The Duke of Alençon is impressed by the English army's courage. He advises Charles to treat for terms with the English. Historically, he was John, the second Duke of Alençon.
ARMAGNAC
A "ghost character." The Earl of Armagnac tries to achieve peace between France and England by offering his daughter as King Henry's bride, accompanied by a substantial dowry. Although Henry accepts the offer, he subsequently decides to marry Margaret of Anjou instead.
BASSETT
Bassett, in the Duke of Somerset's service and a Lancastrian supporter, quarrels with Vernon, a Yorkist.
BASTARD of ORLEANS
Jean, Count Dunois, illegitimate son of the Duke of Orleans and thus King Charles's first cousin, is referred to as the Bastard of Orleans. He is the first to introduce Joan on stage, presenting her as a heaven-sent prophetess.
BEAUFORT
Family name of Henry (Bishop, later Cardinal, of Winchester), Thomas (Duke of Exeter), and John (Earl, later Duke, of Somerset).
BEDFORD
John, Duke of Bedford, uncle of King Henry VI and Regent of France, ransoms Talbot by relinquishing Lord Ponton de Santrailles to the French. Even on his deathbed, Bedford refuses to desert the battlefield, hoping to revive the English forces battling to keep Rouen out of French hands. He welcomes death only after he has seen the French flee Rouen.
BURGUNDY
Burgundy supports the English side while it seems to be the strongest, but Joan persuades him to defect to the French side. News of his defection is transmitted to King Henry in a letter carried, appropriately, by the cowardly Sir John Falstaff.
CAPTAIN
The captain catches Falstaff deserting the battle at Rouen.
CHARLES [VII]
Charles is dauphin and then king of France. 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.
COUNTESS of AUVERGNE
The Countess of Auvergne 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.
ENGLISH SOLDIER
At the conclusion of II.i when Orleans is readily taken, the soldier gloats that he has "loaden me with many spoils" with no other weapon that crying the name "Talbot" at the French.
FALSTAFF, SIR JOHN
Sir John Falstaff is blamed for Talbot's capture early in the play. According to a messenger, Talbot would have vanquished the French but for Falstaff's cowardliness. Later, Falstaff is caught deserting Talbot's forces at Rouen. At Henry's coronation, Talbot tears Falstaff's garter from him because Falstaff does not merit the knighthood that the garter symbolizes. After listening to Talbot's report, Henry retracts the knighthood and banishes Falstaff. [Note: this is not the same Falstaff who appears in Henry IV.]
FIENDS
Joan de la Pucelle calls upon spirits to assist her. At Anjou they enter in thunder but do not speak. When she asks for their aid, reminding them that she has nursed them on her own blood, they hang their heads. When she offers her body if they will help, they shake their heads. When she offers her body, soul, and all in return for victory, they forsake her.
FRENCH GENERAL
He appears aloft with the French forces in Bordeaux. He refers to Talbot as an "ominous and fearful owl of death." He defies Talbot, placing his reliance upon his fortifications and the advancing assistance of the Dauphin.
FRENCH SERGEANT
In II.i he posts the Sentinels at Orleans and gives them instructions to be vigilent.
GOVERNOR of PARIS
A mute character. He is given an entrance in IV.i, which is set in a hall of state in Paris.
HENRY VI
Henry VI, King of England, accedes to the throne in the first scene of the play, which opens with the funeral procession of his father, Henry V, 'too famous to live long' (1.1.6). Henry makes peace between the quarreling Winchester and Gloucester factions, and gives Richard Plantagenet the title of Duke of York that should have passed to him through his father. Henry warns Somerset and Richard Plantagenet that their quarrel risks dividing the English when they should be united against the French. He agrees to marry the Earl of Armagnac's daughter in an attempt to secure a lasting peace with the French, but he subsequently withdraws his promise in preference for a match with Margaret of Anjou. In the subsequent Henry VI plays, Margaret and her lover Suffolk will be among Henry's many hidden enemies.
HENRY BEAUFORT
Henry Beaufort, Bishop and later Cardinal of Winchester is the great-uncle of King Henry VI. His faction and Gloucester's are in conflict over who will control the realm now headed by the boy king Henry VI. At Henry's command, he shakes hands with Gloucester, although it is uncertain whether this gesture will be sufficient to achieve a lasting peace. Along with York, Winchester brokers a peace treaty between the French king Charles and Henry.
HUMPHREY
Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, uncle of Henry VI, becomes Lord Protector when Henry accedes to the throne in the first scene of the play. Gloucester's faction and the Cardinal of Winchester's are in conflict about who will control the realm now headed by the boy king Henry VI. At Henry's command, Gloucester orders his supporters to cease their stone-throwing skirmish with Winchester's faction, and he shakes hands with Winchester. Gloucester tries to make peace between the Yorkist and Lancastrian factions, to no avail.
