The supposed son of Memphio (q.v.), Accius is actually the child of Vicinia (q.v.). His father Memphio keeps him away from the neighbors so that they will not perceive he is a dim-witted fool until Memphio can marry him off to Stellio's (q.v.) daughter Silena (q.v.). Through the machinations of the clever servants(Dromio, Riscio, Lucio, and Halfpenny), Accius and Silena meet face to face and reveal their foolishness. Their meeting uncovers Memphio and Stellio's plots to marry off their idiotic children to one another. Both Memphio and Stellio agree to go ahead with the arranged match, since Accius and Silena have been publicly revealed as unfit marriage material, but Vicinia intervenes in the final scene, disclosing that Accius is not Memphio's son and that he and Silena are actually brother and sister. Stellio offers to take Accius into his household at the end of the play.
BEDUNENUS
Along with Synis and Nasutus (qq.v.), Bedunenus is one of the three rustic fiddlers who attempt to play a song in honor of the bride (Livia [q.v.]). Their bumbling attempts to salute the clandestine marriage are met with hostility at the various houses they visit. They unwittingly help to rouse the parental suspicions of the fathers in the play, and this in turn contributes to the unraveling of the plot of the witty servants (Dromio, Riscio, Lucio, and Halfpenny).
CANDIUS
Candius is the son of Sperantus (q.v.). Educated but penniless, Candius wishes to marry Prisius' daughter Livia (q.v.), 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.
DROMIO
A servant to Memphio (q.v.), Dromio is enlisted by his master to negotiate a marriage between Memphio's foolish son Accius (q.v.) and Stellio's foolish daughter Silena (qq.v.). En route, he encounters his friend Riscio (q.v.), servant to Stellio, who has also been assigned to negotiate the same marriage. The two band together with their servant friends Lucio and Halfpenny (qq.v.) and plot to cozen their masters. After concocting their plan, Dromio and his co-conspirators consult the cunning woman Mother Bombie (q.v.) to see if their plan will work. They are told cryptically that they will succeed even though they will be revealed as cozeners. They arrange to have Livia and Candius dress as Accius and Silena and trick blessings from their fathers for their marriage. Accius and Silena also meet dressed as Livia and Candius. However, Stellio and Memphio catch their children at their rendezvous and bid Accius and Silena home, furious over their servants' deception. In secondary action, the Hackneyman and Sergeant threaten Dromio with arrest over the issue of a hired horse. Dromio and the other servants convince the Hackneyman to agree to a bond for the debt, and they enlist the aid of the Scrivener to draw up the contract. However, the servants get the Hackneyman, Sergeant and Scrivener drunk and pass them a useless bond. Although their tricks are discovered, Dromio and his servant friends are forgiven because the various plots end happily. Memphio agrees to pay Dromio's debt to the Hackneyman.
HACKNEYMAN
A gull. The Hackneyman, accompanied by the Sergeant, attempts to have the servant Dromio arrested over the issue of a hired horse. He eventually agrees to enter into a bond with the four witty servants (Dromio, Riscio, Lucio and Halfpenny). They enlist the aid of the Scrivener to draw up the contract. The servants get them all drunk and cheat them with a useless bond. All ends well when Memphio offers to pay for the hire of the horse at the end of the play.
HALFPENNY
As the smallest and wittiest of the four witty servants in the play (Dromio, Lucio, and Riscio), Halfpenny was probably played by the smallest boy actor and was given the sharpest lines for comic effect. There are many jokes and puns on his name in reference to his size and worth. The servant of Sperantus, Halfpenny is enlisted by his master to arrange a marriage between his son Candius (q.v.) and wealthy Stellio's daughter Silena (qq.v.). Instead, Halfpenny joins with his servant friends and plots with them to cozen their respective masters. After concocting a plan over sack at the local tavern, the co-conspirators consult the cunning woman Mother Bombie (q.v.) to see if their plan will work. They are told cryptically that they will succeed even though they will be revealed as cozeners. Halfpenny and his compatriots arrange to have Livia and Candius (q.v.) meet dressed as Accius and Silena (q.v.), thus eliciting the unwitting blessings of their fathers for their marriage. Sperantus is furious with both his son and Halfpenny when the clandestine marriage is revealed, and Halfpenny is threatened with a bare-bottomed spanking, but because Sperantus can do nothing about the marriage, he reconciles himself to the match and Halfpenny is forgiven. Despite his recent brush with punishment, Halfpenny remains irrepressibly cheeky at the end of the play.
