Tyrannick Love
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Tyrannick Love, or The Royal Martyr is a tragedy by John Dryden in rhymed couplets, first acted in June 1669, and published in 1670. It is a retelling of the story of Saint Catherine of Alexandria and her martyrdom by the Roman Emperor Maximinus, the "tyrant" of the title, who is enraged at Catherine's refusal to submit to his violent sexual passion. Nell Gwynn played the tyrant's daughter Valeria, and spoke (in the words of Maximillian E. Novak) "what must be the most amusing epilogue ever written."
