The Book of the Dun Cow/Characters

Chauntecleer's Coop:

Chauntecleer

A rooster who is the main character and the leader of the Coop.

• The Atoner: For both his Dark and Troubled Past and Mundo Cani's fate.
• Badass: He can fight very well for a chicken.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Chauntecleer was a thief and criminal, scheming to murder his land's leaders after his mother was killed by a wolf. An encounter with God allowed for a pre-story Heel Face Turn.
• The Determinator: During his fight with Cockatrice.
• Good Is Not Nice: Although well-meaning, Chauntecleer is haughty, quick to insult others, and occasionally quite selfish.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Is envious of Mundo Cani's connection with the Dun Cow until he finds out why.
• The Hero
• Heroic BSOD: Quite prone to these, and when they hit, they hit hard.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite his short temper and arrogance, Chauntecleer cares for his animals and his wife and especially, once he gets used to him, Mundo Cani.
• Loud of War: The Crows Potens, a useful weapon against the Basilisks.
• Named Weapons: Gaff and the Slasher, his battle spurs.
• Pet the Dog: Despite his temperamental nature and verbal abuse of Mundo Cani, Chauntecleer tries very hard to save the Wee Widow Mouse and is a devoted husband to Pertelote.
• Rage Against the Heavens: After the death of his children.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Type I with Mundo Cani, who he constantly abuses verbally (but who he secretly cares deeply for).

Mundo Cani

Chauntecleer's Number Two, a dog who came to the Coop and was allowed in by Chauntecleer. He is very depressed and is often seen crying, but his loyalty is proven when he sacrifices himself to stop Wyrm.

• Apologises a Lot: Berates himself for failing to save a Wild Turkey, when he successfully rescued the others.
• Badass: Surprisingly so. He stands up to both The Dragon and the Big Bad, the latter of which is a gigantic Captain Ersatz of Satan.
• Catch Phrase: "MAROOOONED!"
• Chosen One: A Dog with no illusion...
• The Eeyore: Mundo Cani is only seen happy once in the whole book.
• Gag Nose: Mundo Cani is constantly complaning about his nose, but it gives him an excellent sense of smell.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Gives himself up to blind Wyrm and trap him underground.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: See Apologises a Lot. Mundo Cani constantly insults himself and does not even mind being used as a doormat by Chauntecleer. Given that he is easily the most heroic character in the book, his low self-esteem is likely to cause a few Tear Jerker moments.
• I Shall Taunt You: Uses this to great effect when he confronts Wyrm.
• The Lancer: His self-deprecation contrasts with Chauntecleer's arrogance.
• Meaningful Name: "Mundo Cani" is Latin for "a dog's world".
• Number Two
• Super Speed: Can cross territory extremely quickly, which comes in useful several times.
• Took a Level in Badass
• Undying Loyalty: Mundo Cani will and does protect the Coop and Chauntecleer with his life.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Type I with Chauntecleer.

Pertelote

Chauntecleer's favorite hen and a refugee from Cockatrice's land. She is capable and intelligent, and cares deeply for him.

• Broken Bird: A literal example. Pertelote endured sexual abuse from Cockatrice alongside all of her fellow hens, who eventually were killed. For a while she is worried about Chauntecleer, who looks almost exactly like her tormentor. She goes berserk when she first sees him, which is understandable given what she went through.
• The Chick
• Dark and Troubled Past: Pertelote once lived across the river, and was one of Senex's hens who was raped by Cockatrice. However, she kept her spirit by using a stone to break the basilisk eggs in her body, and was one of the only hens to escape.
• The Heart: Pertelote helps to bring out Chauntecleer's good side.
• Music for Courage: Pertelote sings to calm down the animals who are terrified of Cockatrice and the basilisks.
• Plucky Girl: After being raped by Cockatrice, Pertelote uses a stone to break the basilisk eggs in her body before they hatch. She can also hold her own in a fight, too, although Chauntecleer wasn't trying to harm her.

