he travels by night to deliver Amphitruo's message to his wife, he reveals he is afraid a constable should see him, question him and send him to jail.
CONSTABLE**1604
Summoned by Harbert to the scene of the supposed murder in the anonymous The Fair Maid of Bristow. The constable then arrests Harbert for the supposed crime.
CONSTABLE**1604
A "ghost character" in Dekker and Middleton's 1 The Honest Whore. The Constable is called up by George, on Candido's orders, quietly and calmly to retrieve the silver and gilt beaker that Fluello has taken from Candido's shop. George reports that the Constable has successfully brought the beaker and all three gallants back to the shop, at which point Candido invites the three and the Constable to dinner.
CONSTABLE**1604
The Constable brings in the captive Furtivo to Falso, who is Furtivo's employer
in Middleton's The Phoenix.
CONSTABLE **1604
In Rowley’s When You See Me, he gives Capcase and Prichall their orders as watch set out to investigate the recent murder of two merchants in the stews. He arrests Black Will and the disguised Henry when he finds them fighting in the street.
CONSTABLE**1605
At Somebody's request, he arrests Nobody, seeking to arraign him before the king
in the Anonymous Nobody and Somebody. Nobody evades capture.
CONSTABLE**1605
In the fourth act of Dekker's 2 Honest
Whore, the Constable accompanies officers to Matheo's house with warrants
for his arrest and for a search of the residence for stolen goods. (This is part
of Orlando's plan to bring his wayward son-in-law into a position of some jeopardy,
and by effecting his rescue, to encourage Matheo to become a better husband to
Bellafront.) While at the house, the Constable recognizes both Bots and Mistress
Horseleech and has them sent to Milan's version of Bridewell. Finally, he encounters
Candido, who had come to the house to inspect some silk Matheo has for sale, and
finding silk among the items to be searched for, he arrests Candido as well.
CONSTABLE**1605
The Constable brings the crestfallen Sir Petronel and Quicksilver under arrest
in Jonson, Marston, and Chapman's Eastward
Ho!. Announcing the rebel Quicksilver that Golding is the city's deputy
alderman, the Constable explains he was prepared to ship the rascals off to the
Low Countries for vagrancy, but one of them says he is a knight. The Constable
thought it fit to present the two vagrants to the deputy alderman for judgment.
Golding tells the Constable they are free from the charge of vagrancy. When the
Constable wants to leave, Golding tells him to remain because the two will have
other charges. Touchstone arraigns Quicksilver on suspicion of felony, while Sir
Petronel is an accessory to the offense. The Constable takes both rascals to prison.
CONSTABLE**1606
This constable in Middleton's A Mad World,
My Masters attempts to arrest the players of Lord Owemuch (Follywit and
his companions, disguised) who have used the pretext of theatrical performance
to extort certain valuables from Sir Bounteous. The constable, however, is believed
to be part of the play, entitled The Slip, ridiculed as a poor player,
and bound up–thus allowing the rascals to escape.
CONSTABLE**1608
The Constable in Barry's Ram Alley
brings Francis and Thomas Smallshanks to the house of Changeable Taffeta
CONSTABLE**1609
A law-keeper in Beaumont and Fletcher's The Coxcomb. Drawer summons the Constable to intercept and stop a fight between Ricardo, Pedro, Uberto, and Silvio. With the help of Drawer, the Constable escorts the drunken trouble-makers home.
CONSTABLE**1614
When Snipsnap assaults the Tapster for asking to be paid for the drinks in the
Anonymous The Faithful Friends,
the Host calls the Constable to arrest him, but the process is interrupted by
a more urgent summons calling the tailor and his friends to fight against the
Sabines.
CONSTABLE**1615
A non-speaking character in S.S's Honest Lawyer. Marre-maid has the Constable bring in Valentine. Apparently the Constable is comic relief; Gripe calls him "neighbor Sleep" and Thirsty notes that a thief could "take him napping."
CONSTABLE**1617
A non-speaking character in Daborne's Poor Man's Comfort. He is summoned by Gullman to arrest Lucius for the murder of her daughter Flavia.
CONSTABLE**1618
The proud Constable in Henry Shirley's The
Martyred Soldier, who is "Master of the Work and Constable Royal under
the King's Majesty", is annoyed when the Clown starts taking over his job.
CONSTABLE**1620
A constable in May's The Heir. In many if not most ways similar to Shakespeare's Dogberry from Much Ado. The unnamed Constable's comic pomposity and calamitous vocabulary recreate the inept-but-dedicated character of the bumbling officer of the law. He leads the Watch on patrol and is deliberately tricked into arresting 'Irus' for the murder of Eugenio. He brings the self-confessed assassin to trial before the Judges, interrupting the arraignment of Philocles and thereby innocently allowing Eugenio to intervene at the appropriate time with the various revelations of identity and culpability which turn impending tragedy into a comic resolution.
CONSTABLE**1621
Interrupts the Morris to arrest Warbeck and Somerton in Rowley, Dekker and Ford's
The Witch of Edmonton.
CONSTABLE**1623
Arrests Antonio for fighting Martine in Fletcher and Rowley's The
Maid in the Mill.
CONSTABLE**1624
A Constable in Drue's The Duchess of Suffolk. Searches with officers for the escaping Duchess and her party while she is hidden as Mistress White at Goseling's home, and is fooled by the Duchess' disguise.
CONSTABLE**1625
The Constable goes to see the Hostess at night, when her husband is absent, in order to woo her–since they are lovers in Davenport's New Trick to Cheat the Devil. He brings a real banquet for her, but they are interrupted by the unexpected arrival of the Host, and he will have to hide under the bed. Then, he is going to be cheated by Fryer John, who will make the Host believe the Constable is an evil spirit called Asterothe, and will make the former expel the latter from his house.
CONSTABLE**1625
A "ghost character" in Massinger's A
New Way to Pay Old Debts whom Tapwell threatens to call against Welborne
when the prodigal becomes angered at being refused service at the alehouse, and
whom Greedy claims he is going to call upon to take away the sign at Tapwell and
Froth's alehouse after he revokes their license to tap and draw.
CONSTABLE**1631
The Constable in Brome's The Queen's
Exchange breaks up the Clowns' intended celebration of Osriick's marriage
to Bertha with news that Osriick has fallen sick.
CONSTABLE **1631
There are two constables in Marmion's Holland's Leaguer: - A "ghost character." An unnamed Constable is said to have come calling at the bawdy house.
- A disguise adopted by Snarl when at play's end he arrests both Jeffry and Ardelio.
CONSTABLE**1632
Minor character that the three suitors bring in Act III of ?Brewer's The Country Girl to arrest the beggar whom they think is a bawd.
CONSTABLE**1633
A minor character in Nabbes' Covent Garden. He arrests Ralph and Dobson for robbery and brings them to Sir Generous Worthy, then becomes confused when Warrant claims not to have been robbed. He is forced to become an observer in the mock trial which ends the play, when Dobson assumes the role of constable and interrogates the other characters.
CONSTABLE**1634
Accompanied by officers, the Constable appears in the last scene of Heywood and
Brome's The Late Lancashire Witches.
He does not have any lines, but he is responsible for arresting Gill, Maud and
Peg, presumably at the witch-hunter Doughty's behest, and escorting them on stage
to appear before Doughty.
CONSTABLE**1635
Arrests the four clubbers, Bag-shot, Vicar Catchney, Sir Christopher, and Rimewell,
for singing and disturbing the peace in Cartwright's The Ordinary.
CONSTABLE **1635
A Constable in ?Glapthorne's The Lady Mother. He enters as Lady Marlove is threatening to end her life and informs her that Young Marlove has killed Thurston. When she informs him that she is an accessory, he takes into custody Lady Marlove, Young Marlove, and Lovell.
CONSTABLE**1637
A "ghost character" in the anonymous The Wasp. Howlet sys that a coxcomb constable lent him his clothes in which to impersonate Constable Fallbridge.
CONSTABLE **1637
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.
CONSTABLE**1638
The Constable in Baylie's The Wizard, along with an unspecified number of Officers, is charged by Sebastian to arrest Shallow, whom he mistakenly believes is the conjurer, and does so, declaring he is unafraid of devils.
CONSTABLE**1638
The constable is an Antipodean, a character in the inset play of Brome's The Antipodes. He responds to the young gentleman's cries of "Murder!" when the maid begins to beat him, but believes the maid's claims that the young gentleman
and his old servingman have attempted to rape her. The constable's order that
they be jailed is overturned by Peregrine.
CONSTABLE**1638
The Constable in Shirley's Constant Maid finds Close and Startup in the fields. He arrests the men as suspected robbers and delivers them for questioning to Sir Clement, the justice.
CONSTABLE**1638
Joins the hunt, near the beginning of Suckling's The Goblins, for Orsabrin, after Orsabrin has wounded the Sergeant.
CONSTABLE**1641
The constable accompanies Sentwell in the search for Amie in Brome's A Jovial Crew. Together they break up the beggar wedding.
CONSTABLE**1641
The constable and officers arrest Newman at the behest of Simpleton in Cavendish's
The Variety. They believe
that Newman has assaulted Simpleton without cause, but the truth is that Newman
only fought with Simpleton in order to rescue Lucy. The constable and officers
bring Newman to the Justice.
CONSTABLE**1641
A constable performs the arrest of Rivers in Jordan's Walks of Islington and Hogsden.
CONSTABLE BUSY
A night-constable in William Rowley's A
Match at Midnight. While drunk, he tells Randall that Moll would be an
ideal wife. He frightens some of the characters during their midnight adventures,
but does not arrest anyone. In the play's conclusion, it is Busy who reveals to
Tim that Sue is a whore.
CONSTABLE, HENRY**1603
Only mentioned in the anonymous 2 Return From Parnassus. Henry Constable is one of the poets listed by Ingenio and briefly praised by Iudicio.
CONSTABLE of FRANCE **1599
I.
A "ghost character" in Thomas Heywood's 1 Edward IV. The French Constable is mentioned in passing as having sent important letters to King Edward.
II.
Count Earl S. Paul in Thomas Heywood's 2
Edward IV was at one time Constable of France. He makes a joke of his
promised aid to King Edward in the war effort against the French, playing both
sides against each other in hopes of personal gain. In competition with the Duke
of Burgundy, the Constable is forever suspicious of his compatriot. His treachery
is eventually revealed before both King Lewis and King Edward.
CONSTABLE of FRANCE**1599
Charles Delabreth, Constable of France in Shakespeare's Henry V, does not share the Dauphin's underestimation of Henry's abilities as king. When Charles VI begins to ready France's defenses against an expected English attack, the Dauphin urges his father not to over-react, but the Constable rebukes the Dauphin for failing to understand the true extent of Henry's powers. Still, when Orleans predicts a French victory, the constable agrees. Both men die on the battlefield.
CONSTABLE of ST. ALBANS**1599
He assists the Mayor and the Officer of the Watch in their search for Harpool and Oldcastle in Munday, Drayton, Hathaway, and Wilson's Sir John Oldcastle.
CONSTABLES**1601
The Constables in the anonymous The Contention Between Liberalitie and Prodigalitie, with hue and cry, inform the Host about the cruel murder of Tenacity, who, they explain, received twenty wounds, in the hands of some furious and cruel Roysters (Prodigalitie, Dicke Dicer and Tom Tosse). Their task is to seek the murderers.
CONSTABLES **1605
Two Constables in Middleton's Your Five Gallants, charged by Tailby to arrest Goldstone for the theft of the much-stolen chain of pearl, currently (and innocently) in Goldstone's hands. When the Gallants' common interest in the chain reveals to them eachothers' culpability, and they agree to join forces, the Constables are dismissed without an arrest.
CONSTABLES**1607
The two Constables appear in IV.i of Machin's(?) Every Woman in Her Humour, in which they search for Philautus at the Hobby inn and arrest him for robbery.
CONSTABLES, THREE
There are three constables in Marston's Dutch Courtesan; two of them speak, and one is silent. They are all easily gulled, as Cockledemoy is able to persuade them, first, to arrest Mulligrub and put him in the stocks, and, second, to send Mulligrub to prison.
CONSTABLE’S DAM
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.
CONSTANCE**1588
I.
Wife of Jeffrey Plantagenet and mother of Arthur in the anonymous 1 Troublesome Reign of John, Constance stoutly maintains her son's right to the English throne, and is particularly opposed to Queen Elianor. She is infuriated by the peace, which leaves her son in limbo, and curses both treacherous France and the union of Lewes and Blanche.
II.
Constance is the widow of Geoffrey and the mother of Arthur in Shakespeare's King John. She is staunch in support of her son's right to the throne of England and has allied herself with Philip of France. She argues with Eleanor and is not moved by Arthur's tears over the trouble he has caused, claiming instead he is ashamed of his grandmother. When the decision is made to marry Blanche to the Dauphin and end the war, the two kings try to smooth things over with Constance by offering Arthur titles and several towns, but this does not help. She verbally attacks first Salisbury, who gives her the news, and then all in the wedding party. When Pandolf arrives, Constance begs Philip to turn against John and rejoices when he does so. After Arthur is captured, Constance goes mad, although she claims she is not because then she would not care about her son. Later, the Messenger tells John that there is a rumor that she has died, but cannot confirm this.
CONSTANCE**1629
'The Northern Lass' in Brome's The
Northern Lass. Constance is an innocent country girl of fifteen who speaks in a 'pretty' North-country accent. She is niece to the childless Sir Paul Squelch, who wishes to offer her in marriage to Master Nonsense and to provide her with a large dowry. However, she has fallen in love with Sir Philip Luckless. She writes to him before his marriage to Mistress Fitchow, but he mistakes her for a whore of his acquaintance, Constance Holdup, and rejects her suit. Along with her governess, Mistress Trainwell, she puts her cause in the hands of Master Tridewell. She sings in a masque at Sir Philip's wedding party, then soon falls into distraction due to love melancholy. However, she remains sane enough to reject Master Nonsense's advances, and seems much revived when Sir Philip arrives and offers to carry her off in a coach. They eventually obtain her uncle's blessing, and the play ends with a feast in her honour.
CONSTANCE **1637
Only mentioned in (?)Speed’s The Converted Robber. Jarbus mentions that this king came to power in the year 546.
CONSTANCE, DOROTHEA
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.
CONSTANCE or CAMITHA HOLDUP
A cunning prostitute in Brome's The
Northern Lass who has recently borne a bastard child and with whom Sir
Philip may have been 'familiar.' Sir Philip mistakes Sir Paul Squelch's virtuous
niece Constance for her, giving rise to most of the plot's confusions. Tridewell,
Anvil and Mistress Trainwell enlist her in their plot to overcome Sir Paul's opposition
to a number of suitable matches. Thus, when Vexhem brings her before Sir Paul
for prostitution, she consents to become Sir Paul's mistress and to pass publicly
for his mad niece. She deceives Widgine and Howdee, neither of whom have ever
seen the real Northern Lass without a mask. Convinced that she is the poor, mad,
rich Constance, Widgine proposes to her on the spot and later beds and then marries
her. When he discovers that she is actually a prostitute, she accepts a hundred
pounds to release him from the marriage bond.
CONSTANCY
A part taken by one of the Roman soldier masquers performing in honour of Titus's Triumph in Hemminge's The Jews' Tragedy. They appear as Time, Piety, Temperance, Chastity, Friendship, Constancy and Patience. Their masque underlines the royal virtues of Titus and incites him to judgement of the prisoners-of-war.
CONSTANCY **1617
A “ghost character" in the anonymous Pathomachia. One of the four half-Virtues (or imperfect Virtues) at King Love’s command. Constancy has recently been banished from France and is therefore available for Love’s war. He is one of Fortitude’s two captains in the war against the Vices.
CONSTANT, JACK
Constant is Mistress Pleasant's leading suitor at the beginning of Killigrew's Parson's Wedding. Pleasant finds him extremely boring, and indeed he does little more than profess his devotion and engage in debates extolling the virtues of romantic love. Along with Will Sadd and Secret, he makes up a story that Lady Wild's house has been infested by the plague, in the hopes that she and Mistress Pleasant will leave London and not fall under the spell of Careless and Wild. Their schemes fail when the Captain devises a plane to trick the ladies into marrying Wild and Careless.
CONSTANTIA**1608
Sister of Modesta in William Rowley's The
Birth of Merlin: or, The Child Hath Found His Father. She is expected to marry Cador, but on their wedding day, Modesta persuades her to follow her into a convent instead.
CONSTANTIA**1625
Petruccio's sister and wife to the Duke by a secret contract in Fletcher's The Chances. Constantia has a reputation as a chaste and beautiful woman who has caused John and Frederic to spend months searching for her. She sees Frederic at night while he is out searching for John and begs him to hide her; when he does, she asks further that he rescue a man who was about to be ambushed. Frederic leaves her in the care of Gillian, who takes her and the Baby (offstage) to Peter Vecchio's, where they appear as spirits representing themselves and are afterwards reunited with the Duke and Petruccio.
CONSTANTIA, SECOND
Second Constantia is in fact a prostitute and Antonio's lover in Fletcher's The Chances. She, along with Francisco, robs Antonio's house and goes to the Bawd when she believes Antonio is going to die from the wound John gave him. She is arrested by Petruccio and put in the custody of an Officer, along with the Bawd and Francisco. At the end,
Petruccio claims to Antonio that Second Constantia has been whipped, but Antonio so clearly displays affection for her that they propose to reform her.
CONSTANTIA SOMMERFIELD
Constantia Sommerfield is the daughter of Lady Sommerfield and is the heir to the estate of the now-deceased Sir John Sommerfield in Barry's Ram Alley. At the opening of the play she has disguised herself as a page in order to follow Thomas Boutcher, with whom she is in love, because she suspects that he is unfaithful to her. She enters his service by disguising as a boy and presenting him with a letter from herself, recommending the "page" to him. When they go to visit William Smallshanks, Constantia is surprised to hear William tell Boutcher to inform Throat that he plans to elope with "Constantia Sommerfield." She does not protest, but goes on Boutcher's order to Thomas Shallshanks, requesting him to meet with William. Constantia plays the role of the witty page in dialogue with Boutcher, Adriana and Dash, and advises Boutcher on his wooing of Changeable Taffeta. Constantia and William help Boucher to humiliate Captain Face. William tells Boutcher that he should not bother with Taffeta because Constantia is in love with him, but this does not stop Boutcher from trying to hang himself when he realizes that Taffeta is to marry another man. William explains that he (not Sir Oliver Smallshanks) has married Taffeta, and Constantia offers to help Boutcher to marry Constantia Sommerfield. When Lady Sommerfield demands to know where her daughter is, Constantia reveals herself and declares her love for Boutcher. They are betrothed.
CONSTANTINA **1632
Jack Loveall’s sister in Hausted’s Rival Friends. Escapes from her home to find her love Cleopes. She leaves behind a double (Isabella dressed as her). When Stipes finds Contantina disguised as a boy, Bully Lively takes the boy on as his gentleman servant. Lively discovers that she is Constantina in disguise looking for her Cleopes and promises to help. Lively tells Neander that she is a boy dressed as a girl and has them contract marriage before a vicar in furtherance of their mutual plan to help Lucius to Pandora. She is later carried in swooning and awakes calling upon Cleopes. She is overjoyed to find that Neander, whom she has married, is in truth Cleopes.
CONSTANTINE**1599
The Duke of Brunswick and brother to Katherine in the anonymous Wisdom of Doctor Dodypoll. When his ambassador is put off, he and Katherine travel to Saxony in person to demand of Alfonso why the marriage Katherine has been repeatedly delayed.
CONSTANTINE**1608
An apparition conjured by Merlin to represent King Arthur's successor in William
Rowley's The Birth of Merlin: or,
The Child Hath Found His Father.
CONSTANTINE**1612
Constantine is one of the sons of Cadallan in The Valiant Welshman. In the final battle against Rome, Constantine leads the troops in Caradoc's absence, and captures the Roman eagle from the Standard-Bearer.
He then fights Marcus Gallicus, and both are killed.
CONSTANTINE**1618
Constantine is the former King of Britain and the father of Constantius, Aurelius, and Uther in Middleton's Hengist.
CONSTANTINE**1620
A young gentleman of Meath but not a noble in the anonymous Costly Whore, he loves Euphrata, daughter of the King of Saxony. When Montano discovers him hidden her closet he goes along with her stratagem of pretending that it was at Montano's initiative. Constantine sends Otho away when he discovers that his friend loves Euphrata, too. He uses the Duke's proposed marriage as grounds for his own marriage to Euphrata. Betrayed, they are imprisoned and condemned to death. Otho rescues him and takes his place, but his body is presented to the Duke as having drowned during the escape. He is alive, however, and the lovers are now free to wed.
CONSTANTIUS
Constantius is the heir to Constantine, King of Britain in Middleton's Hengist. He is a monk who receives the crown against his will since he prefers the monastic vocation. Constantius is assassinated by Vortiger, who assumes the throne in his place.
CONSTANZA
Constanza is the daughter of Fernando, the Corigidor of Madrill and the niece of Guyamara and Alvarez in ?Middleton and ?Rowley's Spanish Gypsy. When Alvarez is banished, he and Guyamara take Constanza with them and raise her as a gypsy, naming her Pretiosa. She is renowned for her beauty and wit. She agrees to marry Don John, the most ardent of her admirers, on the condition that he becomes a gypsy for two years. At the end of the play, her true identity is revealed and she is reunited with her father.
CONSUL
An unspecified consul in Lodge's The
Wounds of Civil War asks why Curtall and Poppey wish to see Scilla.
CONSULS
The two consuls [unnamed in Chapman's Caesar and Pompey: historically, they were Gaius Claudius Marcellus and Lucius Cornelius Lentulus] try to keep order in the Senate in Act I when Caesar and Pompey are violently arguing. When war begins, they side with Pompey; when he is defeated, they commit suicide.
CONTARINI**1629
A "ghost character" in Davenant's The Just Italian. Old Contarini of Placentia, is one of the merchants or bankers that Alteza orders Niente to ask for credit, after she finds that she cannot buy jewels from the Millanoise Jeweler because of Altamont's orders.
CONTARINI **1631
Contarini is a young lord, relatively newly wed to Carintha in Shirley's The Humorous Courtier. Believing that the duchess will select him for a husband, he conspires to be rid of his wife and thereby make himself available for marriage. When Carintha will not obligingly take her own life, Contarini asks friend Giotto first to seduce Carintha and then, failing that, to kill her. All of Contarini's plans fail; when the duchess learns of all that he plotted, she chides him but promises not to publicize his errors.
CONTARINI**1642
A nobleman of Parma, follower of Prince Farnese in Shirley's The Sisters. Invited by Antonio to pay a mock-courtship to his pretentious niece, Paulina, Lord Contarini falls in love with her modest sister, Angellina.
Despite Antonio's encouragement, Angellina proves resistant, so Contarini first
sends her his page, Vergerio, to urge his claim, and then asks his master, Farnese,
to appeal for him. Farnese falls in love with her himself, but he and Contarini
discover that Angellina has fallen in love with the page, Vergerio. Finally, however,
the page reveals that he is really a woman, the disguised Pulcheria, Contarini's
own former love whom he had believed dead, and the two are reunited.
CONTARINI, DUKE
The Duke of Venice in Shirley's The Gentleman of Venice. Contarini deplores the lack of nobility evidences by his son Thomazo. He is also impressed with the noble actions and attitudes of Giovanni, the gardener's son, who has distinguished himself during military service. Near the play's end, Ursula, the gardener's wife, proves to the duke that it is Giovanni who is really the duke's son, and Thomazo who is the son of the gardener.
CONTARINO
A great lord and beloved of Jolenta in Webster's The Devil's Law Case. When Contarino learns that Jolenta has
been compelled to marry Ercole, he challenges Ercole to a duel, wounding
him and suffering serious wounds himself. On the brink of dying, he is,
incredibly, cured when Romelio stabs him. On recovery, he disguises himself
to learn the truth about Jolenta's rumored marriage to Ercole. He serves
as Ercole's second during preparations for a duel with Romelio. Eventually,
he is revealed to be still alive and is embraced by Ercole.
CONTEMPLATION**1513
He is sent by Perseverance to seek Pity in the anonymous Hick Scorner. He refers to himself as "the chief lantern of holiness," and has come to rail against vice. He meets Pity and Perseverance and goes off with them. He and Perseverance later find Pity fettered and release him. Along with Perseverance, Contemplation converts Free Will to the righteous path and then gives him a new coat. They then all three convert Imagination, and Free Will says that he will dwell with Contemplation forever.
CONTEMPT**1590
Contempt is an allegorical figure in Wilson's The Cobbler's Prophecy. He goes by the name of 'Content' and tries to encourage the people of Boetia to live lives of idle luxury. He introduces Sateros to his
converts: the Scholar, the Country Gentleman, and Emnius the Courtier. Contempt
tells Sateros that if he wants promotion, he must honor him, but Sateros refuses.
Contempt is also having an affair with Venus under the nose of Mars; he dances
with her while Mars sleeps. Venus leaves Mars, but when Contempt has had his wicked
way, he spurns her. In the end, war breaks out, and Contempt is driven from Boetia.
CONTEMPT **1599
Contempt accompanies Pride in Marston's Histrio-Mastix.
CONTEMPT **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.
CONTENT
The alias used by Contempt in Wilson's The
Cobbler's Prophecy.
CONTILUPO
An unscrupulous lawyer in Webster's The Devil's Law Case. He provides long-winded denunciations of Romelio in
court.
CONTINENCE **1617
A “ghost character" in the anonymous Pathomachia. One of the four half-Virtues (or imperfect Virtues) at King Love’s command. Continence has recently been banished from Italy and is therefore available for Love’s war. He is one of Temperance’s two assistants.
CONTO
A robber in (?)Speed’s The Converted Robber. The hue and cry is up for Alcinous, Autolius, and Conto for their robbery of four clothiers. This is the reason they have gone onto Salisbury Plain, here they mean to rob shepherds and ‘sport’ with shepherdesses. He and Conto wait impatiently for Alcinous to prepare the way for their robbery. He and Autolius grow tired of waiting for the robbery and decide to take out in ‘mirth’ what their wait loses them in ‘prize.’ He and Autolius attempt to rob Jarbus, but when they find nothing worth stealing from him, they daub his face with his own sheep-marking tar. When he and Autolius confront Alcinous for his betrayal/conversion, Alcinous points out ‘yon miracle of stone’ upon Salisbury field, likely meaning Stonehenge, saying they stand for Autolius’ and Conto’s tombstones if they should disturb the shepherds. He is converted to the shepherd’s life. He apologizes to Jarbus and is forgiven.
CONTRADICTION
A counselor in Zouche's The Sophister. Fallacy sends Opposition for Contradiction immediately before he resigns his right to succeed Discourse. Contradiction, then, encourages Topicus and Demonstration to fight in the name of courage and honour for the right to their father's kingdom. For this deed Contradiction is rewarded by Fallacy, who commits his "fortunes" and "self" to Contradiction's "faire trust." Contradiction is sent to inform Definition and Division that they are banished from the Court. Because Fallacy is confident in his new position and thinks that he can "stand alone," he contrives the ruin of both Contradiction and Opposition. Fallacy (separately) informs each of his two "sworne supporters" that Scientia has promised to "place her best affections" upon him if Judicium is killed, and that Judicium has, thus, bid him to "combate." On receiving this information each of the men vows to fight on Fallacy's behalf. He bids them each (separably) to disguise themselves, to keep the plan a secret from the other, and to meet at a certain place and time where each will apparently meet Judicium. However, unbeknownst to Opposition and Contradiction, Fallacy plans for them to meet and kill each other instead. Contradiction enters disguised upon Ignoratio (who is, himself, disguised as a captive at Ambiguity's encouragement), thinks (initially) that Ignoratio is Judicium, and proceeds to strike him and exit after he realizes that he is not Judicium. Proposition later informs Judicium that "Opposition and Contradiction contending for the rule, / Have wounded each the other wilfully," at which news Judicium expresses his concern for Contradiction. Analysis congratulates Equipolency on coming to him "so timely" concerning Contradiction's and Opposition's wounds and gives the Apothecary advice on how to treat them effectively. Contradiction (along with Opposition) curses Fallacy and confesses to his role in "thrust[ing]" Demonstration and Topicus into "their desperate fury." Ambiguity later informs Fallacy that "Lord Opposition and Contradiction have hurt each other [. . .] dangerously" at which news Fallacy pretends surprise. However, Ambiguity goes on to inform his Master that Equipolency "hath with his curiosity drawne out the rancor of their wounds, and no question is made of their recoverie." Furthermore, the Apothecary has also "made them friends" and claims that they do nothing except "exclaime against" Fallacy and Ambiguity. At this news, along with the fact that Analysis has let Discourse's blood, Fallacy grows desperate to "doe somewhat." It is, presumably, Contradiction and Opposition whom Discourse refers to at the play's end when he states, "Let them when their health and strength shall serve, / Be both conveyed hence to th' Antipodes."
CONVERSION
Conversion appears only once in Zouche's The Sophister. He crosses paths with Equipolency and states that he is banished, but claims that he would "go voluntary" anyway. He praises Equipolency and inquires as to the "course" the apothecary intends to take. Conversion lists the places which he will visit, is advised by Equipolency, and departs.
CONWAY
A "ghost character" in Sampson's The Vow-Breaker. One of a group of English and Scots soldiers praised by
Arguile for their bravery at the siege of Leith.
COOK **1604
This loyal servant of Elizabeth stands with the Pantler in Heywood's 1 If You Know Not Me so Elizabeth may see her trustworthy staff as she crosses the river by the Tower.
COOK **1607
A "ghost character" in the King of Moldavia's house in The Grocer's Honour portion of Beaumont's Knight of the Burning Pestle. Rafe gives this character 1s by way of Pompiona so as not to be beholding to the king. As there is truly no such person, one must imagine that the actor playing Pomponia keeps this money for himself.
COOK**1609
A "ghost character" in Jonson's Epicoene. Cook is Otter's mistress. After Otter has been drinking with his merry party of friends, his tongue unties and he makes intimate confessions. Dauphine uses a pun on Otter's name, telling "Captain He-Otter" that his "She-Otter," his wife, is coming. On hearing the name "wife," Otter shows his contempt for Mistress Otter. He confesses that he has a multifunctional cook and laundress that serves his necessary turns and could well go under the title of Otter's mate. Otter concludes philosophically that men who would be so uxorious as to tie their affections to one woman are fools. Otters dares to express his polygamous tendency only when drunk and in the absence of his domineering wife. However, he is not aware that Mistress Otter is eavesdropping.
COOK**1610
Mammon's hypothetical cook is a "fictional character" in Jonson's The Alchemist. Mammon imagines having a huge amount of money, which he gained because of the alchemical transmutation, and fantasizes that he will eat exceptionally well. Mammon imagines he will reward his cook with money enough to buy himself a knighthood. The fact that the cook can become a knight for money alludes to a contemporary joke against King James's indiscriminate and mercenary creation of knights.
COOK**1618
Creon's Cook is made unemployed when Simonides inherits his father's estate in
Massinger, Middleton and Rowley's The
Old Law. Along with the other servants, the Cook persuades Gnothos and
the Clerk to help them find rich widows who are old enough to be executed under
the Old Law. They marry these widows, and dance with them in a tavern. At the
end of the play, Evander reveals that the Old Law was a fiction, and the servants
are thus lumbered with their elderly wives.
COOK **1619
In Fletcher’s Bloody Brother, he boasts to the Yeoman of the Cellar, Butler, and Pantler of the brave banquet he will prepare before they all sing a drinking song. He accepts Latorch’s bribe of five hundred crowns and a pardon to poison Otto at the banquet. Later, to curry favor and appear most royal and noble Rollo promises the citizens to have him executed for plotting to poison Otto. He is led to his execution as boys jeer him and the kitchen staff. He and the others sing their ballad as they are led along, not trusting their ballad to be written by a poet after they are dead. He asks the Sheriff to ensure he not be printed with a brass pot upon his head.
COOK**1625
A "ghost character" in Massinger's A
New Way to Pay Old Debts. Sir Giles Overreach's "rebellious" Cook causes
trouble in the kitchen when he refuses to obey the orders of Greedy, who has been
appointed by Overreach to command the preparation of the meal held in honour of
Lord Lovell's arrival.
COOK**1629
Cook represents the author of the play and he is a fictional character in Jonson's The New Inn. When Prologue addresses the audience, inviting them to sample the foods offered at the New Inn, he alludes to Cook as the play's author, and the bill of fare as the prologue, urging the audience not to expect too much from this play. Extending the analogy of food offered at the inn and the spiritual nourishment provided by a play, Prologue warns the audience against being undecided in their choice of plays, as greedy customers would be in their choice of foods.
COOK **1635
Petrutio's Cook explains in detail the twelve sumptuous dishes created for Petrutio's
banque in Marmion's The Antiquary. Each dish is an emblem of a different zodiacal sign.
COOK**1638
The Cook works for Caelia in Baylie's The Wizard. He is told by the disguised Antonio that missing spoons will be found in Hog's boots. The Cook reports the truth of this to Caelia and this convinces her that the conjurer is a true magician.
COOK**1641
Oldrents' cook in Brome's A Jovial Crew. In Oldrents' absence, he offers Oliver and Tallboy "a cut of the sirloin" and drinks to them.
COOK, CARDINAL BEMBO'S
A "ghost character" in Jonson's Volpone. Volpone, disguised as Scoto of Mantua, denies having poisoned the Cardinal's cook.
COOKS
"Ghost characters" in Massinger's The City Madam. They are mentioned in the first scene.
COOMES, DICK
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.
COOPERBURNE, GOODMAN **1599
One of the twenty-four Electors for the Burgomastership in Ruggle’s Club Law. He was thrice called to the electors but was tardy because his wife is sick. His fine is forgiven.
COOTE, MISTRESS
Mistress Coote is a bawd who consorts with Alexander and the soldiers in William
Rowley's A Match at Midnight.
Under the direction of Jarvis, she is sent to meet with Bloodhound at the Exchange,
instead of the Widow. Bloodhound takes her home. In the morning he is astonished
to find that she is not only a different woman to what he'd expected, but also
that she is in bed with Earlack. In the play's conclusion, Mistress Coote is taken
away to Bridewell.
COPERNICUS, NICOLAUS
Only mentioned in the anonymous Wit's Triumvirate. Copernicus is mentioned by Doctor Clyster when, having heard Master Algebra's claim that "the earth moves and that the sun stands still", he replies "Sir, this was a drunken conceit of Copernicus the German and Tycho Brahe the Dane." Later, Copernicus is mentioned by Doctor Clyster again, when he offers Master Algebra a cure for his disease: "I shall beseech you not to taste Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, or Kepler, but especially Galileo." Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) was a Polish astronomer who defended the astronomical theory that the Earth spins on its axis once daily as it revolves around the sun–which is stationary–annually.
COPETHUA, KING
Only mentioned in Jonson's Every Man in His Humour. It is said that king Copethua or Cophetua of Africa fell in love with a beggar-girl, and married her. In Kitely's kitchen, Cob delivers one of his lectures, drawing on his homespun philosophy, regarding the insufficiency of feasting days. He complains that the poor cobs, his family lineage, become martyrs on such days. Cob tells Cash that the maids at Kitely's house knew he descended from a family of cobs and yet they gave him a herring to eat. Pulling the red herring out of his pocket, Cob tells it he has no heart to devour it for all the riches in the world, be he made as rich as King Copethua.
COPHETUA
Only mentioned in Shakespeare's 2
Henry IV, King Cophetua is a name Falstaff uses on one occasion to refer
to himself. Falstaff compares his own marital prospects with those of Cophetua,
who supposedly wed a lowborn maiden.
COPLAND, JOHN
John Copland is an English soldier in the Anonymous King
Edward III who captures the Scots king David in a battle. He refuses to
turn over his prisoner to Edward's regent, Queen Phillipa, thereby insulting her.
She travels with him and David to France, and John turns David over to Edward
directly. Edward rewards him for his loyalty by knighting him.
CORACINUS **1635
One of Timeus’ guards along with Argestes in Killigrew’s The Conspiracy. He reports to Timeus that the men sent to assassinate Pallantus have been found but fishermen murdered. He and Argestes fight Pallantus upon Timeus’ order and almost lose until Timeus himself enters the fight.
CORAMBIS
In Q1 of Shakespeare's Hamlet, Polonius is named Corambis. See POLONIUS.
CORAMBUS
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's All's Well. A commander in the Florentine army.
CORAX
Corax is the court physician to Prince Palador in Ford's The Lover's Melancholy, a plain-spoken man who longs only to return to the university and to his books. Called by Aretus to help cure the Prince's melancholy, he declares himself almost maddened by Palador's refusal to take exercise and his insistence on shutting himself up with his books. At his first entrance he exchanges a long string of insults with the equally cranky and blunt Rhetias, but soon comes to respect Rhetias' honesty and loyalty and joins with him in a plot to reveal and destroy the causes of the Prince's melancholy. To that end, he stages the Masque of Melancholy, in which various forms and causes of melancholy are performed before Palador. The Prince's reaction makes it clear that he is suffering from love-sickness, confirming Corax's diagnosis and encouraging Corax and Rhetias to allow 'Parthenophill' to disclose her true identity. At the play's end, Corax achieves a second apparently miraculous cure when he heals Meleander's madness through the restoration of the old man's sleep, his titles and his elder daughter (in that order). Presumably, the court physician then receives his richly deserved reward and is able to return to his beloved books in peace.
