in Albovine, King of the Lombards — Davenant, William
Metadata
Play
Albovine, King of the Lombards
Author
Davenant, William
Year (catalogued)
1629
First performance
1628
Decade
1620s
Genre
Tragedy
Play type
Unacted (?); Professional (?)
Company
Unacted
Speech prefix(es)
Cuny. | Cuni. | Cun. | Cunym.
Words
401
Characters
2143
Typicality
0.45 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A19881
BritDrama no.
2179
Cluster
Cluster 23 — Gulls, fops & laughing-stocks
Important excerpts
No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).
Full speech
Bear back there! They thrust as if they meant To get me with child— Frollo, did they enter here by your permission? Nor yours, Conrade? Then they must out. Gentlemen, pray avoid The Presence. Sir, you may speak Like a Cannon! but you Shall either go, or— Or stay, Sir. Heigh! we are tumbling in a Drum. Within. Fellows of the Guard, make way there! Of ficers! Open the door— Found high! Bid their Instruments speak louder. They're afraid to wake the Neighbours. Your Lordship owns it as a prime virtue — Pigwiggin! your Grace was wont to call me Cunymond: I am no Fairy. Fish are dumb (Sir) they never fox themselves With talk. Captain, you should choose a luckier minute: The King is now in love. In all parts, Sir, but our purses. Conrade can prattle somewhat, Sir, to that Purpose. Hold! grow particular in such a Theme as this! With a Mistress? At what rate do you value your self? How, Captain! Your excuse procured, 'tis fit you now tell, How far in your defence I may engage My honour: is not your flesh a little tainted! Are you not unwholesome? Well, Captain, now with your own eyes survey Your limbs; what use can a Lady have Of you? To propagate the Cough o'th lungs? I told you, he'd make a jest on't. I have a Key, will give us passage here to park! Hah! sick! Gentlemen, avoid the windy side, Lest he infect you with his breath. I know His disease, and whence it came, shortly You'll see him wear a Curtain soar his Nose; That's now the newest fashion that came from Paris. And while you are in physic (Captain) You fare Like Oberon. 'Tis a very Slender diet. The lean thigh of a Wasp To dinner; and some two or three of your Own penitent tears for your beveridge. March on! If he do find himself aggrieved, Let him send me a challenge after his death; And I will meet him, Ith' Elysian Fields. We should abuse our judgements else. Dispatch fellows! Bear back there! Gentlemen! what d'ye mean? pray bear back— God's-light, here's Grimold! Didst not thou say he was dead? Madam, the King— Strikes him, and exit. I wear it as a Jewel in my ear. Lights for the King there! And heavy enough! for he seems to reel With his own weight.
Plot summary
Plot — Albovine, King of the Lombards
Before the start of the action, King Albovine killed a vanquished king and took his daughter Rhodolinda prisoner; another prisoner of war, Paradine, has risen to be his favourite. Albovine marries Rhodolinda, but at the wedding banquet he drunkenly forces her to drink from a cup made of her father’s skull. She responds by refusing to consummate the marriage. Hermegild, who has a grudge against Paradine, encourages Albovine to make advances to Paradine’s wife, Valdaura, but then arranges for Rhodolinda to witness the encounter and tells her that Albovine is promiscuous. She swears revenge and promises to take Hermegild as her second husband if he will help her. Valdaura spends every night away from her nuptial bed, claiming that Rhodolinda requires her overnight attendance. A court lady, Thesina, offers to arrange an opportunity for the frustrated Paradine to sleep with his own wife. The following morning, however, he learns that his nocturnal partner was Rhodolinda. She tells hirn of Valdaura’s adultery and demands that he ki}} Albovine, or be denounced as a rapist. Hermegild sees to it that Valdaura eavesdrops on the meeting, arouses her jealousy, and gives her a slow-acting poison with which to kill her husband; his plan is to ensure that Paradine kills Albovine before the poison takes effect. Yaidaura pretends to adetintster the poison and goads Paradine into killing her; but she dies affirming that the pyisoning was only a bluff. At Hermiegild’s instigation. Paradine |is mt to believe that Albovine 1626 knows of his night with Rhodolinda, cuckolded him with Valdaura, and is trying to have him killed. He goes to assassinate Albovine, but decides at the last moment that they should talk things over first. It emerges that Albovine did not know of Rhodolinda’s adultery and did not succeed in seducing Valdaura. In despair, he asks Paradine to kill him, and falls on his own sword when Paradine refuses. Rhodolinda tries to kiss Paradine, but he bites her lips off, then kills both her and Hermegild. The Governor of Verona orders that he be kept alive to explain what has happened. In the sub-plot, the war veteran Grimold makes prolonged efforts to shame Albovine into paying his extensive arrears of wages, and is ultimately successful.