in 1 Sir John Oldcastle — Munday, Anthony; Drayton, Michael; Wilson, Robert; Hathaway, Richard
Metadata
Play
1 Sir John Oldcastle
Author
Munday, Anthony; Drayton, Michael; Wilson, Robert; Hathaway, Richard
Year (catalogued)
1600
First performance
1599
Decade
1600s
Genre
History
Play type
Adult Professional
Company
Admiral's (Nottingham's) Men
Speech prefix(es)
Dol. | Dol | Doll | Doll. | Doll to the Priest
Words
375
Characters
1803
Typicality
0.43 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A08469
BritDrama no.
1211
Cluster
Cluster 1 — Wives, widows & intimate counsel
Important excerpts
No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).
Full speech
A non forsooth. she enters. I thank you good M. servingman, and master Con stable also. O if I wist this old priest would not stick to me, by Jove I would ingle this old servingman. Truly you are a most sweet old man, as ever I saw, by my troth, you have a face, able to make any woman in love with you. I pledge you sir, and thank you therefore, and I pray you let it come. I warrant you you will not out of my thoughts this twelvemonth, truly you are as full of favour, as a man may be. Ah these sweet gray locks, by my troth, they are most lovely. O you are and odd boy, you have a wanton eye of your own: ah you sweet sugar lipt wanton, you will win as ma nigh women's hearts as come in your company. Enter Priest. I'll come anon, sweet love. Murder, murder, murder. Come, be quiet, hast thou sped? Come, lets be all friends then. I am as true to thee, as the stone is in the wall, and thou knowest well enough sir John, I was in as good doing, when I came to thee, as any wench need to be: and therefore thou hast tried me, that thou hast: by Gods body, I will not be kept as I have been, that I will not. What is all the gold spent you took the last day from the Courtier? You might have left me at Cobham, until you had been better provided for. Ah thou art a mad priest i'faith. Why is all the gold spent already that you had the oh there day? You might have left me in Kenned, that you might, until you had been better provided, I could have sta ed at Cobham. Faith sir John, I might have gone to service again, old master Harpoole told me he would provide me a mistress. Oh thou art old sir John, when all's done i'faith. By my troth, thou art as jealous a man as lives. I pray thee sweet heart be quiet, I was but sitting to drink a pot of ale with him, even as kind a man as ever I met with.
Plot summary
Plot — 1 Sir John Oldcastle
Despite a royal prohibition on disorder during the preparations for the invasion of France, Lords Herbert and Po·wys fall out over their religious differences, and brawl with their followers in the streets of Hereford;Herbert is wounded, and Powys flees, with orders given for his arrest. The Bishop of Rochester does his best to associate dissent and conspiracy with Sir John Oldcastle, but the King is not convinced. Powys takes refuge in Oldcastle's house, just before two orders arrive: one to attend at court, the other to answer charges before Rochester's ecclesiastical court; Oldcastle's servant Harpoole forces Rochester's summoner to eat his own summons, wax and all. The King advises Oldcastle to keep his religious views private: he can believe what he likes so long as he does not antagonize the bishops or encourage Protestant rebellion. In turn. Oldcastle intercedes for Powys, and the King signs his pardon. Rebellion is brewing in England. On the basis of a superior dynastic claim, the Earl of Cambridge intends to seize the throne with French support. Oldcastle is invited to join the plot, but he procures an incriminating document and takes it to court. Meanwhile, Protestant rebels muster their forces in London. The King plans to spy on them in disguise, but is robbed by the renegade priest Sir John; the priest gets him to promise to secure the King's pardon for robbery, and gives him half a coin as a token by which they can know one another again. On the night before the battle, the King. in his own person, plays dice with Sir John and wins back his stolen money, including the broken coin; as promised, he agrees to spare Sir John's life ifhe gives up his life of crime. The rebels are routed, but the prisoners falsely implicate Oldcastle. The charges collapse when it becomes clear that the rebels don't recognize him, and Oldcastle further demonstrates his loyalty with his evidence of the Cambridge conspiracy. The rebel leaders are executed, Cambridge exposed and arrested, and the King's faith in Oldcastle is restored. In the King's absence, Rochester has Oldcastle's property seized, and Oldcastle himself arrested for treason when he arrives home; his books are burnt when they are found to be in English. Rochester visits Oldcastle in prison in the hope that he may recant, but Oldcastle overpowers him and escapes in his clothes. On the run, he arrives with his wife in St Albans, but is forced to escape arrest by another illicit exchange of clothes.…