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)
Morion.
Words
380
Characters
2018
Typicality
0.51 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A05801
BritDrama no.
1630
Cluster
Cluster 0 — Clowns, beggars & street sellers
Important excerpts
Passages from this character's speech that contain the most distinguishing words for Cluster 0 (shillings, tom, guts, mutton, wares, dan…). Matches are highlighted.
They smell of nothing in the world but Rozin and Cobblers wax; such a many lights in their heals, & lungs in their hands, above all cry, i'faith. By my troth, my stomach rumbleth at the we ry conceit of this Jamall love, even from the sole of my head, to the crown of the foot. Surely, I will have more acquaintance of that Gentlewoman;
ry conceit of this Jamall love, even from the sole of my head, to the crown of the foot. Surely, I will have more acquaintance of that Gentlewoman; me thinks she danceth Like a Hobbyhorse. Come, Ratsbane: O the intolerable pain that I suffer for the love of the Fairy Queen! my heals are all kybde in the very heat of my affection,
help me quickly; Come, Ratsbane, uncase, my love is come. Great Queen, thou sovereign of Pheanders heart, Vouchsafe a word unto thy Maiden Knight, That bows his guts unto thy mighty face. Help, Ratsbane, help, help. O father, father, ffoot, I sweat, as if I had been buried in a Tun of hight grains. My Father knows all. Indeed,
Full speech
O my Lord, my father is coming to your Grace, with such a many of Damsons and she Shittle cocks: They smell of nothing in the world but Rozin and Cobblers wax; such a many lights in their heals, & lungs in their hands, above all cry, i'faith. By my troth, my stomach rumbleth at the we ry conceit of this Jamall love, even from the sole of my head, to the crown of the foot. Surely, I will have more acquaintance of that Gentlewoman; me thinks she danceth Like a Hobbyhorse. Come, Ratsbane: O the intolerable pain that I suffer for the love of the Fairy Queen! my heals are all kybde in the very heat of my affection, that runs down into my legs: me thinks I could eat up a whole Brokers shop at a meal, to be eased of this love. I assure thee, thou fayest true, 'tis but gross meat. But Ratsbane, thou toldst me of a rare fellow, that can tell misfortunes, and can conjure: prithee bring me to him. I'll give him somewhat, to help me to speak with the Fairy Queen. Whose face Like to a Butchers doublet looks, Varnished with tallow of some beauteous Ox; Or Like the aprons of some Pie-corner Cooks, Whose breath smells sweeter then a hunted Fox: Whose eyes, Like two great footballs made of leather, Were made to heat the gods in frosty weather. Sir, an't shall please you, I come to know some of that excellent skill, the world hath blisterde mine ears with. O help me quickly; Come, Ratsbane, uncase, my love is come. Great Queen, thou sovereign of Pheanders heart, Vouchsafe a word unto thy Maiden Knight, That bows his guts unto thy mighty face. Help, Ratsbane, help, help. O father, father, ffoot, I sweat, as if I had been buried in a Tun of hight grains. My Father knows all. Indeed, father, the naked truth is, that the Fairy Queen robbed me of all my clothes: you might have seen me as poor as and Open-arse. But I can tell you news; the King is poisoned; Lord Codigune crowned; The Lady Guiniuer, & the young Gentlewoman imprisoned. Why, I pray you, father, when did you hear a Gentleman of Wales tell lies?
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…