Canterbury Tales Valerian Quotes

And whan this mayden sholde unto a man
Ywedded be, that was ful yong of age,
Which that ycleped was Valerian,
And day was comen of hir marriage,
She, ful devout and humble in hir corage,
Under hir robe of gold, that sat ful faire,
Hadde next hire flessh yclad hire in an haire.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. Cecilia is betrothed to a man named Valerian. On the day of her marriage under her robe of gold, she wears a coarse hair shirt next to her skin. These were shirts of rough cloth or animal hair which religious people used to wear to punish themselves and do penance.

I have an aungel which that loveth me,
That with greet love, wher so I wake or sleepe,
Is redy ay my body for to kepe.
And if that he may feelen, out of drede,
That ye me touche, or love in vileynye,
He right anon wol sle yow with the dede,
And in youre yowthe thus ye shullen dye.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. On their wedding night Cecilia warns her new husband Valerian that a guardian angel is watching over her virginity. If Valerian touches or loves her lecherously, the angel will immediately slay him in the act and he will die in his youth.

Valerian, corrected as God wolde,
Answerde agayn, "If I shal trusten thee,
Lat me that aungel se and hym biholde;
And if that it a verray angel bee,
Thanne wol I doon as thou hast prayed me;
And if thou love another man, for sothe
Right with this swerd thanne wol I sle yow bothe."

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. Valerian is suspicious that his wife Cecilia may be deceiving him when she says that a guardian angel is watching over her. He demands that she let him see the angel. If it is a true angel then he will do as she prays him and love her chastely. But if she loves another, Valerian says he will slay them both with his sword.

"Almyghty Lord, O Jhesu Crist," quod he,
"Sower of chaast conseil, hierde of us alle,
The fruyt of thilke seed of chastitee
That thou hast sowe in Cecile, taak to thee!"

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. When Pope Urban is confronted with Valerian’s desire to be baptized into Christianity, he says that the shepherd of us all Jesus Christ sowed the seed of chastity in Cecilia. He describes Valerian as the fruit of that seed. There are a number of metaphors used in this passage.

"O Lord, o feith, o God, withouten mo,
O Cristendom, and Fader of alle also,
Aboven alle and over alle everywhere."
Thise wordes al with gold ywriten were.
Whan this was rad, thanne seyde this olde man,
"Leevestow this thyng or no? Sey ye or nay."
"I leeve al this thyng," quod Valerian,
"For sother thyng than this, I dar wel say,
Under the hevene no wight thynke may."

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. The old man reads from the gold-lettered book that there is one Lord, one God, one faith, one Christian Church and one Father of all. He asks Valerian if he believes this, and Valerian replies that he does, immediately recognizing the Christian truths contained in the book. Pope Urban christens right after this.

"With body clene and with unwemmed thoght
Kepeth ay wel thise corones," quod he;
"Fro paradys to yow have I hem broght,
Ne nevere mo ne shal they roten bee,
Ne lese hir soote savour, trusteth me;
Ne nevere wight shal seen hem with his ye,
But he be chaast and hate vileynye.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. Valerian returns home to find Cecilia with her guardian angel. The angel has brought two crowns of lilies and roses from Paradise that will never wilt or lose their fragrance. He gives one each to Cecilia and Valerian, telling them to guard them well. Only those who are chaste and who hate evil will see the crowns, the angel says.

The palm of martirdom for to receyve,
Seinte Cecile, fulfild of Goddes yifte,
The world and eek hire chambre gan she weyve;
Witnesse Tyburces and Valerians shrifte,
To whiche God of his bountee wolde shifte
Corones two of floures wel smellynge,
And made his angel hem the corones brynge.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. The Second Nun is quoting Doctor of the Church, Saint Ambrose, about Saint Cecilia. In order for her to receive the palm of martyrdom, she filled herself completely with God’s gift and gave up worldly things and her bed-chamber. She witnessed the confession of Tiburtius and Valerian and God sending his angel to bring them two crowns of flowers, symbols of their purity through God.

"Ne menestow nat Urban," quod he tho,
"That is so ofte dampned to be deed,
And woneth in halkes alwey to and fro,
And dar nat ones putte forth his heed?
Men sholde hym brennen in a fyr so reed
If he were founde, or that men myghte hym spye,
And we also, to bere hym compaignye;

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. When Valerian tries to persuade Tiburtius to be baptized by Pope Urban, Tiburtius doesn’t like the idea. He tells his brother Valerian that Urban has so often been condemned to be dead that if people ever found him they would burn him. They too would be burned if they were in his company.

The sergeantz of the toun of Rome hem soghte,
And hem biforn Almache, the prefect, broghte,
Which hem apposed, and knew al hire entente,
And to the ymage of Juppiter hem sente,
And seyde, "Whoso wol nat sacrifise,
Swape of his heed; this my sentence heer."

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. The sergeants of the town of Rome seek Valerian and his brother Tiburtius and bring them before the prefect Almachius. He has them sent to the image of Jupiter and commands those who will not sacrifice there to be beheaded.

Whan Maximus had herd the seintes loore,
He gat hym of the tormentoures leve,
And ladde hem to his hous withoute moore,
And with hir prechyng, er that it were eve,
They gonnen fro the tormentours to reve,
And fro Maxime, and fro his folk echone,
The false feith, to trowe in God allone.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. When Maximus, one of prefect Almachius’s officers, hears the Christian teachings of Valerian and his brother Tiburtius, he gets permission from the executioners to lead them to his house. There the preaching of the brothers results in the executioners, Maximus and his people renouncing their false faith and converting to Christianity.

Ye han for sothe ydoon a greet bataille,
Youre cours is doon, youre feith han ye conserved.
Gooth to the corone of lif that may nat faille;
The rightful Juge, which that ye han served,
Shal yeve it yow, as ye han it deserved.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. Before their execution Cecilia has words of comfort for her husband Valerian and his brother Tiburtius. She says that they have fought the good fight and have kept their Christian faith. They go to God, the rightful judge whom they have served, and he will grant them eternal life, she assures them.

They nolde encense ne sacrifise right noght,
But on hir knees they setten hem adoun
With humble herte and sad devocioun,
And losten bothe hir hevedes in the place.
Hir soules wenten to the Kyng of grace.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. When Valerian and Tiburtius are brought before the idol of Jupitor they refuse the prefect Almachius’s order to worship it with incense or sacrifice. The brothers simply kneel down with humble heart and Christian devotion and are martyred by beheading. Their souls join with God in heaven.

This Maximus, that saugh this thyng bityde,
With pitous teeris tolde it anonright,
That he hir soules saugh to hevene glyde
With aungels ful of cleernesse and of light,
And with his word converted many a wight;
For which Almachius dide hym so bete
With whippe of leed til he his lif gan lete.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun’s Tale. Maximus told how he saw the souls of the martyred Valerian and Tiburtius ascent to heaven. Many people were converted to Christianity by his words. But the prefect Almachius had him beaten to death with whips tipped with lead, so Maximus became a martyr also.
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