Fluellen
Encyclopedia
Fluellen is a fictional character
in the play Henry V
by William Shakespeare
. Fluellen is a Welsh
Captain, a leader of a contingent of troops in the small army
of the English
King while on campaign in France
during the Hundred Years' War
.
surname
Llewellyn or Llywelyn. The English, finding it difficult to render the Welsh sound ɬ), employ the sequence fl, as they did with Floyd for Lloyd.
in The Merry Wives of Windsor
. All are wordy 'Welsh windbags', with amusing speech patterns, pronunciations and reactionary, overly sensitive and pedantic to a degree. Fluellen's obsession with proper military procedure epitomises this.
However, Fluellen has some 281 lines in Henry V and is not simply a peripheral character or merely comic in nature. The character is well rounded, affords humour but avoids buffoonery and also generates great affection from the audience, having poignancy, scope and dramatic range.
We see him first as a soldier, albeit driving rather than leading his soldiers into the breach. His appearance comes after the bombastic 'Once more unto the breach..' speech delivered by the King and he drives the comic stragglers Bardolph, Nym, Pistol and the Boy towards the enemy. Into the scene his character is immediately fleshed out with the emphasis on Fluellen's much mentioned 'disciplines of the wars' and the first opportunity for a smirk at his accent, mannerisms and delivery.
However as the play develops just in case there should be any underestimation of the Welshman's qualities it is the King himself who Shakespeare has deliver the words:
"Though it appear a little out of fashion,
There is much care and valour in this Welshman."
By the end of the play the audience comes to share the King's perspective, the affection for the character being firmly secured by Fluellen's words after the seemingly miraculous victory at Agincourt, just after the French herald Montjoy comes to cede for peace Fluellen's relief and joy bursts out in his interchange with the King culminating in his tearful "By Jeshu, I am your majesty's countryman, I care not who know it; I will confess it to all the 'orld: I need not to be ashamed of your majesty, praised be God, so long as your majesty is an honest man." At this point Henry refers to his own Welsh origins, declaring "I am Welsh".
Another scene towards the end of the play also undermines the mockery in the portrayal of the Welsh Fluellen: Pistol mocks Fluellen for wearing a leek in his cap on St. David's Day in commemoration of a legendary Welsh victory against the Saxons. Fluellen beats Pistol and makes him eat the leek, with his comrade-in-arms Gower commenting, "You thought, because he could not speak English in the native garb, he could not therefore handle an English cudgel: you find it otherwise; and henceforth let a Welsh correction teach you a good English condition."
a medieval Welshman who fought against Owain Glyndwr
during the Welsh rebellion of the early 15th century for King Henry IV of England and subsequently accompanied his son Henry V of England
to France and died fighting on the field at the Battle of Agincourt
and also to an Elizabethan era
Welsh soldier of fortune
Roger Williams
who would certainly have been known at the time the play was written and performed.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the play Henry V
Henry V (play)
Henry V is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to be written in approximately 1599. Its full titles are The Cronicle History of Henry the Fifth and The Life of Henry the Fifth...
by William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
. Fluellen is a Welsh
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
Captain, a leader of a contingent of troops in the small army
Medieval warfare
Medieval warfare is the warfare of the Middle Ages. In Europe, technological, cultural, and social developments had forced a dramatic transformation in the character of warfare from antiquity, changing military tactics and the role of cavalry and artillery...
of the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
King while on campaign in France
France in the Middle Ages
France in the Middle Ages covers an area roughly corresponding to modern day France, from the death of Louis the Pious in 840 to the middle of the 15th century...
during the Hundred Years' War
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...
.
The name
The name 'Fluellen' is the anglicised version of the Welsh languageWelsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
surname
Surname
A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...
Llewellyn or Llywelyn. The English, finding it difficult to render the Welsh sound ɬ), employ the sequence fl, as they did with Floyd for Lloyd.
Character
Shakespeare adheres to his seemingly common principle of portraying Welsh characters in his plays as basically comedic, offering the audience an opportunity to mock the manners, language, temperament and outmoded attitudes of their Celtic neighbours; compare with Glendower in Henry IV, Part One and Sir Hugh Evans the Welsh ParsonParson
In the pre-Reformation church, a parson was the priest of an independent parish church, that is, a parish church not under the control of a larger ecclesiastical or monastic organization...
in The Merry Wives of Windsor
The Merry Wives of Windsor
The Merry Wives of Windsor is a comedy by William Shakespeare, first published in 1602, though believed to have been written prior to 1597. It features the fat knight Sir John Falstaff, and is Shakespeare's only play to deal exclusively with contemporary Elizabethan era English middle class life...
. All are wordy 'Welsh windbags', with amusing speech patterns, pronunciations and reactionary, overly sensitive and pedantic to a degree. Fluellen's obsession with proper military procedure epitomises this.
However, Fluellen has some 281 lines in Henry V and is not simply a peripheral character or merely comic in nature. The character is well rounded, affords humour but avoids buffoonery and also generates great affection from the audience, having poignancy, scope and dramatic range.
We see him first as a soldier, albeit driving rather than leading his soldiers into the breach. His appearance comes after the bombastic 'Once more unto the breach..' speech delivered by the King and he drives the comic stragglers Bardolph, Nym, Pistol and the Boy towards the enemy. Into the scene his character is immediately fleshed out with the emphasis on Fluellen's much mentioned 'disciplines of the wars' and the first opportunity for a smirk at his accent, mannerisms and delivery.