John Wesley Weasel

A weasel and former thief who befriends the Wee Widow Mouse. He becomes one of Chauntecleer's best warriors, and has a special advantage against Basilisks.

• The Atoner: Apparently, some time in the past, Chauntecleer kicked his ass but good, triggering a Heel Face Turn.
• Badass: One of the most badass characters in the book.
• The Determinator: John Wesley Weasel continues to fight even after he suffers heavy wounds and loses an ear in the fight with the Basilisks.
• The Berserker: Very much so, especially after the Wee Widow Mouse's death.
• Heroic BSOD: Has a relatively minor one after the war.
• Odd Friendship: With the Wee Widow Mouse.
• Parental Substitute: For the Wee Widow Mouse's children, whose father died fighting against Toad.
• Reformed Criminal: Implied to be one, although he has had a Heel Face Turn since then.
• Third Person Person: Sometimes calls himself "John Double-u of the Double-us."
• Unstoppable Rage: After the Wee Widow Mouse's death, John Wesley Weasel becomes an unquestioned Badass, killing a slew of Basilisks on his own. Despite injuries. With one ear missing.
• Wicked Weasel: Averted with him. Despite his ambiguous nature early in the book, John Wesley Weasel proves to be one of the good guys.

The Wee Widow Mouse (and family)

Another refugee of Cockatrice's kingdom, whose husband was killed by the basilisks. She moves into Ebenezer Rat's hole with her children and befriends John Wesley Weasel. She is killed by a basilisk which got into the Coop.

• Badass Adorable: The Widow's husband, who died attacking The Quisling and was the most vocal opponent of Chauntecleer's rule.
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"
• Kill the Cutie
• Nice Mice
• Morality Chain: John Wesley Weasel's.
• Odd Friendship: With John Wesley Weasel.
• Sacrificial Lion: Arguably. Her death causes John Wesley Weasel to become The Berserker.

The Wild Turkeys

A group of turkeys who are the stupidest animals in the Coop. They are well-meaning but pouty and very dim-witted, and all of them die before the final battle.

• Big Eater: Ocellata eats a stripe of Mundo Cani's hair and some pebbles.
• The Ditz: The turkeys as a group are this. For example, they throw a pout en masse in protest of Mundo Cani saving their lives. Their stupidity is to the extent that they aren't aware if one of their own dies.
• The Load: Ocellata and the other turkeys pout during war preparations, and do not help at all.
• Shoo Out the Clowns: The mass death of the Wild Turkeys shifts the mood of the book to very, very dark.
• Stupid Good: The turkeys are friendly enough, but are too stupid to be aware of danger.
• Too Dumb to Live: All of them, but special mention goes to Thuringer, who died while giving a Basilisk a friendly greeting.
• Ungrateful Bastard: A mild example in Ocelatta, who is too stupid to realize that Mundo Cani saved him from certain death.

The Pins

Chauntecleer and Pertelote's three sons. All of them are killed by the Basilisks.

• Children Are Innocent: The Pins are friendly, mildly mischevious, and love games.
• Kill the Cutie
• Infant Immortality: Subverted brutally.
• Rule of Three
• You Are Number Six: The Pins are named One Pin, Five Pin, and Ten Pin.

Beryl

The Pins' nurse and caretaker. She is very superstitious and uses her words very carefully. She is killed by the Basilisks with the Pins.

• Cloudcuckoolander: Beryl can seem dithery at times, as in a scene where she alerts Chauntecleer that her eggs have been eaten.
• Cassandra Truth: No one believes Beryl when she thinks that the Pins are in danger.
• The Cuckoolander Was Right
• Properly Paranoid
• Words Can Break My Bones: Beryl believes this, scolding Tick-Tock and the ants for singing about the Pins' deaths. As it turns out, she was right to worry.

Peck and Scrape

Two members of the Mad House of Otter.

