in The Seven Champions of Christendom — Kirke, John
Metadata
Play
The Seven Champions of Christendom
Author
Kirke, John
Year (catalogued)
1638
First performance
1635
Decade
1630s
Genre
Romance
Play type
Adult Professional
Company
Red Bull Company (second)
Theater
Red Bull;Phoenix/Cockpit;Indoor Professional;Outdoor Professional
Speech prefix(es)
Ancet. | Ance.
Words
325
Characters
1895
Typicality
0.36 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A04874
BritDrama no.
2432
Cluster
Cluster 6 — Battlefield messengers & soldiers
Important excerpts
No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).
Full speech
They are my Lord; and unto him, by whose Unequaled power the monstrous Dragon falls, There is allotted the glorious shield, Whose Verdge is studded round with Pearl, Diamonds, Rubies, and Saphires, Carbuncles, And other stones fetched from the Orient: That Shield which from the Indian Provinces Was sent as tribute to abate your wrath, And stay your army from invasion. And to his valour that shall quell the pride Of that fierce Lion foraging these fields, That does devour the harmless passengers, Great Mars his Armour, and his Ebon Lance, A hight Barbarian Steed, whose fiery pace Darts terror through the trembling enemies, With such majestic footing strikes the earth, As if he did disdain the touch of it; This as a donative is freely given To him whose valour shall confound that beast. The sprightly youths, Niger, Pallemon, & Antigonus; Niger well mounted on a sable horse, His armour of the same resemblance, Discovered in him actions stern, and high, Passed through the City with Magesticke pace: His outward form prefigured to the eye, Future presages of bold victory. Next Pallemon gave our eyes view Of Knightly prowess, his armour russet, Round beset with flames; though artificial, Seemed to consume the youthful wearer, True emblem of unpitied light brain pride; A fiery Sorrel boar the noble youth, Who chewed the ringled bit, as in disdain, To be overmastered by so weak a Rain: And as the Sun forsook his Mistress lap, He left the City. Last of all appeared Antigonus, in a sure armour clad; A milk white Courser bore him through the streets: His Plume agreed with it, and at all points White, Like the cause he went for: When he set forth, me thought he looked Like Justice Dropped from heaven, to take revenge on wrong And cruelty, the peoples prayers Went with him, and their eyes Dropped tears, o're-masterd with their ecstasies. I shall my Lord. They are both unarmed.
Plot summary
Plot — The Seven Champions of Christendom
Years ago, the witch Calib stole a child, George, intending to bathe in his blood; but she fell in love with the baby and brought him up with her own son, Suckabus. She has always refused to let him know the identity of his real parents, but after much importunity she relents and tells George that he was a bastard whom she saved from infanticide. She asks her diabolic lover Tarpax how long she has to live; the demon prophesies that she will die only when love causes her to lose control of her magical powers. She shows George six Christian champions whom she keeps in her cave, and grants him their ransom. When George feels pity for them but pretends severity, she gives him her magic wand. The ghosts of his parents visit him, and he learns that Calib poisoned them, and that he is really of noble birth. He uses the magic wand to kill Calib, but agrees to take on Suckabus as a servant; Tarpax encourages Suckabus to spread his seed widely around the earth by taking every opportunity for procreation. George joins the six champions, bringing them up to the number prophesied by a Sibyl, seven. They go their separate ways into pagan lands. Trebizond is troubled by monsters: a dragon and a lion terrorize the land and kill knights who attempt to dispose of them. The Emperor proclaims a reward for anyone who will deal with the menace. The champions Andrew and Anthony arrive in Trebizond, and the Princess and Carintha fall in love with them; but their welcome evaporates when the Emperor discovers their religion. An oracle has decreed that any Christians who set foot in Trebizond must convert to paganism or be executed. The Emperor allows them to choose their own executioners; they choose the ladies, who refuse to comply; so they offer to relieve the ladies of the responsibility and execute one another. The Emperor allows them to be rearmed so that they can do so, and this enables them to fight their way to freedom. The champion David accidentally causes the death of Prince Arbasto in a joust. David has helped the King of Tartary, Arbasto’s father, in his war with the Persians, and cannot honourably be executed, so the King offers him a pardon, half the kingdom, and the succession if he will bring back the head of his enemy, Ormandine. The expectation is that Ormandine will kill him. Ormandine was once a duke, but was deposed by the Kings of Tartary and Arabia, and took up magic to avenge himself. A prophecy assures him of his security until the arrival of a British…