in The Knight of the Burning Pestle — Beaumont, Francis
Metadata
Play
The Knight of the Burning Pestle
Author
Beaumont, Francis
Year (catalogued)
1613
First performance
1607
Decade
1610s
Genre
Comedy
Play type
Boys Professional; Adult Professional
Company
Children of the Queen's Revels
Speech prefix(es)
George. | Dwarfe. | Dwar. | Dwarf.
Words
280
Characters
1571
Typicality
0.19 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A06252
BritDrama no.
1562
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
Right Courteous and Valiant Knight of the burning Pestle, here is a distressed Damsel, to have a half pennyworth of pepper. Mirror of Knighthood, this is, as I take it, the perilous Uvaltham down, In whose bottom stands the enchanted Valley. I would we had a mess of Pottage, and a pot of drink, Squire, and were going to bed. Take courage valiant Knight, Damsel, & Squire I have discovered, not a stones cast off, And ancient Castle held by the old Knight Of the most holy order of the Bell, Who gives to all Knights errant entertain: There plenty is of food, and all prepared, By the white hands of his own Lady deer. He hath three Squires that welcome all his Guests. The first high Chamberlino, who will see Our beds prepared, and bring us snowy sheets, Where never footman stretched his buttered Hams. The second hight Tastero, who will see Our pots full filled and no froth therein. The third a gentle Squire Ostlero hight, Who will our Palfreys slick with wisps of straw, And in the Manger put them Oats enough, And never grease their teeth with candle snuff. Right courteous and valiant Knight of the burning Pestle, This is the Squire Tapstero. Right courteous Knight, Your Squire does come and with him comes the Lady, For and the Squire of Damsels as I take it. Puissant Knight of the burning Pestle hight, See here another wretch, whom this foul beast Hath scorched and scored in this inhuman wise. Here be these pined wretches, manful Knight, That for these six weeks have not seen a wight. Heaven bless the Knight That thus relieves poor errant Gentlewomen.
Plot summary
Plot — The Knight of the Burning Pestle
At the theatre, a citizen and his wife object to the satirical subject matter of the play, The London Merchant: they insist on a more romantic offering starring their apprentice, Rafe, as a heroic grocer. The boy actors do their best to provide this within the play they have rehearsed. In the play, Luce prefers her father Venturewell’s apprentice Jasper to his chosen son-in-law, Humphrey; so Venturewell discharges Jasper, and he goes home to a family impoverished by the irresponsible merriment of his father, Old Merrythought. His mother, who 1607 favours his younger brother Michael, insists that he be paid his inheritance and sent out into the world. Several of the characters go to Waltham Forest. Luce elopes with Humphrey, intending to meet Jasper there. Rafe the grocer, a voluminous reader of chivalric romance, becomes the Knight of the Burning Pestle and leaves in search of heroic deeds. He scares Mistress Merrythought, who leaves behind her jewels. These are found and taken away by Jasper, who then meets the eloping couple, beats Humphrey, and takes Luce. In the audience, the citizen and his wife take Jasper to be the villain and Humphrey the hero; they demand that Rafe return to fight Jasper, but Jasper beats him. Notified by Humphrey, Venturewell confronts Jasper’s father, but is offended by his refusal to take the matter seriously. Jasper tests Luce’s love by threatening her with violence. She accepts her fate, but Humphrey and her father seize her before he can admit he was only pretending. Rafe stays at the Bell inn, but cannot understand that he must pay for its hospitality. (The citizen settles the bill for him.) The host sends him to fight the giant Barbaroso, better known as Nick the barber, who has imprisoned many knights and ladies — actually clients and venereal disease patients. Rafe defeats the ‘giant’ and releases the ‘knights’. The citizens then have a scene inserted in which he meets a foreign king’s daughter, but refuses her offer oflove. Later interpolated scenes show Rafe as the city’s May Lord, and mustering troops at Mile End. Venturewell incarcerates Luce in her room, but Jasper gains access by pretending to be dead: Venturewell accedes to a request that his body should be brought to Luce, and then has the coffin sent on to Old Merrythought, unaware that Luce has taken Jasper’s place inside. Left behind in Luce’s room, Jasper appears to Venturewell in ghostly guise and instructs him to repent, compensate Old Merrythought for his…