View Item
1. Valentinian: A Tragedy. As ’tis Alter’d by the late Earl of Rochester, and Acted at the Theatre-Royal (London, 1685).
This is a mutilated copy of a play by the poet, satirist and courtier John Wilmot (1647–80), the 2nd Earl of Rochester. The text has been cut out by a blade.
The play concerns the tyrannical rule of Valentinian III, the Western Roman Emperor for thirty years before his assassination in 455 AD. The primary source for information on this brutal period was the historian Procopius (see item 32 in this exhibition).
Rochester was infamous as a libertine and many of his works display a vigorous, earthy coarseness. However, there is nothing particularly objectionable in this play and it is possible that the pages were stolen in order to be read.
Another copy held by the library is complete.
Citation:
1. Valentinian: A Tragedy. As ’tis Alter’d by the late Earl of Rochester, and Acted at the Theatre-Royal (London, 1685).,
Marsh's Library Exhibits,
accessed December 7, 2025,
https://www.marshlibrary.ie/digi/items/show/403
Connect On Social