• Dirty Coward: Both of them, but more so Scrape.
• Heel Face Turn: They do participate in the battle with Cockatrice, if unwillingly.
• Playful Otter: Averted. Scrape and Peck, along with the rest of the Mad House of Otter, are careless and something of Dirty Cowards.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Scrape and Peck try this on Chauntecleer. He has none of it, and delivers some well-deserved karma.

Tick-Tock the Black Ant

A hardworking ant who is friendly to Chauntecleer and the Pins.

• A Father to His Men: Tick-Tock is stern but fair to his ant workers.
• Benevolent Boss
• Tempting Fate: He and the ants sing a cheerful song about the Pins dying. They do, but not in the manner described.

Nimbus

A deer who is a member of Chauntecleer's army. Despite his wary nature, he takes part in the fight against the basilisks. He doesn't make it.

• Odd Friendship: He gets along well with a hare named Pika.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: Nimbus only appears in one scene before his death.

Lord Russel

A fox who is a good friend of Chauntecleer. He is extremely chatty, making him seem cleverer than he really is. He helps look after the Pins, and is indirectly responsible for their deaths.

• Carnivore Confusion: Despite the fact that Lord Russel is a fox, Chauntecleer is willing to leave his children alone with him. This has fatal results, although the killer is a Basilisk, not Russel.
• Chekhov's Gun: Lord Russel discovers that rue means protection from basilisks before the other characters do.
• Cunning Like a Fox: Played with. While he isn't stupid, Lord Russel isn't as clever as he or the Pins thinks he is.
• Meaningful Name: Russel is named after the fox who appears in The Canterbury Tales.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Lord Russel is genuinely remorseful for his (unintentional) role in the deaths of the Pins, and is eventually forgiven by Chauntecleer.
• Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Lord Russel specializes in making lengthy, impressive-sounding speeches that are redundant or mean nothing at all.

Ebenezer Rat

A rat who lived in Chauntecleer's Coop and ate the hens' eggs. Chauntecleer drives him away with the help of Tick-Tock. He later dies in battle with a basilisk.

• Death Equals Redemption: Chauntecleer absolves him after his death.
• Deadly Change-of-Heart
• He Who Must Not Be Seen: He has this reputation. However, Chauntecleer ruins it by bringing him out and planting feathers on his back.
• Taking You with Me: Ebenezer Rat manages to kill a basilisk in a fight, but is mortally injured in the process.
• The Voiceless: The only animal character in the novel who doesn't talk, and it is unclear whether or not this is by choice.
• You Dirty Rat: Very much so. However, Ebenezer Rat, it is noted, is a Keeper of Wyrm and is nowhere near as bad as the later villains.

Across the River

Wyrm

A gigantic serpent, so large that he can coil around the world. Although he was sealed into the Earth by God, he can communicate through dreams.

• Altum Videtur: Wyrm speaks in Latin, the "language of the powers".
• Big Bad: Emphasis on the "big" part.
• The Chessmaster: Very good at manipulating others into doing what he wants.
• Dream Weaver: A very, very nasty one. He uses this ability to manipulate Senex and tempt him, and later to harass Chauntecleer.
• Eldritch Abomination
• The Man Behind the Man: To Cockatrice, his "son".
• Mind Screw: His specialty.
• Omnicidal Maniac: Wyrm hates the universe and plots to destroy it. It is mentioned that he is able to kill angels if he wants to.
• Our Dragons Are Different
• Reptiles Are Abhorrent: Wyrm, a Satan Expy, takes the shape of an enormous snake.
• Sealed Evil in a Can: Wyrm was sealed inside the Earth by God to prevent him from destroying everything. He is held in by the natural goodness of the animals.

Cockatrice

The Dragon and Wyrm's agent on Earth. Cockatrice was born when Wyrm tricked an old rooster named Senex into fathering its son. He murders his father before forcing the hens to produce an army of basilisks for him.

