[1] The title recalls the ordeal, a judicial practice by which, during Middle Ages, the guilt or innocence of the accused was determined by subjecting them to an unpleasant, usually dangerous experience.

Runo, a young scribe at the papal court in Rome, discovers that the famous Donation of Constantine, upon which the temporal power of the Pope is based, is a forgery.

In his wanderings through medieval Italy (it is the year 1000) he encounters many situations, some happy and some terrifying, and manages to defeat all his enemies.

Master and guide in his journey is a wise monk, Petro, who faced himself directly the ordeal bearing his faith up above his head.

In this journey, Runo takes part into battles, discovers true love in the arms of a beautiful countryside girl, and, eventually, meets the young emperor Otto III, to whom he reveals the secret of the forgery in the hope that Otto will build a Church without temporal possessions and power.