The Crowns of Roses and Lilies
When Cecilia's angel places the crowns of roses and lilies on Cecilia and Valerian's heads, he tells them, "With body clene and with unwemmed thoght / Kepeth ay wel thise corones" (225-226). Then h...
The Old Man and the Book
When Valerian travels to Pope Urban to receive Baptism, an old man holding a beautiful book appears to him. These letters spell out the Christian God's sovereignty, to which Valerian must assent be...
Cecilia's Angel
Cecilia has an angel who "kepes" her body, and whom she claims will kill Valerian if he attempts to have sex with her, but "will loven yow as me" if Valerian loves her with pure, un-physical love....
Vision
Where to begin? The sense of vision and sight is such an important symbol in "The Second Nun's Tale," it's hard to connect it to just one thing – so we'll connect it to several. First of all,...