LIVIA
The daughter of Prisius, Livia is in love with Candius (q.v.) and is determined to choose her own husband despite her father's contrary wishes. Livia is poor but practical, and otherwise a dutiful daughter. Forced by her father to eschew any contact with Candius, she is further made to take up weaving instead of sewing, in the vain hope that she will then have no time to dwell on thoughts of Candius. While her father plots to marry her to Memphio's more wealthy but foolish son Accius, Livia and Candius, at the bidding of the clever servants (Dromio, Riscio, Lucio, and Halfpenny), dress as Accius and Silena and trick the unwitting approval of their marriage from their fathers. They subsequently marry but keep their marriage a secret until their fathers confront them. The fathers, powerless to oppose the marriage, extend their forgiveness to Candius and Livia and their blessing for the match at the end of the play.
LUCIO
A servant to Prisius (q.v.), Lucio is enlisted by his master to arrange a marriage between his daughter Livia (q.v.) and wealthy Memphio's son Accius (qq.v.). Instead, he joins with his servant friends (Dromio, Riscio and Halfpenny) and plots with them to cozen their respective masters. After concocting a plan over sack at the local tavern, the co-conspirators consult the cunning woman Mother Bombie (q.v.) to see if their plan will work. They are told cryptically that they will succeed even though they will be revealed as cozeners. Lucio also asks Mother Bombie to interpret his dream about food, and is informed that he is either in danger of a beating or that a wedding is imminent, both likely possibilities considering his meddling in the marriage plans of the play. Lucio and his compatriots arrange to have Livia and Candius meet dressed as Accius and Silena (q.v.), thus eliciting the unwitting blessings of their fathers for their marriage. Prisius is furious with both his daughter and Lucio when the clandestine marriage is revealed, but because he can do nothing about the situation, he reconciles himself to the match and Lucio is forgiven at the end of the play.
MĘSTIUS
Męstius is the actual son of Memphio (q.v.), the supposed son of Vicinia (q.v.) and supposed brother of Serena (q.v.). Disturbed by the incestuous desires he feels for his sister, Serena, Męstius agrees with her that they must not act on their love. Together they consult the cunning woman Mother Bombie (q.v.), who prophesies that they will be lawfully married tomorrow, and that they will each displace a fool and become wealthy in the process. Believing such events to be impossible and viewing the prophecy as a cruel joke, they hurl insults at Mother Bombie and leave dejected. Only when Vicinia reveals the baby-switching plot in the final scene do Męstius and Serena discover that not only are they not brother and sister, but they are also the children of the wealthy Memphio and Stellio-a revelation that fulfills Mother Bombie's prophecy and allows them to marry.
MEMPHIO
Memphio is a wealthy landowner, supposed father to Accius (q.v.) and actual father to Męstius (q.v.). Troubled by a shrewish wife and idiotic son, Memphio wishes to wed his dim-witted son Accius to Stellio's daughter Silena. Such a match would simultaneously rid him of one burden and also cozen Stellio out of his farm. Determined to keep his son's foolishness a secret, he enlists the aid of his witty servant Dromio (q.v.) to help him negotiate the marriage without the children meeting. Dromio and the other servants concoct a different plan, however, and arrange for Silena and Accius to meet face to face, revealing their mutual dim-wittedness. Tricked by the servants, Memphio and Stellio agree to have their children marry anyway. When this plan is prevented in the final scene with Vicinia's (q.v.) disclosure of the baby-switching plot, Memphio is elated to discover that Męstius is his real son. He happily consents to his marriage to Stellio's actual daughter, Serena (q.v.) Memphio also offers to maintain the foolish Silena in the household of his newlywed children, and bails his servant Dromio out of trouble by agreeing to pay his debt to the Hackneyman over a hired horse.
MOTHER BOMBIE
The village cunning woman, Mother Bombie may have been based on a real historical figure, as Reginald Scot mentions a "Mother Bungie . . . the great witch of Rochester" in his Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584). Various characters in the play consult Mother Bombie:
the first to visit her is the foolish Silena, who is given an ominous prophecy that she fails to understand.
Męstius and Serena (qq.v.), who are troubled by their supposedly incestuous desires for each other, next consult Mother Bombie. Mother Bombie prophesies that they will be lawfully married tomorrow, and that they will each displace a fool and become wealthy in the process. Believing such events to be impossible and viewing the prophecy as a cruel joke, they insult Mother Bombie and leave despondent.
The plotting servants (Dromio, Riscio, Lucio, and Halfpenny) are the next to call on Mother Bombie. They visit her primarily to find out whether or not their stratagem will succeed, but they also ask about petty things such as lost objects, dream interpretation, and their personal fortunes. Mother Bombie answers all of their questions, and tells them that their plan will be successful even though they will be revealed as cozeners.
