The Characters

The following descriptions are intended to help people understand the traditional appearance of the characters, and how their personality should be played or written. Traditional commedia dell'arte is not about realism or creating well-rounded, three-dimensional characters, so most of the roles only have a couple traits to them around which the whole personality is defined. They rarely ever have any complex or sympathetic reasons for their behavior, and anything they do or feel, they do or feel to extremes. 

John Vorhaus's book The Comic Toolbox offers some excellent methods for creating a comic character and analyzing what makes a joke funny; I've tried to sum up each role's "comic perspective" around which most of the humor will be based, through listing the character's primary and secondary comic traits.

Anselmo.

A vecchio character who was popular in 16th and early 17th century. He is usually a courtier or an administrator or something of that nature. Frequently specified as a Genovese. He's often a vecchio-inamorato which is to say he's a rival for the inamorata, though he can also be a parent (and sometimes both, for example as a rival to his son for the same woman.) An 18th century figurine depicts him dressed in black professional-looking clothes with a cape, similar to Dottore, and holding a walking stick. He appears to be unmasked, but with his face painted white.

Burrattino; or Burattino, Burratino, Zan Buratino.

One of the zanni (see Zanni) with an extremely good nature -- obviously trustworthy enough that in Fortunata Isabella, the inamorata chooses him as her sole companion on a cross-country trip. He's not usually shown to be particularly smart, and he, like many zanni, is often inclined toward gluttony and lust. He is easily brought to tears by any kind of bad news (such as discovering he's eaten all the macaroni) and can lament these things at length. Illustrations show his costume to be a slightly baggy shirt and pants, decorated with small bows or ribbons, and wearing a collar. His hat is a kind of flat-cap with a narrow brim. The name Burrattino means little-donkey. A modern version of Burrattino can be found in the character of Burton "Gus" Guster on the show Psych.

PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: Soft-hearted to excess.

Captain; or Capitano; or The Spaniard.

Unusually, the character of the Captain can fall into both the zanni and the vecchi categories, and can even fill the part of the inamorato on occasion. He is sometimes considered a fourth "type" of character but in practice he still functions in stories as one of the three regular types (Cola is another who does this multifunction.) He is often depicted as a Spaniard, especially in older shows, and in some cases was simply called The Spaniard. He is often named Spavento, which means "terror" according to Florio's dictionary; but other popular names are Spagnuolo and Spezzafer. He is opportunistic and greedy, and in many scenari he is revealed to have never been a captain at all; and if he does have legitimate claim to the title he only earned it through deception and bravado. The other characters may or may not be fooled by his claims, depending on the needs of the story. He usually wears a fancy version of a period military uniform, and may or may not have a mask. If he is masked, it is usually flesh-colored with a long nose and mustache that turns up at the corners. He also is frequently portrayed as wearing glasses -- in past times these would have been a fashion accessory, akin to sunglasses today. He is usually played as being an extreme coward behind his bravado, though once in a while the character is known to demonstrate true courage; nevertheless, even when he does, it is so ineptly applied that his action is still a miserable failure. A modern example of a character in the style of the Captain is the title role of the show Invader Zim, an arrogant and exceedingly self-centered alien who earned a high military ranking simply because his superiors wanted to put him “in charge” of the most distant planet they could think of, so they'd never have to see him again. An example of Capitano used as a vecchio is Gaston from Disney's animated Beauty and the Beast.

PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: Egotism and megalomania.

SECONDARY COMIC TRAIT: Cowardice or ineptitude, in contrast to his primary trait.

Cavicchio.

Sometimes considered a Brighella variant as this name does turn up in relation to that character (Cavicchio supposedly being his surname, though stock characters rarely have consistent surnames from troupe to troupe or author to author, and early references to "Zan Brighella" indicate Brighella is already a surname, see: Zanni.) He's a peasant character. Ducharte calls him one of the "poor relations" of the commedia, being little-known and little documented. Cavicchio means "a stake" and was apparently also slang for a penis. Said by John Addington Symonds to "tell silly tales and sing Norcian songs."

Cietrulo; or Cetrullo.