JAILERS of MORTIMER
They watch Mortimer, who had been heir presumptive to the throne under Richard II. The First Jailer ushers in Mortimer's nephew, Richard Plantagenet. At the conclusion of II.v the Jailers remove the body of Mortimer.
JOAN LA PUCELLE
Also called Joan of Arc. She is a shepherd's daughter who claims that God has chosen her to lead the French forces to victory against their English foes. She is heralded by the French as a 'holy maid' but condemned by the English as a witch and a strumpet. She proves her mettle by defeating King Charles in single combat and then leads an ill-fated attempt to recapture Rouen, redeeming this failure by persuading Burgundy to support France against England. At first the French meet with success by following her guidance, but as the French fortunes wane they begin to lose faith in her ostensible holiness. She is deserted by the fiendish spirits which have been helping her, and captured by Richard of York. When Joan's father visits the English camp to comfort her, she rejects him, claiming to be descended from kings. In the hope of preserving her life, she also claims she is pregnant with a child that may belong to Alençon or Reignier. Nevertheless, she is burnt at the stake by the English as an enemy and a witch.
JOAN'S FATHER
Joan la Pucelle's father, a shepherd, visits the English camp to comfort his captured daughter, but she rebuffs him and claims to be of nobler birth.
JOHN TALBOT
John Talbot, Lord Lisle, son of Lord Talbot, shows that he takes after his valiant father when he repeatedly refuses to desert Talbot's troops even though their defeat seems inevitable. Joan la Pucelle challenges him in battle, but he refuses to fight with a woman and is slain immediately thereafter by French soldiers. See also "TALBOT, LORD."
LAWYER
The lawyer is a Yorkist supporter. Shakespeare imagines a fictitious debate in which the Yorkist and Lancastrian factions choose the symbols of their quarrel, the white and the red roses. Suffolk sides with Somerset and the Lancastrians, plucking a red rose from a nearby bush, while Warwick and Vernon choose a white rose to show their support for Richard Plantagenet's Yorkist side.
LUCY, SIR WILLIAM
Sir William Lucy acts as Talbot's messenger, visiting Richard Plantagenet and Somerset and urging them to help Talbot before he is conquered by the French. Shakespeare juxtaposes Lucy's encounters with the two leaders to show how their rivalry leads to Talbot's defeat. After the battle, Lucy visits King Charles seeking Talbot, only to learn that he has been killed.
MARGARET
Margaret of Anjou, daughter of Reignier, is captured by Suffolk, who gives her to King Henry for a wife. In the later Henry VI plays, Margaret is a powerful figure, but in 1 Henry VI Shakespeare only suggests the character that he will develop more fully in the other plays.
MASTER GUNNER of ORLEANS
He has laid a trap for the English. Having learned that the English have been using a nearby tower to spy down into the city, he has placed a charge on the tower to destroy it the next time he sees the English spies there. He has been watching for three days and must leave his son in charge of watching.
MASTER GUNNER of ORLEANS'S SON
A young boy. He is left in charge of watching the tower that the English spies are using and manages to kill both Gargrave and Salisbury with a single shot.
MAYOR of LONDON
The mayor of London begs King Henry to intervene in the stone-throwing skirmish between Gloucester's and Winchester's factions.
MESSENGER, FIRST, SECOND, and THIRD
Three messengers arrive during the opening of the play.
The first messenger brings 'sad tidings' that France has regained many of its towns and cities, including Paris, Rheims, and Orleans.
The Second Messenger announces that Charles, erstwhile Dauphin, has been crowned king of France.
The third messenger reports a 'dismal fight' between Talbot and the French forces, which had been going well for the English until Falstaff 'play'd the coward'; Talbot has been taken captive.
A fourth messenger, a servant to the Countess of Auvergne, attempts to delay Talbot while the Porter locks the doors in a vain attempt to imprison the English hero.
MORTIMER, EDMUND
Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March, is uncle of Richard Plantagenet, an advocate of his nephew's claim to the throne and thus a Yorkist. He explains the succession to his nephew, explaining that the Mortimers have been treated unjustly by the Lancastrians. He dies during II.v and his body is carried away. [Note: Shakespeare is confused about Mortimer, whom he seems to have mistaken for Lionel Mortimer, son to one of Hotspur's allies who was placed in the Tower and died at about the time of the play. Edmund Mortimer had become a friend and loyal supporter of Henry V and fought bravely with him in France. He became one of the Regents of Henry VI as well as Lieutenant of Ireland and died there in 1424 of plague.]
PAPAL LEGATE
Late in the play, Winchester gives him money for the Pope in recompense for investing him with symbols of high rank.
PORTER
Servant to the Countess of Auvergne. At his mistress's orders, he locks the doors behind Talbot in a vain attempt to imprison him.
REIGNIER
Reignier is Duke of Anjou and titular King of Naples. His daughter Margaret is captured by Suffolk and becomes King Henry's wife. He advises King Charles to accept the peace Henry offers, even though this means Charles will give up control of France to become viceroy of a nation under English control.