However as the play develops just in case there should be any underestimation of the Welshman's qualities it is the King himself who Shakespeare has deliver the words:
"Though it appear a little out of fashion,
There is much care and valour in this Welshman."
By the end of the play the audience comes to share the King's perspective, the affection for the character being firmly secured by Fluellen's words after the seemingly miraculous victory at Agincourt, just after the French herald Montjoy comes to cede for peace Fluellen's relief and joy bursts out in his interchange with the King culminating in his tearful "By Jeshu, I am your majesty's countryman, I care not who know it; I will confess it to all the 'orld: I need not to be ashamed of your majesty, praised be God, so long as your majesty is an honest man." At this point Henry refers to his own Welsh origins, declaring "I am Welsh".
Another scene towards the end of the play also undermines the mockery in the portrayal of the Welsh Fluellen: Pistol mocks Fluellen for wearing a leek in his cap on St. David's Day in commemoration of a legendary Welsh victory against the Saxons. Fluellen beats Pistol and makes him eat the leek, with his comrade-in-arms Gower commenting, "You thought, because he could not speak English in the native garb, he could not therefore handle an English cudgel: you find it otherwise; and henceforth let a Welsh correction teach you a good English condition."
Origins
The character of Fluellen may well have origins based on historical figures who may have been familiar to at least some of the contemporary theatre audience ; comparisons have been made between Fluellen and two real life Welsh soldiers, one Dafydd GamDafydd Gam
Dafydd ap Llewelyn ap Hywel , better known as Dafydd Gam or Davy Gam, was a Welsh medieval nobleman, a prominent opponent of Owain Glyndŵr, who died at the Battle of Agincourt fighting for King Henry V, King of England in that victory against the French...
a medieval Welshman who fought against Owain Glyndwr
Owain Glyndwr
Owain Glyndŵr , or Owain Glyn Dŵr, anglicised by William Shakespeare as Owen Glendower , was a Welsh ruler and the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales...
during the Welsh rebellion of the early 15th century for King Henry IV of England and subsequently accompanied his son Henry V of England
Henry V of England
Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
to France and died fighting on the field at the Battle of Agincourt
Battle of Agincourt
The Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...
and also to an Elizabethan era
Elizabethan era
The Elizabethan era was the epoch in English history of Queen Elizabeth I's reign . Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history...
Welsh soldier of fortune
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
Roger Williams
Roger Williams (soldier)
Sir Roger Williams was a Protestant Welsh soldier of fortune.Born in Penrhos, Monmouthshire, Williams was said by Anthony Wood to have attended Brasenose College, Oxford. He spent most of his life soldiering, mainly on the continent...
who would certainly have been known at the time the play was written and performed.
Actors playing Fluellen in modern times
Fluellen has been portrayed by several notable actors such as :- Esmond KnightEsmond KnightEsmond Penington Knight was an English actor.He was an accomplished actor with a career spanning over half a century. For much of his career Esmond Knight was virtually blind...
in Laurence OlivierLaurence OlivierLaurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
's Henry V (1944 film)Henry V (1944 film)Henry V is a 1944 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of the same name. The on-screen title is The Cronicle History of King Henry the Fift with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France . It stars Laurence Olivier, who also directed. The play was adapted for the screen by Olivier, Dallas... - Tim WyltonTim WyltonTim Wylton is a British television actor best known for his roles Stanley Dawkins in My Hero and Lol Ferris in As Time Goes By....
in the BBC Television ShakespeareBBC Television ShakespeareThe BBC Television Shakespeare was a set of television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, produced by the BBC between 1978 and 1985.-Origins:...
adaptation in 1979 on UK television - Bernard LloydBernard LloydBernard Lloyd is a Welsh actor noted for his television roles. Perhaps his most famous role is as The Traveller, the man who tries to unravel signalman Denholm Elliot's predicament in the 1976 Ghost Story for Christmas "The Signalman"...
at the Royal Shakespeare CompanyRoyal Shakespeare CompanyThe Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across... - Ian HolmIan HolmSir Ian Holm, CBE is an English actor known for his stage work and for many film roles. He received the 1967 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor for his performance as Lenny in The Homecoming and the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in the title role of King Lear...
in Kenneth BranaghKenneth BranaghKenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from Northern Ireland. He is best known for directing and starring in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays including Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Hamlet Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from...
's Henry V (1989 film)Henry V (1989 film)Henry V is a 1989 film directed by Kenneth Branagh, based on William Shakespeare's play The Life of Henry the Fifth about the famous English king. Branagh stars in the title role, and wrote the screenplay. The film was highly acclaimed on its release....
Incidental information
- There is a theatre company in SwanseaSwanseaSwansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
in WalesWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
named after him ; the Fluellen Theatre Company http://www.fluellentheatre.co.uk/. - The Royal NavyRoyal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
had an anti-submarine naval trawlerNaval trawlerA naval trawler is a vessel built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes. Naval trawlers were widely used during the First and Second world wars. Fishing trawlers were particularly suited for many naval requirements because they were robust boats designed to work...
during World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
named HMS FluellenShakespearian class trawlersThe Shakespearian class were anti-submarine naval trawlers which served in Royal Navy. Ships in this class had a displacement of 545 tons, a top speed of 12 knots, a crew of 40 men, and armament of one 12-pounder AA gun, three 20 mm Oerlikon AA guns and 30 depth charges...