Not a well-documented character, he turns up in the early 17th century Feather-Book of Dionisio Minaggio. The illustration shows the character to bear a strong resemblance to Scaramouch, and so is likely a variant on either him or on the Captain, and this is further supported in that the illustration appears to portray him threatening to pull his sword on another zanni; but Allardyce Nicoll in his book The World of Harlequin speculates he might be a variant on the character Coviello. The name Cietrulo is surely meant to be a play on the Italian word citrulo, which means idiot, and gives some more insight as to the character's personality. He is apparently an unmasked character, but with such a name is definitely a zanni or a vecchio, rather than an inamorato. 

PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: Probably a short temper; see also Captain, Scaramouch, and Coviello.

Cola; or Colafronio.

Usually a zanni, but sometimes classed as a vecchio and occasionally even an inamorato; he is depicted as well-dressed and wearing glasses, suggesting him to be a variant on the Captain, who has similar versatility. See also: Pasquariello, who has similar costumes (and a stated connection in at least one old scenario.) He is sometimes said to be a variant on Pulcinella; there's no reason to dismiss this, for it may well be that the "variant" on Pasquariello was to give him more traits like Pulcinella. Groucho Marx is a similar modern character.

Collofonio.

Not to be confused with Colafronio! This character is an early variant (arguably precedent) of Pantalone. 

Columbine, Colombine; or Colombina, Columbina.

First appears in the seventeenth century, as a variation of the soubrette or maid, who were the female counterparts of the zanni. Columbine is usually amorous and is often in love with someone or another in any scenario, most typically Harlequin. She may be variously prim and dainty, or she may be bold and uncouth; but she's never as crude or vulgar as Francesquina or Ruffiana due to her intelligence and legitimate affection for others. Modern commedie often use her to provide a voice of reason in the show and utilize her more as a straight-man for the other characters. As is usual for the female roles, her costume tends to vary by the fashions of the day, and at times can be as elaborate as that of the inamorata, and at other points may be ragged and drab. Her outfit became somewhat standardized in the nineteenth century as a gown, usually white in color, frozen in the fashion of the previous century. She frequently wears no mask at all, though sometimes she may have a small eye-mask. A modern character somewhat in the style of Columbina can be found in Babs Bunny from the Tiny Toons cartoon series, in the way she often has small romantic troubles and indulges in girly activities. Yung Hee on Mike Tyson Mysteries depicts a Columbina in a straight man role.

PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: The antics of love/lust. She can also be a straight man, meaning she has no primary comic trait and instead serves mainly to aid jokes from other characters.

SECONDARY COMIC TRAIT: Sauciness; also, strange creativity.

Coviello; or Covielle.

His name is a double-diminutive of the name Giacomo. Callot's illustrations show his mask to possess an extremely long nose, protruding as far as the elbow of his outstretched arm, and he usually wears a plumed hat or headdress as part of his costume. Colors of his mask can vary but seem to usually have red in the cheek area. He falls into the category of the zanni — though he appears to have some common lineage with the Captain — and has a stronger popularity in earlier plays. The character was well-known enough in Italy that 'coviello' became a term for a boastful idiot. His actual character can be variable, and many traditional scenarios and plays portray him as quite smart. His primary qualities are conceit and bluntness — he never fears to call a spade a spade. A character in the style of Coviello is Sophia Petrillo on The Golden Girls.

PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: Bluntness.

SECONDARY COMIC TRAIT: See Capitano.

Desavedo.

Variant on Dottore, said to be from Parma. Often a character who appeared in between scenes to entertain the audience. Said to caricature a "dude" in old sense of the word, "fastidious man." 

Doctor; Gratiano, Gratian.

Common names for the Doctor are Baloardo and Spaccastrummolo, which roughly translate in English, respectively, as Dr. Stoupide and Dr. Hack-and-Bandage. In older plays the name Gratiano or Graziano is so common that sometimes the "Doctor" part of his title is not even neccessary. According to Duchartre, the character first appears during the sixteenth century, he is summarized as having “spent his whole life learning everything without understanding anything.” The Doctor is one of the vecchi, and is therefore by demand of the type prone to commit all seven of the deadly sins. He has an unusual mask that covers only the nose and forehead, either black or flesh-tone, and dresses in black. Early doctors wore caricatures of the medical robes of their era, but in the mid-seventeenth century the costume was modified to a jacket of Louis XIV style, extremely wide hat, breeches, and a ruff collar. He is rarely shown as being even remotely competent in his profession, and common sources of humor stem from his low cure rates and the bizarre (and obviously useless) treatments he administers. A modern version of this character can be found in the form of Professor Farnsworth on Futurama — an extremely elderly, amoral, senile and deranged scientist who appears to spend most of his time inventing useless and ridiculous devices and ordering around his employees.  

PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: Egotism and pride; often conflicting with his actual stupidity and ineptitude.

SECONDARY COMIC TRAIT: Old man -- see Pantalone.

Flametta.

Variant of Colombina. In the English production of Trappolin Supposed a Prince she would have been played by a man, which gives somewhat a different reading to scenes like the one where Trappolin tricks her into a strip tease.

Francatrippa, Franca Trippa, Francatrip, Francatrippe.

Early zanni. His picture in L'Amfiparnaso depicts him in the zanni's baggy shirt and pants, but with a sleeveless jerkin on top, and a narrow-brimmed hat. Callot put him in an outfit identical to most other zanni. He was often depicted alongside Harlequin and his name may have gone through a phase as the generic name for all zanni, if an old description of "that Francat[r]ipp' Harlicken" is meant how it sounds. It seems to have become at least a generic insult; Florio defines the name as meaning "a grosse greasie, scullionlike loggerheaded lubberlie foolish fellow." His mask was usually brown or tan in color. See: Zanni, or Arlecchino.

Franceschina, Francesquina; or Francisquine.

A soubrette, with a particularly libidinous nature. She's a bit too skanky to come off as truly sexy, but she's good enough for the likes of most zanni and vecchi. If she's unmarried, she doesn't care; and if she's married, she still doesn't care. A series of illustrations from the Recueil Fossard show her with a rather Rubenesque figure, gushing out of her corset and with the spiral lacing on her dress ready to burst. Her costume is of a low-class servant. The role was sometimes played by a man, even in companies that had female actresses. A modern character of her style might be seen in Tuca of Tuca and Bertie.

PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: Slut.

Geronte; Gerontio; or Gerontes.

A French version of Pantalone. Though still old, he is usually portrayed as less mean or miserly and instead more ignorant or naive. Early versions dress him the same as Pantalone; 19th century costume designs show him as an old man dressed as a gentleman of the late 17th or early 18th century, but with flamboyantly bright red rolled stockings and a variety of unfashionable hats. He does not appear to wear a mask. His name is from a Greek word meaning elder or old man. A modern character in this mode is Grandpa (Abraham) Simpson on The Simpsons.

PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: Ignorance/stupidity.

Gradelino; or Gradellino.

Considered a Brighella variation, created in the late 17th century. See Brighella.

Harlequin; or Arlequin, Arlechin, Arlecchino, etc.

Perhaps the most popular and definitely best-known of the commedia characters. There are many dubious etymologies of his name, often linking him to mythical beings or spirits, but no one can say for sure whence the word originates. Harlequin's early costume was a kind of unitard or jumpsuit decorated with patches, meant to indicate a garment so ragged it was more patches than real material. Over time it evolved into the diamond or triangle pattern that has come to distinguish him. Later versions show him in a two-piece outfit made from a shirt and pants. Interestingly, his outfit has always been belted around the hips, instead of at the waist. Harlequin is traditionally portrayed by a physically agile actor and makes use of slapstick and stunts. His character is often not particularly bright though the extremes to which this is taken vary by the scenario. He wears a dark brown or black colored mask, sometimes with a beard or mustache attached. Old style Harlequins often wore a hat made from a dead animal, though from the eighteenth century on a bicorn or tricorn hat has become traditional. Another attribute of Harlequin is a wooden prop -- usually a wooden sword or a wooden stick (originally a slapstick, but later evolutions show it as just a walking stick or cane.) Harlequin's unparalleled popularity means there are many examples of modern characters in the style. Some examples are Roger Rabbit from Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Harpo Marx's stage character, and George from the Blackadder series.

PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: Making a nuisance of himself. 

Harlequina.

