The Second Nun's Tale, by Geoffrey Chaucer

There are several characters among the pilgrims who feature in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales of whom we know virtually nothing before they tell their tale. The “Second Nun” is one of these. In the General Prologue, we learn quite a lot about the Prioress, and at the end of the paragraph we learn that:

“Another nun with her had she

That was her chaplain, and priests three.”

The tale told by this other nun is far removed from the earthiness of many of those told by the other pilgrims, being an account of the life and martyrdom of St Cecilia. We can well imagine that this lady must have blushed considerably as she listened to the tales of the Miller and the Summoner!

The tale is usually considered to be the work of Chaucer before he had developed his full powers. It is virtually a straightforward translation of a Latin text from the “Legenda Aurea” or “Golden Legend”, which was a collection of lives of the saints, many of them of dubious authenticity.

The prologue to the tale is partly based on the prayer of St Bernard to the Virgin in Dante’s “Paradiso”. Although the tale itself may date from Chaucer’s early years as a poet, the prologue was probably written after he had made his first visit to Italy. It is interesting to note a small error made by Chaucer, in that he puts the prologue into the mouth of a female character but includes the line “And though that I, unworthy son of Eve…”

The prologue melds into the translation from the Golden Legend, concluding as it does with the original explanation of the name “Cecilia”. There are in fact several possible meanings listed here, such as “Heaven’s lily”, “the way for the blind” and “lacking in blindness”. The explanations are given as being descriptions of her character, although there is no indication here or later that the name was bestowed on her after her death. We have therefore to assume that her parents had considerable foresight in giving her the name that they did! Needless to say, these name derivations are completely spurious, as is typical throughout the Golden Legend.

The Tale

The nun continues with the story of Cecilia’s life, starting with her being brought up as a Christian in Rome. She is given in marriage to a young man named Valerian, but she is so afraid of losing her virginity that she tells Valerian, on her wedding night, that she is guarded by an angel who will kill Valerian should he attempt to have sex with her.

Valerian, needless to say, is somewhat taken aback by this and demands to see the angel. Cecilia sends him off to find an old man, named Urban, who baptises him into the Christian faith. On returning to Cecilia, he finds the angel with her, who gives each of them a floral coronet that they are commanded to wear for ever. These will be invisible to anyone who is not “chaste and hates villainy”.

The angel asks Valerian what he would most desire, and he replies that he would like his brother, Tibertius, to become a Christian as well. When Tibertius arrives he can smell the scent of the floral crowns but cannot see them. Celicia and Valerian urge him to put aside all false idols and turn to the true God, which he agrees to do. Tibertius is, however, alarmed to hear that the man who will baptise him is Pope Urban, whom he knows is being hunted by the Roman authorities, and that anyone found with him will also be killed.

Cecilia assures Tibertius that martyrdom will bring a reward in Heaven, and is therefore not to be feared. The baptism takes place, and Tibertius is also introduced to the angel.

It is not long before the brothers are arrested and taken before Almachius, the prefect, and sentenced to death. However, Maximus, the officer to whom they are committed for execution, takes pity on them, listens to what they have to say, and is himself converted by Cecilia. After the brothers are beheaded, Maximus testifies that he saw their souls ascend to Heaven and is himself beaten to death on the orders of Almachius.

It is now the turn of Cecilia to be questioned by Almachius, and a debate ensues between the two of them on the question of earthly versus Heavenly power and authority, with Cecilia accusing Almachius of being blind to the truth.

Needless to say her own martyrdom follows, the sentence being that she be boiled alive in her bath. However, after a night and a day she is still alive, without feeling a thing or even sweating a single drop. The executioner is then told to behead her, but after three strokes her head is still in place. It takes three days before she dies, which she spends teaching and preaching and sending converts to Urban for baptism. She is then buried by Pope Urban, with her house becoming a church.

Discussion

The nun ends her tale abruptly without any further adornment, and it is not followed by any discussion between the pilgrims. There is no mention, for example, of any connection between Cecilia and music, of which she is the patron saint. This association was made somewhat after Chaucer’s time, and was based on a legend that she sang as she died. However, this is mentioned neither in the Golden Legend nor Chaucer’s tale.

Chaucer’s skill in this tale is not in its characterisation or plot development, which derive almost entirely from his source, but in his versification, the translation being in the form of seven-line stanzas with an ABABBCC rhyme scheme. This is known as “rhyme royal”, a verse form that Chaucer used for three other Canterbury Tales, as well as works including “Troilus and Criseyde”. We know that Chaucer was familiar with the 14-line sonnets of Petrach, and this “half sonnet” form was clearly one that Chaucer was very comfortable with.

It is notable that one of the other tales that uses rhyme royal is that of the Prioress, the other “nun” on the pilgrimage, which was almost certainly written at a later date than that of the Second Nun. The other tales that use this form are those of the Clerk and the Man of Law, indicating that Chaucer regarded this as a suitable vehicle for people of refinement who had a tale to tell. The only other female story-teller is the Wife of Bath, and rhyming couplets are good enough for her!

© John Welford