in The Royal King and the Loyal Subject — Heywood, Thomas
Metadata
Play
The Royal King and the Loyal Subject
Author
Heywood, Thomas
Year (catalogued)
1637
First performance
1602
Decade
1630s
Genre
Romance
Play type
Adult Professional
Company
Unknown
Speech prefix(es)
Serv. | Ser.
Words
469
Characters
2481
Typicality
0.31 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A03248
BritDrama no.
1504
Cluster
Cluster 3 — Citizens, tradesfolk & neighbors
Important excerpts
No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).
Full speech
My Lord, have you pluck'e the shoes off from your own horse, to set them on another's a thousand to one but you will spoil your own Gelding quite. Your horse is as good as his I am sure, and I think you love him as well. Put your shoes on another horses feet, and let your own go barefoot? a jest indeed. He is my Lord. One from the King Attends your honour, and his urgency Craves quick dispatch. My Lord? The noblest welcome that the house could yield He hath had my Lord, nothing was held too deer: He much extols your bounty. I shall my Lord. Health to your Highness. In this employment I will strive to do the office of a subject, and of servant too. I shall my Lord. Health to your Majesty. From my Master, The pOOrest subject that your land contains, Rich only in his truth and loyalty. Yes my Liege, He hath sent his daughters, please you rest satisfied, And patiently peruse what he hath sent. You shall my Lord. Your Queen and wise crowned with a wreathe of gold Of his own charge, with that this double dower Doubled again, and guarded with this train Of Gentlewomen according to her state, My Lord presents you: this his younger daughter, He hath bestowed a handmaid to your Queen, A place that may become her, were she child Unto your greatest Peer; had he had more, More had he sent; these worthless as they be, He humbly craves you would receive by me. His Highness knows not all, One special gift he hath reserved in store, May happily make your Grace contend no more. On my knee One boon I have to beg. My noble Master stays Not far from Court, and durst he be so ambitious As but to appear before you, and present you With a rich gift exceeding all have passed, The only perfect token of his zeal, He would himself perpetually hold vanquished In all degrees of love and courtesy. The Queen your daughter with your princely Bride, And other Ladies, make way towards your chamber. From my sad Master, Your Martial once, now your dejected vassal, And thus he bid me say: If the King dame To grace my daughter with the style of Queen, To give you then this Casket which contains A double dower; half of this mighty sum He out of his revenues had afforded, Had she been match but to a Barons bed; But since your Highness deigns her for your Bride, And his Alliance scorns not to disdain, He says a double dower is endue to you. Earl Chester, with the Queen your princely daughter Are without train alighted at the gate, And by this entered. My Lord shall I admit them?
Plot summary
Plot — The Royal King and the Loyal Subject
The King of England returns home from a crusade, where his life was saved in battle by the Marshal. He rewards the Marshal with eminence, which makes the other lords jealous. At a hunt, the King’s horse loses a shoe; the Marshal gives him the shoes off his own horse. He also magnanimously allows the Prince to beat him in a tournament. The envious lords try to persuade the King that the Marshal’s humility is a cloak for pride and ambition, and that he wishes to be greater than the King himself in his magnanimity. The King resolves to test the Marshal, and treats him badly at a public feast: he is dismissed from office and his job is handed over to his greatest enemy, Chester; then he is told to leave the court altogether. He retires to the country, but the King orders him to send his favourite daughter to court for some sexual purpose. The Marshal sends his elder daughter, Isabella, subject to the condition that the King should return her if he dislikes her; and gives her instructions that she should conceal any pregnancy and constantly tell the King that her sister is better looking. The King makes Isabella his Queen, and, unbidden, the Marshal sends a generous dowry. She becomes pregnant, but does as her father instructs; she also tells her husband of her sister Katherine’s superior beauty. Affronted, the King sends her home along with the dowry and orders the Marshal to send Katherine. The Marshal claims that Katherine is ill and unable to travel, but promises to send her when she is better. He does more than that: he sends back both daughters with the dowry doubled, continuing to outdo the King in magnanimity. The Prince is allowed to marry Katherine. The Marshal asks leave to return to court with a rich gift for the King, which turns out to be his new-born son by Isabella. The King tries to trump even this by giving the Marshal a new wife, the Princess. At the wedding, however, the Marshal seems discontented: he is worried that his fortunes depend on the pleasure of his new wife. He refuses a dowry, saying that the ===== PAGE 305 ===== 1606 Princess is treasure enough in herself. The envious Chester encourages the King to take offence, and the Marshal is summoned from his bed, tried, and sentenced to death. He accepts his fate with dignity, but his and the King’s children all plead for his life. The King declares that the Marshal’s loyalty has been thoroughly tested and proven. He is restored to office, and Chester disgraced. In the sub-plot, Captain…