Before leading his forces into battle against the Scythians, Gallicanus asks the Roman emperor Constantine to allow him to marry Constantine's daughter, Constantia. When Constantine questions his daughter, she insists that nothing will persuade her to break her vow of virginity and devotion to God. She suggests, instead, that Gallicanus be led to believe that she will agree to the marriage so that he will proceed with the battle. While he is away, his daughters Attica and Artemia will reside with Constantia, and Constantia's confessors, John and Paul, will accompany Gallicanus and convert him to Christianity.
Believing that marriage to Constantia will be his reward, Gallicanus engages in the battle and is nearly defeated. His tribunes refuse to obey his orders and surrender to the Scythians. At John's suggestion, Gallicanus vows to become a Christian and, as he later relates to Constantine, he is joined by a heavenly army led by a young man bearing a cross and a drawn sword. The Scythian king Braden surrenders to Gallicanus and agrees to pay tribute to Rome. Gallicanus's disloyal tribunes are forgiven provided that they embrace the Christian faith.
Returning to Rome, Gallicanus discovers that his two daughters have taken vows of virginity. He renounces his intention of marrying Constantia but declines Constantine's invitation to live in the palace, lest proximity to his love tempt him too greatly. Instead, he disposes of his estate and travels to Ostia, to spend his remaining years in the service of God and the company of the holy man Hilarianus.
About twenty-five years later, the new emperor Julian orders that all Christians be dispossessed of their property unless they worship the traditional Roman gods. When Julian's soldiers attempt to enter the estate of Gallicanus, however, they are smitten with leprosy. Gallicanus is exiled to Alexandria where he is arrested and killed. John and Paul refuse to renounce their Christian faith and are killed by Julian's soldiers.
Some time later, Terrentianus, who ordered the executions of John and Paul, receives word that his son has gone insane and is rolling about on the ground at the tomb of the holy martyrs. At the altar in Gallicanus's former house, Terrentianus repents and begs the martyrs to pray for him and for his son. Immediately he receives word that his son is restored, and he praises God who reigns forever.
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The Dramas of Hrotswitha of Gandersheim
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