# Friar Barnadine — The Jew of Malta character guide

> Friar Barnadine in The Jew of Malta by Christopher Marlowe.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Barnardine, Friar Barnardine, Friar Barnadine Barabas, Friar Barnadine Ay

**First appearance:** 0011-scene-i

## Snapshot

A friar who hears Abigail's deathbed confession and, bound by its seal, becomes the target of Barabas's most intimate murder.

## Who they are

Barnadine receives Abigail's confession and learns of the forged challenge and the poisoned broth, but the seal of the shrift forbids him to reveal it. He tries to use the knowledge to frighten Barabas into repentance, unaware that he is walking into a trap. His scruple about the confessional makes him both a threat and a victim, and his strangling in Barabas's house is the murder that finally damns the Jew in the eyes of Malta.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jew_of_malta_se/characters/friar_barnadine
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jew_of_malta_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jew_of_malta_se/characters