Early Modern Drama · Character Archetypes

NOTARY

in All Fools

Metadata

PlayAll Fools
Year (catalogued)1605
First performance1605
Decade1600s
GenreComedy
Play typeBoys Professional;Professional
CompanyChildren of the Queen's Revels
Theaterbefore the Court;Blackfriars;Indoor Professional
Speech prefix(es)Not. | Notary. | Nota. | Not • .
Words360
Characters2110
Typicality0.46 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP idA18400
BritDrama no.1448
ClusterCluster 14 — Law & judgment

Important excerpts

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

Full speech

Not hang am, but you may bring them both to a white sheet. And beside you may set capital letters on their before heads. No sir your horse is a chattel. Here is more Sir. I will sir, if there be no remedy. I hope oh sir, it has taken me a whole skin of Parchment you see. I'll warrant you sir, it is from Juris. Yes that I have. Not for a dash over head sir I warrant you, if I should oversee; I have S ne that tried in Butiro & Case oh, in Butler and Casons case, Decimo sexto of Duke Anon nimo. I think it would be something tedious to read all, and therefore Gentlemen the sum is this: That you Signior Corn lio Gentleman, for diverse & sundry weighty and mature considerations, you especially moving, specifying all the parti culars of your wives enormities in a schedule here unto annexed, the transcript whereof is in your own tenure, cum odie, occu pation, & keeping: That for these the aforesaid premises, I say, you renounce, disclaim and discharge Gazetta from ̄ being your leeful, or your lawful wife: And that you eftsoons divide, dis join, separate, remove, & finally eloigne, sequester, & divorce her, from ̄ your bed & your board; That you forbid her all access, repair, egress or regress to your person, or persons, mansion or mansions, dwellings, habitations, remainenances or abodes, or to any shop, seller, Sollar, easements chamber, dormer, and so forth, now in the nure, custody, occupation or keeping of the said Cornelio; notwithstanding all former contracts, cove nants, bargains, conditions, agreements, compacts. Promises, vows, affiances, assurances, bonds, bills, inden tures, pole-deeds, deeds of gift, defesances, feoffments, en dowments, vouchers, double vouchers, privy entries, actions, declarations, explications, rejoinders, surrejoinders, ghts, inte res , demands, claims, or titles whatsoever, heretofore be betwixt the one and the other party, or parties, being had, made, passed, covenanted & agreed, from the beginning of the world, till the day of the date hereof, given the 17. of November 1500. and so forth, here Sir you must set to your hand. None in the world sir.

Plot summary

Plot — All Fools
alerio and Fortunio are both in love, but the strictness of Valerio's father Gostanzo crosses them both: Valerio has married Gratiana in secret and must keep the fact from Gostanzo, who wrongly thinks him a model of virtue; and Fortunio loves Valerio's sister Bellanora but can gain no access to her. Rinaldo resolves both problems by tellingGostanzo thatGratiana is Fortunio's wife and that his father Marc Antonio, angry at not being consulted about the match, has disowned him. Gostanzo offers to take in the 'couple' until Marc Antonio's displeasure passes; there Fortunio will learn from Valerio's good example. However, when he sees Valerio behaving amorously with Gratiana, Gostanzo insists that she leaves. Rinaldo next lodges Gratiana with Marc Antonio, telling him the truth that she is really Valerio's wife and that the story about Fortunio was a blind to gull Gostanzo. Marc Antonio believes this at first, until Gostanzo persuades him otherwise; when Valerio seeks his forgiveness for his secret marriage, he thinks this a device to deceive Marc Antonio, and gives the couple his blessing. Valerio has been made to look a fool when Cornelio and Dariotto persuade him to sing and play for them. He gets even by spreading a rumour that Dariotto has cuckolded Cornelio, who wounds the courtier in reprisal and then sets about divorcing his wife. As he is signing the divorce papers, however, he gets a nosebleed and, thinking it ominous, defers it till the next court day. On being told that the whole affair was a ruse, he tricks the arch-trickster Rinaldo into bringing Gostanzo to the tavern where he sees his son drinking and gambling. He also learns beyond doubt that both his children have married without his consent: Fortunio has taken full advantage of his access to Bellanora. Cornelio is reconciled to his wife, claiming that he merely intended to frighten her with the prospect of divorce (and gave Dariotto the opportunity to cuckold him in order to have grounds). Valerio declares that cuckold's horns are endemic in the present age.