CORBACCIO
A nearly deaf old man gulled by Volpone in Jonson's Volpone. His name means crow. Corbaccio is convinced by Mosca to disinherit his son Bonario and name Volpone as his heir in the hopes that Volpone will reciprocate. Corbaccio later defends himself in court by betraying his son, and when Voltore admits the truth in a subsequent hearing, Corbaccio refuses to recant. When Volpone confesses, Corbaccio's property is given to his son and he is sent to a monastery to live out his remaining days.
CORBINO**1639
Disguise adopted by Julio in Dekker's(?) Telltale. Corbino is a slave to Aspero.
CORBO **1635
The fool in Rider’s The Twins. Servant to Julio, Dowze’s lover. He is hunting in Pale’s wood when he receives Dowze’s picture from Silvio and Philagrio and exchanges wit with Fulvio and Gratiano about hunting. He tries to write a poem about Dowze, but verse catches no deer, so he continues hunting. He finds Alphonso’s clothes and sword and Carolo’s dagger and puts them on. Carolo wakes and sees Corbo in Alphonso’s garb and, believing it to be Alphonso’s ghost, confesses all to him. Later, he goes to the court to invite all to the yearly shepherd’s festival.
CORBULO
Corbulo is a clown figure in John Webster's Appius
and Virginia who exchanges bawdy wordplay with Virginia's Nurse.
CORCUT
Bajazet's son and Soldan of Magnesia in ?Greene's Selimus I. Disguised as mourners, Corcut and his Page flee the forces led by Hali and Cali. Bostangi Bassa's naval blockade forces them to hide in a cave for several days. Desperate for food, they encounter Bullithrumble, who agrees to share some food with them if they promise not to rob him. Corcut praises the contentment of country life while with Bullithrumble. He is then apprehended by Hali, who was led to him by the Page. Corcut agrees to go along with Hali. He is brought as a prisoner by Hali and Cali to Selimus. Knowing he will die, he describes his conversion to Christianity as well as the punishments that God has in store for Selimus. At the end of his speech, Selimus strangles him.
CORCUTUS **1618
The youngest of Baiazet's seven sons in Goffe's Raging Turk, Corcutus has reluctantly accepted the people's nomination as emperor, but when he hears of his father's rage, he offers to resign his throne and retreat from the turmoil of politics and war to the serenity of scholarship. His father sends him to govern Ionia, promising that he will succeed as emperor. When he learns that Baiazet has, in fact, preferred Achomates, he decides to return to court, not to resist the decision but to disturb his brother morally. He arrives in time to see Selymus entrusted with the attack on Achometes; dismayed, he is encouraged by his father to suppose that in time the crown will come to him. Though briefly tempted by power, the insensate ambitions of the court finally disgust him, and he resolves again to spend his life in retired scholarship.
CORDATUS
Cordatus is the author's friend and plays the role of a moderator in Jonson's Every Man out of His Humour. Mitis plays the critic of the play, and Cordatus is the defender. Both Mitis and Cordatus are the spectators on the stage. They intervene with comments after each scene, and even within the dramatic exchange. Cordatus enters with Asper and Mitis. While Asper threatens to unmask public vice, Cordatus tries to temper his friend. When Asper orders that the play should start, he nominates Cordatus and Mitis as the two censors of the comedy. They are expected to sit on both sides of the stage and express their opinions on every scene. When Asper exits, Cordatus and Mitis discuss the author's combative spirit. With reference to the play, Cordatus says it is in the manner of the Old Comedy. When Mitis asks if the play observes the classical rules, Cordatus embarks upon a lengthy disquisition about the history of comedy. He makes the point that, since each classical author of comedy added something new to the genre, he sees no reason why contemporary authors should be deprived of this privilege. Cordatus announces Prologue, but Prologue refuses to speak his part, claiming that Cordatus has already addressed the audience. Cordatus is expected to recite the prologue, but he says he would not do it. Upon this scene, Carlo Buffone enters and the play begins. While Cordatus and Mitis are watching the performance, they comment on the characters, the play's structure, plot, and verisimilitude. Cordatus attempts various definitions of comedy and sustains them with quotes from classical sources. When, towards the end of the comedy, all characters have behaved out of humor, Cordatus tells Mitis they must be out of censuring too, thus behaving out of character. Attesting their existence as characters in a play, Cordatus exits with Mitis before the final soliloquy, spoken by Macilente.
CORDELIA or CORDELLA
I.
Cordella is the youngest daughter of Leir in the Anonymous King
Leir. She refuses to marry according to his wishes, so he plans to trick
her into marriage by asking her to declare how much she loves him and then using
that declaration to force her to accept his choice. However, she refuses to flatter
him, saying only that she loves him as a child should love a father. She is dispossessed
and leaves the court to find work to support herself. Out in the countryside,
she meets the King of Gaul, disguised as a pilgrim. She describes to him what
has happened and, when he claims that he knows the Gallian King has fallen in
love with her, she tells him to woo for himself, not another. Despite protests
that she is not fit for a pilgrim's life, she insists she wants to be with him.
The King reveals himself and promises to marry her that day so that it will be
true that all three sisters are married at the same time. In Gaul, Cordella is
happy, but misses her father and wishes she could regain his love. To please her,
the King sends an Ambassador to ask Leir to visit her in Gaul. While she, the
King and Mumford are at the seacoast, disguised as country folk, they find Leir
and Perillus, who have escaped Ragan's murder attempt. They are reconciled and
mutually forgive each other. After the Gallian army has landed in Dover, Cordella
promises to pray for success, since she cannot fight, and Leir promises the same.
After the victory, Leir admits that her original words, which he took to be unkind,
represented the truth of how a daughter should love a father.
II.
The youngest daughter in Shakespeare's King
Lear, Cordelia refuses to participate in the king's "love test" and is
therefore disinherited by her father. Accepted as bride by the King of France
when the Duke of Burgundy refuses to take her without a dowry, Cordelia leaves
with her betrothed only to return as queen when the two nations become militarily
involved. Reunited with Lear, largely due to the efforts of Kent, Cordelia is
later arrested with Lear and is hung in the prison upon the order of Edmund.
CORDELION
A "ghost character" in the anonymous 1 Troublesome Reign of John. Surname of Richard I. His untimely death as Lymoges' captive has left John the unproved king of an imperiled realm. His main influence on the play is as the adulterous father of Philip Fauconbridge, the Bastard.
CORDELLA
A "ghost character" (in the dramatis personae as "Lady mentioned") in Fisher's Fuimus Troes. Hirildus is in love with her.
CORDOVA, UGO de
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.
CORDOLENTE **1611
A leather worker and shop owner in Dekker’s Match Me in London. Tormiella’s husband, apparently by secret contract of marriage. Discovered with Tormiella by Bilbo, he suggests they run away from Cordova to Seville to escape her father’s wrath and bribes Bilbo to keep quiet. He soon meets Malevento in Seville and reconciles him to being his father-in-law. When gentlemen and women arrive to take Tormiella away in a coach, he believes he is cuckolded. The king calls for him to give him a title, but he upbraids the king, saying he has already given him the title of cuckold. He goes to Tormiella disguised as her shoemaker and they plot to escape together at an apt opportunity. When Gazetto informs him that she plans to marry the king, he agrees to murder her at the altar. In a dumb show, he attempts the murder but stops when she runs weeping to him. He is then cast from the wedding. At play’s end, he is reunited with Tormiella by a repentant king.
CORDUS
Cordus (Cremutius), a historian and friend to Agrippina in Jonson's Sejanus
His Fall . He views the proposed statue of Sejanus in Pompey's theatre
as a sacrilege to Pompey's name. He is brought before the Senate and made to answer
charges of writing seditious material. He is imprisoned and his books burned.
CORE
Dick Bowyer's Lieutenant in the anonymous Trial Of Chivalry, Core drinks while on duty, and takes part in the arrest of the Clown.
COREB
A devil in the Anonymous The Merry
Devil of Edmonton. At the beginning of the play he comes to fetch Peter
Fabell, the "merry fiend of Edmonton," a renowned scholar from Cambridge who has
made a pact with hell, and whose time is now due. But Fabell binds Coreb to a
magic chair from which he is released only after he has promised Fabell another
seven years on earth.
COREBUS
Corebus, also called Booby in Peele's The
Old Wives' Tale, is a servant travelling with the braggart knight Huanebango.
He is generous to Eretus, is struck blind by the magician Sacrapant, and ultimately
marries the homely but loving Celanta. The fortune she receives from the Head
in the Well of Life helps to fulfill Erestus's prediction that Corebus will find
a rich wife in the end.
CORIAT**1614
Only mentioned in Jonson's Bartholomew Fair. Thomas Coriat, or Coryate, was a Jacobean traveler and entertainer (1577-1617). His Coryat's Crudities (1611) described his extensive European journey. Speaking of the puppeteer (Lantern/Leatherhead), Trash describes him as a man who is invited at the great City suppers to represent Coryat and Cokely, making people laugh.
CORIAT **1632
Another name for Honest Tom Odcomb in Shirley's The Ball, this name is mentioned by Frank Barker in conversing with Jack Freshwater.
CORIATUS PERSICUS **1615
A “ghost character" in Tomkis’ Albumazar. When Pandolfo looks through Albumazar’s wonderful “Perspicill," he believes he sees a man on Dover pier with two servants straining under the weight of papers, Ronca informs him that it is Coriatus Persicus with his observations of Asia and Africa.
CORIDON **1594
Coridon is a shepherd living outside Venice in the anonymous Knack To Know An Honest Man. With Antimon and Menalchus, also shepherds, he watches Lelio, a merchant, apparently kill Sempronio, another Venetian gentleman, in a duel.
CORIDON **1619
A servant to Cleobulus along with Rurius in (?)Goffe’s Careless Shepherdess. He brings Cleobulus to Bacheus to be informed of the duel between Philaritus and Lariscus. He brings a letter to Philaritus from Cleobulus accepting the union of Philaritus and Arismena. He is later discovered bound, along with Rurius, when the actual satyrs break in and capture the women.
CORIDON**1635
The name of the shepherd in Kirke's The
Seven Champions of Christendom. Not used in speech prefixes or stage directions,
where he is only "Shepherd." He is a shepherd in Tartary, he listens to Suckabus's
tales about his adventures with St. George.
CORIDON**1639
The clown in T.D.'s The Bloody Banquet. In Act Two, he helps the Shepherds dig the wolf-trap. He tells bawdy
jokes, and comments on the parallels between the wolves and the savage,
wolf-like habits of some humans. He finds Lapyrus in the wolf-pit, and
celebrates, because he has found the "wolvish rascal" that has betrayed
Lydia.
CORIMA**1637
Corima in Glapthorne's Ladie's Privilege is the fifty-year-old aunt of Frangipan, and waiting gentlewoman to Chrisea and Eurione. She promises Eurione to make Vitelli fall in love with her, apparently successfully. When Doria is in danger of being put to death, she offers to marry him to commute his sentence, but Doria refuses to accept her offer.
CORIN**1570
Also called "Father Corin" in the Anonymous Clyomon and Clamydes. He is husband to Madge and a shepherd in Norway. His favorite oath is "Gos bones." Meeting the disguised Neronis in the forest, he takes "him"
as a servant and dubs "him" Jack. He thinks this lad is unusually comely and warns
him of the many lusty wenches he knows. Later, he discovers Clyomon, wounded in
his fight with Thrasellus. He binds Clyomon's wounds and helps him to bury the
slain King of Norway.
CORIN**1589
Coryn 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.
CORIN**1599
An elderly shepherd in Shakespeare's As
You Like It. When Celia, Rosalind, and Touchstone arrive in the forest
of Arden, they meet Corin, who offers to share what little he has with them. He
tells them that his master is trying to sell the cottage, flock, and pasture,
and they negotiate a purchase. He also tells them of young Silvius and his hopeless
love for the shepherdess Phebe.
CORINEIUS
Alternate spelling for Corineus in the Anonymous Locrine.
CORINEUS**1588
Only mentioned in the anonymous Timon of Athens. Lollio mentions that Corineus fought with Gogmagog (Lollio, in Act III, sc. 1).
CORINEUS (ALSO SPELLED CORINEIUS, CORINUS)**1591
Brutus' brother in the Anonymous Locrine. He fought with Brutus against Gothelius, Goffarius and Gogmagog and became King of Cornwall. He is Gwendoline's and Thrasimachos' father. When Humber invades Britain, he is eighty years old. He lives another seven years, during which time Locrine does not dare to leave Gwendoline. Estrild must live in a cave where Locrine secretly meets her.
CORINEUS' GHOST
He curses Locrine and predicts his end in the Anonymous Locrine,
and he haunts Gwendoline to revenge Locrine's unfaithfulness.
CORINNA**1599
A "ghost character" in the anonymous Pilgrimage To Parnassus. Amoretto's lover. She never appears onstage but is described in some detail by Amoretto, who praises her in Ovidian terms during his opening speech.
CORINNA**1601
Corinna is the poetic name Ovid gives Julia in his verses in Jonson's Poetaster. Ovid 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.
CORINTH, KING of **1604
Along with Bohemia and Thrace in Verney’s Antipoe, he agrees to meet Dramurgon’s army and fight on Thursday next. A squire appears on the field of combat after Dramurgon swoons and asks the kings of Bohemia, Corinth and Thrace if they will agree to face a champion from Dramurgon under the same terms, and they agree. Corinth is killed by the champion, Antipoe.
CORINTHA
Daughter of Salohcin in the anonymous Philander, King of Thrace. She attracts the love of Philander, and uses it to win a pardon for her friend Aristocles, telling Philander that only if Aristocles will woo her on the king's behalf will she be won. This success makes Suavina jealous, and drives her for a time into the arms of Salohcin, but Corintha tells Suavina that she is only using Aristocles to test the depth of Philander's love.
CORINUS
Alternate spelling for Corineus in the Anonymous Locrine.
CORIOLANUS
Coriolanus is the surname bestowed upon Caius Martius in recognition
of his bravery in the attack upon the city of Corioles in Shakespeare's Coriolanus.
His tragedy stems from his open contempt for the common people of Rome and from
his inflexible notions about how honorable men must behave. Banished from the
city when the people turn against him, he allies himself with the Volscian general
(and former enemy) Aufidius and leads an attack upon Rome itself. Finally persuaded
to spare the city by the entreaties of his mother Volumnia and his wife Virgilia,
he is assassinated by Aufidius who has become fearful of Coriolanus's temporary
popularity among the Volscians.
CORISCA
Corisca, a proud, wanton woman and wife of Cleon in Massinger's The
Bondman. She sleeps with her doctor, abuses her slaves, and entices her
stepson while her impotent husband is away at the wars. At one point, Corisca
seductively suggests that Asotus reenact his encounters with Cleora, this time
with herself taking Cleora's part. Asotus believes that Corisca desires him and
welcomes her intentions because she is only his stepmother and no blood relation.
Corisca resists only because Cleon enters to say goodbye. After the revolt is
put down, she apologizes to her husband.
CORMORANT, WALTER
A fictitious character in Shirley's Changes. Sir Walter Cormorant is the made up uncle of Lady Bird, who is really Caperwit's Page posing as a woman.
CORNARI
As a gentleman of Venice in Shirley's The Gentleman of Venice. Cornari has great wealth, but he and his wife Claudiana have no children to inherit that wealth. Because Cornari does not want his fortune to go to his profligate nephew Malipiero, Cornari kidnaps the visiting English gentleman Florelli and would force him to have intimate relations with Claudiana. Cornari's wife remains faithful, however, and Cornari sends Florelli away. Because Malipiero evidences a great change of heart and attitude by the plays end, Cornari asks and receives pardon for Malipiero in hope that this nephew might, in due time, become a suitable heir.
CORN–CUTTER
At the Fair in Jonson's Bartholomew Fair, the corn-cutter offers to cut people's corns on their feet and toes. Like the other participants at the Fair, he advertises his trade.
CORNEGO
A servant to Onælia in Dekker's Noble Spanish Soldier. He is characterized by his sarcastic jests. He burns the Poet's book, delivers Onælia's cryptic message to Balthazar and attends the wedding of Onælia and Cockadillio.
CORNELIA**1588
Cornelia is the wife of Scilla in Lodge's The
Wounds of Civil War. When she is brought before Marius after he takes
Rome, she immediately rails against him, telling him that he is a traitor and
will be punished by Scilla. She assumes that Marius means to have her and her
daughter Fulvia killed, and asks that they be enclosed in a room for a day or
so in order to kill themselves. Marius pretends to agree, but instead of chains,
he puts jewels around their necks and tells them that their cell shall be Italy,
or even the world. When Cornelia then tries to sway him to be friends with Scilla,
Marius responds that he and Scilla will remain foes, but that he will send them
to Scilla. After Scilla retakes Rome, gives up his titles and is visited by Genius
as a sign that his life is ending, Cornelia enters. When she hears that he is
dying she begs him not to go, but in vain. She mourns his passing and declares
his ashes will reside in a golden urn.
CORNELIA**1599
In love with Alberdure in the anonymous Wisdom of Doctor Dodypoll. She reluctantly agrees to drug Alberdure's wine in an effort to make him love her. When Alberdure comes to dine at her father's house she gives him a jewel, and later gives him the drugged wine. When the plot is uncovered, and Cornelia's suitors abandon her, she despairs until the noble Cassimere agrees to marry her.
CORNELIA**1612
Cornelia is a character in "The Triumph of Love," the second play within
the play of Fletcher's Four Plays in One. The wife of Rinaldo, the banished Duke of Milan, she conceals
her identity and those of her sons Gerrardo (Alphonso) and Ferdinand
(Ascanio). By "remote means," she makes them the wards of Randulpho and
Benvoglio and poses as Gerrard's aunt. She helps Gerrard and Violanta
marry and conceal the birth of their child. When Rinaldo is restored to
power, Cornelia reveals her own identity and those of her sons.
CORNELIA
I.
A young Roman woman in Kyd's Cornelia, daughter of Metellus Scipio, she is married first to Crassus, but after his death in the war against the Parthians, she marries Pompey the Great, who is murdered by Achillus and Septimus in front of Cornelia and his young son, Sextus. The action in the play is seen only through the reactions of Cornelia, as she is widowed twice and loses all she loves, including her father, Scipio, to the ravages of war and the tyranny of ambitious and unscrupulous leaders. She believes that she bears a curse, inflicted on her at birth that has determined that anyone she loves will die. She considers suicide, but Cicero stops her, telling her that even though Pompey died, he died honorably and bravely for his country, and no man could want a better death. To kill herself would be cowardly and unworthy of Pompey's memory; the gods are the only arbiters of death. Cornelia blames herself for Pompey's death because even though she was a widow, she broke her marriage vows by falling in love with, and marrying, Pompey. For that both she and Pompey are punished: he with death, and she with a life of grief. Cornelia believes that she sees the ghost of Pompey near her bed one night. He is dressed in his tattered uniform, covered with blood and sweat. He asks her how she can sleep and then tells her to send his son, Sextus to a foreign land where he may be safe. She tries to embrace Pompey, but he disappears and she awakes, feeling bereft. She desires death so that she can join him in Elysium. The Chorus warns her that what appears to be Pompey's Ghost is, in reality, a false demon. Pompey's servant, Phillip, later brings Pompey's ashes to Cornelia who curses Pompey's murderers, claiming that they have broken the code of War by killing a man who had surrendered. She cries for vengeance, but Phillip tells her that vengeance belongs to the gods. In any case, Phillip tells her that Caesar has executed Pompey's murderers. This is little comfort to Cornelia. She tells Phillip that Caesar is a tyrant and that he cannot be trusted. She will never stop grieving unless Caesar himself dies. When later on she hears of yet another victory by Caesar's legions and her father's subsequent suicide, she laments but proclaims that instead of killing herself, she must bear her sorrow so that she can bury the dead and mourn them. Cornelia is, as Kyd calls her, a "remembrancer" (III.i.13).
II.
A "ghost character" in Fletcher and Massinger's The False One. Cornelia is the wife of Pompey and is described by Labienus as landing with Pompey and their sons on Lesbos and then Egypt.
III.
Wife to Pompey in Chapman's Caesar and Pompey–his fourth, and daughter of Metellus Scipio. After his defeat, the two have a touching reunion on the island of Lesbos, where he has sent her for safety and now seeks refuge himself. She sees her husband wounded by the murderers.
IV.
Cornelia, Pompey's wife in the anonymous Caesar and Pompey, wants to land in Egypt with him after the defeat at Pharsalia, but is persuaded to remain on the ship for safety. Seeing Pompey's murder from the deck, she stabs herself.
CORNELIA**1631
Cornelia, the wife of Marcellus in Massinger's Believe As You List, aids in the vindication of Antiochus through the use of her necklace and the engravings only Antiochus knows about.
CORNELIA**1634
Cornelia is the daughter of Mercutio and the sister to the banished Borgia in Shirley's The Opportunity. She, too, accepts Aurelio as her brother, wondering only at the passionate feelings she now entertains for her sibling. Close to the duchess and involved in the series of mistaken identities and misheard conversations that totally confuse Aurelio, Cornelia eventually decides that though Aurelio is not really her brother Borgia, her true hope of happiness lies in wedding Ursini, who has loved her long and faithfully.
CORNELIA**1639
Cornelia is the wife of Fransiscus in J.D.'s The Knave In Grain New Vamped. Julio spreads evil rumors that she is
having an affair with Antonio. When Fransiscus stabs Antonio, everyone
assumes that the rumors are true, and her father disowns her. Cornelia and
Phemone disguise as shepherds. They meet Antonio (he recognizes them but
not they him), and go to his cave. She, Antonio, Phemone and the Shepherd
dramatically return to Venice at the crucial moment in the trial of
Fransiscus. When Julio is punished for his lies, Fransiscus is reunited
with his wife.
CORNELII
Only mentioned in Medwall’s Fulgens and Lucrece. The family and stock of Publius Cornelius. They have, according to him, been ‘the chief aid and defence’ of Rome and by the senate named ‘fathers of the country’.
CORNELIO**1604
Cornelio is the husband of Gazetta in Chapman's All Fools. He is extremely and unreasonably jealous, twisting everything anyone says into proof that Gazetta has been unfaithful. He first complains because his wife is talking to Bellanora and Gratiana, and therefore they must be plotting mischief. He then believes that her sewing indicates unfaithfulness, because she is creating a pansy (a lover's flower). He accuses Gazetta directly of having an affair with Dariotto, and when she denies it, he will not believe her. In soliloquy he claims that jealousy is the best way to control his wife and constant suspicion is the only way to be sure he is not cuckolded. With Dariotto, he then gulls Valerio into playing and singing so they can make fun of his skills. Valerio, stung, makes him believe that Gazetta is in fact having an affair with Dariotto. Cornelio is fooled and becomes incensed. When he sees Dariotto, he attacks him, wounding him, and then declaring he will be divorced. He does have a Notary draw up divorce papers and, after questioning him closely about their correctness (but with many unintended double entendres) is about to sign them when he suffers a nosebleed. He takes this as a warning to wait and dismisses both Notary and Gazetta. Claudio then tells him privately that Rinaldo and Valerio have gulled him as revenge for his own trick. Cornelio maintains that he still has good reason to be jealous, but shifts his attention to revenge. He tells Rinaldo that Valerio has been arrested for debts, and that he must bring Gostanzo to the tavern to pay the officers. Rinaldo does so and thus all the secret marriages are revealed. Cornelio then becomes the center of attention as everyone wonders if Cornelio will give up his jealousy. Gostanzo tells Cornelio that he knew Cornelio's father, and that gentleman not only looked the other way when Cornelio's mother had extramarital affairs, but would ring his doorbell and then stand and talk to his neighbor so that her lovers could leave by the back door. This, according to Gostanzo, ensured a quiet life. Cornelio then reveals that he has only been threatening divorce to tame his wife, and he claims that he is now the world will see he is as wise as his father.
CORNELIO **1625
Cornelio is the father of Antonio, Selina, and Felice in Shirley's The School of Compliment. His over-strict child rearing has already lost him his daughter Felice, who disappeared years past. Now Cornelio's problem is the
opposite. He has allowed Selina so much independence that she first determines
to wed old Rufaldo and afterward flees on the wedding day. Cornelio is overjoyed
to be reunited with his daughter Felice at the shepherd's festival and quite willingly
promises her to Gasparo, her original love.
CORNELIO'S FATHER
A "ghost character" in Chapman's All Fools. Gostanzo tells Cornelio that he knew Cornelio's father, and that gentleman not only looked the other way when Cornelio's mother had extramarital affairs, but would ring his doorbell and then stand and talk to his neighbor so that her lovers could leave by the back door. This, according to Gostanzo, ensured a quiet life. After Cornelio reveals that he has only been threatening divorce to tame his wife, he claims that now the world will see that he is as wise as his father.
CORNELIO'S MOTHER
A "ghost character" in Chapman's All Fools. Gostanzo describes Cornelio's mother as wise, but also lusty and flirtatious, and given to affairs, which her husband ignored to keep the peace.
CORNELIUS **1592
Faustus' two friends Cornelius and Valdes win him over to a life of magic in Marlowe's Doctor Faustus. They teach him astrology and necromancy, thereby preparing him mentally for his pact with the devils which led him first to fame and then to damnation.
CORNELIUS**1599
A member of the Spanish forces in the anonymous A Larum for London. He asks all the right questions to reveal the plot. He warns Danila to be more circumspect about their plot and worries that they have insufficient forces to overthrow Antwerp. He agrees to help Danila take Antwerp though he believes they need more supplies. He reveals that the citizens of Antwerp have always remained neutral in quarrels between the Prince of Orange and others and suggests that the attack begin during the banquet.
CORNELIUS**1599
An unconvincing disguise assumed by Lassinbergh in the anonymous Wisdom of Doctor Dodypoll.
CORNELIUS**1601
Cornelius is one of the ambassadors dispatched to Norway to deal with the threat of Fortinbras in Shakespeare's Hamlet. He and Voltemand return with news that Norway has put a stop to Fortinbras' planned invasion and instead has sent him and his army to fight in Poland. They also report that Norway has asked for passage through Denmark for Fortinbras.
CORNELIUS **1604
A surgeon in Chapman's Monsieur D'Olive. Through his friendship with Mugeron, he procures a place in the service of D'Olive.
CORNELIUS**1609
Cornelius is a physician who supplies the Queen with poison in Shakespeare's Cymbeline. In an aside, Cornelius reveals that he had been sufficiently suspicious of his customer to give her a non-lethal substance instead of the fatal poison she had requested. His suspicions prove correct when the Queen gives a dose of the poison to Pisanio, telling him that it is a cordial that she administers to the king (Cymbeline). As Cymbeline is celebrating the defeat of the Roman army, Cornelius arrives bearing tidings of the Queen's death by accidental poisoning.
CORNELIUS**1612
Cornelius is a character in "The Triumph of Honor," the first play within
the play of Fletcher's Four Plays in One. He is a food vendor and a gull who has been cuckolded by Nicodemus and to whom Nicodemus owes money. Cornelius challenges Nicodemus, but their fight is interrupted by Florence, Cornelius's wife. A money-making scheme proposed by Nicodemus results in a beating for Cornelius at the hands of Martius.
CORNELIUS**1619
A courtier and servant to Lord Raymond in ?Cumber's Two Merry Milkmaids.
CORNELIUS AGRIPPA
Only mentioned in Marmion's A Fine
Companion. Cornelius Agrippa was a sixteenth century magician whose works
tend toward the occult. The disguised Aurelio mentions this magician in speaking
of miracle treatments.
CORNELIUS, CAIUS
Caius Cornelius is a Roman knight of the equestrian order and a member of Catiline's conspiracy, who offered his services to Catiline in the hope of material gain in Jonson's Catiline. At Catiline's house, Cornelius enters with the other conspirators. After hearing Catiline's incendiary address, the confederates are invited to partake of fresh human blood as a symbolic seal of their pact. After the ritual ceremony, the conspirators exeunt. After the plot was exposed in the Senate, the conspirators gather at Catiline's house to elaborate their strategy. The plan is to set Rome on fire on the night of the Saturnalia, and remove all the enemies at once. After each conspirator has been allotted his task, all depart secretly. Before Cicero's house, Cornelius and Vargunteius require to be admitted, apparently as the consul's friends, but actually intending to assassinate Cicero. When they are denied entrance in front of witnesses, the conspirators pretend to be angry, but they steal away furtively when Cicero addresses them from above, inviting them to repent. Cornelius and Vargunteius intend to deny everything if accused. When they are indicted in the Senate, the conspirators deny the allegations. It is understood that Cornelius is brought to trial with the other conspirators and shares their punishment.
CORNELIUS CINNA, LUCIUS
Only mentioned in Jonson's Catiline. Lucius Cornelius Cinna was a Roman patrician and consul of the republic between 87–84 BC. He was a principal supporter of Marius against Sylla. When Sylla was at war in Africa, Cinna and Marius declared themselves consuls, and a great slaughter of Sylla's followers took place. After Marius's death, Sylla remained consul. When Sylla set out for Rome, Cinna raised an army to oppose him, but before the civil war began, Cinna was murdered in a mutiny. His daughter, Cornelia, was the first wife of Julius Caesar. When Catiline discloses to Aurelia his plan of becoming consul, he admits the necessity of enrolling dissatisfied Roman generals and patricians to his cause. Among others, Catiline mentions Lentulus, who descended from the Cornelius family. According to the prophecy in the Sibylline Books, a third man from his family shall be king in Rome. Catiline admits to having paid the Augurers to interpret this prophecy as meaning Lentulus, since the other two Cornelii, Cinna and Sylla are dead. The relativity of such an interpretation is obvious.
CORNELIUS GALLUS**1601
Cornelius Gallus is a poet in Rome and friend of Ovid in Jonson's Poetaster. At Albius's house, Gallus enters with the other poets and their ladies. Though Gallus praises Cytheris in his love elegies, he pretends to court Chloë, and Cytheris pretends to be pleased with his choice. When Albius calls Chloë out on some household pretext, the guests feel free to speak openly about love. Gallus tells Ovid and Tibullus that they are bold to meet their mistresses in Albius's house. However, it emerges that Gallus had arranged the assignations, so that he might meet his lady Cytheris. After light conversation and music, the guests depart for the banquet hall. At Albius's house, Gallus and Tibullus enter, prepared to escort Chloë and Cytheris to a masquerade ball at court, at Princess Julia's invitation. When Crispinus sings a poem apparently dedicated to Chloë as Canidia, Gallus discovers it is plagiarized from Horace and the poets start to argue. Gallus exits with the entire party to the ball at court. Gallus disguised as Apollo enters an apartment in the palace, together with the entire party of poets and their ladies, each characteristically dressed as gods and goddesses. All the masks play their assigned roles. During the entertainment presided by Ovid/Jupiter, Gallus/Apollo enjoys the revelry. When Caesar enters and rails at the debauched party, it is understood that Gallus shares the poets' disgrace. In an apartment at the Palace, Gallus follows Caesar and his train, composed of Tibullus, Horace, and Maecenas. Caesar announces he has pardoned Gallus and Tibullus, because he needs poets in the city. Gallus acknowledges his gratitude to Caesar and addresses him in flattering verses. Gallus attends the public disgrace of the foolish Lupus and the braggart Tucca, as well as the poetasters' arraignment. When justice is served, Gallus joins the chorus of the court poets, praising Caesar's justice and generosity, and he exits with the court. The historic Cornelius Gallus (69–26 BC) was a Latin poet. Suetonius, in his Life of Augustus, writes that Gallus fell in the Emperor's disgrace. Gallus wrote four books of love elegies, probably entitled Amores, to a woman called Lycoris. Virgil's tenth Eclogue pictures Gallus pining for Lycoris in an idyllic landscape. Gallus's elegies were probably published before 39 BC. When Ovid Senior shows his displeasure at his son's inclination to poetry, he says that Gallus, Tibullus, and Propertius have drunk of the same poison. When Ovid praises the immortality of poetry, he says that "our" Gallus shall be known from east to west through his verses.
CORNELIUS GALLUS**1626
Follower of Caesar in May's Cleopatra; he welcomes the defecting Pinnarius after Actium to Caesar's side, and narrates the full story of the defeat of Antonius. Later, he gives Caesar an account of Antonius's death. At the end of the play, Caesar appoints him governor of Egypt. Historically, this was Caius Cornelius Gallus.
CORNELIUS LENTULUS SURA, PUBLIUS
Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sura comes from an ancient Roman patrician family of the Cornelius gens and is a member of Catiline's conspiracy in Jonson's Catiline. He was notorious for his private life and was ejected from the Senate because of it. According to Catiline, who was using Lentulus's dreams of magnificence, the Sibyl's prophecy said that a member of the Cornelii would be king in Rome, and Catiline persuaded Lentulus he might be the one. At Catiline's house, Lentulus enters with the other conspirators. After hearing Catiline's incendiary address, the confederates are invited to partake of fresh human blood as a symbolic seal of their pact. After the ritual ceremony, the conspirators exeunt. Lentulus and Longinus accompany Catiline to the Senate. Since Catiline's plan has failed, and Cicero has been elected consul, Lentulus and Longinus express their dissatisfaction privately. After the plot has been exposed in the Senate, the conspirators gather at Catiline's house to elaborate their strategy. The plan is to set Rome on fire on the night of the Saturnalia, and remove all the enemies at once. Lentulus has the specific charge of going to Pompey's house and seizing his sons alive, so that the conspirators might use them as bargaining objects in the dispute with Pompey. After each conspirator has been allotted his task, all depart secretly. Lentulus organizes the connection with the Allobroges and thus compromises the plot. When the conspirators are arrested and tried before the Senate, Lentulus denies the allegations, but is placed in private custody, in the charge of his relative Publius Lentulus Sphinter. After reports of the conspirators' further seditious actions, the Senate condemns them to death and Cicero orders that Lentulus should be strangled.
CORNELIUS, PUBLIUS
A Patrician in Medwall’s Fulgens and Lucrece. He goes to Fulgens to ask for Lucrece’s hand in marriage. Though Fulgens would be delighted if she were to marry so well, the father will only advise his daughter in such questions and not take away her freedom to choose. In a moment of metadrama, he ‘hires’ the character B from the audience to be his servant. Having come into a large inheritance, Publius Cornelius has become a wastrel and spendthrift. After the (apparently lengthy) interval, he hires mummers to come entertain Lucrece and is annoyed when they are late arriving. After the entertainment, the contest begins. He proclaims his nobility by reference to his family, the Cornelii, who have been proclaimed ‘fathers of the country’ and specifically recalls his great-grandsire, Scipio of Afric, who subdued Carthage. He promises her riches, opulence, hunting, dancing, and ends by saying that his rival, Gaius Flaminius, is too poor and humble to deserve Lucrece and she would only be throwing herself away if she were to choose him.
CORNELIUS QUACK
Sacked by Artesio for killing a wealthy patient in Quarles' The Virgin Widow, Cornelius Quack obtains from Bellarmo license to practice as a mountebank. He is retained by Lactusia to poison Kettreena, though the plan misfires.
CORNELIUS SULLA, LUCIUS
Only mentioned and later appears as a ghost in Jonson's Catiline. Lucius Cornelius Sulla (or Sylla) was a Roman general. He served under Marius in Africa and became consul in 88 BC. In 83 BC, Sylla was at the origin of a civil war in Rome and in 82 BC he had himself named dictator and began a systematic butchery of his enemies. Sylla's dictatorship was notorious for its cruelty and lack of legality. When Catiline discloses to Aurelia his plan of becoming consul, he admits the necessity of enrolling dissatisfied Roman generals and patricians to his cause. Among others, Catiline mentions Lentulus, who descended from the Cornelius family. According to the prophecy in the Sibylline Books, a third man from his family shall be king in Rome. Catiline admits to having paid the Augurers to interpret this prophecy as meaning Lentulus, since the other two Cornelii, Cinna and Sylla are dead. The relativity of such an interpretation is obvious.
CORNELIUS VAN END
A treacherous Captain who appears initially with the Dutch forces in the anonymous A Larum for London. He agrees with the English Governor that the Prince of Orange's defensive offer should be valued. He predicts that suffering will follow the refusal of his troops. He tells Champaigne that the people will not want troops in the vicinity and that he should say the Spanish will be offended if he allows the troops to remain (even at d'Hauurye's expense). He argues that the Spanish mean no harm. In soliloquy, he looks forward to the defeat of the town. He participates in the battle, killing Champaigne and threatening Egmont. He makes the wife of a Burger reveal where her fortune is, but as he starts to retrieve it, she kills him.
CORNETTO, CARDINAL **1607
One of the Cardinals in Barnes's The Devil's Charter who stand as a rival to Caesar Borgia who has returned triumphant from the wars. Cornetto and Modina are targeted for death by Alexander and they survive because Belchar exchanges the wine bottles and thus poisons Alexander and Caesar instead.
