The Second Nun's Tale
Folio 200v
3 of 14 folios
400
¶ This Maximus / that sey this thyng betide
Witħ pitous teeres / tolde it a noon rigħt
That he here soules saw / to heuene glide
Witħ Aungeles / ful of cleernesse / and of ligħt
And witħ his word / conuerted many a wygħt
405
For whicħ / Almachius / dide hī so to bete
W whippe of leed / til he his lyf gan lete
Cecile hī took / and buried hī a noon
By Tiburce / and valerian softly
W Inne hire buriynge place / vnder the stoon
410
And after this / Almachius hastily
Bad hise Mynystres / fecchen openly
Cecile / so þt she mygħte / in his persence
Doon sacrifise / and Iubiter encence
¶ But they conuerted / at hire wyse loore
415
Wepten ful sore / and ȝauen ful credence
Vn to hire word / and cryden moore & moore
Crist goddes sone / wt outen difference
Is verray god / this is al oure sentence
That hatħ so good a seruaūt / hī to serue
420
This / witħ o vois / we trowen / thougħ we sterue
Almachius / that herde of this doynge
Bad fecchen Cecile / þt he mygħte hire se
And alderfiirst lo / this was his axynge
What maner wōman / artow quod he
425
I am a gentil wōman / borñ / quod she
I axe the quod he / thougħ it the greeue
Of thy religion / and of thy byleue
¶ Why thāne bygan / ȝoure questioū folily
Quod she / þt woldest two answeres cōclude
430
In oo demaunde / ȝe axed lewedly
Almache answerde / vn to þt similitude
Of whēnes cometħ / thyn answeryng so rude
Of whennes quod she / whan þt she was freyned
Of Conscience / and of good feitħ vnfeyned
435
Almachius seyde / ne takestow noon heede
Of my power / and she answerde hī this
Ȝoure mygħt quod she / ful litel is to drede
For euery mortal mānes power / nys
But like a bladdre / ful of wynd I wys
440
For wt a nedles poynt / whan it is blowe
May al the boost of it / be leid ful lowe
¶ Ful wrongfully / bygonne þu quod he