Who were the characters in William Shakespeare's Histories?

Answer 1

Shakespeare wrote ten plays which are called Histories, because they deal with events in English history (not Scottish or Roman). These historical plays often have a great many characters, in fact Henry VI Part II (thought by many to be Shakespeare's first play) has an enormous cast list: fifty-two characters, not counting the walkons and spear-carriers. Fifty-two characters! and that's only in one play!

So instead of trying to list the hundreds and hundreds of characters in the history plays, let's just look at the main ones.

• King John: King John, the bastard Falconbridge, Constance, widow of John's brother Geoffrey, and her son Arthur
• Richard II: Richard II, his cousin Bolingbroke (afterward Henry IV), Northumberland
• Henry IV Part I: Prince Hal, son of Henry IV, Hotspur, son of Northumberland in the last play, Sir John Falstaff, Edward Poins.
• Henry IV Part II: Prince Hal, Sir John Falstaff, Henry IV
• Henry V: Prince Hal, who is now Henry V, the Princess Katharine of France
• Henry VI Part I: Sir John Talbot, Joan of Arc.
• Henry VI Part II: Humphrey Duke of Gloucester (brother of Prince Hal aka Henry V), Winchester, Suffolk, the Duke of York, Jack Cade, Margaret Queen of England
• Henry VI Part III: Edward son of the Duke of York (later Edward IV), his brother Richard of Gloucester, Margaret wife of Henry VI, Warwick
• Richard III: Richard of Gloucester (afterwards Richard III), Buckingham
• Henry VIII: King Henry, Queen Catherine, Anne Bullen, Cardinal Wolsey

Because the middle eight plays (excepting King John and Henry VIII) span a continuous period of English History sometimes known as the Wars of the Roses, the same characters or their relations appear in play after play in this sequence. A number of recorded performances of these plays keep the same actor in the same part over a number of plays. If you watch one of these, it is easier to keep track of who is who. Even so, it can be confusing, since the characters have more than one name. They are first named for the place of their birth, then they are named for their title, which can change two or three times during their career. For example, Richard of Bordeaux is the same person as King Richard II. Henry Bolingbroke is the same person as the Duke of Hereford, until he is promoted, when he becomes the Duke of Lancaster, and later still King Henry IV. Henry of Monmouth is Prince Hal who becomes King Henry V.