CORNIFICIUS, QUINTUS
A "ghost character" in Jonson's Catiline. Quintus Cornificius is a Roman senator. According to Sempronia, Catiline's initial plan of becoming consul included the arrangement of having some of the eligible senators withdraw from the competition, thus leaving Catiline and Caius Antonius the only candidates. It seems that Cornificius, like other senators, was privy to Catiline's plans, but did not get involved in the conspiracy. When Catiline's plot is disclosed in the Roman Senate, the consul rules that the conspirators should be placed in private custody. Cornificius is charged with supervising Cethegus.
CORNUTO, DAN
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"–cuckold–refers to Cornelio's jealousy.
CORNUTUS**1607
Cornutus is a browbeaten seventh husband in Machin's(?) Every Woman in Her Humour. When his neighbor, the Host, repeatedly encourages him to stand up to his wife, Cornutus insists that speaking against one's wife is wrong. Acutus finds Cornutus's submission to his wife's authority to be overwhelmingly vile. He stages a wedding masque in which Cornutus is made to wear a ram's head. Acutus's scolds Cornutus, claiming that he has allowed his wife to go out gossiping while he has stayed at home and swept the kitchen.
CORNUTUS**1624
A wise man, and stoic philosopher in the Anonymous Tragedy of Nero, who fails to flatter Nero's verse-history of Rome. He is sent into exile by Tigellinus on Nero's orders. He learns that he has been reprieved from death for criticizing the Emperor, and he is heartily glad to escape from Rome. (Known to history, and possibly the audience, as former tutor to Lucan, and probable author of "Seneca's" Octavia.)
CORNWALL**1590
I.
King of Cambria, husband of Gonorill in the Anonymous King Leir. He travels to Leir's court, meeting Cambria along the way, and is warmly welcomed by Gonorill. After their marriage, Leir resides with them in their castle, a situation that does not trouble Cornwall. He attempts to make peace between Gonorill and Leir, and, when he cannot, he leaves rather than listen to them argue. When Leir disappears, Cornwall is anxious for his safety and sends a Messenger to Cambria to see if he has traveled there. When the Ambassador from Gaul arrives, Cornwall receives him kindly and asks after Cordella. When the King of Gaul invades, Cornwall fights, but when the battle turns against him, he flees with Gonorill to Cornwall.
II.
Husband of Lear's daughter Regan in Shakespeare's King Lear, the Duke of Cornwall supports his wife's decision to sever Lear form his knightly entourage. Locking Lear out of Gloucester's castle during a storm, Cornwall later gouges out Gloucester's eyes and is mortally wounded by one of the castle servants who deplored Cornwall's hideous behavior.
CORNWALL**1599
Noble at the Court of England in Dekker's Old
Fortunatus. He enters with news to the Prince of Cyprus that Fortunatus's son, Andelocia, has arrived bearing gifts.
CORNWALL**1599
A nobleman in Dekker's Shoemaker's Holiday who accompanies the King of England to Simon Eyre's Shrove Tuesday feast.
CORNWALL**1605
One of Britain's feudal lords in the Anonymous Nobody and Somebody. For the injustices done to many of his subjects, Cornwall leads the plot, along with Martianus, to overthrow King Archigallo and install the former sovereign's brother, Elydure, in his place. After becoming seneschal in the new government, he is willing to support, at Elydure's urging, the reinstallation of Archigallo as king after he repents of his tyranny. In order to avert continued civil strife, he reluctantly supports the joint reign of Peridure and Urgenius after their forced seizure of the throne from their brother. Recognizing that no gain will come from further bloodshed, he desists in his political quarrel with Martianus, and both lords arrange Elydure's third coronation.
CORNWALL**1612
The Duke of Cornwall is brother of the defeated usurper, Monmouth in The Valiant Welshman. He joins with Codigun to unseat Caradoc. After Codigun's defeat in single combat, Cornwall vows allegiance to Caradoc, but he is lying, and betrays Voada to be captured by Marcus Gallicus. Morgan kills him in the final battle.
COROMBONA, VITTORIA
Vittoria Corombona, like Brachiano, is a White Devil in Webster's The
White Devil. She is first married to Camillo and later to Brachiano. Although
she is culpable of much wrong, she appears to be spotless. She is less spotless,
though, than she appears as she is a convicted whore. Lodovico and his co-conspirators
murder her after she attempts to shoot Flamineo with a pistol that turns out to
be loaded with blank cartridges.
CORPORAL
For named military men, look under the given name, e.g. "BARDOLPH, CORPORAL."
CORPORAL**1602
One of the band of ragged soldiers (may be the same character as Touchbox) in Heywood's Royal King. He accompanies the Captain at first, but leaves him after the Captain is rebuffed by the courtiers.
CORPORAL**1618
The Corporal is the head of the Watch in Malta in Fletcher's The Knight of Malta. Norandine hears them singing during a late walk and plays a trick on them by making bizarre noises to frighten them. At first the Corporal
takes him for a devil, but then recognizes him. When Abdella shoots Gomera, the
noise rouses the Watch, and the Corporal arrests Mountferrat, Rocca and Abdella.
CORPOREA
Only mentioned in Zouche's The Sophister. Definition, Division, Opposition, and Description mention Lady Corporea while attempting to "draw out" for Discourse "the pedigree, which is a true lineall discent of all the chiefest inhabitants within these provinces." Lady Corporea and Substance (of the Province of Substance) had a son, Corpus.
CORPUS
Only mentioned in Zouche's The Sophister. Definition, Division, Opposition, and Description mention Corpus while attempting to "draw out" for Discourse "the pedigree, which is a true lineall discent of all the chiefest inhabitants within these provinces." Corpus is the son of Substance (of the Province of Substance) and Lady Corporea. He is described as "very like unto" his father and was succeeded by Animatum.
CORRASO
Corraso is an intelligencer in the Anonymous Two
Wise Men and All the Rest Fools. He is a companion of Furioso and Phantastico,
and, like the former, is unable in peacetime to profit from his labors.
CORREBUS
A shepherd and friend of Damon in ?Greene and Chettle's John of Bordeaux. He tells Damon of the plight of Rossalin and Bacon.
CORRECTION
Also referred to as "Divine Correction" and "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.
CORRECTION, JOHN
Master John Correction, the schoolmaster, is married to Mistress Correction, a midwife and bawd in Sharpham's Cupid's Whirligig. Correction leads four of his unruly pupils in their lessons, then agrees to Wages's request to perform the marriages of the four mismatched couples. When Correction's wife decides she wants Wages for her new husband, she claims Correction has several other wives, but Lord Nonsuch refuses to believe her and restores her to Master Correction.
CORRECTION, MISTRESS
A midwife and a bawd in Sharpham's Cupid's Whirligig. Mistress Correction is attracted to the witty servant Wages and attempts to free herself to marry him by accusing her husband of bigamy.
CORREMA
A "ghost character" in J.D.'s The Knave In Grain New Vamped. Father of Vanderman's wife.
CORINNA
In Salusbury’s Love or Money she comes in with Juristis and Medico at the end of Act I, bidding them to dance. When Nano courts her, she suggests that he has not grown into a proper man. She finds Mendoso’s salute a strange start to courtship and jokes that she would not have a Welsh man (for he stinks of toasted cheese), an Irish man (for they are all beggars), nor a Scot, though she would fancy a French man (except for the disease follows them). She asks Mendoso if he can dance, and he says that he can dance all night long. She replies that this makes him worthy of a lass. When Nano woos her again, she tells him a girl would have to be blind or foolish to marry one who would never be a man. When he points out that he is young, small and therefore pretty, she replies that she would rather have a man to play with than a boy to look upon. When Mendoso scares him away a second time, Corinna admits that, though a coward, Nano ‘talks well.’ She comes with Mendoso to Antius’ dance in honour of Xanthippi. To get ride of him, she vows to marry Nano if he can make good on his boast to steal her from Mendoso in the church. When Nano succeeds in frightening Mendoso away from his wedding by wearing a Turkish disguise, she submits to their agreement and resigns herself to take Nano as her husband.
CORRODINIO
Corrodinio (also Corridono, Corrodinuo, Corridino) is Duke of Venice and father of Fortunio in the anonymous Knack To Know An Honest Man. He stresses to Antimon, the shepherd, the importance of speaking the truth about the killing of Sempronio, and, despite the objections of Fortunio, his son, insists on letting everyone have their say so that he can get to the truth of the incident. He sentences Lelio, who has apparently killed
Sempronio, to death and announces that his lands and goods are to be confiscated and that anyone who helps Lelio is to be banished and his goods confiscated–although after Senator 2 objects, he allows Lelio's wife and daughter to retain the house. When he learns that Brishio's sons have escaped from Servio's prison where they had been placed for wounding Fortunio, he orders
Servio to be tortured for treachery. Phillida, Servio's daughter and the sons' jailor, explains to the Duke that it was she who freed them and that she is the one who should be punished. The Duke orders her to be strangled. Sempronio steps in to tell him that the old men (the senators, of whom Marchetto is one) are the ones who ought to be punished since they prefer gold to God, explaining
to the Duke that Fortunio and Marchetto had tried to ravish Lucida and Annetta and that the sons had simply been defending the women. The Duke asks Fortunio to comment and Fortunio admits his crime, recommending that he be exiled. The Duke orders Fortunio to be released and embraces him because he has recognized what is right. He establishes a new law for Venice: that noblemen who repent their bad deeds will be pardoned. He exiles Marchetto. Later, at Lelio's trial, after
Lelio has returned to Venice in disguise and been captured by Servio, the Duke grants Servio the reward for bringing Lelio in and sentences Lelio to death. He refuses to hear Annetta and Lucida's plea for mercy, on the grounds that the law and justice have to be carried out. When Lucida explains that Lelio had discovered himself to her first and that Servio had imprisoned Lelio for three days, the Duke sentences Servio to prison for a year for not following the law requiring him to bring Lelio in immediately. When Brishio's two sons enter, offering themselves up for death on the grounds that they had made Lelio surrender, the Duke sentences them both to death as well. Again Fortunio steps forward to point out that the two sons are innocent and should not be punished. Brishio, who has just returned from exile, then steps forward and asks to be executed. Lelio insists that it is he who should be executed. As the Duke suspends proceedings to ask the senators to decide what he should do Sempronio, as Penitent Experience, steps forward suggesting that discovering that Sempronio was alive would make a comedy of the situation. The Duke gets everyone's agreement that it would be. Brishio is allowed to return from exile and recover his goods and rights, his sons are pardoned, and Lucida's reward is again guaranteed. Lelio's death, however, is to take place. When Penitent Experience explains that he is Sempronio and that there is thus no reason for Lelio to be executed, the Duke applauds God's work in clearing everything up. Phillida then steps forward to plead on her father's behalf to which the Duke replies that he'll have some sport. He asks Servio what punishment would be proper. Servio, who had been steadily getting richer with the exile of so many family members, is distressed that Sempronio is alive and that he will have to forfeit what he had inherited. The Duke insists that he will surrender it, sponsors the marriage of Phillida and Orphinio, and in the final speech of the play thanks Sempronio whose story began the knack to know an honest man.
CORSA
Corsa is the sister of Foreste and becomes the wife of Lucio in Davenant's The Cruel Brother. Having already declared to Foreste his desire to marry her, Lucio arrives at their house and asks for her hand. Foreste is unsure because she has no dowry but chastity, and he does not want to be a charity case, but he eventually agrees. Corsa is not consulted, but she seems as happy as Lucio about the marriage. In an odd moment, after declaring he will only look on her, Lucio covers her face with her veil because otherwise he will be overwhelmed, perhaps foreshadowing both the damage her beauty will cause and her early death. After the Duke forgives Lucio and Foreste for the marriage, Corsa enters and is teased by the Duke, but she either does not or pretends not to understand the sexual connotations of his jokes. When the Duke sends her a brooch by Luinna she is at first uneasy about the gift, but Luinna convinces her that it is innocent. She is then approached by the Duke offstage, and when she resists him, is raped–these events are narrated by Castruchio and Duarte. She dismisses Duarte, but not before giving her money for a pilgrimage and asking her to speak well of her mistress. She travels to her brother's house, where Foreste tells her that she must die, even though she was forced. She agrees, and allows him to slit her wrist. She dies concerned about her reputation, and on her death mystical music plays.
CORSICA**1629
Corsica, a maid to Sophia in Massinger's The
Picture.
CORSICA**1634
A "ghost character" in Rutter's The Shepherds' Holiday. Nerina recalls when her maid Corsica was stung in the face by a bee and she eased the pain by speaking a charm close to the place affected.
CORSITES
A Captain, in love with Tellus in Lyly's Endymion.
Cynthia commands him to take the haughty Tellus off to a desert castle where she
is to remain and weave. He confesses his love to Tellus and agrees to move Endmion's
sleeping body to win her love. He does not realize that the curse on Endymion
will not allow him to be moved. He fails to move Endymion, and fairies enter and
pinch him to sleep while they sing. He is awakened when Cynthia comes to restore
Enymion. When Tellus realizes that Endymion's loyal love to Cynthia can never
make him hers, she accepts Corsites' love.
CORTES
An honest courtier in Shirley's The Politician, Cortes is upset that the king has wed Marpisa and questions whether Altomarus truly fathered Haraldus.
CORTEZZA
Sister of Lasso, and aunt to Margaret, Cortezza is a widow in Chapman's The
Gentleman Usher. She flirts with Medice, saying he reminds her of her
late husband, and reveals (after several cups of sack) that she suspects Margaret
is fond of Vincentio. She is drunk again the following morning and attempts to
get Medice to pay court to her as the hunting party gathers. At Medice's request,
she seeks evidence of any love affairs in the house, and she brings her discoveries
to Alphonso and Medice when they return. Then she (with Alphonso, Lasso, and Medice)
spies on the meeting between Vincentio and Margaret. When the elders disrupt the
meeting, she is asked by Lasso to keep Margaret locked in her chamber. She gives
Margaret an ointment that will destroy her beauty, then admits to Alphonso and
Lasso what she has done.
CORTUGOGLY
A Turk who captures Alberto and Prospero in Fletcher, Ford, Massinger and Webster's
The Fair Maid of the Inn.
CORVINO
A merchant gulled by Volpone in Jonson's Volpone. His name means raven. When he discovers Volpone, disguised as Scoto of Mantua, putting on a presentation for a crowd that includes his wife, he is outraged. He attacks Volpone and berates his wife for her indiscretion. Moments later, convinced that Volpone is seeking a beautiful woman with whom to engage in sex as a means of cure, and in an effort to ingratiate himself with Volpone, Corvino demands that Celia go to Volpone's bed. Corvino lies in court to hide his misdeeds and refuses to recant when Voltore later confesses the truth. When all is exposed, Corvino is sentenced to a series of public humiliations.
CORVINUS
I.
A "ghost character" in Whetstone's 1 Promos and Cassandra. King of Hungary. Cassandra vows to take her story to
the king at the end of the play and ask him for justice.
II.
King of Hungary in Whetstone's 2 Promos and Cassandra. Cassandra has gone to King Corvinus and complained that
Promos forced her to sleep with him in exchange for Andrugio's life, then
ordered Andrugio executed anyway. The King decides to visit Julio and
investigate her accusations. The city greets him with a lavish welcome.
Once settled, he makes a royal proclamation ordering any citizens who have
been wronged by corrupt or criminal government officials to come forth and
report the wrongdoing. They are to report corruption to the privy
counselor Ulrico and serious crimes to the King himself in a public court.
He holds the public court, beginning by finding Gonsago guilty of
corruption but granting him grace, with a promise of harsh punishment if he
should offend again. Ulrico then brings a complaint against Phallax.
Phallax sees he is undone and confesses. The King does not punish his
person, but strips him of his post and orders Ulrico to seize all of his
possessions and disperse them among those whom he wronged. Next Cassandra
appears and makes her case against Promos. When Promos confesses, the King
rages that his deputy was so corrupt. He orders Promos to marry Cassandra
(in order to repair her honor) and then face execution. After the two are
married, Cassandra has a change of heart and begs the King to spare
Promos. From exposition, we learn that the King pities her, but declines
her request in favor of upholding legal justice. When Andrugio reveals
himself, the King pardons Promos. He admonishes Promos to be just in his
rule and restores him to the position of King's deputy in Julio.
CORYBREUS
Elder son of Leogarius, the king of Ireland in Shirley's St. Patrick For Ireland. He tells Patrick and his troupe to get out of Ireland. He observes the incident of Dichu's conversion to Christianity, commenting fecklessly. He plots to wrestle the hand of Emeria from her chosen lover, his brother, Conallus. Archimagus gives him a bracelet which will make him invisible, and assist him in his gaining of her hand. Using his bracelet-given invisibility, he enters the quarters of Emeria. He tells her that he is the god, Ceanerachius, and proceeds to sexually advance upon her, eventually achieving sexual intercourse–without her consent. Later, he attempts to repeat the process, but this time Emeria stabs him to death.
CORYMBUS
An under Priest, serving the goddess Ceres and the high priest, Pilumnus in Randolph's
Amyntas. He has returned from
three years' travels in unsuccessful pursuit of the fugitive Claius. He is devoted
to his calling, pitying his master and the entire cursed island. He is not so
solemn, however, that he can resist teasing the foolish Mopsus, who fears the
infection of wisdom that the traveler may have brought home from abroad. With
Pilumnus, he is appalled at the profanity of Amaryllis's attack, which has caused
blood to be spilled on sacred soil. He witnesses the events whereby Claius reveals
his identity, cures his daughter and is condemned to death. It is to Corymbus
that Damon surrenders himself on admitting his assault on Amaryllis. He may be
the unnamed 'Priest with Taper,' preparing for the sacrifices which are interrupted
by Amyntas's successful exposition of the oracles.
COS
Cos is Amorphus's page in Jonson's Cynthia's Revels. Before the Fountain of Self-love, Cos enters with
Prosaites, offering his services as a servant. Amorphus tells Cos to conceal his
qualities until they are alone. Cos follows Amorphus to court. In an apartment
at the palace, Cos enters following Amorphus and Asotus. Since Amorphus wants to
perform various behavioral stereotypes for Asotus's benefit, he asks Cos to
stand guard. Cos promises to let his master know when the wolf comes. After the
private performance, Asotus calls for his boy, Prosaites. Cos wants to show off
his zeal in preventing any intruder from entering and warns his master that
"lupus" (the wolf) is in. Seeing that it is only Prosaites, Cos lets him in.
Impressed with Cos's diligence, Asotus gives him as an example of efficiency to
his own servant. Cos exits following Amorphus and Asotus. The pages Prosaites,
Gelaia, and Cos enter extolling the wonders of a fountain where all the ladies
and gallants lie languishing and sighing to one another. Cos exits with the
other pages, followed by Mercury, to see the miracle fountain. In an apartment
at court, Cos enters with Anaides, Gelaia, and Prosaites, carrying bottles that
contain water from the much-praised fountain. After the party of nymphs and
gallants drink of the water, and they find out that Cynthia will not hold the
revels that night, all disperse. The pages stay behind to gossip for a while.
Cos says that the revels would have been magnificent that night, had they gone
forward. It is understood that Cos is present at Cynthia's revels with the other
impertinent pages and shares the punishment inflicted on the self-conceited
nymphs and gallants.
COSIMO
Cosimo is a courtier and cousin to Castruchio in Davenant's The Cruel Brother. He lives mainly in Castruchio's shadow and then usually to support what Castruchio has said, although he does tease his cousin about his supposed love, the otherwise unnamed Great Lady. He agrees to help Castruchio kill Foreste and Lucio. After Lothario kills the Duke, thinking it is Foreste, Cosimo kills Lothario on Castruchio's command and then fights with Lucio and is wounded while wounding Lucio in turn. Cosimo and Castruchio attempt to escape, but they are captured by Dorido and promised torture and death.
COSMA
"A light Nymph of Messena" in P. Fletcher's Sicelides. Rimbombo claims she "usd our Mountaines" and "oft would stay, / And heare me speake, and vow, and sweare, and pray," Cosma accompanies Olinda to her execution, expressing her sadness over the fisher maid's punishment despite the fact that she later claims to hate both Olinda and Glaucilla. Cosma is present at Atyches's rescue of Olinda from Malorcha and, later, provides her with a "dessamour" which the Nymph claims will "eyther quench or ease the paines of love" that Olinda feels for the presumably dead Thalander. However, unbeknownst to Cosma, Glaucilla correctly identifies the "liquor" as poisonous and tempers it with her "art," changing it into a sleeping potion. Cosma employs Conchylio, her page, to find suitable lovers to appease her sexual appetite. She is loved by many, including Pas, Fredocaldo, Rimbombo, and Armillus, but is in love with Perindus (although she entertains more than "some hundred lovers"). Pas mourns her changeableness in love, Fredocaldo writes her a sonnet, and both Armillus and Fredocaldo offer Conchylio gifts in exchange for a meeting with Cosma, though Conchylio arranges such a meeting only for Armillus. Conchylio convinces Cancrone to make a petition of love to Cosma and, after instructing Cancrone in the foolish actions which he claims the fisher must take to win Cosma (while in the disguise of Cupid), he then disguises himself as Cosma. As Cosma, Conchylio goes to extravagant measures to trick Fredocaldo, Rimbombo, and Cancrone and, along with Cancrone, attempts to kill Rimbombo. After this failed attempt, Conchylio reveals his true identity to both Cancrone and Rimbombo and exits the play. Pas is both grieved and maddened by Cosma's inconstancy and–overhearing her views on love and beauty, her plans to meet with Armillus, and her love for Perindus and intentions to win his love in return–Pas vows to "act a Devill" and "make or marre the sport." Thus, at the meeting of Armillus and Cosma, the two are frightened apart by Pas, who is disguised as a Fury and, despite the fact that when Armillus meets Cosma again shortly after he claims that he would "rather dye, then leave [her] wisht embrace," he flees the "woods" when the disguised Pas returns. At this point, Pas reveals himself to Cosma and, after lecturing each other in the laws of love, the two go offstage together. The Nymph blames Glaucilla for Olinda's apparent death and accuses her of changing Cosma's original potion into poison, which results in Dicaus's condemnation that, "by th'law," Glaucilla must fall from a certain "high rocke." When Cancrone later blames Cosma for his and Scrocca's arrest and Perindus's fall "from the rocke," the Nymph expresses regret for her "foule offence" and warns others not to "wake" their "murthering thoughts." Pas and Nomicus chide Cosma and, despite being forgiven by both Olinda and Glaucilla, Dicaus punishes her by casting a "charme" by which she may only fall in love with "fooles" and "fooles only shall affect" her. At this, Cancrone and the Nymph confess their love for each other, and the "foolish Fisher" seeks to "bedde" her.
COSMETA
One of the leaders of the women's rebellion in Cartwright's The
Lady-Errant; Cosmeta uses the foolish statements of Ganyctor, Hyanthus
and Iringus to entrap them into the plot. She, along with the others, collects
as much money and treasure as possible to be used to hire the women an army and
assist in the overthrow of the government.
COSMO**1602
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's All's Well. A commander in the Florentine army.
COSMO**1617
A wealthy shepherd, father to the clown Surdo in Daborne's Poor Man's Comfort. He entreats Gisbert to consider his son's suit for his daughter Urania and is disappointed when he learns that Urania is betrothed to Lucius (disguised as Lisander). When Lucius discovers that he is again a Lord of Thessaly when Ferdinand is re-enthroned, he promptly sells Cosmo the lands and possession of his erstwhile master and Cosmo's rival.
COSMO**1618
A Vandal lord in Henry Shirley's The
Martyred Soldier. In the boar-hunt, he is almost killed by the quarry.
Like most of the other lords, Cosmo contributes little to the plot, and is merely
a vehicle for plot exposition.
COSMO **1631
Cosmo is Pisano's sworn brother in Shirley's The
Traitor. His relationship to Pisano is not as well developed as it might have been in an earlier romance or blood revenge. He gives up his love for his friend. He becomes Duke at play's end.
COSMO**1638
Cosmo is a lord of Verona in (?)Brome's The Cunning Lovers. He rules the dukedom in the absence of the Duke and his son. In Act Five, he leads the Duke of Verona's army to Mantua.
COSMO**1639
Lord of Florence in Dekker's(?) Telltale. Joins Aspero as he spies on Victoria and Picentio and then assists in their apprehension, expressing some regret at the Duchess' supposed guilt and giving Corbino some money to treat his prisoners kindly as they are taken away. He joins Aspero and the court to greet the Ambassadors, and meets Elinor's new fool, the disguised Garullo. He watches Hortensio's distracted ravings about fighting the Turk and then joins the court in greeting the Duke disguised as a hermit and questioning him about the manner of the Duke's death and the Duke's will. He later enters with the Ambassadors, Aspero and Gismond to see Hortensio in his distraction. Hortensio, restored to sanity, apologizes to them and explains that Elinor has revealed her love, curing him. After the real Elinor enters, denies any feelings for Hortensio, and storms out, Cosmo and Gismond exit. Cosmo and Gismond join Aspero in Isabella's chamber as he asks her how she feels. The French Doctor (Picentio in disguise) asks to speak with Isabella privately and Aspero exits, along with Cosmo and Gismond. Later, Cosmo discusses with Gismond, Fernese, and Bentivoli how to deal with Aspero's growing tyranny. Bentivoli tells a fable of the mice and the rats and their attempt to bell the cat: the Lords understand that, since they cannot eliminate Aspero, they must "bell" him by providing counsel. The problem remains who will bell the cat. As they discuss this problem, Aspero enters with the Ambassadors and the Doctor. The Lords each begin to present their dissatisfaction to Aspero, who grows increasingly angry. They are interrupted by Elinor's entry and observe her reaction to the news of Garullo's marriage to Lesbia and her reconciliation with Hortensio. At the end of the scene, after Aspero exits, the Lords note that the cat must still be belled. The start of Cosmo's next scene is missing from the manuscript. After Aspero exits Isabella's chamber to prepare for their wedding, Cosmo, Gismond, and Fernese enter and tell Isabella and Picentio (disguised as the French Doctor) that the Duke and Duchess are both alive and are gathering a force at Castle Angelo. Picentio removes his French Doctor disguise briefly to identify himself to them. Bentivoli enters and is informed of the news and then tells a fable, to show their need to rely on themselves alone against Aspero. Cosmo enters with the court for Aspero's coronation and marriage to Isabella. Aspero notes the dissatisfaction of the nobles and and demands that their concerns about his tyranny be cleared before he assumes the throne. The nobles react favorably to Aspero's promise to prove his innocence by having the French Doctor raise the spirits of the Duke, Duchess, Picentio, Julio, the Captain, Lieutenant, and Ancient, who will then say whether Aspero was responsible for their deaths. The nobles observe as the ghosts of the Duke, Duchess, Julio, Captain, Lieutenant and Ancient appear and are commanded by the French Doctor to show their approval or disapproval of Aspero. The ghosts indicate their favor and the nobles ask Aspero to pardon them. The nobles observe as the ghosts perform a dance, in which the Duke and Duchess take the crown and scepter. After the Duke is restored to power, they listen to Bentivoli's fable and witness the arrival of the purged Garullo, and then exit with the court to celebrate the weddings of Picentio and Isabella and Hortenio and Elinor.
COSROE**1587
Brother of the Persian king Mycetes in Marlowe's Tamburlaine Part 1. He is spokesperson for the king, having, by the king's own estimation, a "better wit." He intentionally insults the king, whom he views a weakling and dotard, and earns his wrath. He advises the king to make Menaphon pro-rex of Africa to win the Babylonians' hearts even as he plots to usurp the Persian throne. With the aid of Ortygius, Ceneus, and the soldiers and gentlemen of Persia, he claims the imperial crown and names himself Emperor of Asia and Persia, Great lord of Media and Albania, Mesopotamia and Parthia, East India and "the late-discover'd isles," and Chief lord of the Euxine Sea and Caspian Lake. He plans to join up with Theridamas' army, which has gone to wipe out the upstart Tamburlaine, and so consolidate his power. Impressed by Tamburlaine's success, however, he decides to name him regent of Persia once Mycetes is slain. When Tamburlaine helps him defeat Mycetes, he makes good on the promise. He forgives and employs Meander and gives orders that Mycetes' lords and captains are to be persuaded to join him rather than executed. He goes off to ride in triumph through Persepolis, but Tamburlaine surprises him by attacking him in this moment of victory. Tamburlaine kills him in the ensuing battle. He dies calling for vengeance on Tamburlaine and Theridamas.
COSROE**1622
King of Persia in Fletcher and Massinger's The Prophetess. Cosroe greets his sister Cassana and the Roman captives, threatening Aurelia with treatment worse than that she meted out to his sister. Unintimidated by the defiant Roman captives, Cosroe challenges Diocles to a battle and negotiates the terms with Niger, confident that the Persians will win and thus be able to keep the captives. Defeated by Diocles in battle, Cosroe is stunned to be set free without ransom when Diocles decides to renounce his worldly honors.
COSSIN
Captain of the Lord Admiral's guard in Marlowe's Massacre
at Paris. Cossin betrays the Lord Admiral to Guise and his men. Later,
Cossin betrays Guise to Henry and arranges for the Guise's murder.
COSTARD
Costard is the clown in Shakespeare's Love's
Labour's Lost and the first to break Ferdinand's regulation prohibiting
conversation with women. For courting Jaquenetta, Costard is condemned to a diet
of bran and water in prison for one week, far short of the year's penalty prescribed
in Ferdinand's edict. Armado offers to release him from the punishment if he will
bear a letter to Jaquenetta, and while Costard is fulfilling this mission Berowne
asks him to deliver a letter to Rosaline. Instead, Costard inadvertently surrenders
Armado's letter to Boyet, who reads it aloud to the Princess of France and her
attendants. Jaquenetta, of course, receives Berowne's letter, and Holofernes directs
her to take the letter to Ferdinand. In the Pageant of the Nine Worthies, Costard
depicts Pompey the Great. Costard has the distinction of uttering the longest
word in all of Shakespeare's plays, "Honorificabilitudinitatibus." The word, which
appears in other early modern plays, was thought to be the longest known word.
COSTER–MONGER
Coster-monger shouts his wares in Jonson's Bartholomew Fair, inviting people to buy his pears from his cart. Edgworth arranges with Coster-monger to help the thieves trick Cokes a third time. Thus, Coster-monger enters crying his pears in Cokes' presence. When Coster-monger passes before Nightingale, the rascal trips him and makes him fall with his basket of pears. Cokes helps Coster-monger pick the pears and gives his sword, cloak, and hat to Nightingale, who runs away with them. While Cokes cries that he has been robbed, Coster-monger asks the gentleman to pay for his products. Instructed by Edgworth, Coster-monger goes to Ursula's booth, where he is to collect his pay for his part in the trick.
COSTERMONGER, IRISH
A "ghost character" in Jonson's The Alchemist. The Irish costermonger is father to Dol Common. In his ironic humor, Face instructs Mammon to converse with the lady he was courting (Dol Common in disguise) about her noble origin, while he says in an aside that her father was an Irish costermonger.
COSTERMONGER, LAWRENCE
He appears at the beginning of the Anonymous Famous
Victories of Henry V with Robin Pewterer and John Cobbler. The three of
them are neighbors and assist Derrick in apprehending Cuthbert Cutter the thief.
COSTERMONGERS
"Ghost characters" in Jonson's Epicoene. The costermongers make loud noises crying their fruit and vegetables in front of Morose's windows. When Truewit discusses Morose's noise-hating idiosyncrasy with Clerimont, he mentions that Morose has tried to bribe all the vendors bellowing under his windows. While Morose was able to conclude a treaty of silence with the fish-wives and orange-women, it seems he was not so successful with the chimney-sweepers, broom-men, and costermongers, who stood out and continued to shout their wares in the street.
COSTIN
Lord Costin is one of the loyal nobles who follows Gerrard (disguised as the beggar
king Clause) into exile in Fletcher's Beggars'
Bush. His alias among the beggars is Cozen.
COTTA
Cotta, a senator of Sejanus' faction in Jonson's Sejanus
His Fall .
COTTA MESSALINUS
A "ghost character" in May's Julia
Agrippina, mentioned as the uncle of Lollia Paulina.
COTTON, SIR ROBERT
Only mentioned in the anonymous Wit's Triumvirate. Sir Robert Cotton was mentioned by Master Silence when he is offering Master Ominous a solution to put an end to his misfortunes: "But for Sir Robert Cotton's library, I charge you by and in the name of all out brethren come not near it." Sir Robert Bruce Cotton (1571-1631) was an antiquarian (librarian and record-keeper) and politician–one of the founders of modern government and rule by precedence and common law. His 1000-book library and his vast collection of manuscripts surpassed the records of the government.
COULTER
Servant to Tim Hoyden in Brome's The
Sparagus Garden, he is quietly sardonic (in asides) about his master's
plan to spend his way into gentility with the help of Sir Hugh Moneylacks. In
place of a sword, he wears a coulter by his side, which he dubs his 'hanger-on.'
When Tim discharges him in favor of a more gentlemanly servant, Coulter openly
calls Sir Hugh and Springe cowards and cheats, and leaves with neither "a vart
nor a varewell" to them. He then rejoins Thomas Hoyden, a more self-affirming
clown than his brother, and helps his new master to indict the gullers.
COUNCIL, TWO
They are mere functionaries of Dramurgon in Verney’s Antipoe, agreeing with all he asks in a scene or two.
COUNSEL
Serves to second every proclamation made by Cambyses in Preston's Cambises.
COUNSEL/COUNCIL
(It's not clear which of the two is intended in Pickering's Horestes.) If Counsel, then King Idumeus takes advice from a wise man; if Council he takes advice from parliament. The advisor(s) recommend to Idumeus that Horestes take revenge for two reasons: - to stop revolting against the prince developing into an infection;
- to encourage those who plan to revolt to control themselves.
COUNSELOR**1625
A lawyer hired by Woodroff to consider the legal quarrel between Compass and Franckford
in Webster and Rowley's A Cure for
a Cuckold. He takes Franckford's side, arguing that the child should belong
to its natural father. But Compass's speech refutes this argument with such passion
that both the Counselor and Franckford are converted to his point of view.
COUNSELOR**1627
A "ghost character" in Hawkins's Apollo Shroving. Ludio informs Thuriger that, during the gamester's appearance before Apollo, "one of Apollos learned Councell had like to pull'd [him] downe, when he told [him] that it was against law to produce the Judge for a witnesse."
COUNSELORS**1585
Advisors to Gorboduc in ?Tarlton's Three Plays in One. Appear in the first playlet.
COUNSELORS**1606
A number of Counselors (who likely include Fideli, Florimell, Parthenophil and Elfiron, but may also include others) appear in the dumb show at the beginning of Dekker's The Whore of Babylon. Initially, they are mourning the dead Queen Mariana, but the fact that their eyes are bandaged with scarves suggests that they are ripe for the enlightenment that soon comes when Time and Truth remove their blindfolds and present them to the new Queen, Titania. They immediately vow allegiance to Titania, Truth, and the holy book that the latter presents to the former. (See "FIDELI", "FLORIMELL", "PARTHENOPHIL", and "ELFIRON").
COUNSELORS**1620
Preside over Silvio's trial for the capital offense of soliciting Belvidere's love in Fletcher's Women Pleased.
COUNSELORS, KING'S
Mute characters in Whetstone's 2 Promos and Cassandra. Members of the King's retinue.
COUNSELORS, KING of BURGONY'S
"Ghost characters" in Carlell's 1 The Passionate Lovers. They are thought to control the king in the taking of decisions.
COUNT**1605
A "ghost character" in Chapman's The
Widow's Tears. Late husband of the Countess Eudora.
COUNT**1611
The Count is the decrepit elderly father of Lord Feesimple in Field's Amends for Ladies. He plots to marry Lady Honour and Feesimple fears that he will be disinherited. At the wedding the Count appears, coughing, wrapped in furs and virtually comatose. The Count's bride is cozened from him, and he also fails to interject quickly enough to marry Lady Bright. He is advised to woo Bold's masked fiancée, but finds, on kissing her, that she has a beard, and is really his son.
"COUNT COMFECT"
In her rage after Claudio shames Hero at the altar in Shakespeare's Much
Ado About Nothing, Beatrice refers to Claudio, mockingly, as Count Comfect.
COUNT de MONTENEGRO
Montenegro desires Catalina in Shirley's The
Maid's Revenge and is fairly certain of her until Antonio arrives and
becomes Catalina's sole passion. Montenegro never really understands that Catalina
does not love him at all. He battles for her and persuades the waiting-woman Ansilva
to put a love potion in Catalina's drink to heighten the passion he thinks the
lady entertains for him. He loses all hope in the lady, of course, when Catalina
is poisoned by her vengeful sister.
COUNT EARL S. PAUL
A traitor in Thomas Heywood's 2
Edward IV. One time the Constable of France
COUNT MASSINO
Participates in a wedding masque staged in honour of Isabella and her husband,
Count Roberto, in John Marston's The
Insatiate Countess. He yields to Isabella's advances when she falls in
love with him, and at her behest meets her in her house at Pavia. There Isabella,
who is smitten by his friend Gniaca, immediately jilts him. In response, Massino
pens satiric verses on the insatiate countess, thereby infuriating Isabella, who
talks Gniaca into killing Massino. When they meet, the two men affirm their friendship,
thus foiling her ploy. Massino is eventually shot and killed by Don Sago.
