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)
Gouernour. | Gouer. | Gouern. | Gou. | Gouernor.
Words
315
Characters
1795
Typicality
0.52 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A19881
BritDrama no.
2179
Cluster
Cluster 2 — Allegory, Nature & pageant voices
Important excerpts
No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).
Full speech
High and sacred Majesty! Verona Hath unhinge her wide Gates: proud to admit The fate of Kingdoms. Our crooked Matrons Forget their age: and (as the ragged Earth At the Springs warm approach) look fresh, & young, To entertain you. Our timorous Virgins (With the bold Youth) join in one wanton Choir To sing your welcome. Amorous Vine clips not the shady Poplar With such regard (about whose mossy waste She hangs a smiling Lover.) Our City is By the reflection of your blessed approach Like Pelion decked, whom Tython's Mistress (Leaving the weeping East) with brightness guilds. There's not a wrinkle left in all Verona, Wherein pale sorrow, or rebellious envy Can find their loathed Mansion. Flattering joy Swells big each loyal bosom. All implore You as their safety; who hath hushed the noise Of discord, and loud war. Heaven has made your memory too humble, Thus to record your creatures service. High Heaven increase your joys! Oh dire and tragic sighed! The King, the Queen And fair Valdaura slain! It is by you we are: no warlike Ram, Nor battering engine forced a bloody entrance Through our thick walls. It was the powerful breath Of your victorious fame, that conquered us. To that we yielded: which as a rough blast That posts from the cold Arctic Pole, hath born Before it captived Nations. Cease on him; on forfeit of your lives! Hah! he dead too? Whence should these sorrows flow? Lay hold on Paradine. Convey him gently in, and use all help Of surgery to stop his wounds: for from His mouth, we must receive the knowledge of These fatal deeds. Some give alarum to The Ports! You Siginors, lead to citadel; Where, we'll proclaim Albouines young Issue By's former wife, to be his lawful heir. Wild Fancy may project things strange and new: But Time records no Tale so sad, and true.
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.