Female counterpart, or female version of Harlequin. Because Harlequin was so commonly paired with Colombina, this character is also sometimes the same as her. Wears a feminine, gown version of Harlequin's outfit, with no mask or a small domino replacing his larger mask. 

Magnifica.

To my knowledge, invented by me for the scenario Marriage, Mischief and Merry Christmas. Intended to be played by your local drag queen, but with acknowledgement that female actresses are more plentiful than males, can be done as a variant on La Signora. Intended to be unmasked, but with very heavy makeup; and splendidly clothed. Think Julian Eltinge.

Magnifico; The Magnificent. 

A variant of Pantalone, popular in the late 16th/early 17th centuries. Whereas Pantalone is usually of the merchant class, Magnifico is more likely to be an elected official or aristocrat, but on the whole there is no significant difference between the two characters. Sometimes they are one and the same, where Magnifico is simply Pantalone's title.

PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: His name suggests grace, generosity and command, all of which he lacks. See also: Pantalone. 

Marinette, or Marinetta.

"Ravishing" and "multi-talented" according to Maurice Sand -- or at least this is what he said of the actress who created the part. She is a variant on Colombina. 

Mezzetino; or Mezzetin, Mezetin.

A variant on Brighella, he's a bit (but only a bit) less violent than the big brawler and instead is more interested in the ladies. Mezzetino's name suggests that alcohol is also another of his interests (from mezzeta meaning a wine-measure or a pint, according to John Florio's dictionary of 1611 -- though Lynne Lawner in Harlequin on the Moon claims the name actually refers to the character's role as a middle-man or "go between.") He is smart but often seems to make a poor impression on others -- Duchartre even gives an example where he's downright creepy, flirting with a girl by explaining how he has murdered his last wife and will murder his current wife to be with her. Overall, it seems, he is a slightly less-capable Brighella. Mezzetino's costume began as a baggy white costume like that of the generic zanni, but later evolved to a kind of livery or else a tunic and breeches, usually striped. Watteau shows Mezzetin in pink stripes or in pink, yellow and blue pastel stripes, and Maurice Sand shows red and white stripes. Brunelleschi shows purple and white stripes. Mezzetino usually is shown wearing  cape or tabaro and a ruff or clown collar. He has a tradition of being unmasked. A bonnet or muffin hat finishes the costume. The character of Chico Marx is a Mezzetin-like character.

PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: See Harlequin or Brighella.

Nicholas; Nicolo.

Some of the older zanni just have regular names (see Pedrolino) but this apparently English variant on the traditional Italian clowns might be alluding to Nick as a term for a cheat (compare Old Nick, the Devil) or from French Nicodeme as the term for a fool. The character is usually of the Pedrolino mold, not very aggressive and average in intelligence, but able to outsmart vecchi or other zanni. 

Olivetta; Olivette.

The female servant characters are often considered interchangeable with one another; but a level of sleaziness seems to differentiate some types. Olivetta tends more to the Francesquina mold, so, see: Francesquina.

Orgon or Argan.

French variant on Pantalone.

La Padrona; or La Signora.

Like Dottore and Magnifico, this is a character's title, not a name. Growing in modern popularity due to the desire for more female roles, this character type does appear in old plays but usually only as a minor character. She represents a well-to-do woman who keeps servants, and is generally married to one of the vecchi. Her age and social status should designate her also one of the vecchi but in fact she's frequently operating against them, like Sofronia in Clizia or the Countess from The Marriage of Figaro; or else her role is so minor she has little impact on the unfolding plot. Typically she is not depicted as being so selfish as the vecchi and to genuinely have others' best interests at heart; though for comic reasons she might be portrayed negatively, and the smaller her role in the story the more comical she will be, to justify her presence. Female commedia parts were not usually masked; she'd have simply worn makeup. Peg Bundy on Married... With Children would be a modern example of the type. Also the headmistress of the St. Trinian's films, Mrs. Fritton, usually played by a man, is in the style.

COMIC TRAIT: Usually stems from the stereotypes of the "bored housewife" -- ludicrously domineering, or lazy, or airheaded, or lusting after poolboys/pageboys, etc.

Pancratio, Pancrace or Pangrazio.

Pantalone variant.

Pandolfo.