• The Antichrist: Implied to be a being like this.
• Bad Boss: To Toad, who he allows to be killed by his own Mooks.
• Creepy Child: As a chick, Cockatrice never eats or speaks, only staring creepily and twisting his tail.
• Dead Guy on Display: After his death, Chauntecleer lets the animals view the body and carries his head around the battlefield.
• The Determinator: After being fatally stabbed by Chauntecleer's battle spurs, Cockatrice continues attacking and kills himself.
• The Dragon
• Enemy to All Living Things: Cockatrice only views animals as things to be used and discarded, or to be destroyed outright.
• Disc One Final Boss: Cockatrice is Wyrm's agent on earth, and the overt villain for a large part of the book, but is far less powerful than his creator.
• Eldritch Abomination
• Kick the Dog: He doesn't hesitate to do this. Raping Senex's hens and killing Senex himself are only a few of these moments.
• Evil Counterpart: To Chauntecleer.
• The Heavy: While he is subordinate to Wyrm, Cockatrice is a force in his own right, and he is the one who has a more personal conflict with Chauntecleer.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice
• Papa Wolf: A malevolent variation. The only things he shows any feeling towards are his children, the basilisks.
• Precision F-Strike: "Damn the name Senex!"
• The Quiet One: Most of the time, but when he talks he screams.
• Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Cockatrice repeatedly rapes Senex's hens to produce his basilisk army, including Pertelote.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Unlike a real rooster, Cockatrice has red eyes and a scaly body.
• Reptiles Are Abhorrent: Cockatrice is part snake and part rooster.
• 0% Approval Rating: During his short reign as ruler of Senex's land. Justified in that he is outright undermining the land and the animals are too despairing to challenge him.

Senex

An old rooster who Wyrm fools into fathering Cockatrice through dreams. He is eventually murdered by Cockatrice.

• Apologises a Lot: Senex's main problem, which makes it difficult for his animals to take him seriously as a ruler.
• Evil Is Not a Toy: Learns this lesson a little too late.
• Deadly Change-of-Heart
• Horrible Judge of Character
• How the Mighty Have Fallen: During his Glory Days, Senex wasn't a bad ruler to his animals. Now that he is very old, he is balding and very miserable-looking. Even his hens make fun of him behind his back.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: Attempts this, as Wyrm uses his desire to relive his glory years to trick him.
• Unwitting Pawn: Wyrm takes advantage of Senex's despair and desire to preserve his name to trick him. Senex, for his part, is not really evil, more desperate and pathetic than anything else, and is unaware of Wyrm's true nature.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness

Toad

A toad who Senex forces to nurse Cockatrice's egg. Later he acts as Cockatrice's voice and enforcer, but is killed by the basilisks anyway.

• Frogs and Toads: A mostly unsympathetic example.
• Kick the Dog: While sympathetic to the hens at first, Toad exposes Pertelote as breaking her eggs, and physically attacks her.
• Punch Clock Villain: Toad is this at first, and his introduction to Cockatrice (as an egg) by Senex was involuntary.
• Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves
• The Quisling: The only animal in the book who willingly serves Cockatrice. It doesn't save him.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness

Basilisks

Cockatrice's army of slimy, vicious black serpents. They are the children of Cockatrice and Senex's hens, who he raped repeatedly to produce them.

• Achilles' Heel: Basilisks hate loud noise, which is why Chauntecleer's Crows Potens have such an effect on them. Rue offers some protection, too. Both weaknesses are exploited by the animals.
• Exclusively Evil
• Chekhov's Gunman: One basilisk hides in the body of Oscellata the wild turkey, killing the Wee Widow Mouse a chapter later.
• Dark Is Evil
• Enemy to All Living Things: The basilisks wilt plants simply by touching them, and their bite is fatal almost instantly.
• Mooks
• Mook Chivalry: Averted. During battle, the basilisks fight ruthlessly and brutally, and many times killing one ends in the death of the attacker.
• Neck Snap:The basilisks' method for attacking larger animals is to fasten themselves around the victim's neck and squeeze.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: All of the basilisks have red eyes.
• Reptiles Are Abhorrent