Finally, Vicinia consults Mother Bombie. She is troubled by the guilty secret of having switched her own children shortly after birth with those of Memphio and Stellio. Mother Bombie's cryptic prophecy convinces Vicinia to come forward, thus preventing the incestuous marriage between Accius and Silena (qq.v.) and also restoring Męstius and Serena to their proper birthright and allowing them to marry.
Mother Bombie's presence in the play has no direct influence on the development of the plot, with perhaps the exception of her effect on Vicinia, but her character is central to the village life of Rochester. Although it is unclear whether Mother Bombie has legitimate prophetic power or whether she is merely a keen observer of community dynamics, her prophecies are all proven accurate at the end of the play.
NASUTUS
Along with Synis and Bedunenus (qq.v.), Nasutus is one of the three rustic fiddlers who attempt to play a song in honor of the bride (Livia). Their bumbling attempts to salute the clandestine marriage are met with hostility at the various houses they visit. They unwittingly help to rouse the parental suspicions of the fathers in the play, and this in turn contributes to the unraveling of the plot of the witty servants (Dromio, Riscio, Lucio, and Halfpenny).
PRISIUS
A fuller (cloth-worker) and father to Livia. Prisius wishes to marry his worthy but dowerless daughter to Memphio's son Accius. Livia, however, is in love with Sperantus' son Candius and resists Prisius' wishes. Prisius and Sperantus agree that their children must not marry, and he forbids his daughter contact with Candius. Prisius enlists the aid of his witty servant Lucio (q.v.) to further his plan to wed Livia to Accius. Prisius spends most of the play trying to keep track of his servant's activities, and he is duped by Lucio and the other servants (Dromio, Riscio, and Halfpenny) into giving his blessing to the union of Livia and Candius when they come to him dressed as Accius and Silena. When the ruse is discovered he is angry, but he is eventually mollified and gives his blessing to the match.
RISCIO
A servant to Stellio (q.v.), Riscio is enlisted by his master to negotiate a marriage between Stellio's foolish daughter Silena (q.v.) and Memphio's son Accius (qq.v.). En route, he encounters his friend Dromio (q.v.), servant to Memphio, who has also been assigned to negotiate the same marriage. The two band together with their servant friends Lucio and Halfpenny and plot to cozen their masters. After concocting a plan over sack at the local tavern, Riscio and his co-conspirators consult the cunning woman Mother Bombie (q.v.) to see if their plan will work. They are told cryptically that they will succeed even though they will be revealed as cozeners. They arrange to have Livia and Candius meet dressed as Accius and Silena, thus eliciting the unwitting blessings of their fathers for their marriage, and have Accius and Silena meet dressed as Livia and Candius. However, Stellio and Memphio catch their children at their rendezvous and bid Accius and Silena home. Even though their plots are discovered, Riscio and his servant friends are forgiven when the various plots work out happily in the final scene.
RIXULA
A female servant to Prisius (q.v.). Rixula appears in only one scene, where she agrees to help the four witty servants (Dromio, Riscio, Lucio and Halfpenny) execute their plan to unite Candius with Livia, and Accius with Silena. After singing a song and trading witty barbs with the other servants, she accompanies them to consult the cunning woman Mother Bombie (q.v.) about whether their plan will succeed. She also wishes to ask about a lost silver spoon. Since she does not appear again in the play, it is unclear what her role in the servants' stratagem is, but she is a gamesome wench whose talk of hanging adds comic tension to the scheme of the other servants.
SCRIVENER
A gull. The scrivener is called upon to draw up a bond between the Hackneyman and the four witty servants (Dromio, Riscio, Lucio and Halfpenny). The servants cozen him into drawing up a useless contract upon which the Hackneyman will never be able to collect.
SERENA
Serena is the actual daughter of Stellio (q.v.), the supposed daughter of Vicinia (q.v.) and supposed sister of Męstius (q.v.). Disturbed by the incestuous desires she feels for her brother Męstius, Serena and Męstius agree that they must not act on their love. Together they consult the cunning woman Mother Bombie, who prophesies that they will be lawfully married tomorrow, and that they will each displace a fool and become wealthy in the process. Believing such events to be impossible and viewing the prophecy as a cruel joke, they hurl insults at Mother Bombie and leave dejected. Only when Vicinia reveals the baby-switching plot in the final scene do Męstius and Serena discover that not only are they not brother and sister, but they are also the children of the wealthy Stellio and Memphio-a revelation that fulfills Mother Bombie's prophecy and allows them to marry.
