# Lewis the Dauphin — King John character guide

> Lewis the Dauphin in King John by William Shakespeare.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Lewis, Lewis Nay, Lewis Before Angiers, Lewis Outside, Lewis Well, Lewis Strong reasons, the Dauphin, Dauphin, noble Dauphin, O noble Dauphin

**First appearance:** 0003-act-ii

## Snapshot

The French Dauphin whose invasion of England is bought and blessed by Rome, and who finds his foreign war complicated by English lords who weep while they betray.

## Who they are

Lewis commands the French army that lands to enforce Arthur's claim, then returns at Pandulph's urging to press a holy war against an excommunicated John. He is a young prince of ceremony and appetite — he has the rebel lords' oath copied out and kept, and he promises them the purse of rich prosperity — yet he can be moved to genuine admiration, as when Salisbury's reluctant tears astonish him more than burning meteors. His campaign is the engine of the play's second half, forcing England to confront what it has done to itself.

## Relationships

### [King John](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/king_john_se/characters/king_john)

_rivalry_

Lewis the Dauphin is the French prince who invades England, making him a direct military enemy of King John.

## In the story

### [Scene I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/king_john_se/chapters/act-ii-scene-i)

Present with the French forces; proposed as a husband for Lady Blanch to create peace.

### [Scene I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/king_john_se/chapters/act-iii-scene-i)

Marries Blanch but is swayed by honor and the Church to take up arms against England.

### [Scene IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/king_john_se/chapters/act-iii-scene-iv)

Lewis is despondent after the battle, but Pandulph persuades him that Arthur's imprisonment will lead to John's downfall and that he can claim the English throne.

### [Scene II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/king_john_se/chapters/act-v-scene-ii)

Leads the rebel camp, swears oaths with English lords, refuses Pandulph's order to stand down, and asserts his claim to England.

### [Scene V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/king_john_se/chapters/act-v-scene-v)

Lewis receives news of Melun's death, the defection of English lords, and the loss of his reinforcements, yet he remains determined to fight the next day.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/king_john_se/characters/lewis_the_dauphin
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/king_john_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/king_john_se/characters