COUNT MOREN
Young husband of the Countess Moren and cousin to Colinet in Chapman's An
Humourous Day's Mirth. He is set up to appear in love with Martia (when
he is in fact wooing her on behalf of his cousin), and later is found with her,
Florilla, and the King at Verone's tavern. When he learns that the Countess will
seek him at the tavern, he assumes the role of a torchbearer in Verone's pageant,
and when he is revealed at the end, he is reconciled to his wife.
COUNT of ROSSILLION, OLD
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's All's Well. Father of Bertram and close friend to the King. The old Count has recently died.
COUNT PRODITOR
Count Proditor cherishes a strong dislike for Phoenix, son of the Duke of Ferrara
in Middleton's The Phoenix.
He hopes, by urging Phoenix to travel, to find a way to discredit or kill the
Duke's son. He also makes unsavory advances toward Castiza, the Captain's wife,
and arranges to "buy" Castiza when the Captain takes a notion to rid himself of
the restrictions of wedlock. Proditor's plans to accuse Phoenix of patricide fail,
and Proditor is banished from Ferrara when Phoenix becomes Duke.
COUNT, SPANISH **1637
A "ghost character" in Glapthorne's Ladie's Privilege. Adorni mentions him to Frangipan as recently arrived at court.
COUNTENANCE
Countenance is the symbolic name given by Puntavorlo to Sogliardo in his relation to Shift in Jonson's Every Man out of His Humour. The term "countenance" refers to the means necessary for support. Puntavorlo says the two inseparable friends shall be named Countenance and Resolution. Since the rich and foolish Sogliardo provides all the finances for Shift in this friendly rapport, Sogliardo becomes a necessary credit to his friend.
COUNTERBUFF
Counterbuff is a yeoman in London in Middleton's Anything
for a Quiet Life. The name suggests a blow in the contrary direction,
or a blow given in return. Outside the tavern "Man in the Moon", the barber Sweetball
tells Fleshhook and Counterbuff to arrest Franklin for having cheated Chamlet
and made a fool of the Barber. When Franklin pretends to be a French gentleman,
Counterbuff and Fleshhook innocently assist in Franklin cheating Chamlet, Sweetball,
and Ralph once more. Seeing that they have been on a fool's errand, because Chamlet
and the Barber seem to have accused the wrong person, Counterbuff demands better
reward for his and Fleshhook's efforts.
COUNTERFEIT COUNTENTANCE or "COUNTERFET COUNTENAUNCE"
A court vice in Skelton's Magnyfycence.
One of the evil counselors who mislead Magnyfycence and bring him to ruin and
despair.
COUNTESS**1589
The Countess is wife to the Earl of Chester, mother to Marian, and aunt to Sydanen in Munday's John a Kent and John a Cumber. The Countess attends at court the ceremonial reception of the future bridegrooms Moorton and Pembrooke. Seeing that the two brides-to-be do not look happy, the Countess tries to console them. When John a Kent arrives disguised as a Hermit, prophesying disasters unless the ladies wash their hands at a sacred spring, the Countess agrees to accompany Marian and Sydanen to a secret meeting with the old man in the woods. Thinking that she accompanies the girls to Saint Winifred's spring, the Countess finds that, in fact, the false Hermit has lead them into the hands of Sir Griffin and Powesse. When Sydanen and Marian consent to follow their lovers, the Countess agrees to join them to Gosselin's castle. At the castle, the Countess arrives with her husband when John a Cumber makes all his party appear as if by magic through the walls. Chester avouches that his wife is not to blame for the girls' elopement, and the Countess tries to persuade Marian and Sydanen to obey their fathers and marry Pembrooke and Moorton. The ladies are sent back to Chester in the company of Oswen and Amery. On the way, Sir Griffin and Powesse lure the ladies away from their guardians and return with them to Gosselin's castle. On the lawn before the castle, the Countess is part of the play within the play, in which the ladies act as themselves together with the lords as themselves. She tells the false John a Kent (actually John a Cumber) that he is revenged against his rival John a Cumber. At Chester Abbey, where the marriages of Marian to Pembrooke and of Sydanen to Moorton are to be celebrated, the Countess attends the marriages of Marian to Powesse (disguised as Pembrooke) and of Sydanen to Sir Griffin (disguised as Moorton). Faced with the fait accompli, the Countess consents to the marriages.
COUNTESS **1604
A "ghost character" in Chapman's Monsieur D'Olive. The late wife of St. Anne and sister of Vandome. The Countess has died but her body is preserved by St. Anne and positioned in his house as though she were still alive.
COUNTESS**1604
The Countess (who is never named) is the sister of Ferneze, duke of Genoa, and the aunt of Polymetes and Emilia in Day's Law Tricks. She is married to Lurdo, but he has bribed witnesses and judges to allow him to divorce her. He claims that she has been unfaithful to him, but his real reason is his avarice: he hopes to make more money for himself through successive marriages. After Ferneze's departure, she complains to Polymetes and Emilia, but is rebuffed by them. The Countess is wooed brutally by Horatio, who claims that she has no choice but to submit to him because her reputation has already been ruined. She rejects him, and Horatio's Page, overhearing their exchange, takes pity on her and vows to help her. The Countess takes up the Page's offer to take refuge at his parents' house, where she advises the group of gentlewomen who stay there. After she refuses Horatio for a second time, he takes revenge (with the connivance of Lurdo) by poisoning her. However, the Page wakes her in the tomb, and it transpires that the 'poison' was merely a sleeping potion supplied by the Page's father, an apothecary. Polymetes 'conjures' the Countess, who apparently returns from the grave to accuse Horatio. Ferneze orders that Horatio and Lurdo be immured with the Countess's corpse, but when they go to the tomb she rises from it. She begs Ferneze to pardon her husband, Lurdo, and release him to her custody, and Ferneze orders that they be reconciled.
COUNTESS**1621
A fictional character in Middleton's Anything
for a Quiet Life. Since Lady Cressingham wants her stepson to become independent of his father's allowance, she has Saunder suggest that George Cressingham should take up the profession of a lawyer or divine. Saunder, trying to impress upon George Cressingham that his mistress wants to do good works with her wealth, reports that Lady Cressingham spoke of a Countess born in Northamptonshire who rode through the city naked in order to have Coventry made a corporation. Lady Cressingham's allusion might refer to the legendary tale of Lady Godiva, wife of Leofric, in the time of Edward the Confessor. When her husband imposed tax on the people of Coventry, the lady demanded to remit them. The earl promised to do so only if she rode through the streets naked at noon. She complied, asking the people of Coventry to stay inside and close their windows. It seems that this tale has been fused with a more recent event involving Coventry's incorporation.
COUNTESS **1631
A "ghost character" in Shirley's Love's Cruelty. The Countess is named as a one-time mistress of Bovaldo whose ribbon he wears.
COUNTESS ELINOR of CARLISLE
A "ghost character" in Greene's James
IV. Countess Elinor is mentioned as a friend of Eustace who gave him a
picture of Ida and told him to seek her out.
COUNTESS of AUVERGNE
The Countess of Auvergne in Shakespeare's 1
Henry VI invites Talbot to her castle under the pretext of wanting to
meet England's valiant champion, but when he arrives she insults him and attempts
to imprison him. Fortunately, he has anticipated her wiles, and has his soldiers
ready to rescue him when he calls.
COUNTESS of LANCASHIRE
A "ghost character" in Chapman's Sir Giles Goosecap. She is a noble woman that Lord Furnifall met in the past.
COUNTESS of ROSSILLION
Mother of Bertram and guardian of Helena in Shakespeare's All's Well. She is angered by her son's refusal to accept Helena as his wife, and renounces him, claiming Helena is her only child. On Bertram's return, she accepts him, however, begs the king's forgiveness for him, and sees him happily reunited with Helena. Shaw considered hers "the most beautiful old woman's part ever written."
COUNTESS of SALISBURY **1604
She attends Queen Jane in Rowley’s When You See Me. She brings in the infant Edwad to show Henry his prince.
COUNTESS MOREN
Older, jealous wife to a young husband in Chapman's An
Humourous Day's Mirth. She tries to prevent him from keeping his engagement
at Verone's tavern, but agrees to let him go when she's assured no women will
be present. When Lemot tells her that he is at the tavern with Martia, she pursues
him there. In the final scene, he is revealed as a torchbearer, and Lemot insists
he just wanted to bring them together again. The two are reconciled.
COUNTESS of ARRAN
The Countess of Arran is the virtuous mother of the equally virtuous Ida in Greene's
James IV. She lives far from
court and is happy to preside over the marriage of her daughter to the respectable
Eustace.
COUNTESS of CAMBRAI
The Countess is in love with the noble Clermont D'Ambois in Chapman's The
Revenge of Bussy D'Ambois. When informed of his capture, she weeps until
she is blind. She arrives at the home of Montsurry with Renel after Clermont has
revenged his brother's death, but too late to prevent his suicide. The Countess
vows to join a cloistered community.
COUNTESS of COPT HALL
A "ghost character," possibly fictional in Brome's The
Sparagus Garden. The Gentleman who attends the Asparagus Garden with Mistress
Hollyhock tries to avoid paying his full bill by telling Martha's servant that
the Countess, by implication a brothel-keeper, is returning to the neighborhood
and will greatly diminish Martha's custom. The Servant is unimpressed.
COUNTESS of NORTHUMBERLAND
A "ghost character" in Greene's James
IV. Eustace tells the Countess of Arran that he brings a letter to her
from the Countess of Northumberland. However, because she is also referred to
as "Elinor," this may be a mistake for Countess Elinor of Carlisle.
COUNTESS of SALISBURY
The Countess is the daughter of Warwick and wife of the Earl of Salisbury in the
Anonymous King Edward III.
She is besieged by the Scots in the Castle of Roxsbourgh, and is relieved by the
arrival of an English army headed by Edward III. She persuades Edward to stay
at the castle so that she may thank him, despite his protests, and then discovers
that Edward has fallen in love with her. At first, she thinks he is testing her
honor. When he persists, she tells him to kill both his wife and her husband so
they are free of any impediments. When he agrees, she threatens to kill herself
to remain pure, and this finally convinces Edward of the immorality of his desires.
COUNTRY
Country, or the Gentleman, 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 Vincent or Hilliard. Country vies for superiority with City and Court.
COUNTRY COUPLE
The disguise of the King of Gaul and Cordella, when they, with Mumford, travel
to the seacoast in the Anonymous King
Leir. There, they meet Leir and Perillus quite by chance.
COUNTRY FELLOW**1609
This Country Fellow is an unnamed citizen who searches the woods hoping for a
glimpse of the king in Beaumont and Fletcher's Philaster, or Love Lies A-Bleeding. Observing Philaster's wounding of Arethusa, the Country Fellow comes to her aid, wounding Philaster and receiving injury himself. He would have been able to identify Philaster as Arethusa's assailant when Bellario
confessed to that crime, but the Country Fellow is led away by two woodmen to
have his wounds dressed and does not appear again.
COUNTRY FELLOW**1639
During Julio's trial in J.D.'s The Knave In Grain New Vamped, a Country Fellow challenges anyone to cheat from him a coin that he is keeping in his mouth. Julio 'accidentally' drops some small change before the Country Fellow, then says he can't find a twenty shilling piece that he had. He then persuades a Sergeant that the County Fellow has something in his mouth. When the coin is extracted Julio announces that he should not be punished when such a blatant cheater is not.
COUNTRY FOLK
"Ghost characters" in the Anonymous King
Leir. When Cordella and the Gallian King travel to the seacoast, she describes
how happy she is that they met these country folk, who are both industrious and
merry, but also, apparently, full of quirks that have amused her.
COUNTRY GENTLEMAN
The Country Gentleman is one of Contempt's acolytes in Wilson's The
Cobbler's Prophecy. He defends the role of the country gentry in a debate
with the Scholar, Emnius and Sateros. Later, when war breaks out, the Country
Gentleman is expected to lead a troop of soldiers. He begs Sateros to save him
from being forced to fight, but Sateros tells him to do his duty.
COUNTRY JOAN
A fictional character in Wilde's Love's Hospital. Comastes (in his disguise as a Rustic) informs Lepidus and Facetia that he would be best served by "A country Joane" who "can veede on beanes and bacon."
COUNTRY LASSES
Although not provided lines in Heywood and Brome's The
Late Lancashire Witches, the two Country Lasses appear as wedding guests
during the marriage celebration of Lawrence and Parnell; they are little more
than dance partners for the male characters in this scene.
COUNTRY–MEN
Two Roman countrymen in Fletcher and Massinger's The Prophetess. They meet with three shepherds, Alexis, Ladon, and (possibly) Thirsis, to marvel at Diocles' country estates and to plan a suitable entertainment for him. The second countryman claims both men are carters.
COUNTRY SERVINGMAN
The disguise that Wat adopts in order to talk to his sister in Brome's The Damoiselle. He tells Vermine that Sir Amphilus is at his inn in Holborne. Vermine does not recognize him as he is wearing a beard that covers his face. When he is left with his sister, he tells her how well she is going to live if she marries his lord. He tries to convince her in vain. Proving his sister's reasoning, he jokes about his master saying that he only likes whores and duck before he reveals himself.
COUNTRY SWAINS
Three countrymen of Trebizond are sad because the Priest of Pan has ordered them
to take down their maypole in Kirke's The
Seven Champions of Christendom.
COUNTRY WENCH
Lethe's Mistress in Middleton's Michaelmas
Term, this woman moves to the city at Hellgill's behest, without the consent
of her father, and soon adorns herself in city fashion with the assistance of
Hellgill and Comings. Her appearance is changed so drastically that her father,
who in an effort to locate her poses as the lady's servant, is unable to recognize
her. When her identity as Lethe's courtesan is discovered, his impending marriage
to Susan is immediately cancelled. Under order from the judge, the Country Wench
radically improves her social status through marriage to Lethe.
COUNTRY WENCHES
These lasses join the swains in singing tributes to Ceres in Heywood's The Silver Age.
COUNTRY WENCH'S FATHER
An older man in Middleton's Michaelmas
Term. After receiving a letter from his daughter explaining that, without
his blessing or consent, she has moved to London and is in the company of Lethe,
the father spends his time searching for her. Disguised, he enters his daughter's
service though he is unable to recognize her because of her fashionably changed
appearance. He is, however, present to see his daughter married (upon the judge's
decree) to her former employee, Sir Andrew Lethe.
COUNTRYMAN
One of the Wise-Woman's clients in Thomas Heywood's The Wise Woman of Hogsdon. The countryman brings his wife's urine to the Wise-Woman for her to scry in the hopes of discovering her ailment and a cure. Other
than revealing to the audience how the Wise-Woman cozens her clients by pumping
them for information, his presence in the play has no impact on the plot.
COUNTRYMAN**1598
This is a disguise Ely takes on after he escapes from Warman in (?Chettle and)
Munday's Downfall of Robert Earl
of Huntington. He reveals himself to Tuck as a fellow churchman, asking
to be let go. Tuck reveals him to Robin Hood, but Robin forgives and protects
him, since Ely regrets being one of those who helped to banish him.
COUNTRYMAN **1625
This unnamed Countryman is the father of Oaf in Shirley's The School of Compliment. He brings Oaf to the Compliment School, wishing that his son be made a scholar and courtier.
COUNTRYMAN**1631
He approaches the emperor, Theodosius, in the forest as he is hunting and gives
him an apple as a gift in Massinger's The
Emperor of the East. The apple becomes an important plot point.
COUNTRYMAN **1635
He spreads the word in Brome's The Queen and Concubine that a saintly woman has arrived in Palermo to save the countryside from plague and poverty. He brings the news to the Palermians that their beloved Holy Woman is in fact Queen Eulalia.
COUNTRYMAN**1638
The Countryman in Shirley's Constant Maid is an acquaintance of Startup's, and appears at Bellamy's home with the announcement that Startup is already contracted. The Countryman's daughter is with child, and Startup is the father.
COUNTRYMEN**1621
Three countrymen, victims of the Dog's mischief, who persecute Mother Sawyer in
Rowley, Dekker and Ford's The Witch
of Edmonton.
COUNTRYMEN**1635
They spread the word in Brome's The Queen and Concubine that a saintly woman has arrived in Palermo to save the countryside from plague and poverty. Upon learning that their beloved Holy Woman is in fact their Queen, they swear allegiance to her in spite of the King's proclamation (and against her wishes). They also participate in the attempted lynchings of Fabio and Strozzo, the Midwife and Doctor, and Flavello.
COUNTRYMEN**1639
Two countrymen in J.D.'s The Knave In Grain New Vamped complain that they have lost their horse and a load of hay (Julio has stolen them to make his appeal to the court from the back of a cart).
COUNTRY PEOPLE
Four country people who raise the alarm when the beacons are fired in William
Rowley's A Shoemaker a Gentleman.
COUNTRY PERSON, FIRST, SECOND, THIRD, and FOURTH
As the friends gather to practice their morris-dances for Duke Theseus in Shakespeare's
Two Noble Kinsmen, they talk
merrily:
- The First Country Person remarks that his wife is sure to be jealous of the time he spends performing morris-dances at the Duke's games.
- The Second Country Person offers some sexually slanted remarks about the First Country Person's wife.
- The Third Country Person also offers some sexually slanted remarks about his first colleague's wife.
- The Fourth Country Person simply appears among this group of locals who plan to perform morris-dances for Duke Theseus.
COUNTRY WENCHES
Three country wenches perform the roles of Nymphs in the play-within-the-play
in Fletcher and Rowley's The Maid in
the Mill.
COUNTRY WOMAN**1609
Mercurie's mother and mistress of the house where Alexander, Nan and Madge work in Beaumont and Fletcher's The Coxcomb. She employs Viola as a maid. When Alexander informs the Country-woman of the imminent arrival of her son, Mercurie, and that he is bringing a strange woman with him, she is instantly suspicious. But when Mercurie introduces his pale and sickly looking companion, Maria, the Country-woman takes pity on her and welcomes her in. However, her attitude towards Melvia—as Viola calls herself in her position as a servant—is not so forgiving. The Country-woman beats Melvia for breaking a glass and tells her to leave the house after Melvia drops bread. When Melvia/Viola offers one of her jewels to the Country-woman, all is forgiven.
COUNTY PALANTINE
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.
COUNTY SALSBURY
The County (or Earl) of "Salsburie" assures the Queen Mother that King Richard II's age will not deter him from meeting the rebellion effectively in the anonymous Jack Straw.
COURAGE **1567
A disguise name in Pickering's Horestes. The alias the Vice assumes when persuading Horestes to take revenge against Clytemnestra and Egistus.
COURAGE**1640
A non-speaking character in Brome's Court Beggar. The champion of Venus played by Swainwit in the masque. He only dances.
COURIER
Perhaps a "ghost character" in Shakespeare's The
Life of Timon of Athens. The man from whom the Senators' messenger receives
his information. Alcibiades has sent him with a letter to Timon, asking him to
join him in his march against Athens. Most probably "courier" is another identification
of one character who is also
- the soldier who finds Timon's grave in scene V.iii as well as
- the messenger who then appears in the last scene with a copy of Timon's epitaph.
COURT**1601
Court attending the play is a mute character in Jonson's Cynthia's Revels. In Ben Jonson's dedication, he
addresses Court as "the special fountain of manners." The eulogy praises Court's
qualities as a model of perfect manners and the exemplary mirror reflecting
splendid features. However, Jonson argues, Court should render people's figures
truly, and not be a medium of self-flattery. Jonson says that true virtue does
not lie in the powdering or perfuming of fashionable court dress, but in the
mind shining through any suit, and which needs no false light or honors to help
it. Jonson commends the characters of Crites and Arete as such illumined spirits
living in Cynthia's palace. Jonson addresses Court as the source of the light of
poetry, like Phoebus, saying that it is her province to nurture the great
spirits. However, Jonson warns against Court's temptation to mix the pure and
perfect waters of her spring with the fountain of self-love and adulation.
COURT**1641
Court is a courtier and 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 the decayed courtier. Court vies for superiority with Country and City.
COURT, ALEXANDER
Alexander Court is an English soldier in Henry's army in Shakespeare's Henry
V. On the eve of the battle at Agincourt, when Henry puts on Sir Thomas
Erpingham's cloak and wanders among the soldiers incognito, he speaks with Court,
Williams, and Bate about his responsibilities in battle and their own.
COURTENAY, SIR EDWARD
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's Richard
III. A knight supporting Richmond. Sir Edward Courtenay, along with his
elder brother the Bishop of Exeter, marches soldiers through Devonshire to attack
Richard III's forces.
COURTESAN
See also "CURTEZAN" and related spellings.
COURTESAN**1605
A courtesan hired by John Gresham in Heywood's 2 If You Know Not Me.
COURTESAN**1605
Apparently not a professional prostitute but rather a country girl whom Witgood
deflowered and so ruined in Middleton's A
Trick to Catch the Old One. She is known throughout most of the play in
her guise of the widow, Jane Medler, who is supposedly possessed of an annuity
of £400 per year. She strikes a bargain to pose as Witgood's betrothed for their
mutual financial advancement. At play's end, Witgood attests that, but for him,
she is a virgin. (Full description at "MEDLER, JANE").
COURTESAN**1606
Occasionally referred to as Frank Gullman in Middleton's A Mad World, My Masters, she is initially employed by the wealthy Sir Bounteous Progress. See "FRANK GULLMAN."
COURTESAN, FIRST, SECOND, THIRD, FOURTH, and FIFTH
At Imperia's house in the Anonymous Blurt,
Master Constable, the barely dressed courtesans wait for Lazarillo's arrival.
When Lazarillo pours forth his loquacious advice of how women should behave in
public and in private, he notes that it is important for a wife to keep the reins
in a marriage.
- While Imperia complains that Curvetto has left a disgusting smell of liquor and onions, the First Courtesan approves. Lazarillo enters and gives the courtesans a long speech on ladies' behavior, which he claims to have taken from the book entitled Economical Cornucopia. The First Courtesan does not understand the oxymoronic title. When Lazarillo continues with advice on how a wife should treat her husband, derived from the wisdom of the above-mentioned book, the First Courtesan asks him to repeat his statement. It seems that the First Courtesan is, or feigns to be, rather hard of hearing. At Lazarillo's flippant retort, the First Courtesan, her notebook in hand, announces to the Spaniard that he is so far in their debt that he should not be so snappish in his answers. When Imperia tells her courtesans to take Lazarillo away to the banquet in the gallery, the First Courtesan promises they will stuff themselves with sweets. Thus, she ironically implies they will ward off the bitter aftertaste of Lazarillo's discourse.
- Lazarillo also warns them to be wary of who thrusts his fingers into their fur. Lazarillo refers to the fur of their muff, but the Second Courtesan takes the allusion sexually and promises to watch carefully for it. The Second Courtesan seems interested in Lazarillo's counsel, asking the First Courtesan not to interrupt his disquisition. At Imperia's question whether she likes the Spaniard, the Second Courtesan says she likes him very much, because he is able to put down twenty women such as she is. When the First Courtesan says she will eat a lot of sweets at the banquet, probably to ward off the bitter aftertaste of Lazarillo's discourse, the Second Courtesan says she will not, implying that she liked the speech.
- the Third Courtesan approves eagerly of a wife keeping the reins of marriage. When the discussion addresses the issue of pregnancy, all the courtesans are against getting pregnant. The Third Courtesan remarks ironically that they need not go to a cunning woman, since men can teach them all their learning. The courtesan alludes to the midwife who helps the prostitutes to get rid of their unwanted babies.
- The Fourth Courtesan also approves eagerly. She notes that, if women can take the upper hand in the family by not getting pregnant, their husbands will be their fools.
- The Fifth Courtesan also approves eagerly. Using bawdy innuendo, the Fifth Courtesan employs language from the game at bowls to suggest indirectly that a smart wife should not let herself get pregnant and she should make her husband use condoms once a month.
COURTESANS**1605
Experienced Courtesans at Primero's brothel in Middleton's Your Five Gallants, in the guise of refined young students at a ladies' music school. As such, they sing for the entertainment of their clients. At least three have lines (though in a late scene, Mistress Newcut herself is simply listed as a 'Courtesan', too). The First Courtesan affects a sincere love for Pursenet, and persuades him to make her a gift of the chain of pearl (stolen from Katherine). She secretly loves the gigolo, Tailby, giving him money and the chain, which is subsequently re-stolen by Pursenet. He discovers her duplicity from her letter to Tailby, also stolen. The Second Courtesan is intimate with Goldstone, who takes from her a valuable ring: she is secretly besotted with Tailby, too, and equally fooled by his protestations. The Third adds little, but is similarly deceived by Goldstone, and is needed, together with the Novice and Mistress Newcut, to partner the five Gallants in the masque, where all the Courtesans are disguised as pageboys. This is arranged with their agreement by Fitsgrave, on his revealing to them that their Gallants are false and intend to desert them for a lucrative marriage. All the Courtesans are subsequently given in marriage to the Gallants, who thus avoid public justice for their deeds. The First Courtesan briefly objects, but is instructed by Newcut that legitimate husbands are the best cover for promiscuity, which seems to outweigh Goldstone's assumption that the women will continue to provide immoral earnings for the five.
COURTESANS**1611
The courtesans in Dekker's If It Be Not Good are brought by Shacklesoule to the priory in order to tempt the Subprior with lusty songs and dances.
COURTESANS**1635
In Richards' Messalina Three courtesans appear in the wedding masque dressed as queens.
COURTESANS, VENETIAN
"Ghost characters" in Jonson's Every Man in His Humour. The Venetian courtesans are symbols of temptation and depravity. Knowell follows his son to Moorfields, where Edward Knowell intended to attend a hunting match. In an aside, the angry father deplores the younger generation's dissolute ways, while extolling his stern methods of education. Knowell says he is not like other fathers, who wanted to acquaint their sons with the ways of the world and they took them to the Venetian courtesans before they were sixteen. Apparently, this kind of sexual initiation was a common practice among well-to-do fathers, who wanted their sons to taste of the illicit pleasures of life at an early age, in order to be able to avoid them later.
COURTEZAN
See also COURTESAN, CURTEZAN, and related spellings.
COURTEZAN**1592
This Courtezan owns an establishment in Ephesus where Antipholus Sereptus dines
on occasion in Shakespeare's Comedy
of Errors. Promised a gold chain by Antipholus Sereptus when he is locked
out of his own inn by his wife, the Courtezan is unable to distinguish between
Antipholus Sereptus, her Ephesian friend and sometimes benefactor, and Antipholus
Erotes, the visiting Syracusan.
COURTEZAN**1631
Courtezan tries to trick Antiochus into confessing that he is in fact an impostor
in Massinger's Believe As You List.
This she does in exchange for sex.
COURTIER**1592
The Courtier is sent from Richard II to Woodstock, summoning him to Court in the anonymous Thomas of Woodstock. Confused by Woodstock's famous plainness, the Courtier offers him money to walk his horse; when he learns his mistake from Sir Thomas Cheney, he is highly embarrassed–especially when Woodstock refuses to return the horse before he is paid the promised fee.
COURTIER**1601
The Courtier in the anonymous The Contention Between Liberalitie and Prodigalitie has been the secretary of a noble man near her Majesty for one or two years, and he wants to change office. But Liberalitie advises him to go on working with virtuous proceedings, because, with the passing of time, he will be recompensed for his good service.
COURTIER**1601
A fictional character in Jonson's Poetaster. The Courtier ridiculed in the players' comedies. When Ovid Senior is displeased at his son's preference for poetry, and Luscus says that players are annoying because they lampoon politicians in their comedies, Tucca brings an additional comment. As if speaking from personal experience, Tucca says that a courtier cannot kiss his mistress's slippers in quiet before being the object of ridicule in the comedies.
COURTIER **1619
A “ghost character" in (?)Goffe’s Careless Shepherdess. Thrift mentions that a courtier owes him two thousand pounds for garters and roses.
COURTIER**1621
A "ghost character" in Middleton's Anything
for a Quiet Life. When Old Franklin asks George about Rachel's parents,
the apprentice says she is the daughter of a courtier and an officer. The inference
is that Rachel's past, like Lady Cressingham's, was connected with the fickle
life at court. The specifics George provides about Rachel's father, his being
often in and out of favor, seem to indicate this is an allusion to a particular
member of the court.
COURTIER**1622
In the second scene of Chapman's The
Tragedy of Chabot, Admiral of France, he brings the suit signed by Montmorency
and others to Chabot, and invokes Ate, the goddess of contention, to renew the
rivalry between the two.
COURTIER**1631
This unnamed Courtier in Shirley's Contention for Honor and Riches courts Lady Honour and argues with the Soldier about which man loves the lady best. "Phantasm" and "Master Cringe" are terms used by the Soldier to refer to the Courtier.
COURTIER **1631
This unnamed Courtier in Shirley's Love's Cruelty discusses with Hippolito the social rise of Eubella and her father Sebastian.
COURTIER**1638
The courtier is an Antipodean, a character in the inset play of Brome's The Antipodes. Though he is a courtier, he is illiterate, coarse, and vulgar. He makes peace between Will and Jack by offering to buy them drinks at the tavern.
COURTIER**1638
Unnamed Courtier in Shirley's The Doubtful Heir. this Courtier brings news to Olivia that the court gates are shut and that the people within now proclaim Ferdinand as king.
COURTIER**1641
Also known as Beggar 4 in Brome's A Jovial Crew, the courtier has withdrawn from court life and become a beggar, finding begging and the life of a courtier to be comparable, but begging less humiliating. He is the subject of a song by Scribble and volunteers to play Court in the wedding masque.
COURTIER, FIRST and SECOND**1618
There are two Courtiers in Massinger, Middleton and Rowley's The Old Law who, like Simonides, are delighted with the Old Law because it brings them their inheritances sooner:- The First Courtier utters a speech about his disgust for the elderly. He woos Eugenia, along with Simonides and the other Courtiers. When the Courtiers taunt old Lisander for trying to look youthful, Lisander challenges the First Courtier to a dancing competition, and beats him.
- The Second Courtier, along with Simonides and the other Courtiers, also woos Eugenia. When the Courtiers taunt old Lisander for trying to look youthful, Lisander challenges the Second Courtier to a fencing bout, and beats him.
Along with Simonides, the Courtiers act as judge and jury in the trial scene. They are disappointed when Evander reveals that the Old Law was merely a fiction.
COURTIER, FIRST and SECOND **1637
The First and Second Courtiers have been grooming Young Gudgen as a courtier to cheat him of his money in Carlell's The Fool Would Be A Favorite. The First Courtier leads Young Gudgen into believing that he can purchase the position of favorite. The Second Courtier writes a play (which he recognizes is comically bad) to be performed in front of Aurelia. They help prevent Agenor from killing himself in front of Philanthus's tomb.
COURTIER, FIRST and SECOND**1636
Having previously "mockt [Eugenius] in his disgrace," the First and Second Courtiers are chided by Eugenius for flattering him when he comes into good fortune in Carlell's 2 Arviragus and Philicia.
COURTIER, FIRST, SECOND and THIRD **1631
The three Courtiers in Shirley's Love's Cruelty discuss the sudden rise and preferment of Eubella and Sebastian, and whether or not Sebastian will be sent away from the court.
COURTIER, FIRST, SECOND, and THIRD **1637
Each courtier engages in verbal badinage with Orsamnes and Philan in Suckling's
Aglaura (first version) and
also Aglaura (second version).
Each also gossips about the doings in court, as well as debating Platonic love.
COURTIER, MAST
Mast (or Master) Courtier is a derogatory nickname Valerio uses for Dariotto in Chapman's All Fools after discovering that the latter has made fun of him.
COURTIER, RAGGED
A ragged courtier in Carlell's The Fool Would Be A Favorite, seeing Young Gudgen's clothes, asks to be acquainted with him, but Young Gudgen snubs him.
COURTIERS**1617
Three courtiers attending the king's illness in Fletcher and Massinger's Thierry and Theodoret. They question Bawdber for details of Thierry's fatal insomnia and the doctors' gruesome treatments.
COURTIERS**1621
Courtiers in Fletcher's The Pilgrim accompany the Governor and Verdugo to church on the King's birthday.
COURTIERS**1620
Non-speaking attendees of the trial and the masque in Fletcher's Women Pleased.
COURTIERS, THREE
Three courtiers in Brome's The Sparagus
Garden accompany the three court ladies (dubbed 'Lady Peerless,' 'Lady
Stately' and Lady Handsome' by Gilbert) to the Asparagus Garden. They are so highly
virtuous that they frequent this 'wicked' place only to dance and walk.
COURTIERS, TWO **1635
In Killigrew’s The Conspiracy, one passes by Clearchus, drunk, and the second, a fat man, passes by also, leading Clearchus to believe he is being neglected.
COURTLY ABUSION
A court vice in Skelton's Magnyfycence.
One of the evil counselors who mislead Magnyfycence and bring him to ruin and
despair.
COURTNEY, EARL of DEVONSHIRE
A "ghost character" in Heywood's 1
If You Know Not Me. Cardinal Winchester argues that Courtney has been
known to favor Elizabeth's cause.
COURTWELL
Master Courtwell is brought to the country to meet Sister by his uncle, Sir Francis in Cavendish & Shirley's Country Captain. A serious and studious lawyer, he is initially shy towards Sister, then courts her with poetic language. She rejects him because she wants a handsome cavalier, not a boring lawyer. Rejected and angry, he goes to the tavern with Underwit, Captain, Thomas and Device, becomes inebriated and denounces love and women. In this state, he meets Sister, who has also been drinking. He declares his distaste for love and all women, including her. They argue, but are friendly again when they meet the next day and are sober. Courtwell meets Device's feigned challenges for Sister's affection with valor that is appreciated by Sister. Courtwell and Sister make up and marry.
COURTWELL, SIR FRANCIS
Sir Francis Courtwell is a friend of Sir Richard and Lady Huntlove in Cavendish & Shirley's Country Captain. He joins them in the country, bringing his nephew Master Courtwell. Sir Francis and Lady Huntlove make three attempts to have an affair, all of which are thwarted by circumstances. In the third attempt, he plans to feign an injury when falling from his horse on the way back to London, so he can go back and make love to Lady Huntlove while Sir Richard goes on. He really does dislocate his shoulder, and Sir Richard comes back with him. Sir Francis and Lady Huntlove take it as a sign that they should forget the affair.
COURTWIT
A gentleman of the court in Brome's Court Beggar. He is Lady Strangelove's "favorite" because he flatters her and brings various people to entertain her, to which end he invites Citwit and Swainwit to her house. He helps rescue Lady Strangelove when Ferdinand attacks her and helps her take her revenge on the Doctor. He writes the poetry for the concluding masque and plays a Muse of Apollo.
COUSIN
See also COZEN.
COUSIN**1495
A kinsman to Everyman in the Anonymous Everyman.
Cousin appears with Kindred but refuses to accompany Everyman on his journey to
make his reckoning before God.
COUSIN**1606
Paridel's cousin represents William Parry's real-life kinsman, Edmund Nevill,
in Dekker's The Whore of Babylon.
He remonstrates with Paridel when the latter discloses his plans to murder Titania.
When Paridel goes on with his plan, his cousin betrays him to Titania's counselors.
COUSIN**1638
Playfair's Cousin is never named in Shirley's Constant Maid but manages to assume several roles. First, the Cousin plays a doctor who claims to have cured the melancholy of Hornet's niece. The Cousin's next charade is to impersonate the king, honoring Hornet with a knighthood that proves quite expensive for Hornet. Eventually the Cousin does appear undisguised to Hornet, tricking Hornet into negating a bond that the Cousin owes.
COUSIN, MAUDLIN'S
A "ghost character" in Middleton's A Chaste Maid in Cheapside. Maudlin encourages Yellowhammer to take Tim's letter around to her cousin at the Inns of Court to have the Latin deciphered, but Yellowhammer rejects the suggestion saying that they are all for French and have no Latin.
COUSIN NEVIL
King Henry IV uses the name Cousin Nevil to refer to the Earl of Warwick in Shakespeare's
2 Henry IV.
COUSIN, WARMAN'S
Warman's Cousin is one of the three characters who mocks Warman after he has been
banished in (?Chettle and) Munday's Downfall
of Robert Earl of Huntington. He refuses to succor Warman, having heard
of Prince John's anger, and states that he hates the treachery Warman has committed.
COVET
Covet is a usurer, a lender who employs Craft to devise a plan to keep his gold
and steal Spendall's land in the Anonymous Oberon
the Second. He has Oliver tell Spendall that his house is haunted and
thus he cannot pay Spendall for his land. Craft and his men fool him into leaving
his home while Spendall and Politico fight. When his home is pillaged, he wants
to kill himself. Swift convinces him to seek justice for his pillaged gold. Covet
appears before "King Oberon" and is made Chief Justice of Fairyland and is promised
all of the riches that the title implies. He realizes the cheat only when Craft
reveals his true self.