A vecchio character, usually the father of one of the innamorati. According to Ducharte, a variant on Pantalone (see: Pantalone). Some 17th century references, however, indicate he's a Doctor (see: Dottore) and there's one play that makes reference to him as a Captain (see: Capitano.) Since Pandolfo is a legitimate personal name, it's possibly a coincidence that separate vecchio characters emerged with the name at different times. The character became better documented in the later 17th century, and was often paired with Ubaldo as his friend or rival vecchio.

Pantalone, Pantaloni, Pantalon; or Pantaloon.

A vecchio, and one of the older characters of the commedia, both historically and in canon. He's one of the earliest documented stock characters in the commedia dell'arte. His name may be from Greek Pantaleon, a comedian mentioned by the ancient author Athenaeus; or it could have been chosen simply as a fashionable Greek name (compare Pirro, Cleandro, Gerontes, etc.). He is played as an old man; in fact, the older the show states Pantalone's age to be, the better. He is usually portrayed as being of the merchant class though he may or may not be wealthy; if he is, it doesn't matter as he's usually so averse to spending any of his money that his lifestyle is almost that of a beggar. His usual garb through the 16th-17th century was a kind of fitted hose that hadn't been fashionable since the middle ages plus a button-down doublet/shirt, or else a tight jumpsuit, usually red in color, with a long black coat or a cape thrown over. In the 18th century his costume became an indistinctive suit in the fashion of circa 1700. His mask is meant to portray an ancient old man, very wrinkled, with a large, long nose, and sometimes an attached white beard. Pantalone's traditional costume of long closed leggings resulted in the term “pants” “pantaloons” and so on becoming the name for such garments. Modern Pantalone-like characters include Mr. Burns on The Simpsons (whose face is even drawn in such a way as to resemble Pantalone's mask) and Robert "Granddad" Freeman on Boondocks.

PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: Greed and stinginess -- usually of money but can apply it to women, power, food, or whatever else captures his fancy. 

SECONDARY COMIC TRAIT: Old man. Jokes about prostate troubles, broken hips, and 'back in my day we wore an onion on our belt' will abound.

Pasquella.

A Ruffiana type character (see Ruffiana) but usually played as a soubrette/female zanni instead of a female vecchio. Said to be a "rival" to the soubrette roles in later tradition, in which case she would be a vecchio à la Ruffiana, but without necessarily sharing Ruffiana's profession. She is often a married woman or else a widow, but later shows considered her interchangeable with Colombina, suggesting she could still be played by a young, pretty actress. See also: Francesquina. 

Pasquariello, Paschiarello; or Pasquariel.

A Capitano variant, usually a zanni but sometimes a vecchio or inamorato. His costume is shown as a tabaro, jacket, and breeches with decorative garters. On his head appears to be a skullcap, and he looks to be unmasked. Later versions replace the tabaro with a clown-collar and add stripes to the design. Had acrobatic tendencies. 

Pierette.

Female version of, or counterpart to, Pierrot. Wears a feminized version of his costume and makeup.

Pierrot; Pedrolino, Pierulin; Peterkin; Zan Pedrolino.

Ranks with Harlequin among the most popular characters of the commedia. He particularly took off in English-speaking countries after the character was revamped during the late seventeenth century to be more innocent and romantic (the early Pedrolino was more like Pulcinella in his behavior. See: Purricinella.) An indication of his popularity comes in the works of Wodehouse, who declares that for costume parties, every well-bred Englishman dresses as Pierrot. This costume consists of a white, baggy jumpsuit, or else loose trousers and a button-down shirt, sometimes with overly-long sleeves. A ruff or a clown collar around the neck is almost always worn, and the actor leaves the face unmasked and made-up with white powder. A skullcap is worn on the head to hide the hair, sometimes topped with another wider-brimmed hat. Occasionally he can be found wearing a bonnet or a tall toque. A Pierrot-like character can be found in the roles favored by Buster Keaton during his heyday (Bertie in The Saphead, Johnnie in The General, etc.)

PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: Originally tended to play pranks and insult other characters for humor; later came to be known for innocence and dreaminess. 

Pirro, or Piro; Pietro, Pedro.

