The Second Nun's Tale
Folio 187r
4 of 14 folios
And rigħt / so / as thise Philosophres write
That heuene is swift and round / and eek brennynge
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Rigħt so / was faire Cecilie the white
Ful swift and bisy / euere in good werkynge
And round and hool / in good perseuerynge
And brennynge euere / in charite ful brigħte
Now haue I yow declared what she higħte
¶ Heere bigynnetħ / the Seconde Nonnes tale / of the lyf ~ of Seinte Cecile ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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This mayden brigħt Cecilie / as hir lif seith
Was comen of Romayns / and of noble kynde
And from hir Cradel / vp fostred in the feith
Of Crist and bar his gospel in hir mynde
She neuere cessed / as I writen fynde
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Of hir preyere / and god to loue and drede
Bisekynge hym / to kepe hir maydenhede
And whan this mayden / sholde vn to a man
Ywedded be / that was ful yong of age
Which that ycleped was Valerian
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And day was comen / of hir mariage
She ful deuout and humble in hir corage
Vnder hir robe of gold / that sat ful faire
Hadde next hir flessħ / yclad hir in an haire
And whil the Orgues / maden melodie
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To god allone / in herte thus sang she
O lord / my soule and eek my body gye
Vnwemmed / lest that it confounded be
And for his loue / that dyde vp on a tree
Euery seconde / and thridde day she faste
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Ay biddynge / in hir orisons ful faste
The nygħt cam / and to bedde moste she gon
With hir housbonde / as ofte is the manere
And pryuely / to hym she seyde anon
O sweete / and wel biloued spouse deere
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Ther is a conseil / and ye wolde it heere
Which that rigħt fayn / I wolde vn to yow seye
So that ye swere / ye shul me nat biwreye