COVET, ALDERMAN **1638
He intends in Glapthorne’s Wit in a Constable to marry his daughter Grace to Sir Timothy Shallowit or else Jeremy Hold–fast, whom he prefers, and Clare to the other one. He keeps Clare, Grace, and Maudlin on scant rations despite Clare being an heiress. He loves scholars and dislikes city wits, so when Jeremy Hold–fast presents himself at Alderman Covet’s, newly dressed and speaking as a city wag, Covet turns him away, perplexed, and resolves to write Sir Geoffrey to ensure this isn’t some gallant impersonating Jeremy. He is impressed when Thorowgood presents himself as a scholar and calling himself Jeremy Hold–fast. Later, he is scandalized when Valentine is found in Clare and Grace’s chamber masquerading as Sir Timothy’s niece, and when the men foreswear the two women, he vows revenge. He first manages to convince Sir Timothy and Jeremy, with Sir Geoffrey’s help, that the women are proper and worthy to wive. When he learns that Busie is illegally drinking on watch in the tavern, Covet and Sir Geoffrey come to have him arrested, but the watch will only listen to Busie. Busie has Covet and Sir Geoffrey arrested instead and taken to be held at his house. When his daughter and niece are married to the ‘wrong’ men, he comes to terms with it and blesses the unions.
COVET, LADY
She and her betrothed, Sir Argent Scrape, are the old couple of May's The Old Couple. Said to be at least eighty. She first appears on crutches to receive her guests, Freeman, Euphues, Dotterel, Barnet and Lady Whimsey and is sociably teased by Euphues over her forthcoming marriage. Before her entrance he has revealed her earlier fraud, in that she criminally withheld from Scudmore his entire estate, to satisfy her avarice. He was too poor to prosecute her and is now believed dead. She is encouraged in her marriage plans by Sir Argent's revelation to her in a conversation they believe private, of his plans to increase his own wealth by a similar miscarriage of justice against Eugeny. It is clear that their planned marriage is entirely mercenary on both sides. Each hopes to outlive the other and inherit everything. They are overheard by Euphues and Barnet. Lady Covet next needs to conclude her pre-nuptial paperwork with her Chaplain. "Fruitful" persuades her of the wisdom of securing her estates to herself, from her new husband, by a deed of conveyance to trustees ("feoffees"). The deed is sealed and witnessed. Lady Covet discovers that her Chaplain has betrayed her financial scheme to her bridegroom and quarrels furiously with both Sir Argent and "Fruitful." All the visiting guests witness the outcome: "Fruitful" assures her and them that she will be made an adequate allowance from her sequestered funds to live the better without luxuries for her spiritual health. He promises to bring her trustees to meet her, to reassure her. Instead, Trusty her steward informs her that the trustees are not to be trusted, at which she falls into a desperate panic for her livelihood and begins to feel the first pangs of guilt, that she is now being justly punished for her own misdeeds. She grieves that her deserved poverty makes her unable to make restitution to those she has cheated, and her neighbors (Freeman and Euphues) begin to pity her. "Fruitful" now informs her that her estates will all be returned to her, except the manor due to Scudmore. When she confesses her guilt in obtaining it, he reveals his true identity. It remains unclear, during the concluding celebrations, reunions and betrothals, whether Lady Covet and Sir Argent will proceed with their own wedding after all.
COVETICE
Attends the Spirituality in the Second Part of Lindsay's Satire of the Three Estates and, when the Three Vices are put in the stocks, he sneaks away.
COVETISE
(Covetousness). An alternate name for Avarice in Udall's? Respublica.
COVETOUSNESS**1538
Covetousness is the Vice that, along with Ambition, is set to corrupt Lex Moseh in Bale's Three Laws. He is so proud that he refuses to bow to his father Infidelity, and has to be forced into doing so. He plans to corrupt the Mosaic Law by clouding its meaning in Latin, and by forcing the people to pay money for worthless rituals. He describes the Catholic Church as being interested solely in bringing in money.
COVETOUSNESS**1585
A mute character in ?Tarlton's Three Plays in One. One of the seven deadly sins. Appears in the first
scene with the other six sins.
COVETOUSNESS **1592
In Marlowe's Doctor Faustus Covetousness, the second of the Seven Deadly Sins, tells Faustus that he wants Faustus' house, and, in addition, he wants every person and thing in the house turned to gold and given to him.
COVETOUSNESS**1594
Alternate name given to Avarice in Yarington's Two Lamentable Tragedies.
COVETOUSNESS**1613
Name given to Hog by Lightfoot in Tailor's The Hog Hath Lost His Pearl.
COVETOUSNESS **1617
A “ghost character" in the anonymous Pathomachia. One of the twenty-five vices that are the extremes of the eleven virtues. Covetousness and Prodigality are the extremes of Liberality.
COVETT
Only mentioned in ?Clavell's The Soddered Citizen. Covett is mentioned by Clutch when he, Brainsicke and Shackle, disguised, are teasing Undermine. His actual words are "...wee have Ladds shall roare him to the squees, and such an Euiam–/ as shall rayse him to a greedy Covett of his owne ruine."
COW of DUNMORE HEATH
A "ghost character" in the anonymous Guy Earl of Warwick. The audience learns that before the play begins Guy had earned a glorious reputation by defeating both the savage Bore [sic] of Called and the wild cow of Dunmore Heath.
COWBY, GOODMAN **1599
One of the twenty-four Electors for the Burgomastership in Ruggle’s Club Law. He is Mr. Asseley’s tenant.
COWLEY
Friend of Williams in Yarington's Two Lamentable Tragedies. Meets Williams and asks about the cause of Williams' melancholy behavior. When Williams refuses to tell him, Cowley presses his demand to share Williams' sorrow. Williams vows to flee, and Cowley vows to pursue him and be a partner in his woe. Cowley continues to pursue Williams, urging him to reveal the source of his melancholy. When Williams reveals that Merry murdered Beech and Winchester, Cowley urges him to tell what he knows to the officers in order avoid being charged for concealing the murders.
COWPER, GOODMAN ROGER **1599
One of the twenty-four Electors for the Burgomastership in Ruggle’s Club Law.
COWSELL
Cowsell is one foolish coxcomb in Burnell's Landgartha. In Act Two, he is considered as a substitute for Reyner as king of Denmark. He informs his king about the feelings of true love Landgartha has to cheer him up. Nevertheless, he thinks that Elsinora is the fairest. He also has a brother called Radger with whom he talks in Act Three before the play begins. He tells Radger that in the court people do not drink nor eat so much as in the countryside. Nevertheless, there are also many taverns in the city that the two brothers visit before leaving for the countryside.
COWSY
A parasitic courtier in Fletcher's The Elder Brother. He encourages Eustace to be the same, Cowsy supports Eustace's plan to marry Angellina, agrees to help produce the marriage masque, and, after Angellina chooses to marry Charles instead, helps Eustace attempt to kidnap her. After Eustace's unexpected reform, he borrows Cowsy's sword and uses it to dismiss Cowsy and Egremont, after a long lecture on their contributions to court corruption.
COWTAIL
A grazier in the anonymous Thomas of Woodstock; along with the Farmer and the Butcher, a victim of the predatory practices of Nimble and his stooge Ignorance.
COX
English reformer jailed during Queen Mary's rule in Drue's The Duchess of Suffolk. At the end of the play after
Queen Elizabeth has assumed the English throne, Cox, along with Grindall and
Scory, are released from prison just as Bonner arrives for imprisonment; they refuse to celebrate his fall from power.
COXCOMB **1611
A court fantastic in Dekker’s Match Me in London. He exists in the play only to engage in a debate with Bilbo in IV.ii comparing the court to the city.
COXCOMB–IN–A–CLOAK **1641
In (?)Shipman’s Grobiana’s Nuptials, this is Grobianus’s cant term for a prologue, who makes legs to beg applause from Sir Tottipate (the audience) in “dogrime verse."
COXSTONE **1607
A "ghost character" in The London Merchant portion of Beaumont's Knight of the Burning Pestle. Mistress Merrythought's neighbor. He was at Mile End and killed the "Spaniels" (Spaniards) with a "birding piece." Probably a reference to a mock battle held as an entertainment.
COZEN
See also COUSIN.
COZEN**1622
Cozen is the alias that the Flemish Lord Costin uses among the beggars in Fletcher's
Beggars' Bush.
COZEN**1626
Cleremont (also spelled "Cleremon") is the given name of Monsieur Marine's cousin in Fletcher's The Noble Gentleman, referred to as "Cozen" in the play text and dramatis personae.
COZEN, FIRST and SECOND
In John Webster's Appius and Virginia,
- The First Cozen of Appius, unnamed in the play, urges Appius to accept the offered Decemvirate seat.
- The unnamed Second Cozen of Appius mentions to Appius that family status can be greatly elevated if Appius accepts election to the Decemvirate.
COZIMO
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.
CRAB
Crab is an unsightly, incontinent dog who belongs to Launce, a servant to Proteus
in Shakespeare's The Two Gentlemen
of Verona. Launce treats the dog as if it were nearly human. He offers
Crab as a gift to Silvia when the pleasing dog that Proteus planned to give Silvia
vanishes, but Crab misbehaves.
CRAB, FRIAR
A Friar in the Anonymous Lust's Dominion. One of the two friars that the Queen Mother knows two friars, Cole and Crab, who
would do anything for money. They are promised a cardinal's hat if they spread
the news that Prince Philip is a bastard. In Eleazar's castle they help Philip
and the Cardinal to escape an assassination planned by Eleazor to be carried out
by Baltazar and Zarack. The friars give Philip and the Mendoza their robes and
have themselves gagged. When they are discovered, they say that Philip and Mendoza
had done this and fled. Baltazar kills Cole, and Zarack kills Crab, just as the
two are spreading the news of Philip's bastardy, propagating Eleazar as the new
king.
CRABB **1636
Soldier to Terresius, lieutenant, and Tullius in Killigrew’s The Princess. He is part of the group that, when Nigro and the viceroy fall, capture Cicilia. He only wants her clothes while the others wish to ravish her but, fearing the wrath of the lieutenant and Terresius, they decide instead to sell her in Naples. The lieutenant entrusts the wounded Nigro to Crabb’s care.
CRABTREE
The Clown refers to Neighbour 2 as 'Crabtree' once in The
Valiant Welshman (see under 'Neighbours').
CRACK
A prentice in service to Hobson in Heywood's 2 If You Know Not Me. Also known as Goodman.
CRACK, JEFFERY
Crack is the "brother" of Jane Tryman (Jeremy in disguise) in Brome's The City Wit. He poses as her page/bawd, sings bawdy songs, and, in the end, marries Bridget.
CRACKBY
Crackby is a young citizen in ?Glapthorne's The Lady Mother. He presses a suit for the hand of Clariana, who wittily rebuffs him and emphasizes his unworthiness and lack of nobility. He complains of the dissipating effects of the country, and longs for a return to his native environment, the city, where he is able to indulge in the pleasures and practices he values. He attempts to gain economic support for himself and Suckett from his tightfisted uncle, Sir Geffery, who refuses to countenance his request. Timothy, Grimes, Crackby and Suckett find Lovell passed out in a drunken stupor, and apply plasters and a bloodied handkerchief to his head as a jest. He goes to Lady Marlove, in the company of Sir Geffery, to complain of her daughters' unmannerly rejection of their suits. He takes up the suit again when Lady Marlove threatens her daughters with disinheritance if they don't comply with these unworthy suits, but is once again rebuffed and leaves unsatisfied. During the trial of Young Marlove, Crackby claims to have successfully assaulted Clariana's virtue and therefore to be equally responsible for her 'condition'. This is pure fabrication, of course.
CRACKE, HENRY
A fencer in the anonymous Captain Thomas Stukeley. Along with many other tradesmen, he gossips about the impending marriage of Captain Stukeley and Nell, daughter of the wealthy Sir Thomas Curtis. Immediately after the wedding, they seek to abscond with Stukeley's newfound money, citing debs both real and fabricated.
CRACKO
A "ghost character" in Wilson's The
Three Ladies of London. A parishioner of Sir Peter Please-Man, who defended
Simony in a debate with Presco.
CRACKSTONE, CAPTAIN
A captain in ?Munday's Fedele and Fortunio. Having purchased the clothing of a slain captain, he agrees to help Fortunio capture the heart of Victoria, who he believes is still in love with Fedele. After overhearing Pedante's plans to gain access to Victoria for Fedele, he decides to disguise himself as Pedante in order to gain access for himself. After Pedante and Fedele unexpectedly enter, he hides himself inside a tomb in a neighboring temple; the temple, unbeknownst to him, is being used by Attilia, Victoria and Medusa to conjure Fortunio's love. After Pedante interrupts the service, he discovers the portrait of Fortunio used in the service, and decides to use it to anger Fedele and Fortunio, leaving Victoria for himself. Later he claims that Victoria has asked him to kill Fedele, a charge she denies and in so doing publicly humiliates Crackstone, who vows revenge on her. He attempts to test his valor against Fedele, who defeats and further humiliates him. He ends the play by unexpectantly agreeing to marry Attilia.
CRAFT**1612
Craft is a character in "The Triumph of Time," the final play within the
play of Fletcher's Four Plays in One. He fails to serve Anthropos and is unmasked at the end.
CRAFT**1638
Craft is a cheater in the anonymous Oberon
the Second. He has two assistants in his employ: Snap and Swift. He poses
as both a servant to "King Oberon" and later, as "King Oberon" himself. Both he
and his assistants mask themselves as witches, devils and fairies in order to
carry out their plan of cheating Politico, Covet, Spendall and Losarello out of
their land and money. He uses Covet in his plan, convincing him to say that a
"giant" haunts his house. Craft convinces Losarello that he is a servant to Oberon
and that Losarello is a prince and employs Losarello to kill a "terrible giant"
at Covet's home. Craft also convinces Politico that he is the rightful heir to
Fairyland and all of its wealth and that Losarello wants his crown.
CRAFTY CONVEYANCE or "CONVEYAUNCE"
A court vice in Skelton's Magnyfycence.
One of the evil counselors who mislead Magnyfycence and bring him to ruin and
despair.
CRAMBAGGE
Family name of Valentine and Sir Plenteous in Chamberlain's Swaggering Damsel.
CRAMBO
Crambo is a corporal who, along with Poh, is hired by Fustigo to take revenge
for the beating George administered to Fustigo in Dekker and Middleton's 1
The Honest Whore. Because Candido has dressed in the clothes of an apprentice
and George is wearing Candido's clothes, they pick the wrong man. Crambo is the
more aggressive of the two, declaring he does not care if he lie in Limbo or hell,
he won't wait until the master is out of the shop. He is the only one who actually
strikes Candido, and then both are disarmed by George and the Second Apprentice,
but released by Candido.
CRAMMO
This is one of the two names to which Edmond answers in his disguise as an Irishman
in Dekker, Ford and Rowley's The Welsh
Embassador.
CRANMER, THOMAS
I.
Named Archbishop of Canterbury because he provided King Henry with positive opinions
concerning the divorce of Katherine in Shakespeare's Henry VIII. Cranmer will not be allowed to rise as did Wolsey. Cranmer is made aware that his preferment and status depend solely upon the whim of the King;
at the play's close Cranmer offers a powerful and glowing prophecy about his goddaughter
Elizabeth, daughter of King Henry and Queen Anne.
II.
Priest in Drue's The Duchess of Suffolk. Thomas Cranmer, reformist Archbishop of Canterbury, burned at the stake in Oxford, 1556. Enters as Latimer and Ridley are being led to execution, recants his return to Catholicism, and vows to burn his hand in the flames for betraying him; he is taken to prison as Latimer and Ridley are taken to the stake.
III.
In Rowley’s When You See Me, Wolsey fears that Henry’s marriage to Anne of Cleves will embolden Cranmer, Prince Edward’s tutor, to speak out against Rome. He is called to Henry and told to teach young Edward well. Cranmer calls on a servant to convey Browne to the Master of the Chapel to have him whipped for drawing the young prince into playing tennis when he should be at his studies. He teaches young Edward that there is no Purgatory, as papists believe. By royal order, Cranmer is banished from Edward’s side and the court. When Queen Catherine proves her case to Henry, Cranmer is recalled and forgiven.
CRANWELL**1603
A friend of Frankford in Heywood's A
Woman Killed with Kindness. He is present throughout much of Frankford's
story, but is little more than a device for plot exposition.
CRANWELL**1624
Gentleman-usher to the Duchess of Suffolk in Drue's The Duchess of Suffolk. Attends the Duchess at the start of the play. Announces arrival of Palsgrave, then witnesses the Duchess' surprising choice of Bertie for her next husband. Enters after Bertie leaves for Europe to inform the Duchess of the seizure of her property and dismissal of her servants, and is sent to fetch the Duchess a citizen's gown as a disguise for her escape.
Later, Cranwell, with the Duchess disguised as a citizen's wife, Susan, 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. Cranwell waits with Duchess, Nurse, Susan, and Dr. Sands at the home of Goseling for transport to Europe. Boards ship with the Duchess and her party and avoids capture by Bonner and Clunie when Foxe knocks Bonner into a well as a distraction. Arrives in Europe with the Duchess and her party and attends her on the way to Santon. When thieves attack the Duchess' party, Cranwell is injured, and the Duchess insists he find a surgeon. At Perecell's home, Cranwell hears of the arrival of Clunie's search party and agrees to take part in Perecell's plot to smuggle the Duchess and her son out of town in a coffin by dressing as a mourner. Later appears at Palsgrave's court with Sands fleeing Brunswick and the English Captain. He is given the position of chief secretary to Palsgrave as further protection against Bonner, Clunie and their allies. After Queen Elizabeth assumes power, Cranwell returns to London with the Duchess, Bertie, Sands and Foxe, and is met by Lord Hunsdon, the Lord Admiral, and Lord Clinton, who inform Cranwell that Queen
Elizabeth has appointed him her Gentleman-usher; Cranwell humbly requests to continue in the Duchess' service instead.
CRAPINO
Servant to the feigned Erostrato in Gascoigne's The Supposes.
CRAPULA **1607
Gustus’ follower in Tomkis’ Lingua. He is a fat bellied man dressed in light colored veil of “sarsnet." He beats Appetitus out of doors for giving the five senses new appetites after each course at the banquet until their guts nearly burst. Later, after the five sense fall to fighting at the banquet having drunk Lingua’s wine, Crapula wishes Somnus to end the fighting between the five senses at the banquet. Appetitus returns with Irrascibile and beats Crapula until Somnus puts Appetitus to sleep.
CRASSINIUS
Soldier of Caesar in Chapman's Caesar and Pompey; a brave fighter, who is killed by a sword-stroke in the face. Caesar promises him a tomb, and pronounces an epitaph for him. The historical character intended is Gaius Crastinus, a reservist in Caesar's army, who died in this way and is highly praised in Caesar's Civil Wars III 91, 99.
CRASSUS**1588
A "ghost character" in Lodge's The
Wounds of Civil War. Crassus is a "fencer" (gladiator). Granius recalls
seeing him beat Spectacus, and make the latter fear death. Granius compares Marius
to Crassus, claiming he will beat Scilla.
CRASSUS**1604
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's Measure
for Measure. A lord of Vienna and friend to Duke Vincentio. When the Duke
decides to "return" to Vienna in his own guise, he has Friar Peter deliver letters
to Crassus, Flavio, Valentinus, and Rowland, telling them to meet with him.
CRASSUS, CAIUS CANIDIUS
General of Antonius in May's Cleopatra. At the beginning of the play, he jocularly defends Antonius's relationship with Cleopatra against the muttering of Plancus
and Titius, and supports her bid to participate in the Battle of Actium. He flees from this battle, but remains loyal to Antonius, encouraging him up to his own last appearance in the play (just before the disastrous Battle of Tarentum). May seems to have worked up this character from a very brief hint in
Plutarch; he serves a small part of the purpose served in Shakespeare by
Enobarbus. Historically, this was Caius Publius Canidius Crassus.
CRASSUS, MARCUS
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra A member, with Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great of the
first triumvirate, treacherously killed by Orodes. Ventidius claims his death is
revenged by the death of Parthia.
CRASSUS, MARCUS LICINIUS
Marcus Licinius Crassus is a Roman general and politician in Jonson's Catiline. Some people believed that Crassus was acquainted with Catiline's conspiracy because he hated Pompey and was for anyone who should rise against Pompey's increasing influence. Crassus enters the Roman Senate with the others senators and hears Cicero's address of gratitude for having been elected consul. Crassus doubts Cicero's honesty and alludes to Caesar that he would secretly support Catiline's plot. At Cicero's house, Cicero tells his brother to summon a number of senators and tribunes he could trust, among whom he mentions Crassus. When Cornelius and Vargunteius try to gain access into Cicero's house under the guise of friends, but with the purpose of murdering him, Crassus is in the group of Cicero's friends and clients who witness the scene. When the conspirators flee and the remaining senators advise Cicero to follow the assassins and bring them to justice, Crassus is silent and prefers to observe the events. After Cicero has accused Catiline of conspiracy in the Senate, he mentions to his friends that he will not implicate Caesar and Crassus because they are powerful men and it is dangerous to stir too many serpents at once. Before the final confrontation between the Senate's army and Catiline's troupes, Crassus and Caesar discuss the situation. Seeing that Catiline's boat is sinking, Crassus and Caesar desert Catiline. After the depositions against the conspirators in the Senate, the Consul rules that Gabinius should be placed in Crassus's private custody. Though a report comes that a witness implicates Crassus in the conspiracy, Cicero pretends not to believe it, and Crassus is called noble, just, and loyal.
CRASY
Crasy is a young gentleman who has lost all of his money in Brome's The City Wit. He asks his friends to pay back the money he has loaned them, and they refuse. Embittered, he departs, then returns in various disguises including "Footwell," "Holywater," "Pulse-Feel," and the "Crippled Soldier." With the help of Jane Tryman (his apprentice Jeremy in disguise), he tricks and robs his friends in order to regain his losses and more. At the end of the play, he reveals himself and returns what he has stolen in excess of what they owe.
CRATANDER
A native of Ephesus in Cartwright's The
Royal Slave; Cratander is a prisoner of war in Persia. Questioned by Arsamnes
about his philosophical beliefs, knowledge, and bravery, he is selected to become
King temporarily, after which he is supposed to be sacrificed. Taking his responsibilities
seriously, Cratander negotiates for peace with Ephesus and refuses to undermine
Persia in any way when requested to by his disguised fellow-citizens, Hippias
and Phocian. He loves Atossa platonically, but again, proves himself to be trustworthy.
Finally, saved by Atossa and the intervention of the gods, he is sent to Ephesus
as governor.
CRATERUS
Craterus is one of the most valued counsellors of Alexander in Daniel's Philotas. He advises Alexander to take action against Philotas, having heard a report from Thais of Philotas's private words to Antigona. Alexander should keep a closer guard on himself, and have Philotas watched; Craterus will persuade Antigona to spy on Philotas. Alexander agrees with his council, but is worried about the power of Philotas's family and friends; he nonetheless refers the business to Craterus. He confers with Clitus and Ephestion about the threat which they feel Philotas poses to Alexander, and worry that Alexander is underestimating him. Attaras and Sostratus describe the entrance of Craterus at the banquet; after Philotas departed, Craterus fell to his knees and begged Alexander to take action against Philotas. As a result, Philotas is arrested. At the trial, Craterus reads out the letter from Parmenio to Philotas, which is taken as proof of their involvement with the conspiracy. Craterus and Ephestion defend their actions to Philotas, denying that they acted out of personal malice. According to the Nuntius, Craterus is in charge of the torture of Philotas and eventually wrings a confession out of him.
CRATES**1584
Crates is one of the Theban philosophers in Lyly's Campaspe whom Alexander consults after his conquest.
CRATES**1617
Crates is a Corinthian nobleman, a bosom friend to Prince Theanor and elder brother to Euphanes in Fletcher's Queen of Corinth. We first see him counselling Theanor to revenge himself for his loss of Merione by raping her before her marriage to Agenor. He soon joins the Prince in carrying out and covering up this crime. It becomes clear that much of his immoral behaviour proceeds from greed for money and advancement, and from ire against Beliza, who has rejected his suit in favour of that of his despised and penniless younger brother. Once Euphanes returns from the wars, Crates goes out of his way to discredit him among the Corinthian nobility, but is frustrated to see him becoming the Queen's favourite, Beliza's fiancé, and one of the most popular and powerful men in the country. Crates takes the ridiculous Lamprias, his Uncle and Tutor under his wing in order to mock them and to set them against his brother, but Euphanes merely laughs off their insults. Crates then tries to bring Euphanes down by stirring dissent between him and Theanor, a plot which ends in Theanor's attempt to pin the rape of Merione on Euphanes. When this plot, too, is frustrated, Crates duels with Euphanes' friend Conon and is wounded. Euphanes' noble response to the duel and his pleas for friendship with his brother bring Crates to repentance, and he tells Euphanes and his friends the truth of Theanor's nefarious designs against Beliza. Thanks to Crates' confession, Theanor is brought to justice and repents.
CRATES**1635
Counsellor to Syphax, king of Numidia in Nabbes' Hannibal and Scipio. At the outset of act two, he and Piston try to convince Syphax to ally with Carthage, as Numidia has traditionally done, but Syphax decides to ally with Rome instead. Later Crates and Piston conspire with Hannibal to change Syphax's mind by offering him the hand of Sophonisba, though Crates actually plays little active part in the plan.
CRATILUS
Cratilus is the executioner who administers death on the old men and women condemned
in Massinger, Middleton and Rowley's The
Old Law. At the end of the play, Evander reveals that he is not really
an executioner, but a man whom everyone believed had been travelling abroad.
CRATINUS**1599
Only mentioned in Jonson's Every Man out of His Humour. When Mitis asks Cordatus about the comedy they are about to see, whether its author observes the classical rules regarding the unity of time, place, and action, Cordatus embarks upon a lengthy and learned incursion into the history of comedy. According to Cordatus, Cratinus added a fifth and a sixth character in the structure of comedy. Cratinus was a fifth-century B.C. Greek adherent of the Old Comedy, together with Eupolis and Aristophanes. He wrote thirty-one plays and his chief contribution to the Old Comedy was that he added the element of satire of vices in a direct style.
CRATINUS**1604
A "ghost character" in Chapman's All Fools. The unnamed Prologus refers to Cratinus and Eupolis, a playwright contemporary to Aristophanes, as models. The Prologus argues that their satiric style is no longer appreciated, even though satire is wittier and less obscene than current comic styles.
CRATUS
Adrastus's brother in Carlell's 1 Arviragus and Philicia, Cratus accompanies him to the Witch's "Cave" in order to learn "the issue of the present warre" and "when, and what shall be [the King's] end." He conspires with Adrastus to slay the King but expresses regret for the deed and is slain by his brother, who identifies him to Guimantes as one of the King's murderers.
CRAWFORD, COUNTESS of
The Countess of Crawford is a friend of Katherine's in Ford's Perkin
Warbeck. She hopes that the pretender Warbeck is not a counterfeit and
joins Katherine in admiring the young man.
CRAWFORD
Crawford is first seen entertaining the pretender in Ford's Perkin
Warbeck. He doubts the pretender along with Dalyell and Huntly. He calls
Warbeck a "dukeling mushroom" and fears that he has charmed James IV.
CRAYVANGER, HARMAN
A "ghost character" in Mountfort's The Launching of The Mary. One of the underlings of Harman van Speult, listed by Sheathing-Nail.
CREAK
A "ghost character" in Marston's Dutch Courtesan, Master Creak does not appear in the play. Mistress Mulligrub refers to him at the end of II as one of the "fiddlers in the house."
CREDIT
A close friend of Money in Jordan's Money is an Ass. He repudiates his association with Featherbrain and accompanies Money to court Clutch's daughters. He swears by "all the oaths man can invent," that he is Feminia's "infinite admirer," but she refuses to make the same oath in return. When she finally makes an oath in return, he proposes to her. He allows Featherbrain and Penniless (disguised as Gold and Jewel) to accompany him on his second visit to the daughters. After he has signed over his estate in return for Clutch's consent that he should marry Feminia, Calumny informs him that she is already contracted to Jewel. To thwart this match, he pretends to have already slept with Feminia until Penniless makes him recant this claim at sword point.
CREDITOR, FIRST and SECOND
Creditors of John Gresham in Heywood's 2 If You Know Not Me.
CREDITOR, FIRST, SECOND, and THIRD**1613
Unnamed First, Second, and Third Creditors in Fletcher's The Honest Man's Fortune. Under Mallicorne's directions, they have Montaigne arrested for non-payment of minor debts.
CREDITOR, FIRST, SECOND, and THIRD**1625
Welborne has three unnamed creditors seeking satisfaction in Massinger's A New Way to Pay Old Debts.
- The First Creditor is a "decay'd vintner" whose business was ruined after he trusted Welborne with food and drink during his stay in Southwark, and who approaches the prodigal to collect payment for his debt (which he readily receives) after Welborne has received sufficient money to pay his debt-collectors from Overreach.
- The Second Creditor was once a tailor. He was forced to give up his shop for a stall at the market and become a mere botcher after Welborne failed to pay the credit given him for "a suit of clothes." He approaches Welborne for the payment of this debt after the prodigal has received sufficient funds to pay his debt-collectors from Overreach and, asking for "no interest," is paid readily.
- The Third Creditor visits Welborne for the payment of a debt after the prodigal has received from Overreach sufficient funds to pay his debt-collectors. This creditor is recognized by the prodigal immediately as his former surgeon and asked to "tell no tales" as Welborne promises to pay him in private.
CREDITOR, FIRST and SECOND: WAITING
These two Creditors in Fletcher's The Honest Man's Fortune wait eagerly to find out whether Montaigne will win his case. They are paid even though they lose.
CREDITORS**1605
These three characters (the third named Cockpit) have financed Witgood's wanton
lifestyle in Middleton's A Trick to
Catch the Old One, but they are persuaded from calling in their loans
because of his impending marriage to Jane Medler. They are even convinced to furnish
Witgood with more goods to hasten the upcoming match;
- The first offers £40,
- The second a valuable ruby, and
- The third (Cockpit) goods from his shop.
Consequently, they spread rumors to Hoard of Medler's wealth and fire his desire for her.
CREDITORS**1637
"Ghost characters" in Brome's The Damoiselle. They are a group of businessmen to whom Wat owes money.
CREDITORS of CHARALOIS
Ruthless, brutal and superstitious in Field and Massinger's The
Fatal Dowry. They keep the body of Charalois' father in exchange for his
debts, intending to use it for medical purposes.
CREDULOUS OLDCRAFT
Credulous Oldcraft is a nephew of Sir Perfidious in Middleton and Rowley's Wit
at Several Weapons. His uncle prefers him before Wittypate, and plans
to install him as Dean of Cardigan. But Credulous is a fool, and Wittypate tricks
him into believing that he is assisting in a robbery (in fact, both robbers and
victim are Wittypate's cohorts in disguise). Credulous is then gulled into thinking
he has been arrested, and is brought before Sir Perfidious, who pays a weighty
compensation to the 'victim'. Angered that Credulous has besmirched the family
name, Sir Perfidious banishes him, and decides that Wittypate is now his favourite
relative. Credulous is then gulled into believing that Sir Perfidious will be
pleased if he performs the marriage of the Niece to Cunningham.
CREDULOUS, SIMON
A citizen, a miser, and the father of Andrew in Cartwright's The
Ordinary. He has had Sir Thomas Littleworth imprisoned for debt. He has
arranged for Andrew to be educated by Meane-well as a politician and diplomat,
rather than sending him to Oxford. He hopes to marry Andrew to Mrs. Jane Bitefigg.
He is foiled by his son's marriage to Priscilla, which reveals Andrew as a fool.
CREMNOFIELD **1635
Also spelled Cremnofeld and Cremnofeild [sic] in Killigrew’s The Prisoners. A Sardinian commander. He appears in several scenes but does not add materially to the forward movement of the plot.
CREMULA
Wife to Cremulus, mother of Crusophilus and Musophilus in the anonymous Wisest Have Their Fools. She has grown to realize that her husband married her only for her money and privately curses his parsimony. She wishes to help her favorite, Musophilus, but is powerless. With Fido, she stops Cremulus from hanging himself. She continues, however, to resent him for disowning Musophilus. She is happy when Musophilus wins her husband's estate for himself and blesses his union with Urina.
CREMULUS
A usurer in the anonymous Wisest Have Their Fools. Father of Crusophilus and Musophilus. He loves his sons, prefers the elder, and refuses to give the younger money because he has chosen to become a scholar. He is sharp to his neighbor, Timothy, who must promise to pay principal and double use to redeem his land. When Crusophilus gives Cremulus a bag of money he has gained through lending at interest, the old usurer hides it by placing it over a roof beam. He later returns to find the gold gone and a rope in its place–a rope that Timothy unwittingly left behind when he found the money. Cremulus believes that the money was stolen by the soldier who pulled off his spectacles (actually Musophilus in disguise), and tries to hang himself. Fido and Cremula prevent his desperate act. Later, he complains of his failing eyesight but refuses to call for a physician unless he will come and treat him gratis. When he at last goes blind, he gives all of his estate to his foolish elder son, Crusophilus. Only the water of an honest woman or unspotted virgin may cure Cremulus. Musophilus has Urina anoint his eyes and cure him. Cremulus cannot understand his younger son's charity, but the two are reconciled. When asked, Cremulus blesses Musophilus's marriage to Urina.
CREON**1566
I.
Jocasta's brother Creon advises Eteocles to put a Theban hero in charge of each of the city's seven gates in Gascoigne and Kinwelmershe's Jocasta. He learns from Tyresias that only by sacrificing his son Menetius can the city be saved from destruction by the besieging army; he dismisses the boy's willingness to die, and sends him away to Thesbeotia. When he learns that, instead, Menetius has killed himself in front of Eteocles, he resolves to satisfy the second part of Tyresias' prophecy and rule in Thebes. After the battle and the death of the sons of Oedipus has made him king he reaffirms the bethrothal of Antigone and Haemon, banishes Oedipus, denies burial rites to Polynice, and banishes Antigone, too, when she refuses to honor his orders.
II.
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's Two
Noble Kinsmen, Creon does not appear on stage in the play. He is the ruler
of Thebes; his armies slew the husbands of the three queens, and he refused to
allow the burial of the bodies. He is also the uncle of Palamon and Arcite, the
two kinsmen for whom the play is named.
III.
Only mentioned in the anonymous Birthe of Hercules. Creon is mentioned by Mercurius, in his Prologus. Creon is the king of Thebes.
IV.
A "ghost character" in Heywood's The Escapes of Jupiter. King of Thebes, for whom Amphitryo fights a successful campaign against the Teleboans.
CREON**1618
The father of Simonides and husband of Antigona in Massinger, Middleton and Rowley's
The Old Law. Creon has
reached the age of eighty and is thus marked for execution under the Old Law.
Simonides is delighted by this news. Creon accepts his fate with fortitude, and
is led away to execution. At the end of the play, Evander reveals that Creon and
the other old men were not really executed.
CREON'S DAUGHTER
In the dumb show introducing V of the Anonymous Locrine,
Jason enters with Creon's daughter (Creusa). Medea follows with a garland, puts
it on her head, sets it on fire, kills Creusa and Jason, and leaves. According
to Ate's commentary, she stands for Estrild, Medea for Gwendoline, Jason for Locrine.
CREQUI
A French noblemen in Chapman's The
Conspiracy of Charles, Duke of Byron. He reports to D'Aumont the speeches
exchanged by Queen Elizabeth and Byron during his visit to England.
CRESSIDA**1599
A fictitious character in Marston's Histrio-Mastix. Cressida is a character in a play staged by Sir Oliver Owlet's Men.
CRESSIDA**1602
I.
Daughter to the traitor Calchas in Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida. Cressida has a love affair with Troilus, but once she is given to the Greeks in exchange for Antenor, she reveals her dissembling nature
when she betrays Troilus with the Greek Diomedes. Her lack of sexual modesty is
strongly insinuated when she allows all of the Greek commanders to kiss her.
II.
The daughter of the Trojan priest Calchas in Heywood's 1 The Iron Age, Cressida (called Cresid in the text) is the beloved of the Trojan prince Troilus. Although she has sworn to love Troilus and agrees to be cursed should she ever break faith with him, Cressida accepts her father's advice and joins Diomedes, the Greek leader who has fallen in love with her, after she learns that Troy is fated to be destroyed.
III.
Having betrayed Troilus by loving Diomed in Heywood's 2 The Iron Age, she is persuaded by Synon that the Greek, already married, will only be true to her while the war lasts. She turns to Synon instead, and soon finds herself scorned by all. On her way back to Troy, she asks Penthesilea to kill Synon for her. Having contracted leprosy, she meets Hellen during the Grecian assault, then disappears from the play.
IV.
Only mentioned in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. When Viola offers Feste money, he jokingly says that he would play Pandarus to bring Cressida (another coin) to this Troilus. Viola obliges him with more money.
V.
