# Nicholas Udal — The Fifth Queen character guide

> Nicholas Udal in The Fifth Queen by Ford Madox Ford.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Magister Nicholas Udal, Udal, Magister Udal, Master Udal

**First appearance:** 0000-part-i-the-coming

## Snapshot

A drunken, scheming schoolmaster who spreads rumors of the King's love affair and sets the court ablaze with gossip.

## Who they are

Udal swears to anyone who will listen that Katharine is the apple of the King's eye, and his loose talk reaches Bishop Gardiner's chaplain and ignites a counterplot. He is comic and contemptible, a man who sticks at nothing to gain a point, and his drunken hammering at Katharine's door is one of the book's most vivid scenes. His gossip is the spark that turns court intrigue into open conflict, making him a small man with large consequences.

## Relationships

### [Katharine Howard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/characters/katharine_howard)

_professional_

Udal is Katharine's scholarly secretary and tutor, serving her with intellectual loyalty and occasional romantic pining.

### [Thomas Cromwell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/characters/thomas_cromwell)

_professional_

Udal has a complex professional relationship with Cromwell, serving as a scholar and occasional informant while maintaining his loyalty to Katharine.

### [Lady Mary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/characters/lady_mary)

_friendship_

Lady Mary trusts Udal as a scholarly ally and messenger, using him to communicate with Katharine and her faction.

### [Katharine Howard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/characters/katharine_howard)

_professional_

Udal is Katharine's scholarly secretary and tutor, serving her with intellectual loyalty and occasional romantic pining.

### [Katharine Howard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/characters/katharine_howard)

_professional_

Udal is Katharine's scholarly secretary and tutor, serving her with intellectual loyalty and occasional romantic pining.

### [Thomas Cromwell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/characters/thomas_cromwell)

_professional_

Udal has a complex professional relationship with Cromwell, serving as a scholar and occasional informant while maintaining his loyalty to Katharine.

### [Lady Mary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/characters/lady_mary)

_friendship_

Lady Mary trusts Udal as a scholarly ally and messenger, using him to communicate with Katharine and her faction.

### [Thomas Cromwell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/characters/thomas_cromwell)

_professional_

Udal has a complex professional relationship with Cromwell, serving as a scholar and occasional informant while maintaining his loyalty to Katharine.

## In the story

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/chapters/i)

The Lady Mary's pedagogue, hungry and cold, seeking patronage and news to trade for crowns.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/chapters/vi)

Serves as Lady Mary's preceptor; warns Katharine to be cautious; ordered by Cromwell to write an interlude.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/chapters/vii)

Pursues Katharine with learned quotations and a proposal; lies that Cromwell ordered a dress for her, causing a riot.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/chapters/i)

Runs frantically to secure care for Katharine, bribes Throckmorton, and spreads rumors about the King's interest.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/chapters/iv)

Present in the scene; warns against carrying the letter and quotes Socrates on death.

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/chapters/ix)

Mentioned as having been sent to Paris to translate Sir Thomas Wyatt's letters, causing Margot Poins' distress.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/chapters/i)

The young man from Kent who arrives wet and fearful, claiming he has lost his advancement and that his mistress has been taken by Privy Seal's men.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/characters/nicholas_udal
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_fifth_queen_se/characters