in The Valiant Welshman (Caradoc the Great) — A., R.
Metadata
Play
The Valiant Welshman (Caradoc the Great)
Author
A., R.
Year (catalogued)
1615
First performance
1612
Decade
1610s
Genre
History
Play type
Adult Professional
Company
Prince Henry's Men
Speech prefix(es)
Cart. | Carta.
Words
229
Characters
1309
Typicality
0.29 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A05801
BritDrama no.
1630
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
It may be, noble husband, the desire Of Principality and Kingly rule, As yet is boundless and vncircumscribde: But if our reasons eye could see our selves, That's nearest to us, and not Like prospectives, Behold afar off, great men were themselves: Or, if Like Philip King of Macedon, Whose boundless mind of sovereign Majesty Was Like a Globe, whose body circular Admits no end, seeing by chance, the length Of the impression, which his body made Upon the sands, and only by a fallen, Wondered, that such a little space contained The body, when the mind was infinite, And in this Moral plainly did foresee The longitude of men mortality. But soft, what Soldier's this? Say, soldier, camest thou from Wales? What news betwixt the Welshmen and the Romans? Welcome, great Prince. Here think your self secure, As in a Sanctuary, from your foes. My husband oftentimes hath worn out time, Discoursing of your worths superlative: And I am proud of such a worthy guessed. Already I have posted to the General, To tell him, Caradoc is in our hands, And bid him make haste: for this, ere the day, A woman's wit shall serve for to betray. And see, he comes. Welcome, thrice-honoured Lord. Warily, Soldiers; there his Chamber is, And he not yet abed. Beset him round. What wars have missed, a woman shall confound. Exit.
Plot summary
Plot — The Valiant Welshman (Caradoc the Great)
The Earl of. Monmouth seeks to usurp old King Octavian’s throne, and has won two significant victories over him. Cadallan and his sons come to support Octavian. Cadallan is killed in the ensuing battle, but his son Caradoc avenges him by killing Monmouth. Re-established on the throne, Octavian rewards Caradoc with marriage to his daughter and heir, Guinevere. This displeases his bastard son, Codigune, who had regarded Guinevere as his only obstacle to the succession. King Guiderius has failed to pay tribute to the Romans, so the Emperor Claudius invades Britain. Guiderius appeals to Octavian, and Caradoc is sent, fresh from his wedding, to offer military aid. In his absence, Codigune conspires with Gloucester and Cornwall: they poison Octavian and imprison Guinevere, and Codigune seizes power. Gloucester writes warning Guiderius not to trust Caradoc, so Guiderius, about to go into battle, orders the Welsh troops to observe from a hilltop and intervene only ifa British defeat seems likely. Caradoc disregards this, joins the battle in disguise, and bests Claudius in hand- to-hand combat; he refuses Claudius’ offer to buy his freedom, but accepts a token of the Emperor’s friendship, a golden lion. Prince Gald is impressed by Caradoc’s single-handed contribution to the British victory, accompanies him back to Wales, and marries his sister Voada. Finding Codigune installed as King of Wales, Caradoc offers to settle matters in single combat. Codigune is beaten, refuses an offer to make him Viceroy of North Wales, and flees to the Romans. Cornwall submits to Caradoc, who is crowned King. Gloucester flees to make more mischief: he persuades a witch to create a ravaging monster which Caradoc will be expected to fight, and which will kill him. The Romans send Caradoc an ultimatum, requiring him to resign the throne to Codigune; at the same time, he is summoned to deal with the monster, a giant serpent. He gives priority to the serpent, and defeats it with the help of a magic herb, then disposes of the witch and forces her son Bluso to swear that in future he will use his magic powers only for good. Gloucester hangs himself. While Caradoc is away, Cornwall hands over the town of Gloucester to the Romans. Gallicus, the Roman legate who brought the ultimatum, falls in love with Voada and abducts her. Bluso enables Gald to visit her bedchamber, magically unseen. A more visible visitor, Gallicus, attempts to rape her, so Gald intervenes in her defence and takes her…