Valentinian, The Tragedy of

Valentinian, The Tragedy of,
a play by J. Fletcher , performed between 1610 and 1614 , published 1647 .

A sensational drama with elements of revenge tragedy , it deals with the vengeance of Maximus, a general under Valentinian III, for the dishonour of his wife by the emperor, and her suicide. A dense web of intrigue and treachery results in the slow death of Valentinian by poisoning (to the accompaniment of the well-known lyric ‘Care charming sleep’), and the subsequent death of Maximus, poisoned, again to musical accompaniment, by the widowed empress Eudoxa, as he is inaugurated as Valentinian's successor.