The hystorye, sege and dystruccyon of Troye Troy book Lydgate, John, 1370?-1451? This text is an enriched version of the TCP digital transcription A19168 of text S106666 in the English Short Title Catalog (STC 5579). Textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. The text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with MorphAdorner. The annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). Textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. This text has not been fully proofread Approx. 1468 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 164 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. EarlyPrint Project Evanston,IL, Notre Dame, IN, St. Louis, MO 2018 A19168 STC 5579 ESTC S106666 99842379 99842379 7027 2240873687

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Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A19168) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 7027) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1475-1640 ; 133:02) The hystorye, sege and dystruccyon of Troye Troy book Lydgate, John, 1370?-1451? Colonne, Guido delle, 13th cent. Historia destructionis Troiae. Benoît, de Sainte-More, 12th cent. Roman de Troie. [324] p. : ill. Printed by Richard Pynson, [London : 1513] ".. a very much amplified version .. of the prose Latin 'Historia destructionis Troiae' of Guido delle Colonne (about 1287) .. in turn a condensed version of the 'Roman de Troie' of Benoît de Sainte More (about 1160)"--Lydgate, J. Lydgate's Troy book. Early English Text Society, extra series 97, p. ix. In verse. Colophon reads: Here endeth the Troye booke otherwyse called the Sege of Troye, translated by Iohn̄ Lydgate monke of the monastery of Bery, and emprynted the yere of oure Lorde a. M.CCCCC. [and]. xiij. by Richard Pynson, prynter vnto the kyng[es] noble grace. Signatures: [cross]² A-2C⁶ 2D⁴. Reproduction of the original in the Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery. eng Troy (Ancient city) -- Romances. eebo The hystorye, sege and dystruccyon of Troye. Lydgate, John, 1513 328 244005 610 0 0 0 12 0 29.92 C The rate of 29.92 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the C category of texts with between 10 and 35 defects per 10,000 words. 2005-10 Assigned for keying and markup 2005-11 Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2006-07 Sampled and proofread 2006-07 Text and markup reviewed and edited 2006-09 Batch review (QC) and XML conversion
OVr gracyous god moost in magnyfycence His mercyful eyen casteth from heuen on hi Seynge his creatures in deedly vyolence Hym selfe complayneth by pyte full ru●fully Sayenge Deus . o man deuoyde of intellygence Open thyne eeres vnto my call and crye And tell me yf I haue done to the offence That thou forsakest my wyllyngly Man suche a loue to the I dyde take This world in seuen dayes whan I it wrought Thou was the laste thynge that I dyd make Bycause I wolde thou wanted nought What thynge the myght helpe dyd not lake That at thy nede yf it were sought Fowle fysshe all thynge for thy sake For thy comforte all was forth brought More ouer I gaue the that dygnyte All beestes to bowe the vntyll I made the also lyke vnto me And gaue the connynge and freewyll Me to serue that thou sholde se To chose the good and leue the yll I aske nothynge agayne of the But loue thy souerayne as it is skyll But vnto this takest thou none entente Thou tournest fro me full vnkyndly On loues vnlefull thy loue is lente Thy herte beholdeth not heuen so hye For all the goodes I haue the sente The lysteth not ones to saye gramercye In tyme to come or thou repente Man make amendes or that thou dye A crysten soule conceyued in synne Receyued in conscyence thus complanynge He fell downe flatte with delefull dynne And sayd Homo . lorde mercy souerayne kynge I moost vnkynde wretche of man kynne I knowe I am thy traytour vntrue in my lyuynge This wycked lyfe that I lyue in I may it nought hyde frome thy knowynge I want wordes and also wytte Of thy kyndnesse to speke a cause That I haue thou gaue me it Of thy goodnes withouten cause Thoughe I haue greued the and do yet Thy benefaytes thou nought withdrawse I haue deserued to haue hell pytte So haue I lyued ayenst thy lawse But lorde thou knowest mannes feblenesse How frayle it is and hath ben aye For thoughe the soule haue thy lykenesse Man is but fulsome erthe and claye In synne conceyued and wretchednesse And to the soule rebell alwaye Fyrst a man groweth as dooth gresse And he wasteth after as floures or haye Syth man is than so frayle a thynge And thy power so grete in kynde This worlde is but a twynkelynge Thou mayst destroye the myght of the fynde With thy ryght lorde mercy mynge And to my sore salue thou sende Sore me repenteth of my my slyuynge Mercy lorde I wyll amende Deus . Man I gaue the bodyly hele That thou sholde it spende in my seruyce Fayrenes also and fetures fele Man what doost thou with all thyse Thou with delytes of the deuyll doost dele Whiche is to me a great despyse Thou lyuest a lecherous lyfe vnlele Fro yere to yere thou lyst not ryse Thou studyest after nyce araye And makest great cost on thy clothynge To make the semely as who sholde saye Thou coudest amende my makynge Thou purposed the daye by daye To set my people in synnynge Thy wretched wyll thou folowest alwaye What ende synne hathe thou thynkest nothynge In Noes tyme bycause of synne And for lecherye in especyall What vengeaunce came than to mannes kynne Saue .viii. persones drowned were all On Sodome / and Gomor / and the men within How I made fyre and brymstone fall Fro heuen on them that bode therin for synne were destroyed bothe great & small Man wenest thou my myght be lesse Than it was than or that elles I Thou hast no as moche wyckednesse As whan I smote the moost pyteously But yf thou wyll thy fautes redresse Thought I now spare for my mercy Man thynke on my ryghtwysnesse And make amendes or that thou dye
Tabula . How the Grekes toke lande before Troye / & how they were strongly fought with . Ca. xxi . The thirde boke . How the thirde boke telleth how the Troyans yssued out on the morowe / and fought with the Grekes / & how valyauntly Ector bare hym selfe that daye . Capitulo . xxij . How the Grekes sent to kynge Pryamus for to haue trewes for Eyght wekes / And of theyr Bataylles after the trewes fayled . Ca. xxiij . How the Troyans toke kynge Thoas prysoner / & ledde hym into Troye . Capitulo . xxiiij . Howe durynge a Trewes of thre Monthes Ector walked into the grekes hoost / And of the cōmunyacyon of Achylles & hym . Ca. xxv . How whan the trewes was endyd they went to batayle agayne / where as were many a man slayne on bothe partyes / And of the Discripcyon of the Palays of ylyon / And also how there dyed so many grekes of the pestylence / that they demaunded trewes for .xxx. dayes whiche they obteyned . Capitulo . xxvi . How Andromecha Ectors wyfe had a vysyon in hir slepe / that and hir housbonde fought on the morowe that he shulde be slayne / the whiche wold nat byleue hir / nouther Fader nor moder / And how Achylles slewe hym . Ca. xxvij . Of the complaynt that Lydgate maketh for the deth of worthy Ector . Cap. xxviij . The Fourthe boke . Now the fourthe Boke / whiche speketh how Grekes made kynge Pallamydes chefe Capitayne of theyr Hoost / and deposed kynge Agamenon . Capitulo . xxix . How kynge Pryamus went vnto the batayle / for to auenge the dethe of Ector / where as he dyd meruayllous dedes of Armes . Ca. xxx . Howe Achylles slewe the worthy Troylus Ectors brother vnknyghtly / and trayled hym aboute the felde at his hors tayle . Ca. xxxi . How Parys slewe Achylles in the Temple of Appollo / and Anthylogus duke Nestors sone Capitulo . xxxij . Howe Parys & Thelamon Ayax slewe eche other in the felde . Capitulo . xxxiij . Howe Pantasyllya / the Quene of Amazon● came for to socoure kynge Pryamus of Troye And howe Pyrrus Achylles sone slewe hir ▪ Capitulo . xxxiiij . How the Grekis made an hors of brasse wherin was men of Armes / & vnder coloure of peas brought it into Troye / by the whiche it was vtterly distroyed for euer . Cap. xxxv . The fyfthe boke . The fyfthe boke of Troye / the which speketh how the Grekes retourned into Grece after the distruccyon / And after they that escaped dyed myscheuously . Capitulo . xxxvi . Howe the translatoure wryteth the stocke of Pyrrus by lyneal discent / how his Graunfader hyghte Pelleus / and his Graunmoder called Thetydes . Capitulo . xxxvij . Of the moost worthy kynge Henry the fyfthe . Explicit Tabula .

Here after foloweth the Troye boke / otherwyse called the Sege of Troye / Translated by Iohn Lydgate monke of the Monastery of Bury / And Emprynted at the commaundement of oure Soueraygne Lorde the kynge Henry the .viij. By Richarde Pynson / prynter vnto his most noble grace . The yere of our Lorde god a. M. CCCCC . and . xiij⸫

The Prologue of the Translatoure .
O Myghty Mars that with thy sterne lyght In Armys hast / the power & the myght And named art / from est tyl occident The myghty lorde / the god Armypotent That with shynynge / of thy stremes rede By influence / doest thy brydell lede Of chyualrie / as soueraygne and patron Full hote and drye / of complexion Irous and wode / and malencolyk And of nature / brent and colleryk Of colour shewynge / lyke the fyrie glede Whose ferce lokes / ben as full of drede As the leuene / that alyghteth lowe Downe by the skye / from Iubiters bowe Thy stremys ben / so passynge dispytous To loke vpon / inly furyous . And Canser / art with thy fyrie bemys Of werre and stryfe / in many sondry reamys Whose lordshyp is / moste in Capricorne But in the boke / is thy power lorne And Canser art of contek / and of stryfe Nowe for the loue / of Vulcanus wyfe With whom whylom / thou were at myschef take So helpe me now / onely for hir sake And for the loue / of thy belloua That with the dwellyth / beyonde Cirrea In Libye londe / vpon the sondes rede So be my helpe / in this great nede To do socour / my style to directe And of my penne / the tracys to correcte Whiche barayne is / of aureat lycoure But in thy grace / I fynde some socoure For to conuey i● / with thyne influence That stumbleth aye / for faute of eloquence For to reherse / or wryte any worde Now helpe / o mars / the art of knyghthode lorde And hast of manhode / the magnyficence And Other / goddesse / of prudence This werke texpleyte / that ye nat refuse But maketh Clyo / for to be my muse With hir sustren / that on pernasa dwelle In Cirrea / by Elycon the welle Rennynge full clere / with stremys cristallyn And callyd is / the welle Caballyn That sprynge by touche / of the pegase And helpe also / o thou callyope That were moder / vnto Orpheus Whose dytees were / so melodyous That the werbles / of his resownynge harpe Appese dyde / the bytter wordes sharpe Bothe of parchas / and furyes infernall And Cerbetus / locruell founde at all He coyed also / beast foule and tree Now of thy grace / be helpynge vnto me And of thy golden dewe / let the lycour wete My dullyd brest / that with thyne hony swete Sugryst tunges / of rethoricyens And maystresse art / to musicyens Now be myn helpe / to enlumyne with this werke Which am beset / with cloudes dymme & derke Of ygnoraunce / in makynge to procede To be lusty to them / that shall it rede Also in herte / I am so full of drede Whan prudent lysters / here to shall take hede That in makynge / more skyll can than I To whom I praye / full benyngly Of theyr goodnesse / to haue compassyon Where as I erre / in my translacyon For god I take / hyghly / to wytnesse That I this werke / of hertely lowe humblesse Toke vpon me / of entencion Deuoyde of pryde / and presumpcion For to obeye / without varyaunce My lordes byddynge / fully and pleasaunce Whiche hath desyre / sothely for to sayne Of verray knyghthode / to remembre agayne The worthynesse / if I shall not lye And the prowesse / of olde chyualrye Bycause he hath ioye / and great deyntee To rede in bokes / of antiquytee To fynde onely vertue / for to sewe By example of them / & also for to eschewe The cursed vyce of slouthe / and ydelnesse So he emoyeth / in vertuous besynesse In all that longeth / to manhode dare I sayne He besyeth euer / and therto is so fayne To haunte his body / in playes marcyall Thorugh excercise / to exclude s●outhe at all After the doctryne / of vigecius Thus is he bothe manfull and vertuous More passyngly / than I can of hym wryte I wante connyng / his hygh renowne to endyte So moche of manhode / men may in hym sene And for to wyte / whom I wolde mene Theeldest sone / of the noble kynge Henry the fourth / of knyghthod welle & sprynge In whom is shewed / of what stocke that he grewe The rootis vertue / thus can the sent renewe In euery parte / the tarage is the same Lyke his fader / of maners and of name In sothfastnesse / this no tale is Called Henry eke / the worthy prince of walys . To whom shall longe / by successyon For to gouerne / brutis albyon Whiche me commaundyd / the drery pytous fate Of them of troye / in ynglysshe to translate The sege / also / and destruccion Lyke as the latyn / maketh mencion For to compyle / and after Guydo make So I coude / and wryte it for his sake Bycause he wolde / that to hygh and lowe The noble storye / openly were knowe In our tunge / aboute in euery age And Iwryten / as well in our langage As in latyn / and in frensche it is That of the storye / the trouthe we nat mys Nomore than dothe / eche other nacion This was the fyne of his entencion . The whiche empryse / anone I gynne shall In his worshyp / for a memoryall And of the tyme / to make mencion Whan I began / on this translacion It was the yere / sothly to seyne Fortene complete / of his faders reygne The tyme of yere / shortly to conclude Whan .xx grees / was phebus altitude The hour whan he / made his stedes drawe His rosen chariet / lowe vnder the wawe To bathe his beme / in the wawysce Gressyd lyke golde / as men myght se Passynge the bordure / of our Occian And lucyna of colour / pale and wan Hir colde arisynge / in Octobre gan to dyght To enchace the derkenes / of the frosty nyght In the myddes / of the Scorpion And Esperus / gan to westre down To hast hir cours / agayne the morowe gray And lucyfer the nyght / to voyde away Is called than / messager of daye Our emysperie / to put out of affraye With bryght kalendis / of phebus vprist shene Out of the boundes / proserpma the quene Where pluto dwelleth / the derke region And the furies / haue theyr mansion Tyll after sone Apollo lyst nat tarye To take so●our / in the sagittarye . Which tyme I gan / the prologue to beholde Of troye boke / I made by dayes olde Wher was remembred / of auctours vs beforne Of the dede the verray trewe corne So as it fell / seuered fro the chaffe For in theyr honde / they holde for a staffe The trouthe oonly / which they haue complyed Vnto this fyne / that we were nat begyled Of neclygence / thorugh for yet fulnesse The whiche serpent / of age by processe Engendred is / fersely vs to assayle Of the trouthe / to make vs for to fayle For ner wryters / all were out of mynde Nat storyed oonly / but of nature and kynde The trewe knowyng / shuld haue gon to wrake And from scyence / our wyttes put abake Ne hadde our elders / cerched out and sought The sothfast pythe / to ympe it in our thought Of thynges passed / fordyrked of theyr hewe But thorugh wrytyng / they be refresshed newe Of our Auncetres / lefte to vs be hynde To make a myrrour / oonly to our mynde Tose eche thynge / trewely as it was More hyght and clere / than in any glas For ner theyr wrytynge / nowe memoryall Deth with his swerde / shulde haue slayne all And I dymmed / with his sodayne shoures The great prowesse / of thyse conqueres And dyrked eke / the bryghtnesse of theyr fame That shyneth yet / by reporte of theyr name For vnto vs / theyr bokes represent Without feynynge / the waye that they went In theyr dayes / whan they were alyue Agayne the trouthe / who so euerstryue Or counterplete / or make any debate The sothe is redde / of hyghe or lowe estate Without fauour / who solyste take hede For after dethe / clerkes lytell drede After decrete / for to bere wytnesse Nor of a tyraunt / the trouthe to expresse As men disserne / without excepcion with lak or prys / they graunt them theyr guerdon Wherfore me semeth / euery maner man Shulde by his lyne / in all that euer he can For vertue oonly / eschewe to do amys For after deth / playnly as it is Clerkes wyll wryte / and excepte none The playne trouthe whan a man is gone And by olde tyme / for theyr wrytynge trewe They cherysshed were / of lordes that them knewe And honoured greatly / in tho dayes For they enacted / and gylte with theyr sayes Theyr hyghe renowne / their manhod & prowes Theyr knyghthode eke / and theyr worthynesse Theyr Tryumphes / also and victories Theyr famous conquest / & their fonge glories From poynt to poynt / rehersyng al the trouth Without fraude / neclygence or slouth They dyde theyr labour / and theyr besynesse For elles certayne / the great worthynesse Of theyr dedes / hadde ben in vayne For dyrked age / elles wolde haue slayne By lengthe of yeres / the noble worthy fame Of conqueroures / and playnly of theyr name For dymmed eke / the letters aureat And diffaced / the palme laureat Whiche that they wan / by knyghode in theyr dayes Whose fretynge ruste newe / and newe assayes For to eclypse the honour / and the glorye Of hyghe prowesse / whiche clerkes in memorye Haue trewely set / thorugh dylygent laboure And enlumyned / with many coryous floure Of Rethoryk / to make vs comprehende The trouthe of all / as it was in kynde Besyed them / and faythfully trauayled Agayne all that / that age wolde assayled In theyr bokes / euery thynge I set And with the key / of remembraunce it shet Whiche lasteth yet / and dureth euer in one Recorde of Thebes / that was so longe a gone Of whiche the / ruyne / and destruccion Ye may beholde / by good inspeccion Croppe and roote / right as it was in dede On Stace loke / and there ye may it rede How Polynece / and Ethiocles The bretherne two / ne cowde nat lyue in pes Tyll Thebes / was brought vnto ruyne And all the maner / how they dyde fyne That dethe also / of worthy Tideus And how Edippus / with terys full pyteus Wept out his eyen / and all his drery payne And how the smokꝭ / departed were on twayne At the feste / of fyres funerall In great Stace / ye may rede all The fyre engendred / by brotherly hatrede Where thorugh that deth / was the cruell mede In very sothe / of many worthy man Lyke as myne Auctour / well reherce can Of Troye also / that was of latter yeres By dylygence / of Cronycleres Ye may beholde / in theyr wrytynge well The stryfe / the werre / the sege and euerydell Right as it was / so many yeres passyd Whose storye yet / age hath not dyffacyd Nor cruell deth / with his mortall strokes For maugre deth / ye may beholde in bokes The storye fully rehersyd newe and newe And fresshely floure / of coloure / and of hewe From day to day / quycke and nothynge feynt For clerkes haue / this strorye so depeynt That deth nor age / by no maner weye The trouth / may nat / make for to deye . All be that some / haue the trouthe spared In the wrytynge / and playnly nat declared So as it was / nor tolde out faythfully But it transformyd / in theyr poysy Thorugh vayne fables / whiche of entencion They haue contryued / by fals transsumpcion To hyde trouthe / falsly vnder clowde And the sothe of malys / for to shrowde As Omer dyde / the whiche in his wrytynge I feyned hathe / full many dyuers thynge That neuer was / as Guydo lyste deuyse And thynges done / in another wyse He hath transformyd / than the trouthe was And feyned falsly / that goddes in this cas . The worthy Grekes / holpe to werrey Agayne Troyens / and how that they were sey Lyke lyfely men / amonge them day by day And in his dytees / that were so fresshe and gay With sugred wordes / vnder hony soote His galle is hyd / lowe by the roote That it may nat / outwarde be aspyed And all for he / with Grekes was allyed Therfore he was / to them fauourable In moche thynge / whiche is nat commendable Of them that lust / to deme after ryght For in makynge / loue hath loste his syght To gyue a prys / where none is deserued Cupide is blynde / whose domes ben obserued More after luste / than after equyte Or after reason / how the trouthe be For syngulertee / and fals affeccyon Reyseth full ofte / by vayne lausyon A man to worshyp / that deserueth none By fals reporte / and thus full many one Without meryte / hath his fame blowe Wherof another / the renowne is vnknowe That in armes / hath meruayles wrought Of whom paraunter / speketh no man nought For fauour oonly / is fostred more than ryghtis That hyndred hath / many worthy knyghtis . Ouyde also poete ycally / hath closed Falshed with trouthe / that maketh men enosed To whiche parte / that they shall them holde His mysty speche / so harde is to vnfolde That it entryketh / reders that it se Virgyle also / for loue of Enee In eneydos / rehersyth moche thynge And was in partye / trewe of his wrytynge Excepte oonly / that hym lyste some whyle The tracys folowe / of Omeris style . And of this sege / wrote eke Lollius But tofore all / Dares frigius Wrote moste trewely / after that he fonde And dytees eke / of the grekes londe For they were present / and seyen euerydell And as it fyll / they wryte trewe and well Eche in his tunge / by suche consonaunce That in theyr bokes / was no varyaunce Whiche after were / vnto Athenes brought And by processe / cerchyd out and sought By dylygence / of one Cornelius Whiche was neuewe / vnto Salustius Of Rome I borne / whiche dyde his dewe Them to translate / and the tracys sewe Of thyse Auctours / by good auysement But bycause / he set all his entent For to be breef / he left moche behynde Of the story / as men in bokes fynde The firste meuynge / and cause orygenall What was the gynnynge / and roote in specyall Ne how they came / by londe or by nauye How firste the sparke / was kyndled of enuye Betwyxt grekes / and them of troye towne Of whiche Cornelie / maketh no menciowne Of theyr shyppes / nor of theyr vytayle Nor howe / that grece / is callyd the tayle And the lasse / as bokes veryfye . Is named nowe / the londe of Romanye What noumbre of kynges / & of dukes wente Towarde the sege / all of one assente To wynne worshyp / and for excersyse Of armes oonly / in full knyghtly wyse Abydynge there / to se / the version Of the cytee / and noble yllion Nor what the maner was / of theyr armure Nor at the sege / who lengest dyde endure In what wyse / eche other dyde assayle Nor how often / they mette in batayle How many worthy / loste there his lyfe Thorugh olde hatred / wrought vp newe stryfe Nor of theyr deth / he datyth nat the yere For his wrytynge / was particulere Without fruyte / he was compendious This foresayd romeynge / this Cornelius . Wherfore but late / in comparysowne There was an Auctour / of full hygh renowne That besyed hym / the tracys for to sewe Of dyte / and Dares / & cast hym nat transmewe In all the storye / a worde as in sentence But foloweth them / by suche conuenyence That in effect / the substaunce is the same And of columpna / Guydo was his name Whiche had in wrytynge / passynge excellence For he enlumyneth / by crafte and cadence This noble storye / with many fresshe coloure Of Rethoryk / and many ryche floure Of eloquence / to make it sowne bet Hein the storye / hath ympyd in and set That in good fayth / I trowe he hath no pere To reken all / that wryted of this matere As in his boke / ye may beholde and se To whom I saye / knelynge on mykne Laude and honour / and excellence of fame O Guydo mayster / be vnto thy name That excellest / by souereygne of style All that wryte / this mater to compyle Whom I shall / folowe as nere as euer I may That god graunte it / to be to thy pay Of hym for whom / I haue vndertake So as I can / this storye for to make Prayeng to all / that shall it rede or se Where as I erre / to amende me Of humble herte / and lowe entencion Commyttynge all / to theyr correccion And there of thanke / my wyll is that they wyn For thorugh their support / thus I wyl begyn . Explicit Prologus .
Here begynneth the Troye boke / translated by Iohn Lydgate monke of Bery the whiche speketh firste / How the kynge of Thesalye named Pelleus had all his men slayne by dyuyne punycyon And how thorugh his prayer he had other agayne . Ca. Primo .
IN the reygne / and londe of Thesalye The whiche is now / ynamed Salonye There was a kynge / callyd Pelleus Wyse and discrete / and also vertuous The whiche as Guydo / lyste to specyfye Helde the lordshyp / and the regalye Of this yle / as gouernour and kynge Of whiche the people / by recorde of wrytynge Myrundones were callyd / in tho dayes Of whom Ouyde / seyneth in his sayes Methamorphoscos / where as ye may rede How this people / soth fastly in dede So as myn Auctour / maketh mencion Were brought / echone to destruccion With sodayne tempest / and with fyry leuen By the goddes / sent downe from the heuen For they of yre / without more offence With the swerde and stroke / of pestylence On this yle / whylom toke vengaunce Lyke as it is / put in remembraunce For this people / distroyed were certayne With thunder dynt / & with hayle and rayne Full vnwarely / as Guydo lyst descryue For there was none / of them lefte a lyue In all the lande / that the vyolence Escape myght / of this pestylence Except the kynge / the whiche went alone In to a wood / for to make his mone Sool by hym selfe / all disconsolate In a place / that stode all desolate Where this kynge romynge / to and fro Complaynynge aye / of his fatall wo And the harmys / that he dyde endure Tyll at the laste / of caas or auenture Besyde an holt / he sawe where stode a tree Of full great heyght / and large of quantytee Hole by the roote / as he cowde knowe Where as he sawe / by the erthe lowe Of Amptys crepe / passynge great plente With whiche syghte / he fylle downe on his kne And made his prayer / in his paynym wyse To the goddes / with humble sacrefyse Vpon his wo / and great aduersytee Oonly of mercy / for to haue pytee To tourne these Amptys / into fourme of man Thus gan he praye / with colour pale & wan His lande to enhabyte / whiche standeth desolate And he alone / a wapyd and a mate Comfortles / of any creature Hym to releue of that he dyde endure And as Ouyde / maketh mencion That Iubiter / herde his orison And hath suche routhe / on hym at the leste That he anone fulfylleth his requeste And of his myght / whiche that is dyuyne His grace he made / from heuen for to shyne Benyngly / vnto the erthe downe That a sodayne / transmutaciowne Was made of Amptꝭ / to fourme of men anoon Whiche on theyr fete / gonne streyght to goon To Thesalye / and salue there the kynge And lyke his lyeges / toke theyr dwellynge Whithin a Cytee / callyd tho Egee As in Ouyde / ye may beholde and se The whiche people / for theyr worthynesse For theyr strengthe / and great hardynesse Myrundones / so longe / haue bore the name As in the lyfe / ye rede may the same Of seynt Mathewe / how they be callyd so Where the apostle / so moche hadde a do Whiche for wysdome / and prudent aduertence Besye laboure / and wylfull dylygence By forseynge / and discrecyon As I suppose / in myn oppynyon That this fable / of Amptys was contryued Which by their wysdom / haue somoch acheued Thorugh theyr knyghthod / who so lyst to loke Theyr manly dedys / thorugh Troye boke In all myscheif / so well they haue them borne That they full wysely / prouyded were toforne Of that it fyll / bothe in werre and pes For of no s●outhe / they were nat rekles . But as the Ampte / to eschewe ydelnesse In somer / is so full of besynesse Or wynter come / to saue hir fro colde She tofore / astoryd hath hir holde . But in this matere / I holde no sermon I wyll no lenger / make digression Nor in fables / no more as now soiourne But there I lefte / I wyll agayne retourne Of Pelleus / ferther to procede Whiche kynge forsothe / in storye as I rede And as myn Auctour / lysteth to endyte Hadde a wyfe / that callyd was Tedyte Of whiche twayne / platly this no lees The manly man / the hardy Achilles So as Guydo / lysteth to termyne Descendyd was / sothly as by lyne Moste renommed / of manhode and of myght Amonges Grekes / and the beste knyght I holde in sothe / thorughout all the lande In worthynes / preued of his hande Whose cruelte / troyens sore abought By his meruayles / that he there wrought Durynge the syege / as ye shall after lere Pacyently / yf yelyst to here This Pelleus / that I of spake aforne A brother had / of one moder borne That hyght Eson / so ferre I ronne in yeres That he of lust / hath loste all his desyres So ferre he was / cropen in to aege That all his wyt / was turned to dotage For bothe mynde / and memoryall Fordulled were / and derked so all That verayly / his dyscrecyon Was hy● berafte / in conclusyon Wherfore / the regne & londe of Thesalye Crowne and ceptre / with all the regalye He hathe resygned / his brother for to queme Estate royall / and also dyademe
How kynge Eson crowned his broder Pelleus kynge bycause that he was fallen in age & myght not welde it . Ca. ii .
Bycause he was / croked lame & blynde And to gouerne / lost both wyt & mynde So feble was / his celle retentyfe And forderked / his ymagynatyfe That lost were / bothe memorye and reason For whiche he made / a resygnacyon To his broder / nexte heyre by degre And nyest allye of his affynyte But as some Auctours / in theyr bokes sayne To youthe he was / restoryd newe agayne By craf●e of Medee / the great Sorceresse And renewed / to his lustynesse For with hir herbys / and with hir pocions Sotyll workynge / of confexions By queyntyse eke / of hir instrumentes With hir charmes / and enchauntementes She made a drynke / in bokes as is tolde In whiche / a yerde that was drye and olde Without abode / anone as she it caste To blosme and budde / it began as faste Tourne grene / and fresshe to beholde And thorugh his drynk / she hath fro yeres olde Eson restored / vnto lusty age And was of wyt and reason / eke as sage As euer he hadde / his lyfe ben aforne The whiche Eson / of his wyfe I borne Hadde a sone / and Iason was his name In werke of whom / nature was not to blame For she hir crafte / platlye and connynge Spent vpon hym / hooly in werkynge Whan she hym made / with herte / wyll & thought That of hir crafte / behynde was right nought To reken his shap / and also his fayrnesse His strengthe / his beaute / and his lyflynesse His gentylnesse / and his wyse gouernaunce How large he was / and of dalyaunce The moste goodly / that men cowde knowe In all his por●e / bothe to hyghe and lowe And with all this / auyse and a tretable That of connynge / god wote I am nat able For to descryue / his vertues by and by For as myne Auctour / telleth faythfully He was beloued / so of olde and yonge That thorugh the londe / is his honour spronge But for that he was / but yonge and sklendre Of age also / miy grene and tendre He was comytted / to the gouernayle Of Pelleus / to whom without fayle In euery thynge / he was as seruyable As dylygent in chambre / and at table As euer was any / childe or man Vnto his lorde / in all that euer he can Glade in herte / and of faythfull obeyssaunce So that in chere / nor in countenaunce Inwarde in herte / nor outwarde in shewynge His vncle / ne was he nat grutchynge All be he hadde / hooly in his honde The worthy kyngdome / and the ryche londe Of this Iason / and the herytage Oonly , for he was to yonge of age . Vnto whom / Pelleus dyde his payne Agaynst herte / falsly for to fayne To shewe other / than he mente in herte And kept hym close / that no thyng hym out sterte Lyke an addre / vnderfloures fayre For to his herte / his tunge was contrayre Benyngne of speche / of meuynge a serpente For v●o●r coloure / was the treason blente To shewe hym goodly / vnto his allye But inwarde brent / of hate and of enuye The hoote fyre / and yet there was no smeke So couertly / the malys / was I reke That no man myght / as by sygne espye Towarde Iason / in herte he bare enuye And meruayle noon / for it was causeles Saue he dradde / that he for his encres And for his manhode / lykly was to atteyne For to succede / in his fadres reyne Whiche Pelleus / vniustly occupyeth And daye by day / cast and fantasyeth How his venym / may by some pursute Vpon Iason / be fully execute Here on he museth / euery houre and tyme As he that dradde / to se an hasty pryme Folowe chaunge / as it is wonte to done Sodeynly after / a newe mone He caste wayes / and compasseth sore And vnder colour / alway more and more His felle malys / he gan to close and hyde Lyke a snake / that is wonte to glyde With his venym / vnder fresshe floures And as the sonne / is hoote after thyse shoures So of enuye hatter / brent the glede Vpon a tyme / he thought to procede To execute / his meuynge euerydell In porte / alambe / in herte a lyon fell Double as a Tygre / slyghly to compace Galle in his breste / and lugre in his face That no man hath / to hym suspeccion How he purueyeth / the distruccion Of his neuewe / and that within a whyle Pretendynge loue / all be the fyne was gyle His malys was yshet / so vnder keye That his entent / there can no man bewreye It was conceled / and closyd in secre Vnder the locke / of pryue enmyte And that in sothe / greued hym the more Vpon hym selfe / the angre frette so sore Abydynge aye / tyll vnto his entent He fynde may / leyser conuenyent Vpon his purpose / platly to procede For to perfourme / it fully vp in dede Wherof Iason / hath full lytell rought His vncle / and he / ne were nat in one thought Of whose menynge / was no conuenyence For malyse was coupled / with innocence And grounde of al / so as I can deuyse Was enuye / and couetyse Whiche fret so sore / falsly for to wynne As croppe and roote / of euery sorowe & synne And cause hath ben / sythe go full yore That many a realme / hath a bought full sore The dredefull venym / of couetyse alas Let them beware / that stonde in this caas . To thynke afore / and for to haue in mynde That all falshed / draweth to an ende For thoughe it byde / and laste a yere or two The ende in sothe / shal be sorowe and wo Of all that ben false / and enuyous Here of no more / but forth of Pelleus I wyll you tell / that hath solonge sought Vpon this thyng / tyl there were to him brought Tydynges newe / and that so meruaylous That he astonyd was / and all his hous Of a meruayle / that newly was falle Besyde Troye / the plage oryentalle How in Colchos / as the rydynge cam Whithin an yle / enclosed was a Ram Whiche bare his flees / full rychely of golde And for the rychesshe / it was kept in holde With great aduyce / and great dylygence That no man myght / there to do offence . And in this yle / there was a gouernour A noble kynge / a worthy werreour That Cethes hyghte / wyse discrete and sage Whiche was also / yronne fer in age That in his tyme / as bokes can deuyse Had vnderfonged / many great empryse In peas & werre / and moche worshyp wonne And he was sone / also to the sonne That gaue hym vre / to honour to atteyne So as poetes lysteth / for to feyne Touchynge his lyne / I leue as nowe the grete And of this Ram / my purpose is entrete . That was commytted / I dare you well assure To the kepynge / and the besy cure Of cruell Mars / the myghty god of werre Whiche with the stremys / of his reed sterre And influence / of his deytee Ordeyned hath / by full great crueltee This Ram to kepe / bollys full vnmylde With brasen feet / ramageous and wylde And therwith / all full fell and dyspitous And of nature / woode and furyous To hurte and slee / euer of one desyre Out of whose mouthe / leuen and wylde fyre Lyke a flawme / euer blased out To brenne all them / that stode nyghe about Eke of theyreyen / the lokes moste horryble To a fourneys / the stremes were visyble And who that wolde / to encrease his glorie This Ram of golde / wynne by the victorie Firste he muste / of very force and myght Vnto oultrance / with this bullys fyght And them venquysshe / alder firste of all And make them humble / as any oxe in stall And to the yok / and do them ere the londe Of very manhode / this must he take an honde And after that / he muste also endure With a serpent / of huge and great stature Without fauour / playnly haue a do To oultrance eke / without wordes mo The whiche serpent / shortly for to tell Was lyke a fende / comen out of hell . Full of venym / and of cruell hate And with skalys / harde as any plate He armed was / to stonde at defence And his brethe / werse than pestylence Infecten wolde / enuyron all the eyre In eche place / where was his repeyre He was so full / of corrupcion And so dredefull / of infeccion That deth in ●oth / shortly to deuyse Was the fyne / of this hyghe Empryse To suche as wolde / this quarell take in honde Ilyke in one / bothe to fre and bonde But if he cowde / the better hym selfe defende And of his conquest / this was eke the ende That whan he had / the myghty serpent slawe He muste anone / by custome and by lawe . Out of his hed / his tethe echon arrace And than sowe them / in the selfe place Where the Oxes / eryd had aforne Of suche seede / there sprange a wonder corne Knyghtes armed / passynge of great myght Eueryche with other / redy for to fyght Tyll eche his brother / had brought to grounde By mortall fate / and yeue his dethes wounde This was the ende / of them euerychon For in sothenesse / of all there was noon That lyue myght / by that fatall lawe Any lenger in sothe / than his felawe . And by this waye / dredefull and peryllous Who desyreth / to be victoryous He muste passe / and manly to endure And how so falle / take his auenture Of none estate / was none excepcion Chese who so wyll / for his conclusion He may nat scape / for fauourne for mede Who so euer begyn / a vyse hym well I rede For by the statute / of the kynge I may Who so that wyll / entre and assay But after that he / ones hath begonne He may nat chese / tyll he haue loste or wonne y●et / as some of this Ram expresse And of his flees / also bere wytnesse It was no thynge / but golde & great treasoure That Cethes kynge / withfull hye laboure Made kepe it / by Incantacions By sorcerye / and fals illusions . That was spoke of in realmes fer aboute For whiche many / put theyr lyfe in doute Of hye desyre / they hadde for to wyn The great treasoure / that was shyt within Colchos londe / as ye haue herde deuyse Whos pursuyte rose / out of couetyse Grounde and roote / of wo and all myschaunce By vayne reporte / them selfe to auaunce For whiche they put / them selfe / in ieopardye Without rescues / lykely for to dye There was no helpe / ne no sleyghte of armes That vayle myght / agayne y● cursyd charmes They were so stronge / and superstycious That many worthy / in knyghthod full famous Enhasted were / vnto theyr deth alas That lyste ieoparde / theyr lyues in this cas . And this lastyth tyll / afterwarde byfell That Pelleus / platly herde tell The great myschefes / and distruccions In Colchos wrought / on sondry nacions That pursued / the auntres to conquere Tyll Pelleus / so ferfoth gan enquere That he knewe hooly / how the trouthe was And in his herte / anone he gan compas How he myght / by any sleyght make His neuewe Iason / for to vnder take This hye Empryse / in Colchos for to wende By whiche waye / beste he myght hym shende . And gan pretende a coloure / fresshe of hewe I gylt outwarde / so lusty and so newe As there were no treason / hydde within And sawe it was tyme / to begyn On his purpose / thofirst / he made it queynte And began with asour / and golde to peynte His gaye wordes / in sownynge gloryous Knowynge Iason / was yonge and desyrous Vnto suche thynge / and lyghtly wolde enclyne Therfore he thought / that he wolde fyne Playnly to werke to his conclusion And made anone / a conuocacion Of his lordes / and his baronye Aboute enuyron / the londe of Thesalye For to assemble / estates of degree Of all his realme / within the chefe cytee For to holde a counsayle / vtterly caste Therby to acheue / his desyre as faste And so his court / contynued dayes thre That the laste / his hyd myquyte He out gan rake / that hath be hyd so longe For he ne myght / no longer forth prolonge The venym hyd / that frete so at his herte In so slye wyse / that no man myght auerte Vpon no syde / but that he mente well For the treason / was cured euerydell And curtyned / vnder trecherye For he this thynge / so slyghly gan to gye At pryme face / that no man myght deme By any worde / as it wolde seme In chere / in port / by sygne or dalyaunce But that he caste / knyghtly for to auaunce His yonge neuewe / as by lyklynesse To hye honour / of manhode and prowesse For of the entent / of whiche he gan purpose No man cowde spye / th effecte he dyde so glose The texte was so conueyed / so with flaterye That the people / cowde nat espye Lytell or nought / of his entent within For whiche anone / to preyse hym they begyn That he suche honour / to his neuewe wolde For with suche chere / he began vnfolde Tofore them all / this entencion That he hath voyded / all suspeccion From all that were / assembled in the place And towarde Iason / he tourne gan his face Full louyngly / in countenaunce and cher● And to hym sayde / that all myghte it here Thorughout the court / whan maked was sylence Thus worde by worde / platly in sentence .
How Pelleus counsayled his neuewe Iason by malyce to go conquere the golden ●lees / and how he toke it vpon hym . Ca. iii.
COsyn Iason / take hede what I shal sayn For the I am / so inly glad and fayn And supprised / with myrthe thorugh my herte That it enchasyth / & voydeth all my smerte For to consyder / in myn Inspeccion Of thy youthe / the disposicion The whiche shortly / for to comprehende Saue to vertue / to no thynge dothe entende Vnto worshyp / and to gentylnesse To manly fredom / and to hye largesse That verrayly / where I wake or wynke My ioye is oonly / there on for to thynke My selfe I holde / so passynge fortunate And all my londe / of hye and lowe estate That lykely are / in honour for to flete And tolyue in reste / and quyete Thorugh thy supporte / and supportayle Whose manhode may / so moche vs auayle By lykelyhod / and so moche amende In verray sothe / to saue vs and defende Agayne all tho / as I can descryue That of malys / wolde agaynst vs stryue Or rebell / in any maner waye Of surquedrye / or pryde to werraye Our worthynesse / assuryd in tranquylle From all assaute / of them that wolde vs ylle For to perturbe / our noble estate royall Agaynst whom whan thou art our wall Our myghty shyeld / and proteccion Thus deme I fully / in myn oppynyon . For of thyne age / thy wyt / thy prouydence Thy knyghtly herte / thy manly excellence Reported ben / and thyne hye renowne In many londe / and many regyowne This rounde worlde / aboute in circuyte How myght I than / stonde in better plyte For thyne honour / lyke as it is founde To my worshyp / so hyghly dothe rebounde That I wolde playnely / and nat cease If I coude helpe / to encrease Thyne hygh renowne / I I wys in euery hour And therupon / spenden my treasour This hygh desyre / withouten any fayle Of entyer loue / me dothe so sore assayle That nyght nor daye / I may haue no rest● And all shall tourne / I hope for the beste For to enhaunce thyn honour / to the heuen Aboue the pool / and the sterrys seuen To whiche thynge / I haue awaye espyed As I my wyt / therto haue applyed This is to mene / what shuld I lenger dwelle My dere Cosyn / as I shall the telle If it so were / by manhode souereyne Of thy knyghthode that thou durst atteyne The flees of golde / to conquere by thy strengthe Whiche is spoke of / so fer in brede and lengthe And retourne home / in body saufand sounde If this conquest myght in the be founde That thou durst / achieue this empryse More hertis wye / kowde I nat deuyse In all this worlde / for sothly at the beste My realme and I / were than in reste For to thy manhode / all wolde vs drede Wherfore / cosyne / of knyghthode & manhede Take vpon the / my prayer and requeste And here my trouthe / and take it for beheste What euer nedeth / in meygne or costage I wyll my selfe / towarde this vyage Ordeyney ▪ ioughe / in harneyse and araye That nought shall fayle / that is to thy paye And moreouer / I playnely the ensure That if I se / thou do thy besycure This hygh empryse / for to brynge aboute Thou shalt not fere / nor eke ben in doute After my daye / by succession For to be kynge / of this Region And hooly haue sceptre / and regalye Wherfore Iason / lyfte vp thyne hert is eye Thynke thy name / shal be longe recorded Thurgh out the worlde / wherfore be accorded Within thy selfe / and playnly nat ne spare Of thyne entent / the somme to declare . wHan Iason had / his vncle vnderstande He reioyseth / for to take on hande This dredfull laboure / withoute auysement He nought aduertith / the meuynge fraudulent The pryue poyson / vnder sugre cured Nor howe to galle / with hony he was lured The derke deceyte / the clowdy fals engyne Ygy●t without / but vnder was venyme Wherto Iason / hath noon aduertence The kynge he wende / of clene conscyence Without fraude hadde / all this thynge Iment Wherfore anon / he yeueth full assent At wordes fewe / and playnly gan to seye His vncles wyll / that he wolde obeye He was accordyd / in conclusion With humble herte / and hoole entencion Wherof the kynge / receyueth suche gladnesse That he vuneth / myght it out expresse But right as faste / dyde his besy payne For this iourney / in haste for to ordayne And for asmoche / as the Colchos countree Enclosed was / aboute with a see And that no man / how longe that he stryue Without shyp / thyder may arryue To his prelence / anone he dyde call Famous Argus / that cowde moste of all To make a shyp / and firste that art yfonde To sayle with / by see / f●o londe to londe The which hath wrought / a ship by sotyl craft Whiche was the firste / that euer wawe raft To haue entre / and Argon / bare the name Gramariens recorde / yet the same That eche great shyp / firste for that meruayle Is callyd so / whiche proudely bare hir sayle As this boke / dothe vs specefye How it byfell / forthe of this nauye . Whan all was redy / meyne and vytayle They ●yde nought / but wynde for to sayle And many worthy was in that companye Of noble byrthe / and of great allye In that vyage / redy for to gen Bothe for loue / and worshyp of Iason Amonge whiche / the great hercules Of force & myght / of strengthe pereles And he bygette was / vpon Almene Somly fayre / and womanly to sene Of Iubiter / and that full louge agon Takynge lyknesse / of Amphitrion Downe fro the heuen / for all his deyte He was rauysshed / thurgh luste of hir beaute For he hir loued / with herte and hole entente And of them two / sothly by discente Came hercules the worthy famous knyght Moste renommed / of manhode / and of myght Whiche in his tyme / was so meruaylous So excellent / and so victoryous That Ouyde lyst / recorde hym sylue Methamorphoseos / his famous dedys twelue Whiche ben remembred / there inspecyall In his honour / for a memoryall . And to reherse them / in ordre by and by If ye lyst here / I purpose viterly He slough Antheon / in the eyer on hyght And many geaunt / what with myght & s●eyght He outrayed / for all theyr lymes rude The serpent / y●dre / he sloughe eke in pallude And Serberus the hounde / he bonde so sore At helle gates / that he brake no more And made hym voyde / his venym in the stryfe . And vpwarde gaue hym / suche a laxatyfe That all the worlde / his brethe contagyous Infectyd hath / it was so venymous And with o wynde / he wolde renne ascadye He catchyd arpyes / byrdys of archadye ▪ And slough Centaurus / the bestis monstruous The firste Lyon / he brast his hous This is to fayne / whan that he was slawe Out of his skynne / he hath hym strypt & flawe With cruell herte / thorugh his hye renowne The golden applys / he barefro the dragone The firye catte / he slough without more And of Archadye / the cruell tuskye bore And at the laste / on his shuldres square Of veray myght / the firmament hebare But for that / I may nat reken all His passynge dedys whiche ben hystoryall Rede Ouyde / and there ye shall them fynde Of his tryumphes / howe he maketh mynde Thorugh out the world / how he hym honour fet And of the pylers / at gades that he set Whiche Alysaundre / of macedoyne kynge That was so worthy / here in his lyuynge Rood in his conquest / as Guydolyst to wryte With all his hoost / proudely to visyte Beyonde whiche / no londe is habytable Nor see to sayle / sothely couenable So ferre it is / beyonde the Occian That shypmen / no further no skyll can Sibilles streyghtes / maryners it call And the boundes / be they named eke of all Of hercules / for he hym selfe them sette As for markes / all other for to lette Ferther to passe / as Guy do maketh mynde And the place is callyd / as I fynde Siracenyca / as fyne of his labour Of longa / saphy / recorde of myne auctour . Of this mater what more shuld I sayne For vnto Iason / I wyll retourne agayne That in all haste / doth hym redy make Of his vncle / whan he hath leue take Towarde the see / and Hercules yfere With all his men / anoneas ye shall here . THe tyme of yere / whan the shene sonne In his spere / was so ferre vp ronne And he was passyd / the gemyny And hath his chare / whyrlyd vp so hy Thorough the draught / of Pirous so reed That he had made / in the crabbys heed His mansion / and his see royall Where halowed is / the stondyng escynall Of fresshe Appollo / with his golden wayne Whan herde men / in herte be so fayne For the hete / to shroude them in the shade Vnder thyse braunches / and thyse bowys glade Whan phebus bemys / that so bryght shyne Descendyd ben / right as any lyne And cause the eyer / by refleccion To be full hoote / that lusty fresshe season Whan cornys gynne / in the felde to sede And the grassys / in the grene mede Fro yere to yere / ben of custome mowe And on the playne / caste and leyde full lowe Tyll the moysture / consumed be awaye On holte and hethe / the merye somers daye At whiche tyme / the yonge knyght Iason With hercules / is to shyp gon And with them eke / as I reherse can Of Grekes eke many lusty man Shypped echon / with royall apparayle And whan they were / crossyd vnder fayle Within the shyp / whiche that Argus made Whiche was so staunche / it myght no water lade They gan to sayle / and had wynde at wyll The shyp gan breke / the sturdy wawes yll Vpon the see / and so bothe daye and nyght To colchos warde / they helde the waye ryght Gydynge theyr cours / by the lode sterre Where they sayle / by costes nyghe or ferre For philotetes / was theyr alder guyde That coude afore / so prudently prouyde Of very insyght / to caste afore and se Tempest or wynde / bothe on londe and see Or whan there shulde / trouble of stormes fall For he was mayster / playnly of them all In shypman craft / and chose theyr gouernour And coude them warne / afore of euery shour That shulde falle / whan sterres dyde appere And specyally / as Guydo doth vs lere This philotetes / whiche was no fole Had moste his syght / erecte vnto the pole His aduertence / and clere inspeccion To the sterres / and constellacion With the axtre / rounde aboute gon That clerkes call / the septemtryon For the pole / ycallyd arthycus Euer in oon / apperyth vnto vs Ryght so in sothe / who can loke aryght Antharticus is shrouded from our syght But to shypmen / that be discrete and wyse That lyste theyr cours / prudently deuyse Vpon the see / haue suffysaunce ynoughe To gye theyr passage / by Arthourys ploughe For it to them / is direccion Vnto the costes / of euery region With helpe oonly / of nedle and of stone They may not erre / what costes that they gone For maryners that be discrete and sage And expert be / of theyr lodmanage By str●●●ge costes / for to sayle ferre Gynne theyr cours / oonly by the sterre Whiche that Arthur / compasseth enuyron The whiche cercle / and constellacion I called is the cercle Artophilax Who knoweth it / nedeth no more to ax For it to shypmen / on the sterry nyght Is suffysaunt / whan they se his lyght . And as poetis / of thyse poolys twayne In theyr bokes / lyketh for to fayne And in theyr dytees / declare vnto vs Calixto●e / and Archadius Hir owne sone / were Istellyfyed In the heuen / and I deyfyed For that Iune / to hir hadde enuye With Iubiter / whan she dyde hir espye . For whiche she was / into a bere tourned And for hir gylt / she hath in erthe mourned Tyll into heuen / Nason can you tell She was translatyd / eternally to dwell Amonge sterres / where as she is stalled And vrsa maior / is of clerkes called So as hir sone / for his worthy fame Of vria minor / beryth it the name Of suche the cours / myght nat asterte Philotetes / that was the moste experte Of all shypmen / that euer I herde tell For of connynge / he myght bere the bell . And whan the grekes / hadde longe be Fordryue and caste / saylynge in the see Forweryed / after trauayle They caste to aryue / if it wolde auayle Them to refresshe / and disporte in ioye Vpon the boundes / of the londe of Troye .
How Iason g●ynge to conquere the golden flees toke Lande for to refresshe hym and his felawshyp besyde Troye . Ca. iiii .
WHan Hercules / & Iason on his honde Out of their shyp / taken haue the londe And with them eke / theyr knyghtes euerychone That fro the see / be to londe gone Forweryed / after theyr trauayle And they in sothe / come to aryuayle At Symeounte / an hauen of great renowne That was a lytell / besyde Troye towne And they were gladde / to be in sykernesse From storme and tempest / after werynesse For they ne mente / treason harme / nor gyle But on the stronde / to resten them a whyle To hyndre no wyght / of no maner age Nor in that yle / for to do damage To man nor beest / where euer that they go But for to abyde / there a day or two Them to refresshe / and repayre anone Whan that the rage / of the see were gone And whyles they / vpon the stronde laye They no thynge dyde / but disporte and playe And bathe & wasshe them / in the fresshe ryuere And dronke waters / that were soote and clere That sprange lyke cristall / in the colde welle And toke right nought / but it were to selle It was no thynge / in theyr entencion Vnto no wyght / to do offension For to moleste / or greue any wyght But the ordre / of fortunes myght Hath euer enuye / that men lyue in ese Whose coursenhasteth / vnwarely to dysese For she was cause / god wote causeles This gery fortune / this lady recheles The blynde goddesse / of transmutacion To tourne hir whele / by reuolucion To make Troyens / vniustly for to wene That grekes were / aryued them to tene So that the cause / of this suspicion Hath many brought / vnto destruccion Full many worthy / of kynges and of prynces Thorughout the worlde / rekened in prouynces Were by this sclaundre / vnto myscheif brought For thynge alas / that was neuer thought For it was cause / and occasiowne That this cyte / and this royall towne Distroyed was / as it is playnly founde Whose walles hye / were bete downe to grounde And many a man / & many a worthy knyght Where slayne there / and many lady bryght Was wedowe made / by duresshe of this werre As it is kouthe / and reported ferre And many mayde / in grene and tendre age Be lefte were sool / in that great rage Behynde theyr fadres / alas it fall sholde And for no thynge / but that fortune wolde Shewe hir myght / and hir crueltee In vengeaunce takynge / vpon this cytee . Alas that euer / so worthy of estate Shulde for lytell / falle at the debate Whan it is gon / it is nat lyke to staunche For of graffynge / of a lytell braunche Full sturdy trees / growe vp full ofte Who clymbeth hye / may nat fall softe And of sparkes / that be of syght small Is fyre engendred / that deuoureth all And a gnast firste / of lytell hate Encauseth flawme / of contek and debate And of enuye / to sprede a brode full ferre And thus alas / in realmes mortall werre Is firste bygonne / as men may rede and se Of a sparke / of lytell enmytee That was nat staunchyd first / whan it was gonne For whan the fyre / is so fer yronne That it embraseth / hertes by hatrede To make them brenne / hoote as any glede On other partye / thorughe his cruell tene There is no staunche / but sharpe swerdes kene The whiche alas / consumeth all and slethe And thus the fyne / of enmyte is dethe Thoughe the gynnynge / be but casuell The frete abydynge / is passyngly cruell To voyde realmes / of reste peas and ioye As it fyll whylom / of this worthy Troys It dothe me wepe / of this caas sodayne For euery wyght / ought to complayne That lytell gylt / shuld haue suche vengeaunce Except parcaas / thorugh goddes pourueaunce That this myscheyf / shulde after be Folowynge parchaunce / of great felycyte For Troye brought / vnto destruccion Was the gynnynge / and occasion In myn Auctour / as it is specyfyed That worthy Rome / was after edyfyed By the ofsprynge / of worthy Eneas Whylom fro Troy / whan he exyled was The whiche Rome / rede and ye may se Of all the worlde / was hede and cheyf cyte For the passynge / famous worthynesse And eke whan Troye / was brought in distresse And the walles caste and broke downe It was in cause / that many regyowne Begonne was / and many great cytee For this Troyan / this manly man Enee By sondry sees / gan so longe sayle Tyll of fortune / he came into y●tayle And wan that londe / as bookes telle vs With whom was eke / his sone Askanius That after Ence / doth by lyne succeede The lande of Italye / iustly to possede And after hym / his sone Syluyus Of whom came Brute / so passyngly famous After whom / if I shall nat fayne Whylom this lande / called was bretayne For he of geauntes / thorugh his manhode wan This noble ȳle / and it firste began . From Troye also / with this ylke Enee Came worthy francus / a lorde of hye degree Whiche vpon Rome / to encrease his renowne Bylded in his tyme / a fall royall towne The whiche sothely / his honour to auaunce After his name / he made calle fraunce And thus began / as I vnderstande The name firste / of that worthy lande And Authenor / departynge fro Troyens Began firste the cyte / of venycyens And Sycanus / within alytell whyle Began enhabyte / the lande of Cecyle And after partynge / of this Sycanus His worthy brother / called Syculus So as I fynde / reygned in that yle And after hym / it called was Cecyle . But Eneas / is to Tuscy gone It to enhabyte / with people right anone And in Cecyle / he Naplys firste began To whiche full many / Neopolytane Longeth this day / full ryche & of great myght And Dyomedes / the noble worthy knyght Whan Troye was falle / with his toures fayre And to his reygne / he caste to repayre His lyeges began to feyne a quarell Agaynst hym / and shope them to be rebell And of malys / and conspiracy owne They hym withhelde / bothe sceptre & crowne Theyr deuty / and olde lygeaunce And hym denye / trouthe and obeyssaunce Wherfore anone / so as bokes telle With a●l his folke / he went for to dwelle Vnto Calabre / and began it to possede And there the knyghtes / of this Dyomede That tro Troye / haue hym thyder sewed To fourme of byrdes / were anone transmewed By Circes crafte / doughter of the sonne And in the eyre / to flee an one they gonne And called ben / in ysydre as I rede Amonge grekes / brydes of Dyomede But as some bokes / of them bere wytnesse This chaunge was made / by venus the goddesse Of wrathe that she hadde / to this worthy knyght Oonly for the sawe hym ones fyght With Eneas / hir owne sone dere At whiche tyme / as they faughte yfere And Dyomede / with a darte I grounde Can ame at hym / a deedly mortall wounde . This moder venus / began anone hym shroude Vnder a skye / and a mystye cloude To saue hym / that tyme fro myschaunce And for this skyl / venus toke vengaunce Into byrdes to tourne / his meyne And in that fourme / from yere to yere they fle Vnto his tombe / where as he is graue So vpon hym / a mynde they haue That of custome / for a remembraunce Aryte they holde / and an obseruaunce At his exequyes / thyse brydes euerychone A dayes space / and thennys nat ne gone And ouer more / as it to them is dewe They loue grekes / and platly they eschewe Latynes all / for nought that may betyde For they present / anone they fice asyde And eche from other / as bokes vs assure These byrdes knowe / oonly of nature Grekes / and latynes / kyndely assonder Whan they them se / the which is such a wonder Vnto my wyt / that I can nat aspye The causes hydde / of suche sorcerye But well I wote / though my wyt be blent That roote of all / was fals enchauntement But of our faythe / we ought to defye Suche apparences / shewed to the eye Whiche of the fende / is but illusion Thereof no more / & thus whan Troye towne Euersed was / and that brought to nought Full many cyte / was ybyld / and wrought . And many lande / and many ryche towne Was edefyed / by the occasiowne Of this werre / as ye haue herde me telle Whiche to declare / nowe I maye nat dwelle From poynt to poynt / lyke as bokes sayne For to Iason / I wyll resorte agayne That landyd is / with worthy hercules At Symeounte / the hauen that he ches As I haue tolde / to reste them and comforte And for nat elles / but oonly to disporte But to the kynge / reygnynge in Troye towne That was that tyme called lamedowne Of fals enuye / reported was and tolde How certayne grekes / were of herte bolde To entrete his lande / the whiche they nat knewe Well arayed / in a vessell newe Whiche to aryue / hadde no lycence And them purpose / for to done offence By lyklyheed / and his lande to greue For they of pryde / without any leue Or sauf conduyte / haue the stronde ytake And suche maystryes / on the lande they make As in theyr power / were all maner thynge Hauynge no regarde / playnely to the kynge . Of his estate / take they none hede Of suche straungers / great is to drede If men be laches / outher neclygent Fully to wete / what is theyr entent But forthe prolonge / and no peryll caste Suche sodayne thynge / wolde be wyst as faste And nat differred / tyll the harme be do It were wysdom / that it were se to Men may to longe / suffre and abyde Of neclygence / for to lete slyde For to enquere / of theyr gouernaunce This was the speche / of the dalyaunce Eueryche to other / by reuelaciowne In euery strete / thorugh Troye towne Some rownynge / and some spake a brode And this speche / so longe there abode From one to another / sothely that the sowne Reported was / to kynge Lamedowne As ye haue herde / the whiche of wylfulnesse Without counsayle / or a vysynesse To hastely / maked hath his sonde To wyt / how they were hardy for to londe Besyde his leue / of presumpcion Wherfore he bad / in conclusion Without abode / soone to remewe Or fynally / they shulde nat eschewe To be compelled / maugre who sayth nay And so the kynge / vpon a certayne day In haste hath sent / his embassatoure Vnto Jason / of grekes gouernoure That nouther thoughte / harme nor villanye But Innocent / with his companye Disportyd hym / endlonge the stronde And euer hath do / sythe he came to londe And of the charge / that he on hym layde And worde by worde / to Iason how he sayde As in effect / with euery circumstaunce This was the some / playnely in substaunce .
How kyng Lamedone of Troyesent a messenger vnto Iason / for to byd hym auoyde his Countre / and of theyr langage betwene them . Capitulo . v.
THe wyse worthy / & famous of renown The myghty kyng / the noble Lamedown Hath vnto you / his message sent Of whiche th effect / as in sentement Is this in sothe / that he hath meruayle Into his lande / of your aryuayle Bryngynge with you / grekes nat afewe And haue no conduyte / for you for to shewe Proteccion playnly / nor lycence In preiudyce / of his magnyfycence Wherfore he hath / on me the charge layde And wyll to you / that it be platly sayde That ye anone / without more delaye Without noyse / or any more affraye Of Troye lande / the bondes that ye leue Or you and youres / he casteth for to greue And better it is / with ease to departe Than of folye / your lyues to Ieoparte In any wyse / for lacke of prouydence Agaynst his wyll / to make resystence Outher of pryde / or of wylfulnesse For to be bolde / without a vysynesse To interrupte / his felycyte For he desyreth / in tranquyllyte To holde his reygne / without perturbaunce In whose parsone / is made suche allyaunce At wene his manhode / and Royall mageste That they wyll nat suffre / none of no degre To enpugne / his quyete / in any maner wyse Wherfore I counsayle / as ye seme wyse To take hede / vnto that I seye And his byddynge / nat to disobeye . Leste ye offende / his knyghtly excellence For ye shall fynde / in experyence Without feynynge / sothe all that I telle Take hede therfore / I may no lenger dwelle From poynt / to poynt / syth ye be wyse and sage For this is hool / the effect of my message . WHan Iason herde / of the messagere Thyse wordis all / he gan chaunge there And kepte hym close / with sobre countenaunce And was nat / hasty for Irene greuaunce For no rancoure / he caughte of his tale Saue in his face / he began to wex pale Longe abydynge / or aughte he wolde sayne And or he spake / any worde agayne Vnto hym that fro the kynge was sent He began disclose / the some of his entent Vnto his folke / stondynge rounde aboute For vnto them / he discured oute The message / hool / firste whan he abreyde And worde by worde / thus to them he seyde . Syres he sayth / to you be it knowe Take hede I praye / bothe hye and lowe How Lamedone / that is kynge of Troye Hath sent to vs / a wonderfull enuoye Chargynge in haste / to hye out of his londe And axeth how we / vpon the stronde For to aryue / hadde hardynesse Without leue / se there his gentylnesse And his fredom / the whiche is nat alyte How lyke a kynge / that he can hym quyte Vnto straungers / that entre in his yle For nought god wote / but for a lytell whyle Them to refresshe / and to departe anoon Lyke as ye can / recorde / euerychon And bere wytnesse / all and some Alas fredom / where is it now become . Where is manhode / and gentylnesse also Whiche in a kynge / togyder bothe two Shulde of custome / haue theyr restyng place And where is honour / that shuld also embrace Alordes herte / whiche of kyngly ryght Of manly fredome / with all his full myght Shulde straungers / refresshe and recomforte That afterwarde / they myght of hym reporte . Larges experte / manhode / and gentyllesse That they haue / founde in his worthynesse For if noblesse / were of his allye And fredom / eke knyt with his regallye So as longeth / to honoure of a kynge He shulde haue charged / firste of all thynge His worthy lyeges / with all that myght please To haue shewed / the comforte and the ease With all theyr myght / and theyr besy cure Vnto straungers / that of a venture Were in the see / dryuen and dismayed And of our comforte / nat be euyll apayed For if that he / in any caas semblable Outher by fortune / that is varyable By sort or hap / that may nat withstande Aryued hadde / into grekes lande More honestly / lyke to his degre He sholde of vs / haue receyued be Lyke as it longeth / vnto gentrye But syth that he / for ought I can espy● Hath fredom / honoure / and humanyte At ones made / out of his courte to fle Chose dyshonour / and let worshyp gone There is no more / but we shall euery chone That he hath chose / helpe to fulfyll Whan power shall nat / belyke his wyll This is to saye / and sothe it shal be founde That his dede / shall on hym selfe rebounde Syth of malys / he hath this werke begonne Perauenture / or the somer sonne The sodyak / hath thryes gone aboute For lete hym truste / and no thynge be in doute we shall hym serue / with suche as he hath sought For if I lyue / it shal be dere a bought All be therof / I sette as now no tyde And in his lande / I wyll no lenger byde Tyll I haue leyser / better to soiourne And with that worde / he gan anone to tourne With manly face / and a sterne chere Sodaynly / vnto the messagere That fro the kynge / was vnto hym sent And in this wyse / he sheweth his entent . My frende quod he / I haue well vnderstande The message hool / that thou toke on hande Of thy kynge / to brynge vnto vs Right now vnwarely / & syth it stondeth thus That I haue his menynge / euerydele From poynt to poynt / and vnderstonde it wele For word by word / I haue it playnly conteyned And the gyftes / that we haue receyued On his behalfe / in our great nede I wyll remembre / & take of it right good hede To euery thynge / that thou haste vs brought For truste well / that I forgete it nought But emprente / it well suerly in my mynde And with all this / how goodly that we fynde The great bounte / in all maner thynge Within this lande / of Lamedone the kynge His welcomynge / and his great chere And goodly sonde / that thou bryngest here Nat accordynge / nat to our entent For god well wote / that we neuer ment Harme vnto hym / nor playnly no damage To none of his / of no maner age And there vpon / the goddes inmortall That of kynde / ben celestyall Vnto recorde / with all myn herte I take And touching this / my borowes I them make In wytnessynge / we ment none offence Ne toke nat / as by violence Within his realme / of woman childe nor man And so thou mayste reporte / if thou can But for that / we dryuen in the see Compelled were / of necessyte For to aryue / as thou haste harde me sayne Oonly to reste vs / here vpon the playne Without more / vnto a certayne daye And afterwarde / to holde forthe our waye Vpon our iourney / and make no taryenge Lyke as thou mayste / recorde to thy kynge And saye hym eke / he shall the tyme ●e That he paraunter / shall mowe thanked be Whan tyme cometh / by vs or by some other Go forthe thy way / & say hym thus my brother And than anone / as Ialon was in pes The manly knyght / the worthy hercules Whan he had herd / this thyng fro poynt to poynt He was anone brought / in suche disioynt Of hasty rancoure / and of sodayne Ire The whiche his herte / almoste sette a fyre That sodaynly / as he abreyde a bake Of hye disdeyne / euen thus he spake With chere askoyne / vnto the messagere And sayde felawe / be no thynge in were Of our abydynge / but be right well certayne That are Tytan / his bemes reyse agayne We shall departe / and to shyp gone That of our men / shall nat leue one Within this lande / & god toforne to morowe And there vpon / haue here my fayth to borowe For we no lenger / shall holde here soioure For elles where / we shall make our retoure To morowe erely / in the dawnynge Vpon payne of repref / and so go say thy kynge And or thre yere / if god vs graunt lyfe Maugre who grutcheth / or make any stryfe Vnto this lande / we shall agayne retourne And caste / anker a whyle / to soiourne Take hede therof / and note well the tyme A newe chaunge / shall folowe of this pryme And than his power / shall nat so large streche Of his sauf conduyte / lytell shall we reche I saye the platly / as is our entent We wyll nat haue / vnto his maundement But lytell regarde / and we that day abyde For takynge leue / shal be sette a syde Bycause he hath / begonne a playe Whiche we shall quyte / by god if that I maye That tourne shall into his owne shame And spare nat / to saye thy kynge the same . This messager / than gan agayne replye And sayde syr ye maye nat denye Of honeste / my message to declare Auyse you / for I wyll nat spare The kynges sonde / playnely for to telle And where so be / ye lyste to go or dwelle Ye may yet chese / who so beleef or lothe Ye haue no cause / with me to be wrothe For it syt nat / vnto your worthynesse If ye take hede / by waye of gentyllesse Or manassynge / suche arowes for to shete For more honeste it were / your thretynge to lete And kepe secrete / tyll ye be at your large For certaynely / no parcell of my charge Is to stryue / with you or debate But better it is / by tymes than to late That ye beware / for harme that myght falle And for my parte / I say vnto you alle It were pytee / that ye destroyed were Or any man hyndre / shulde or dere So worthy parsones / in any maner wyse Whiche ben as lykly / to be discrete and wyse And lest with wordes / as now I do you greue I saye no more / I take of you my leue . THe nyght ypassed / at springyng of the daye Whan that the ●arke / with a blessed laye Began to salue / the lusty rowes rede Of phebus chare / there fresshely sprede Vpon the bordure / of the oryente And Aurora / of herte and hool entente With the swetnesse / of hir syluer shoures Bedewed hadde / the fresshe somer floures And made the rose / with newe bawme flete The soote lylye / and the margarete For to vnclose / theyr tendre leues whyte Oppressed hertes / with gladnesse to delyte That drery were / afore of myghtes tene And hony souklys / amonge the busshes grene Enbawmed / hadde / enuyron all the eyre Longe or Tytan / began make his repeyre With the bryghtnesse / of his bemys merye For to reioyse all our emysperye For longe aforne / are he dyde aryse This worthy Iason / in full hasty wyse And his felowe / hercules also I chargyd haue / theyr shypmen haue ado To hale vp anker / and them redy make And bad in haste / euery man to take The right waye / vnto shyp anoon For in sothenesse / this manly man Iason Thought he was / nat stuffed of meyne To begyn a werre / on Troye cyte For he was nat / shortly to conclude Egall in noumbre / nor in multitude As for that tyme / a werre to begynne It was nat lykly / that he shulde wynne Victorye as tho / for they were but a fewe And it is nat holsome / a man to hewe Aboue his heed / whan it is ouer hye Leste the chyppes / wyll falle in his eye Wherfore of frygye / they leue the costes blyue They drewe vp sayle / the shyp began to dryue The wynde was good / the goddes fauorable Fortune theyr frende / though she be varyable And thus to Colchos / sauf they ben I come And vnto lande / bothe all and some They ben aryued / in a lytell space For in the see / they haue founde grace Of Neptunus / that caused them as blyue As I sayde ere / at Colchos for to aryue NOw in this yle / and this lytell lande the Colchos hyghte / ye shall vnderstande How that there was / a ryall cheyf cyte In all that reygne / moost of dignyte Of worthynesse / of rychesse / and of fame And Iachonytes / that tyme it bare the name Cheuest of all / to speke of buyldynge And stretes large / and coryous housynge And therwith all / dyched well withoute Stronge walled / and toured rounde aboute Of huge heyght / and aboue batayled Magecolde also / leste they were assayled With many paleys / stately and royall For there the sete was / moost pryncypall The kynge to abyde / better than elles where And that tyme / it happed hym be there And he was called / Cethes as I rede Full renommed / of knyghode and manhede And aboute / hym a well besene meyne Lyke as was syttynge / vnto his degre And euery where / landes enuyrowne The same spradde / of his hye renowne And all aboute / this myghty cheyfcytee Where as Cethes / helde his royall see Were fresshe ryuers / of which the water clene Lyke cristall shone / agayne the sonne shene Fayre playnes / as Guydo bereth wytnesse And holsom hylles / full of lustynesse And many lay / and many lusty welle And there were eke / myn aucto●r can you telle Full many a parke / full fayre & fresshe to sene And many wode / and many medowe grene With sondry floures / amonge the herbes meynt Whiche on theyr stalke / nature hath depeynt With sondry hewes / within & withoute After the season / that somer came aboute For fysshynge / foulynge / and haukynge also For venerye / and huatynge bothe two The place was / I●ly delytable Of corne / and greyne / passyngly greable And plenteuous / in all maner thynge For there men herde / the byrdes fresshely synge In tyme of yere / in theyr armonye That the noyse / and soote melodye On fresshe braunches / full delycyous Reioyse wolde / these folkes amerous Whom loues bronde / had fyred to the herte And adawen / of theyr paynes sinerte That certaynely / whan that grene vere Ypassed were / aye fro yere to yere And May was come / the monthe of gladnesse And fresshe flora / of floures Emperesse Hadde cladde the soyle / newe at hir deuyse This noble place / was lyke paradyse And Ceres / goddesse / of largesse and foyson Suche plente gaue / vnto that regyon Of flesshe / of fysshe / wyne vytayle and corne That the lycoure / of hir full horne Vpon that lande / so began rayne and snowe That all astates / bothe hyghe and lowe Lad theyr lyfe / in soueraygne suffysaunce With all that nature / cowde or myght auaunce This lytell yle / with hir gyftes greate Lyke as toforne / ye haue herde me treate For there was plente / & there was habundaunce And there was all / that myght do pleasaunce To any herte / and all commodytee And so befell / that to this Cytee Iason is come / and with hym hercules And after them / foloweth all the pres Full well arayed / and ryally be sayne Army senclosyd togyder / twayne & twayne A people chose / as it were for the nones And therwith all / of brawnes and of bones Eueryche of them / of makynge and facyon Full well complete / by proporcyon Yonge of age / and of good stature Of countenaunce sad / and full demure That euery wyghte / hadde great plesaunce To se the maner / of theyr gouernaunce So yonge so fresshe / hardy and meke also And all at ones / they to the paleys go With suche a chere / that eueryche hath disporte To se the maner / of theyr noble porte So gentylmanly / they demenyd were That the people / gan prese euery where Tose thyse straungers / lyke the grekes gyse Demene them selfe / in so thryfty wyse And of desyre / the people ne wolde ceesse Aboute them / to gader and empreesse And to enquere / what they myght be That of newe / with suche ryalte Ben sodenly entred / into the towne Thus eueryche wolde / with his felawe rowne They were so rude / to stare and to gase To gape and loke / as it were on a mase This townysshe folke / do so comonly Of euery thynge / that falleth sodeynly But how that Cethes / lyke a worthy kynge Whan that he herde / firste of theyr comynge Receyueth them / and hooly the matere If that ye lyste / an one ye shall it here . WHan that the kyng / hath sothly vnderstande How the grekes / come were to lande And how Iason / was also therwith all Borne by dyssent / of the blode royall Of Thesalye / and lykly to be heyre If he by grace / haue agayne repeyre The auentures / achyeued of Colchos The kynge anone / out of his see aroos Of gentyllesse / in all the haste he may In goodly wyse / to mete them on the way And them receyueth / with chere full benynge And vnto them / an one he dothe assygne His offycers / to awayte them nyght and daye Chargynge them / in all maner waye That what so euer / may to them do ese Or any thynge / that may them queme or plese That they it haue / in foyson and plente Eueryche of them / lyke to his degre Thus he commaunded / in all maner thynge And than anone / this noble worthy kynge As he that was / of fredom a myroure Thorughe many halle / and many ryche toure By many tourne / and many dyuers waye By many gree made / of marbyll graye Hath them conueyed / a full easy pas Tyll he them brought / there his ●hambre was Where he with them / helde his dalyaunce And there anone / with euery circumstaunce Of manly fredom / he made to them chere And in his chambre / englased bryght & clere That shone full shene / with golde & with asure Of many ymage / that was there in pycture He hath commaunded / to his offycers Oonly in honour of them / that were straungers Sp●ces and wyne / and after that anoon The yonge fresshe / the lusty man Iason As faste gan / by lycence of the kynge For to declare / the cause of this commynge But firste the kynge / with great tyaltee Assendyd is / into his royall see Clothes of golde / hanged enuyron After the custome / of that regyon That to beholde / it was a noble syght Stondynge aboute / many a worthy knyght And many squyre / and many gentylman Full well besene / and the kynge right than Vnto Iason / stondynge in presence Commaundyd hath / of his magnyfycence With Hercules / to sytte downe besyde And Iason / than no lenger lyste abyde Of his commynge / the cause for to shewe The effect of whiche / was this in wordes fewe Saue Iason / are he his tale began Full well auysed / and chered lyke a man Conceyued hath / and noted wonder well From poynt to poynt / his mater euerydell And nat forgat a worde / in all his speche But euen lyke as rethoryk / dothe teche He gan his tale / so by crafte conueye To make the kynge / to that he wolde seye Condescende / and rather to enclyne For to assente / that he myght fyne Of his commynge / the knyghtly hye empryse Thus worde by worde / as I shal here deuyse . RIght worthy prynce / present in this place Oonly with supporte / of your hye grace And your goodnesse / moste excellent & dygne With pacyence / of your fauour benyngne Displease it nat / that I may saye and shewe And declare / with wordes but a fewe The fynall grounde / and cause of my commynge So that ye lyste / whiche ben so noble a kynge In goodly wyse / without more offence Benyngly / to gyue audyence To my request / and that ye nat disdeyne Goodly to graunte / that I may atteyne In this y●le / if it may auayle The slees of golde / frely for to assayle As the goddes / in this auenture Lyste to ordayne / for my fatall eure In whom lyeth all / playnly and fortune For to gouerne thynges / in comune In were and peas / conquest and victorye And of armys / the renowne and glorye Discomfyture / and bryngynge to outraunce All lyeth in them / to hyndre or to auaunte Ayen whose myght / no mortal man may ches● But for all this / where I wynne or lese Or lyfe or deth / befyne of my labour If that ye lyste / to do me this fauour To gyue me leue / and no more delaye I am accorded / fully for to assaye Lyke as the statute / maketh mencyon Me lyste to make / none excepcyon Vpon no syde / fauour for to fynde But as the rytys / playnly make mynde What euer falle / I shall them vnder fonge Lowly besechynge / that ye nat prolonge My purpose now / nor make no delaye But of your grace / sette me a daye Myne empryse / that I may achyeue For myne abode / stant vpon your leue Seyth but one worde / of grauntynge at the leste And than I haue / the fyne of my requeste . And whan the kynge / had herde ceryously The entent of Iason / sayde so manfully He stynt alyte / and kepte hym close a whyle Tyll at the laste / he goodly gan to smyle Towardes Iason / and sayde vnto hym thus Iason quod he / though thou be desyrous To vnderfonge / this passynge hye empryse My counsayle is / lyke as I shall deuyse Full prudently / for to caste aforne The mortal peryle / or that thou be lorne For in this thynge / there is a lawe sette Bychauntement / that may nat belette Nor remedyed / for fauour nor for mede For deth in sothe / who so taketh hede Is the guerdon / platly or they twynne O fall that caste them / the flees of golde to wynne For helpe is none / in manhode nor fortune The streyghte / waye is so Importune So dredfull eke / and so full of rage That saue deth / there is no passage Of victorye / the palme to conquere For sothly Iason / as I shall the lere Founded of olde / by meruaylous workynge Be the statutes / of this mortall thynge So sore bounde / vnder my regalye That the rygour / I may nat modefye Wherfore Iason / or thou this thynge at tame Leste afterwarde / on me were layde the blame Of thy lesynge / or destruccion Of feythfull herte / and trewe entencion I warne the / my selfe for to quyte So that no man / iustely shall me wyte Though thou of youthe / and of wylfulnesse Thy lyfe destroye / without a vysynesse Syth Iason of this perylous caas From poynt to poynt / haue tolde the all the caas Be now auysed / and put no faute in me For the surplus / frely lyeth in the Of all this thynge / sythe thou mayst chese And where so be / that thou wynne or lese No man to me / it iustly may arecte For the lawe / that mars hym selfe sette No mortall man / of dewe right may passe For hye or lowe / gette noon other grace Than the goddes lyste / for hym ordeyne What euer he be / that caste hym to darreyne This dyuers thynge / moste furyous of drede Wherfore Iason / how euer that thou spede I haue to the / openly declared Hooly the peryle / and for fauour spared As fer in sothe / as reason wyll and ryght For thou wotest well / it lyeth not in my myght For to declare / or any man to lette That of manhode / knyghtly caste to sette Vpon this thynge / as thou haste herde me tell What shulde Ilenger / in this mater dwell It were but vayne / for now thou knowest all Beware of hir / that tourneth as a ball For at this tyme / thou gettest no more of me Do as thou lyste / I put the choys in the And with that worde / the kynge rose vp anone Vpon the tyme / whan he shulde gone Vnto his mete / and Iason by his syde As ye shall here / if ye lyste abyde . THe tyme aprocheth / & gan to neygh fast That offycers / full besely them cast To make redy / with all theyr full cure And in the halle / the bordes for to cure For by the dyall / the hour they began to marke That phebus shouthward / was reysed in his arke So hye a lofte / that it drewe to noone That it was tyme / for the kynge to gone Vnto his mete / and entre into halle And Cethes than / with his lordes alle And with his knyghtis / about hym euerychon With Hercules / and also with Iason Is sette to mete / in his royall see And euery lorde / lyke to his degree But firste of all / this worthy man Iason Assygned was / by the kynge anoon For to sytte / at his owne borde And hercules / that was so great a lorde Was set also / faste by his syde And the marshall / no lenger lyste abyde To assygne estates / where they shulde be Lyke as they were / of hye or lowe degree And after that / on scaffolde hye a lofte The noyse gan loude / and no thynge sof●e Bothe of trompers / and of claryoners And there with all / the noble offycers Full thryftely / serued haue the halle Lyke as the season / that tyme dyde falle With all deyntes / that may rekened be That sothfastly / the foyson and plente Of kyngly fredom / vnto hye and lowe So fulsomly / gan to reygne and snowe That thorugh the hall / was the manhode preysed Of the kynge / and his renowne reysed That can his gestes / sothely for to sye Whan that hym lyste / chere and fes●ey So lyke a kynge / and in so thryfty wyse With all deynte / that man can deuyse For at this feste / and solempnyte The grekes myght / the great nobley see Of kyng Cethes / and the worthynesse And by reporte therof / bere wytnesse Where so they come / after all theyr lyue I wante connynge / by ordre to discryue Of euery cours / the dyuersytees The straunge sewes / and the sotyltees That were that day / serued in that place Haue me excused / thoughe I lyghtly passe Though I can nat / all in ordre sayne Myn Englysshe / is to rude and eke to playne For to endyte / of so hye a thynge But forthe I wyll / reherse how the kynge To shewe his gestes / his nobley ouer all Hathe for his doughter / sent in specyall And bad she shulde / forth anoon be brought The whiche in sothe / though men had sought This world thrugh out / I do you playn assure Men myght a founde / no fayrer creature More womanly of porte / nor manere Nor more demure / nor sadder of hir chere Whose beaute was / nat lykely for to fade And whan she came / the grekes for to glade The halle in sooth / she walketh vp and downe Of woman hede / and pure affeccy owne To make chere / vnto these gestes newe And thus Medca / with hir rosen hewe And with fresshenesse / of the lyllye whyte So enter medled / of kynde by delyte That nature made / in hir face spr●de So egally the whyte with the rede That the medlynge / in conclusion So was ennewed / by proporcion That fynally / excesse was there none Of one nor other / for bothe two in one So ioyned were / longe to endure By the emperesse / that called is nature For she hir made / lyke to hir deuyse That to beholde / it was a paradyse In very sothe / bothe to one and all Of olde and yonge / syttynge in the hall Therto she was / as by successyon Borne to be heyre / of that regyon After hir fader / by discent of lyne If she abyde / and dure after his fyne Syth he ●e had / by right to succede Noon heyre male / that I can of rede She was also / the boke maketh mencyon Were vnto yeres / of discrecyon Able for age / maryed for to be And not withstondynge / also eke that she Was of beaute / and of womanheed One of the fayrest that I can of reed Yet none of bothe / haue hir youthe let That to clergye / hir desyre was set So passyngly / that in specyall In all the artes / called lyberall She was expert / and knowynge at the beste It was hir vre / to konne what hir leste Of suche a woman / herde I neuer telle At Elycon / she dranke so of the welle That in hir tyme / was there none semblable I founde in sothe / ne none that was so able To conceyue by studye / and doctryne And of natures / dispute and termyne She koude also / and the causes fynde Of all thynges / formed as by kynde She had in lernynge / so hir tyme spent That she knewe / of the fyrmament The trewe cours / and of the sterres all And by theyr meuynge / what that shulde fall So expert she was / in astronomye But moste she wrought / by nygromanyce With exorsismes / and coniurisons And vsed also / to make illusions With hir charmes sayde / in sondry wyse And with rytes / of dyuers sacrifyse Encens / and rechelys / caste into the fyre To shewe thynges / lyke to hir desyre With gootes hornes / and with mylke & blode Whan the mone was / equat and stode In the fyfthe / or syxte hous And was fortuned / with lokynge gracious To chese an houre / that were conuenyent And fortunat / by enchauntement To make and werke / sondry apparences So well she knewe / the heuenly influences And aspectes bothe / wrothe and glade For she by them / all hir thynges made That appartene / to suche experymentes For whan hir lyste / by hir enchauntementes She cowde make / the wyndes for to blowe To thondre and lyghte / and to hayle & snowe And frese also / to greue men with payne And sodeynly she cowde / make to rayne Shewe what weder / that hir lyste to haue And gasten men / with sodeyne erthe quaue And turne the daye / vnwarely vnto nyght And than anone / make the sonne bryght Shewe his bemes / full persynge and full shene With golden hornes / to voyde nyghtes tene And reyse floodes / with many dredfull wawe And whan hir lyst / she cowde them eft withdrawe Eke yonge trees / to sere roote and rynde And afterwarde / make them ageyne kynde With lusty braunches / blosme & budde newe Also in wynter / with floures flresshe of hewe Aray the erthe / and tappte hym in grene That to beholde / a Ioye it was to sene With many coloure / shewynge full dyuers As whyte and rede / grene ynde and pers The dayesye / with hir ryche crowne And other floures / that wynter made frown● Vpon theyr stalke / fresshely for to appere And sodeynly / with a dedely chere She cowde somer / into wynter tourne Causynge the daye / with mystes for to morne And olde men / she cowde make yonge And eft agayne / or any here was spronge She cowde them shewe / bothe in heed & berde Full hore and graye / in crafte / she so lerede And trees with fruyte / she cowde eke make bare Of rynde and leef / to do men on them stare Clypse the mone / and the bryght sonne Or naturelly / they hadde theyr cours yronne To them apropred / whiche they may nat passe For if that Tytan / his cours by kynde trase Whan he meueth / vnder clyptyk lyne The clypse nat folowe / as auctours lyst diffyne So that there be / by theyr discripcion Of bothe twayne / full coniunccion And that the sonne / with his bemes reed Haue his dwellynge / in the dragon heed And the mone / be set eke in the tayle As by nature / than it may nat fayle That there must falle / eclips of very nede In sondry bokes / lyke as ye may rede Bycause of certayne / intersecacions Of dyuers clerkes / and reuolucions That maked ben / in the heuen a lofte Whiche cause vs / for to fayle ofte Of the fresshe / comfortable stremes That be to vs shadde / from phebus bemes For the mone / hath made dyuysion By this sodayne / interposicion That of our syght / the stremes visuall May nat beholde / nor I sene at all Nor to our luste / fully comprehende How Appollo / is in his chare chyuende As we were wonte / aforehande for to se But of all this / the great tholome Kynge of Egypt / telleth the great causes why Within his boke / full compendyously Bothe of eclyps / and coniunccion And why they falle / by naturell mocion But of Medee / though this clerke suyde To encrease hir name / vpon euery syde Lest in his fables / suche thynges telle Thoughe he of poetes / was the sprynge & welle Yet god forbede / ye shulde gyue credence To suche feynynge / or do so hygh offence Syth of nature / muste be denyed All suche affermynge / and also be diffyed Of euery cristen / stedfast in byleue For certaynly / it wolde hyghly greue Our conscience / in any wyse wene Agaynst kynde / whiche is so hye a quene That any wyght / orlyuynge creature Shulde haue power / I do you playne ●●●ure So cursyd thynges / supersticious To do or werke / to kynde contraryous . For god almyghty / Iuge of Iuges alle Hath set a lawe / the whiche may nat falle Amonge planettes / perpetuelly to endure Afore ordeyned / in his eternall cure The whiche may nat / as clerkes lyst termyne Vpon no syde / bowe / nor declyne But as they were / from discorde or debate Eternally yformed / and create Thorugh the fynger / of his sapyence Alway / to meue in theyr intellygence Lyke as they be / to his lordshyp bounde For neuer yet / ne was eclyps yfounde The mone nat beynge / in coniunccion As I haue tolde / saue in the passyon The whiche eclips / was agaynst kynde Nature hir knot / that tyme dyde vnbynde Whan goddes sone / starfe vpon the roode The sonne of lyfe / was dyrked for our goode Whan heuen and erthe / with hye compunccion Haue sygnes shewed / of Lamentacion By erthe quaues / lyght tourned to dyrkenesse And deed bodyes / vpwarde gan them dresse From theyr tombes / agayne from deth to lyue Stone and rocke / a sonder ganne ryue In the temple / the veyll was kut a two And sygnes many / were yshewed tho That for wonder / and tokens meruaylous The great worthy / Dyonysyous Whiche at Athenes / as clerkes of hym wryte Was called in scolys / Ariopagyte That whan he sawe / this noble famous clerke The bryght daye / sodaynly so derke All though he were apaynym / in tho dayes And was infect / with rightꝭ of theyr layes As he that was moost cheyf / and pryncypall Of phylosophers / for to reken all Yet that tyme / astoned in his mynde Sayde platly / outher the god of kynde Suffreth the dethe / outher out of doute This rounde worlde / whiche is so large aboute Shal be dissolued / and ybrought to nought By sodayne chaunge / hasty as a thought . By this clergye / he knewe no better skyll For god may / all chaunge at his wyll And hath power of suche coaccion Vnder whose myght / and disposicion Is lawe of kynde / constreyned sothe to seye From poynt to poynt / lowely to obeye In euery thynge / that hym lyst ordeyne Of elementis / he may the cours restreyne As hooly wryt / wytnesseth ye may se How at requeste / of worthy Iosue The bryght sonne / stode at Gabaon Adayes space / in one degre and shon Shewynge his token / to his trewe knyght Fynally / for to gyue hym lyght That he myght / by his hye prowesse His cruell foon / manfully oppresse Whan that he faught / this knyght this Iosue With kynges fyue / reygnynge in Amoree So longe laste / the pursute and the chaas Tyll they were take / and for theyr trespaas Dempt to be dede / the Bible can you telle Now syth that god / thus hyghly lyst fulfylle Of his knyght / request and orison What wonder was / though in the passion Of criste Ihesu incarnat , for our sake The sonne bemes / though they wex blake Syth he hath lordshyp of planettes alle And as hym lyst / nedes it must falle For of Medea / though Ouydius In his fables / reherseth and wryte thus As he that lyst / hir name to exalte Yet from the trouthe / some whyle he doth alte All be she were / a passynge sorceresse And ferthest name / of any chaunteresse . 〈◊〉 I wyll passe ouer / agayne to my matere And how she came / to mete / ye shall here Whan hir fader / hadde for hir sent She came anone / at his commaundement But or she came / I fynde that tofore For to make hir beaute / seme more In hir closet / she toke hir beste araye For to encrease / all that euer she maye Natures werke / with royall apparayle For this women / gladly wyll nat fayle Whan they of beaute / haue plenteuous largesse It to embellysshe / they do theyr besynesse With ryche a tyre / vpon euery syde I fought be mysse / they can it close and hyde For all the foule / shall couertly be wryed That no defaute / outwarde be espyed . But she was bothe / fayre / and well besayne And in hir porte / so womanly certayne That hir comynge / gladeth all the halle For it was ioye / vnto one and alle To se the maner / tho of hir entree To whom hir fader / bad to take hir see Besyde Iason / hym for to disporte Of womanhode / and to recomforte . But oo alas / here lacked hye prudence Discrete auyse / of inwarde prouydence Wysdome also / with perell caste afore To truste a mayde / of tendre yeres bore Of vnhappy fonde / wylfulnesse For this kynge / of his gentylnesse Commaunded hath / to his confusion To his dishonour / and destruccion His owne donghter / borne to be his heyre That was also / so womanly and feyre So sodaynly downe / for to discende Consydred nat / the myscheif of the ende Alas why durst he / in hir you the affye To make hir sytte / of his curtesye Where she myght / by casuell mocion Full lyghtly catche / or haue occasion To do amysse / alas why dyde he so Why lyst hym nat / take hede therto Nor to auerte / in his discrecion Wysely to caste / afore in his reason The vnware chaunge / that is in womanhede Whiche euery wyse man / oughte for to drede For who was euer / yet so mad or wood That ought of reason / konne a ryght his good To gyue fayth / or hastely credence To any woman / without experyence In whom is nouther / truste nor sykernesse They ben so double / and full of brytylnesse That it is harde / in them to assure For vnto them / it longeth of nature From theyr byrthe to haue allyaunce With doublenesse / and with varyaunce Theyr hertes be so freell / and vnstable Namely in youthe / so meuynge and mutable That so as clerkes / of them lyst to endyte All be that I am / sory for to wryte They saye / that chaunge and mutabylyte Apropred ben / to femynyte This is affermed of them / that were full sage And specyally / whyle they be tendre of age In theyr wexynge / and whan that they be yonge Whose herte accordeth / full selde with her tonge For if the trouthe / inwardely be sought With the surplus / & remenaunt of theyr thought Men may there / the trewe patron fynde Of inconstaunce / whose flaskysable kynde Is to and fro / meuynge as a wynde That Hercules / were nat stronge to bynde Nouther Sampson / so as I beleue Womans herte / to make it nat remeue For as the blase / whyrleth of afyre So to and fro / they flee in theyr desyre Tyll they accomplysshe / fully theyr delyte For as matere / by naturell appetyte Kyndely desyreth / after fourme Tyll he his cours / by processe may perfourme So this women / refrayne them ne can To sewe theyr luste / as fro man to man They wyll nat cease / tyll all be assayed But wolde god / as matere is apayed With one fourme / and holdeth hym content Whan of his boundes / he hath the terme went And nat desyre / ferther to procede But styll abyte / and wyll it nat excede That by example / all women wolde Reste in one / as dewely they sholde And holde them payde / and stylle there abyde But vnsure fotynge / dothe them ofte slyde For they be nat / content with vnytee They pursue aye / for pluralytee So of nature / to meuynge they be thewed All though amonge / by signes outward shewed They pretende / a maner of stabylnesse But vnder that is hyd / the doublensse Of secrely that outwarde at the eye Full harde it is / the treason to espye Vnder curtyn / and veyle of honeste Is closed chaunge / and mutabylyte For theyr desyre / is kepte full close in mewe And thynge they hadde / leuest for to sewe O only outwarde / for to haue a lawde They can declyne / with faynynge & with frawde . Wherfore Cethes / thy wyt was to barayne That thou afore / by prudence naddyst sayne What shulde folowe / of this vnhappy cas Why were thou bolde / for to suffre alas Thyn owne doughter / so fayre & fresshe of hewe With straunge gestys entred but of newe So folylye / for to lete hir dele Wher thrugh thy hono● / thy worship & thy hele Was loste in haste / & she to myscheif brought In straunge lande / with sorowe & moche thought Where as she / to great sclaundre of the In great myserye / and aduersyte An ende made / and thou were lefte all sole Thou myghtest wel complayne and make dole Alas the whyle / if thy prudent syght Thou haddest grace / to remembre a ryght And to haue cast / by discrete purueaunce And weyed wysely / by mesure in balaunce The fraude of women / and the freelte In whom full selde / is any sykerte As in his latyn / Guydo doth expresse Wherfore thou Cethes / of very rechelesnesse Thou haste at ones / in Augment of thy wo Without recure / bothe two forgo Firste thy treasoure / and thy doughter dere That was to the / so passyngly entere And eke thyne heyre / for whan that she was gone As sayth myn Auctour / other was there none After thy daye / for to occupye Thy royall ceptre / nor thy lande to gye . But what was worthe / the great prouydence The waker kepynge / or besy dylygence Of myghty Mars / that god is of batayle What myght it helpe / diffende or auayle Agayne the wyt of woman / or the sleyghte Whose fraudes are / of so huge aweyghte That as them lyste / aye the game gothe Theyr purpose holde / who so be lyef or lothe They be slye / so prudent and so wyse For as this storye / playnly doth deuyse This Medea / by hir engyne and crafte From hir fader / his treasour hath berafte Thorugh the worchynge / of hir sleyght gyle As ye shall here / within a lytell whyle For as she sat / at mete in that tyde Next hir fader / and Iason by hir syde All sodaynly / hir fresshe rosen hewe Full ofte tyme / gan chaunge and renewe An hondreth fythe / in alytell space For now the blood / from hir goodly face Vnto hir herte / vnwarely gan a bale And therwithall / she wexeth dede and pale And efte anone / who that can take hede Hir hewe chaungeth / into goodly rede But euer amonge / to ennewe hir coloure The rose was meynt / with the lylye f●oure And though the rose / some delegan pace yet the lylye / abydeth in his place Tyll nature made them efte to mete And thus with colde / and with sodayne hete Was Medea / in hir selfe assayled And passyngly bexed / and trauayled For now she brent / and now she gan to colde And aye the more / that she gan beholde This yonge Iason / the more she gan desyr● To loke on hym / so was she set afyre With his beaute / and his semelynesse And euery thynge / she inly gan inpresse What that she sawe / bothe in mynde & thought She all emprenteth / and forgat right nought For she considereth / euery circumstaunce Bothe of his porte / and his gouernaunce His sonnysshe heer / crisped lyke golde were His knyghtly loke / and his manly chere His countenaunce / with many noble sygne His face also moste gracious and benygne Moste acceptable / vnto hir plesaunce For as she thought / it was suffisaunce Without more / vnto hir alone To consyder and loke on his parsone For in that tyme / without any drede Of mete or drynke / she toke but lytell hede For she of foode / hath loste hir appetyte To loke on hym / she hath so great delyte He was so prynted / in hir remembraunce Loue hathe hir caught / so newly in a traunce And I marked / with his fury bronde That she may nat / escape from his honde Noreschewe his stroke / in speciall For she was yolde / body herte and all Vnto Iason / platly for to seye And euer amonge / on hym she cast hir eye Whan that she fonde / aleyser opportune But of wysdom / she woldenat contune Hir loke to longe / lest men dempte amys But as the maner / of these women is She kepte hir close / and wonderly secree That by hir chere / no man myght see What that she mente / by none occasion She put them out / of all suspeccion For openly / there was no tokens sene She caste rather / that men shulde wene That the encheson / of hir abstynence And why that she / sat so in sylence How that it was oonly of womanhede Of honeste shame / and of chaste drede That togyder / in hir herte mette The whiche twayne / so this mayde lette Fro mete and drynke / as it wolde seme Thus of wysdome / she made them for to deme And so to caste / in theyr oppynyon And thus she blent them / by discrecion For hir chere / cowde euery thynge excuse She gaue no mater / fooles for to muse . No chere vnbrydeled / that tyme hir asterte For there was one / enclosed in hir herte And another / in hir chere declared For maydens / hath ofte sythes spared To shewe out / that they desyre in dede As it falleth / who so can take hede That whyle they flouren / in virgynyte And for youthe / haue no lyberte To specefye / that theyr herte wolde They kepe them close / for they be nat bolde To shewe out / the summe / of theyr sentence And thus Medea / kepynge aye sylence Ne lette no worde / by hir lyppes pace But couertly / with ●obre chere and face What she mente / sheweth with hir eye So secretly / that no man cowde espye The hote fyre / in hir brest yreke And in hir selfe / right thus she gan to speke As she in sothe / that so moche can So wolde god / this yonge lusty man Whiche so fayre / and semely in my syght Assured were / to be myn owne kynght Whiche is to me / moste plesaunt and enteer With berde yspronge / shynynge lyke gold weer So well Ilymed / and compact by measure Well growe on heyght / and of good stature And lyketh me / in euery parte so wele That by assent of fortune / and hir whele Iewred were / to stonde in his grace For as me semeth / vpon his knyghtly face It is to me / an heuen to beholde All be therwith / my herte I fele colde And yet in sothe / it may none other be Alas why ne hath he / on my wopyte Or at the leste / he knewe in his entente How moche trouthe / to hym that I mente Of whiche alas / he taketh no maner hede All be for hym / I brenne as dothe the glede And to be deed / I dare me nat discure Alas my pytous / and wofull auenture Is to rewefull / and my mortall payne So to be murdred / & dare me not complayn● To frende nor foo / of my chaunce alas To fynde helpe / or socour in this cas And trewely / yet as I shall deuyse I no thynge mene / but in honest wyse Lyke as it shall / openly be founde For I desyre / to be knyt and bounde With hym in wedlok / & neuer from hym twyn For my menynge / is withouten syn Grounded and sette / vpon all clenlynesse Without fraude / or any doubylnesse So clene and pure / is myne entencion Lo aye the maner / and condycion Of these women / that so well can fayne And shewe one / though they thynke twayne And couertly / that no thynge be sayne With humble chere / and face playn● Enclose theyr lustes / by suche sotylte Vnder the boundes / of all honeste Of theyr entent / though the trecherye Withall the surplus / vnder be Iurye And though that they / fayth afore pretende And can their fraude / with florisshing wel defend And flaterye oonly / the worlde to blende With doubylnesse / enclosed in the ende Yet aye deceyt / is benethe ment Vnder the sugre / of fayned clene entent As it were sothe / in very existence But truste me well / all is but apparence They can shewe one / and another mene Whose blewe is lyghtly / dyed into grene For vnder floures depeynt / of stabylnesse The serpent dareth / of newfangelnesse So playne they seme / with wordes fayre glosed But vnderneth / theyr couert wyles closed For what thyngr / be moste of theyr paye They wyll denye / and rathest they swere naye . THis lyketh Guydo / of women for to endyte Alas why wolde he / so cursydly wryte Agaynst them / or with them debate I am right sory / in englysshe to translate Repreef of them / or any euyll to seye Leuer me were / for theyr loue deye Wherfore I praye them / to take pacyence My purpose is nat / them to do offence They be so good / and parfyte euerychone To reken all / I trowe there be nat one But that they be / in wyll and herte trewe For though amonge / they chese them loues newe Who consydereth / they be no thynge to blame For ofte tyme / they se men do the same They must them puruaye / whan men them refuse And if I cowde / I wolde them excuse It sytteth nat / a woman lyue alone It is no store / but they haue mo than one Prayeng to them / for to do me grace For as I hope / to them is no trespace Though my makynge / be the same in all As Guydo wryte / in his origynall Where he myssayth / lete hym bere the wyte For it syt well / that the vengaunce byte On hym that so / these women hath offended And if I myght / it shulde be amended He shulde receyue / duely his penaunce For if he deyed / without repentaunce I am dispeyred / of his sauacion How he shulde euer / haue remyssion But he were contryte / his synne to redresse It may nat ben / as clerkes bere wytnesse . And by my trouthe / and he were alyue I mene Guydo / and I shulde hym shryue So bytter penaunce / playnly he shulde haue That to the tyme / that he were ygraue He shulde remembre / and platly nat a sterte For to repente hym / with all his hole herte That he so spake / to his confusion I wyll no lenger / make disgression From my matere / but lete Gnydo be And tell forthe / the workynge of Medee That hath lycence / of hir fader nome And to hir chaumbre / is alone I come Whan out of halle / withdrawen was the pres And whan Iason / and also hercules Lyke as the kynge / after mete hadde To theyr chambres / conueyed were and ladde Full royally arayed / and besayne For euery walle / was couered in certayne With clothe of golde / in full stately wyse And in this whyle / as ye haue herde deuyse Was Medea / to hir chaumbre gone Wherby her selfe / complaynynge euer in one She gaue yssue / to hir paynes smerte That hir so sore / haue wounded to the herte For loue hath brought hir / in a sodayne rage That was nat lykly / soone for to aswage For in Sothenesse / the furyous god Cupyde Hath suche a fyre / kynled in hir syde That it was neuer / lykly for to lete So violent and feruent / was the hete That more and more / encrease gan hir payne For in hir brest / there was at wixe twayne A great debate / and a stronge batayle So feruently / eche other dyde assayle And this contek / in ernes and in game Inparted was / betwyxt loue and shame Metynge togydre / there at vnset steuen All be the felde / was nat parted euen For loue in sothe / full of hye renowne Was bolde and hardy / lyke a fyerse Lyowne And was nat ferefull of spere / swerde nor knyfe But hote and hasty / for to auntre his lyfe Eke surquydous / stoute / and full of pryde Chefe champyon / of the god cupyde That causeth ofte bothe f●e and bonde Full many peryll / for to take on honde And caused hath / full many man his deth And many one / to yelde vp the breth And made theyr woundes / largely to blede For of peryll / loue taketh none hede To gete hym honour / by excellence of fame But in contrary / his enmye called shame Lyke a cowarde / faynt and hertles As he that neuer / dare put hymselfe in pres For lacke of manhode / draweth him euer a bake He is so dredfull / and ferefull of the wrake Lyke a childe / yonge / and tendre of age For he hath nouther / herte nor corage For to assayle / he is so febyll of myght And yet full ofte / he hath stonde in the syght Of many louer / to lete hym for to spede Thorugh false conspyrynge / of his brother drede For drede and shame / whan they be allyed Of one assent / haue pytously denyed Vnto loue / herte and hardynesse That he ne durst / out a worde expresse For whan that loue / of manhode wolde speke The woode fyre / out of his brest to vnreke Vpon the poynt / whan he shulde assay Cometh shame anone / and vtterly fayth nay And causeth loue / hornes for to shrynke To abasshe his chere / & pytously to wynke Cowardely his cause / to appayre And thus is shame / frowarde and contrayre Thorugh helpe of drede / louers folke to fere For doutlesse / if shame nought ne were As it is kouthe / bothe nyghe and ferre Loue in his lawes / often shulde erre And wynde out / of honestes cheyne Of his bondes / brydell breke and reyne Right as an hors / out of the trays at large For lytell or nought / louers wolde charge To folowe theyr wyll / and theyr lust to sewe But all the whyle / that shame is kept in mewe Within his brest / so that none it knowe Outwarde in porte / loue bereth hym lowe For ne were shame / as clerkes haue compyled Out of theyr hertes daunger were exyled All straungenesse / and feyned fals disdayne For ne were shame / playnly the wardayne Of these women / by wrytynge of these olde Without assaute / the castell were I yolde It were no nede / a sege for to layne For in suche caas / longe tretye were in vayne For of nature / they loue no processe But now alas drede / and shamefastnesse Haue daunted loue / in full lowe manere And made hym full humble / of porte and chere And they haue eke / by theyr vyolence For all his manhode / put hym in sylence And ben great cause / of mornyng of his payne And amyddes / of this ylke twayne Of loue and shame / euen vpon the poynt Stode Medea / in full great disioynt That she ne may / the payne nat endure So hoote she brente / this wofull creature Betwyxe bothe / I mene loue and shame For whan that loue / wolde any thynge attame Of his desyres / to declare them oute Came shame anone / and put hym in a doute And drede was redy / his lust for to denye And thus she stode / in Iupardye Of loue and shame / in maner of a traunce Vn euenly hanged / in balaunce For shame was great / and loue yet was more As she well knewe / by hir syghes sore And by hir stormy / cruell auenture For drede and shame / durste nat discure The fyre that loue hath / in hir brest enclosed Whiche was full harde / for to be deposed And thus she henge / euen at wixe two That shene wyste / what was beste to do Tyll that fortune / with hir double face Vnhappely hath wrought / to gete hir grace With the whyrlynge / of hir whele aboute That causeth wretches / ful lowe dowe to loute Whan they best wene / to sytte hye a lofte By experyence / as men may se full ofte By hir gery / reuolucion For this lady / of transmutacion Full ofte tyme / fals and full vnstable Enhasteth thynges / to foolys full greable Whiche in the ende / to theyr confusion Can vndre sugre / shrowde hir poyson For aye fortune / as hir maner is To wretches sheweth / other than it is For with fayre chere / and face of flaterye As she that can / with a benyngne eye Fully of foolys / parfourme th entent Where thorugh they be / in great myscheif shent At the ende / and can no crafte to eschewe To vnware harme / that at hir tayle doth sewe Right as it fell whylome of Medee Gynnyge and grounde / of hir aduersyte . For this lady / that called is fortune I graunted hath / a leyser opportune To shewe Iason / hooly at hir herte Whiche made hir after / full sore wepe & smerte For on a daye / after merydyene Whan Appollo / with his bemes shene From the southe plage / gan to westre faste Cethes hir fader / hath I sent in haste To Medea / to come to hym anone And bad to hir that she shulde gone Vnto Iason / and to Hercules To make them / chere / amonge all the pres And whan she kaught / oportune space To hir desyre / and sawe eke in the place That hir fader / was moost occupyed As she that thought nat / to be espyed Apparceyuynge / his great besynesse Towarde Iason / anone she gan hir dresse And he in haste / with a full knyghtly chere In curteys wyse / gan to drawe nere Towardes hir / and sawe there was no let And whan that they were / togyder met This Medea / with syghynge firste abrayde And to Iason / euen thus she sayde .
Howe Medea shewed Iason all the maner of the Conquest of the golden Flees / and how he wan it . Ca. vi .