John Rudlin considers him an early version of Pierrot/Pedrolino. He appears in Machiavelli's Clizia as an adaptation of one of Plautus's ancient characters, and he appears throughout the 16th century in other comedies as a stock servant character or sometimes an inamorato. The name may be a reference to an amorous servant character in the Decameron of Boccaccio, whose name is usually Englished as Pyrrhus.

PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: Tricking others as a prankster or conman. See also: Zanni

Plautino.

Variant on Scapino, apparently invented for the English stage. Very likely that his name is a deliberate allusion to the Roman author Plautus, whose influence upon the commedia dell'arte was known early on.

Purricinella; or Pulcinella, Polichinelle, Punchinello, &c.

Pot-bellied and hunchbacked zanni, his shape is somewhat like that of a chicken, and this is probably the origin of his name (from medieval Italian pollicino, a young pullet or chicken.) His mask is formed to have a long, hooked, beak-like nose, and his costume usually includes a tall hat of some form. His garments are similar to Pierrot's in classical images; in later depictions his costume sometimes is stylized after late 18th century gentlemen's fashion, with padding for the hump and belly. Pulcinella's primary trait is a tendency toward malice and selfishness which is usually covered by an ignorance — or pretense thereof — as to the harm he's causing. Like Brighella, he's willing to commit murder, but Pulcinella will often find a way to make it seem like an accident or even to trick or confuse the victim into killing himself. He evolved in English-speaking countries into Mr. Punch of the notorious Punch and Judy shows. The character of Betelgeuse (Beetlejuice) as played by Michael Keaton is a sort of modern Pulicinella character.

PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: Gleeful malice.

Ruffiana; or La Ruffiana.

A female vecchio, not well documented but recently grown in popularity due to the new availability of female actresses and the need to fit them with roles. Like Dottore and Capitano, Ruffiana is properly a title, not her given name. According to Florio's dictionary, it means "a woman bawde" i.e. a whore or a madam. Her name sometimes gets mistranslated as "gossiper" -- evidently stemming from Ducharte's English translator rendering the old French term commere as mere "gossiper" rather than, as Randle Cotgrave puts it, "A bed broaker, an arse-gossip; a gossip for all buttock-matches, or, in all baudie meetings." In any case, her character is that of a low class woman, even if the story has set her up to be financially well-off through her occupations or marriages. She doesn't appear to have a standard costume but evidently would dress as flamboyantly as her financial condition would allow. Oddly for a female character, it appears she did traditionally wear a mask, which looks to have been modeled after the bauta style, but with a higher mouth so as not to obscure her speech. She was more commonly seen in the crasser 16th century plays than in the more refined shows that became the models for the modern commedia revival. Lady Booby from the film adaption of Joseph Andrews is a Ruffiana-like character. Perhaps the most family friendly version has been via Ursula in the 1989 The Little Mermaid brokering the love match Ariel wishes ("Don't underestimate the importance of bo-dy lan-guage, ha!")

PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: Old whore. See also: Francesquina.

Rosetta.

Variant on Colombina.

Scapino; or Scappino, Scapin.

A Brighella derivative; his name is related to the English word "escape" in reference to his tendency to flee from fights, even those he himself began. Scapino tends to make a confusion of anything he undertakes and metaphorically "flees" from one thought, activity or love interest to another, as his name implies, although he usually will return to it -- eventually. Self-preservation and self-interest are his main concerns. This is not to say his wits are without merit. In The Impostures of Scapin, Zerbinette mentions what “a clever servant [Léandre] has. His name is Scapin. He is a most wonderful man and deserves the highest praise.” He is a schemer and scoundrel, and takes a certain pride in these facts. He was originally a masked character, although later versions usually have the actor simply powder his face. He is traditionally shown with a hooked nose and a pointed beard. Later versions show his costume with green (or sometimes turquoise) and white stripes, similar to Mezzetino's red and white, but Callot shows Scapino in an outfit similar to the early Brighella's, white with a tabaro and a sword on his belt, and topped with a torn hat adorned with feathers. A character in the style of Scapino can be found in the animated Disney film Mulan via Mushu the dragon. 

PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: Malicious intelligence combined with physical agility. 

Scaramouche; or Scaramouch or Scaramuccia.