SERGEANT
A gull. The Sergeant attempts to aid the Hackneyman in his suit against the servant Dromio by threatening arrest and a few blows over the head with his mace, but he is largely an ineffective thug. Along with the Hackneyman and the Scrivener, the witty servants cozen him.
SILENA
The supposed daughter of Stellio (q.v.), Silena is the actual child of Vicinia. A dim-witted fool, Silena is kept indoors by her father to prevent the neighbors from discovering her idiocy until he can marry her off to Memphio's son Accius. She steals out of the house, however, and is temporarily wooed by Candius (pursuant to his father's wishes). But Candius is baffled by her nonsensical prattle. She consults the cunning woman Mother Bombie, but fails to understand the ominous prophecy Mother Bombie utters and leaves unimpressed. Through the machinations of the clever servants (Dromio, Riscio, Lucio, and Halfpenny), Silena and Accius meet face to face and reveal their foolishness.Their meeting succeeds in uncovering Memphio and Stellio's plots to marry off their idiotic children to one another. Both Memphio and Stellio agree to go ahead with the arranged match, since Accius and Silena have been publicly revealed as unfit marriage material, but Vicinia intervenes in the final scene, disclosing that Silena is not Stellio's daughter and that she and Accius are actually brother and sister. Memphio offers to maintain Silena in the household of his newlywed children (Męstius and Serena) at the end of the play.
SPERANTUS
A farmer and father to Candius, Sperantus wishes his son to marry the wealthy Stellio's daughter Silena. Candius, however, is in love with Prisius' daughter Livia and resists his father's wishes. Sperantus agrees with Prisius that their children must not wed, and he enlists the aid of his witty servant Halfpenny (q.v.) to further his marriage plan for his son. Like Prisius, Sperantus spends a large portion of the play trying to keep track of his servant's activities, and he too is duped by Halfpenny and the other servants (Dromio, Riscio, and Lucio) into giving his blessing for the marriage of Candius and Livia, believing them to be Accius and Silena. When the ruse is discovered he is angry, but he is eventually mollified and gives his blessing to the match.
STELLIO
A wealthy husbandman, Stellio is supposed father of Silena and actual father of Serena. Stellio wishes to wed his dim-witted daughter Silena to Memphio's son Accius (qq.v.), thus ridding himself of a burden and cozening Memphio out of some property at the same time. Stellio enlists the aid of his witty servant Riscio (q.v.) to help him negotiate the marriage without anyone discovering Silena's foolishness. Riscio and the other servants (Dromio, Lucio, and Halfpenny) have other plans and arrange for Silena and Accius to meet face to face, revealing their mutual dim-wittedness. Tricked by the servants, Stellio and Memphio agree to have their children marry anyway. When this plan is prevented in the final scene by Vicinia's disclosure of the baby-switching plot, Stellio is overjoyed to discover that Serena is his real daughter, and happily consents to her marriage to Memphio's actual son Męstius. Stellio also offers to maintain the foolish Accius in his household.
SYNIS
Along with Nasutus and Bedunenus (qq.v.), Synis is one of the three rustic fiddlers who attempt to play a song in honor of the bride (Livia). Their bumbling attempts to salute the clandestine marriage are met with hostility at the various houses they visit. They unwittingly help to rouse the parental suspicions of the fathers in the play, and this in turn contributes to the unraveling of the plot of the witty servants (Dromio, Riscio, Lucio, and Halfpenny).
VICINIA
Vicinia is the supposed mother of Męstius and Serena (qq.v.), but the actual mother of Accius and Silena (qq.v.), the supposed children of Memphio and Stellio (qq.v.) respectively. Eighteen years previously, Vicinia had been the nurse to both Memphio's and Stellio's households, and had switched their children for hers shortly after birth. Vicinia does not appear until act five where, having heard rumors of the impending marriage between Accius and Silena that would result in an incestuous union, she consults Mother Bombie (q.v.) about whether she should make her secret public. Mother Bombie's cryptic prophecy encourages her to come forward, and in the final scene she prevents the marriage of the dim-witted couple, Accius and Silena, and restores Męstius and Serena to their proper birthright, which allows them to marry.
WIFE (to Memphio)
The only spouse of the four fathers mentioned, Memphio's (q.v.) wife does not appear in the play, but she is described on several occasions as a shrewish woman who is somewhat coddling of her foolish son Accius (q.v.). Her scolding nature is partly what motivates Memphio's secrecy concerning his plan to marry Accius to Stellio's daughter Silena (qq.v.), and Memphio has his servant Dromio arrange for her to vacation in the country while the marriage negotiations take place.