IAson quod she / of thyne hye noblesse Of thy manhode / and of thy gentylnesse Bothe assembled / in thy parsone yfere And of knyghthode / firste I the requere In thy conceyte / and oppynyon Nat to arecte / to presumpcyon To doubylnesse / nor to inconstaunce Of womanhede / nor varyaunce That I am bolde / and can for no thynge spare My menynge clerely / to you to declare Without ●eynynge / in wordes plat and playne Besechynge firste / to that I shall sayne Without more / of your goodlyhede Benyngnely / for to take hede And pacyently / to my wordes leste And what I saye / to take it for the beste In your entent / and no thynge you to greue For thynges two / myne herte sore meue This is to saye / loue and gentylnesse What that I mene / clerely to expresse To your persone / and no thynge to counsele Or we parte / lyke as ye shall fele For me semeth / firste of curtesye In soth fastnesse / and of genterye That to straungers / euery maner wyght Is bounde and holde / of very due ryght To make chere / and trewely as of me Bycause Iason / that I in you se So moche manhode / & so great worthynesse I wyll nat fayne / with all my besynesse To helpe and further / in al that may you lyke And with that worde / of herte she gan to syke For his sake / and sayde ouer more For you I fele / full great anoy and sore That meued are / without auysenesse Oonly of youthe / and wylfull hardynesse The flees of golde / to gete if ye may The whiche empryse / who euer assay More peryllous is / playnly to achyeue In very sothe / than ye cowdelyeue For douteles / I do you well assure The fynall mede / of this auenture Is nat but deth / saue report of shame For there ye wene / to gete you a name The ende playnly / shall tourne in contrarye For the gynnynge / so the fyne shall varye For wyt of man / nouther engyne nor myght Though he be neuer / so expert in fyght Or haue in armes / passynge excersyse With all the sleyghtes / of olde or newe empryse Or though he be / beste brethed to endure Or what deuyse there be / of his armure Or what wepen also / that he brynge Harded with stele / trenchaunt or persynge Yet at the laste / whan he hath all sought Without me / it vayle may right nought . Wherfore Iason / I haue compassion On your youthe / of pure affeccion That of wylfulnesse / ye shall thus be lorne That ben of blood and lyne / so hygh yborne For certaynly / it may none other be But if that ye / your counsayle take of me For none but I may do you helpe or ese Alas Iason / why wyll ye nat appese Your manly corage / in this caas yblent And to my counsayle / ben obedyent Than durst I swere / ye shulde haue victory Ben remembred / and put in memorye Perpetuelly / & thorugh your knyghthod wyn The flees of golde / the whiche is yonde within In the yle / that standes here besyde Of whiche that Mars / is gouernour and gyde Wherfore at ones / in your selfe assente To my counsayle / fully to consente At fewe wordes / if ye lyste to spede And leue your lust / and worke after my rede . TO whom Iason / with full humble chere Answered & sayd / myn owne lady dere I thanke you / in all my best wyse Right as fet forthe / as I may suffyse And as my power / platly may attayne Myne hertes quene / and lady souerayne Whom ye may / hooly I ensure All the whyle / that my lyfe may dure Truste right well / me lyst nat for to fayne To lyue or dye / at your luste restrayne As hym that is / your owne trewe man You for to obeye / in all that euer I can Without chaunge / or any doubylnesse Whyle that I lyue / in very sothfastnesse That you lyste / of trewe affeccion Vpon my lyfe / to haue compassion Of gentyllesse / and that ye lyste to haue Suche cherte / my body for to saue That in good fayth / of very due ryght I am ybounde / to be your owne knyght Vnto myn ende / and that more specially That of your grace / so benyngnely Ye lyst your selfe / of any counsayle be That neuer afore / to you in no degre Ne dyde seruyse / to your womanhede And with your wordes / full of goodlyhede Your owne man / lysteth recomforte The whiche in sothe / so as I can reporte A thousande folde / be the more plesaunt That neuer afore / no meryte gat hym graunt Ne no desert / request nor prayere But more frely / with herte full entere Lyst vnrequyred / on my wo to rewe And vndisserued / be to me so trewe That I ensure / vpon my fayth as faste In your seruyse / I shall vnto my laste Parseuer sothely / that there shal be no slouthe Nor varyaunce / and therto here my trouthe For fynally / withouten wene At fewe wordes I saye right as I mene Me lyste nat fayne / flatre nor delude For my beheste / with dethe I shall conclude Whan that parcas / my lyues threde to rende This all & some / and thus I make an ende . THan quod she / ful wysely in your herte Ye muste afore / consydre and aduerte The aduenture / that ye take on hande And prudently / the peryll vnderstande And full warely caste / and haue in mynde The mortall harme / at the tayle behynde That is well more / then it is credyble For leue me well / it is an impossyble To gynne in honour / and also for to fyne For thylke flees / by hye power dyuyne Preserued is / and eke with Marcys myght That who so entreth / therfore to fyght It were full harde / to hym to escape The fyrye flawme / whan the bulles gape That ben of brasse / trapped all in leuen More for to drede / than lyghtnynge of the heuen Tofore the dynt / of the great thonder That seuered hath / many toure asonder For to Asshes / they must a man consume Wherfore I rede / that ye nat presume The Ram to assayle / leste ye your labour lese Withdrawe your foote / yet sythe ye may chese By good aduyse / and discreciowne Your honour sauf / and your hye renowne Where so ye lyste / of your wylfulnesse Oonly of folye / and of hastynesse To this empryse / of heed to procede Or where ye lyst / lyke as I you rede Saue your selfe / from wo and all myschaunce Lyke as ye shall / if to myn ordenaunce Ye you commytte / and lowely lyste obeye Without fraude / there is no more to seye . ANd Iason than / syttynge at the borde Of Medea emprentynge / euery worde Waxe for Ire / almoste vnpacyent And sayde alas / and is this your entent Me to counsayle / to leue this empryse Certes it were / to foule a cowardyse To gynne thynge I myght nat acheue For euery man / wolde me repreue And reporte to my confusion That I of pryde / and presumpcion Toke on me / whan I was at my large So hye a thynge / and so great a charge That I durst not / for doute of myschefe Accomplysshe it / whan it cam to the prefe Leuer me were / myn owne lady dere For to Iuparte / and to put in were My selfe at ones / and at wordes fewe On smale pecys / to be all to hewe Than I shulde cowardely / forsake Thylke empryse / that I haue vndertake As ye well knowe / and leue it thus alas Let be your counsayle / playnely in this cas For what so euer / happe or falle of me Trusteth right well / it shall none other be For if that I / of my cowarde herte Fro my purpose / shulde now dyuerte Without lawde / my lyfe I shulde lede And shame eternall / shulde be my mede Through out the worlde / noted ouer all In euery lande / spoke of in speciall That Iason hath / so hyghly vndertake That he for fere / dare none ende make Thynketh right well / that it shall not betyde For lyfe or dethe / what myscheif I abyde And there vpon / my trouthe I you ensure That as ferforthe / as my lyfe / may endure I shall parfourme / that I haue begonne And though so be / it may nat be wonne But that I muste / with my deth it beye I wyll nat leue / for leuer I haue to deye Than lyue ashamed / of cowardyse & slouthe For me semeth / it is to hygh a routhe A man to appere / or dare shewe his hede Whan he hath / his honour vyllanede After tyme / whan his name is slayne For eueryman / shulde be rather fayne To dye in honour / than lyue as a wretche And though this thynge / to my deth stretche It is welcome / I shall it well abyde This all and some / what so of me betyde . THan quod she / sythe it is so That ye algates / desyre to haue ado Ther is nomore / by ought I can espy But ye had leuer / shortly for to dye Rather than lyue / and to haue a shame And yet it is an ernest / and no game With suche monstres / vnwarely for to dele Lyke as in dede / there after ye shall fele Wherfore / I am meued of pyte And greatly stered / that ye of volunte Without aduyse / or discrecion Counsayle / or good delyberacion Lyste take on you / this meruaylous vyage For your youthe / and also your corage Gouerned ben as / in this matere All after luste / for bothe two yfere Inparded ben / if ye your purpose sewe For unpossyble / is to you to eschewe A sodayne dethe / for nouther fre nor bonde By crafte of man / hath power to withstonde . Wherfore I thynke / of herte & good entent To caste awaye yet / or ye be shent And to your tourne / shape a remedye Suche routhe I haue / that ye shulde dye For my fader / whom I loue moste Rather than ye shulde / thus be loste I shall offende / and vtterly displease My frendes all / so it may do you ease For I shall fynde / suche amene weye At the leste / that ye shall nat deye For in this caas / I thynke be your gyde So that for you / I shall sette asyde My byrthe firste / of the stok royall And ouer more myn heritage withall And myn honour / shal be put backe You for to helpe / that there shal be no lacke Founde in me / so ye wyll be kynde And that ye lyste / for to haue in mynde As I disserne / goodly me to quyte Consyderynge firste / that it is nat alyte To saue your lyfe / that stande in Ieopardye More peryllous●y / than ye can espye But for all this / I shall it so ordayne Thorugh my crafte / oonly at wyxe vs twayne That or we parte / I hope all shal be wele Vpon this poynt / so that I may fele Faythfully for ioye / wo or smerte With full accorde / of body wyll and herte To my desyre / that ye condecende I vndertake / to make a good ende . This sothly lady / sayde Iason tho I am assented / without wordes mo For to fulfyll / with euery circumstaunce What that euer / may be to you pleasaunce . THan quod she / there is no more to sayne But firste of all / with fayth & herte playne With all your myght / and your besy cure And menynge hole / that ye meassure That ye hereafter / shall take me to wyfe To holde and kepe / after all your lyfe So that your dede accorde / with your hest● This is the fyne / and summe of my requeste Excepte oonly / that ye shall ordeyne In your repayre / to your faders reygne That faythfully / ye shall me with you led● And after that / whan that ye succede After his daye / into your herytage With herte aye one / and with one corage Ye shall to me / be I lyke trewe And cherysshe me / for chaunge of any newe Lyke myn estate / without varyaunce And whyle ye lyue / haue in remembraunce My kyndenesse / in your great nede For there is none a lyue / that may spede Creature / that is here mortall For to assayle / the forces marcy all Of the dragon / and bulles bothe in fere But it so be / of me that he lere Hooly the manere / how he shall hym gye Lyke as to you / I thynke specifye Whan it happeth / that we mete agayne For none but I / may helpe certayne In this caas / as platly ye shall fynde And I nat aske / but that ye be kynde . SOthly quod Iason / all this shal be do As ye deuyse / I wyll that it be so And here my fayth / there on I you assure O goodlyest / of any creature That euer yet / I sawe vnto my paye And fayrest eke / in sothe it is no naye And of bounte / ye ben in comparable For of my dethe / ye ben so merciable That whyle I lyue / I saye you by my fayth Myn herte meneth / as my tunge ●ayth I wyll be founde / your owne trewe man For lyfe or deth / in all that euer I can So that of grace / it be to you pleasaunt For to parfourme / your hestes & your graunnt And worke fully / to my sauacion As ye haue sayde / in full conclusion For trewely ye of all / that bere lyfe In beaute / haue a prerogatyfe Passynge echone / me lyst nat for to glose Amonges floures / as dothe the rede rose Whiche in somer / amyd the leuys soote After that veer / hath made out of the roote The humydyte / kyndly to ascende The barayne foyle / to clothe and amende And the braunches / that wynter made bare With sote blosmes / fresshely to repare And the medowes / of many sondry hewe Tapited ben / with dyuers floures newe Of sondry motlees / moste lusty for to sene And holsome bawme / is shad amonge the grene Right as the rose / is fayrest of echone Right so nature / sette you alone Whan she you made / firste at hir deuyse Aboue all other / for to haue a pryse As ye that ben / of bounte sprynge and welle Therto in beuute / sothly ye excelle All that lyue / for any comparison Ne may be made / and of discrecion Ye passe all / as euery man may se And with all this / I fynde you vnto me The moste goodly / that euer yet was borne Without whom / I were as now but lorne Of helpe and socour / fully destitute Ne were that I / founde in you refute Fro whom al fredom / to mewarde doth habounde In somoche / that I am euer bounde As fer forthe / as my lyue may streche That for your sake / of deth I ne reche If therwithall / I myght you agrene That to my helpe / so goodly lyste to sene For if that I / of neclygence sholde Any thynge refuse / that ye wolde I myght of reason / full well merked be And noted eke / of wylfull nycetee So folylye / to voyde away my grace It were arage / a man from hym to chace Wylfull fortune / whan she is benyngne Wherfore as now / hooly I resygne Herte body my lyfe / and eke my dethe Into your hande / whyle me lasteth brethe With all the othes / that I afferme may For to perseruer / to myn endynge day Youre trewe spouse / as I haue sayd & sworne And you behested / playnly here toforne And there vpon / euery thynge obeye That may you please / tyll tyme that I deye This all and some / what shuld I lenger tarye From this beheste / I shall neuer varye . And whan she sawe / his great stedefastnesse She was ●upprysed / with so hye gladnesse With so great ioye / pleynly in hir herte That she was voyde / of euery wo and smerte For he so lowly / to hir lust obeyde And or she wente / thus to hym she seyde . Iason quod she / than I shall ordayne Amene waye / that we bothe twayne May efte agayne / at leyser mete sone For to parfourme / all that is to done In this matere / lyke to our entent Where shal be made / a fynall sacrament Of our desyre / that no man shall vnbynde Though now therto / we may no leyser fynde Towarde eue / it shall nat me escape Truste me right well / a tyme for to shape Secretly / that we may mete yfere For I shall sende / a pryue chambrere To you of myne / whiche shall you conueye Vnto my chamber / by a pryue weye A certayne houre / without any fable To our entent / that be moste greable Vpon the poynt / whan Phebus with his lyght I westryd is / and eke the derke nyght Hath with the dymnesse / of his shadowes blake Our emysperye / fully ouer take That ofte gyueth / by fauour of fortune Vnto louers a leyser / opportune For to parfourme theyr / lustes / and achyeue And right anone / as it draweth to eue I shall for you / to my closet sende Of euery thynge / for to make an ende Where as we / shall at good leyser speke Eueryche with other / and our hertes breke And declare the summe / of all our wylle And whan we haue / spoken all our fylle By good leyser / I fully you byhete We shall ordayne / whan so vs lust to mete To sette a tyme / who euer that saye nay Alway by nyght / whan passed is the day For myghty Ioue / as wysely me socoure As hence forth / I wyll be hooly youre Whyle that I lyue / wakynge and a slepe If it so be / that ye your hestys kepe . TO whom Iosan / lowly gan to enclyne And said as fer / as man may ymagyne Or any wyght / may clerely comprehende I wyll to you / to my lyues ende As seruaunt / faythfully me quyte And though that I can nat say but lyte My trewe herte / wyll nat neuerthelasse And though I can nat peynte nor compasse No gay processe / my soueraygne hertes quene Tyll I be deed / trewely I shall mene Haue here my trouth / whyle I haue lyf & mynde As in the ende / trewely ye shall fynde . And for theyr speche / & ende thus they make And Medea / shope hir for to take Hir leue anone / amonges all the pres First of hir fader / and than of Hercules And bode no lenger / but forth with anone Vnto hir chambre / in haste she is gone Where vp and downe / she made many wente None of hir meyne / wetynge what she mente Castynge wayes / hir purpose to a chyeue And in hir wyttes / gan besyly to meue As she rometh / in hir habytacle On any syde / if there were obstacle Or any lettynge / whiche wolde hir sore greue This was hir studye / tyll it drewe to eue Where I hir leue / complaynynge in hir wo With many a thought / walkynge to and fro . The myddaye houre / is gone and ouer slyde Tytan so faste / hath in his chare I ryde The dayes arke / from est to west compassed His fyry stedes / haue almoste I passed Our oryzonte / and drawe downe full lowe His golden wayne / that no man myght knowe Where as he hydde / his fyry bemes bryght In his descence / full fer out of our syght . And herynes / with hir copes myrke The euenynge / begonne for to dyrke In the twylyght / whan the day gan fade And Esperus / with her stremes glade That ben so fresshe / so lusty and so merye Gan recomforte / all our emysperye . Whan Medea / by hir selfe alone Of hygh desyre / gan for to make hir mone That she so longe abode / after hir knyght Alway accountynge / the houres of the nyght So full of trouble / and full of thought Whiche hath full streytly / serched out & sought A redy waye / vnto hir purpose All be that she / kept it in full close Amyd hir herte / quappynge as awawe For drede and fere / tyll hope gan adawe And bad she shulde / be right merye & gladde Tyll drede agaynward / made hir sobre & sadde Lest hir desyre / troubled were or lette And thus she was / at abay ysette Amyd of hope / and of drede also That she ne wyste / what was beste to do . For hir desyre / and hye affeccion So sobre brente / in hir oppynyon Of luste she hadde / to mete with Iason And there agaynst / drede came in anoon And made hir ferefull / lest she were espyed But all hir sorowe / was holpe and remedyed Oonly by fortune / and the dyrke nyght By whiche she was made / full glade and lyght For recomforted oonly thyse two And with good hope / that made hir glade also She began anone / to caste and deuyse Whan that the mone / on heuen wolde a ryse And whan that she / with hir hornes pale Wolde shede hir lyght / vpon hylle and vale She gan acounte / and caste well the tyme And founde a quarter / was passed after pryme And she that was / well knowynge in that art And sawe in sothe / that the fourth part Of the mone / was shadde with newe lyght And passed was / in hir cours full ryght After the tyme of coniunccion Thre sygnes full / by computacion And complet was / seuen dayes of hir age At whiche tyme / she brennynge in hir rage And thorugh darted / with cupides arowe Gan to loke / and beholde narowe At euery dore / and lysten besely If ony wyght / that she myghtespy Of all the court / outher walke or go Or any man romyn / to or fro So sore shedradde / goynge vp and downe Whan she herde / any noyse or sowne Or whan she hereth / why sprynge any where It was venym / sothly in hir ere She wysshed all / hadde ben a bedde This pytouslyfe / the longe nyght she ledde Without respyte / though no wyght coude it knowe Tyll hye mydnyght / that the cokkes crowe At whiche tyme / whan all was huste & stylle For to accomplysshe / the remenaunt of hir wylle And euery where / made was sylence She clepyd anone / vnto hir presence An aged vecke / fer in yeres ronne That in suche crafte / moche helpe konne Thriftely to bryng● / a thynge aboute For they afore / can caste euery doute . Of yeres passed / olde experyence Hath gyue to them / so passynge hye prudence That they in loue / all the sleyghtes knowe And she was made / as dogge for the bowe To whom Medea / discureth all hir thought From poynt to poynt / and forgat right nought And charged hir / in reles of hir smerte And recomforte / of hir troubled herte To haste hir anone / vpon hir waye Vnto hir chaumbre / Iason to conuaye And she anone / nat rekles in that caas Is gone for hym / a full softe paas As she that was / of newe nat to lere And brought hym anone / as ye shall here . WHan that the cok / comon Astrologere the mydnyght hour / with his voyce ful clere Began to sowne / and dyde his besy payne To bete his breste / with his wynges twayne And of the tyme / a mynute wyll nat pace To warne them / that were in the place Of the tydes / and season of the nyght Medea to awayte / vpon hir knyght Full redy was / the entre for to kepe As she that lyste / full lytell for to slepe For that ne was / no parcell of hir thought And whan Iason was / to hir chambre brought Without espyeng / of any maner wyght Than she anone / conueyeth hym full right Into hir closet / in all the haste she maye Full well besene / with great and ryche arraye Where by hir syde / she made hym take his see And firste of all / this ylke lees of three By hir that was / moste expert in this caas Was sodeynly / tourned to a braas For the vecke / to stare vpon the mone Is walked out / and hath them lefte alone And whan Medea / the dores had shette Downe by Iason / anone she hath hir sette But firste I fynde / with all hir besy myght Aboute the chambre / that she set vp lyght Of great torches / and cyerges full ryall Aboute on pyllers / and on euery wall Whiche gaue alyght / lyke the sonne shene And to a cheste / wrought of crystall clene Firste of all / she taketh hir passage Out of the whiche / she toke aryche ymage Of pure golde / full lusty to beholde That by custome / of the rytes olde To myghty Ioue / eterne and creat I halowed was / and also consecrat The whiche ymage / deuoutly as she ought With humble herte / to Iason first she brought And made hym lowly / theron take his othe Vnto his laste / outher for lyef orlothe That he hir shulde take / vnto his wyfe Fro that daye forthe / durynge all his lyfe With herte vnfayned / and fayth inuyolate And cherysshe hir / lyke to hir estate Fro that tyme / I fynde how that she Hadde euer floured / in virgynyte And as myn Auctour / well reherce can Aye kept hir clene / from touche of any man In thought and dede / and neuer dyde amys For she of herte / so holly gyuen is Vnto Iason / and that for euer mo And he anone / hath put his hande vnto And swore fully / as ye haue herde me saye All hir requestes / without more delaye To kepe them / whyle his lyfe may laste But o alas / how soone he ouer caste His hest / his fayth / with whiche he was assured And hadde his fraude / with flaterye yeured So couertly / that hir innocence Hir trewe menynge / and hir dylygence And all that euer / she deuyse can Deceyued was by falshede of this man And though that trouthe / was apparent aboue Doubylnesse so slyghly / was in shoue As though he had / sothly be allyed With trewe menyng / and so no thynge espyed Vnder fayre chere / was faynynge and failas For what myght she / a wrought more in this cas Than for thy sake / ceptre and regalye And all the lordes / eke of hir alye Forsoke at ones / and toke of them no hede And of pyte / and of very goodlyhede Loste hir frendes / and hir good fame Oonly Iason / to saue the froshame And yet moreouer / forsoke hir herytage She that was borne / of so hye parage And shulde haue be / by successyon Heyre by dissent / of that Regyon But womanly / for she wolde hir quyte Of all yfere / she set nat amyte But at one hour / all she hath forsake And vnto the / she hath hir holly take Oonly for truste / thou shuldest haue be kynde Rychesse and honour / she hath I lefte behynde And ches in exyle / with the for to gone From all hir kynne / this cely mayde alone . Alas I wepe / for thyne vnkyndnesse What hath she nat / fro deth and fro distresse Preserued the / and yet thou takest none hede That shulde haue deyed / ne had she be thy rede Of thy conquest / she was the very cause That I may nat / shortly in a clause Wryte hir bounte / nor breifly comprehende Effectuelly parfourmed to the ende At wordes fewe / it may nat be tolde Thorugh whom y● hast / the ryche f●ees of golde Manly conquered / whiche without doute Vnlyaly was / that to a brought aboute For whan thou were / of helpe destytute She was thy comforte / and synguler refute And with all this / thou mayst it nat denye All erthely honour / how she gan defye The to conserue / out of heuynesse And hir fader / she hath o● his rychesse So emperysshed / that pyte is to here By ensample / of whiche women myght lere How they shulde truste / on any man Alas Medea that so moche can Bothe of sterres / and of astronomye Yet sawe she nat / afore hir desten ye Loue hath hir put / so out of gouernayle That all hir crafte / ne myght hir natauayle She was to slowe / by calculacion To caste afore the constellacion Of hir byrthe / and hir wofull fate For rekleshed / she sawe it all to late But I suppose hir connynge was fallyble For doutles me semeth / nat credyble That if she hadde wyste of it toforne So pytously / she hadde nat be lorne As ye shall se here after hastely So as the storye / reherseth by and by How it befell / of Iason and Medee But firste ye shall the ordre and maner se How she wrought / after he was swore The same nyght / alas she hathe forbore Hir mayden hede / and that was great pyte And yet she mente / nat but honeste As I suppose / she went to haue be his wyfe But touchynge / that I holde as now no stryfe And yet one thynge / I dare aferme and fayne That the menynge / of this ylke twayne Ne was nat one / but wonder fer atwene For all that she / trewely gan mene Of honeste thynkynge no outrage Lyke a mayde / innocent of age He to accomplysshe / his flesshely false appetyte And to parfourme / his foule appetyte Wrought euery thynge / to hir entent contrayre Alas that she was / so debonayre For to truste / vpon his curtesye Or to quyte hir / of hir genterye So hastely to rewe / vpon his sinerte But women be / of so tendre herte That they wyll gladly / of routhe and pyte Whan that a man / is in aduersyte Saue his lyfe / rather than he shulde deye And so Medea / shortly for to seye Castynge no peryll / after that shall fall His desyres and his lustes all Hooly obeyeth / with all hir full myght And that so longe / almoste that the nyght Hath his course / rounde aboute gon At whiche tyme / to hir spake Iason And lowly sayde / my lady it is tyme That we aryse / for soone it wyll be pryme Ye may se well / the daye begynneth to sprynge For we may here / how the byrdes synge Prayenge to you / in all my beste wyse How I shall werke / that ye lyste deuyse And ceryously / euery thynge dispose I you beseche / o goodly fresshe rose Myne empryse / to brynge to an ende And than at erst / hense wyll I wynde Saue that I thynke / firste with you to trete In what wyse / this countre ye shall lete And into Grece / repayre agayne with me Whiche is a lande / of great felycyte For truste well / and be no thynge drede Into that reyne / with me I shall you lede After my conquest / if so be that I wynne Wherfore I praye you / goodly to begynne How I shall werke / in all the haste ye maye For in good fayth / anone it wyll be daye . To whom she spake / fayeng as ye shall here Myn owne Iason / vnto me more dere Than is myselfe / as in conclusion I am assented / with full affeccion Of my wyttes / and all my hole herte You to enfourme / how ye shall asterte Euery daunger / of the lytell yle If it so be / ye lyste abyde a whyle . And vp she rose / in all the haste she maye And to a cofre / where hir treasour laye She went anone / & brought hym in hir honde A ryche ymage / of syluer that she fonde Whiche sothely was / of meruaylous entayle Whose power was / and vertue to auayle Effectuelly / to hir bothe entent Agayne all magyk / and enchauntement And to with sytte / the force of Sorcerye For it was made / by astronomye In houre chose out / and equat for the nones By clerkes olde / for full longe agone is Whylom whan they were / flouryng in their ages That they vsed / to make suche ymages As dyde the kynge / called Tholomee And so to Iason / commaunded hath Medee To bere this ymage / on hym pryuely As ye haue herde / to worke effectuelly In euery thynge / as she dyde assygne And than she toke / to hym a medecyne Made in maner / of an oynement To ennoynte hym with / that he be nat brent That was more ryche / & precious than bawme Agayne the malys / of euery fyre and flawme And after that / she toke to hym anone A ryche rynge / where in was sette a stone That vertue hadde / all venym to destroye That on no syde / it myght hym not a noye The whiche stone / had also this myght That if a man / cowde it bere a ryght Within his hande / next the skyn enclosed The strengthe of syght / shulde be deposed Of them that wolde / gase or beholde For who so euer / in his hande it holde By the vertue / that was infallyble The storye sayth / he shulde be in vysyble The whiche stone / wyse clerkes calle Achates / moste vertuous of alle And it is founde / sothely in Cecyle Of whiche stone / whylom wrote virgyle How that venus / to Eneas it sente Firste whan that he / into Cartage wente . And after this / she to Iason toke A certayne bylle / wryten lyke a boke That to his iourney / myght moche auayle And bad hym wysely / that he nat ne fayle If he caste hym / graciously to spede Firste of all / the scripture that he rede Or he the Ram / touche in any wyse Hym chargynge / eke afore this hye empryse With humble herte / and deuocyon That he knelynge / saye that oryson That vp and downe / was wryten on the bylle Prayenge the goddes / lowely to fulfylle His requeste / and mercy for to haue Of very pyte / from myscheif hym to saue And after that / for his cheif socoure She toke to hym / a vyoll with lycoure And bad hym manly / without fere or drede Whan he come / vnto the bullys rede If he hym shape / knyghtly to escape That as faste / as he seeth them gape Into theyr goles / that he the lycour caste Than that hym nat / but lytell of them gaste For theyr iowes / togyder it shall glyewe That on no syde / they shall nat eschewe To beye his luste / in what hym lyste constreyne For doutles / maugre all theyr peyne He shall them so daunte / and make tame That where hym lyste / in ernest and in game He myght them make louten and enclyne And do them bowe / bothe backe and chyne The lycour / shall there chawles so coharte That a sonder / they shall nat departe For to offende / or noye any wyght And whan she had thus / vnto hir knyght In euery thynge / gaue instruccion Playne doctryne / and informacion How he shall scape / the daungers by and by If he take hede / and werke auysely . And than accorded / they thought it for the best For to parte / or men out of theyr rest A waked were / for it drewe to daye As they well sawe / by the morowe graye And leste men hadde to them suspecion Of hye prudence / and discrecion Atwene the twelyght / and the rody morowe They toke theyr leue / with seynt Iohn the borowe With oft kyssynge / as louers whan they twynne And so he wente / and she is lefte withinne Beynge in hope / to mete agayne some daye And Iason than / as faste as euer he maye Gan ordayne hym / his Iourney to acheue And thought he wolde / anone go take his leue And in what wyse / within a lytell whyle After the maner of my rude style My purpose is / sothely and nat spare With your supporte / playnly to declare . WHan that the rowes / and the rayes rede Estwarde to vs / full erely gonne sprede Euen at the twelyght / in the damnynge Whan the larke / of custome gynneth synge For to salue / in hir heuenly laye The lusty goddesse / of the morowe graye I mene Aurora / whiche afore the sonne Is wonte to enchase / the blacke skyes donne And the derkenesse / of the dymme nyght And fresshe Phebus / with conforte of his lyght And the bryghtnesse / of his bemes shene Hadde ouer gylte / the hye hylles grene And floures eke / agayne the morowe tyde Vpon theyr stalkꝭ / gan playn their leues wyde Whan that Iason / with all his companye Towarde the kynge / full faste gan hym hye Who that he fonde / lyke to his estate With sceptre in hande / full pompous & elate Hye in the see / of his regalye Syttynge full kyngly / amyd his chyualrye And his lordes / aboute enuyron At whiche tyme / this yonge champyon Vnder a vowe stondyng / of the Ram With sterne face / tofore the kynge in cam Besechynge hym / of his magnyfycence The same day / to graunte hym lycence To do his armes / and make no delayes Concludynge playnly / that at all assayes He wyll that daye / in the felde be founde For to achieue / lyke as he was bounde Of olde byheste / and nat a poynt declyne For lyfe nor deth / tyll he parfourme and fyne Hooly the auntres / vnto the flees that longe The kynge requeryng / no lenger hym prolonge But goodly graunte / the fyn of his empryse And than the kynge / in full sobre wyse Consyderynge / the summe of his demaunde To Iason spake and sayde / he shall commaunde That his requeste / parfourmed were in haste All be quod he / I am full sore a gaste Of wylfulnesse / thou shuldest destruyde be Leste men thy deth / arected vnto me And therupon / wolde & blame sette Of ryall power / that I nat ne lette Thy manly youthe / from suche Iupartye Whiche were in sothe / a great vylanye And preiudyce / to myn estate and name That afterwarde / men put me in blame Thorugh fals reporte / and wronge opynyon That I withstode / nat thy destruccion Wherfore I rede / yet be thou auysed And my counsayle / lete nat be dispysed For better it is / with honoure in certayne Into thy countre / to repayre agayne Than wylfully / for to take an honde A mortall thynge / that no man may withstonde This is my rede / and fully myn aduyse Take hede therto / fythe that thou art wyse Leste thou repente / whan it is to late And if so be / that thou wylt algate Thy purpose holde / and nat do as I rede Almyghty Mars / I praye the to spede The for to gyde / what so euer falle And eke I praye / to the goddes alle Saufe and sounde / thy body to restore This all & some / of me thou gettest no more . And whan Iason / had herde the kynge Nat dismayed / nor stoned in no thynge In knyghtly wyse / dyde hym reuerence Thankynge hyghly / his royall excellence That of his grace / and benyngnyte Vpon his deth / hym lyste to haue pyte Fully concludynge / touchynge his batayle That nouther rede / nor counsayle In no wyse / his purpose shulde withdrawe But lyke the statute / playnly and the lawe Right as fer forthe / as fortune wyll hym eure What so be tyde / of his auenture Settynge asyde / euery feer and drede Sayde platly / that he wyll procede For to parfourme / that he hath vndertake It were in ydell mo / skylles for to make Or to allegge / more there agayne And Iason than / full openly and playne Touchynge the surplus / of this dredfull thynge At his departynge / sayde to the kynge In audyence / of his lordes alle What so euer of me / now be falle Or who so euer / of malys theron muse To all the worlde / firste I you excuse And to the goddes / platly you quyte Though I deye / ye be nothynge to wyte Ne no man shall / arecte it you of skylle For that I werke / is frely at my wylle Agayne the aduyse / of your hye prudence And lyfe or deth / here in your presence Hooly of herte / and neuer for to f●ytte To the goddes / and fortune I commytte So as them lyste / for me to ordayne Agayne whose wyll / I shall neuer playne Nor them nor you / put in no blame What so betyde / honour / ioye or shame And of this thynge / thus an ende I make And for this tyme / of you my leue I take And of all tho / that you aboute stonde And one by one / he toke them by the honde And in what wyse / forthe he gan hym dresse To you anone / I thynke it to expresse . WHan that Tytan / had with his feruent hete Drawe vp the dewe / from the leues wete Towarde myd morowe / as I can diffyne Vpon the houre / whan the clocke is nyne Iason full manly / and full lyke a knyght Armed in stele / of chere full glad and lyght Ganoresse hym forth / what hap that euer fall And sayde adieu / vnto his feres all He in the boote / and they vpon the stronde And all alone / whan he came to londe And in the water / hadde his vessell lafte He firste of all / remembrynge on the crafte Of Medea / with all the circumstaunces And how he shulde / kepe his obseruaunces In euery thynge / and hadde it well in mynde And than anone / full manly as I fynde He shope hym forth / and went a knyghtly pas Towarde the bulles / that forged were of bras But at the poynt / whan he his Iourney gan For hym Medea / wexed full pale and wan So ●ore agast / that no thynge myght hir glade A routhe it was to se / what woshe made For the teres / on hir chekes twayne Full pyteously / do distylle and ●ayne That all fordewed / were hir wedes blake And aye this sorowe / she made for his sake Lyke a woman / ferefull and in doute Whyle he his armes / ful manly brought aboute To sobbe and syghe / she can nat be in pes Leste he for haste / were oughte rekles From poynt to poynt / to do lyke as she badde This was the lyfe / that she for hym hath ladde And for to se / how he shulde hym defende She gan anone / by grecys to assende Of a toure / into an hye pynacle Where as she myght / haue none obstacle Nor lettynge nouther / for to haue a syght Of hym that was / hir owne chosen knyght And euer amonge / with wordes out she brake And stoundemell / thus to hir selfe she spake . O thou Iaso● / my souerayne hertes hele If thou knewe / what wo forthe I fele Sothly I trowe / it shulde the nat asterte For to be trewe / with all thy hole herte And god I praye / this Iourney at the leste May this tyme / tourne for the beste And kepe the saufe / & sounde / in euery membre And yefe the myght / fully to remembre As I the taughte / and in the same fourme Euery thynge fully / to parfourme Oonly this daye / thyn honoure to auaunce Whiche for to se / were all my hole pleasaunce For certes Iason / if the fylle ought amysse Fare well my helthe / and all my worldly blysse And fare well than / my myrthe and my solace And my welfare / my fortune and my grace And all at ones / my hertely suffysaunce Lo this for hym / was hir gouernaunce From the tyme / that he the lande hath●ome And firste of all / whan that he was come Where as the bulles / fell and dispytous Out caste theyr fyre / and frawme f●ryous At theyr mouthes / wonder large and huge Agayne the whiche / for his chefe refuge Hym to saue / that he were nat brent He was enoynted / with an Oyntement On his body / that kept hym from damage Of thylke fyre / that was so full of rage And the smokes / derke and full horryble Whiche to escape / was almoste impossyble For any man / of what estate he be Without comforte / and counsayle of Medee By whose doctryne / Iason can so werke That he is scaped / from the mystes derke Of the fyre / with the blases blake That all the eyer / so cludy dyde make She hadde hym made / so discret and sage Oonly by vertue / of thylke ymage Whiche that he / aboute his necke bare Wherby he / was so prudent and so ware That whan the bulles / haue most feersly gaped He hath theyr malys / auysely escaped For the enfeccion / of theyr troubled eyre He hath venquysshed / and was in no disspeyre For in effecte / agayne the foule fume That wolde a man / vnto the deth consume The ymage was / a preseruatyfe Hym to diffende / and to saue his lyfe And more surely / to kepe hym out of drede Full ofte sythe / the wrytte he dyde rede For the vertue / of that oryson Was vnto hym / full proteccion That he nat fell / in no distresse And after that / for more sykernesse Hym to preserue / in his mortall cas He toke the lycour / that in the vyell was And therwithall / full lyke a manly man All at ones / he toke the bulles than And forgat nat / so warely it to cast That therwithal / their chawes were made fast And by the vertue / so myghtely englewed That he there thorugh / hath vtterly eschewed The enfeccion / of the sinoky leuen And whan the eyre / gan clere and the heuen And the mystes / were wasted hym toforne With manly herte / he raughte by the horne The sterne bulles / and by vyolence He drewe them forth / in whom was no defence And yoketh them / so as the maner was And with the ploughe / he made them go a pas Now vp n●w downe / and to eere the londe And at his lyste so buxom he them fonde That the soyle / smothe bare and playne They made it / redy to bere grayne And on renges / it tourned vp so downe For th● in them / was no rebellyowne But humble and meke / and redy at his wylle All his desyres / playnly to fulfylle . And Iason than / lyke a Champyon Gan hym enhaste / towarde the dragon That was a beest great / & monstruous Foule and horryble / and ryght venymous And was enarmed / in scales large and thycke Of whom the brethe / more peryllous & wycke Was than the heyre / of any pestylence For his venym / was of suche vyolence That it was full deedly / and mortall And at his throte / there yssued out with all A flawme of fyre as of a fournes mouthe Or lyke the leuene / that downe by the southe Out of the Gest / is wont in tempest smyte Right so this dragon / sothely for to wryte Out at his mouthe / hadde a flawme blased Wherof Iason / fyrste a lytell mased Was in his herte / of that dredefull thynge But whan that he / remembred on his rynge All fere and drede / was layde asyde and gone For in that rynge / there was sette a stone Full ryche and noble / and ryght vertuous Of whiche as techeth great y●sydorus And in myn Auctor / also as I fynde Moste comenly / comyth out of Ynde And must be kept chaste / and wonder clene And of colour surmounteth / euery grene Whose vertue is / all venym to destroye And to withstande / that it may nat anoye Of dragon serpent / of adder and of snake And specially / if that it be take And I holden / in the opposyte Of any worme / euen agayne the syte Without abode / in sothe he may nat chese Of his venym / the force he muste lese How stronge it be / or vyolent of rage But to the stone / it dothe full great damage For whan he hath / his vertue do as blyue On pecys smale / it gynneth all to ryue And in it selfe / hole it abydes no whyle For in the lande / that called is Cecyle There is a worme / that Bufo bereth the name And whan men wyll / of malys make hym tame And his venym / vtterly expresse They take a quyll / myn auctor bereth wytnesse Whan they wyll worke or a large can And in the ende / this stone they lette than And lyne right / agayne the wromes hede They holde it / tyll that he be dede For that is sothly / his vertue of nature That no venym / may laste nor endure In the presence / of this ryche stone And as I fynde / this Bufo right anone Thorugh myght therof / bresteth euen a twayn Oonly by kynde / whiche no man may restrayn For the goddesse / that called is nature Whiche next hir lorde / all thynge in cure Hath vertue gyue / to herhe / gras / and stone Whiche no man knoweth / but hir selfe alone The causes hyd / be closed in hir hande That wytte of man can / nat vnderstande Openly the myght / of hir workynge And so Iason / by vertue of this rynge And thrugh his stone / that might him most auaunce Hath the dragon / brought vnto vttraunce In whom he fonde / no maner resystence Hym to withstande / force nor diffence Nouther by venym / nor none other stryfe Wherfore he hath / berafte hym of his lyfe In manly wyse / and in the felde outrayed And Iason than / full glad and well apayed Hath with his swerde / spent on him many a stroke And layde on hym / as men hewe on an oke His bryght skales / were so harde and dur● That well vnneth / he ne myght endure Hym to dismembre / and smyte of his hede And than anone / in the stede of sede He gan his tethe / out of his hede arace And ryght forthwith / in the selfe place He gan them sowe / ryght as men do corne Vpon the lande / that ered was aforne Of whiche sede / there sprange a wonder grayne Bryght armed knyght / stondinge on the playne The whiche anone / with sharpe swerdes grounde Eueryche gan other / for to hurte and wounde Tyll eche his felowe / hath cruelly I slawe This of theyr fate / was the fynall lawe That none of them / shulde by victorye The dethe reioyse / of other by memorye For all yfere / thus they made an ende And after this Iason / gan to wende Vnto the Ram / with all his dylygence In whiche he fonde / no power nor diffence No maner stryfe / nor rebellyowne And myghtely the Ram / he draweth downe And sette an honde / vpon eueryche horne And slewe it firste / and than he hath it shorne Out of his flees of golde / so passynge ryche That in this world / there was no tresour lyche And after that / he made no delay To take his boote / in all the haste he may And roweth forthe / into the tother yle Where Hercules / all the mene whyle Vpon the brynke / with many a nother mo A●ode Iason / tyll he had do And euerychone / I fynde that as blyue Oonly for ioye / whan he dyde aryue They gan to thanke / to cheyr goddes all So graciously / that it hath I fall And that the flees / he hath so knyghtly wonne That shone as clere / as the somer sonne Whiche that he brought / with hym vnto londe His feres all / abydynge on the stronde . ANd whan Appollo / of his dayes arke Had in the west / almost ronne his marke And faste gan downwarde / to declyne And on the wawes / full watrye gan to shyne Yet or he was passed / the Occian Iason is come / with many a manly man Of his feres / to the presence of the kynge As he that hadde / acheued euery thynge Whiche that longeth / to conquest of the Ram And Cethes than / as soone as euer he cam To make hym chere / outward hath him payned All be in herte / that it was but fayned For he was sory / without any drede Of the expleyte / and the good spede Of this Iason / that he the flees hath wonne But lyke in sothe / as these feyners konne Whan that them lyste / craftly compace To shewe outwarde / a faythfull trewe face And the venym enclosed hole within As in menynge / there were no maner syn Ryght so the kynge / with loke & forheed clere Made vnto Iason / outward ryght good chere And gan to hym / to speke in wordes fewe Of frendlyhede / & many sygnes shewe As though his conquest / euery dele From poynt to poynt / lyked wonder wele And befull glad / that he was so fortuned Vnto the ende / that he hath contuned And reioyseth in speche / and countenaunce That fortune / lyste hym so to auaunce And to his paleys / gan goodly hym conueye And daye by daye / full rychely festeye All be that it was / no thynge done of herte For this no les / he felte full great smerte That of his treasour / he was despoyled so And that he hath / the ryche flees forgo To his damage / and confucion And thus there was / a great dyuysion A twixe his chere / & menynge of his thought As it fareth ofte / if it be well sought That many man / in menynge fals and double Can with the calme / couer so the trouble Of hye malys / hyd in his desyre And rake falsly / the wycked couert fyre Full hoote brennynge / inwarde of enuye So well were hym / that cowde them out espye And knewe theyr menynge / fals & fraudelent Where thorugh alas / full many an Innocent Deceyued is / that wote nat what they mene And namely suche / that nat but trouthe wene And euery chere / that men to them make Of Innocence / for the beste take And in no wyse / thynke nat but we le Ryght so certayne / this Iason euery dele Hath take in gre / what the kynge hath wrought Nat aduertynge / the grutchynge of his thought For doutles / it sat the kynge full sore That he the Ram / hath loste for euermore But whan that he / hath vtterly I sayne Though he grutche / that there was no gayne But fynally / of necessyte At that tyme / it myght none outher be And playnely sawe / that he may nat chese But that algate / the flees he must lese Whether it were / that he were lefe or lothe He fayneth chere / as he were nat wrothe For oonly he / of his gentylnesse No sygne outward / of grutchyng dyd expresse But daye by daye / of very curtesye He chereth Iason / and his companye At whiche tyme / aboute enuyrowne From euery partye / of his regyowne The people came / to stare and to gase Vpon the Ram / as it were a mase They loke & wondre / & deme what them lyste On whose domes / is but lytell tryste They ofte vary / and tourne to and fro That who that wysely / taketh hede therto The comon people / chaungeth as a phane To daye they wexe / and to morowe wane As dothe the mone / they be so flaskysable Who trusteth them / shal fynde them ful vnstable For some were glad / that Iason hath sped wele And some sory / and lyke it neuer adele And some sayde / they wonder how he myght Agayne the dragon / or the bulles fyght Or how that he / agayne the force of Marte Out of the Ile / alyue myght parte Another sayde / that parauenture By crafte was wrought / this discomfyture Outher by charme / or some sorcerye Thus eche of them / after theyr fantasye Gan deme of hym / all the longe day But at the laste / makynge no delay Full glad & lyght / Medea downe descendeth From hir chambre / and outwarde pretendeth Sadnesse of chere / as she no thynge ne knewe Men coude nat conceyue by hir hewe Hir secrete menynge / for she so womanly D●mened hir / and so prudently That she auoyded / by discrecion All fantasye / and suspeccion That no man coude / of hir workynge deme No thynge but well / for as it dyde seme By porte and chere / there was no cause why And so by processe / she drewe hir pryuely Towarde Iason / for she was nat to lere And secretly / badde hym in his ere In alwyse / that he nat ne leue To hir chambre / for to come at eue For mater / they hadde for to trete Which he shal know / at leyser whan they mete And so anone whan entred was the nyght Sool by hym selfe / without torche or lyght To Medea / he hath the way take And she abode / slepeles for his sake Wonder deuoutly / desyrynge as I gesse With hym to trete / of some holynesse Touchynge materes / of contemplacion For she was smytte with a deuocion Of freshe Venus / to holde a memorye With hym alone / in hir oratorye Nat openly / as ypocrytes praye In dyuers angles / ioynge on the waye Of the people / for to be comended But they nat so / hath the nyght dispended For vayneglorye / nor none other laude But by themselfe / thynkyng on no fraude Secretly / this ylke twayne alone Without lyght / outher of sonne or mone The longe nyght / haue ladde without reste For as them thought / it was nat for the beste To speke of slepe / tyll that it was pryme For they them caste / to lese as tho no tyme And thus the nyght / togyder they dispende That I am dull / for to comprehende The obseruaunces / of suche relygyous Prolix in werkynge / and compendyous Deme your selfe / ye gete nomore of me For well ye wote / in euery faculte Who hath knowynge / and experyence Men wyll to hym / rather gyue credence Wherfore I saye / ye that be wyse and can Axe nat me / whiche am so rude a man To deme a thynge / and namely whan that it Passeth my knowynge also / and my wit For dulled / is myn ymagenatyfe To deme in practyke / or in speculatyfe Wherfore I passe / and lete it ouer slyde And forthe I thynke / if ye lyste abyde Playnely to tell / of Iason and Me●ee The whiche accorded / and assented be That she with hym / shall into grece wende Whan that he gothe / shortly this the ende Vnwyste hir fader / and euery other wyght Saue he alone / that hath his trouthe plyght For to be trewe / bothe in well and woo ▪ Vnto his laste / to hir and to no moo . ⸫ ⸫ ⸫
Howe Iason toke shyppynge with his loue Medea / and sayled awaye with hir . Ca. vij .
ANd whan Iason / after his Iournee Full rychely / lyke to his degree Refresshed was / in Colchos of the kynge Withall that myght / be to his lykynge And amoneth passed / was and gone He with his Grekes / assented into one Purposed hath / shortly if he myght With Medea / to stele awaye by nyght That moche treasour / and the ryche flees And full accorde / also of Herculees . But O Medea / thou hastest all to faste Thou were to slowe / wysely for to caste What shulde falle / whan thou thy iourney toke For how that he in myscheif the forsoke And how that he / was false and eke vnkynde For all his othes / to the as I fynde And how that thou / bothe at eue & morowe Thy fatall chaunce / and thy pytous sorowe By weptest after / and gan thy selfe to rende Tyll dethe of all / made a wofull ende It were but vayne / to make rehersayle I wote no thynge / that it myght auayle Nor how Iason / vnkynde for the nones Receyued hath / penam talliones Of the goddes / for his disnaturelnesse For he in myscheif / and in wretchednesse Made eke an ende / thorugh the cruell hate Of felle Mars / loo here the mortall fate Of these twayne / that made theyr ende so But as I trowe / lyke as wryte Guydo For theyr gynnynge / was nat vertuous An ende foloweth / full contagyous Alas if they hadde / take hede aforne Than had they nat / in myscheif be lorne But who wyll nat / afore his myscheif se May nat eschewe / to haue aduersyte In the ende / platly to deuyne For euen lyke / ryght as a medecyne Auayleth nat / whan the syke is deed For what may helpe / the stomake or the heed Letuarye emplaystre / or pocyon Or any resseyt / or confeccyon Herbe or stone / or that leches knowe Whan that the corps / is layde in erthe lowe . Or whan a beest / is tourned to careyne Myne Auctor sayth / that it is but veyne For his recure / vpon any halowe To his ere / for to leyne a salowe For veryly / after his fantasye It helpeth nat / nor doth no remedye For thynge parfourmed / in his due date More vertue hath / than whan it cometh to late Rightsom case / veryly semblable Of worldly truste / false and full mutable Who caste no peryll / tyll that it be falle In stede of sugre / ofte casteth galle Blended with luste / whiche that is present Of the future / slouthe and neclygent That them ne lyste / afore no myscheif caste Tyll in the snare / they be englued faste For to prouyde / they be graceles Full vnprudent / and wylfull recheles To caste peryll / or that it be tyde They sewe theyr luste / their reason goth asyde As it befelle / whylom of this two Of Medea / and of Iason also . But how so euer / of Iason that it be I ●ynde playnly / the harme alone had she The great damage / and the fynall smerte For lacke of wysdome / that she ne wolde aduerte What shulde falle / whan she hir iourney toke And hir fader / folyly forsoke But sythe she wrought / oonly of wylfulnesse Without counsayle / or auysenesse Me lyste no more / hir harmes to bewayle For lytell or nought / it myght now auayle Lete hir alone / complayne hir damage For well I wote / touchynge hir passage It was nat take / in good plyte of the moone Of hastynesse / she began to soone Chesynge an houre / that was nat fortunat For she alone / of frendes desolat Colchos forsoke / and is to shyp gon And in all haste / be byddynge of Iason Hercules / and all his companye That with hym came / out of Thesalye Without taryeng / at ones at a worde Yentred ben / within shyppes borde Oonly for cause / that the wynde was gode And euery thynge / at theyr luste tho stode And so by assent / they stale awaye by nyght With all the treasoure / that they catche myght And with them ladde / plente of vytayle And forthe anone / they began to sayle By many coste / and many sondry I le Towardes Grece / and all this mene whyle Was Medea glad / and of good chere She and Iason / syttynge bothe yfere And Hercules / of very gentylnesse Her to comforte / dyde his besynesse All faynyngly / for the maner sake As these louers / full queynte can it make Tyll they haue hadde / hooly theyr pleasaunce Theyr luste fulfylled / than vttreth varyaunce As it was preued / by Iason vtterly That hath forsake / full vnkyndely This Medea / in payne sorowe and wo Of hir Guydo / ne wryte no wordes mo Nor maketh of hir / none other mencyon Bycause I trowe / in myn opynyon That hir sorowes / ende and euery dele Rehersed be / full openly and we le Methamorphoseos / & wryte there full playne Where as Naso / recordeth in certayne Hir deth nat oonly / nor hir heuynesse But parcell eke / of the vnkyndenesse Of this Iason / and telleth playnely howe Medea / hir bothe sones slowe For they were lyke / theyr fader of vysage And telleth eke / that put hir moste in rage How falsly he / I can hym nat excuse Loued a nother / that called was Ceruse Eke in his pysteles / who so taketh hede Hir deedly sorowe / he may beholde and rede And how that she / hir trouthe a boughte sore Of Medea / ye gete of me no more In all this boke / nor of hir auenture But I wyll now / do my besy cure Hooly to tourne / my style to Iason And of the werre / he made on Lamedon Lyke as in Guydo / is openly descryued After that he / in Grece was aryued . FI rste whan Iason / and Hercules also I londed were / with many a nother mo In the lande and reygne / of Thesalye Kynge Pelleus / with all his Cheualrye Caste hym playnely / that he wyll nat fayle To mete his neuewe / at his aryuayle And whan they mette / in countenaunce & ●here Made it outwarde / as hole and as entere As he hadde had / soueraygne gladnesse Of his kynghthode / and his heyprowesse Of his renowne / and his manly hede Of his expleyte / and his good spede And that fortune / to encrease his name Hath caused hym / with so noble fame Out of Colchos / with honour to repayre All be his chere / was vtterly contrayre To his entent / that euer he came agayne But for all that / with face hole and playne He welcomed hym / all agaynst herte Full sore astoned / that he euer asterte The auentures / of Colchos / peryllous And is retourned / so victoryous But couertly / his treason for to hyde All delaye / he gan to sette asyde And to Iason / with chere full benyngne His herytage firste / he gan resygne Septre and crowne / and kyngdome at the leste For to parfourme / the summe of his beheste Lyke as he was / assured by his bonde And Iason toke / all into his honde And gan his vncle / in full lowe manere Firste to thanke / with all his herte entere . And after that / ful knyghtly gan hym praye Goodly to here / what that he wolde saye Of a matere / that fret his herte sore From daye to daye / encresynge euer more Besechynge hym / to graunte hym audyence Tochynge a wronge / and a vyolence Done vnto hym / whan he no harme ne mente In Torye lande / to Colchos as he wente This is to saye / the kynge of Troye towne Within the bondes / of his regyon Whan I and myne / in great aduersyte With wynde & weder / for to dryue in the see Vs to refresshe / to lande dyde aryue Not in purpose / with hym for to stryue But for to rest vs / after all our wo A lytell whyle / and forth anone to go For we in sothe / no maner harme ne thought But he vnkyngly / of very malys sought Agaynst vs firste / occasion Byddynge in haste / to voyde his regyon Nat withstondynge / that we come in pes Lyke as my brother / knoweth hercules Vnto no myght / doynge no distresse Wherfore we praye / to your hye noblesse To our purpose / for to condescende Of whiche platly / this the fynall ende That we be sette / in full conclusion Hooly to werke / to his destruccion Lyke our auowe / whan we thense went If it so be / ye goodly lyste assent And all at ones / strongly and nat spare Maugre his myght / to Troye for to fare So that we may / fynde in you fauoure Vs to refresshe / with golde and with creasoure And oonly eke / of your curtesye Vs strengthe also / with your cheualrye . And Pelleus / without more abode Anone as he this mater / vnderstode Assented is of herte / and wyll also In this vyage / with them for to go And all the worthy / of that regyowne Kynges / dukes / and lordes of renowne Be accorded / there is nat one sayth nay To go with them / and helpe what they may And of this Iourney / chyeue solycytour Was hercules / the worthy conquerour . And he in haste / his retenewe to make Towarde sparthos / hath the way take Whiche is an yle / to Grekes pertynent Fully obeyeng / to theyr commaundement In whiche Pollux / and Castor eke also The worthy kyngis / the myghty brethren two Wereas I fynde / that tyme gouernours And bare theyr crowne / lyke noble werreours And brothren were / also to Eleyne And as poetes / lyketh for to feyne That Iubiter / for all his deyte Vpon Dyane / begat them all thre That in beaute / all other dyde excelle And for Eleyne / lyke as bokes telle Conceyued was / in Tyndarys the yle Vnto the londe / ioynynge / of Cecyle Therfore of some / I fynde that she is After the yle / called Tyndarys Of theyr byrthe / me lyste no more to endyte But forthe I thynke / of hercules to wryte That hath besought / these noble k●gꝭ twayne With myghty hande / to do theyr besy payne Oonly to graunte / with hym for to wende To Troye warde / shortly this the ende And to assente / they saye nat ones nay With all the power / that they catche may Agayne what tyme / that hym lyste assygne And hercules / with cherefull benyngne Thanked them / of that they hym behyght And forthe he wente / in all the haste he myght Towarwe Messene / the stronge myghty londe Within whiche / the noble kynge he fonde The knyghtly man / the worthy Thelamon Lorde and prynce / of that regyon That in armes was / one the manlyest That was a lyue / and egall with the beste . And whan he knewe / that hercules was come For ●oye he hath / hym in armes no●e And receyued / in all maner thynge Lyke as it sat / to a worthy kynge And whan he wyste / sothely what he mente Without more / anone he dyde assente With hym to gone Troyens for to greue And hercules / goodly toke leue And hym enhasteth / to Thesalye agayne To Pelleus / and telleth hym certayne How he hath spedde / besechynge hym also In all the haste / that it may be do To sende letters / and his lordes call And to assemble / his worthy knyghtes all Thorugh out his lande / both nygh and ferre Suche as he knewe / that were expert in werre And them also / that were of counsayle sage For wyt of them / that be ronne in age Is more than force / without experyence But whan manhode / is mente with sapyence Who consydereth / it may double auayle And they that longe / haue vsed to trauayle Lyke as it is / playnely to suppose May helpe moste / our iourney to dispose For vnto age / experyence and wytte To youthe force / and hardynesse sytte And whan that bothe / be of one entent Fully accorded / to worke by assent With a quarell / grounded vpon ryght Thorugh helpe of grace / that hath treble myght Them that nat drede / with spere nor with shelde In knyghtly wyse / for to holde a felde For of knyghthode / the fame nor the glorye Nor in armes / conquest nor victorye Be nat assured / vpon multytude But on manhode / so grace lyste conclude . Therfore lete vs / for to auenge our wronge Firste with ryght / make our selfe stronge And our force / manly for to shewe Of knyghtes chose / taken out a fewe And deuoyde / encombraunce of nombre And so we shall / our foes beste encombre And of all that / that hercules hath sayde Kynge Pelleus / was right well apayde For hym thought / his counsayle was right gode And hercules without more abode Is in great haste / with his meyne gon To aprouynce / that called is Phylon In whiche there was / a duke of noble fame And as I fynde / Nestor was his name Full renowmed / and stronge of chyualrye And he was eke / full nye of allye To hercules / and of the same blode And whan that he / playnely vnderstode The purpose hole / and cause of his comynge He graunted hym / without more tariynge To go hymselfe / with hym in this vyage With all the worthy / of his baronage And to be redy / agayne a certayne daye And hercules as faste / as euer he maye Repayred is home / to Thesalye Where gadred was / hooly the nauye Of the lordes / full redy apparayled Well enarmed / and rychely vytayled . And Pelleus / hath taken firste the see And euery lorde / lyke to his degree I shypped is / and redy for to gon With hercules / and also with Iason Theyr behestes / manly to fulfylle Towardes Troye / the Cyte for to spylle And after that / sothely as I fynde They nat abyde / but vpon the wynde .
How Iason Hercules / and all the Prynces of Grece toke theyr shyppynge / for to go and destroye the cyte of Troye . Ca. viii .
WHan that the sote stormes / of Aprylle Vnto the roote / full lowe gan distylle His lusty lycoure / with many holsome shoure To reyse the vertue / vpon the floure And Phebus / was ascendynge in his spere And on the brest / smote his bemes clere Of the Ram / full coleryke at all Halowynge in veer / the equynoxiall Whan May kalendes / entre in for sothe And zephyrus / full ageable and smothe The tendre braunches / enspyreth & doth sprynge And euery busshe / is lusty blossomynge And from the hylle / the water is reuolued Of snowes whyte / that Phebus hath dissolued And the bawme / vapoureth vp a lofte Into the eyre / of the herbes softe The rotes vertue / with colde of wynter hydde Hath hole his myght / and his forse kydde Out of the erthe / in herbe and euery tree Shade in the braunches / his humydytee Areysed oonly / with the sonnes hete And with the moysture / of the raynes swete Whan syluer welles / shedeth out theyr stremes In the ryuers gylte / with the sonne bemes And for he hadde / with newe grene agayne Hir lyner shad / vpon euery playne And nyghtyngalys / that all the wooed ronge Full amorously / welcomed in their songe The lusty season / fresshe and desyrous Namely to hertes / that be amerous And the see his calour / and blaundysshynge From trouble / of wynde / or wawy bollynge And from tempest / is sure to escape The same season / Grekes forth them shape Towardes Troye / erles ▪ dukes ▪ and kynges Their shyppes stuffed / with al maner thynges That to werre / myght them moste auayle And right anone / they began to sayle Whan all was redy / without more abode Eche shyppe by other / on the water rode And whan the wynde / at theyr luste gan blowe A ioye it was / to se them go by rowe Whiche made them faste / to hast in theyr waye That in shorte tyme / they come ben to Troye And in the hauen / called Symeonte Whan Phebus / fer vnder theyr orysonte I westred was / that men ne myght hym se Grekes escaped / all peryll of the see Caste theyr ancres / and thought for the beste In theyr shyppes / the same nyght to reste . ANd in the morowe / whan the larke songe The worthy Grekis / so manly & so stronge Began to lande / in all the haste they myghte On Troye grounde / and theyr tentys pyght● Afore the towne / with great dylygence For they ne founde / no maner resystence And all this whyle / they sette good awayte On euery syde / leste there were deceyte Tyll on the houre / that the sonne bryghte Hadde in the morowe / shade his rody lyghte Amyd the felde / vpon euery tente At whiche tyme / all of one assente The Grekes were / assembled euerychon● And by the byddynge / of the kynge anone Iason firste / and with hym hercules With many worthy / beynge in that pres Ben to the ten●e / of Pelleus come And whan the lordes / both all and some Were ●ogyder / in that place met And eche of them / in his degre was set Than Pelleus / whan al was whyste and styll Began ryght thus / to declare his wyll . O noble and worthy / of hye estate and lowe Whose knyghtly fame / thrugh the world yknow Reported is / as fer as shyneth sonne That Grekes yet / neuer thynge begonne That they ne hadde / victorye at the ende For with the lawrer / as fer a men may wende They crowned ben / of what they toke on hande Suche is theyr happe / both on se and lande . Wherfore ye lordis / moste worthy of renowne Ye can remembre / of kynge Lameoow●e And of the wronge / that he vpon you ● rought Whan harme to hym / none of you ne thought Whiche muste be quyt shortly / this the ende For we be come / to stroye them and to shende Wherfore anone / in all the haste we may Lete vs set on / without more delay But firste I rede / that we take hede To thynges thre / moste helpynge in this nede . Firste by aduyse / and good discrecion For our defence / and sauacion So prudently / our wardes for to make That none of oures / be at myscheif take This ylke daye / for lacke of prouydence . The seconde is / to do our dylygence With all our myght / and hole entencion For to laboure / to full destruccion O four foes / for our owne glorye . And the thirde / that we may victorye Reioyse of them / platly at the laste And after this / ye maye afore well caste If we of knyghthod / thorugh our hardynesse May venquysshe them / we shal so hyerychesse Conquere of them / to our possessiowne For it is knowen / how that Troye towne Of all plente / as it shal be founde Of golde and treasour / is passyngly habounde That our shyppes / sothly as I wene For to receyue / ne shall nat mow sustene The habundaunce / that is yonder within If it so be / that we the Cyte wyn As god vs graunte / if it be his wyll And also faste / as the kynge was styll The noble knyght / the stronge hercules In the presence / of that worthy pres Sayd his counsayle / was hyghly to commende For wyse begynnynge / is preysed by the ende But to effect / our purpose for to brynge My counsayle is / in the mornynge Tofore or we / discured ben by daye That we vs arme / in all the haste we maye And on this felde / that we do our payne For to deuyde our mayne / into twayne And of the tone / shall kynge Thelamowne Be gouernour / of his hye renowne And of the other / kynge Pelleus shall haue The gouernaunce / wysely them to saue And I myselfe / and Iason here my brother Shall secretly / go with all the other Vnder the Cyte / or the sonneshynes And in the busshayle / and the thycke vynes We shall vs hyde / and kepe vs there full koye For Lamedon / that is kynge of Troye Anone as he may / here and espye Of the Grekes / with his chyualrye Out of the cyte / wyll Issue out anone With you to fyghte / & venge hym of his fone But whan he cometh / to our shyppes warde Nestor the duke / shall in the firste warde Mete with hym / and Castor shall also Whan he seeth tyme / knyghtly haue ado To helpe Nestor / if that it be nede The thirde warde / Pelleus shall lede And whyles / ye thus hym occupye Iason and I / shall vs faste hye To the Cyte / vnwyst of them echone I doute nat / we shall it wynne anone Dothe by counsayle / and it wyll you auayle And here my trouthe / ye may nat fayle For to conquere / the Cyte yonder afore This all and some / ye gete of me no more . And they accorde / with al theyr strength & myght And arme them / in stele that shone full bryght Agayne the sonne / at morowe whan he ryseth And wrought fully / as hercules deuyseth .
How the Grekes armed them vpon the morowe / and fought with the Troyens / & discomfyte them / and toke theyr cyte and distroyed it . Capitulo .ix.
ANd Lamedon / whan he herde tell Of their comyng / h● lyst no lenger dwell But out he went / with many a noble knyght Flourynge in youthe / and desyrous to fyght And all tho that myght / armes bere Or coude sho●e / or durste handell a spere . And whan they were / assembled in the felde Eueryche his armes / depeynt vpon his shelde Brouded or bete / vpon his coote armure Than Lamedone / with all his besy cure Set them inordre / and his wardes maketh And in the felde / forthe his way he taketh Towarde the Grekes / as any lyneryght Fully purposynge / to abyde and fyght He was nat ware / of them that were behynde He nat aduerteth / nor casteth in his mynde The great sleyghte / nor the trecherye That hym was shape / he coude it nat espye But forthe he went / with his wardes set And the Grekes anone / with hym hath met With herte bolde / astoned nat at alle Duke Nestor / firste sturdy as a walle In whose manhod / was neuer founde lacke Full knyghtly than / vpon hors backe To herte his men / and his knyghtes eke Gan prese in with many worthy Greke With Lamedon / sturdely to mete At whiche tyme / they felte it full vnswete . And in the frountell / ful many manly man With sharpe speres / firste togyder ran And with swerdes sharpe / and kene grounde Was thylke daye / gyuen many a wounde Where as they mette / vpon euery syde Thrugh plate & mayle / theyr woundꝭ bled wyde And basenettes / they ryue to the crowne The noyse of strokes / in the eyre gan sowne And of the blode / that was shad of newe The Grene soyle / chaunged hath his he we For it was dyed / playnly into reed Vpon the whiche / full many man lay deed And many worthy / lost there his lyfe And certaynly / in this mortall stryfe The grekes hadde discomfyted be echone Ne had Castor / socoured them anone They of Troye / so manly haue them bore That many a knyght / of grekes was I lore But whan Castor / entreth in batayle With his knyghtes / so sore he dyde assayle The worthy Troyans / y● with spere and shelde Grekes agayne / recouerde haue the felde That many one lyeth slayne on the grene Gyrt thorugh the body / with sharpe speres kene That they of Troye / in this mortall stoure Were dryue a backe / tyll there came socoure To them in haste / of worthy Lamedowne Whiche entrede in / lyke a wood lyowne And made waye / vpon euery syde And where as he made / his swerde to glyd● There was but deth / so manly he hym bare That well vnneth / was there none that dare Abyde his stroke / for rydynge vp and downe He made waye aboute / hym enuyrowne In the renges / he hath his foen out sought That day i armes meruailes hath he wrought Than by his manhod / and his worthynesse He grekes hath brought / in suche distresse That they his swerde / fledde as the deth Mercyles / so many of them he sleeth Of whiche slaughter / the grekes were confuse Tyll Pelleus / came to theyr rescuse Irous and wood / as he were fall in rage He thought he wolde the great pompe aswage Of them of Troye / and so he dyde an one For he vnhorseth / of them many one And felly slough / all that stode hym aforne And many harneys / he hath that day to torne And made sheldes / for to ryue a sondre That to beholde / it was a very wondre Tyll lamedone / his people sawe go backe For Pelleus / brought them so to wracke Wherof in herte / he felte full great payne Besechynge them / to repayre agayne And kythe theyr myght / & lyke as men endure And so the felde / he made them to recure . Tyll duke Nestor / knewe that lamedowne Amyd the felde / was kynge of Troye towne And right anone / without more abode Agaynst hym / a full great pase he rode And whan the kynge / dyde hym firste espye Of hye dispyte / of rancour and enuye In knyghtly wyse / gan to tourne agayne No thynge agast / but of hye disdayne With Irous herte / enbolled all with pryde His hor● fyersly / gan take in the syde Tyll there ranne out / the very rede blode And to Nestor / lyke as he were woode He rode anone / and his spere brake But he full knyghtly / kept his hors bake And full delyue●ly / hym agayne to quyte W●th a spere full sharpe / whette to byte Thorugh sheld & brest / gaue hym such a wounde That fro his hors / he felde h● downe to grounde Of whiche falle / the kynge no thynge a ferde But ro●e hym vp / and drewe out his swerde So angre fret hym / at his herte rote That he vnhorsed / fyghte muste on fote Wherof he was / in party full confuse Tyll one Cedar / came to his rescuse That was made knyght / the selfe same yere Yonge fresshe and lusty / and of noble chere Syttynge that tyme / on a noble stede And whan that he / gan to take hede And sawe the kynge / on fote at myscheif fyght Gan to pryke / in all the haste he myght Towarde Nestor / and with a spere hymhytte From his sadell / that he made hym f●ytte Downe to the grounde / afore kynge lamedon But he anone / lyke a champion Recured vp / and hym selfe diffendeth And many a stroke / eche on other spendeth With sharpe swerdes / kene for to byte Eueryche at other / gan to foyne and smyte Tyll lamedone / with a dispytous chere From his face / rased his viser And by force / all at ones smet A ryche cercle / from his basenet Of large perle / goynge enuyrowne With creste / and all he fyersly bete a downe That whyles Nestor / thus afore hym stode His face was all depeynt / with blode That certaynly / the sothe to conclude Hadde nat grekes / with great multytude Rescued hym / he had of lamedowne Beslayne as faste / for he was bore downe Vnto the erthe / amonge the hors f●te But Castor thought / that he ne wolde lete To be his helpe / as he byhelde a fere And Irously / he toke a myghty spere And to Cedar / that I spake of late He gan to ryde / and prycke in great hate But or he came / and toke hym douteles A troyan knyght / called Segnerides Cosyn to Cedar / whan he hath this sene On a courser / rode anone bytwene And with a spere / he smote Castor so That with the stroke / it brake euen a two To whom Castor / without more areste Hath with a spere / amyddes of the breste Segnerides / gyue a mortall wounde That lykly was / neuer for to sounde Wherfore Cedar / caughte suche enuye That he anone of melancolye And of despyte / boylynge in his herte Segnerides / whan he sawe so smerte Maugre who grutcheth / amyddes of the felde Of very myght / from Castor toke his shelde And thorugh vyser / of rancour and of rage He wounded hym / amyddes his vysage And his hors / fro hym also he caughte And to his squyer / manfully it raughte That certaynly / he stode in suche disioynt This worthy Castor / that he was in poynt To haue be taken / of them of Troye tho For he on fote / with hym must haue go Ne hadde Pollux / with many manly knyght Mo than .vii. hondred / in stele armed bryght The rather come / Castor to rescewe Whiche after them / so soregan to sewe That maugre them / Castor whan he fonde Of force / he toke hym fro out of theyr honde And to his hors restored / hym agayne And after that this / Pollux in certayne Of very anger / and of feruent Ire Agayne troyens / with rancour set a fyre That all at ones / he vpon them sette And in his mode / by fortune as he mette A troyan knyght / called Elyatus In armes yonge / fresshe and desyrous Wonder semely / and but tendre of age The kynges sone / also of Cartage And neuewe eke vnto Lamedon Whan Pollux / hath lyke a fyers lyon Without routhe / pyte or mercy In the renges / slayne cruelly That lamedone / whan he gan take hede Of inwarde dole / felte his herte blede Whan he hym sawe / euen vpon the dethe Full pytously / yelde vp the brethe Vpon the playne / as he lay hym beforne For whiche anone / he made sowne a horne At whiche tyme / there came in full ryche araye Seuen . M. knyghtis / in all the haste they maye Vpon his dethe auenged for to be Whiche mercyles / of great cruelte The Grekes haue here / & there I grounded Here lyeth one dede / there another wounded So that they myght / with them haue no take So mortally / they made them go abake That all gan tourne / to theyr confusion And fynally / that day with lamedon The tryumphe hadde / and the felde I gone Saue that alas / out of the towne anone Vnto the kynge / there came a messangere That hath hym tolde / with a full pytous chere How the Grekes / haue his Cyte take Than for to se / the wo he dyde make It wolde haue made / a pytous herte as blyue Of very dole / a sondre for to ryue So sore he gan / within hym selfe to morne He wyste nat what partye he may torne But in a weer / he abydynge longe Afore hym sawe / the myghty grekes stronge And in the Cyte / another hoost behynde Almoste for wo / he went out of his mynde And sodeynly bakwarde / as he behelde Towarde the cyte / he sawe come in the felde Firste hercules / and with hym Iason That by theyr sleyghte / wonne had the towne And in all haste / this cruell hercules The myghty gyaunt / of force pereles Lyke a lyon / wood and despytous Or a Tygre / in rage furyous Gan of newe / them of Troye assayle And with his swerde / perce plate and mayle Whiche of labour / were full mate and feynt And of longe fyghte / with werynesse atteynt And he came in lusty / fresshe and grene That they his force / myght nat sustene For as he rode / amonge them here and yonder In cruell wyse / he seuered them a sonder And put them hooly / in this hye myschaunce Out of reule / and of gouernaunce So that the kynge / oppressed all with dole Of his wardes / destytute and sole At myscheif left / and all infortunat And of comforte / fully disconsolat This Hercules / with despytous loke With sharp spores / his stede felly toke And cruelly rode / to lamedowne And to the erthe fyersly / bare hym downe And vpon hym / in all the haste he myght Downe of his hors / sodeynly a lyghte And myghtely / rent of his Basenette And with a swerde sharp / grounde & whette Smote of his hede / there was none other grace And caste it forthe / in the selfe place Amonge the hors / by cruell vyolence Without pyte / or any reuerence And in arage / raughte his hors agayne And lyke alyon / rennynge on the playne Baredowne & sloughe / what came in his weye And many troyan / that day made them deye That lyke to shepe / were for skatered wyde All destytute / of gouernour or guyde Ne can no rede / shortly to conclude For the Grekes / with double multytude Gan them enchace / to the dethe full blyue That well vnneth / there lefte none a lyue The felde they haue 〈…〉 victours And 〈◊〉 tryumphe● lyke as conquerours To the Cyte / they toke theyr waye after And ●ende downe / bothe spa●ce and rafter And all the treasour and rychesse of the towne They toke anone to theyr possessy owne Who euer grutche / or be lefe or lothe What they founde / playnely with them gothe In the temples / they dyde great offence To the goddes / doynge no reuerence 〈…〉 they spoyle / without drede or fere And vnto shyppe / euery thynge they bere 〈…〉 ●●yles / on croked olde and lame 〈…〉 ●werdes they made / cruelly to a tame And children soukynge at theyr moders breste They murdre and sle / without more areste 〈◊〉 yonge maydens / wepynge in distresse 〈◊〉 gentyll borne / and of great fayrenesse 〈…〉 them they ladde / & may them nat excuse 〈◊〉 fresshe beaute / falsly to mysuse They waste and brenne / and consume all And without / they brake a downe the wall And Exyone / the kynges doughter dere That was to hym passyngly entere By his lyfe / I meane lamedon Meke and benyngne / of condycion Hercules hath anone hir take That for drede / pyteously gan quake 〈…〉 delyuered / vnto The●am●wne 〈…〉 / firste into the towne 〈◊〉 his gyfte / receyued hath at gree Bycause she was / surmountynge of beautee And tretyde hir / after as he wolde Not lyke as he / a kynges doughter sholde For sythe he gat hir / that day by victorye For his worshyp / and his owne glorye Hauynge regarde / to hir hye degree He shulde rather / of knyghtly honestee And of knyghthode / haue wedded hir therfore With that she was of blode / so gentyll bore Wan of false luste / agayne all goodlyhede 〈◊〉 hir beaute / and hir womanhede Dishonestly / and in synfull wyse Of royall blode / nat lyke the hye empryse Nor the doctryne / of natures ryght Nor lyke nurture / of a gentyll knyght Consydred firste / hir byrthe and hir kynrede Hir grene youthe / and hir maydenhede So good so fayre / so womanly therto A kynges doughter / of byrthe she was also 〈…〉 had ben of name Now 〈…〉 thou were to blame For thorugh● 〈…〉 of thy gouernaunce There kynled was / of full hye vengaunce So hote a sparke / after of enuye That thorugh the world / the fyre gan multeply Whiche was nat lyght / to quenche of his hete For ha●●● olde / to brenne can nat lete With newe flawme / who so taketh hede If it not smoke / it is the more to drede As in this storye / hereafter shal be knowe & whan this towne was brent / & brought lowe Bothe toure and wall / with the soyle made pleyn And no thynge stode / of all that myght be 〈◊〉 So vtterly the Grekes / them oppresse Makynge all waste / lyke a wyldernesse . For good and tresour / and rychesse 〈◊〉 With many iewell / full plesynge of delyte To theyr shyppes / out of the towne they lede And in short tyme / homwarde they them spede With treasour stuffed / & habundaunce of gode And whan they sawe / that the weder stode The wynde also / at theyr lust they hadde They gan to sayle / & with them home they ladde Exyone / and many a mayde moo That out of Troye / into Grece goo And saylynge forth / within a lytell space They be escaped / fro the see by grace And vnto londe / aryued merely At whose comynge / the grekes vtterly So ioyfull be / of theyr good spede And specially in Guydo as I rede Theyr shyppes were / with golde & 〈◊〉 lade Wherof in herte / they wexe wonder glade And for they hadde out so well the● 〈◊〉 To conquere / and so fewe lorne Of theyr meyne / they thanke theyr goddes all And of the grace / that to them is fall For with the treasour / that they haue home brought Full many pore / was made vp of nought Thrugh out the lande / ther was such habūndāce So moche good / and so great su●●ysaunce That no wyghte / had amonges them no nede And many day / this blessydfull lyfe they lede Frome yere to yere / by reuoluciowne And for theyr manhode / & theyr hye renowne Theyr honour ran / rounde the worlde aboute That them to offende / many lande hath doute For theyr knyghthode / & for they were so wyse And tyll the storye / lyste agayne deuyse In this manere ferther to procede With the fauour / of your goodlyhede I wyll me reste / for a lytell space And than vp borne / with supporte of your grace For to accomplysshe / as I vndertoke And here an ende / of the firste boke . I make now / with quakynge hande for drede 〈◊〉 only for fere / of you / that shall it rede Lyste ye alas / of hasty mocyon Ne wyll nat haue / no compassyon Pyte nor routhe / vpon my rudenesse Lowly besechynge / to your gentylnesse Of mercy oonly / bothe nyghe and ferre Where ye fynde / that I fayle or erre For to correcte / are ye ferther flytte For to your grace / I hooly all commytte .
How Lydgate complayneth hym on Fortune / for the firste dystruccyon of the cyte of Troye / And how he begynneth his seconde Boke folowynge the mater of the sayde storye . Capitulo .x.
THe enuyous ordre / of fortunat meuynge In worldly thynge / false & flykerynge Ne wyll nat suffre vs / in this present lyfe 〈…〉 reste / without werre or stryfe For she is blynde / fykell and vnstable And of hir course / false and full mutable Who sytte hyest / she can downe hym enclyne 〈…〉 he leest weneth / brynge hym to ruyne 〈…〉 ●●ay●es / that gladly ben sodayne And with hir face / that parted is on twayne Shewe moost hole / whan she is leest to tryste Tha● well were hym / that hir disceytes wyste 〈…〉 engynes / and hir trappes knewe That euery daye / in hir courte be newe Of whiche in sothe / I well afferme dare No mortall man / may in this lyfe beware For she vneuen / peysynge in balaunce With countrefete / and fayned countenaunce With lokynge playne / & chere of flaterye Vnwarely can blere / a mannes eye And hym begyle / this the very sothe With a face blandysshynge / and smothe Whan she hath hym fro hye degre / brought lowe Full falsly smyle / and make hym the mowe And yet somwhyle / moost varyaunt of hewe She vnto some / pretendeth to be trewe For she whylom to some / is fauourable And to some / false and deceyuable She can reyse one / and brynge another downe This false lady of transmutaciowne To some she gyueth / renowne and victorye And dothe them floure / in honour & in glorye And some she can apayre / with false fame And gyltles / put a man in blame To some she is / goodly and benyngne And of disdayne / she can also malygne Agayne another / and make hym lowte lowe And from theyr sees / she can kynges throwe And them auayle / for all theyr hye toures And she can plonge / worthy Emperours From the hylle / of hye prosperyte Into the vale / of aduersyte The ryche emporysshe / of rancoure & disdayne And the pore / she can enhaunce agayne This false goddesse / with hir eyen blynde Set one afore / a nother gothe behynde And dothe one renne / and a nother halte And one she can / in rychesse hye exalte And a nother plonge in pouerte In whom no man / may haue no sykerte To some sugre and hony / she distylleth And of some / she the botell fylleth With bytter galle / myrre and ales And thus this lady / wylfull and recheles As she that is frowarde / and peruers Hath in hir seler / drynkes of dyuers For she to some / of fraude and of fallas Mynystreth pyment / bawme and ypocras And sodaynly / whan the soote is paste She of custome / can gyue hym a caste For to conclude / falsly in the fyne Of bytter eysell / and of egre wyne And corrosynes / that fret and perce depe And Narcotykes / that cause men to slepe Thus she to them / that hir can approche After swete / the bytter can a broche In hir reygne / this quene of varyaunce Whose ioye fyneth / alway with myschaunce Who trusteth hir / she wyll hym ouer caste And hym deceyue / playnly at the laste Of what estate / so euer that he be This double lady / of mut abylyte Se here example / of kynge lamedon Whom she hath brought / to confusion For lytell cause / and for athynge of nouthe Hir cruelte / he hath to dere bought Wherfore I rede / euery man take hede To gynne a quarell / where as is no nede For lytell fyre / vnder asshes reke So may be kyndled / that it wyll out breke Into suche flawme / men may it nat a pease Who best can suffre / most shall haue his ease Therfore ye kynges / and lordes euerychone Make you a myrour / of this lamedone And be well ware / to do no vyolence Vnto straungers / whan they do none offence Whan they come / fer into this regyon Ne suffre them nat / by none oppressyon In your boundes / for to haue no wronge For in your owne / though that ye be stronge And myghty eke / amonge your lyeges alle A nother daye / perauenture may be falle That whan that ye / full lytell thynke on it Of sodayne case / that ye may be quyt And I thanked / in a nother place Of auenture / if ye happe pace Therfore whan ye may any suche espye Doo them good chere / of your curtesye And prudently / consyder in your wyt That to a lorde / of gentyllesse it syt To euery straunger / goodly hym to haue There is no thyng / may more his honour saue Than to refresshe them frely / and disporte Than may they after / good of hym reporte By whose contrarye / hath moch wo be wrought Afore this tyme / if it be well sought The firste Troy / vtterly destroyed And the people / in sorowe and wo a cloyed Lad into exyle / fer fro theyr Cyte Lyuynge in thraldome / and captyuyte And Exyone / as ye haue herde me telle Lad into Grece / with Thelamon to dwelle For whom there was / as Guydo can you teche After take / so great vengaunce and wreche On eyther parte / that in very trouthe For to here / it is to moche routhe As in this boke / ye maye after rede Ceryously / if ye lyste take hede For gladly aye / the reuolusion Of fatall thynge / by disposicion Is so enuyous / and alway meynt with wo That in this worlde / where so that we go We truely may aduerte in our thought That for the value / of a thynge of nought Mortall causes / and werres firste begonne And stryfe and debate / here vnder the sonne Were meued firste / of smale occasion That caused after / great confusion That noman can / the harmes halfe endyte For a cause / dere Inough a myte Eche is redy / to destroye other A man for lytell / wyll stryue with his brother Blode is vnkynde / whiche greatly is to drede Alas / why ne wyll they take better hede For olde Troye / and after the newe Thorugh small encheson / who the trouthe knewe Were fynally brought / to distruccion As olde bokes / make mencion And many worthy / and many noble knyght Slayne in the felde / by dute●●e of that fyght Kynges prynces / at the sege dede Whan Attropos / to breke theyr lyues threde That for to tell / the myscheif and the wo I wante connynge / and I fele also My penne quake / and tremble in my honde Lyste that my lorde / dradde on see and londe Whose worthynes / thrugh the world doth sprede My makynge rude / shall beholde and rede Whiche of colour / full naked is and bare That but if he / of his grace spare For to disdayne / and lyste to haue pyte For fere I tremble / that he shulde it se . But onely mercy / that doth his herte enbrace Byd me presume / fully in his grace Seynge in hym / moste vertuous and gode Mercy anexed / vnto royall blode As to a prynce longeth / nyghe and ferre Aye tofore right / pyte to preferre For thorugh the supporte / of his hye noblesse Sowpowayled / I wyll my style dresse To wryte forth / the storye by and by Of newe Troye / in ordre ceryously As myn Auctour / in latyn Guydo wryt Prayeng the reder / where my worde myssyt Causynge the metre / to be halte or lame For to correcte / to saue me fro blame Lete hym not wayte / after curyosyte Syth that in ryme / Englysshe hath scarste I am so dull / certayne that I ne can Folowe Guy do that clerke / that coryous man Whiche in latyn / hath by rethoryke Set so his wordes / that I can nat be lyke To sewe his style / in my translacion Worde by worde / lyke the construccion After the maner / of gramaryens Nor lyke the style / of rethorycyens I toke nat on me / this storye to translate For me to further / Clyo came to late That in suche crafte / hath great experyence I leue these wordes / and folowe the sentence And trouthe of metre / I sette also a syde For of that art / I hadde as tho no guyde Me to reduce / whan I went a wronge I toke none hede nouther of shorte nor longe But to the trouthe / and lefte euryosyte Bothe of makynge / and of metre be Nat purposynge / to moche for to varye Nor for to be dyuers / nor contrarye Vnto Guydo / as by discordaunce But me conforme / fully in substaunce Oonly in menynge / to conclude all one All be that I ne can / the way gone To sewe the floures / of his eloquence Nor of peyntynge / I haue none excellence With sondry hewes / noble fresshe and gay So ryche colours / byggen I ne may I muste procede / with sable and with blacke And in ennewynge / where ye fynde a lacke I axe mercy / or I fro you twynne And with your fauour / I wyll anone begynne And in all haste / my style forth dyrecte And where I erre / I praye you to correcte . THe same tyme / whan that Troye towne Destroyed was / and kyng lamedowne Was also slayne / thorugh the cruelte Of hercules / vnder his eyte He had a sone / the storye telleth vs Whiche was his heyce / y called Pryamus Wonder manly / discrete and prudente Whiche that tyme / from Troye was absent Whan his fader / loste there his lyfe For he that tyme / with Ecuba his wyfe And with his sones / aboute a castell lay And all his knyghtes / to gete it if they may That hath on them / myghtely werreyed For they his fader haue falsly disobeyed And vnto hym / be rebell wonder longe All be Pryam / with sautes huge and stronge Them hadde assayled / ofte and many sythe His strengthe on them / lyke a knyght of kythe To gete in armes / worshyp and honour And them to daunte / lyke a conquerour He caste hym fully / or that he departe For day by day / his lyfe he gan Iuparte At theyr walles for to preue his myght With many baron / and many worthy knyght For he yet hadde / his yonge lusty blode And was in age / flowrynge in knyghthode And at assautes / and suche maner stryfe On with the firste / for to auntre his lyfe To herte his men / hym lyste nat be behynde For drede of dethe / sothly as I fynde Afore the castell / hye and thycke walled And by his wyfe / that Ecuba was called This Pryam / had full worthy of degree Fyue sones / and yonge doughters three . Of whiche the eldest / Ector called was Whiche also fer as Phebus / in compas A naturell daye / goth his cercle aboute So fer of hym / without any doute Reported was / the renowne and the name The worthynesse / and the noble fame For lyke as bokes / of hym specefye He was the roote / and stocke of chyualrye And of knyghthod / very soueraygne floure The sours and welle / of worshyp & honoure And of manhod / I dare it well expresse Example and myroure / and of hye prowesse Gynnynge and grounde / & with all this yfere Wonder benygne / and lowely of his chere Discrete also / prudent and vertuous Of whom the dedes / and actes meruaylous Remembred ben / of so longe a gone For he alone / excelled euerychone In olde Auctours rede / and ye may fynde Of his knyghthod / how yet they make mynde The nexte brother / called was Parys To whom nature / gaue to herdeuys Of shap and fourme / beaute and semelynesse That to remembre / his excellent fayrenesse In his tyme / without any drede He passed all / that I can of rede And he was eke / a full manly knyght But moost he vsed / whan he shulde fyght In his hande / for to bere abowe For suche an archer / no man coude knowe For to seke / bothe fer and nere That of shotynge / myght be his pere As it was founde / whan he hadde a do And Alysaundre / called was also The thirde sone / hyghte Dephebus A worthy knyght / and a chyualrous And hadde in armes / a full great renowne And was a man of hye discreciowne And wyse of counsayle / myn auctor telleth thus The fourth brother / called Helenus Sad and discrete / and of hye prudence And was also a man / of great scyente And renommed therwith / in specyall In all the artes / called lyberall For he in them / was expert a ryght The fyfte sone / was a worthy knyght Fresshe and lusty / and yongest of them all And as sayth / Guydo / Troylus men hym call A manly man / founde in barayle And desyrous / his fomen to assayle One of the beste / in his tyme founde And called was / Ector the secounde For his manhode / thorugh out Troye boke Within the werre / full ofte vpon hym toke Of his knyghthod / many hye empryse As the storye hereafter / shall deuyse . And in his boke / lyke as wryte virgyle The poete olde / by full soueraynestyle How that the kynge Pryam / hadde also By Ecuba / other sones two And by recorde / of this virgilius The one was called / Pollyodorus Whom Pryamus / in his grene youthe Whan the comynge was / of grekes kouthe To Troye warde / in all haste anone With golde treasour / and many ryche stone Sent hym forth / besyde vnto a kynge Of full great truste / to haue hym in kepynge Tyll tyme he sawe / what conclusiowne There shulde falle after / of the towne And eke what fyne / the werre wolde take That vpon them / the grekes dyde make . But thylke kynge / for false couetyse Of his treasour / that ye haue herde deuyse Whan that he sawe / fortunes varyaunce Towward Pryam / and his vnhappy chaunce Lyke a tyraunt / and murdrer also The childes throte / made cutte a two And after that he / full cruelly Made his men / to burye hym pryuely That no man myght / his treson vnderstonde Besyde a see depe / vnder the stronde . The other sone / also as Irede In virgyle / was called Ganymede Whom Iubyter / in a forest hente Gpon a daye / as he on huntynge wente And bare hym vp / aboue the sterres clere And made hym in heuen / his botelere Eternally with hym / for to wone In stede of hebes / his owne dere sone . The firste doughter / of kynge Pryamus Hyght Creusa / as sayth virgilius In his Eneydos / sothly as it was And she was wedded / vnto Eneas As sayth this storye / and eke this ylke Enee Was wonderfull / in his natyuyte Of whom the fader / I fynde doutles Was in his tyme / called Anchyses That hym begat / on Venus the goddesse For after hir / he hadde suche fayrenesse That neuer wyght / ne coude yet I se A man that was more / passynge of beaute Of whom this storye / touchyng his workynge Shall you declare / many wonder thynge For it is he / to whom so great a los Virgyle gaue / in his Eneydos For he that boke / in worshyp of Enee Compyled hath / lyke as ye may se Of his knyghthod / & many stronge batayle By hym acheued / or he wan Itayle After full longe / that the royall towne Of Troye / was brought to confusiowne And his conquest / if ye lyste take hede In this poete / ye may by ordre rede And in armes wrought / in all his age And his comynge / also to Cartage Fro Troyewarde / in a lytell whyle All this ye may / beholde in virgyle . Another doughter / also it is founde Kynge Pryam hadde / of byrthe the seconde Called cassandra / of full great sadnesse And was in maner / a dyuyneresse And in eche art / hadde experyence Of thynges futur / fully prescyence To tell afore / what that shall betyde Of whom the fame / sprange in costes wyde Whiche kepte hirchaste / in virgynyte And aye in prayers / and in honeste She ladde hir lyfe / and in deuocion After the rytes / and relygyon Of paganysme / vsed in tho sayes The obseruaunces / kepynge of theyrlayes . The thirde doughter / hyght Pollycene Yongest of all / and euer a maydeclene She kepte hir selfe / and honest in hir lawe Vnto the tyme / that Pirrus hath hir slawe Of shap of fortune / was neuer by nature Wrought nor shap / a fayrer creature Eke as I fynde / this noble kynge also Hadde thyrty sones / the boke sayth and no mo Hardy in armes / and noble founde at all That called were / his sones naturall And they were all / I excepte none Worthy knyghtes / and manly men echone And theyr names / who so lyste to knowe He shall fynde them wryte / vpon arowe After this storye / eueryche after other Begynnynge firste / at the eldest brother . And whyles Pryam / at the sege laye Tofore the castell / to gete it if he maye And theraboute / hath many way sought The wofull tydynges / be vnto hym brought How the grekes / haue take Troye towne And slayne his fader / worthy Lamedowne And how the cyte / of olde foundaciowne Full pytously / was tourned vp so downe The worthy lordes / and gentyll men echone Taken and slayne / and I lefte nat one Of them a lyue / thorugh grekes cruelte After the ruyne / alas of theyr cyte And Exion / his owne suster dere Lad into exyle / with hir eyen clere . Wherfore the kynge / in herte is stoned so For very sorowe / he ne wyste what to do His sodayne wo / gan hym so constrayne He sobbeth wepeth / that of mortall payne He thought his herte / wolde a sonder breste Of hye distresse / for he myght haue no reste And into teeres / he gan hymselfe dislylle That for to deye / was fynally his wylle . And fortune / that can so falsly varye With drery herte / he gan to warye That she to hym / was so deceyuable So inly cruell / and vnmercyable So dispytous / and so sterne of face So vengeable / and deuoyde of grace For of enuy / with a rage thought She hath hir wreste / of malys on him wrought And felly shewed / what she myght do That in this worlde / was neuer wyght so wo As I suppose / of no maner age To reken / all hir harmes and damage For whiche anone / in all that euer he maye Faste he chaungeth / all his ryche araye Tryste and heuy / with deedly face pale So astoned / with this mortall tale That his desyre was / to haue be dede With countenaunce enclyned / his hede This lyfe he ladde / & cladde hym all in blacke And sodaynely / he the sege bracke And wolde as tho / no lenger there abyde But with his folke / anone he gan to ryde That pyteously / gan with hym to morne And towarde Troye / attones they retourne . And whan that he / hath the cyte founde Playne with the soyle / & euen with the grounde The hye walles / whylom thycke and longe I vere downe / that were made so stronge And his toures / and paleys pryncypall That was in byldynge / so excellent royall So famous ryche / and of great nobylnesse He fonde tourned into wyldernesse His people slayne / his suster ladde awaye For very wo / he ne wyste what to saye For the constreynt / of his aduersyte And for his harmes / that wyll not recured be For in that tyme / he was fully sure Vpon no syde / there was no recure Wherfore he can nat / but sobbe and wepe And from his brest / with syghes sought full depe Broken out / with a deed vysage And thus alas / in this furyous rage Full pyteously / all his hooste and he Without respyte / contynewe dayes thre Tyll at the laste / the derke skyes blacke Gan of theyr wo / in partye for to slacke And the tempest / some delegan withdrawe And of theyr wepynge / blādysshe gan y● wawe And whan the floode of wo / is ouer paste The ebbe of ioye / folowe muste in haste To sorowe euer / it wolde theyr hertes shende And at a terme / euery wo muste ende For though for frendes / men aye wepe & wayle After theyr deth / there may no recure vayle Wherfore the kynge / after all his care Hath sought a waye / the cyte to repare And caste hym fully / if it wolde be To make reuerture / of necessyte And manfully / after all his tene Whan that the eyre / gan to wexe clene Of the mystes / of his cloudy sorowe And that somedele adawe / gan the morowe Of heuynesse / after the derke nyght Chaced awaye / with a sonne bryght Of newe ioye / for aye the fyne of wo Muste be gladnesse / whan that sorowe is go And so Pryam / after a certayne space Whan his sorowe / gan lyte and lyte pace And of wysdome / in all his pytous smerte Gan prudently / to plucke vp his herte And of his eyen / the wawes gan clere Anone he wrought / right as ye shall here .
How kynge Pryamus sone vnto kynge Lamedone buylded Troye newe agayne . Ca. xi .
THe sorowe aswaged / & the syghes olde By longe processe / lyke as I you tolde This worthy kynge / called Pryamus In his herte now / so desyrous Vpon the playne / that was so waste & wylde So stronge a towne / of newe for to bylde At his deuyse / a cyte edefye That shall the assautes / vtterly defye Of all enmyes / and his mortall foone With ryche toures / and walles of harde stoone And all aboute / the countres enuyron He made seke / in euery regyon For suche workemen / as were curyous Of wyt inuentyfe / of castynge meruaylous Or suche as coude crafte / of gemetrye Or were sotyll / in theyr fantasye And for eueryche / that was good a deuysous Mason hewer / or crafty quarreour For euery wryghte / and passynge carpenters That may be founde ferre or nere For suche as coude / graue groupe or kerue Or suche as were / able for to serue With lyme and stone / for to reyse a walle With bataylynge / and crestes marcyalle Or suche as hadde / konnynge in theyr hede Alabastre / outher whyte or rede Or marbyll graye / for to pullysshe it playne To make it smothe / of vaynes and of grayne He sente also / for euery ymagour Bothe in entayle / and euery portreyour That coude drawe / or with coloure peynte With hewes fresshe / that the werke nat feynte And suche as coude / with countenaunce glade Make an Image / that wyll neuer fade To countrefete / in metall tree or stoon The sotyll werke of pygmaleon Or of Appollo / the whiche as bokes telle In ymagerye / all other dyde excelle For by his crafty workynge curyous The tombe he made / of kynge daryous Whiche Alysaundre / dyde on heyght reyse Oonly for men / shulde his fame preyse In his conquest / by perce whan he went And thus Pryam / for euery mayster sent For eche keruere / and passynge ioygnyour To make knottes / with many curyous floure To sette on crestes / within and withoute Vpon the wall / the Cyte rounde aboute Or who that were / excellynge in practyke Of any arte / called mecanyke Or hadde a name flowrynge / or famous Was after sent / to come to pryamus . For he purposeth / this noble worthy kynge To make a cyte / moost royall in byloynge Brode large and wyde / & lyst it were assayled For werre / proudely aboute enbatayled And firste the grounde / he made to be sought Full depe and lowe / that it fayle nought To make sure / the foundaciowne In the place / where the olde towne Was firste ybylded / he the walles sette And he of lande / many myle out mette Aboute in compasse / for to make it large As the maystres / that toke on them the charge Deuysed haue / the settynge and the syte For holsome eyre / to be more of delyte . And whan the soyle / defouled with ruyne Of walles olde / was made playne as a lyne The workemen gan / this Cyte for to founde Full myghtely / with stones square and rounde That in this worlde / was to it none lyche Of workemanshyp / nor of byldynge ryche Nor of crafte / of curyous masonrye I can no termes / to speke of gemetrye Wherfore as now / I muste them sette asyde For douteles / I radde neuer Enclyde That the mayster / and foundour was Of all that worke / by quare or compas Or kepe theyr measure / by leuell or by lyne I am to rude / clerely to diffyne Or to discryue / this werke in euery part For lacke of termes / longynge to that arte But I dare well of trouthe / afferme here In all this world / ne was there neuer his pere Vnto this cyte / and wryte it for a sothe As in his boke / my mayster Guydo dothe And that it myght / in prosperyte In hye honour / and felycyte From all assaute / perpetuelly contune It was reysed / in worshyp of Neptune And named Troye / as it was to forne Lyke the firste / that was thorugh grekes lorne The lengthe was shortly / to conclude Thre dayes iourne / lyke the latytude That neuer I herde / make mencion Of suche a nother / of foundacion So huge in compase / nor of suche largesse Nor to counte / so passynge of fayrenesse So edefyed / or †iusty† to the syghte And as I rede / the walles were on hyghte Two hondred cubytes / all of marbyll graye Magecolled without / for lautes and assaye And it to make / more pleasaunt of delyte Amonge the marbyll / was alabastre whyte Meynt in the walles / & rounde the towne about To make it shewe / within and without So fresshe so ryche / and so delectable That it alone / was in comparable Of all cytes / that any mortall man Sawe euer yet / sythe the worlde began And at the corner / of euery walle was sette A crowne of golde / with ryche stones frette That shone full bryght / agayne the sonne shene And euery toure / bretexed was so clene Of chose stone / that were nat fer a sondre That to beholde / it was very wondre Therto his cyte / compassed enuyrowne Hadde gates .vi. to entre into the towne The firste of all / and strengest eke with all Largest also / and moste pryncypall Of myghty byldynge / alone pereles Was by the kynge called / Dardanydes And in storye / lyke as it is founde Tymbria / was named the seconde And the thirde / called helyas The fourthe gate / hyghte also Cetheas The fyfte Troiana / the syxth Anthonydes Stronge and myghty / bothe in werre & pes With square toures / set on euery syde At whose corners / of very pompe and pryde The workemen haue / with sterne fell vysages Of ryche entayle / sette vp great Ymages Wrought out of stone / that neuer are lyke to fayle Full curyously / enarmed for batayle And thorugh the walle / theyr fomen for to lette At euery toure / were great gonnes sette For assautes / and sodayne auentures And on tourettes / were reysed vp fygures Of wylde beestes / as beres and lyons Of Tygres bores / of serpentes & dragons And hertes eke / with theyr brode hornes Olyfauntes / and large vnycornes Bugles bulles / and many great gryf●on Forged of brasse / of coper and laton That cruelly by sygnes / of theyr faces Vpon theyr foon / made felle menaces Barbycans / and bul werkes huge Afore the towne / made for hye refuge If nede were / erely and eke late And portekoles stronge / at euery gate That them nede nat / none assaylynge charge And the lockes thycke / brode and large Of the gates / all of bryght bras And within the myghty shyttynge was Of stronge Iren barres / square and rounde And great barres / pytched in the grounde With huge cheynes / forged for diffence Whiche ne wolde breke / for no vyolence That harde it was / thorugh them for to wynne And euery hous / that was bylded within Euery paleys / and euery manstowne Of marbell were / thorughout all the towne Of crafty byldynge / & workynge moste royall And the hyghte was / of euery walle Sixty cubytes / from the grounde accounted And there was none / that other hath surmounted In the Cyte / but of one heyghte alyche In very sothe / bothe of pore and ryche That it was harde / of hye estate or lowe Hous or paleys / a sonder for to knowe So egally of tymbre / and of stone Theyr houses were / reysed euerychone And if I shulde reherse / by and by The korue knottes / by craste of masonry The fresshe enbowȳge / with verges right as lynes And the housynge / full of bakewynes The ryche koynynge / the lusty tablementes Vynettes rennynge / in casementes Though the termes / in Englysshe wolde ryme To reken them all / I haue as now no tyme Ne no langage / pycked for the nones The sotyll ioynynge / to tell of the stones Nor how they put / in stede of mortere In the ioyntoures / coper gylte full clere To make them ioyne / by leuell and by lyne Amonge the marbyll / fresshely for to shyne Agaynst the sonne / whan his shene lyght Smote on the golde / that was burned bryght To make the werke / glystre on euery syde And of this towne / the stretes large & wyde Were by crafte / so prudently prouyded And by werkmen sette so and deuyded That holsome eyre / amyddes myght enspyre Erely on morowe / to them that it desyre And zephyrus / that is so comfortable For to norysshe thynges / vegetable In tyme of yere / thorughe out euery strete With sugred flauour / so lusty and so swete Moste plesauntly / in the eyre gan smyte The Cytezeynes / oonly to delyte And with his brethe / them to recomforte Whan they lyste walke / themselfe to disporte . And thrugh the towne / with crafty purueaunce By great auyse / and discrete ordenaunce By compase caste / and squared out by squyers Of polysshed marble / vpon stronge pyllers Deuysed were / longe large and wyde In the frontell / of euery stretes syde Fresshe alures / with lusty hye pynacles And moustrynge outwarde / ryche tabernacles Vouted aboue / lyke reclynatoryes That called were / deambulatoryes Men to walke togyders / twayne and twayne To kepe them drye / whan it dyde rayne Or them to saue / fro tempest wynde or thundre If that them lyst / shroude themself ther vndre And euery hous couered / was with leede And many gargoyle / and many hydous heede With spoutes thorugh / & pypes as they aughte From the stone werke / to the canell taughte Voydynge fylthes / lowe into the grounde Thorugh grates perced / of yron perced tounde The stretes paued / bothe in lengthe & brede In cheker wyse / with stones whyte and rede And euery crafte / that any maner man In any lande / deuyse or reken can Kynge Pryamus / of hye discreciowne Ordeyned hath / to dwelle in the towne And in stretes seuered / here and yonder Eueryche from other / to be set a sonder That they myght / for more commodyte Eche by hymselfe / werke at lyberte . Goldsmythes firste / and ryche Iewelleres And by themfelfe / crafty browdereres Weuers also / of wollen and of lyn Of clothe of golde / damaske and satyn Of veluet sendell / and dowble samyt eke And eueryche clothe / that men lyste to seke Smythes also / that coude forge wele Pollaxes swerdes / & speres sharpe of stele Dartes daggers / for to mayme & wounde And quarethedes / sharpe & square ygrounde There were also crafty armerers Bowyers / and faste by fletchers And suche as coude / make shaftes playne And other eke / that dyde theyr besy payne For the werre / to make also trappures Bete baners / and royall cote armures And by deuyse / Standardes and penounse And for the felde / fresshe and gay getounse And euery crafte / that may rekened be To tell shortly / was in this cyte And thorughe this towne / soryche & excellent In the myddes / a large ryuer went Causynge to them / full great commodyte The whiche on twayne / hath parted the cyte Ofcours full swyfte / with fresshe stremes clere And hyghte xamtus / as Guydo doth vs lere And as I rede / that vpon this flode On eche a syde / many a mylle stode Whan nede was / theyr grayne & corne to grynde Them to susteyne / in storye as I fynde This ryuer eke / of fysshe full plenteous Deuyded was / by werkmen curyous So craftely / thorugh castynge souerayne That in his cours / the stremes myght attayne For to areche / as Guydo doth comecte By Archys stronge / his cours for to reflecte Thorugh condyte / pypes large & wyde withall By certayne meanes / artyficiall That it made / a full purgacion Of all ordure / and fylthes in the towne Wasshynge the stretes / as they stode arowe And the gutters / in the erthe lowe That in the cyte / was no fylthe sene For the canell / scoured was so clene And deuoyded / in so secrete wyse That no man myght espye / nor deuyse By what engyne / the sylthes fer nor nere Were borne awaye / by cours of the ryuere So couertly euery thynge was couered Wherby the towne / was vtterly assured From engendrynge / of all corrupcion From wycked eyre / and from infexion That cause ofte / by theyr vyolence Mortalyte / and great pestylence And by example / of this flode there was Made cybre at Rome / and wrought by Eneas The whiche also / departeth Rome a two Myn Auctour sayth / I note if it be so And to enhabyte / this royall chefe cyte Kynge Pryam / hath aboute in the countre Made for to serche / with all his hole entent And in prouynces / that were adiacent In borowes townes / and in smale vyllages Ygadred out / of all maner ages And of thropes / folkes full dyuers And suche as were / vacaunt and dyspers Aboute Troye / in any regiowne He made hath / to entre into towne Great multitude / what of yonge and olde It to enhabyte / as ye haue herde me tolde And them that were afore / to hym foreynes He hath in Troye / made Cyteseynes Full discretly / lyke as it is founde And whan they gan / with people to abounde . Kynge Pryamus / of hye affecciowne After the buyldynge / of this myghty towne Hath in his herte / caught a fantasye His newe cyte / for to magnefye And it to put / the more in remembraunce He caste fully to do / some obseruaunce To myghty Mars / sterne and ferse of hewe And specially / with certayne playes newe On hors and foote / in many sondry wyse To gyue his men / in knyghthode excersyse Eueryche to put / other at assay In iustes boordes / and also in tournay To preue theyr force / whan they happe mete The whiche playes were founded / firste in Crete And in that lande / of hye and lowe estate In martys honoure / they were dedycate And in paleste / on wakes on the nyght Were other playes / men to assaye their myght Oonly on foote / with many sotyll poynt And some of them were / naked and enioynt To wynne a pryse / they dyde their full entent And there was founde / by clerkes full prudent Of the chesse / the playe moste gloryous Whiche is so sotyll / and so meruaylous That it were harde / the mater to discryue For though / a man studyed all his lyue He shall aye fynde / dyuerse fantasyes Of wardes makynge / and newe Iupartyes There is there in / so great dyuersyte And it was firste / founde in this cyte Durynge the sege / lyke as sayth Guydo But Iacobus / de vitriaco Is coutrarye / of oppynyon For lyke as he / maketh mencyon And affermeth / fully in his aduyse How Philometer / a phylosopher wyse Vnto a kynge / to stynte his crueltee Fonde firste this play / and made it in Caldee And into Grece / from thens it was sent Also in Troye / by great auysement The playe was founde / firste of dyce & tables And of castynge / the chaunces deceyuables That haue be cause ofte / of great debate For if that one / be nowe founde fortunate To wynne a whyle / by fauoure of his chaunce Or he be ware / with sodayne varyaunce Vnhappely / he is put a backe And a nother / that stode vpon the wracke And of losse / was plonged in distresse They reysed haue / vnto the hye rychesse Gladnesse of one / is to a nother rage A deuaunt / hasarde and passage If one haue ioye / another suffreth wo Lyke as the bones / ronne to and fro An hondred sythe / in a daye they varye Now blandysshynge / & now they be contrarye No man with them / assured is in ioye And firste also / I rede that in Troye Were songe and red / many fresshe comedyes And other dytees / that called be tragedyes And to declare / shortly in sentence Of bothe two / the fynall difference . A Comedye hath / in his gynnynge A pryme face / a maner complaynynge And afterwarde / endeth in gladnesse And it the dedes / oonly doth expresse Of suche as be / in pouerte plonged lowe But Tragedye / who so lyste to knowe It begynneth / in prosperyte And endeth euer / in aduersyte And it also doth / the conqueste treate Of ryche kynges / and of lordes greate Of myghty men / and olde conqueroures Whiche by fraude / of fortunes shoures Be ouer caste / and whelmed from theyr glorye And whylom thus / was halowed the memorye Of tragedyes / as bokes make mynde Whan they were red / and songe as I fynde In the theatre / there was a smale auter Amyddes sette / that was halfe Circuler Whiche into Est / of custome was directe Vpon the whiche / a pulpet was erecte And therin stode / an auncyent poete For to reherse / by rethorykes swete The noble dedes / that were hystoryall Of kynges prynces / for a memoryall And of these olde / worthy Emperours The great empryse eke / of conquerours And how they gate / in Martes hye honoure The lawrer grene / for fyne of theyr laboure The palme of knighthod / disserued by olde date Or Parchas / made them passe into fate . And after that / with chere and face pale With style enclyned / gan to tourne his tale And for to synge / after all theyr loos Full mortally / the stroke of Antropos And tell also / for all theyr worthy hede The sodayne brekynge / of theyr lyues threde How pytously / they made theyr mortall ende Thrugh false fortune / that all the world wyll shende And how the fyne / of all theyr worthynesse Endede in sorowe / and in hye trystesse By compassynge / of fraude or false treason By sodayne murdre / or vengeaunce of poyson Or conspyrynge / of fretynge false enuye How vnwarly / that they dyde dye And how theyr renowne / & theyr hye fame Was of hatrede / sodaynly made lame And how theyr honour / drough vnto declyne And the myschefe / of theyr vnhappy fyne And how fortune / was to them vnswete All this was tolde / and red of the poete And whyle that he / in the pulpet stode With dedely face / all deuoyde of blode Syngynge his dytees / with muses all to rent Amyd the theatre / shrowded in a tent There cam out men / gastfull of theyr cheres Diffygured / theyr faces with vyseres Playeng by sygnes / in the peoples syght That the poete songe / hath on heyght So that there was / no maner discordaunce At wene his dytees / and theyr countenauce . For lyke as he / a lofte dyde expresse Wordes of ioye / or of heuynesse Menynge and there / benethe of them playeng From poynt to poynt / was alway answeryng Now triste now glade / now heuy & now lyght And face chaunged / with a sodayne syght So craftely / they coude them transfygure Conformynge them / to the chaunce plure Now to synge / and sodaynly to wepe So well they coude / theyr obseruaunces kepe And this was done / in Apryll and in May Whan blosmes / newe / bothe on busshe and hay And floures fresshe / gynne for to sprynge And the byrdes / in the wood synge With luste supprysed / of the somer sonne Whan these playes / in Troye were begonne And in the theatre / halowed and yholde And thus the ryte / of tragedyes olde Pryamus / the worthy kynge began . Of this mater / no more tell I can . BVt I wyll forth / this storye wryte And on my mater / boystously endyte How Pryamus / was passynge dylygent Right desirous / and inwardly feruent If he myght / amonge his werkes alle To bylde a paleys / and a ryche halle Whiche shulde be his / chose chefe dungyon His royall see / and souerayne mansyon And whan he gan / to his werke approche He made it bylde / hye vpon a roche It for to assure / in his foundacion And called it / the noble Ylion The syght of whiche / iustly circuler By compase cast rounde / as any sper And who that wold / the content of the grounde Truely acounte / of this place rounde In the theatre / firste he muste entre Takynge the lyne / that kerueth thorugh the centre By gemetrye / as longeth to that art And trebled it / with the seuenthe part He fynde myght / by experyence The measure hole / of the circumference What lande also / playnly eke with all Conteyned was / within the stronge wall The creste of whiche / where lowest was Hadde in heyghte / full syxe hondred pas Bylded of marbyll / full royall and full stronge And many other / ryche stone amonge Whose toures were / reysed vp so hye That they raughte / almoste to the lkye The werke of whiche no man myght amende And who that lyste / by greces vp assende He myght se / in his inspeccyon To the boundes / of many regyon And prouynces that stode rounde aboute And the walles / within and withoute Endlonge with knottes grauen clene Depeynt with asure / golde / cynopre and grene That veryly / whan the sonne shone Vpon the golde / meynt amonge the stone They gaue a lyght / withouten any were As Phebus doth / in his mydday spere The worke of wyndowe / and eke fenestrall Wrought of beryle / and of clere crystall . And amyddes / of this Ylyon So fresshe / so ryche / of foundacyon Whiche clerkes yet / in theyr bokes prayse Kynge Pryam / made an halle for to rayse Excellynge all / in beaute and in strengthe The latytude accordynge / with the lengthe And of marbyll / outwarde was the walle And the tymbre moste / noble in specialle Was halfe of cedre / as I reherse can And the remenaunt / of the ryche Eban Whiche moste is able / as I dare specefye With stone to ioyne / by crafte of carpentrye For they of tymber / haue the soueraynte And for to tell / of this Eban tree Lyke in bokes / sothely as I fynde It cometh out / of Ethyope and ynde Blacke as is geete / and it wyll wexe anone Whan it is korue / harde as any stone And euermore laste / and endure And nat corrupte / with water nor moysture And of this halle / further to diffyne With stones / square / by leuell and by lyne It paued was / with great dilygence Of masonrye / and passynge excellence And all aboue / reysed was a see Full curyously / of stones and perre That called was / as chefe and pryncipall Of the reygne the sete moste royall To fore whiche was / sette by great delyte A borde of Eban / and of yuery whyte So egally yioyned / and so clene That in the werke there was no ryfte sene And sessyouns were made / on euery syde Oonly the estates / by ordre to deuyde Eke in the halle / as it was couenable On eche partye / was a dormaunt table Of yuery eke / and this Eban tree And euen agayne / this kynges royall se In the partye / that was therto contrayre I reysed was / by many crafty stayre Hye in the halle / in the other syte Right as lyne / in the opposyte Of pured metall / and of stones clere In brede and lengthe / a full ryche autere On whiche there stode / of fygure and vysage Of massy fe golde / a wonderfull ymage To be honoured / in that hye sete Oonly in honour / of Iubyter the grete . And the statute / for all his huge heyghte Fyftene cubytes / complet was of heyghte A crowne of golde / hye vpon his heede With heuenly saphyres / and many ruby rede Fret enuyron / with other stones ynde And amonges / were medled as I fynde Whyte perles massyfe / large and rounde And for most chefe / all dirkenesse to confounde Was a Carbuncle / kynge of stones alle To recomforte / and glade all the halle And it to enlumyne / in the blacke nyght With the fresshenesse / of his rody lyght The value was therof / inestymable And the rychesse / playnly in comparable For this ymage / by dyuysion Was of shap / and proporcion From heed to fote / so maysterly entayled That in apoynt / the workman hath nat fayled It to parfourme / by crafty excellence Whom Pryamus / with drede and reuerence Honoured hath / aboue the goddes alle In all myschefe / to hym to clepe and calle For in hym was / his hole affeccion His soueraygne truste / and deuocion His hope also / and his affyaunce His helthe his ioye / and his assuraunce And his welfare / and prosperyte He hath commytted / to his deyte Wenynge in herte / wonder sykerly To be assured / from all myschefe therby And diffended / in eche aduersyte And holde his reygne / in hye felycyte And in honour contynuelly / to shyne Whyle Iubyter / thorugh his power dyuyne Hym and his / hath in proteccion This was his truste / and full opynyon And thus this werke / fynally achyeued Wherof Pryam / with ioye full releued That he his cyte / and noble ylyon Hath fully brought / vnto perfeccyon Lyke his entent / whan that he began And thus Pryam this kyge / this worthy man Full many a day / in this newe Troye With his lyeges / lad his lyfe in ioye Where I hym leue / in his royall sete Soueraygnely reygnynge / in quyete Procedynge forthe / if ye lyste to here Vnto the effect / anone of my matere
How kyng Pryamus sent Anthenor into Grece for to haue his suster Exyone agayne . Ca. xij .
