Bardolph (Shakespeare character) Bardolph (Shakespeare character) Bardolph is a fictional character who appears in four plays by William Shakespeare. He is a thief who forms part of the entourage of Sir John Falstaff. His grossly inflamed nose and constantly flushed, carbuncle-covered face is a repeated subject for Falstaff's and Prince Hal's comic insults and word-play. Though his role in each play is minor, he often adds comic relief, and helps illustrate the personality change in Henry from Prince to King. In early published versions of "Henry IV, Part 1", the character is called Rossill or sir Iohn Russel. Shakespeare renamed the character to
The Oxford Shakespeare of Athens" as either collaborations with or revisions by Thomas Middleton; "Pericles" as a collaboration with George Wilkins; "Henry VI Part One" as a collaboration with several unknown other dramatists; and "Henry VIII" and "The Two Noble Kinsmen" as collaborations with John Fletcher. It also broke with tradition in presenting Shakespeare's works in chronological order, rather than dividing them by genre. In 2005, a second edition of the "Complete Works" was produced. It adds a full text of "Sir Thomas More" (edited by John Jowett), which may contain passages by Shakespeare, and "Edward III" (edited by William Montgomery), another play