60Character Names

When considering standardisation of speech prefixes, Stanley Wells advises the adoption of the modern form of a name, unless other demands are made by the metre.^[192] In cases where no modern form exists, he suggests looking for the commonest spelling used in the most authoritative early text, in this case, the 1597 quarto. Because Chapmanʼs play is set in France, some of the names require thought as to their modernisation.

61The key reason for modernising names is to establish a standard label of reference for a character or place. Consideration of previous editorial decisions provides helpful starting points: Shepherd does not always settle with one speech prefix, alternately using Host and Verone, Besha and Labesha, Puritan and Florilla. This is obviously undesirable since it defeats the purpose of modernising a name as part of the standardisation process. The abbreviations of speech prefixes employed by both Shepherd and Parrott are also deemed undesirable, especially given the similarity of many names in the play. These include Labervele, Lavele, Labesha, the Countess and a couple of Counts, not to mention Catalian and Colinet, whose names all provide room for confusion in Q, which also confuses Mor(en) and Mar(tia) on B4 and D4.

62Some character names, such as Verone, Catalian, Berger, Martia, Foyes and Jaques, either have standard forms or are referred to consistently in Q. Jaquena, who is consistently identified as ‘Maidʼ in the speech prefixes is identified by her name rather than her occuptatio, following Edelman. Lemot, meaning ‘the wordʼ in French, might recommend that this is more obviously presented in his name, by changing it to ‘Le Motʼ. In this edition, as in all previous editions, the Q form ‘Lemotʼ has been retained, since the component parts of the French name are quite clear, and glossed in the list of characters.

63Labeshaʼs name is less straightforward, since he is often referred to as Besha in the text, speech prefixes and in the stage directions in Scenes 3 and 5. Thomas L. Berger, William C. Bradford and Sidney L. Sondergardʼs Index of Characters in Early Modern English Drama is keen to segregate component parts of names. Thus they list Le Mot and La Besha alongside La Vache, La Feu (Allʼs Well That Ends Well) and the more familiar Le Fer (Henry V), Le Beau (As You Like It), and La Brosse (Conspiracy of Byron). In Q, Labeshaʼs name is always printed as one word, rather than two, and all editors have followed suit. It is thought clear enough that ‘Beshaʼ refers to the character also called ‘Labeshaʼ. Further explanations of character names accompany the list.