O Hateful harme / which most is for to dred Kyndled solonge / osparke of old hatred Roote of debate / grounde of enuy and ●re With newe flawme / hertes for to fyre O grayne of malys / causer of all offence O francour rusted / of impacience Whiche hast of newe made / festred sores sinerte Whan thou art ones / raked in an herte Whiche for disdayne / of mercy mayst not lete A man no whyle / to lyue in equyte But deluest vp / malys many folde Debates newe / that buryed were of olde And falsly quykest / stryues to restore That enuyous serpent / that was slayne of yore Whiche felly hath / this addre enuyous Out of his reste / awaked Pryamus And with his venym / so persynge & so ylle Made hym wery / to lyue in tranquylle And meued hym / of his iniquyte Vpon Grekes / auenged for to be For where as he / in peas helde his reygne With his lyeges / in ioy souereygne Without anoye / or any perturbaunce This serpent hath / with newe remembraunce Without aduyse / or discrete areste So hoote a flawme / kyndled in his breste Of olde enuye / with fresshe rancour meynte That lykly is neuer / to be queynte For Pryam nowe in his entenciowne Caste and compasseth / reuoluynge vp & downe Howe stronge he was / of rychesse and meyne Howe noble and myghty / was also his cyte And habundaunt / shortly to conclude Bothe of plente / and of multytude Of men of armes / and of chyualrye Whiche stered hym / to haue fantasye Alas the whyle / to his vnhappy chaunce That to be deed / he take wyll vengeaunce Vpon his foon / the fyre of hoote enuye So brent hym in warde / by malencolye Stondynge in purpose / that no man chaunge may Of his damages / auenged be some day And of miuryes / that they on hym haue wrought And whan that he / had a tyme sought To his purpose / moste conuenyent Anone he hath / for all his lordes sent And his knyghtes called euerychone To come in haste / excused was nat one Namely of them / that were of hye degre And they obeyeng / with all humylyte His byddynge hooly / and made no delay To come echeone / agayne a certayne day And his sones / were also present Ector except / that was that tyme absent In the stronge and myghty regyon Of Panomye / whiche in subieccyon Kynge Pryam helde / thorugh his worthynesse And to amende thynges / and redresse Ector was gone / into this Panomye Certayne causes / for to Iustefye As in his reason / he thought for the beste To sette them / in quyete and in reste For he was aye so iuste / and so prudent So well aduysed / and so pacyent And so demened / in his gouernaunce That hym was lothe / for to do vengeaunce Where as he myght / in easy wyse treate For to reforme / thynges smale and greate For lothe he was / this noble worthy knyght For any haste / to execute ryght Or causeles by rygour / to condempne And in this whyle / full worthy and solempne Kynge Pryamus / of lordes great and small Within Troye / helde a court royall As he that lyste / for no coste to spare And ceryously / his menynge to declare He in his see / his lordes enuyron Gan thus to shewe / his hertes mocyon . O worthy lordes / that be now here present Faythfull and trewe / of herte & of entent It is nat vnknowen / to your discrecyon The great damages / and oppressyon Whiche that Grekes / haue vpon vs wrought Without cause / for a thynge of nought This other daye / as who sayth but late That as I trowe / so newe is yet the date That it was fresshe / remembred / in your mynde Vnto your blode / if that ye be kynde For I suppose / no foryetylnesse May put awaye the mortall heuynesse Of harmes olde / whiche aye renewe agayne In my memorye / I saye you in certayne And as I trowe / playnly in your thought That euer is grene / and ne dyeth nought How they haue slayne / our progenytours That whylom were / so noble werreours Our Cyte brente / and brought vnto ruyne And robbed it / falsly by rauyne And tourned all / into wyldernesse And into Grece / caryed our rychesse My fader slayne / that hyghte lamedon Without cause / or occasyon And raught from hym / his golde & his tresour Whiche me semeth / is a foule errour We myght of right amendes well chalenge And desyre vs / iustly to reuenge Afore the goddes / of so hye offence Oonly of reason / and of conscyence And passynge all / theyr mortall cruelte There is one thynge / that moste greueth me That they vngoodly / agaynst gentyllesse No rewarde hauynge / to the worthynesse To the byrthe / ne the royall blode Of hir that is so fayre / and eke so gode I meane my suster / called Exyon Whom they alas to theyr confusyon Difuse / and kepe nat lyke hir degre From day to day / in dishoneste Where thorugh hir honour / & hir name lorne Consyderynge / nat of what stok she was borne For they are blynde / for to take hede Or to aduerte / the roote of hir kynrede Of surquyde / they be so indu rate And sythe that she of so hye estate Ytreted● is / lyke as ye may se I suppose / other that be of lowe degre Eouerned be / full dishonestly For ye may thynke / and demetruely How wyues maydens / in that companye With other eke / that be of your allye Ynaunted be / and vsed at theyr luste On the grekes / I haue no better truste For they ne spare / nother blode nor age And thus they lyue in / turment & seruage Without touthe mercy / or pyte The whiche toucheth you / as well as me And as me semeth / of equyte and ryght Ye oughte echone / with all your full myght Of the wronges / with whiche ye be offended To seke awaye / it myght be amended And that we worke / all by one assent And procede / lyke to oure entent Of theyr malys / and cursed cruelte All at ones / auenged for to be And that we be / in herte wyll and thought Of one accorde / and ne vary nought For than our force / is dowbled and pouste For right and reason / and good equyte Requyre vengeaunce / on hym that doth the wronge Though it so be / that it abyde longe I truste also / on the goddes rightwysenesse That they shall helpe / our harmes to redresse And fauour vs / in our innocence To chastyse them / that wrought this offence . Also ye knowe / how that our cyte Is stronge and myghty / & of great suerte With toures hye / and walled for the werre That also fer / as shyneth sonne or sterre There is none lyke / for to reken all That may in force / be therto perygall Ye knowe also / as it shal be founde With chyualrye / how that we habounde Expert in armes / and of olde assayed That for drede / neuer were dismayed And we haue plente also / of vytayle Of frendshyp eke / that ne wyll vs nat fayle With all theyr myght / to do to vs socour Wherfore I rede / without more soiour To sette vpon them / sythe we be able And tyme is nowe / me semeth couenable For manhode byd / make no delay To venge a wronge / hap what that may For in differynge / is ofte great damage To worke in tyme / is double auauntage For to our purpose / lacketh neuer adele And thorugh our manhod / we be assured wele But lyste we be / nat holde to hasty Or to rakell / to worke wylfully And werre / also stande in auenture For aye of mart / doutous is the eure I rede firste / to grekes that we sende To wyt if they / our harmes wyll amende Without stryfe werre / or more debate Than may we sayne / that we be fortunate And if they be / contrarye to reason To condyscende / to this conclusion To graunte our askynge / of equyte & ryght Than haue we cause / for to preue our myght But are that we procede / by rygour We shall to them / offer all measour As fer as right / and reason eke requere And of disdayne / if them lyst nat here Than our quarell / deuoyde of wylfulnesse Yrooted is / vpon sykernesse And if that we / of theyr great offence Axe amendes / firste in pacyence God and fortune / I hope wyll nat assente In the ende / we shall vs nat repente And it is better / by peas to haue redresse Than gynne a werre / without auysenesse Therfore / lete vs our wofull auenture Pacyently suffre / and endure And in our porte / be but humble & playne Vpon answere / what that they wyll sayn● For though so be / in myne entencion Ymeued am / by iuste occasion To procede of yre / to vengeaunce I wyll all put / out of remembraunce And lete slyde by / foryetfulnesse The wronges do / and voyde all heuynesse Towarde grekes / and axe of them no more But that they wyll / Exyona restore To vs agayne / whiche is to me moste derre Oonly to stynte / all debate and werre For the surplus / of our mortall eure We shall dissymule / and prudently endure Our harmes olde / forth in pacyence If ye accorde / vnto my sentence Saye here vpon / as ye be auysed For if this sonde / be of them despysed And that them lyste / to reason not obeye Than we may iustely / seke a nother weye To haue redresse / for now there is no more Saue I purpose / to sende Anthenore Whiche is a man / discrete and auysee And specyally in mater of treate For he is bothe wyse / and eloquente As ye well knowe / and passyngly prudente And whan the kynge / had tolde his tale anone To his counsayle / they consent euerychone That Anthenor this Iourney / vndertake And he in haste / gan hym redy make Without abode / and wyll nat denye To take on hym / this embassetrye Well auysed / in his discrecion Toke or he wente / informacion From poynt to poynt / of this great charge For he hym caste / to stande at his large Without errour / as he that coude his gode For he the effect / full playnly vnderstode For euery thynge / he prynted in his thought Or that he went / and forgate right nought For of a worde / he caste hym nat to fayle To shyppe he gothe / and began to sayle And to short tyme / he and his companye Aryued be vp / into Thesalye At a cyte / called Mynusyus Where by fortune / was kynge Pelleus The same tyme / and Anthenor anone Vnto the kynge / the right waye is gone Of whom he was / as Guydo hath conceyued At pryme face / benyngnely receyued But whan he knewe / the cause of his comynge He had in haste / without more taryenge To Authenor / with a felle vysage Shortly to saye / the effecte of his message . THis Troyan knyght / astoned neuer adel But full demure / and auysed wel Nat to hasty / nor rakell for to sayne But abydynge / with loke and face playne To Pelleus / with a manly chere Sayde in effecte / right thus as ye shall here . The worthy kynge / called Pryamus So wyse so noble / so manly and famous And of knyghthod / passynge excellent Hath firste to you / in goodly wyse sent Out of Torye / his royall chefe cyte His full entent / and message here by me As I shall saye to you / in wordes playne If it so be / that ye nat disdayne Pacyently / to gyue audyence Remembrynge / firste in your aduertence Of the harmes / nat full longe ago And the wronges / that ye wroughte also Full cruelly / with other eke of youres In Troye lande / on his progenytoures What Iniuryes / and destruccion Causeles / without occasion Ye shewed haue / of very cruelte And mercyles / destroyed his cyte Slayne his fader / named lamedowne And his cyte brent / and bete downe And nouther lefte paleys / hous nor toure And ladde awaye / his rychesse and treasoure And nouther spared / as I reherse can In your slaughter / woman childe nor man There myght none / from your swerde asterte And yet one thynge / that most he hath at herte That his suster / called Exyon Is holde and kept / of kynge Thelamon Dishonestly / agayne all gentrye To great dishonour / and great vyllanye Of hir kynred / lyke as ye may se Treated nor cherysshed / lyke to hir degre Wherfore / sythe ye be so wyse a knyght Ye oughte aduerte / and to haue a syght To suche thynges / of iuste affeccyon And consydre / in your discrecyon Of gentyllesse / and of equyte How suche wronges / myght amended be Wherfore Pryam / of great auysenesse As he that fully / with all his besynesse Of herte and wyll / desyreth peas and reste Sendeth to you / besechynge for the beste That ye wyll / do your besy dylygence To make to hym / this lytell recompence That he may haue / restytucyon Thorugh your knyghtly / medyaryon Of his suster / without lenger space And the remenaunt he wyll lete pace Stryfe and werre / oonly to eschewe For he desyreth / fully for to sewe Peas and quyete / of hole affeccyon And to pursue / measour and reason And fynally / lyke as ye may se All occasyon of werre / for to fle Consyder this / that holde be so sage For this the fyne / fully of my message . Whan Pelleus / hym playnly vnderstode Of sodayne yre / he wexe in herte wode Of there and loke / fell and furyous And of rancour / right melancolyous That he ne myght / attempre nor appease The hasty fyre / that gan his herte sease For he anone / in full despytous wyse Gan Pryamus threten / and despyse And of malys / sette his sonde at nought With all the meanes / that Anthenor hath sought And gan also / this Troyan knyght menace And bad in haste / he shulde voyde his place Vpon peryll / that after falle myght And he anone wente / out of his syght And in all haste / he and his meynee Without abode / taken haue the see And began to sayle / out of Thesalye And in theyr waye / so faste they them hye That in shorte tyme / they aryued be Vp at Salempne / a myghty stronge cyte Where by fortune in this royall towne This Anthenor / fonde kynge Thelamowne And to his paleys / he hath the waye nome And firste I fynde / whan that he was come He was accepted / vnto his presence Benynguely / without all offence For Exyone was present / in that tyde Of auenture / stondynge by his syde And at reuerence / of hir woman hede Of Anthenor / he toke the better hede All be of custome / that kynge Thelamon Had hye despyte / and indignacyon Of euery Troyan / that he coude espye For specially / to them he hadde enuye Of rancour oonly / thorugh the bytter rag● Whiche in his herte / myght neuer aswage But for all that / he in pacyence To Anthenor / hath gyuen audyence The whiche anone / in full sobre wyse His tale gan / as I shall deuyse . Syr quod he / with support of your grace So ye me graunte / opportune space For to declare / the cause of my comynge I wyll reherse / without more taryenge My mater hole / breefly in sentence To make it kouthe / to your magnyfycence Signefyeng / without displeasaunce That Pryamus / which hath the gouernaunce Of Troye towne / hath vnto you sent Of faythfull menynge / and of clene entent Besechynge firste / to your goodlyhede All other wronges / forgete and eke dede That ye oonly / of your hye noblesse Of equyte / and of gentylnesse Ye wyll restore / Exyona agayne Whiche that ye holde / to speke in wordis playne In very sothe / nat lyke to hir estate Wherfore he prayeth / to stynte all debate And euery harme / to put out of memorye Of knyghtly honour / for your owne glorye To sende hir home / and make delyueraunce Goodly of hir / without varyaunce Whom ye haue holde / so many longe dayes Ne taryeth natnor / setteth no delayes Ne lete in you / be founde nowe no slouthe For sothfastlye / it is to great a routhe To recorde / how ye haue hir vsed It may of trouthe / nat goodly be excused That we shall lete / lyghtly / ouer slyde So that ye benyngnely / prouyde To sende hir home / lyke as I haue sayde Lo here the charge / that was on me layde Without more abydynge / in certayne What goodly answere / ye wyll sende agayne . Whan Thelamon / herkened had his tale To hasty yre / he gan to wexe pale The fyry coke / hath hym made so wode That from his face / aualed is the blode Within his herte / gan to frete and byte With loke askoye / and tourned vp the whyte Of hye disdayne / with face despytous With pale smylynge / and laughter furyous Gan rake out / the feble mortall fyre Of fretynge hate / that brent in his desyre And shortly made / in conclusyon To Anthenor / this obieccyon And sayde frende what euer that thou be I wonder greatly / and meruayle is to me What auenture / or sodayne newe thynge Vnprudently / meueth now thy kynge Vnto me / to make suche a sonde Thou were a fole / whan thou toke on honde Oather vnhappy / or infortunat To me to brynge / this embassat For I with hym / haue no thynge ado Nor he with me / and loke thou say hym so For we ne be / aqueynted / but alyte Nor I no thynge / platly me delyte It shorte wordes / if thou lyst to here To do for hym / nor at his prayere For I ne haue / ioye nouther feste To do right nought / sothly at his requeste This wote I well / that but a whyle a go I was at Troye / myselfe and other mo For to reforme a thynge / that was amys Thorugh your offence / shortly thus it is For certayne thynge / wrought by lamedowne And by our manhod / we wonne there the towne And slewe the kynge / & all that with hym helde In knyghtly wyse / hym metynge in the felde And for that I / as eueryche myght se Dyde entre firste / into that Cyte It was to me graunted / for memorye In sygne oonly / of myne hye victorye Without any contradiccyon By all the grekes / to haue possessyon Of hir that is / to me moste entere Exyona / whom thou claymest here But be well syker / thyne askynge is in vayne For truste well syker / & be right well certayne Thou getest hir nat / at one worde if I may For there shall firste / be made full great affray Or I hir leue / durynge all my lyue Who euer grutche / or there agaynst stryue It were nat syttynge / me to leue hir so For whom I had / whylom so great ado Or I hir gat / with spendynge of my blode And who that be wrothe / therwith or wode I wyll hir kepe / as it shal be founde For whom I hadde / so many mortall wounde At Troye towne / or that I hir wan And in good fayth / as ferforth as I can She shall nat lyghtly / fro my handes pace For she alone / standeth so in my grace For hir beaute / and hir semelyhede For hir bounte / and hir goodlyhede That if I shall / my reason shortly fyne She is in sothe / the moste femynyne That euer I sawe / and without drede Of porte and connynge / and of womanhede She hath alone / in very existence The souereynte / and the excellence That Pryamus for ought / that thou canst sayne Whyle that I lyue / gete hir nat agayne But he hir bye / with many dedely wounde With sharpe swerdes / & square speres grounde For there shall firste / be reysed suche a stryfe That it shall coste / many mannes lyfe Or that she / agayne restored be Take this forsothe / thou gettest no more of me Whan hym lyste / he may well begynne But I suppose / he shall but lytell wynne None other wyse / but as I the tolde And wotest what / a great role I the holde The to put / so ferre in Iupartye To execute / this embassetrye The manly grekes / so boldly to offende Beware therfore / that he no more the sende Vpon thy lyfe / for rancour nor for pryde Now go thy way / for if that thou abyde Any lenger / sothly in my syght Thou wotest the pryse / of that I haue the hyght Thou scapest nat / who that be lefe or lothe Than Anthenor anone / to shyp he gothe And to sayle / hym lyste nat to delaye Towarde an yle / that called is Achaye And whan that he / taken hath the londe At his ryuayle / of auenture he fonde The worthy kynges / Pollux and Castor And right anone / this Troyan Anthenor Without abode / to the courte is fare Vnto them / his message to declare And togydre / whan they were present Ryght thus / he sayde / as in sentement . The noble kynge / of Troye the ryte Hath vnto you / sent his wyll by me Besechynge you / in full lowe maner That ye lyste vnto his prayer Of equyte / for to condescende And goodly helpe / a certayne wronge to mende Touchynge his suster / called Exyon That he may haue / restytucyon Of hir agayne / by your discrete aduyse For sythe ye be / so manly and so wyse It lykly is / in his oppynyon That by your good / medyacyon Shelyghtly may / agayne restored be For to cherysshe peas / and vnyte Wherfore he prayeth / with all his herte entere In goodly wyse / to do your deuere That holde ben / so knyghtly and so sage And he wyll playnely / all the surplusage Of wronges olde / put in suspence For he desyreth / of knyghtly hye prudence To stynte werre / and to noryll he pes For he is nouther rakell / nor rekles But auysed / in his werkes all To caste afore / what that shal be fall And thynges futur / aduertynge from a ferre And seeth what perell / that there is in werre Wyll hym conforme / vnto peas and reste For he conceyueth / that it is the beste Euery man / vnyte to sewe And prudently / also to eschewe Of debates / eche occacyon Lo here the fyne / of his entencyon Whiche I commytte / to your Iugement And Castor than / of yre inpacyent For hastynesse / ne myght nat abyde His cruell herte / so swolle was with pryde Brake out anone / with a despytous face And sayde frende / I knowe of no trespace That grekes dyde euer / vnto thy kynge To axe amendes / it is a wonder t●ynge Of vs that neuer / dyde hym no●● offence Saue that we made / a maner recompence Of a wronge / wrought by lamedon The whiche firste / sought occacyon Agaynst grekes / in vngoodly wyse That caused vs / vpon hym to ryse All at ones / and manly on hym sette Of due right / for to quyr● our dette Lyke his decrete / we haue hym playnly serued And nothyng wrought / but as he hath disserued To are amendes / he gynneth now to late For we coueyte more / his mortall hate His vtter malys / and his enmyte Than outher peas / accorde or vnyte As in effecte hereafter he shall fele If it happe / that he with vs dele The bargeyn shall full dere / ben abought And we his frendshyp / sothly sette at nought And ouer more / I speke now to the It lykly is / as semeth vnto me That Pryamus / the loued but alyte Nat the value / I suppose of a myte Whan he the sent / vpon his message And thou of folye / dydest great outrage To take on the / so hye a peryllous thynge Vnto grekes / to brynge suche tydynge Where thorugh thy lyfe / is put in iupartye But I counsayle / fast that thou the hye Out of my syght / lyst that thou repente And Anthenor / forthe to shyp wente And with the wynde / gan to sayle anon Towarde an yle / called Pyllyon And in all haste / whan he dyde aryue He shope hym forth / to the court as blyue Where duke Nestor / in all maner thynge His housholde helde / royall as a kynge And Anthenor full sad / and auysee Tofore Nestor / syttynge on his see Whan that he was amytted / for to sayne His tale he tolde / full openly and playne From poynt to poynt / as ye herde afore It were but vayne / to reherse it more For he alway / concluded hath in one Lyke as ye herde / touchynge Exyone . But duke Nestor / With face no thynge rede But of hewe / as any asshes dede Fret with coloure / so inwardly was he That his blode / from eche extremyte With drawen is downe / vnto his herte Whiche for yre / so sore made hym smerte That he gan quake / in euery ioynt and vayne That he his hande vnnethe / may restrayne For melancolye / a venged for to be Lyke a lyon / so wood and wrothe was he Fer from hymselfe / he was so alyenat And inwardly / of rancour passyonat With loke reuersed / and furyous of syght That tempre hymselfe / vnnethes he ne myght He felte of angre / so great aduersyte And amyddes / all his cruelte Of sodayne haste / at ones he out brake And euen thus / to Anthenor he spake . O thou quod he / with all thy wordes whyte As I suppose / that thou wyste full lyte Vnto fore whom / thou haste thy tale tolde For I meruayle / how thou arte so bolde To presume / myne eres to offende And for Pryam / so proudely to pretende A maner tytle / in thy kynges name The worthy grekes / for to put in blame And vniustly / of foule hardynesse Requere of them / for to haue redresse Of Iniuryes / wrought of ●amedon Boldely affermynge / of false presumpcion Vpon grekes / wronges outragyous Whiche in myneres / be so odyous So fretynge eke / so bytynge and sokene For to lyste / that I may nat sustene In my herynge / lo hatefull is the sowne That ner the honour / of my hyerenowne Refrayned me / I shulde in cruell wyse Execute / full hastely Iustyce Thorugh the rygour / of my mortall lawe With bestes wylde / firste to do the drawe And therupon / for thy fayned tale Dismembre the / all on peces smale In despyte / of Pryamus the kynge To teche other / to brynge more tydynge Presumptuously / or any talys newe To any lorde / but the better that hym knewe This shulde be / for thy presumpcyon Thy laste mede / and fynall guerdon Without mercy / lyke as I haue behyght And in all haste / bego out of my syght For vtterly / it dothe to great offence Vnto myn eye / to hauethe in presence For thorugh disdayne / it causeth myn vnreste Than Anthenor / thought for the beste It was nat holsom / lenger to abyde But caste wysely / for rancour or for pryde That it was beste / for to bere hym fayre And to his shyppe / he gan anone repayre And in all haste / by possybylytee Without abode / he taken hath the see And gan to sayle / and homewarde faste drawe But sodaynly boyle / gan the wawe The see to ryse / and the cloudes blake For to appere / and the wynde a wake Wonder gastfull / also was the heuene With dredfull fyre / of the bryght leuene The thonder smote / the tempest gan to dryue That the maste / gan a soder ryue Now alofre / now in poynt to drowne The felle weder / gan so on them frowne That they awayte nat / but vpon dethe Euen at the poynt / of yeldynge vp of the brethe For they ne sawe / none other remedye And euer amonge / they gan clepe and crye To theyr goddes / and auowes make And deuoutly / for to vndertake Eche of them / lyke as he was of age If they escape / to go on pylgrymage Lyke the rytes / of theyr paynem wyse To the goddes / to do theyr sacryfyse So as they were / of substaunce & of myght And sodaynly / the weder derke as nyght With newe lyght / by grace gan adawe The see waxe calme / and smothe gan the wawe So that of happe / amonge euerychone For all the tempest / perysshed was nat one But tofore Troye / within a sytell space They be aryued / euerychone by grace Escaped safe / from euery Ieopardye Bothe Anthenor / and all his companye And to the temple / he toke the right way And in his prayer / there full longe he lay With many another / also for his sake Thankyng their goddes / that made them so eskape Euery peryll / and tempest of the see And after this / vnto the kynge gothe he That with his lordes / aboute hym full royall In his paleys / and dongyon pryncypall Sat and abode / full solempnelye Trewe reporte / of this embassatrye And this knyght / of all that hath hym falle Hath tolde the kynge / tofore his lordes alle . THis Anthenor / hath first made mencion Tofore the kynge / by iuste relacyon Of his expleyt / by ordre by and by And in what wyse / and how vncurteysly He was receyued / of kynge Pelleus Of the thretes / and wordes despytous That he suffred / of kynge Thelamon Beynge as ferse / as a wood lyon And afterwarde / he gan also complayne Of the despyte / of the bretherne twayne Of his rebuke / and his great drede And at Nestor / how he dyde spede That with his lyfe / he myght vnneth skape All this he tolde / and gan an ende make Of his iourney / and eke of his repayre And than Pryam / was fully in despayre Outher by forte / or by aduenture Euer agayne / his suster to recure For he conceyueth / in his aduertence By clere reporte / of experte euydence That aye the more / he was to them benygne The more vngoodly / ayen hym they malygne And where he most hym / sheweth debonayre There he fonde them / agaynward most contrayre So frowardly euer / they them quyte Shewynge by sygnes / that they sette lyte By his frenshyp / for ought he coude aduerte Wherof he was pure sorym his herte That he constrayned / right of very nede Compelled was / iustly to procede To haue redresse / oonly by rygour For profre of peas / myght haue no fauour To be admytted / by tytle of ryghtwysenesse Thorugh hye despyte / of hasty wylfulnesse For euery mene of measour / was in vayne Saue oonly werre / engendred by disdayne Begonne and caused / all of olde hatrede Whiche gan anone / suche a bronde to brede Of newe enuye / in the kynges breste That Pryamus / without more areste Is so iuly with Yre / and rancour fret And with disdayne / so sore grounde and whet That where so be / that he lese or wynne Vpon grekes / he wyll a werre begynne And Iuparte manly as a knyght His lyfe his deth / bycause he hadde ryght And caste hym firste / a nauee for to sende Into grece / his fomen for to fende And lyke a knyght / his force for to haunte In knyghtly wyse / he caste hym for to daunte The pompe of grekes / and the sturdynesse And fynally theyr pryde / to oppresse . But saye Pryam / what infelycyte What newe trouble / what hap what destyne Or from aboue / what hatefull Influence Descended is / by vnware vyolence To m●ue the / thou canste nat lyue in pees What sodayne sorte / what fortune gracelees What chaunce vnhappy / without auysenesse What wylfull luste / what fonned hardynesse Haue put thy soule / out of tranquyllyte To make the werye / of thy prosperyte Why hast y● fauour / in bytter more than swete That canste nat lyue / in peas nor in quyete Thou art trauayled / with wylfull mocyons Ouer maystred / with thy passyons For lacke of reason / and of hye prudence Derked and blynde / from all prouydence And full barayne / to cast afore and se The harmes folowynge / of thyne aduersyte Thou were to slowe / wysely to consydere For wante of syght / made to the slydere Thorugh myste of errour / falsly to forueye By pathys wronge / from the right weye To voyde reason / of wylfull hastynesse Wher was thy guyde / wher was thy maistresse Descrecyon / so prudent and so ladde A vyselye / that shulde the haue ladde From the traces / of sensualyte Though it full selde / in mannes power be By suffraunce / hymselfe to refrayne Whan sodayne Yre / doth his herte strayne Thou shuldest afore / better a cast thy chaunce Wrought by counsayle / & nat put in balaunce Thy sykernesse / alas why dydest thou so And haue symuled / some dele of thy wo And caste thy chaunge / well afore the pryme To haue forgoten / wronges of olde tyme And thought afore / in thyn aduertence That ofte falleth / in experyence That whyles men / do moste besynesse Vengeably / theyr wronges to redresse With double harme / or that they are ware They falle agayne / in a newe snare And damages / that were forgete clene By false reporte / of rumoure fresshe and grene Renewed be / thorugh the swyfte fame That fleeth so fer / to hyndre alordes name Namely whan they / to a purpose wende Oonly of hede / and se nat the ende For of pryde / and of sodayne heete They voyde themselfe / out of all quyete Aduertynge nat / to worke auyselye Nor the prouerbe / that techeth comonlye He that stande sure / enhaste hym nat to meue For if he do / it shall hym after greue And he that walketh surely / on the playne If he stumble / it is but in vayne But if so be / helyste of his folye Be neclygent / to put hym wylfullye In auenture / and of hymselfe to reche To eschewe peryll / I holde he be a wreche For sothly Pryam / thou were to rechelees For to commytte / thy quyete and the pees So dredefully durynge / by no date To cruell fortune / or to fykell fate Whose maner is / of custome comonly That whan a man / trusteth moste soueraynely Of this goddesse / blynde and full vnstable Than she to hym / is moste deceyuable Hym to abate / from his royall stalle And sodaynly / to make hym downe to falle And with a tryp / throwe hym on the bake Who that gayne stryueth / shall haue lytell take She is so slyely / with hir gynne snare That she can make a man / fro his welfare With hir pantre / that is with fraude englewed Whan he lest weneth / for to be remewed Therfore no man / haue none affyaunce In fortune / nor in hir vary aunce Ne lete no wyght / his ease more Iuparte Lyst thou the playe / wyll afterwarde departe To tourne his chaunce / outher to well or wo For selde in one / she doth the game go As ye may se / by example of Pryamus That of folye / is so desyrous To werke of hede / and folowe his owne wylle To trouble alas / the calme of his tranquylle As in this boke / here after shal be founde Hym and his Cyte / platly to confounde And vtterly / to his confusyon That afterwarde / by longe successyon It shal be red / in storye and in fable And remembred / with dytees delytable To do pleasaunce / to them that shall it here That by example / they may beware and lere Of hasty luste / or of volunte To begyn a thynge / wherin no suerte Dependeth aye / as stryfe werre and debate For in such playe / vnwarely cometh chek mate And harme I done / to late is to amende Whose fyne is ofte / other than they wende In this storye / as ye shall after se And lete Pryam alwaye your myrour be Hasty errour / by tymes to correcte For I anone / my poyntell wyll directe After the maner / of his traces rude Of this storye / the remenaunt to conclude . THis worthy kyng / euer of one sentence Aye more & more / fyred with feruence Hath his breuettes / and his letters sente For his lordes / to holde a parlemente And them commaunded / in al the hast they may To come anone / at theyr assygned day From euery warde / & partye of the towne For to assemble / in noble Ilyowne Chefe of his reygne / & whan they were echone With hym present / this noble kynge anone Tofore them all / as shortly as he can His wyll declareth / and thus he began . Syres quod he / bycause ye be wyse It nedeth nat / longe processe to deuyse For to reherse / of your comynge cause But for to tell / shortly in a clause What I meane / and make no delay Ye wot how / I now this other day Sent into Grece / by counsayle of you all A knyght of myne / that Anthenor men call To haue recured / Exyona agayne Whose message / was nat but in vayne For of grekes / full vncurteysly He was receyued / and dispytously Threte and rebuked / in poynt to haue be dede Vnneth he myght / escape with his hede They put on hym / suche offence and blame That reboundeth / to our aldershame And day by day / it must encrease more But we ordayne / some remedye therfore For there as we / all mesour haue them offred They haue to vs / werre and stryfe yprof●ed Of hye despyte / of rancour and of hete And of malys / cruelly vs threte And where as we / wolde peas purchace For wronges / done they fellyvs manace And for the harmes / that they haue vs wrought They nat purpose / playnly in theyr thought Other redresse / nor amendes make But vtterly with werre / vs to awake Whose ioye is fully / encrease of our greuaunce So wolde god they were / with repentaunce Contryte in herte / to stynte all myschefe That lykly is to falle / and the grefe On outher parte / that it myght ouer slyde But they alas / with rancour & with pryde Ar swolle of newe / to threte more and more But god diffende / halfe dele of the sore By infortune / euer shulde fall As they purpose / on any of vs all But sythe they haue shape / thus for vs We must resyste / theyr wyll malycyous Thorugh myght of god / of necessyte In our diffence / it wyll none other be And beste I holde / vnto oure entent To worke and do / all by one assent So we our purpose / sonest shall acheue Where is discorde / there may no quarell preue For on that parte / where hertes be nat one Victorye may / in no wyse gone Chefe of conquest / is peas and vnyte Right as discorde / is of aduersyte Ouyde of hertes / maketh rewmes sure Dyuysyon / causeth discomfyture Wherfore I rede / of o wyll and herte Lette vs set on / to do the grekes smerte For sothfastly / if ye lyst to se I dare afferme / that we strenger be Than the Grekes / vpon euery parte And haue of armes / parfytely the arte And be a counted of knyghthod / crop and roote And plente haue of men / on hors and foote Arrayed well / eueryche in his degre And therwith also / stronge is our Cyte For to withstonde / our fomen euerychone You counsaylynge / to ordayne anone Firste to assemble / hooly your nauye And stuffe them strongly / with our Chyualrye And into grece / hastely them sende The proude grekes / manly to offende And of iuste cause / and by tytle of ryght Oa them werre / with all our full myght Theyr townes brenne / and theyr feldes waste With herte vnfayned / also vs enhaste To quyte them / as they deserued haue For my rede / we shall none of them saue But cruelly take / on them vengeaunce Ne hath no fere / ne let be no greuaunce Though they afore / by fortune were victoures To ●lee our auncetres / and progenytoures For he that was of vnhap / firste put downe Remounteth ofte / to full hye renowne By the chaunge / and the varyaunce Of werre and stryfe / that euer is in balaunce For he that is / this day assured wele Tomorowe he is / caste downe of the whele The victor ofte / put in aduenture And vanquysshed / by discomfyture Of hym that he hadde / afore victorye Nor vp now downe / in armes stande the glorye In martes chaunce / no man hym assure But as it cometh / let hym take his eure For gery Mars / by his influence Can gyue a man / whylom excellence To wynne a pryse / lyke a conqueroure And sodaynly / as a somer floure He can his honour / make for to fade For whan that he / his aspectis glade For a man / lysteth for to wrythe His renowne olde / goth awaye as blythe After a floode an ebbe / foloweth aye As men deserue / prayse them for a daye For thoughe Phebus / this day mery shyne Tomorowe he may / his bemes downe declyne Thorugh the thycknesse / of the mystes trouble Ryght so of Mars / are the chaunces double Now vp now downe / now lowe now alofte As fortune whiche that chaungeth ofte Lyst on hir whele / make a man assende And vnwarely / downe agayne descende Stoundemele his honoure / to auaunce And with asweygh / throwe hym to myschaunce Nowe with fauour / set hym vp full hye Est auale hym / with twynclynge of an eye Hir playe vnstable / tourneth as a balle Whyle one gothe vp / a nother hath a falle She reyseth one / and doth a nother loute For euery man / whan it cometh aboute Must take his tourne / as hir play requereth Who is experte / and hir fraudes lereth Shall with hir sugre / fynde galle meynt And hir hony / aye with bytter spreynt In peas and werre / in honour and fame In dignytes / in renowne and in shame At hi● lykynge / as hir lyst to graunte Therfore no man / his hap to moche auaunte . For though grekes / whylom were alofte It may hereafter / them happe full vnsofte Wherfore echone / shewe your worthynesse That so are named / of strengthe & hardynesse And to fortune / playnely you comytte And let no fer / your manly hertes f●ytte But stande hole / and be in menynge playne And therupon / let se what ye wyll sayne And atones / theyr voyse they gan reyse And his sentence / hyghly for to preyse And of one herte / manly gan expresse They wyll dispende / goodes and rychesse And theyr bodyes / put in Iupardye There was nat one / that wolde it tho denye And of this graunte / he thanketh them echone And gaue them leue / where them lyst to gone For he dissolued hath / his parlement And euery man / on his waye is went And repayred / to his mansyowne The kynge alone / lefte in Ylyowne Sole by hymselfe / inwardely musynge How his purpose / he myght aboute brynge For he in soth / on no thynge elles thought And therupon / euen thus he wrought . KYng Pryamus / makyng thus his mone As I you tolde / in a chambre alone Many wayes / castynge vp and downe For to parfourme / his conclusyowne And to fulfyll / the fyne of his entent He firste of all / prudently hath sent For his sones / to come to hym in haste As well for them / that were borne in baste As the tother / for to assemble yfere For a purpose / lyke as ye shall here To haue a counsayle / for nedefull purueaunce Agaynst grekes / to make ordenaunce Firste by themselfe / alone pryuely And whan they were in ordre / by and by Eueryche of them set / in his dewe see Lyke as they were / of age and of degree And Ector firste / floure of chyualrye Repayred home / out of panomye Most acceptable / in euery wyghtes grace Nexte his fader / taken hathe his place . And whan Pryam / his leyser dyde espye With syghes sore / castynge vp his eye To them echone / syttynge enuyron Gan to declare / his hertes mocion . But firste or he myght / his wyll expowne Into teres / he gan hymselfe drowne His hertely wo was / so outragyous That for wepynge / and sobbynge furyous Vnneth he myght / with any worde out breke Nor vnto them / for distresse speke Nor openly / his inwarde menynge shewe Tyll at the laste / he in wordes fewe Gan to abrade / in all his pytous fare Euen thus / his menynge to declare . My dere sones / so louynge and so kynde As I suppose / that ye haue in mynde And remembre discretly / and aduerte And emprente full fresshely / in your herte How the grekes / agayne all right and lawe With cruell swerde / murdred haue and slawe Our worthy auncetres / of full hye renowne And destroyed / brent and bete downe The firste Troye / with his walles olde And how vngoodly / also that they holde Myn owne suster / called Exyon To full great shame / and confusyon And hye reprefe / to your worthynesse That me semeth / of very kyndenesse And of nature / ye oughte be agreued And inwardly / in herte sore meued To suffre her / in hyndrynge of hir name So to be treated / for your alder shame Alas why nyl / ye do your besynesse This hye despyte / knyghtly to redresse You for to auenge / vpon theyr cruelte Recure to fynde / of her iniquyte Syth that ye be / so myghty and so stronge Certes me semeth / ye byde all to longe Fro day to day / that ye so differre In knyghtly wyse / to gynne on them a werre Your force and myght / manly to assaye I am pure sorye / that ye lyste delaye You to comforte / vnto my desyre That in theyr hate / brenne as hote as fyre Vpon them / lyke as ye may se Of fretynge yre / auenged for to be Lyke theyr decrete / to quyte them theyr mede And ye alas / take lyst no hede Whyle your renowne / doth so fresshely shyne Vnto my luste / your hertes to declyne Consyderynge lyke / as it is kouthe How I haue / for your grene youthe Yfostred you and brought / you forth echone Frothylke day / that ye coude gone As tenderly / as I coude or myght To whiche thynge / in your inwarde syght Ye shulde aduerte / alway new and newe And of nature / on my sores rewe To remedye / myn aduersyte Whiche toucheth you / also well as me Syth that ye wote / how sore it doth me greue Ye shulde shape / myn harmes to releue And sodaynly / as he thus ganmourne Towardes Ector / he gan his face tourne And sayde Ector / my truste and all my ioye Myn heyre also / lyke to reygne in Troye After my day / and be my successoure And named arte / the very souerayne floure Of worthynesse / and of manhod welle And all thy brethren / in knyghthod dost excelle And in armes / lyke a conquerour Called the stocke / of worshyp and honour I hertely praye / though thou sytte stylle Be wyllynge now / my purpose to fulfylle To execute / that I desyre so For fynally / in the and in nomo Is full my fayth / to brynge this aboute Now take on the / and be no thynge in doute To be chefe prynce / and also gouernour Of this purpose / and vtterly socour Into thyn honde / this Iourney I commytte Hooly of herte / so that thou ne flytte The to confourme / by good aduysement To parfourme vp / the fyne of myne entent For of reason / best to the it syt Whiche art so prudent / and so full of wyt Stronge and delyuer / flouryng eke in youthe Of whom the fame / thorugh the world is kouthe Yonge of yeres / olde of discreciowne Eurous to loue / passynge of renowne Vnto whose wyll / thy bretherne shall obeye And sto●de with the / bothe to lyue and deye Now condescende / to accomphysshe my requeste And what thou felest / answere at the leste . And whan the kyng / hath shewed his sentence Demure of chere / humble of reuerence This worthy Ector example of gentrye With softe speche / as techeth cuttesye His answere gaue / with sobre countenaunce The effecte of whiche / was this in substaunce . Myne owne lorde / and my fader dere Benyngnely / if ye lyste to here After the force / and the great myght And the s●me / of natures ryght Whiche euery thyng / by kynde doth constrayne In the bondes / of hir large chayne It syttynge is / as the doth enspyre And accordynge / that euery man desyre Of wronges done / to haue amendement And to hir lawe / right conuenyent Namely to suche / that with nobylte Kynde hath endewed / and sette in hye degre For to suche / great reprefe is and shame Whan any wronge / be do vnto theyr name For echetrespasse / must consydered be Iustly mesured / after the qualyte Of hym that is offended / and also After the parsone / by whom the wronge is do Be it in werre / in contek or debate For gretter grefe / is to hye estate To suffre and harme / of case or auenture Or any wronge / vniustly to endure Or Iniuryes / compassed of malys Is more offence / by discrete aduyse To whom that be famous / in manhode Renommed and borne / of gentyll blode Than to suche one / that holde is but a wretche Wherfore we must / greatly charge and retche Oonly of knyghthode / our worshyp for to eke Of wronges done / amendes for to seke Our state consydered / and our hye noblesse And in what plyte / we stoude of worthynesse Whan that bestes / of reason rude and blynde Desyre the same / by instuyt of kynde . And for my parte / truste in certayne Ye haue no sone / that wolde halfe so fayne Vpon grekes / auenged be as I For here my trouthe / I say you faythfully For yre of them / I brenne as doth the glede I thurste theyr blode / more than other mede For right as I eldest / am of age Amonge your sones / so am I moste with rage I fret within / iustly of knyghthode With my right hande / to shede the grekes blode As they shall fynde / paraunter or they wene Whan tyme cometh / the sothe shal be sene . But firste I rede / wysely in your mynde To caste afore / and leue nat behynde Or ye begynne / discretely to aduerte And prudently / consydre in your herte All oonly nat the gynnynge / but the ende And the myddes / what way they wyll wende And to what fyne fortune / wyll them lede If ye thus do / amysse ye may not spede For that counsayle / in myne opynyon Is worthy lytell / by discrecyon To haue a pryse / that cast nat by and by The course of thynges / by ordre ceryously What way they trace / to wo or to delyte For though a gynnynge / haue his appetyte Yet in the ende / playnly this no fable Ther may thyng folow / which is nat commendable For what is worthe / agynnynge fortunate . What causeth after / stryfe and great debate Wherfor in sothe / pryncyples are to drede But men well knowe / what fyne shall succede For a gynnynge with grace / is well fortuned Whan ende and myddes / a lyke be contuned But whan that it in we le / ne may contene It is well better / betymes to abstene Than put in doute / that standeth insuerte For who so doth / hath aduersyte But humbly / to your estate royall Of herte I praye / let nat offende at all That I am bolde / to say my mocion For in good fayth / of none entencion I no thynge meue you / to do offence But oonly this / that your magnyfycence Procede nat / of hede wylfully Ne that no spyryte / you meue folylye To begyn thyng / that after wyll you shende For lacke / that ye se nat to the ende Nor take hede / in your aduertence To consydre / by good prouydence How grekes / haue in theyr subieccion Europe and Aufryk / with many region Ful large & wyde / of knyghthod most famous And of rychesse / wonder plenteuous Right renommed / also of worthynesse With your supporte / that I dare well expresse Full peryllous / is to displese them or disturbe For if that we / our quyete now parturbe Whiche standeth in peas / greatly is to drede For though all Asye / helpe vs in our nede If it be loked / on euery parte aryght They be nat egall / vnto grekes myght . And though also / myn Aunte Exyon Agayne all right / be holde of Thelamon It is nat good / for hir redempcion To put vs all / to destruccion I rede nat to beye hir / halfe so dere For many of vs / in hap that sytte here And other mo / myght for hir sake Deth vnder●onge / and an ende make Whiche were no wysedome / lyke as semeth me And it may happe / also how that she In short tyme / hir fatall cours shall fyne Whan Antropos / the threde a two shall twyne What had we wonne than / and she were go But enmyte / thought sorowe and wo Slaughter of our men / deth and confusion Wherfore I rede / without dissymylacion Without more / that we our wo endure And nat to put / our selfe in auenture This holde I beste / and werke as the wyse But douteles / for no cowardyse I saye nat this / in your hye presence But forcause / I holde it no prudence To fortune / full of doubylnesse Syth we be sure / to put our sykernesse Thus all and some / the effecte of my wylle And with that worde / Ector helde hym stylle . ANd whan the Ector / by full hye prudence Concluded hath / the fyne of his sentence Full demurely / he kepte his lyppes close And therwithall / Parys / vp arose And gan his tale / thus afore the kynge My lorde quod he / so it be lykynge To your hyghnesse / for to take hede As me semeth / we shulde lytell drede In knyghtly wyse / for to vndertake Vpon Grekes / a werre / for to make All atones / theyr pryde to confounde Syth that we / passyngly habounde Of chyua●rye / here within our towne And haue plente / and possessiowne Of eche thynge / that may to werre auayle Stuffe in our selfe / and royall apparayle Of all that longeth / to assautes marcyall And with all this / more in specyal Helpe and socoure / of many regyon With vsto werke / to theyr destruccyon The pompe and pryde / manly to abate And of Grekes / the malys for to mate For all that they of herte / be so stoute Me semeth shortly / that we nede nat doute Nor on no parte / for to be dismayde Wherfore I rede / let nat be delayde Our shyppes / firste redy for to make And I myselfe / wyll fully vndertake So it to you be lykynge / and pleasaunce Of this empryse / hooly the gouernaunce And you assure / and put in certayne Exyona / to recure agayne And in what fourme / that it shal be wrought I haue awaye founde / in my thought That lykely is here / after to be done Whiche vnto you / I wyll declare anone Firste I haue cast / with stronge & myghty hande For to rauysshe / some lady of that lande Of hye estate / and make no taryenge And myghtely / into Troye hir brynge Maugce hir myght / for this conclusion That ye may haue / testytucion By eschaunge of hir / that ye desyre so And therupon / shall nat be longe a do I you behete / for all the grekes stronge And for that / I shall nat you prolonge I wyll you sayne / excludynge euery doute How this aduyse / shal be brought about Firste how that I shall / this purpose fyne The goddes haue thorugh / their power dyuy●e Shewed to me / by reuelacion For therupon / I hadde auysion But late a gone / as I lay a slepe Vnto whiche / if ye take kepe Ye may nat fayle / nor be in no dispayre To haue recure / of hir that is so fayre For whom ye haue / now so moche care And the maner hole / I wyll declare Of this dreme / to your magnyfycence If it so be / ye gyue wyll credence To my tale / for I shall nat dwelle Ceryously in ordre / for to telle The trouthe playne / and no fable fayne To you that be / my lorde moste souerayne . Firste if that ye / remembre in your mynde This other day / whan I was last in ynde By your aduyse / and commaundement For a mater / whiche in yourentent Was specyally / hadde in cherte As it is knowen / betwene you and me Of whiche I toke / vpon me the charge In the bondes / of that lande full large . The same tyme / your desyre to spede Whan that Tytan / with his bemes rede From Gemyny / droue his chare of golde Towarde the crabbe / for to take his holde Whiche named is the paleys of dyane The bente moone / that wex can and wane Whan halowed is / the sonnes stacyon Nygh the myddes / of the moneth of Iuyn At whiche season / erely on a morowe Whan that Phebus / to voyde nyghtes sorowe Doth Pirrous / his wayne agayne vp drawe And Aurora / Estwarde doth adawe And with the water / of hir teres rounde The syluer dewe / causeth to habounde Vpon herbes / and on floures soote For kyndely norysshynge / both of crop & roote . Vp I rose / out of my bedde anone Full desyrous / on huntynge for to gone Prycked in herte / with lusty fresshe pleasaunce To do to loue / some dewe obseruaunce And lucyna / that day to magnefye Whiche called is / lady of venerye And dewely / our rytes to obserue Cythera / and hir for to serue I and my feres / our hertes to releue Cast vs fully / tyll it drewe to eue In the forest / to playe vs and disporte And pleasauntly / vs to recomforte As it longeth to loue / of lustynesse For thylke day / to venus the goddesse I sacred was / by full great excellence With great honour / and dewe reuerence Do unto hir / bothe of one and all And on a fryday / this aduenture is fall Whan we gan hast vs / to the wodes grene In hope that day / some game for to sene With great labour / rydynge to and fro Tyll we hadde / full many bucke and doo By strengthe slayne / as we myght them fynde The herte I chaced / with houndes and the hynde Thorugh the downes / and the dales lowe Tyll Phebus / of his dayes bowe Amyd the arke / was of meridyen Whan his bemes / full hote were and shene And we moste besy / were vpon the chaas That me befell / a wonder dyuerse caas For of fortune / it happed sodaynly Whyle I was seuered / fro my companye Sole by my selfe / amonge the holtes hore To fynde game / desyrous euermore Or I was ware / thorow thycke & thorow thyn A full great harte / I sawe afore meryn Downe by the lande / and the vales grene That I in sothe / myght nat sustene He was so swyfte / for to nygh hym nere Albe that / I prycked my coursere Nyghe to the deth / thorugh many sondry shawe Out of my syght / so fer he gan withdrawe For all that euer / that I sewe myght That I anone / loste of hym the syght In a woode / that yda bare the name And I so faynt / gan wexe of that game And myn hors / on whiche I dyde ryde Fomynge full whyte / vpon euery syde And his flankes / all with blode distayned In my pursute / so sore he was constrayned With my spores sharp / and dyed rede After the harte / so prycked I my stede Now vp now downe / with a full besy thought But my laboure / auayled me right nought Tyll at the laste / amonge the bowes glade Of aduenture / I caughte a plesaunt shade Full smothe and playne / and lusty for to sene And softe as veluet / was the yonge grene Where fro my hors / I dyd a lyght as faste And on a bowe / I his reyne caste So faynte and mate / of werynesse I was That I me layde downe / vpon the gras Vpon a brynke / shortly for to telle Besyde aryuer / and a cristalle welle And the water / as Ireherse can Lyke quycke syluer / in his stremes ran Of whiche the grauell / and the bryght stone As any golde / agayne the sonne shone . Where right anone / for very werynesse A sondayne slepe / gan me so oppresse That fro tyme / that I firste was borne I neuer was asleped / so toforne And as I lay / I had a wonder sweuen For me thought / hye downe fro heuen The wynged god / wonderfull of chere Mercuryous / to me dyde appere Of whom I was / somedele firste aferde For he was gyrde / with his croked swerde And with hym brought / also in his honde His slepy yerde / plyaunt as a wonde With a serpent / goynge enuyrowne And at his feet / also lowe downe Me semeth also / that there stode a cocke Syngynge his houres / trewe as any clocke And to the mouthe of this / god Mercurye Were pypes sette / that longe wonder merye Of whiche the swete / sugred armonye Made in myn eres suche / a melodye That me semed tho / in myn aduyse I was rauysshed / into paradyse And thus this god / dyuerse of lyknesse More wonderfull / than I can expresse Shewed hymselfe / in his apparence Lyke as he is discryued / in fulgence In the boke / of his methologyes Where be rehersed / many poesyes And many lyknesse / lyke as ye may se And for to take / the moralyte His longe yerde / right as is a lyne Whiche on no syde / wrongly may declyne Signefyeth / the prudent gouernaunce Of discrete folke / that thorugh theyr purueyaunce Cast a peryll / or that it be fall And his pypes loude / as any shall That thorugh musyke / be entuned trewe Betokeneth eke / with many lusty hewe The sugred dytees / by great excellence Of rethoryke / and of eloquence Of whiche this god / is soueraygne & patrowne And of this cocke / the swete lusty sowne That iustly kepeth / the houres of the nyght Is vtterly the aduyse / of in warde syght Of suche as voyde / by waker dylygence Out of theyr court / slouthe and neclygence And his swerde / whiche croketh so agayne That is nat forged / nor ymade in vayne Is to reuoke / to the right weye Suche as wrongly / for trouthe do forueye And the serpent / whiche that I of tolde Whiche wryncled is / as ye may beholde Vpon the yerde / and aboute gothe Signefyeth that falshode / wode and wrothe Lyeth in awayte / by many sleyghty weye With his gynnes / trouthe to werreye And this god of eloquence / kynge Brought with hym / eke in his comynge Cythera / whom louers serue Iuno and Pallas / that called is Mynerue And this venus / hir lyeges to delyte Aboute hir hede / hadde douues whyte With loke benyngne / and eyen debonayre Aye flykerynge / with snowy wynges fayre For to declare / sothly in sentence By the douues / very Innocence Of them in loue / that but trouthe mene And that theyr grounde / shulde honest be & clene Ytokened is / clerely by wytnesse Without soylynge / of any vnclennesse And the fresshenesse / of the roses rede That in somer / so lusty do sprede And in wynter / of theyr colour fade Signefyeth / the hertely thoughtes glade Of yonge folkes / that be amerous Feruent in hope / and inly desyrous Whan loue gynneth / in theyr hertes floure Tyll longe processe / maketh them to loure With the wynter / of vnweldy age That lust is palled / & dulled with the rage Of febylnesse / whan somer is a gone As folkes knowe / I trowe mo than one And therfore venus / fleteth in a see To shewe the trouble / and aduersytee That is in loue / and in hir stormy lawe Whiche is byset / with many sturdy wawe Nowe calme now rough / who so taketh hede And hope assayled aye / with sodayne drede . And next venus / Pallas I behelde With hir spere / and hir cristall shelde And a raynebowe / rounde aboute hir hede That of colour / was grene blewe and rede And afore hir / as I can descryue She growynge had / a grene fresshe olyue And therupon / with his browes fowle In the braunches / I sawe sytte lyke a nowle . And firste the shylde / of Pallas the goddesse Signefyed / as I can expresse In vertue force / by manly hye diffence Agayne vyces / to make resystence And hir spere / sharpe and kene grounde By iuste rygour / was forged to confounde Them that be false / and to put a backe And for that mercy / shall medle with the wracke The shafte in sothe / shauen was full playne Lest mercyles / that right ne wrought in vayne And after werre / to make full releas There was the Olyue / that betokeneth peas The owle also / so odyous at all That songes syngeth / at festes funerall Declareth playnly / fyne of euery glorye Is oonly deth / who hath it in memorye And the raynebowe / grene rede and perse Sygnefyeth the chaunges / full dyuerse That ofte falleth / in werre and batayle Now to wynne / and sodaynly to fayle Now stable as blewe / chaungyng now as grene For Pallas playe / is alway meynt with tene . And alder last / as I haue in mynde With hir nynphes / Iuno came behynde Whiche of custome / as fulgence telles Abyde in floodes / and in depe welles And this Iuno / as poetes sayne Amayden is / and of fruyte barayne And the Pecok / to this fresshe quene Ysacred is / with his fethers shene Splayed abrode / as a large sayle With Argus eyen / emprynted in his tayle . The water rennynge / in ryuer and in flode Is the labour / that men haue for gode The great trouble / and the besynesse That day and nyght / they suffre for rychesse That who so euer / in these flodes rowe Lete hym beware / for aye after the flowe Of nature / right as it is dewe Folowynge the moone / there must an ebbesewe The moste drede is / aye vpon the fulle Lyste fortune / the fresshe fethers pulle Of ryche folke / that shyne in golde so shene Sythe she of chaunge / lady is and quene . And Argus eyen / that are set behynde In nygardes hertes / be ofte sythes blynde Whiche nat aduerte / of goodes to the ende That lyke an ebbe / sodaynly wyll wende Whiche they nothyng / consydre in theyr syght For as the fayre lusty / fethers bryght Of a pecok / vnwarely fall away Right so rychesse / shortly at a day Wyll theyr mayster / sodaynly forsake Saynge a dewe / and theyr leue take And as Iuno / barayne is of fruyte Right so naked / bare and distytuyte Are these gredy / hertes couetous Whiche to gadre / be so desyrous That in no thynge / can haue suffysaunce The fret of drede / them put in suche myschaunce Ymagenynge / that the worlde wyll fayle And in theyr fere / agayne the wynde they sayle Tyll all atones / they must go there fro And thus of good / aye the fyne is wo Namely of them / that so pynche and spare For this no drede / as clarkes can declare The fruyte of good / is to spende large And who is man full / set but lytell charge To parte frely / his treasour in comune Whan he discretly / sethe tyme oportune He hath no ioye / to put his good in mewe For in herte / that fredome lyste to sewe Of gentylnesse / taketh no hede therto And in this wyse / Pallas and Iuno With fresshe venus / be a downe descended Lyke as I haue / shortly comprehended Vnder the guyynge / of Mercurius Whiche vnto me / gan his tale thus Parys quod he / lyfte vp thyne eyen and se Lo these goddesses / here in nombre thre Whiche fro heuen / with theyr eyen clere So dyuersly / vnto the appere Were at a feste / as I the tell shall With all the goddes / aboue celestyall That Iubyter helde / at his owne borde Was none absent / oonly saue discorde And for despyte / she was nat there present To be auenged / she sette all hir entent And in hir wyttes many wayes sought Tyll at the laste / euen thus she wrought Of Poetes / lyke as it is tolde She toke an appel / rounde of pure golde With greke letters / grauen vp and downe Whiche sayde thus / in conclusy owne Without stryfe / that it were gyue anoon To the fayrest of them / euerychone And of discorde / this lady and goddesse As she that is / of debate maystresse Hath this appell / passynge of delyte Brought to this feste / of malys and despyte And caste it downe / amonge them at the borde With deynous chere / spekynge nat a worde But on hir waye / faste gan hir hye And sodaynly / so a preuy great enuye Into the courte / this appell hath in brought So great a werre / and suche a contek wrought In the hertes / of these ylke thre That after longe / may nat staunchedbe Amonge themselfe / so they gan disdayne Whiche in beaute / was moste soueraygne And whiche of them / hath beste tytle of ryght For to conquere / this burned appell bryght And firste they gan thus / for beaute stryue That of rancour / theyr hertes almost ryue To wyte of right / who shulde it firste possede ●o yet enuye / reygneth in womanhede That one is fayrer / than a not her holde For eche woman / of hir kynde wolde Haue on some parte / prys aboue another In eche estate / in sothe it is none other And eche of them / in hir owne aduys Hath ioye / in beaute / for to haue a prys For none so foule / doth in a myrour prye That she is fayre / in hir owne eye But lyke a fole / he hymfelfe doth quyte That aumber yelowe / cheseth for the whyte A goundy eye / is deceyued soone That any colour / cheseth by the moone For some colour / is with fyre made fyne And some encreased / with spyces & with wyne With oyntementes / and confeccions And on nyght / by false illusions Some appere wonder / fresshe and fayre That loke derke by day lyght / in the ayre There is no prefe / but erely by the morowe Of suche as nede / no beaute for to borowe But as nature hath / hir selfe disposed Therfore fastynge / or boystes be vnclosed Make thy choyse / as byd Ouyde Whan euery drugge and pot / is set asyde Lyst that thou / be after his sentence Deceyued lyghtly / by false apparence For now a dayes / suche crafte is full ryue And in this wyse / thus began the stryue Betwyxe / Iuno / venus / and Pallas That be descended / for this sodaynecas By one assent / touchynge theyr beaute The dome therof / commytted vnto the I speke to the / that called art Parys And holde art / right prudent & rightwys Be auysed how / thy dome shall fyne For they ne may / to nor fro declyne But obeye / all by one assent Without stryfe / to thy iugement But herke firste / or that thou procede Of eche of them / what shal be thy mede Consydre a right / and take good hede therto If thou the appell / graunt vnto Iuno She shall the gyue / plente of rychesse Hye renowne of fame / eke worthynesse With haboundaunce / of golde and of tresour And do the ryse / to so hye honour That thou alone / all other shalt excelle For thy guerdon / lyke as I the telle . And if to Pallas / goddesse of prudence The lyst the fyne conclude / of thy sentence That she may lady / of the appell be For thy mede / she shall assure the That of wyt / and ofsapyence Thou shalt hooly / haue the excellence And of wysdome / and of discrecion To dyscerne / by clerenesse of reason Also fer as Phebus / caste his lyght There shall nat be a more / prudent knyght Nor in this worlde / sythe that it began Of iuste reporte / a manlyer man Nor to thy name / none equypollent And if to venus / of trewe & clene entent The lyste to graunt / in conclusion Of the Appell / to haue possession The fresshe goddesse / that syt so hye aboue Shall the ensure / to haue vnto thy loue The fayrest lady / that is or was tofore Or in this worlde / euer shal be bore And in Grece / thou shalt hir knyghtly wynne Now be aduysed / or that thou begynne Iustly to deme / and for no thynge spare And I anone / gan loke vp and stare Greatly astoned / what me was best to do Tyll at the laste / I spake Mercurye to And sayde certayne / that I ne wolde there Gyue no dome / but they naked were So that I myghty / haue fully lyberte Eueryche of them / a vyselye to se And consydre / euery circumstaunce Who fayrest were / vnto my plesaunce And goodlyest / to speke of womanhede And after that / to my dome procede . And they anone / as ye haue herde me seye To my desyre / mekely gan obeye In all haste to do / theyr besy cure Them to dispoyle / of clothynge and vesture Lyche as the statute / of my dome them bonde In a poynt they ne wolde / it nat withstonde That I myght haue / full inspexion Of fourme and shap / and eche proporsion For to discerne / as I can remembre A vysely by ordre / euery membre And than at erst / to Iuge after ryght But whan that I / of eche hadde a syght I gaue to venus / the appell right anone Bycause she was / fayrest of echone And moste excellynge / sothly of beaute Moste womanly / and goodly on to se As I deme playnly / in my syght For the stremes / of hir eyen bryght Ilyche glade / and egall euen of lyght Were to the sterre / that sheweth towarde nyght Whiche called is / Esperus so shene Venus hir selfe / the fresshe lusty quene The whiche anone / this heuenly Emperesse After my dome of hertely / hye gladnesse That of the appell she hooly hath the glorye And wonne it / iustly by victorye Reioysed hir / more than I can tell That she hir feres / in beaute dyde excell And she in haste / of trewe affeccion Concluded hath fully / for my guerdon Full demurely / lowe / and nat a lofte To Mercurye / with sobre wordes softe Deuoyde bothe / of doubylnesse and slouthe Lyke her beheste / holde wyll hir trouthe And sodaynly / without more Iniurye They disapered / and the god Mercurye Streyghte to heuen / the right way toke And I anone / out of my slepe a woke . Wherof my lord / whom I most loue & drede If ye aduerte / and wysely take hede That this beheste / affermed in certayne Was vnto me / assured nat in vayne Of goodly venus / lyke as I haue tolde Wherfore I rede / ye be of herte bolde Me for to sende / with stronge & myghty hande Without abode / into Grekes lande After the fourme / that I haue you sayde And I hope / ye shal be well apayde Whan I haue spede / as venus hath behyghte And home retourne / with my lady bryghte So shall ye beste / me lyste nat speke in vayne Be echaunge / of hir your suster wyn agayne Whom Thelamon / withholde hath of yore Lo this is all / I can say you nomore Touchynge the effect / hooly of myn aduyse And after that / stylle / sat Parys As he that / fully hymselfe aquyte But saye Pryam / alas where was thy wyte Of neclygence / for take kepe Thy truste to sette / on dremes or on slepe Full thynne / was thy discrecyon To take a grounde / of false illusyon For to procede / lyke the fantasye Vpon a sweuen / meynt with flaterye Alas reason / was no thynge thy guyde For Pallas / was wrongly sette asyde Nat receyued / with dewe reuerence And Iuuo eke / for all hir sapyence For all hir good / and lokynge debonayre With hir treasour / and hir hestes fayre Refused was / alas of wylfulnesse And she that is of loue / the goddesse And eke also / of vulcanus the wyfe In whose seruyce / is euer werre and stryfe Preferred was / the appell to procede Agayne all right / for Parys toke none hede Saue vnto luste / and sette a syde trouthe Where thorugh alas / & that was full great routhe The myghty ryche / and the noble towne Of Troye / was brought to confusyowne Oonly for he / knyghthode hath forsake Prudence and golde / and in his choyse Ytake Oonly a woman / and holde hym therto That after was / roote of all theyr woo As this storye / ceryously shall telle But I in dremes / wyll no lenger dwelle But wryte forthe / how that Dephebus The thyrde sone / of kynge Pryamus His tale gan / in open audyence And to the kynge / shortly in sentence As he that lyste / a trouthe nat to spare Euen thus / his conceyte to declare . My lorde quod he / if that euery wyght Aduerte shulde / and caste in his syght Of future thynge / the peryll and the doute And cerche it / within and withoute From poynt to poynt / alwaye in his reason To caste doutes / and tourne vp so downe Than no wyght shulde / to no purpose wende In any matere / for to make an ende Other presume / by manhod in his thought Who caste perylles / acheueth lytell or nought For if the plowman / alway caste aforne How many graynes / in his felde of corne Shal be deuoured / of foules rauynous That he doth sowe / in feldes plenteuous Than shulde he neuer / in vale nor in playne For cowardshyp / throwe abrode his grayne Lete all suche drede / nowe be layde asyde I holde folye / lenger to abyde But the Parys / my brother make hym stronge With his shyppes / for to venge our wronge Vpon grekes / with all his payne and myght To preue shortly / that he is a knyght For of reason / ye consydre may How that no man iustly / may say nay But that Parys hath / counsayled we le For by my trouthe / as fer as I can fele It were errour / his purpose to contrarye Wherfore / let hym now no lenger tarye But holde his waye / with a stronge nauye For to auenge / the great velanye That grekes haue / if ye take hede Done heretofore to vs / and to our kynrede And for fynall execucyon Of the recure / touchynge Exyon Whom they treate / in dishonest wyse Agaynst all right / and tytle of iustyse That to thynke / it gyueth my herte a wounde The shame of whiche / so newe doth rebounde Vpon all / that be of hir allye Wherfore the beste / that I can espye Is that Parys / take this vyage With suche as be / of fresshe and lusty age Manly to wende / into Grekes lande And by force / of theyr myghty hande Maugre the Grekes / proude and most elate Rauysshe there / some lady of estate And than ye may / by knyghthod of my brother If ye lyste chaunge / hir for that other This moste redy / and short conclusion That I can se / for restytucion Of Exyone / if that Parys wende And of my counsayle / shortly thus the ende . And than as faste / full discrete and sage Helenus the fourth sone / of age Rose from his sete / with great reuerence Prayeng his fader / graunte hym audyence That he may say / in presence of them all Openly / what that shal be fall As he that most / of secrete thynges can And soberly / thus his tale began With clene entent / and trewe affeccion My lorde quod he / with supportacion Of your grace / wherin is most my truste Let none offence / be vnto your luste Nor you displease / though I say my conceyte Syth ye knowe / I mene no deceyte For neuer yet / fayled no sentence But that it fyll / in experyence Lyke as I tolde / in partye and in all In pryue treate / and in generall Without menynge / of any doubylnesse That it folowed / as I dyde expresse Remembre you / and ye shall fynde it trewe And if god wyll / I shall nat now of newe Spare for to say / lyke as I conceyue Nor to be dede / with fraude you deceyue Declarynge firste / of trewe entencion As it shall folowe / in conclusion . That if Parys / into Grece wende Truste me well / it wyll vs all shende The goddes haue / by reuelacion Made vnto me / demonstracion And eke I knowe it / by astronomye For neuer yet / in my prophecye Ne was I deceyued / of that shulde falle Nor none that lyste / me to counsayle calle So am I taught / of thynge that shall betyde Wherfore I praye / for rancour nor for pryde Nor for enuye / of none olde hatrede To take vengaunce / that ye nat procede In your aduyse / lyke as ye purpose I say you playnly / for me lyste nat glose Ye shall repente / if ye Parys sende Into Grece / the whiche god defende Wytte this well for the conclusion Shall fully tourne / to our destruccion And fynally / into our ruyne Lyke as to you / I gan afore deuyne For this the fyne / that there folowe shall Subuercion / bothe of towne and wall Of paleys / house / here in our Cyte All goth to nought / ye get no more of me For me semeth / it ought ynough suffyse That I haue sayde / sythe that ye be wyse For if that ye / aduerte to my sawe I doute nat / that ye wyll withdrawe Your hande be tyme / or that more damage Assayle you / by constraynte of this rage For better is / betymes to abstene From this purpose / whiche is yet but grene Than of hede hastely assente To thynge for whiche / we shall echone repente For plenerly there shall / no thynge socoure That there shall folowe / of you and all youre Despytefull deth / without excepciowne Of one and all / abydynge in this towne Firste on your selfe / playnly to endyte Shall the vengaunce / of the grekes byte Thorugh the furye / of theyr mortall tene And your wyfe / cuba the quene Shall lede hir lyfe / thorugh grekes cruelte In sorowe and wo / and in captyuyte And your lyeges / by the swerde shall pace Of cruell de●h / without any grace And innocentes / mercyles shall blede In your auyse / if that ye procede Of wylfulnesse / a werre for to make And folylye / for to vndertake For to parturbe / your quyete and your reste Whiche shall tourne / no thynge for the beste But to ruyne / of you / and of vs all I can no more ● but or that myschefe fall My counsayle is / afore for to prouyde And wylfulnesse / for to sette asyde Specially / whan deth as I you tolde Muste be the fyne / if ye your purpose holde Lo here is all / without wordes mo Into grece / if that Parys go . And in this wyse / whan that Helenus Had playnly sayde / as Guydo telleth vs Tryste and heuy / with a pale face Agayne resorteth / to his syttynge place Of whose sentence / astoned euerychone Sat in sylence / stylle as any stone Powerles theyr hertes to resume To speke a worde / no man dare presume Of all the prese / but kept theyr lyppes close That at the laste / Troylous vp arose Yonge fresshe and lusty / and courageous also And aye desyrous / for to haue a do In armes manly / as longeth to a knyght And whan that he of there / full glad and lyght Sawe his fader / and bretherne euerychone So inly troubled / thus he spake anone . O noble and worthy / syttynge enuyron Of hye prudence / and great discrecyon Manfull also / and of hye courage What sodayn fere / hath brought you in this rage What new trouble / is cropen in your breste For the sentence / of a cowarde preste Syth they echone / as ye shall euer fynde Desyre more veryly / of kynde To lyue in luste / and voyde away trauayle And dedely hate / to here of batayle For they theyr wyt / fynally applye To sewe theyr luste / and lyue in glotonye To fyll theyr stomacke / and restore theyr mawe To reste and ease / euer for to drawe And to sewe / theyr inwarde appetyte Thus theyr ioye / and thus theyr delyte In etynge drynkynge / and in couetyse Is theyr studye / and fully to deuyse How they may folow / their lust without more Of right nought elles / set they no store Alas for shame / why be ye so dismayde And sytte mate / astoned and afrayde For the wordes / of this Helenus Ferefull for drede / as a lytell mous That he quaketh / to here speke of fyght And more ouer / agayne all skylle and ryght In preiudyce / of the goddes alle He taketh on hym / to say what shall befalle Of thynge futur / for to specefye As he had / a spyryte of prophecye Graunted to hym alone / in speciall As though he were / in connynge perygall To the goddes / hauynge prescience To shewe afore / thorugh his sapyence What shall betyde / outher euyll or gode Let be let be / for no wyght is so wode That hath his wyt / to gyue therto credence That any man / by crafte or by scyence That mortall is / hath connynge to deuyne Fortunes course / or fates to termyne Suche causes hyd / conceled in secree Reserued be / to goddes preuytee Men may dyuyne / but all is but folye To take hede / for they do but lye Wherfore I rede / as in this matere Both one and all / and you my lorde most dere To exclude all drede / and all that may disturbe Out of your herte / and let no thynge perturbe Your hye courages / that helenus hath tolde And if that he / of herte be nat bolde As manhode wold / to helpe venge our wronge Let hym go hyde hym / in the temple stronge And kepe hym close / in contemplacion To wake and praye / by deuocion Without socour / a dayes and a nyghtes And suffre suche / as be lusty knyghtes To haunte theyr youthe / and grene lustynesse Manly in armes / to preue theyr hardynesse That they may haue / the better acqueyntaunce In tyme comynge / for to do vengeaunce On theyr enmyes / and theyr cruell ●oon And commaunde / that Parys may forth goon To execute / the fyne / of your entent Afore purposed / in your parlament Vpon grekes / for theyr offencyon To parfourme vp / the payne of talyon For wronges olde / of whiche yet the fame Rehersed is / vnto our alder shame Thorugh out the worlde / ye wote this is no les And therwithall / Troylus helde his pes And sodaynly all / that were present Began atones / all by one assent Troylus counsayle / greatly for to preyse And his manhode / to the heuen reyse His fresshe courage / and his hye prowesse His feruent zele / and his hardynesse And of one herte / greatly hym commende And right anone / there they made an ende Than Pryamus / whan that all was done Vpon the tyme / of the houre of noone To mete goth / within Ilyon All his sones / syttynge enuyron And after mete / he called hath Parys And Dephebus / also that was full wys And secretly / bad they shulde go The same day / with other lordes mo To Panomye / in all the haste they may To make them redy / agayne a certayne day With all the aray / of worthy chyualrye That they may gete / in theyr companye Towardes grece / to sayle hastely And after that / the kynge all sodaynely The nexte day made / his counsayle calle And euen thus / he sayde afore them alle . O noble lyeges / beynge now present My purpose is / to say you myn entent Without abode / to here it if ye lyste As I suppose / to you is nat vnwyste How the grekes / of pryde and tyrannye Of malys olde / compassed by enuye In many wyse / haue agayne vs wrought Whiche is so grene / that I foryete nought For day by day / encreasynge euer mo By remembraunce / renewed is my wo Whan I recorde / and caste vp and downe Our greues all / and how that Exyowne In seruytude / amonge them doth soiourne Whiche ofte a day / causeth me to mourne And my herte almost / asonder ryue For to consyder / and se it by my lyue Whose cruelte / we haue to dere bought Natwithstandynge / that I haue meanes sought To haue be in reste / without any more Whan into Grece / I sent Anthenore Peasybly my suster / to recure And the surplus / pacyently to endure But all for nought / they toke of it no hede For all that / I offred of goodlyhede It was nat herde / for lacke of gentyllesse Recorde of whiche / doubleth my distresse . Wherfore we muste / as techeth Suxgerye With sharpe yrons / seke remedye To cutte away / by the roote rounde The proude flesshe / that groweth in the grounde Whiche wyll nat voyde / with oyntementes softe Albe that they / be layde therto full ofte Right so by example / we must by duresse Gette recure / whan that with fayrenesse We may none haue / wherfore by your aduyse My purpose is / to sende forthe Paryse Into grece / some lady there to wyn And brynge hir home / & we shall here within Kepe hir stronge / maugre who sayth nay Tyll that we se / some agreable day That they be fayne / lyke myn oppynyon To haue eschaunge / for hir of Exyon My dere suster / whom I loue so We may nat fayle / that it shall be do So the goddes / be to vs fauourable And this counsayle / be also acceptable To you echone / as it is to me For whan a kynge / toucheth a comonte Of wyse men / as it is affermed Of all the comon / it ought be confermed Thynge touchynge all / shulde be apreued Of all echone / or it were acheued Wherfore I caste / by aduyse of you echone Playnly to werke / and with that worde anone This noble Pryam / was sodaynly in pease And after that amonges / all the prease Whan all was whyste / in theyr aller syght A knyght vp rose / and Pentheus he hyght That sone was / to Euforbyus De transformatis / as sayth Ouydius Into whom he fayneth / that there was Whylom the soule / of Pictagoras Hooly transsumed / so as wryte Ouyde As touchynge that / I wyll no lenger byde But tell forth / of this Pentheus Afore the kynge / whiche gan his tale thus . My lyege lorde / vnto your hye noblesse Displease it nat / nor to your worthynesse In presence of your / mageste That I shall say / for to acquyte me Towardes you / of my fayth and trouthe For soth fastly / in me may be no slouthe Touchynge your honour / that without drede With zele of faythe / I brenne as doth the glede Of all harmes / to bydde you beware For doutelesse / afferme well I dare If ye stande / in your firste aduyse As ye purpose / to sende forth Paryse I doute it nat / that it shall you rewe For god well wore / of olde and nat of newe I had a fader called / Euforbyus Discrete and wyse / and right vertuous And knowynge had afore / of euery thynge By prescyence / and byfore wyttynge To tell playnly / thorugh his phylosophye So heuenly he sawe / with his hertes eye That there ●e was / no thynge so secree Hyd from his knowynge / nor no pryuetee That he it knewe / he was of wyt so sage And at the laste / whan he was of age An hondred yere / with lokkes gray and hore I can remembre / how he complayned sore And wepte also / of pyte tenderly Fully affermynge / if Parys vtterly Wente into grece / to rauysshe hym a wyfe There shulde folowe / suche a mortall stryfe Vpon vs all / that sothly this Cyte Shulde into asshes / and scyndres tourned be And that there shulde / nothynge vs socoure That grekes swerde / shall cruelly deuoure Both hye and lowe / and playnly spare none Wherfore I praye / amonge you euerychone Of that I tell / haue no despyte Your wronge to venge / put in respyte And rancour olde / I rede that ye lete And the tranquylle / now of your quyete Of hastynesse / that ye nat submytte To fortune / that can so falsely flytte Perturbe nat / for none olde enmyte With newe sterynge / your felycyte For if that ye / to this Iourney assente Ye euerychone full sore / shall repente And if ye wyll / algates thether sende In Parys stede / let some other wende Lyst his vyage / be to you no spede This my counsayse / and this is full my rede Sayde vnder supporte / oonly of your grace And sodaynly / they gan echone to chace At Pentheus / and loude agayne hym crye Repreuynge hym / and the prophecye Of his fader / to theyr confucion But o alas / the reuolucion Of ioye or wo / or of felycyte For thynge ordeyned / nedes must be The ordre of thynges / with fate is so englewed For that shall falle / may nat be eschewed Whiche caused them / for to assente in one Vndiscretly / that Parys shulde gone Vnhappely with hap / they were enuolued And thus concludyng / theyr counsayl is dissolued But casuelly / it befell right than That this aduyse / vnto the eres ran Of Cassandra / and she with great afray Of sodayne wo / gan crye welaway . Alas quod she alas / what wyll ye do What shall Parys / now into grece go And with that worde / she braste out to wepe Full pytously / with inwarde syghes depe She gan to wayle / and swowne for the payne And furyously / with noyse to complayne With wofull rage / and many pytous sowne She made / a mortall lamentaciowne For to be dede / she myght hir nat withholde With heer to torne / and with fystes folde She sayde alas / more than an hondred sythe A stormy fortune / why lyst thou to kythe Thy cruell force / to oure aduersyte Vpon vs all / and vpon this Cyte Of mortall yre / and gery vyolence With swerde of vengeaunce / worse than pestylence O Troye Troye / what is thy gylte alas What hast thou done / what is thy trespas To be euersed / and tourned into nought With wylde fyre / thy synne is dere abought A Pryam kynge / vncely is thy chaunce What hast thou gylte / outher do greuaunce To thy goddes / or wyrched thorugh vnryght Them to prouoke / to shewe theyr cruell myght Vpon thy blode / alas what hast thou do O moder myn / O Ecuba also What maner cryme / or importable offence Hast thou wrought / to haue suche recompence The day to abyde / O noble worthy quene Of thy sones suche vengeaunce for to sene O wofull deth / cruell and horryble Alas why are ye / no more credyble To my counsayle / suche harmes to eschewe Your mortall purpose / fully to remewe That he go nat / as it is ordeyned For thought of whiche / I am so constrayned That vnneth / I may the wo endure And to hir fader / this wofull creature Helde streyght hir way / & falleth plat to grounde And of hir wepynge / all in water wounde By hir chekes / so the teres rayne And as she myght / for constraynt of hir payne Vpon hym / she gan clyppe and crye Besechynge hym / to shape a remedye With pytous voyce / as she that knewe full wele In this matere / playnly euery dele What shall befaile / and had it full in mynde The sodayne harmes / that we shall behynde But all hir clamour / was nat but in vayne For that shall falle / as some clerkes sayne Ne may nat well / of men eschewed be And eke fortune / by great aduersyte Of hasty Ire / furyous and wode And vnkynde / to the Troyan blode Causelesse / agaynst them agreued And of rancour / sodaynly ameued With blynde awayte / to catche them in atraunce By vyolence / of hir vnhappy chaunce Hath with a sweyght tourned / hir whele vnstable As she that is / enuyous and mutable To haste troyens / to theyr confusion Of wylfulnesse / and vndiscrecion Agaynst grekes / quarell for to make And therupon / haue theyr counsayle take And acheued / as ye haue herde deuyse Without assent / of the most wyse For if they had / the diffynacion Of Ector herde / concluded in reason In this matere / and of helenus The counsayle take / and to Pentheus Aduerted wysely / and to his sentence Without faynynge / your full credence And of Cassandra / that neuer coude lye Prudently herde / the prophecye Fro poynt to poynt / for to caste aforne In suche myschefe / they had nat be lorne But floured yet / in theyr felycyte Without damage / and aduersyte But fortune wyll / haue hir course alway Whose purpose holdeth / who sayth ye or nay For she it was / that made this vyage With forhede playne / and a false vysage with sugre out shadde / and venym in the roote Bytter of taste / and in shewynge soote wrynkled double / lyke an horned snayle Faythe in theyr face / and fraude aye in the tayle To haste troyans / accorde into one That Parys shulde / into Grece gone As ye haue herde / there is to more to sayne For here vpon / they caste them to ordayne
How kyng Pryamus sent Parys into grece with Dephebus / & other men of armes for to take vengeaunce on the grekes / & how they toke the fayre Helayne quene vnto Menelaus / and brought hir vnto Troye . Capitulo . xiij .
THe tyme approcheth / whan the sonne shene His golden wayne / whyrled vp at wene The clere sterres / of yades so rede whiche haue theyr syght / in the crabbes hede And Plyade● / the seuenth sterre bryght Of whiche syxe appere to our syght For the seuenth / draweth hir asyde And couertly / doth hir bemes hyde Whylom for she dyde / a great offence That vnto vs / causeth hir absence For she dare / nat / shewe hir stremes clere Nor with hir susterne / openly appere Whylom for she / with a god mortall Dyde a synne / that was crymynall Whiche noysed was / & kou●he thorugh the heuen That she alone / amonge the susterne seuen Shroudeth to vs / shamefastly hir chere And whan Titan / in the zoudyak spere Atwene these sterres / had take his see Of the bole / in the syxtene degree Vpon the tyme / of the Ioly grene may Whan that Flora / with hir hewes gay Hath euery playne medowe / hylle and vale With hir floures quycke / and no thynge pale Ouer spred and cladde / in lyuere newe And braunches blosme / with many lusty hewe And byd vs fully / to be glad and lyght For by assuraunce / they haue their fruyt behyght Agayne Autumpne / who that lyst them shake Whan on vynes / rypeth euery grape And thus this season / most lusty of disporte Embraceth / hertes with newe recomforte Oonly of hope / by kynde as it is dewe That holsom fruyte / shall the blosmes sewe Whan tyme cometh / by reuolucion And thus in May / the lusty fresshe season Whan brydes synge / in theyr armonye The same tyme / out of Panomye Repayred be / Dephebus and Parys And with them brought / chosen by deuys Thre thousande knyghtes / redy for to gone With them to grece / and shyppes many one Full vytayled / of all that may them nede And of these shyppes / the nombre as I rede Was two and twenty / lyke as wryte Guydo And after this / without more ado The kynge commaundeth / vnto Eneas To Anthenor / and to Polydamas In all haste / that they them redy make With Parys / knyghtly for to vndertake As ye haue herde / this Iourney to acheue And on the tyme / whan they toke theyr leue Pryamus with short conclusion Sheweth the effect / of his entencion And specially / that they theyr dever done For to recure / his suster Exyone As ye haue herde / here tofore me telle What shulde I more / in this mater dwelle Whan they were redy / without more soiour This Parys firste / as lorde and gouernour Of this vyage / made by Pryamus And his brother / called Dephebus Theyr leue toke / with wepynge tenderly And after that / to shyppe manfully Whithout abode / they began them dresse And in the name / of venus the goddesse And myghty Ioue / they toke theyr iournee They hale vp anker / and by the large see They gan to sayle / & haue the wynde at wylle The water calme / blandysshynge and stylle Without trouble / of any boystous wawe And to the costes / they gan fast drawe Of grekes lande / for no thynge them lette And of fortune / in theyr cours they mette A grekysshe shyp / myn Auctour telleth thus In whiche there was / the kyng Menelaus Towarde Pryam / a famous stronge Cyte For to vysyte a Duke / of hye degre That Nestor hyghte / and this Menelaus Was brother eke / vnto the kynge famous The wyse worthy great / Agamenon Most of name / and reputacion Amonges grekes / for his worthynesse And Menelay / this storye bereth wytnesse Husbonde was / to the quene Eleyne That was suster / to the bretherne tweyne Castor and Pollux / whiche as I you tolde Were of theyr hande / so worthy knyght holde And in that tyme / lyke to theyr degre In Strynestar / theyr moste chefe Cyte They helde a housholde / solempne and ryall The loue of whom / was so speciall Of wyll and herte / accordynge with the dede Atwyxe them two / of very bretherhede That none from other / coude lyue alone With whom was eke / the mayde Hermyone The yonge doughter / of the quene Eleyne Of fayrenesse / moste inly souereyne Moste passyngly / excellynge in beaute And thus Troyans / saylynge by the see Towarde grece / amonge the wawes wete Of auenture / happed for to mete Kynge Menelaus / saylynge by theyr syde And none of them lyste / of very pryde For to enquere / what that other was But passe forthe / a full huge pas For none of them / other coude knowe And aye the wynde / pesybly gan blowe The Troyan flete / causynge in a whyle For to approche / to the noble yle That called is / Cithera this day And in the hauen / in all the hast they may They cast anker / & bonde their shyppes stronge And after that / them lyste nat tarye longe To take the lande / full many lusty man Arrayeng them / as fresshely as they can . Now in this yle / of passynge excellence There was a temple / of great reuerence That bylded was / of olde foundacion And most honoured / in that region Thorughout the lande / bothe fer and neere The feste day / aye from yere to yere Lyke as it fylle / by reuolucion Repeyrynge thyther / of great deuocion In honour / oonly of venus the goddesse Whom the grekes / with all theyr besynesse Honoured most / of euery maner age With gyftes bryngynge / & with pylgrymage With great offrynge / and with sacryfyse As vsed was / in theyr paynem wyse . For in this phane / as they knele and wake With contryte herte / and theyr prayer make The statute gaue / of euery question Playne answere / and full solucion With cerymonyes / to venus as they loute Of euery thynge / that they had doute They hadde / full declaracion And thus the grekes / vpon Citheron Halowe this feste / with ryche and great aray With rytes dewe / as ferforth as they may In hope fully / the better for to thryue And of fortune / whan he dyde aryue Vp to the lande / by aduenture or cas The same tyme / this feste halowed was Of many a greke / comynge to and fro From euery coste that / to the temple go On pylgrymage / theyr vowes to acquyte Of the place / the relyques to vysyte . And whan Parys / dyde this espye He gadred out / of his companye The worthyest / that he chese may And to the temple / he toke the right way Full well besene / and in knyghtly wyse And dyde his honour / and his sacryfyce Full humbly / to the grekes lyche With many an ouche / and Iewell ryche With golde and syluer / stones and perre He spendeth there / lyke to his degre And quyt hym manly / in his oblacionus And deuoutely / in his oryso●s He hym demeneth / that ioye was to se Now was Parys / of passynge great beaute Amonges all / that euer were alyue For there was none / that myght with whym stryue Troyan nor greke / to speke of semelyhede Wonder fresshe / and lusty / as I rede And in his porte / full lyke a gentyll knyght Of whose persone / for to haue a syght They gan to prease / both nyghe and fere So ryally / he had hym in his gere And coueyte / of hye estate and lowe What he was / greatly for to knowe And of his men / they aske besely Fro whense he came / and the cause why Of his comynge / enquerynge one by one But prudently / they kepte them euerychone That no thynge was / openly espyde In theyr answere / so they haue them gyde That euery thynge / kept was secree Eueryche of them / was so auysee Albe that some / openly declare What that he was / and ne lyste nat spare But tolde playnely / the cause of his comynge And how Pryam / the stronge myghty kynge His fader was / moste ryall of renowne And how he came also / for Exyowne Thus eche of them / gan with other rowne At pryme face / whan he came to towne And therupon / were ymagynatyfe Sore musynge / and inquysityfe Eche with other / by suspeccion Demynge therof / lyke theyr oppynyon And rathest they / that no thynge ne knewe As folkes done / of thynges that be newe And whyles they / of this mater treate In sondry wyse / amonge theyr wordes greate The saynge of them / gan anone atteyne To the eres / of the quene Eleyne Nygh besyde / in that region And whan she herde / by reuelacion And by reporte of them / that came bytwene This fayre Eleyne / this fresshe lusty quene Anone as she / the sothe / vnderstode Without taryenge / or any more abode She hasteth hir / to this solempnyte The fresshe folke / of Frygye / for to se Well more god wote / in hir entencion To se Parys / than for deuocion Vnder colour / of holy pylgrymage To the temple / she taketh hir vyage With a great meyne / and ryall of parayle Parys to se for she wyll nat fayle . But alas / what lusty new fyre Hath hir herte , en●lawmed by desyre To go to vigiles / outher to spectacles None holynesse / to here of myracles Hath meued hir / that there shall befall But as the maner / is of women all To drawe thether / platly to conclude Where as they be sure / that multytude Gadred is at lyberte to se Where they fynde / opportunyte To theyr desyre / full narowe they awayte Now couertly / theyr eyen for to bayte In place where as / sette is theyr pleasaunce Now pryuely / to haue theyr dalyaunce By some sygne or castynge of an eye Or tokens shewyng / in herte what they drye With touche of handes / stole amonge the prese With arme or fote to catche vp in theyr lese Whom that them lyst / all be he fre or bonde Of nature / they can hym holde an honde Ayen whose sleyghte / auayleth wyt nor myght For what them lyste / be it wronge or ryght They ay acheue / who saythe ye or nay Agayne whose lust / defende hym no man may . Thus Guydo / aye of cursed false delyte To speke them harme / hath caught an appetite Thorughout his boke / of women to say yll That to translate / it is agayne my wyll He hath aye ioye / theyr honour to transuerse I am sory / that I muste reherce The felle wordes / in his boke I founde To all women / I am so moche bounde They ●e echone / so goodly and so kynde I dare of them / nat say as I fynde Of Guydoes wryte / thorughout Troye boke For whan I redde / for fere my herte quoke And veryly / my wyttes gan fayle Whan I therof / made rehersayle Lyke his decrete / but Guydo now be quyt For ye shall here anone / how that he chyt The quene Eleyne / for cause that she went With deuoute herte / hir offrynge to presente To the temple / of venus the goddesse Thus worde by worde / he saythe to hir expresse O mortall harme / that most is for to drede A fraude I ●aste / by sleyghte of womanhede Of euery wo / gynnynge crop and rote Agaynst whiche / helpe may no bote Whan lust hath dryue / in theyr herte auayle Aye dedely venyme / seweth at the tayle Whiche no man / hath power to restreyne Recorde I take / of the quene Eleyne That ho●e brente / alas in hir desyres Of newe luste / to dele with straungeres Whom she knewe nat / ne neuer sawe aforne Where thorugh alas / full many men were lorne Of cruell dethe / embraced in the cheyne Without pyte / now say thou quene Eleyne What goost or spiryte / alas hath meued the Sool fro thy lorde / in suche royalte Out of thy hous / to go amonge the prease Why were thou wery / to lyue at home in pease And wente out / straungers for to se Takynge no hede / vnto thyn honeste Thou shuldest haue kept / thy closet secretly And nat haue passed out / so folyly In the absence / of thy lorde alas Thou were to wylfull / and rakell in this ●as To se afore / what shulde after sewe For all to soone / thou were drawen out of mewe That coude nat kepe / at home thy boundes Thou wentest out / as hare amonge the houndes For to be caughte / of very wylfulnesse And thy desyre / coudest nat compesse For though thy luste / lyst nat to refrayne O many woman / hath caught in a trayne Theyr goynge out / suche halowes for to seke It syt them better / them selfe for to kepe Close in theyr chamber / and fle occasiowne For neuer shyp shulde / in peryll drowne Nor scatre on rocke / nor be with tempestrent Nor with carybbes / deuoured or I shent Nor go to wrake / with no weders ylle If it were kept / in the hauen stylle For who wyll nat / occasions eschewe Nor drede no / peryll for to sewe He muste amonge / of necessyte Or he be ware / endure aduersyte And who can nat / hir fote fro trappes spare Let hir / be ware or she falle in the snare For harme I done / to late is to compleyne For if whylom / the worthy quene Eleyne Hir selfe had kept / at home in close Of hir there ne had be / so wycke a lose Reported ye● grene / fre she and newe Whose chaunce vnhappy / ethe man ought rewe That cause was / of suche destruccion O● many worthy / and confusion Of hir worthy husbonde / and many other mo On grekes syde / and on Troye also In this storye / as ye shall after rede And so this quene / as faste as she may spede To the temple / hath the way nome Full ryally / and whan that she was come Full deuoutly / within Citheron Made vnto venus / hir oblacion In presence and syght / of many one With many iewell / and many ryche stone . And whan Parys had / this espyed To the temple / anone he hath hym hyed Full thryf tely / in all the haste he myght And whan that he had / firste a syght Of the goodly / fayre fresshe quene Cupides darte / that is whet so kene Or he was ware / hath hym marked so That for astoned / he ne wyste what to do So he meruayleth hir great semelynesse Hir womanhede / hir porte and hir fayrenesse For neuer afore / ne wende he that nature Coude haue made / so fayre a creature So aungellyke / she was of hir beaute So femynyne / so goodly on to se That he dempte / as by lyklynesse For hir beaute / to be some goddesse For his herte / dyde hym aye assure That she was / no mortall creature So heuenly fayre / and so celestyall He thought she was / in party and in all And consydereth / for auysely Hir futures in ordre / by and by Ententyfly / within his reason Euery thynge / by good inspeccion Hir golden heer / lyke the sonne stremes Of fresshe Phebus / with his bryght bemes The goodlyhede / of hir fresshely face So replenysshed / of beaute and grace Euen ennewed / with quyckenesse of colour Of the rose / and the lylye flour So egally / that nouther was to wyte Thorugh none excesse / of moche nor of lyte Within the cerclynge / of hir eyen bryght Was paradys compassed / in hir syght That thorugh abreste / the beaute wolde perce And certaynly / if I shall reherce Hir shap hir fourme / and futures by and by As Guydo dothe / by ordre ceryously From hede to fo●e / clerely to deuyse I haue none englysshe / that therto may suffyse It wyll nat be / our tunge is nat lyke I wante floures / also of rethoryke To sewe his flourysshyng / or his gay peynture For to descryue / so fayre a creature For my coloures / be to feble and faynte That nouther can ennewe / well nor paynte Eke I am nat acqueynted / with no●use Of all myn / therfore I me excuse To you echone / nat all of neclygence But for defaute / oonly of eloquence And you remytte / to Guydo for to se How he descryueth / by ordre hir beaute To take on me / it were presumpciowne But I wyll tell / how Parys vp and downe Gothe in the temple / and his eye caste Towarde Eleyne / and gan prese faste As he that brente / hoote in loues fyre That was enflawmed / greatly by desyre And ofte he chaungeth countenaunce & chere And euer he neygheth / to hir nere and nere Ydarted thorugh / with hir eyen tweyne And agayne warde / the fresshe quene Eleyne As hoote brente / in herte pryuely Albe no man / it outwarde coude espy For she thought / she had neuer afore Of all men / that euer yet were bore Se none so fayre / nor lyke hir pleasaunce On hym to loke / was hir suffysaunce For in the temple / she toke hede of right nought But to compasse / and caste in hir thought How she may catche / opportunyte With hym to speke / at good lyberte This hooly was / all hir besynesse For hym she felte / so inly great distresse That ofte she chaungeth / countenaunce & hewe And venus hath / marked them of newe With hir brondes / fyred by feruence And enflawmed / by sodayne influence That egally they were brought in a rage And saue the eye / atwe●e was no message Eche on other so fyxe / hath caste theyr syght That they conceyue / and wyste ●one ryght Within themself / what theyr herte mente And ne●e to hir / euer Parys wente To seke fully and gete occasion That they myght by full relacion Theyr hertes conceyt / declare secretly And so vefell that Parys nygheth nye To the place / where the quene Eleyne Stode in hir see / and ther at wene them tweyne They broke out / the summe of all theyr herte And gaue yssue / to theyr inwarde smerte But this was done / lyst they were espyed Whan the people was / moste occupyed In the temple● for to stare and gase Now here now there / as it were on a mase They kepte them close / that no worde asterte There was no man / the treson myght aduerte Of them twayne / ne what they wolde mene But at the laste / Parys and this quene Concluded haue / with short auysement Fully the fyne / of theyr bothe entent And sette a purpose / betwyxe them in certayne Whan they caste / for to mete agayne But lyste men hadde to them suspeccion They made an ende / without more sermon And departe / albe that they were lothe And soberly anone / this Parys gothe Out of the temple / his herte in euery parte Wounded thorugh out / with loues firy darte To his shyppes / he helde the right way And than anone / in all the haste he may Whan assembled was / his chyualrye One and other / of his companye In fewe wordes / as shortly as I can Tofore them all / his tale thus he gan . Sy●res quod he / shortly to expresse The cause is kouthe / to yor worthynesse Why my fader / into Grece vs sente For as ye knowe / the chefe of his entent Was to recure / his suster Exyon Out of the handes / of kynge Thelamon The whiche thynge / for ought I can espye Is impossyble / shortly in myn eye By any waye / as fer as I can se He is so great / and stronge in this countre Of his allyes / aboute on euery syde And in herte ● so inly full of pryde To yelde hir vp / he hath nat but disdayne Therof to treate / it were nat but in vayne Therfore the beste / that I can deuyse Syth our power / may nat now suffyse To werrey hym / in this regyowne We be nat egall / of myght nor of renowne For lacke of men / with hym to holde a felde We may nat semble / with spere nor with shelde To encountre hym / with all his multytude Wherfore the beste / that I can conclude Is syth fortune / hath vs hyder brought And the goddes / haue eke for vs wrought So graciously / to make vs for to londe At venus temple / faste by the stronde Whiche haboundeth / with full great rychesse Of grekes offrynge / vnto the goddesse By londe and see / fro many sondry porte Of men and women / that haue here resorte To that place / in worshyp of venus So that the wyfe / of kynge Menelaus Is there present / full ryche and well beseyne And if that we / by manhode myght atteyne To rauysshe hir / and the temple spoyle And of theyr treasoure / chesen out and coyle The chefe iewelles / and charge our somers With golde and syluer / and take prysoners And maugre them / to our shyppes brynge This same nyght / without taryenge We may nat fayle / who euer that say nay If ye assente / of a ryche pray Wherfore in haste / that ye now redy make And euery man anone / his harnes take And arme hym well / in his beste aray ● And they assente / without more delay And in theyr shyppes / they byde tyll at nyght Whan Phebus chare / with drawen had his lyght Vnder wawes / and sterres dyd appere On the heuen / with theyr stremes clere Or the moone / that tyme dyde ryse They shope them forthe / in full thryfty wyse The manly Troyans / in stele armed bryght To the temple / holdynge theyr way ryght For they caste no lenger / for to tarye But proudely entre / in the sentuarye Into the chapell / called Citheron Without reuerence / or deuocion Done to venus / in hir oratorye For it was clene / out of theyr memorye Honour and drede / and all obseruaunce For fynally / all theyr attendaunce As myn Auctor / sothely can diffyne Was to right nought / but oonly to rauyne They toke all / that came to their hande Rychesse and treasour / that was in the lande Golde and syluer / stones and Iewelles Relyques sacred / the holy eke vesselles Without abode / out of the sacrarye And all yfere / to theyr shyppes carye It is a wonder / to thynke on the gode They kylle and s●e / all that them withstode It was a pyte / for to se them blede And many grekes / they to shyp lede That after lyued / in captyuyte Full many yere / in Troye the Cyte . And there whyles goth / Parys to Eleyne And hir embraceth / in his armes tweyne Full humbly / and with great reuerence In whom he fonde / no maner resystence It sat hir nat / she was so womanly For to Parys / she yolde hir vtterly Hir herte in hap / was yolde or she came there Therfore to yelde hir / she hadde lesse fere She can nat stryue / nor no woman sholde And he anone / as gentyllesse wolde Comforteth hir / as he beste can or may And ladde hir with hym / without more delay To his shyppes / and there full besyly He sette wardes / to kepe hir honestly Whyle he retourneth / to the temple agayne To spoyle and robbe / and to make all playne Thorugh the temple / with walles wyde Now stode a castell / faste there besyde Ystuffed well / with grekysshe souldeours The whiche awoke / with noyse of the pylours The same nyght / and gan make a shoute And therwithall / anone they yssue oute Armed in stele / the temple to reskewe And manfully / after them they sewe And so befylle / whan they togydre mette With speres sharpe / and swerdes kene whette . They ran togydre / as Tygres vnmylde Lyke wodelyons / or these bores wylde There was no faynynge / founde in their fyght Albe the felde / departed was aryght For the Troyans / doubled them in noumbre That vtterly / the grekes they encoumbre And of myschefe / made them to flee And pursue / after and cruelly them slee Without mercy / to the castell gate There was no rescuse / for they came late Of this skarmysshe / for the fyne was deth Now here now there / they yolde vp the breth So myghtely / Troyans / them assayle That to withstande / it wolde nat auayle For of manhode / they the felde haue wonne And after that / cruelly begonne In all haste / to spoyle the castell And to shyppe / they brought euerydell Treasour & golde / & what that they may wyn And on the morowe / to sayle they begyn Stuffed with good / by the grekysshe see Towarde the costes / of Troye the Cytee The see was calme / and fully at theyr wylle Bothe of tempest / and of stormes ylle And clere also / was the bryght heuen That in space almoste / of dayes seuen At the castell called / Tenedowne They aryue / sixe myle fro the towne And glad and lyght / they to lande wente And after that / I fynde Parys sente His messager streyght / vnto the kynge That hym enfourmeth / of his home comynge Of theyr expleyt / he tolde hym euerydele And Pryamus / lyketh wonder wele That so manly / they haue borne them oute And made puplysshe it / in the towne aboute This tydynges / with great solempnyte To hye and lowe / thorugh out the cyte And that for ioye / the most and the leste For remembraunce / halowe and holde a feste And thanke theyr goddes / in full humble wyse With obseruaunces / and with sacryfyse On theyr auters / with great deuocion And all this whyle / he at Tenedon Holdeth soiour / with the quene Eleyne The whiche gan reufully / compleyne Hir vnkouthe lyfe / to dwelle with straungers All desolate / amonges prysoners Fer sequestred away / from hir countre Solytarye / in captyuyte She wepeth and cryeth / with a pytous chere The burbly wawes / of hir eyen clere Lyke welle stremes / by hir chekes rayne And for constraynt / of hir inwarde payne Full ofte a daye / hir songe was welaway With sobbynge voyce / that she so fer away Departed is / from hir Menelaus For whose absence / in rages furyous Hir lyfe she hateth / and curseth eke fortune And in this wo / she euer doth contune Without soiour / alway more and more And for hir bretherne / Pollux and Castore And for the loue / of hir doughter dere Now pale and grene / she wexyth of hir chere That whylom was / fressher for to sene Than the lyllye / on his stalke gren● Alas chaunged is / hir rosen hewe And euer on hir / wo encreaseth newe That lyke no woman / she was to beholde For aye she wepte / as she to water wolde . Tyll at the laste / in all hir heuynesse Parys to hir came / of gentyllesse Hir to comforte / and to appese hir rage He besyeth hym / hir sorowes to aswage Sayeng to hir / what may all this mene That ye alas / o goodly fresshe quene Lyst thus your selfe / in sorowynge diffygure I wonder greatly / how ye may endure So moche water / causeles to shede That with wepynge / haue dewed so your wede For lyke a conduyte / the stremes ran downe Lyke to a penytaunt / in contryciowne Ye you dis●aye / alas why do you so Let be this fare / and let it ouer go All your wepynge / thought and heuynesse And be no more / my lady in distresse Make an ende / now of your greuaunce For all the ease comforte / and pleasaunce That men may do / truste well ye shall haue It is but folye / in sorowe thus to raue Let passe ouer / all these sharpe shoures And here my trouthe / ye and all youres Of what your lyst / shall haue suffysaunce As ferforth / and more habundaunce Than ye hadde amonge / the grekes there I you ensure / and be no thynge in fere That I shall holde / all that I haue hyght On my trouthe / as I am trewe knyght In worde and dede / with all my herte entere And she anone / with a dolefull chere So as she myght / for sobbynge tho suffyse Answered agayne / in full lowly wyse . I wo●e quod she / were me lothe or lese Syth I am caught / & take of this myschefe Vnto your wyll / I may nat now with seye I am so bounde / that I must obeye Vnder your daunger / that I may nat flee In holde discryued / and captyuytee . Ye wot also / by nature out of drede That it ne longeth / vnto womanhede In straunge soyle / to stryue or rebelle And namely there / where as hir quarelle Shall haue no fauoure / nor susteyned be But if you lyst / now to haue pyte On me or myne / of your goodlyhede Ye may of god / deserue thanke and mede That wyll rewarde / iustely all tho That comforte them / that be in care and wo. Now lady myne / than quod Parys What that may lyke / or be at your deuys All shal be do / truste me right wele For by my trouthe / as fer as I can fele In any thynge / that may you do pleasaunce ye shall it haue / with all habundaunce This I ensure / of heste nat fallyble Be nat agaste / but fully be credyble To my wordes / and hestes euerychone And therwithall / he ladde hir right anone Into a place / of royall apparayle To comforte hir / if it wolde auayle And secretly there / betwene them two This Parys firste / without more a do Spake vnto hir / and sayde lady dere I fayne nat / but speke of herte entere And that I hope / ye shall in dede fynde Wherfore I pray / enprente in your mynde What I say / and in your remembraunce This is to saye / sythe ye by purueaunce Be of the goddes / brought as now thereto And fortune eke / wyll that it be so I dare afferme / playnly for the fyrste That they disposed / haue nat for your wyrste But for your good / and so ye must it take Wherfore I rede / to let ouer shake All heuynesse / and loke that ye be As glad and lyght / here in this countre As though ye were / in your owne lande For faythfully / I do you to vnderstande ye shall haue here / as moche habundaunce On euery parte / with full suffysaunce Of all that may / be to you plesaunt For of o thynge / I dare make auaunt In this countre / as it shal be founde Of all plente / we passe and habounde More rychely / than your grekes yonder And though ye be / fro them now a sonder Out of the lande / that called is Achaye ye haue no cause / you so to dismaye Syth at worshyp / and more reuerence At more honour / and gretter excellence ye shal be cherysshed / more than ye were afore And where ye playne / that ye haue forbore your owne lorde / and be as now left sole For whom ye make / all this wo and dole ye shall in haste / be sette better at ease For certaynely / so it nat displease Nor offende / vnto your womanhede In stede of hym / I purpose out of drede To wedde you / and be your trewe man To loue and serue / in all that euer I can Without feynynge / to my lyues ende And be to you / as lowly and as kynde As dilygent / and more laborous Than Whylom was / your Menelaus In euery thynge / your lustes to obeye Haue here my trouthe / tyll tyme that I deye . And though that I / in wordis be but playne For the loue of god / haue no disdayne Of my request / nor grutche nat at all For at the leste / of the stocke royall I am descended / and come of as hye blode As Menelay / and of byrthe as gode And can in loue / to you be more trewe Than he was euer / and chaunge for no newe . Wherfore stynte thus / to playne and wepe And let some comforte / in your bosome crepe Your wo appese / whiche is nat worthe an hawe And some myrthe / let in your herte adawe This I beseche / and of womanhede To my wordes / for to take hede . Alas quod she / how myght this befalle That haue left / my frendes one and alle In a straunge lande / and am here alone How shulde I than / but I made mone I haue no cause / god wote for to pleye Nor my chekes / for to kepe dreye From salte teres / alas it wyll nat be That can none ende / of myn aduersyte For in good fayth / it were agaynst kynde So sodaynely to put / out of mynde Thylke thynge / that for ioye or smerte In all this worlde / sytteth next my herte For whom alas / so sore I am destrayned But sythe goddes / haue as now ordayned No better chaunce / of hope vnto me I can no more / I must it take at gre And humbly accepte / also theyr sonde For I am feble / theyr power to withstonde Wherfore I shall / agayne my wyll now stryue Albe for wo / my herte I fele ryue For to consente / and lowly to admytte Thylke thynge / fro whiche I may nat flytte Maugre my wyll / of necessyte Fully to obeye / what ye lyst do with me It wyll nat helpe / though I sayde nay And thus she payneth / all that euer she may Lytell and lytell / hir sorowe to aswage What shulde she aye / lyue in wo and rage To lese hir selfe / so tendre a creature An herte of stele / ne myght it nat endure But aye of women / the maner and the kynde That they can nat / of sorowe make an ende Tyll they by leyser / haue wept theyr fulle But at the laste / whan they gynne dulle To make sorowe / to happe them as faste That by grace / they soone it ouer caste And lyghtly catche / comforte for theyr smerte They be so tendre / that men may them conuerte From wo to ioye / & thought from them disseuer There is no storme / that may laste euer As clerkes wyse / in bokes lyst discerne Thynge vyolente / may nat be eterne For after stormes / Phebus bryghter is And so by comforte / and counsayle of Paris She dawed is / of hir olde sorowe For euen lyke / as the glad morowe Of kynde seweth / the derke blacke nyght So by processe / hir herte wexeth lyght And of hir wepynge / dryed is the welle Lyke as the storye / shall anone vs tell .
How Parys was receyued at Troye / at his home comynge / and howe he wedded the fayre Eleyne . Capytulo . xiiij .
WHan the quene / that called is Eleyne Adawed was / of hir drery peyne And the wawes / of hir heuy chere On hir chekes / gonne for to clere Parys in herte / fresshe and amerous In haste hath sente / to kynge Pryamus For hors and men / and other apparayle Clothes of golde / full noble of entayle Made for Eleyne / and wrought for the nones With ryche perle / and many sondry stones Agayne hir comynge / into Troye towne And after that / Parys fro Tenedowne Shappeth hym / to lede hir into Troye And Pryamus mette them / on the weye Full ryally / as faste as he may hye With many a lorde / in his companye Full many lady / fresshe and well beseyne And many mayde / that ryde them ageyne Firste estates / and after comuners Now hadde Parys / all his prysoners Set before in ordre / tweyne and tweyne And he rode next / with the quene Eleyne And Dephebus / vpon the other syde And his knyghtes / enuyrondyde ryde But next hym rode / the worthy Eneas And the Troyan / called Pollydamas His meyne suynge / eche in his degre So gentylmanly / that ioye it was to se Eeche from other / kepynge a certayne space And forthe they rode / but a softe pace Tyll that the kynge / them mette sodaynly And receyued them / solempnely As he beste coude / and goodly toke the reyne Into his hande / of the quene Eleyne And hir conueyed forthe / to his Cyte Great was the prease / that abode to se Of sondry folke / that shoued faste and croude The shyrle trumpettes / were yreysed loude Vp to the skye / goth the blysfull sowne Whan all this people / entreth in the towne And many a nother / dyuerse instrument That all tofore / in at the gates went In sondry wyse / that made melodye That to here / the heuenly armonye By musyke touched / vpon strynge and corde So euen in one / and iustly they accorde It wolde an herte / rauysshe into ioye And whan they were / entred into Troye Amydde his palayse / kynge Pryamus alyghte And anone as faste / as euer he myghte Into a chambre ryche / and well besey The quene Eleyne / in haste he doth conuey Commaundynge with herte / wyll and thought His offycers / that hir fayle nought Of any thynge / that she can bethynke The spyces parted / anone the wyne they drynke And than the kynge toke leue / tyll suppyre And she there whyles / chaungeth hir attyre . But of the ioye / that was in the towne In euery place / where men went vp & downe I am to rude / sothely all to wryte So moche in herte / the Troyans them delyte That safe and sounde / retourned is Parys They wende to haue be / for ioye in paradys That he so well / sped / in his iourne And hath nat one loste / of his meyne Wherof they be / in herte glad and lyght And in all haste / after the next nyght As wryte Guydo / without taryeng longe Erely on the morowe / afore the large songe In Pallas temple / as myn Auctor sayth Assured was / by o the / and eke by fayth The bonde of wedlocke / of hym and of Eleyne For euer more to laste / atwene them tweyne The knotte is knyt / of this sacrament And thus was done / fully by the assent Firste of the kynge / and also by the aduyse Of all the Cyte / in fauour of Paryse And so the feste / and great solempnyte Contynued was / with moche ryalte Of this weddynge / in myrthe and solace Thorugh the towne / by eyghte dayes space What shulde I wryte / the reuell or the daunces The fresshe aray / or the countenaunces The scole touches / the lokes amerous The pryue grutchyng / of them that were Ialous The great Iustes / bordes or tornaye Amydde palestre / with many sondry playe The dyuerse courses / eke at euery feste The large plente / done vnto the leste The straunge metes / the maner of seruyse I haue none englysshe all / for to deuyse I passe ouer / for I was nat there But whan this weddynge / came to the ere Of Cassandra / and firste it dyde espye A thousande sythe / alas she gan to crye Of pytous wo / with vntrussed heeres And sayde thus / all be speynte with teeres O wretched Troye / errynge in this case Within thy selfe / to suffre this trespase For to consente / vnto suche folye In susteynynge / of foule auoutrye That Parys shulde take / vnto wyue The quene Eleyne / whose husbande is a lyue O wofull Troye / to cruell is thy fate For to beware / it is almoste to late The tyme is come / thou shalte destroyed be For many fader / shall his sone se Hole on the morowe / that shal be slayne or eue Amyddes the felde / that wyll hym sore greue And many wyfe / sore shall bewepe To se her husbande / with large woundes depe Gryde thorugh the body / pale colde and grene Alas how shall ye / the sorowe mowe sustene . A wretched moders / how shall ye endure To se your childerne / by cruell aduenture Afore you slayne / without remedye It wyll nat helpe / though ye clepe and crye . A moder myn / Eccuba the quene How shalt thou byde / the sharpe stoundes kene Thy worthy sones / to seafore the slawe And in the felde / be cruelte Idrawe . A blynde people / of deth thou takest no hede Why ne wyl thou worke / and do after my rede And in this case / more prudent be and wyse To take away Eleyne / fro Parys As right requereth / without any more And to hir lorde / iustely hir restore . What trowe ye his thefte / and cruell dede Shall passe thus / nay nay without drede The swerde of vengeaunce / shall full sharpe byte For his offence / and we shall bere the wyte Paleys and hous / to se within a throwe And toures hye / layde on the erthe lowe Alas alas / I saye to the Eleyne Vnhappy woman / causer of our peyne Harde and vnsely / and also graceles Vnwelfull woman / distourbler of our pes Thou hast vs brought / in myschefe & in were Kyndled a bronde / to sette vs all afere Alas thou arte / the grounde and roote of all Of many drery feste / fymerall That shall beholde / amonge vs in this towne And in this wyse / Cassandra vp and downe Aboute ran / in subarbe / and in strete And cryeth euer / whom that euer she mete Full ofte sythe / alas / and welaway Tyll Pryamus / bycause of hir affray And for the noyse / that she dyde make Without more / anone he doth hir take And bynde faste / fetred in pryson Without mercy / or remyssyon They toke no hede / to hir sadde trouthe Nor to hir wordes / it was the more routhe But shet hir vp / in bondes great and stronge Without pyte / where she abydde longe And thus in pryson / a whyle I leue hir morne And to the grekes / I wyll agayne retourne . THe vnhappy tyme / & in the same whyle That fortune falsely / gan to smyle Vpon Troyans / and bad them to be merye For whiche hyely / they gan theyr goddes herye Wenynge in ioye / to haue be assured wele No thyng aduertynge / the turnynge of the whele Of hir that lasteth stable / but a throwe Whan men most truste hir / she can make amowe Tourne hir forhede / and hir face wrythe Suche ioye she hath / hir doubylnesse to kythe And to wrappe hir clerenesse / vnder cloude Agaynst whose myght / no man may him shroude Whan she most flatereth / than she is l●st to tryste For in her ioye / the Troyans lytell wyste What she mente / to theyr confusiowne For whyle that they / aboute in all the towne Wende of grekes / haue goten full recure Of theyr damages / and euer to haue be sure Thorugh thylke praye / that Parys had wonne The wycked fame / and rumoure is Yronne With swyfte wyngis / of all that they haue wrought To Menelay / the tydynges were Ybrought Whyles he abode / with Nestor at Pyra Firste of the temple / in Cithera How it was spoyled / and the robberye Of golde and treasoure / and the tyrannye Vpon his men / by Troyans execute Both of assaylynge / and of all the sute That on the grekes / they made cruelly And how that they / ne spared vtterly Man nor woman / that came in theyr waye That they ne toke / and ladde as for praye To theyr shyppes / also of the fyght Afore the Castell / that was on the nyght . And alder laste / he hereth of his wyfe Whom he loued / as moche as his lyfe More tenderly god wote / a thousande folde For whom astoned at herte / he waxed as colde As any stone / and pale of his hewe His hertely wo / so inly gan renewe That first whan he herde / hir name sowne Without more / anone he fell in a swowne For he ne myght endure / for to stande Tyll duke Nestor / toke hym by the hande And hym awoke / of his deedly swowgh Alas quod he / why haue I lost and howgh My lyues luste / my hertely suffysaunce A come now deth / and make of my greuaunce Fully and ende / with thy cruell darte That wounded am / thorugh on euery parte My herte also / korue in euery peyne For you my wyfe / for you myn owne Eleyne That be deuorced / frome welaway Farewell my ioye / farewell myn olde play Now haue straungers / of you possession Whiche wyll to me / be full confusion Alas I noot / how they you cherysshe or trete My fayre Eleyne / that were to me so mete Now ye are gone / pensyfenesse me slethe I may nat wayte now / but after dethe And after this● amyd in all his wo This Menelay / shope hym for to go To his reygne / but lytell there besyde He axeth hors / and sayde he wolde ryde Sool to complayne / of that he felte hym greue But all this whyle / Nestor wyll nat leue To go with hym / for consolacion Of frendely right / hauynge compassion Hym to comforte / with all his full myght ●edynge with hym many a worthy knyght Into the reygne / of this Menelaus Than firste of all● the storye telleth vs How they sente / for Agamenon And for Castor / to come to hym anon And for Pollux / if it myght be And whan that they / were come all thre And sawe their brother / in such myschef brought Almoste murdred / with his owne thought Without abode / the wyse Agamenon To gyue hym comforte / and consolacion Dyde his labour / and dylygence entere Sayenge to hym / right as ye shall here . O brother myn / what wo / what heuynesse What deedly sorowe / thus inly may oppresse Your knyghtly herte / or trouble your manhede More furyously / Iwys than it is nede For though that right / requered vtterly You for to sorowe / and hadde cause why Yet me semeth / by iuste prouydence Ye shuld slyely / dissymule your offence Syth eche wyse man / in his aduersytee Shulde fayne chere / and kepe in secree The inwarde wo / that bynde hym in distresse By manly force / rathest there compesse The spirite of Ire / and melancolye Where the people / it soonest myght espye It is a doctryne / of them that be prudent That whan a man / with furye is to rent To fayne chere / tyll tyme he se leysere That he of vengeaunce / kyndele may the fyere For sorowe out shewed / if I shall nat fayne Who so taketh hede / it doth thynges twayne It causeth frendes / for to syghe sore And his enemyes / to reioyse more Thy frende in herte / is sorye of nature Thyne enemye glad / of thy mysaduenture Wherfore in herte / whan wo doth most habounde Fayne gladnesse / thyne enemye to confounde And shewe in chere / as thou roughtest nought Of that moste is greuous / in thy thought And wher thou hast / most mater to complayne Make there good face / & glad in porte the fayne For into teres / though thou all distylle And rende thy selfe / as thou woldest the spylle It helpeth nat / to a legge thy greuaunce For nouther honour / nor pursute of vengeaunce With sorowe makynge / mowe be execute Though it last ay / ther cometh therof no fruyte Men lay how he / that can dissymule a wronge How he is slyghe / and of herte stronge And who can / be pesyble in his smerte It is a token / he hath a manly herte Nat to wepe / as women in theyr rage Whiche is contrary / to an hye courage With worde & wepyng / for to auenge our payne By no meanes / to worshyp to attayne Let vs with swerde / & nat with wordes fyght Our tunge appese / by manhod preue our myght Worde is but wynde / and water that we wepe And though the tempest / and the floddes depe Of this two / encrease euer moo They may nat do / but augment our woo And to our soon / therof whan they here Bothe of our dole / and our heuy chere All is to them / but encrase of ioye Wherfore brother / a whyle do acoye The cruell tourment / that bynde you so sore For in prouerbe / it hath be sayde full yore That the prowesse / of a manly knyght Is proued moste in myschefe / and his myght To be assured / in aduersyte Strongly sustene / what wo that it be Nat cowardly / his courage to submytte In euery peryll / nor his honour flytte Thorughe no dispayre / but hope alway wele And haue a truste / trewe as any ste●e To acheue / aye what he take an honde For fynally / I do you vnderstonde That of hymselfe / who hath good fantasye To set vpon / and put in Iupar●ye What that befalle / or happe / what happe may Takynge what chaunce / wyll turne on his play The fyne of suche / gladly is victorye They fayle selde / of the palme of glorye And tyme is now / to speke in wordes fewe O brother myn / manhode for to shewe To plucke vp herte / and you to make stronge And to venge your dammages / & your wronge We shall echone helpe / and lay to hande Kynges / Dukes / and lordes of this lande And atones / do our besynesse I you behyghte / your harmes to redresse And in despyte / of who that euer vs lette We shall vs lodge / and our tentes sette Euen in the felde / afore Troye towne And laye afore it sege / to theyr destrucciowne Albe therof / I set as now no day But brother firste / in all the haste we may Let make letters / without more sermon To all the lordes / of this regyon Of matere / touchynge your vyllanye To come togydre / and shape remedye This is the effect / of all that I can sayne And thus relesed / somwhat of his payne Is Menelaus / thorugh comfort of his brother For whan he sawe / it myght be none other And of his tale / the kynge made an ende Thorugh out the lande / he dyd his letters sende Firste to hir kynne / and his alye To come to helpe hym / of theyr curtesye . And firste of all / to Menelaus Came Achylles / and with hym Patroclus And alder next / stronge Dyomede And many a nother / to helpe in this nede And all echone / in open Parlement They were accorded / full by one assent To be gouerned / as Agamenon Lyst to ordayne / in his discrecion Of this vyage / they made hym gouernour And of theyr ooste / cheffetayne and Emperour Amonge them all / there was full vnyte Vpon Troyans / auenged for to be And from this purpose / neuer to remewe But firste I fynde / Parys for to sewe The vyage toke / the worthy bretherne tweyne Pollux and Castor / to recure Eleyne Yet neuertheles / as some bokes telle That these kynges / no lenger wolde dwelle But tast as Parys / was agone They toke a shyppe / and folowed anone With many worthy / in theyr companye And ●outeles / but if bokes ●ye That or they had / sayled dayes thre To Troyewarde / in the large see The tempest rose / and wyndes dyde awake The heuen derke / with the cloudes blake That haue the day / tourned into nyght And bryght Phebus / was myrked of his lyght The fyry leuene / and stroke of the thonder Smote in the maste / and shyuerde it asonder It was so derke / no lyght myght adawe The see gan swelle / with many sturdy wawe That rose on hyghte / large as any mounte And fell downe / and swapped in the frounte Euen of the shyppe / and plounged it full lowe Now vp now downe / forcast and ouer throwe Theyr shyppes were / with tempest to and fro The famy water / grene whyte and blo Of feruent boylynge / and as pytche eke blacke With storme and wynde / that all goth to wracke So hydouslye / the blastes at them dryue That euery borde / gan from other ryue And all is perysshed / there scaped nat a man But all atones / as I reherse can Be deed and drowned / with tempest sodaynely There scaped none / I saye certaynely Except the brether / suche as bokes telle The toon in heuen / the tother lowe in helle Were lordes made / to abyde eternally And some feyne / in theyr poesy How the goddes / haue them deyfyed Lyke in heuen / and ystellyfyed After theyr shyppes / were ygo to wrake They were made sterres / in the zoudyake And to the sygne / transfourmed vtterly Whiche is of clerkes / called gemyny The whiche sygne / and constellacion Is to Mercurye / hous and mansion And is of kynde / femynyne and masculyne In whiche the Egle / and also the Dolphyne Haue theyr arysynge / by reuolucion The tayle also / aboue of the dragon Is exaltate / in the thirde gree Of Gemmy / whiche sygne hath moste pouste● In hande a●d armes● of man out of doute Lyke as lucyna / helde hir cours aboute And in this wyse / were the brether twayne To heuen rapt / as poetes fayne After the tempest / ye gete no more of me For in this wyse / the grekes in the see An ende made / and that full ●ewfully This ernest firste / came vnhappely To them echone / as gy●●ynge of theyr wo And fynall chaunce / to the brether i● wo.
