Christian Revenge in Chapman’s The Revenge of Bussy D’Ambois

Abstract

t the end of George Chapman’s Bussy D’Ambois (published 1607, first performed c. 1603–4), Bussy—a rising nobleman—is fatally wounded by a Count Montsurry for having an affair with Montsurry’s wife, Tamyra. Although the dying Bussy has reason to demand revenge on Montsurry and his men, he takes the advice of his friar and announces, “I forgive them all,” and gives his sword toMontsurry as a sign of his “unfeigned remission” (5.3.157). The tragedy ends with a celebration of Bussy’s heroism. The friar bids, “Farewell brave relics of a complete man. / Look up and see thy spirit made a star, / Join flames with Hercules” (5.3.264–66). He is no hero because of his “frail condition of strength” (5.3.184); instead, he is a hero because of his forgiveness, which outdoes the needless violence of his political enemies in their quest for honor. We jump ahead less than ten years and find an entirely different scenario in Chapman’s sequel, The Revenge of Bussy D’Ambois (published 1613, first performed c. 1610–11). In The Revenge, Bussy D’Ambois—the man whose final words were