richness of meaning and range of reference." Invocation to Mary The Invocation to Mary (Invocacio ad Mariam) is a nine paragraph portion of the prologue, telling of the origin of the name of Cecilia. The Invocation has been argued to draw from many other sources in terms of its composure,: first of all Dante, but also many medieval liturgical hymns. Synopsis A virgin maiden, Cecilia, is to be wedded to a man Valerian. Cecilia asks Valerian to swear not to betray her if she tells her secret, that she has an angel that watches over her, with Christianity being a crime at the time. From there Valerian is sceptical and Cecilia asks him to embark on a journey to see Saint Urban, who would "purge" Valerian of sin and let him see the angel. Valerian then found Urban who purged him of sin and when Valerian returned he saw Cecilia with an angel. This angel gave Valerian a single wish, of which Valerian answered to give his brother, Tiburce, the same gift he was given, of the truth of Christ. Tiberuce appeared and then accepted the word of Christ. Valerian then took Tiburce to Urban, who had been condemned to die by the state, and christened Tiberuce. Almachius, the prefect, later seizes the martyrs and orders them to abandon their faith or be sentenced to death; However, the executioners were converted to Christianity. Both Tiburce and Valerian still come forward for the execution as a show of faith, and as their heads fall their spirits rise up to heaven converting even more spectators. Eventually, Almachius orders his men to capture Cecilia, which they do successfully, and they bring her to him during which she boldly spites him with religiously charged words and champions her faith. Almachius orders her execution by a boiling bath; however, due to her faith Cecilia sits safely in the bath. Almachius then orders the executioner to strike three blows on her – but her head does not fall off. Eventually, three days later, after preaching even in her partially decapitated state, she ascends to heaven and Saint Urban buries her body among other saints. Plot The Second Nun's Tale explains the story of a young noble lady named Cecilia, and how her unwavering faith in God transformed her into Saint Cecilia. A young maiden named Cecilia, from "her cradle onward," was highly devoted to her faith