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Full speech
First welcome thrice renowned Englishman, Graced by thy country, but ten times more By thy approved valour in the field, Upon the onset of the enemy, What is thy motto when thou spurs thy horse. Like welcome unto thee fair Knight of France, Well famed thou art for discipline in war, Upon the encounter of thine enemy, What is thy mote renowned Knight of France. Welcome Castilian too amongst the rest, Forfame does found thy valour with the rest: Upon thy first encounter of thy foe, What is thy word of courage brave man of Spain? Next, welcome unto thee renowned Turk, Not for thy lay, but for thy worth in arms: Upon the first brave of thine enemy, What is thy noted word of charge, brave Turk? Now Signeur Basilisco you we know, And therefore give not you a strangers welcome, You are a Rutter born in Germany, Upon the first encounter of your foe: What is your brave upon the enemy? Why Signeur Basilisco is ita she sword? 'Tis well proved, but whats the word that glories your Country? Brave Gentlemen, by all your free consents, This Knight unknown, hath best demand himself, According to the proclimation made, The prize and honour of the day is his, But now unmask thy self, that we may see, What warlike wrinkles time hath charactered, With ages print upon thy warlike face. Erastus be thou honoured for this deed. About it then. What parley craves the Turkish at our hands. Your Lord usurps in all that he possesseth, And that great God which we do truly worship, Shall strengthen us against your insolence.
Plot summary
Plot — Soliman and Perseda (Zulziman)
Love, Fortune, and Death dispute which of them is the most appropriate chorus to the tragedy; they debate their roles in the choric passages that follow. Erastus proves his knightly prowess in a wedding-day tilt for the Prince of Cyprus, but loses a chain given to him by his love Perseda. Ferdinando finds it and gives it to his love, Lucina. Seeing her wearing it, Perseda believes Erastus has been unfaithful. Erastus visits Lucina in disguise and wins back the chain in a dice- game, but is confronted by Ferdinando, who is killed in the ensuing quarrel. In consequence, Erastus has to go into exile to the enemy state of Turkey, leaving the chain for Perseda as a token of his misunderstood constancy. Rhodes is strategically important, the key to the conquest of Christendom. One of the knights at the wedding tilt, Brusor, was a Turkish spy sent to investigate the island’s defences prior to an attack. He also tells Suleiman about Erastus’ magnificent tiltyard performance, so the Emperor is pleased when Erastus arrives at his court, and allows him to demonstrate his worth in a friendly bout of swordplay. He accepts and honours Erastus, allows him to remain a Christian, and spares him the task of conquering his native Rhodes, which is successfully undertaken by Brusor. . Erastus is appointed the Governor of conquered Rhodes. Prisoners of war are brought to Turkey, including the island’s women, and also the cowardly knight Basilisco, who escapes execution by converting to Islam. Suleiman falls in love with Perseda, but she refuses him for Erastus’ sake, even before she knows that he is now an honoured courtier. Suleiman gives her to Erastus, but later regrets the decision and has him recalled and executed on a false charge of treason. Perseda takes command of Rhodes and resists Suleiman’s army. Not recognizing her at first in her male clothing, Suleiman kills her. On realizing her identity, he kisses her dead lips, but they are poisoned. Rhodes is conquered, but all the principal characters are dead. Accordingly, Death claims primacy over Love and Fortune in the closing chorus.