Only mentioned in Jonson's The New Inn. When Host rails against the current decayed ways of the nobility, he says that young gentlemen play Sir Pandarus and carry messages to Madam Cresside. Host's allusion to Chaucer's Troilus and Crisseyde comes after Lovel had raised in defense of the arts of rhetoric studied by gentlemen, which, as Chaucer said, would embellish their English. Host picks up the allusion to Chaucer, but implies that the depraved young gentlemen use their rhetorical skills to deliver amorous messages to equally depraved ladies. In Greek legend, Cressida was the daughter of Calchas, a Trojan priest. In Chaucer's Troilus and Crisseyde and in Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida, she is false to her lover Troilus, so the name Cressida has since stood for faithlessness. In Host's allusion, Madam Cresside is a derogatory term, suggesting a lady of loose morals.
CRESSIDA'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 in the anonymous Rare Triumphs Of Love And Fortune.
CRESSINGHAM**1591
A non-speaking character in Peele's Edward I. Cressingham is a lord who accompanies Edmund and Sussex to Wales for the christening of Edward of Caernarvon.
CRESSINGHAM**1621
The family name of Sir Francis, his Lady, his late Lady, Edward, Maria, George,
and George's wife known only as "Mistress" Cressingham in Middleton's Anything
for a Quiet Life.
CRESSINGHAM, LADY (the FORMER)
A "ghost character" in Middleton's Anything
for a Quiet Life. The former Lady Cressingham, apparently a kindly woman,
was dead for only a month when Sir Francis married a very young lady. George Cressingham
reports how his mother had bequeathed some jewels to him and his younger brother
and sister, Edward and Maria. The new Lady Cressingham has taken these jewels
and refuses to gove them to their rightful owners. The deceased Lady Cressingham
is a relative of Water Chamlet, and Rachel suspects unjustly that Maria and Edward
Cressingham are her husband's bastards. Edward reports that his dead mother used
to call him "mother's pet," and that she loved their father well.
CRESSINGHAM, LADY (the PRESENT)
Lady Cressingham is Sir Francis's second wife in Middleton's Anything
for a Quiet Life. She is many years her husband's junior, and Beaufort
sees her as an unscrupulous profiteer. She has forced Sir Francis to send away
his children, Maria and Edward, to be brought by Chamlet. Lady Cressingham asks
Sir Francis to give up his hobby, alchemy, and to sell his lands in order to buy
her a new house. She taunts her husband with promises of sexual pleasure, using
sex as her instrument of control. She sends Saunder with the papers for the sale
of the land to be signed by Sir Francis and by his heir George Cressingham. She
threatens to leave England if the papers are not signed. When, finally, Sir Francis
and George Cressingham sign the papers, Lady Cressingham exits with Knavesbee
to go to the scrivener's to collect the money. At Sir Francis's house, she overhears
husband complaining to his son that she has drastically reduced his wealth. The
sale of the land has been ruinous. Lady Cressingham suggests a quiet life in the
country. In the final reconciliation, Lady Cressingham reforms. She is more moderately
dressed and is accompanied by her two stepchildren, Maria and Edward, in elegant
clothes. In a perfect coup-de-théâtre, Lady Cressingham announces that her entire
extortion scheme that led to her husband's ruin had been well meant. In order
to cure Sir Francis of his hobby as an alchemist as well as his extravagant spending,
Lady Cressingham only feigned her husband's ruin. Now that she has destroyed all
of Sir Francis's alchemic paraphernalia, Lady Cressingham professes total submission
to her husband.
CRESSINGHAM, MISTRESS
As a woman, Mistress Cressingham has no speaking part in Middleton's Anything
for a Quiet Life. Mistress Cressingham is George Cressingham's wife. Due
to the difficulty created by Sir Francis's remarriage, she disguises as Selenger,
page to Lord Beaufort. As Selenger, Mistress Cressingham receives Sib at Lord
Beaufort's house. Seeing that Sib affects "him," "Selenger" acts disgusted. Alluding
to Mistress Cressingham, George Cressingham says she suffers in silence and does
not know herself, an implication of his wife's disguise. Knavesbee complains that
Sib would not let him into his own house, having locked herself inside with Selenger
and announces that his wife admits to having slept with the page. In the final
scene, Mistress Cressingham appears in a woman's clothes and her husband recognizes
her.
CRESSY, LORD
Cressy is named as one of the conspirators against John in the anonymous 2 Troublesome Reign of John.
CRESUS
See also CROESUS.
CRESUS
A "ghost character" in the anonymous Wars of Cyrus. King of Lydia. At the beginning of the play Cresus (Croesus) has fled the battlefield to save his life, his behavior contrasting sharply with Cyrus's.
CRETICUS
A lawyer in Wilson's The Three Ladies
of London with whom Lucre is accused of adultery. Possibly the same character
as the unnamed Lawyer in a previous scene.
CREUSA**1591
In the dumb show introducing V of the Anonymous Locrine,
Jason enters with Creon's daughter (Creusa). Medea follows with a garland, puts
it on her head, sets it on fire, kills Creusa and Jason, and leaves. According
to Ate's commentary, she stands for Estrild, Medea for Gwendoline, Jason for Locrine.
CREUSA**1612
A "ghost character" in Heywood's 2 The Iron Age, Aeneas's wife, Creusa is separated from her husband during the fight for Troy and lost.
CREW
The characters of Brewer's Knot Of Fools are known collectively as "The Crew." Besides this designation, they are individually numbered according to their appearance on stage as follows:- 1. This first character to speak, and first member of "The Crew," only offers a literal salutation: "Save you.
- 2. A second saluter.
- 3. A third saluter.
- 4. Personage number 4 boasts that the purity of his blood runs all the way back to the time of prelapsarian innocence, and proclaims the joy of meeting with so many friends; it is not clear whether this refers to the Crew, the audience, or both. When charged by 5 with improvident poverty, he offers to fight for his honor.
- 5. Personage 5 observes with some asperity that personage 4 has more title than land to sustain it, and goes on to state that he himself bought the inheritance 4 was selling to purchase a life of pleasure. 4 calls him a dung-beetle, and both draw their swords.
- 6. Crew member 6 urges 4 and 5 to drop their quarrel in favor of drinking, as wine is a great leveler.
- 7. Number 7 raises love above wine as the best pursuit in which to spend one's life.
- 8. This personage decries lovers as effeminate and places his allegiance in his sword.
- 9. Crew member 9 calls attention to the hazards in the way of the pursuit of military honor, and lauds the miserly accumulation of gold instead.
- 10. Number 10 says that only the miserly number 9's white hairs restrain him from kicking such a miserable creature to death. He himself spends all he can get on fashionable clothing, which makes him a stately figure even when imprisoned for debt.
- 11. The eleventh member of the Crew urges peaceful restraint.
- 12. Personage number 12 observes that for free men to put themselves in thrall to one enthusiasm or another is worse than becoming a galley-slave, and warns the others that Democritus is coming to mock them.
CRICCA **1615
Pandolfo’s servant and the clever intriguer in Tomkis’ Albumazar. He tries to dissuade Pandolfo from his desire to wed Flavia saying Pandolfo is too old and the girl will cuckold him. He scoffs at Albumazar’s power until Harpax and Furbo pretend to stab him (after Albumazar’s prediction of same) and Albumazar pretends to protect him with his art. He learns from Trincalo the plan to make a false Antonio and determines to thwart it to the benefit of all concerned. He tells all to Lelio and Eugenio and advises them, when “Antonio" arrives at the door, to abuse and beat him until he goes away. Meantime, Pandolfo regrets promising the astrologer his good chain and agrees to Cricca’s plan to hide some plate, pretend he’s been robbed, and promise the chain only if Albumazar can restore the plate to him. He is first to meet the actual Antonio but abuses him, thinking him Trincalo transformed. He is later with Lelio when they both see Antonio and Trincalo arguing and discover the deceit. He devises a plan to turn the tables on the tricksters. If the plan works, the young lovers have promised him an estate of forty pounds for life. All works, and more. Upon intelligence from Albumazar, Cricca took a Constable to a tippling house where they arrested Ronca, Harpax, and Furbo and recovered all of the stolen goods. He finishes by telling Trincalo that he has won Armellina and money.
CRICKET**1600
Cricket is a fairy in the anonymous Maid's Metamorphosis who plays with the drops of dew in the following fashion: when a drop of dew falls down, and lands upon her crown, she shakes her head, skips, and trips about. She appears singing and dancing in the forest, with Penny and Little Pricke, before Mopso, Frisco and Ioculo. She also offers them music and invites them to dance. The boys are reluctant at the beginning, but, when she threatens that they will punch them black and blue before they leave, Mopso, Frisco and Ioculo end up singing and dancing with the three fairies.
CRICKET**1601
A mute character in the anonymous Trial Of Chivalry: a soldier in Bowyer's company, appointed sentinel in place of Rafe Nod.
CRICKET, NICHOLAS **1599
A young student in Ruggle’s Club Law. Much is made of his diminutive size. He hits Brecknocke in the head with an apple. Cricket lures Tavie from the Burgomaster’s feast by telling him a countryman named Morgan waits for him. Tavie goes to Cricket’s room where he is locked in and whipped until he misses his dinner. Whilst eavesdropping under a window, he learns of the plan for Colby to steal the students’ corn away in his coal wagon. While waiting to catch Colby, and for a prank, he ties a rope across the Burgomaster’s threshold, cries “murder," and trips Niphle, Tavie, Puff, and Catch as they rush out. He then beats them with his club. He overhears Niphle setting up the assignation for Luce and telling Tavie that the password will be “I burn." After they arrest Colby and the colliers stealing corn, he tells Musonius of the assignation planned between Niphle and Luce at Tavie’s house. Whilst waiting for Musonius to return from Rector with a warrant of arrest, Cricket knocks on Tavie’s door thrice and gives the password. When Tavie answers, he knocks Tavie down. He is offended when Musonius returns and sends him away, as he is but a ‘boy.’ He returns, however, in time to see Niphle sneak into a tub where a vagabond wench is already sleeping. With this knowledge, he has the searchers name him their captain and then betrays Niphles hiding place. The searchers find Niphle hiding in a tub with a beggar-wench and parade them to jail in the tub. He returns to assist Musonius in stealing the arsenal of staves and poles from Cobly’s storehouse where he taunts Monsieur Grand Combatant that the Frenchman will be the first to run away when the fight begins. In the fight, Cricket acquits himself well and earns Musonius’s praise. He glories in seeing the townsmen take an oath of subservience to the students. When Tavie approaches him for employment, he says that he will talk to the Butler about makin Tavie an under skinker in the Buttery–and assures the audience that he intends to do nothing but mock at him and make him an arrant fool. He delivers the epilogue, saying that all was in good fun and craving applause.
CRICKET, WIL
He is the son of "old man" who owes rent to Ploddall in the anonymous Wily Beguiled. His directness and simplemindedness are comic. He claims to be close to marriage with Pegge (daughter of Lelia's nurse and granddaughter of Mother Midnight) although he's never spoken to her. He tells his father's landlord Ploddall that Sophos is beloved of Lelia and that Peter won't stand a chance. Later he meets Pegge in the woods, and with Mother Midnight they all go back for bag barley pudding and a beer at her house. He has his debts discharged by his father's landlord, Ploddall. He calls a clerk to get the church's permission for his wedding with Pegge. Among the guests will be Robin Goodfellow. Adding to Gripe's misery at losing his daughter to Churms, Wil Cricket reveals that Churms has forgiven all of Gripe's debtors in exchange for a small proportion from each, which Churms has kept for himself. Wil acts as a sort of master of ceremonies at the end of the play. He arranges for his own marriage and announces Fortunatus's arrival with Lelia and Sophos. He proposes a double marriage for the next day.
CRIDOUS
King of Albania in Fisher's Fuimus Troes, follower of Cassibelane.
CRIER**1581
A Crier in Wilson's The Three Ladies
of London announces the beginning of the trial of Love, Conscience and
Lucre.
CRIER**1590
The cryer appears in I.iv of Kyd's Soliman
and Perseda when Piston asks him to "cry the chain" which Erastus has
lost.
CRIER**1601
The Crier in the anonymous The Contention Between Liberalitie and Prodigalitie is the person who repeats, in a loud voice, what the Clerke says in Court.
CRIER**1613
Unnamed in Shakespeare's Henry
VIII, the Crier's task in the play is to act as something of a court bailiff,
summoning the parties involved in the King's case against Queen Katherine.
CRIER**1618
The Court Crier of Sicily in the anonymous Swetnam, he is assigned to ensure that there are no objections to either Swetnam or Atlanta as advocates in the trial of Leonida and Lisandro.
CRIER**1635
Town crier, also spelled cryer, of Palermo in Brome's The Queen and Concubine; among the men who prevent Eulalia's assassination. He reads the King's proclamation that anyone caught aiding Queen Eulalia will be guilty of treason.
CRIER, TOWN
Crier for the city of Julio in Whetstone's 2 Promos and Cassandra. He gains attention for the King's officer, who reads the royal proclamation regarding corrupt officials.
CRIPPLE
The Cripple is both a character and a disguise in [?]Heywood's The Fair Maid of the Exchange. - The Cripple (he is given no personal name in the play) is a drawer, or pattern maker, with a shop near the Exchange, possibly on Fenchurch Street (the title page of the 1607 quarto refers to him as the "Cripple of Fanchurch"). He rescues Phillis and Ursula from Bobbington and Scarlet early in the play and is rescued in turn by Frank Golding when the thieves counterattack. This deed places the Cripple in debt to Frank, and occasions the aid and advice the Cripple provides Frank in his pursuit of Phillis. It is the Cripple who supplies Frank with insulting letters of rejection for Ferdinand and Anthony, and it is he who suggests Frank woo Phillis while disguised as himself. The Cripple moves easily among all the characters in the play–laborers, merchants, gentry–and knowing that he personally has no love for the fair maid, he is glad to help Frank work a realignment of Phillis's affection.
- Frank disguises himself as the Cripple because Phillis is fond of the Cripple. In this guise, he woos her.
CRISIPPUS
Crisippus is one of the Theban philosophers in Lyly's Campaspe whom Alexander consults after his conquest.
CRISPIANO
A Spanish lawyer in Webster's The Devil's Law Case. He is posing as a merchant, partly to spy on his son, Julio, but
mainly to spy on Romelio for the King of Spain. He also delivers bad news
to Romelio regarding his trading abroad. Later, at Romelio's hearing, he
poses as a judge and disproves Leonora's claim that Romelio is
illegitimate.
CRISPIANUS
The pseudonym adopted by Offa, son of Allured, under which he is concealed throughout
most of William Rowley's A Shoemaker
a Gentleman. Offa and his brother Elred disguise themselves as poor men
called Crispianus and Crispinus in order to escape the Romans who killed their
father and imprisoned their mother. They become apprentices of the Shoemaker.
When Rutullus arrives to press soldiers, Crispianus volunteers to join the army.
During the wars, he saves the Emperor Dioclesian from Roderick the Vandal, kills
Huldrick the Goth and rescues the Roman standard. Dioclesian ennobles him, and
he returns in triumph to Britain, where Emperor Maximinus offers to grant him
any wish. Crispianus reveals his identity and asks for the release of his mother,
the Queen. Maximinus accedes, ends the purges of Christians, and makes Crispianus
and Crispinus joint kings of Britain.
CRISPINELLA
Crispinella in Marston's Dutch Courtesan is reminiscent of Shakespeare's Beatrice. She delivers orations against kissing, marriage, and doubled standards for men and women; she speaks up to Freevill when he hurts her sister, Beatrice; and ultimately she negotiates a marriage with a man who is almost her equal when it comes to exchanging words and wit: Tysefew, who promises her, "[i]f you will be mine, you shall be your own."
CRISPINO
Crispino serves Depazzi and is promised a judgeship should Depazzi become the duke in Shirley's The Humorous Courtier.
CRISPINUS**1601
An allegorical representation of the contemporary playwright John Marston in Dekker's
Satiromastix, Crispinus originally appeared in Ben Jonson's Poetaster as a satiric representation of Marston. In Satiromastix, however, Crispinus is presented as an honorable character who, like his friend and companion Demetrius, wishes to resolve his conflict with rival poet Horace on friendly terms, while also making it clear that he will defend his reputation if he must. 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. When the bald-pated Sir Adam Prickshaft discovers that his rival suitor for Mistris Miniver's affections, Sir Vaughan ap Rees, has hired Horace to present a poetic argument against baldness, he hires Crispinus to present a counter-argument defending baldness. Sir Vaughan and Horace, who take Crispinus' defense of baldness as a personal affront, interrupt Crispinus' defense, but the debate itself is soon forgotten when Tucca turns the party against Horace by exposing his hypocrisy. They decide to subject Horace to a mock trial before the court. The king, William Rufus, confers on Crispinus the authority to preside over the trial, where he humiliates Horace by forcing him to wear a crown of stinging nettles and swear an oath to cease and desist his bad behavior.
CRISPINUS**1608
A pseudonym adopted by Elred, son of Allured, under which he is concealed throughout most of William Rowley's A Shoemaker a Gentleman. Elred and his brother Offa disguise themselves as poor men called Crispinus and Crispianus in order to escape the Romans who killed their father and imprisoned their mother. They become apprentices of the Shoemaker. Crispinus is sent to fit shoes to the Roman princess Leodice, and she falls in love with him. He reveals his true identity to her, and they marry in secret. When Leodice becomes pregnant, Crispinus confides in the Shoemaker and his Wife and reveals his true identity to them. They promise to hide Leodice when she is giving birth. When his brother Crispianus returns in triumph from the war, Crispinus presents himself, Leodice, and the baby to Emperor Maximinus. Although Maximinus is angry, Crispianus' military successes encourage him to forgive Crispinus, and he is made joint King of Britain with his brother. His first act is to demand the raising of a monastery in honour of St Albon.
CRISPINUS, RUFUS
Along with Lucius Geta, Rufus Crispinus commands the Praetorian Guard until he
is dismissed at the instigation of Agrippina in May's Julia Agrippina. He is also married to Poppaea until Nero orders her given to Otho, on which Crispinus retires to the country.
CRISPINUS, RUFUS LABERIUS
Rufus Laberius Crispinus is the offending poetaster in Rome in Jonson's Poetaster. Probably Jonson modeled him to lampoon his fellow playwright, John Marston. At Albius's house in Rome, Crispinus enters, apparently to visit his cousin, Cytheris, but actually to study Chloë and dedicate her a poem commissioned by Albius. Albius announces the arrival of important guests and the poets and their ladies enter. After light conversation and music, the guests depart for the banquet hall. On the Via Sacra in Rome, Crispinus sees Horace and wants to ingratiate himself with the great poet. Though Horace is visibly displeased with the poetaster's irritating company, Crispinus insists that Horace should introduce him to Maecenas. Horace is saved when Minos enters with Lictors to have Crispinus arrested for debt. In his turn, Crispinus is saved by the boisterous entrance of Captain Tucca, who threatens and cajoles Minos, finally persuading him to be content with half of Crispinus's debt. At Albius's house, Crispinus enters with his host, followed by Demetrius and Tucca. Crispinus sings his love poem, apparently inspired by Chloë as Canidia, but the poets present discover that the poem is plagiarized from Horace. Crispinus is diplomatically silent, and he exits with the others to the ball at court. Disguised as Mercury, Crispinus enters an apartment in the Palace together with the entire party of poets and their ladies, each characteristically dressed as gods and goddesses. All the masks play their assigned roles. When the angry Caesar enters and interrupts the revelry, Crispinus says he is a poor gentleman poet and exits meekly. While Caesar is holding his court with the poets, Crispinus enters with Demetrius. When Aesop and Lupus are chased in disgrace, Crispinus and Demetrius are charged with calumny and plagiarism. They sit a trial and are pronounced guilty. As a punishment, Crispinus is given an emetic to throw up the difficult words that had overloaded his vocabulary. After he vomits superfluous words, Crispinus's sentence is to be locked in a dark place in solitude. Crispinus and Demetrius are made to swear they will never publicly detract Horace or write against him.
CRITES
Crites is a poet in ancient Rome in Jonson's Cynthia's Revels. Crites is Jonson's self-complaisant portrait
if himself. He wants to look like the just, wholly admirable and judicious
scholar, holding his head high above the pack of envious detractors, careless of
their vile attacks on his perfection. According to Mercury, Crites is a creative
temperament, in whom all the humors are harmoniously combined. He despises
pleasure and is more delighted with good deeds than goods. Before the Fountain
of Self-love, Crites enters with Asotus, whom he introduces to Amorphus. When
Amorphus exits with Asotus to court, Crites meditates on people's vanity and
vice. In an apartment at court, Crites enters meditating on the evils of
detraction. Arete enters and consoles the poet, telling him that detraction is
short-lived and he should associate with true friends. Crites exits with the
nymph of virtue to compose verses for the goddess Cynthia. In an apartment at
the palace, while the nymphs and courtiers are playing society games, Crites
enters introducing Mercury disguised as a ridiculous Frenchified gentleman, whom
he presents as eligible to participate in the contest of court manners. While
Mercury apes the precious court deportment, thus ridiculing the gallants, Crites
makes sarcastic comments on narcissism and vanity. When they realize they have
been mocked at, the party of nymphs and gallants disperses in disgrace. Arete
enters informing Crites that Cynthia intends to engage his help in organizing
the masques at the revels. Though Crites modestly affirms that he is not worthy
of the honor, he finally accepts when he hears that the revels are meant to
expose the folly of the courtiers and of the vain nymphs. Crites exits invoking
the gods to help him in this artistic enterprise. At Cynthia's revels, after the
presentation of the masques, Cynthia makes laudatory comments on their author.
When Cynthia orders the revelers to unmask, discovering that the nymphs and
gallants have impersonated cardinal virtues, Crites and Arete are nominated as
the supreme judges of the self-conceited transgressors. Arete delegates Crites
to pronounce the sentence and the poet declares that all the nymphs, gallants,
and their pages must go to Niobe's stone singing a Palinode. There, they must
repent of their vain behavior. Thus purified, they must drink of the Well of
Knowledge, the Helicon, and offer their services to Cynthia. When Cynthia exits
with her nymphs, Crites and Arete hold a place of honor in the goddess's train.
CRITIC **1607
A “ghost character" in Tomkis’ Lingua. Memorie and Phantastes complain that the critic misuses them horribly. Scholars have all become critics and bring in more trifles than Memorie or Phantastes can readily employ.
CRITICOTASTER
Gasparo in Shirley's The School of
Compliment assumes this title in his guise as Master of the Compliment
School. He is only known by this name to clients of the School.
CRITO
Crito is nephew to Philogonus' deceased wife's brother in (?)Johnson's Misogonus. He brings up Eugonus, the son Philogonus does not know he has. Crito accompanies Eugonus from Apollonia, where he was raised, to Laurentum, where Philogonus and Misogonus live, and produces a letter confirming that Eugonus is Misogonus' long lost twin brother.
CRITOBULUS
A mute character in the anonymous Wars of Cyrus, one of Antiochus' soldiers.
CROCALE
Crocale is one of the Portuguese women who were shipwrecked on the island and
have set up their own Amazonian society in Fletcher and Massinger's The
Sea Voyage. She is first seen on a hunting expedition with Hippolita and
Juletta; they have been separated from Clarinda. They encounter Albert and, supported
by Clarinda, demand that Rosellia let them make contact with the French party.
Crocale is allotted to the Master by Tibalt, and is disappointed by his age. Crocale,
Hippolita and Juletta recognize their own jewels in the treasure offered to them
by the men, and they obey Rosellia's order to draw their weapons on them. Crocale
is given charge of the Master and Tibalt, and is impressed by their fortitude
in captivity. She watches the men at the banquet in order to find out whether
they have any news of Sebastian and the other Portuguese men. Crocale reveals
herself when Raymond describes the actions of his and Albert's fathers, and she
discloses that they are the Portuguese women. Raymond explains where he left Sebastian
and Nicusa, and Crocale goes in search of them, taking Tibalt with her. She returns
with Sebastian and Nicusa to prevent Rosellia from murdering Albert and Raymond.
Tibalt claims Crocale for his wife, which seems to please her.
CROCHET
Crochet is a clown figure in Marmion's A
Fine Companion. He disagrees with Littlegood's plan to wed Aemilia to
Dotario; in helping foil this plan, he sets up a scheme whereby Aemilia weds Careless
in disguise as Dotario, thus embarrassing Lackwit who takes credit for accomplishing
what he believes to be the match desired by Littlegood.
CROCODILE
In the dumb show to III of the Anonymous Locrine,
a crocodile is sitting on a riverbank, and a little snake stings it. Then both
of them fall into the water. "So Humber having conquered Albanact, / Doth yield
his glory unto Locrine's sword" is Ate's commentary.
CROCON
King of Arabia in Greene's Alphonsus, King of Arragon. Fights on the losing side with Amurack.
CROESUS
See also CRESUS.
CROESUS of LYDIA **1602
Only mentioned in Percy’s A Country Tragedy in Vacunium. Amadour teasingly asks his new bride, Florimel, whether Croesus with all of his gold could entice her away from him.
CROFT, JAMES
A "ghost character" in Sampson's The Vow-Breaker, an English knight. With George Howard, he is one
of Lord Grey's assistants in the Scottish campaign and is charged by Lord
Grey with showing Queen Elizabeth's grievances to the Queen Regent of
Scotland.
CROFTS**1595
Crofts is the king's messenger in Chettle, Dekker and Munday's Sir Thomas More. After the leaders of the May Day uprising are arrested, Crofts arrives to inform More and the Earl of Shrewsbury that the king has ordered the immediate arraignment of the chief offenders.
CROMER **1599
A Sheriff in Munday, Drayton, Hathaway, and Wilson's Sir John Oldcastle, he helps the Bishop arrest John Oldcastle but refuses to also arrest Lady Cobham.
CROMPTON, RICHARD
Only mentioned in the anonymous Wit's Triumvirate. Crompton 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." Richard Crompton (fl. 1573-1599) wrote L'authoritie et jurisdiction des Courts (1594). He co-authored–with Michael Dalton and William Lambarde–The Complete Justice, published in 1936.
CROMWELL
Originally in service to Wolsey in Shakespeare's Henry VIII, Cromwell rises steadily in rank under King Henry. Growing ever more powerful, by the play's close Cromwell has been named Master of the Jewel House,
member of the Privy Council, Master of the Rolls, and secretary to King Henry
VIII.
CROMWELL, HARRY **1600
Thomas Cromwell's son in the anonymous Thomas Lord Cromwell. Talks to his father in prison just before his execution.
CROMWELL, OLD **1600
He is a blacksmith from Putney and Thomas's father in the anonymous Thomas Lord Cromwell. He reprimands his three smiths when they stop work, to have young Cromwell explain that he'd stopped them because they were disturbing his studying. When Thomas throws money at the smiths as recompense for their not working Old Cromwell explains to his son he did not bring him up to throw money away but to look after him in his old age. Then Bowser appears to offer his son the position of secretary of the English house in Antwerp. Old Cromwell expresses gratitude. Much later, Thomas, at the height of his power, recognizes his father in the crowd and asks him to dinner that night. At the dinner he tells Old Cromwell that he need not remove his hat before him.
CROMWELL, OLIVER **1607
According to tradition, the historic Oliver Cromwell played the part of Tactus in Tomkis’ Lingua.
CROMWELL, THOMAS
I.
He first appears in the anonymous Thomas Lord Cromwell having been studying, explaining that his only wealth is his learning. He tells his father's blacksmiths to stop hammering because it disturbs his thinking. When his father reprimands them for not working, young Cromwell throws money at them as recompense. Accused by his father of wasting money, he explains that one day he will be very rich and have a massive palace. Alone, he muses on his humble origins that hold him back and speaks of the effects of time-how the humble rise and the mighty fall. While he is doing this Master Bowser enters offering Cromwell his first appointment, that of secretary to the house for English merchants in Antwerp. In Act2 Cromwell is in Antwerp. He is at work on the accounts, but announces that money is not what he is looking for; he is looking for new experience. He sends a messenger (the Post) to Frankfurt to prepare for English travelers on their way to Florence. When he hears Mistress Banister weeping because her husband has been arrested by the Governor, he agrees to try to dissuade Bagot from pursuing her husband . When she leaves he comments on the effects of the stars and fickle fate. Cromwell tries to persuade Bagot to show warmth to the Banisters. When he explains to Bagot that gain is not something that causes him (Cromwell) to act Bagot tells him that Cromwell is seen as a hypocrite. Rather than fight the accusation, Cromwell plans to leave Antwerp and travel. He declares that he rejects falsehood and "brokerie" and asks Hodge, who has come from England to see him, to accompany him to Italy. Act 3 opens with Thomas and Hodge begging at each end of a bridge in Florence. They have been robbed by the Bandetti and are freezing cold. Friscibald, the Florentine merchant who has forgiven Banister his debts and who loves England, gives them all the money he has on him, even though he does not know them. Thomas expresses his deep gratitude, promises to repay him when he can and announces that he is off to Bononia where he hopes to rescue the Earl of Bedford whom the French are holding and threatening to kill. Cromwell with Hodge his servant visits the Earl of Bedford in Bononia, who is besieged in an inn, disguised as a Neopolitan who has promised the French he will deliver Bedford to them without shedding a drop of blood. In the besieged inn, Cromwell explains to Bedford that they cannot escape by force but they can by policy. He persuades Bedford to change clothes with Hodge who will remain behind while Bedford pretends to be Hodge. Alone, he regrets that he will have to leave Hodge in the hands of the French but that to do so is to do less evil than allowing the higher-born Earl to be killed. He places Hodge in Bedford's study and announces to the Governor of Bononia announcing that all is as he promised. He requests safe conduct to the Mantua port and takes his reward. From Mantua he sends a message to the Governor that he and Bedford have escaped and that Mantua will renege on the truce with Bononia if Hodge isn't released. (This they do.) Several years of travelling pass and Cromwell next appears in London as Secretary to the Master of the Rolls. The Master (Sir Christopher Hales) makes clear that he owes his success to Cromwell and promises to find a position of state for him. At a banquet Hales holds, Cardinal Wolsey asks for Cromwell's opinion of the European courts he has visited. Cromwell categorizes them as those governed by lust and those by riot and drink, and that England "laughs [them all] to scorn." Wolsey then makes Cromwell his private secretary, announcing that Cromwell will continue to rise. In Act 4, the Chorus explains that the play is to be about Cromwell's rise and fall and that Wolsey had died. Gardiner, formerly Wolsey's man and now Bishop of Winchester, the Dukes of Norfolk, and of Suffolk, Sir Thomas More and Sir Christopher Hales discuss the disgraced Cardinal's plots against the state. They ask Cromwell for Wolsey's correspondence and on his knees he hands it over, explaining that he grieves Wolsey's death but not his fall. Suffolk explains the king will reward Cromwell for his fine behaviour and Bedford, recognizing Cromwell as the man who saved him from the French, promises to commend him to the king. Later in the same scene Suffolk knights Cromwell in the king's name, Norfolk names him to the king's privy council and Bedford comes in appointing him Master of the Rolls. Cromwell modestly accepts the appointments. The three take him to the king, while Gardiner stays behind to announce his envy of Cromwell and his intention of having him killed. Soon Cromwell is very powerful and walks though London followed by lords and other attendants. Hodge goes before to get any beggars out of the way and everyone to stand. Cromwell recognizes the inn keepers Seely and his wife in the crowd, remembers he owes them money, repays the debt, promises the amount of the former debt every year, He invites them to dinner that day. He sends a servant to tell Friscoball, whom he also spots in the crowd, to come to dinner. He acknowledges that Gardiner dislikes the dissolution of the monasteries that Cromwell has instigated but explains that the abbots and friars were representatives of the Antichrist, did no work and took the fat of the land. He then sees his father in the crowd and falls on his knees begging his blessing. He sends a servant to get his father to come into his house. At the meal he looks for his father and tells him there is no need for him to uncover his head. He remembers the exact amount he owes Friscoball for the help he provided in Florence. He gives him money with the promise that he will settle all his debts. He addresses Goodman Seely with thanks for all the help he gave him when he was poor. Later he is summoned to Lambeth by the Gardiner and other lords. On the way a messenger gives Crowell a letter from Bedford (warning him not to go to Lambeth.) which he places in his pocket without reading it. At Lambeth he leaves his barge and walks through columns of halberd-bearing soldiers. The sergeant at arms arrests him and Cromwell orders his men not to draw their swords in his defence. He is led off to the Tower, acknowledging the weeping Bedford and warning Norfolk that it will be soon be his turn to fall. In the Tower he reflects on the fact that he was second in power only to the king, remembers the Bedford's letter and comments that if he had given way to the pleasure of reading a letter from a friend he would not have been arrested. When the nobles visit him in his prison Cromwell has Sir Ralph Sadler take a letter to the king explaining that Gardiner is the disloyal traitor. Cromwell tells the nobles to explain to the king that Gardiner was the sole cause of his death, and gives the same message to his son who comes to visit him. When Bedford reprimands Gardiner for quarrelling with and thus disturbing Cromwell just before his death, Cromwell declares that Gardiner does not disturb him. He embraces Bedford. When Sdaler returns with the king's reprieve Cromwell is already dead: Gardiner had deliberately hastened the execution
II.
Only mentioned in Randolph's Plutophthalmia. Anus says that Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex destroyed nunneries ("such zealous bawdy-houses!") because he was a eunuch.
III.
A "ghost character" in Dekker and Webster's Sir Thomas Wyatt. As Guildford Dudley awaits execution, he observes that the Bishop of Winchester seems to take pleasure from his and Lady Jane Grey's deaths, just as the bishop had earlier relished the fall of Thomas Cromwell, one of Henry VIII's chancellors and later Earl of Essex.
CROOTE, MOTHER
One of judge All For Money's rich suitors in Lupton's All For Money. Mother Croote is a very old woman who wants to marry a young man. But the man has fallen in love with a girl. To compel the man to marry Mother Croote, All For Money will bribe a couple of false witnesses who will assert that the two are betrothed.
CROPP
Mr. Cropp is a scrivener in Killigrew's Parson's Wedding. He is described as a Brownist. He loaned money to Jolly and, in act three, he goes to the Devil, a tavern, looking for his money. Jolly tells him, "'twas my business to borrow it, and it shall be yours to get it in again." Jolly, Wild, and Careless kick Cropp and throw him out of the room.
CROPSHIN, JUSTICE **1605
A "ghost character" in Middleton's Your Five Gallants. Briefly mentioned as one of Frippery's clients.
CROSBIE **1600
He and Newton are two merchants in the anonymous Thomas Lord Cromwell whom Banister is having to dinner to collect their bonds in (He is now rich enough not to worry about the money he owes.) In a following scene they discuss how reliable Banister is at repaying his loans to them and then talk about the bitter hostility between Cromwell and Gardiner.
CROSBY
A law-officer employed, along with Fleming, by Tresilian in the anonymous Thomas of Woodstock. Crosby and Fleming are sent out with "blank charters" for the unwilling populace to sign, thus contracting themselves for unlimited "repayments" to the king. Most of the work, however, seems to be done by Tresilian's irrepressible servant Nimble, who easily fools and bullies his victims into signing.
CROSBY, LORD MAYOR
As Mayor of London in Thomas Heywood's 1
Edward IV, Crosby has organized the defense of the London citizenry against
the attack of Falconbridge troops. Cousin to Master Matthew Shore, Crosby is knighted
by the king as reward for meritorious service.
CROSMAN
Captain of the Janissaries at Tunis, a senior commander in the élite Turkish army in Daborne's A Christian Turned Turk. Brother to Agar and Voada, he is first seen at the house of Benwash, his brother-in-law. He embodies the belief that the Turks encouraged aliens to convert for mercenary reasons only, but never trusted or respected their converts afterwards. Absolutely unscrupulous with his sisters' honour and prepared to utilize their feminine attractions to further his power. He encourages Agar to betray her husband (a Jewish convert to Islam) and sleep with Gallop, which she agrees to do, but only for his fortune. Ward's reputation has impressed him as 'half a Turk already', and he uses Voada's sexuality, and the promise of marriage to her, to persuade Ward to a formal conversion when all other enticements have failed. It is not made clear whether brother or sister originally conceived the plot. Crosman cites his brother-in-law as an example of a prosperous convert to Ward. Finally, he spurs his sister on to persuade Ward by any means to convert for her sake, which succeeds. His Janissaries are later reported re-taking the castle which has been gifted to Ward as a reward for his conversion, and seen pursuing Ward, which is the final proof he needs of the Turks' treachery.
CROSS
Also called "Rowge Crosse" (Red Cross) in Sampson's The Vow-Breaker. The Herald of Arms of Lord Grey's
army in Scotland, he is charged with the task of bringing Scottish hostages
to Lord Grey's assistants. Soon afterwards, he is asked to carry Trumbell
and his news of the Queen Regent's suit to the same men, but along the way
he is met by the forces of Mortigue and Doysells and returns to report
their treachery to Lord Grey, thus starting the Battle of Leith. Later,
Cross announces the arrival of Monlucke, Bishop of Valens, to Lord Grey,
and is charged with conducting him into Lord Grey's presence. He goes with
Monlucke to the peace negotiations at Edinburgh, and returns at the height
of the Battle of Leith to bid the English cease their hostilities until
talks are concluded.
CROSSE, ARTHUR
A mercer in the anonymous Captain Thomas Stukeley. Along with many other tradesmen, he gossips about the impending marriage of Captain Stukeley and Nell, daughter of the wealthy Sir Thomas Curtis. Immediately after the wedding, they seek to abscond with Stukeley's newfound money, citing debs both real and fabricated.