How the Grekis assembled them togyder for to go to Troye / and distroye it agayne for quene Helaynes sake . Capitulo . xv .
BVt for asmoche / as Dares frigyus Was in his boke / whylom coryous The fourme of Troyens / & Grekes to descryue Lyke as he sawe / this Auctour by his lyue The sha● the fourme / and complexiowne Bothe of the partye / of them of Troye towne And of the grekes by good auysement In tyme of trewes / amonge them as he went Seynge the maner / of theyr gouernaunce Theyr port theyr chere / with euery circumstaunce Namely of tho / that were of hye degre 〈◊〉 nat fogate / one loose nor qualyte Condicions / and also theyr stature ●ll to ●escryue / Dares dyde his cure 〈◊〉 grekysshe tunge / begynnynge at Eleyne Lyke as tofore / ye haue herde me seyne 〈◊〉 hir beaute / and hir semelynesse 〈◊〉 ceryously / Guydo doth expresse 〈◊〉 he sayde / in a lytell space A strype there was / end longe hir face Whiche as he wryte / became hir wonder we le Embelysshynge / hir beaute euerydele Lyke as Dares / maketh descripcion And firste he sayth / how kynge Agamenon Was of good shape / and hye of his stature And myghty in laboure / at the best endure Vnpacyent / to lyue in quyete He was to armes / so egall and so mete Of coloure whyte / and good proporcyon And flematyk / of his complexyon Discrete and hardy / and wonder vertuous And of speche / right facundyous And coude hym well / in euery thynge demene But Menelay / of stature was but mene Proporcyoned / at wyxte and longe Worthy in armes / delyuer and also stronge And of courage / and herte vygorous Semely also / and aye more desyrous To lyue in werre / rather than in pes And ferthermore / to speke of Achilles He was right fayre / and of great semelynesse With aborne heer / crispynge for thyckenesse With eyen glawke / large ●epe and grete And brode shuldred / with breste full square & mete To endure in armes / fel●e and couragious And of his loke / wonder amerous Hye of stature / and large of gyftes eke And more of strengthe / than any other greke And to spende / he lette lytell charge He was of herte / so plenteuous and large And in the felde / passynge chyualrous And for to tell / forthe of Tantalus Or sanguynehewe / hauynge moche of reed Dyuerse eyed / aye meuynge in his heed Of huge makynge / and also of great strengthe Well answerynge / his brede / to his lengthe Ha●ynge to stryue / where he sawe no nede ●ight trewe of worde / also as I rede And neuer quarell / wolde he take on hande To syght for / but he myght vnderstande 〈◊〉 were fully / grounded vpon ryght And than he wolde / quyte hym lyke a knyght . Cyleus Ayax / was right corpulent To be well cladde / he sette all his entent In ryche araye / he was full curyous All though he were / of body corsyous Of armes great / with shulders square and brode It was of hym / almoste an horse lode Hye of stature / and boystous in a pres And of his speche / rude and recheles Full many worde / in ydell hym asterte A●d but a cowarde / was he of his herte . Another / Ayax Thelamonyous There was also / descrete and vertuous Wonder fayre / and semely to beholde Whose hear was blacke / & vpward ay gan folde In compas wyse / rounde as any spere 〈◊〉 of musyke / was there none his pere Hauynge a voyce / full of melodye Right well entuned / as by armonye And was ●●●dentyfe / for to counterfete Instrumentes / bothe smale and grete In sturdy wyse / longynge to musyke And for all this / yet had he great practyke In armes eke / and was a noble knyght No man more orped / nor hardyer to fyght Nor desyrous / for to haue victorye Deuoyde of pompe / hatynge all vayneglorye All ydell laude spent / and blowe in vayne Of vlixes / what shall I also sayne That was so noble / and worthy in his dayes Full of wyles / and sleyghty at assayes In menynge double / and deceyuable To forge a lesynge / also wonder able With face playne / he coude make it towghe Mery worded / and but selde lowghe In counseylynge / discrete and full prudent And in his tyme / the moste eloquent And holpe to grekes / often in theyr nede And for to speke / of worthy Dyomede Fullwell compacte / and growe well in lengthe Of sturdy porte / and famous eke of strengthe Large brested / and feers also of syghte And deceyuable / of what euer he hyghte Hasty / testyf / to smyte reckeles And medlynge aye / and but selde in pes To his seruauntes / full inpacyent And baratous / where that euer he went For lytell worthe / of disposicyon And lecherous / of complexyon And hadde in loue ofte / sythe his parte Brennynge at herte / of Cupydes darte And specheles / full ofte felte sore What shall I sayne eke of duke Nestore Of longe stature / and well compact withall With corbe shuldres / and of myddell small In handes stronge / with armes large & rounde In counsaylynge / prudent and wyse yfounde Whose wordes were / sugred with pleasaunce Vpon his frende / hauynge aye remembraunce For of his trouthe / he ne coude fayne But in anger / he myght hym nat refrayne He was so fret / with melancolye That no man / myght his yre modefye Albe it laste / but a lytell space Who coude hym suffre / anone it wolde pace Lyghtly it came / and lyghtly went awaye And Protheselaus / was fresshe of araye Wonder semely / and of grete beaute I trowe a fayrer / no man myght se Of good stature / and delyuer and lyght No man more swyfte / and to speke of myght Of his makynge / he was passynge stronge Fers of courage / and lothe to take a wronge . And to tell / of Neptolomous He was of makynge / wonder corsyous Whose heer was blacke / shynynge as dothe gee● With eyen rounde / brode and greet Large brested / with a rysynge backe And in speche stamerde / whan he spacke But in causes / he coude medle wele And in the lawe / full depe he dyde fele For all his luste / was besette on plees But for to tell of Pallamydees Kynge Naulus ●one / withouten any wene Of face fayre / of body longe and lene Of manfull herte / hardy in batayle And desyrous / his enemye to assayle Famylyer curteyse / and tretable In all his dedes and inly worshypable In gyuynge large / and passynge of great same Of whose bounce / full wyde sprange the name In many lande / the storye telleth thus And herte I fynde / of Polydamus The worthy greke / was of great thycknesse Of wom●●wolle / enbossed with fatnesse That 〈◊〉 / he myght hymselfe sustene And yet of herte / he was full proude and kene Right surquedrous / and full of pensyfenesse And 〈◊〉 glad so thought dyde hym oppresse . But Machaon / lyke as wryte Guydo Of longe and shorte / was betwyx two Full proude and ferse / deuoyde of pacyence And vengeable / who hym dyde offence And yet he was balde / as a coote On whose forhede euen by the roote The heer was fallen / and wasted clene away And selde or neuer / he wolde stepe a day . And ouermore / to tell of Cryseyde My penne stombleth / for longe or she deyde My mayster Chauncer / dyde his dylygence To discryue / the great excellence Of hir beaute / and that so maysterlye To take on me / it were but hye folye In any wyse / to adde more therto For well I wote / anone as I haue do That I in sothe / no thanke deserue may Bycause that he / in wrytynge was so gay And but I wryte / I muste the trouthe leue Of Troye boke / and my mater breue And ouer passe / and nat go by and by As Guydo doth in ordre ceryously And that I muste / do offencion Thorugh neclygence / or presumpcion So am I sette euen / amyddes twayne Great cause haue I / and mater to complayne On Antropose / and vpon hir enuye That brake the threde / and made for to dye Noble Galfryde / Poete of Brytayne Amonge our Euglysshe / that made first to rayne The golden dewe droppes / of rethoryke so fyne Our rude langage / oonly to enlumyne To god I praye / that he his soule haue After whose helpe of nede I muste craue And seke his boke / that is lefte behynde Some goodly worde / therin for to fynde To set amonge / the croked lynes rude Whiche I do wryte / as by symylytude The rubyestant / so royall of renowne Within a rynge of coper or latowne So stant the makynge / of hym douteles Amonge our bokes / of Englysshe pereles They are esye to knowe / they be so excellent There is no makynge / to his equypollent We do but halte / who so taketh hede That medle of makynge / without any drede Whan we wolde / his style counterfete We may alday / our colour grynde and bete Tempre our asour / and vermylyon But all I holde / but presumpcyon It foloweth nat / therfore I lette be And firste of all / I wyll excuse me And procede / as I haue begonne And thorugh his fauour / certayne if I konne Of Troye boke / for to make an ende And there I lefte / agayne I wyll now wende Vnto Cryseyde / and though to my socour Of rethoryke / that I haue no flour Nor hewes ryche / stones nor perre For I am bare / of all curyouste Thorugh crafty speche / to enbroude with hir sleue Yet for all that / now I wyll nat leue But be as bolde / as bayarde is the blynde That caste no peryll / what way that he fynde Right so wyll I stomble / forthe of hede For vnconnynge / and take no better hede So as I can / hir beaute to discryue That was in sothe / of all tho a lyue One the fayrest / this Calchas doughter dere Therto of shap / of face and of chere There myght be / no fayrer creature Ofhye nor lowe / but mene of stature Hir sonnysshe heer / lyke Phebus in his spere Bounde in a tresse / bryghter than golde were Downe at hir backe / lowe downe behynde Whiche with a threde of gold / she wold bynde Full ofte sythe / of acustomaunce Therto she had / so moche fuffysaunce Of kyndes werke / without any were And saue hir browes / ioyned yfere No man coude / in hir alacke espyen And ferthermore / to speke of hir eyen They were so persynge / heuenly and so clere That an herte / ne myght hymsefe stere Agayne hir shynynge / that they ne wolde wounde Thorugh out a breste / god wote & be younde Also she was / for all hir semelynesse Full symple and meke / and full of sobernesse The beste nourysshed eke / that myght be Goodly of speche / fulfylled of pyte Facunoyous / and therto right tretable And as sayth Guydo / in loue varyable Of tendre herte / and vnsted fastnesse He hir accuseth / and newfongylnesse . And after this / Dares doth reherse Amonges other / how the kynge of Perse Came to grekes / with many worthy knyght To helpe and further / with all his full myght The whiche kynge / was of stature longe And wonder fat / & as he wryte right stronge Whose berde and heer / redde as flawme of fyre With eyen stepe / and feruent of desyre To haue a do / and sterne of chere and loke And ofte sythes / of sodayne yre he quoke And had wertes / plente in his face And thus Dares / shortly for to pace No more of Grekes / wryteth as I fynde But of Troyans / for to make mynde Ceryously / he doth his style dresse Them do descryue / as I shall expresse .
Of the Discripcyon of Pryamus and his sones / and doughters / and how the Grekes toke lande before the Temple of Dyame the goddesse . Capitulo . xvi .
ANd first he sayth / how kyng Pryamus Was of his chere / benyngne & gracious Of hye stature / with lymmes sklendre & longe Delytynge moche / in musyke and in songe And specially / he was moste desyrous To here songes / that were amerous A semely man / and of great hardynesse And spake but lowe / as bokes vs expresse Deuoyde of drede / hatynge flaterye And all that coude / outher glose or lye Trewe of his worde / and to euery wyght He dyde playnly / equyte and ryght For no mede / hym lyste nat to declyne And loued erely / on morowe for to dyne In his tyme / one of the worthyeste Of all kynges / and he that loued best Worthy knyghtes / and all that he knewe That manfull were / and of herte trewe He coude cherysshe no man halfe so we le With golde and gyftes / that they myght fele His great fredome / and larges eke withall And of his sones / for to reken them all The firste of byrthe / so as bokes tell Was worthy Ector / of knighthod spryng & well Floure of manhode / of strengthe pereles Sad and discrete / and prudent neuertheles Crop and roote / grounde of chyualrye Of chere demure / and of curtesye He was example / therto of sobernesse A very myrour / and for his gentylnesse In his tyme / the moste renommed To reken all / and of goodlyhed The moste famous / in peas and werre Ferthest spoke of / bothe nygh and ferre On eche parte he was / so vertuous And to be loued / moste gracious Of brawne and bones / compact by measure So well brethed / in armes to endure So well parfourmed / by proporciowne So qucke so lyfely / and of most renowne So huge made / so well growe on lengthe So well complet / for to haue great strengthe That in this worlde / if I shall nat fayne Was neuer none / that fully myght attayne To the prowesse / of this worthy knyght To reken his herte / as well as his myght And therwithall / so wyse and auysee The lowlyest eke / of his degree To ryche and pore / and of wordes fewe Vnto all / suche chere he coude shewe Of his presence / that glad was euery wyght Whan they at leyser / had of hym a syght He was so benyngne / to them of the towne And to his enemyes / lyke a ferse lyowne He coude hym shewe / whan it was to do And in the felde / there myght no man so To reken all / his labour halfe endure For the storye / doth vs playne assure That he was neuer / wery in batayle Nor faynt in herte / his fomen for to assayle Of all good I fynde / he was the beste Prowesse and vertue / in hym were set at reste So passyngly / that neuer was nor shall None bore of moder / to be perygall To hym of manhode / nor of chyualrye For all he passed / but of bokes lye In whom nature / ne was no thynge to wyte Saue in his tunge / he was let alyte And as some Auctours / make mencion He was sanguyne / of complexion . And ferthermore / his brother Dephebus Lyke as I fynde / and also Helenus Were lyke Pryam / that sothly of them thre Was harde to espye / any dyuersyte Of shap or fourme / or of countenaunce Saue of age / there was no varyaunce Theyr fader olde / and they were yonge & lyght And Dephebus / was a worthy knyght And had in armes / fame and excellence And Helenus / in clergye and scyence Was well expert / and toke but lytel hede Of all the werre / knyghthode and manhede . But Troylus / sothly if I shall descryue There was of herte / no manlyer a lyue Nor more lykly / in armes to endure Well growen on hyghte / and of good stature Yonge fresshe and lusty / hardy as a lyowne Delyuer and stronge / as any champyowne And perygall of manhode / and of dede He was to any / that I can of rede In derrynge do / this noble worthy wyght For to fulfylle / that longeth to a knyght The seconde Ector / for his worthynesse He called was / and for his hye prowesse Durynge the werre / he bare hym aye so we le Therto in loue / trewe as any stele Secre and wyse / stedfast of courage The moste goodly / also of vysage That myght be / and benyngne of chere Without chaunge / and of one herte entere He was alway / faythfull iuste and stable Perseueraunt / and of wyll immutable Vpon what thynge / he ones set his herte That doubylnesse / myght hym nat peruerte In his dedes / he was so hole and playne But of his foon / the sothe for to sayne He was so ferse / they myght hym nat withstande Whan that he helde / his blody swerde in hande Vnto Grekes / dethe / and confusion To them of Troye / shelde and proteccion And his kynghthode / shortly to accounte There myght in manhode / no man him surmounte Thorugh the worlde / though men wolde seke To reken all / Troyan nouther greke None so named / of famous hardynesse As bokes olde / of hym bere wytnesse Except Ector / there ne was suche another And after hym / to speke of his brother I mene Parys / moste passynge of beaute That in this worlde / no man myght se In very sothe / a more semely knyght For as I rede / that he by tytle of ryght Of fayrenesse / bare away the floure With lockes yelowe / lyke gold wyre of coloure And in shotynge / moue was his delyte Hauynge in huntynge / a full great appetyte And as Dares / lyketh hym descryue The beste archer / one therof a lyue And of his hande / was eke a noble knyght A manly man / delyuer / and of good myght And in the werre / preued well he was And as I rede / the Troyan Eneas As myn Auctor / lysteth to endyte Was well brested / and of body lyte And bare in Troye / wonder great estate And in his werkes / discrete and temperate And had a fame / of passynge eloquence Wyse of counsayle / and of great sapyence Moste renommed / also of lecture Delytynge moche / of bokes and scripture And euer glad / bothe of porte and chere Sterne of his loke / with persynge eyen clere And amonge all / dwellynge in the towne To speke of goodes / and possessiowne Of Castelles and toures / great plente I fynde sothly / that none in that Cyte Nemyght attayne / vnto his rychesse And had also / for all his worthynesse Of golde and mebles / passynge great tresor And his felowe / hyght dan Anthenor Was sklendre and longe / & of great dalyaunce And circumspect / in all his gouernaunce Well beloued also / of Pryamus And of wordes / wonder copyous Resownynge aye / into myrthe and playe And he was Iapynge / all the longe daye Amonges his feres / and in companye So dryely / that no man myght efpye So sobre he was / in his countenaune That euery wyght / had great pleasaunce To here hym talke / whan that he was glad And albe it / that he of porte was sad Yet all his speche / full of bourdes was And his sone / called Pollydamas Was lyke his fader / of stature and of make Ythewed well / that there was no lake In his persone / gentyll and right trewe Wonder stronge / and pale also of hewe And to Ire / stered sodaynly Albe in wordes / he kept hym couertly But all his here / passe wolde anone And to tell / of kynge Meryone Large brested / and of his makynge alle The beste compacte / and the molle talle Of shap and fourme / that men coude fynde And so well perfourmed / vp by kynde That none was lyke / to hym nye ne feere His lockes yelowe / and crispyng was his heere Stylle of his porte / and gentyll with to playe And inly stronge / maystryes for to assaye Wonder curteyse / & to no wyght dispytous And wroughte in armes / dedes meruaylous As in this boke / hereafter shal be sene Now after hym / to Eccuba the quene Lyke the storye / my style I muste enclyne Whose lymmes / all dyde more declyne To shappe of man / than to woman hede As sayth Guydo / but in werke and dede She was in sothe / the moste womanly The beste aduysed / and moste prudently In hir dedes / coude hir selfe gouerne That mannes wytte / myght nat discerne To fynde a better / douteles than she So trewe example / of femynyte She was in sothe / and to euery wyghte Benyngne of prote / and gracyous of syghte To pore also / pytous and mercyable And vnto nedy / wonder cheritable . The wyfe of Ector / hir doughter in lawe After hir lore / moche dyde drawe Andronomecha / the faythfull trewe wyfe So good so iuste / the whiche in all hir lyfe In honeste / dyde hir moste delyte Longe of hir shap / with brestes fayre & whyte With rody chekes / ennewed by measure With persynge eyen / of aungelyke fygure Lyke golde hir tresses / and rosen lyppes rede Ylyche fresshe / of coloure no thynge dede Therto she was / of chere the goodlyeste To ryche and pore / and spake alwaye the beste Of euery wyght / aye helpynge that she myght That no man triste / went out of hir syght And ouer this / euery gentylman She further wolde / in all that euer she can And gladly euer / dyde hir dylygence To gete grace / to them that dyde offence This was hir vsage / and condycion She was so full / of compassion That women all / myght of hir lere And Cassandra / hir owne doughter dere Was of stature / wonder womanly Of colour whyte / and therwith right semely Saue in hir face / in sondry places were Many wertes / growynge here and there And all hir ioye / and felycyte Was to kepe / hir virgynyte In freelte / that women haue of kynde Thorugh vertue morall / she put out of mynde Of all folye / fleynge occasion And aye in stody / and contemplacion Of sondry bokes / she wolde hir occupye And specyally / of Astronomye . Of prophecye / a spirite had she And some men saye / she was one of the thre Of women / that Cebylebare the name Of whom the renowne / floureth and the fame Vnto this day / and is as yet full grene And for to tell / of yonge Polycene And discryue hir beate / vp and downe It were in sothe / a presumpciowne To take on me / now so great a thynge To clymbe so hye / and passe my connynge Sythe nature / in forgynge of this mayde Hir connynge / all vtterly assayde To make hir fayre / aboue eche creature And sayde proudely / se how I nature Whan that me lyst / enbellysshe can my werke Lyke as Phebus / amonge the cloudes derke Is passynge clere / so in comparyson I can my worke / and operacion Right as me lyste / adourne and make fayre So paynte and florisshe / it shall nat appayre And my coloures / so craftely dispose Of the lylye / and of the fresshe rose And so ennewe / that they shall nat fade But aye be one / and in this wyse I made My dere doughter / ye knowe whom I mene The yonge fresshe / fayre Polycene A skaunce / that none can this crafte but I Thus in hir worke / bosted vtterly Nature hir selfe / whan she this may wrought As she that fully / in hir herte thought Aboue all other / to make hir excelle And of the beaute / to be the very welle And ther withall / in shap nor in stature Ne was no lacke / I dare you well assure And god aboue / gaue hir soueraynte In all thewes / and woldeshe shulde be Crop and roote / and named of womanhede With fulsomnesse / of all goodlyhede So passyngly / that it were ydelnesse Me to presume / by and by to expresse Hir beaute all / it were a vayne trauayle For well I wote / myn englysshe wolde fayle In suche mater / to talke felyngely Who euer it can / certayne it am nat I Therfore I passe / and streyght now wyll I go To my mater / for Dares of no mo In all his boke / maketh menciowne Of them of grece / nor of Troye towne In speciall he put / no mo in mynde Than ye haue herde / saue as ye shall fynde In this storye / whan it cometh therto Of theyr knyghthode / & who that beste hath do Lastynge the sege / the maner euerydell And right anone / to sharpe my poyntell I wyll me dresse / this storye to entreate Of all the werre / to tell you the greate . THe tyme nygheth / after this as yore That breme wynter / with his frostꝭ hore Gan to aswage / of his bytter colde Whan Apollo passed was the holde Of the sygne / that we call Aquarye And in the fysshe / fer in Februarye Yronne was / towarde the Aryete And that season / with his faynte hete On hylles hye / gan his bemes smyte Makynge the snowe / with fayre flakes whyte Into water / kyndely relente Whiche from aboue / to the valey wente That neuer flodes / of the sodayne thowe The grene mede / gan to ouer flowe And the y●se / gan stoundemele destylle Downe fro the hylle / the brokes for to fylle With fomy stremes / of the wawes smale By broke bankes / as they dyde auale Whan lusty vere / with his yonge grene I recomforted / by the sonne shene Whiche lytell & lytell / his hewes aye amendeth Vp in his spere / as Titan vp ascendeth Whan Marche approcheth / & braunches ouerall Gan blowe out / and equynoccyall Of veer is halowed / the season Amerous Whan the grekes / proude and courageous With hole the floure / of the cheualrye Assembled were / and hooly theyr nauye In the hauen / that was moste of fame And of Athenes / that tyme bare the name Ygadred was / by assent echone Towarde Troye / to sayle and to gone So great a nombre / that syth the worlde began Is nat remembred / of no maner man That togyder / in one companye Was mecyfere / so passynge a nauye Of manly men / who so lyste take hede In this storye / as ye shall after rede And by and by / to make descripcyon Myne Auctor telleth / how Agamenon The worthy kyng / a hondred shyppes brought With worthy knyghtes / stuffed as them ought And Menelaus / on whom lay most the charge Hath with hym brought / syxty shyppes large . Out of his lande / that called is Sperten And from boece / full of manly men Came fyfty shyppes / the story telleth thus With Prothenor / and with Archelaus And from the lande / called Sycomenye Came syxty shyppes / in the companye Of the Duke / that hyght Achalapus With whom was eke / full fresshe and desyrous Helymux / the Erle / the worthy knyght And fyfty shyppes / enarmed for to fyght With hym brought / the kynge Epistrophus Oonly with helpe / of kynge Cedyus And Thelamon / whom Ayax some call Full renowmed / for to reken all Hath fyfty shyppes / brought to this Iournee From solemyne / his royall chefe Cytee With Erles / dukes / and many worthy knyght Eueryche of them / in stele armed bryght . And duke Tenter / with Amphiacus Erle Daryon / and noble Theseus This ylke foure / full worthy of renowne In this viage / came with Thelamowne And olde Nestor / cruell of herte and thought Out of Pylon / hath fyfty shyppes brought . The kynge of Daymes / that full worthy was And eke the kynge / that hyght also Thoas Brought with them / in theyr companye An hondred shyppes / knyghtly forto guye . And Thelamon / ycalled Cylleus That was in armes / felle and despytous With hym brought / from his lande so ferre Sixe and thyrty shyppes / for the werre . Amphymacus / and kynge Polybete Thyrty shyppes / brought to the flete From Calcedoyne / and Meryon the kynge With ydinneus / hadde in theyr ledynge Foure score shyppes / with them out of Crete And vlixes / with grekes dyde mete With fyfty shyppes / stuffed out of Trace Towardes Troye / proudely for to pace . Duke Melleus / full of manly men Brought eke with hym / grete shyppes ten . And moreouer / the duke Perhotacus And the duke named / Prothesylaus To the hauen / that called was Athene Brought fyfty shyppis / enarmed bryght & shene From Phylyarcha / the stronge myghty Yle And Methaon / as Guydo dothe compyle With his brother / Polydris also From theyr countre / Trycionyco Brought two and twenty shyppes / as I fynde And from Phyces / as it is made mynde With Achilles / came fyfty full by nombre And from rodon / Troyans to encombre Came twenty shyppes / with kynge Thelapolus And with the duke / that hyght Antipus Out of the lande / that Hesyda men call Of whiche the folke / be nyghe cherles all With sayle crossed / agayne the bryghte heuen In nombre came shyppes / eke elleuen And with them was / of name full famous The worthy duke / called Amphymacus And Polybethes / the stronge myghty kynge Fyfty shyppes / brought at his commynge Out of Richa / the noble regyowne And with this kynge / full worthy of renowne Was Losius the duke / eke as I rede And as I fynde / the noble Dyomede Of shyppes great / I speke of no small barge Hath with hym brought / fro Calydonye & Arge Foure score in nombre / sothly this no tale And Thelemus / and myghty Euryale Two manly men / and in armes lage With Dyomede / came in this vyage . And Polyphebus / brought shyppes seuen And Phyneus / the hardy kynge enleuen And Prothoylus / as I can specyfye Brought fyfty shyppes / vnto this nauye Fro Demenesa / the myghty regyon And Carpenor / as made is mencyon Brought fyfty eke / from Capadye his countre A great prouynce / of whiche kynge was he . Trearyus of Beysa / lorde and kynge Brought two and twenty / also in his commynge And fynally / if I shall nat lye Full many shyppe / was in this nauye Mo than Guydo / maketh rehersayle Towarde Troye / with grekes for to sayle For as Omer / in his descripcion Of grekes shyppes / maketh mencion Shortly affermynge / y● man was neuer borne That suche a nombre / of shyppes sawe toforne Counted the shyppes / that Palamydes Brought with hym / theyr nombre to encrese That whan these lordes / aforesayd euerychone Kynges / dukes / and erles all in one Assembled were / without any wene Afore the hauen / that called is Athene . THe famous kynge / great Agamenown So wyse so worthy / & of so hye renown As he that was / Prynce and gouernoure Of grekes hoost / anone dyde his laboure His besy cure / and waker dylygence By hye aduyse / and inwarde prouydence To delyuer / wysely in this nede What were to do / or that he procede In this matere / castynge vp and downe And reuoluynge / of hye discreciowne That he may so begyn / that the ende Conclude well / that wylfulnesse ne shende Hooly theyr purpose / thorugh no rakelnesse Ne thorugh none haste / without auysenesse So that they may / afore so wysely se That fynally / in felycyte They may accomplisshe / their purpose in certayne And so this kynge / vpon a large playne Out of the Cyte / but lytell fro the stronde With his lordes / wyll for no thynge wonde To haue a counsayle / this wyse Agamenon Makynge anone / a conuocacyon Of suche as were / moste great inspecyall He syttynge firste / in his see royall And his lordes / eueryche in his see Lyke as they were / of hye or lowe degree And all Tumulte / stynted and scylence Was thorugh the prees / to gyue hym audyence Than he anone / in full sobre wyse Began his tale / as I shall deuyse . SYres quod he / I praye you take hede That be so noble / and so renowmede Both of wysdome / and of worthynesse Of manhode eke / and of hye prowesse That of knyghthode / the reporte & the fame Thorugh out the world / reboundeth to yo● name For douteles / the floure of Chyualrye Men may now fynde / in this companye For whosawe euer / of manly men yfere Togyder met / as there be now here So yonge so fresshe / so couragyous also So well besene / for to haue a do Orso lykely / sythe the worlde began Without raskayle / so many knyghtly man Of kynges / dukes / and many another lorde As be now here / of wyll and one accorde And of one herte / assembled in this place That if fortune / and goddes of theyr grace Be nat behynde / our Iourney to repreue We may nat fayle / our purpose to acheue . For I deme hym / playnely in arage Or wer●e than wood / that durste this vyage In any wyse perturbe / or presume To take agayne vs / outher to assume By myght on hym / of malys to excyte Our worthynesse / were it neuer so lyte Vs to prouoke to Ire / or do offence That we ne shulde / by mortall recompence Aquyte his mede / as it lyeth in our myght That haue amonge vs / so many worthy knyght Amonges whiche / an hondred and yet mo I coude chese / able for to go By manly force / and knyghtly suffysaunce To take on hym / for to do vengaunce Vpon Troyans / by hymselfe alone For whiche that we / be gadred now echone That with his men / were suffycyent To execute the summe / of his entent And it accomplysshe / in felycyte The cause I mene / for whiche that all we Assembled be / bothe hye and lowe And with all this / to you is nat vnknowe How shamefully / Troyans haue vs greued Prouoked vs / and wylfully ymeued To ryse agayne them / to haue recure of ryght Of wronges done / with all our force & myght Wherfore let vs / by one assente and wyll Sette to haue / as it is right and skyll Redresse to fynde / of that we now complayne And of one herte / do our besy payne Vpon Troyans / a werre for to make And I suppose / we shall them so awake That they shall lerne / or we thense wende To remembre / to the worldes ende How they hereafter / shall dare take an hande For to presume / in grece more to lande Or to be bolde / whyle they haue lyfe or space Agayne Grekes / more to trespace For whose offence / as who sayth do but late Within our herte / with so brennynge hate The feruent hete / and the gredy Yre Fro day to day / so setteth vs a fyre That it reneweth / the constreynt of our payne So inwardely / if I shall nat fayne We must of reason / of so hye greuaunce Our selfe enforce / for to do vengaunce As right requereth / and our iuste sorowe Compelleth vs / bothe eue and morowe On Troyans / our harmes to bewreke And for to stoppe / tunges that so speke To our reprefe / and to our vylenye We must attones / shape remedye That our foon / hensforthe may drede For to do worse to vs / as god forbede In tyme commynge / if thorugh our pacyence We lykely suffre / theyr importable offence To passe forthe / and take of it nohede Syth neuer yet of Grekes coude I rede That any man / dyde reprefe to theyr name That iustely myght / rebounde to theyr shame Withouten this / that they it quyte agayne Thorugh theyr manhode / so openly & playne That no man myght / of them seyne or this In any wyse / or reporte amys . New shall nat / dissymule in this case With chere oppressed / nor with dredefull face To let slyde / or lyghtly ouer go The great offences / that were so late do Whiche wolde tourne / vnto vs and oures To great reprefe / and to our successoures In tyme commynge / and shamefully bespoke How that grekes / vurste not be wroke Vpon theyr foon / the whiche may nat be I you ensure / sythe that all we Be of one wyll / to refourme our wronge And therwithall / so myghty and so stronge That who is he / that coude in brede & lengthe A right reherse / our power and our strenthe Or who durste euer / our worthynesse assayle That he ne shulde / without any fayle Repente in herte / or at the ende rewe Saue Troyans / this other day of newe Of wylfulnesse / in a foly rage Into our lande / made a vyage Vnware of vs / & with theyr pray home wente The whiche they shall / full hastely repente For theyr trespas / and great offencyowne For all the worlde knoweth / vp and downe But late a gone / how Grekes but a fewe Vpon Troyans / theyr power dyde shewe And slewe theyr kynge / called Lamedowne Fader to Pryam / now kynge of that towne And fordyde toures / and Cyte And slewe vp / all the comynalte From Grekes swerde / whom that them lyst spare That amonge vs / in seruytude and care Complayne theyr harme / that may nat be recured Than how may they / stande full assured Agayne vs all / to holde chaumpartye That haue so worthy / in our companye For it is lykely / a thousande to acheue That foure or fyue / so lyghtly myght preue And yet one thynge / afferme well I dare Of our commynge / Troyans are well ware And do theyr laboure / and theyr dilygence Agaynst vs / to make resystence With all theyr myght / I knowe it out of doute And gadre frendes / in countres all aboute To helpe theym & strength them / in theyrnede Vs to withstande / if they myght spede . But fynally / one thynge I counsayle From this hauen / or we ferther sayle That we may be / the more fortunat Of one assent / to make ambassyat And prudently / or we further wende Into Delos / in all haste that we sende Whiche is an Ile / a lytell here besyde More discretely / our iourney to prouyde That we may haue / the better hap and grace Of Appollo / Patron of this place To haue of hym / if that we may spede Fynall answere / in this great nede Of our expleyt / how that it shall fall If it so be / ye wyll assent all To this counsayle / the most and eke the leste And they echone / thought for the beste To condescende / to this conclusyon Without any / contradiccyon And all attones / without any drede They prayse his counsayle / & his wyse rede And therupon / discretely as they oughte As sayth this story / euen thus they wroughte .
How the Grekes sente Achylles / and Pyrrodes into the yle of Delos for to haue answere of the god Appollo / how they shulde spede in their Iourney . Capitulo . xvij .
AFter the tyme / that Agamenon Concluded hath / fully his reason As ye haue herde / & his sentence fyned The Grekes be of herte / ful enclyned And with one voyce / accorded playnely thus That Achylles / and also Pirrodus For comyn profyte / sythe they were sage Shall take on them / the charge of this message To Appollo / for answere for to gone And to shyppe / they them haste anone And sayle forthe / by the large see Towarde Deluos / and in prosperytee They be aryued / and ycome to lande The whiche yle / as I vnderstande And as myn Auctor / sayth without les Hath his syght / amonges Cyclades Where men with rockes haue so moche ado Amyd the sec / called Helespontico Of whiche yle / to make descripcyon I muste a whyle / make disgressyon Fro my mater / as myn Auctor doth For in this yle / Isydorus in soth Reherseth playnly / how Latona the quene Appollo firste / and Dyane the shene I childed hath by Iubyter hir lorde Whan he and Iuno / were at discorde As wryte Ouyde / for alytell whyle And so befylle / in this lytell Yle There was a Temple / whylom dedycate Vnto Appollo / and also consecrate In his worshyp / of olde foundacyon That was honoured / by great deuocyon Bycause Appollo / with his bemes clere After the flood / firste there dyde appere To shewed his hornes / rather there and soone And Dyane eke / that called is the moone Of whiche shewynge / this yle bereth the name Into this day / that is of so great fame Oonly be apperynge / of this ylke twayne For Delos / is in greke / no more to sayne Than a shewynge / or an apparence And thus began / the great reuerence To Appollo firste / and the honour eke To hym Idone / of so many greke And to his suster / that called is Dyane The pale moone / that can so waxe and wane And called is / of Paynems a goddesse That whylom was / in wod an hunteresse And this lady / with the sonne hir brother Of this yle hath lordshyp / and none other Oonly for they / at theyr natyuyte Shewed theyr lyght / firste in that countre The whiche yle / Grekes also calle Ortygya / in theyr langage alle Bycause Curlewes / were there firste Iseyne For Otygyas / is no more to seyne Than a Curlewe / in Grewe I vnderstande For they were firste / engendred in that lande . And Appollo / is called eke Titan That in his tyme / so moche worshyp wan Longe afore / or he was made a sterre With Iubyter / whan that he helde werre And he also / ycalled is Phebus And of some / ynamed Phycius For of Pheton / he had the victorye Whan he hym stewe / to his encrease of glorye The great serpent / here in erthe lowe With his arowes / and his myghty bowe Of whiche conqueste / the great god Cupyde Hadde enuye / and euen thorugh the syde He wounded hym / depe to the herte With the arowe of gold / that made hym sore smerte And of Pheton / that Phebus made fyne Came Phetonysses / that can so deuyne I mene women / that be deuyneresses Thorugh dede men / these false sorceresses As one / whylom reysed Samuel For loue of Saule / the byble can you tell And in his temple / large longe and olde There was a stature / all of pured golde Full great and hye / and of huge weyghte And therin was / thorugh the deuylles sleyghte A spirite vnclene / by false illusyon That gaue answere / to euery questyon Nat the Ydoll / dombe as stocke or stone And thus the people / deceyued euerychone Were by the fende / brought in great errour To do worshyppe / and suche false honour With sacryfyce / and cursed mawmentrye And in this wyse / began Ydolatrye As in this place / to telle I me caste And how longe / it abode and laste Compendyously / I purpose to descryue Gynnynge and ende / as ye shall here blyue Without any / Ambygnyte For at the byrthe / and natyuyte Of criste Ihesu / at the Incarnacy owne All the Ydolles / braste and fell a downe And vanysshed / and were brought to nought Whan herodes / the blesfull childe sought Thorugh his malys / and cruelte horryble As holy wrytte recordeth / and the byble For whiche pursuyte / and persecucion There dyde apere / by auysion An hooly aungell / to Ioseph as he slepe And bad hym ryse / and also take kepe Vnto the childe / and also to marye And go his waye / or Herode hym aspye Into Egipt / the great regyon Lyke as the Gospell / maketh mencyon And right anone / as he came to that lande There was none Ydoll / that vpright myght stande But to shyuered / vnto peces smale This holy wrytte / playnely and no tale And was recorded / friste of Isaye How that our lorde / on an esy skaye Ascende shulde / and holde forthe his weye Towarde Egipt / and therwith shulde deye All mawmetrye / and no longer dwelle But as the Iewes / recorde of Ysmaelle That he was firste / that mawmetrye fonde And made of claye / an Ydoll with his honde And as Paynems / wryte and telle vs That alder firste / was Promotheus That founde Ydolles / shortly to conclude For symulacrum / cometh of symylitude That is no thynge / playnely but lyknesse Made after man / his ymage to expresse Vnto whiche / paynems in theyr gyse With false honour / and cursed sacryfyse Begonne firste this ryte / for drede of man And some saye / how Belus firste began Suche false worshyp / and suche mawmettye In theyr bokes / as clerkes specefye . That of assirye / was lorde and gouernour After whose deth / his sone in his honour . That Nynus hyghte / an ymage dyde make To be worshypped / oonly for his sake All of brent golde / by false affeccion And sette it vp / for consolacion And for a mynde / and a memoryall Vnto the whiche / with herte wyll and all Of ignoraunce / and of flesshely loue He dyde honour / as to god aboue In his temples / moste of excellence And made his people / to do reuerence And sayde in heuen / he was deyfyed That of no man / durste be denyed Tyll after soone / but a lytell whyle A wycked spyryte / folkes to begyle In this ydoll / entrede to abyde And gaue answere / vpon euery syde To the people / of what them lyste demaunde And they agayne / what he wyll commaunde Obeye fully / the folke of all Assyrye Whiche vnto god / dyde great iniurye Makynge the people / in suche errour falle And some Belus / and some Bell hym calle And some Balym / and some Belphegore And felle in errour / alway more and more And Belzebub / he named was also Whiche name is made / of wordes two Of bel and zebub / that thus signefye For bel is god / and zebub is a flye Than Belzebub / togydre specyfyes Ioyned in one / the great god of flyes And of this fayned / false ydolatrye Gan all the worlde / worshyp mawmetrye For some Saturne / god of goddes all Gan in theyr errour / falsely for to call That was whylom / the myghtykyng of Crete And gaue hym name / after the planete That in heuen / hath so large a spere And as Poetes / in theyr fables lere That he before / thorugh his sapyence Sawe / in his dyuyne prouydence How a sone / shulde of hym descende And of Iuno / the goddes / as he wende That shulde him playnely / fro his reigne expelle And suffre hym / no lenger for to dwelle In his kyngdome / whan he came to age Wherof Saturne / fyll in suche arage That he wyll shape / remedye therfore Byddynge his wyfe / whan the childe were bore That she to hym / shulde it brynge anone In stede wherof to hym she brought a stone To saue hir childe / she dyde hir besynesse And this Saturne / thorugh his gredynesse The stone deuoureth / in his melancolye And thus Saturne / but if bokes lye Hadde sones thre / a doughter and no mo Iubyter Neptunus / and Pluto But Iubyter grettest / was of the name Moste renowmed / and worthyest of fame Amonge Paynems / as it is veryfyed For they so hye / haue hym magnefyed That they hym calle / god of fyre and eyre Nert to Saturne / borne for to be heyre And nert to hym / in bokes as I rede Is god of batayle / myghty Mars the rede And next Appollo / so clere / so shene & bryght The dayes eye / and voyder of the nyght Cheryssher of fruyte / herbe / floure and corne The whiche god / lyke as is sayde toforne In Delos / is worshypped / and honoured And after venus / that often hath socoured Many louer / the fayre lusty quene And them aledge / of theyr woundes grene That firste was hurte with hir firy bronde As she that is goddesse / of many londe And all the worlde / hath in hir demeyne Faste enbraced / in hir firy cheyne I mene the lady that called is venus And next in ordre / is Mercurius That in speche / hath moste excellence Of rethoryke / and sugred eloquence Of musyke / songe and Armonye He hath lordshyp / and hole the regalye Next the Moone / that wexe can and wane Called Lucyna / and also eke Dyane That in Delos / hath hir mancyon Lyke as tofore / is maked mencyon Now full of myght / now horned pale is she Lady of chaunge / and mutabylyte That selde in one / halte hir any tyme And so fare they / that be borne in hir clyme That aye delyte / in thynges that be newe Whose herte is cladde / in many sondry hewe So they be dyuers / in theyr affeccyons And in this wyse / in sondry regyons Of mawmetrye / is in the venym ronne Lyke as clerkes / well deuyse konne For as I fynde / the Maurycyens Worshyp Iulam / and Egipcyens Honoure the sis / after theyr konnynge Whylom doughter / of ynachus the kynge That taughte them / first theyr londe to ere & sowe And also letters / for to rede and knowe And in lecture / to sette theyr besynesse For whiche thynge / they calle hir a goddesse And Iubyter / honoured is in Crete Where he whylom / helde his souerayne sete And on them leyde / many dyuerse charge With egles beten / in his baner large And he was lorde / of eyre londe and see His royall kyngdome / deuydynge into thre In the hyest / hymselfe doth contune And hole in the see / he gaue vnto Neptune And laste the erthe / to holde his see royall He gaue to Pluto / that god is infernall And alder laste / whan he was stellyfyed This Iubyter / was moste magnyfyed Of them of Crete / aboute ouer all To whom they made / for a memoryall A large tombe / and a statue a lofte And hym honoured / in theyr rytes ofte With encens / and other sacryfyse And of this mater / ferther to deuyse The larynes / with besy dylygence In theyr rytes / dyde reuerence To the goddes / if it be credyble y● called fawny / that be muysyble And haue hered wellynge / in the wodes grene Albe that men / theyr fygure may nat sene . And of Romayns / further to deuyne They moste in honour / haue theyr god quyryne The whiche whylom / as bokes telle vs Amonges them / was called Romulus That bylte firste / the walles of the towne And from an herde / he came to suche renowne Thorugh his manhode / and his worthynesse The spere of whom / as bokes sayne expresse As he the hede / pytched in the grounde It gan anone / lyke as it is founde To florysshe and floure / and budde by myracle And of nature / hadde none obstacle To wexe grene / with fresshe blomes newe And for the manhode / that men in hym knewe For his knyghthode / and his great fame The worthy knyghtis / of Romebare the name After hym / and were Quyryte called Hye in heuen / whan that he was stalled Amonge the goddes / and ydeyfyed And thus Romeyns / haue hym glorifyed As for theyr god / & with golde & great expenses And as I rede / the Athenyenses Of hole herte / chosen for to serue To the goddesse / that called is Mynerue And Pallas eke / with hir cristall shelde That with Neptunus / euen amyd the felde Helde champartye / with women on theyr syde And he with men / full surquedous in pryde Defendeth hym / for gyuynge of the name Of Athenes / a Cyte moste of fame This is to sayne / whether he or she Shulde of right / name the Cyte Tyll it befell / as they gan stryue Sodeynly there sprange / a fayre Olyue For Pallas / part / grene & fayre blossomynge And there agayne / a welle gan to sprynge For hym Pluto / with water large and depe Of whiche thynge / Appollo toke good kepe Whiche in his dome / was nat reckeles And for the Olyue / tokeneth loue and pes Water trouble / contek werre and stry fe He gaue sentence / anone diffynytyfe How Pallas / shulde / that called is Mynerue The palme playnely / of this stryue discerue . And she anone / gaue name to the towne And called it / by hye discrecyowne Athenes / the whiche in speeyall Is to sayne / a Cyte inmortall For wyldome firste there began to floure And for this skyll / this Cyte dyde honoure Myghty Pallas / goddesse of scyence And hir aye moste hadde / in reuerence . And they of Paue / in all theyr regyon Whorshyp moste / the quene of Cytheron I mene venus / full of doubylnesse Of whom afore / somwhat I dyde expresse And in hir temple / full solempnely They sette hir hyest / and moste rychely With gold and asure / hir statue they do paynte And other coloures / that may neuer faynte And sette hir vp / in the hyest see Of all the temple / that all men may se And she stant naked / in a wawy see Aboute hir / with goddesses thre That be assigned / with besy attendaunce To awayte on hir / and do hir obseruaunce And floures fresshe / blewe / rede / and whyte Be hir aboute / the more for to delyte And on hir hede / she hath a chapelet Of roses rede / full pleasauntly yset And from the hede / downe vnto hir fote With sondry gommes / and oyntemerꝭ sore She is ennoynte / swetter for to smelle And enuyron / as Poetes telle By dowues whyte / flyenge / and eke sparowes And besyde Cupyde / with his arowes Hir blynde sone / for to hurte and dere And loseth ofte / and smyte / he wote nat where As he must nedes / bycause he is blynde And thus honoured / and most had in mynde Amonge this people / is venus the goddesse And Naxyens / do theyr besynesse To serue Bachus / the myghty god of wyne Whose lycour is / moste precyous and fyne To recomforte hertes / and to glade And to refresshe / hewes that be fade In faces pale / and maketh wyttes sharpe Loseth tunges / and make them loude to carpe And causeth / them to walke at lyberte And to discure thynge / that was secree Without aduyse / or discrecyon For where / as wyne hath domynacyon No secretnesse may / be kept in mewe And some of them / that Bachus serue & sewe Amonge to hym / haue suche deuocion That they some whyle / are voyde of all reason Hasty and wood / and without all drede And some also / so toty in theyr hede That they are voyde / of power and of myght And haue no foot / for to stande vp ryght And yet they be / as Iargaunt as a pye Pale chered with a glasy eye Full of reason / tyll his wynde be spent For man or woman / that is vyolent Is veryly a beest / vnresonable And to my dome / I holde them eke vnable To be accepted / in any companye Whan that theyr tunge / wadeth on the lye That they ne may / brynge forthe a worde And thus Bachus / the stronge myghty lorde For ofte causeth / folkes for to erre To debate / and to make werre Of hastynesse / where as is no nede Wherfore it is / wysdome / that men drede His sleyghty werkynge / or they falle in the snare And feble braynes / by mesure for to spare Or they vnwarely / arested be and take And or Bachus / make them for to shake In a feuer / worse than tercyen If it of custome / be cotydyen Alterat with Bachus / myghty Ious And affered / of tournynge of the hous And fordreynt / on the drye lande Whan he hath loste / bothe foot and hande And with a strawe / playeth lyke an ape And deuoutely / gynneth for to gape And ●oddeth ofte / with his Iowsy hede As he hadde on / an heuy cappe of lede And who that be of this condycyon He entre maye / the relygyon Of myghty Bachus / for habylyte The whiche lorde / hath the soueraynte Both of hony / and of mylke therto And of bawme / that is so ryche also And lordshyp hath / of hye power deuyne Bothe of grapes / and of euery vyne To gyue them nourysshynge / by his influence Of whom the honour / and the reuerence Is reysed moste / as I vnderstande Amonge vynters / in euery maner lande Bycause he is / to them so gracyous And they of lymme / worshyp vulcanus The god of fyre / Iubyters smythe The whiche forgeth / on his blacke slythe The great thonder / hydous and horryble And the leuenes / that whylom be vysyble Into the west / out of the oryent And gasteth vs / with his dredefull dent This smotry smythe / this swarte vulcanus That whylom in herte / was so Ialous Towarde venus / that was his wedded wyfe Wherof there rose / a dedely mortall stryfe Whan he with Mars / gan hir firste espye Of hye malys / and cruell false enuye Thorugh the shynynge / of Phebus bemes bryght Lyenge a bedde / with Mars hir owne knyght For whiche in herte / he brente as any glede Makynge the sclaundre / all a brode to sprede And gan theron / falsely for to muse As god forbede / that any man accuse For ●o lytell / any woman euer Where loue is lette / harde is to disseuer For though they do / suche thynge of gentyllesse Passe ouer lyghtly / and bere none heuynesse Lest that thou be / to women odyous And yet this smythe / this false vulcanus All be that he / hadde them thus espyed Amonge Paynems / yet was he deyfyed And for that he / so falsely them a woke I haue hym sette / laste of all my boke Amonge to goddesse / of false mawmetrye And in this wyse / gan ydolatrye As ye haue herde / thorugh oppynyons Of people errynge / in theyr affeccyons That all is false / who the trouthe cerche For by techynge / of all holy chirche The holy doctryne / and tradycyons We shall despyse / suche oppyons Whiche of the fende / were founde nat oflate For whan aungelles / in heuen were create He that of all / hadde prelacye Of whom the prophete / called ysaye Wryteth right thus / how the cedres grene Of paradyse were nat / so fayre to sene Planys nor fyr / in heyghte sothe to sayne To his hyghnesse / myght nat attayne Nor all the trees / so delycyous Of Paradyse / were natso precyous Nouther in syght / nor in semelynesse To be egall to hym / in fayrenesse But thorugh his pryde / and his surquydrye Whan he sayde / to god that sytte so hys He wyll be lyke / and also set his see Hye in the northe / passynge his degree He was caste downe / with all his relygyons From the fayre / heuenly mansyons All sodaynely / into the pytte of helle Perpetuelly / there for to dwelle Of whom was sayde / whan he fylle so ferre How fylle thou so / O thou morowe sterre From the myddes / of the stones bryght That be so persynge / and firy of theyr lyght That whylom were / for thy great bryghtnesse Called Lucyfer / of whom criste sayth expresse In his gospell / how he sawe fro heuene Sathan descende / lyke the firy leuene The olde serpent / that is solowe falle Whom heebre● / in theyr tunge calle . Bemoth / that doth in latyn playne expresse A beest rude / full of cursednesse The vyle serpent / he leuyathan Whom Isydre / well descryue can Whiche of kynde / is neuer conuersaunte In welles trouble / & hath moste his haunte Amonges watres / in the large see Of whom sayth Dauyd / lyke as ye may se In the Sauter / makynge mencyon Of the snake / the monstruous dragon Full of venym / and of harde grace Whiche in the see / large and great of space With foule adders / hath his mansyon Vnto mankynde / to do illusyon Whom whylom sawe / the holy monke Brandan As he sayled / by the Occyan Thorowe and de●ecte / in apytte horryble More foule and hydous / than it is credyble There to abyde / this tortuous serpent Vnto the daye / playnely of Iugement That of malys / enuyed so mankynde Whiche with his gynnes / & sleyghtes as I fynde Came to our faders / firste in paradyse And to deceyue / the bet at his deuyse More couertly / this worme in his passage Toke of a serpent / the lyknesse and ymage That is of chere / of loke and countenaunce Lyke a mayde / and hath resemblaunce Of a woman / as recordeth Bede In his deceytes / rather for to spede I mene the oonly / and nat elles For behynde / so as clerkes telles Lyke a serpent / of wombe / backe and tayle He was / whan he gan hym to assayle And towarde Eue / whan he gan to glyde He firste enquereth / as he hir roke a lyde Why god forbade them / eten of the tree Whiche if they ete / sothly shulde be Lyke to goddes / knowynge good and yll And right forthwith as they gan sulfyll The fendes heste / theyr eyen were vnclosed And for theyr gylte / sodaynely deposed From Paradyse / into wretchydnesse To lyue in laboure / sorowe and distresse And thus the fende / firste whan that hetoke Forme of a snake / and a womans loke And made the tunge / in hir hede to meue By false engyne / mankynde for to greue So as he doth in them / that be trauayled With wycked spirites / vaxed and assayled To meue he tunges / falsely out to breke Into blasphemye / what thynge that they speke The same serpent / he leuyathan Contunynge aye / falsely as he gan In cursed yools / dombe ▪ v●fe ▪ and blynde Full ofte speketh / be spirites as I fynde Whiche are but fendes / Dauid wryte certayne The goddes all / whom folkes so in vayne Honour with rytes / supersticious As whylom was / Appollo Delphicus Lyke as tofore / ye haue herde deuyse Whiche as for now / ought Inough suffyse And as I trowe / the very cause why That myn Auctor / reherseth by and by Grounde and gynnynge / of Idolatrye This the cause / for ought I can espye For that he sawe / the mater was nat knowe I lyche well / bothe to hye and lowe Perauenture / you to do plesaunce He hath the grounde / put in remembraunce Of false goddes / and of mawmetrye And moste for them / that can no poysye , ANd to the storye / resorteth soone agayne How achilles / as ye haue herde me saye And Pirrodus / haue the waye ynome To the temple and thyder be ycome To haue answere / of theyr embassatrye Of great Appollo / whiche may nat lye Of the prestes / they haue theyr counsayle take In the temple / to praye and to wake Tyll they may fynde / vnto theyr entent To haue answere / at houre conuenyent To theyr purpose / and leyser opportune And of one herte / so longe they contune In prayenge fastynge / and oblacyons With sacrifyse and sondry orysons Tofore the god / awaytynge alway faste Tyll he to them / answered at laste With 〈◊〉 voyce / and sayde Achilles twye Home to Grekes / faste that thou the hye From whom thou were / hyder to me sente And say them sothely / the summe of theyr entent Shal be fulfylled / without wordes mo And how that they shall / to Troye go And there abyde / many stronge batayle But at the laste / without any fayle At ten yere daye / they wynne shall the towne And brynge it playnely / to destrucciowne Walle and toures / shall falle to ruyne And with all this / theyr purpose for to fyne Kynge Pryamus / and Ecuba his wyfe And theyr sones / in this mortall stryfe Shall there be slayne / brother after brother This is the fyne / for it may be none other For there shall none / escape in the place But suche as Grekes / lyketh vnto grace Of very routhe / and of mercy take This all & some / and thus an ende I make . OF whiche answere / Achilles glad & lyght Was in his herte / & with all his myght Thanketh Appollo / of this blesfull eure And sodaynely / of sort or aduenture The selfe tyme / befyll a wonder thynge For out of Troye / fro Pryamus the kynge Was sent a bysshop / for the same cas To haue answere / whose name was Calcas And he came in sool / without pres The same houre / whyle that Achilles Was there present / a man of great scyence I mene Calcas / and hadde experyence Specyally / of calculacion Of sort also / and dyuynacion And lerned was / in astronomye And whan that he his tyme dyde espye To haue answere / most conuenyent Of Appollo / lyke to his entent As tofore / maked is memorye He entred is in the oratorye Doynge his rytes / and his obseruaunces Lyke the custome / with the circumstaunces And besely gan / to knele and praye And his thynges / deuoutely for to saye And to the god / crye and calle ful stronge And for Appollo / wolde nat prolonge Sodaynely his answere / gan attame And sayde Calcas / twyes by his name Be right well ware / thou ne tourne agayne To Troye towne / for that were but in vayne For fynally / lerne this of me In shorte tyme / it shall destroyed be This is in sothe / whiche may nat be denyed Wherfore I wyll / that thou be allyed With the grekes / and with Achilles go To them anone / my wyll is it beso For they shall haue / as I haue disposed Victorye and honour / that may be disposed For it is fatall / and ne may nat varye And thou to them / shalt be necessarye In counseylynge / and in yeuynge rede And be right helpynge / to theyr good spede And with that worde / rose hym vp Calcas And to Achilles / he went an easy pas And whan that he came / to his presence With great honour / and moche reuerence He was receyued / lyke to his estate And after soone / they were confederate Swore togydre / be bonde and assuraunce To be all one / without varyaunce And than in haste / they togydre gone To theyr shyppes / and shope them forth anone With Pirrodus / goynge by theyr syde They hale vp the anker / and no lenger byde But sayle forthe / Calcas and they twayne Towarde Grece / them nedeth nat complayne On wynde and wawe / tyll they aryued be At Athenes / that stode vpon the see A large Cyte / of olde foundacion And Achilles / to kynge Agamenon Hath Calcas brought / and also Pirrodus And whan the grekes / the story telleth vs Assembled were / they togyder went Tofore the kynge / and Calcas represent To all the lordes / and no lenger dwell And right anone / Achilles gan to tell Without abode / in Delos how they mette Tofore Appollo / where they answere fette And how the god / hath playnely determyned The grekes purpose / how it shal be fyned Vpon Troyans / and bad Calcas also In no wyse / that he to Troye go But with grekes that he abyde stylle Tyll they theyr purpose / fynally fulfylle Of whiche thynge / the grekes glad of chere Calcas accepte / with herte full entere For one of them / confederat be bonde To be all one / on water and on londe Without chaunge / or any varyaunce The othe is made / and put in remembraunce And they agayne / fully hym assure To cherysshe hym / whyle theyr lyfe may dure For wele or wo / and so they made an ende And after parte / and to theyr lodgynge wende . Tȳll on the morowe / after the sterry nyght Whan Aurora / was gladded with the lyght Of Phebus vemes / the grekes vp aryse And to theyr goddes / with many sacryfyse They do honour / in what they can or maye And deuoutly / holdynge a feste daye After theyr rytes / meynt with loue and drede In remembraunce / of the good spede And of the answere / that goddes haue them sent So agreable / vnto theyr entent By Pirrodus / and by Achilles And after this / amonges all the pres Is Calcas come / tofore Agamenon All his lordes / syttynge enuyron Lyke theyr estates / eche in his place dewe And humbly / gan them to salewe Vpon his knees / with sobre countenaunce And prayed them / it be no displesaunce To stynte a whyle / and gyue hym audyence And right anone / as made was sylence Amonge them all / Calcas gan abrayde And euen thus / full soberly he sayde . OSyres quod he / and my lordes dere Kynges / Prynces / & dukes that be here Sonoble echone / worthy and famous And eke so manly / and so vertuous Whiche in this place / be now here present Is nat the fyne / and chefe of your entent And cause also / why that ye echone Assembled be / to Troye for togone With this power / and this great strengthe Your purpose is / to longe drawe a lengthe And differred forthe / fro day to daye To your damage / platly this no naye For to longe / ye soiourne in this yle And trowe ye nat / that Pryam in this whyle Hath his espyes / amonge you pryuelye I wote it we le / I saye you faythfullye To knowe the fyne / of our gouernaunce And he there whyles / may make purueaunce Hym to defende / whyle ye m ydell reste Me semeth sothly / ye do nat for the beste For in abydynge / and in suche delayes Great harme may fall / certayne this no nay is I preue it thus / for playnely whyle that ye To your enmyes / graunte lyberte Them to puruey / they may with myghty hande Enforce them / your power to withstande With theyr frendes / and theyr allyaunce And at leyser / make theyr ordynaunce It is folye / that ye so differre Syth ye be redy / for to make a werre On your ennemyes / with euery circumstaunce For no thynge may / a quarell so auaunce As hasty suyte / it wyll the sharper byte The Iren hoote / tyme is for to smyte And nat abyde / tyll that it be colde For nouther than / it plye wyll nor folde Go sette vpon / all of one accorde And to shyppe / anone within borde Enhaste you / for tyme is to remewe With all your myght / your quarell to pursewe Agaynst them / that haue to you trespassed How many dayes / be of somer passed And many monthes / ronne and ouer slyde And Titan ofte / with his chare hath ryde From eest to west / and in the wawes depe His stremes bathed / whyle ye haue leyne aslepe And spent your tyme / in this place thus Whyle that the wynde / called zephyrus Benyngnely enspyred / hath a lofte The a tempre eyer / the wether fayre & softe The calme see / from wawes stylle and playne Whyles ye waste / your dayes here in vayne That whan your foon / therto take hede They wyll suppose / that it be for drede And be more bolde / to sette of you but lyte Truste forsothe / for I wyll me quyte Trewely to you / lyke as I am bounde And thynke how ye / haue the goddes founde There towarde / benyngne and fortunat Your honour saued / in hye and lowe estat And so shall forthe / if your ingratytude Prouoke them nat / your purpose to delude Wylfully to slouthe / your fortune No wonder is / though they nat contune Towardes you / for to shewe theyr grace Wherfore I rede / hense for to pace Demynge the grekes / playnely of the see For weryed / and faynted / hadde be With longe saylynge / parbraked and forbroke Wherfore they caue / on them haue be wroke All sodaynely / and sette on the hede And put themselfe / in aduenture and drede Of rakelnesse / vn aduysely Wherof to them selfe / vnhappely It befell / whan they the grekes mette With speres longe / and swerdes sharpe whette Eche on other / manhode for to shewe But for cause / Troyans were to fewe To yssue out / they dyde folylye The felde was / nat parted egallye For the grekes were / innumerable That them to mete / Troyans were nat able For that tyme / they myght nat suffyse They toke on them / to passynge hye empryse And yet they ne wold / for no thyng them wdrawe Tyll that they were / wounded and yslawe And ouerlayne / of grekes vtterly Now here / now there / bore downe cruelly Mercyles / as Guy do dath reporte That them behoueth / home agayne resorte Of very nede / and necessytee And all attones / gan for to flee I mene suche / as were lefte a lyue To the castell / they has●ed them full blyue For they ne myght / no lenger holde felde Agaynst grekes / with spere nor with shelde They were to feble / shortly to conclude To abyde / so great a multytude And as they flee / the grekes a great pase Ne cease nat / to sewe on the chase Full hastely to the castell gate And entre in / and by cruell fate They kyll and slee / both hye and lowe They spare none / ne lyste no wyghte to knowe Of none estate / but felly hym oppresse And what they fonde / golde and eke rychesse Vnto shyppe they caryed anone And of the castell / they lefte nat a stone Aboue another / but turned vp so downe Both walle & toure / and the chefe donge owne That no thynge stode / so they vnder myne And whan all / was brought vnto ruyne Grekes anone / to theyr shyppes haste Of one assent / and purpose as faste Without abode / of one wyll and herte Fro that hauen / playnely to dyuerte And to sayle / Towarde Tenedowne A stronge castell / whiche fro Troye towne In distaunce / but sixe myle stode Full of Tresoure / of rychesse and of gode Replenysshed / of all habundaunce And whan that they / with theyr ordynaunce ysayled haue / bothe safe and sounde And fro the see / taken haue the grounde To theyr pleasaunce / wonder agreable And of syght / a place delytable Holsome of eyre / the soyle right fayre and grene And lusty playnes / goodly on to sene And was also habundaunt / of vytayle Replenysshed / of all that may auayle To osteynge / and to sowgyoures For firste the lande / full of fresshe floures Was plenteuous / bothe of corne and grayne Of wyne and fruyt / that no thyng lay barayne Of best and foules / passyngly plente And faste by / stode also the see Full habundaunt of fysshe / as I fynde After the season / of euery maner kynde And whan that they / within the castell were The grekesse londed / from a fere Without abode / they arme them & went oute And vpon them / make an hydous shoute Stuffyng the castell / with meyne strong behynde And toke theyr way / in Guydo as I fynde Towarde theyr foon / and knyghtly set vpon And right forthe / with grekes eke anon Mette with them / vpon the other syde Full surquydous / and right full of pryde Clenly armed / in harneys all ofstele Fresshe arayed / and besene so wele For the felde as thycke / as sworme of been On eche syde / men may beholde and seen Spradde all the playne / downe vnto that stronde Tyll at the laste / they mette honde to honde And assemble / with square speres grounde And hurtle yfere / with many blody wounde There was no good day / nor no saluynge But strokes felle / that men herde rynge On bassenettes / the strokes rounde aboute So cruelly / that the fyre sprange oute Amonge the tuftes / brode / bryght and shene Of foyle of golde / & fethers whyte and grene Eke into brestes / perced many shelde And besagues / fleed a brode in the felde And many men / ley that mortall founde Full dedely pale / lawe by the grunde With face gruf / and blody stremes wyde And aldermost / vpon the grekes syde The slaughter was / and the discomfyture So myghtely / the Troyans dyde endure Tyll at the laste / for they were so sewe With multytude / the grekis on them hewe For mo than forty / were agaynst one Of very force / abacke they muste gone No thyng for lacke of manhode / dare I sayne But for so many / haue them ouer layne They may no lenger / in the felde soiourne But to theyr Castell / home agayne retourne In full great haste / suche as myght escape Away a lyue / and some of them for rape And drede of deth / toke them to flyght On horse backe / to Troye towne full ryght No wonder was / though they haste faste For to the gates / the chace of grekes laste So cruelly / after they pursewe And some of them / that myght nat remewe On Troye syde / forweryed of fyght The grekes slewe / with all theyr full myght Now here now there / who they myght attayne There may no raunsome / nor no mercy gayne Of none estate / without excepcyowne And after that / vnto Tenedowne The grekes went / and it be sette aboute That Troyan none / myght escape out And whan they hadde / the bulwerkes wonne To skale the walle / after they begonne And made a saute / manfully and ofte And Troyans / as they stode a lofte Put them of / that entre they ne myght With caste of stone / and quarell bryght With bowe turkeys / and shote of Arbalasteres And theyr gonners / standynge at corneres With hym also / and caste of wylde fyre Of yrous hate / full hote in theyr desyre Lyke manly men / them selfe / they diffende And aye the grekes / as they vp ascende Cruelly they put / to the grounde Tyll they without / an ordynaunce haue founde What with gynnes / deuysed for the nones And gonnes great / for to caste stones Bent to the toures / right as any lyne And large sowes / lowe for to myne And some of them / vpon the walle gone That were so thycke / made of lyme and stone And to entre / they many wayes seke Sette theyr bastyles / and theyr hurdeys eke Rounde aboute / to the harde walle And skalynge ladders / for saw●es marcyalle They gan vp caste / with hokes for to holde And vp ascende / the sturdye grekes bolde Tyll Troyans / from the crestes caste The great stones / whyle they wolde laste And Callyowne / eke grekes to opresse And wonder manly / dyde theyr besynesse In theyr diffence / and made plonge them lowe With caste of quarell / and with shote of bowe Thorugh Olyettes / that of necessyte They put them of / it may none other be And broke theyr neckes / & theyr shuldre boues As they felle / with the square stones And lye dede / pyteous pale of hewe But Grekes aye / gan the saute renewe With multytude / Troyans to assayle To withstande / that they gan to fayle And wexe feble / for rescuse came there none And so of force / the grekes be in gone Thorugh the walles / whan they haue them broke And on Troyans / so cruelly be wroke That fynally / they lefte none a lyue But slee and kylle / and after that as blyue On the walles / theyr baners they haue sette And yonge and olde / it myght be no bette All goth to wracke / vpon Troye syde And after that / they ne wyll no lenger byde But treasoure golde / and what they may fynde They caste an hepe / and togyder bynde And make spoyle / of all that was within And than in haste / the walles they begyn Pynacle and toures / and also the dungeowne To brenne and hewe / and to bete downe And with the soyle / they made euen & playne And with great pray / anone they went agayne To theyr shyppes / glad and lyght of chere Whan the fyre / with his flawmes clere The castell had / consumed and ybrent And after that / auyse and prudent The manly man / the worthy Agamenon Let make anone / a conuocacyon Of the grekes / and bad they shulde brynge Golde and treasour / without more tariynge With all the praye / they wanne at Tenedowne To his presence / for this conclusyowne That he may make / distribucyon Amonges them / without excepcyon Lyke theyr desert / vnto pore and ryche He departeth / to euery man a lyche But moste to suche / as dyde beste disserue For to hymselfe / hym lyste no thynge conserue For he hath leuer / theyr hertes than the gode Of suche as hadde / spente theyr owne blode So manfully / the castell for to wynne For who that can / with largesse firste begynne Ne fayleth nat / after well to spede Thorugh helpe of men / whan that hath nede For loue foloweth / fredome comenly .
How kynge Agamenon assembled the Barons of Grece afore to kepe a counsayle / And how they sent Vlixes and kynge Dyomede to kynge Pryamus on message . Ca. xix .
ANd after this / the kynge let make a cry That all the kyngis / & lordes of his oste Dukes / and Erles / come from euery coste The nexte morowe / tofore hym to appere The nyght ypassed / Phebus gan to clere Hir emysperye / after the larke songe Whan that the kynge / amonge the grekes stronge Vpon the playne / in his see royall And faste by / moste chefe and pryncypall Of his lordes / were set in theyr degre And whan the kynge / sawe oportunyte That was there made scylence / euery where His lyeges standynge / enuyron here & there The kynge of chere sad / and eke Iocounde As he that was of speche / full faucounde Began his tale / with sobre countenaunce The effect of whiche / was this in substaunce . Syres quod he / full worthy of degre Of very right / and necessyte We be compelled / bothe hye and lowe With all our myght / lyke as ye well knowe To redresse a thynge / that is amys For thorugh the worlde / as it reported is We be of force / of power and of myght Of worthynesse / in euery wyghtes syght Moste renowmed / and moste worshypable And ydempt and Iuged / for moste able Of all people / and lyklyest to stonde For to parforme / what we take an honde Who that euer grutcheth / or sayth nay Yer me semeth / if it be to your pay Thylke power / moste is acceptable Vnto goddes / and lengest stondeth stable That is deuoyde / of surquedry and pryde For it is kouth / vpon euery syde In eche lande / bothe of one and all How many harmes / and greues haue befall Thorugh rancoure / oonly pryde & wylfulnesse So inportable / as I coude expresse Thorugh pryde / there is done offence The hye goddes / make resistence To all tho / that be surquydous Whiche is a vyce / so contraryous That it may / in no place abyde And in good fayth / manhode is no pryde For who that hath / any acqueyntaunce Outher by frendshyp / or by alyaunce With a proude man / to be confederate With hym in herte / of hye or lowe estate He nedes muste / what euer that he be To many other / of necessyte Be lothsome / firste enmy and contrayre For no thynge may / a man so moche appayre As pryde in sothe / in hye or lowe degre Wherfore I rede / playnly how that we This foule vyce / out of our herte arrace That our quarell / may haue the more grace And specyally / that our dedes all Conueyed be / how euer that it fall By rightwysnesse / more than volunte For if trouthe / our sothfaste guyde be Vs to directe / by his rightfull lyne Than our quarell / shall aye in honour shyne And contune / in full felycyte And ferthermore / this knowe all ye How we are come / for to do vengeaunce With our frendshyppe / and out alyaunce Vpon Pryam / for wronges done of olde By hym and his / as I haue ofte tolde And here vpon / we haue his grounde ytake And some of his / maked to a wake With manfull hande / and his castelles stronge Ibete downe / that stonde haue so longe And take there the rychesseꝭ that we founde And slewe his men / with many blody wounde And harmes mo / done in his countre That I wote well / if theyr enmyte Was vnto vs / great and moche afore I dare saye now / it is in double more That if that they / auenged myght be On vs echone / anone ye shulde se Theyr great Ire / so cruell and so huge Be execute / without more refuge And yet in sothe / I wote they haue espyed Our beynge here / though we be nat askyred Of them as yet / I dare saye vtterly They are well ware / that we are faste by And ouer more / this wote I well also Of the harmes / that we haue them do The whiche as yet / be but fresshe and grene If they were stronge / and myghty to sustene A werre on vs / anone they wolde gynne And yet the Cyte / in whiche they be inne Is walled stronge / and toured rounde aboute That they wene fully / out of doute With the meyne / that they haue gadred in Of theyr alyes / that we shall nat wyn Of them but smale / in werre nor in stryfe For he in sothe / hath a prerogatyfe And auauntage / that in his countre Hym selfe diffendeth / namely if that he Be stuffed stronge / of frendes hym besyde And of alyes / where he dothe abyde Lyke as the Rauen / with his fethers blake Within his nest / wyll ofte tyme make Agayne the Faukon / gentyll of nature Full harde diffence / whyles he may dure Or that he be vaynquysshed / and outrayed And yet some whyle / the Faukon is delayed Whyles the Rauen / besyde his nest doth flee Within his courte / at his lyberte As euery foule / is frowarde to areste For to be daunted / in his owne neste . ANd yet these wordes / to you I nat saye In any wyse / to put in a fraye Your knyghtly herte / so manly and so stable Nor that to you / it shulde be doutabse But the Troyans / that we shall confounde And theyr Cyte / in whiche they habounde Playnely destroye / albe that it be stronge And they / and all be them amonge Shall fynally / consumpt / be with dethe Thorowe grekes swerde / yelde vp the brethe . But the cause / without any drede Why I saye thus / is that ye take hede For any pryde / or presumpcyon To aduerte / in your discrecyon So prudently / that reason in this nede For any haste / may our brydell lede And so ordayne / or we hense wende That laude / and prayse / after the ende May be reported / as I haue deuysed For many man / that hath nat be aduysed In his pursuyte / for lacke of prouydence To se tofore / in his aduertence What shuld falle / to deth it hath them brought Suche wylfull haste / were good to be thought Of vs afore / by examynacyon And well discussed / by reuolucyon . Of thynkynge ofte / that we nat repente And firste remembre / how that Pryam sente To vs but late / oonly for Exyon That yet is holde / of kynge Thelamon Whiche was of vs / without aduysement Vndiscretely denyed / by assent Whiche hath to vs / be none aduauntage But grounde and rote / of full great damage For if that we / thorugh wyse purueaunce Of hir hadde made / delyueraunce The harmes great / had be eschewed That after were / of Parys so pursewed In the temple / of Cythera That buylde is / besyde Eirrea The tresoure great / also that he hadde And Iewelles / that he with hym ladde Than to Troye / and the great rychesse The slaughter of men / and the heuynesse That yet is made / for the quene Eleyne Thorughoute Grece / and the great payne Of Menelay / all hadde ben vnwrought If we hadde sene / this in our thought Wysely afore / and Exyon restored Than hadde nat / the harmes be so mourned On vs echone / in very soth fastnesse Nor spent our laboure / so in ydelnesse Tresoure nor good / wasted so in vayne Nor come so ferre / for to fetche agayne The quene Eleyne / with costes inportable Withouten harmes / now in eschewable . ANd for all this / yet ne wote we Whether to ioye / or aduersyte The thynge shall tourne / that we be aboute Syth ofte sythe / dependent and in doute Is fatall thynge / vnsyker / and vnstable And fro the gynnynge / ofte varyable The ende is sene / fortune can transmewe Hir gery cours / and therfore to eschewe The harmes lykly / possyble for to fall My counsayle is / here amonge you all Vpon trauayle / trauayle to eschewe In this mater / are we further sewe To Pryamus / without any more To sende firste agayne / for to restore The quene Eleyne / as right and reason is And other harmes / done eke by Parys After his trespas / and offency on Iustely to make / restytucyon Than may we all / in worshyp and honour Retourne home / without more labour If they assente / to do as we requere And our axynge / if they lyste nat here But folyly / of theyr wylfulnesse Refuse it / than our worthynesse Is double assured / on asyker grounde By iuste tytle / Troyans to confounde With thynges two / we shal be vnder pyght Firste our power / borne vp with our ryght Shall for vs fyght / our quarell to dareyne In balaunce to weye / atwixe vs weyne To fyne that we / shal be more excused For they tofore / haue wylfully refused Oure iuste profers / made to them afore And we shal be / thorugh the worlde therfore Without spot / of trespas or of blame Of mysreport / in hyndrynge of our name Where they of folye shall ynoted be Of wylfull wodenesse / playnely where that we Shall stande free / our power for to vse And euery man / shall vs well excuse Though that we do / execucyon By takynge vengeaunce / for their offencyon Of man and childe / of eche sect and age That shall of deth / holde the passage And by the swerde / without mercy pace One and other / there is no better grace . BVt yet tofore / I counsayle take hede That ye to them / all mesoure bede This holde I beste / and moost sykernesse And worke now / by good auysenesse Amonge your selfe / and no lenger tarye To whiche counsayle / some were contrarye And varyaunt / to his oppynyon Saue they that were / of moost discrecyon Assented be playnely / to this ende And chosen haue / to Pryam for to sende Amonges them / the embassy at to spede Wyse Vlixes / and worthy Dyomede The whiche anone / gan them redy make And shope them forthe / and theyr way take Towarde Troye / as any lyne ryght Whan the sonne / shone full shene and bryght Holdynge the course / of his firy spere In mydday arke / wonder bryght and clere And gylte eche hylle / vale playne & roche With his bemes / whan they dyde approche To the walles / and gates of the towne And in they go / without noyse or sowne Full well ●esene / and in their porte them hadde Right manfully / and the way them ladde To the paleyes / streyght as any lyne Them nedeth nat / asyde to declyne But into a court / large wyde and square And they ful knightly / for no wyght wold spare Vnto the effecte / manly to procede To do theyr charge / without fere or drede For the entre / was to them nat refused For tho dayes / paraunter was nat vsed To haue no conduyte / for embassatrye The custome was / to no man to denye As I suppose / entre nor passage If it so were / he come for message And in this court / buylded so ryally Whan they come / they meruayled full greatly The royall syght / of so huge strengthe So well complete / bothe in brede and lengthe For they nat hadde / in theyr lyfe to fore Sene none so fayre / & yet they wonder more Into the Paleyes / as they togyder gone That paued was / all of Iasper stone Of a tree / that amyddes stode On which to loke / they thought it dyd them gode Musynge where / it were Artifycyall Erect or sette / by magyk naturall Or by engyne / of werkemen coryous Thorugh subtyll craftes / superiticyous Or other werke / of Nygromancye Or profounde castyuge / of Phylosophye By apparence / or illusyon Outher by crafte / of Incantacyon Vp and downe / they caste in theyr mynde Out by reason / if they coude fynde Rote and grounde / of this wonder werke But the trouthe / was to them so derke That in theyr wytte / though they longe trace The pryuyte / they can out compace To conceyue / how it was possyble For to the eye / as it was vysyble In very sothe / without any fable To mannes hande / so it was palpable Of whiche the stocke / of Guydo as I tolde In soth fastnesse / was of pured golde Whiche shone as bryght / as the somer sonne To enlumyne / thynges that were donne And the body / as a maste was ryght Proporcyoned / moost goodly to the syght Substancyall / and of huge strengthe And twelue cubytes / the body was of lengthe And the croppe / rounde / and large of brede And in compas / gan so flourysshe and sprede That all the playne / aboute enuyrowne With the bowes / was shadowed vp and downe The ryche braunches / and the leues fayre Twayne and twayne / ioyned as a payre One of golde / a nother syluer shene And meynt amonge / with stones whyte & grene Some rede / and some sapher hewed And euery daye / the blomes were renewed And the blossomes / with many sondry fuyte For stones ynde / it bare in stede of fruyte As sayth Guydo / I can no ferther telle And the Grekes / wyll no lenger dwalle But holde theyr way / by many sondry went To parfourme / the fyne of theyr entent Tyll they atteyne / the chambre pryncypall Where Pryamus / in his see royall Lyke his estate / in full kyngly wyse Sat / and aboute / full prudent and full wyse His lordes all / in settes hym besyde Whan the grekes / surquedous of pryde With sterne there / and frowarde countenaunce As they that had / lytell remembraunce Of gentyllesse / nor of curtesye For as Guydo / doth playnely specyfye Entrynge in / they taken haue theyr place In the opposyte / of the kynges face And set them downe / without more sermon Any obeyinge / or salutacyon Worshyp honour / or any reuerence Done of the kynge / for all his excellence In pretudyce / of all gentyllesse And than anone / Vlixes gan expresse Cause of theyr comynge / to kynge Pryamus Without abode / sayinge euen thus Nat forberynge / presence of the kynge . OEruayle nat / nor haue no wondrynge Though we to y● / ne do no honour dewe In our comynge / the for to salewe Syth it ne longeth in sothe / as thynketh me Where rancour is / and hertely enmyte Or dedely hate / with salutacyons Or with fayned / false affeccyons For to shewe / where hertes be a fyre For naturally / no man shall desyre Of his enmye / the helthe nor welfare And platly now / me lyste nat for to spare Shortly to shewe / the fyne of our entent Lyke as we haue / in commaundement In our message / from Agamenowne The noble kynge / moost worthy of reuowne Whiche vs hath sent / there is no more to seyne Now vnto the / for the quene Eleyne That was rauysshed / out of grekes lande And brought to Troy / by force of myghty hande Agaynst right / and by vyolence Wherfore shortly / without more offence We iustely axe / without more demaunde That thou anone / rightfully commaunde To Menelay / that she be sent agayne And with all this / we axe nat in vayne That thou make / restytucyon Of wronges done / in that regyon Of pylfres great / slaughter and roberye By Parys done / of wylfull tyrannye Whiche is thy sone / and by the susteyned And in his errour / wrongefully meynteyned Wherfore come of / and fully condescende Without grutchynge / this wronges to amende For so thou mayste / beste the goddes queme Lyke as thou myght / in thy reason deme As right requereth / to worke as the wyse For if so be / that thou now despyse To execute / that I haue tolde the here Truste me right well / a lesson thou shalt lere Whiche thou and thyne / shall after sore rewe Without feynynge / thou shalt fynde trewe That but if thou / a better ende make Cruell vengeaunce / shall on the be take And fynally / what shulde I to the fayne The force of deth / this quarell shall darayne Vpon the / and vpon all the blode Raunsomles / other of golde and gode And questyonles / reporte this of me That mercyles / this ryche stronge Cyte Shall downe be bete / and ylayde full lowe Walle and toures / also ouerthrowe This all and some / be now well aduysed That our axynge / of the be nat despysed But wysely werke / and do as I haue sayde ANd sodaynly / kyng Pryamus in abrayde Of hasty Ire / he myght nat abyde Of the grekes / whan he sawe the pryde The great outrage / and presumpcyon Without abode / or delyberacyon To ●lixes / anone he gan out breke And vnto hym / euen thus to speke . I wonder greatly / in myn aduertence Beunge astoned / how ye in my presence So vngoodly / dare make this demaunde Lyke as ye hadde power / to commaunde And me constrayne / your byddynge to obeye And I for fere / durste nat with saye No maner thynge / that ye axe here Nor contrarye / what that ye requyre Wherof sothly / in herte I am ameued And of your thretes / inwardly agreued And astoned surely / nat alyte That ye are bolde / so me to excyte And vylaynously / myn honour to prouoke On your wordes / for to be a worke But for all this / truste me right we le ! I wyll nat passe my boundes / neuer adele Nor the rather / shrotely at the ende To your axynge / in no thynge condescende . For to consyder / the fyne of your entent It were nat syttynge / nor conuenyent Akynge to graunte / your axynge thoughe that he Stode in myschefe / and captyuyte Without recure / to vttraunce bought It were outrage / playnely to be thought To axe of hym / that ye axe of me And sothely yet / I suppose nat that ye Accomplysshynge may / so moche auayle As ye haue sayde / for plately ye shall fayle Of your purpose / I saye and god toforne Mauge your myght / though ye had it sworne For your request / in euery wyghtes syght Wanteth a grounde / bothe of trouthe & ryght That axe of me / satisfaccyon And were your selfe / firste occasyon Whan ye slewe / my fader Lamedowne And his lyeges / and brent eke his towne And many harmes / if they were out sought On hym and his / causeles ye wrought That it were longe / all for to reherce Whiche daye by daye / thorugh my herte perce My suster / eke called Exyon Ye ladde awaye / out of this regyon The whiche is nat / vnto hir worthynesse Ytreted lyke / nor after gentylnesse . And for all this / ye wolde amendes haue Wrongly of me / that whylom for to saue All thynge in peas / and to stynte werre To you sente / into Grece ferre Oonly to haue hadde / Exyona agayne Of whiche sonde / ye hadde but disdayne And cruelly / in vngoodly wyse My messager / ye gan to despyse That he vnneth / myght eskape awaye Out of grece / ye knowe it is no naye Of you he hadde / so vngoodly chere And in good fayth / me lyste nat now to here Your request / nor gyue audyence To your axynge / for your great offence For leuer I hadde / shortely for to deye Than condescende / to ought that ye seye For I wyll fully / for conclusyon That it be knowen / to Agamenon That we haue leuer / this is douteles Fynally his werre / than his pees Syth ye to me / haue done so great trespace And by my trouthe / in this selfe place Cruelly anone / ye shulde dye But for the offyce / of embassatrye Agaynst deth / is fully your defence That be so bolde / without reuerence In my presence / so to threte or speke Truste me right / it shulde an one bewreke Wherfore in haste / without wordes mo My counsayle is / that ye be a go Out of my syght / and voyde this Cyte For thus it standeth / whyles I you se In my herte / may entre no gladnesse The fret of Ire / put me in suche distresse That in good fayth / I may it nat sustene So In portune / is the rage and tene That inwardly / byndeth me for the whyle ANd Dyomedes / tho began to smyle And sayde anone / thus vnto the kynge If it so be / that thou of our comynge In thyne herte / haste so moche payne Vs to beholde / now that be buttwayne And art therwith / so inly sette a fyre Than shalt thou neuer / be without yre In all thy lyfe / nor deuoyde of woo Sythe thou hast / so many cruell foo Of grekes now / entred in thy lande An hondred thousande / almoste at thyn hande Agayne whose myght / thou mayst y● nat assure To resyste playnely / nor endure Consyder well / how that they be stronge As thou shalt wyt / paraunter are aught longe Somanly men / and so well arayed Expert in armes / and of olde assayed That no diffence / many agayne them vayle And wyteeke well / that thou mayst nat fayle By deth of swerde / of theyr hande to deye And all thyne / there is no more to seye Though it so be / proudely that thou speke And with thy tunge / oonly to be wreke Afermest more / than thou mayst acheue Better it were / suche wordes leue And to wyse counsayle / take better hede BUt than in haste / agayne this Dyomede Surquydous / and moste full of pryde There rose vp some / by the kynges syde With swerdes drawe / and on hym haue fall And all to hewe / there amonge them all Of hasty Ire / brennynge as the glede Tyll Pryamus / gan to take hede And rose hym vp / seynge this disease And manfully / this rage gan appease Them diffendynge / vpon deth and lyfe That none of them / be hardy in this stryfe The embassatoures / to harme or to greue For though a fole / his foly wyll nat leue To presume / to speke vnconnyngly A wyse man / muste suffre pacyently And thoughe that he / happe do offence Thorugh foly speche / for lacke of sapyence To a wyse man / ne iongeth sothe to sayne To take hede / or to speke agayne For as to a fole / it is perteynent To shewe his foly / right so conuenyent Is to the wyse / sothly with suffraunce In all his port / to haue tolleraunce For to foles / longeth kyndely Without aduyse / to speke folyly Vndiscretely his menynge / to fulfylle Where a wyse man / shall here and bestylle Tyll he se tyme / and haue pacyence And dissymule / in his aduertence The rage of foles / that last but a throwe For by his tunge / a fole is ofte knowe And leuer I hadde / I do you well assure In my persone / damage to endure Than to suffre / any messagere In my court / of you that be here To haue a wronge / outher great or lyte The swerde of rancour / may nat alway byte To do vengeaunce / for a thynge of nought For ofte it falleth / a wronge is wrought For lytell excesse / foloweth great reprefe And haste is ayemedled / with myschefe Wherfore I bydde / that ye sytte downe And in no wyse / of presumpcyowne Attempteth nat / in no maner wyse By sygne or worde / more for to despyse The embassatoures / from the grekes sent But lette them freely / declare theyr entent And ye there whyles / kepe your lyppes close ANd sodaynely / than Eneas rose Whiche next the kyng / haue than his see So inwardely / with rancour fret was he That he ne myght / hymselfe nat refrayne And sayde syr / so ye nat disdayne That I shall saye / me semeth that it is Well accordynge / whan one hath sayde amys And reklesly / spoken vnaduysed Of his folye / that he be chastysed That other may / example by hym take To be well ware / suche noyse & crye to make And specyally / in open audyence So to offende / your toyall excellence And sothely yet / I wote well that I myght So me gouerne / playnely in your syght Of hastynesse / without aduysement That I shulde / by your commaundement The deth deserue / for my great offence And trewely yet / ne were for your presence Of this twayne / that haue so yspoke Without abode / I shulde anone be wroke For it were worthy / and right well syttynge Whan that a fole / in presence of kynge Is bolde or hardy / of presumpcyon To take on hym / of indiscrecyon Thynge to reherce / concludynge in sentence Preiudyce / of your magnyfycence That he were taught / better to gouerne His large tunge / to konne bet diserne Whan he shall speke / or whan be in pese To suffre hym / to renne out of lese As doth he this / that spoke hath so large Wherfore in hast / I counsayle hym and charge Without abode or any worde mo Out of your syght / anone he be a go For it is beste / to do as I hym rede TO whom anone / ful proudly Dyomede Nat astoned / but a with sterne loke To Eneas / that for yre quoke Answered agayne / with wordes but a fewe And sayde syr / thy wordes doth well shewe What so thou be / that thou art right wyse Well is that kynge / that doth by thyne aduyse Or hath the nye / of counsayle for to be For he ne may erre / in no degre That art so rightfull / in thy iugement Of wylfulnesse / without aduysement To causea lorde / his bondes for to pace So wolde god / in some other place That I myght / by fauoure of fortune Mete with the / at leyser oportune Lyke my desyre / that canst so well endyte In olde fables / thy labour for to quyte And the to thanke / for thy gentyll there Whiche so knyghtly / thou hast vs shewed here Truste well therto / and haue therof no drede ANd tho Vlixes / of this Dyomede Gan interrupte / his wordis prudently And to hym / sayde / full aduysely That it was beste / to stynte and be styll And now we knowe / fully all the wyll . Quod vlires / full manly to the kynge We wyll go hense / without more tariynge Out of thy syght / to Agamenon And make to hym / playne relacyon Of thy answer / in ordre by and by And to horse / they went sodaynly And in shorte tyme / so hast them in theyr waye That they be come / there is no more to saye Where the kynge satte / in his tentorye And worde by worde / as came to memorye They reherce / the substraunce euery dele Wherof the grekes / lyke no thynge wele Conceyuynge full / there was no remedye As by reporte / of the embassatrye Saue oonly this / vtterly procede How they them shall / gouerne / in this nede Agayne Troyans / of necessyte For they well wot / it may none other be And assented both / in wyll and bede To purueye them faste / they them spede In this storye / as I shall after fynde BVt or that / I make therof mynde I muste / a whyle / of Eneas endyte As myn Auctor lyst / of hym to wryte The whiche sothly / as bokes saye he was This manly Troyan / this famous Eneas Anchisis sone / of great wortynesse Whylom gete / of Venus the goddesse Conqueroure / of many regyon Whan Troye / was brought to destruccyon He wente his waye / by the large see Called Tyrene / and saylynge forth goth he By many coste / and many narowe passage Many daunger / tyll into Cartage He ryued is / and then segan to sayle To the conquest / of the great ytale And so to Rome / he hath the way take Of whose ofsprynge / as Auctours make Came Augustus Cesar / the Emperour That was whylom / so noble a conquerour That his renowne / to this daye doth shyne And of Enee / the Emperour Iustyne In his boke / called Autentykes Full playnely wryt / therin the rubrykes That after Cesar / so as Cesares Be named yet / right so Eneades After Enee / the name shulde bere Whiche fro Troye / comen was so fere Vnto ytayle / and of this Eneas As I haue tolde Cesar / descended was Downe lyne right / full manly and royall That firste in Rome / by sceptre imperyall Mauge theyr myght / had gouernaunce And of wysoome / sette in gouernaunce Comon thynges / touchynge the Cytee And to procede / ferther of Enee Hooly his lyfe / and knyghthode by and by If that ye lyste / to rede ceryously Ye maye se all / full Autentyke of style In Eneydos / compyled of virgyle Albe it so / that this noble clerke Was graue afore / or complete was his werke As bokes olde / make mencyon .
How kynge Agamenon / sent Achylles and Thelephus into the yle of Messa for vitaylles / and how they slewe the kynge / and made The lephus kynge after his deth . Ca. xx .
BVt nowe agayne / to Agamenon Without more / my style I wyl retourne The whiche kynge / wyll no more soiourne In this mater / delayes for to make But in all haste / he hath his counsayle take Of his lordes / beynge there present And suche as were nat / he hath after sent For one and all / Erlys / Dukes / and kynges And sayde syres / amonge other thynges To our Iourney / that be necessarye My counsayle is / no lenger that we tarye But firste of all / to make ordynaunce By one assent / with prudent purueaunce That alder firste / we shape for vytayle Without whiche / none hoost may auayle To parforme / a Iourney thryftely Wherfore I rede / here but faste by If it to you / be lykynge and plesaunce Into an yle / full of habundaunce Called Messa / that we sende anone And at one worde / assented euerychone They chosen haue / worthy Achylles And Geleffus / the sone of Hercules To execute / this purpose fynally With many worthy / in theyr company I chosen out / thorugh the hoost anone With Achylles / to Messa for to gone In whiche lande / ryche and plenteuous Reygned a kynge / worthy and famous That Tentran hyght / whiche in tranquyllyté Without werre / or aduersyte Hadde holde his Sceptre / and his royall sete In this yle / so plesaunt and so mete Albe that some / saye that this lytell yle To the kyngdome / longeth of Cecyle And hath his name / gyuen of plente After Messane / an huge great Cyte Full plenteuous / both on see and lande The whiche kyngdome / as I vnderstande Is sayde Messana / of Messes in latyne Thorugh habundaunce / of fruyt corne & wyne At the aryuayle / on the playnes large Where they are wonte / for to stuffe and charge Marchaunt shyppes / of straunge fer countree That thyder sayle / by the large see To fetche vytaylle / aye fro yere to yere Fro many coste / of landes fer and nere Oonly by eschaunge / of other march aundyse And eke also / as bokes can deuyse . And as Guydo / full playnely telleth vs That of a kynge / called Messanus This countre firste / of Messa toke the name That in his tyme / was of great fame Passynge ryche / and wonder plenteuous But of all this / Dares Frygyus In his boke / maketh no mencyon But shortly telleth / in concluycon Howe Achylles / and Thelephus also To Messana / be togyder go With thre thousande / of grekes chosen oute Moste manly men / amonges all theyr route The whiche as faste / as they gan to londe And the kynge / gan to vnderstonde Of theyr comynge / he is descended downe With all the worthy / of his regyowne Ou hors and fote / in stele armed bryght Agaynst Grekes / manfully to fyght Them to deuoyde / playnely if ye can And sodaynely / thus the skarmysshe gan At wyxe grekes / and theyr mortall fone On outher parte / that there was many one Slayne and hurte / and to the deth ywounded Euer vnlyckely / therof / to be sounded . Hor other treate / was none them atwene But swerdes sharpe / and speres square & kene Now here now there / that they go to grounde For euery man his foo / for to confounde His laboure dyde / and his besynesse And though grek / thrugh theyr worthynesse Hadde on theyr foo● / moche lande ywonne yet to resorte after they begonne And meruayle none / bycause that theyr fone Hadde alway thre / in noumbre agaynst one For the tyme it may / none other be Tyll Achylles / gan beholde and se The mortall slaughter / vpon grekes syde Tournynge the backe / with woundes large & wyde Of hasty rancour / chaunge gan his blode And for Ire / furyous and wode Whan he behelde / his men lese theyr lande He with the swerde / whiche he helde in his hande Made waye / kylled and bare downe And in the felde / lyke a fyers lyowne He fared in sothe / whan his men were slawe Makynge his foon / backwarde to withdrawe And his grekes / so manly recomforte That maugre them / he made them to resorte And who that euer / in his way stode Without mercy / he kylleth in his mode There gayneth nat / in his cruelte For douteles / ne had his manhode be His passynge renowne / and his worthynesse His knyghthode eke / and his hye prowesse The grekes hadde / that daye fynallye Vaynquysshed be / without remedye But thorugh his helpe / they recure all For Achylles / sturdy as a wall Gan serche sheltrouns / & theyr rangys brake To fore whose face / his fomen go to wrake And alderlaste / whan he gan espye Tentran the kynge thorugh his chyualrye Diffende hymselfe / lyke a worthy knyght And as a lyon / bare hym in his fyght Now here now there / grekes so oppresse This Achylles / of cruell hardynesse Ne wolde cease / in his putsewynge Thorugh the warde / tyll he came to the kynge Of manly force / stoute and full of pryde Makynge awaye / rounde on euery syde Agayne whose myght / no thyng myght auayle And of Tentran / firste the auentayle He raced hath / and rente the mayle a sonder And all to hewe / that it was a wonder To consydre / that day his cruelte And after that / all to broke hath he His bassenet / with many cruell wounde Of very myght / smyt the kynge to grounde And in all haste / he maked hath no lette Of his hede / to rende his bassenette And mercyles / for to do vengaunce His harme he gan / on heyghte to auaunce Fully in purpose / that he shall be dede And raunsomles / gan hamyn at his hede With blody swerde / and a despytous herte Castynge playnely / he shuld hym nat asserte In his Ire / he was so furyous But of fortune / it befell right thus Thelephus / the yonge lusty knyght Casuelly / therof hadde a syght And of Achylles / the maner full behelde The stroke anone / he bare vp with his shelde And gan Achylles / mekely for to preye To haue pyte / so to do hym deye Syth he lay wounded / almoste to the deth Brought to the poynt / to yelde vp the breth Besechynge hym / for his benyngnyte Of manly routhe / and knyghtly eke pyte Withdrawe his hande / and to do hym grace And graunte hym lyfe / for a lytell space Syth euery knyght / shulde of gentyllesse His enmye spare / whan he is in distresse To vttraunce brought / & specyally whan he Mercy requyreth / of humble volunte . To whom Achylles / feruent in his yre As he that was / of rancoure sette a fyre Answerde agayne / what lyst the so to preye For hym / that nolde of pryde our wyll obeye Gan a werre / where as was no nede Of disdayne / and indignacyon Hauynge a truste / of presumpcyon In his manhode / which myght hy nat auayle Agaynst grekes / to holde a batayle As it is preuyd / playnely in the ende All otherwyse / shortly than he wende For in the dyche / iustely he is falle Whiche he made / of malys for vs alle . Where we of wyll / nor entencyon Gaue vnto hym / none occasyon Vpon no syde / platly fer nor nere Nor mynystred / to hym no matere Nor to his londe / mente no damage But hymselfe / grounde of all this rage Without offence / done to hym of vs And efte agayne / yonge Thelephus Humbly requyred / of Achylle Of knyghtly routhe / his axynge to fulfylle And to haue mercy on hym / in this cas For with my fader / this kynge whylom was Quod Thelephus / be bonde conferate Whiche lyeth now here / all desconsolate Expectant oonly / with a dedely face Vpon the houre / whan his goste shall pace Thorugh gyrte alas / with many mortall wounde And for cause / I haue in hym founde Afore this tyme / full great kyndenesse For of manhode / and of gentyllesse In the boundes / of his regyowne He vnto me / thorugh his hye renowne Whylom / as I casuelly gan ryde Shewed in sothe / vpon euery syde Full ryall chere / and great humanyte That I am bounde / of very duyte To remembre / and to haue in mynde And douteles elles / I were vnkynde Whiche after wolde / my name foule a twyte And for that / I parcell wolde hym quyte I you beseche / of respyte of his lyfe And Achylles / without any stryfe Delyuered hath / the storye telleth thus Tentran frely / vnto Thelephus Whether hym lyste / to saue / or to spylle And whan that he had hym / at his wylle He consydered / by his woundes grene That were so mortall / sothely and so kene Of very nede / that he muste dye There was no gayne / nor no remedye Nor auayle / may no medecyne The hour whan Phebus / westward gan declyne And the batayle / brought was to an ende Whyle the grekes to theyr shyppes wende The meane whyle / Tentran for the payne Of his woundes / gan more & more complayne Without staunche / so pyteously they blede His offycers / faste gan them spede In a lytter / made full royall Towarde his paleys / & dounge owne pryncypall To cary hym / softely and easely And at his prayer / full benyngnely Thelephus / and also Achylles Conueyed hym / amonges all the prees Tyll he was brought / there as them lyste to be And they receyued / lyke to theyr degre Full royally the kynge / aye languysshynge As he that drewe / towarde his endynge And myght nat lenger / drawe a lengthe His wofull lyfe / so weke was he of strengthe That his spirite / muste algates wende And he in his haste / made for to sende For Achylles / and for Thelephus And whan they came / he sayde vnto them thus Syres quod he / full worthy of degre Helthe and honour / with longe prosperyte Be vnto you / and good aduenture All the whyle / that your lyfe may dure And specyally of the / O Thelephus Whiche haste to me / be so gracyous Of gentyllesse / in my paynes stronge Oonly of grace / my lyfe for to prolonge But deth alas / I may nat now eichewe Nor his swerde / on no part remewe Without recure knytte / in bytter bondes Vpon the brynke falle / of fatys hondes Of my lyfe / all fully in despeyre Whiche of my body / neuer myght haue heyre After my daye / by successyon To gouerne / this lytell regyon Whiche lyckely is / to stande desolate Of gouernaunce / and disconsolate Whiche that I wan / with full great trauayle And to this day / with werre and batayle I haue it kepte / as ye well knowe echoue And defended / from all maner fone Without losse / yeres here toforne But recurlees of yore / I had it lorne Ne had I had / helpe and eke socour Of Hercules / the great conquerour That whylom was / fader to Thelepus So stronge so myghty / and so chyualrous By whose manhode / and whose hardynesse By his knyghthode / and great worthynesse Whiche day by day / is newe of memorye Of all my foon / I hadde the victorye He daunted them / and made them so a ferde Oonly by rygoure / of his sharpeswerde That fynally / thorugh his manly hede He made me / this reygne to possede Maugre theyr myght / in peas and quyete With septre and crowne / & my royall sete That none of them / tyll that he was dede Hardy was to lyfte / vp the hede Agaynst me / to speke wordes fewe Wherby I may / fully declare and shewe By euydence / that this lytell yle Is perteynent / and longeth to Cecyle Where Hercules / for a memoryall S●tte pylers / in his conquest royall Whan he hadde / ryde and go to fere And of Columpna / yet the name bere After hym / called Herculea Though some saye / they hyght Herracula The name chaungynge / by corrupcyon The whiche lande / was whylom mansyon To the people / of wylde barbarye The whiche kyngdome / for to magnefye Frederyke / sothly the secounde Of golde and good / passyngly habounde That chosen was / to be Emperour Of Rome towne / and myghty gouernour And whylom eke was / kynge of Cecyle Whiche made reyse / in that large yle A myghty toure / hye and thycke of walle As sayth Guydo / for a memoryall To put his name / longe in remembraunce And for the soyle / was to his plesaunce With floures fresshe / of many sondry hewe In some bokes / the londe was named newe And pealled / as I vnderstonde For his fayrenesse / the lusty newe londe But Tentran / aye lymge / in his payne As he that faste / gan the houre attayne Of cruell deth / afore his lordes all He made in haste / Thelephus to call To his presence / and with a mortall chere Sayde openly / that all myght here My sone quod he / nowe I shall pace Out of this worlde / for gayne may no grace My lyfe to saue / thorugh no mannes myght But for bycause / of equyte and ryght I am compelled / iustly in sentence To declare elerely / my conscyence To fore my deth / herynge all this prees This to sage / thy fader Hercules The wyse worthy / and that knyghtly man Whylom this londe / thorugh his conquest wan The whiche oonly / of his goodly hede As he that was / the stocke of manly hede Toke vnto me / by commyssyon The gouernaunce / of this regyon Of his free wyll / with hole the regallye And nolde hymselfe / the cowne occupye And sothely yet / his right was nat the lasse For loue of whom / now that I shall passe Withall the entent / of my laste wylle To the I graunt / as it is ryght and skylle As very heyer / iustely to succede Longe in honour / therin thy lyfe to lede Makynge there / a prodestacyon That in full token / of confirmacyon This is the wyll / fynall of myn herte Fro the whiche / no man may dyuerte Vpon no syde / nor vtterly declyne Hor firste my wyll / and dissent of lyne Be togyder / combyne now in one For whiche thynge / no mortall man may gone For this desyre laste / of my langour That thou playnely / be my Successour And fynally thus / I conclude and deme That vnto the / Septre and dyademe Delyuered be / with euery circumstaunce But all his wyll / for more assuraunce He made wryte / in his testament The fyne concludynge / of his laste entent And after that / he full pyteously Thelephus / besought hertely Of manly routhe / and knyghtly gentyllesse To do his dever / and his besynesse After his deth / lyke his estate royall To halowe and holde / the feste funerall Solempnely / and the exequyes do And sodaynely / without wordes mo The kynge Tentran / yeldeth vp the goste And went his way / I note to what coste I can nat deme / of suche mystyhede And whan Parcas / broken haue the thrde On the rokke / and he was forth his waye Than Thelephus / out of marbyll graye Curyously a tombe / madekerue The dede corps / therin to conserue Full rychely / and aboue the graue An Epythaphe / anone he dyde graue In his honour / playnely to expresse His knyghthode bothe / and worthynesse And how his goste / and he were deuorced With letters ryche / of golde aboue enboced Rounde aboute / wonder curyous On his tombe / that sayde playnely thus Here lyeth Tentran / the kynge douteles Whylom slayne / of cruell Achylles That his sceptre / and the regalye Hoolly gaue / whiche no man may denye To Thelephus / sone of Hercules Whiche in his tombe / resteth now in pees Whan this perfourmed / was in euery thynge And Thelephus / was crowned in to kynge And hye and lowe / all by one assent Had openly / in a Parlement Made fayth to hym / and ydone homage Lyke theyr degrees / as they were of age And with hole herte / in all theyr best entent By othe assured / and by sacrament As trewe lyeges / receyued hym for kynge Than Achylles / without more tariynge Whan all was sette / in peas & gouernaunce Without grutchynge / or any varyaunce To theyr shyppes / anone he made carye Euery thynge / that was necessarye To the grekes / corne / fruyte / or vytayle Flesshe or fysshe / or what that myght auayle To hosteynge or helpe them / in theyr nede Downe to the see / all hedyde lede Fully theyr vessell / for to stuffe and lade And Thelephus after / this he made Stylle in the boundes / of his regyon For to abyde / for this conclusyon That thorugh his helpe / and his dylygence Besynes / and discrete prouydence Agayne all myschefe / and all scarsyte Whan they nede / he myght theyr socour be . AL be that / he lyke as sayth Guydo With Achilles / full fayne wold haue go But he abode / sothely for the beste By bonde assured fully / and beheste In euery thynge / grekes to releue And than in haste / Achilles toke his leue Of Thelephus / and gan anone to sayle All his shyppes / stuffed with vytayle Towarde grekes / as made is mencyowne And in shorte tyme / he at Thenedowne Aryued is / and taken bathe the grounde With all his knyghted / 〈…〉 & rounde . And after this / to 〈◊〉 Hemade firste / full relacyon Of his expleyt / lyke as it was falle In the presence / of his lordes alle Syttynge enuyron / many worthy knyght And firste in Messa / he telleth of the fyght Whan they entred / and of theyr welcomynge And ceryously / he tolde eke of the kynge That Tentran hyghte / & playnely also howe Achilles amydde the selde / hym slowe And or his dethe / how he of hole entent Fully ordeyned / in his testament Thelephus also / to be his heyre All this he tolde / and eke of his re●eyre Vnto the see / and eke of the vytayle And Thelephus / how he wyll nat fayle To sende them / all that may them please Of whiche thynge / the grekes in great ease Were brought of herte / and lyke wonder well Whan Achilles / hadde tolde them euerydell And greatly preysed / his hye prouydence His manhode bothe / and his sapyence In his out beynge / that he bare hym so And after this / Achilles is go To his lodgynge / a lytell there besyde Where his knyghtes / vpon hym abyde Myrundones / full glade of his comynge And hym receyued / as longeth to a kynge Where he abode / and rested hym a whyle But for Guydo / declyneth here his style From the grekes / to them of Troye towne I muste also / make dygressy owne Of myne Auctor / the steppes for to shewe Lyke as it is / conuenyent and dewe To my matere / syth he is my guyde And for a whyle / grekes sette asyde And reherce / how Dares Frygyus In Troye booke / declareth vnto vs And ceryously / maketh mency owne Of the lordes / that came to Troye towne To helpe them manly / in theyr defence Agaynst grekes / to make resystence With ordynaunce / of many dyuerse thynges There came to them / Erles / Dukes / & Kynges As in Dares / playnely is made mynde Rede his boke / and there ye may it fynde And alder firste / I rede how that he Specyally speketh / of kynges thre Full manly 〈◊〉 and also of great ●a●e 〈…〉 〈…〉 wryteth thus 〈…〉 of them ● was called Panda●us And as I rede Thabet the secounde The thu●e Andastrus lyke as it is founde And as G●ydo ● lyste to specysye 〈…〉 knyghtes / in theyr companye 〈◊〉 manly men they were euerychon And from an I● called colloson Lyke as Dares / lyketh to expresse There came also / of excellent prowesse 〈…〉 of whiche the firste was 〈…〉 / ynamed Caryas And the seconde ● hyghte ymasyus 〈◊〉 the thirde● the .iiij. Amphymacus And fyue thousande / worthy knyghtes alle There came with them / manly for to falle Vpon grekes / in helpynge of the towne And from an yie / of full great renowne Called ly●ye / came the kynge Glaucon And ●ith hym / brought his sone Spardon A noble knyght / in armes full famous And was allyed / to kynge Pryamus And thre thousande / if I shall nat fayne There came of knyghtis / with these lordes twayne And from larys / a ryche lande also As I fynde there / came kynges two And them to quyte / manly as they ought A thousande knyghtis / they to Troye brought . And from a kyngdome / named lycaowne Caphemus / a kynge of great renowne Brought with hym / as dares bereth wytnesse A thousande knyghtes / of great worthynesse And fyue hondred / Dares telleth vs Came with Hupon / and with Epedus Many knyghtes in plates / of syluer bryght And with hym eke / a kynge that Remus hyght Brought .iij. thousande to Troye / many myle From Tabaria / his large myghty yle And Dukes foure / with all theyr chyualrye 〈◊〉 Eries . viij . came in his companye Hauyngem armes / great experyence And all they bare / without difference Theyrmen & they / whan they were in the felde The chief of golde / eueryche in his shelde Wherby the kynge / and booly his nauye Amonge them all / knowen myght be All be that other / bore eke the same And fro Trace / kynge Pylex by his name Fro thy●ke Trace / that is moste excellent Whiche in the plage / of the Oryent Haueth his syght / from which this myghty kȳ●ge A thousande knyghtis / brought at his comynge As myne Auctor / recordeth eke also An hondred knyghtes / be to Troye go With Alchamus / a Duke eke full famous That came with Pylex / Guydo wryteth thus Troyans to helpe / in theyr great nede And fro Pauonye / sothely as I rede Came Pretemessus / the noble werryour Lorde of that lande / kynge and gouernour And duke Stupex / with hym eke he hadde And of knyghtes / a thousande that he ladde Towarde Troye / from his regyon And as this storye / maketh mencyon That yle standeth / moste by wyldernesse And by woodes / of plenteuous thyckenesse Growe therin / many full dyuerse tree And moste is forest / that men may there se For they there buylde houses / but a fewe And in that lande / full dyuersely themshewe Many lyknesse / queynte and monstruous Bestes vnkouthe / to syghte meruaylous Stoundemell / as by apparence By illusyon / false in existence Wonder gastefull / playnely for to sene For dyuerse goodes / of the woodes grene Appere there / called Satyrye By cornys eke / fawny and incubye That cause often / men to falle in rage And of this lande / the people is full sauage Hardy knyghtes / furyous and wode And desyrous aye / to shede blode Greatly experte / specially to shete With darte and spere / peryllous for to mete For they caste euen / as any lyne And from an Ile / that named was Botyne In great arraye / to Troye the Cyte Lyke as I fynde / there came Dukes thre The firste of all / called Auphymyus Saume the secounde / the thirde Forcyus And as sayth Dares / whiche lyste natlye Twelue hondred knyghtis / in theyr companye And fro Bytunye / as made is remembraunce The ryche lande / that hath suche habundaunce Of spyces gommes / fruytes corne and wyne Holsome rotes / ryndes ryche and fyne Wonder vnkouthe / and precious also Out of whiche I le / there came knyghtes two Full knyghtly men / in armes desyrous Kynge Boetes / and Epysterus And with them brought / to Troye from so ferre A thousande knyghtes / arayed for the werre And fro the lande / called Paffogonye Whiche seuered is / from all companye As bokes saye / that be Hystoryall Vnder the plage / that is Oryentall Sette so ferre / as made is rehersayle That fewe or none / to that lande trauayle For there to come / is almoste impossyble For whiche / that lande is called muysyble Bycause oonly / of his remocyon And it is a ryche / regyon Of golde and syluer / and also of stones And habundaunte / of plente for the nones It is so full of treasoure / and of gode And hath his syght / on the ryche flode I named Tygre / nat fer from Eufrates As sayth myne Auctour / that called is Dares Fro whiche lande / in stele armed clene A thousande knyghtis / came with Phylymene The worthy kynge / whose sheldes out of orede Were of querboyl / in Guydo as I rede With golde depaynte / & fret with stones ryche That in this worlde / I trowe was none lyche Out of the floodes / chosen by deuyse Whiche haue theyr course / out of Paradyse The whiche kynge / a Gyaunt of stature And of makynge is / passynge all measure Stronge and delyuer / also as I fynde And fro the lande / that marcheth vpon ynde Kynge Porses came / with many knghtly man And he also / that with his honde hym wan So moche honour / the noble Meryon And his brother / called Sygamon Whiche from the lande / of theyr subieccyowne Of dukes / erles / and knyghtes of renowne Thre thousande brought / all in plates shene With speres rounde / whet full quare and kene From Ethyope / came this noble route And from the kyngdome / also out of doute That Teremo / of Dares called is Came the kynge / full prudent and full wys The manly man / named Theseus And eke his sone / that hyght Archylogus A thousande knyghtes / in theyr companye And Theseus / full nye was of allye To Pryamus / by discent of blode And kynges twayne / passynge ryche of gode And renowmed of knyghthode / as by fame All be that Guydo / reherseth nat theyr name Yet in this storye / he maketh mensyon That from Agresta / the lytell regyon A thousande knyghtis / they brought vnto troye Grekes pryde / to daunte and acoye For they were chosen / and pycked for the nones And from the lande / beyonde Amazones Lyssyny a the kynge / Epystrophus So wyse so worthy / and inly vertuous Passynge of counsayle / and discrecyowne And with all this / full worthy of renowne He preuyd was / also in specyall And in the Artys / called lyberall He lerned was / and expert a ryght Natwithstandynge / he was a worthy knyght In werre and peas / manfull and ryght sage All be that he was / ron ferre in age And as the storye / maketh rehersayle A thousande knyghtis / cladde in plate & mayle To troye towne / I fynde that he ladde And with hym / Guydo sayth he hadde A wonder Archer / of syght meruaylous Of fourme and shap / in maner monstruous For lyke myne Auctour / as I reherce can Fro the nauell vp warde / he was man And lower downe / lyke a hors yshaped And thylke parte / that after man was maked Of skynne was blacke / and rough as any vere Coueryd with here / fro colde hym for to were Passynge foule / and horryble of syght Whose eyen were / sparkelynge as bryght As a furneys / with his rede leuene Or the lyghtenynge / that cometh downe fro heuene Dredefull of loke / and reed as fyre of ●here And as I rede / he was a good archere And with his bowe / bothe at euen & morowe Vpon grekes he wrought / moche sorowe And gastyd them / with many hydous loke So sterne he was / that many of them quoke Whan they hym sawe / so ougly & horrybly And more lothsome / than it is credyble That many one / hath wounded to the deth And caused them / to yelde vp the breth On grekes syde / as ye shall after here And in this wyse / assembled be yfere Kynges dukes / and Erles of renowne From sondry landes / within Troye towne That be gaderyd / and come fro so ferre As sayth Dares / to helpe them in this werre That were in nombre / as he maketh mynde Two and thurty thousande / as I fynde Of worthy knyghtes / and lordes of estate That fythe / the worlde was fourmed & create Ne was sene / I trowe in one Cyte Togydre assembled / of so hye degre Nor of knyghtes / so great a multytude And yet this / Dares sothly to conclude In his boke maketh / of them nomynde That came to Troye / out of smaler ynde Nouther of them / moste famous of renowne That were with Pryam / yborne of troye towne That fynally / if it be trewely sought Syth the houre / that this world was wrought I dare afferme / vnder Phebus spere So many worthy / were nat mette yfere Of manly men / flourynge in lustynesse So fresshe so yonge / and as by lyklynesse In euery poynt of shape / and of arraye For to do well / for sothely this is no naye Who lyste consyder / vpon outher sy●e For thorugh the worlde / where men go or ryde Th● floure of knyghthode / & of worthynesse Of chyualrye / and of hye prowesse Assembled was withoute / and within Fully assented / a werre to begyn . Wherfore ye lysters / take now good hede That you delyte / in this boke to rede Firste for how lytell / that this werre began How lyght the cause / for whiche so many a man Hath loste his lyfe / in myschefe pytuously And yet no man / can beware therby Almoste for nought / was this stryfe begonne And who lyst loke / they haue no thyng wonne But oonly deth / alas the harde stounde So many knyght / caught his dethes wounde Withoute recure / or any remedye And for a woman / if I shall nat lye Gan all this stryfe / it was the more pyte That so great myschefe / or aduersyte Of mortall slaughter / euer shulde tyde Better had be to haue sette asyde Suche quarelles / dere ynough a myte To a let passyd / or the vengeaunce byte For wysedome were / to caste afore and se If suche sklaundres / myght eschewed be Or the venym / gonne for to rype For though y● men / with hornes blowe & pype Whan the hous is fyred / in his hete Of the sparcle / to late it is to trete That caused all / wherfore at the gynnynge The remedy is put / of euery thynge As euery wyght / may deme in his reason And whyle that grekes / lay at Tenedon Them to refresshe / and to reste in pes The worthy kynge / called Pallamydes With thurty shyppes / out of grekes lande Stuffed with knyghtis / ful worthy of theyr hande The beste choyse / of all his regyon Aryued is vp / at Tenedon Wherof grekes / whan they had a syght Reioysynge them / were right glade and lyght Hauynge rewarde / vnto his worthynesse Where they afore / hadde had heuynesse For his absence / that he was so longe And some of them / grutched at hym stronge For he nat kepte his moustre / at Athene But for to shewe / that he was all clene Of any spotte / in his conscyence Full manfully / in open audyence Lyke a knyght / hegan hymself excuse Stoppynge all tho / that theron lyste to muse Of his absence / she wynge the cause why That for sykenesse / and sodayne malady He was constrayned / his presence to withdrawe And for they sawe / that lykensse hath no lawe They helde excused / fully his absence And for he was / of moste reuerence Amonge grekes / to no wyght the secounde And was also full wyse / and eke habounde Of golde and good / auyse and prudent That what so euer / he sette on his entent Knyghtly & wysely / he wolde aye well acheue And what he gan / he ne wolde leue Maugre his foon / in no maner wyse Tyll that he sawe / a fyne of his empryse And for he was / moste of oppynyon Amonge grekes / and reputacyon They hym be●ought / that he wolde be Of theyr counsayle / auysely tose What were to do / in euery maner thynge And he assenteth / vnto theyr axynge Benygnely / of his gentylnesse And grekes than / dyde theyr besynesse To procede / without more delaye Them to enhaste / in all that euer they maye To gynne a sege / and differre it nought And sondry wayes / they serched haue & sought In theyr wyttes / how fro Tenedowne They maye remeue / towarde troye towne From the hauen / where theyr shyppes be And some thought / moste commodyte For moste expleyt / by nyght pryuely Towarde troye / that stode faste by Proudely to sayle / with theyr shyppes alle And some sayde / great peryll myght falle Towarde nyght / for take the see Lest with derkenesse / they ennosed bee In theyr passage / knowynge nat the waye Wherof great harme / after falle maye And thus dyuerse / of oppynyon Procedynge nat / to no conclusyon For in effect / theyr purpose nat ne helde But styll lye aye / lodged in the felde Lyke as they had / entryked be with drede Tyll on a daye / worthy Dyomede Of the grekes / seynge the cowardyse Euen thus his counsayle / gan deuyse Syres quod he / that be here now present If that ye lyste / all by one assent Goodly consydre / aduertynge prudently What I shall saye / tofore you openly Whiche of knyghthode / haue so noble a name Sothly me semeth / we ought haue gret shame Whiche holde our selfe / so myghty & so stronge And in this lande / soiourned haue so longe Nygh all this yere / and durste in no wyse Remeue hense / for very cowardyse What haue we do / nat ellys certaynely But to our foon / graunted folyly Euen at theyr luste / space and lyberte To make them stronge / and opportunyte Vs to withstande / playnely at the hande And so they wyll / ye may well vnderstande For day by day / to our confusyowne They sought wayes / full wysely vp & downe To gette them helpe / in the mene space And them enforced / aboute in euery place Theyr large Cyte / with barrerys & with palys Theyr wall mascued / and agayne our skalys Trusteth theron / made great ordynaunce And with all this / of our gouernaunce They haue aspyed / seynge that for drede We haue no herte / manly to procede In our purpose / to holde with them werre And aye the more / they se that we deferre The more they wyll / catche hardynesse Vs to resyste / with all theyr besynesse Also I se / and truste it veryly That if we hadde / afore hande manfully As we began / knyghtly forth contynued Our iourney hadde / better be fortuned If sodaynely / with stronge and myghty hande They vnauysed / we hadde into theyr lande Without abode / afore this tyme aryued Of whiche a whyle / we muste be depryued And delayed / where firste with victorye To our honour / with the palme of glorye We myght sothely / ne had be our slouthe Our wyl complysshed / this the playnetrouthe Where maugre vs / or we to lande aryue With stronge defence / they wyl agayne vs stryue And put vs of / or we the stronde wynne For aye the more / we tarye to begynne The more in sothe / for me lyste nat lye We put our selfe / echone in Ieopardye What shulde I fayne / or fage / fro the trouthe For our tariynge / and our cowarde ●louthe Are lykely after / to tourne vs to great sorowe Wherfore erely / by tymes to morowe My counsayle is / our ankers vp to pulle In this mater / no lenger that we dulle But to enarme / our shyppes / for the werre And at the vp ryse / of the morowe sterre Lette vs ordayne / with knyghtly apparayle Out of this hauen / with the wynde to sayle Of manfull herte / and lusty fresshe courage Our course holdynge / and our right passage Towarde Troye / and lande oppedlye What euer falle / for truste sykerlye Without scarmousshe / we may nat aryue For they fro Troye / descende wyll as blyue Lyke manly men / to mete vs in the berde But for all that / lette vs nat be aferde But voyde drede / and manhode sette afore That cowardyse / entre at no bore For taste the manhode / of your herte And with that worde / grekes gan aduerte The manly counsayle / of this Dyomede And in effect / to procede in dede Vnto the poynt / and for nothynge spare And in what wyse / anone I shall declare . ⸫ ⸫ ⸫
How the Grekes toke lande before Troye / & how they were strongely fought with . Ca. xxi .
