The Second Nun's Tale
Folio 167r
4 of 16 folios
¶ For leos / peple in englissħ is to seye
And right as men may / in the heuene see
The sonne and moone / and sterres euery weye
Right so men goostly / in this mayden free
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Sayen / of feith / the magnanymytee
And eek the cleernesse hool of Sapience
And sondry werkes / brighte of excellence
¶ And right so / as thise Philosophres write
That heuene is swift and round / & eek brennynge
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Right so / was faire Cecile the white
Ful swift and bisy / euere in good werkynge
And round & hool / in good perseuerynge
And brennyng euere in charite / ful brighte
Now haue I yow declared / what she highte
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This mayde bright Cecilie / as hir lyf seith
Was come of Romayns / and of noble kynde
And from hir Cradel / vp fostred in the feith
Of crist and baar his gospel in hir mynde
She neuere cessed / as I writen fynde
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Of hir prayere / and god to loue and drede
Bisekyng hym / to kepe hir maydenhede
¶ And whan this mayden sholde / vn til 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 that the Organs / maden melodie
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To god allone / in hir herte / thus soong she
O. lord my soule / and eek my body gye
Vnwemmed / lest that I confounded be
And for his loue / that deyde vp on the tree
Euery seconde / and thridde day she faste
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Ay biddyng in hir orisons ful faste