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)
Gloster. | Glost.
Words
257
Characters
1454
Typicality
0.40 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A05801
BritDrama no.
1630
Cluster
Cluster 22 — Ghosts, curses & horror voices
Important excerpts
Passages from this character's speech that contain the most distinguishing words for Cluster 22 (broom, tiff, loathsome, snakes, hercles, dismal…). Matches are highlighted.
Charms adore, I'll load you with a weight Of gold and treasure, till you cry, No more. Invent, great soul of art, some stratagem, Whose fame may draw him to these dismal woods. No danger can outdare his thirsty soul In honourable enterprises: he is a man, Should hell oppose him, of such dauntless metal, That were but fame the end
Full speech
Thou famous Mistress of the unknown depths Of hels infernal secrets, o what reward Shall a dejected, miserable man, Chased from the confines of his native land, By wrong oppression, and insulting pride, Disgrace, contempt, and endless infamy, Give, for redress from thy commanding art? Thou matchless wonder, work but my revenge, And by the triple Hecate, and the powers Your Charms adore, I'll load you with a weight Of gold and treasure, till you cry, No more. Invent, great soul of art, some stratagem, Whose fame may draw him to these dismal woods. No danger can outdare his thirsty soul In honourable enterprises: he is a man, Should hell oppose him, of such dauntless metal, That were but fame the end of his achievement, He would as boldly cope with it, as with things Of common danger. Yes, mighty Artist, were he thrice inspire With more then humane courage, he may as soon Conquer those matchless Giants, that were set To keep the Orchard of Hesperides, Or match the labours of great Hercules. King, keep your own; maugre all opposition, If he come hither to demand your right, And with his rebel troops disturb the peace Of what both gods and men have made your own, Maintain the quarrel with your awful power, Be it right or wrong; behave your self Like Jove, And strike with thunder his base insolence: Discourse not what is done, nor how, nor when. Only Kings wills are Laws for other men. Now, Gloucester, fly and hide thy head with shame.
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…