THe next morowe / wonderly be tyme Or Phebus vp rose / longe or it was p̄me Whan it began / full meryly to dawe The grekes hoste / to shypwarde gan drawe With manly herte / fully deuoyde of drede O only thorugh comforte / of this Dyomede But alder firste / anone as they awoke The lordes wysely / theyr counsayle toke And concluded / amonge them euerychone Whiche of theyr shyppes / shulde for mest gone And on the see / how they shulde them guye So to aryue / that no man them aspye This was deuysed / at a certayne marke The nyght passed / at syngynge of the larke Grekes be shypped / without more tariynge Bothe hye and lowe / in the dawnynge And first tofore / an hondred shyppes of toure Stuffed with many / worthy warryoure Gan proudely sayle / as they had in charge And the baners / brode bryght and large Were I splayed out / vpon euery syde And they departed / the fomy wawes wyde That to syghte / whelmen vp so grene And next to them / for werre wel enarmed clene Another hondred / folowed faste by Whiche bare theyr sayles / passyngly proudely In which there was / ful many worthy knyght Armed in mayle / and in plates bryght And after foloweth / hoolly theyr nauye That as I trowe / suche a companye Of worthy kynghtes / and lordes of degree Was neuer afore / sene vpon the see And ●olus / was to them fortunate And eke Neptune / made none debate with wynde nor trouble / amonge the sterne wawes The atempre weder / full mery to them dawes That in a tyde / as they sayled ryght Of Troye towne / they caughte anone a syght Wherof in herte / full glade & lyght they be But whan Troyans / firste theyr shyppes se So proudely sayle / a lytell fro the stronde And sawe how they caste them / for to londe They bode no more / but arme them hastely In plate and mayle / and Iackes rychely With Irous herte / and that was done anone And toke theyr hors / & forth in haste they gone Out at the gates / and made no tariynge For they ne abyde / prynce duke nor kynge Nor other lor●e / to guyde them or gouerne But haste them forth / so many and so yerne Torough out the felde / so great a multytude Amonges whom / were no folkes rude But manly men / thryftely be sayne So clenly armed / on the large playne . That whan grekes / gan them firste beholde O● the nombre / theyr hertes gan to colde For there was none / so manly them amonge So yonge so fresshe / so hardy nor so stronge Of hye estate / nor of lowe degre That he ne was / a stonyed for to se The hardy troyans / so proudly downe descende To lette Grekes / that they nat assende That they wyste / and conceyue vtterly There was no meane / to aryue by But oonly deth / or manly for to fyght Or cowardely take them / to the flyght For other conduyte / playnely none there was But sharpe sworde / and speres in this cas Tyll sodaynely / the hardy fyerse kynge Prothesylaus / whiche in his gouernynge Formest of all / an hondred shyppesladde Gan haste hym / for Ire that he hadde To a landed firste / if it wolde haue be To haue mette with them / so great desyre had he But suche a wynde / gan in the sayle dryue Of his shyppes / whan hes hope to aryue That he vnwarely / smette vpon the loude On the gettys / and the drye sonde That his shyppes / shyuered all a sonder And some dreynt / to broke here and yonder And deuoured / of the wawy see That it was routhe / and pyte for to se For but of harde / there myght none escape And whyles some / were bely for to take The drye lande / with fylthe and mudde ylade Troyans of them / full cruell slaughter made Maugre theyr myght / grekes so constrayned That with theyr blode / the wawes were ystayned So mortally / that sothely to beholde Amonge the sonde / pale dede and colde The grekes lye / with woundes fresshe & grene And all the eyre / with shote of arowes kene I shadowed was / that Phebus bemes bryght Vpon the soyle / was derked of his lyght And newe alway / Troyans them assayle That to grekes / playnely this ●yuayle So mortall was / and so infortunate So vnwelfull / and disconsolate So v●●●sposed / thorugh infelycytee That I trowe neuer / out of no see 〈◊〉 none hoost / of more harde to londe But for all that / grekes ne wolde wonde For lyfe nor deth / manly to aryue And so befelle / of aduenture as blyue Thre hondred shyppes / that next after sewe Auyfedly / and in tyme dewe Be entrede in / and haste nat to faste And stryke sayle / and theyr ankers caste For the werre / strongly enbatayled In theyr londynge / leste they were assayled And wysely firste / they sette theyr A●bala●ters And theyr gonners / and theyr beste archers With pauysers / for to go aforne Knyghtly to lande / though troyans had sworne The contrarye / proudely them tolet●e Yet for all that / fyers●y vp they sette The grekysshe shote / made them to withdrawe And many of them / on the lande lay slawe That maugre them / the stronde they recure And suche as myght / moste manfully endure Was sette afore / tyll they the lande haue take And all attones / suche assaute they make Vpon troyans / and tho began the fyght Whan Prothesylaus / the noble worthy knyght Wonder lyfely / and right passynge stronge With the grekes / entrede in amonge The hardy troyans / & euery where then sought For he of armes / meruayles on them wrought Thylke daye / thorugh his worthynesse That many troyan / he brought in distresse Where he went / they felte full vnsofte Thorugh whose manhode / grekes were a lofte For thy●ke daye / ne ha●de his knyghthode be The greekes hadde / in great aduersyte Be venquysshed / by fatall puru●yaunce And fynally / brought vnto outtraunce I put a backe / playnely this no lye But what a●uyleth / all his chyualrye His worthynesse / or his fyerse courage What myght it helpe / or do auauntage Syth .vij. thousande grekes / hadde a do With an hondred thousande / troyans & yet mo It metuayle was / how they myght endure In any wyse / the stronde to recure Or so fewe / for to holde a felde But in themselfe / one thynge they behelde Full prudently / whiche that gaue them herte That they sawe / they myght nat as●erte To escape a lyue / if they wolde flee For at theyr backe / was no thynge but the see And tofore them / an hoost so great and huge And other waye / was there no refuge But dye attones / or fyght manfully Wherfore they cast / & shope them full knyghtly Lyke rather as manly men / theyr lyues to ieoꝑte Than cowardely / from theyr foon departe To lese theyr grounde / and drenchen in the see And thus as longe / as it wolde be Grekes defende them / ferre aboue their myght All be that / many were kylled in this fyght That the stremes / of theyr rede blode Ran in the sonde / large as any flode So cruelly / troyans on hym set With spere & swerde / ful sharpe grounde & whet That routhe was / and pyte for to thynke Tyll they almoost / droue them to the brynke Where the grekes / in myschefe and distresse In great anguysshe / and passyngly wer●nesse Themselfe defende / maat and full ●ery Where they shulde haue perysshed vtterly Recurles / in sothe for euermore Ne hadde Archelaus / and worthy P●otenor From theyr shyppes / aryued vnto lande Of sodayne happe / with them for to stande And yet they hadde / full great aduersyte For to aryue / thorugh the cruelte Of the troyans / but yet the lande they wynne And grekes than / cruelly begynne Agayne theyr foon / to stande a● defence With manly force / and great vyolence And th● encreaseth / the blody werre newe That all the ●oyle / depaynt was with the dewe That firste was gre●e / tourned into rede On eche syde / so many one laye dede Vpon the grounde / of his lyfe depryued But duke Nestor / is sodaynely aryued With his knyghtes felle / and full Irous And of herte / right melancolyous With his speres / archyers out asyde He entrede in sterne / and full of pryde With swerde and axe / grounde sharpe and kene They ran ●fere / and mette vpon the grene And hoked ●rowes / alway flewe amonge And 〈…〉 / to braste & tourne wronge And with they●●olys ●teled and well whette The longe daye / they haue togyder mette And the slaughter newe / alway began 〈◊〉 euery halfe / of many worthy man Wtih woundes large / felle and despytous 〈…〉 Prothenor / and kynge Archelaus 〈…〉 swerdes styffe / amonge the renges kerue 〈◊〉 many many Troyan / made for to sterue They were that day / so passyngely Irous And them to auenge / inly desyrous Neuce seasynge / in theyr pursuynge And to releue them / Alagus the kynge ●londed is / and eke kynge Athalus Whiche on Troyans / were full enuyous 〈◊〉 of Ire / as the firy glede And vpon them / of very olde hatrede With theyr knyghtes / sodaynely be falle And in theyr Ire / bytterer than galle Cruelly / they theyr foon oppresse And of assent / dyde theyr besynesse Maugre them / bakwarde to resorte Amy●de the felde / as I can reporte There was no choyse / so they were constrayned 〈◊〉 ve●y force / and of manhode payned To withdrawe / to theyr confusyowne But than in haste / downe from Troye towne Of worthy knyghtes / fresshely armed newe With deuyses / of many sondry hewe 〈…〉 abode / shortely to conclude There came downe / so great a multytude 〈◊〉 armes / depaynte vpon the shelde 〈◊〉 in theyr comynge / glytereth all the felde Of theyr armure / as the sonne bryght A●d whan that they / were entrede into fyght 〈◊〉 metynge / felly by enuye They sette vpon / feet with melancolye With suche a wyll / of herte and courage With suche furye / in theyr mortall rage That vnto accorde / was none other mene But slaughter and dethe / them to go betwene Thorugh stroke of axe / of dagger and of spere That of force / coacte the grekes were To retourne bakwarde / to the stronde To whose rescuse / anone there come to londe The kynge vlyxes / with his hole nauye And full knyghtly / with his chyualrye Towarde Troyans / enhasteth hym anone And of one herte / the grekes with hym gone And theyr courage / holly they resume And gan theyr foon / felly to consume Vnto the deth / theyr damage to reuenge That no wyght may / iustely them chalenge Of manhode so well / they haue them bor●e To quyte agayne / theyr harmes done before At whiche tyme / lyke a fyersly owne Amonge Troyans / rengynge vp and downe Vltxes went / with his swerde in honde He kylleth sleeth / and knyghtly gan to sonde Thylke daye / lyke a man be founde And here & there / with many mortall wounde Vpon Troyans / he wrought all this wracke Them berynge downe / on fote & on horse backe In his Ire / his strokes were so kene At whiche tyme / worthy Phylomene Lorde and kynge / of Paffogonye Whan he behelde / with his companye So many Troyan / of vlixes slawe Tawardes hym anone / he gan hym drawe On horse backe / and with a spere rounde Out of his sadell / bare hym to the grounde But vlixes rose / vp anone ryght Takynge his horse / lyke a manly knyght The whiche anone / as Phylomene hath sayne Toke efte aspere / and rode to hym agayne So myghtely / and with suche vyolence That fynally / there gayneth no diffence But that he smote hym / euen thorugh the shelde The whiche flewe / a sondre in the felde And thorughe his plates / without any fayle The spere hede ran / and rested in the mayle That forged was / of stele full shene and bryght Whiche to perce / the spere hede hath no myght So trewely made / was the hawberiowne But with that stroke / vlixes was bore downe Yet efte agayne / but he vp rose anone Whiche of his stroke / harme ne felte none And raughte a spere / sharpe whet & grounde And Phylomene / he gaue suche a wounde With all the myght / of his armes twayne Of Irous herte / with so great a payne That thorugh his shelde / bothe place & mayle He smote hym vp / thorugh his auentayle Into the gorge / that the stocke gan glyde That from his hors / he fell downe a syde Full perryllously pyght / vpon his hede His knyghtes wenynge / sothly he were dede Whiche toke hym vp / & layde hym on a shelde And bare hym home / in haste out of the felde With great daunger / or they myght hym wynne Thorugh the grekes / with theyr lorde to twynne And for Troyans / supposed sykerly That Phylomene / without remedy Hadde be deed / they were astoned all That if this case / that day ne had fall Of Physomene / grekes on the stronde ●●dde be outrayed / aryuynge vp to londe Thorughe the knyghthode / this is douteles Of Phylomene / whom that vlixes V●ho●sed hath / with a mortall wounde In knyghtly wyse / Troyans to confounde Wherof they were / astoned euerychon But tho as than / and Agamenon Of greks ooste / lorde and Emperour Aryued is / vnto theyr socour With all his knyghtes / and Menelaus And eke the worthy / Thelamonyous Called Ayax / is to lande come And they at leyser / haue theyr hors nome Whyle other grekes / Troyans occupye Sor● fyghtynge / and they gan faste hye Towardes them / makynge no delay All in a frusshe / in all haste they may They ran Yfere / and theyr speres bracke With herte enuyous / vpon hors backe There myght men / the worthy knyghtes se On theyr stedes / eche at other flee With styffe swerdes / shaftes great and rounde With hedes square / the poyntes kene grounde There myght men se / in theyr furyous tene So many knyghtes / dede vpon the grene But moste the slaughter / and confusyowne Fell thylke tyme / of them of the towne The grekes were / so myghty and so stronge And in the felde / this contynueth longe Tyll Prothesilaus / the stronge myghty kyng Whiche all the daye / in skarmysshe & fyghtyng Full lyke a knyght / had occupyed be Agayne Troyans / in his cruelte Of manhode oonly / and of worthynesse Of aduenture / in his werynesse Hym to refresshe / and to take eyre And to a brethe hym / maked his repeyre To the stronde / where he dyde aryue Where as he thought / his herte gan toryue Of cruell yre / and alfo of pyte That he caughte / oonly for to se His men lye slayne / ende longe the stronde And some of them / comynge vp to the londe Dreynt in the see / amonge the floodes depe For whiche thynge / he gan anone to wepe Full pyteuosly / all were it nat espyed Whose wofull eyen / myght nat be dryed For the constreynt / whiche sat sonye his herte Tyll at the laste / amonge his paynes smerte So cruell Yre / gan his herte enbrace That sodaynely / with a despytous face Without abode / thought how that he Vpon theyr deth / wolde auenged be Or fynally attones / with them deye And on his stede / he toke the ryght weye Towarde his foon / full Irous in his rage And lyne right / he holdeth his passage Swyfte as grayhounde / that renneth out of lees And where he sawe / that was grettest prees He preceth thorugh / amyddes of the felde And with the swerde / whiche in his hande he helde That grounde was / to kerue and to byte Full mortally / aboute hym he gan smyte That Troyans / myght hym nat asterte Some he ryueth / euen to the herte And some he woundeth / sothely to the deth And some he made / yelde vp the breth And he vnhorseth / some cruelly And whom he mette / that day vtterly From his hors / he made hym to alyght For where he rode / they fledde out of his syght And his presence / as the deth eschewe But euer in one / he gan after sewe In his chase / lyke as a wood lyon This playe he playeth / with them of the towne Tyll Perseus / of Ethyopye kynge From the Cyte / came sodaynely rydynge With many a knyght / and many lyfely man At whose comynge / of newe there began A fresshe skarmysshe / furyous and woode That many greke / that day loste his blode So felle assaute / Troyans on them make Amonge them / the Ethyopyes blake So manly bare them / fyghtynge here & there That where Troyans / were afore in fere 〈◊〉 be / and of newe assured that thorugh theyr helpe / they haue the felde recured And made them lese / also moche agayne As they tofore / wonne on the playne For they so hole / and so myghtely Kept them togydre / and so auysely Gouerned them / with pauys spere and shelde That grekes were / compelled in the felde Maugre who so grutche / of necessyte To the sironde / backewarde for to flee Almoste dispayred / mate and comforteles But in that whyle / kynge Pallamydes To theyr rescous / come to arryuayle And lusty fresshe / entreth in batayle With his knyghtes / and his hole maynee Takynge theyr hors / faste by the see And full proudely / enbusshed all attones With spere and swerde / ygrounde for the nones By conueyinge / of theyr worthy comynge Haue so oppressed / at theyr in comynge The manly Troyans / that it was a wonder To se them lye slayne / here and yonder And this contynueth / tyll amonge the prees Of auenture / that Pallamydes Brennynge aye / in his furyoushete Amyd the felde / happeth for to mete A worthy knyght / called Sygamon Whiche brother was / to the kynge Menon 〈◊〉 also / as Guydo doth reherce This manly man / to the kynge Perce Whiche grekes had / that daye sore opressed By his knyghthode / as it is expressed For he the grekes / to his worthynesse Had ofte brought / in full great distresse The same daye / to his great encrees ●ut of Fortune / alas Pallamydes As I you tolde / hath in the felde hym mette And with aspere square / and sharpe whette Whan he of knyghthode / was most in his pryde He rode at hym / and smote hym thorugh the syde And with that / laste dedely fatall wounde From his stede / he bare hym to the grounde And on the playne / of his blode all rede 〈◊〉 ●●amydes / lefte hym pale and dede Amonges them / that of Troye were And forth he rode / & bare downe here and there All that euer / in his waye stode He was on them / so furyous and wode Maugre Troyans / tofore hym on the playne Made resorte / to the walle agayne His manly knyghtes / alway faste by On hym awaytynge / full ententyfely Redy to honde / at euery great empryse But tho began / the noyse to aryse The wofull clamour / and the pyteous crye Of them of Troye / the whiche vtterly Agayne grekes / myght nat sustene The mortall swerde / was so sherpe and kene Of the noble worthy / famous knyght Pallamydes / that with his great myght The longe daye / hath yborne hym so Agayne his foon / and so knyghtly do In his persone / thorugh his hye renowne That chaced hath / almoste to the towne Troyans echone / manly made to fle The noyse of whom / is entred in the Cyte The hydous crye / and the mortall shoute Wherof ameued Ector / yssueth oute Furyously / in all the haste he can The sone of mars / this knyght this manly man Of all worthy / yet the worthyest That euer was / and the hardyest For as Phebus / with his bemysclere Amonge sterres / so dyde appere Excellynge all / in stele armed bryght On whom it was / a very heuenly syght For it was he / that bothe nye and ferre Of worthynesse was / the lode sterre The whiche / whan he entred into felde Lyke as I rede / bare that daye a shelde The shelde of whiche / was of pure golde With thre lyons / in storye as I tolde Of whose coloure / is made no mencyon But as I fynde / by descripcyon They were passant / if I reporte a ryght Borne on the breste / of this Troyan knyght That was the grounde & rote / of hye prowesse And floure accompted / of all worthynesse The whiche so manly / without more abode Amonge his knyghtes / to the grekes rode So lyke a man / that they in his comynge A stoned were / as he gan in thrynge Amonges them / whiche kylleth downe & slethe And whom he mette / there was nat but dethe Afore his swerde / grekes go to wrake And theyr wardes / of knyghtly force he brake And maugre them / seuered them a sonder And bare all downe / rydynge here and yonder And casuelly / he meteth in his waye Prothesylaus / whiche all the longe daye Hadde sore fought / agaynst them of Troye And slewe all tho / that come in his waye This hardy knyght / this worthy fyers kynge Whiche on Troyans / was euer pursuynge He to them hadde / so hertely great enuye The whiche thynge / whan Ector gan espye And of his knyghthode / gan to take hede Towardes hym / he gan to reyne his stede And lyne ryght / of hasty Ire he rode And with his swerde / disteyned all with blode He cloue his hede / thorugh his basenet With suche a myght / that his stroke ne was let By force of mayle / nor of thycke plate But fynally / by full mortall fate The swerde of Ector / thrugh nerf bone & vayne This worthy kynge / parted hath on twayne For vtterly / there gayneth none armure Agayne the stroke of Ector / to endure But that this kynge / so full of worthynesse Stronge and myghty / and of great hardynesse Receyued hath / his laste fatall wounde And lyeth now dede / parted on the grounde And Ector forth amonge / the grekes ryde And who so euer / that his stroke abyde Refute was none / nor diffence but deth And many greke / that daye he sleth For whiche of them / in his waye stode His sharpe swerde / he batheth in his blode That also ferre / as they myght hym se As the deth / from his swerde they fle So mortal vengeafice / vpon them he wrought And many greke / at his felowe sought And gan enquere / what he myght be For all theyr lyfe / they coude neuer se None so knyghtly / behaue hym in batayle And playnely dempte / as be supposayle It was Ector / the noble warryour Which of knyghthode / may bere away the flour Amonge all / that euer yet were borne For there was no greke / that him may stande aforne Of all that daye / he gan them so enchace To the stronde / euen afore his face For they ne durste / his mortall stroke abyde And whan he hadde / vpon euery syde The grekes chaced / to the wawy see Wounded and mate / in great aduersytee Than him to reste / this Troyan knyght anone Lyke Mars hymselfe / home to Troye is gone AT whose partynge / grekes e●t presume Manly agayne / theyr hertes to resume And of newe / theyr foomen to assayle And to Iuparte / if it wolde auayle Lyfe and deth / to sette at outraunce On fortune / if she wolde auaunce Theyr parte agayne / in recure of the felde And them enforce / with myght of spere & shelde Anone forthwith / and make no delay To wynne agayne / on Troyans if they may For .viij. tymes / sythen they begonne The felde they haue / that day loste and wonne Lyke as fortune / lyste to do theyr cure Vp or downe / for to turne hyr eure For as hyr whele / went aboute rounde Right so that day / they wan & lost their grounde But specyally / they were moste desmayde Whan Ector came / which hath them so outrayde Thrugh his knyghthod / made theyr hert / tyue And to resorte / where they dyde aryue And thus contynued / maugre all theyr myght Whyle in the felde / was this Troyan knyght . Tyll Phebus chare / gan to westre downe That he repeyred is / into the towne Whiche hadde grekes / wrought afore full ylle But nowe the hardy / cruell fyers Achylle Aryued is / with his knyghtes alle Myrondones / whom men are wonte to calle Whiche from the see / taken hath the playne At whose commynge / grekes haue agayne The felde recured / and put themselfe in prees O only thorugh helpe / of worthy Achylles Whiche is so felly / Troyans falle vpon That he of them / hath slayne full many oon For thre thousande / in stele armed bryght With hym he brought / redy for to fyght Knyghtes echone / full worthy of renowne Whiche with Achylles / grekes champyowne Haue mercyles / in theyr cruelte Slayne many troyan / out of the Cyte They were so feruent / in theyr mortall Ire So enuyous / of hate to desyre Newe and newe / for to shede theyrblode For Achylles thought / it dyde hym gode That his swerde / troyans blode to shede And on the soyle / to se them lye and blede Rowteles / in his melancolye For he to them / hath so hote enuye Without theyr deth / that it may nat quenche And he his swerde / full depe made drenche The longe daye / in Troyans blode And batheth it / as it were in a flode Whiche forged was / and I whette so kene That many ryuer / for hely on the grene Ran here and there / of hurtes sore And with his knyghtes / alway more & more Pursued them / afore hym as they flee To the walles of Troye / the cytee Where they made / a full pyteous crye And in this whyle / I fynde in the storye . The grekes hoost / hoolly is aryued Lyke in Guydo / as it is descryued Of men of armes / suche a multytude And of knyghtes / shortly to conclude That from theyr shyppes / of newe landed be That troyans / astoned were to se And abasshed / they gan wexe alle For sodaynely / they gan on them falle On euery halfe / passyngly great prees And euer in one / this hardy Achylles With his swerde / made theyr sydes rede For here and there / lay the bodyes dede And wounded some / at entre of the gate And knyghtly there / with them he gan debate And furyously / this felle cruell knyght The children slewe / in theyr faders syght That to beholde / it was full great pyte And yet the slaughter / gretter had be Without nombre / of them of the towne Perpetuelly / to theyr confusyowne Lykely for euer / to haue be ouercome If Troylus / ne had vnto rescuse come Yonge fresshe and lusty / and inly desyrous With whom come eke / Parys and Dephebus And many worthy / their partye to socoure So that grekes / tho ne myght endure Agaynst them / to stande at deffence For all theyr pryde / nor make resystence Worthy Troylus / so well that tyme hym quytte For thus in sothe / what greke that he hytte Outher he maymeth / or he made deye Wherfore as deth / they fled out of his weye And Achylles / with his companye For it was nyght / homewarde gan hym hye Towarde grekes / with glorye & great honoure And they receyue hym / lyke a Conqueroure That whiche he hadde / so well Ymet And they of troye / haue theyr gates shet And made them stronge / thorughout al the towne And in this tyme / kynge Agamenowne Ycherched hath / a place couenable Whiche hym thought was / moste a greable By lyklyed / and moste conuenyent For euery lorde / to sette his tente And in a felde / of full large space Moste competent / as for lodgynge place In dewe syght / sette for the Cyte Eche lorde was sygned / where he shulde be . And gan anone / ordayne mansyons Pytched theyr tentes / and Pauyllyons And suche as myght / no Centoryes haue From storme and rayne / themselfe for to saue They deuysed / other habytacles Tugurryes / and smale Receptacles To shroude them in / and all the nyght also From theyr shyppes / they had moche a do Or they myght haue / theyr hors to lande And to ordayne / where they shulde stande And they also / besy were to carye Other thynges / that were necessarye And nedefully / vnto a sege longe And eke they made / tey their shyppes stronge For in the porte / their ankres caste And of assent / they besyed them full faste For to conferme / of one entenciowne To sette a sege / to Troye towne And therupon / by bounde assured faste For to abyde / whyle their lyfe many laste Fynally / without repentaunce And prudently / they made their ordynaunce As they beste coude / all the longe nyght They bete their fyres / whiche bren wonder lyght And at a space / deuyded fro the fyres They sette vp / in maner of bares And rounde aboute / where their lodgynge was They paled them / all the felde compas And to acheue / the fyne of their purpose They felly wrought / & kept them selfe aye close And the kynge / that no treason falle Let make watche / without his tentes alle Of them that hadde / rested them afore And his mynstrellys / he made ouermore As sayth Guydo / all the longe nyght To kepe their tydes / tofore the fyres bryght Meryly to sowne / their Instrumentes And them he made / reste in their tentes That had afore / wery be of fyght And in the see / were faynted of theyr myght And other eke / he made in theyr armure Awayte wysely / agayne all aduenture That no disceyte / were founde on no syde And thus this kynge / knyghtly can prouyde In his aduyse / that nothynge hym escape And all the nyght / I fynde he dyde wake . Tyll on the morowe / that the rowes rede Of Phebus chare / gonne for to sprede And thus eche kynge / desposed as it ought I wyll procede to tell how / they wrought Ceryously without / and within With your supporte / the thyrde boke begyn .
Here begynneth the Thyrde Boke / That telleth howe the Troyans yssued out on the morowe and fought with the Grekes / and how valyauntly Ector bare hymselfe that daye . Capitulo .xxij.
WHan Aurora / with hyr pale lyght Vnder the mantel / of the myrke nyght And the curtyne / of hyr hewes fade Yshroudyde was / in the derke shade Abasshed rody / as I can desyre Oonly of hyr / that is Femynyne For ashamed / durste nat be seyne Bycause she hadde / so longe a bedde leyne With fresshe Phebus / her owne chosen knyght For whiche she hydde hyr / sothely out of syght Tyll his stede / that called is Flegonte Enhasted hym / aboue oure Oryzonte And Appollo / with his bemys clere Hath recomforted hyr oppressed chere This to saye / after the dawnynge Whan Tytan was / in Eest rysynge Of his hete atempre / and right softe Hyr Emysperye / for to glade a lofte . The same houre / the Troyan champyowne Gouernour of werres / of the towne Worthy Ector / whiche in the Cyte Next Pryam hadde of all / the souereynte The towne to guyde / by knyghtly excellence For his manhode / and his sapyence Of Troyan knyghtes / lorde & eke cheuetayne Whiche hath commaunded / in a large playne To hye and lowe / he exceptynge none Kynges / Pryces / and lordes euerychone The same morowe for to mete Yfere In theyr arraye / to mustre and apere Lyke as they were / of name and of estate Besyde a temple / whylom consecrate To the goodes / that called is Dyane Moste honoured in this ryche faane There to array them / in all the haste they can Lyke the deuyse / of this knyghtly man And this playne passynge fayre to se Was sette amydde / of Troye the Cyte Smothe & right fayre / & full of fresshe floures Where all the worthy / noble werryoures Of troye towne togydre assembled be And many other / to beholde and se The famous knyghtes / arme them in the place And some of them / gan full streyte lace Theyr doublettes made / of lynnen clothe A certayne folde / that aboute hym gothe And some also dempte moste sureste To 〈◊〉 them / for batayle of ar●ste And dyde on firste / after theyr desyres Sabatous greues cussues with voydres A payre breche / alder firste of mayle And some there were / eke that ne wolde fayle To haue of mayle / a payre bras And therwithall / as the custome was A payregussettes / on a pety cote Garnysshed with golde / vp vnto the throte A paunce of plate / whiche of the selfe behynde Was shet and close / and theron as I fynde Enuyron was / abordure of smalle mayle And some chose / of the newe entayle For to be surmyd / of all their foos An hole breste plate / with arere doos Behynde shet / or elles on the syde And on his armes / rynged nat to wyde There were voyders / frettyd in the mayle With cordes rounde / and of fresshe entayle Vambras with wynges / and rerebras therto And theron sette / were besaguys also Vpon the hede / a basenet of stele That within / locked was full wele A crafty syght / wrought in the vyser And some wolde haue / of plate a bauer That on the breste / fastened be aforne The canell pece / more esy to be borne Gloues of plate / of stele forged bryght And some wolde / armed be more lyght In thykkes Iackes / couered with satyne & some wolde haue / of mayle wrought ful fyne An hawberion / all of late wrought cassade That with weyghte / he be nat ouerlade Hymsefe to welde / lyke a lyfly man And some wyll haue / of choce geseran On his doublet / but an hawberion And some oonly / but a sure gepon Ouer his poleyns / rechynge to thekne And that the ●●euys / eke so longe be That his vambras / may be cured ner A pryckynge palet / of plate the cower And some wyll haue / also no vyser To saue his face / but oonly anaser And some wyll haue / a payre platys lyght To welde hym well / whan that he shall fyght And some wyll haue / a target or a spere And some a pauys / his body for to were And some a targe made / stronge to laste And some wyll haue / dartes / for to caste Some a pollax / heded of fyne stele And pycked square / for to laste wele And some a swerde / his enemy for to mete And some wyll haue / a bowe for to shete Some an arblast / to stande out asyde And some on foot / and some for to tyde Array themsesfe / their foomen for to sayle And many one was / besy for to nayle His felawes harneys / for to make it stronge And to dresse / it sytte nat wronge With poyntes / tresshes / & other maner thynge That in suche case / longeth to armynge I haue no connynge / euery thynge to telle And vnto you / were to longe to dwelle Where I fayle / ye mot haue me excused For in suche crafte / I am lytell vsed And ignoraunce / doth my penne lette In theyr ordre / my termys for to sette And ofte chaungeth / suche harneys and deuyse And ye that be therin / expert and wyse Dysdayne nat / that I speke in this place Of theyr armynge / for all is in your grace Right at your lyste / to correcte euery dell And whan Ector sawe / that all was well And euery armed / and arrayed This worthy knyght / no lenger hath delayed Aduysely his wardes / for to make And prudently / badde they shulde take Theyr grounde in haste / to put all in certayne And stande in ordre / endelonge the playne So that no man / were founde recheles And the gate called / Dardanydes Without abode / Ector made vnshette And after bad / that men shulde fette To his presence / that it were done in haste Cyncynabor / his brother borne in baste And vnto hym / firste of euerychon And to a lorde / that named was Glaucon The kynges sone / of Lycye and his heyre With many baner / displayed in the eyre To this two / Ector gaue the guarde And gouernaunce / of the firste warde In which he hath / a thousande knyghtes sette With speres rounde / and swerdes kene whette And on theyr breste / full many ryche shelde And they werechosen out / in all the felde Amonge the beste / that endure myght Agayne grekes / manly for to fyght And vnto them / Ector bad anone In goddes name / that they shulde gone Out at the gate / sothely as I rede And ie●te they fylle / in myschefe or in nede He assygned / in the selfe place With manly chere / to the kynge of Trace Wysely on hym / to be awaytynge A thousande knyghtes / to haue at his ledynge In a wenge knyghtly / for to abyde To wayte on hym / vpon euery syde And with hym / was his sone Archylogus Of his age / a man right vertuous To fulfylle / that longeth to a knyght For bothe he had herte / and also myght And next to them / Ector gan deuyse The next warde / to the kynge of Fryse That in his tyme / called zantipus And vnto hym / yonge stronge and desyrous He assygned to wayte / on his vanere Thre thousande knyghtis / armed bryght & clere With whiche warde / kynge Alchomus also Of Ector / was commaunded for to go And to his byddynge / he mekely dyde obeye And full knyghtly / they haue take theyr weye Out at the gate / passyngly arrayed Towarde grekis / with baners fresshe displayed And theyr penons / vnrolled euerychone And after Ector assygned / hath anone To the noble / yonge lusty free His brother Troylus / so fresshe vpon to se Whiche in knyghthode / had all suffysaunce The thirde warde / to haue in gouernaunce With .iii. thousande knyghtes / yonge of age Flourynge in force / hardy of courage Suche as he was / of custome wont to lede To whom Ector / of very bretherhede Full goodly spake & sayde / at his departynge Brother quod he / my herte is so louynge Towardes the / of very kyndenesse That though I haue / in partye great gladnesse Of thy manhode / that so ferre is kouthe And the knyghthode / of thy grene youthe Yet douteles / in my fantasye Full ofte a daye / I stonde in Iupardye Of pensyfehede / and in warde besy drede Whan I remembre / vpon thy manhede Lest thy courage / be to vyolent Of thy lyfe / to be neclygent Thy selfe to put / to ferre in aduenture Of surquydrye / so moche to assure In thy force / kynghtly to a sterte Euery peryll / in thy manfull herte Hauynge no rewarde / in suche mortall stryfe Of wylfulnesse / nouther to deth nor lyfe Nor aduertence / to thy sauacyowne But as fortune / turneth vp and downe Hyr whele meuable / hye and after lowe In Martys Ire / as the wynde doth blowe Whiche causeth me / full ofte syghe and thynke And to wake / whan I shulde wynke Reuoluynge / aye thy hasty wylfulnesse But gentyll brother / for any hardynesse Thus ylke day / vpon euery syde I praye the so wysely / to prouyde For hate or yre / thy foos pursuynge Nat to excede / more than is syttynge But let prudence / the kepe in a mene And wysdome eke / holde agayne the reyne Of thy herte / and thy fyers courage That fyred haue / thy grene tendre age Deuoyde of drede / eche peryll to endure That our enemyes / of thy mysauenture Reioysenat / myn owne brother dere And myghty mars / I praye of herte entere Thus euery day / on Troyans grounde From theyr handes / the to kepe sounde Lyke as I wolde / that he dyde me To whom / anone with all humylyte In manly wyse / this yonge †iusty† knyght This worthy Troylus / of herte fresshe & lyght Answered agayne / and sayd with glad chere Myn owne lorde / and my brother dere And god to fore / I fully shall obeye To fulfylle / what you lyste to seye Now vnto me / of your gentyllesse And nat declyne / thorugh none reklesnesse In any poynt / from your commaundement But with hole herte / in all my best entent I shall take hede / and playnely do none other Than ye haue sayde / myn owne lord & brother So lothe me were / offende you or greue And in this wyse / he lowly toke his leue And forth herode / so lyke a manly knyght That to beholde / it was a noble syght Amonge his men / he behaueth hym so wele Thre thousande knyghtis / armed in bryght stele Enuyron rode / with Troylus into felde And that day / he bare in his shelde Passant of golde / iij. lyons rychely The chaumpe of asure / wrought full craftely And by the gate / he yssued out anone And with hym ladde / his knyghtes euerychone To the grekes / holdynge the next waye And Ector hasteth / all that euer he maye Prudently / his wardes to ordayne And to the noble / worthy bretherne twayne To kynge Hupon / and to Ardelaus He assygned / the storye telleth thus The fouthe warde / to guye and to wysse And in the lande / that called was larysse The bretherne two / hadde reygned longe And kynge Hupon / was passyngly stronge And of stature / lyke a chaumpyowne And saue Ector / in all Troye towne Was none to hym / egall as of myght More delyuere / nor a better knyght And on his foon / passynge despytous Whiche with his brother / called Ardelaus Foure thousande knyghtes / hadde for to lede And seuen thousande / sothly as I rede And to them lyke / as wrytte Guydo Worthy Ector / assygned hath also One of his bretherne / called Brymarchus A noble knyght / in armes right famous And hadde in manhode / passynge excellence And of Ector / they taken haue lycence And rode theyr waye / amonge all the prces Thorughe the gate / of Dardanydes . The fyfte warde / to haue at his ledynge Was by Ector / commytted to the kynge That of Cesoyne lorde / and prynce was And to his brother / called Pollydamas And Cysones / were of hye stature And myghty in armes / passyngly endure Vpon whom / full many man behelde And theyr kynge / bare no thynge in his shelde But a felde of Gowlys / as I fynde Of other sygne / Guydo maketh no mynde And forth he rode / a full sterne pas This noble kynge / and Pollydamas Whan they hadde / of Ector leue take Whiche euer in one / full besy was to make The sixte warde / with all his dylygence And to the kynge / called Pretemense That was full worthy / bothe in werre & pees And to a Duke / that hyght Sterepes Whiche was also / full worthy of his honde He toke the folke / of Pauonye londe Them to gouerne / in the felde that daye The whiche people / hath in custome aye Without plate / hawberion or mayle On swyfte hors / theyr foomen for to assayle With myghty bowes / & arrowes sharpe grounde Thorugh an harneys / mortally to wounde And with this folke / of Ector eke also Deyphebus / assygned was to go In the felde / to guyde them and to lede And on theyr waye / they faste gan them spede But or they passe / by Dardanydes Full discrtely / Ector for them chees Pauyseres / cladde in mayle and plate Them commaundynge / at yssynge of the gate And with the Archers / into felde to gone And many worthy / well armed euerychone To awayte on them / that they were nat lore For this folke / that I of spake tofore Of Pauonye / hadde none armure But prudent Ector / for to make them sure Out of Agrest / the myghty regyowne Hath chosen out / full worthy of renowne The beste knyghtes / of them euerychon And with two kynges / Esdras and Phyon Assygned them / for to take hede To the fotemen / whan that they haue nede The whiche Phyon / made full rychely Rode in a chare / all of Yuory Of whiche the wheles / wrought full curyous Were of a tree / Ycalled Ebenus The whiche tree / groweth ferre in ynde Blacke of hewe / and also as I fynde Whan it is korue / this tree wyll wexe anone Of his nature / harde as any stone Whan it is graue / eyther rounde or square And of pure golde / roued was this chare Fret with perle / and many ryche stonys That such a nother / I trowe now ther none is In all this worlde / it I shall nat fayne And it was ladde / of myghty knyghtis twayne Men of armes / within and withoute Armed in stele / rydynge rounde aboute This worthy kynges / Esoras and Phyon And Ector hath called / to hym anone One of his bretherne / what so that be falle To be guyde / and leder of them alle . The name of whom / was Pyktagoras And to the great / Troyan Eneas Of whom tofore / made is mencyon Ector / by goode delyberacyon The .vij. warde / assygned hath to kepe And vpon stedys / lusty for to lepe Of suche as were / vsed moche to ryde Full manly knyghtes / to houe by his syde Whiche with Emphranye / vnto Troye towne Come so ferre / from theyr regyowne To fostre them / for Ectors sake And whan they hadde / of hym leue take They rode full proudely / forthe with Eneas Out at the gate / a wonder knyghtly pas The brode felde / tyll they haue atteyned And in this whyle / Ector hath ordayned Lyke myn Auctour / as I can reherce The eyght warde / of the folke of Perce Worthy knyghtes / manly and ryght wyse The whiche were / commytted to Paryse On hym that day / to awayte besyly To whom Ector / full benyngnely Spake and sayde / at his departynge O brother myn / in all maner thynge Whan thou art passed / by Dardanydes This daye to ferre / put the nat in prees Amonge grekes / nor in Iupardye Leste thy foon / in myschefe the espye To whom they haue / of olde and newe date In theyr hertes full fresshe / and mortall hate The fyre of which / their breste hath so enbraced That it were harde / out to be arraced Wherfore brother / loke that thou be In all wyse / nat to ferre fro me But kepe the nye / that no mysauentoure Falle vpon the / so that I may socoure This day to the / myn owne brother dere To whom Parys / with full humble chere Answered and sayde / that in euery thynge He wolde obeye / vnto his byddynge And rode his waye / anone with his meyne Into the felde / out of the Cyte And Ector / aye dyde his besynesse The nynthe warde / in ordre for to dresse Whiche he thought / hymselfe for to lede In whiche he put / sothly as I rede Fyue thousande knyghtis / borne of troye towne The worthyest / and grettest of renowne And passyngly famous / in knyghthode Borne by descent / of troyans blode . And of his bretherne / he toke with hym ten Suche as he knewe / for moost manly men That were forayne / fro stocke of regallye Out of the lyne / borne in bastardye Whom Ector had / in great chyerte For the knyghthode / he coude in themse And whan he hadde / by knyghtly purueaunce All his wardes set / in gouernaunce Lyke Mars hymselfe / faste gan hym spede Without abode / for to take his stede Whiche was in bokes / called Gallathe Of all hors / hauynge the soueraygnete As ferre as men / ryde in any coste Of whom Dares / maketh so great a boste Of shape of hyghte / and also of fayrenesse Of strengthe of loke / and of great swyftenesse So lyke an hors / perfourmed out and oute And with a wyer / men myght hym turne aboute Lyke as Dares / maketh mencyowne Of whom Ector / rode thorugh troye towne Armed at all / that came hym wonder well From foot to hede / full rychely euerydell That shone as bryght / as sonne on somers day And to pryam / he helde the right way And whan that he / was come to the kynge He reherseth / in ordre euery thynge How he hath done / and all his ordynaunce And lowly sayde / so it be pleasaunce To your noble / royall excellence I haue chosen / with besy dylygence A thousande knyghtes / full of suffysaunce With fyue houndred / to haue attendaunce On your persone / alway where ye be With all footmen / that be in the Cyte That shall awayte / on you euer in one Wherfore my lorde / as faste as we are gone Lowly I praye / to your worthynesse To sewe vs / by good aduysenesse Out at the towne / alwaye eke that ye Togydre kepe / your knyghtes and meyne This I beseche / with all my full myght Within the boundes / where as we shall fyght That ye suffre none / of them passe But kepe ye hole / in the selfe place At wyxe vs / and this stronge Cyte If we haue nede / that ye may aye se Vs to releue / kepynge you asyde And specyally there / for to abyde Where moste is lyckely / our partye to sustene For euer amonge / there shall men go betwene Of our expleyt / the trouthe to reporte For whiche parte / Mars lyste the felde to sorte Of his power / this ylke day fatalle For ye shal be / our castell and our walle And our refuge / to saue vs from all smerte And specyally / one thynge ye aduerte That no disceyte / fraude nor treasowne Compassyd be behynde / to the towne Of our foon / thorugh our reklesnesse Whyles that we do / our besynesse Agaynste them / in the felde to fyght In all wyse / therto hath a syght That no thynge tourne / vnto our damage Thoughe our engyne / but worke as the sage With victorye / that we may conclude So that grekes / with fraude vs nat delude By no engyne / of vnware vyolence Hopynge alway / that it is none offence To your hyghnes / that I haue here sayde And with that worde / Pryamus in abrayde Benyngnely of chere / and countenaunce And sayde Ector / my sothfast suffysaunce My fynall truste / and supportacion In thy wyse / disposycion Hoolly I putte / as thou lyste ordayne For next god / if I shall nat fayne My fayth my hope / and all my sykernesse And my welfare / in very sothfastnesse Commytted behole / into thy hande And gouernaunce / playnely of my lande As thou ordaynest / it must nedes be And this prayer / I make now for the To the goddes / aboue celestyall The to preserue / in partye and in all From eche myschefe / and aduersyte That thou mayste home / to this Cyte Repayre in honour / with laude and victorye So that the prayse / renowne and memorye Of thy name be put / in remembraunce Perpetuelly / thyne honour to auaunce And fare now well / myn owne sone dere And Ector tho / with full humble chere His leue toke / and forthe he rode anone Amonge his lordes / and knyghtes euerychone As he that was rote / of all noblesse Of knyghthod grounde / of strength & hardynesse The very stocke / and therto inuyncyble For asmoche / as it was possyble That nature myght hym graunte / or kynde Touchynge manhode / in bokes as I fynde He hadde in hym / soueraygne excellence And gouernaunce / medlyd with prudence That nought a sterte him / he was so wyse & ware And in his shelde / I fynde that he bare Vpon his breste / this Troyan champyon The chief of golde / of Gowlys alyon Depeynt therm / and in his baner bete The selfe same / and so amydde the strete He toke the waye / to Dardanydes That to beholde / huge was the prees Noyse of trumpettes / and of claryons Baners vnrolled / and longe fresshe penons Of rede and whyte / grene blewe and blake And in this wyse / Ector hath I take The felde without / with herte and hole entent As Mars hymselfe / hadde be present And they that he / as Guydo maketh mynde Rode with the warde / that lafte was behynde Of his manhode / he wolde nat abyde But smote his stede / sherpely in the syde Of fell courage / he hath his hors so payned The firste warde / that he hath attayned By vale and hylle / to fore in the frounteres Nat astoned / of the fell cheres Of the grekes / nor platly nat aferde But lyke a knyght / euen afore theyr berde He gan prease in / as theyr foo mortall And in this whyle / vpon Troye wall In sondry place / on the hye toures As fresshe besene as May / is with his floures The ladyes be ascended / of the towne So fayre so yonge / stondynge enuyrowne The quene Eleyne / passynge fayre to sene The kynges doughtres / and goodly Polycene And many other / whiche of womanhede In herte were / full of besy drede Inly a gaste / and of fere afrayde Whan they behelde / in the felde displayde The brode baners / that some of tendernesse Some of loue / and some of kyndenesse Pale and dredefull / for theyr lordes were And some theyr faces / hydde eke for fere That were nat bolde / to lyfte vp theyr syght To beholde the armure / clere and bryght So glyterynge / agayne the sonne shene Theyr hertes tendre / myght nat sustene And in theyr drede / thus I ●ette them dwelle ANd of grekes / forth I shall you telle If so be / ye lyste / abyoe a whyle For now must I / my fordulled style Agayne direct / to Agamenon Well may I make / an exclamacyon On ignoraunce / that standeth so in my lyght Whiche causeth me / with a full clowdy syght In my makynge / to speke of the werre For lacke of termes / I must nedes erre Connyngely / my wardes for sette Cruell Allector / is besy me to lette The nyghtes doughter / blynded by derkenesse By crafte of armes / the trouthe to expresse In ordre dewe / a felde to descryue And Chauncer now / alas is nat alyue Me to refourme / or to be my rede For lacke of whom / slower is my spede The noble Rethor / that all dyde excelle For in makynge / he dranke of the welle Vnder Pernaso / that the muses kepe On whiche hylle / I myght neuer slepe Vnneth slombre / for whiche alas I playne But for all this / there is no more to sayne Thoughe my wede / be nat Polymyte Coloures forth / I wyll endyte As it cometh / euen to my thought Playnely to wryte / how the kynghath wrought The manly knyght / great Agamenon Lyke as the Latyn / maketh mencyou . What troweye / that he in his entent Was founde slowe / outher neclygent On grekes halfe / his wardes for to make Nay nay nat so / for hym lyste to wake That tyme more / sothly than to slepe For lyke a kynge / that day the felde to kepe No neclygence / myght his herte fade For in that daye / I fynde that he made Sixe and twenty wardes / by and by So well deuysed / and so prudently That no man myght / amende his ordynaunce And of the firste / he gaue gouernaunce . To the manfull / noble Patroclus That with hym ladde / myn Auctour telleth thus Myrundones / so myghty and so stronge With all the folke / that to Achylles longe Besyde thylke / that were of his meyne Whiche that he brought / out of his countre At his commynge / to the sege of Troye And he rode forth / with them on his waye Into the felde / and made no delay Now fyll it so / on the same day That Achylles kepte hym / in his tente And for sykenesse / that daye out ne wente For his lechesse / made hym to abstene For his woundes / fresshe were and grene That he caught / on the day tofore Whiche for to he le / of theyr akynge sore He by counsayle / kepte hymselfe close And from his bed / that day nat ne rose In hope oonly / the bettre to endure Whan that he was / restored vnto cure But all his men / he toke to Patroclus Whiche was marmes / passyngely famous And be descent / come of great kynrede And was also / of hym as I rede Haboundaunt of golde / and of rychesse And ferre commended / for his gentyllesse And hadde a name / of hye discresyon Now were they aye / of suche affeccyon Of entyer loue / trouthe and faythfulnesse So great desyre / and inwarde kyndenesse Besy thenkynge / and so great feruence So moche frenshyp / & thoughtfull aduertence So huge brennynge / passynge amerous Betwyxe Achylles / and this Patroclus That theyr hertes were / locked in a chayne And what so euer / if I shall nat fayne The ton hath wrought / as broder vnto brother In herte it was / confermed of the tother For wyll and goodes / bothe were comune And to the deth / they euer so contune Without chaunge / theyr loue so abode And Patroclus / forth anone hym tode Into the felde / with Myrundones And in his tente / abyteth Achylles The seconde warde / to kynge Meryon Assygned was / by Agamenon . And to the worthy kynge / Ydumenee And to a Duke / that hyght Menestee Thre thousande knyghtes / in stele armed clene With all the folke / that came from Athene Assygned were / with them for to go The thyrde warde / to kynge Astalapho And to his sone / that hyght Phylymene With the knyghtes that came / for cu●ene The fourthe warde / without more lettynge To Archelaus / the noble worthy kynge To Prothenor / and to Securydan Whiche in his dayes / was so stronge a man Assygned was / hoolly to this thre And all the knyghtes / with them for to be Of Boece / the great lande famous The fyfte warde / to kynge Menelaus With all the folke / of the regyowne Called Spertence / of full hye renowne And of Iles / that were adiacent All thyse / with the baner went Of Menelay / fresshe and couragyous The .vi. warde / to kynge Epystrophus Was assygned / and to the kynge Elyde With many worthy / rydynge by his syde Of the prouynce / and the famous Yle That called is / in Guydo Fordesyle . The .vii. warde / to Thelamonyus Called Ayax / the great kynge famous Was assygned / s●or●ely to termyne With the to●kes / that fro Salamyne He with hym brought / and many another mo And foure Erles / with hym went also Theseus / and eke Amphymacus And the thyrde / called Daryus And the fourthe / named Polysarye The .viij. warde / if I shall nat tarye By good aduyse / that daye assygned was Vnto the kynge / that called was Thoas . Ayar Cyleus the .ix. warde ladde And the .x. kynge / of Phylyk hadde And to the kynge / the .xi. he dyde assygne That sothely was / bothe of berthe and lyne So renowmed / and of so great encrease The myghty kynge / called Pallamydes Kynge Nawlus sone / hyest borne of blode And duke Nestor / full famous in knyghthode The .xij. warde / ladde on Grekes syde Melancolyke / and surquedous of pryde . And kynge Honux / sone of one Mabente Into the felde / playnely whan he wente In ordre hadde / of wardes the thyrtene Proudely mustrynge endelonge the grene Agayne Troyans / redy for to fyght And eke the kynge / that Vlyxes hyght Ladde with hym / the fourtene as I ●ede And Humerus the kynge / eke dyde lede The fy●●eneth / myne Auctour wryteth thus And a Duke / called Curybulus The syxteneth / ladde / vpon that daye In whiche the kynght / of kyng Prothesylaye Assygned were / by great ordynaunce To enforce them / for to do vengaunce Vpon the deth of theyr worthy kynge By Ector slayne / at grekes arryuynge . And kynge Roydo / ladde the seuentene And he that was kynge / of Occymene . The .xviij. warde / hadde at his ledynge And zantipus / that was of lyde kynge Hadde to kepe / commytted to his garde On grekes syde / the .xix. warde . And the .xx. myn Auctour / lerneth vs Hadde the kynge / called Amphymacus Lyke a knyght / to guyde them and to wysse And Phylocetes / that was kynge of larysse The one and twenty / ladde eke as I rede The two and twenty / hadde Dyomede And Heneus / kynge of Cyparye That was whylom / so noble and so worthy The thre and twenty / hadde in gouernayle And the Troyans / proudely for to assayle The xxiiij . with swerde / spere and shelde Kynge Prothaylus / ladde into the felde And Carpenor / of Carpedye kynge In werre expert / and right wyse in workynge The fyue and twenty / ryche and well besayne On grekes syde / brought into the playne The sixe and twenty / sothely and the laste As he that coudese afore / and caste Euery thynge / by good inspeccyon The wyse kynge / the great Agamenon Hadde with hym / this prudent werryour As he that was / ordayned Emperour Of grekes hoost / as wysest of echone And in this wyse / forthe the grekes gone In the felde / with pompe full royall With the ensygnes / and tokens marcyall Haue take theyr grounde / passyngely arrayed And on theyr standardes / rychely displayed Brode banerys / and many fresshe penowne Agayne the wynde / that made an hydous sowne And right dredefull / playnely for to here And theremen sawe / many crestys clere And many tufte of golde / and syluer shene Meynt with fetheres / redde whyte and grene And deuyse / wonder incruaylous And of folkes / that were amerous The tokens borne / to shewe openly How they in loue / brente inwardly Some hye empryse / that day to fulfylle And there were herde / the loude noyses shrylle Ferre in the felde / and the dredefull souns Bothe of trumpettes / and of claryouns That the kalendes / of shedynge out of blode And with the noyse / almoste for rage wode The fomy brydelles / and the mouthes blede And furyous neyhyng / of many bastarde stede Praunsynge of hors / vpon eyther syde With all the ensygnes / that myght be of pryde On grekes partye / and on troye also In knyghtly wyse / for to haue a do Euery warde / standynge in his place The firste a sonder / but a lytell space Began to a reproche / with all their full entent And Ector tho / full vnpacyent Formest of all / on the syde of Torye The Ire of whome / no man myght accoye But lyke a Lyon / in his hungry rage Yssued out / furyous of vysage Towarde grekes / on his myghty stede That with his spores / made his sydes blede His knyghtly herte / so inly was to torne Of mortall Ire / and as he rode toforne Brennynge full hote / in his melancolye The whiche thynge / whan grekes gan espye . Patroclus / without more abode Of surquedye / afore the wardes rode Out all toforne / in bothe hoostes syght For to encountre / playnely if he myght With worthy Ector / whan he hym sawe a ferre And as right lyne / as is Dyameterre Rode vnto hym / in his hatefull tene And with a spere / sherpe grounde and kene Thorughout his shelde / of enuyous rage He smote Ector / without more damage Excepte oonly / that the hede of stele That was afore forged / and whet full wele Thorugh plate & mayle / myghtely gan glace But to the skynne / for no thyng myght it trace Albe it came / of passynge vyolence Yet to Ector / it dyde none offence Out of his sadell / ones hym to flytte For though that he / sturdely hym hytte He myght nat bakwarde / bowe his chyne Nor on no partye / make hym to enclyne But fatally / to his confusyon This myghty man / this troyan champyon In his Ire / aye brennynge more and more Vpon hym / the hate frat so sore Left his spere / myne Auctor wryteth thus And with a swerde / rode to Patroclus Auysed fully / that he shal be dede And furyously / gan ayme at his hede And rofe hym downe / theyr was no maner let Into the breste / thorugh his basenet As sayth Guydo / with so great a payne That with his stroke / he parted hym it wayne His mortall swerde / whetted was so kene That Patroclus / myght nat sustene Vpon his hors / but fyll downe to grounde As he that caught / his laste fatall wounde Beynge present / his knyghtes euerychone And delyuerly / vpon hym anone Worthy Ector / from his stede a downe Descendyd is / lyke a wode lyowne Of hatefull Ire / brennynge as the fyre Hauynge in herte / inly great desyre To spoyle hym / of his armure anone In whiche there was / full many ryche stone Bothe of rubyes / and Saphyres ynde For that dayes / playnely as I fynde Kynges lordes / and knyghtes this no naye To batayle went / in theyr beste araye And sothly Ector / whan he firste gan se The multytude of stones / and pe●re On Patro●lus / so oryent and sheyne Vpon his arme / he hang his hors reyne The meane whyle / whyle he of hole entent To catche his praye / was so dylygent Of couetyse / in theyr alder syghtes Tyll Meryon / with thre thousande knyghtes Armed in stele / rounde aboute hym alle Is sodaynely / vpon Ector falle The dede corps / of Patroclus to saue That his purpose / Ector may nat haue At lyberte / the ryche kynge to spoyle Whiche caused hym / in angre for to boyle To whom the kynge / called Meryon Irous and wode / sayde amonge echon O gredy Lyon / O wolfe moste tauynous O hatefull Tygre / passynge enuyous Of Auaryce / O beste in saturable And of desyre / sothly vnstaunchable . Vpon this praye / thou shalt y● nat now fede Go elles where / to sewe for thy mede For truste well / in conclusyon Fyfty thousande / to thy destruccyon Of one entent / playnely wyll nat fayle Thyne hatefull pry●e / attones for to assayle And sodaynely with speres / sharpe whette On euery halfe / they gan hym besette Maugre his force / his myght & his manhode Enforcynge them to a refte hym his stede That soth fastely / of great vyolence He constrayned / for all his stronge defence As sayth Guydo to falle vpon his kne But thorugh his myght / and magnanymyte He of manhode / hath his horse recured And maugre grekes / is so moche assured In his strengthe / and in his great myght That he recured / lyke a worthy knyght His stede agayne / amyddes of his foon And right as syne / he rode to Meryon Full desyrous / on hym auenged be In his furye of hasty cruelte For therupon / was sette all his delyte That in his mortall / ●lody appety●e In very sothe / he had hym slayne anoon Saue that the kynge / whiche called was Glacon Came to rescue hym / with kynge Theseus And his sone that hyght Archylogus As I haue tolde / Meryon to reskewe And th●e thousande knyghtes / gan hym sewe Full al●●●ted attones / in batayle For lyfe or d●th Ector to assayle In awayte / vnware on hym to sette But al this whyle / with whom y● euer he mette With his swerde / he kylled and bare downe That fynally / there gayneth no raunsowne For any greke / that durste with hym mete At departynge felte full vnswete . He made a waye / aboute hym euery where That they fledde hym / as the deth for fere For where he rode / he made a patthe ful playne And as I rede / to Patroclus agayne He is repeyred / to spoyle hym if he myght Amyd the felde / in the grekes syght As he wolde his praye nat lyghtly lete Tyll I dumee the myghty kynge of Crete With two thousande / cladde in plate & mayle Worthy kynghtes / Ector to assayle Whyles that he was / so desyrous As I haue tolde / to spoyle Patroclusi And newe agayne / to his confusyon Lyke as I fynde / came kynge Meryon And or Ector myght take hede They of force / refte hym his stede That sothely he / there was none other boote Compelled was / for to fyght on foote And of knyghode / his herte he resumeth And with his swerde / aboute hym he consumeth All that withstande / bothe hors and man And furyously / this troyan knyght began Armes legges shuldres / by the boon To hewe of amydde / his mortall foon That grekes myght / afore hym nat sustene And as I rede / that he slewe fyftene Of them that were / besy hym to take And such a slaughter / he gan amonge them make That they ne durste / abyde afore his face And Meryon / in the selfe place This meane whyle / toke vp Patroclus With heuy chere / and face full pyruous And on his ●tede / he layde it hym beforne And to his tente / anone he hath it borne Alwaye grekes / in theyr cruell mode Aboute Ector / furyous and wode Felly a●ode / fyghtynge vpon fote Of whiche / some felte vnlote That presumed / vpon hym to presse But of manhode / they ne wolde cesse To besette hym / on euery syde Hauynge a truste / in theyr great pryde Fynally at myschefe / hym to take For they dempte / he myght nat escape Theyr handes shortly / by none aduenture Nor his stede / by lyklyhede recure For of force / they caste hym to lette And all attones / gan on hym to sette And specyally / amonge them euerychone I fynde in sothe / howe that there was one A grekysshe knyght / of right worthy fame And Caryon / playnely was his name That hym aforced / Ector to oppresse Whan he was moste / in myschefe and distresse Besette with grekes / hym enuyrownynge Tyll of fortune / on hym awaytynge The longe daye / in that felle fyght To his rescuse / there came atroyan knyght Mydde of grekes / whan he was besette And toke .ij. dartes / sharpe and kene whette And furyously / firste he shoke the toon And thorugh the herte / he smote this Caryon That the darte / into the felde gan glyde By plate and mayle / thorughout outher syde That fatally / of that dedely wounde This Caryon / glode anone to grounde Amonge an hondred / knyghtes of his ferys Afore conspyred / with theyr felle cherys To a slayne Ector / by some maner waye But eft agayne / this yonge knyght of troye Full delyuerly / raughte a nother spere And caste at one / that he sawe afere Auaunce hymselfe / on Ector in the felde And thorugh his platys / playnely & his shelde Lyne right / that he ne shulde asterte Of very myght / roofe hym thorughe the herte And after that / in all the haste he coude Vpon Troyans / he gan to crye loude To enhaste them / knyghtly to socoure Whorthy Ector / that stode in aduentoure Amonge Grekes / hauynge no refute Sool he hymselfe / of helpe destytute At whiche crye / on grekes all vnware Firste of all / came worthy Cyncybare That brother was / to Ector in baste borne And hymselfe rydynge / all toforne And the knyghtes / of whiche he was guyde Wonder proudely / pryckynge by his syde Sodaynely / bothe one and alle In a frosshe / be on the grekes falle That hadde Ector / rounde beset aboute And thorugh manhode / of this great route That be enbosshed / on them at the backe Threhondred knyghtes / of whiche that I spacke For astoned / gan them to withdrawe But thurty firste / cruelly were slawe And maugre them / Ector of manhede Amyd the felde / taken hath his stede And entred is / in amonge the prees And he that daye / of knyghthode pereles Whyle he helde / his blody swerde in honde All tho / that agayne hym stonde There was no helpe / playnely nor no rede But that he brake / and karfe a two the threde And the knotte / of cruell Antropos Onely for he was / let of his purpose At good leyser / to spoyle Patroclus Therfore in Ire / wode and Furyous Full cruelly grekes / quytte theyr mede Whiche from his face / faste gan them spede Whose sharpe swerde / bathed in theyr blode Was dyed rede / for it dyde hym gode Vpon them / auenged for to be For that daye / a lyon played he Vpon grekes / his manhode for to haunte For he theyr pryde / so mortally gan daunte That they hym fledde / where that he rode Makynge all hote / the streyntes of theyr blode Endelonge to renne / vpon the grene Tyll the tyme / the Duke of great Athene That called was / whylom Menesteus With thre thousande / knyghtes full famous Of whiche he was / bothe lorde and guyde The felde hath take / vpon the lefte syde For a deceyte / in full secrete wyse Where Troylus was / with the folke of Fryse Whiche hath that daye / who so lyste to seke By his knyghthode / kylled many greke Lyke a Tygre / gredy on his pray Troylus bare hym / all the longe day Sleynge of grekes / many worthy knyght And whyle that he was / besyest in fyght . Agayne his foon / with kynge Antipus And the kynge / that hyght Alchanus Vpon grekes Ylyche / fresshe and newe Makynge theyr sydes / all of blody hewe By one assent this thre / thorugh theyr manhede And specyally / vpon his bay stede Where so euer / that this Troylus rode Euery greke / that his swerde abode Sodaynely / he made for to sterue Thorugh theyr plates / so depe he gan kerue . And this contynued / tyll duke Meneste Of Troylus sawe / the great cruelte And the slaughtre / that he of grekes made Of hasty Ire / with face pale and fade Hent a spere / and threwe it in the rest And Troylus smette / euen amyd the brest So sternely / that maugre his renowne To the erthe / anone he bare hym downe In the myddes / of his mortall foon That cruelly / hym besette anoon And hym to treyne / layde out oke and lase Rounde aboute / in maner of compase With spere & darte / and swerdes forged bryght But he hymselfe / diffendeth lyke a knyght With great manhode / his honour to auaunce Albe his lyfe / was hanged in balaunce Where he stode / and felte full vnswete In poynt of deth / amonge the horse fete With great awayte / of Duke Meneste Howe this Troylus / myght haue take be Of mortall hate / castynge in his thought At myschefe take / that he escape nought On euery halfe / he was so besette With swerdes rounde / kene grounde & whette Alone alas / mortally bestadde They seased hym / & forth they haue hym ladde Tyll Myseres / a worthy knyght of troye Gan to crye / as he stode in the waye Sore abasshed / in right furyous wyse O ye noble / worthy men of Fryse Manly knyghtes / aye preuyd in the felde Moste renowmed / bothe with spere and shelde Consyder nowe / vnto your hye fame And aduerte / the glorye of your name How this daye / thorugh your neclygence By the power / and myghty vyolence Of the grekes / Troylus is ytake Sool in the felde / for ye haue hym forsake That shall rebounde / to your alder shame For ye in sothe / greatly are to blame If he that is / of worthynesse floure Be take of grekes / for lacke of socoure That but if ye take / hasty wreche Shamefull reporte / your honour shall apeche Perpetuelly / and sayde therof amys In your defaute / that Troylus taken is Whiche named be / so worthy and famous And with that worde / the kynge Alkamous Of melancolye / felte his herte ryue And in his Ire / hente a spere blyue And pryckynge after / enhateth what he myght Tyll he of them / playnely had a syght That besy were Troylus / for to ●ede And he full knyghtly / syttynge on his stede Ran one thorugh / that he fell downe dede And efte agayne / pale and no thynge rede In his rancoure / no lenger wolde lette But a greke / the firste that he mette Thorugh the body / smet he with a spere That men myght se / the poynt a fere By breste and plate / thorugh the shulder bone That to the grounde / he fell downe dede anone And therwithall / the worthy Fryses alle Came flokmele downe / and on grekes falle So myghtely / that maugre theyr diffence They sette vpon / with so great vyolence That Troylus / is from all daunger fre And thorugh theyr knyghtly / magnanymyte They made hym / to recure his stede And specyally helpynge / in this nede Was zantipus / the stronge manly kynge Whiche of disdayne / at his in commynge Ou Meneste / gan his spere grate And thorugh his shelde / mayle & thycke plate So sore he smote / that this Meneste Hadde be dede / ne hadde his armour be Whiche for Ire / gan to tremble and shake That Troylus was / from his hondes take And escaped / to be prysoner Despyte his berde / and maugre his power Wherfore he gan / of hasty hote enuye On his knyghtes / furyously to crye That were so myghty / renowmed and stronge To payne them / for to venge his wronge Vpon Troyans / to mete them in the face And they in hast / gan myghtely enbrace Theyr sharpe speres / grounde for to byte And felly foyne / and togydre smyte For tho began / the great mortall werre The fyre brast out / shene as any sterre On basenertes / and theyr plates bryght That thorugh the felde / flaumeth the fereful lyght To lyfe nor deth / they toke tho no hede And downe the playne / both in lengthe & brede The wardes gan / proudely to auale And with lokes / of enuye pale They aproche / and assemble yfere In hate brennynge / that no man may stere And gan hurte / with spere swerde and darte And mortally / vpon euery parte The slaughter gan / greatly for to rewe And Ylyche alwaye / newe and newe Ector grekes / thorugh his worthynesse Where he rode / manly dyde oppresse And mercylesse / slowe them and bare downe Now here now there / without excepcyowne So furyously / that routhe was to se And than of newe / the duke Meneste Repayred is / with enuyous herte From his hondes / that Troylus so a sterte And for the slaughter / eke of his meynee That where he rode / he besy was to s●ee The troyan people / whan he myght them mete For to auenge hym / for nothynge wolde he lete Tyll casuelly / amonges all the prees A knyght he mette / that hyght Miserees Whiche in despyte / of this Meneste Hadde at the reskus / of worthy Troylus be And maugre hym / put hym from his pray And so befelle / on the selfe day As they mete / agayne of aduenture That Meneste / by his cote armure Marked hym / by armes that he bare And sodaynely / or that he was ware Or that he / myght take any hede Furyously / on his sterne stede And with a spere / amyd the renges alle Bare hym ouer / and made hym for to falle Maugre his myght / to the erthe downe And than I fynde / how the kynge Hupowne Descended is / the storye lyste nat lye Two thousande knyghtes / in his companye Whiche on grekes / felly gan to sette And in the berde / kynge Prothenor them mette And Archelaus / the noble werryour Of Boece / lorde and gouernour With helpe oonly / of this Prothenor Lyke a tygre / or a wood boor Gan troyans / assayle to the deth And many one / that daye he sleeth But kynge Hupon / thorugh his chyualrye That tyme / in his melancolye Full many greke / gaue his dethes wounde And thus they gan / eche other to confounde Suche mortall hate / amonges them there was Tyll of Fortune / a knyght Pollydamas On troye syde / sone of Anthenor With his knyghtes / and hymselfe tofor Is on grekes / of enuyous pryde Myd theyr wardes / falle in a syde And gan breke them / & knyghtly to disseuer Agayne whose swerde / they myght nat perseuer He was on them / so inly furyous And hym to helpe / came the kynge Remus With a wynge / on that other parte Brekynge in / with many spere and darte Agayne grekes / with thre thousande knyghtes That to beholde / how felly that he fyghtes It was in sothe / vnto them of troye A very luste / and a heuenly ioye To se now grekes / brake asondre That the noyse / loude as any thondre In the felde / of strokes gan aryse And whyle Remus / as ye haue herde deuyse Vpon grekes / was so enuyous Into the felde / came Menelaus With his worthy knyghtes / of Spartense Agayne Remus / to make resystence And full proudely / makynge no delaye This worthy Remus / and kynge Menelaye On hors backe / with sharpe speres whette Myd the felde / of enuye mette And thorugh / their manly prowesse & renowne From hors backe / eche bare other downe For none the stroke / of other myght shone And in that whyle / of Anthenor the sone Pollydamas / lusty fresshe and lyght As he that was / in his delyuer myght And desyrous / to honour to atteyne Mette in the felde / the neuewe of Eleyne The myghty duke / called Mereus Flourynge in youthe / and right vertuous Fresshe armed newe / and lusty of courage And was in sothe / but twenty yere of age Whiche of so yonge / was a noble knyght Right renowmed / bothe of herte and myght But of Fortune / it befell alas The troyan knyght / daunz Pollydamas With a spere / thorugh shelde mayle and plate Hytte hym so / that by cruell fate Amonge grekes / that he felle downe dede Of whiche thynge / whan Menelay toke hede And sawe hym lye / slayne on the grene In his herte / remembrynge on the quene The quene Eleyne / whose neuewe he was For dole of whiche / a full delyuer pas To Remus rode / in his cruelte Also ferre / as he myght hym se And full knyghtly / mette hym in the berde And smette at hym / with his sharpe swerde Vpon the hede / in his hatefull tene That of his stede / he myght nat sustene His wounde was / so passyngely mortall That with the stroke / and the pryllous fall His knyghtes wende / dede he hadde be And hent hym vp / and began to fle To troye warde / with hym a great paas But it befell / that Pollydamas The maner of them / whan that he behelde Made them repayre / knyghtly into felde Excepte that some / as they in byddynge hadde Worthy Remus / home to troye ladde Pale and dede / with his woundes wyde And tho came in / on the grekes syde . Celydys / the lusty fresshe kynge Of whom Dares / sayth in his wrytynge And for a sothe / in his boke lyste telle How Celydys / all other dyde excelle Bothe in beaute / and in semelyhede Of shape of porte / and of goodlyhede Surmountynge all / as Dares lyste descryue As in fayrenesse / all tho alyue All his lymmes / compact were so clene And as I rede / the yonge fresshe quene Of Fumynye / whiche was of beaute floure Kynge Celydys / loued Paramoure That vpon hym / was hooly hir pleasaunce He was so prynted / in hir remembraunce For chefe resorte / sothely of hir herte Was vpon hym / euery houre to aduerte For fynally / he departed nought Day nor nyght / nor houre out of hir thought For he was fully / all hir owne knyght But of Fortune / he lusty fresshe and lyght Smote his stede / sharply in the syde Of surquedye / and proudely gan to ryde Of mortall hate / a full Furyous paas Right as lyne / to Pollydamas And with a spere / made hym for to flytte From his sadell / in whiche he dyde sytte He marked hym / with so great a myght But agaynewarde / this manly troyan knyght Pollydamas / with a despytous face Or Celydys / departed fro the place With aswerde / so smet hym on the hede From his stede / that he fylle downe dede Whiche to grekes / was great confusyon And all this tyme / fyerser than lyon Ector grekes / knyghtly gan enchace And ofte made them / for to lese theyr place Where euer he rode / of necessyte Afore his swerde / he made them for to fle Suche vengeaunce / he hath on them take That they the felde / were fayne to forsake And to pursewe / wolde he neuer fyne Tyll amonge the people / of Salomyne Ector mette / the worthy kynge famous That was theyr lorde / and hyght Thesalus That many Troyan / that day hadde slawe And as Ector / towarde hym gan drawe Kynge Tenter / that was of grece also A manly knyght / and prudent bothe two Raught a spere / in all the haste he can And vnwarely / vnto Ector ran And thorughe his shelde / plate & mayle of stele The sperehede / forged was so wele So sharpe and square / and so kene grounde That he gaue Ector / full peryllous wounde But as Ector / reyne gan his stede Proude Tenter / to aquyte his mede He full wysely / in all the haste he myght Was right ferre seuered / from his syght Wherof Ector / melancolyous And of herte / wood and furyous For the akynge / of his wounde grene In haste to auenge / the constreynte of his ten● What greke after / shortly that he mette That was so bolde / his waye to with sette Without mercy / he was his deth anone And as I rede / he encountred one Whiche of pryde / wolde hym dyuerte Whom with his swerde / he rose to the herte Thorugh his harneys / of melancolye The whiche stroke / whan grekes gan espye They astoned / of one entencyon Peryllously / besette hym enuyron And suche assaute / gan aboute hym make Thorugh theyr manhode / if they myght him take And of accorde / with great multytude Cruelly / they gan hym to include By lyklyhede / in that mortall stryfe He myght nat escape / with the lyfe On hym they were / so fell and enuyous Tyll that a kynge / whiche hyght Theseus On grekes syde / oonly of gentyllesse Suche routhe caughe / vpon his distresse To se hym stande / so nye vpon the wrake Thus vnto hym / of manly pytespake . O Flour of knyghthode / rote of hardynes Welle of manhode / stok of worthynes Why lyst y● nat / to haue none aduertence Thy lyf to saue / of knyghtly prouydence But wylfully / where moste is to drede Thy lyfe Iupardest / and take lyste no hede In mortall peryll / how thou arte besette Amonge so many / closed and yshette Alone alas / deuoyde of all socoure And to thy selfe / wylt do no fauoure But as Fortune / lyketh to ordayne That euery wyght / ought to complayne To beholde / that so noble a knyght Whiche thorugh the world / cast so clere a lyght In worthynesse / and wyll hym nat withdrawe Reklesly / this day to be slawe So pyteously / thy persone for to lese Withdrawe thy hande / yet syth thou mayst chese Thy hye prowesse / compelleth me to preye At suche myschefe / that thou nat ne deye And whan Ector / of hym gan take hede He thanked hym / of his goodlyhede And maugre sothly / the power & the myght Of the grekes / lyke a worthy knyght He scapyd is / myd of all his foon And went his waye / thorugh them euerychon His blody swerde / alway in his honde And in his waye / Pollydamas he fonde Full lyke a man / with all his besy payne Diffende hymself / agayne the kynges twayne Menelay / and Thelamonyus Whiche vpon hym / were full Furyous And with a spere / this greke this Thelamowne Pollydamas / smote to the erthe downe Compellynge hym / there was none other vote Agayne them two / for to fyghte on fote Assentyd fully / on hym to be wroke And firste they haue / he wen and to broke The myghty charnelle / of his basenet And whan his vyser / after was smet And his face naked / was and bare They felle on hym / in that mortall snare And toke hym / the storye can deuyse And sent hym forth / in full cruell wyse Towarde grekes / with many worthy knyght But whan Ector / therof had a syght And sawethe myschefe / of Pollydamas He caste fully / to socoure in this caas And prycked after / wooder than lyon And where he rode / aboute hym enuyron With his swerde / he made a large space Tyll he came / to the same place Amonges greke / furyous and wode Pollydamas / the selfe tyme stode Socourles / from all remedye Tyll that he / on Ector caste his Eye That grekes made / hastely withdrawe And thurty firste of them he hath slawe And seuered them / maugre all theyr pryde Tofore his swerde / they durste nat abyde Agaynst hym / nor make none obstacle But of knyghthode / by very hye myracle Pollydamas / in myschefe firste awhaped From grekes honde / frely is escaped But fresshely tho / the kynge Epystrophns Menelay / and Thelamonyus With all theyr knyghtes / togydre hole & cloos Agayne Troyans / to gette them aloos Be of newe entred / in batayle With great strengthe / and passynge apparayle That myghtely / troyans they compelle In theyr waye / that they dare nat dwelle Natwithstandynge / theyr great worthynesse Nor of Ector / the knyghtly hye prowesse That fought so manly / that tyme as I rede But cowardely / they haue slayne his stede That he constrayned was / to fyght on fote That many greke / felte full vnsote For there was none / that aboute hym stode With his swerde / that he ne shadde his blode Though he so thycke / aboute was be layne He voyded them / and made aspace playne In compasse rounde / behynde and eke afore And on his fete / so well he hath hym bore That day / that greke was none certayne That harby was / hande on hym to layne He was so stronge / and sturdy as a wall And whan his brethren / called naturall Sawe hym a fote / amyd of all his foon On a frusshe / they felle in euerychon And founde hym / the storye maketh mynde Diffende hymselfe / lyke a Tygre in ynde And hym to helpe / thorugh theyr hye renowne They felle firste / on kynge Thelamowne For he on Ector / was so cruell founde They gaue to hym / many blody wounde Tyll one of them / named Dyndaron Hath so ferre / amonge the rengys gon And bore hym so / oonly of manhede That he hath wonne / a passynge myghty stede And brought to Ector / sothly there he stode Amonge grekes / all bathed in theyr blode The whiche in haste / full knyghtly he be strode And amonge them lyke / Mars hymself he rode Full many greke / makynge for to sterue And with his swerde / whetted for to kerue He daunted hath / theyr enuyous pryde Tyll Dephebus / entrede in a syde Into the felde / with a knyghtly chere And with hym brought / many good Archere Of Poeme / whiche with theyr arrowes kene And with fethers of pecok / fresshe and shene Vpon grekes / haue the felde recured In they shotte / they were so moche assured That thorugh mayle / and thycke plate of stele They perced haue / theyr harneys euerydele And Dephebus / full lyke a manly man To kynge Tentran / on hors backe tho ran And furyously / gan his swerde enbrace And wounded hym / euen amyd the face Thorughe the vyser / in his felle tene On hors backe / he myght nat sustene And thus Troyans / on grekes are yronne That they agayne / haue the felde ywonne They were on them / so yrous and so wode But Theseus / full knyghtly them withstode With the knyghtes / that he with hym ladde And as I rede / Ectora brother hadde The storye sayth / that hyght Quyntylene yonge fresshe and lusty / armed bryght & shene Whiche with the kynge / called Modernus Is proudely falle / vpon Theseus And these twayne / togydre of assent Be falle on hym / with great aduysement That fynally / to his vnhappy chaunce with theyr knyghthode / brought him to outtraunce And caste shortly / that he shal be dede Of whose purpose / as Ector gan take hede He vnto them / of very gentery With all his myght / loude gan to crye Besechynge them / for no thynge that he deye And lowely they / his byddynge dyde obeye And them withdrewe / for to do vengeaunce For Ector hadde / fully remembraunce How Theseus / the same daye tofore Towarde hym / so goodly hadde hym bore Whan he hym sawe / in myschefe and distresse And knyghtly thought / quyte his gentylnesse Lyke as it logeth / to euery gentylman And Theseus / full lowely tho began To thanke Ector / that he was escaped But kynge Thoas / tho hath faste raped Into the felde / with other knyghtes manye And specyally / with them of Calydonye Came Phyloteas / the myghty kynge also Agayne Troyans / for to haue ado And firste Thoas / with a spere ran Furyously / to Cassybelan One of the sones / of kynge Pryamus And gaue hym tho / a wounde so greuous Without recure / that he fell downe dede Of whiche stroke / whan Ector gan take hede In his herte / gan his deth complayne And in all haste / dyde his besy payne On his brother / auenge hym if he myght And many one / he made to a lyght Thorugh his knyghthode / from his hors bake That sothefastly / all went vnto wrake On grekes syde / what came in his way So worthely / he bare hym all that day Tyll duke Nestor / is entrede into fyght With fyue thousande / in stele armed bryght Agayne Troyans / grekes to socoure And with hym mette / of very auenture The kynge Esdras / so myghty and so bolde And kynge Phyon / in his chare of golde With all the worthy / noble chyualrye That from Argesta / came with Ieconye The kynges sone / of the same lande Full renowmed / and worthy of his hande And as they semble / and togydre ran The same tyme / many worthy man Hath loste his lyfe / vpon eyther syde And of slaughtre / with large woundes wyde All the soyle of bodyes / that laye dede Lyke a ryuer / ran with stremys rede With theyr cherys / grysely pale and fade That in the blode / men myght go and wade To the ancle / the slaughtre / was so huge And kynge Phyon / socour and refuge Vnto Troyans / so bare hym in that stryfe That many greke / he made lese his lyfe The same day / so well his swerde was whette But he vnwarely / so sore was besette With multytude / of grekes rounde aboute That of his lyfe / he playnely stode in doute For lykely was / he myght nat escape And of grekes / he shulde anone be take Ne hadde he be holpe / of worthy Ieconye That to Esdras / loude gan to crye Alas quod he / of routhe and pyte Worthy Phyon / the kynge shall take be Amonge grekes / thorugh your neclygence But in all haste / ye do your dylygence For to reskewe / this noble worthy kynge And all attones / without more tariynge Maugre all tho / that made resystence From grekes swerde / by myghty vyolence They haue reskewed / the noble kynge Phyon And at his large / with them he is goon Of his escape / wonder gladde and lyght And Ector than / with many lusty knyght Retourned is / and Dephebus also Pollydamas / and many another to Of Troyan knyghtes / that desyre newe Grekes to make / sore for to rewe For of assent / they fully them purpose In suche myschefe / grekes to enclose That if they myght / fewe shulde escape And therupon / knyghtly they them shape And them began / fresshely / for to assayle That in the felde / grekes gan to fayle Of theyr power / and to lese theyr lande That fynally / thorugh the myghty hande And the force / of Troianysshe knyghtes The grekes hadde / maugre all theyr myghtes Be brought that day / to confusyowne But Menelay / and kynge Thelamowne Whan they them sawe / febly and apeyre They of knyghthode / made them to repeyre And so lyke men / they haue themself diffendyd Tyll Eneas / from Troye is discendyd With Ewfremus / the Duke / the manly man And with theyr knyghtes / of newe they began Efte agayne / grekes to oppresse And Ector aye / thorugh his worthynesse Lyke a lyon / with a sterne face Euer in one / so gan them to enchace That compellyd / of necessyte They were echone / afore his swerde to fle And constrayned / ryght of very nede Of whiche thynge / whan Ayax gan take hede Hadde in herte / great compassyon To se the slaughter / and confusyon On grekes syde / Guydo maketh mynde And gan to loke / at his backe behynde And sawe where many / warde stode abrode And many baner / and penowne that abode Amyd the felde hole / and nat for broke That redy were / attones to be wroke If nede were / on them of Troye towne In whiche wardes / without excepcyowne Was hole the floure / of grekes chyualtye To whom anone / Ayax gan hym hye As he that was / sore in herte agreued And with his crye / he hath them so cōmeued That they in haste / them to come to reskuse Amonges whom / was there no refuse And as faste / as they gan assemble Of noyse of hors / the erthe gan to tremble Furyously / as they togydre flynge There myght men / the strokys here rynge Of sperys sharpe / thorugh the harneys borne And thorugh sheldes / wrought of stele & horne Into the breste / sturdy square and brode And there I fynde / how that Ayax rode To Eneas / and he to hym also So great enuye / was atwyxe them two That nat but deth / myght theyr yre apese For in herte / nouther myght haue ese Tyll with sperys / sharpe / grounde and whette On hors backe / they haue togydre mette And at Coupynge / so sore they haue hytte That eueryche other / to the erth smytte That to beholde / was a knyghtly syght And after / they bothe / on fote fyght By lyklyhede / in theyr wode rage Outher to falle / in full great damage Amonge the horse / because that they stode Vpon the soyle / a louer sparde with blode But Phyloteas / is to Ayar come And hath hym vp / amonge the horse ynome That knyghtly faught / as made is memorye For sothely ellys / Troyans with victorye Hadde had the felde / playnely for to sayne Tyll Phyloteas / with his wardes twayne Euen in the face / manly them withstode And with a spere / he firste to Ector rode And vpon hym / the shafte I fynde he brake But sothly he / vpon his horse bake Kept hym so well / for all that felle stroke Remeuynge nat / but sturdy as an oke Sat in his sadell / vpryght with his chyne And with a spere / right as any lyne Into body depe / thorugh the shelde Phyloteas / he smote into the felde That of his lyfe / his knyghtes were in doute But tho came in / with so great a route Kynge Humerus / and vlixes eke And with them / brought many worthy greke Ten thousande knyghtes / manly men echone That gan Troyans / for to assoyle anone And cruelly / on euery halfe certayne With multytude / they haue them so be layne That dispayred / and disconsolate And of longe fyght / awaped and a mate Gan withdrawe / faynted in batayle And eke theyr hors / sothly gan fayle That on theyr syde / all went vp so downe But Parys / tho with them of Troye towne Is entrede in / in full manly wyse And firste he mette / with the kynge of Fryse That to Vlixes / was nye of allye Whom Parys / smote with so great enuye That he hym slewe / wherof grekes were Sore abasshed / and after with a spere Vlixes to de to auenge hym / if he myght And firste whan he / of Parys hadde a syght Into the reste / he gan his spere throwe That fynally / for he bare to lowe Faylynge of Parys / sothly as I rede Vnder hym he slewe / his myghty stede That maugre hym / he to grounde is gone And he on hym / wolde haue falle anone But Troylus tho / mette hym in the berde And furyously / with his sharpe swerde He smote Vlixes / thorugh out his vyser That lyke a condyte / or a small ryuer Downe by his face / of blode the stremys ran But vlixes / lyke a manly man Of that stroke / astoned nat at all But on his stede / styffe as any wall With his swerde / so myghtely gan race Thorughe the vmbrer / into Troylus face That he hym gaue / a large mortall wounde Of whiche stroke / passyngly iocounde The grekes were / supposyng in theyr thought How Troyans / fynally were brought Vnto out traunce / and sothely so they hadde Saue that Ector / with kynghtes whiche he ladde And with hym eke / Parys and Dephebus And all his brethren / i knyghthod most famous Troylus also / for all his laste wounde That was alway / so noble knyght that founde All attones / Ioyned into one Vpon grekes / sodaynely be gone And worthy Ector / alder firste began Grekes to enchace / that afore hym ran Lyke as bestes / that fledde fro the deth And euer in one / with his swerde he sleth Whom he mette / or durste his stroke abyde And on his soon / with fresshe woundes wyde The slaughter he made / alway to renewe And thylke daye / in blody rosen hewe He hath theyr platys / & theyr harneyse steyned And though it hadde / blode fro heuen reyned The soyle redder / myght nat a ben And aye ylyche / as a swarme of been The grekes flockmele / fledde out of his way And Guydo sayth / that all that ylke day Actor / hadde formest on the playne In the frounter / of the grekes layne That behynde / the knyghtes of his Garde For lacke of hym / were all out of warde Wherfore whan he / hadde sought longe And grekes sawe / of newe wexe stronge To his knyghtes / he is agayne repayred Whiche in themselfe / greatly were dispayred For his absence / but tho whan they hym se Full inwardely / recomforted be And with glad herte / haue their lorde receyued And theyr gladnesse / whan he hath parceyued Spake vnto them / full affectuously And prayed them / full benyngnely To remembre / knyghtly in theyr herte And consyder wysely and / aduerte Firste the wronges / that grekes haue them do Of yore agoo / and ouermore also If grekes hadde / that day victorye Farewell for aye / the honour and the glorye Of Troyan blode / in conclusiowne For fynally / we and eke our towne Shall mortally / turne to ruyne And our honour / that was wont to shyne Thorugh out the worlde / and our worthynesse Eclypse shall / and turne to derkenesse But ye this day / lyke as men you quyte Wherfore I praye / that no man atwyte Your hye renowne / of any cowardyse To sette vpon / in full manly wyse And nat to spare / for drede of deth I praye And they echone / full lowely gan obaye To his desyre / without lenger tale And entrynge in / by a certayne vale Vpon grekes / this worthy knyghtes all Folowynge Ector / sodaynely be fall Full mortally / or that they were ware And Ector tho / no greke wolde spare But euery where / to theyr confusyon He kylled and slewe / aboute hym enuyron And his knyghtes / rydynge by his syde Made theyr ●omen / maugre all theyr pryde To lese theyr londe / & flewe out of theyr syght Tyll that the kynge / whiche Toas hyght On grekes syde / in warde gan hym dresse And of newe / full knyghtly gan oppresse Them of Troye / this kynge this manly man That hadde / afore slayne Cassybelan One of the sones / of kynge Pryamus But as he rode / of fortune it felle thus That all the bretherne / on a frusshe he mette Whiche of assent / enuyron hym be sette And from his sadell / that many greke behelde Amonge the hors / smethym into the felde And of they rente / firste his basenet And cruelly / they hadde his hede of smet For he vnarmed / all at myschefe stode Saue that the Duke / furyous and wode Of Athenys / rydynge a great pace Reskued hym / in this mortall cace With is knyghtes / that aboute hym rode And hym to helpe / without more abode With aspere / sharpe whette and kene Firste of all / he felle on Quyntylene That besy was / Thoas to haue slawe And the bretherne / he made also withdrawe Whan Quyntylene / of his hors was throwe But Parys tho / drewe vp his myghty bowe And to this duke / lette an arowe glyde And thorugh his plates / hyt hym in the syde Vpon a ryb / that made hym sore blede Of whiche stroke / he ne toke no hede Bycause oonly / that he so feruent was Amyd his foon / to helpe kynge Thoas Amonge the hors / that was bore to grounde In poynt of deth / with many mortall wounde Oonly for he / was naked on the hede But this Duke / fully deuoyde of drede Of his knyghode / in this pecyllous caas Amyd his foon / hath holpe kynge Thoas And with his lyfe / made hym scape free And Ector aye / of cruell enmytee Ilyche fresshe / for no thynge wolde leue Vpon grekes / his manhode for to preue Enforsynge hym / to theyr destruccy wone And as he rode / amonge them vp & downe Kynge Humerus / hath a bowe take And to shote / gan hym redy make And hatefully / therin sette an arowe And to Ector / he marked hath so narowe That he smote hym / euen amyd the face But or he myght / any fertherpase Ector smet hym / with so great a payne That with his swerde / he rose his hede at wayne The deth of whom / whan the grekes knowe Myn Auctor sayth / they haue an horne yblowe That vnwarly / with that dredefull sowne Seuen thousande knyghtis / came attones downe Aboute Ector / without more abode But he of force / thorugh them all he rode Maugre theyr myght / that hym tho with sette And slowe all tho / that his waye lette And stynte nat / playnely tyll he cam To his Fader / the worthy kynge Pryam With many worthy / full famous of renowne That with his knyghtes / faste by the towne Lay all the daye / with men on hors and foote As he that was / of knyghode croppe and roote And kept hym close / of full hye prudence Tyll Ector came / vnto his presence And hym besoughte / in this great nede With thre thousande / that he wolde hym spede Vpon grekes / in theyr felle rage To falle on them / at moost auauntage . ANd than i hast / this worthy Pryamus With his knyghtes / fresshe & desyrous Towarde grekes / hath the waye take And suche a mordre / gan vpon them make That many grekes / lay dede on the playne For Pryamus / so sore hath them be layne On euery halfe / thorugh his great myght That they full faste / fledde out of his syght So sore of newe / he vpon them sette And as I fynde / they togydre mette Actor and Ayax / of very auenture And on theyr stedes / stronge and wonder sure The storye sayth / in all the haste they konne Lyke wood lyons / they togydre ronne With so great myght / that were they lefe or lothe Vpon the playne / they were vnhorsed bothe And in this whyle / Menelay the kynge Sodaynely / as he came rydynge He slewe of Troye / a worthy Amyrall And thus the slaughtre / passyngly mortall Benewed aye / for Celydonas The neuewe slewe / of kynge Thoas And Madan met / myn Auctor wryteth thus A grekysshe kynge / called Cedyus Whiche with his swerde / suche a stroke hym sette That thorughe the vmbrer / out his eye he smette And Sardellus / that was of Troye eke The same whyle / slewe a worthy greke A lorde of name / and of hye prowesse All though Guydo / his name nat expresse And than also / came Margaryton On troye syde / agayne Thelamon And bothe two / inly sette a fyre Of hye disdayne / and of hatefull yre And they mette / on hors backe yfere Kynge Thelamon / sothly as I lere Gaue vnto hym / a woundefull cruell But tho came in / the troyan Phanuell And Prothenor / smote downe of his stede And thus the sones / playnely as I rede Of Pryamus / no thynge disamayde The grekes haue / on euery part outrayed And so knyghtly / all the daye them borne That many greke / fatally hath lorne His lyfe in sothe / of hate and enmyte And kynge Duglas / is falle on Meneste Of Athenys Duke / and gouernoure And with aspere / of Ire and olde rancoure He ran at hym / & smet hym amyd the shelde But for all that / his sadell yet he helde . And for the duke / spere hadde none He with a swerde / to Duglas rode anone And thorugh the owmbrer / rofe of nye his nase That he astoned / stode as in a mase Whan that he sawe / the condyte of his blode So streme out / but for all that he rode Out asyde / fully deuoyde of fere Vnto tyme / that he staunched were But Deamor / his owne brother dere Whan he behelde / his mortall blody chere Of hye disdayne / he rode to Meneste And hym vnhorseth / but vp anone sterte he And or he myght / fully vp aryse Another brother / in full cruell wyse Is falle on hym / so that of them thre Attones were / vpon Meneste Fully in purpose / he shall lese his lyfe But he so knyghtly / bare hym in that stryfe Agaynst them / that wonder was to se And vpon hym / moste cruell of them thre Was one Thoras / eldest of echone Whiche hym to a slayne / was besy euer in one For all to broke / they haue his basenet But whan that Tenter / sawe hym so beset A grekysshe kynge / as made is mencyon Hadde in his herte / great compassyon And thought playnly / of manhode hym releue And if he myght / his foomen for to greue But all for nought / was his besy payne For Ector the / e●le on bothe twayne Vpon Tenter / and on Meneste And hadde them slayne / ne hadde Ayaxbe Whiche vnto Ector / faste gan hym hye A thousande knyghtes / in his companye To withstande hym / and Meneste to saue From his handes / if he myght hym haue But Parys tho / and the kynge of Perce With fyue thousande / as I can reherce Of worthy knyghtes / and many troyan mo Be vnto Ector / all attones go In thryfty wyse / rydynge on a rowe For Parys made / a trumpet to be blowe At whiche there came / knyghtly enbataylled Many Troyan / full well apparaylled Whiche in the felde / of Ector were conueyed For of one herte / they fully haue obeyed Vnto the byddynge / of this Troyan knyght All fresshe and newe / tobegynne a fyght Vpon grekes / as ferforth as they can Of whom was slayne many manly man And aye the slaughter / pyteously reneweth That many greke / sore in herte reweth Theyr great losse / and destruccyowne Wrought vpon them / by them of troye towne And specially / of Ector as I fynde Whiche on that day / as Dares maketh mynde With his hande / a thousande knyghtes slowe That neuer were / a dawed of theyr sowe For greke dare none / in his waye dwelle For with his swerde / he coude them so compelle To lese theyr grounde / of necessyte And lyke as shepe / afore the wolfe to fle And as I rede / amyd of this victorye Ector mette / vnder a Tentorye . Amonge grekes / Meryon the kynge To whom he spake / without more taryenge O thou traytoure / thy houre aprocheth faste For thou arte come / sothely to thy laste Thy fatall day / hath his course yronne For truste well / or westrynge of the sonne I caste platly / to quyte the thy mede And with my swerde / in haste thy blode to shede For thou so bolde were / on me to day To lette me / of my ryche pray At the spoylynge / of kynge Patroclus That for cause / thou were presumptuous Me to disturbe / thou shalt anone be dede And downe he sterte / and smote of first his hede And hym to spoyle / also gan hym haste But Meneste / came on hym as faste Whan he behelde / trauerse at his backe And with aspere / in whiche was no lacke Smote hym in / with great vyolence Without syght / or any aduertence Of worthy Ector / or any takynge hede The wounde of whom / sore gan to blede But out he went / and made it faste bynde And Meneste / stale away behynde Nat in purpose / sothly if he may To mete Ector / of all that ylke day . But whan that he / was ybounde sore His wombe staunche / that it blede no more More furyous / than euer he was tofore Repayred is / with anger all to tore So aye the yre / on his herte fret That he bare downe / all that euer he met Sleeth and kylleth / he was so mercyles All tho / that put themselfe in prees Of hardy were / with hym for to mete For in his boke / lyke as wryte Darete For very sothe / and in the storye sayth If it be so / that men may gyue fayth And credence / of possybylyte As in Guydo / clerely ye may se After that he / caughte his latter wounde Fynally grekes / to confounde So as it is / affermyd in certayne A thousande knyghtis / with his hande were slayne Without them tho / that I spake of rathe And newe alway / he gan his swerde to bathe In grekes blode / that sodaynely they be So ouerlayne / thorugh his cruelte That greke was none / of hye nor lowe estate That he ne was / awhaped and amate Of his knyghthode / and manly excellence For there was none / to make resystence Nor vtterly / that durste take on honde Of all that daye / Ector to withstonde . And as it is made / also mensyon Thylke daye / kynge Agamenon As sayth Guydo / came nat into felde For causes great / his presence he with helde On grekes syde / that all goth vp so downe Ector on them / so playeth the lyowne That to theyr tentes / they fledde for socours And they of troye / proudely as victours Sewed after / by traces of theyr blode And there they wan / treasoure and great gode And spoyled them / in full great distresse Of theyr armure / and of theyr rychesse And felle on them / or that they were ware And home to troye / all that good they bare For fynally / that day with myschaunce Grekes hadde be / brought vnto out traunce Without recure / in sothe for euermore On euery part / they were be layde so sore Thorugh the manhode / of Ector & the myght With helpe / of many other worthy knyght That so felly / agayne grekes wrought For to such myschefe / playnly they them brought That ne hadde be / theyr owne pyteous slouthe Of pryde oonly / and of folye routhe They hadde of them / at theyr volunte That day for euer / hadde the soueraygnete And recured / thorugh theyr hye renowne Lordshyppe of them / and domynacy owne Whiche shulde haue laste / and be contynuell Victoryously / and perpetuell Haue endured / saue cruell fate Is redy aye with fortune / to debate Agayne thynges / that gynne in wylfulnesse To make them fyne / aye in wretchednesse Thorughe theyr enuyous / disposicyon Of sodayne chaunge / and reuolucyon And vnware tournynge / of hir false whele That wyll nat byde / whan a thynge is wele Alas frele / deuoyde of sykernesse The cause was / dymmed with derkenesse That hath troyans / thorugh false oppynyon Yblynded so / in theyr discrecyon And specyally / for dyrked so the syght Of worthy Ector / the prudent manly knyght To se afore / what shulde after sewe By good aduyse / the myschefe to eschewe That folowed them / at the backe behynde Alas they were / wylfully made blynde The same day / whan they sete softe By victorye / on the hylle a lofte That they nat coude / of neclygence se The after falle / of theyr Felycyte So put a backe / was theyr aduertence For lacke of reason / and of hye prudence For they theyr hap / haue voyded & theyr grace That presently / were sette afore theyr face . For in a man / is nat commendable If Fortune / be to hym fauourable And blaundysshynge / with a forhede clere To smyle on hym / with a splesaunte chere Oonly of Famour / for to helpe hym oute Whan he in myschefe / is beset aboute If he refuse / his hap of wylfulnesse Fortune auoydynge / thorugh vnkyndenesse Whan she mynystreth to hym / of hir grace Another tyme / he shall hir nat enbrace Whan he hath nede / to hir helpe at all To socoure hym / or he catche a fall But rather than / for his ingratytude Frowardly / with mowes hym delude Whan he beste weneth / stonde in sykernesse Fortune is aye / so full of brotylnesse Remouable / and redy for to flytte Hyr welfull houre / that who lyste nat amytte With hir fauour / for to be allyed Another tyme / it shal be denyed Whan he were leuest / fynde hir sauourable For in some houre / sothly this nofable Vnto some man / she graunteth his desyres That wyll nat after / in a thousande yeres Parauenture / ones condescende Vnto his wyll / nor his luste hym sende As it hath falle / this daye vnhappely To worthy Ector / that so wyllfully Wrought of hede / grekes for to spare Fatally whan they / were in the snare For he of them / lyke a conquerour With victorye / Tryumphe and honour Myght haue brought / thurgh his hye renowne The palme of conquest / into troye towne Whiche he hath that day / refused folylye For as he rode / this Ector cruellye Amonge grekes / slowe and bare all downe Ca●uelly / he mette Thelamowne I mene Ayax / nye of his allye That of hate / and cruell hote enuye To Ector rode / lyke as he were woode Albe to hym / he was full nye of bloode Yet for all that / this yonge lusty knyght Dyde his power / and his full myght Without faynynge / to haue borne hym downe Whose Fader hyght / also Thelamowne That hym begat / the storye telleth thus Of Exyon̄ suster / to Pryamus And this Ayax / flourynge in yonge age Fresshe and delyuer / and of great courage Sette on Ector / of knyghtly hye prowesse And as they mette / bothe in theyr woodnesse On theyr stedes / these manly champyownes Eueryche on other / lyke Tygres or lyownes Began to falle / and proudely to assayle And furyously / seuere / plate and mayle Firste with speres / longe large and rounde And afterwarde / with swerdes kene grounde And fyghtynge thus / longe they contune Tyll it befylle of case / or of Fortune Token or sygne / or some apparence Or by nature is / kyndely influence Whiche into hertes / doth full depe myne Namely of them / that borne be of one lyne Whiche cause was / paraunter of these twanye Naturally / theyr rancoure to restrayne And theyr yre / for to modefye Onely for they / so nye were of allye Vnwyst of outher / and therof vnsure Tyll they were taught / oonly of nature For naturally / blode wyll aye of kynde Drawe vnto blode / where he may it fynde Whiche made Ector / kyndely to aduerte To be meuyd / and steryd in his herte Bothe of knyghthode / and of gentyllesse Whan he of Ayax / sawe the worthynesse Spake vnto hym / full benyngnely And sayde Cosyn / I saye the trewely If thou lyste / grekes here forsake And come to troye / I dare vndertake To thyne allyes / and to thy kynrede Thou shalte be there / without any drede Full well receyued / in partye and in all Of them that be / of the blode royall Sothely descended / and hyest of degre That it of right / shall suffyse vnto the And kyndelye / be to the pleasaunce For to repayre / to thyne allyaunce To gentyll herte / sythe no thynge is so gode As be confedryd / with his owne blode For I conceyue / by the worthynesse Whiche nature / dothe in the impresse Of troyan blode / that thou arte descended Whiche of grekes / longe hath be offended Wherfore I rede / to leue them vtterly And he answered agayne / full humbly That sythen he / of berthe was a greke And was of youthe / amonge them fostryde eke From the tyme / of his natyuyte And taken hadde / the ordre and degre Of knyghthode eke / amonges them aforne And ouer this / bounde was and sworne To be trewe / to theyr nacyon Makynge of blode / none excepcyon He swore he wolde / conserue his beheste And to Ector / he made this requeste That if that he / of manfull gentyllesse Wolde of knyghthode / and of worthynesse Shewe vnto hym / so great affeccyowne To make them / that were of Troye towne Oonly withdrawe / grekes to pursewe And for theyr tentes / make them to remewe And resorte agayne / vnto the towne Of knyghthode routhe / and compassy owne Without assayllynge / or any more affraye Made on grekes / for that ylke daye Sythe vnto them / ought Inoughe suffyse That of the felde / in so knyghtly wyse They were of manhode / fully possessours And of theyr foomen / fynally victours Lyke as tofore / fully is diffyned To whose requeste / Ector is enclyned Alas the whyle / of hasty wylfulnesse And made anone / without auysenesse Mydde the felde / a trumpet for to blowe Wherby Troyans / fully myght knowe That he his wyll / they shulde them withdrawe After custome / playnely and the lawe And the vsaunce / bothe nye and ferre Amonges them / that be expert in werre Whan they were moste / feruent for to fyght Vpon grekes / for to preue theyr myght And hadde them chacyd / lowe to the stronde That they were weyk / of power to withstonde For they of Troye / all of one desyre Gan sette on / with shotte of wylde fyre To brenne theyr shyppes / & of hye myschaunce Fynally to put them / at outtraunce . And so they hadde / this the very trouthe ●e hadde Ector / had vpon them routhe Makynge Troyans / repayre to the towne Vngracyously / to theyr confusyowne As the storye / shall after specyfye For tho he putte / alas in Iupardye Lyfe and deth / whiche myght haue be sure The whiche agayne / they neuer shall recure .