According to Duchartre, Scaramouche is a variation of the Captain. Until the mid-seventeenth century he was a masked character, but later became a role in which the actor merely powders his face, if that. It is traditional for his character to dress in all or mostly black, with a bonnet and a white ruff or clown collar, and often with a tabaro. His personality is similar to the Captain, though a little more mellow on the braggadocio. A modern variation of this character can be found in Daffy Duck.

PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: Arrogance.

Stoppino.

A zanni, whose name means "candle wick." Popular in 17th century. See: Zanni.

Tartaglia.

The word tartaglia means a stutterer or stammerer, and this is the primary trait of the character. For the sake of humor he often will find himself stuck on the most obscene syllable in any given word. Tartaglia frequently is an official of some kind, like a judge or a minister to the king. He usually is in the character class of a vecchio or a zanni. He does not appear to have a standard costume, but Maurice Sand shows him in a green and yellow striped clown outfit. He often is shown with thick glasses and is meant to be old, so his mask uses these qualities. A rounded nose is also common. A modernized Tartaglia can be found in the character of Porky Pig.

PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: Stutter. 

Trappolin; Trappolino, Trapolino; Trappola.

A prototype for Harlequin, popular in 16th and 17th centuries. His accessories and outfit are the same as Harlequin's minus the distinctive colorful patches or triangles; instead Trappolin's seams and buttonholes are decorated with colorful trim, and the Feather Book illustration shows him wearing turquoise socks. His name means a trap or a person who traps, and in Trappolin Supposed a Prince he is unabashed about his profession as a pimp. See: Harlequin.

Ubaldo.

Vecchio character. His personality seems pretty much to be "generic vecchio" but he was often paired with Pandolfo (see: Pandolfo) even in plays where he doesn't actually appear beyond verbal references, suggesting there was kind of a Mutt and Jeff or Thomson and Thompson dynamic where the combination of the two characters together was what made the joke. His surname is sometimes given as Lanterni.

Woman in Pants.

Not exactly a character in shows, the woman in pants had the duty of going about the town announcing the upcoming commedia and drawing people to the theatre or booth where the performance would happen. The figure was ubiquitous with old commedia dell'arte plays. The novelty of the woman in pants would be on par with a man in a dress today.

Zanni; or Zan, Gian, Giovan; Jack Pudding, Hanswurst.

This is the original Zan/Gian or zanni from which all zanni evolved. For commedia characters the name was often paired with a surname; a 16th century poem lists "Zan Ponzent [...] Zan Pettaza [...] Zanganassa, e Zan Massella, Zan Carrotta, e Zan Gradella, Zan Farina [...] Zan Frignocola [...] Zan Padella [...] Zan Fritella, Zan Fritada [...] e Zan Palpetta, Zan Capella, e Zan Bragheta, Zan Culata" among other stock characters. Burattino was originally Zan Buratino and Brighella Zan Brighella, and it's likely that other comic characters originated with the title. In period pronunciation the Z probably represented a sound like a modern French J, and was considered a dialectal variant on the name Giovan(ni). The equivalent English is Jack, as in Jack Juggler; and "Jack Pudding" (Zan Salcizza) somehow managed to live for centuries as the sole loan-term in English for the zanni type of character. The original zanni were low class characters, often speaking in dialect, prone to base behaviors like brawling, sex, gambling and eating. Typically not depicted as smart, but were able to outwit the impossibly dimwitted vecchi. An early illustration of a Zanni shows him in the kind of black mask that later became associated with Harlequin, though brown masks were also common in paintings; facial hair is always a fair color such as grey or mousey blonde (perhaps just the effect of animal fur used for the masks.) The usual costume for the zanni was a baggy shirt and pants in white, off-white, or a pale hue, belted with a sash or rope, sometimes with a colorful jerkin and/or tabaro, usually topped with a wide sun hat which might be decorated with rooster feathers. There might be several Zanni in a show all wearing this similar outfit, distinguished by small details like cocked hats or the color of the tabaro. The Speedy Gonzales character is perhaps one of the better modern depictions, even drawn in a costume that resembles the traditional zanni outfits; Beavis and Butt-head too are of the type.

PRIMARY COMIC TRAIT: Simple-mindedness and low-class ways.