Early Modern Drama · Character Archetypes

HAMOND

in The Bloody Brother (Rollo, Duke of Normandy) — Fletcher, John; Massinger, Philip; Field, Nathan (?)

Metadata

PlayThe Bloody Brother (Rollo, Duke of Normandy)
AuthorFletcher, John; Massinger, Philip; Field, Nathan (?)
Year (catalogued)1639
First performance1617
Decade1630s
GenreTragedy
Play typeAdult Professional
CompanyKing's Men
Speech prefix(es)Ham. | Ha. | H • m.
Words387
Characters1962
Typicality0.37 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP idA00958
BritDrama no.1841
ClusterCluster 21 — Old fathers & plain counsel

Important excerpts

No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).

Full speech

Force him hence. I'll not fail sir. 'Tis done my Lord. Lady hold off. Alas, 'tis for my brorher. I beseech your highness. For giving Gisbert burial; who was sometime his master, I thank you, sir. True Sir. I shall. With my best care. My stay to do my duty, may be wrongs Your Lordship's privacy. I attend your pleasure. What is contained In letters that I brought, that thus transports him? It is confirmed. I never have done. I hope it is not questioned. What means your Lordship? I'll be a traitor first, before I serve it thus. It is no time to talk now, honoured Sir, Be pleased to hear thy servant, I am wronged, And cannot, being now to serve the Duke, Stay to express the manner how; but if I do not suddenly give you strong proofs, Your life is dearer to me than my own, May I live base, and die so: Sir your pardon. Exit Hamond. Keep the doors safe, and upon pain of death Let no man enter till I give the word. Here he is in all his pleasure; I have my wish My brother, and the base malicious Office Thou madest me do to Aubrey, pray. Pray; pray if thou canst pray, I shall kill thy soul else, Pray suddenly. It is a Justice; stay Lady; For I perceive your end; a woman's hand Must not rob me of vengeance. It's mine, stay, and share with me; by the gods, Rollo, There is no way to save thy life. No, it is so monstrous, no repentance cures it. Poor Guard sir. Such fear sir as you gave your honoured mother, When your most virtuous brother, shield Like, held her; Such I'll give you, put her away. Murderous villain, wilt thou draw seas of blood upon thee. Shake him off bravely. O, am I with you Sir? now keep you from him, What would S he God a knife. Do you smile Sir? Do's it so tickle you? have at you once more. Now for your farewell, Are you so warry? take you that. No, I feel not any thing. Now let them in there. I, and I'll answer it. Die. See sir, here's Gisberts head. And axe fir. Your School master I'll walk Sir, in the Cloister. Exit.

Plot summary

Plot — The Bloody Brother (Rollo, Duke of Normandy)
The old Duke of Normandy has left his dukedom to be shared by his two sons, Rollo and Otto, but the brothers are mutually antagonistic. Civil war is averted by the intervention of their mother Sophia, and they agree to celebrate the new accord at a banquet. Latorch persuades Rollo to renege on the truce, but proposes to dispose of Otto by craft rather than by force, and suborns the kitchen staff preparing the banquet to poison Otto's food. At the feast, however, Otto is off his food and will not eat. Rollo pretends to take offence, claiming that Otto's reluctance is tantamount to accusing him of a poisoning attempt, and leaves the banquet. He later murders Otto in their mother's presence, and sends Latorcb to convince the citizens that he was acting in self-defence. Gisbert and Baldwin, two senior courtiers, are beheaded for refusing to abet his usurpation; a third, Aubrey, recognizes that, the murder notwithstanding, Rollo is the only legitimate heir left. Rollo makes it known that the poisoning plot was instigated by Otto, and has the caterers hanged. Rollo proves to be a tyrant who preys not only on his nobles but also his meaner subjects. Among the latter is Allan , Gisbert's servant, who is condemned to death for burying his executed master; his brother Hamond, the Duke 's Captain of the Guard, cannot persuade Rollo to spare him. Latorch asks permission to have Rollo's horoscope cast; his objective is to get the astrologers to foretell danger to the Duke's life from a courtier identifiable as Aubrey. Rollo does not wait for the results: Aubrey is delegated to carry out a task detailed in a letter, which turns out to be the supervision ofhis own execution; but Hamond will not co-operate. and Aubrey 's head remains on his shoulders. Meanwhile Rollo goes to dinner with Baldwin 's daughter Edith , ,,.ilom he covets, not knowing that she intends to murder him. Her plans are stymied when he seems to repent his misdeeds and promises reformation. Hamond, ordered to attend with the guard, does not share her scruples : he kills Rollo in revenge for the treatment of Allan _and Aubrey, and then himself. Aubrey succeeds to the dukedom, and has Latorch hanged. Edith is sent to a nunnery after she refuses to condemn Rollo 's murder.