How the Grekes sent to kynge Pryamus for to haue trewes for Eyght wekes / And of theyr Bataylles after the trewes faylled . Ca. xxiij .
THey haue mater / to complayne sore For fro that daye / farewell for euermore Victory and laude / fro them of the towne To them denyed / by disposicyowne Of mortall fate / whiche was contrarye In this mater / me lyste no lenger tarye For they of Troye / be entred theyr Cyte And shet theyr gates / for more surete For of that daye / lyke as made is mynde Thus was the ende / in Euydo as I fynde They wende haue done / paraunter for the beste And whan the sonne / was ygo to reste They toke theyr ease / all that ylke nyght Tyll on the morowe / Tytan clere and bryght Shadde his bemys / on theyr Emysperye Makynge the day / for to shewe merye At whiche tyme / Troyans anone ryght They that were hole / and lusty for to fyght Gan arme them / in purpose full that day Theyr foon to mete / platly if they may For that was hole / theyr wyll & playne entent And eke they hadde / in commaundement Tofore of Ector / redy them to make Out of theyr slepe / a morowe whan they wake Of whiche thynge / they were nat neclygent But to Pryam / the grekes haue ysent There messangeres / the same day or pryme To take trewes / oonly for the tyme Of eyghte wekes / the whiche Pryamus By assent of Ector / the story telleth thus Hath graunted them / and by auctoryte Of the wysest / that were in that Cyte In whiche tyme / whyle they leyser haue The grekes gan / for to burye and graue The bodyes / that afore were slawe Lyke the rytys / in theyr paynem lawe With all theyr myght / and theyr besy cure For some brent / and by sepulture Enclosed were / lyke theyr estate in all And thus they helde / the feste funerall Fro day to day / durynge aye the pees In whiche space / I fynde how Achylles Of Patroclus / the deth hath sore playned As he that was / with terys all be rayned So inwardely / he loued hym in his herte That for the anguysshe / and the cruell smerte He longe abode / in lamentacyon And dyde make / by great affeccyon A large toumbe / for a remembraunce Myd the felde / as tho was the vsaunce Amonge grekes / with great reuerence Lyke the honour / and the excellence Of royall buryenge / so this Patroclus Ygraue was / and Protheselaus In theyr toumbes / korue of marbyll graye And nye togydre / in a playne they laye The werke aboute them / rychely ywrought And to the Erthe / they were togydre brought Solempnely / lyke the obseruaunces Of theyr rytys / with the circumstaunces Of grekes vsed / sothely in tho dayes Fro poynt to poynt / as longeth to theyr layes Of suche as were / of the estate royall So holden was / the feste funerall Of these two / whyle the trewes doth laste And they of Troye / besyed them full faste With all theyr myght / and theyr besy eure Theyr grene hurtes / and woundes for to cure By aduyse of them / that were in Surgerye Full well expert / to shape remedye Sheyr swolle sores / to softe of theyr payne That in the space / of thyse monthes twayne They were restored / to helthe in euery thynge In whiche tyme / Pryamus the kynge . Suche sorowe made / for Cassybellan In his herte / that no wyght ne can Hym recomforte / of his heuynesse For day by day / of inwarde tendernesse Full pyteously / he gan to sobbe and wepe And the bodye / he made for to kepe Aboue the erthe / for a certayne space Tyll he hadde / chosen out a place To his buryeng / and his sepulture And as Guydo / vs fully doth assure In venus Temple / ryche as any shryne He made his workemen / a toumbe for to myne In marbyll graye / and metall rychely In whiche he putte / full solempnely The dede corps / of this Cassybellan Beynge present / full many manly man In the Phane / of Cytherea The whiche thynge / whan that Cassandra Within hir selfe / consydered and behelde And sawe vp offred / his helme / and his shelde His swerde also / and vnto Mars his stede Of inwarde woo / she felte hir hette blede Herynge the noyse / and the pyteous crye The tendre wepynge / and sorowynge vtterly Of them of Troye / and lamentacy owne Whiche for theyr frendis / thrugh out al the towne They gan to make / that were slawe afore With sodayne rage / hir herte was to tore So inwardely / she myght hir nat restrayne Furyously / to crye and complayne And sayde alas / full ofte and wellawaye O wofull wretches / that ye be this daye Vnhappy eke / and graceles also Infortunat / and inly woo bego Howe ye may suffre / the great harmes kene Whiche ye are lykely / hereafter to sustene Durynge the sege / in this towne beloke Seynge your foon / redy to be wroke Aboute you beset / on euery syde To be venged / on your great pryde I wote ryght well / ye maye them nat eschewe That they ne shall / vnto the deth pursewe You euerychone / besegyd in this place Without mercy / pyte or any grace Alas alas / why ne wyll ye besy be Ye wofull wretches / shet in the cyte With the grekes / for to seke pees Or the swerde of vengeaunce / mercylees On hye and lowe / do execucy owne And or this noble / worthy royall towne Euersyd be / and ybrought to nought Why lyste ye nat / consydre in your thought How the Modres / with theyr childresmale In stretes shall / with face dede and pale Lye mordred there / thorugh grekes cruelte And yonge maydens / in captyuyte Be wepe shall / in myserye and who Theyr seruytute / and this towne also So famous ryche / alas it is pyte With grekes fyre / shall destroyed be In shorte tyme / sothly this no were ●leyne of vs / alas is bought to dere Syth for hyr sake / we shall euerychone Pore and ryche / I excepte none An ende make / wofull and pyteous The yre of them / shal be so furyous Vpon vs all / there is none other mene Saue oonly deth / vs to go bytwene This was the noyse / and the pyteous cry Of Cassandra / that so dredefully She gan to make / aboute in euery strete Thorugh the towne / whom euer she myght mete Lyke as she hadde / be out of hir mynde Tyll Pryamus / faste made hir bynde And shytte vp / it as the more routhe She was nat herde / albe she sayde trouthe For neyther wysedome / nor discrecyon Counsayle nor wyt / prudence nor reson Trouthe nor rede / without any lye Nor the spirite / of trewe prophecye Auayleth nat / nor all suche sapyence In place where / there is no audyence For be a man / inly neuer so wyse In counsaylynge / or in hye deuyse In werkynge outher / or in eloquence Eche thynge to se / in his aduertence Or it be falle / afore in his reson Amyd the Eye / of his discrecyon Yet for all this / it is the more dole Without fauour / he holden is but a fole For vnfauoured / wysedome vayleth nought Neyther trouthe / how dere that it be bought Lyke as Cassandra / for all hir wyse rede Despysed was / and taken of no hede Of them of Troye / to theyr confusyon But cruelly / ythrowen inpryson Where a whyle / I wyll leue hir dwelle And of Grekes / forth I wyll you telle . ANd firste of all / how Pallamydes Gan to grutche / agaynst them y● ches He beynge absent / kynge Agamenon To haue lordshyp / or domynacyon On them all / namely syth that he Was nat worthy / to suche dignyte For to gouerne so great / a myghty oost Thorugh out the worlde / come from euery cost Of kynges / prynces / so worthy of renowne For he therof / hadde indignacy owne . And sayde hymselfe / was of more poustee Amonge grekes / and gretter of degree Concludynge / that by no maner weye To his power / he ne wolde obeye In peas and werre / as by subieccyon Syth he ne was / at his eleccyon Platly affermynge / how there were but thre Whan he was chose / kynges of degre Where as thurty / were that tyme absent For whiche he swore / it was nat his entent Nor accordynge / with his oppynyon In any wyse / that Agamenon Of Grekes shulde / haue suche gouernaunce Lo what myschefe / lyeth in varyaunce Amonge lordes / whan they nat accorde For to drawe / fully by one corde Enuye is cause / of suche dyuysyon And Couetyse / of domynacyon That eueryche wolde / surmounte his felawe This cursed vyse / often hath withdrawe Hap and grace / in many regyon For whan discorde / and false discencyon Allyed ben / in hertes for to stryue Amonge lordes / that kyndh●● may nat thryue Tyll they reformed / be agayne to pees Amonge themselfe / playnely this no lees Of whiche thynge / grekes toke hede And thought nat / ferther to procede In the matere / that Pallamydes Ymeued hadde / amonges all the prees And thorugh theyr wyt / they set all in quyete And made hym / his rancour for to lete And to accorde / fully in his herte But nowe muste / I my style agayne dyuerte Vnto the werre / and telle the manere After the trewes / how they mette yfere . LYke as the storye / maketh mencyon The worthy kynge / great Agamenon Whan the trewes / were passyd and ygone In all haste / he gan ordayne anone With all myght / and waker dylygence Deuoyde of slouthe / and neclygence To sette his wardes / full auysely And to Achylle / he full prudently The firste warde / commytteth for to lede And the seconde / vnto Dyomede . The thyrde also / to kynge Menelay And the fourthe / on the same day ●e hadde Menestee / the Duke of Athene At his ledynge / in stele armed clene And other wardes / folowynge by and by Agamanon the kynge / full manfully Ordayned hath / how they shall procede As he that was / in all his werke and dede Full circumspect / bothe in werre and pees And worthy Ector / was nat reckles To sette his wardes / of them of the towne In knyghtly wyse / of discrecy owne And to Troylus / so yonge / so fresshe and lyght The firste warde / with many lusty knyght He hath assigned / and other wardes set So prudently / they myght be no bet And forth in haste / hym lyste no lenger byde With many worthy / rydynge by his syde Out at the gates / he went of the towne Towarde grekes / this Troyan champyowne And firste / whan he sawe the fyerse Achylle He ne coude / no lenger kepe hym stylle But sinot his hors / felly in the syde And towarde hym / cruelly gan ryde The whiche thynge / with a despytous eye Whan Achylles / sothly gan espye Agayne Ector / of manfull hardynesse With herte enuyous / gan his stede dresse And in the felde / togydre / as they mette With rounde speres / the poyntes kene whette At the encountrynge / of knyghtly excellence Eueryche other / thorugh great vyolence By very force / bare other vnto grounde As full ofte / it happeth and is founde Whan stronge / dothe mete with his perygall There is no more / but eueryche had a fall But Ector firste / of strengthe moste assured His stede agayne / hath anone recured And lefte Achylle / tho of gentyllesse And in great haste / forth he gan hym dresse Amonge grekes / and where so that he rode He kylled and slewe / all that hym withstode For with his swerde / he made theyr woundes wyde And thorugh the brest / & some thorugh the syde He percy● hath / and waged them foreuer And brake sheltrouns / & made them to disseuer For in his herte / hym thought it dydehȳ gode To bathe his swerde / in the grekes blode And this contynued / tyll that Achylles Caughte his stede / agayne amonge the prees And entrede in / amonges them of troye And with his swerde / he made large weye Sleeth and bare downe / whom y● euer he mette For there was none / hardy hym to lette Tyll it befell / in his melancoly ●ctor he mette / rydynge sodaynely And whan they sawe / eche other come a fere Without abode / eueryche caught a spere And ran togydre / there was no more areste But Ector firste / smette hym in the breste That his spere / playnely this no tale All to shyuered / into peces smale That Achylles / of necessyte To grounde goth / it wolde none other be And vnhorsed / at the erthe lay And Ector than / in all the haste he may Enforced hym / for to catche his stede But many a greke / in this great nede Came to reskues / of this Achylles And for his loue / put themselfe in prees Thrugh help of whom / his hors he doth atta●e Enhastynge hym / with all his myght & payne To be auenged / of his great miurye And sodaynely / in his woode furye With a swerde / ful sharpe grounde and whette He smote Ector / vpon the basenet That from his sadell / he made hym to remewe The whiche stroke / he myght nat eschewe But for all that / this noble worthy knyght Of very force / thorugh his great myght Maugre his foon / his sadell hath recured As he that was / in manhode moste assured And sodaynely / in herte / he wexed so wrothe That in arage / to Achylles he gothe And with his swerde / so smet hym on the hede Thorugh the basenet / that the blode all rede By his face gan / to ronne downe Lyke a ryuer / his chekes enuyrowne But he hymselfe / diffendeth as a knyght And tho of newe / began the cruell fyght At wene them two / to se that it was wonder For euery stroke / great as dent of thonder Range in the eyre / for none wolde other spare And this the sothe / in theyr fyght they fare Lyke woode Tygres / or bores in theyr rage Or sterne bulles / whan they be sauage That it sempte / in very sothfastnesse If these two / so full of worthynesse Contune longe / in fyghtynge and endure The tone or bothe / of cruell aduenture Muste haue be dede / of necessyte The whiche thynge / hadde be pyte Bycause they were / worthy knyghtes bothe But whyle that they / in fyghtyng fell & wrothe Moste besy were / the grekes to begynne With theyr wardes / for to entre inne And they of Troye / the storye maketh mynde On theyr party / lefte nat behynde But in the felde / enhaste them euerychone In knyghtly wyse / to mete with theyr fone That with the prease / here and also yonder The knyghtes two / seueryd were a sonder And tho came in / sterne Dyomede With the knyghtes / whiche he dyde lede Full lustely / in the selue place With whom hath mette / proudely in the face Whorthy Troylus / on his hors backe That neuer hadde / yet in manhode lacke And as they countre / the storye dothe vs lere Eueryche vnhorsed / knyghtly hath his fere But firste his hors / recureth Dyomede And in all haste / gan hym spede To assayle Troylus / stondynge vpon foote And whan he sawe / there was none other bote As knyghtly yet / as euer dyde man Agaynst hym / diffende hym tho began But Dyomede / hote as any fyre Wonder enuyous / and hatefull of desyre With his swerde / of rancour for the nones The ryche Cercle / full of ynde stones That was that tyme / on Troylus basenet Full cruelly / hath racyd of and smet But Troylus ne wolde / for all that hym withdrawe For hym diffendynge / he hath the stede slawe On whiche sat / that tyme Dyomede That maugre hym / he muste alyght nede And whan they were / on fote bothe twayne They dyd theyr myght / and theyr cruell payne Eueryche of them / other to assayle With swerdes sharpe / so that plate and mayle They gan to seuere / and a sonder race As woode lyons / with mortall chere and face Tyll the Grekes / stronge stoute and felle As myn Auctour / in his boke can telle Haue thorugh theyr myght / made Dyomede Sodaynely / to recure a stede And Troyan knyghtes / on the tother syde Haue Troylus brought / a stede for to ryde And whan they were / horsed bothe two Without more / agayne togydre they go With stronge foynes / and yfere ran Eche at other / as felly as they can Tyll at the laste / cruell Dyomede Lyke as ye may / in myn Auctour rede Were it by case / hap / or aduenture In whiche no man / fully may assure Or by Fortune / with hir false vysage Hadde that tyme / of Troylus a vauntage For he on hym / was falle at myschese The whiche thynge / to hym was no reprefe Though he hym toke / amonge so great aroute On euery halfe / with grekes set aboute Syth doutous euer / is the fyne of fyght Now vp / now downe / now derk & after bryght For no wyght may / be aye victoryous In peas nor werre / nor ylyche Eurous Let euery man / syth hap is sette in doute Take his tourne / as it commeth aboute Though troylus now / was take of dyomede Another tyme / he shall hym quyte his mede For as the storye / telleth in this place This Dyomede / but a lytell space Troylus ladde / forth as prysonere That to reskewes / in stele armed clere Many Troyan / came pryckynge in this nede That maugre all / the myght of Dyomede They Troylus haue / from his handes take And tho began / the slaughter for his sake On euery halfe / that wonder is to telle Of the Troyans / and the Grekes felle Than into felde / is entrede Menelay Whiche on Troyans / all that ylke day Full besy was / auenged for to be To them he hadde / so cruell enmyte And whan Parys / sawe hym in the felde Towardes hym / the right waye he helde And of purpose / they theyr wardes sette Eche on other / tyll they togydre mette And tho the skarmysshe / & the slaughter gan On outher parte / of many manly man And all this whyle / Ector ne wolde cease Amonge grekes / cruelly to prease And new and new / of hym as I rede A lyke fresshe / the blode of them to shede For of his swerde / the traces were ysene That the grekes / myght nat sustene To resyste / nor stande afore his face But where he rode / aye they gaue hym place Tyll that aknyght / whiche Boetes hyght Yonge of age / whan he hadde a syght How Ector slewe / the Grekes mortally On euery syde / hauynge no mercy He presyd in / to encrease his name Perpetuelly / to purchace hym a fame And furyously / in herte nat afferde He caste hym platly / to mete hym in the berde The whiche thynge / whan Ector gan aduerte So hye raucour / enbracyd hath his herte That with his swerde / of indignacyowne He rofe hym / euen to the nauell downe Fro the crowne / with so great a payne That in the felde / he partyd lay in twayne And Ector tho / assygned hath his stede To a squyer / and bad he shulde it lede To troye towne / without more abode And all this whyle / furyously he rode Amonge Grekes / and euer mercylees He slewe all the / that put them selfe in prees And shadde theyr blode / of herte despytous The whiche thynge / whan kynge Archylogus Rydynge besyde / sawe and gan espye How Boetes / his cosyn and allye So cruelly was / of Ector slawe Towardes hym / in haste he gan hym drawe Vpon his deth / auenged for to be And tode at hym / with great cruelte Fully in purpose / Ector for to quyte And sodaynely / as he gan at hym smyte Ector vnwarely / hyt hym on the hede So myghtely / that he felle downe dede Partyd on two / by cruell aduenture Natwithstandyng / his myghty stronge armure Agayne his stroke / it was of no diffence For it was gyuen / with suche vyolence That it holpe hym / in no maner thynge . And than anone / Prochenor the kynge Of hatefull yre / and foole hardynesse Of surquedye / and of hastynesse Of melancolye / and indignacyon Caught in his herte / a presumpcyon To assayle Ector / of inwarde foly pryde And goth to hym / a trauerse on the syde Furyously / with a despytous herte That his commynge / he myght nat aduerte Oonly for he came at his backe behynde And vnwarely / in Guydo as I fynde And Ector smote / from his hors to grounde In whom there was / so moch manhode founde That he anone / with a knyghtly herte Without abode / into his sadell sterte And right fyersly / Prothen or purseweth That fynally his honde / he nat escheweth For with his swerde / he marked hym so wele Thorugh basenet / by his breste of stele That into twayne / withoute any fayle He roofe hym downe / into his paunce of mayle And he felle downe / in full pyteous wyse Of whiche stroke / the grekes sore agryse And specyally / the hardy fyerse Achylle Whan he behelde / lyked full ylle For Phothenor / was his nye cosyne And descendyd / of the same lyne For deth of whom / he hath suche heuynesse So inwarde thought / and so great distresse In all this worlde / he ne wyste what to do For hym he had / so moche payne and wo And for the deth / of Archylogus To be auenge / he was full desyrous And in his herte / many waye he caste And in the wardes / gan to seke faste With many greke / on Ector to haue falle Conspyred fully in soth amonge them alle Of one entent / Ector to assayle But all for nought / it wolde nat auayle He was that day / so cruell in his rage They myght of hym / haue none auauntage And Troyan knyghtes / by fauour of Fortune Vpon Grekes / so myghtely contune Thorugh conueyinge / of Ector and his myght That they anone / haue them put to flyght And to theyr tentes / maugre who that stryue In their pursuyte / for wounded they them dryue That here and there / they laye in aswowe And many a greke / mercyles they slowe The longe day / tyll it drewe to nyght And sothly than / for very lacke of lyght These troyan knyghtis / full worthy of renowne Aboute Ector / repayre to the towne And entre in / with honour and with glorye That day of grekes / hauynge the victorye And thus I leue them / in theyr towne within And forth of Grekes / telle I wyll begyn . WHan Esperus / the fayre bryght sterre Agaynst eue / caste his stremys ferre And in the west / rathest gan appere Whan the twylyght / with a pale chere In maner morneth / the absence of the sonne And nyght approcheth / with his copys donne The same tyme / whan Tytan / toke his leue That clerkes calle / crepusculum at eue Whiche is nat ellys / but the meane lyght Of Phebus absence / and the derke nyght And twylyght hatte / for it is a mene Of daye and nyght / departynge them betwene Fully nouther / but of bothe meynt Or the heuen / be clustred and depeynt With bryght sterrys / in the euenynge AT whiche tyme / Agamenon the kynge For his lordes / sodaynely hath sent To come echone / anone / into his tent And whan they were / assembled all yfere Tryst and heuy / and with a sorefull chere They gan the slaughter / of Ector to complayne Affermyng playnly / they myght neuer attayne Vnto victorye / whyle he were a lyue Wherfore they gan / to conspyre blyue The deth of hym / in many sondry weye Echone concludynge / whyle he were in Troye It was nat lykely / Grekes for to wynne For he alone / of them that were withinne Was chefe diffence / and proteccy owne And soueraynely / vpholder of the towne Theyr myghty Castell / and theyr stronge wall And vnto grekes / dedely foo mortall For they ne myght / his great force endure Nor neuer a right / agayne theyr foos be sure He standynge hole / they sayde in no degre Nor whyle he floureth / in Felycyte Wherfore echone / of one entencyon They condescende / to this conclusyon That by some sleyghte / of awayte lymge Whan he were moste besy / in fyghtynge Amonge them / in myschefe or distresse That Achylles / do his besynesse With all his myght / vnwarely hym to assayle That hym to slee / for no thynge that he fayle And grekes all / gan theyr prayer make To Achylles / for to vndertake Of this Empresse / fynally the sute Thorugh his manhode / that it be execute The hasty deth / of theyr mortall foo And Achylles / without wordes moo Theyr request / assenteth to parfourme And to theyr luste / gan hooly hym confourme For that tyme / let hym beware I rede To be to hasty / this iourne for to spede Vpon Ector / his power for to kythe Lyste Fortune / a wronge hir face wrythe To loke on hym / with a frowarde chere Hym to brynge / vnto his handes nere Thorugh sorte or hap / of Ector folylye To put his lyfe / of deth in Ieopartye Lyste vnto hym / it happe euen lyche To falle hymsefe / in the same dyche That he for Ector / compassed hath and shape For it is wonder / if that he escape Syth Ector hadde / without any drede As brennynge yre / and as great hatrede To Achylles / his deth for to puruey If he hym founde / or in place sey Conuenyent / for execucyon I trowe there shulde / hym gayne no raunson Nor other mede / his herte to quyete But onely deth / whan so that they mete This the ende / and fyne of this matere As in this boke / after ye shall here And thus Grekes / made haue an ende Of theyr counsayle / and an one they wende Eueryche of them / home to theyr lodgynge And toke theyr reste / tyll the morenynge .
Howe the Troyans toke kynge Thoas prysoner / and ledde hym into Troye . Ca. xxiiij .
WHan Aurora / with syluer droppes shene Hitterys shadde / vpon the fresshe grene Cōplaynȳge ay / in wepyng & i sorowe Hir childrens deth / euery somer morowe This to saye / whan the dewe so soote Enbawmed hath / the floure and eke the roote With lusty lycoure / in Apryll and in May Whan the larke / messager of day Of custome aye / Aurora doth salue With sondry notes / hir sorowe to transmue Or Phebus ryse / to ioye and gladnesse Thorugh Armonye / to leue hir heuynesse Takynge hir leue / with seynt Iohn to borowe The same tyme / Grekes by the morowe With lusty herte / erely dyde aryse And armed them / in all theyr beste wyse For they them caste / that daye for to goon Into the felde / to mete with theyr foon And Ector hath / the same morowe also I caste hym fully / with grekes haue ado And yssued is knyghtly / out of troye In herte he hath / so great desyre and ioye The same day / with grekes for to fyght And with hym ladde / many lusty knyght Of suche as were / of the Cyte borne And forth he rode / hymselfe all aforne And Eneas / with many a worthy Folowed after / wonder faste by And Parys than / and next hym Dephebus And sythe Troylus / that was couragyous With all the wardes / made of troye towne In wiche as Dares / maketh mencyowne Within his boke / there were on troye syde Of fyghtynge men / that went and dyde ryde An hondred thousande / armed for to go Into the felde / and fyfty thousande mo Whiche haue them caste / that day or at eue Of one entent / Grekes for to greue And so they mette / strongly on outher syde And gan assemble / and togydre ryde Full cruelly / and with great hatrede And with them tho / that Parys dyde lede He entrede in / full myghty stronge Archeres Of Perce londe / and many Arbalasteres that with theyr arrowes / fyled sharpe & rounde And with quarelles / square whette & grounde Full many greke / hath reuyd of his lyfe And amyddes / of this mortall stryfe Agamenon / into the felde is come Towardes whom / Ector hath ynome The right way / and threwe hym of his stede Amonge his knyghtes / that he dyde lede He spared nought / for all the great prees And therwithall / anone came Achylles That in awayte / of Ector hadde layne And sodaynely / with all his myght and payne Ector he smote / on the hede so sore That with the stroke / myn Auctour sayth no more His basenet / was bowed and ycrased Of whiche stroke / Ector nat amased On Achylles / shulde anone yfalle Ne hadde Eneas / with his knynghtes alle And worthy troylous / come and go betwene The whiche twayne / with their swerdes kene Gan Achylles / felly for to assayle To hewe his plates / and to perce his mayle And tho began / the slaughter / on euery syde Of men of foote / and of them that ryde Lyke a condyte / their woundes gan blede And in this whyle / cruell Dyomede Were it by hap / aduenture or caas So as he rode / hath mette with Eneas And right anone / as he hadde hym founde He smet at hym / and gaue hym such a wounde That lykely was / he shulde nat recure But if therto / be do the better cure And therupon / full despyteously This Dyomede / in his melancoly Repreuyd hath / this troyan knyght Enee And sayd to hym / all heyle for thou art he That whylom gaue / to Pryamus the kynge A felle counsayle / hasty and bytynge Me for to a slayne / by sodayne vyolence Whan I was laste / at troye in his presence That truste me well / and haue it wel in mynde Amyd the felde / if I the efte fynde Thou shalt thy counsayle / mortally repente If that Fortune / here after wyll assente To brynge the / a right vnto my hande At good leyser / here in thyne owne lande I am full sette / thy labour for to quyte & here my trouth / this swerde shal kerue & byte So kenely / thy troyan blode to shede That fynally / deth shal be thy mede The which I bere / atwene my handes twayne And with that worde / he myght him nat restrayne This Dyomede / but rode all sodaynely Vpon Enee / and so furyously He smote at hym / this hardy cruell knyght With suche a payne / and so great a myght That from his hors / he made hym for to falle Maugre the myght / of his knyghtes alle The whiche stroke / he lyked full ylle And in this whyle / Ector hath Achylle Assayled so / that thorugh his basenet He perced hath / & with his swerde hym smet And so narowe / brought hym to the poynt Of hye myschefe / and in such disioynt Constrayned hym / that of necessyte He hadde hym take / ne had oonly be Sodayne reskues / of his chyualrous That called is / the sone of Tydeus I meane the felle / fyerse Dyomede Whiche Achylles / hath holpen in this nede For he thorugh force / of his armes twayne Smote Ector tho / with so great a payne That he hym gaue / a wounde full greuous But he no thynge / myn Auctour wryteth thus Astoned was / this knyght this manly man But with his swerd / in all the haste he can Smote Dyomede / so furyous and wrothe That from his hors / to the erth he gothe For all his pryde / and his surquedrye The whiche anone / as Troylous dyde espye Without abode / downe of his stede a lyght With Dyomede / a fote for to fyghte And eche of them / in sothfastnesse than Aquyte hymselfe / lyke a manly man That nouther was / in moche nor lyte In no degree / of manhode for to wyte And whyle they faught / Ector and Achylles Togydre mette / agayne amonge the prees And ran yfere / fyersly in theyr rage As woode lyons / whan they be ramage Right so in sothe / they fared in theyr fyghtyng And in that tyme / Menelay the kyng Full proudely shope hym / troyans for to mete Vlixes eke / and also Polymete And after hym came / Neptolonyus Pallamydes / and eke Scelemus Duke Menestee / Nestor and Thoas Currynulus / and Phylotheas And Theseus / as it is made mynde With his knyghtes / proudely came behynde And on the partye / of them of the towne Came all the kynges / without excepcyowne That were assembled / into theyr diffence Agayne Grekes / to make resystence Except the knyghtes / whiche Ector ladde And the wardes / that he made hadde The same daye / as sayth the Latyn boke In knyghtly wyse / the felde whan that he toke And tho began / the felle mortall fyght In whiche that day / ful many worthy knyght In Fatyshondes / fynally are falle And of Fortune / amonge the wardes alle Agamenon / the noble myghty kynge All sodaynely / as he came rydynge Pantysylaus / in his waye mette Agaynst whom / anone his hors he sette And he to hym / full knyghtly rode agayne And as they mette / there is no more to sayne On horsbacke / whyles they were wrothe Of vyolence / they were vnhorsed bothe And Menelay / Parys mette of newe The whiche two / well togydre knewe Full desyrous / eche other for to dere But Menelay / caught firste a spere And hytte Parys / with all his inwarde cure But for surenesse / of his stronge armure And myghty platꝭ / his wounde was but small Whiche in effect / greued nat at all But with that stroke / vnto grounde he gothe Of whiche fall / Parys wexed right wrothe Wonder confuse / and also rede for shame Lest the reporte / in hyndrynge of his name Came to the erys / of the Quene Eleyne How he that daye / myght nat atteyne With Menely / to holde chaumpartye Lykely to sowne / into his vylonye The whiche at herte / greued hym full sore And Adrastus / the kynge without more So as he rode / the kynge Vlixes fonde & knyghtly both / they foughte honde to honde And as they faughte / downe to the erthe lowe From his hors / Vlixes hath hym throwe And full proudely / in signe of this victorye He sent his hors / home to his Tentorye And in that tyme / amonges all the prees Full sodaynely / kynge Pallamydes Is falle on Hupon / with his lockes hore And in his Ire / wounded hym so sore That he felle dede / and grouelyng to the grounde His mortall swerde / was so kene grounde Besyde whom / Neptolonyus Assayled hath / kynge Archylogus The whiche hymselfe / manly gan diffende But as they faught / and many strokes spende In their diffence / it wolde be none other Eueryche of them / hath vnhorsed other And tho came in / rydynge on his stede Pollydamas / and gan to take hede Amonge the renges / a lytell hym besyde Where as the kynge / Pallamydes doth ryde And cruelly / so lyke a manly man He smote his stede / and to hym he ran And maugre his myght / and his worthynesse As the storye playnely / bereth wytnesse Oonly to venge / the deth of kynge Hupowne From his stede / he proudely bare hym downe And in his rancoure / and his cruell hete Of that despyte / gan hym to rehete And tho besyde / the kynge Scelenus Of dedely hate / and herte full Irous With kynge Carras / by aduenture hath met And furyously / from his stede smet And than also / the kynge Phylymene Is on the Duke / falle of Athene That maugre / both his manhod / & his myght He hath his hors / berafte hym in this fyght And ladde with hym / proudely by his syde Where as hym lyste / that it shulde abyde And Phyloteas / the worthy kynge also The selue tyme / with Remus had ado And euery other / sothly as I rede His felawe hath made / to voyde his stede And Theseus / the kynge / that was so stronge Amyd the felde / so as he rode amonge In the great prese / hath met Curyalus The worthy kyng / of knyghthod right famous And bothe two / in armes wonder stronge By themselfe / faught at leyser longe Tyll eche other / with woundes fresshe & grene Fro horsbak / his felawe threwe endlong the grene And afterwarde / I fynde how they two Vpon foote / knyghtly hadde ado They were in armes / somly desyrous And of manhode / passyngly famous And all this whyle / the sones naturell Of Pryamus / bare them wonder well Amonge grekes / vp and downe rydynge And prudently / togydre abydynge Made a slaughter / of grekes full pytous Of kynges / dukes / and lordes right famous And as I rede / how worthy Thelamowne That tyme met / with kynge Sapedowne And with theyr speres / squared full sharpely Eueryche hath other / wounded mortally Thorugh shelde & plate / & haberion of mayle That as the storye / maketh rehersayle How theyr harneys / wexed of blode all rede And how they fylle / almoste bothe dede At great myschefe / amonge the hors feet Of whose bledynge / the soyle gan wexe weet Thorugh theyr harneys / as it can distylle Whyles kynge Thoas / and the fyerse Achylle As they that were / of kynne and allyed Amyd the felde / Ector haue espyed Where as he faught / beset amyd his foon And vpon hym / of one accorde they goon And mortally / if it wolde auayle On euery halfe / they gan hym newe assayle And of hate / in herte borne of yore They haue beset / this Troyan knyght so sore That they alas / from his hede hath smet By vyolence / his ryche basenet And wounded hym / felly on the hede But for all that / he ne toke no hede This worthy man / floure of Chyualrye But hym diffendynge / tho so myghtely Kynge Thoas smet hym / in the face so That with a stroke / he rafte his nose a two And shorted it / by the halfe dele To whiche stroke / the brother naturele Of manly Ector / faste gan them hye To socoure hym / whan they firste espye His great myschefe / and at theyr in commynge They so manly / bare them in fyghtynge Agayne grekes / that Thoas they haue take And The●amon / so they made awake With newe assaute / of sharpe woundes kene That he was take / and lefte vpon the grene And of his men / borne home to his tent And kynge Thoas / home to troye is went Maugre grekes / whiche helpe him may no more For Dephebus / and also Anthenore Haue sente hym / forth to Troye the cyte And Menelay / tho began to se So as he rode / Parys stonde a syde And shope hym shortly / of hate & cruell pryde If it wolde falle / on his chaunce Sodaynely / to ymen hym myschaunce But he was ware / & kept hymselfe so narowe That Menelay / he marked with an arowe The hede of whiche / with venym was enoynt Intoxycate / at the square poynt That the kynge / of that dredefull wounde All dispayred / of his men was founde Whiche in great haste / bare hym to his tent And he anone / for Surgyens hath sent Whiche firste the hede / toke out of his wounde Albe it was / yperced full profounde Thorugh his harneys / full depe into the bone But cunnyngely / they dyde theyr crafte echone To drawe it out / with theyr Instrumentes And subtylly / with certayne oyntementes They serched haue / the wounde enuyron To make it clene / from corrupcyon And prudently / firste they toke hede That the venym / further nat procede Rounde in compasse / clensyd it aboute And after that / bounde it sure withoute And defensyues / made on euery syde And Menelay / no lenger wolde abyde But bad in haste / brynge forth his stede In purpose full / Parys to quyte his mede If he hym fynde / the selfe same daye Hym lyste no lenger / put it in delaye What euer falle / of his grene wounde And forth he rode / tyll he hath hym founde By aduenture / vnarmed in the felde Without swerde / pollex / spere or shelde Or bowe in honde / were it of reklesnesse Or to refresshe hym / after werynesse . And Menelay / anone a spere hath take And in his yre / ●elly gan it shake Towarde Parys / by great auysenesse And shulde haue slayne hym / as by lyklynesse Ne had Eneas / whiche all this thynge behelde Bore of the stocke / with his stronge shelde To diffende hym / in this auenture Destytute / and naked / of armure . Parys that tyme / in suche peryll was Wherfore in haste / hath this Eneas Ordayned knyghtes / armed bryght in stele Aboute Parys / for to kepe hym wele From all myschefe / and confusyowne Hym to conuey / vnto Troye towne Right in despyte / of kynge Menelay Whiche in awayte / so for Parys lay Whom Ector / hadde ytaken sodaynely And vnto Troye / ladde hym vtterly Ne hadde Grekes come / in his diffence Agaynst hym / to make resystence . Of whiche Ector / as they came in his weye Full many Greke / made for to deye And the remenaunt / put vnto the flyghte That thorugh his manhod / the day & his myghte Troyans made / the grekes for to flee Vnto theyr tentes / of necessytee And them to sewe / ne wolde neuer leue But slee and kyll / tyll it drewe to eue That Phebus gan / faste for to weste To drawe them home / they thought for the best For Tytan was / at his goynge downe Whan they gan entre / into troye towne Theyr gatis shet / they to theyr lodgynge wende And of this day / thus they made an ende Tyll on the morowe / that the rowes rede Of Phebus carte / gonne for to sprede Afore his vpryste / in the Oryent At whiche tyme / kynge Pryamus hath sent For suche as were / with hym moste pryue And of his counsayle / inwardely secre And specially / he sent for by name For worthy Ector / that grettest was of fame For Parys eke / and for Dephebus And for Troylus / fresshe and desyrous For Anthenor / and Pollydamas And for the Troyan / called Eneas For he that daye / caste hym nat to goon Into the felde / to mete with his foon And whan they were / to his Paleys come These lordes haue / the right waye nome Vnto the kynge / within his closet And whan the hussher / hath the dore shet And eueryche hadde / lyke to his degree His place take / and his dewe see This worthy kynge / as made is mencyon Gan to declare / his hertes mocyon And his menynge / afore them specifye And sayde syres / in whom I moste affye To you is knowen / how kynge Thoas is here In this cyte / taken prysonere And is as yet / belocked in prysowne Whiche euer hath be / vnto Troye towne An enemy great / vnto his power And vs offendyd / bothe ferre and ner In many wyse / all be we lytell retche As ferre as he / his force / myght stretche And now with Grekis / came to sege our towne As he that wyll not / our destruccyowne And therupon / hath do his besynesse Wherfore of dome / and of rightwysnesse Both of reason / and of equyte I saye playnely / as semeth vnto me So that it be / to you acceptable And that ye thynke / my counsayle commendable Lyke as he hath / caste our deth and shape I holde rightfull / that he nat escape But that of deth / he receyue his guerdon For right requereth / and also good reason that deth for deth / is skylfull guerdonnynge Vnto my wytte / and right well syttynge Saye your aduyse / now playnely in this caas And firste of all / tho spake Eneas And sayde lorde / so it be none offence To your hyghnesse / to gyue me audyence Thorugh supporte here / of them that be full wyse I shall reherce playnely / my deuyse What is to werke / as in this matere Me semeth firste / my lyege lorde so dere That your noble / royall excellence Consydre shulde / with full hye prudence In euery werke / and operasyon To caste afore / in conclusyon To caste afore / in conclusyon The fynall ende / that may after sewe For to a wyse man / oonly is nat dewe To se the gynnynge / and the ende nought But bothe attones / peyse in his thought And weye them / ●o iustly in balaunce That of the fyne / folowe no repentaunce Why I say this / and platly why I mene Is for that ye / ought for to sene How kynge Thoas / is one of the pryncypall Amonge Grekes / and of the blode royall If ye consydre / descended as by lyne Wherfore if he / haue this foule a fyne To be slayne / whyle he is in pryson It myght happen / in conclusyon That ye and youres / that therto assente Here afterwarde / sore to repente I preue it thus / that if by aduenture Of Fortune / that no man may assure Some of your lordes / were a nother day Of grekes take / as it happe may Or of your sones / so worthy of renowne Or of kynges / that be in this towne Truste me well / that suche gentyllesse As ye shewe to them / in theyr distresse They wyl you quyte / whan in case semblable Fortune to them / they fynde fauourable The whiche no man / constrayne may nor bynde Wherfore my lorde / haue this thyng in mynde For if Thoas / of shorte auysement Shall now be deed / thorugh hasty iugement Another day / Grekes wyll vs quyte And for rygour / make theyr malys byte On some of youres / who euer that it be And nouther spare / hye nor lowe degre Though he were / paraunter of your blode The whiche thynge / for all this worldes gode It myght falle / that ye ne wolde se Wherfore I rede / let kynge Thoas be Honestely kepe / in prysowne Lyke his estate / stylle here in this towne Lyste as I sayde / that another day Some lorde of youres / as it happe may Casuelly / were take of auenture By eschaunge of hym / ye myght best recure Without stryfe / youre owne man agayne In this mater / I can no more sayne But fynally / this my full rede To whiche counsayle / Ector toke good hede And for it was / accordynge to reason He it commendeth / in his oppynyon But Pryam euer / of one entencyon Stode alway fyx / to this conclusyon Playnely affermynge / if Grekes may espye That we this kynge / spare of gentrye They wyll arrecte / it cowardyse anone That we dare nat / venge vs on our foone For very drede / hauynge no hardynesse Nor herte nouther / to do rightwysenesse Yet neuerthelesse / after your assent That he shall lyue / I wyll in myn entent To your desyre / fully condescende And of this counsayle / so they made an ende Without more / saue Eneas is go And Trylous eke / and Anthenor also Into an halle / excellynge of beaute The quene Eleyne / of purpose for to se With whom was eke / Eccuba the quene And other ladyes / goodly on to sene And many mayde / that yonge & lusty was And worthy Troylus / with this Eneas Dyde theyr laboure / and theyr besy payne For to comforte / the fayre quene Eleyne As she that stode / for the werre in drede But for all that / of very womanhede Thylke tyme / with all hir herte entere As she well coude / make them good chere Hauynge of connynge / inly suffysaunce Bothe of chere / and of dalyaunce . And Eccuba beynge / in this halle Very example / vnto women alle Of bounte hauynge / soueraygne excellencce In wysedome eke / and in eloquence Besought them / tho wonder womanly And counsayled eke / full prudently For any haste / bothe nye and ferre Auysely / to kepe them in the werre And nat Iuparte / theyr bodyes folylye But to aduerte / and caste prudently In diffence / knyghtly of the towne Them to gouerne / by discrecyowne She spake of fayth / & coude no thynge feyne And than of hir / and after of Eleyne They toke leue and no lenger dwelle But went theyr way / & forth I wyll you telle How the Grekes / on the same morowe Amonge them selfe / complayne & make sorowe Theyr harmes great / in Murmur and in rage The losse / the costes / and the great damage That they haue / enduryd folylye Lastynge the werre / and wyste neuer whye The deth the slaughtre / of many worthy man Syth the tyme / that the werre began Hunger and thurste / watche and colde also Full great vnreste / sorowe thought and wo And all togydre / for a thynge of nought In sothfastnesse / if the grounde be sought This was the noyse / and rumour eke that ran Thorugh out the hoost / that day fro man to man And moste amonge / the pore souldy oures Whiche bare the bronte / euer of suche shoures And the myschefe / of werre comenlye And though they playne / they haue no remedy Of thynges whiche sytte / them full vnsofte And thus grekes / complayned haue full ofte Of many myschefe / that hath on them falle The whiche they myght / haue eschewed alle If they ne hadde / of foly gonne a werre Out of Grece / nat come halfe so ferre To theyr myschefe / and confusyon This was that daye / their lamentacyon . Whiche to encrease / the same next nyght So derked was / without sterre lyght So cloudy blacke / and so thycke of ayre Dymmyd with skyes / foule & no thynge fayre So wyndy eke / with tempest all be layne Almoste fordrenchyd / with the smoky rayne And in the felde / astoned here and yonder With sodayne stroke / of the dredefull thonder And with openynge / of the hydous leuene That it sempte / in the hye heuene The Cataractys / hadde be vndo For the cloudes / and skyes bothe two Sodaynely wexen / were so blake Lyke as the goddes / wolde haue taken wrake And hadde of newe / assentyd be in oon The lande to drenche / of Deucalyon And all this worlde / without more refuge To ouerflowe / with a fresshe deluge The wynde also / so sternely gan blowe That theyr tentes / stondynge on a rowe For possyd were / and ybete downe And furyously / to theyr confusyowne The floodꝭ raughte / then fro theyr standyng place And bare them forth / a full large space Wherof in myschefe / and in great distresse In great laboure / and hertely heuynesse The grekes bydde / all the same nyght What for the tempest / and for lacke of lyght Tyll the floode / gan agayne withdrawe The wynde to appese / and the day gan dawe And the heuen / gan agayne to clere Without cloudes / fresshely to appere And Phebus eke / with a feruent hete Hadde on the soyle / dryed vp the wete And the moysture / enuyrowne on the playne And grekes hadde / theyr tentes set agayne And were adawed / of theyr nyghtes sorowe Thorugh the aperynge / of the galde morowe They them arrayed / nothynge for the pees And into the felde / firste went Achylles As ye shall here / of entencyowne That day to fyght / with them of Troye towne . WHan dryed was / the lusty large playne with phebus bemys / as ye haue herd me sayne The troyan knyghtes / full worthy of renowne Descendyd be / and ycome downe And in the felde / toke theyr fyghtynge place But Achylles / to mete them in the face Tofore went out / lyke as I you tolde With his lordes / and his knyghtes bolde And firste I fynde / without more abode Vnto Hupon / furyously he rode I mene Hupon / that was of his stature Lyke a Geaunt / as bokes vs assure Whom Achylles / with his sharpe spere Thorugh the body / percyd hym so fere That he fylle dede / his wounde was so kene And after this / the kynge Octamene As he fyersly / on Ector wolde haue gone Without abode / Ector hym siewe anone And cruelly / quytte hym his fatall mede And sodaynely / agaynst Dyomede . As zantipus / the worthy kynge gan drawe Full pyteously / he of hym was slawe And right anone / the kynge Epyscrophus And eke the kynge / that hyght Cedyus Of one assent / proudely in batayle Begonne Ector / mortally to assayle And with a spere / firste Epyscrophus Ran at hym / with herte despytous And as Guydo / also doth deuyse Rebukyd hym / in vngoodly wyse To hym so sore / in herte he was a meued Wherof Ector / furyously agreued Hath mortally / his wounde made so large That hym ne geyneth / plate / shelde / nor targe For he fyll dede / amonge his men echone To whom Ector / bad he shulde gone To the Furyes / depe downe in helle Suche wordes / amonges them to telle For here quod he / men take of them no hede And thus whan he / was waged for his mede Anone his brother / called Cedyus Suche sorowe made / for Epyscrophus So hertely dole / and so wofull chere That pyte was / for to se and here So inwardly / on his deth he thought And with a thousande knyghtis / that he brought To be auenged / by manhode of them alle Despyteously / on Ertor / he is falle Where he hym founde / fyghtynge with his foon That thorugh the force / of them euerychoon So sore enuyrowne / they haue hym beset That from his stede / downe they haue him smet Whom Cedyus / aye in his cruell rage Whan that he sawe / to his auauntage Ector vnhorsed / and he on his stede His swerde he lefte / of inwardely hatrede Markynge at hym / with so great a payne With all the force / of his armes twayne Fully in purpose / without more delay To slee Ector / playnely if he may But or his stroke / descende myght downe Ector of hate / and indignacyowne With his swerde / that was full sharpe whet From his shuldre / hath his arme of smet And after that / he reuyd hym his lyfe Than Eneas / amyddes all this stryfe Came rydynge in / woode and furyous And as he mette / the kynge / Amphymacus He fell on hym / and slewe hym in his rage And from grekes / holdynge theyr passage There came downe / firste Menelaus And after hym / kynge Thelamonyus The great Duke / also of Athene In whom there was / so moche manhode sene Vlixes eke / and cruell Dyomede And eke also / to helpe them in theyr nede There came with them / the kynge Machaon And alderlaste / the great Agamenon With all theyr wardes / and fyll in sodaynly Vpon Troyans / and they full manfully Diffende them selfe / agayne the Grekes proude And put them of / full knyghtly as they coude And eche on other / sothly as they mette With spere and swerde / enuyously they sette So mortall hate / there was them betwene And whan the sonne / was in merydyen In myd day angell / passynge hote and shene The grekes / gan felly in theyr tene So myghtely / to falle on them of Troye That they them made / for to gyue weye Of very force / and necessyte And Achylles / so full of cruelte Amonge the renges / as he gan hym drawe The kynge Phylem / enuyously hath slawe And amyd of grekes / the same tyme Ector Maugre them all / slewe kynge Alphenor And eke the kynge / called Dorous On them he was / so cruell and yrous That thorugh vertue / of his knyghtly honde Troyans haue wonne / agayne theyr londe Vpon grekes / and made them for to flee And thylke houre / from Torye the Cytee Epyscrophus / full of manlynesse The felde hath take / thorugh his worthynesse And on grekes / proudely for the nones With his knyghtes / he falleth all attones And seuered them / & made them for to twynne And gan the felde / faste vpon them wynne Hauynge that tyme / in his companye Amonges other / that he dyde guye Acertayne Archer / the whiche as I fynde Was monstruous / and wonderfull of kynde For from the myddell / vp vnto the crowne He was a man / and the remenaunt downe Bare of an horse / lyknesse and fygure And horses heer / this monstre in nature Hadde on his skyn / growynge enuyrowne Full rough / and thycke / & of his voyce the sowne Was lyke the neyhynge / of an horse I rede And though his face / both in lengthe & brede Of shape were mannysshe / yet in suthfastnesse His coloure was / semblable in lyknesse Vnto the Fery hoote / breynnynge glede Whose Eyen eke / flawmynge also rede As the blase / of an ouen mouthe And for he was / in syghte so vnkouthe Where so euer / he was met in the berde Bothe man and hors / sore were a ferde His face was / so hatefull and so odyble And his loke / so hydous / and horryble And aye he hadde / in custome and vsaunce As in bokes / is made remembraunce For to go / vnarmed into felde Without swerde / spere / axe / or shelde For he no thynge / coude of that myster But as I fynde / he was a good archer And bare a bowe / styffe and wonder stronge And for he was / also of tyller longe His arrowes were lyke / to his tyller In a busshement / trussed wonder ner By his syde / aye redy to his hande Where so he were / outher on see or lande And as I fynde / how that none armure Agayne his shot / playnely myght endure And there was hors / stede nor courser That durste abyde / nouther fer nor ner But fledde anone / with all theyr full myght As faste as they / of hym hadde a syght To them he was / so passynge odyous So lyke a deuyll / and so monstruous And there was founde / none so hardy a knyght On hors backe / that hadde force or myght To holde his hors / whan they myght hym se But that anone / a backe he wolde fle And of this Archer / I fynde wryten eke That he that day / slewe full many greke And wounded them / with his arrowes kene Thorugh out the plates / forged bryght & shene For there was none / afore hym that abode But to theyr Tentes / faste awaye they rode They myght nat / his hydous loke endure Tyll there befell / a wonder aduerture Whyle they of Troye / by helpe of this Archer Sewe on the chase / to theyr lodgynge ner And slewe of them / in myschefe and in drede Besyde a Tent / mette Dyomede With this Archer / of necessyte For it stode so / that he ne myght hym fle No maner way / nor a backe remewe For lyfe nor deth / he myght hym nat eschewe So many Troyan / was tho at his backe In his flyinge / he hadde go to wracke . Wherfore anone / this worthy Dyomede With cruell herte / faste gan hym spede And towarde hym / proudely for to dresse But this Archer / by great aduysenesse Firste with an arrowe / smette Dyomede Thorugh his harneys / that he made hym blede Of whiche stroke / he wexed so wood & wrothe That to this monstre / so hydous and so lothe He went apase / and hym vnarmed fonde And with the swerde / that he helde in his honde He gaue to hym / his laste fatall wounde That he fylle dede / grouelynge vnto the grounde The deth of whom / grekes reioysynge and in all haste / theyr hertes resumynge Began them selfe / for to recomforte And into Felde / proudely they resorte By conueyinge / of Polixenare The worthy Duke / that so well hym bare Vpon Troyans / that day in the felde But whan Ector / the slaughtre of hym behelde Vpon this Duke / anone he gan to sette And on theyr stedes / fyersly as they mette Ector hym slewe / of full great hatrede And after that / on Gallathe his stede So as he rode / forth amonge the prees Or he was ware / he mette Achylles And with theyr speres / longe large and rounde In purpose fully / eche other to confounde They ran yfere / Irous and right wrothe That with the stroke / they were vnhorsed bothe But Achylles / wth a despytous herte Firste as I rede / into his sadell sterte And besy was / with all his inwarde peyne Gallathe / to take by the reyne Therof for euer / Ector to depryue And bad his men / to lede it home as blyue So that Ector / there was none other bote Full lyke a man / faught stondynge on fote Amonge grekes / and his fomen alle And to his knyghtes / loude he gan to calle For his stede / that they shulde sewe And they in haste / his hors to reskewe Ben attones / fallen on Achylle And maugre hym / of force agayne his wylle They haue from hym / berafte it on the playne And to Ector / restored it agayne Which in knyghthode / somoche him self assureth Despyte of them / his sadell he recureth Whiche afterwarde / full dere they aboughte For lyke a lyon / all that day he wroughte Amonges them / rydynge here and there And as the deth / they fled his swerde for fere Thorugh whose manhode / troyans eft begyn Vpon grekes / the felde agayne to wyn But it befell / amyd theyr great fyght That Anthenor / a certayne Troyan knyght Amonge the prese / is so fer in gone That of Grekes / he was take anone And to theyr tentes / sent in haste he was Albe his sone / called Pollydamas To reskue hym / dyde his dylygence So manfully / that no neclygence Was founde in hym / who so lyste to seke And that full dere / a boughte many greke The same day / thorugh his worthynesse But for cause / oonly of derkenesse And for that it / gan drawe towarde nyght They made an ende / oonly for lacke of lyght And grekes went / home to theyr lodgynge And eke Troyans / tyll on the mornynge That Phebus / gan his bryght bemys shewe And Aurora / newe gan to dewe The Erbys sote / and the grene leuys Both on hayes / and in fresshe greuys Syluer bryght / with rounde perlys fyne That so clerely / agayne the sonne shyne And shewe them selfe / so Oryent and shene On hylle and vale / and on euery grene The rody morowe / tyll the hote bemys Of bryght Phebus / with his fyrye stemys Vapoureth vp / theyr moysture into ayre The weder clere / agreable and fayre And attempre / also of his heete Whan the Troyans / caste them for to mete With theyr fomen / platly if they may And out they went / in theyr beste array With theyr wardes / into felde by rowe Agaynst whom / grekes were nat slowe But shope them forth / Without lenger lette Tyll they togydre / manfully haue mette And with theyr speres / and theyr swerdes clere They ran togydre / with a despytous chere Tyll shyuered was / a sondre many spere On sheldes stronge / them selfe for to were And ryuen was / on pecys many targe And with hexys / rounde brode and large On basenettes / as they smyte and shrede Full many knyght / mortally gan blede In sothfastnesse / and as I tell can The same day / was slayne many a man On outher parte / but most of Troye towne Albe Guydo / maketh no mencyowne Of no persone / as in specyall On nouther syde / but in generall Saue he concludeth / playnely that this fyght Laste fro morowe / tyll that it was nyght The whiche Troyans / haue full dere bought For that day / Fortune holpe them nought But tourned hole / to theyr confusyowne And so they be / repeyred to the towne And to theyr tentes / grekes faste them spede Tyll on the morowe / they sent Dyomede Whith Vlixes / to Troye the cyte For a trewes / oonly for monthes thre If kynge Pryam / therto wolde assente And as they two / on this message wente A certayne knyght / borne of Troye towne That hyght Dolon / of great discrecyowne And also was / ryght famous of rychesse Of curtely / and of gentyllesse His dever dyde / and his dylygence Them to conueye / vnto the presence Of Pryamus / in his paleys royall And in his see / most chefe / and pryncypall Where as he sat / his lordes enuyrowne With many knyght / full worthy of renowne They gan to hym / firste to specefye Hoolly the substaunce / of theyr embassatrye And of the trewes / theyr entent they tolde If it so were / he assente wolde And the kynge / benyngnely them herde And by auyse / prudently answerde That therupon / his honour for to saue At good leyser / he wolde a counsayle haue With his lordes / and fully hym gouerne In this mater / lyke as they discerne And to conclude / shortly euerychone Assentyd be / except Ector alone Vnto the trewes / and ne wolde it nat denye But Ector sayde / that of trecherye Oonly of slaughter / and false Treson Theyr axynge was / vnder occason Firste to berye Grekes / that were dede And vnder coloure / therof out of drede Afterwarde / them selfe to vytayle For he well knewe / that theyr stuf gan fayle And enfamyned / leste they shulde dye They soughte a space / them selfe to purueye By outwarde sygnes / that he dyde espye Wherfore quod he / me lyketh nat to lye By apparence / as I dare presume Whyles that we / waste and consume Oure stuf within / as it is to drede They wyll prouyde / of what that they haue nede For all that is / to them auauntage Myght be to vs / hyndrynge and damage And whyles / they encrease and amende We shall our store / discrease and dispende Yet neuertheles / how euer that it be Touchynge this trewes / as for monthes thre Sythen ye all / assente and accorde Fro your sentence / I wyll nat discorde In no wyse / to be varyaunt And thus the trewes / confermyd was by graunt On outher syde / them thought for the beste Bycause they shulde / in quyete and in reste The mene whyle / ease them and releue And they that felte / theyr woundes sore greue Myght haue leyser / them selfe to recure And whyle the trewes / dyde thus endure They fylle in Tretee / and in comunynge Of Athenor / and Thoas the kynge That Anthenor / delyuered shulde be For kynge Thoas / to Troye the cyte And so Thoas shuld / to grekes home agayne Oonly by eschaunge / as ye haue herde me sayne One for a nother / as it accorded was And in this whyle / the bysshop hight Calchas Remembred hym / vpon his doughter dere Called Cryseyde / with hir Eyen clere Whom in Troye / he had lefte behynde Whan he wente / as the boke maketh mynde For whom he felte / passyngly great smerte So tenderly / she was set at his herte And enprented / both at eue and morowe And chefe cause / and grounde of all his sorowe Was that she lefte / behynde hym in the towne Without comforte / or consolacyowne As he caste / sothly in his absence And specyally / for his great offence That he hath wrought / agaynst them of troye And as hym thought / he shuld neuer haue ioye Tyll he his doughter / recured hath agayne Wherfore / Calchas / the storye sayth certayne In his wyttes / many wayes caste How he myght / whyle the trewes doth laste Recure his doughter / by some maner way And as I fynde / vpon a certayne day In his porte / wonder humbly With wepynge eye / wente pyteously In complaynynge / of terys albe reyned Whose inwarde wo / sothly was nat feyned And on his knees / anone he falleth downe Tofore / the great kynge / Agamenowne Besechynge hym / with all humylyte Of very mercy / and of hye pyte With other kynges / syttynge in the place To haue routhe / and for to do hym grace And on his woo / to haue compassyon That he may haue / restytucyon Of his doughter / whom he loued so Prayinge them all / theyr deuer for to do That thorugh theyr prudent / medyacyon For Anthenor / that was in theyr pryson With kyng Thoas / she myght eschaunged be If that them lyst / of theyr benygnyte To his requeste / goodly to assente And they hym graunt / & forth anone they sente To kynge Pryamus / for to haue Cryseyde For Calchas sake / and therwith all they leyde The charge for hir / wonder specyally On them that went / for this Embassatry To Troye towne / and to kynge Pryamus To whom Calchas / was so odyus So hatefull eke / thorugh out all the towne That this reporte / was of hym vp and downe That he a Traytour / was and also false Worthy to be / enhonged by the halfe For his Treson / and his doubylnesse And ouer more / they sayde eke expresse That he disserued hath / by right of lawe Shamefully / firste for to be drawe And afterwarde / the most horryble deth That he may haue / to yelde vp the breth Lyke a Traytour / in as despytous wyse As any herte / can thynke or deuyse Eueryche affermynge / as by Iugement That deth was none / fully equypollent To his deserte / nor to his falsnesse As yonge and olde / playnely bare wytnesse Concludynge eke / for his iniquyte That they wolde assent / in no degre Vnto no thynge / that myght his herte please Nor of Cryseyde / for to do hym ease They caste nat / to make delyueraunce Leuer they hadde / to gyue hym myschaunce If they hym myght / haue at good large But fynally the effect / of all this charge Is so ferforth dryuen / to an ende That Pryamus / hath graunted she shall wende With kynge Thoas / shortly there is no more Vnto hir Fader / for daunz Anthenore Who euer grutche / the kynge in Parlement Hath therupon / gyuen Iugement So vtterly / it may nat be repelyd For with his worde / the sentence was asselyd That she must parte / with hir eyen glade And of the sorowe / playnely that she made At hir partynge / hereafter ye shall here Whan it agayne / cometh to my matere .
Howe durynge a Trewes of thre Monthes Ector walked into the Grekes hooste / And of the communycacyon of Achylles & hym . Ca. xxv .
⸫ ⸫ ⸫ tHe trewes affermyd / as ye haue herd deuyse On outher syde / of them that were full wyse And full assentyd / of them euerychone Tyll thre monthes / come be and gone Lyke as I rede / on a certayne daye Whan agreable was / the morowe graye Blandysshynge / and pleasaunt of delyte Ector in herte / caught an appetyte Lyke as Guydo / lyketh for to wryte The same day / Grekes to vysyte Full well besene / and wonder rychely With many worthy / in his company Of suche as he / for the nones ches And to the tent / firste of Achylles I fynde in sothe / this Troyan knyght Vpon his stede / toke the waye ryght Full lyke a man / as made is mencyon Nowe hadde Achylles / great affeccyon In his herte / bothe day and nyght Of worthy Ector / for to haue a syght For neuer his lyfe / by none occasyon He myght of hym / haue none inspeccyon Nor hym beholde / at good lyberte For vnarmed / he myght hym neuer se But wonder knyghtly / as well in porte & chere They had them both / as they mette in fere And right manly / in theyr countenaunce And at the laste / they felle in Dalyaunce But Achylles / firste began abreyde And vnto hym / euen thus he seyde Ector quod he / full pleasynge is to me That I at leyser / naked may these Syth I of the / neuer myght haue syght But whan thou were / armed as a knyght And now to me / it shal be full greuous Whiche am to the / so inly enuyous But thou of me / there is no more to sayne Be slayne anone / with my handes twayne For this in sothe / were hoolly my pleasaunce By cruell deth / to take on the vengeaunce For I full ofte / in werre and eke in fyght Haue felte the vertue / and the great myght Of thy force / thorugh many woundes kene That vpon me / be full fresshe and grene In many place / byshedynge of my blode Thou were on me / so furyous and wode Aye com●assynge / to my destruccyowne For many● mayle / of myn haber●owne Thy shar●e swerde / racyd hath a sonder And cruell● seuered / here and yonder And mortally as / I can sygnes shewe My plates stronge / percyd and yhewe And my ha●eys / forged bryght of stele Myght neu●r / assured be so wele In thyne Yr● / whan thou lyste to smyte That thy sw●rde / wolde kerue and byte Into my flesshe / full depe and full profounde As sheweth ye● / by many mortall wounde On my body large / longe and wyde That yet appere / vpon euery syde And day by day full sore / ake and smerte For whiche thynge / me semeth that my herte Enbolleth newe / nowe whan I these Of hye despyte / auenged for to be So am I fret / of enuyous rage That it may neuer / in my breste aswage Tyll the vengeaunce / and the fatall sute Of cruell deth / be on the execute And of one thynge / moost is my greuaunce Whan I haue / fully remembraunce And in my mynde / consyderyd vp and downe Howe thou madest / a dyuysyowne Of me alas / and of Patroclus So yonge so manly / and so vertuous Whom I loued / as it was skylle and ryght Ryght as my selfe / with all my full myght With as hole herte / and inly kyndenesse As an tunge / may telle or expresse Now haste thou made / a departysyon Of vs that were / by hole affeccyon Yknet in one / of hertely allyaunce Without partynge / or disseueraunce So entyerly / our faythfull hertes twayne Ylaced were / and locked in a chayne Whiche myght nat / for none aduersyte Of lyfe nor deth / a sonder twynned be Tyll cruelly / thou madest vs departe Which thurgh my herte / so inwardly doth darte That it wyll neuer / in soth out of my thoughte And truste well / full dere shal be boughte The deth of hym / and be no thynge in were Parauenture / or endyd be this yere For vpon the / oonly for his sake Of cruell deth / vengeaunce shal be take I the ensure / without other bonde If I may lyue / with myn owne honde I shall of deth / do execucyon Without abode / or longe delacyon For right requyreth / without any drede Deth for deth / for his fynall mede For I my selfe / theron shal be wroke That thorugh the worlde / hereafter shal be spoke How Achylles / was venged on his foo For Patroclus / that he loued soo And though that I be / to the enuyous And of thy deth / inly desyrous Ne wyte me nat / nor put on me no blame For well I wotte / thou arte to me the same And hast my dethe / many day desyred And therupon / inwardely conspyred And thus shortely / as atwene vs two There is but deth / without wordes mo Whan Fortune hath / the tyme shape I hope fully / thou shalt nat escape Truste none other / I say the vtterly To whom Ector / nat to hastely Answerde agayne / with sobre countenaunce Auysed well / in all his dalyaunce As he that was / in nothynge rekles And euen thus / he spake to Achylles Syr Achylles / without any fayle Thou oughtest nat / in herte to meruayle Though with my power / and my full myght With herte and wyll / of very dewe ryght Day by day / I thy deth conspyre And euer in one / compasse it and desyre And do my laboure / erely and eke late To pursue it / by full cruell hate Thou oughtest nat / to wonder in no wyse But fully knowe / by sentence of the wyse In no maner / who so taketh hede Of rightwysnesse / it may nat procede That outher I / or any other wyght Shulde hym loue / that with all his myght My deth pursueth / and destruccyon And ouer this / to more confusyon Hath layde a sege / aboute this Cyte On my kynred / and also vpon me And therupon / felly doth presume With mortall hate / of werre to consume Vs euerychone / I wysse I can nat fynde In my herte / as by lawe of kynde Suche one to loue / of right nor equyte Nor haue hym chere / sothly in no degre For of werre / may no frendlyhede Nor of debate / loue / a right procede For sothly loue / moste in specyall Of faythfulnesse / hath his Orygenall In hertes ioyned / by conuenyence Of one accorde / whom no difference Of doubylnesse / may in no degre Nouther in ioye / nor aduersyte For lyfe nor deth / a sondre nor disseuer For where loue is / it contynueth euer . But of hate / all is the contrarye Of whiche sothly / from hertes whan they varye Procedeth rancour at eye / as men may se Debate / enuye / stryfe / and Enmyte Mortall slaunghtre / bothe nye and ferre Moder of whiche / in sothfastnesse is werre The fyn wherof / longe or it be do Seuereth hertes / and frendeshyp kut a two And causeth loue / to be layde full lowe But for all this / I wyll well that thou knowe Thy proude wordes / in herte nor in thought In very sothe / agaste me right nought And if I shall / ferther more out breke Without auaunt / the trouthe for to speke I say the playnely / hense or two yere If I may lyue / in this werres here And my swerde of knyghthode / forth acheue I hope in sothe / so mortally to grene The grekes all / whan I with them mete That they and thou / shall fele full vnswete If ye contynue / and the werres haunte I shall your pryde / and surquedye adaunte In suche a wyse / with my handes two That or the werre / fully be a do Full many greke / sore shall it rewe For well I wote / of olde and nat of newe That the Grekes / gaderyd here in one Of surquedye / are founde euerychone Oonly for lacke / of discrecyon To vndertake / of presumpcyon So hye a thynge / a sege for to layne And your selfe / to ouer charge in vayne With Empryses / withoute fable Be of weyght / to you importable And the peys / of so great heuynesse That fynally / wyll you all oppresse And your pryde / auale and enclyne The berthone eke / enbowe backe and chyne And vnwarely / cause you to falle Or ye haue done / I say to one and alle And ouer more / be full in suerte Thou Achylles I speke / vnto the That fatall deth / firste shall the assay● Tofore thy swerde / in any thynge auiyle Agaynst me / for all thy worthynesse And if so be / that so great hardynese Courage of wyll / vygour force or m●ght Meue thy herte / by manhode as a kiyght To take on the / as in derrynge do For to darreyne / here betwene vs two Thylke quarell / how so that befalle For the whiche / that we stryue all I wyll assente / playnely to Iupa●te Tyll that the deth / one of vs departe There is no more / that these lordes here Kynges / prynces / wyll accorde yfere That it be do / fully by one assent And holde stable / of herte and of entent Whiche in a felde / oonly that we tweyne As I haue sayde / this quarell may darreyne And it fynysshe / by this condycyowne That if it happe / thorugh thy hye renowne Me to venquysshe / or put at outtraunce I wyll you make / fully assuraunce That firste my lorde / Pryamus the kynge Shall vnto grekes / in all maner thynge With sceptre & crowne / hoolly hym submytte And in a poynt / varye nouther flytte Fully to yelde / to your subieccyowne All his lordshyp / within Troye towne And his lyges / in captyuyte Shall go theyr way / out of this cyte And leue it quyte / in your gouernaunce Without stryfe / or any varyaunce And therupon / to make suerte To deuoyde / all ambygnyte Tofore the goddes / by othe and sacrament We shall be swore / in full good entent And ouer more / our fayth also to saue To assure you / in pledge / ye shall haue The mene whyle / and kepe them on your syde At your choyse / hostages to abyde From Troye towne / of the worthyeste That ye lyste chese / and also of the beste So that ye shall / of no thynge be in were Of all that euer / that I saye you here And Achylles / without wordes mo If that thou lyste / accorde full therto That I haue sayde / thy honour to encrease To make this werre / sodaynely to cease That lykly is / for to laste longe Betwene Troyans / and the Grekes stronge Thou shalt nat oonly / with honour & with fame Thorugh out the worlde / gette the a name But therwith all / and that is nat a lyte Thorugh thy knyghthod / to many man ꝓfyte That fro the deth / shall escape a lyue And to his countre / hole and sounde aryue That lykly are / by cruell aduenture For to be dede / if the werre endure Come of therfore / and let nat be prolongued But let the day / at wene vs two be ioyned As I haue sayde / in condycyowne If in diffence / oonly of this towne I haue victorye / by fortune on the I axe nat / but anone that ye Breke vp sege / and the werre lete And suffre vs / to lyue in quyete Into Grece / home whan ye are gone To whiche thynge / Achylles anone Hote in his Ire / and furyous also Brennynge full hote / for anger and for wo Assentydis / with a despytous chere And gan anone / to Ector dresse hym nere And sayde he wolde / delyuer hym vtterly Fro poynt to poynt / his axynge by and by And there in made / none excepcyon But of hole herte / and entencyon His requeste / accepted euerydell And as it semed / lyked it right well And for his parte / he caste a gloue downe In sygne and token / of confirmacyowne For lyfe or deth / that he wyll holde his day Agayne Ector / happe / what happe may Vnto the whiche / Ector lyfly sterte And toke it vp / with as glad an herte As euer yet dyde / man or knyght That quarell toke / with his foo to fyght There can no man / in sothe a ryght deuyse How gald he was / of this hye Empryse . Of whiche the noyse / and the great sowne Ran to the Erys / of Agamenowne And he anone / came downe to theyr tent With all the lordes / of his Parlyament Where Achylles and Ector / were yfere To wytte theyr wyll / as in this matere Were they wolde / assente fynally To put the quarell / full in Iupardy Of outher part / atwene these knyghtes tweyne As ye haue herde / it fully to dareyne And with one voyce / grekes it denye And sayde they ne wolde / of suche a companye Of kynges / dukes / and lordes eke also Both lyfe and deth / Iuparte atwene two Nor to the course / of Fortune them submytte That can hir face / all day chaunge and flytte And some of Troye / in conclusyowne Iuparte ne wold / theyr lyues nor theyr towne In the handes / oonly of a knyght To put all / in auenture of fyght Pryam except / whiche sothly in this caas Within hym selfe / fully assentyd was Playnely to a put / and set in Iupardye Hoolly the honour / of his regallye Supposynge aye / as made is memorye That Ector shulde / haue hadde the victorye Of this Empryse / if he it toke on honde But for Pryam / myght natwithstonde Agayne so many / of one entencyon That were contrarye / to his oppynyon Bothe of Grekes / and on Troye syde He helde his peas / and let it ouer slyde And so the Grekes / parted be echone And Ector / is from Achylles gone Home to Troye / where I hym leue a whyle Whyles that I / directe shall my style To telle of Troylus / the lamentable wo Whiche that he made / to parte his lady fro . ALas Fortune / Gery and vnstable And redy aye / for to be chaungeable Whan folk most trust / in thy stormy face Lyke theyr desyre / the fully to embrace Than is thy ioye / away to tourne and wrythe Vpon wretches / thy power for to kythe Recorde on Troylus / that fro the whele so lowe By false enuye / thou hast ouer throwe Out of the ioye / whiche that he was Inne From his lady / to make hym for to twynne Whan he best wende / for to haue be suryd And of the woo / that he hath enduryd I must nowe / helpe hym to complayne Whiche as his herte / felte so great payne So inwarde wo / and so great distresse More than I haue / cunnynge to expresse Whan he knewe / the partynge of Cryseyde Almost for woo / and for payne / he deyde And fully wyste / she departe shall By sentence / and Iugement fynall Of his fader / gyuen in Parlyament For whiche / with wo and tourment all to rent He was in poynt / to haue fallen in rage That no man myght / a pease nor a swage The hyd paynes / whiche in his breste gan dare For lyke a man / in furye / he gan fare And suche sorowe / day and nyght to make In complaynynge / oonly for hir sake For whan he sawe / that she shulde aweye He leuer hadde / playnely for to deye Than to lyue behynde / in hir absence For hym thought / without hir presence He was but dede / there is no more to sayne And intoterys / he began to rayne With whiche his eyen / gan for to bolie And in his breste / the syghes vp to swolle And the sobbynge / of his sorowes depe That he ne can / but rore and wepe So sore loue / his herte gan constrayne And she ne felte / nat a lytell payne But wepte also / and pyteously gan crye Desyrynge aye / that she myght dye Rather than parte fro hym out of Troye Hir owne knyght / hir lust hir lyues ioye That by hir chekes / the terys downe distylle And fro hir eyen / the rounde droppes trylle And all for dewed / haue hir blacke wede And eke vntrussed / hir heer a brodegan sprede Lyke to golde wyre / for rent and all to torne Yplucked of / and nat with sherys shorne And ouer this / hir fresshe rosen hewe Whylom ymeynt / with whyte lylyes newe With wofull wepynge / pyteously disteyned And lyke Erbys / in Apryll all be reyned Or floures fresshe / with the dewes swete Right so hir chekes / moyste were and wete With crystall water / vp ascendynge hye Out of hir breste / into hir heuenly eye And aye amonge / hir lamentaeyowne Ofte sythe / she fyll in a swowne downe Dedely pale / for dymmed in hir syght And ofte sayde / alas myn owne knyght Myn owne Troylous / alas why shall we parte Rather let deth / with his spere darte Thorugh my herte / and the vaynes kerue And with his rage / do me for to stryue Rather alas / than fro my knyght to twynne And of this wo / O deth that I am inne Why ne wylt thou come / & helpe make an ende For how shulde I out of Troye wende He abyde / and I to grekes goon There to dwelle / amonge my cruell foon Alas alas / I wofull creature How shulde I there / in the werre endure I wretched woman / but my selfe alone Amonge the men / of armes euerychone Thus gan she crye / all the longe day This was hir complaynte / with full great afray Hir pyteous noyse / tyll it drewe to nyght That vnto hir / hir owne trewe knyght Full tryste and heuy / came agaynes eue If he myght / hir comforte or leue But he in sothe / hath Cryseyde founde All in a swowne / lyinge on the grounde And pyteously / vnto hir he went With wofull chere / and hir in armes hent And toke hir vp / and than atwene them two Began of newe / suche a dedely wo That it was routhe / and pyte for to sene For she of chere / pale was and grene And he of coloure / lyke to asshes dede And fro hir face / was gone all the rede And in his chekes / deuoyded was the blode So wofully / atwene them two it stode For she ne myght / nat a worde Yspeke And he was redy / with deth to be wreke Vpon hym selfe / his naked swerde besyde And she full ofte / gan to grounde glyde Out of his armes / as she fylle a swowne And he hym selfe / gan in terys drowne She was as stylle / and dumbe as any stone He had a mouthe / but wordes had he none The wery spyryte / flyckered in hir breste And of deth / stode vnder a reste Withoute menprys / sothely as of lyfe And thus there was / as it semed a stryfe Whiche of them two / shulde firste ypasse For deth portrayed / in herte outher face With suche coloure / as men go to theyr graue And thus in wo / they gan togydre raue Disconsolate / all the longe nyght That in good fayth / if I shulde a ryght The processe hole / of theyr bothe sorowe That they made / tyll the next morowe Fro poynt to poynt / it to specefye It wolde me / full longe occupye Of euery thynge / to make mencyon And tarye me / in my translacyon If I shulde / in hir wo procede But me semeth / that it is no nede Syth my mayster / Chaucer here afore In this mater / hath so well hym bore In his boke / of Troylus and Cryseyde Whiche he made / longe or that he deyde Rehersynge first / how Troylus was contrayre For to ascende / vp on loues stayre And how that he / for all his surquedye After became / one of the companye Of loues folke / for all his olde game Whan Cupyde / made hym full tame And brought hym lowe / to his subieccyowne In a temple / as he walked vp and downe Whan he his gynnes / and his hookes leyde Amyd the Eyen / cerclyd of Cryseyde Whiche on that day / he myght nat asterte For thorugh his breste / percyd and his herte He wente hym home / pale syke / and wan And in this wyse / Troylus firste began To be a seruaunt / my mayster telleth thus Tyll he was holpe / after of Pandarus Thorugh whose comforte / and medyacyon As in his boke / is made mencyon With great laboure / firste he came to grace And so contynueth / by certayne yeres space Tyll fortune gan / vpon hym frowne That she fro hym / must go out of towne All sodaynely / and neuer hym after se Lo here the ende / of false Felycyte Lo here the ende / of wordely brotylnesse Of flesshely luste / lo here the vnstablenesse Lo here the double / varyacyon Of worldly blysse / and transmutacyon This daye in myrthe / and in wo to morowe For aye the fyne / alas of ioye is sorowe For now Cryseyde / with the kynge Thoas For Anthenor / shall go forth alas Vnto Grekes / and euer with them dwelle The hole storye / Chauncer can you telle If that ye lyste / no man better a lyue Nor the processe / halfe so well descryue For he our englysshe / gylte with his sayes Rude and boystous / firste by olde dayes That was full fer / from all parfeccyon And but of lytell / reputacyon Tyll that he came / and thorugh his poetrye Gan our tunge / firste to magnefye And adourne it / with his eloquence To whom honoure / laude and reuerence Thorugh out this lande / gyuen be and songe So that the laurer / of our englysshe tonge Be to hym gyuen / for his excellence Right as whylom / by full hye sentence Perpetuelly / for a memoryall Of Columpna / by the Cardynall To Petrark Fraunceyse / was gyuen in Ytayle That the reporte / neuer after fayle Nor the honour / dyrked of his name To be regystred / in the hous of fame Amonge other / in the hyest sete My mayster Galfryde / as for chefe Poete That euer was / yet in our langage The name of whom / shall pallen in none age But euer ylyche / without eclypsynge shyne And for my parte / I wyll neuer fyne So as I can / hym to magnefye In my wrytynge / playnely tyll I dye And god I praye / his soule brynge in ioye And where I lefte / I wyll agayne of troye The storye telle / and firste how that Guydo Within his boke / speketh Troylus to Rebukynge hym / full vncurteysly That he so sette / his herte folyly Vpon Cryseyde / full of doubylnesse For in his boke / as Guydolyste expresse That hir terys / and hir complaynynge Hir wordes whyte / softe and blandysshynge Were meynt with faynynge / & with flaterye And outwarde farsed / with many a false lye For vnderhyd was / all the varyaunce Curyd aboue / with fayned countenaunce As women can / falsely terys borowe In theyr herte / though there be no sorowe Lyke as they wolde / of very trouthe deye They can thynke on / and a nother seye As a serpent / vnder floures fayre His venym hydeth / where he doth repayre The sugre afore / the galle hydde behynde As appropryd is / vnto theyr kynde To be dyuerse / and double of nature Rathest deceyuynge / whan men moste assure For vnder coloure / euery thynge they werke The fayre aboue / the foule in the derke They hydde so / that no man may espye And though so be / that with a wofull Eye They can outwarde / wepe pyteously The tother eye / can laffe couertly Whose sorowes all / are tempryd with allyes And theyr coloure / euer is meynt with rayes For vpon chaunge / and mutabylyte Stande hole theyr truste / and theyr suerte So that they be / sure in doubylnesse And alway double / in theyr sykernesse Semynge one / whan they beste can varye Lykest to a corde / whan they be contrarye And thus they be / varyaunt in accorde And holest seme / whan there is discorde And Guydo sayth / how there are fewe or none That in hir herte / apayed is with one And yet they can / be it to one or twayne To thre or foure / in theyr speche fayne Lyke as they were / to one and to no mo Hole in theyr loue / for well and eke for wo That eueryche shall / of hym selfe deme That he be next / lyke as it doth seme And thus in hope / standeth eche of them alle The trewest aye / redyest to falle Who serueth beste / next to be apayred And thus in chaunge / all theyr loue is fayred Let no man truste / but catche whan he may Farewell to morowe / though it be sure to day The fayre of chaunge / lasteth ouer yere But it is folye / for to bye to dere Thylke treasoure / whiche harde is to possede But flyeth away / whan men therof mostenede And if it happe / that no chapman be As sayth Guydo / yet all day men may se It sheweth out / at large fenestralles On chaumbres / hye and lowe downe in halles And in wyndowes / eke in euery strete And also eke / men may with them mete At Pylgrymages / and oblacyownes At spectacles / in Cytes and in townes As sayth Guydo / and all is for to selle But after hym / I can no ferther telle And eke he sayth / in his sentement There is no fraude / fully equypolent To the fraude / and sleyghty compassynge Of a woman / nor lyke in workynge For who that set / all his faythfulnesse Wenynge in them / to fynde stabylnesse He shall them fynde / stedfast as the mone That is in poynt / for to chaunge soone If he be yonge / they caste hym in rage If he be olde / he falleth in dotage Wherfore my counsayle is / to bothe two Caste of the brydell / and lyghtly let them go . This techeth Guydo / god wot and nat I That hath delyte / to speke cursedly Alway of women / thorugh out all his boke As men may se / who so lyste to loke To them he hadde / enuye in specyall That in good fayth / I am right wroth with all That he with them / lyste so to debate For Yre of whiche / the Latyn to translate Inwardely / my herte / I felte blede Of hye despyte / his clauses for to rede That resowned / in conclusyon Oonly of malys / to accusacyowne Of these women / full euyll mote he thryue So generally / their secte / to descryue Whiche made nat / thorugh in discrecyon Of good / nor badde / none excepcyon He was to blame / foule mote he falle For cause of one / for to hynder alle For I dare well / afferme by the rode Agayne one badde / be an hondred gode And though some one / bouble be and newe It hyndreth nat / to them that be trewe And by example / also though he shewe That some one / whylom was a shrewe They that be good / take shall no hede For it / no hyndrynge / is to womanhede Though twayne or thre / can be double & fayne For there agayne / lothely at Colayne Of virgyns / inly full of grace A leuen thousande / in that holy place A man may fynde / and in our kalender Full many mayde / parfyte and Enter Whiche to the deth / stable were and trewe For some of them / with the rosen hewe Of Marterdome / the blysse of heuen wonne And some also / as bokes tell konne With the lylye / of virgynyte And vyolettes / of parfyte chastyte Ascended be / aboue the sterrys clere And the sercle / of the nynthe spere Wherfore ioye is euer / and gladnesse eterne Wherfore in sothe / as I can discerne Though some clerkis / of shrewes haue myssayde Let no good woman / therof be myspayde For lacke of one / all are nat to blame And eke of men / may be sayde the same For to the trewe / it is no reprefe Though it so be / a nother be a thefe For what is he / the worse in his degree Though the tother / be hanged on a tree Nor vnto women / hyndrynge is it none Amonge an hondred / though that there be one Of gouernaunce / that be vycyous For there agayne / a thousande vertuous If that ye lyste / lyghtely ye may fynde And though Guydo wryte / they haue of kynde To be double / men shulde it goodly take And there agayne / no maner grutchyng make Nature in werkynge / hath full great powere And it were harde / for any that is here The course of hir / to holde or restreyne For she wyll nat be gyded / by no reyne To be coarted / of hir dewe ryght Therfore eche man / with all his full myght Shulde thanke god / and take pacyently For if women / be double naturelly Why shulde men / ley on them the blame For though myn Auctor / hyndre so their name In his wrytynge / oonly of Cryseyde And vpon hir / suche a blame leyde My counsayle is / lyghtly ouer passe Where he myssayth / of hir in any place To hyndre women / outher eue or morowe Take no hede / but let them be with sorowe And skyppe ouer / where ye lyste nat rede Tyll ye come / where that Dyomede For hir was sent / into Troye towne Where ceryously / is made mencyowne Firste how that she / to hym delyuered was For Anthenor / and for the kynge Thoas And how Troylus / gan hir to conueye With many other / to brynge hir on the weye And after this / how that Dyomede By the waye / gan hir brydell lede Tyll he hir broughte / to hir faders tent And how Calchas / in fall good entent Receyued hir / lodgyd there he lay And of hir speche / durynge all that day And all the maner / hole and euerydele All is rehersed / ceryously and we le In Troylus boke / as ye haue herde me sayne To wryte it ofte / I holde it were but vayne But Guydo sayth / longe or it was nyght How Cryseyde / forsoke hir owne knyght And gaue hir herte / vnto Dyomede Of tendernesse / and of womanhede That Troylus / wexe in hir herte as colde Without fyre / as ben these asshys olde I can none other / excusacyon But oonly / kyndes transmutacyon That is appropryd / vnto hir nature Selde or neuer / stable to endure By experyence / as men may ofte lere But nowe agayne / to my matere I must resorte / though that I be ferre As I began / to wryte of the werre .
How whan the trewes was endyd they wente to batayle agayne / where as were many a man slayne on both partyes / And of the Discrypcyon of the Palays of Ylyon / And also how there dyed so many grekes of the pestylence / that they demaunded trewes for .xxx. dayes whiche they obteyned . Capitulo . xxvi .
THe tyme passed / of the trewes Ytake the next morowe / whan tytan hath forsake The vnder partye / of our Emysperye Where all the nyght / he had be full merye With Aurora / lyinge by his syde But in his bed / hym lyste no lenger byde But shope hym vp / & caste his stremes shene On Troye walle / whan Ector armed clene Into the felde / faste gan hym hye Fyftene thousande / in his companye Of worthy knyghtes / and of manly men And as I fynde / Troylus hadde ten Of knyghtes eke / that his baner sewe And in hast / Parys gan remewe Out of the towne / with them of Perce longe And eche of them / a bowe in his honde And arrowes sharpe / trussed by theyr syde And of knyghtes / that aboute hym ryde He hadde also / thre thousande as I fynde And Dephebus / next hym came behynde With thre thousande / knyghtes armed clene On whose plates / the sonne shone full shene And next hym came / the Troyan Eneas And as I rede / sothly that there was Thesame day / with them of Troye towne An hondred thousande / knyghtes of renowne Lyke as recordeth / Dares Frygius And in his boke / Guydo wryteth thus And with the Grekes / all tofore that day With seuen thousande / went Menelay Knyghtes echone / whiche he dyde lede And with as many / went Dyomede And next them / foloweth the hardy Achylles With his mayne / called Myrundynes And zanptipu● / the worthy kynge eke hadde Thre thousande knyghtis / whiche that he ladde Into the felde / agayne them of the towne And alderlaste / came Agamenowne With suche a nombre / of the Grekes felle That wonder is / for to here telle And whan the wardes / in the felde abrode Hadde theyr place / without more abode Agrekysshe kynge / whiche that Phyllys hyghte Anone as he of Ector / hadde a syghte Towardes hym / syttynge on his stede With his spere / he gan hym faste spede But whan Ector / his commynge sayne He hente a spere / and rode to hym agayne And thorugh his shelde / and his plates rounde He gaue to hym / his laste fat all wounde Vpon whose deth / auenged for to be Full many Greke / gan on Ector for to flee And firste of all / the worthy kynge Famous That of Grekes / was called zantipus Of hye disdayne / oonly for Phyllys sake Towarde Ector / hath his course ytake And with a spere / ran at hym full ryght But Ector firste / hyt hym with suche a myght Thorugh his harneys / with his speres hede That zantipus / fylle to grounde dede The deth of whom / Greke sore playne And dyde theyr myght / and theyr besy payne On euery halfe / furyous and wode To auenge them / on Troyans blode And thorugh he passynge / cruell hardynesse They began Troyans / so to oppresse That many one / that day ne myght asterte Thoruh the breste / yperced and the herte For to be dede / and slayne amonge the prees Amonges whiche / cruell Achylles Slewe Lychaon / and Eufrobyus Noble knyghtes / right worthy and famous That were ycome / out of theyr countre Agayne Grekes / to helpe the Cyte And whyle troyans / constrayned were so narowe Were it with spere / quarell / darte / or arowe Ector was wounded / thorugh out the vyser Into the face / that lyke a ryuer The reed blode / downe began to rayle But his harneys / thorugh his auentayle Wherof astoned / whan they hadde a syght Full many Troyan / toke hym to the flyght And to the Cyte / faste gan them drawe And at the chase / full many one was slawe Or they myght / out of the felde remewe And euer in one / grekes after sewe Vnto the walles / almost of the towne Tyll that Ector / the troyan champyowne Of his knyghthode / gan to take hede Albe his wounde / sore gan to blede Yet of manhode / he gan them recomforte And maugre them / into the felde resorte Namely whan he / hadde inspeccyowne On the walles / and toures of the towne How that Eleyne / and Eccuba the quene And his suster / fayre Polycene With many other lady / gan beholde Hym thought anone / his herte gan to colde Of very shame / his knyghtes shulde fle And lyke a Lyon / in his cruelte He made them tourne / manly euerychone And in his waye / he mette Meryon Agrekysshe kynge / that was nye allye To Achylles / as bokes specefye And with his swerde / Ector smote hym so That he hym rofe / on pecys two And whan Achylles / sawe hym dede Parted a two / euen fro the hede He hent a spere / and thought he ne wolde fayle Tohyt Ector / thorugh shelde plate & mayle And rode to hym / full Enuyously And amyd the shelde / he smet hym cruelly But with the stroke / Ector neuer adell Remeueth nat / he sat so faste and well But with his swerde anone / & taryeth nought Ran to Achylles / with an enuyous thought He knyghtly ran / vpon his coursere And on his creste / that shone so bryght & clere With suche a myght / Ector hath hym smet That he percyd / thorughe his basenet And racede eke / from his auentayle With that stroke / many pece of mayle That Achylles / constrayned was of nede Maugre his myght / to stagre on his stede To enclyne / and to bowe his backe At whiche tyme / Ector to hym spake . And sayde Achylles / I do well aduerte The great enuye / of thy cruell herte And specyally / that thou haste to me But yet beware / I counsayle the Thy selfe to put / so in aduenture For of one thynge / I playnely the ensure As I desyre / at my laste some day Here in the felde / if I the mete may Truste me right well / there gayneth no socour That I shall so / acquyte thy labour So mortally / I do the vnderstande With this swerde / that I holde in honde That with thy lyfe / thou shalt nat escape So cruelly / the vengeaunce shal be take Efte whan we met / euen vpon thy hede Of whiche thynge / whan Achylles toke hede Aduertynge all / that he herde hym sayne Right as he wolde / haue answere agayne Worthy Troylus / knyghtly entrede inne And made them / a sondre for to twynne And thorugh the manhode / of his companye Of worthy knyghtes / that he dyde guye And hye prowesse / of his owne myght He hath the grekes / put agayne to flyght And slayne of them / that day out of drede Sixe hondred knyghtes / sothely as I rede For losse of whiche / the Grekes faste fle To theyr tentes / of necessyte Tyll Menelay / dyde his besy cure To make them / the felde agayne recure Thorugh whose manhode / that day out of doute And worthy knyghtes / that were hym aboute The felde of grekes / recured was anone But tho fro Troye / came kynge Odemon And in all haste / possyble / that he may He came enbusshed / vpon Menelay And hym vnhorseth / in the selfe place And suche a wounde / gaue hym in the face That fro the deth / he wende nat escape And doutles anone / he hadde hym take With helpe of Troylus / and lad vnto the towne But of Grekes / suche a prese came downe To reskewe hym / in this great nede That Odemon / no ferther myght lede Kynge Menelay / towarde the Cyte Whan Dyomede / came with his meyne And many worthy / rydynge hym aboute And Troylus mette / amonges all the route All sodaynely / of hap or aduenture And hym vnhorseth / as it was his eure And after that / anone he hent his stede And bad a squyer / that he shulde it lede Vnto Cryseyde / oonly for his sake Besechynge hir / that she wolde it take As for a gyfte / of hir owne man Syth he that day / for hir loue it wan Amyd the felde / thorugh his great myght Of hym that was / whylom hir owne knyght And he in haste / on his waye is went And therof made / vnto hir present Prayinge hir / in full humble wyse This lytell gyfte / that she nat despyse But it receyue / for a remembraunce And with all this / that it be pleasaunce Of very pyte / and of womanhede On hir seruaunt / called Dyomede To remembre / that was be come hir knyght And she anone / with herte glad and lyght Full womanly / bad hym repayre agayne Vnto his lorde / and playnely to hym sayne That shene myght / of very kyndenesse Of womanhede / nor of gentyllesse Refuse hym platly / from hir grace That was to hir / there in straunge place So kynde founde / and so comfortable In euery thynge / and so seruyable That it may nat / lyghtly out of mynde To thynke on hym / that was so trewe & kynde . With whiche answere / the messager is gone Vnto his lorde / and tolde it hym anone Worde by worde / lyke as she hath sayde And he therof / was full well apayde That hym thought / playnely in his herte He was recured / of his paynes smerte And forth he had hym / in armes as a knyght But that day / durynge the stronge fyght They of Troye / so manly haue them borne That grekes myght / nat stonde them aforne For to theyr tentis / they haue them chased downe That ne hadde be / kynge Agamenowne Grekes hadde / be dryuen out of the felde The whiche thynge / anone as he behelde He came vpon / with many worthy man And tho of newe / the slaughtre agayne began On euery halfe / vpon the large playne That Grekes / haue Troyans so be layne That efte agayne / they haue the felde ywonne So that Troyans / constrayned tho begonne To lese theyr londe / tyll Pollydamas Whiche with his knyghtes / there besyde was Gan falle vpon / endelonge the grene Them of Troye / full manly to sustene And the Grekes / he gan so to enchace Whan he came in / that they loste theyr place And to the stronde / euen vpon the see Thurgh his knyghthod / he made them for to fle Of theyr lyfe / that they were in drede The whiche myschefe / whan that Dyomede Behelde / and sawe / how Pollydamas Mortally / pursued on the chas On hors backe / in the felde a fere With cruell herte / hent anone a spere And spryngynge out / rode to hym full ryght And he agayne / to acquyte hym lyke a knyght As he that lyste / on no partye feyne Of his stede / helde agayne the reyne And raughte a spere / & threwe it in the reste And Dyomede / he smote so on the breste That mortally / lyke as it is founde He vnhorsed hym / with a greuous wounde And ryght anone / with a knyghtly herte Pollydamas / all attones sterte Vnto the hors / of this Dyomede And by the reyne / proudely gan it lede Vnto Troylus / where he on foot stode All for bathed / in the Grekes blode On euery halfe / whiche that he shadde Amonges them / so knyghtly he hym hadde That they ne myght / endure nor sustene His sharpe swerde / grounde was so kene And delyuerly / maugre all his foon Into the sadell / vp he sterte anoon Of very force / armed as he was And vnwarely / by aduenture or cas With sharpe swerdes / for the nones whette As Achylles / and he togydre mette Worthy Troylus / of rancour and of pryde Achylles smote / that he felle asyde Downe of his hors / lowe to the grounde And natwtstandynge / his grene mortal wounde He rose agayne / and faste gan hym spede If that he myght / to recure his stede But all for nought / it wolde nat auayle For sodaynely / with a fresshe batayle They of Troye / as made is mencyon In compasse wyse / beset hym enuyron Eueryche of them / armed bryght and clene And Ector tho / in his furyous tene As Dares telleth / all the maner howe The same day / a thousande knyghtes slowe Whiche them withstode / oonly in diffence For Achylles / to make resystence That tyme of deth / stondynge in Iupardye That certaynely / but if bokes lye By lyklyhede / he myght nat escape In that myschefe / to be dede or take Ector on hym / was so furyous But as I rede / Thelamonyus Reskued hym / in this great nede And caused hym / to recure his stede Natwithstandynge / all the great prees For the Duke / and lorde of Athenes Was in this case / of herte and hole entent To helpe Achylles / wonder dylygent That with hym ladde / many noble knyght But for bycause / that it drewe to nyght As the storye / maketh rehersayle They made an ende / as of that batayle And they of Troye / entred be the towne And after that / as made is mencyowne By and by / hauynge delayes Mortally they foughte / thurty dayes Withoute / any interrupcyon On outher parte / to great destruccyon But aldermost / for all theyr great pryde They lost moste / on the Grekes syde Saue Pryamus / loste in specyall Sixe of his sones / called naturall For whom he hadde / full great heuynesse And as the storye / lyketh to expresse This mene whyle / Ector in certayne In his face / wounded was agayne And thus they haue / in this cruell rage On euery parte / receyued great damage Tyll kynge Pryam / from Troye sent downe For a trewes / vnto Agamenowne For sixe monthes / if he assente wolde And therupon / he hath a counsayle holde With his lordes / what were beste to do And they echone / accorded be therto And graunte his axynge / in conclusyon And all this whyle / within ylyon Durynge the peas / on outher parte assured Of his woundes / fully to be cured . Lay worthy Ector / protector of the towne But of this ryche / royall chefe doungeowne That Ylyon / in Troye bare the name Whiche of byldynge / hadde suche a fame If that I shulde / commende it vp so downe As Dares doth / in his descripcyowne I wante cunnynge / my termys to aplye For in his boke / as he doth specefye In all this wrolde / was there none so ryche Of hye deuyse / nor of byldynge lyche The whiche stode / the more to delyte As he recordeth / on twelue stones whyte Of Alabastre / shortly to conclude And twenty pase / was the latytude That grounde ypaued / thorugh out with crystall And vp on hyghte / parformed euery wall Of all stones / that any man can fynde Of Dyamountes / and saphyres ynde The royall rubye / so oryent and lyght That the derkenesse / of the dymme nyght Enchaced was / with his bemes shene And euer amonge / were emeraudes grene With stones all / that any maner man In this worlde / deuyse or reken can That were of pryse / value or rychesse Ther were wrought / of large & gret roundenesse As sayth Dares / Yuory pyllers And therupon / set at the corners Of pured golde / all aboue on hyghte There were ymages / wonder huge of weyghte With many perle / and many ryche stone And euery pyller / in the halle hadde one Of massyfe golde / borned clere and bryght And wonderfull / to any mannes syght For of this werke / the meruaylous fasyon Was more lyke / by estymacyon A thynge ymade / and founded by fayrye Than any werke / wrought by fantasye Thorugh wytte of man / as by lyklynesse For in his boke / Dares bereth wytnesse That it was lyke / to reken syght and all In apparaunce / a thynge celestyall Syth in this boke / ye get no more of me For but in wrytynge / I myght neuer it se Albe all other / that it dyde excelle No more therof / I thynke nowe to telle But retourne agayne / to Pryamus Whiche all this whyle / was inly coryous With all his myght / and his besy cure To ordayne / for the sepulture Of his sones / that afore were dede And all that tyme / syke lay Dyomede With loues darte / wounded to the herte As he that felte / inwardly smerte Of wofull syghes / whiche in his breste abreyde Full ofte a daye / for loue of Cryseyde For he was shake / with a feuer newe That caused hym / to be full pale of hewe And to wexe / bothe megre and lene For pyteously / he gan hym to abstene Fro mete and drynke / and from all solace As it was sene / in his dedely face And ofte a day / to hir he wolde playne Of his dissease / and his mortall payne Prayinge of grace / that she wolde se Vpon his woo / for to haue pyte And of mercy / for to take hede Of hir seruaunt / oonly of womanhede Or planely ellys / there is no more to seye For hir sake / he sayde he wolde deye . But cunnyngly / and in full sleyghty wyse To kepe hym lowe / vnder hir seruyse With delayes / she helde hym forth on honde And made hym / in a weer to stonde Full vnsure / betwene hope and dispayre And whan that grace / shulde haue had repayre To put hym out / of all heuynesse Daunger of newe / brought hym in distresse And with a disdayne / to encrease his payne Of double weer / she brought him in a trayne As women can holde / a man full narowe Whan he is hurte / with Cupydes arowe To sette on hym / many felle assayes Day by day / to put hym in delayes To stonde vnsure / betwyxe hope and drede Right as Cryseyde / left Dyomede Of entent to sette / hym more a fyre As this women / kyndely desyre Whan they a man / haue brought in a traunce Vneuenly / to hange hym in balaunce Of hope and drede / to lynke hym in a chayne And of the fyne / vnsure of both twayne To dryue hym forth / yeres them to serue And do no force / where he lyue or sterue This is the fyne / of loues fyry rage And for she wolde / haue hym inseruage She locked hym / vnder suche a keye That he wote nat / where to lyue or deye And in doute thus / I lette hym dwelle And forth I wyll / of the storye telle And to my matere / eke resorte agayne And as myn Auctour / recordeth in certayne After the trewes / were wered out and gone Twelue dayes / suynge all in one The grekes faught / with them of the towne To great damage / and confusyowne Of outher partye / and aduersyte And in this whyle / a great mortalyte Bothe of swerde / and of pestylence Amonge grekes / by fatall influence Of noyous hete / and of corrupt eyre Engendryd was / that in great dispeyre Of theyr lyfe / in the felde they leye For day by day / sodaynely they deye And theyr nombre / faste gan discrece And whan they sawe / that it ne wolde sece By theyr aduyse / the kynge Agamenowne For a trewes / sent to the towne For thurty dayes / and Pryamus the kynge Without more / graunted his axynge .
Howe Andronomecha Ectors wyfe hadde a vysyon in hir slepe / that & hir housbonde fought on the morowe that he shuld be slayne / the whiche wold not byleue hir / nouther Fader nor moder / And how Achylles slewe hym . Ca. xxvij .
WHan the moreyne / and the wofull rage Of Pestylence / began for to aswage And the trewes / were wered out & goon The grekes caste / to mete with theyr foon Vpon a day / in plates armed clene Whan Phebus rose / with his bemys shene Full plesauntly / and gan to shede his lyght But as I fynde / tofore the selfe nyght Andronomecha / the faythfull trewe wyfe Of worthy Ector / hym louynge as hir lyfe By whom he hadde / gete children two Wonder semely / and inly fayre also And Lamedoute / called was the tone So yonge the tother / that it ne myght gone And Astronanta / I rede that he hyghte Fetured well / and passynge fayre of syghte And as Guydo / lysteth to endyte Of his moder / at the pappes whyte For very yonge / that tyme was soukynge And with his arme / hir brestys embrasynge And she that nyght / as made is mencyon Hadde in hir slepe / a wonder vysyon I note in sothe what / I may it neuene Outher a dreme / or veryly a sweuene Or fro aboue / a reuelacyon As whylom hadde / the kynge Scipyon Or a shewynge / outher an Oracle Or of goddes / a warnynge by myracle For in sothenesse / slepynge as she lay Hir thoughte playnely / if the next day . Ector went / his fomen for to assayle As he was wonte / armed in batayle That hene shulde / escape vtterly In fatys hondes / to falle fynally And ouer more / Antropos shall fyne For euermore / his lyues threde to twyne And shewe the force / of hir fell myght Whan the Parodye / of this worthy knyght A proche shall / without wordes mo Into the felde / playnely if he go Of whiche astonyd / streyght and short of breth Where as she lay / abrayde vp on the deth And with a syghe / stynte for to slepe And pyteously / braste out for to wepe For the constraynte / of hir hertely sorowe And specyally / on the wofull morowe Whan that she sawe / this stocke of worthynesse As he was wonte / manfully hym dresse To arme hym / in stele borned bryght This troyan wall / Ector this worthy knyght She can no more / but at his fete felle downe Lowly declarynge / hir a vysyowne With quakynge herte / of very womanhede Wherof god wote / he toke lytell hede But therof hadde / indygnacyon Platly affermynge / that no discrecyon Was to truste / in suche fantasyes In dremes shewed / gladly meynt with lyes Full of Iapes / and illusyons Of whiche playnely / the conclusyons Benat ellys / but folkes to delude Albe it so / that these people rude Therin some whyle / haue affeccyon To iuge and deme / in theyr oppynyon Dyuersly / what they may pretende And ofte falle / and happen as they wende And foloweth lyke / in conclusyon For drede of whiche / the Lamentacyon Encrease gan / of Andronomecha And in hir swowne / firste she cryed A Sayeng alas / myn owne lorde so dere Your trewe wyfe / alas why ne wyll ye here Whiche of so faythfull / hoole affeccyon Desyreth aye / your sauacyon And vp she rose / dedely of vysage And lyke a woman / caught with sodayne rage To kynge Pryam / and Eccuba / the quene In haste she wente / hir selfe to be mene And of hir wyfely herte / trewe as stele Ceryously / declared euery dele Hir pyteous dreme / whiche thorugh myracle To hir oonly / by deuyne oracle I shewed was / thorugh goddes purueaunce And tolde them eke / the fynall ordynaunce Of Fortunes false / disposycyon Fully purueyed / to destruccyon Of hir lorde / without more delay Into the felde / if he go that day Wherfore she prayeth / with a dedely hewe Vnto the kynge / of meccy for to rewe Vpon hir wo / to haue compassyon For to ordayne / by discrecyon Of his lordshyp / and of soueraynte That hir lorde / nat destroyed be Of reckeleshede / nor of wylfulnesse And with that worde / of very kyndenesse In whom was aye / somoche loue founde Tofore the quene / in a swowne fell to grounde And sayde alas / with a full pale chere Helpe in this case / myn owne moder dere Of womanhede and routhe / do me grace That my lorde / into the felde ne pace And do your dever / of moderly pyte Benyngnely / and goodly for to se To his knyghthode / and his hye prowesse For to restrayne / his renowmed noblesse Thylke day / to handle / spere / or shelde Nor that he go / armed into felde And bothe twayne / assent for the beste And condescende / vnto hir requeste Fynally accordynge / into one That whan the wardes / were redy euerychone On yssuynge out / and Troylus firste of alle And Parys next / on grekes for to falle And after hym / the Troyan Eneas Kynge Sarpedon / and Pollydamas Kynge Eroys / and kynge Epystrophus And eke the kynge / ycalled Forcyus In plate and mayle / eueryche armed clene And alderlaste / came kyng Phylymene With all the kynges / and lordes of renowne That in diffence / come of the towne With the grekes / knyghtly to debate And Pryamus / sothly to the gate Conueyed them / at their out goynge And set their wardes / this noble worthy kynge Full prudently / thoruhe his sapyence And after gaue them / congee and lycence Vpon Greke / for to proue their myght Agaynst whom / full redy for to fyght Their fomen were / with royall apparayle Amyd the felde / abydynge the batayle But Pryamus / in this mene whyle Lyke as Guydo / remembreth in his style For thylke fyne / that ye haue herde me sayne To worthy Ector / repayred is agayne Hym contermaūdynge / that he ne shuld gone Thylke day to fyght / agayne theyr foon For whiche thynge / of hye despyte he brent Whan that he sawe / other lordes went Out at the gate / and he alone abode For whiche he wexed / furyous and wode Hoolly the cause / arettynge to his wyfe That was of cherte / so tender of his lyfe Puttynge on his / fully the occasyowne Of his abydynge / that day in the towne In preiudyce / of hir worthynesse And disencrease / of his hye prowesse And lyfte thorugh tunges / to his hye estate Thorugh false reporte / it were derogate He caste anone / of a full knyghtly herte For lyfe nor deth / it shulde hym nat asterte Within the felde / that day to be founde Though it so were / with many mortall wounde He shulde on pecys / he wen be a sondre Vpon the playne / dismembryd here & yondre So hole in manhode / was his herte sette That he anone / without lenger lette Agayne to arme hym / was full dylygent Agayne the precept / and commaundement Of his Fader / and rode forth on his weye For fere of whiche / as she wolde deye His wyfe of newe / crye gan and shoute And with hir pappes / also hangynge oute Hir lytell childe / in hir armes twayne Afore hir lorde / gan to wepe and playne Besechynge hym / of routhe and pyte If he wolde / vnto hir sorowese At the leste / for hir wyfely trouthe That he of manhode / haue in herte routhe Vpon hir childe / and on hir also Whiche that she bare / in hir armes two And nat myght / hym from cryinge kepe Whan he sawe / his wofull moder wepe And knelynge downe / vnto hym she sayde In hir sobbynge / as she myght abrayde Myne owne lorde / haue mercy nowe on me And on this lytell childe / whiche that ye se So pyteously / afore you wepe and crye Haue mercy lorde on vs / or we dye Haue mercy eke / vpon this cyte Myn owne lorde / haue mercy or that we By cruell deth / passe shall echone For lacke of helpe / alas whan ye are gone This was the crye / of Andromecha With whom was eke / hir suster Cassandra Eccuba / and fayre Polycene And Eleyne / the lusty fresshe quene Whiche all attones / felle hym beforne With heer vntressyd / and wepynge all to torne And loude gan to crye / in the place Besechynge hym / of mercy and of grace For thylke day / to abyde in the towne And in his herte / to haue compassyowne On hir complaynte / and hir wofull mone Syth all the truste / of the twone alone In hym abode / and all the resystence For agayne deth / he was there chefe diffence And in hym hoolly / was theyr affyaunce Theyr suerte / and theyr suffysaunce In eche thynge / that them myght greue And yet all this / ne myght his herte meue For to abyde / yet of goodlyhede They hym besought / to theyr womanhede He wolde enclyne / his herded herte of stele That they myght / a lytell droppe fele Oonly of pyte / on theyr woto rewe That lykly was / to morne and renewe Fynally / to theyr distruccyowne For of the Cyte / sothly and the towne His vnhap / were endelesse ruyne But yet all this / myght hym nat enclyne That he ne wolde out / in conclusyon So indurate / and herted as a lyon He was alway / contynuynge in his rage Whose herte myght / a softe nor a swage Nouther prayer / nor waymentacyon Hym to restrayne / from his oppynyon For euery perell / he layde so a syde And on his way / gan anone to ryde Where thorugh his wyfe / none other bote can But in hir rage / to the kynge she ran So a mased / in hir mortall wo That she vnneth / myght speke hym to So diffacyd / and rewefull of hir syght That by hir hewe / knoweth hir no wyght For loste she hadde / bothe myght & strengthe And plat she fyll / to the grounde a lengthe Tofore the kynge / that routhe was to sene Besechynge hym / of entent full clene Of his grace / to consydre hir wo For but he helpe / Ector was a go And he seynge / hir faythfull womanhede At hir request / raughte anone his stede And prycked after / oonly for hir sake In so great haste / that he hath ouer take Worthy Ector / within the cyte And hent his reyne / with great diffyculte And maugre hym / made hym tourne agayne In suche wyse / he durste it nat with sayne Albe that he / was full lothe therto So that by force / and prayer also From his stede / he made hym a lyghte The a reste of whom / eschewe he ne myghte For he ne wolde / agayne his fader stryue Albe that he / felte his herte ryue Of melancolye / and of hertely Ire And of disdayne / newe set a fyre So inwardely / steryd was his blode That lyke a Tygre / or a lyon wode That were depryued / newly of hir pray Right so he fared / all that ylke day Or lyke a bore / that his tuskes whette Whyle the Grekes / and they of Troye mette Furyously walkynge / vp and downe And in diffence / sothly of the towne . Troylus firste / on his bay stede Of aduenture / mette Dyomede And eche at other / surquedous of pryde With sharpe speres / gan togydre ryde And Guydo sayth / without any drede One or bothe / hadde anone be dede . Ne had Menelay / knyghtly go bytwene And after that / in a furyous tene He smette his hors / in full k●yghtly wyse And Meryem / the myghty kynge of Fryse Menelaus / marked hath full wele And with his swerde / full sharpe grounde of stele Vnhorsed hym / and threwe hym on the grene For he the stroke / myght nat sustene This Menelay / was on hym so wode That it was lykly / euen there he stode With the lyfe / he shuld nat escape For the grekes / full hastely them shape This Meryem / as ye haue herde me sayne For to be sette / rounde vpon the playne And to sesse hym / by the auentayle On euery part / and cruelly to assayle All destytute / in this dredefull caas But hym to helpe / came Pollydamas With his knyghtes / and gan to nyghe nere Whan he hym sawe / taken prysonere And maugre all / vpon hym sette From theyr handes / Pollydamas hym fette At whose reskues / there was so great a stryfe That many one / therfore loste his lyfe For grekes rather / than he shulde escape From theyr handes / in that hasty rape Caste them playnely / that he shal be dede Fully in purpose / to haue hadde his hede He stode of myschefe / in so great disioynt But hym to helpe / euen vpon the poynt Came Troylus in / moste knyghtly of array And of his manhode / made suche affray Amonges them / in reskues of this kynge That maugre them / at his in commynge Delyuered was / this myghty lorde of Fryse From cruell deth / as ye haue herde deuyse But therupon / came Thelamonyus Proude in armes / and euer surquedous With thre thousande / full worthy euerychone And he vnhorseth / Pollydamas anone Amonge his knyghtis / & proudly bare him downe But troylus / hath thorugh his hye renowne Myd of his foon / gete hym his hors agayne But they of Troye / so sore were be layne On euery halfe / thorughe the grekes pryde That they myght / afore them nat abyde For newe and newe / the hardy Achylles Assayled them / with his Myrundones That they compelled / of necessyte In myschefe were / made for to flee Home to the walles / and gates of the towne To great damage / and confusyowne Of theyr partye / that a backe so gon The whiche thynge / whan Margaryton Behelde and sawe / how the game goth In his herte / he gan to wexe wroth And passyngly / for to haue disdayne And as the storye / recordeth in certayne That he was / bothe hardy and famous And sone also / to kynge Pryamus A noble knyght / and of great worthynesse And whan he sawe / the myschefe and distresse Of them of Troye / and how they gan to fle He caste anone / auenged for to be Vpon Achylles / for all his great myght And ran to hym / full lyke a manly knyght On hors backe / for the townes sake And hym enforseth / Achylles to take Amyd the felde / amonge his knyghtes alle But Achylles / alas it shulde falle That day hym slewe / by cruell aduenture Where thorugh Troyans / myght nat endure The felde to holde / but homewarde gan them hye And mortally / to make noyse and crye Firste for the deth / of Margaryton And for the pursuyte / that kynge Thelamon Made on the chase / thorugh his cruelte Home to the Gates / of Troye the Cyte That slewe and kylled / alway as he rode Albe that Parys / manly hym withstode With his brethre / that in baste were borne But for all that / theyr grounde they haue lorne Lefte and forsake / vtterly the felde And home they went / & broughte on a shelde The dede corps / of Margaryron And after that / theyr gates shette anone The whiche myschefe / as Ector gan beholde Of very Ire / his herte gan to colde And sayde platly / without more delay He wolde auenge / his deth the same day And made in haste / his stede to be fet And vp he sterte / and on his basenet Vn wyste the kynge / or who be lefe or lothe There was no gayne / forth anone he goth Tyll he was passyd / the gates of the towne More Furyous / than Tygre or lyowne At whose commynge / thycke as swarme of been Tofore his swerde / Grekes gan to fleen They thought it was / tyme to withdrawe And firste I fynde / how that he hath slawe Two worthy Dukes / as he with them mette That besy were / his waye for to lette The tone ycalled / was Eurypalus And the tother / hyghte Hascydyus And so Troyans / the felde agayne haue wonne And of newe / manfully begonne Grekes to sewe / and folowe on the tras And yet at myschefe / daunz Pollydamas The same tyme / was of grekes take But Ector / hath so borne hym for his sake Where as that he / sorest was be layne And thorugh his knyghthod / reskued him agayne And put the grekes / in so great distresse Thorugh his manhode / and his worthynesse That where so euer / thylke day he rode His sharpe swerde / he bathed in theyr blode He was so cruell / and so mercyles But than a knyght / callyd Leothydes Shope hym anone / with Ector for to mete Whyle he was moste / Irous in his hete And sette on hym / full presumptuously But Ector tho / deuoyde / of all mercy Anone hym slewe / and threwe hym in the felde The whiche thynge / whan Achylles behelde The great slaughtre / and the woundes wyde That Ector made / vpon euery syde He gan anone / compasse in his herte And vp and downe / caste / and aduerte How the grekes / neuer may be sure Agayne theyr foon / to fyght nor endure Nor kepe a felde / with them for to stryue All the whyle / that Ector were a lyue Wherfore he caste / and shope many weye By what engyne / Ector myght deye At auauntage / if he myght hym fynde And therto eke / Polycenes of ynde A worthy Duke / was also of assent Oonly for he / of herte and hole entent In hope stode / his suster wyue For loue of whom / he felte his herte ryue And in hir grace / better for to stonde He caste fully / for to take on honde This hye empryse / as I haue you tolde But whyle that he / was on hym moste bolde Ector hym slewe / there was none other geyne The whiche anone / as Achylles hath seyne For Ire he wexed / in his herte as wode As bore or Tygre / in theyr cruell mode Vpon Ector / auenged for to be And furyously / on hym he gan fle But Ector caughte / a quarell sharpe ygrounde And threwe at hym / & gaue him suche a wounde Thorugh out the thyghe / vpon outher syde That in the felde / he myght nat abyde But hym withdrewe / and anone is wente With his men home / vnto his tente And made anone / a Surgyen to bynde His mortall wounde / and after as I fynde Whan he was staunche / & ceaseth for to blede In all haste / agayne he toke his stede And lest he were / of that wounde dede Afterwarde / as it was great drede He thought firste / auenged for to be Vpon Ector / if he myght hym se Of hap or sorte / if it wolde falle For hym thought / to his paynes alle It were to hym / the beste remedye Of his honde / if he myght dye For of his lyfe / he roughte nat amyte Be so that he / Ector myghte quyte Deth for deth / in conclusyon For that was hoolly / his entencyon Of his desyre / fully suffysaunce By deth vnwarely / to gyue hym myschaunce But all this tyme / Ector vp and downe As he was wont / playeth the lyowne Amonge grekes / in many sondry place And with his swerde / gan them so to enchace That as the deth / where they myght hym seen They fledde afore hym / lyke a swarme of been For none so hardy / was hym to with sette And in this whyle / a grekysshe kynge he mette Were it of hap / or of aduenture The whiche in sothe / on his Cote armure Enbrouded hadde / full many ryche stone That gaue a lyght / whan the sonne shone Full bryght and clere / that ioye was to sene For Perlys whyte / and Emerawdys grene Full many one / were there in sette And on the cercle / of his basenette And rounde enuyrowne / of his auentayle In veluet fret / all aboue the mayle Saffres ynde / and other stones rede Of arraye / whan Ector taketh hede Towardes hym / faste gan hym drawe And firste I fynde / howe he hath hym slawe And after that / by force of his manhede He hent hym vp / afore hym on his stede And faste gan / with hym for to ryde From the wardes / a lytell out a syde At good leyser / playnely if he may To spoyle hym / of his ryche array Full glad and lyght / of his newe Empryse But out alas / on false couetyse Whose gredy fret / the whiche is great pyte In hertes may nat / lyghtly staunched be The Etyk gnaweth / by so great distresse That it defaceth / the hye worthynesse Full ofte sythe / of these conqueroures And of theyr fame / rent away the floures Desyre of hauynge / in a gredy thought To hye noblesse / sothely longeth nought Nor suche pylfre / spoylynge nor roborye Apparteyne not / to wrothy chyualrye For couetyse / and knyghthode / as I lere In one chayne / may nat be knet yfere For kouthe it is / that ofte suche rauyne Hath cause be / and rote of the ruyne Of many worthy / who so lyste take hede Lyke as ye may / now of Ector rede That sodaynely was brought / to his endynge Oonly for spoylynge / of this ryche kynge For of desyre / to hym that he hadde On hors backe / out whan he hym ladde Reklesly / the storye maketh mynde He caste his shelde / at his backe behynde To welde hym selfe / at more lyberte And for to haue / opportunyte To spoyle hym / and for no wyght spare So that his breste / disarmed was and bare Except his plates / there was no diffence Aagayne the stroke / to make resystence Alas why was he / tho so rekles This floure of knyghthode / of manhode pereles Whan that his foo / all that ylke day For hym alone / in awayte so lay If in myschefe / of hate and of enuye In the felde / he myght hym ought espye This Achylles / cruell and venymous Of hertely hate / moste melancolyous Whiche couertely / houynge hym besyde Whan that he sawe / Ector disarmed ryde He hente a spere / sharpe grounde and kene And of Ire / in his hatefull tene All vnwarely / or Ector myght aduerte Alas the whyle / he smote hym to the herte Thorugh out the breste / that dede he fylle downe Vnto the erthe / this Troyan champyowne Thorugh neclygence / oonly of his shelde The deth of whom / whan Odemon behelde The worthy kynge / myght hym nat refrayne But to Achylles / rode with all his payne And hyt hym so / amyd of all the prees Maugre the myght / of his Myrundones That for dede / Guydo sayth certayne Of that wounde / he fyll grofelyng on the playne But his knyghtes / on a shelde a lofte They layde hym / and caryed hym full softe Vnto his tent / in all the haste they can And there I leue / this dedely wounded man Full sore syke / tyll he may releue And after that / whan it drewe to eue They of Troye / with great reuerence Dyde theyr laboure / and theyr dylygence The dede corps / to carye into towne Of worthy Ector / whan Tytan went downe And to the temple dolefully they wende And of that day / this was the wofull ende I can no more / but thus the longe nyght In heuynesse / as it is skylle and ryght I wyll them leue / and agayne retourne To my mater / to helpe them for to mourne .
