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)
Mac. | Maſ.
Words
419
Characters
2225
Typicality
0.30 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A04874
BritDrama no.
2432
Cluster
Cluster 4 — Constant hearts & virtuous ladies
Important excerpts
No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).
Full speech
I come in loving quest of you, brave Christian Knights, Who since your absence from our mournful Court, In this adventure took in our behalfs, Fear made us doubt your safety and your lives: Wherefore resolved, in quittance of your lose, More than the wrongs I did sustain before, Made us thus change our mournful black for steel, And armed with dread less danger of our lives, Came thus resolved, to fight, and die for you. I joy to see such worth abound in man, May honours spring send Garlands for thy brow, And victory still dwell on thy triumphant arm: I glory in your conquest. You so enrich me with your love and bounty, My life and kingdom is too poor to thank ye. Were I assured of my daughters lives, I were ascended to my height of joy. Why then they are dead: Sweet peace rest with their souls. I am my friend, but cannot save thy life, Because thou didst betray these gentlemen. And wilt thou bring me to my daughters friend? I do beseech ye spare him; And noble Knights, thus for to let you know, I do give faithful credit to his words; Hear me relate what once my daughters told me; The eldest having privilege of Birth, Came to me first for to relate her dream, And asked me if I could interpret it; I answered, as I had small faith in dreams, So I had less knowledge to expound the meaning. Yet went she on; I dreamed, said she, my sisters and my self Were playing round about your golden fountain, When suddenly we all three were-surpris'd, By a fierce savage and inhumane Monster, And as his flaming Lust did us pursue, We turned to Swans, and in the fountain flew. As she related so did both the rest, And all three had one dream. This does confirm it more: o my Swans, my girls! Come shall we sing our Requiem together? And at the stretching out your silver wings, Your aged father falls and die with you. In that I'll interrupt ye: hold I pray, Let me embrace you all; nay, take sure hold: Though clouds of darkness did my clear shine smother, I am converted to each here a brother. My blessing on my Swans, my new found joys: We all are Christians now. George highly honours aged Macedon. True noble Knights, how am I honoured in you? Renowned Knights, may we desire to know, Which of you are unmarried?
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…