# Hadrian — Plays character guide

> Hadrian in Plays by Roswitha of Gandersheim.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Hadrian, the Emperor Hadrian, Hadrian Little

**First appearance:** 0096-sapientia

## Snapshot

An emperor whose name hangs over the persecutions, the political weather that makes ordinary Christian fidelity dangerous.

## Who they are

Hadrian functions in these plays as the imperial backdrop against which martyrdom and conversion unfold, the authority whose edicts shape what characters can safely say or do. He is less a personality than a pressure — the reason a vow, a refusal, or a prayer can become a capital matter. He matters to the early arc because Roswitha's drama needs a world where faith is not private comfort but public risk, and Hadrian supplies that world.

## In the story

### [Characters](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_se/chapters/characters)

Listed as a character in the chapter.

### [Sapientia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_se/chapters/sapientia)

The emperor who orders the torture and execution of Sapientia's daughters.

### [Scene I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_se/chapters/scene-i)

Emperor who listens to Antiochus's report about a Christian woman disturbing the peace.

### [Scene III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_se/chapters/scene-iii)

Emperor who attempts flattery and persuasion before threatening torture.

### [Scene V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_se/chapters/scene-v)

Emperor who orders tortures and executions of Sapientia's daughters.

### [Scene VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_se/chapters/scene-vi)

The emperor who is frustrated and embarrassed by his inability to harm Charity.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_se/characters/hadrian
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_se/characters