Of the complaynt that Lydgate maketh for the deth of the worthy Ector . Cap. xxviij .
BUt now alas / how shall I procede In the storye / that for wo and drede Fele my hande / both tremble and quake O worthy Ector / oonly for thy sake Of thy deth / I am so lothe to wryte O who shall now / helpe me to endyte Or vnto whom / shall I clepe or calle Certys to none / of the Musys alle That by accorde / synge euer in oon Vpon Pernaso / besyde Elycon So aungelyke in theyr Armonye That tunge is none / that may specefye The great swetnesse / of theyr goodly songe For no discorde is / founde them amonge In theyr musyke / they be entunyd so It sytte them noughte / for to helpe in wo Nor with maters / that be with mournyng shent As Tragedyes / all to tore and rent In complaynynge / pyteously in rage In the Theatre / with a dede vysage To them alas / I clepe dare nor crye My troublyd penne / of grace for to guye Nouther to Clyo / nor Callyope But to Allecto / and Thesyphone And Megera / that euer doth complayne As they that lyue / euer in wo and payne Eternally / and in tourment dwelle With Cerberus / depe downe in helle Whom I must praye / to be gracyous To my mater / whiche is so furyous For to a wyghte / that is complaynynge A drery fere / is right well syttynge And to a matere / meynt with heuynesse Acordeth well / a chere of drerynesse To be allyed / as by vnyte Wherfore helpe now / thou wofull nyobe Some drery tere / in all thy peteous payne Into my penne / dolefully to rayne And helpe also / thou cruelly yxione And Belydes / that doth the boget gone And with thy stone / helpe thou zepherus And in thy ryuer / helpe eke Tantalus That for hungre / haste so huge pyne This wofull playnte / helpe me for to fyne Me to further / do your besynesse For now the stocke / and roote of worthynesse Of knyghthod grounde / of manhod shours & well That tofore all / bare awaye the bell Of derrynge do / this floure of hye prowesse And was example / also of gentyllesse That neuer coude / do amys nor seye Alas Ector / alas why shuldest thou deye O cruell Parchas / why toke ye no hede So cruelly / to twyne his fatall threde Ye were to hasty / alas why were ye so And namely / the threde to breke a two Thou Antropos / thorugh thy great enuye O troye alas / well mayst thou wepe and crye And make a wofull / lamentacyon Whiche haste of newe / to thy confusyon Loste thy diffence / and thy stronge wall Thy beret vp / thy suerte royall By whom thy honour / chefely was begonne Alas alas / for now thy bryght sonne Eclypsed is / and thou standest desolate Of all comforte / and disconsolate Thy lyght is loste / and thou in derkenesse I plounged arte / for in soth fastnesse Of all worthy / thou haste the worthyest This day yloste / and the knyghtlyest That is or was / are shall / I the ensure Be euer borne / whyle the worlde may dure No wonder is / though thou wepe sore And day by day / complayne hym euermore That was thy shelde / both in ioye and wo Whom thou were wont / for to loue so So tenderly / with all thy hole herte That it may nat / lyghtly the a sterte To haue hym euer / in thy remembraunce Whiche was in soth / thy full suffysaunce . For as Guydo / maketh mencyon There was no man / dwellynge in the towne That he ne hadde / of very kyndenesse For loue of hym / as he wryte expresse His childe more lefe / to a dyed in this caas Outher his Eyer / so well belouyd he was If the goddes fate / or destyne Disposyd hadde / that it myght haue be Woman also / of euery maner age Be for his deth / falle in suche a rage Thorugh the cyte / aboute in euery strete That with sobbynge / and salte terys wete And heer to rent / for dedely wo Furyously / ronne to and fro So mortall was / theyr aduersyte That to beholde / alas it was pyte Yonge maydens / and matrones olde Sobbe and syghe / and theyr fystes folde And loude crye / and sayde fynally Alas / nowe shall our Faders cruelly In our syght / be slayne day by day Alas the whyle / and no man shall saye nay Farewell our helpe / now Ector is gone In the surnesse / of vs euerychone Was wont to reste / nowe is he dede alas Of whom the body / whan it caryed was Into presence / of Pryamus the kynge Anone he loste / the offyce of spekynge And gan hym selfe / in salte terys drowne And pyteously therwith / fylle a swowne Vpon the corps / colde as any stone Inly desyrous / for to deye anone Without tariynge / on hym as he lay But that he was / by force rent away His bretherne eke / whan they toke hede Tryste and pale / for sorowe were nye dede And haue them selfe / with rage all to torne That neuer was / I trowe seen aforne Of bretherne yet / suche another care For eche of them / with hym selfe gan fare As they wolde / haue dyed on the cors For of theyr lyfe / platly / they gaue no fo rs But at the grounde / with many sorowes sore Lyke wylde bulles / they gan crye and rore That routhe was / theyr dedely wo to sene An herte of stele / myght it nat sustene What shall I saye / of Eccuba the quene Or his suster / yonge Polycene Or Cassandra / the prudent and the wyse Or of his wyfe / the sorowe to deuyse Whiche rent them self / in tourment and in wo As fynally / they wolde them selfe for do By cruell deth / so they wepe and wayle That if I shulde / make rehersayle To wryte theyr sorowes / & theyr complaynges Theyr pyteous sobbynge / throwes & wepynges The wofull cryes / and the pyteous sowns Theyr drery playntes / and Lamentacyowns And all theyr woo / for to specefye A large boke / it wolde occupye If eche thynge / I shulde in ordre telle I trowe it were / to longe for to dwelle For any man / and tedyous to here For many day / after as I lere The women wepte / afore the corps lyinge Them selfe defacynge / in theyr complaynynge That wonder was / how they myght endure But that they haue / it sothely of nature And of kynde / for to wepe and playne To syghe sore / and into terys rayne Tyll the tempest / of theyr wofull rage May by processe / lytell and lytell aswage And thus I leue them / syghe & sorowe make This cely women / in theyr clothes blake Shroude theyr faces / & wympled more in vayne Whyle I tourne / to my mater agayne To telle playnely / how kynge Pryamus In herte was / inly desyrous To caste awaye / in his entencyon The corps to kepe / from corrupcyon Whiche naturelly / but men take hede Corrupte must / right of very nede For of kyndely / disposycyon There may be made / none opposycyon Aboue the grounde / if the body lye That of reason / it must putrefye But if crafte / be aboue nature Vncorrupt / it myght nat endure Wherfore the kynge / shope hym to ordayne To preserue it hole / fro thynges twayne From odoure / and abhomynacyon And therwith eke / by crafty operacyon That it in slyght / be nat founde horryble But that it be lyfly / and vysyble To the eye / as by apparence Lyke as it were / quycke in existence What it coste / the kynge wyll spare nought But made anone / afore hym to be brought The craftyest / maysters / of the towne Suche as hadde / moste discrecyowne To parfourme / his axynge curyously And they obeye / his byddynge faythfully With all theyr wyll / and entyer dylygence In the Temple / moste of reuerence Of all the cowne / whylom dedycate And of full yore / also consecrate To Appollo / of olde foundacyowne Besyde a gate / standynge of the towne Callyd Tymbr●a / in theyr Troyan tonge As in storye / is botheradde and songe And in this phane / that I speke of here They made firste / by the hye autere By great deuyse / a lytell oratorye Perpetuelly / to be in memorye Where was sette / a ryche receptacle Made in maner / of a tabernacle Egall of syght / for a large ymage That reysed was / on a ryche stage That was borne vp / at eche of his corners Of puryd golde / vpon foure pyllers And on eueryche / full craftely ydyght An Aungell stode / of golde borned bryght Ceryously the werke / to sustene With crafty Archys / reysed wonder clene Enbowed ouer / all the werke to cure So meruaylous / was the celature That all the rofe / and closure enuyrowne Was of fyne golde / platyd vp and downe With knottes graue / wonder curyous Fret full of stones / ryche and precyous Of euery kynde / that man can deuyse So ryally / and in so thryfty wyse That the derkenesse / of the blacke nyght With the bemys / of theyr clere lyght Enchacyd was / where they dyde shyne And fro the grounde / vpright as a lyne There were degrees / men by to ascende Made so well / that no man coude amende The workemanshyp / & they were euerychone Parformed vp / all of cristall stone Atteynynge vp / fro the table bas Where the standynge / and the restynge was Of this ryche / crafty tabernacle Hauynge aboue / vpon eche pynacle A ryche rubye / and reysed hye on hyghte Stode an ymage / huge and large of weyghte Of massyfe golde / hauynge the lykenesse Of worthy Ector / that gan his face dresse Towarde Grekes / where he dyde stonde Aye thretynge them / with his swerde in honde And amyddes / all this great rychesse They haue yset / by good aduysenesse The dede corps / of this worthy knyght To syght of man / standynge as vp ryght By sotyll crafte / as he were lyuynge Of face and chere / and of quycke lokynge And of colour / sothly and of hewe Beynge as fresshe / as any rose newe And lyke in all / as be supposayle As he lyued / in his apparayle For on his stede / lyke as it is tolde Thrugh smale pypes / wrought & made of gold That by mesure / were enbowed downe To an entre / made in his crowne By great aduyse / and subtylyte To eche partye / and extremyte Of his body / lyuealy porrect Thorugh nerfe and synewe / dryuen and direct By secrete porys / craftely to extende Wherby the lycour / myght downe descende To kepe hym hole / fro corrupcyon Without any / transmutasyon Of hyde and hewe / in any part to tourne And at his hede / of golde was an ourne That was fylde / with bawme naturall That ran thorugh / pypes artyfycyall Thorugh necke / and hede into many place Penetrable / by vaynes / of the face That thorugh vertue / and force of the lycoure He was conserued / lyfely of coloure Fresshe of hewe / quycke and no thynge pale So myghtely / the bawme dyde auale Comparysownyd / as it were semblable To a soule / that were vegetable The whiche / without sensybylyte Mynystreth lyfe / in herbe / floure / and tree And semblably / into euery vayne Of the corps / the vertue dyde attayne By breste and arme / spredynge enuyron For the moysture / by discencyon To hande and fote / sothly as I rede Thorugh bone & ioynte / gan his vertue shede And distyllynge / myghtely to flete And at his fete / full of gommys swete A vyoll stode / tempred with bawme ymeynt That by processe / may nat wexe feynt But day by day / encrease and amende Of whiche the vapoure / vpwarde gan ascende Causynge the Eyer / enuyron be delyse To resemble / a very paradyse For the flauour / more holsome was and soote Than the odour / of spyce gomme or roote And of pure golde / were foure laumpes lyght Tofore the corps / brennynge day and nyght With oyle in sothe / if it be credyble That was by crafte / made in extynguyble For it ne myght / myn Auctor sayth certayne Nouther be queynt / with tempest wynde nor rayne Nor by processe / wasten of no yeres Whiche in the Eyre / be bryght borned wyres Full craftely / reysed were a lofte Of whose swetnesse / men reioysed ofte In theyr courage / it lyked them so well And whan this werke / was complete euerydell Rounde enuyrowne / full ryche and fresshe to se They made / a parclose all of Eban tree That so longe / laste may and dure The whiche tree / oonly of nature Whan it is cut / smelleth wonder swete And may nat waste / nor brenne with no hete Though it be layde / amonge the colys rede Mydde the flawme / of many fyrye glede It nat consumeth / though men assaye ofte And in water / it houeth eke a lofte And kyndely / to the grounde it goth Toswymme on heyght / in sothe it is so loth And lyke also / as techeth Pluuyus This tree whylom / was passyngly famous Of so hye pryse / and reputacyon That in the large / myghty regyon And worthy londe / of Ethyopye and ynde Of yore agon / the folkes as I fynde Hadde this tree / in so great honour That they gaue trybute / to the Emperour As is remembred / of Antiquyte Of golde and yuor / and this ryche tree With these gyftes / famous and royall To quyte theyr dette / to hym in specyall . And whan Pryam / in full thryfty wyse Parformed hath / as ye haue herde deuyse This ryche werke / noble and excellent Of hertely loue / in all his beste entent Ordayned eke / as Guydo can you telle A certayne noumbre / of prestes for to dwelle In the Temple / in theyr deuocyons Contynuelly / with deuoute orysons For the soule of Ector / for to preye That the goddes / his spyryte lyste conueye Eternally / with them to dwelle yfere In ioye and blysse / aboue the sterres clere To whiche prestes / the kyng gaue mansyons There to abyde / and possessyons The whiche he hath / to them mortysed Perpetuelly / as ye haue herde deuysed And whyles they / knele praye and wake I caste fully / an ende for to make Fynally / of my thyrde boke On my rude maner / as I vnder toke And whyles they of Troye / wepe and morne Vnto Grekes / I wyll agayne retourne And with dulle style / on the storye trace Oonly borne vp / with supporte of your grace . Explicit liber tercius . Incipit Liber quartus .
Hereafter foloweth the Fourth Boke / whiche speketh how the Grekes made kynge Pallamydes chefe Captayne of theyr Hoost / and deposed kynge Agamenon Capitulo . xxix .
ECtor thus dede / as ye haue herde sayde And Achylles / in his Tente ylayde with his woundes / mortall fresshe & grene Vpon a morenyng / whan the sonne shene Enchased hadde / away the derke nyght Agamenon the wyse / worthy knyght In his werkes / passyngly prudent Hath in all haste / for his lordes sent And whan they were / assembled euerychone Within his Tente / to them he sayde anone Syrs quod he / and lordes that be here Kynges Prynces / and Dukes eke yfere If ye aduerte / by clere inspeccyon Ye ought echone / with hye deuocyon Hoolly of herte / our goddes for to herye And inwardely / for to be right merye If ye consydre / and wysely take hede How that our ennemye / Ector is now dede That whylom was / berer vp of Troye Theyr full truste / theyr honour and theyr ioye Theyr hole diffence / and proteccyon And vnto vs / deth and confusyon Vnlykly euer / vs to haue hadde victorye Whyles that he / floured in his glorye Agayne whose swerde / we myght nat auayle For slewe he nat / at our aryuayle If ye remembre / on the firste day The noble kynge / callyd Protheselay And after next / if I shall nat fayne Patroclus / he parted euen on twayne In the felde / amonge vs euerychon Slewe he nat eke / the worthy kynge Menon Archylogus / and also Prothenor And eke the kynge / that hyght Alphynor Phyllys also / and Epistrophus And to his ende / he brought zantipus And Meryon / the myghty stronge kynge In his waye / as he came rydynge He slayne hath / and other kynges two Cedyus / and Drodyus also Polycenes / and stronge Polybete Letabonia / and the kynge Phylete The manly knyght / the kynge Isydyus And eke the kynge / that hyght humerus For in his Ire / and his cruell tene Of worthy kynges / he slayne hath eyghtene Whiche hyder came / out of Grekes londe By the power / of his myghty honde Now laude and honour / to the goddes alle Whiche caused haue / that it is be falle That he is dede / to our encrease of ioye And to discrese / of our foon in Troye As they shall fynde / in experyence And laude also / pryse and reuerence Be to Fortune / that vs hath holpe wele With the tournynge / of hir double whele To hye comforte / and consolacyowne Of vs echone / syttynge enuyrowne That stoude nowe / in parfyte sykernesse Thorugh deth of hym / that dyde vs so oppresse And what may they / now wayte on the towne But after deth / and destruccyowne And hastely / for to ende in woo Now that theyr truste / Ector is a goo Without whom / they may nat longe endure Wherfore we may / fully vs assure Our purpose hole / that we shall acheue And fynally / daunte them so and greue That vnto them / it shal be importable Of one assent / if we stande stable For theyr party / tourneth on the wrake And theyr hope is fully / put a bake And dispeyred / in nonsuerte For vtterly / they and theyr Cyte Shall more and more / in weer of deth depende And we in soth / shall day by day amende With helpe of god / bothe on see and londe For now victorye / is redy to our honde Voyde platly / of Ambygnyte And excluded at Eye / as ye may se Bothe of wantrust / and of foreyne drede But I counsayle / or that we procede Any ferther / vpon our foon to ryde Prudently / a whyle to abyde And kepe vs close / for to passe our boundes Tyll Achylles / be helyd of his woundes And than echone / by myghty vyolence Oppresse them / whan they haue no diffence As I haue sayde / thorugh helpe of Achylles And let vs nowe / sende for a pees For two monethes / to kynge Pryamus If it so be / he lyste to graunt it vs As it is lykely / playnely that he shall And they there whyle / with flawme funerall Consume may / the dede bodyes pale That lye abrode / on euery hyll and vale Whiche by reporte of them / that haue repeyre Fro day to day / infecte so the Eyre Thorugh the felde / engendrynge pestylence Of stynke / there is / so great a vyolence And we there whyle / may in ease and reste Our woundes cure / me semeth for the beste And they assente / therto euerychone And vnto Troye / the messageres are gone And haue the trewes / graunted of the kynge And be repeyred / without more tariynge And therof made / full relacyon To the Grekes / afore Agamenon And after that / whan all was at an ende Home to his tent / euery lorde doth wende And whyle the trewes / endureth and the pees Amonge grekes / kynge Pallamydes Complayneth sore / of Agamenon That he so hadde / domynacyon Aboue them all / hauynge there at enuye And on a day / in his melancolye Of hye despyte / and indygnacyon Full inly fret / with yrous passyon He gan breke out / and his rancour shewe By certayne sygnes / though he spake but fewe Tyll on a day / wyse Agamenon Conceyued hath / of hye discrecyon Hoolly this thynge / though he ne wold spare Fro poynt to poynt / hym selfe to declare Whan his lordes / togydre were present Tofore them all / in his owne tent As he that was / this noble worthy kynge Full circumspect / in euery maner thynge Nought to rakell / nor melancolyous But by attempraunce / inly vertuous Well auysed / and wonder prudent Whan that he knewe / the menyng & the entent And the conceyte / of this Pallamydes He nat to hasty / nor to rekles But longe abydyng / thorugh prudence & reson Within the boundes / of discrecyon Whose tunge was oonly / of Sapyence So restreyned / that no neclygence Of hasty speche / sothly for to rape Myght make a worde / his lyppes to escape Vnauysed / for no thynge hym asterte But it were firste / examyned in his herte For aye his speche / in so thryfty wyse Conueyed was / by doctryne of the wyse Vnder the Reyne / of wyt and hye prudence And after that / by fourme of eloquence Alway so sayde / that reason went aforne So that no worde / was in his tale lorne And in this wyse / shewynge his sentence Tofore all / in open audyence Sayde euen thus / whan that all was pees Vnto the kynge / called Pallamydes . Sothly quod he / if ye take hede Me semeth playnely / that it were no nede Auysely / if he lyste aduerte To muse so / nor grutchynge in your herte Of all his hoost / that I haue gouenaunce Wysely consydered / euery circumstaunce How I the estate / whiche no man may denye Wolde in no maner / neuer occupye By other Tytle / than fre eleccyon Nat interrupt / by medyacyon Of brocage / roted vpon mede Aye vnder meynt / with fauour or falshede Depycte with coloure / of trewe entencyon To supporte suche / false ambycyon Of whiche thynge / here I wyll me quyte Tofore you all / that I am nat to wyte In any wyse / of so hye offence But stonde clere / in my conscyence Without spot / of any suche vayne glorye Touchynge the estate / whiche is transytorye Yet neuerchelesse / I haue do my cure With all my wyt / to helpe and procure That euery thynge / touchynge the comonte Perseuer myght / in prosperyte Hauynge the eye / of my inwarde syghte Vnto the estate / of euery maner wyghte That were commytted / to my gouernaunce With great laboure / and besy attendaunce Indifferent / vnto hye or lowe To helpe and fostre / where I coude knowe That any stode / in myschefe or in nede Day and nyght / for to take hede As I best coude / by aduysenesse Aye dylygent / that nat felle in distresse For sothfastely / who so loke a ryght My dayes thynkynge / and my watche a nyght And of my herte / the inly aduertence Without fraude / slouthe or neclygence Was faythfully / with all my full myght Me to aquyte / to euery maner wyghte Lyke his estate / without excepcyon So that no man / iustly of reson Greke nor other / that is nowe a lyue Vnto my gylte / may duely ascryue Any falsehede / engyne or trecherye Of loue or hate / fauour or flaterye In any cause / named in specyall But that I haue / be a lyke egall To one and all / with all my besy payne That no man hath mater / to complayne For his party / of hye nor lowe estate And to deuoyde / all rancoure and debate Amonges you / I haue do my dever In generall / all thynge and partyculer That hyder towarde / no thyng hath myscheued And god wote well / it shulde nat agreued To my herte / to a set at any pryse You to a chose / by your discrete aduyse Some other / to this domynacyon And I to haue be / in subieccyon With ease of herte / and tranquyllyte Lyke other lordes / here of my degre And in my wyll / fully haue obeyed Lyke one of you / vtterly to haue deyed In the quarell / that we haue vndertake If destyne / hadde it so I shape I saye in sothe / me is full loth to fayne And ouer more / also where ye playne That I was chosen / without your assent Meruayle nat / syth ye ne were present Nor longe after / if ye remembre a ryght Towarde Troye / your waye was nat dyght If ye consydre / is after nere Or that ye came / passyd full two yere And so longe / to abyde your commynge It hadde be to grekes / great hyndrynge Passynge harme / and full great damage And huge lettynge / vnto our vyage For if we hadde / without any wene On your commynge / taryed at Athene It lykely is / ye can nat well say nay To haue be there / yet vnto this day And where as ye / thought it be nat credyble Afferme eke / for an impossyble That Grekes shulde / in any maner wyse Dare take on them / any great Empryse In your absence / manly to acheue It is but wynde / no thynge for to leue For so it be / to you none offence The grekes haue / without your presence Thorugh force / on water and on londe Full many thynge / parformed with theyr honde And acheued / thorugh theyr worthynesse And of one thynge / that in me ye gesse This to say / that of my degree I shulde in herte / so reioyse me Of this lordshyp / and this great estate The more to be / pompos and elate In there or porte / that I it occupye But me to aquyte / trewely and nat lye And to deuoyde / all suspeccyon I wyll make / a resygnacyon Tofore you all / for to excuse me Now be auysed / discretly for to se Whom ye lyste haue / agayne to morowe pryme Without settynge / of any lenger tyme Prolongynge forth / or any more delay And thus they made / an ende of that day And went theyr way / oonly for that nyght Tyll on the morowe / the Tytan shad his lyght At whiche tyme / a counsayle generall The grekes helde / but most in specyall Of lordes / was there congregacyon As I haue tolde / for the Eleccyon And whan they were / all mette yfere Agamenon / anone as ye shall here Sayde euen thus / with sadde countenaunce Lo syres quod he / touchynge gouernaunce That I haue hadde / and domynacyon I haue hereto / with hole affeccyon And clene entent / do my besynesse That euery thynge / myght in wylfulnesse To your encrease / parseuer and contune Recorde I take / of god / and Fortune Whiche haue conserued / and the cause be You for to floure / in felycyte That your honour / & your hye noblesse Stande hole and sounde / yet in syketnesse And whyle your fame / is moste in flourynge As semeth me / it is ryght well syttynge Myn estate fully / to resygne Specyally / whyle / Fortune is benygne For of so many / that be now present I am alone / in suffycyent Without helpe / for to bere the charge Men with to moche / may ouerlade a barge And namely in tempest / and in rage And syth ye be / so discrete and sage Of my burthen / let me be releued So that no man / therwith be agreued But let vs all / of one entencyon Without stryfe / or discencyon Chose suche one / that moste be acceptable To you echone / and moste couenable You to gouerne / by discrecyon And they echone / with hole affeccyon Assentyd be / to speke in generall Here men may se / how it is naturall Men to delyte / in thyngꝭ that is newe The truste of people / is faynt and vntrewe Aye vndiscrete / and full of doublenesse And varyable / of theyr sykernesse Aye awaytynge / in theyr oppynyon After chaunge / and transmutacyon Selde or neuer / standynge hole in one To day they loue / to morowe it is gone In whom full selde / is any sykernesse For oonly nowe / of newfangelnesse That hath embracyd / theyr affeccyon They haue in stede / of Agamenon Of newe chose / oonly of fauour Pallamydes / to be theyr gouernour And of all Grece / lyke as they desyre To haue the Sceptre / of the hole Empyre And to be called / aboute in euery coste Emperour / of the Grekes hooste Right as tofore / was Agamenon And this was fyne / and conclusyon For that daye / of theyr parlement And after that / euery man is went To his lodgynge / home the right way But in his Tent / wounded as he lay The hardy knyght / the hardy Achylles Whan that he herde / of Pallamydes Fro poynt to poynt / and of the leccyon He was displeased / in his oppynyon And playnely thought / as to his aduyse Agamenon / was passyngly more wyse And more discrete / vnto gouernaunce Than the tother / as to his plesaunce And sayde it was / none eleccyon But a maner / subrogacyon Bycause hym selfe / in the parlement At the chesynge / was nat there present Arettynge it / passynge great offence That the choyse was made / in his absence Wherwith he was / of herte inly wrothe But where so be / that he be lefe or lothe There is no more / but in conclusyon In his strengthe / stode the eleccyon .
How kynge Pryamus went vnto the batayle / for to auenge the deth of Ector / where as he dyde meruaylous dedes of Armes . Ca. xxx .
THe Trewes passyd / and yweryd oute The wounded eke / recured all aboute The next morowe / after Pryamus In his herte / was inly desyrous With the Grekes / manly for to fyght Ectors deth / to auenge if he myght This olde Pryam / knyghtly in the felde That whan Troyans / in them selfe behelde The great wyll / and the hye courage Of hym that was / so ferre ronne in age They gan reioyse / and plucke vp theyr herte And specyally / whan they gan aduerte His great manhode / and his worthynesse His lyflyed / and his hye prowesse And for his sake / euery maner man Gan arme hym / in all ●he haste they can With Pryamus / that day to lyue or deye And into felde / they proudely hym conueye An hondred thousande / and fyfty of the towne Lyke as Dares / maketh mencyowne And worthy knyghtes / they were euerychone Without other / that with Pryam gone And all afore / wente Dephebus And Parys nexte / and than Pryamus Menon the kynge / and worthy Eneas And alderlaste / came Pollydamas And as I fynde sterne / and full of Pryde Pallamydes came / on the tothersyde Into the felde / with many stronge batayle And firste / whan eche other gan assayle Kynge Pryamus / knyghtly his wayches Thorugh the wardes / to Pallamydes And hym vnhorseth / thurgh his hye renowne And lyke a knyght / he kylleth & bereth downe The proude Grekes / where so the rode Was none so hardy / that his swerde abode For so narowe / he gan them to coharte That theyr wardes / he made a sonder parte On them he was / so felle and furyous For he that day / dedes meruaylous In armes wrought / that wonder was to sene And a meruayle / how he may sustene Of so great age / in the felde to endure For in credyble / was / I you ensure To se how he / thorugh his great myghte The Grekes put / proudely to the flyghte And Dephebus / was also nat behynde Agayne his foon / knyghtly as I fynde To acquyte hym self / & make them to go backe And Sarpedowne / in whom eke is no lacke Yfallen is / on Neptolonyus The proudest greke / and moste surquedous And most famous / as of strengthe and myght The whiche agaynwarde / rode full lyne ryght To Sarped owne / with a spere rounde And delyuerly smote / hym to the grounde But Sarpedowne / full yrous in his herte Without abode / on his feet vpsterte And Neptolonye / in his Ire all hote Through out the thyghe / with his swerde he smote And than anone / the kynge of Perce londe That was so worthy / and famous of his honde Of Sarpedowne / whan he toke hede Knyghtly to hym / restored hath his stede Natwithstandynge / that Menelaus Was vpon hym / passynge despytous And with hym eke / the Duke of Athenes Enclosyd haue / amonge the great prees The kynge of Perce / alas it shulde falle And slewe hym / as he amonge them alle Full knyghtly faught / lyke a champyowne With multytude enclosyd / enuyrowne And he hym selfe / but alone alas All destytute / in this mortall cas Thorugh whose myschefe / they of troye towne Gan to withdrawe / tyll that Sarpedowne Hath holpen them / to recure theyr londe Full many Greke / kyllynge with his honde And kynge Pryam / so manly founde at all With his sones / called naturall Whiche vpon hym / where so that he rode The longe day / manfully abode Partynge nat playnely / fro his syde And the kynge / and they togydre ryde Full mortally / the grekes they confounde For Pryamus / with many cruell wounde Hath slayne of them / many worthy man On horse backe / amonge them as he ran For there was none / that day / yonge nor olde Of Troye towne / so hardy nor so bolde Of none estate / that hath so well hym quyt Amonge Grekes / where so that he ryt Fro poynt to poynt / to reken euery thynge As hath Pryam / the noble worthy kynge For he alone / was confusyon To the Grekes / and destruccyon Theyr outter myschefe / and discomfyture Afore whose face / they myght nat endure For thynges two / in his mortall yre Inwardly / sette hym a fyre The hertely hate / that he bare of olde Vnto Grekes / doubled many folde With the deth / hadde in remembraunce Of worthy Ector / by countenaunce The whiche platly / thorugh his worthynesse With his swerde / he shope hym to redresse For fret of hate / and constreynt of his payne Were veryly / thylke thynges twayne By whiche that day / who so loke a ryght His force was doubled / and his myght Where thorugh / he toke cruelly vengeaunce That he the Grekes / brought to outtraunce And thurgh his knyghthod / put them to the flyght But Grekes than / attones dyde theyr myght By assent / to assemble into one And for a sleyghte / a syde out they gone Into a playne / large / and fayre to se Betwene Pryam / and Troye the cyte To fyne oonly / in theyr entencyowne Hym to debarre / the entre of the towne For euery way / the grekes haue with set That they of Troye / hadde tho belet At theyr repeyre / the storye telleth thus He had the manhode / be of Pryamus The whiche / anone / as any lyon stronge With his swerde / gan ryde them amonge And seuered them / with large woundes wyde And slewe all tho / that wolde his swerde abyde Euery where / endelonge the playne And Parys eke / hath them so belayne With myghty shote / of his stronge Archerys And with the pursuyte / of his Arbalasterys That they ne myght / of the shote so kene The mortall harme / abyde nor sustene But gan anone / to fle out of the place And kyng pryam / so narowe gan them chace That of nede / and necessyte Thorugh the slaughtre / and the cruelte Of his swerde / sharpe whette and grounde There was no greke / in the felde yfounde But fled away / eueryche to his tent And they of Troye / be to theyr cyte went Bycause it drewe / faste towarde nyght For Phebus hadde / be reued them his lyght And so the honour / of his hye victorye The worshyp eke / the laude and memorye Perpetuelly / and the palme also Pryam the kynge / hath wonne and no mo For that day / in release of his sorowe And as I rede / on the next morowe He hath ysent / out of Troye towne For atrewes / to Agamenowne Whiche graunted was / the selfe day at pryme Albe therof / rehersyd be no tyme How longe it laste / in the boke expresse Durynge the whiche / they dyd their besynesse Hertely laboure / and inwarde dylygence For to ordayne / with great reuerence How that the corps / of the worthy kynge Of Perce londe / without more tariynge With kyngly honour / out of Troye towne Shall caryed be / into this regyowne To be buryed / with his predecessours With outher kynges / his progenytours The whiche thynge / was complete by the aduys Of Alysaunder / that called was Parys And firste the corps / enbawmed rychely Conueyed was / full solempnely As wryte Guydo / with an huge route Of his knyghtes / rydynge hym aboute Tryste and heuy / cladde in blacke echone And with the chare / the right way they gone Towardes Perce / ledynge of this kynge The dede corps / towarde his buriynge Whiche halowed was / lyke his estate royall And in this whyle / the feste funerall Was holde also / with great deuocyowne Of worthy Ector / within Troye towne Lyke the custome / vsed in tho dayes And the rytes / of theyr paynem layes The whichefeste / as made is mencyon Fro yere to yere / by reuolucyon Yhalowed was the space / of fourtenyght With many flawme / and many hydous lyght That brent enuyrowne / in the seyntuarye And called was / the Anyuersarye For that it came / aboute yere by yere A certayne day / in theyr Kalendere In whiche of custome / for a remembraunce The people shulde / by contynuaunce Playne and wepe / and also praye and rede For theyr frendes / that afore were dede Full pyteously / with theyr heer to torne Mornynge in blacke / and knelynge aye aforne The dede corps / of this worthy knyght Whiche in his tyme / passynge was of myght And this was done / whyle the trewes dure So that Grekes / trustely myght assure Whan that them lyste / at good lyberte Without daunger / entre the cyte Day by day / and Troyans myght also Vnto Grekes / frely come and go . AT whiche tyme / with full great delyte Hath Achylles / caught an apetyte To entre and se / the maner of the towne Without wysdome / or discrecyowne For to beholde / playnely and to se Hooly the maner / of this solempnyte And forth he went / on a certayne day Towarde Troye / in all the haste he may Vnarmed sothly / as myn Auctour sayth Without assuraunce / or any other fayth Except the trewes / who so be lefe or loth And firste of all / to the temple he goth Of Appollo / halowed was the feste Thorugh out the towne / downe vnto the leste That cleped was / the Anyuersarye As ye haue herde / what shulde I lenger tarye And many worthy / present was there at Amyd the temple / of hye and lowe estat Lordes / and ladyes / of affeccyowne From euery parte / gaderyd of the towne Now was the corps / of this worthy knyght As fresshe of coloure / kept vnto the syght As lyfely eke / and as quycke of hewe To beholde / as any rosenewe Thorugh vertue / oonly of the gommys swete And the bawme / that gan aboute flete To euery ioynt / and eche extremyte And at this feste / and solempnyte Was Eccuba / and yonge Polycene So womanly / and goodly on to sene With many other / of hye estate and lowe Tofore the corps / syttynge on a rowe With heer vntrussyd / cladde in wedes blake That euer in one / suche a sorowe make That routh was / and pyte for to sene How they playne / and the deth by mene Of worthy Ector / of knyghthod ground & welle But trowe ye / as Guydo lyste to telle That Polycene / in all hir wofull rage Ychaunged hath / vpon hir vysage Hyr natyfe colour / as fresshe to the syght As is the rose / or the lylyes whyte Outher the fresshenesse / of hir lyppes rede For all the terys / that she gan to shede On hir chekes / as any crystall clere Hyr heer also / resemblynge / to golde wyere Whiche lay abrode / lyke vnto the syght Phebus bemys / in his spere bryght Whan he to vs / doth his lyght auale And aye she rent / with hir fyngers smale Hyr golden heer / on hir blacke wede Of whiche thynge / Achylles toke good hede And gan meruayle / greatly in his thought How god or kynde / euer myght haue wrought In theyr werkes / so fayre a creature For hym thought / he myght nat endure To beholde / the bryghtnesse of hir face For he felte / thorugh his herte pace The persynge stremys / of hir eyen two Cupydes bronde / hath hym marked so For loue of hyr / that in his desyre He brente as hote / as any fyre And after soone / with sodayne colde he quoke And alway fyxe / on hir he had his loke So that the arrowe / of the god Cupyde Perced hym / euen thorugh the syde To the herte / and gaue hym suche a wounde That neuer was / lykely for to be sownde And aye in one / his loke on hir he caste As he durste / and gan to prese faste Towarde hir / namely with his eye That hym thought / he must nedes deye But if that he / founde in hir some grace There was no geyne / for playnely in the place Of newe he was / caughte in loues snare That of helth / and of all welfare He was dispeyred / in his herte so That he ne knewe / what was beste to do Eche other thynge / I do you well assure He set at nought / and toke of it no cure His thought was / hole on hir and no mo The longe day / thus went he to and fro Tyll Phebus chare / lowe gan declyne His golden axtre / that so clere doth shyne This to saye / the sonne went downe Whan Eccuba / quene of Troye towne And hir doughter / Polycene also Out of the Temple / to the paleys go And aye Achylles / on hir had a syght Whyle he myght / tyll for lacke of lyght He maye no more / haue leyser opportune To loke on hir / cursed be Fortune For whiche in haste / he maked hath his went With his knyghtes / home to his Tent Where he anone / withoute more taryinge To bedde goth / full tryste in complaynynge Aye in hym selfe / castynge vp and downe In his mynde / and eke in his reasowne From hede to fote / hir beaute euerydell And in his herte / he felte and knewe full well That fynall cause / of his languysshynge Was Polycene / of beaute moste passynge For loue of whom / so moche payne he felte That with the hete / he thought his herte melte Aye on his bedde / walowynge to and fro For the constreynt / of his hydde wo For whiche almoste / hym thought that he deyde And to hym selfe / euen thus heseyde Allas quod he / how me is wo begon That of my sorowe / knowe ende none For I suppose / syth the worlde began Ne was there neuer / a wofuller man For I that whylom / was of so great myght So renowmed / of euery maner wyght Thorugh out the worlde / bothe of hye & lowe For there was none / in sothe that coude knowe A man in armes / that was more famous Nor y●holde / more victoryous Tofore this tyme / remembred by no style Vnto this day / alas the harde whyle Nouther Ector playnely / nor none other Of Polycene / that was the worthy brother That power hadde / whan they with me mette For all theyr myght / me to ouer sette Nor in the felde / my force for to daunte Here pryuely / as I me dare auaunte But now alas / a mayde of tendre age Hath sodaynely me brought in suche arge That with the stremys / of hir eyen twayne She perced hath / and clouen euery vayne Of my herte / that I may nat a sterte For to be dede / thorugh constreynt of my smerte For who shall now / wysshe me or teche Or who alas / shall now be my leche Or who shall now / helpe men or saue There is but deth / and after that my graue For other hope / playnely is there none Saue in hir mercy / alas and that is gone For nouther prayer / tresour nor rychesse Force / nor myght / nouther hye prowesse Hyghnesse of blode / byrthe nor kynrede May auayle / nor helpe / in this nede To meue hir / nor my sadde trouthe Vpon my wo / euer to haue routhe . What newe furye / or inportune rage Hath brought my herte / into suche outrage Agaynst whiche / I can nat debate To loue hir beste / that dedely doth me hate And in good fayth / who wysely lyste adueret Lytell wonder / though she me hate of herte Syth I am come hyder / fro so ferre On hir kynred / for to make werre In the whiche / to my confusyowne Hir knyghtly brother / most worthy of renowne Haue fatally / with myn hondes slowe Whiche in this worlde / hadde no felowe Of worthynesse / nor of manlyhede Alas alas / nowe may I quake and drede And of my lyfe / falle in dispeyre For how shulde / I be bolde to haue repeyre Or dare alas / come in theyr syghte I wofull wretche / I vnhappy wyghte Or how shall I be / hardy to appere In the presence / of hir eyen clere Certys I se / none other mene weye But fynally / that I muste deye So dispeyred / I stonde on euery syde Of other helpe / I can me nat prouyde And right anone / with profounde syghes depe This Achylles / braste out for to wepe With dedely chere / pale and funerall And with his face / tourned to the wall That routhe was / and pyte for to sene The hertely furye / of his paynes kene For so oppressyd / he was in his thought Of lyfe nor deth / that he rought nought And this contynued / tyll it drewe to nyght That Tytan hath / withdrawe his clere lyght And euer in one / lyke this wofull man Ilyche syke of coloure / pale and wan Without slepe / so fretynge was his sorowe Tyll Lucyfer / on the next morowe Tofore the sonne / with his bemys clere Full lustely gan / for to appere In the oryent / whan this Achylles Vnpacyent / without reste or pees Quakynge aye / in his feuer newe As it was sene / playnely in his hewe Tyll he abrayde / of anguysshe sodaynely And called one / that was with hym preuy And of counsayle / whom he trusteth well And vnto hym / he telleth euerydell Fro poynt to poynt / with hym how it stode And sent hym forth / bycause he coude his gode On his message / streyght to Troye towne With full aduyse / and informacyowne Of this mater / to Eccuba the quene Thorughe his wysedome / for to be amene If he myght / by his discrecyon Fynde any way / of sauacyon Vnto his lorde / that he louyd so And to the quene / anone he is go And his mater wysely / gan conueye Tofore or he of grace / wolde preye That she enioyeth / to gyue hym audyence For in his tale / there was none offence He was no foole / nor newe for to lere Wherfore the quene / goodly gan hym here Of all that euer / hym lyketh for to sayne There was no worde / ylost nor spoke in vayne For his tale / no man coude amende And craftely / he gan to discende To the substaunce / and tolde clerely oute With premysses / full well brought aboute That fynally / in conclusyon The chefe he sayde / of his entencyon Effectuelly / if it wolde be Was for to make / peas and vnyte Atwene Grekes / and the folke of Troye To whiche thynge / he knewe no better weye Than of the werre / for theyr alder ease By his wytte / prudently to appease The mortall stryfe / and the bytter rage By allyaunce / oonly of maryage If that hir lyste / this wyse worthy quene That hir doughter / fayre Polycene May wedded be / vnto Achylles Where thorugh theyr myght be / a fynall pees If Eccuba / by hir discrecyon Thorugh hir wytte / and medyacyon And hir prudence / myght aboute brynge That Pryamus / were fully assentynge That Achylles / myght his doughter wyue So that it myght / parformed be as blyue Lyke as I haue / made mencyon By couenaunt oonly / and condycyon That the Grekes / shall theyr werre lete And suffre hym / to lyue in quyete If the maryage / of these ylke twayne Parformed be / and knyt vp in a chayne And whan the quene / hath knowen his entent Full soberly / by good auysement Tofore or that / any worde asterte Full pyteously / she syghed in hir herte And at the laste / with a sobre chere She sayde thus / to the messagere My frende quod she / touchynge thy requeste I can no more / make the beheste But at the leste / I wyll condescende What lyeth in me / to brynge to an ende Thy lordes wyll / with all my herte entere But here vpon / I muste firste requere The kynges wyll / if he wyll gyue assent To the purpose / for whiche thou arte sent And ouer more / I muste wytte also If that Parys / be wyllynge eke therto Of whiche thynge / with euery circumstaunce I wyll my selfe / make enqueraunce Full faythfully / of Pryam and Parys The mene whyle / what is theyr aduyse Without more / within dayes thre At whiche tyme / come agayne to me From Achylles / if he wyll the sende And fynally / thou shalte knowe an ende Of this matere / and an answere playne And home he goth / to Achylles agayne With full glad chere / his lord the more to plese And for to sette / his herte better at ese Auysely / of hye discrecyon He hath so made / his relacyon And tolde his tale / in so thryfty wyse As he that coude / his wordes so deuyse To brynge in hope / into his lordes herte With full relesse / of his paynes smerte Wherby he made / his sorowe to withdrawe And thus whyle / hope gan for to adawe Amyd his breste / Eccuba the quene To Pryam spake / of this Polycene Touchynge the sonde / of this Achylles And of his profre / for to make a pees She tolde hym all / and forgate no thynge Wherof astoned / Pryamus the kynge Spake nat a worde / halfe an houres space But in hym selfe / gan to compace Full prudently / what it myght mene That Achylles / wolde haue Polycene Vnto his wyfe / aye wondrynge more & more And at the laste / syghynge wonder sore He discloseth / the conceyt of his herte And sayde alas / howe sore it doth me smerte To remembre / that I may haue no pees The great offence / of this Achylles Towardes me / playnely whan that he Slewe worthy Ector / thorugh his cruelte That hoolly was / vpon euery syde The assuraunce / gouernour and guyde Of me and myne / platly for to sayne And therwithall / of myn eyen twayne He was alone / the very sothfast lyght Shelde & protectour / thorugh his great myght And his manhode / agayne the mortall rage Of Grekes werre / in my croked age But now alas / to my confusyowne He slayne is / so worthy of renowne By Achylles / whiche may nat out of mynde That in my herte / I can neuer fynde To be allyed / with my mortall foo Rote and grounde / of all my sorowe and woo It were full harde / my herte to appese To loue hym / that causeth myn vnese On euery halfe / where thorugh my cruell foon The proude Grekes / herted be echon Agaynst me / now Fortune is contrayre Tourned of newe / my quarell to apayre That causeth Grekes / wode and furyous On me alas / to be presumptuous O only for Ector / is me berafte a way But sythen / I none other choyse may Agaynst herte / though it for anger ryue In this mater / assaye I shall to stryue Though me be loth / and sytteth me full sore Yet to eschewe / harmes that be more Whiche lykely be / hereafter for to falle And for to saue / myn other sones alle I wyll consente / that this Achylles So that he make / a trewe fynall pees Atwene Grekes / and also this Cyte Without more / playnely how that he Haue vnto wyfe / my doughter Polycene But leste that he / any treson mene My wyll is firste / how so that it wende Of his beheste / that he make ende Without fraude / this is myn aduyse To whiche counsayle / assenteth eke Parys And more rather / in conclusyon For there was made / none excepcyon In this Trete / of the quene Eleyne That Menelay / neuer shulde atteyne Hir to recure / agayne vnto his wyfe For whiche Parys / without noyse or stryfe Or grutchynge outher / vnto this entent Within hym selfe / was fully of assent Therby hopynge / without fere or drede Perpetuelly / Eleyne to possede Right at his luste / and no man shall say nay And after this / vpon the thyrde day Achylles hath / to wytte of his matere To Eccuba / sent his Messagere And she tolde / hym the answere of the kynge Ceryously / gynnynge and endynge And how that he / assenteth well therto And Parys eke / and she hir selfe also If it so were / playnely she hym tolde Touchynge the peas / that the purpose holde And firste that he / his heste brynge aboute That they be sure / therof hym nede nat doute That he shall haue / his purpose euerydele If that he werke / prudently and we le And hereupon / with informacyowne This Messager / out of Troye towne Without abode / in all the haste he may To Achylles / helde the right way And tolde hym hole / the effecte of this matere And he alway / feruent and entere In herte brent / hote as any glede And sawe there was no way / for to spede But oonly peas / as ye haue herde me telle And aye his breste / with syghes gan to swelle For the loue / of this Polycene And caste alway / amonge his paynes kene To his purpose / awaye for to fynde And whyles he was / besy in his mynde How he shulde his purpose / brynge aboute And in hym selfe / caste many doute Anone dispeyre / in a rage / vp sterte And cruelly caught / hym by the herte Whiche hath hym throwe / into suche a weer That hym thoughe / it was in his power His behe●●e / to fulfylle in dede Except he hadde / well the lesse drede Euery thynge / to putte in certayne Wenynge no greke / wolde his luste with sayne From his desyre / to be varyable And to hym selfe / thus was he fauourable For to parforme / and no thynge denye All that was lusty / to his fantasye As is the maner / of louers euerychone That they suppose / to a cheue anone What thynge it be / that they take on honde In what disioynt / that the mater stonde All though it be / a very impossyble In theyr foly / they be aye / so credyble And so Achylles / trusteth fynally To fulfylle / his hestys vtterly Supposynge / aye for his worthynesse For his mainhode / and his hye prowesse In whiche he dyde / hym selfe gloryfye Some what of pryde / and of surquedye How the grekes / shulde be dispeyred Both of theyr trust / and their myght appeyred Vpon Troyans / to wynne any londe If it so were he withdrewe his honde To helpe them / and therwithall also Home into Grece / that they wolde go From the sege / oonly for his sake And theyr quarell / vtterly forsake But it so were / this day fyerse Achylle With them abode / the Cyte for to spylle For whiche thynge / the lordes by assent Assembled were / to here the entent Amonge them all / of this Achylles By the byddynge / of Pallamydes And whan they were / gaderyd all yfere Tofore them all / lyke as ye shall here . THis Achylles / hath his tale ygonne And sayd syres / that somoche konne Both of wysdome / & of hye prudence So renowmed eke / of sapyence Thorugh out / the worlde / & of discrecyowne And be so worthy / also of renowne Kynges / dukes / of whom the royall name From eest to west / floureth yet the fame Bothe of knyghthode / and of manlyhede To that I say / I praye you take hede This to saye / if that ye consydre The playne entent / of our commynge hydre By good auyse / and destruccyon Hadde no grounde / founded on reson Nor cause roted / on no tytle of ryght If it so be / that ye lyfte vp your syght And aduerte clerely / in your mynde Full ferre a backe / wytte was sette behynde Prudent lokynge / and auysenesse For firste whan we / of foly hastynesse Toke vpon vs / to come fro so ferre Agayne Troyans / for to gynne a werre And to Iuparte / our lyues euerychone For the loue / of one man alone Ye wote all / I trowe / whom I mene Kynge Menelay / defaurded of his quene To telle trouth / me lyste nat for to feyne For ye well wote / oonly that Eleyne Was grounde and gynnynge / of all this debate For whom / so many worthy of estate Recurlesse / of any remedye Lyfe and good / haue put in Iupardye Our londes lefte / and our regyownes Our Cytes eke / and our ryche townes Whiche by our absence / stonde desolate Wyues and children / eke disconsolate In woo abyde / mournynge and distresse Whyles that we / the sothe to expresse Fro day to day / beset on euery syde Lye in the flede / and our deth abyde In sorowe and care / in laboure and in woo And wot all this / ye wyte well also Sythe tyme / that the werre began Of our Grekes / how many worthy man Hath lost his lyfe / thorugh dethes fatal wounde That myght hytherto / haue lyued & be sounde At home in Grece / assured well in ioye If they ne hadde / come vnto Troye That to remembre / it is full great pyte And ouer this / I saye also for me Amonge Troyans / in theyr cruell mode I haue loste / so moche of my blode That hath full ofte / made pale of hewe This other day / also grene and newe I hadde of Ector / suche a mortall wounde With a quarell / sharpe whet and grounde Aboue the theygh / so kene was the hede The same daye / afore that he was dede Of very happe / as it was I shape That fro the deth / vnneth I myght escape Whiche yet all fresshe / is vpon me sene Large and wyde / and as yet but grene The smerte of whiche / sore yet I pleyne And in good fayth / me semeth that Eleyne If ye aduerte / wysely in your thought With suche a pryse / shulde nat be bought Where thorugh / our lyfe and our good yfere And our honour / are Yput in were And dredfully / hange in ballaunce For if that ye / in your remembraunce Conceyue a right / and caste vp and downe The sodayne chaunge / and reuolucyowne That fallen hath / sythe the werre began The slaughter & deth / of many worthy man That for hir sake / hath here loste his lyfe Yet the worste / of this mortall stryfe Doth moste rebounde / into our damage To disencrease / and eke disauauntage And lykely is / to encrease more If ordenaunce / be nat made therfore And remedye shape / on outher syde By fyne oonly / that Eleyne abyde With them of Troye / styll here in the towne And lette vs caste / by good inspeccyowne For our ease / some other meane way So that the kynge / called Menelay These hym a wyfe / in some other londe Lyke his estate / by suraunce / or by bonde Vnder wedlocke / confermed vp of newe That vnto hym / wyll be founde trewe Sythe that we / without gylte or synne May by lawe / from Eleyne twynne For of dyuerse causes / be ynowe Thorugh out the world / of euery wyght yknowe Of auoutry / for the foule vyce For to lawe / is no preiudyce Though Menelay / iustly hir forsake Whan so hym lyste / and another take That shall hym better / both queme and please And so to vs / it shal be full great ease Whan the werre / is brought to an ende Whiche lykely is / many man to shende If it so be / that it forth contune The great laboure / is so importune That we ne shall / no whyle mowe sustene For this is sothe / without any wene Troyans yet / be floutynge in theyr myght And with them haue / full many worthy knyght To helpe them / of hye / and lowe degre And therwithall / so stronge in theyr cyte On euery part / without and withinne That we are nat / lykely for to wynne In our purpose / though we euer abyde Wherfore by wysdome / let vs voyde pryde And wylfulnesse / oonly of prudence To haue the Eye / of our aduertence To our profyte / more than vayne glorye And whyle our honour / shyneth by victorye A wysdome is / to withdrawe our honde Syth we may nat / constrayne by no bonde Fortunes whele / for to abyde stable Wherfore I rede / or she be mutable This gery goddesse / with hir double chere Let vs gyue vp / suche thynge as lyeth in were Whyles that we may / our worshyp saue For of the werre / the laude yet we haue Consyder well / how by your manhede Our moste foo / Ector is now dede And whyle that we / in our honour floure My counsayle is / or Fortune loure As I saydeere / to chaunge hir bryght face Whyle that beste / we stonde in hir grace By one assent / and one oppynyon Without any / contradiccyon Of herte and wyll / bothe of one and alle Or our honoure / on any party palle Into Grece / that we home retourne For if that we / lenger here soiourne On the quarell / that we haue longe sewed Douteles / it may bee schewed Full great damage / this without fayle Or we haue done / shall folowe at the tayle Wherfore best is / our folye vp resygne And whyle our hap / is welfull and benygne Most blandysshynge / and of face fayre The tyme is beste / to make our repayre Whyle that we stande / in party and in all With our enmyes / in honour perygall And fer aboue / playnely if that we Coude haue an Eye / to our Felycyte Whyle that it is / in his ascencyon But lest some man / wyll make obieccyon That we may nat / so our honour saue To repayre playnely / but we haue Eleyne agayne / that is cause of all To whiche thynge / anone answere I shall If any man / in his fantasye To dishonour / or to vyllanye Arrette wolde / in any maner kynde We to go home / and leue hir behynde Shortely to saye / I holde / it be no shame Sythe that we haue / one as great of name As is Eleyne / and of berthe as gode Amonges vs / ycome of kynges blode Suster to Pryam / lorde of Troye towne Exyona / whom that Thelamowne In kepynge hath / if I shall nat feyne In Troye towne / as Parys hath Eleyne And sythe nowe / it may be none other Let the tone / be set agayne the tother And the surplus / of olde enmyte Bet wixe vs / and Troye the cyte My counsayle is / for our bothe ease By one assent / wysely to apease This all and some / and that we hens wende I can no more / my tale is at an ende To whom anone / kynge Menelaus For very yre / wode and Furyous And kynge Thoas / the Duke eke of Athene As they that myght / no lenger hym sustene To suffre hym / they were so reckeles Spake all attones / vnto Achylles Nat oonly they / but thorugh inpacyence The court perturbyd / without prouydence With tumulte / gonne to repreue This Achylles / and proudely them cōmeue Agaynst hym / and his oppynyon And sayde shortly / in conclusyon Vnto his reed / they ne wolde neuer assente Nor condescende / to no thynge that he mente To be gouernyd / by hym in this caas For whiche thynge / anone Achylles was So full of Yre / and rancoure in his herte That sodaynely / from his see he sterte And went his way / as he were in a rage Tryste and pale / and a wode vysage And shortly sayde / for hym lyst nat fayne That he ne wolde / lenger do his payne To helpe them / how so that they spede Agayne Troynas / for no maner nede And bad anone / this hardy Achilles To his knyghtes / callyd Myrundones That they no more / with spere nor with shelde To helpe Grekes / entre into felde But kepe them close / at home within theyr tent Thus in this Ȳre / he gaue commaundement To all his men / as ye haue herde deuyse Them to withdrawe / at euery hye empryse Whan so euer / they go into batayle And in this whyle / scarsenesse of vytayle Fyll in the hoost of flesshe / of brede / and wynne That many Greke / brought vnto his fyne For they ne myght / endure for distresse Constreynt of hunger / dyde them so oppresse Tyll at the laste / kynge Pallamydes As he that was / in no thynge reckeles Hath therupon / made purueaunce Remedye / and redy ordynaunce And by assent / and counsayle of echon He hath sent / wyse Agamenon The worthy kynge / to Messa there besyde A ●y●ell I le / oonly to prouyde For the Grekes / if he myght spede Them to releue / in this great nede . And Telephus / kynge of that londe Of gentyllesse / hath put to his honde As he that was / large / and wonder free And renowmed / of humanyte To socoure them / commaundynge anone His purueours / in all haste to gone From euery party / aboute enuyron Thorugh all the landes / of his regyon And faythfully / to serche euery coost To take vp vytayle / for the grekes hoost And after that / full hastely he made To stuffe theyr shyppes / playnely and to lade With euery thynge / that was necessarye To the grekes / and by water carye At requeste / of Agamenon Without tariynge / or delacyon And so the kynge / with plente of vytayle Fraute and Ȳlade / gan anone to sayle Towarde the sege / he and his meynee Aye costynge / by the Grekysshe see The wynde was good / & the kynge as blyue With his nauye / at Troye dyde aryue In fewe dayes / and Grekes anone ryght Of his repeyre / were full glad and lyght Of his expleyt / and his good spede That he so well / hath borne hym in this nede . And after this / Pallamydes anone As sayth Guydo / is to his shyppes gone For to consydre / and loke all aboute Where nede was / within and withoute Any of them / to amende or repare As he that lyst / for no coste to spare In euery thynge / without neclygence Touchynge his charge / to do his dylygence Tyll the Trewes / fully were out ronne And the werres / newe agayne begonne Whiche many man / sothly dere aboughte And ceryously / to wryte howe they wroughte My purpose is / playnely in sentence Vnder supporte / of your pacyence . DVrynge in one / the dedely cruell hate That stynte maye / nor cesse by no date Atwyxe Grekes / and them of the towne To great damage / and destruccyowne On outher parte / felynge full vnswete Tyll on a daye / they caste for to mete As they were wonte / proudely with spere & shelde With theyr wardes / entrynge into felde Armyd full bryght / vpon outher syde . And enbatayled / stoute and full of pryde Full knyghtly haue chose / theyr grounde & take Theyr large baners / with the wynde yshake Tyll they togydre / sodaynely haue mette And alderfirste / Dephebus hath sette Fresshe and lusty / and of herte yrous Vpon a kynge / called Creseous And of enuye / the storye telleth than On hors backe / as they togydre ran Dephebus firste / with his spere as blyue Thorughout the breste / euen dyde hym ryue Vnto the herte / that he spake no more The deth of whom / Grekes playne sore And for his loue / suche a woo they make That all astoned / they haue the felde forsake And gan anone / vnto theyr tentes flee The whiche in sothe / whan they of Troye se Vpon the chase / faste gan them spede Vnto tyme / that worthy Dyomede And with hym eke / the kynge Pallamydes Of hye despyte / cruell and mercyles With twenty thousande / worthy knyghtes alle Vpon Troyans / sodaynely are falle And mortally / made them lese theyr weye And to resorte / home agayne to Troye And eke with grekes / felle and furyous The same tyme / came Thelamonyus That hyght Ayax / the stronge knyghtly man And lyke a Lyon / amonge them as he ran Vpon Troyans / and them ouer sette Casuelly / in his waye he mette Cecylyen / lusty / fresshe and lyght And of his tyme / a wonder manly knyght And sone was / to Pryam as I rede Whom Thelamon / pryckynge on his stede Slowe cruelly / with his swerde anone Rasynge his arme / from the shuldre bone That heallas / fyll dede in the felde The deth of whom / whan Dephebus behelde Wodder anone / than Tygre or lyon With a spere / ran to Thelamon And smette hym so / thorugh his plates bryght Of very force / that he made hym lyght And lese his sadell / be sete amonge the prees The whiche stroke / whan Pallamydes Behelde and sawe / and clerely gan aduerte Irous and wood / with a furyous herte Caste hym anone / to auenge Thelamowne On Dephebus / full worthy of renowne And mortally his guerdon / hym to quyte And with a spere / grounde for to byte Sharpe and kene / large rounde and square Full cruelly / or that he was ware Thorugh his harneys / without more areste Dephebus / he smote so in the breste That with the stroke / he brake the shafte a two So that the tronchone / and the hede also Lefte in his breste / that there was no weye Fynally / but that he muste deye There was none helpe / nor remedye at all The wounde was / so cruell and mortall That with the lyfe / he myght nat abyde And in this whyle / Parys came besyde Of auenture / whyle this Dephebus Was of his wounde / so inly anguysshous And gan in haste / for to aproche nere With face pale / and right an heuy chere And for his distresse / wepte pyteously And his knyghtes / commaunded hastely His wounded brother / out asyde fere In all haste / that they shulde bere Out of the wardes / fro the great prees Vnto his payne / for to do relees For to a brethe hym / at leyser or to auente In open eyre / and they vnto hym wente Maugre the Grekes / where he wounded was And bare hym out / a full easy pas Towarde the walle / faste by the towne And with great dole / and lamentacyowne Full softely / on the grounde hym layde Tyll at the laste / this dedely man abrayde With mortall loke / and face funerall And chere pyteous / so that eche ball Gan tourne vp / of his deedly eye And euen thus / to Parys he gan seye O brother myn / whom that I loued so Haue now pyte / and rewe vpon my wo Of kyndenesse / and of brotherhede And to my wordes / of routhe take now hede Syth we by deth / muste a sondre twynne For Antropose / shall no lenger spynne My lyues threde / but the knotte breke Wherfore brother / I praye the be wreke Vpon my deth / or I hense pace It that thou lyste / to do me suche a grace Of kyndenesse / yet or I be dede Out of my breste / or this sperys hede Be rent away / that thou auengyd be Vpon my foo / as I truste in the That I may wyt / he be deed or I And that his spirite / it passe fynally And firste descende / depe downe in helle Eternally / with Pluto for to dwelle Myd his boundes / that dyrke ben and lowe For fynally / so that I may knowe That he be deed / there is no more to seye I gyue no forse / how soone that I deye To whose requeste / Parys toke good hede And into felde / faste gan hym spede For thought / and woo / pyteously wepynge Whyle his brother / lay there languysshynge Nat awaytynge / but oonly after deth Vpon the poynt / to yelde vp the breth And with his knyghtes / Parys vp & downe The wardes soughte / aboute enuyrowne Tyll at the laste / Pallamydes he fonde With Sarpedon / fyghtynge honde of honde Now was this kyng / this worthy sarpedowne Come in diffence / of them of Troye towne Whiche of his hande / was a noble knyght And whyle that he / with all his full myght . Moste besy was / Pallamydes to presse Lyke a Lyon / whettyd with woodnesse Pallamydes / in herte nat a ferde Let flye at hym / with his sharpe swerde So myghtely / that it was a wonder For his theygh / parted hath a sonder And smote of / by the harde bone That Sarpedon / fyll downe dede anone So that Troyans / whan that he was slawe Were compellyd / of force them to withdrawe Thorugh the pursuyt / of kynge Pallamydes Whiche vpon them / was so mercyles And as cruell / as a wood lyon After the deth / of Sarpedon The whiche alas / whan Parys dyde espye He marked hym / with a cruell eye And hente a bowe / that passyngly was stronge And with an arowe / to his tyller longe Entoxycat / with venym in the hede That whom he smote / therwith was but dede And hytte hym so / in the auentayle Thorugh out the stuffe / and the thykke mayle Into the throte / that it gan thorugh pace That he fell dede / in the selfe place Pallamydes / this manfull worthy knyght Where thorugh Grekis / toke them to the flyght And made a noyse / and a wofull crye The deth complaynynge / wonder pyteouslye Of theyr lorde / and myghty gouernour But late chose / to be Emperour Theyr chefe socour / and souerayne refu● But now alas / they stonde destytut Of gouernaunce / broke and disarayed Without guyde / right as shepe dismayed Disconsolat / and comfortles yshent That eche of them / flyeth vnto his Tent And they of Troye / sued on the chace On hors backe / a wonder huge pace And mercyles slewe / them as they fle On euery syde / that routhe was to se Without pyte / or any other grace For lyke Lyons / they gan them enchace Tyll they compellyd / of necessyte Constrayned were / thorugh theyr cruelte To tourne agayne / and them selfe diffende And they of Troye / downe anone discende Of hors backe / euen vpon the playne And attones / there was none other gayne They gan the Grekes / proudely to outtraye And cruelly / so to disamaye That fynally / there gayneth no diffence So mortall was / the myghty vyolence Of Troyans / that Grekes so diffoyle And alderfirste / at leyser they dispoyle The grekes tentes / of golde and rychesse At whiche tyme / Troylus gan hym dresse And Parys eke / downe to theyr nauye With thurty thousande / in theyr companye Kyllynge all tho / playnely that they mette And on theyr shyppes / wylde fyre they sette That to the walle / of Troye the Cyte Men myght well / the hydous flawmese And all had gone / to destruccyon Ne had Ayax / ycalled Thelamon Thorugh his manhode / & knyghtly excellence Come anone / and made resistence Of the Grekes / with many worthy knyght And tho of new / began the mortall fyght Atwene Troyans / and the Grekes stoute The rede blode / rayllynge all aboute Vpon the playne / so hydously they blede And here and there / bothe in lengthe and brede Deed and maymed / and full pale of syght Vpon the soyle / full many noble knyght Atwexe them / so cruell was the hate For in theyr fyght / togydre they debate As wylde borys / euen so they fare For none of them / lyste other for to spare And in the felde / worthy Thelamowne Thorugh his knyghthode / & his hye renowne So manly bare hym / grekes to diffende That no man myght / in manhode him amende Thorugh all the world / though men had sought For he that daye / in his persone hath wrought Meruayle in armys / thorugh his great myght That in sothenesse / Grekes anone ryght Withoute hym / hadde fynally be shent And theyr shyppes / attones loste and brent Thorugh the pursuyt / of Parys that daye And worthy troylus / that made such affraye Amonges them / thorugh his hye prowesse That fyfty shyppes / Guydo doth expresse Were loste and brent / or that Thelamowne To reskus came / with his knyghtes downe Vnto the see / the remenaunt for to saue But for all that / Troyans that daye haue The hyer hande / of this mortall fyght Thorugh the force / and the great myght Of troylus oonly / whiche hath so many slayne Of the grekes / in sothe that they were fayne Them to withdrawe / and the felde to lete For in abydynge / they fonde full vnswete Wherfore they gan / for to lese theyr place Amonge whiche / the kynges sone of Trace That heber hyght / wounded to the deth That he myght / vnneth / drawe his breth With aspere / in his breste styckynge To Achylles / he came in complaynynge Vnto his tent / euen there he laye Whiche in the felde / was nat all that daye For the sake / oonly of Polycene The loue of whom / was so sharpe and kene Aye at his herte / ylyke grene and newe To whom Heber / with a mortall hewe Complayneth sore / arrettynge cowardyse And in manhode / a very trewandyse That he that daye / myght so for shame Withdrawe hym / in hyndrynge of his name Out of the felde / to hym full great reprefe Of the Grekes / seynge the myschefe That they were in / and confusyon Vpon the brynke / of theyr destruccyon Abrode the felde / to se them so lye dede And lyste nat ones / for to take hede Of his knyghthode / grekes to releue And whyle Heber / gan hym thus repreue And the spere / whiche in his body was All sodaynely / was drawen out alas With Eye vp caste / in rancour and in yre Full pyteously / Heber dyde expyre In the presence / of this Achylles And therwith came / in a sodayne res Into his tent / a certayne knyght of his Of whom Achylles / axeth how it is Amonge Grekes / and clerely how it stode And he answeryd / full yrous in his mode Certys quod he / full vnhappely For they of Troye / haue so cruelly Our Grekes all / this daye in theyr fyght Full shamefully / put vnto the flyght So many slayne / alas and wela waye That vnneth / none ne went awaye Vnhurte / maymed / or withouten wounde So felle on vs / Troyans were Yfounde And of them eke / was suche multytude That I suppose / shortly to conclude This daye there was / to my oppynyowne Nat lefte a man / within Troye towne That able was / to stonde in batayle With spere / or swerde / his enmye to assayle I wene in sothe / but they come oute With vs to fyght / there was so huge a route That we ne myght / of force take on honde In the felde / agaynst them to stonde But nowe my lorde / it draweth vnto nyght That they be faynte / any more to fyght If it were pleasynge / to your worthynesse To your manhode / and your hye noblesse To take on you / to your encrase of fame For euermore / to gete you a name And there with all / for your owne glorye Perpetuelly / to be in memorye To ryse vp / and arme you anone And sodaynely / vpon them to gone Feble and weke / to make resystence Agaynst your manly / famous excellence There were no more / but we were victours For euer more / and very conquerours Durynge the worlde / to be in remembraunce And they for euer / brought vnto outtraunce In soth fastnesse / I haue of it no drede But Achylles / toke of hym no hede Nor to Heber / that lay afore hym dede Full colde and strake / of coloure lyke to lede Nor ones lyste / to yeue hym audyence Nor vnto hym / haue his aduertence There may no worde / in his herte myne To that he sayde / to make hym enclyne For vtterly / euen lyke he ferde As though he / no maner worde ne herde For thorugh his eres / it passyd as a sowne Lo here / the maner and condycyowne The very custome / and the playne vsaunce Of these louers / hangynge in a traunce . Honour worshyp / manhode and prowesse Strengthe / myght / fame and hardynesse Encrease of name / vertue and victorye Knyghthode / noblesse / and in armes glorye All these / can loue ley asyde Suche is the myght / of the god Cupyde Whiche hertes hye / with his hoke can sease So lothe they are / playnely to displease Outher in chere / or in countenaunce In wyll or dede / or disobeysaunce To hir that is / theyr souereyne lady dere For with a loke / of hir eyen clere She can full well / daunte all theyr pryde For Venus soone / so felly can prouyde His arowes kene / to perce nerfe and vayne And them enlace / in his firy chayne That oonly thorugh / his importable charge They be restrayned / for to go at large Whiche cause was / this day douteles That this / noble hardy Achylles Wolde nat / withouten any wene Come in the felde / for drede of Polycene Lyste that she were / offended in hir herte If any thynge / escaped or asterte This Achylles / thorugh mysgouernaunce And whyles he / hang thus in balaunce The Grekes faught / with them of the towne Tyll bryght Phebus / was at goynge downe That Troyans / of necessyte For lacke of lyght / entre the Cyte And whyle that they / homewarde be repreyred Lay Dephebus / of his lyfe dispeyred Complaynynge aye / on his dedely wounde And whan Parys / & troylus / haue hym founde In that myschefe / they gan wepe and crye As they wolde / for very routhe dye With wofull noyse / and with pytous sowne The ●alte terys / gan to renne downe On theyr chekes / vpon outher syde And whyles they / vpon hym abyde This wounded man / gan drawe to his ende Whose spyryte was / redy for to wende Out of his brest / and his wery goste Full hastely / into another coste With dedely Eyen / tournyd vp so downe Whan that he knewe / by relacyowne That Parys hath / Pallamydes yslawe Anone he bad / that they shulde out drawe The large tronchone / with the stelen hede And there with all anone / he fyll downe dede And with the corps / they gan them faste spede Towarde the towne / but for it is no nede The dole to wryte / and lamenciowne That made was / for Sarpedowne Thorugh the Cyte / and namely of the kynge And of the quene / euer in one wepynge Of his brethren / and his susters dere It were but vayne / to reherse it here But Pryam hath / with great dylygence Two towmbes made / of royall excellence For Dephebus / and kynge Sarpedowne With many Ȳmage / grauen enuyron And many a knotte / koruen here and yonder And buryed them / but a lytell a sonder Lyke the custome / of theyr rytes olde And whyles they / the feste halowe & holde That called is / the feste funerall The Grekes / haue do made in specyall A ryche toumbe / to the worthy kynge Pallamydes / and for his buriynge Sosempnely / made ordynaunce Amonges them / as it was vsaunce And with great dole / and pyteous heuynesse They haue this kynge / of great worthynesse Royally brought / to his sepulture And for they myght / longe nat endure Without an hede / and a gouernour They chosen haue / to theyr Emperour By one assent / and affeccyon The worthy kynge / wyse Agamenon And after they made / no lettynge They of Troye / the next day suynge With theyr wardes / into felde to goon Fully purposyd / to fyght with theyr foon And Grekes manly / in the face them mette But worthy Troylus / so them ouersette That Greke was none / shortly for to telle Thylke day / afore hym myght dwelle So cruelly / he gan them / for to chace For where he came / or rode in any place They fledde his swerde / of theyr lyfe in doute His yonge kynghtes / rydynge hym aboute Suche as he was / vsaunt for to lede And euer in one / the grekes blode they shede Whiche lyke a streme / disteyned all the playne And all this whyle / was so huge a rayne The same day / and so huge a myste That euery man / hath his felowe myste Specyally / vpon the Grekes syde That for the storme / and theyr woundes wyde And for the manhode / of this Troyan knyght Worthy Troylus / so fresshe so yonge & lyght They were coact / thorugh his cruelte Maugre theyr myght / for drede of deth to fle To theyr Tentys / socoure for to fynde Troyans aye / pursuynge behynde Full mortally / with a sterne paas But for the storme / they cease of the caas And home repeyre / to theyr Cyte stronge Tyll on the morowe / that the larke songe That Troylus eft / most manly in batayle The Grekes newe / caste hym for to assayle And Guydo wryt / this yonge champywne Thylke daye / as he rode vp and downe Amonge his foon / thorugh his hye renowne That therne was kynge / duke / erlenor barowne With his swerde / where so that he wende That of theyr lyfe / he made a mortall ende All the whyle / that Phebus gaue his lyght Tyll at the laste / that it drewe to nyght That he to Troye / repayreth manfully And seuen dayes / suynge by and by This lyfe he ladde / with his knyghtes felle Vpon grekes / as Guydo can you telle Aye newe and newe / he gan them so confounde His cruell swerde / was so kene grounde That they ne myght / in his mortall tene Afore his syght / abyde nor sustene Nor the vengeaunce / that he on them toke For where he rode / the waye they forsoke In his trase / the renges / were so rede Of them in sothe / that in the felde lay dede For whiche slaughter / and confusyowne The grekes newe / sent to the towne For a trewes / to Pryamus the kynge And he anone / graunted theyr axynge For two monethes / fully by the assent Of all the lordes / of his Parlement Wherof they made / full relacyon The Enbassatours / to Agamenon And to theyr lodgynge / after forth they wente But how that he / vnto Achylles sente The meane whyle / his messagers wyse So as I can / I shall anone deuyse . AGamenon / as Guydo lyste endyte His lordes sent / Achylles to vysyte For certaȳe causes / lyk as ye shal here Whiche in the storye / be rehersed here And with vlixes / and worthy Dyomede Duke Nestor went / playnely as I rede To fyne oonly / by theyr counsayllynge Into his herte / that they myght brynge And induce hym / to haue a fantasye To be wyllynge / thorugh his chyualrye With them to stonde / as he hath do toforne That haue so many / of theyr men ylorne For lacke oonly / of his hye presence And Achylles / with dygne reuerence Receyued them / & with right knyghtly chere And after that / whan they were set yfere Lyke theyr degre / anone in audyence Whyle vlixes / full of eloquence Gan his tale / prudently deuyse To Achylles / sayeng in this wyse Syr Achylles / moste renowmed of glorye Thorugh out the worlde / to be in memorye And of knyghthode / very shoures and welle Displaese it nat / now that I shall telle To youre / noble famous excellence Nor to your Erys / let be none offence That I shall say / but of goodlyhede Pacyently / that ye wyll take hede To my wordes / sayde of herte and thought I you ensure / for I fayne nought This to saye / if ye remembre well The firste cause / and purpose euerydell Of the grekes / if ye haue mencyon Was fully sette / by one entencyon As well of you / as of vs parde Whan we come firste / to this Cyte Kynges / Prynces / I except none Of whiche in sothe / to reken euerychone Your selfe was / to speke in specyall One of the firste / and most pryncypall Assentyd full / how Troye the Cyte Thorugh our manhode / destroyed shulde be Perpetuelly brought / vnto ruyne But now of newe / I note what doth enclyne Your worthynesse / sodaynely to varye And to our purpose / for to be contrarye Consyder firste / of you that be so sage The wronges done / and the great damage In Grekes londe / of them of the towne Conspyrynge aye / to our destruccyowne If ye aduerte / wysely in your thought That slayne haue / and to an ende brought Full many worthy / sythe gone full yore And of treasoure / that no man may restore Despoyled vs / and brought in great distresse Our goodes raughte / our golde & our rychesse Our shyppes brent / thorugh theyr cruelte And to all this / alas / ye lyste nat se Now that they be / whiche may nat be delayed Thorugh your manhode / fynally outrayed Syth ye haue slaȳe / theyr hope / their suffysaunce Actor in whom / was all theyr affyaunce Fully theyr truste / and diffence also And Dephebus / also is a go And lykely are / more to be apeyred Fro day to day / and fynally dispeyred So frowardly / Fortune on them loureth And now your honour / & your fame floureth In his worshyp / and your hye renowne Atteyned hath / the exaltacyowne And hyest prycke / of Fortunes whele It were great wronge / and ye loke wele Of wylfulnesse / for to be vnkynde To hir that ye / so frendely to you fynde Or to be frowarde / whyle she is benygne By influence / gracyously to assygne Hir spokys meue / vnto your plesaunce And hap to tourne / with plente on your chaunce After whose helpe / you nedeth nat to calle Wherfore alas / why wyll ye suffre palle Your noble fame / of very wylfulnesse Whyle it is hyest / in his worthynesse Your knyghtly / prudence / it shulde nat●a s●●rte Of whiche thynge / euery gentyll herte Shulde haue routhe / and compassyon Wherfore we praye / of discrecyon That ye you shape / this purpose to amende And that ye wolde / of herte condiscende With vs to stonde / knyghtly in this werre By your manhode / that is spoke of so ferre That your renowne / to the worldes ende Reported be / where so / that men wende Perpetuelly / by fresshenesse of hewe Day be day / to encrease newe That the tryumphe / of this hye victorye Be put in storye / and eke in memorye And so enprentyd / that foryetylnesse No power haue / by malys to oppresse Your fame / in knyghthode / dyrke or difface That shyneth yet / so clere in many place Without Eclypsynge / sothly this no lesse Whiche to conserne / ye be now reckelesse Of wylfulnesse / to cloude so the lyght Of your renowne / that whylom shone so bryght Your myghty hande / of manhode to with drawe Consyder firste / how Grekes are yslawe Tofore your Tent / with mortall woundes wyde Thorugh out the felde / vpon euery syde And haue disdayne / oonly for lacke of routhe Alas the whyle / for a lytell slouthe To ley to hande / in theyr myschefe at all That whylom were / theyr stronge myghty wall Theyr chefe diffence / and theyr champyowne Soueuerayne helpe / and proteccyowne For whom ye haue / so ofte shadde your blode Agayne theyr foon / with them whan he stode Full myghtely / theyr enmyes to assayle Without whom / they lytell may auayle In very sothe / ne none of vs echone But ye of knyghthode / lyste with vs to gone Agayne Troyans / as ye were wont to do As is our truste / and fynall hope also That ye shall helpe / and our socour be And here vpon / we praye you that ye Saye your auyse / and your full wylle And than anone / the hardy fyerse Achylle Whan vlixes / concludyd hadde his tale With a face / for anger dede and pale Sayde euen thus / all openly and playne Syr vlixes / if so right as ye sayne And haue declaryd / in conclusyon That our purpose / and entencyon Was fynally / to brenne and destroye This royall Cyte / that is called Troye I holde in sothe / me lyketh nat to lye That our entent / was grounded on folye To put vs all / thorugh in discrecyon Of reckeleshede / and hasty mocyon Of lyfe and deth / in suche Iupardye And specyally / in all the Chyualrye Of Grekes londe / for so smale a thynge So many prynce / and many worthy kynge That haue Iuparted / theyr body & theyr gode Yloste theyr lyfe / and yspent theyr blode Which myght haue be / full well at home in pees And is nat nowe / the kynge Pallamydes Yslawe also / as who sayth but of newe That was so wyse / so manly and so trewe Of whom the lyfe / was of more pryse alone Than the cause / for whiche that we echone Be gaderyd here / who so loke a ryght And of Grekes / many a noble knyght That haue be slayne / bothe of the worthyest The worlde / to seke / and the manlyest For out of euery / lande and regyowne On grekes party / and with them of the towne Of chyualry / & of knyghthod the sourayne floure To wynne in armes / worshyp and honoure Assembled be / and come fro so ferre Of whiche in sothe / by duresse of this werre Full many one / in the felde is dede And veryly / without any drede There shall well mo / if the werre laste For euery day / the nombre lasseth faste Of worthy knyghtes / dede without routhe That I dare saye / and conclude of trouthe In this rage / furyous and wode Full lykely is / that all the gentyll blode Thorugh out this worlde / shall destroyed be And rurall folke / and that were great pyte Shall haue lordshyp / and hooly gouernaunce And Churles eke / with sorowe & myschaunce In euery londe / shall lordes be alone Whan gentyll men / slayne be echone Is nat Ector / that was so noble a knyght That was this worldes / very sonne and lyght Of manhode floure / slayne pyteously In this werre / in soth and so myghte I Parauenture / whiche may nat attayne To his noblesse / if I shall nat fayne For by what waye / shall we the deth eschewe With all our myght / if we it pursewe Fro day to day / whyle that we lye here Therfore shortely / me for to requere Touchynge the werre / outher for to praye Is but in vayne / and herken what I saye I nat purpose / in this werre or stryfe For to Iuparte / any more my lyfe For leuer I haue / that pallyd be my name Than to be slayne / and haue an ydell fame For worthynesse / after deth yblowe Is but a wynde / and lasteth but a throwe For though renowne / and pryse be blowe wyde Foryetylnesse / leyth it ofte asyde By lengthe of yeres / and oblyuyon Thorugh enuye / and false conclusyon The laude of knyghthode / and of worthynesse Of wysedome eke / and of gentyllesse Fredam bounte / vertue and suche grace Foryetylnesse / can derke and difface And therwithall / malys and enuye Yseryd hath / the palme of Chyualrye By false reporte / wherfore I saye for me I wyll of wysedome / suche folye let be And in quyete / forth my lyfe nowelede And ouer this / to you thre I rede To seke peas / with Troyans if ye may In hasty wyse / without more delay This my counsayle / platly to you alle Or that myschefe / of deth vpon you falle It were well done / that ye toke hede Bothe vlixes / and thou Dyomede And Nestor eke / sythen ye be wyse To werke playnely / lyke as I deuyse This the summe and fyne / of myn entent And so reporteth to hym / that hath you sent And they anone / with shorte conclusyon Bepeyred be / to Agamenon With suche answere / as ye haue herde me sayne It nedeth nat / to wryte it newe agayne And here vpon / kynge Agamenon Let make anone / a conuocacyon Of his lordes / and in theyr presence Fro poynt to poynt / sothly in sentence He hath rehersyd / how that Achylles Was desyrous / for to haue a pees With them of Troye / and platly how that he For no prayer / wyll in no degre Agayne Troyans / with spere nor with shelde In helpe of Grekes / be armed in the felde Wherfore the kynge / as he that was full wyse Here vpon / axed theyr aduyse And what them thought / was beste for to do In this mater / sythe it stode so And firste of all / speketh Menelay With angry chere / and sayde platly nay To haue a peas / it was nat his entent Ne that he wolde / therto be of assent Sythen the Cytee / in conclusyon Stode on the prycke / of his destruccyon . NOw that Ector / & Dephebus were dede that whylom were / their trust in euery nede And theyr diffence / but now they are ago Farewell their truste / and their hope also Without more / and all their hole pryde They may nat now / but after deth abyde And truste well / without any les Though it so be / that this Achylles Ne helpe vs nat / towarde our empryse We therof nat drede / in no maner wyse Withoute hym / for to haue victorye By our manhode / and our owne glorye I am full sure therof / and certayne But vlixes / gan replye agayne Qestor also / of sodayne mocyon Contrayre / was / to his oppynyon Affermynge playnely / that no wonder was Though Menelay / sothly in this cas Vnto the peas / wolde nat assente For openly / they wyste what he mente For he was grounde / and roote of all the werre And cause also / they come were so ferre Out of theyr londe / he and the quene Eleyne And for the sake / oonly of them tweyne The Grekes all / whiche no man may denye Theyr lyues put / in suche Iupardye For hym and hir / if the grounde be sought For well they wyste / that he rought nought This Menelay / what wo they endure So he his wyfe / myght agayne recure And where he sayth / that Ector is dede He hath an heyre / to speke of manlyhede And of knyghthode / as it wyll be founde And called is / Ector the secounde Worthy Troylus / whiche that is his brother In all this worlde / is nat suche a nother Of worthynesse / for to reken alle For he of Troye / is the myghty walle And diffence / now Ector is agone Ye knowe it well / your selfe euerychone If it so be / that ye lyste take hede Whose sharpe swerde / sore doth vs blede Euery day / in his furyous hete Amyd the felde / whan we with hym mete And in stede / of worthy Dephebus Whiche in his tyme / was wonderly famous His brother / Parys / is nowe founde at all In worthynesse / of knyghthode perygall So that of them / we haue none auauntage Vnto this houre / but rather great damage To reken all / sythe we be gonne This very sothe / we haue but lytell wonne But we are lykely / alway more to lese If we contynue / but sythe we may chese It were holsome / to lyue in quyete To haue a peas / and this werre lete By one assent / sythe ye be wyse ANd with the worde / Calchas gan to ryse The Troyan traytour / with a pale chere For very Ire / and sayde as ye shall here A worthy Prynces / what thynke ye to done To chaunge / so lyke / as doth the moone Your olde purpose / and your firste entent Agayne the wyll / and commaundement Of the goddes / that euery thynge gouerne By purueaunce / who so can discerne Alas alas / why ne wyll ye at the leste Credence and fayth / gyue to theyr heste Whiche in no wyse / may nat be fallyble For in sothe / it were an impossyble Vtterly / but Troye the Cyte Of ordynaunce / and necessyte Myght be destroyed / hens but alyte If your slouthe / be it nat to wyte So that victorye / worshyp and honour And fynall palme / eke of this labour To be reported / on water and on londe Reserued be / hoolly / to your honde In your purpose / if ye forth contune And hyndre nat / of folye your Fortune This in sothe / I dare it well conclude And peryllous is / the goddes to yllude Of neclygence / or slouthe wylfully Wherfore I rede / that now manfully Of herte and thought / and of full vnyte Platly deuoydynge / all ambygnyte To sette vpon / and knyghtly to resume Your force agayne / fully to consume Your cruell foon / and let be shet withoute Wan hope and drede / dispeyre & euery doute Castynge of parryll / slouthe and cowardyse And let manhode / vtterly despyse All drede of deth / that causeth hertes feynt With cowardyse / for to be atteynt That fynally / as goddes haue be hyght Thorugh prescyence / of theyr eternall myght To victorye / that ye shall attayne Lyke your desyre / there is no more to sayne And whan Calchas / in conclusyowne This false traytour / vnto Troye towne The Grekes hadde / thorugh his wordes fayre Touchynge the werre / put out of dispayre Of herte all one / they caste them to fulfylle Hoolly his counsayle / though so that Achylle Be frowarde aye / to helpe them in theyr nede They gaue no force / nor toke of it no hede But euerychone / they them redy make As ye shall here / the felde in haste to take . THe trewes passed / of the monthes wayne Into the felde / the Grekes them ordayne And they of Troye / agayne them yssue oute And worthy Troylus / with an huge route The Grekes gan / alderfirste assayle And with his swerde / he made firste to rayle The rede blode / thorugh theyr harneyse bryght That as the deth / theyr fledde fro his syght For he that daye / thorugh his cruelte Caste hym fully / auenged for to be Vpon the deth / of Ector vtterly And as Dares / reherseth specyally A. M. knyghtes / this Troyan champyowne That day hath slayne / rydynge vp and downe As myn Auctour / Guydo lyst endyte Saue after hym / I can no ferther wryte In his boke / he yeueth hym suche a name That by his manhode / and his knyghtly fame The Grekes all / were put vnto flyght All that day / tyll it drewe to nyght And on the morowe / in the dawenynge The grekes haue / at Phebus vprysynge Yarmed them / with great dylygence Agayne Troyans / to stande at diffence Amonges whom / that day as I rede So well hym bare / worthy Dyomede That many Troyan / thorugh his cruelte Hath loste his lyfe / tyll Troylus gan to se This Dyomede / in the felde rydynge To whom anone / without more lettynge With his spere / threwe into the reste This Troylus rode / & smote hym on the breste So myghtely / that of very nede Downe of his horse / he smote Dyomede Albe of wounde / he hadde no damage And furyously / Troylus in his rage Ofenuye / gan hym to abreyde Whan he was downe / the loue of Creseyde Of his deceyte / and his Trecherye And grekes than / faste gan them hye Amonge the hors / in myschefe where he lay To drawe hym out / in all the haste they may And on a shelde / brosyd and affrayde They bare hym home / so he was dismayde Of the stroke / home vnto his Tent And Menelay / the same whyle hath hent A myghty spere / to auenge Dyomede And to Troylus / faste gan hym spede Fully auysed / to vnhorse hym anone But Troylus firste / made his stede gone So swyfte a course / towarde Menelay That he anone / at the Erthe lay So myghtely he hyt / hym with his spere That shelde nor plate / myght hym nat were To saue hym / from a mortall wounde But his kynghtes / anone as they hym founde Out of the prese / whan they had hym rent They bare hym home / to his owne tent The grekes aye / stondynge in distresse Thorugh the knyghthode / and the hye prowesse Of this troylus / whiche hath them so belayne On euery part / where he rode on the playne Tyll vnto tyme / that Agamenowne Into the felde / is a valyd downe With many worthy / aboute his banere That shone full shene / agayne the sonne clere And with his knyghtis / hym rydynge enuyrowne He sore enchased them / of troye towne Woundeth & sleeth / and put them to the flyght Hym selfe acquytynge / lyke a manly knyght But for all that / without more abode Amonge Troyans / fyersly as he rode This worthy kynge / great Agamenowne With a spere Troylus / smette hym downe Maugre his Grekes / there gayneth no socour And whan they sawe / theyr lorde & gouernour In suche myschefe / at the grounde lyende They hente hym vp / and made hym to ascende Thorugh theyr manhode / on his stronge stede And he of wyt / gan to take hede And consyderyd / wysely in his thought In what disioynt / Troylus had them brought And how his Grekes / for all theyr great pryde Tofore his swerde / myght nat abyde He prudently / of hye discrecyon This noble knyght / kynge Agamenon As he that hadde aye / his aduertence On gouernaunce / thorugh his prouydence Whan he sawe / his Grekes gan fayle And wexe feble / to stande in batayle For lacke of stuffe / that shulde them recomforte Full prudently / he made them to resorte Eueryche of them / to his owne tent And after that / he hath to Pryam sent For atrewes / to Troye the Cyte For sixe Monethes / if it myght be And by his counsayle / Pryamus the kynge Without abode / graunted his axynge Albe that some / as Guydo lyste endyte Were euyll apayde / so longe to respyte Theyr mortall foon / in any maner wyse But yet his graunt / as ye haue herde deuyse Stode in his strengthe / fully as I rede In whiche tyme / of very womanhede Creseyde / lyst no lenger for to tarye Though hir Fader / were therto contrarye For to vysyte / and to haue a syght Of Dyomede / that was be come hir kynght Which had of troylus / late caught a wounde And in his Tent / whan she hath hym founde Benygnely / vpon his beddes syde She set hir downe / in the selfe tyde And platly caste / in hir owne thought Touchynge Troylus / that it was for nought To lyue in hope / of any more recure And thought she wold / for no thynge be vnsure Of purueaunce / nor without store She gaue anone / without any more Hooly hir herte / vpon Dyomede Lo what pyte is / in womanhede What mercy eke / and benygne routhe That newly can / all hir olde trouthe Of nauture / lette slyppe asyde Rather than they / shulde se abyde Any man in myschefe / for theyr sake The chaunge is nat / so redy for to make In Lombarde strete / of crowne nor doket All poyse is good / be so the prent be set Theyr lettre of chaunge / doth no man abyde So that the wynde / be redy and the tyde Passage is aye / who so lyste to pace No man is loste / that lyste seke grace Daunger is none / but counterfete disdayne The see is calme / and from rockes playne For mercyles / neuer man ne deyde That soughte grace / recorde of Creseyde Whiche fynally / hath gyuen / all hir herte To Dyomede / in relese of his smerte And prayed hym / to be right glad and lyght And calleth hym / hir owne man / & hir knyght And hym behyghte / rather than he deye In euery thynge / howe she wolde obeye That were honest / hym to do pleasaunce For leuer she had / chaunge and varyaunce Were founde on hir / than lacke of pyte As syctynge is / to Femynynyte Of nature / nat to be vengeable For fayth nor othe / but rather mercyable Of mannes lyfe / standynge in distresse Here of no more / for now I wyll me dresse To tell forth / in my translacyon Ceryously / how Agamenon Durynge the trewes / and the tyme of pees Hym selfe wente / vnto Achylles Besechynge hym / some rewarde to haue Of his knyghthode / Grekes for to saue And his presence / nomore to withdrawe To suffre them / so mortally be slawe Of theyr enmyes / pompous and Elate But Achylles / alway indurate Ilyche newe / bothe in herte and thought From his purpose / platly chaungeth nought Fully enclyned / for to haue a pees But for asmoche / as Achylles Of entyernesse / and affeccyon So louynge was / to Agamenon He vnto hym / graunted at the leste A great parcell / touchynge his requeste This to saye / that this Achylles Graunteth to hym / his Myrundones Full knyghtly men / oonly in his absence With the Grekes / to make resystence In the felde / agayne them of the towne For whiche graunte / kynge Agamenowne And duke Nestor / thanked hym of herte But he alwaye / contynuynge in his smerte For the loue / of fayre Polycene Ne knewe no gayne / to his woundes grene But dispeyred / languyssheth euer in one And whan the trewes / passyd were and gone Vpon adaye / the morowe full benygne Achylles his knyghtes / dyde assygne The felde to take / with Agamenon And as the storye / maketh mencyon He gaue to them bendes / fresshe of rede That men may knowe / by theyr manlyhede With whom they were / withholde in specyall And lyke a man / deedly and mortall . In his tent / Achylles abode Into the felde / from hym whan they rode Oonly for dole / they shulde from hym twynne In his absence / a werre to begynne Maugre his wyll / agayne them of the towne But forthe they went / with Agamenowne Vpon Troyans / sterne and full of pryde But with them mette / on the other syde The manly knyghtes / of Troyanysshe blode Whiche were on them / so furyous and wode That cruelly / the grekes they oppresse So that a backe / for fere they gan them dresse They were on them / so inly felle and kene Tyll that the Duke / of Athene Entrede in / the Grekes to diffende But vpon hym / vnwarely / or he wende Came myghty troylus / lyke a wood lyowne And from his stede / anone he bare hym downe And after that / he put hym so in prees Tyll he mette / with Myrundones And of them slewe / that daye full many one And so fet in / Troylus is Ygone That he grekes / put vtterly to flyght Thorugh his knyghthod / tyl it drewe to nyght & fro his swerde / no raunsoun myght then borowe And Guydo wryte / that on the next morowe Full mortall was / the slaughter / on outher syde Amyd the felde / as they togydre ryde Of manly knyghtes / that wonder was to sene And as they faughte / the kynge Phylymene With helpe oonly / of Pollydamas Taken hath / the worthy kynge Thoas And gan hym lede / towarde Troye towne But Myrundones / on hym come downe Wonder proudely / and after gan to sewe And thurgh their myght / Thoas they reskewe And hym delyuer / for they were so stronge But troylus than / hurtled them amonge Furyously / lyke a champyowne Now here now there / caste & threwe them downe Some he slewe / and some he made blede Tyll cruelly / they slewe his myghty stede Whiche he sat on / and yet neuertherles He faught on fote / agayne Myrundones That hadde caste troylus / to haue take But Parys / tho / gan them so a wake With his brethren / that aboute hym rode That in the place / where as troylus stode Vpon his fete / but hym selfe alone Of Myrundones / they slewe many one That of knighthod / thorugh theyr manlyhede They vnto hym / brought another stede Amyd his foon / and made hym to ascende And he full knyghtly / gan hym selfe diffende Be set with grekes / in the selfe stounde That neuer yet / a better knyght was founde They felte it well / that were his foon But than his brother / callyd Emargaron So as he faught / puttynge hym selfe in prees Was slayne alas / amonge Myrundones The deth of whom / in a cruell yre Troylus with angre / newe sette a fyre Playnely purposeth / to auenge if he may And with his swerde / began to make way . And Parys aye / faste by rydynge And all his brethren / vpon hym awaytynge Whiche all yfere / were so mercyles As I fynde / vpon Myrundones That of force / and necessyte They were compelled / playnely for to fle Troylus on them / was so Furyous So vengeable eke / and so despytous That he them gaue / many mortall wounde And yet in sothe / that day they were founde Noble knyghtes / and quyt them wonder wele For they the crafte / knewe euerydele Longynge to armys / of them as I rede But for all that / he made theyr sydes blede Thorughe the mayle / and theyr plates shene That they ne myght / playnely nat sustene The swerde of troylus / them chasyng ouerall Albe they kepte / them close as any wall Hole togydre / and wente nat a sonder But troylus aye / them chaseth here & yonder And seuered them maugre all theyr myght Tyll into felde / with many worthy knyght Came Menelay / and kynge Agamenon Vlixes eke / and cruell Thelamon And Dyomede / whiche of his woundes grene Recuryd was / as sayth myn Auctor clene And on Troyans / sodaynely they fall With theyr wardes / and theyr knyghtes all And tho began / the fyght to renewe On euery halfe / that with blody hewe The plates bryght / were of newe steyned And they of troye / so manly haue them peyned Agayne theyr foon / in this myghty stryfe That many greke / was berafte his lyfe And where they were / moste myghty in batayle Troylus came in / and gan them to assayle On euery parte / with many blody wounde And by his knyghthode / gan them to comfoūde That aye they fledde / so they were aferde The mortall strokes / of his sharpe swerde Theyr deedly foo / and destruccyon And this contynueth / tyll kynge Thelamon By his manhode / whan that he behelde The grekes made / recure agayne the felde And gan Troyans / assayle wonder sore And tho began / the slaughter more and more On eche syde tyll / troylus newe agayne The grekes hathe / so fyersly ouerlayne Myrundones / and them euerychone Afore his swerde / that he made them gone To theyr tentes / and the felde for sake And with his honde / that day he hath take An hondred knyghtes / that came in his weye Thorugh his prowesse / & sent them into troye And euer in one / gan so to enchace Myrundones / that they loste theyr place And to Achylles / lyenge in his tent They repeyre / forwounde / and to rent Theyr harneys broke / bothe plate and mayle And of nombre / I fynde that they fayle An hondred knyghtes / slayne and deed alas That after were founde / in the Taas Amyd the felde / thorugh gyrt with many wounde Of Troylus swerde / Ector the secounde Wherof Achylles / whan he hadde a syght So heuy was / all the nexte nyght In his bedde / walo wynge to and fro Deuoyde of slepe / for constreynt of his wo At his herte / his wounde was so kene What for his men / and fayre Polycene Wyttynge well / if he dyde his payne To be venged / he shulde nat attayne In no wyse / vnto his desyre And thus he brent / in a double fyre Of loue and Ire / that made hym shyghe sore But for cause / loue was the more He was aferde / agayne them of the towne In his persone / to do offencyowne Lyste Pryamus / and Eccubathe quene Offended were / and namely Polycene And thus he stode / in a double weer That his herte / satte hym wonder neer With many wonder / dyuers fantasye As haue louers / that be in poynt to dye Ryght euen so fareth / this wofull man For very woo / that no rede ne can So entryked / that wende to deye Of his recure / he knewe no better weye And whyle he lay / this in this throwes whyte Lyke as Guydo / playnely / lyste endyte And the storye / maketh mencyowne That dayes seuen / they of troye towne To encrease and augment / of theyr sorowe With the Grekes / mette euery morowe That thorugh the force / of bothe theyr myght On outher parte / was slayne many a knyght And all this whyle / lay this Achylles Of Grekes deth / ylyke reckeles For loue oonly / and toke no maner hede Who so were hole / or mortally dothe blede Or who that playneth / with his woundis large Hym thought it was / no parcell of his charge So moche he hath / on other thynge to thynke That ofte he waketh / whan he shulde wynke Thoughtfull aye / and Ymagynatyfe And very wery / of his owne lyfe Tyll on a daye / kynge Agamenon Seynge the deth / and destruccyon On Grekes halfe / without remedye To Troye sent / by enbassatrye For a trewes / certayne dayes space But he myght / therof haue no grace Lenger tyme / platly to endure Than for leyser / of the Sepulture Of worthy knyghtes / that were deed aforne In the felde / on outher party lorne Whiche in the taas / full besely they soughte And after this / playnely how they wroughte Durynge the sege / with great vyolence I shall descryue / with your pacyence .
How Achylles slewe the worthy Troylus Ectors brother vnknyghtly / and trayled hym aboute the felde at his hors tayle . Ca. xxxi .