RICHARD BEAUFORT
Richard Beaufort, the Duke of Somerset, is a Lancastrian supporter. Shakespeare imagines a fictitious debate in which the Yorkist and Lancastrian factions choose the symbols of their quarrel, the white and the red roses. Suffolk sides with Somerset and the Lancastrians, plucking a red rose from a nearby bush, while Warwick and Vernon choose a white rose to show their support for Richard Plantagenet's Yorkist side. Henry warns Somerset and Richard Plantagenet that their quarrel risks dividing the English when they should be united against the French.
RICHARD PLANTAGENET
Richard Plantagenet is eventually dubbed Duke of York, giving the name Yorkist to the faction that supports him as the rightful heir to the English throne. Shakespeare imagines a fictitious debate at the Inns of Court in which the Yorkist and Lancastrian factions choose the symbols of their quarrel, the white and the red roses. Suffolk sides with Somerset and the Lancastrians, plucking a red rose from a nearby bush, while Warwick and Vernon choose a white rose to show their support for Richard Plantagenet's Yorkist side. King Henry warns Somerset and Richard Plantagenet that their quarrel risks dividing the English when they should be united against the French. Even though Richard does not approve of Henry's decision to sign a peace treaty with the French, seeing this as a betrayal of those who have sacrificed their lives in battle, he helps Winchester to broker a peace treaty between King Charles and Henry.
SALISBURY
The Earl of Salisbury is killed by the French early in the play, but Talbot vows to avenge him and makes good on this promise at Orleans.
SCOUT
At Anjou, the French Scout brings news to the Dauphin that the English army, which had been split in two, has combined and is about to attack.
SIR THOMAS GARGRAVE
An English officer. He serves with Talbot and Salisbury at the siege of Orleans. The young son of the Master Gunner of Orleans manages to kill both him and Salisbury with a single shot.
SIR WILLIAM GLANSDALE
An English officer at the siege of Orleans. He witnesses the death of both Salisbury and Gargrave.
TALBOT, LORD
Lord Talbot is called the 'scourge of France' and other similar epithets for his bravery in England's service. Henry VI makes him Earl of Shrewsbury as a reward for his triumphs against the French. At Henry's coronation, Talbot tears Falstaff's garter from him because Falstaff does not merit the knighthood that the garter symbolizes. After listening to Talbot's report, Henry retracts Falstaff's knighthood and banishes him.
THOMAS BEAUFORT
Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter, is the great-uncle of King Henry VI. After Henry tries to make peace between Richard Plantagenet and the Duke of Somerset, Exeter in soliloquy predicts that the consequences of the Yorkist versus Lancastrian dissent bodes ill for England. Exeter also sees Henry's youth as a problem for the nation.
TWO SENTINELS
Two French Sentinels at Orleans in II.i are instructed by their Sergeant to be vigilent. They raise the alarm when they see the English approach.
VERNON
Vernon is in Richard Plantagenet's service and a supporter of the Yorkist faction which favors Richard's claim to the throne. Shakespeare imagines a fictitious debate in which the Yorkist and Lancastrian factions choose the symbols of their quarrel, the white and the red roses. Suffolk sides with Somerset and the Lancastrians, plucking a red rose from a nearby bush, while Warwick and Vernon choose a white rose to show their support for Richard Plantagenet's Yorkist side. Later, Vernon quarrels with Bassett, Somerset's servant, who is a Lancastian supporter.
WARDERS of the TOWER
Two Warders of the Tower of London refuse to allow Gloucester entrance at I.iii when the Lord Protector comes to inspect it.
WARWICK
The Earl of Warwick is a Yorkist, supporting Richard Plantagenet's claim to the throne. Shakespeare imagines a fictitious debate in which the Yorkist and Lancastrian factions choose the symbols of their quarrel, the white and the red roses. Suffolk sides with Somerset and the Lancastrians, plucking a red rose from a nearby bush, while Warwick and Vernon choose a white rose to show their support for Richard Plantagenet's Yorkist side. Warwick tries to make peace between Gloucester and Winchester, who are vying for control over the youthful king and his nation.
WILLIAM DE LA POLE
William de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, is a Lancastrian supporter. Shakespeare imagines a fictitious debate in which the Yorkist and Lancastrian factions choose the symbols of their quarrel, the white and the red roses. Suffolk sides with Somerset and the Lancastrians, plucking a red rose from a nearby bush, while Warwick and Vernon choose a white rose to show their support for Richard Plantagenet's Yorkist side. Suffolk captures Margaret of Anjou and offers her to Henry as a bride, a marriage that will have disastrous consequences in 2Henry VI. In the final lines of the play, Suffolk envisions a future in which he will control Margaret, who in turn will rule Henry. In the subsequent Henry VI plays, Suffolk and Margaret's romance will blossom, with disastrous consequences for England.