CROSSUS, PUBLIUS LICINUS **1594
Cornelia's first husband in Kyd's Cornelia; he allies himself with Pompey in the rebellion against Caesar. He is killed in battle by Caesar's troops, along with his father, on the plains of Pharsalus.
CROSSWILL
Family name of Will, Gabriel, Mihil and Katherine in Brome's The
Weeding of Covent Garden.
CROSTILL, ANNE
Mrs. Anne Crostill is a rich vintner's humorous widow in Brome's A Mad Couple. In Act Three, she gets erroneously the letter that Carelesse had written to Phoebe. She is told not to interfere in his affairs when the suitor really wanted to marry her. Thus, when he visits her in Act Four, she rejects him in spite of loving him. Mistress Crostill marries Carelesse at the end of the play.
CROTILDA
Dumain's long-lost sister in Hemming's Fatal Contract. The play's principal revenger, disguised as the eunuch Castrato and only revealing her true identity, dying, in the final scene. Previously raped by Clotair, her family's attempt to revenge her led to the mistaken murder of the Queen's brother, Clodimir. The Queen's revenge for this led to the slaughter of nearly her entire family. Her surviving brother Dumain believes her missing, presumed on a pilgrimage. As Castrato, she serves the Queen as a sinister sidekick, confidant and agent but also plays off the loyalties and feuds of the rival princes. She delivers the Queen's reprieve from exile to Dumain and Lamot, which betrays them to suspicion of the King's subsequent murder, to which she is an accessory. She arranges to lure Aphelia into the lecherous clutches of Clotair but also contrives for Clovis to interrupt the attempted rape. She intends to reveal to Clotair the secret of his mother's affair with Landrey and sets their bedroom on fire to excuse his discovery; this plot fails thanks to Landrey's escape disguised as Clovis's ghost. Clotair refuses to believe the scandal without further proof and Castrato loses credit with him. Clovis does credit her allegations about the Queen's lechery and takes action to capture the lovers. After Aphelia's marriage to Clotair, which outrages Clovis, she delivers on his behalf the faked proof of Aphelia's adultery, which drives Clotair mad with jealousy. She continues to play the Queen and both princes off against each other. Clovis leaves the Queen and Landrey in Castrato's charge when he joins forces with the revolutionaries. She poisons the Queen and stabs Landrey, hiding the bodies while she assists Clotair in tormenting Aphelia. She tortures Aphelia with red-hot irons. When the rebel army arrives, she reveals the dying Queen's body and provokes Clotair to stab her. Dying, she gloats over her own revenges, with the exception of her planned murder of Clotair himself, though he dies shortly after. Her successful murders have revenged her kin; she forsakes her personal vengeance against Clotair despite her former intentions. Her revelation forces the king to repentance; Clovis commands that she be buried together with Clotair and Aphelia. The surviving characters praise her courage.
CROTOLON
Crotolon is father to Orgilus and Euphranea in Ford's The
Broken Heart. He is surprised when Ithocles prefers Orgilus to the king.
He believed Ithocles to be an enemy since he gave Penthea in marriage to Bassanes
when she had been betrothed to Orgilus. His name means "noise."
CROUCHBACK
Also rendered as "Couchback" in Peele's Edward I, Crouchback is the sobriquet for Edmund of Lancaster.
CROUST, FATHER
Another name for Tenacitie in the anonymous The Contention Between Liberalitie and Prodigalitie.
CROW, WILL
Will, or Wil Crow, a carpenter in (?)Heywood's A Warning For Fair Women, meets his friend, Tom Peart, whom he has not seen for some time. They discuss the upcoming hanging of Ann Drewry, Ann Sanders, and Roger, the gallows for which Tom has just helped build. Will says he would like to see the execution, and the two go off for a beer while they wait.
CROWSPHUS
Crowsphus is the variant spelling of Carisophus in Edwards's Damon
and Pithias. When Iacke and Wyll pump Grimme the collier for hearsay information
about the Damon and Pithias story, Grimme's slurred, intoxicated speech turns
Carisophus into Crowsphus.
CRUELTY **1561
Along with Murder in Preston's Cambises, executes Lord Smerdis and later, the new Queen.
CRUELTY**1581
A "ghost character" in Wilson's The
Three Ladies of London. A guest at the wedding of Dissimulation and Love.
CRUELTY **1617
A “ghost character" in the anonymous Pathomachia. One of the twenty-five vices that are the extremes of the eleven virtues. Cruelty and Indulgence are the extremes of Clemency.
CRUELTY**1618
One of the characters in the Masque of Repentance by which Nicanor seeks to drive King Atticus to despair in the anonymous Swetnam. Cruelty signifies Atticus' unnatural behaviour in sentencing his daughter, Leonida, to death.
CRUSOPHILUS
Eldest son of Cremulus and Cremula in the anonymous Wisest Have Their Fools. Musophilus's elder brother. He is a fool. Under the sway of Genius, he has lent his father's money on interest and succeeded. Genius tells him to give it to his usurious father, and in this way he gains Cremulus's favor. When Cremulus becomes blind, all of the old man's estate is settled upon Crusophilus. Under Musophilus's plotting, however, the court declares Crusophilus a fool, and he loses the estate to his younger brother. In reaction, Crusophilus can only cry. He asks Genius for advice but is given none. Musophilus grants him an annual pension to go buy his fool's coat.
CRYER
See under "CRIER."
CRYMMS
Ambassadors who are Tartars from the Crimea in the anonymous Tamar Cam. One of the groups of envoys sent from the conquered races. They enter in procession at play's end to do homage to their conqueror, Tamor Cham.
CRYSUS
Crysus is one of the Theban philosophers in Lyly's Campaspe whom Alexander consults after his conquest.
CRYTICUS
Cryticus is page to Trachinus in Lyly's Sapho and Phao. Cryticus introduces Pandion's page, Molus, to life at court.
CRYTO
A "ghost character" in ?Rastell's Calisto and Melebea. Cryto is the secret lover of Sempronio's beloved, Elicea.
CTESIPHON
Ctesiphon (sometimes Ctesifon in the anonymous Wars of Cyrus) undertakes to earn a thousand talents from Antiochus by taking service with Cyrus and then killing the Persian king. He tells Cyrus that Antiochus raped his daughter and made her his concubine. Gobrias finds the tale credible, and Cyrus welcomes Ctesiphon to his camp. The would-be assassin is so moved by Cyrus's virtues, however, that he confesses Antiochus' plot, and offers instead to bear overtures of peace between Persia and Assyria to Babylon, and under cover of this embassy to murder Antiochus. The message Cyrus sends, however, reveals Ctesiphon's double-dealing; he confesses, and asks for mercy, but is condemned by Antiochus to die.
CTESIPHONE
One of the three furies who, in the fourth act dumb show, rise from under the
stage driving before her kings and queens who have murdered their children in
Sackville and Norton's Gorboduc.
CUCIUS
A "ghost character" in Marston's Sophonisba;
a relative of Scipio's who died in Carthage.
CUCKOO**1601
Cuckoo is part of the watch and a mute character in the Anonymous Blurt, Master Constable. During their midnight watch, Blurt sees Curvetto climbing a rope ladder to Imperia's window. When Frisco calls for help against the pretended "thief," the constable orders Cuckoo and the others to take Curvetto away to prison. On the second round of the watch, Blurt orders his men to take the half-naked urine stinking Lazarillo to prison. In the street before Imperia's house, Blurt and his guards enter with the Duke to enforce the law when the incensed Venetian gentlemen want to kill Fontinel. When Camillo calls Blurt a peasant, the members of the watch jump with their swords to retaliate. Blurt tells Cuckoo not to be so impetuous with his torch and sword because he feels obliged to stop him, being a representative of law and order.
CUCKOO**1632
This parasitic bird sings in Hyde Park in Shirley's Hyde Park. Trier (correctly) thinks that the sound is a bad omen, as does Venture, who thinks that he will lose the horse race because of it.
CUCULO
Cuculo is the Viceroy's steward in Fletcher and Massinger's A
Very Woman. He is husband to Borachia, and the master to the disguised
Antonio, whom he buys in the slave mart. As his name suggests, his wife is unfaithful.
She complains of his impotency, and he, in turn, complains of her drunkenness.
He orders Antonio to keep liquor away from her for fear that it makes her shrewish.
He accuses Pedro of trying to seduce his wife, which Pedro laughs off.
CUCULUS
A ridiculous but well-meaning courtier of Cyprus in Ford's The Lover's Melancholy. Determined to represent the height of fashion, Cuculus continually dresses like a much younger man and earns a tacit comparison with Shakespeare's Malvolio when his page describes him as "as rare an old youth as ever walked cross-gartered." He is an object of mockery to most of the court, particularly because he is convinced that he has set a new fashion by maintaining a female page, Grilla. Unbeknownst to him, Grilla is actually a young boy who has been suborned by Pelias and other courtiers to cross-dress in order to gull Cuculus. Convinced that he is a great ladies' man, Cuculus commands Grilla to imitate all the ladies he intends to court (including Kala, Cleophila and even the lofty Thamasta), and seems only mildly annoyed when Grilla takes the opportunity to insult him in these ladies' guises. He participates in Corax's Masque of Melancholy, impersonating a hypochondriac bedlam madman; Corax suggests that he is particularly well-suited to playing "a windy flatuous humour stuffing / The head." He also dances with the big-bellied Sea Nymph who invites the court into a dance at the end of the masque. Cuculus further aids the play's restorations when he is charged by Thamasta with bringing the news of Eroclea's return to Cleophila. Livid with anger when he realizes that Grilla was in fact a boy, he gets into a fight with his drunken ex-page and is rewarded with a bloody nose. He is mollified, however, when Thamasta promises him a place in the Prince's wardrobe.
CUDDIE
Cuddie is the son of Old William Musgrove in Greene's George
a Greene, and he is first seen pleading with his father to give him the
job of defending the border from the Scots, due to his father's age. He fails
to persuade his father, who in fact captures King James in the next skirmish.
Cuddie enters to his father to tell him that he has slain Hume and that the field
is theirs. He presumably is in charge of taking James to Edward, since he is next
in both their company. When Cuddie uses the phrase "as good as George a Greene"
King Edward questions him about the man, since he keeps hearing him described
as a paragon. Although Cuddie claims never to have seen George, when Kendall is
brought in as a prisoner, it is Cuddie who brings Edward up to date on all that
has happened, and relays George's request that Kendall be spared. When Edward
travels to the North to meet George, Cuddie brings Musgrove to meet the King.
CUDDY BANKS
The play's clown character in Rowley, Dekker and Ford's The
Witch of Edmonton, leader of the Morris dancers, and in love with Katherine
Carter. Cuddy is gulled by Mother Sawyer and the Dog, but then makes friends with
the latter. When the Dog abandons Sawyer, Cuddy is disillusioned, and tries to
make the creature renounce evil, but the Dog merely scoffs at him. Cuddy therefore
chases the Dog out of the village.
CUFF
A character in the Anonymous Band, Ruff, and Cuff. He represents the lower part of the sleeve, turned back, giving extra cover to the wrist, either for ornament or warmth. From the mid-sixteenth to mid-seventeenth centuries, it was fashionable to wear detachable cuffs in an inverted funnel shape with falling or standing bands and ruffs, trimmed with matching lace or embroidery. Cuffs were replaced with ruffled sleeve ends that were a part of the shirt or chemise. As a constant, rather than fashionable, item of men's clothing, Cuff functions as a mediator in the debate between Ruff and Band and eventually settles their argument at the end of the play, declaring that the fashions are equal, though Band will be more popular with the young gallants of the day. Lawyers, judges, and councillors will support Band and Ruff's equality, wearing one of each.
CULLEN
Bishop Cullen warns the Palsgrave, Savoy and Bohemia of the impending rebellion by the Bastard, Saxon and Mentz in Smith's The Hector of Germany. Cullen delivers the news to Palsgrave that The Bastard has been crowned: Cullen's bad news revives the Palgrave's fighting spirit. Cullen and the Palsgrave meet the King of Spain disguised as Peter the Hermit. Spain recruits Cullen and the Palsgrave to travel to England and recruit the help of King Edward. Cullen is with the Palsgrave when he, the Palsgrave, challenges the Bastard and Saxon to a duel. Cullen assists the Palsgrave and Peter in beating off Saxon and the Bishops and arresting the Bastard. Saxon soon after returns and chases off Cullen and Peter; thereby rescuing the Bastard. Cullen is soundly chastised by the Palsgrave for letting Saxon and The Bastard escape. Cullen accompanies the Palsgrave to King Edward's court in England. The Palsgrave later sends Cullen with a defiant message for the Bastard in France. Cullen disguises himself in a masque costume to successfully ambush the rebels in the final battle of the play. Cullen announces the victorious arrival of Old Fitzwaters and Clynton: the lords had rescued the Brandenburgh, Savoy and Bavaria.
CUMA
A non-speaking character in P. Fletcher's Sicelides. Cuma is "Perindus his boy" whom Perindus orders at the play's beginning to "beare home [their] spoyles, and conquering weapons" and ("when Cancrone returnes") "returne to [him]."
CUMBER
Cumber, a supporter of Brutus and Cassius who regrets the fall of Pompey in the anonymous Caesar and Pompey, helps stab Caesar. This is presumably the character more often known as "Cimber," but though his name does once appear as "Camber," it is never "Cimber."
CUMBER, JOHN A
John a Cumber is a Scottish magician in Munday's John a Kent and John a Cumber. He arrives incognito with Llwellen at the house where the bridegrooms are lodged only to find the great commotion caused by the ladies' disappearance. John a Cumber informs the bereaved lords that the ladies had been betrothed to Powesse and Sir Griffin, describing how the magician John a Kent helped the lords to abduct the ladies through deceit. When the bridegrooms cry for revenge, John a Cumber reveals himself, saying he wanted a confrontation with his rival John a Kent, and he will now help them retrieve the ladies. At Gosselin's castle, John a Cumber arrives disguised as John a Kent and introduces the Masque of Four Antiques to Powesse and Sir Griffin, who think this is the wedding entertainment. Thus, the false John a Kent introduces Llwellen, Chester, Moorton, Pembroke, and himself into the castle. When the real John a Kent appears at one door, the false John a Kent appears at another, creating confusion. The false John a Kent introduces all his party as if by magic through the walls: Llwellen, Chester and his Countess, Moorton with Sydanen, Pembrooke with Marian, Oswen and Amery. John a Cumber prepares a play meant to mock John a Kent. When the play starts, John a Cumber does not know that John a Kent is now disguised as John a Cumber. In the play within the play, John a Cumber (as John a Kent) must endure all of the abuse addressed to his rival from the other characters while the real John a Kent smiles on. John a Cumber admits that John a Kent has bested him in matters of impersonation. At Chester Abbey, where the marriages of Marian/Pembrooke and Sydanen/Moorton are to take place, John a Cumber acts as the guardian to the only door into the church. He expects John a Kent to try to deceive them again and to come disguised as the Abbot. Yet, John a Cumber is tricked once more when he lets into the church Sir Griffin (disguised as Moorton) and Powesse (disguised as Pembrooke). And thus John a Cumber is twice outwitted by John a Kent.
CUNICULA
Cunicula is a young and beatiful lady of bad reputation, and a pickpocket in the anonymous Ghost. She works for Erotia. She seems to be very keen on Pinnario. At the end of the play she takes part in the plot to cheat Pinnario, disguising herself as Aurelia. The plot is going to work, and she will finally manage to marry him.
CUNNINGHAM
An impoverished younger brother from Norfolk, who acts as a parasite on Sir Gregory
Fop in Middleton and Rowley's Wit
at Several Weapons. The Niece finds Cunningham more attractive than her
intended husband, Sir Gregory, and Cunningham admires her too. Because both Cunningham
and the Niece are clever intriguers, they struggle to convince each other that
their love is real. Cunningham conceals his affections by pretending to seduce
the Guardianess. The Niece, seeing him flirt with the Guardianess, decides to
antagonise him by flirting with Pompey the clown. Later, Cunningham walks under
the Niece's balcony, but she mistakes him for Sir Perfidious, and utters a false
soliloquy about her ardour for Gregory. When Gregory complains to Cunningham that
the Niece rails at him, Cunningham increases Gregory's antipathy toward her by
telling him that the scarf she dropped as a favour was intended for Pompey. Mirabell
falls in love with Cunningham, as well, but he convinces her that she would prefer
a rich fool like Sir Gregory. Cunningham reveals his feelings for the Niece by
tricking Gregory into delivering a love-letter to her. He forces the Niece to
acknowledge her love in return, by wooing a woman openly in front of her and,
when she protests, revealing that it was only a puppet. He gulls Gregory into
marrying Mirabell by a complicated trick: they hide together in a gown with only
Cunningham's head and Gregory's hands poking out. Mirabell believes that she is
vowing marriage on Cunningham's hand, but actually it's Gregory's; meanwhile Gregory
believes he is gulling the Niece, not Mirabell. Cunningham thus palms them off
on each other, and then uses a masqued ball as a cover for eloping with the Niece.
CUNNING–MAN
The cunning-man in Cow Lane is a "ghost character" in Jonson's Bartholomew Fair He is a soothsayer who, according to Mistress Littlewit, has predicted Dame Purecraft's future. He cast her nativity water and prophesied that she must marry a madman within the week. Under the suggestion of the prophecy, Dame Purecraft falls in love with the madman, Trouble-all, and ends up marrying Quarlous, who has wooed her disguised as Trouble-all.
CUP–BEARER, KING’S **1617
A “ghost character" in the anonymous Pathomachia. He stumbled with the cup but saved himself with his other leg and formed a moral from it that one brother helps another.
CUP, FIRST and SECOND
First and Second Cup are impersonations of Carlo Buffone while drinking in Jonson's Every Man out of His Humour. At the Mitre Tavern, while waiting for the Puntavorlo party, Carlo Buffone drinks a lot of wine and has an interesting conversation with himself, using two cups of wine as personifications of his interlocutors. As First Cup, Carlo Buffone drinks to the health of himself as Second Cup. When Second Cup reminds First Cup of the splendid night spent at the countess's, First Cup proposes a toast to the honorable countess and the lady that sat by her. When Second Cup proposes a toast to the health of Carlo/First Cup's mistress, First Cup asks if he knows who she was, and drinks to her health. When Second Cup proposes a toast to Count Frugale, First Cup starts a quarrel. The two cups argue and finally Carlo Buffone speaks in his own person, telling the two "gentlemen" cups to show some respect for their reputations. Carlo Buffone overturns wine, pot, cups, and all. It seems that Carlo Buffone has taken Shift's lesson of double impersonation seriously, and his affection is divided between two ladies at court.
CUPID **1561
I.
At the behest of his mother, Venus, causes Cambyses to fall in love with the Lady, a first cousin to Cambyses in Preston's Cambises.
II.
Cupid, god of love in Wilmot's Gismond of Salerne. He descends from the heavens to boast of his power and to announce his intention of inflaming Gismond's heart and thereby demonstrating his power anew. Later he returns, explaining that he has made Gismond burn with lust.
III.
Cupid is the god of love in Lyly's Love's Metamorphosis. After the murder of Fidelia, Ceres takes her nymphs to Cupid to be taught how to love. Cupid tells them not to be obstinate but to be faithful. When, in turn, each of the nymphs repels their suitors, Cupid transforms them–Nisa into a stone, Celia into a flower and Niobe into a bird of paradise. Ceres asks for them to be restored but Cupid only grants this after the nymphs reluctantly agree to love. Finally, struck by Protea's love for her father and for Petulius, Cupid ends Erisicthon's famine.
IV.
Cupid is the son of Venus in Lyly's Sapho and Phao. At his mother's request, Cupid strikes Sapho with an arrow, making her fall in love with Phao. But when Venus also falls in love with Phao, she persuades Vulcan to make new arrows for Cupid's bow that will turn the hearts of Sapho and Phao. Cupid fires one of the arrows and Sapho is cured of her love-sicknesses. Sapho persuades Cupid to join her and then sets herself up as Venus' rival.
V.
Cupid is sent by Venus in Lyly's The Woman in the Moon to make Pandora fall in love with each of the shepherds.
VI.
Cupid, god of love in Wilmot's Tancred and Gismunda. He arrives from the heavens accompanied by Vain Hope, Brittle Joy, Fair Resemblance, and Late Repentance. Cupid asserts his awesome power, citing instances from classical myth, and declares his intention of inflaming Gismunda. With his retinue he enters Tancred's palace. Later the god of love appears in a dumb show, leading Gismunda and Guiszard, along with others, in a procession. He then exults in his capacity to engender lust in Gismunda and he returns to the heavens.
VII.
God of love and son of Venus (therefore half-brother to Aeneas) in Marlowe's Dido, Queen of Carthage. He spends most of the play disguised as Ascanius, the son of Aeneas. At Venus's instigation, he touches Dido with his arrow and makes
her fall in love with Aeneas. Hermes returns him to Cyprus when he brings Ascanius
back to Aeneas.
VIII.
The god of love and Venus's son in Lyly's Gallathea. Deciding that he is not sufficiently respected by Diana's nymphs, who have forsworn love, he disguises himself as a nymph and proceeds to make all of them fall in
love. He is exposed and taken prisoner by the nymphs, who demand that he undo
the damage, including a literal series of love knots. His mother, Venus, eventually
negotiates his release.
IX.
Only mentioned in the Anonymous Blurt,
Master Constable. When she falls in love with Fontinel at Camillo's banquet,
Violetta promises she will make Fontinel love her by using him Cupid knows how.
When he confesses his love for Imperia to Pilcher, Lazarillo tells his page he
is hungry by using a metaphor. He says that Cupid has given him a stomach and
he longs for mutton. When he is in the company of the almost naked courtesans,
Lazarillo begs Cupid to help him keep his desires in check and not make him blush
too much. The braggart Lazarillo waits anxiously for Imperia's sexual favors.
On his way to the room he thinks to be for his amorous delight, Lazarillo says
he kisses Cupid's bow in expectation of love's pleasures. When Violetta begs Imperia
to let her lie with her husband, the courtesan pretends to take pity on Violetta,
telling her she will never let Cupid toll the bell for Violetta's love-sick heart.
Many characters invoke the god of love throughout.
X.
At Cynthia's court, Cupid is disguised as a page in Jonson's Cynthia's Revels. Before the
fountain of Self-love, Cupid enters on one side and Mercury on the other. Cupid
relates to Mercury how Cynthia has proclaimed her revels in the valley of
Gargaphie to honor the death of Acteon, in response of the slanders brought
against her. During this period of celebrations, all are entitled to visit her
place and entertain her nymphs. Cupid explains he has decided to disguise as a
page and court Diana's maids. After disclosing his intentions, Cupid exits. At
Cynthia's court, Cupid enters with Mercury. Both are disguised as pages and they
retire to the back of the stage to observe the nymphs and gallants. The pages
enter extolling the virtues of a wonder fountain, and Cupid exits with Mercury
to see the miracle. In an apartment in the palace, Cupid enters with the nymphs.
All are expecting the miracle water so much publicized by Amorphus. Cupid and
Mercury retire to the back of the stage and observe the nymphs and gallants
playing the game of courtly demeanor. They see how the entire party of nymphs
and gallants drink of the miracle water and get contaminated with the germ of
self-conceit. Eventually, when all leave, Cupid says he will go to sleep till
the reveling music awakes him. At Cynthia's revels, Cupid appears disguised as
Anteros and introduces the First Masque. After the First and Second Masques, the
dance begins and Cupid/Anteros retires to the back of the stage with Mercury.
Finally, when Cynthia orders the revelers to unmask, Cupid is discovered under
his disguise as Anteros. Cynthia is displeased and chases him away in disgrace.
XI.
Only mentioned in Percy’s Cuckqueans and Cuckolds Errants.
XII.
Only mentioned in Verney’s Antipoe in his usual role as shooter of darts and inflicter of love.
XIII.
Only mentioned in Day's Humour Out of Breath. Cupid is mentioned three times: once as employing "agents" to further love; again as running a "free school" for lovers; and finally, Hortensio, when he is blindfolded, is said to look like Cupid who, because "love is blind," was often represented as blindfolded.
XIV.
Only mentioned in Haughton's The Devil and his Dame. When Mariana is chiding her lover Captain Clinton she jests that the Captain is made a Captive by love, that "Cupid's bow should blemish Mars his name."
XV.
The god of love in Greek mythology appears in Littlewit's derisive puppet-play in Jonson's Bartholomew Fair. Being metamorphosed into a drawer, Cupid strikes Hero in love with a pint of sherry instead of his magic arrows.
XVI.
Cupid follows the Prologue of Sharpham's Cupid's Whirligig to announce that he will be guiding the play's action but will remain invisible as he causes the characters to fall in and out of love with each other in fulfillment of his mother's command to go play on a whirligig. After Lord Troublesome attempts to divorce his wife and marry her cousin Peg, Cupid leads the Lord onstage. After the whirligig scene in which each of the lover's confesses his or her affection and is rejected by a beloved, Cupid enters to assure the audience he will match the couples properly. When Nan, Young Lord Nonsuch, Peg, Nucome, the Troubleomes, Mistress Correction and Wages are, or think they are, married, Cupid leads the four mismatched couples in a masque. He delivers the play's epilogue.
XVII.
A "ghost character" in the anonymous Maid's Metamorphosis. Juno mentions him when she gives Iris instructions to go and call Morpheus. The 'purblind lad' is Venus's son. According to Juno, he, obeying his mother, is somehow responsible for provoking the love misfortune of Ascanio and Eurymine. The insulting appellative 'purblind lad' is accurate, since, according to mythology, Cupid was the god of love, the son of Venus and Vulcan, normally represented as a little blind boy with wings.
XVIII.
Cupid appears in a chariot at the end of "The Triumph of Love" the second play within the play of Fletcher's Four Plays in One.
XIX.
Only mentioned in Fletcher's The Humorous Lieutenant. Leontius claims that the Lieutenant received his illness
from serving under "Captaine Cupid." Also, Cupid is mentioned by the
Fairies that the Magician invokes while creating his love potion for
Antigonus to use on Celia. In classical mythology, Cupid is the god of
love.
XX.
Only mentioned in the anonymous Wit's Triumvirate. Cupid is mentioned by Sir Cupid Phantsy when he is begging Doctor Clyster to let him define love in a few verses before he actually starts his treatment to cure him of his love-related verse-speaking disease: "Good Doctor, for Cupid's sake or Aesculapius'–and I will present him with a cock without a comb, let me but speak a few verses what love is." Cupid is later mentioned by Doctor Clyster when he is still trying to cure Phantsy of his tendency to speak in verse: "For here's old Cupid Bradborne's pedlar's pack." Cupid is also mentioned by Sir Cupid Phantsy on his second visit to Doctor Clyster, as soon as the latter leaves him alone for a moment: ""Then ha' for my mistress and Cupid." According to mythology, Cupid was the Roman god of love, son to Venus and Mercury.
XXI.
Cupid is the god of love, worshipped in Licia in Beaumont & Fletcher's Cupid's Revenge. When his cult is suppressed at the request of Hidaspes to her father, duke Leontius, supported by her brother Leucippus, Cupid decides to take revenge on all those responsible. He first makes Hidaspes fall in love with her father's court dwarf, Zolus, then turns his attention to Leucippus and Leontius, taking his revenge via their love for the venal widow Bacha.
XXII.
Cupid is both a "ghost character" and a disguise in P. Fletcher's Sicelides. - The winged god of love which many characters allude to throughout the play.
- Conchylio disguises himself as Cupid in order to trick Cancrone. As Cupid, Conchylio convinces the fisher to make a petition of love to Cosma and instructs Cancrone in the foolish actions he must take to win the Nymph.
XXIII.
Only mentioned in the anonymous Narcissus. Clinias mentions him when, prasing Narcissus's eyes, he exclaims, "What are Cupids eyes to those of thine?" According to Roman mythology, Cupid was the god of love, the son to Venus and Vulcan, normally represented as a little blind boy with wings. However, according to a story about Cupid/Eros and Psyche in Greek mythology, he was a most beautiful god of golden curls who married fair Psyche.
XXIV.
The love-god in Heywood's Love's Mistress. His mother Venus asks him to help her get revenge on Psiche by shooting her with a leaden arrow. He agrees, but secretly resolves to make Psiche his own wife instead. He asks Zephirus to transport her from the hilltop where she is waiting to his own bower. He orders her to avoid contact with her sisters (but relents at her request) and under no circumstances to try to discover his appearance on pain of losing him forever. When she does discover his identity by shining a lamp on him as he sleeps, he curses her, mars her beauty, sends her away, and wrecks the bower of their love. But he himself at that moment is put into the shackles of love. He and Mercury send the ants to help Psiche sort the grain, while he goes to his father Vulcan to have the shackles struck off. He also shows her how to fill the vial with the water of Cocytus and to gain access to Hades. When Psiche cannot resist the temptation to open the box of beauty from Proserpine, he forgives her, restores her beauty, and presents her to his mother and the assembled gods, explaining that Jupiter and the other Olympians have all approved their union. He rewards Apuleius' art with a laurel crown, and condemns Midas to asinine ignorance forever.
XXV.
Cupid appears to Antonio in a dream and instructs him to go to Flanders in Rawlins's The Rebellion. Cupid shows Antonio a vision of Aurelia saving him from death.
XXVI.
Cupid appears twice in the anonymous Wisest Have Their Fools: - First, he is a "ghost character" and a fiction. Mounsieur Silly is desperate to meet Cupid, whom he believes to be real from having seen him in so many entertainments. He promises Musophilus his whole estate for one half hour's conference with Cupid.
- Next, it is a disguise assumed by Musophilus in order to gull Silly. While Silly is blindfolded, Musophilus (as Cupid) apparently beats the foolish lover "thwick thwack" to make him believe that he is being struck with love arrows.
XXVII.
Only mentioned in the anonymous Birthe of Hercules. Cupid is mentioned by Mercurius in his prologus, referring to him as a "maskinge god."
XXVIII.
Only mentioned in the anonymous Ghost. Erotia mentions Cupid, expressing her astonishment at seeing Philarchus's breeches hanging on a pole before Aurelia's room.
XXIX.
Only mentioned in Burnell's Landgartha. Cupid is the god of love who is thought to have thrown an arrow of love to Reyner.
XXX.
At the revels and feasting in the glen in Shirley's The Arcadia, Cupid recites a love poem, possibly written by "Zellmane."
XXXI.
Cupid, the Roman love god and son of Venus, appears at the beginning of the first masque devised by Lala Schahin in Goffe's The Courageous Turk. Suspended in the air, he sings the opening anthem, and as Juno leaves cursing Eumorphe at the end of the masque, Cupid remains long enough to express his intention to protect the young woman in whatever way he can because Venus would not wish to see such a paragon of physical beauty destroyed.
CUPID**1605
The main character in the Masque of Cupid's Council in Marston's Parasitaster, or The Fawn. Opening a mock judicial session, he invites all with lovers' complaints to approach his "court."
CUPID**1607
One of the masquers in Shakespeare's The
Life of Timon of Athens. During the first banquet (in scene I.ii) he introduces
a group of ladies. Together, they perform a Masque of Cupid and the Amazons,
a masque that might also represent the five senses. After their performance they
dance with the guests, and then they all are entertained. Apemantus describes
them as prostitutes.
CUPID**1608
The only speaking character in the second act Masque of the Virtues in
Chapman's The Tragedy of Charles,
Duke of Byron. The performers of the masque include the King's wife, Maria
d'Medici and his mistress, Mademoiselle D'Entragues, who have reconciled their
differences, and four other ladies
CUPID**1616
Disguise adopted by the Passionate Lord's lover, a noble gentlewoman in Fletcher
and Middleton's The Nice Valour.
Visibly pregnant, the lady personates "the Figure of Cupid" in two masques performed
for the Passionate Lord in an effort to cure him of his excessive humors, and
visits him alone, as Cupid, when he is in his melancholy fit. In the first masque,
Cupid appears with six women masquers and a priest. In the second, she and her
masquers perform a dance based on Lapet's book and table about beatings, adopting
the postures depicted in the table's illustrations. At the end of this second
masque, Cupid witnesses what she believes is the Passionate Lord's murder by the
Souldier. The Passionate Lord survives his wounds, however, and marries this Lady
playing Cupid.
CUPID**1623
A character who acts as chorus in the play-within-the-play in Fletcher and Rowley's
The Maid in the Mill.
CUPID **1624
Of the characters in Evanthe's and Valerio's wedding masque in Fletcher's A Wife for a Month, only Cupid speaks. Cupid's attendants include not only Fancy, Desire, Delight, Hope, but also 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.
CUPID **1632
A character portrayed by an unnamed player in the masque to Shirley's The Ball.
CUPID **1635
A character in Shirley's Coronation appearing in a masque that Polidora arranges to have performed for Arcadius.
CUPID**1638
Cupid is an attendant of Harmony in the masque with which Brome's The
Antipodes concludes.
CUPID**1640
The Boy's role in the masque in Brome's Court Beggar. "Venus and Cupid; my mother and I" is the only line of his speech the Boy can remember.
CUPID PHANTSY, SIR
Sir Cupid Phantsy is a lover in the anonymous Wit's Triumvirate. He visits Doctor Clyster in the hope that he should cure his disease–giving him clear hints that the root of his disease lies in the fact that he is in love. The doctor informs Phantsy about all the possible symptoms of his disease, and the latter realizes that he has them all. Besides he explains that, from time to time, he also suffers from poetic fits. Doctor Clyster witnesses one of those fits, and he thinks his patient's disease is a serious thing. Sir Cupid then explains the change he has experienced since he is in love: on the one hand, now he can speak long speeches in verse, and, on the other, he has become obsessed with clothes and fashion–a characteristic of lovers. The doctor tells him he will have to study his case, but, meanwhile, he advises him to "forbear all pastorals and quit the church while the psalms are singing." He wants to keep him away from songs and poetry, and advises him to read prose instead. After Phantsy hears the doctor's advice, he gives him some money for his services. Later, Sir Cupid Phantsy goes to see the doctor–suffering from new fits of poetic speech. He wants the doctor to cure him, but not before he writes a play. However, Doctor Clyster explains that writing a play can be dangerous for him and tries to dissuade him. Then his patient encourages his doctor to write some poetry, to which the latter replies he lacks the main ingredient: he is not in love. And that is precisely the source of his patient's illness: his being in love makes him speak in verse. After discussing about poetry and about Sir Cupid's beloved lady's attitude to him, the doctor decides it is time to cure him. He finds out his patient did not follow his former prescription, and now he forbids him to rhyme in his company, and to make or think in verse; and, since he seems to be getting worse, he is going to put him on a 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." And he threatens him that, should he put those into verse, he will prescribe him "huge volumes of civil law." But, as soon as Doctor Clyster leaves him alone for a moment, Sir Cupid Phantsy starts writing verses again. However, when the doctor comes back, he catches him at it. Then, he urges to give him or throw away any token from his lady he may have. Sir Cupid happens to have a purse, which was hers, and which is tied so hard that he is unable to get the twenty pieces of gold it contains out of it. Hearing that, the doctor insists on keeping the purse, he gets it and they part. When, later, Sir Cupid Phantsy learns he has been cheated, he goes to see Clyster again in order to ask for his money back and also for satisfaction, but Clyster threatens to tell his mistress about his folly, and Phantsy leaves. Encouraged by Damme de Bois, he and the other cozened victims siege the house of the three cheaters. Finally, Master Algebra, who was passing by, offers to act as a judge, and he actually solves the case satisfactorily for all the parties involved, cures the cozened people and he is recompensed both by the victims and by the cheaters.
CUR DACEER
The name Neronis adopts in her second disguising as a page in the Anonymous Clyomon
and Clamydes. (For more under this character, see "CŒUR D'ACER").
CURAN
Curan is a message-bearer in Shakespeare's King
Lear. He brings two important pieces of news to Edmund: first, that Regan
and Cornwall plan to visit Gloucester's castle; and second, that there are rumors
of war between Cornwall and Albany.
CURATE**1519
The curate of the church where the Pardoner and the Friar have resorted to extort
money from the congregation in John Heywood's The Pardoner and the Friar. The Curate tries to throw the two rascals out of his church, and calls the constable Neybour Pratte to help him, but the knaves
beat them.
CURATE**1635
A priest of Palermo and a Latin pedant in Brome's The Queen and Concubine. When Fabio and Strozzo arrive to assassinate Eulalia, he convinces the Cryer, Lollio, and Poggio to arrest the assassins. After learning that she is actually Queen Eulalia, he vows to serve her faithfully and conceal her identity while the warrant for her death is in effect. He frequently banters in Latin with Eulalia's fool, Andrea. He presents the celebratory dances at the end of the play.
CURATE**1635
Snidely dubbed 'Sir Dominus' by Touchwood in Brome's The Sparagus Garden, he comes to comfort the supposedly dying Striker and to reconcile the two old enemies, Striker and Touchwood. Sadly, when he reminds
Touchwood that "the world's a stage, on which you both are actors, and neither
to be his own judge," Touchwood replies, "I would see him make his last exit and
hiss him out of it." He encourages Touchwood to send for his son so that Samuel
can marry Annabel, but Touchwood refuses. He later comes to marry Annabel to Sir
Arnold, but is most disturbed when he discovers her apparent pregnancy. Presumably
he eventually joins the hands of Annabel and Samuel.
