Early Modern Drama · Character Archetypes

LUTIUS

in A Shoemaker a Gentleman — Rowley, William

Metadata

PlayA Shoemaker a Gentleman
AuthorRowley, William
Year (catalogued)1638
First performance1608
Decade1630s
GenreRomance
Play typeAdult Professional
CompanyPrince Charles's Men (first)
TheaterRed Bull;Outdoor Professional
Speech prefix(es)Lut.
Words168
Characters901
Typicality0.40 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP idA11152
BritDrama no.1868
ClusterCluster 22 — Ghosts, curses & horror voices

Important excerpts

No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).

Full speech

Cease first, and then examine. O! here's hell, witchcraft, my eyes are lost, this sorcerous Pool hath taken away my sighed: witch He find thee out, And break thy Magic, by drawing of thy blood. Guide me to the devil. Would, is't day again? From Apollo, and Jupiter, the gods of Room, Who would not see a witch abuse their creature, away with Her to the fire till she be burned and dead, mine eyes Will stand in fear within my head. Dispatch these first. Why are the Beacons fired? The cry is still raised, let's put the Court in Arms, And certify the Emperor. Comfort my Lord, the error's found; The sudden fire that kindled all this fear, Is now quenched out; the cloud that threatened storms, Is turned to drops of heat: some knavish fellow Hard by the Seacoast set a Tree on fire, Which seen, men thought that Dover Beacon flamed, And so fired all the rest, and raised the Alarm. The Queen my Lord.

Plot summary

Plot — A Shoemaker a Gentleman
The Roman Emperors, Diocletian and Maximinus, bring an army to Britain to crush the Christians. Alured, the British King, is killed in battle. His sons, Eldred and Offa, change their identities and get themselves apprenticed to a shoemaker. They see their mother taken to prison after being captured on the battlefield; their sympathy for her plight impresses their new master. Alban is appointed to rule Britain and continue the persecution. Amphiabel comes from Wales and converts him to Christianity. Maximinus arrests Alban, and Amphiabel flees back to Wales, pursued by the Roman army. Meanwhile, the Welsh Queen Winifred, also converted by Amphiabel, asks her suitor Sir Hugh for a moratorium on his wooing efforts; when he completes the agreed period, however, she announces that she has given herself wholly to heaven and cannot marry him. One of the Romans pursuing Amphiabel mocks the power of Winifred’s holy well, and smears the water on his eyes; it blinds him. His sight is restored, but he ascribes the miracle to the pagan gods. Winifred and Amphiabel are both arrested and brought to see the martyrdom of Alban. Leodice, Maximinus’ daughter, becomes enamoured of her new shoemaker, Crispin, who is really Offa; she continually finds reasons to asks for new shoes and new fitting sessions. She offers to show him the image of his future wife in a magic mirror; but in fact it is an ordinary mirror, and he sees her reflection. He confides that he is not really base-born, but a disguised prince, and they are secretly married. The Romans are mustering an army to resist an invasion of the Empire by Goths and Vandals. Eldred volunteers, and the shoemaker employs Sir Hugh to fill his place. Eldred distinguishes himself in battle: he saves Diocletian’s life, takes back the eagle standard after it has been seized by the enemy, and captures the Vandal king Roderick. The barbarians are expelled, and Diocletian knights Eldred. Sir Hugh is arrested after he sees Winifred a prisoner and reviles the Roman gods. Alban and Amphiabel are tortured in an attempt to make them renounce Christianity, but they remain steadfast and are sent for execution; Alban becomes Britain’s first Christian martyr ~ but not the last. Winifred is allowed to choose the manner of her own execution; she opts to bleed to death. Sir Hugh is made to drink her blood, mixed with poison. He bequeaths his bones to the shoemakers who have come to support him, and declares that, since a prince has been a…