Alester, Knight of the Gate (Coriolanus)

Valemen

Alester Arryn (Coriolanus) – later named The Knight of the Gate
Roland Royce (Menenius Agrippa) – a lord of the Vale
Hugo Arryn (Cominius) – King of Mountain and Vale
Ronnel Egen (Titus Lartius) – Vale general
Sharra Arryn (Volumnia) – Alester's mother
Arwen Arryn (Virgilia) – Alester's wife
Young Robert (Young Martius) – Alester's son
Alysanne (Valeria) – chaste lady of the Eyrie and friend to Alester's family
Osric Grafton (Sicinius Velutus) – a lord of the Vale
Oswin Melcolm (Junius Brutus) – a lord of the Vale
Vale smallfolk
Vale soldiers
Herald
Lords of the Vale

Vale Mountain Clans

Chegar (Tullus Aufidius) – leader of the united mountain clans, a Redsmith
Sheyk, daughter of Shella (Aufidius' Lieutenant)
Chegar's clan leaders
Conspirators
Rheark – Clansman spy
Hugh – Valeman traitor
Clan leaders
Clansmen

Other

Noble lady (Gentlewoman)
Usher
Bodyguards
Officials

The play opens in the Eyrie shortly after the expulsion of the Lords of the Three Sisters. There are riots in progress, after stores of grain were withheld from the smallfolk. The rioters are particularly angry at Alester Arryn, a brilliant knight whom they blame for the grain being taken away. The rioters encounter a noble named Roland Royce, as well as Alester Arryn himself. Royce tries to calm the rioters, while Arryn is openly contemptuous, and says that the smallfolk were not worthy of the grain because of their lack of military service. Two of the lords of the Vale, Osric and Oswin, privately denounce Arryn. He leaves the Eyrie after news arrives that a clansman army is in the field.

The commander of the clan's army, Chegar, has fought Alester Arryn on several occasions and considers him a blood enemy. The Vale army is commanded by King of Mountain and Vale Hugo Arryn, with Alester as his deputy. While King Hugo takes his soldiers to meet Chegar's army, Alester leads a rally against a clan village. The siege is initially unsuccessful, but Alester is able to force open the gates of the city, and the Valemen conquer it. Even though he is exhausted from the fighting, Alester marches quickly to join Waynwood and fight the other clan force. Alester and Chegar meet in single combat, which only ends when Chegar's own soldiers drag him away from the battle.

In recognition of his great courage, King Hugo gives Alester the position of Knight of the Gate. When they return to the Eyrie, Alester's mother Sharra encourages her son to participate in the politics of the Vale. Alester is hesitant to do this, but he bows to his mother's wishes. He effortlessly wins the support of the other lords, and seems at first to have won over the smallfolk as well. However, Oswin and Osric scheme to undo Alester and whip up another riot in opposition to him. Faced with this opposition, Alester flies into a rage and rails against the smallfolk. He compares allowing the smallfolk to have influence over the nobility to allowing "crows to peck the eagles". The two lords condemn Alester for his words, and convince King Hugo to banish him. Alester retorts that it is he who banishes the Eyrie from his presence.

After being exiled from the Eyrie, Alester seeks out Chegar in the clan stronghold, and offers to let Chegar kill him in order to spite the country that banished him. Moved by his plight and honoured to fight alongside the great knight, Chegar and his clan leaders embrace Alester, and allow him to lead a new assault on the Eyrie.

The Vale, in its panic, tries desperately to persuade Alester to halt his crusade for vengeance, but both King Hugo and Royce fail. Finally, Sharra is sent to meet her son, along with Alester's wife Arwen and child, and a chaste gentlewoman Alysanne. Sharra succeeds in dissuading her son from destroying the Eyrie, and Alester instead concludes a peace treaty between the Valemen and the mountain clans. When Alester returns to the mountain stronghold, conspirators, organized by Chegar, kill him for his betrayal.