CURATE of the PARISH
Marries the veiled Voluble to the Justice in Cavendish's The
Variety.
CURCULIO
Curculio in Shirley's The School of
Compliment is the name assumed by Gorgon in his role as Usher at the Compliment
School. In this position his primary role is teaching clients how to posture,
although Curculio also is pressed into service to teach and compose some of the
simpler speeches.
CURFEW**1615
Curfew spends most of S.S's Honest Lawyer disguised as the deputy abbot, a role he took over when his brother died secretly. However, he only acts in a pious manner in his first appearance, when he attempts to stop the duel between Benjamin and Vaster. When they will not listen to his pleas, he flees seeking help. In the next scene, he reveals his deception to the audience. He is then met by Valentine, who attempts to rob him. They fight and when neither can gain the upper hand, they decide to join forces. They then attempt to rob Vaster, and when he reveals he has no money, they all three join together. They then rob Griffin, Sagar and Bromley, and then Gripe. Vaster and Curfew then rob Nice. Finally, the three pretend to be fairies and terrify Gripe, telling him they have cursed him with diseases because of his usery, and then steal his gold. They give the money to Vaster's wife for safekeeping and have her arrested when she cannot produce it. When Curfew enters cursing his loss, the returned Abbot realizes his deputy has been replaced. However, despite being present at the trial, Curfew is not punished.
CURIATII
The Curiatii, three Roman brothers in Gascoigne and Kinwelmershe's Jocasta, are imaged in the fourth dumb show to express the power of brotherly affiliation and the vulnerability that ensues when brothers are divided.
CURIO**1588
A "ghost character" in the anonymous Timon of Athens, one of Blatt's former lovers. Blatt rejected him because his nose was too long.
CURIO**1600
Curio is an attendant of Orsino's in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. He is first seen attempting to distract Orsino from his lovesickness by suggesting a hunt, but makes the mistake of suggesting the hart as prey, which leads Orsino's thoughts directly back to love. The rest of his part is minor; in one scene he enters with Orsino but is immediately sent out, and in another he informs Orsino that Feste is not available to sing for him and then exits to look for him. He is listed as present in the final scene, but has no lines.
CURIO**1604
Curio is the name given in the character list to the Page in Chapman's All Fools. Although the speech headings consistently refer to him as "Page," Rinaldo uses the name once. Curio at first appears to be a standard page, delivering a message from Valerio (an imaginary message, as it turns out), and fetching an instrument when told to. However, when Cornelio declares he will be jealous, Curio suddenly declares that he wishes to speak in defense of Gazetta, since she is not there. His defense of her (and of women in general) is, first, that women cannot help their natures, since they are born disloyal, second, that if she strays, it must be because Cornelio is wanting in some way, third, women, like the sea, are calm until stirred up by outside turmoil and, finally, that the cuckold is an imaginary creature and no man is a cuckold, except those that have wives. His speeches, as might be expected, only infuriate Cornelio the more. Later, when Cornelio threatens to divorce Gazetta, Curio says that if he is actually a cuckold, he should not announce it with a public divorce. In the final tavern scene, Curio discusses tobacco with Valerio.
CURIO**1609
Kinsman to Antonio in Beaumont and Fletcher's The Coxcomb. Curio delivers an urgent message from the City to the Justice concerning the alleged death of Antonio.
CURIO**1621
A friend of Alphonso in Fletcher's The Pilgrim, he tries to convince him to show more gentleness to Alinda. He shows interest in and sympathy for the pilgrims who come to seek Alinda's aid. After Alinda's escape he tries to calm Alphonso's rage, and joins Seberto in the search for her. Although he and Seberto do encounter Alinda in her boyish disguise, they fail to recognize her and are consistently frustrated both in their search for her and in their efforts to rejoin Alphonso. Eventually, they arrive in Segonia in time to rescue Alphonso from his incarceration in the madhouse there. They are with him at the King's birthday celebrations when Alinda finally reappears, and they applaud the play's happy ending.
CURIOSITY, MADAME **1617
One of the twenty-five vices that are the extremes of the eleven virtues in the anonymous Pathomachia. Sordidity, Pride, Envy, and Curiosity are the extremes of Humility. She is devoted to Pride. Malice asks her the number of the banished Affections, whom he calls Banditti. She replies that there were once thirty-one Affections but the old Germans and Gauls banished sixteen of them: Friendship, Enmity, Laughter, Weeping, Sighing, Blushing, Lust, Pride, Self–love, Indulgence, Security, Superstition, Jealousy, and Envy. She is given the task of disguising the Vices to look like the Virtues. She disguises herself as Admiration, the midway between knowledge and ignorance, but Justice sees through the disguise at once. She is sent to prison with the rest.
CURIUS**1613
Curius is a Roman officer in Fletcher's Bonduca. Penius describes to him his fears about the ensuing battle. Curius is a friend of Junius, who confides in him about his love-letter from the Second Daughter of Bonduca. Curius, Junius and Decius steal from the battle to meet her, but the Daughters of Bonduca capture them, and try to kill them. Caratach rescues the three Romans. Curius celebrates Junius's rejection of love, and teases Petillius about his love for the First Daughter.
CURIUS**1628
A "ghost character" in May's Julia
Agrippina, mentioned as a noble Roman of old.
CURIUS, QUINTUS
Quintus Curius is a former senator in republican Rome, a member of Catiline's conspiracy, who later betrays him to Fulvia and acts as a spy for Cicero in Jonson's Catiline. At Catiline's house, Autronius enters with the other conspirators. After hearing Catiline's incendiary address, the confederates are invited to partake of fresh human blood as a symbolic seal of their pact. After the ritual ceremony, the conspirators exeunt. At Fulvia's house, Curius is trying to regain his mistress's favors, despite the fact that he is broke and can no longer entertain her extravagant tastes. While at first Fulvia spurns him, she later accepts his attentions in order to find out about Catiline's conspiracy. It is inferred that Curius discloses the plot to Fulvia in bed, and Fulvia transmits it to Cicero. At Fulvia's house, Curius enters after Fulvia has had a discussion with Cicero. Both Cicero and Fulvia try to win Curius for their party, and they succeed. Curius accepts to play the spy in Catiline's party. After the plot has been exposed in the Senate, the conspirators gather at Catiline's house to elaborate their strategy. The plan is to set Rome on fire on the night of the Saturnalia, and remove all the enemies at once. After each conspirator has been allotted his task, the separate meetings of the women and men conspirators convene, but Fulvia pretends she is tired and wants to retire. Curius whispers to her to convey the message to Cicero that he should be on his guard, because Cornelius and Vargunteius are charged specifically to kill him. After Cicero has accused Catiline of conspiracy in the Senate, based on the information obtained from Curius via Fulvia, Curius attends the conspirators' meeting, in which the decision is taken to go along with the plan while Catiline is in exile. Curius learns of a secret conference with Allobroges at Sempronia's house and informs Cicero. Eventually, Curius is rewarded discreetly for his services in divulging the conspiracy.
CURRANTS **1632
A “ghost character" in Hausted’s Rival Friends. Mongrel saw this racehorse run in Stamford at Sara’s Hole.
CURTALL
Curtall is a burgher and a clown figure in Lodge's The
Wounds of Civil War. He enters with his neighbor Poppey to ask for justice
for his daughter Doritie, who has been ruined and possibly impregnated by one
of Scilla's soldiers. He cannot believe that Scilla has resigned his post, saying
if he were king, he would take full advantage of it.
CURTILAX, SERGEANT
A court official of London and companion of Yeoman Hanger in Middleton and Dekker's
Moll Cutpurse, The Roaring Girl.
Curtilax's name refers to a curtle ax, or cutlass, a short, curving broadsword
with a single edge much favored by seamen. When Sir Davy Dapper files a false
arrest warrant against his son Jack, Sergeant Curtilax and Yeoman Hanger are dispatched
to arrest the young man. They are prevented from doing so, however, because of
Moll Cutpurse's intervention.
CURTIS**1594
One of Petruchio's servants in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. Curtis, along with fellow servants Nathaniel, Peter, Joseph, Nicholas, Philip, Walter, and Sugarsop, remains in Verona while Petruchio and Grumio travel to Padua to find a wife for Petruchio.
CURTIS**1596
Family name of Sir Thomas, Bess, and Nell in the anonymous Captain Thomas Stukeley.
CURTIUS
The Roman hero Curtius is represented in the third dumb show of Gascoigne and Kinwelmershe's Jocasta as accomplishing by heroically leaping into a chasm what others could not do by ordinary labor or the use of money.
[CURTIUS] MONTANUS
Montanus is a friend of Otho in May's Julia
Agrippina and is introduced to Nero by him, becoming one of Nero's drinking
companions.
CURVETTO
Curvetto is an old courtier and a customer of Imperia's courtesans in the Anonymous
Blurt, Master Constable. Imperia
does not want to receive Curvetto when he comes to her house, so she pretends
to be asleep. When Frisco lets Curvetto in, Imperia pretends a reward from Curvetto
for having awakened her. Seeing that Curvetto is wearing a diamond, Imperia swears
by her virginity to possess it. Curvetto hides the diamond in his hose, implying
that, since she swore by something that is not, there is no diamond to be taken.
When Hipolito, Camillo, and the other gallants enter for a banquet in Imperia's
house, Curvetto wants to leave but Imperia commands him to stay and dance with
her. During the dance, Imperia steals Curvetto's diamond. He notices its absence
while playing dice with Hipolito and wants to retrieve it from Imperia. In another
room in Imperia's house, Curvetto pays Simperina asking her to lower a cord from
Imperia's room at ten o'clock that night. On the appointed hour, Curvetto comes
below Imperia's window, expecting to find the rope. Seeing a cord hanging from
the window, Curvetto pulls it and is drenched with slops. When Simperina comes
to the window, she tells Curvetto the water was meant for a rat, telling him to
come back at midnight, when a rope shall be ready for him. Around midnight, Curvetto
returns. Frisco lies in wait for him this time. Knowing Blurt's midnight watch
to be at hand, Frisco cries for help against thieves while Curvetto is climbing
the rope. Blurt and his men arrest Curvetto on suspicion of burglary. In the street
before Imperia's house, Blurt brings Curvetto under arrest, at the Duke's request.
When the Duke informs Curvetto of the fact that Imperia has accused him of robbery
and he must either marry her or die, Curvetto absolutely refuses to marry the
courtesan. He remains silent but probably pleased when the Duke pardons him magnanimously,
stating that the pretended robbery was just a prank.
CUSAY
Cusay is one of David's chief retainers in Peele's David and Bethsabe. The king uses him to arrange the affair with Bethsabe and to carry orders to Joab at Rabbah that Urias should be sent to Jerusalem. (Bethsabe is already pregnant, and David's hope is to have Urias sleep with his wife, thus removing suspicion about the child's parentage.) Attending David when Absalon begins his attempted usurpation, Cusay is sent by the king to offer his services as adviser to Absalon, thus undercutting the advice the young man is receiving from Achitophel. This device is successful, and Cusay suggests the delay in attacking David that will, in fact, provide the king with an opportunity to take the offensive. When the forces of Absalon are scattered and the young man has been killed, Joab sends Cusay to David with the report of his son's death.
CUSH
A "ghost character" in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. Jessica remembers hearing Shylock swear to both Tubal and Cush that he would rather have Antonio's flesh than the bond.
CUSTANCE, CHRISTIAN
Dame Christian Custance is a widow in Udall's Ralph Roister Doister betrothed to the absent merchant Gawin Goodluck. For much of the play, she is the unwilling target of amorous advances by the braggart Ralph Roister Doister, and she can only make him desist by having her maids and servants, aided by Matthew Merrygreek, attack the coward near the play's end. When Goodluck returns from his business abroad, he receives information from his servant Sim Suresby that could indicate Dame Custance was involved with the braggart, and the merchant is at first reserved. The widow, however, calls Goodluck's best friend Tristram Trusty to be a witness to her constancy, and she and Goodluck are reunited happily.
CUSTER CODRUS
Custer Codrus, Alison's husband, is an impoverished tenant of Philogonus in (?)Johnson's Misogonus. Hoping for a hefty reward from Philogonus, Codrus informs Carcurgus and Philogonus that Misogonus has a twin brother. He also informs Philogonus that his lost son has a distinguishing sixth toe, and that Alison, Isbell, and Madge can all attest that the twin is genuine. Codrus and Alison are often seen fighting.
CUSTOMER, FIRST, SECOND, THIRD, FOURTH and FIFTH
Customers in Jonson's The Staple of News who seek news. The Second Customer requests news of wonders from the Indies, Japan, or China while the Fourth Customer asks for news of court masques and civic pageants and the Fifth requests news of the forest.
CUSTOMER of HOG**1638
A "ghost character" in Baylie's The Wizard. Hog refers to an impatient customer who has sent him a box of tobacco and has a beer license laid by. Delia is unimpressed by this example of careful planning.
CUTBEARD**1602
Cutbeard is a barber to whom Quintiliano is in debt in Chapman's May Day. He confronts Quintiliano, who arranges for Giovanello to pay him on his behalf.
CUTBEARD**1609
Cutbeard is Morose's barber in Jonson's Epicoene. According to Clerimont, Cutbeard trims Morose's beard silently, and thus he has gained the noise hater's confidence. It is reported that Cutbeard has been employed for half a year to seek for a dumb woman to be Morose's wife, and it seems that he found her in the end. Cutbeard enters Morose's house in London just after Truewit exits blowing his dreaded horn, a noise Morose could not stand. Cutbeard has a key to let himself in without knocking and he enters only to see Morose in terrified distress. Cutbeard exits with Morose. At Sir John Daw's house, Cutbeard enters while Truewit is reporting his encounter with Morose. Cutbeard reports that Morose is ready to proceed with the marriage arrangement sooner than expected, because he suspects his nephew of having sent the noisy Truewit to try to dissuade him from marrying. After informing the three gallants on Morose's intention to marry Epicoene that very day, Cutbeard exits with Dauphine and Epicoene to arrange the imbroglio. At Morose's house, Cutbeard enters with Morose, followed by Epicoene wearing a mask. Cutbeard uses the silent language code imposed by the noise-hating Morose in commending Epicoene to her future husband. Since Morose is pleased with his silent wife-to-be, Cutbeard exits to fetch the priest. At Otter's house, Cutbeard enters to inform the gallants that the marriage has been performed and he gives them the key to Morose's house. When Morose is dissatisfied with his wife's noisy friends and is looking for grounds for divorce, Cutbeard, disguised as a Canon Lawyer, offers him ineffectual counsel. When, in the end, Epicoene's identity is revealed, Dauphine discloses Cutbeard's disguise. During the reconciliation scene, Dauphine reassures Cutbeard that his lease on the shop will be renewed. It is thus obvious that, by participating in the three gallants' plot, Cutbeard also served his own ends.
CUTBERT
Cutbert is Lady Mosely's servingman in ?Brewer's The Country Girl. He tells Lady Malory about Sir Robert's affair with Margaret. Later, he helps Mr. William in his project to fool the suitors.
CUTBERT CUTPURSE the CONEYCATCHER
One of the four sons of the Bailiff of Hexham, the brother of Walter, the farmer;
John, the priest; and Perin, the courtier in the Anonymous A Knacke To Knowe A Knave. He lives by his wit, even his father thinks that he needs no council. He usually dresses as a gentleman and cheats merchants by
taking commodities on credit, which he never pays. As an intermediary between
a broker and a gentleman he earns £40. King Edgar, who is disguised as a gentleman
detects him when he agrees to swear a false oath in front of the judge. For his
punishment at the end of the play, Honesty decides that he has to stand at the
market cross with his tongue pinned to the breast till the birds pick out his
eyes.
CUTBERT RUDSEBY, SIR
Sir Rudseby is a blunt knight in Chapman's Sir Giles Goosecap. The pages identify him as a Western or
Northern man. He is thought to be a gallant and he wears a bush beard. He
makes 2,000 a year. He is invited for breakfast in Barnet. At the end, he
is paired with Hyppolita.
CUTHBERT ANDERSON, SIR
Sir Cuthbert Anderson rescues the disguised Dorothea after Jaques has wounded
her in Greene's James IV.
He takes her in and subsequently escorts her to make peace between the two kings.
As his reward, he asks the Scottish king to recall his exiled nobles.
CUTHBERT CUTTER
A thief in the Anonymous Famous Victories
of Henry V, Cutter robs Derrick, but is apprehended by John Cobbler, Lawrence
Costermonger, Derrick, and Robin Pewterer and taken to Newgate where he is found
guilty by a judge despite the entreaties of Prince Henry. The thief tries to meet
Henry during his coronation, but is stopped by Tom, Jockey, and Ned, who also
seek an audience with the king. The English Captain presses him into service when
Henry V initiates his campaign in France.
CUTLER**1590
A "ghost character" in Greene's James
IV. Slipper proposes to buy some of his products with the reward he has
received for stealing Ateukin's letters.
CUTLER**1611
A tortured soul in hell in Dekker's If It Be Not Good.
CUTPURSE**1593
A thief in Marlowe's Massacre at Paris
who tries to steal the buttons from Mugeroun's cloak. He has his ear cut off,
but is spared further punishment by King Henry III.
CUTPURSE**1624
Along with Lawyer, Physician, and Captain in Fletcher's A Wife for a Month, one of four named suitors who comes to the court of Naples on the day of Valerio's execution in order to woo Valerio's soon-to-be
widow, Evanthe. The Fool interrogates them and finds them corrupt, and Evanthe
rejects them, finding them old and diseased. Frederick offers Evanthe in marriage
for a month, but the sad joke is that these suitors are too old to last that long.
CUTPURSE, COUSIN
The Vice tells a random member of the audience to beware of Cousin Cutpurse in Pickering's Horestes; later, as he leaves the play he addresses a member of the audience as Cousin Cutpurse.
CUTPURSE, MALL **1627
Only mentioned in Randolph's Plutophthalmia. Blepsidemus would rather fight Mall Cutpurse and Lady Sands at quarterstaff than keep company with Penia-Penniless. Later, Caradoc compares Penia-Penniless with several great Amazons, including Mall Cutpurse.
CUTPURSE, MOLL **1608
Mary Frith, also known as Mistress Mary, Moll Cutpurse is the Roaring Girl in Middleton and Dekker's Moll Cutpurse, The Roaring Girl. Moll is based on the real Moll Cutpurse, named Mary Frith, and she is called the Roaring Girl because she behaved like the riotous gallants of the period, called "roaring boys." Moll is a scandalous figure because she dresses like a man and behaves like a man, and because she has no husband; she is also believed to be a thief and a prostitute. When Moll goes to Openwork's shop to buy a ruff, Mistress Openwork thinks she is having an affair with her husband. Laxton is enamored of Moll and pays her money to meet with him and have sex, but when she comes to their appointment she returns his money and attacks him with her sword for thinking women are whores. Moll saves Jack Dapper twice, first when Sergeant Curtilax and Yeoman Hanger come to arrest him and again when he is held ransom for his gambling debts. She explains to him and Sir Beauteous Ganymede, Sir Thomas Long, and Lord Noland the practice of canting and the profession of cutting purses. When Sir Alexander Wengrave forbids his son Sebastian from marrying Mary Fitzallard, Sebastian pretends that he wants to marry Moll Cutpurse in order to force his father into agreeing to his and Mary's wedding. Moll agrees to help them, and she dresses Mary in male attire so that she can more easily meet with Sebastian. Sir Alexander wants to have Moll imprisoned to separate her from his son. To that end he hires Ralph Trapdoor to spy on her and help entrap her. When Sir Alexander is informed that Moll will be meeting Sebastian in Sir Alexander's chamber, he leaves valuables out to tempt her into stealing them. Moll doesn't take the bait, though, so Sir Alexander gives her money that he later intends to claim she had stolen. In the end, she returns the money to him. Moll also provides the epilogue to the play, in which she says that if the play was not pleasing then the real Mary Frith would appear on stage a few days later to perform for the audience.
CUTPURSE, MOLL**1611
Moll Cutpurse is a procuress in Field's Amends for Ladies. Under the cover of collecting a pair of hangers from Seldom's shop, Moll attempts to deliver a letter from the Husband to Grace Seldom. Grace rebuffs her advances and she departs.
CUTPURSES
Thieves of London in Middleton and Dekker's Moll Cutpurse, The Roaring Girl. The cutpurses go to rob Moll Cutpurse, Sir Thomas Long, Sir Beauteous Ganymede, and Lord Noland, but are scared off by Moll, who recognizes them and explains to the others how the cutpurses work. She tells one of them to repay a knight to whom she owes a favor for a purse that was stolen in the Swan Theatre.
CUTTER, COLONEL
A self-styled soldier in Cowley's The
Guardian; a rascally friend of Captain Blade and lodger in the house of
Blade's hoped-for wife, the Widow. Blade offers Cutter, who also needs a rich
wife, his own niece, Lucia, but the Colonel settles on Tabytha, the Widow's daughter.
She has been brought up on strict puritanical lines, and Cutter woos her by pretending
to observe them himself. After the marriage, however, he flings pretence aside,
and, in one of the play's best scenes, he quickly persuades her to drink and sing
and dance off happily to bed with him.
[In Cowley's own 1658 revision of this play, Cutter of Coleman Street (performed 1661), the character is elevated to titular status, and brought up to date: he "pretend[s] to have been a colonel in the King's army," unlike Jolly, who has really suffered for the defeated Royalist cause. Despite this, however, his role is not noticeably increased.]
CUTTER, CUTHBERT
A thief in the Anonymous Famous Victories
of Henry V, Cutter robs Derrick, but is apprehended by John Cobbler, Lawrence
Costermonger, Derrick, and Robin Pewterer and taken to Newgate where he is found
guilty by a judge despite the entreaties of Prince Henry. The thief tries to meet
Henry during his coronation, but is stopped by Tom, Jockey, and Ned, who also
seek an audience with the king. The English Captain presses him into service when
Henry V initiates his campaign in France.
CUTTING, VAL
Val Cutting is a roarer in Jonson's Bartholomew Fair. According to Edgworth, Cutting helps Captain Whit to roar. In addition, Cutting is a "circling boy," and his role is that of a thief's bully or decoy. At the Fair, Cutting is in the company of Wasp, Knockem, Northern, Puppy, and Whit. They play a game of "vapours," which is nonsense: every person has to oppose the last person that spoke, whether it concerned them or not. In fact, it is a confusion-generating activity enhanced by a large amount of drinking. During the commotion created by the drunken brawl, Edgworth steals the marriage license out of Wasp's box, while Knockem and Whit steal all the men's cloaks. Since the game of "vapours" invariably ends in a fight, all men draw their swords, taking off their cloaks. So, Knockem gathers all the cloaks and Whit takes them away. After the brawl, Cutting leaves with Quarlous.
CYCLOPS
I.
Only mentioned in Jonson's Catiline. In Greek mythology, Cyclops is a monstrous giant with a single eye in the middle of its forehead. Cyclopes are also credited with building ancient walled cities such as Tirnys in Greece. When Catiline discloses to Aurelia his plan of becoming consul, he admits to the necessity of enrolling dissatisfied Roman generals and patricians to his cause. Among others, Catiline mentions bold Cethegus, whose valor he has turned into poison. According to Catiline, he manipulated Cethegus into performing extremely daring actions, so that Cethegus would be prepared to go up to the gods, kiss Jupiter's' lightning, and wrest the engine from the Cyclops. Since the Cyclops was a powerful creature laboring in underground Tartarus, confronting him was considered an act of extreme bravery.
II.
A group of Cyclopes, mythical giants marked by one eye placed in the middle of
the forehead, accompany Vulcan, the god of fire, as he seeks to arrest the Trojan
prince Paris in Peele's The Arraignment
of Paris.
III.
Vulcan's workmen in Heywood's Love's Mistress, they dance to amuse themselves and the onlookers.
CYMBAL
One of the jeerers (idle hecklers) in Jonson's The Staple of News. Shunfield, Piedmantle, Madrigal, Fitton, Cymbal, and Almanac hound Pennyboy Senior, mocking him, and also a suitor to Pecunia, Infanta of the Mines. He is the "Master" or publisher of the Staple of News. He tries to get Pennyboy Senior to invest Pecunia's money in the Staple of News, but is refused. The Staple then fails for want of funds.
CYMBELINE
Cymbeline is the king of Britain, father of Imogen and stepfather of Cloten in
Shakespeare's Cymbeline. Cymbeline
and his second wife (Queen) want Imogen to marry the queen's son, Cloten, but
their plan goes awry when Imogen marries Posthumous Leonatus. Along with his family
troubles, Cymbeline faces the threat of a Roman invasion if he persists in his
refusal to pay the monetary tributes Rome demands. At the end of the play, Cymbeline
regains much of what he had believed lost, including his sons Arviragus and Guiderius,
his daughter Imogen, and the British nation, which the Romans fail to conquer
thanks in part to the timely assistance of his sons.
CYNAMOMO **1611
A “ghost character" in Dekker’s Match Me in London. He is a shopkeeper, a “Comfit maker with rotten teeth" that Bilbo says “comes hither a batfowling every Moone-shine night." Bilbo suggests he might be a comfit maker because he gave Tormiella a candied root that she swore was the sweetest thing.
CYNANCHE
Wife of Strozza in Chapman's The
Gentleman Usher. She attends the festivities at Lasso's house, but returns
home the following day when the men go hunting. Poggio comes to her house with
the news that Strozza has been shot. When he arrives, she urges him to be patient
and pray for recovery. She accompanies her husband to Lasso's for the final scene.
CYNOSBATUS
A "Shepheard" and Eglantine's brother in Knevet's Rhodon and Iris. Cynosbatus is Martagon's loyal friend. He and Martagon discuss "change" at the play's beginning, reveal their interests in Rhodon's relationships, and talk about coming up with "some Stratagem" to separate Iris and Rhodon. After Rhodon receives Violetta's letter concerning her mistreatment by Martagon, the shepherd makes an attempt "to bring th'usurper to a restitution" by "a friendly treaty." However, the conference set up to address the issue fails to bring about a satisfactory result and, thus, Rhodon vows to have revenge on Martagon "arm'd with a scourge of steele." Because of Rhodon's and Acanthus's "zealous"ness over Violetta's "cause," Martagon and Cynosbatus decide that they will not be able to defeat Rhodon's army fairly and, thus, must resort to underhandedness. For this reason, while Rhodon and his friends rally their troops, Martagon and Cynosbatus approach Poneria for help. The witch agrees to assist them by equipping Eglantine with poison rather than the promised love potion to present to Rhodon, which results in Rhodon's near death. Cynosbatus compliments Poneria, claiming that she has "matchlesse skill and wisdome," and the witch prophesies the death of Rhodon and his army's disbandment. At Martagon's claim that Rhodon is dead, Cynosbatus wishes that "noble Rhodon had no so ignobly dy'd." Acanthus is sent by Rhodon to invite Martagon "to a bloudy breakfast to morrow morne," through which message Martagon discovers that Rhodon is not actually dead. Cynosbatus claims (as he does throughout the play) that he will "condescend" to anything which Martagon's "discretion holds fit to be done," and vows to battle Rhodon's army on Martagon's side. Acanthus announces that Cynosbatus "brings up the Rere" of Martagon's advancing army along with "two thousand souldiers." However, all are prevented from fighting when Flora appears and stops the battle. Flora orders Rhodon and Martagon to "dismiss" their armed bands and commands Martagon to "make an ample restitution" to the "wrong'd" Violetta as well as "entertaine a friendly league with Rhodon / Which [. . .] Cynosbatus must also condescend to."
CYNTHIA**1588
The Queen in Lyly's Endymion.
She learns that Endymion has been enchanted with such a sleep that none may awaken
him. She banishes Tellus to a desert castle for being haughty in the face of Endymion's
distress. She sends her retainers to the ends of the earth to find a cure for
the stricken Endymion. When Eumenides learns that only a kiss from her will revive
Endymion, she is not too proud to kneel to Endymion and not too chaste to save
him with her first and only kiss. She accepts Endymion as a loyal follower, and
her favor returns his youth. She matches up all the characters for the happy ending:
Eumenides with Semele, Geron with Dipsas, Tellus with Corsites, even Sir Tophas
with Bagoa.
CYNTHIA**1592
A role played in the deadly masque performed at Plashy, home of Woodstock, by Richard II and his followers. Cynthia's speech ambiguously declares that the masquers have come to hunt a "cruel tusked boar" in the anonymous Thomas of Woodstock.
CYNTHIA**1601
I.
Announced by Hesperus, Cynthia makes an entrance at the revels in Jonson's Cynthia's Revels. The goddess bemoans human folly and praises the virtue of chastity. Cynthia shows concern at Cupid's potential presence at the revels, since the god of love might play one of his little pranks, but Arete assures her that all events will securely evolve in Cynthia's sight, so there is no danger of foul love-play. When Cynthia demands to know the order of the revels, Arete informs her that Crites will conduct them, and he is a poet most favored with the Muses. After the presentation of the First Masque, Cynthia praises the poet, whom she calls a person of learning and virtue. After the Second Masque and the dance, Cynthia solemnly declares the festivity concluded and orders the revelers to unmask. When she discovers that the nymphs and gallants have impersonated cardinal virtues, Cynthia is displeased. Seeing that Cupid is disguised as Anteros, she chases him away. Cynthia nominates Crites and Arete as the judges of the self-conceited nymphs and gallants. After hearing the punishment, Cynthia exits followed by her train and praised by all. Cynthia or Diana, the Moon, is the mistress of the revels in the country of Gargaphie. In Roman mythology, Cynthia, the twin sister of Apollo, was the moon goddess. She was also goddess of vegetation and, attended by nymphs, supervised waters and lush wild growth. Also the goddess of wild animals and the hunt, she was pictured with a stag or a hunting dog. Cynthia was one of the three virgin goddesses, vowing always to remain chaste and she expected all the nymphs in her company to remain so.
II.
Only mentioned in Day's Humour Out of Breath. Lucida and Hermia are several times compared to Cynthia for their beauty.
III.
An alternative name for the goddess Diana in Wilson's The Cobbler's Prophecy.
IV.
Only mentioned in the Anonymous Blurt,
Master Constable. Violetta receives a message from Fontinel, instructing
her to meet him at the old chapel next Saint Lorenzo's monastery in the company
of a Friar, in order to get married secretly. Violetta invokes Cynthia, the moon
goddess, to wrap her light in a sable sheet and let the lovers meet securely in
darkness.
V.
Only mentioned in (?)Speed’s The Converted Robber. Dorus compares Castina to Cynthia, saying that, like the moon, her grace is but of reflected light and can be covered, meaning by his own love, Avonia’s beauty.
CYNTHIA**1601
A "ghost character" in Jonson's Poetaster. Cynthia is the poetic name of Propertius's mistress, who inspired his love elegies. At Ovid's house in Rome, Ovid and Tibullus discuss about their ladies, muses of their love verses. When Ovid asks about Propertius, Tibullus informs him that he grieves for his Cynthia's death. Tibullus says he never saw an understanding spirit that would take to heart the adversities of fate. Ovid sympathizes with Propertius's grief because, he says, suffering is different when one reads about it than when one is affected with it. When Horace comes to Albius's house to escort Chloë and Cytheris to a masquerade ball at court, he announces that their melancholic friend Propertius has locked himself in Cynthia's tomb and would not come out.
CYNTHIA**1605
Cynthia, wife to Lysander in Chapman's The
Widow's Tears, has made a vow to be faithful to her husband even after his death. Lysander decides to test this vow by leaving home on a trip and having Lycus, a servant to Eudora, accompany him in order to report that he has been killed. He returns disguised as a soldier hired to guard three crucified prisoners and uses the opportunity to woo Cynthia. She has been fasting for five days in her husband's tomb, and at the urging of her waiting-woman Ero she responds to his advances and offered sustenance. When one of the bodies disappears (taken by Tharsalio), the punishment for which is death, Cynthia offers to replace it with her husband's body, even after the disguised Lysander claims to have murdered her husband. Tharsalio, however, discovers the disguise, replaces the body, and informs Cynthia of the test. This intelligence allows her to pretend to having known of Lysander's disguise all along.
CYNTHIA **1610
Cynthia is a character in the masque in Beaumont and Fletcher's The Maid's Tragedy. She is the personification of the Moon and may thematically hint at lunacy in the play.
CYPHER
See also CIPHER.
CYPHER **1637
Warehouse’s factor in Mayne’s City Match. He is to spy on Frank Plotwell while Warehouse pretends to be dead. He disguises himself as a waterman. He unmasks himself with Warehouse and Seathrift once the boys have betrayed themselves as rioters. He changes sides and helps Frank next. He goes along with the faux wedding and, in disguise as a sailor, tells Warehouse that two of his ships are lost at sea. After Warehouse signs away three quarters of the ships’ worth in assurances, he unmasks and reveals that the ships are safe.
CYPRIAN**1588
Duke of Castile and 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.
CYPRIAN**1622
One of the three title characters of the anonymous Two Noble Ladies and the Converted Conjurer. Cyprian is a powerful conjurer of Antioch. When the Egyptians invade, Cyprian takes pity on Miranda and Lysander and decides to help them. He rescues Lysander from the Soldan and his Guards by paralyzing them with a magic spell. He conjures a Spirit who reveals Lysander's true parentage. An Angel then appears, and prophecies that Cyprian will renounce magic and turn Christian. Cyprian rescues Justina by raising a freak tide to wash away the Soldiers who are drowning her. But he lusts after her; when she refuses his offers of worldly pleasures, Cyprian summons the demon Cantharides to provoke her into carnal desire. But when Justina's faith defeats his devilish magic, Cyprian is converted to Christianity, and throws his wand and magic books into the fire.
CYPRIAN, DON
Duke of Castile, brother to the King of Spain, in Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy. Usually referred to as Castile, he innocently raises Hieronimo's suspicions regarding his involvment in Horatio's death. In
the end, Hieronimo stabs him to death with a pen knife.
CYRIS
Young daughter of Pompey in Chapman's Caesar and Pompey. She is sent for safety to Lesbos with her mother, Cornelia, and her brother, Sextus. She sees her father wounded by the murderers.
CYRUS
I.
King of Persia in the anonymous Wars of Cyrus, Cyrus has defeated Cresus of Lydia and the Prince of Arabia, and slain the old King of Assyria, and seems poised to rule all Asia. He accepts Gobrias as an honored member of his court. When Araspas tells him of Panthea and praises her beauty, the King declines to see her, but assigns her to Araspas' care. Though initially suspicious of Ctesiphon, he is persuaded by Gobrias to admit a second Babylonian to his service. His virtues so impress Ctesiphon that he confesses Antiochus' plot. Cyrus pretends to agree to his plan to murder Antiochus instead. Cyrus receives the escaped Alexandra into his protection, and swears either to rescue or to avenge her faithful page Libanio. The boy escapes on his own, however, and Cyrus rewards his heroism, before giving Alexandra to be Histaspis' bride by means of the lottery of the thrown turf. Learning of Arastus' dishonorable suit of Panthea, he forgives him and sends him as a spy to Antiochus, receiving Abradates in his place. When this hero dies, and his wife and her servant after him, he honors all. Presumably he is victorious over the Assyrians, although the focus on Panthea at the end means that the fact is not made clear in the text.
II.
Probably a "ghost character" because only his tomb is called for in Greene's James IV. In the additional chorus that follows Chorus VI in the quarto, although it is headed '2', Alexander the Great weeps over the tomb of Cyrus.
III.
Only mentioned in Marlowe's Tamburlaine Part 1. Father of Cambises. Menaphon advises Cosroe to drive the Europeans from Greece as Cyrus once did.
CYTHERIS
Cytheris is Cornelius Gallus's mistress and Crispinus's cousin in Jonson's Poetaster. The name she is known in literature is Lycoris, and Virgil's tenth Eclogue pictures Gallus pining for Lycoris in an idyllic landscape. At Albius's house in Rome, Cytheris enters greeting her cousin Crispinus. Albius announces the arrival of important guests and the poets and their ladies enter. Though Gallus praises Cytheris in his love elegies, he pretends to court Chloë, and Cytheris pretends to be pleased with his choice. When Albius calls Chloë out on some household pretext, the guests feel free to speak openly about love. After light conversation and music, the guests depart for the banquet hall. At Albius's house, Cytheris enters with Chloë, fully attired for the masquerade ball at court. Gallus and Tibullus enter, prepared to escort the ladies to court in Princess Julia's coach. After she hears Crispinus's verses, apparently composed for Chloë, but which prove to be plagiarized from Horace, Cytheris exits with the entire party to the ball at court. Cytheris disguised as Pallas enters an apartment in the palace, together with the entire party of poets and their ladies, each characteristically dressed as gods and goddesses. All the masks play their assigned roles. During the entertainment presided by Ovid/Jupiter, Cytheris/Pallas does not speak, but she enjoys the revelry. When Caesar enters and rails at the debauched party and banishes Ovid, it is understood that Cytheris shares the fate of Julia and the other ladies. They are silent and subdued.