The Second Nun begins her tale with a prologue in which she explains the value of work and the dangers of idleness (“Ydelnesse”), or sloth; offers an invocation to the Virgin Mary, asking for help in rendering accurately this tale of Cecilia; and offers an interpretation of the name Cecilia.
A noble young lady named Cecilia loves the Virgin Mary and chastity so much that she wants to remain a virgin forever. Ultimately, however, she is betrothed to a man named Valerian, and on her wedding night, she informs her new husband that a guardian angel will slay anyone who violates her body. Valerian wants to see this guardian angel but first must be baptized by Pope Urban. To this end, he is baptized by the pope; during the baptism, he witnesses a vision proclaiming the One God. Returning home to his wife, Valerian sees her guardian angel and asks that the angel grant him one wish: that his brother, Tiburse, be baptized.
Later, a vile pagan named Almachius arrests Cecilia. At the trial, the judge questions Cecilia; although she answers cleverly, she is condemned to death. She is first placed in scalding hot water but survives; next, the executioner tries three times to cut off Cecilia’s head but fails. She lives for three more days, during which she sings and converts non-believers. Following her eventual death, Pope Urban decrees her to be Saint Cecilia.
