Home > King John Summary & Study Guide > Character Analysis > Philip the Bastard (also called Richard Plantagenet)

King John | Philip the Bastard (also called Richard Plantagenet)

Legally, he is the first son of Lord and Lady Faulconbridge. Actually, he is the son of King Richard I and Lady Faulconbridge. Historically, there is no substantial evidence of such a person, though at least one Elizabethan historian reported that Richard I had a bastard son named Philip. After King John acknowledges Philip as Richard's son in Li, Philip also becomes known as Richard (after his father) Plantagenet (the family name of the members of the royal family).

In King John, the Bastard assumes many forms. He is an ambiguous figure, and his character resists simple...

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