List of Historical Figures Dramatised By Shakespeare - B

B

  • Bagot is a favourite of Richard in Richard II.
  • Lord Bardolph is a nobleman, one of the Percy faction, in Henry IV, Part 2.
  • The Bastard of Orleans is one of the French leaders in Henry VI, Part 1.
For Beaufort see Bishop of Winchester.
For Bedford see Prince John of Lancaster, who was the Duke of Bedford.
  • Lord Berkeley acts as messenger from York to Bolingbroke in Richard II.
  • The Duke of Berry is a French leader in Henry V.
  • Bishop:
    • The Bishop of Carlisle supports Richard in Richard II.
    • Bishop of Ely:
      • The Bishop of Ely (1) conspires with the Archbishop of Canterbury in the opening scene of Henry V.
      • The Bishop of Ely (2) ultimately shows his opposition to Richard in Richard III.
    • Bishop of Winchester:
      • The Bishop of Winchester (later "the Cardinal") is the uncle and chief enemy of Humphrey Duke of Gloucester in Henry VI, Part 1 and Henry VI, Part 2.
      • For The Bishop of Winchester in Henry VIII, see Gardiner.
For The Bishop of Lincoln see Bishop of Lincoln.
  • Blanche is King John's niece, married (by arrangement among the kings, to seal an alliance) to the Dauphin.
  • Blunt:
    • Sir James Blunt is a supporter of Richmond in Richard III.
    • Sir John Blunt is a supporter of the king in Henry IV, Part 2.
    • Sir Walter Blunt is a soldier and messenger to the king in Henry IV, Part 1. He is killed by Douglas while wearing the king's armour.
  • Roger Bolingbroke is chaplain to the Duchess of Gloucester and orchestrates the demon-summoning in Henry VI, Part 2.
    • For Bolingbroke see also King Henry IV.
  • Lady Bona is King Lewis's sister-in-law, whose hopes to marry Edward are thwarted in Henry VI, Part 3.
  • The Duke of Bourbon fights on the French side in Henry V.
For Cardinal Bourchier see Cardinal.
  • Boy in Richard III is the young son of the murdered Clarence (described in one speech as little Ned Plantagenet).
  • Brackenbury is the Lieutenant of the Tower of London in Richard III.
  • The Duke of Britain is a French leader in Henry V.
  • Brutus:
    • Marcus Brutus (usually just Brutus) is a central character of Julius Caesar, who conspires against Caesar's life and stabs him.
    • See also Decius Brutus.
  • Buckingham:
    • The Duke of Buckingham (1) is a Lancastrian in Henry VI, Part 2. His death is reported in Henry VI, Part 3.
    • The Duke of Buckingham (2) is a Yorkist in Henry VI, Part 3, and is a co-conspirator with Richard—although he is eventually rejected, then murdered on Richard's orders—in |Richard III.
    • The Duke of Buckingham (3), an enemy of Wolsey, falls from grace and is executed by Henry in Henry VIII.
For Anne Bullen see Anne.
  • Burgundy:
    • The Duke of Burgundy (1) brokers the peace treaty between the kings of France and England in the last act of Henry V.
    • The Duke of Burgundy (2) fights firstly in alliance with the English, and later in alliance with the French, in Henry VI, Part 1.
  • Bushy is a favourite of Richard in Richard II.
  • Doctor Butts is the king's physician in Henry VIII. He alerts the king to Cranmer's humiliation in refused admittance to the council chamber.

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