THe cruell force / and mortall yre Of Martys myght / alway set a fyre With newe enuye / gonne of olde hatrede Brennynge in hertis / hote as any glede Atwyxe Grekes / and Troye the Cyte Whiche lykely is nat / staunched for to be Tyll deth consume / with his mortall darte Full many worthy / vpon outher parte To execute / alas / by fynall fate Eche on other / the enuyous deedly hate Whiche they ne myght / by destyne remewe Nor for Parchas / at lyberte eschewe For Antropos / wyll suffre it be none other That is maystresse / & guyder of therother Of dethes shyp / tyll all goth vnto wrake And Fortune gan / tourne hir face bake Of hye disdayne / fro Troye the Cyte As in this storye / right soone ye shall se . For whan the trewes / that they hadde take Were wered out / they gan them redy make The proude Grekes / and into felde they gone Vpon a morowe / whan Phebus bryght shone Armed full shene / eueryche at his deuyse And Menelay firste / mette with Parys That daye / in storye as I rede And eche of them / smet other of his stede A● whiche tyme / daunz Pollydamas To Vlixes / rode a sterne paas And eche at other / of cruell enmyte With styffe swerdes / gan togydre flee That nouther was / of manhode for to wyte And with aspere / squared for to byte The myghty Duke / called Meneste Rode lyne ryght / that all myght se To Anthenor / the Troyan full of pryde And from his sadell / caste hym downe asyde In his furye / and his hatefull tene And tho in all haste / came kyng Phylemene Oonly in helpe / of them of the towne And gan assayle / kynge Agamenowne Thorugh his knyghthode / and his hardynesse That he hym hadde / brought in great distresse To outter myschefe / and confusyon Ne hadde oonly be / that kynge Thelamon Full proudely came / hym for to reskewe And after sore / gan for to pursewe With a spere / vpon Phylemene And for his hors / he layde hym on the grene Maugre his force / the storye telleth thus For he to hym / was mortally Irous And after that / yonge Archylogus A mortall couts / ran vnto Brumus One of the sones / of Pryamus the kynge Yonge and delyuer / and beste in his lykynge But he hym smette / with so great a myght That he fell deed / this fresshe lusty knyght The deth of whom / whan they of Troye espye They made a shoute / and pyteously gan crye Of wofull routhe / and his deth complayne Tyll the noyse / gan vtterly attayne To troylus Erys / platly where he rode And he no lenger / after that abode But to the place / felly gan approche And with his swerde / for to sette abroche Without routhe / the grekes hatefull blode And mercyles / all that hym withstode He slewe that daye / by cruell auenture That greke was none / the whiche myght endure Tofore his swerde / he gan them so oppresse For of knyghthode / and of hye prowesse He hadde them put / vtterly to flyght Ne hadde ben / the manhode / and the myght Of Myrundones / whiche all that day By one assent / vpon Troylus lay Wherof he was / full melancolyus And of courage / and manhode most famous He ne lyste / no lenger for to lette But all attones / vpon them he sette And furyously / gan amonge them ryde And some he smote / euen thorugh the syde Thorugh the body / and some thorugh the herte And with his swerde / thorugh doublet & sherte Thorugh shelde & plate / and thorugh haberion He percyd hath / and lyke a wood lyon He slewe that day / of them many one That maugre them / they fledde euerychone With the Grekes / eueryche to his tent And they of Troye / after them be went Swyftly on hors / tyll they haue them take And suche a murdre / of grekes there they make That fynally / there was no better reskuse But oonly deth / so passyngly confuse The grekes were / at myschefe desolate Troylus so narowe / brought them to chekmate That they coude / no better remedye But hydously / for to wayle and crye To deth forwounded / with a grysely chere That Achylles / whan he gan firste here The dredefull noyse / and the wofull sowne That caused was / by refleccyowne Of eyre agayne / who so coude it knowe In rochys harde / and kauernys lowe Lyke as it were / one worde spoke of two That men are wont / to called an Ecco So confuse was / the lamentacyowne On grekes syde / of whiche the deedly sowne So pyteously / to Achylles is ronne Of them that lay / agayne the hote sonne With mortall woundes / yeldynge vp the breth With roumble & swowhe / resownyng into deth Suche a noyse / grekes made there And what it ment / Achylles dyde enquere And what the cause / was of theyr clamour And they tolde hym / for lacke of socour The grekes were eche / in his Centorye Of Troylus slayne / so that the victorye Goth fynally / with them of Troye towne For euermore / in conclusyowne So many greke lay / slayne in this tent Gapynge vpwarde / that his blode yspent Thorugh the constreynt / of his woundes smerte And whyle Achylles / gan aduerte Full sodaynely / there came to hym a man The whiche his tale / euen thus began Alas quod he / how may ye sustene To se your men / hereupon the grene Afore youre face / slayne and lye dede And lyste nat ones / for to take hede But stonde stylle / pensyfe in your tent Vpon the poynt / your selfe to be shent In hasty houre / if ye here abyde For fyfty thousande / knyghtes here besyde Redy armed / in plates and in mayle Caste them playnely / attones you to sayle This no doute / vnarmed as ye stonde But ye of knyghthode / manly take on honde To resyste / in this selfe place And lyke a man / to mete them in the face For whiche anone / in a cruell mode This Achylles / lyke as he were wode Armed hym / fomynge as a bore Farewell his loue / he sette of it no store Of hasty hete / his yre was so kene That he forgat / fayre Polycene And hir beaute / that whylom made hym smert And in a rage / vp anone he sterte And toke his stede / as any Lyon wroth Agayne Troyans / and into felde he goth Lyke a wolfe / that is with hunger gnawe Right so gan he / agayne his foon to drawe And where he rode / without excepcyowne He woundeth / sleeth / kylleth / and bereth downe Now here / now there / in a lytell throwe That they of troye / gan his swerde to knowe Whiche was infecte / of newe with theyr blode For there was none / as yet that hym withstode So mortally he gan / aboute hym layne The deed bodyes / enlonge the playne Tyll casuelly / Troylus gan espye This Achylles / as he caste an eye And gan his hors / with spores to constrayne And rode at hym / with all his myght & payne But Achylles / of hym was ware also Smette his stede / and made hym for to go Towarde Troylus / in the selfe tyde And with full course / as they togydre ryde Full lyne ryght / theyr speres sharpe whette With suche a myght / they haue togydre mette Of hye disdayne / there is no more to sayne That to the grounde / they felle bothe twayne But Achylles / caught suche a wounde In his body / so depe and profounde That longe he lay / myn Auctor sayth certayne Or he to helthe / restored was agayne . And troylus eke / thorugh plates mayle & all As wryte Guydo / hadde a wounde small Whiche vnto hym / dyde no greuaunce And thus that daye / by contynuaunce And dayes sixe / suynge by and by The proude grekes / mette cruelly Amyd the felde / them of Troye towne To great damage / and confusyowne Of outher party / playnely this no nay For many worthy / was slayne day by day In theyr rancour / and hertely hoote enuye Albe Guydo / doth nat specefye None of theyr names / playnely in this boke As ye shall fynde / if ye lyste to loke . ANd al this whyle / for this sodeyn thynge Pensyfe & tryste / was Pryamus the kynge That Achylles / tourned hath so clene His herte away / fro yonge Polycene And for this chaunge / so sodayne and so newe Thought his behestes / were nat all trewe But on deceyte / and doubylnesse On fraude falsly / and newe fangylnesse On sleyghty treason / an vncouert gyle Or rage of loue / that lasteth but a whyle Was vtterly / founde his beheste For lyke a wynde / that no man may areste Fareth a worde / discordaunt fro the dede Of whiche a wyse man / take shall no hede But lette passe / as he were reckeles For albe it / that this Achylles Was whylom caught / within loues snare Hym lyste nat nowe / ones for tospare Of hye rancour / his lady to offende It was nat lyke / as they of troye wende Eccuba / nouther Polycene Wherfore Pryam / spake vnto the quene In an angre / and gan hir to abreyde That she hir truste / so entyerly leyde On Achylles / that can so falsly mene Wherfore full tryste / was this Polycene That was enclyned / with hir eyen clere By the counsayle / of hir moder dere To haue be weddyd / to Achylles To fyne oonly / there shulde haue be a pees At wene grekes / and them of troye towne But all was false / in conclusyowne In the fyne / was the trouthe ysene For whan Achylles / of his woundes grene Was fully curyd / by a certayne day He gan compasse / in all that euer he may And ymagyne / in his enuyous herte To be vengyd / of his woundes smerte Vpon troylus / that stacke aye in his mynde At auauntage / if he myght hym fynde To hym he bare / so passyngly hatrede In his herte / brennynge as the glede Whiche day nor nyght / may in no degre Fully be queynt / tyll he auengyd be The hoote rancour / gan so on hym gnawe Auysed platly / that he shal be slawe Of his hondes / whan so that it falle And on a day / to hym he gan calle Myrundones / his knyghtes euerychone Vpon a morowe / whan the grekes gone Tofore the towne / in stele armed bryght Agayne troyans / of purpose for to fyght And they were come / proudely into felde In the opposyt / with many ryche shelde Newely depeynt / with coloures fresshe & fyne Vpon whiche / full bryght gan to shyne Firy Tytan / golde tressyd in his spere At his vpryste / with his bemysclere Whan this felle / enuyous Achylles To his knyghtes / called Myrundones Vpon Troylus / gan hym to complayne Besechynge them / for to do theyr payne Agayne this Troylus / in the felde that day To catche hym / at myschefe / if they may And besely to do / theyr dyllygence On hym to haue / theyr full aduertence By one assent / where so that he ryde All other thynge / for to sette asyde And of nought ellys / for to take hede Saufe fynally / agayne hym to procede If they myght / catche hym in a trappe Within them selfe / troylous for to clappe To enclose / and sette hym rounde aboute In all wyse / that he go nat oute And whan he were / beset amonge them alle Nat to slee hym / what so euer falle But thorugh theyr myght / manly hym conserue Tyll he hym selfe come / and make hym sterue With his swerde / he and none other wyght Loo / here a manhode / for to preyse a ryght Vengeaunce of deth / of rancoure and of pryde Compassyd treason / knyghthode layde asyde Worthynesse / by enuye slawe Falshede a lofte / trauthe a backe ydrawe Alas in armes / that he shulde falle Of Trecherye / there the bytter galle Shulde in this worlde / many knyght befounde That be to trauthe / of they ordre bounde Alas / alas / for now this Achylles Conspyred hath / with his Myrundones The dethe of one / the worthyest wyght That euer was / and the beste knyght Alas for wo / my herte I fele dede For his sake / this storye whan I rede But whan Fortune / hath a thynge ordeyned Though it be euer / wayled and compleyned There is no gayne / nor no remedye Though men on it / galen aye and crye I can no more / touchynge this matere But wryte forth / lyke as ye shall here How Myrundones / haue theyr lorde behyght With all theyr power / and theyr full myght To fulfyll / his commaundement And into felde / with grekes they be went But Troylus firste / in the opposyte Of very knyghthode / hathe so great delyte Without abode / manly them to mete He was ybrent / with so feruent hete Of hardynesse / and of hye courage Of worthynesse / and of vasselage That hym ne lyste / no lenger to abyde But with his folke / in began to ryde Amonge grekes / this folke of hye renowne And with his swerde / he woundeth & bereth downe Sleeth and kylleth / vpon euery halue So mortally / that there may no salue Theyr sorys sounde / for there was but deth Where so he rode / and yeldynge vp the breth So furyously / he gan them enchace And made them lese / in a lytell space Theyr londe echone / and afore hym flee In troylus swerde / there was suche crueltee That maugre them / he the felde hath wonne The same tyme / whan the bryght sonne Hye in the southe / at mydday marke shoone Euen at the houre / whan it drewe to noone Whan Myrundones / gadred all in one In compasse wyse / rounde aboute hym gone And furyously / of one entencyowne They made a cercle / aboute hym enuyrowne Whan they sawe hym / of helpe desolate But he of herte / nat disconsolate Vpon no syde / thorugh his manlyhede Lyke a Lyon / toke of them no hede But thorugh his famous / knyghtly excellence As a Tygre / stondeth at diffence And manfully / gan them to encoumbre And gan to lesse / and discrease theyr noumbre And some he maymeth / & woundeth to the dethe And some he made / to yelde vp the brethe And some he layde / to the erth lowe And some he made / for to ouerthrowe With his swerde / of theyr blode all wete At great myschefe / vnder his hors fete Vpon his stede / sturdy as a wall This worthy knyght / this man most marcyall Playeth his pley / amonge Myrundones Hym selfe god wot / alone / all helpeles But tho alas / what myght his force auayle Whan thre thousande / knyghtes / hym assayle On euery parte / bothe in lengthe and brede And cowardly / firste they slewe his stede With theyr sperys / sharpe and quare grounde For whiche alas / he stante now on the grounde Without reskus / refute or socoure That was that day / of Chyualrye floure But welawaye / they haue hym so beset That from his hede / they smote his basenet And brake his harneys / as they hym assayle And seuere of stele / the myghty stronge mayle He was disarmed / bothe necke and hede Alas the whyle / and no wyght toke none hede Of all his knyghtes / longynge to the towne And yet alway / this Troyan Champyowne In knyghtly wyse / naked as he was Hym selfe diffendeth / tyll Achylles alas Came rydynge in / Furyous and wode And whan he sawe / how troylus stode Of longe fyghtynge / awaped and amate And from his folke / alone desolate Sole by hym selfe / at myschefe pyteously This Achylles / wonder cruelly Behynde vnwarely / or that he toke hede With his swerde / smyteth of his hede And caste it forthe / of cruell cursyd herte And thought platly / it shulde hym nat asterte To shewe his malys / this wolfe vnmercyable Full vnknyghtly / to be more vengeable Vpon the body / that lay deed and colde Alas / that euer / it shulde of knyght be tolde Wryte or rehersyd / to do so foule a dede Or in a boke / alas that men shall rede Of any knyght / a storye so horryble Vnto the erys / passyngly odyble For this Achylles / of cruelte alas The deed corps / toke out of the taas And vengeably / bonde it as I fynde At the tayle / of his hors behynde And hatefully / that euery wyght behelde Drewe it hym selfe / endelonge the felde Thorugh the renges / and the wardes alle But O alas / that euer it shulde falle A knyght to be / in herte so cruell Or of hatrede / so despytous fell To drawe a man / after he were dede O Thou Omer / for shame be now rede And be astoned / y● holdest thy self so wyse On Achylles / to sette suche a pryse In thy bokes / for his Chyualrye Aboue echone / doest hym magnefye That was so sleyghty / and so full of fraude Why gyuest thou hym / so hye a pryse & laude Certys Omer / for all thyne excellence Of Rethoryke / and of Eloquence Thy lusty songes / and thy dytees smerte Thy hony mouthe / that doth with sugre flete Yet in one thynge / thou greatly arte to blame Causeles / to gyue hym suche a name With a tytle / of Tryumphe and glorye So passyngly / put hym in memorye In thy bokes / to saye and wryte so Thurgh his knyghthod / he slewe Ectorys two Firste hym that was / lyke vnto none other And troylus after / that was his owne brother If thou arte meued / of affeccyon Whiche that thou haste / to grekes nacyon To preyse hym so / for thou canste endyte Thou shuldest aye / for any fauour wryte The trouthe / playnely / and be indifferent And saye the sothe / clerely of entent For whan he slewe / Ector in the felde He was afore / disarmed / of his shelde And besy eke / in spoylynge of a kynge For if he hadde / beware of his commynge He hadde hym quyt / thorugh his Chyualrye His false deseyt / and his Trecherye That he ne hadde / so lyghtly from hym gone Troylus also / was naked and alone Amyd thre thousande / closyd and beshet Whan Achylles / hath his hede of smet At his backe / of full cruell herte Whan he nothynge / his treason dyde aduerte Was that a dede / of a manly knyght To slee a man / forweryed in fyght Faynt of trauayle / all the longe daye Amonge so many / stondynge at a bay A kynges sone / and so hye borne Naked the hede / his armure all to torne Euen at the deth / on the selfe poynt At disauauntage / and playnely out of ioynt Of his lyfe / standynge on the wrake Whan Achylles / came falsely at the bake Assaylynge hym / whan he was halfe dede And lyke a cowarde / smote of than his hede That was tofore / hurte / and wounded sore Wherfore Omer / preyse hym now no more Late nat his pryse / thy ryall boke difface But in all haste / his renowne out arrace For his name / whan I here neuen Veryly / vp vnto the heuen As semeth me / infecte is the eyre The sowne therof / so foule is and vufayre For if that he hadde had / his aduertence Outher the eye / of his prouydence Vnto knyghthode / or to worthynesse Outher to manhode / or to gentyllesse Or to the renowne / of his owne name Or to the reporte / of his knyghtly fame In any wyse / to haue taken hede He hadde neuer done / so foule a dede So vengeably / for to haue ydrawe A kynges sone / after he was slawe And namely hym / that was so gode a knyght Whiche in his tyme / who so loke a ryght Passed Achylles / I dare it well expresse Bothe of manhode / and of gentyllesse But for all that / he is now dede alas The deth of whom / whan Pollydamas And Parys eke / dyde firste espye They fared in sothe / as they wolde dye And specyally / with face dede and fade Parys alas / suche sorowe made For the constreynt / of his dedely wo Whan he sawe / that troylus was ago And that he shall / neuer alyue hym se Suche sorowe also / the troyan daunz Enee For hym hath made / and many another mo And all attones / they togydre go The deed corps / to recure if they may But Grekes werre / so felle on them that day That theyr laboure / was vtterly in vayne In any wyse / the corps to gette agayne Tyll that Menon / the noble worthy kynge Whiche loued troylus / ouer all thynge Caughte suche routhe / of affeccyon That he in haste / fearser than a lyon On his deth caste / hym to be wreke And firste for Ire / thus he gan to speke To Achylles / for his hye treasowne O thou Traytoure / O thou Scorpyowne O thou Serpent / full of Trecherye Whiche in dishonour / of all Chyualrye Thorugh false engyne / haste this day yslawe One of the beste / that hadde no felawe Whan he was / in this worlde a lyue Alas alas / who may a right descryue Thy venym hydde / thy malyce and vntrouthe Without pyte / or vnknyghtly routhe To drawe a knyght / so gentyll and so gode A kynges sone / of so worthy blode Thorugh out the felde / at thy hros tayle behynde That euer after / it shal be in mynde This cruell dede / and vngentyllesse And with that worde / Menon gan hym dresse Towarde Achylles / without more areste And with a spere / smet hym in the breste Enuyously / of so great hatrede That he vnneth / kepte hym on his stede And Menon after / pulled out aswerde And caste hym manly / to mete hym in the berde And rode to hym / fully deuoyde of drede And suche a wounde / he gaue hym on the hede That maugre hym / in many mannes syghte To the erthe / he made hym to a lyghte For all his pryde / in a mortall traunce For of that wounde / he felte suche greuaunce That at the dethe / he lay an huge whyle In a swowne / the space of halfe a myle Tyll Myrundones / assembled into one With great labour / hente hym vp anone Full deedly pale / so he gan to blede But for all that / they sette hym on his stede And at the laste / his herte he caught agayne And smet his hors / of hate and hye disdayne And towarde Menon / fast gan hym hye But whan that he / his comynge gan espye Full lyke a knyght / lyste nat to abyde But hyt his hors / sharpely in the syde And mette Achylles / proudely on the playne And with theyr swerdes / they togydre layne And gan to hurtle / on horsbacke yfere With herte enuyous / and despytous chere But kynge Menon / was at auauntage Of Achylles / for all his wode rage In poynt to abrought hym / to confusyowne Tyll the wardes / of newe come downe On outher parte / bothe here and yonder Whiche sodaynely / seuered them a sonder And as the storye / telleth playnely than Began the slaughter / of many manly man For nouther party / the felde ne wolde leue Of very pryde / tyll it drewe to eue That Phebus / gan asswage of his hete And gan to bathe / in the wawes wete His bryght bemys / of the Occyan That fro the felde / home goth euery man To theyr lodgynge / and after seuen dayes They faughte yfere / and made no delayes Full mortall / by cruell aduenture Whyle Achylles / besy was to cure His woundes grene / and his sores sounde And than he hath / a newe treson founde To be vengyd / vpon kynge Menon For all his wytte / he set therupon And so this cruell / enuyous Achylles I charged hath / his Myrundones Worthy Menon / amonge them to enbrace If they hym founde / in opportune place With all theyr myght / and theyr besy thought From theyr hondes / that he escape nought Tyll he hym selfe / auengyd on hym be And so befell / as they Menon se The nexte morowe / lyke a manly knyght Agayne the Grekes / armed for to fyght On Troye syde / as he was wonte to do Of auenture / that day it fylle so That Achylles / and this Menon mette And eche of them / gan on other sette On horse backe / of full great enuye And so longe in theyr / melancolye Myn Auctor wryt / they togydre fyght That eche made other / of force to a lyght And whan Menon / stode vpon the grounde Myrundones / wente abounte hym rounde As they were charged / of the fyerse Achylle Whan he allas / without goddes wylle Dysseuered was / from his knyghtes alle And at myschefe / they vpon hym falle Destytute alone / and helples And in suche poynt / slewe hym Achylles But in the storye / lyke as it is founde This Menon / firste gaue hym suche a wounde Tofore his deth / in all this felle stryfe That he dispeyred / was playnely of his lyfe This Achylles / for all his false treson Take hede Omer / and deme in thy reson The false fraude / and the sleyghty gyle The treson caste afore / with many wyle Of Achylles / and Iuge now a ryght If euer he slewe / any worthy knyght But it were / by prodycyon Recorde I take / of the kynge Menon So that the tytyle / of his laude alas Entryked is with fraude / and with fallas That thou Omer / mayste with no coloure Though thou paynte / with gold & with asoure In thy wrytynge / his venym nat enclose But as the thorne / hyd vnder the rose Whose malys aye / dareth by the rote Though the floure / aboue fayre and sote That men the fraude / vnder may nat se Of his treson / ye gette no more of me . BUt I wyll tell / how grekes do that day How Meneste / and kynge Menelay Dyomede / and Thelamonyus On Troyans / were passynge despytous For cruelly / with theyr wardes alle In theyr myschefe / be vpon them falle And made them flee / home vnto the towne For whylom / troylus / that was their champyowne Is dede alas / and hath them now forsake Of whom they haue / the dede body take The same day / with great diffyculte And dolefully / into the Cyte They haue it brought / cryeng oft alas And for his deth / suche a woo there was That I trowe / there is no man a lyue Whiche coude a right / halfdele descryue Theyr pyteous wo / nor lamentacyowne Certeyse / nat Boys / that had suche renowne With drery wordes / to be wepe and crye In complaynynge / to Phylosophye Thorugh his boke / accusynge aye Fortune That selde or nought / can in one contune She is so full / of transmutacyowne O : stace of Thebes / make no boste nor sowne Of drerynesse / for to wryte at all Nouther of deth / nor festes funerall Of makynge sorowe / nor aduersyte Let be thy wepynge / o thou Nyobe Y●e suster also / of Mellenger That custome haue / for to fle so fer Fro yere to yere / your brother to complayne And thou that weptest / out thyn Eyen twayne Edippus kynge / of Thebes the Cyte Thou wofull Myrre / and Calixtone That so well can / in rage you bemene And Dydo eke / of Cartage quene Lette be your dole / and contrycyon And Phyllys eke / for thy Demophon And Ecto eke / that newe dost begynne To crye and wayle / and also thou Corynne That whylom were / in so great affray For deth oonly / of thy Popyngay As in his boke / telleth vs Duyde Let all this woo / now be layde asyde And make of it / no comparysowne Vnto the woo / that was in Troye towne For deth oonly / of this worthy knyght For loue of whom / euery maner wyght Hye and lowe / olde and yonge of age Are falle of newe / into suche a rage That they coude / of theyr wo / none ende Whose salte terys / wyll theyr eyen shende So pyteous was / the lamentacyowne In euery strete / thorugh out all the towne Alas who coude / all theyr sorowes telle I trowe certeys / Pluto depe in helle For all his tourment / and his paynes kene Nouther she / Proserpyna his quene Nouther the wery / woode Tycyus Ixyon / nor hungry Tantalus Ne coude nat / for all theyr bytter payne So furyously wepe / and complayne As do troyans / Troylus for thy sake For who can now / suche a sorowe make Or who can wepe / as kynge Pryamus Who wepeth nowe / with face full pyteous Or maketh sorowe / but Eccuba the quene Who wepeth nowe / but fayre Polycene Who wepeth nowe / but Parys and Eleyne Who can nowe wepe / or vnto terys reyne As do Troyans / with dedely swolle chere It neded them / no wepers / for to here They hadde ynough / of theyr owne store Alas for nowe / they be for euermore Of helpe all sole / of comforte destytute For who shall nowe / be to them refute Nowe that Ector / and also Dephebus And troylus eke / that was so vertuous Be dede alas / who shall theyr socoure be Or sustene / the werre of theyr Cyte There is no more / in conclusyon But after deth / fully destruccyon Of theyr toures / and theyr walles stronge In this mater / what shulde I playne longe It vayleth nat / alway so to morne Wherfore / I wyll now agayne retorne To my mater / and telle how the kynge To grekes hath / without more tariynge For a trewes / and a peas Ysent A certayne tyme / by great auysement Whiche graunted was / of Agamenowne And whan they anone were / repeyred to the towne
Howe Parys slewe Achylles in the Temple of Appollo / and Anthylogus duke Nestors sone Capitulo . xxxij .
KYnge Pryamus / dyde his besy cure For to make / a ryche sepulture For Troylus corps / full noble and ryall As sayth Guydo / of stones and metall And hym enclosed / of great affeccyon And nye besyde / was the kynge Menon Solempnely / buryed / and ygraue And after that day / by day / they haue Lyke the custome / of Festes funerall And other Rytis / cerymonyall For them bothe / with dewe obseruaunce Seruyse done / by contynuaunce In theyr Temple / lyke as was the guyse Whiche were to longe / me for to deuyse And Tedyus / eke for you to dwelle But I purpose / ceryously to telle Howe Eccuba / as I can endyte Hir caste fully / Achylles to quyte His Tyrannye / sothely if she may And vnto hir / she calleth on a day Alysaunder / in full secrete wyse And vnto hym / as I shall deuyse With wepynge eyen / and full heuy chere Sayde euen thus / lyke as ye shall here Parys quod she / alas saufe goddes wylle Thou knowest well / how the fyerse Achylle My sones hath slayne / nye echone There is none lefte / but thy selfe alone He hath me made / alas there is no gayne Full cowardly / of children now barayne Bothe of Ector / and Troylus eke therto Whiche were to me / in euery trouble and wo Fully comforte / plesaunce / and solace Wherfore I caste / playnely to compace By some engyne / his deth to ordayne And lyke as he / by treason dyde his payne Trayterously / with his swerde to smyte Right so I thynke / with treason hym to quyte As sytrynge is / of right and equyte And sythe thou wotest / platly how that he Hath sette his herte / and his loue clene Oonly on my doughter / yonge Polycene To fyne oonly / to haue hir to wyue For whiche I caste / to hym sende blyue For to come / and treate of that matere In the Temple / of Appollo here In the Temple / moste chefe of this Cyte Whiche tyme / my wyll is that thou be Thy selfe armed / there full pryuelye With certayne knyghtes / in thy companye Armed also / agayne the same daye That in no wyse / he scape nat away From your handes / but that he be dede As I haue sayde / and therfore take good hede Vnto this thynge / with all my herte I preye Fro poynt to poynt / byddynge to obeye And he assenteth / with all his hole herte Behotynge hir / he shulde nat asterte And with hym toke / twenty and no mo Of manly men / that well durste do And in the Temple / by full good aduys They were Yhyd / by byddynge of Parys Whyle Eccuba / couert in hir entent Hir messager / to Achylles hath sent As ye haue herde / in conclusyowne To come in haste / vnto Troye towne After the effect / was of hir message Oonly to treate / for a maryage And he in haste / commeth at hir sonde As he that coude / no thynge vnders●onde Hir treason hyd / nor playnely it aduerte He was so hote / marked in his herte With ●oues bronde / and his firy glede Oflyfe nor deth / that he toke no hede But sette asyde / wytte and all reason To caste afore / by good discrecyon What was to do / with lokynge full prudent But he in sothe / was with loue blent Into Troye / whan he shulde gone Lyke as it fareth / of louers euerychone Whan they haue caught / in herte a fantasye For no peryll / though they shulde dye They haue no myght / nor power to be warre Tyll they vnwarely / be trapped in the snare Theyr maladye / is so furyous And thus Achylles / and Anthylogus Nestors sone / haue the way nome Towarde the towne / and be togydre come Into Temple / as ye haue herde me telle And Parys tho / lyste no lenger dwelle But all vnwarely / with his knyghtes alle On Achylles / is at myschefe falle Eueryche of them / with a swerde full bryght And some bokes say / it was by nyght Whan his deth / longe afore desyred By Eccuba and Parys / was conspyred But Achylles / in this mortall caas Amonge them all / naked as he was Hent out a swerde / in the selfe steuen And lyke a knyght / he slewe of them seuen Of very force / maugre all theyr myght But whan Parys / therof hadde a syght Thre dartes raughte / that were kene & square And sodaynely / are that he was ware Full secretely / hyd vnder the shade Markynge at hym / and no noyse made Caste at hym / euen as euer he can That hede and shafte / thorugh his body ran And therwith all / knyghtes nat a fewe With sharpe swerdes / gan vpon hym hewe And lefte hym nat / tyll he lay at grounde Full pale deed / with many mortall wounde And rightfully / of reason as it syt Thus was the fraude / and the falshed quyt Of Achylles / for his hye treason As deth / for deth / his skylfully guerdon And egall mede / without any fable To them that be / mercyles vengeable For thylke day / Guydo wryteth thus That Achylles / and Anthylogus Of Parys were / in the Temple yslawe And afterwarde / the body was out drawe Of Achylle / fro the holy boundes And cruelly / throwen / vnto houndes To be deuoured / in the brode strete The canell rennynge / with his wawes wete Without pyte / or any maner routhe Lo here the ende / of falshede and vntrouthe Lo here the fyne / of suche Trecherye Of false deceyt / compassyd by enuye Lo here the knotte / and conclusyon How god quyt aye / slaughtre by treason Lo here the guerdon / and the fynall mede Of them / that so delyte / in falshede For euery thynge / platly for to sayne Lyke as it is / his guerdon doth attayne As ye may se / of this Achylles Whiche on a nyght / in the Temple les His lyfe / for he was aye customable By fraude and treason / for to be vengeable . But it befell / at requeste of Eleyne That the bodyes / of these ylke tweyne Conserued were / from the hungry rage Of beste and foule / gredy and ramage And yet they lay / amyddes the Cyte Full openly / that men myght them se To great gladnesse / of them of the towne Into tyme / that Agamenowne To kynge Pryam / sent his massagerys To haue Lysence / to fette them home on berys By graunt of whom / they haue the corsys take For whom Grekes / suche a sorowe make That pyte was / and routhe for to here And eueryche spake / thus vnto his fere Farewell our truste / now Achylles is dede Farewell our hope / and hoolly all our spede Farewell our ioye / and our chefe diffence That hadde in manhode / so great excellence Farewell alas / our soueraygne assuraunce Farewell in knyghthod / all our suffisaunce For nowe alas / vnlykely is that we Shall euer wynne / or gette this Cyte To vs alas / so frowarde is Fortune But for that they / myght nat contune Alway in wo / nor in payne endure They made haue / a ryche Sepulture To Achylles / of stones precyous And another / to Anthylogus What shulde I now / any lenger dwelle Ceryously / the rytes for to telle Of theyr buriynge / nor what wo they make Theyr wepynge all / nor of theyr clothes blake Nor how that some / loure in theyr hode And how some go / with mylke and blode With dolefull herte / and into fyre it shete And how other / caste gōmys swete Amyd the great / flaumbe funerall Nor of the playes / called pallestrall● Nor the wrastlynge / that was at the wake It were but vayne / me to vndertake To telle all / wherfore I lette be Fully in purpose / lyke as ye shall se To resorte / in conclusyon To telle / how the great Agamenon For his Lordes / in all haste hath sent And whan they were / assembled in his tent Full prudently / this kynge this manly man With great aduyse / thus his tale began . SYres quod he / Fortunes varyaunce Hir chere frowarde / & double countenaunce And sodayne Tourne / of hir false vysage Your hertes hath / put in suche arage For the murdre / to god and man odyble Of Achylles cruell / and the deth horryble By compassynge / of Eccuba the quene Now semeth me / that it shal be sene If any manhode / in your hertes be Or knyghtly force / in aduersyte For to endure / by vertue of suffraunce Tyll of his deth / ye take may vengaunce And manly quyte / this outragyous offence Whan tyme commeth / to make recompence But syth that ye / be manly and prudent I wolde firste / se the playne entent In this mater / of you that be so wyse Hereupon / what is your aduyse By one assente / and voyce in comune Where that ye wyll / the werre forth contune And the sege ygonne / vpon this towne Tyll they be brought / to destruccyowne Or into Grece / now resorte agayne For cause oonly / that Achylles is slayne That whylom was / your stronge Champyowne Your diffence / and proteccyowne But fynally / now that he is dede Hereupon / lette se what is your rede Saye openly / and no lenger tarye And some anone / gonne for to varye And to grutche / castynge to and fro Stondynge in doute / what were beste to do And some sayde / on the tother syde For lyfe or deth / they wolde an ende abyde And some of them / that of wytte were rude For theyr partye / gonne to conclude That they wolde home / agayne retourne And other sayde / that they wyll soiourne Styll at the sege / happe what happe may And thus they treate / all the longe day Euery man / lyke his oppynyon Tyll at the laste / in conclusyon They be accorded / fully into one Fro the sege / neuer for to gone Vnto the tyme / they haue of the towne Thorugh theyr knyghthode / full possessyon At theyr fce wyll / to spylle and to saue All be Achylles / was buryed and ygraue For the truste / of euery worthy knyght Was fynally / as goddes haue behyght That they in haste / shall the towne possede This was the hope / fully deuoyde of drede Vndispeyred / in theyr oppynyon And than anone / Ayax Thelamon A worthy knyght / and famous of his hande Amonge all tho / of the Grekes lande Sayde euen thus / playnely in sentence Syres quod he / that be here in presence My counsayle is / platly and my rede Now it standeth so / that Achylles is dede For his sone / in all haste to sende Hyder to come / for to se an ende Of the sege / and helpe vs in this nede Whiche nowe abyt / with kynge Lycomede His bysayel / and named is Pirrus And some hym call / Neptolonyus Right lusty fresshe / and by lyklynesse Able to attayne / to great worthynesse As by reporte / and the fame is kouthe If he drawe hym / to armes in his youthe And sothfastly / but if bokes lye As I haue redde / and herde by prophecye That fynally / Troye the Cyte Without hym / shall neuer wonne be Thus bokes saye / that be of olde memorye And how grekes / shall haue no victorye Tyll he come / this sone of Achylles Wherfore in haste / and be nat reckeles Sende for hym / that it be done anone And they commende / his counsayle euerychone And to his rede / fully them assente And by aduyse / full prudently they sente In all haste / on this embassyat The wyse kynge / full famous of estat I mene the prudent / noble Menelay And forth he goth / the selfe same day And on his iourney / gan hym faste spede Tyll that he came / vnto Lycomede The olde kynge / as ye haue herde me telle Wherfore a tyme / I wyll leue hym dwelle And to Grekes / in the mene whyle So as I can directe agayne my style .
Howe Parys & Thelamon Ayax slewe eche other in the felde . Capitulo . xxxiij .
THe tyme of yere / whan the shene sonne In the Crabbe / had his course yronne To the hyest / of his Ascencyon Whiche called is / the somer stacyon Whan the vertue / out of euery roote Is drawen vp / and the bawme soote Into the crop / and the fresshe floure Most lusty is / of hewe and of coloure Tyll Phebus chare / in his descencyon Out of the Crabbe / towarde the Lyon Holdeth his course / in the firmament I mene whan / he is retrogradyent And dryeth vp / the moysture and the wete Of herbe and floure / with his feruent hete And all that veer / afore hym made grene To whyte he tourneth / with his bemys shene Bothe sede and grayne / by decoccyon For naturelly / by digestyon That firste was rawe / in fruytes & in floures And watery eke / by plente of humoures He dryeth vp / and rypeth at the fulle With his feruence / that men may them pulle Eche in his kynde / after the season Fro yere to yere / by reuolucyon On theyr braunches / fresshely as they sprede Whan that Cheryes / powbly be and rede Firste in Iune / that seweth after May Whan the hoote / mery somers day No dwery is / but lyke a geaunt longe The same tyme / grekes stoute and stronge With rancour brent / of theyr enuyous hete Haue shapen them / with theyr foon to mete And bryght armed / into felde they go And they of Troye / out of the towne also And theyr wardes / ordeyned euerychone The felde haue take / to mete with theyr foon And gan to assemble / vpon outher syde But Thelamon / of foly and of pryde The same day / of hym as I rede As he that hadde / of his deth no drede Disarmed was / for batayle of arest Of mayle and plate / bare vpon his brest For of foly / and surquedous outrage Bare his hede / and bare eke his vysage And bare also / without basenet And naked eke / of vyser and palet Herode all day / of no thynge aferde Hauynge no wepen / but a naked swerde For wylfully / he lefte at home his shelde And his spere / whan he toke the felde Full lyke a knyght / syttynge on his stede And after hym / foloweth Dyomede Lyke Mars hym selfe / aboute hym his meyne And faste by / came duke Meneste Kynge vlyxes / and Agamenon ANd Pryamus / with them of troye towne Toke eke the felde / with a full heuy chere For he was bothe ferefull / and in were In great dispeyre / and inly full of drede To yssue out / now Ector was dede Worthy Troylus / and also Dephebus For in hym selfe / he demyd playnely thus That he was feblyd / greatly of his myght After theyr deth / with grekes for to fyght But out he goth / hap what happe may And Parys eke / full knyghtly of array Kynge Phylymene / and Pollydamas Worthy Esdre / and with them Eneas By one assent / there is no more to seye The same day / knyghtly lyue or deye In theyr diffence / and vtterly Iuparte As goddes lyste / the felde to departe And proudely firste / the grekis they gan perce And Parys tho / with them that were of Perce Fyll in asyde / with the sonne shene And his archerys / with arrowes square & kene The grekes gan / a●ondre to disseuere For in the felde / they myght nat perseuer● Oonly for shot / of the stronge archerys Of Perce londe / and the Arbalasterys Whiche made them fle / right of very nede Into tyme / that proude Dyomede Whan he of grekes / sawe this sodayne flyght Them to releue / lyke a manly knyght Is come vpon / felly in his tene And firste of all / he sette on Phylyment A worthy kynge / that came on Troye syde The whiche agayne / gan at hym to ryde That Dyomede / hath but lytell wonne With swerdes styffe / as they togydre ronne That to beholde / it was a noble syght How eche of them / quyte hym lyke a knyght As they togydre / ran on horse backe That no man coude / in nouther se no lacke But euer in one / Troyans were so felle Vpon grekes / that they ne myght dwelle To kepe theyr londe / so they made them blede Maugre the force / of this Dyomede The slaughter was / so hydous and so stronge That thorugh the felde / the wofull noyse ronge And mortall crye / of wounded folke that lay Slayne on the soyel / endelonge the way . Tyll Meneste / syttynge on his stede The worthy duke / gan to take hede In what myschefe / grekes were beset And hent anone / a spere sharpe whet Smytynge his hors / felly in the syde And thorugh to renges / knyghtly he gan ryde And stynt nat / so furyous he was Tyll that he mette / with Pollydamas A Troyan knyght / and a manly man And vnwarely / at hym as he ran He hytte hym so / in many mannes syght To the erthe / that he made hym lyght And with a swerde / at grounde whan he lay He hadde hym slayne / the sylfe same day In his rage / and his cruell tene Ne hadde oonly be / that kynge Phylymene Had hym reskewed / in this auenture Whiche so frendely / for hym dyde his cure Maugre the myght / of this Menestee From his handes / that he went free All for bathyd / and be spreynt with blode And all this whyle / Ayax proudely rode Of surquedy / and of wylfulnesse Of foly rage / and foule hardynesse Nakyd his body / hede and euerydele Amyd his foon / armed bryght in stele And of Troyans / suche a slanghter made That they lay dede / bothe in sonne and shade Thorugh out the felde / where this Thelamon Amonge them rode / woodder than a lyon That troyan none / myght hym tho withstonde Whyle that he helde / his blody swerde in honde That wonder was / nakyd as he rode Without wounde / that he so longe abode And as Guydo / maketh rehersayle And wryteth eke / for a great meruayle That he vnslayne / myght so contune But whan a thynge / is shapen of fortune It myght befalle / what euer thynge it be In wele or wo / ioye or aduersyte Whan one shall dye / or whan he shall escape But she alas / can alder firste by iape And brynge a man / vnwarely to myschaunce Whan he beste weneth / to haue assuraunce In this lady / of transmutacyon Lyke as it fyll / of worthy Thelamon This same day / whiche of foly pryde Amonge his foon / gan so fer to ryde Ylyche fresshe / right as he began And slewe of Perce / many a manly man And of hym selfe / toke no maner hede His knyghtly herte / so voyde was of drede Tyll Parys sawe / his great hardynesse And howe that he / his knyghtes dyde oppresse Enchasynge them / so mortally and narowe Without abode / anone he toke an arowe Entoxycat / sharpe and venymous And in this Ire / fell and despytous And shot at hym / in the selfe tyde As sayth Guydo / and smet hym thorugh the syde That of that hurte / there is no more to ●eye He felte well / that he muste deye And whan he sawe / none other remedye Forth he rode / supprysed with enuye Thorugh out the prees / his swerde ay in his honde Into tyme / that he Parys fonde And vnto hym / with a pale chere He sayde thus anone / as ye shall here Parys quod he / as this mortall wounde Of thyne arrowe / sharpe and square ygrounde Hath fynally / my lyfe put in dispeyre Neuer into Grece / for to haue repeyre Right so shall I / by short conclusyowne Awaye shape / that into Troye towne With thy lyfe / thou entre shalt no more At my herte / the venym byt so sore That other gayne / is there none but deth But yet tofore / or I yelde vp the breth Truste me right well / there may be no socoure That thou shalt firste / be my predecessoure And go afore / depe downe to helle There with Pluto / eternally to dwelle So as of right / it is necessarye The tyme is set / whiche may nat tarye And my trouthe / for morgage in depose That in all haste / I shall make a deuose Atwyxe the / and the quene Eleyne And twynne asondre / eke the false theyne Whiche lynked was / by coloure of wedlocke And hath so longe / be shet vnder locke Oonly by fraude / and false engyne also But nowe the knotte / shal be broke a two With my right hande / the trouthe to darayne For thorugh the cause / oonly of you twayne In this werre / many worthy knyght His lyfe hath loste / and many another wyght On outher syde / for your bothe sake But of all this / I shall an ende make Of your loue / and foule auoutrye For fynally / Parys thou shalt dye Of my handes / as it is thy chaunce And with that worde / his swerde he gan enhaunce Aboue his hede / and smote hym in the face That he fyll deed / in the selfe place For his hede / he partyd hath on twayne And right forth with / there is no more to sayne Ayax alas / of his mortall wounde Fyll deed also gruflynge / vnto the grounde Full pyteously / and than they of Troye Haue Parys take / vp out of the weye And bore hym home / into theyr cytee But Dyomede / and duke Menestee With many greke / rydynge enuyrowne Sewed the chase / euen to the towne But for cause / Tytan / gan to lowe Downe by the arke / of his dayes bowe For into west / vnder the rowes rede And Esperus / gan his lyght to shede This to say / for it drewe to nyght The grekes be / repeyred anone ryght Eueryche of them / to his lodgynge place To take theyr reste / all that nyghtes space Saue as I rede / that Agamenowne The Grekes made / faste by the towne To sette theyr tentes / and Papyllyons Habytacles / and newe mansyons Of very pryde / faste by the wall And they of Troye / dispeyred ouerall No refute coude / grekes for to lette But of assent / faste theyr gates shette And all the nyght / on the walles wake And ouer this / suche a wo they make Thorugh the Cyte / that Parys was so dede For fynally / now they can no rede But wepe and crye / and sorowe euer in one NOw all the sones / of Pryamus were gone Fortune alas / hath them so appeyred That of theyr lyfe / they be dispeyred Of all hope / and of good welfare Perpetuelly / for to lyue in care Vnto the deth / and that was fast bye For now there is / no maner remedye Vpon no syde / nor refute none at all But them to kepe / close within the wall That for to se / it was a pyteous thynge And suche a wo / maketh now the kynge For Parys deth / that for deedly smerte Hym thought platly / that his sorowfull herte Recurles / wolde ryue a tweyne And into terys / he gan styll and reyne As he wolde / for very sorowe deye And of the quene / alas what shall I seye Eccuba / his owne moder dere That cryeth / wepeth / with a wofull chere Of Polycene / that was so wo begon And of his susterne / also euerychone That haue theyr heer / and theyr clothes torne As they hadde / theyr owne deth ysworne For drery woo / and for pyteous peyne But forby all / the fayre quene Eleyne Wayleth / cryeth / with a deedly there That hir eyen / whiche whylom were so clere For dyrked were / with dolefull terys smerte And to the corps / sodaynely she sterte And clyppyd it / in hir armes twayne And pyteously / enbrace it and restrayne Lyke as she wolde / with hym dye anone For styll she lay / dombe as any stone As marbyll colde / hir lymes Craumpysshynge Redy at all / towarde hir buriynge Tyll men by force / from the corps hir hent And she hir heer / and his chekes rent As she were / fallen in a rage That chaunged was / alas in hir vysage Hir natyfe coloure / and hir rody hewe Whylom as fresshe / as any rose newe Now is she lyke / vnto asshes colde And with hir handes / aye togydre folde Hir selfe she smote / on hir pale face And euer amonge / the corps she dyde embrace In hir swownes / as she fyll to grounde Twenty tymes / and wept full his wounde With wo she was / so wapyd and amate Of all comforte / alas disconsolate In herte beynge / inly desirous Thorugh hir rage / passynge Furyous To dye attones / with hir owne knyght For towarde deth / enclosyd was hir syght As she that lyst / to lyue now no more And I trowe / that neuer man before No woman sawe / falle in suche distresse In suche disioynt / of deedly heuynesse Nor for no wo / so pyteously yraue Nat Cleopatre / goynge to hir graue Nor wofull Tesbe / that fro the kaue sterte Whan she hir selfe / smote vnto the herte . Nor the faythfull / trewe Orestylle Whan that she sawe / hir lorde agayne hir wylle Marcus Prolancus / vnto shyppe gone And for his loue / fyll downe deed anone Nor the sorowe / of trewe Iulia Nor the feruence / of faythfull Porcia Or whiche the one / fyll deed sodaynely For she sawe blode / speynt so cruelly On hir lordes / dredefull grauement And Porcia / so trewe in hir entent Whan that hir lorde / Brutus loste his lyfe For bycause / she myght haue no knyfe With colys rede / slewe hir selfe alas Was nat also / in the selfe caas Arthemysya / quene of Tarse londe Of Mansalus / the graue whan she fonde Hir owne knyght / of whose bones smale Full wofully / and with a chere right pale She poudre made / & dranke it euery morowe But all the wo / and the furyous sorowe Of these echone / yet may nat atteyne Vnto the sorowe / of the quene Eleyne That fynally / wyll hir selfe for do For Parys sake / whom she loued so For after hym / she wyll nat lyue a day But be a wreke / playnely if she may Vpon hir lyfe / rather than disseuere And thus in wo / aye she doth perseuere In hir herte / Parys sat so depe Alas who sayth / that women can nat we This douteles / they haue it of nature Though it so be / that they no wo endure Yet can they feyne / and salte terys fynde Plente ynough / of theyr owne kynde And sorowles morne / and compleyne I saye nat this / for the quene Eleyne That was with wo / wounded to the herte That fro the deth / she wende nat asterte For dethes darte / hir herte made ryue And yet she rose / agayne fro deth to lyue Oonly by grace / for all hir felle rage For euery wo / by processe muste aswage And ouer gone / and wasted by myracle For eche venym / made is Tryacle And euery wo / hath his remedye For though Eleyne / fayne wolde dye Hir kynde ne wolde / assent yet therto So sodaynely / to slee hir selfe for wo She was a woman / no man shulde hir wyte Me lyste no more / of hir wo endyte Lyste vnto you / that it were Tedyous To here all / hir paynes furyous Hir cruell wo / and lamentacyon Whiche wolde meue / to compassyon In very sothe / to wryte euerydele Any herte / though it were made of stele For kynge Pryam / and the quene also Hadde suche couthe / of hir pyteous wo To se hir so / wepe and complayne That of hir / they felte asmoche payne As they dyde / almost for Parys Hereof no more / for Pryam by deuys After this rage / and this mortall wo Amyd the Temple / sacryd to Iuno Ordayned hath / with full besy cure For the corps / a ryche Sepulture And in all haste / therin made it shette That in sothnesse / if I shulde lette Totelle all / the rytes and the gyse That there were made / in theyr paynym wyse And the costes / of his buriynge It shulde be / to longe a tariynge Ceryously / thereon to abyde Wherfore as nowe / I lette ouerslyde Theyr paynym rytys / supersticyous .
How Pantasyllya / the Quene of Amazone came for to socoure kynge Pryamus of Troye And howe Pirrus Achylles sone slewe hir⸫ Capitulo . xxxiiij .
ANd tell I wyll / how kynge Pryamus Commaunded hath / of myschefe & of nede Thorugh troye towne / oonly of very drede To shytte theyr gates / strongly as they may And therupon / bothe nyght and day To kepe watche / for shortly they of Troye Disconsolate / of all theyr olde ioye Can no refute / but wepe and sorowe make For they ne durste / no more vndertake Agayne Grekes / into felde to gon Tyll on a day / kynge Agamenon His messager / by good auysement To Pryamus / into Troye hath sent Requerynge hym / of manhode lyke a knyght To yssue out / with Grekes for to fyght As he was wonte / with his Chyual●ye But kynge Pryam / his axynge gan denye And shortly sayde / to hym that was sent That he ne wolde / at his assignemenet Nat ones passe / the gates of the towne But at his owne / fre eleccyowne Whan euer hym lyste / without compellynge And yet in sothe / cause of his tariynge Was for the hardy / quene of Femynye Towarde Torye / faste gan hir hye Out of hir lande / and lytell regyon The whiche as bokes / make mencyon After the syght / of the firmament Is in the plage / of the Oryent And called is / the reygne of Amazonys Of whiche the custome / and the vse is That oonly women / therin shall abyde And they are wonte / armed for to ryde And haue in armes / great experyence For theyr laboure / and theyr dylygence Is fynally / to haue excercyse Fro day to day / in Martes hye seruyse And ouer more / theyr custome and vsaunce As to this day / is made remembraunce Is that no man / shall them nyghe nere But if it be / thre monethes in the yere . This to say / in Iune / Apryll and May And than the women / haue in custome aye Vnto an Ile / a lytell there besyde Where as the men / by them selfe abyde Fro yere to yere / togydre euerychone Vnto the men / out of theyr lande to gone And there abyde / in that regyon Tyll tyme commeth / of concepcyon Without tariynge / any lenger whyle For than anone / home vnto theyr yle They repeyre / out of that countre Vnto tyme / that they delyuered be And as faste / as the childe is borne For lacke of kepynge / that it be nat lorne He fostryd is / tyll thre yere be agone Amonge the women / and than right anone To the Ile / besyde adiacent Vnto the men / the childe in haste is sent If that it be / of kynde masculyne And if it falle / that it be Femynyne With the women / abyde stylle it shall Tyll that it be / in actes mercyall Full well experte / and that she can eke knowe To handle a spere / or to drawe a bowe Lyke the statutes / of that Regyon The whiche as bokes / make mencyon Is sette bytwene / Ewrope and Asya And of this lande / was Pantasyllya Whylom lady / and gouernesse Full renowmed / of strengthe and hardynesse Thorugh out the world / both in length & brede And yet in sothe / to speke of womanhede For all hir myght / she hadde an huge pryse For bothe she was / vertuous and wyse Wonder discrete / and hadde an honest name Nat withstondynge / the excellence of fame Of hir renowne / in armes and in glorye For of conquest / and of hye victorye She was moste / surmuntynge out of drede Of any woman / that I can of rede And sothely yet / bokes bere wytnesse Of womanhede / and of gentyllesse She kepte hir so / that nothynge hir asterte The whiche loued / with all hir hole herte Worthy Ector / and with all hir myght Oonly for he was / so noble a knyght That hir ioye / and worldly plesaunce Hir hertely ease / and soueraygne suffysaunce In very sothe / where she wake or wynke Was euer in one / vpon hym to thynke Of very fayth / without any slouthe And vnto hym / she was by bonde of trouthe Confederat / of olde affeccyowne That whan she herde / how that Troye towne Besegyd was / of the Grekes felle This hardy quene / lyste no lenger dwelle But hasteth hir / as faste as euer she may Towarde Troye / in full good array With all the wrothy / women of hir lande Full well experte / and preuyd of theyr honde Well horsyd eke / and armed rychely And as I fynde / in hir company A thousande maydens / rydynge by hir syde This worthy quene / that durste well abyde She with hir brought / in stele armed bryght For loue of Ector / hir owne trewe knyght And on hir way / faste she gan hir spede To helpe hym / if she se nede For in no thynge / she coude hir more delyte Than towarde hym / faythfully hir quyte For that was all / hir luste and hertes ioye But whan that she / come was to Troye And herde telle / by relacyowne That he was dede / most worthy of renowne To whom she was / so louynge and so trewe Anone she gan / to chaunge chere and hewe And pyteously / for to wepe and crye And fared in sothe / as she wolde dye For very wo / and hertely heuynesse And thought she wold / thurgh hir worthynesse Auenge his deth / platly if she may On the Grekes / and so vpon a day She prayeth Pryam / with great affeccyowne For to open / the gates of the towne And to go out / with Grekes for to fyght That they may knowe / and be experte a ryght Of this women / the great worthynesse And of this quene / the famous hardynesse And so the kynge / hopynge for the beste Without abode / graunted hir requeste The next morowe / whan Phebus shone ful shene And all tofore / out goth Phylymene The noble kynge / with them of Paffagonye And after hym / other knyghtes manye Folowed after / with worthy Eneas The Troyan eke / daunz Pollydamas And than the quene / Pantasyllya By the gate / called / Dardanyca Towarde Grekes / proudely yssued oute With hir women / rydynge hir aboute The whiche anone / whan grekes dyde espye Into the felde / gan them faste hye . ANd firste of all / worthy Meneste Pantasyllya / whan he dyde se With his spores / made his stede gone And with a spere / rode to hir anone . Of whom the quene / astoned neuer adele Kaught a spere / that was squaryd wele Rounde the shafte / and the hede well grounde Which as they coupe / smet him downe to grounde And maugre hym / reuyd hym his stede But than / in haste / in came Dyomede And cruelly / to the quene ●an ryde And she as faste / on the tother syde Rode eke to hym / in plates bryght and shene And as they mette / with theyr sperys kene She hytte so / this felle Dyomede For all his myght / and his manlyhede That she hym made / his ●adell for to lese There is no more / he myght tho nat chese And in despyte / of his men echone She hath his shelde / hym berafte anone And it delyuereth / proudely as she rode To a mayde / that vpon hir abode And lyke a Tygre / in his gredynesse Or lyke in soth / to a Lyonesse That dayeshe fared / rydynge vp and downe Amonge the grekes / tyll that Thelamowne Gan beholde the slaughter / that she made Of hye despyte / and rancourouer lade As he that myght / for Ire nat sustene Gan reyne his hors / to fall vpon this quene But whan that she / his commynge dyd espye She fyll on hym / in hir melancolye So mortally / maugre his knyghtes all That to the grounde / she made hym for to fall And Grekes put / in so great disray Where euer she rode / all that ylke day That they myght / afore hir nat sustene And thorugh the helpe / of kyng Phylymene As myn Auctor / recordeth in his boke Amyd the felde / Thelamon she toke And sent hym forth / thorugh hir hye renowne As prysoner / towarde Troye towne Tyll vnto reskus / came cruell Dyomede And cruelly on them / that gan hym lede He fyll vnwarely / with an huge route Of his knyghtes / rydynge hym aboute And from theyr handis / maugre al theyr myght He hym delyuereth / lyke a manly knyght At whiche tyme / this hardy quene anone With hir women / aboute hir euerychone The grekes hath / afore hir on the playne As wryt Guydo / so mortally belayne That she them made / of necessyte Out of the felde / with hir swerde to fle That veryly / it was incredyble And to leue / a maner impossyble To se the women / Grekes so enchace Whiche myght nat abyde / afore theyr face Nor in the felde / in any wyse stonde For they them dryue / to the selfe stronde Downe to the clyffe / of the salte see And slewe of them / so huge great plente That fynally / they hadde be destroyed For euer more / and vtterly accloyed . Ne hadde Dyomede / stonde at diffence And of knyghthode / made resystence For he that day / in party and in all For Grekes stode / as a sturdy wall And was alone / theyr helpe and chefe socoure But for all that / with worshyp and honoure Pantasyllya / as made is memorye Repeyred is / with conquest and victorye With all hir women / into Troye towne Vpon the houre / of Phebus goynge downe And by the syde / of this hardy quene Armed in stele / rode kynge Phylymene Whom Pryam hath / with great reuerence Knyghtly receyued / and dyde his dylygence Them to refresshe / with euery maner thynge That myght be / vnto theyr lykynge As theyr hertes / coude best deuyse And after this / in full goodly wyse He thanked hath / the noble hardy quene Of hir goodnesse / that hir lyst to sene To helpe hym / in his great nede And offrede hir / in Guydo as I rede All that he hath / Treasour and rychesse Hopynge fully / thorugh hir worthynesse Vpon Grekes / auenged for to be And for to kepe hym / in his Cyte Maugre grekes / whiche of them say nay For as I rede / after day by day She stynte nat / proudely them to assayle Agayne whose swerde / they myght nat auayle So mortally she made / theyr sydes blede Tyll Menelay / frokynge Lycomede Repeyred is / with Neptolonyus Whiche in his bokes / called eke Pirrus Whylom the sone / of cruell Achylles Whom for to se / full huge was the prees Of the Grekes / goynge enuyron And for he was / by successyon Borne to be heyre / of this Achylles He was receyued / of Myrundones With great honour / and great solempnyte So glad were they / theyr yonge lorde to se To whom / echone / they made affyaunce And were eke sworne / by bonde & assuraunce For lyfe or deth / to hym to be trewe As his lyeges / and chaunge for no newe To obeye his lust / in all maner thynge And after this / Agamenon the kynge Made hym knyght / and Thelamonyus With a swerde / gyrte anone Pirrus Sayenge to hym / in the selfe place With the bawdryke / whan he hym dyd embrace Take hede quod he / myn owne cosyn dere To resemble / in manhode and in chere In knyghthode eke / and in worthynesse To thy Fader / whiche in sothfastnesse In his tyme / was so noble a knyght And ouer more / with all thy full myght To auenge his deth / that thou do thy payne And than of grekes / worthy Dukes twayne Full humbly / began downe toknele And sette a spore / vpon eyther hele As was the maner / of golde bornyd bryght And in this wyse / Pirrus was made knyght As ye haue herde / in full hye presence With great honoure / and due reuerence Lyke the custome / of the grekes layes And the ryghtes / vsed in tho dayes And than anone / hath Agamenon With full glad there / and great affeccyon Delyuered hym / fully by sentence The armes hole / without difference Whiche Achylles / by his lyfe bare His worthy Fader / on his shuldres square As for next heyre / of lyne by discent And all the Tresour / also and his Tent Armure and all / delyueryd were anone Vnto Pirrus / and grekes euerychone Eyght dayes / suynge by and by Thorugh out the hoost / full solempnely They halowe in honour / of this yonge knyght Tyl on a morowe / whan Phebus shone ful bryght Which with his lyght / that shyneth fro so ferre Diffaced hath / the stremys of the sterre Lucyfer / the dayes messagere Whan grekes gan / in plates bryght and clere Enarmed them / that day for soure or swete Fully in purpose / with theyr foon to mete And manfully / out of theyr tentes wyde Agaynst Troyans / they began to ryde Warde after warde / proudely into felde And Pirrus bare / that day vpon his shelde His Faders armes / lyke as sayth Guydo And of the same / he hadde vpon also A cote armure / that became hym wele And forth he rode / armed bryght in stele And casuelly / formest as he was He mette firste / with Pollydamas A knyght of Troye / a full manly man And furyously / Pirrus to hym ran On hors backe / with a myghty swerde And gan to hurtle / with hym in the berde So myghtely / that in this hatefull stryfe Pollydamas / hadde loste his lyfe Ne hadde reskus ben / without more tariynge Of Phylymene / the noble worthy kynge Oonly of knyghthode / and of worthynesse To whom Pirrus / gan hym dresse With his swerde / and smet hym in the syghte That from his hors / he made hym to a lyghte For he the stroke / myght nat sustene And sothfastly / this worthy Phylymene Of Pirrus / hadde / ytake be anone Saue his knyghtes / assembled into one Of Paffagonye / came hym to rekewe But Pirrus aye / so fyersly gan pursewe Vpon this kynge / with Myrundones Beset in myschefe / amonge the great prees That many knyght / of this noble kynge yslayne was / at his reske wynge He stode of deth / in so streyt a caas Tyll of Fortune / came Pollydamas To his reskus / and dyde his full myght Hym to delyuere / and quyte hym lyke a knyght But in sothenesse / there was suche resystence Of Pirrus knyghtes / stondynge at diffence That aye in myschefe / stode kynge Phylymene Tyll Pantasyllya / of Femynye the quene With hir women / a great companye Gan this thynge / of auenture espye Whiche were echone / for the more delyte On theyr armure / that day clade in whyte That veryly / there was no lylye floure Nor snowe / that flaketh fro Iupyters toure Of whytnesse / fressher on to sene Than in felde / was this hardy quene Whiche firste of all / amonge the grekes chees Proudely to falle / on Myrundones Amonges whom / rydynge vp and downe She them on horseth / thorugh hir hyerenowne And slewe them / vp on euery syde Makynge theyr renges / for to seu●r wyde Tyll Thelamon / in a furyous hete With a spere / vn warely dyde hir mete And in arage / smote hir to the playne But she anone / full lyfely rose agayne And with hir swerde / so marketh Thelamowne That from his hors / she made him lyght downe Plat to the grounde / on his handes twayne And than hir women / dyde theyr besy payne To make theyr quene / hir stede to recure And all this whyle / stode in auenture Of his lyfe / worthy Phylymene Pirrus knyghtes / were on hym so kene Maugre his men / that they haue hym take It geyneth nat / diffence for to make The grekes haue / so strongly hym beset And forth they lad hym / it myght be no bet Towarde theyr tentis / thorugh out all the felde The whiche thynge / whan the quene behelde With hir women / that aboute hir rode Pursued after / without more abode That fynally / they haue so after sewed Thorugh theyr force / that he was reskewed Maugre the manhode / of Myrundones And Pantasyllya / was so mercyles Vpon Grekes / that of necessyte Thorugh hir force / and hir cruelte Afore hir swerde / they durst nat abyde But whan Pirrus / sawe hir great pryde To his knyghtes / loude he gan to crye And sayde it was / shame and vyllanye For the women / so to lese theyr londe And to be slayne / so felly of hir honde Wherfore echone / your hertes doth resume And of assent / let vs nowe consume The ●ryde of them / that none away escape For but if we / some remedye shape This ylke day / theyr force to confounde Shamefull reporte / to vs shall rebounde Perpetuelly / where we slepe or wake And as Pirrus / gan his swerde to take Furyously / and with a knyghtly there This hardy quene / happed to here All that Pirrus / to his knyghtes spake Hirlyste nat ones / for to tourne bake Nor of his thret / for to take hede For platly she / hadde of hym no drede But right proudely / gan to drawe nere And to hym sayde / anone as ye shall here O thou Pirre / sone of Achylles That slewe Ector / in knyghthode pereles Thorugh his treynys / and his trecherye By malys oonly / and by false enuye Vnware whan he / no thynge dyde aduerte The whiche neuer / may out of my herte So grene it stycketh / in my remembraunce Vpon his deth / for to do vengeaunce And it syt well / as semeth vnto me That his deth / be venged vpon the Firste of all / and on thy Faders blode For loue of hym / so gentyll and so gode The deth of whom / shuld all the world complayne Nat oonly men / do theyr besy payne To quyte his deth / but women eke also With all theyr myght / helpe eke therto As right requyreth / without excepcyon There on to do / full execucyon And I now stonde / in the same plyte And for thou haste / vs women in despyte Of our power / shortly in sentence Thou shalt in haste / haue experyence And knowe our force / sothely euerydele Right in shorte tyme / truste me right we le Here in this felde / in shedynge of his blode Wherfore Pirrus / wexed gan as wode As any Tygre / bore / or wood lyon So frat the coloure / in his complexyon And in his Ire / fell and despytous He toke a spere / pale and Furyous And ran at hir / with all his myght and payne And agayne warde / as she that lyste nat fayne Encountrede hym / all deuoyde of fere But Pirrus / firste bracke on hir his spere All be that / he myght hir nat remeue In hir sadell / nor but lytell greue But she agayne / so sore gan hym hytte On his stede / that he may nat sytte But descendeth / endelonge the playne And vp he rose / with full great disdayne And toke a swerde / in his honde anone And made his stede / lyne ryght to gone Vpon this quene / of passynge wortynesse And inwardely / of hate of woodnesse In herte yfret / smet at hir many stroke But euer she sat / styll as any oke And of force / in hir yre pale Efte agayne / she made hym to auale To the erthe / maugre all his payne And thus the fyghte / lasteth of them twayne A large whyle / tyll Myrundones Haue take theyr lorde / by force out of the prees And made hym / his hors recure agayne And in his tyme / on the selfe playne With his baner / is descendyd downe The worthy kynge / great Agamenowne With kynges / dukes / endelonge the grene With theyr wardes / that wonder was to sene So prudently / in the felde batayled That haue Troyans mortally assayled But tho in haste / the kynge Phylymene As ye haue herde reskewed / by the quene Whan he hath thanked / to hir worthynesse With his knyghtes / in he gan hym dresse And Pantasyllya / assembled bothe in one Vpon Grekes / gan for to gone Where men may se / with speres sharpe grounde Eueryche other / bere vnto the grounde There men may se / proudely without lacke The manly knyghtes / renne on horse backe And the women / mortally oppresse The fell Grekes / thorugh theyr hardynesse Oonly thorugh force / of the myghty quene That deed they lay / couerynge all the grene Wherwith came in / daunz Pollydamas Fro deth reskewed / and with hym Eneas Kynge Esdras eke / of troye the Cyte And tho the wardes / gan togydre fle On eyther partye / fell and furyous But moste of all / Neptolonyus That Pirrus hyghte / the grekes Champyowne Irous and wood / on them of troye towne Made his swerde / in theyr flesshe to byte And Pantasyllya / proudely hir to quyte Ne spareth nat / with mortall woundes wyde Grekes to slee / vpon euery syde Now here now there / to theyr confusyon And Pirrus than / is falle on Glawcon The halfe brother / to Pollydamas For Anthenor / eke his Fader was And Pirrus / so in a cruell yre With melancolye / newe sette a fyre Smot Glawcon so / or that he toke hede Amonge the prees / that he fylle downe dede And Pantasyllya / from hir women all The same tyde / is on Pirrus falle And he of hir / whan he hadde a syght Rode vnto hir / lyke a manly knyght And as they hurtle / on hors backe yfere Of auenture / with swerdes styffe and clere Eueryche made / other to alyghte And hatefully / on fote so they syghte Longe or outher / myght of other wynne Tyll they were made / of force for to twynne By the wardes / that went them atwene I mene Pirrus / and this hardy quene And all this tyme / daunz Pollydamas So wood for Ire / in his herte was Amyd Grekes / for his brothers deth That whom he mette / for his loue he sleth Without mercy / in his hatefull tene That he alone / and this worthy quene Suche a slaughter / on the grekes make That they the felde / vtterly forsake And gan toflee / to theyr tentes downe Tyll Dyomede / and Ayax Thelamowne And Pirrus eke / made tourne agayne But they in sothe / were so ouerlayne That they ne myght / all that day releue And thus they faughte / tyll it drewe to eue To moste damage / of the grekes syde Tyll Phebus gan / his bryght chare to hyde Lowe in the west / and to shroude his lyght Vnder courteyne / of the blacke nyght That eyther parte / thought for the beste To departe / and drawe to theyr reste And toke theyr ease / that nyght as they may And all the moneth / suynge day by day Without / any interrupcyon They faught yfere / albe no mencyon Be made therof / nor wryte in specyall Of no persone / but in generall Who that euer / dyde euell or well In Troye boke / I fynde neuer adele Saue the quene / lyke as wryt Guydo Of hir women / an hondred hath forgo That slayne were / thylke moneth day The deth of whom playnely if she may Shall well be quyt / if so that Fortune Be fauourable / frendely to contune That hir face / chaunge nat contrarye But she that can / euery day so varye Alas the whyle / and selde in one soiourne Gan fro this quene / hir loke away to tourne To enhaste / thorugh hir vngoodlyhede Antropose / to breke hir lyues threde As the storye / playnely shall you lere Benyngnely / if ye lyste to here . THe fatall houre / harde for to remewe Of cruel deth / which noman may eschewe Nor in this lyfe / fynally escape Specyally / whan Parchas haue it shape Approche gan / it may none other bene Alas the whyle / of this hardy quene Whiche on a day / furyous and wroth Into the felde / out of Troye goth And gan on grekes / proudely for to sette And alder firste / Pirrus with hir mette Of mortall hate / and indignacyowne And she in haste / by the renges downe Rode vnto hym / swyftly on hir stede Whose sporys sharpe / made his sydes blede And as they mette / theyr speres in the reste They bare so euen / markynge at the breste That theyr shaftes / sothly this no tale Gan to shyuer / all on peces smale Without bowynge / outher backe or chyne For neyther made / other to enclyne Saue the hede / forged harde of stele Of Pantasyllya / that was grounde wele In Pirrus breste / percyd hath so depe That plate in soth / nor mayle myght hym kepe But the sharpnesse / of the speres hede Was of his blode / in party rede The whiche stroke / whan grekes gan espye For astoned / loude gan to crye And all attones / for the noyse and sowne Vpon this quene / in the felde came downe In compasse wyse / goynge enuyrowne But thorugh hir prowesse / & hir hye renowne She hir diffendeth / that it was meruayle But they alas / so sore hir gan assayle That all to hewe / they haue hir basenet Amyd Grekes / so thycke she was beset That with axes / and swerdes square Hir hede in sothe / made was all bare And hir shuldres / were naked eke alas The mayle hewen of / and the rere bras And Pirrus than / lyke as it is founde For anguysshe oonly / of his grene wounde In doute playnely / where he shulde escape Towarde this quene / faste gan hym rape To be auenged / what so euer falle Amyd the felde / amonge the grekes alle And whan she sawe / that he came so faste Of force oonly / to mete hym yet she caste And with hir swerde / firste gan hym assayle But of hir stroke / it happed hir to fayle Amonge the prees / so narowe she was beset And Pirrus swerde / was so sharpe whet That sodaynely of / hir arme he smette Alas there was / none armoure hym to lette But raceth thorugh all / the shuldre bone So that this quene / fyll downe deed anone And of malys / for ●o venge hym more At his herte / the yre / fret so sore That with a chere / of very anger pale He hath hir hewen / all on pecys smale The whiche was / to foule a cruell dede But euer in one / Pirrus so gan blede Nyghe to the deth / of his mortall wounde For lacke of blode / that he fyll to grounde In a traunce / full longe gruflynge he lay Tyll knyghtes / in all the haste they may Haue take hym vp / and layde hym on a shelde And dolefully / home out of the felde They haue hym borne / wounded as he was And the women / of the quene alas For very sorowe / and inwarde deedly wo Whan they sawe / theyr lady was ago For to be deed / they were so desyrous That in all haste / wood and furyous In a rage / without gouernayle Grekes they gan / of newe for to assayle To auenge theyr quene / they were so hertly kynde That they slewe / sothely as I fynde Two thousande grekis / on them they were so wode But o alas / in great dis●oynt they stode Oonly for lacke / they haue / no gouernour For she was gone / that was theyr chefe socour Whiche was also / to speke of hardynesse Of women all / lady and maystresse As of hir honde / that I can of rede OYe Troyans / ye stande in great drede Amyd the felde / all out of gouernaunce The day is come / of your vnhappy chaunce For now haue ye / leder none nor gyde Farewell your truste / now on euery syde And grekes be / vpon you so stronge That ye the felde / may nat kepe longe For they caste them / felly you to quyte This same day / as Dares lyste endyte For as he wryt / homewarde as they drawe Ten thousande / troyans / were of grekis yslawe For all theyr wardes / came attones downe And mortally / without excepcyowne They kylle and slee / all that them withstode And moste they were / vpon the women wode To be auenged / playnely as I rede On euery halfe / and theyr blode to shede Without mercy / or remyssyowne Chasynge troyans / home into the towne Out of the felde / for there was none abode So pyteously / tho with them it stode That they ne can / none otherrecur caste But kepe theyr towne / & shytte theyr gatis faste For all theyr hope / clene was agone Any more to fyght / with theyr fone For now theyr trust / of knyghthode was away Theyr worthy men / slayne weylaway Refute was none / but in theyr Cyte To kepe them close / it may none other be For them thought / they myght it kepe longe Theyr walles were / so myghty & so stronge If they hadde / plente of vytayle Though all the worlde / attones them assay They may be sure / whyle they kepe them in For euermore / that no man shall them wyn Yet neuertheles / erely and eke late The Grekes made / tofore euery gate Full myghty watche / and awayte full stronge With preuy spyes / goynge in amonge That of theyr foon / none escape away By none engyne / as ferforth as they may And in this whyle / within Troye towne More than I can / make descripcyowne For the quene / there was so great a sorowe Of euery wyght / bothe at eue and morowe That she alas / was slayne for hir mede Whiche came so fer / to helpe them in their nede And aldermoste / for they ne myght haue The deed corps / to burye it and to graue With reuerence / and with honour dewe For whiche they gan / to the grekes sewe With great prayer / and great besynesse But all in vayne / and in ydelnesse Was theyr requeste / the grekes / were so wrothe And fynally / with many sondry othe Oonly of malys / and of hote enuye The deed corps / to them they denye And shortly sayde / of mortall enmyte That of houndes / it shall deuouryd be There was no gayne / theyr rancour to compesse But Pirrus than / of very gentyllesse Ne wolde assent / to so foule a dede But wood and wroth / cruell Dyomede Sayde openly / how it was syttynge That she fayle / of hir buriynge That slayne hadde / so many worthy man And thus the stryfe / amonge the grekes gan With great rumoure / and altercacyowne Tyll at the laste / vnder Troye towne Of hir they haue / the dede corps ytake And cruelly / in a profounde lake They haue hir caste / where I lete hir lye And vnto Troye / agayne I wyll me hye To tell forth / how they lyue in pyne O Cruell Mars / that hast made for to fyne Thorugh thyne yre / all the worthy blode Of Troye alas / why hast thou be so wode Agaynst them / to slee theyr knyghtes all Why hast thou lette / thy bytter venym fall On them alas / thou sterre infortunate With all the worlde / to make them at debate O hatefull sterre / hote combust and drye Firy Irous / grounde of all enuye Hasty euer / full of discencyon And Coleryk / of thy complexyon In murdre and deth / is aye thy delyte In takynge vengeaunce / moste thyne appetyte Firste meuer / of anger and of hate Rote of Contek / causynge to debate In stryfe and murmur / moste is thy desyre Feerfull of loke / as any wylde fyre And gastfulleuer / of thy wode syght As any leuen / so flamynge is thy lyght Lyke in twynklynge / to the spakes rede In great fyres / that abrode so sprede Consumynge aye / by melancolye Hertes that be / enbraced with enuye Thy wrathe is aye / so fretynge and so kene And causest men / to be longe and lene Consumpt sklendre / browne and cytrenhewed Vnmercyable / and right euell thewed Wonder sleyghty / and Engenyous Compassynge / and suspecyous Tryste and solen / and full of heuynesse And assentynge / to all cursydnesse To awaytynge / deth and roberye To murdre also / and to trecherye Without remors / of any conscyence So venymous / is thyne influence And helper arte / vnto false Treason The house of whom / is the Scorpyon And crowned arte / in the Caprycorne But in the Bole / is thy kyngome lorne For therin is / thy deieccyon Thy power loste / and domynacyon And haste also / in thy subieccyon Exyle werre / chaynes and pryson Proscripcyon / and Captyuyte That for thy malys / on troye the Cyte So wolde god / I coude chyde a ryght That haste on them / kydde thy felle myght Of thy rancour / hoolly the outtraunce Firste on them / for to do vengaunce With speres sharpe / and swerdes kene whette And now in pryson / to enclose them & shette So vengeably / that they dare nat oute The grekes felle / aye lyinge them aboute They be nat holde / in maner wyse In thy temple / to do sacryfyse Neyther with Bulles / nor with borys wylde Nor with bestes / that euer be vnmylde As Tygres / Berys / nor the wode lyon Of whiche thou art / souerayne and patron They are nat holde / to do the brymstone smoke On thyne Auterys / whiche art so felly wroke Of them alas / and nowe worste of alle Thou haste shad out / chefe of all thy galle Amonge them selfe / to brynge in treason Fayned trouthe / and symulacyon To make hertes / amonge them selfe deuyde Lo how the serpent / of discordecan glyde Full slyly in / tyll he haue caughte a place To voyde away / both happe and grace With his venym / of discencyon Whan it is sprad / in any regyon In any Comon / borugh / towne / or cyte Amonges men / of hye or lowe degre For whan hertes / in loue be nat one Farewell Fortune / theyr grace is clene agone For where discorde / holdeth resydence It is well worse / than swerde of Pestylence For what is worse / outher fer or nere Than a foo / that is famylyere For who may more / harme if hym luste Than any enmye / vpon whom men truste That to descryue / shortly in a clause The very rote / and the trewe cause Of all myschefe / and confucyon In euery lande / is discencyon And more peryllous / if it be pryue Recorde I take / on Troye the Cyte That founde Fortune / frendly aye at nede Tyll longe byd hate / gan a brode to sprede For prudence sothly / hath prouyded That a regne / in it selfe deuyded Shall recules / tourne wylde and waste And the dwellers / desolate in haste For Mars that is / of enuye lorde Amonge them selfe / sowen hath discorde Agayne the whiche / may no socoure be For worse than werre / sothly semeth me Treason cured / vnder a fayned pees And roote of all / was olde Anchyses With his sone / called Eneas Daūz Anthenor / and Pollydamas That haue contryued / amonge them vtterly And vnder veyl / concelyd secretly If it falle / Grekes Troye to haue First how they may / theyr owne lyues saue By some engyne / sleyghtes or treate And if so were / that it may nat be As they caste / by no maner weye They wolde rather / traytours be to Troye Pryuely / so it were nat espyed And couertly / with Grekes ben allyed Than stonde hole / with the towne of trouthe And wylfully / of neclygence and slouthe Suraunce and othe / of olde made to the towne Refuse playnely / in conclusyowne And allyaunce / lette slake and slyde And theyr lygaunce / sette also asyde In theyr auyse / they thought for the beste For they them caste / for to lyue at reste And meryer eke / for ernest or for game To saue theyr lyfe / and wandre forthe in shame Than wylfully / dye at myschefe To traysshe their towne / they helde it no reprefe So they myght / escape them selfe a lyue Them lyste no thynge / for the towne to stryue They sought in sothe / for soure or for swete A mene waye / to lyue in quyete And therupon / they haue theyr way nome Vnto the kynge / & whan that they were come To his presence / in full couert wyse Vndercoloure / they began deuyse To telle theyr tale / so that fynally Teyr counsayle was / that Pryam vtterly In no maner / be nat reckeles To pursewe / to grekes for a pees If it so be / that he it gette may And yelde agayne / to kynge Menelay Without stryfe / the fresshe quene Eleyne And ouer more / that he nat disdeyne The harmes done / by Parys gon full yore In Cytheron / iustly to restore . BVt o alas / of false Iniquyte This counsayle rose / for vnder in secrete The venym was / as sugre vnder galle For well they wyste / that the grekes alle Ne wolde accorde / in conclusyowne To haue a peas / with them of Troye towne Whyles they were / to suche myschefe brought To treate therof / in sothe it was for nought For Pryamus than / and Eccuba the quene With his sones / and with Polycene That yet were left / with hym in the towne Myght haue reygned / by longe successyowne If that grekes full / and nat repentyd Vnto a peas / holly hadde assentyd But that counsayle / gyuen was to late Sythen Grekes / of well elder date Had proferyd firste / at Tenedowne By the aduyse / of kynge Agamenowne A fynall peas / shortly for to seyne So he wolde restore / agayne Eleyne With amendes / requyred of reason Of damages / wrought at Cytheron His messengers / firste whan that he sente To Pryamus / that wolde nat assente To the requeste / iustly that they brought For of peas / the meanes that they sought Of very pryde / were to them denyed By wylfulnesse / alas so were they guyed For lacke oonly of wyt / and of prudence But now they haue / with cost & great dispence With slaughter of men / & many great damage The sharpe shoures / and the cruell rage Abyde fully / of this mortall werre It is full sure / that they wyll nat differre The tyme forth / to treate for a pees Them lyste no thynge / to be so reckeles Nor vnauysed / what them ought to do Trowe ye they wyll / so lyghtly go Home into grece / without recompense They wolde seme / it were a neclygence Speke nat therof / for it wyll nat be Tpecyally now / Troye the cyte In myschefe stande / vpon his fynall fate This remedy / shape was to late For grekes thought / right of very truste That they of Troye / stode at theyr luste Holdynge them selfe / veryly victours And of theyr foon / fully conquerours Without doute / or ambygnytee For the counsayle / of this ylke Enee Of Anthenor / and of this Anchyses As ye haue herde / to treate for a pees Ne roos in sothe / but of doublenesse Oonly of treason / and of hye falsnesse As Pryamus / conceyueth / by theyr chere Lyke in this boke / as ye shall after here For on a day / whan that Pryamus With his sone / called Amphymacus A counsayle helde / with other of the towne This thre haue made / a suggestyowne Vnto the kynge / touchynge the treate But he anone / discrete and auyse Prudently / or he wolde assente Gan vndergrope / playnely what they mente Oonly of wytte / and discrecyon Or he it put / in execucyon Makynge therof / a maner of delay But proudely than / stondynge at a bay This Anthenor / without reuerence Spake to the kynge / in open audyence And shortly sayde / with a sterne chere If thou lyste / our counsayle for to here And do there after / platly thou mayst chese And but thou wylte / where thou wynne or lese This is the fyne / thou gettest no more of me Worke after them / that of thy counsayle be To whom the kynge / wonder soberly Answered agayne / full benyngnely . Syre Anthenor / ye ought you nat greue For myne entent / is nat to repreue Your wyse counsayle / nor your prudent rede If it conclude / to the comon spede Of my people / and sauacyon But wyte right well / iustly of reason Vnder sugre / if there be curyd galle In preiudyce / of my lyeges all Causynge them / in myschefe for to fyne I wyll there from / vtterly declyne As right requyreth / for our alder ease And me semeth / this shulde nat displease To thy conceyte / nor do the none offence For euery man / is holden of prudence The worst to leue / and the better take Wysedome to sewe / and folye to forsake And remedye / to seke for his sore And with that worde / the Troyan Anthenor Of sodayne Ire / gan to chaunge his blode And abreydynge / on his feet he stode And full felly / sayde vnto the kynge Now sekerly / this is a wonder thynge How your wysedome / and auysenesse Are blynded so / of very wylfulnesse That ye may nat / on nosyde se The great myschefe / nor aduersyte That we are in / vpon euery syde For we may nat / dissymule nor hyde In what disioynt / playnely that we stande Be nat our foon / also here at hande And haue be sette / our walle rounde aboute And we for fere / dare nat yssue oute Nor be so bolde / to vndo a gate With them to fyghte / that vs deedly hate We be so feble / and they are so stronge For sothly yet / they haue them amonge Fyfty kynges / worthy of renowne Confederat / to our destruccyowne And therupon / platly wyll abyde Whiche vowed haue / in theyr great pryde Neuer parte hense / fro the towne Tyll the walles / be tourned vp so downe Your worthy sones / also now be dede That you were wonte / to helpe in your nede Your manly knyghtes / slayne euerychone That vs to saue / remedye is none It is in vayne / to treaty of diffence Wherfore I rede / of reason and prudence Or we be slayne / and our Cyte lese Of two harmes / the leest for to chese This to saye / that in our entent As syttynge is / and expedyent We treate of p●as / and no lenger feyne And here with all / restore agayne Eleyne For loue of whom / many worthy man Hath loste his lyfe / sythen the werre began For now Parys / is vnderstone ygraue The beste rede / in sothe that ye may haue To sende hir home / agayne to Menelay And to profre / as ferforth as ye may To restore within / a lytell whyle The harmes done / by Parys in the Ile Whiche men are wont / Cythera to calle This is my rede / here afore you alle And with that worde / vp rose Amphymacus To this counsayle / full contraryous And shortly sayde / that it shall nat be As Anthenor / hath rade in no degre And euer thus / without more respyte He spake to hym / of very hye despyte . ⸫ ⸫ ⸫ THou Anthenor / I haue espyed wele We may truste in the / neuer adele With vs to stonde / in our great nede For trouthe and fayth / in the be nowe dede Falshede hath slayne / in the stabylnesse And in stede / of thy sykernesse We fynde in the / sothly varyaunce Where is be come / the fayth of thy lygeaunce Thy hestys made / to stande with thy kynge Where be thyne othes / so double in menynge Where is now hyd / thyne olde assuraunce Where is be come / thy fayned false constaunce In stede of whiche / Mutabylyte Hath take his place / lyke as we may se With newe chaunge / thou art so remewable Vpon no grounde / thou mayst nat stande stable Thy trouth is gone / of olde affeccyowne That y● shouldest haue / to stande with the towne Of fayth with vs / for to lyue or deye For truste and hope / exyled be aweye In thy persone / shortly for to wryte That besy arte / the kynge to excyte In disencrease / of his estat royall Vnto Grekes / now be so thrall To seke a peas / as it were for drede Thou shuldest / rather of thy manlyhede Haue proferyd hym / the Cyte to diffende There on thy lyfe / at outtraunce to dispende Wherfore in sothe / here I the assure Rather than we / shulde this endure Twenty thousande / shall with spere and shelde Vpon a day / be slayne in the felde Thy worde I holde / for no prophecye For it procedeth / of very trecherye Of doubylnesse / and of false treason Vndermynynge / with prodicyon Though that thou / outwarde shewe fayre The venym hyd / thy tale doth repayre Lyke a serpent / styngynge vnder floures There by to fele / of suche counsayllours And in this wyse / with wordes despytous Full bytyngly / hathe Amphymacus All openly / Anthenor repreued With his counsayle / so he was agreued Seynge the treason / that he wolde mene Tyll Eneas / gan to go betwene With florysshed speche / full of flaterye And gan his tale / so to modefye Lyke as he mente / trouthe in his entent But therin was / double entendement He spake but one / and yet he mentetwayne Amphymacus / oonly to refrayne To attempre hym / of his melancolye Oonly tyll he myght / a tyme espye Lyke his purpose / that he may procede To execute it / fully vp in dede And whan that he / founde hadde a space Vnder pretens / of a trewe face With his tale / he gan to breke oute Many Troyan / standynge hym aboute And shortly sayde / for conclusyowne Touchynge diffence / playnely of the towne How that it henge / hoolly in balaunce For bothe / hope / truste / and assuraunce Of the Cyte / taken haue theyr flyght For fynally / our manhode and our myght And our knyghthode / togydre be ago With the Grekes / more to haue a do And with them / stoutely for to fyght The whiche hath lost / many a worthy knyght ANd they be redy / vpon vs to set And we dare nat / our gatis more vnshet We be alas / supprysed / so with drede Than semeth me / how it were great nede By good aduyse / for to seke a mene In this myschefe / how we shall vs demene And for my parte / sothfastly I say I knowe as now / none so redy way As prudently / for a peas to trete But Pryam than / in a sodayne hete Without abode / of chere and face pale Of rancour gan / interrupte his tale For he attempre / myght nat his herte So fretyngly / the treason made hym smerte And for he myght / hym selfe nat restrayne Thus he sayde / vnto bothe twayne To Anthenor / and also to Enee I wonder greatly / that ye hardy be In your trouthe / for shame so to varye And that ye be / so rebell and contrarye To me oonly / of false collusyon Vs to brynge / in desperacyon Me and my lyeges / if I shall nat fayne Of false entent / to catche vs in a trayne Alas how may ye / in your herte fynde Agayne nature / for to be vnkynde That whylom were / of my counsayle chefe Of euery thynge / or it was brought to prefe For ye absent / I coude no thynge fyne And now alas / ye caste to declyne Away fro me / barayne left and sooll That to remembre / it is to great adooll How any wyght / alas so chaunge can For who shall more / truste any man Whan ye be founde / double / of entent Can ye nat thynke / how by your assent By your counsayle / and by your auys Whylom / how I sent forth Parys Into to Grece / of full yore ago And Anthenor / thou wotest thy selfe also How thou were firste / made embassatour And therupon / chefe counsayllour Touchynge the sonde / made for Exyon But after that / cause and mocyon Though were in soth / that Parys shulde go Into Grece / thou wotest well it is so For Ine durste / of presumpcyon Haue sent Parys / vnto Cytheron Without aduyse / and auctoryte Of Eneas playnely / and of the Vpon Grekes / a werre to haue gonne I trowe in sothe / that you neyther konne Excuse hym selfe / and ye be auysed For euery thynge / wrought was and deuysed And execute / by counsayle of you tweyne For whan Parys / went for Eleyne Grounde and roote / to speke in specyall Were thou Enee / and cause pryncypall Present also / whan euery thyng was wrought Out of Grece / whan she was hyder brought For this the sothe / out of that regyowne She neuer hadde / come / to this towne If thou haddest / be therto contrayre Albe thou woldest / with thy wordes fayre Thyselfe excuse / here in audyence As thou knewe nought / of that offence But fully were / vnwyttynge of the dede And now my sonnes / euerychone be dede And ye mese / alone destytute Your counsayle is / as for chefe refute Me to pursewe / to Grekes for a pees As I were / foryetell reckeles To remembre / the infynyt outrages The mortall werre / slaughter & damages The cruelte / and destruccyowne That they haue wrought / hereupon this towne That veryly / whan I all recorde For to be deed / I can nat accorde With them to treate / lyke as ye deuyse For I espye / in many sondry wyse In your entent / a right peryllous snare So couertly / vnder falsehede dare That it wyll be / to my confusyon If ye acheue / your entencyon Fynally / as ye haue it shape For impossyble / it were to escape Shamefully / at myschefe me to dye Without recure / of any remedye For this the fyne / I knowe it out of doute Of the treate / that ye be aboute . And right anone / the Troyan Eneas Of Ire and rancoure / so ameued was Agayne the kynge / with a swellynge herte That sodaynely / out at the dore he sterte After he hadde / for to be a wroke Full many worde / agayne the kynge yspoke He went his way / and Anthenor also And Pryamus / of very Ire and wo Sodaynely / braste out / for to wepe He myght hym selfe / nat for anguysshe kepe The anger frat / vpon hym so sore Within hym selfe / conceyuynge more & more By euydence / of discrecyon The couert gyle / and the false treason That they for hym / and for his Cyte Ishapen haue / but he auysed be Dredynge aye / that these ylke twayne By some engyne / or conspyred trayne To the Grekes / wolde hym betraye Wherfore the kynge / caste and wolde saye Shape away / theyr malys to withstonde So the treason / that they toke on hande Oonly of right / in dede or it were founde Vpon them selfe / myght agayne rebounde That the full / execucyon Of theyr contryued / conspyracyon Resorte agayne / in full dewe wyse Oonly on them / that gan it firste deuyse Treason for treason / is conuenyent For to falsehed / the guerdon pertynent Is shamefull deth / and the fynall mede Wherfore to shape / in this great nede A remedye / this olde Pryamus Calleth his sone / Amphymacus And pyteously / alone / but they twayne In terys drowned / gan to hym complayne On Anthenor / and on this Eneas And sayde sone / take hede in this cas And thynke how / I am thy Fader dere And how there be / now no more yfere O● my sones / lefte with me a lyue But thou alone / and therfore as blyue Touchynge the treason / conspyred & ysworne What euer falle / let vs be toforne Oonly of wysedome / away for to make That we may firste / in the trappe them take And to puruey / for them euen lyche That iustly / they may falle in the oyche Whiche they haue made / and for vs ytreyned And in all hast / lette so be ordeyned That this mater / close be kept in mewe To fyne oonly / that they nat eschewe For to be slayne / of equyte and ryght In this place / euen towarde nyght For I purpose / playnely for theyr sake Agayne that houre / a counsayle for to make And vnder coloure / make them both calle And thou vnwarely / shalt vpon them falle With knyghtes sworne / vnto the and me In this mater / for to be secre . And right anone / this Amphymacus Assentyd is / vnto Pryamus To accomplysshe / in full secrete wyse Fro poynt to poynt / as ye haue herde deuyse BVt sothe is sayde / of full yore agone Of olde wyse / that counsayle is there none In all this worlde / so pryuely ycaste That it wyll out / platly at the laste For the people / whiche that is rurall Sayth that secretes / whiche be nat knowen at all The erthe wyll / as they make mynde Discure them / of his owne kynde And of nature / vp caste and disclose The thynge that men / are wont in it to close Let euery man / beware as it is gode Or his counsayle / go to ferre abrode And specyally lordes / haue great nede Of all men / they stonde moste in drede So great awayte / is vpon them layde That whan it happeth / that a thynge be sayde Or ones spoke / of a lordes mouthe It falleth ofte / that it is full kouthe And reported / and ysprad full wyde In many coste / by them that stonde asyde Or he be ware / by sodayne auenture For some in hap / in whom he dothe assure Wyll first of all / hym reporte amys Therfore in sothe / beste for them is this For to beware / and kepe theyr tonge A purpose caste / shulde nat be ronge Nor spoke abrode / amonge folkes rude For gladly aye / the worste they conclude Of euery thynge / whyle that it is newe In reporte varyaunt / and vntrewe For after reason / no thynge they expowne But after wyll / the folke that be of towne Lyke the purpose / whiche they desyre For they fare / as a wyspe of fyre Whan it brenneth / bryghtest in his blase Sodaynely / it wasteth as a mase On suche folke / platly is no tryste That fyre and water / holde in theyr fyste Beynge with bothe / ylke indifferent Now hote now colde / lyke as theyr entent Of newe chaungeth / so in theyr courage After the calme foloweth / sodayne rage To day they loue / and tomorowe hate To truste a comon / lasteth by no date Lette nat a lorde / make them to secree For now the counsayle / is ronne to Enee That Pryam wende / hadde be full close For the rumour / and the wynde arose By false reporte / and so ferre is blowe That Eneas and Anthenor / well knowe Ende and gynnynge / and euery maner thynge And hole the counsayle of Pryamus the kynge And bothe two / full of one entent With other eke / that were of theyr assent Conspyred be / and togydre sworne And couertly / caste awaye aforne That fynally / Troye the Cyte By theyr engyne / shall destroyed be And of accorde / caste playnely thus If it happe / that kynge Pryamus Sende for them / shortly to conclude They wolde come / with suche multytude Of armyd men / if they se nede That of hym / they shulde no thynge drede For Eneas / was in that Cyte Of great power / and Auctoryte Bothe of blode / and kynred allyed And for his golde / greatly magnefyed Thorugh the Cyte / moste in specyall That he in myght / and power perygall As sayth Guydo / was vnto the kynge And Anthenor / almoste in euery thynge Was vnto hym / Egall of powere And bothe twayne / of one herte entere Conspyred haue / in sothe agayne the towne Fynally / to this conclusyowne That they of grekes / myght haue surete With theyr treasoure / to go at lyberte With theyr allyes / borne of Troye towne Whan all were brought / to destruccyowne With lyfe and good / ●aufe without more At whiche tyme / for daunz Anthenor And Eneas / Pryamus hath sent To accomplysshe / the fyne of his entent And they in haste / with so great a route Came of knyghtes / stuffyd them aboute That therof was / astoned Pryamus And made sende / for Amphymacus Commaundynge hym / to chaunge his purpose For well he wyste / his counsayle was nat close And by sygnes / gan well vnderstonde That the mater / whiche they hadde on honde Discured was / to his confusyon Bothe the murdre / and conspyracyon Apparceyuynge / in his in warde syght The great power / of this Troyan knyght And the fauoure / of this Eneas And of the Comon / how he fostryd was The whiche proudely / in open audyence Tofore the kynge / declareth his sentence Fully concludynge / maugre who sayth nay How that there was / none other mene way Refute nor gayne / nor other remedye But oonly peas / who so it denye Other escapynge / playnely was there none And therupon / the Comons euerychone With one voyce / gan to gale and crye And his counsayle / greatly magnefye Albe the kynge / was therto contrarye But Eneas / lyste no lenger tarye Nor differre / the fyne of his purpose But wonder Irous / from his see he rose And full vngoodly / spake vnto the kynge And shortly sayde / without more tariynge Where so befalle / thou be lefe or lothe Or with this purpose / pleased outher wrothe Thou mayste well trust / it shall none other be For fynally / herken this of me Maugre thy wyll / and also all thy myght This same day / yet or it be nyght For a peas / with Grekes we shall trete And whan the kynge / sawe the feruent hete Bothe of the comon / and of Eneas He gan anone / dissymule in this caas For of prudence / he clerely gan to se For that tyme / it may none other be Wherfore sythe he / myght it nat amende He wysely gan / for to condescende To the purpose / platly of Enee And sayde he wolde / goodly take at gree And accept what / them lyst ordayne And so the kynge / lernyd to fayne Agayne the conceyte / platly of his herte For otherwyse / he coude nat asterte Coacte of force / and of vyolence And whan he sawe / in his aduertence That he myght / dyuerte on no syde From the fraude / that sowen was so wyde Without grutchynge / he falsly gaue assent That Anthenor / shulde forth be sent By comon choyse / to treate for the towne Whiche was tofore / in conclusyowne With the Grekes / accordyd fynally Touchynge the effect / of his ambassatrye Fro poynt to poynt / where he wolde stonde Varyaunt / fro that he toke on honde And for they hadde / afore hym full conceyued With better chere / he was of them receyued And in this whyle / that Anthenor was oute For to treate / with the grekes stoute As ye haue herde / for a peas fynall In the towne / aboute on euery wall They of Troye / gan ascende blyue With the braunches / of many fresshe olyue In token of peas / and grekes eke agayne Amyd the felde / endelonge the playne Shewed them / that all myght sene Eke of Olyue / lusty bowes grene . And to conferme / this fro proynt to poynt And that no thynge / stode in no disioynt The worthy kynge / great Agamenon Commytted hath / of hye discrecyon Fully power / and auctoryte For the Grekes / playnely vnto thre Firste of all / for a peas to trete Vnto the wyse / worthy kynge of Crete To vlixes / and to Dyomede To these mo / them thought it was no nede For what they do / they wyll holde stably And fynally / nat be varyable From the ende / platly that they make And therupon / was assuraunce take Of eyther parte / by bonde of sacrament And so they be / with Anthenor ywent Out asyde / this worthy lordes thre And whan they were / at theyr lyberte From all tumulte / alone pryuely This Anthenor / full of trechery Replete of falshode / and of doubylnesse Gan his purpose / vnto them expresse Behotynge them / to Trasshe the cyte So they wolde / make hym suerte That firste hym selfe / and with hym Eneas Shall fredam haue / in euery maner caas With theyr allyes / and goodes euerychone Where them lyste / at large for to gone At theyr choyse / or dwellynge in the towne With theyr rychesse / and possessyowne Without harme / or any more damage Lyke as they se / it be to auauntage Of theyr persones / to voyde or abyde And they were sworne / on the grekes syde Couenaunt to holde / in party and in all As was rehersed / afore in specyall And as they were / by theyr othes bounde So that there be / no varyaunce founde Of neyther partye / platly nor no stryfe And they behyght / vp peryll of theyr lyfe And whan he had / assuraunce of them thre He charged them / to kepe in secre All that was sayd / that no thynge be di●curyd Vnto tyme / that they were assuryd Of the ende / grosyd vp in dede For it were good / that they toke hede Lyst theyr purpose / perturbyd were or shent By commynge / without auysement Of this tonges / that be longe and large Wherfore he gan / con●oure them and charge In all wyse / for to be pryue So that no wyghte / but he and they thre Of none estate / neyther hye nor lowe Fully the fyne / of theyr entent ne knowe And couertly / our purpose for to hyde Quod Anthen or / vpon euery syde To voyde away / all suspeccyowne This myn aduyse / that to troye towne The wyse kynge / called Taltybyus Shall go with me / to kynge Pryamus For he is hore / and yronne in rage Coy of his porte / sleyghty and right sage And therwithall / sadde demure and stylle Of whom troyans / no thynge shall mysylle But that he come / to treate for a pees To be assuryd / and wryte douteles Where the Troyans / agree wyll therto In euery thynge / fynally to do As Anthenor / grekes hath behyght Thus shall they be / deuoyded anone ryght Thorugh his commynge / from all suspeccyon Tyll that we haue / our conclusyon As ye haue herde / parfourmed euerydele Of whiche thynge / the grekes lyke wele And be apoynted / vpon euery thynge What they wyll do / and how this olde kynge With Anthenor / shall to Troye go And after this / he axed eke also Of Pantasylle / the body for to haue In the Cyte / that men myght it graue With dewe honour / longynge to hir estate To voyde away / suspeccyon and debate And Anthenor / for it drewe to eue Of the Grekes / taken hath his leue And with this kynge / repeyreth into towne Wherof was made / anone relacyon To kynge Pryam / without more delay And he in haste / vpon the next day Made assemble / all his Cytesens Secretely / deuoydynge all Foreyns Where Anthenor / in open audyence Thorugh the halle / whan made was sylence His tale gan / with sugryd wordes swete Makynge the bawne / outwarde for to flete Of rethoryk / and of eloquence Of chere nor worde / that there was none offence In shewynge out / so circumspect he was That no man coude / in no maner caas By sygne outwarde / nor by countenaunce Perceyue in hym / any varyaunce So harde it was / his treason to espye The effect declarynge / of his embassatrye With clere reporte / of his answere agayne In his meanynge / though he were nat playne For vnderneth / he was with fraude fraught This sleyghty wolf / tyl he his pray hath caught For he was close / and couert in his speche As a serpent / tyll he may do wreche Hydynge his venym / vnder floures longe And as a bee / that styngeth with the tonge Whan he hath shad / out his hony sote Sugre in the crop / venym in the rote Right so in soth / with tonge in Scorpyon This Anthenor / roote of all treason His tale tolde / with a face pleyne Lyke the sonne / that shyneth in the reyne That fayre sheweth / though the weder be Wonder dyuers / and troubly for to se So this tygre / full of doubylnesse So couertly / his treason dyde expresse As he nat mente / but trouthe to the towne Fully affermynge / in conclusyowne How the grekes / myghty were and stronge And lykly eke / to abyde longe Day by day / redy them to assayle And also plente / of vytayle Concludynge aye / there was no remedye Agaynst them / to holde chaumpartye Nor with them / any more to stryue For he sayde / they hadde yet a lyue Theyr worthy knyghtes / hardy as lyons Theyr manly men / and theyr champyons Whiche theyr lyues / platly to Iuparte From the Cyte / caste them nat departe Tyll theyr purpose / acheued be in all For fynally / nouther toure nor wall Nor your gates / of yren though ye shette The Grekes shall / on no syde lette But that they wyll / vs wynne at the laste Wherfore it nedeth / a mene way to caste Sythen of myght / nor fauour of Fortune We may nat longe / agaynst them contune Wherfore quod he / so ye condescende I can right well / all this thynge amende Remedye / so that ye nat varye To that I saye / for to be contrarye This to mene / shortly out of doute Embassatoure / whan that I was oute With the grekes / laste whan ye me sent They sayd goodly / how they wolde assent Vnto a peas / by this condycyon That ye wyll make / restytucyon Of the harmes / and the vyolences The wronges done / and also the offences By Parys wrought / in Grece at Cytheron As it is right / me semeth of reason For theyr request / is meynt with equyte And we be dryuen / of necessyte Vnto theyr luste / iustly to enclyne Maugre our wyll / the werre for to fyne For all is now / in theyr eleccyon We may nat make / no rebellyon Now the mater / is so fer ybrought To stryue agayne / in soth it helpeth nought It may apeyre / but no thynge auayle Therfore the beste / that I can counsayle As in prouerbe / hath be sayde of yore That if a man / be constrayned sore And may nat flee / to falle in a trayne Let hym chese / the lesse harme of twayne And the gretter / prudently / to eschewe And let our golde / that ye kept in mewe To saue our lyfe / make redempcyon For better it is / demeth of reason Spoyled to be / oonly of rychesse Than wylfully / dye in distresse The lyfe is better / than glode or any gode Set all at nought / in sauynge of your blode For foly is / a man / for his welfare Thorugh couetyse / any golde to spare And now our lyfe / dependeth in balaunce Let golde farewell / and go with myschaunce We may hereafter / by sort of auenture Golde by grace / and good ynough recure And sythen we / as I haue you tolde May bye a peas / fynally for golde And with our treasour / stynt eke the werre It were foly / playnely to differre With the grekes / vtterly to accorde For if so be / I to them recorde That ye assent / without any varyaunce There may of peas / be no perturbaunce It is so lyght / now to be recured For as soone / as they be assured By iuste reporte / of your entencyons They wyll do wryte / oblygacyons Of couenauntes / that nat be by hynde And that ye shall / in them no faute fynde Whan assuraunce / from outher parte is hadde Therupon / Endentures shal be made So that of fayth / ye may them nat repreue And for that / they fully truste and leue Without fraude / my relacyon I wyll now make / no dylacyon To signefye / to them in certayne Hoolly the effect / of that ye wyll sayne And the people / loude gan to crye All with one voyse / and to magnefye All that euer / Anthenor hath sayde And vpon hym / they haue the charge layde Of theyr answere / and entent fynall And by recorde / to reporte all That no thynge / be forgetten in this caas They haue assigned / also Eneas With hym to go / for the same thynge In the presence / of the olde kynge Taltybyus / whiche also of entent With Anthenor / was to Troye sent The whiche thre / haue playnely vndertake As ye haue herde / a fynall peas to make Albe that they / in couert treason mente And on theyr way / forth anone they wente With playne power / commytted of the towne BUt kyng Pryam / hath ay suspeccyowne To Anthenor / and also to Enee How that they / shall destroye his Cytee And to hym selfe / tryste of hertely wo He sayd alas / what is beste to do In this myschefe / that I am in falle And yet is this / to me worste of alle That I am nowe / thorugh myn aduersyte Bounde and compelled / of necessyte Maugre my hede / in maner of raunson For my lyfe / to make redempcyon Vnto my foon / that I haue moste at herte I se right well / I may it nat asterte For I must paye / there gayneth no socoure My good my golde / ryches and treasoure To my moste foon / and dare it nat denye And yet I stonde / of lyfe in Iupartye Without refute / hangynge in balaunce Alas constrayned / thorugh my wofull chaunce To obeye theyr luste / that mortally me hate Dryuen therto / of byrthe thorugh my fate So Parchas / haue my desteny yshape By no engyne / I may it nat escape . ANd whyle pryam / gan thus to compleyne To Anthenor / came the quene Eleyne Besechynge hym / in his embassatrye Of gentyllesse / for to specefye Thorugh / his prudent medyacyon To fynde away / in conseruacyon Of hir estate / fynally that she To Menelay / may reconsyled be If so falle / that the treate holde So that hir lorde / of his grace wolde Restore hir / vnto hir degre Oonly of mercy / and of hye pyte And Anthenor / vnto hir requeste Gaue audyence / makynge a beheste How he wolde / with all his herte entere Be dylygent / to treate of this matere And therwithall / of hym she toke hir leue And thus was done / on the same eue That Anthenor / I pray god gyue him sorowe To Grekes went / on the next morowe Oonly to treate / for apeas fynall And in this whyle / the feest Funerall Was holde in troye / myn Auctor wryteth thus Of a lorde / that called was Glaucus A manly knyght / tofore in his lyuynge And sone was / of Pryamus the kynge And ouer this / lyke as sayth Guydo That kynge Pryam / besyed hym also Of Pantasyllya / how the body myght Be conseruyd / fresshely to the syght And for loue / of this worthy quene Of puryd golde / and of stones shene He lete make / a vessell full ryall And fylde it full / with bawne naturall To kepe the corps / fro corrupcyowne Tyll the werre / of grekes and of the towne Thorugh the treate / were ystynted clene SO that the kynge / called Phylymene This deed quene / myght of affeccyon Carye it home / into hir regyon With the Auncetres / buryed for to be Lyke the maner / of olde antiquyte And the custome / vsed in that tyme It were in vayne / more therof to ryme I passe ouer / vnto the Tretee Atwene grekes / and Troye the Cytee And for the partye / of grekes as I rede Firste vlixes / and with hym Dyomede Assigned were / and the kynge of Crete With Anthenor / and Eneas to mete And all yfere / shortly in sentence By conduyt firste / and after by lycence Of the noble wyse / Agamenowne They entred be / into Troye towne By conueyinge / of this Eneas Of whose commynge / suche a Ioye there was Of the comunes / whiche in thynges newe Reioyse aye / after thoughe they rewe Wenynge full well / in theyr oppynyon That / by the good medyacyon Of Vlixes / and the kynge of Crete And Dyomede / that came eke to Trete That these thre / shuld make as faste A fynall peas / euer for to laste And a full ende / of theyr alder sorowe And therupon / Erely the next morowe Pryam lette make / a conuocacyowne Of all the worthy / within Troye towne And whan they were / assembled all in one The wyse Vlixes / rose vp anone And his tale / gan in suche a wyse So prudently / his wordes to deuyse That to herken / euery man hath ioye And specyally / they that were of Troye That of his inwarde / menynge fraudelent Full lytell wyste / nor of his entent To theyr pleasaunce / so he coude fayne And firste he axeth / of them thynges twayne The one was this / that of the Cyte He wolde haue golde / an huge quantyte In recompense / of harmes that were do Another thynge / he axed also Without abode / that Amphymacus That sone was / to kynge Pryamus Perpetuelly / that he exyled be Neuer to entre / Troye the cyte For golde prayer / nor for no raunson And this was done / by suggestyon Of Anthenor / false and malycious Oonly / for he was contraryous That he shulde / treaty for to a pees And for that / he was nat reckeles To say a trouthe / this Amphymacus Therfore in sothe / this serpent enuyous Now he hath founde / a tyme for to byte He thought he wolde / cruelly hym quyte For trouthe oonly / that was in his entent Therfore it is / full expedyent Of prudence / euery man to charge That his tonge / be nat ouer large Trouthes all / be nat for to sayne For wysedome is / somtyme to fayne And dissymule / in aduersyte Specyally / whan men in trouble be And se theyr speche / may them nat auyle Better is than / that theyr tonge fayle Than folyly / to theyr damage speke Men must amonge / kure and ouer reke The trouthe of thynges / oonly of prudence And humbly / suffre in pacyence For false reporte / of folkes enuyous Who can so do / I holde hym vertuous For better it is / a whyle to abyde Than say all out / of rancoure and of pryde Sylence in sothe / hath ofte in hasty stryfe Hadde of victorye / a prserogatyfe And the palme / of debates wonne That well are they / that so suffre konne And be of speche / nat presumptuous For as I tolde / this Amphymacus Nat withstandynge / that he trouthe mente Yet for a worde / he into Exyle wente . Albe that god / full iustely afterwarde Hath Anthenor quyte / for his rewarde For with the same / he was after hyt For his falsenesse / duely as it syt This to say / for his iniquyte He was to exyle / and captyuyte For iuged after / into proscripcy owne And relegat / out of Troye towne Perpetuelly / by the procurynge Of Eneas / loo / how the right full kynge That all may se / in his prouydence Full iustly can make recompence Of doubylnesse / and symulacyon And of all suche / contryued false treason For who auengeth / with falsehede on his parte He shall be hyt / with the same darte He scapeth nat / for to haue a wounde For falsehede aye / wyll agayne rebounde Where it rose firste / to his Orygenall Resorte agayne / right as doth a ball For who for fraude / euer doth hym caste Truste right well / it wyll out at the laste And who supplanteth / shall supplanted be By good exaumple / as ye shall after se . OF Anthenor / the storye if ye rede And whyles they / treaty and procede Touchynge the exyle / and proscripcyon Captyuyte / and relegacyon That they caste / for Amphymacus There was herde / a noyse meruayllous A great tumulte / and a wonder sowne Lyke as it were / a lamentacyowne Of sondry folke / playnynge in distresse For hertely wo / and in warde heuynesse Out of the treate / euen whan they gone This confuse crye / after gan anone Wherof vlixes / and eke Dyomede Sodaynely / fylle in a drede Supposynge / in theyr oppyowne That some rumoure / was falle in the towne Amonge the people / in the como●te Of hasty rancour / auenged for to be For the loue / of Amphymacus That causeles was / exyled thus Of volunte / agayne all trouthe and ryght Wherfore they dradde / whan it drewe to nyght To be murdred / of the comons of the towne For the fraude / and conspyracyowne Falsly compalsyd / of olde enmytee By Anthenor / and by false Enee And sothly yet / there was no maner man That coude wyt / wherof it began Nor espye / firste where it arose In all the paleys / nor thorugh out the close They herde it well / but they lay nought Wherof they were / astoned in theyr thought And affrayde / of very sodayne drede Vlixes most / and also Dyomede Lyste with comons / they had be by set But Anthenor / without lenger let To make them sure / from all tumulte & cry The Grekes hath / conueyed secretely And whan they were / assured of theyr place Vlixes firste / with a chaunged face Gan pynche sore / in the selfe whyle At Anthenor / of treason and of gyle That with his hestys / so fro day to day Of very sleyghte / put them in delay Semynge fully / for ought he coude espye There was deceyt / fraude or trecherye In the couenauntes / that he hath behyght To whom an one / this false Troyan knyght With sadde chere / and sobre countenaunce Well auysed / in his dalyaunce Answerde agayne / and playnely dyde expresse I wysse quod he / I take vnto wytnesse The hye goddes / that euery thynge may se Without faynynge / that I haue besy be Fro poynt to poynt / your purpose to acheue So that I you / do nat greue And fynally / that ye lyste to here There is one thynge / parturbeth this matere Whiche that I shall / so it be none offence Playnely remembre / here in your presence This to say / of olde Antyquyte Firste at the byldynge / of Troye the Cyte That whylom was / ycalled Yllyon For cause oonly / at his foundacyon Kynge Ylyus / sythe go full longe The founder was / of the walle stronge After whom / as made is mencyon It called was / and named Yllyon In the whiche / with great and besy charge In Pallas name / he made a temple large That passyngly / was had in reuerence And whan this Phane / of moste excellence Perfourmed was / by masonry full wele And saue the rofe / complete euerydele Of myghty stone / the byldynge well assured But or it was / with lede and tymber cured Agayne tempest / for to be obstacle There fyll a wonder / oonly by myracle That I dare well / afferme it in certeyne Suche another / was there neuer seyne Who so lyste se / and consydre all This meruayle was / so celestyall . FOr there came downe / from the hye heuen By Plyades / and the sterres seuen And thorugh the Eyer / holdynge his passage Lyke a fayre / and meruaylous ymage That in this worlde / though men had sought Ne was there none / halfe so well ywrought For as it is / trewely to suppose Pygmalyon / remembred in the rose In his tyme / hadde no cunnynge To graue or peynte / so curyous a thynge For it was wrought / with dylygent laboure By hande of Aungell / in the heuenly toure Thorugh goddes myght / & dyuyne ordyaūce And hyder sent / thorugh his puruyaunce For a relyke oonly / of his grace And prouyded / to the same place There to abyde / for a proteccyon For a diffence / and sauacyon Perpetuelly / whyle the worlde may dure Agayne all myschefe / and mysauenture Euery trouble / and trybulacyon In susteynynge / and releuacyon And soueraygne helpe / eke of this Cyte The whiche / neuer may destroyed be By none engyne / that men may purchace The goddes haue / graunted suche a grace And suche vertue / annexed eke therto That troye in sothe / may neuer be fordo Tyll this relyke / stole be away And yet in sothe / there is no man that may From the place / stere it / nor remewe But the preste / to whom it is dewe Oonly of offyce / to touche it with his honde So myghtely / conserued is the bonde That who attempteth / in conclusyon It to remewe / of presumpcyon At the fyne / platly he shall fayle For force none / may hym nat auayle For it in sothe / wyll nat remeued be Except of hym / to whom of duete It apperteyneth / as ye haue herde to forne And ouer more / there is no man yet borne That rede can / nor tell in no degree Veryly / where it be stone or tree Nor how it was deuysed / nor ywrought There is no wyght / so sotyll in his thought Ceryously / to tell the manere For Mynerua / that is so fresshe and clere The sterne goddesse / thorugh hir great myght That is so dredefull / bothe of loke and syght Whiche on hir brest / haueth of cristall Hir shelde Egys / this goddesse inmortall Ygraunted hath / in bokes as I lerne Thorugh hir power / whiche that is eterne This holy relyke / for a memoryall To hir temple / of byldynge moste royall It to conserue / from all assaute of brede And to socoure / in euery maner nede Agayne theyr foon / vnto Troye towne Whyle it is kept / with deuociowne So that alway / by successyowne From kynge to kynge / in the lyne downe But iust tycle / lynealy succede There to annexyd / that they take hede Prudently / auoydynge neclygence It to conserue / with dewe reuerence As they are bounde / and yholde of ryght Than shall no enmye / power haue nor myght To do damage / in hyndrynge of the towne And why it is called / Palladyowne Lyke as clerkes / wryte of it and sayne Is for Pallas / to make hir towne certayne This relyke sent / fro the heuen downe And to conclude / shortly my reasowne This the cause / our purpose is so let Than quod vlixes / syth it may beno bet Our labour is / in ydell and in vayne Without recure / if it be certayne As thou haste sayde / this towne in no degre Thorugh this relyke / may nat destroyed be It was foly / the to vndertake Vnto Grekes / beheste for to make Without this / thou haddest be well sure Quod Anthenor / yet there is recure As I haue hyght / ye shall haue the towne All though there be / a dylacyowne And the maner anone / I shall telle If it so be / ye lyste a whyle dwelle Without noyse / outher perturbaunce The preste / the whiche the gouernaunce Of this relyke / shal be spoke vnto By good aduyse / and ytretyd so That he shall be / full of our assent For he with golde / and treasour shal be blent That he accorde shall / to our purpose To brynge the relyke / whiche is kept so close To what place / that ye lyste assygne Be styll of porte / goodly and benygne In your werkes / tyll I haue brought aboute Fully this thynge / and be nothynge in doute I dare my selfe / take it well on honde And whan they had / his menynge vnderstonde They toke leue / and went out of the towne But firste / to voyde all suspecyowne At theyr goynge / Anthenor hath hyght How that he wolde / go the same nyght To Pryamus / to make ordynaunce How the bondes / and the assuraunce Of the peas / shulde ymaked be And for to knowe / eke the quantyte Of the golde / that ye shall receyue Thus shall I beste / the purpose apparceyne Of the kynge / to knowe it eueryde●e And they consente / and lyke wonder wele . Euery thynge / that Anthenor hath fayde And so they parte / glad and well apayde And went theyr way / and made no tariynge And Anthenor / goth vnto the kynge Hym counsayllynge / he make no delay To calle his lordes / agayne the next day And his lyeges / to assemble yfere Fynally / to engroce / this matere As it was syttynge / and expedyent And whan the kynge / in open parlement Crowned sat / in his regalye This Anthenor / gan to specyfye In audyence / that men myght knowe To eche estate / bothe hye and lowe The grekes wyll / if they agree therto And what the summe / was of golde also Whiche they axe / if the peas shall stande Twenty thousande Marke / to haue in hande Of puryd god / whiche must anone be payed And of syluer / that may nat be delayed They muste eke haue / the same quantyte And ouer this / as they accorded be Certayne mesours / by couenaunt also Of whete and floure / theyr lyues for to saue In theyr repayre / by the large see Whan they sayle / home to theyr countree And that the collect / made be anone By good aduyse / of them euerychone That all be redy / by acercayne day There was no man / that durste tho say nay Nor contrarye / that Anthern or hath sayde Where so they were / well or euyll payde But full assent / in conclusyowne And in all haste / thorugh out all the towne The Collatours / gadered vp the golde Lyke the summe / that I haue you tolde Of pore and ryche / there was sparyd none The whiche tyme / Anthenor is gone Vnto the preest / that called was Tonaunt I she myght / in any wyse hym daunt To make his herte / fully to enclyne Full craftely / he layde out hoke and lyne With lusty ●eyte / of false coueytyse Excycynge hym / in full secrete wyse That wolde / be of his assent And condescende / vnto his entent To put hym / in possessyon Of the relyke / called Palladyon Without abode / it may delyueryd be And gaue hym golde / an huge quantyte And hym to blende / moche more behyght And this was done / full pryuely by nyght Shortly concludynge / if he condescende That he wolde / his estate amende So passyngly / that for euer more He and his heyres / shulde haue golde and store Plente ynough / that none indygence Shulde haue power / hym to do offence For vnto the / this a a vowe I make Quod Anthenor / and platly vndertake Of golde & good / thou shalt haue suffysaunce And of treasour / passynge habundaunce That thou shalt / in very sykernesse All thy kyn excelle / in rychesse If thou delyuer / lyke to myn axynge Palladyon / whiche is in thy kepynge And I behote / thou mayste truste me By bonde of it / shal be secree Lyst it were / hyndrynge to thy name For if so be / that thou drede shame To be esclaundred / of so foule a dede I shape shall / that thou nede nat drede Nor be agaste / in no maner wyse For suche away / in sothe I shall deuyse That no man / shal be suspecyous To thy persone / nor engenyous To deme amysse / how this mater goth For be well ware / that me were as loth To be diffamed / of so false a thynge To knowe therof / or be assentynge In any maner / that they of the towne Shulde to me / haue suspeccyowne Lece be / let be / leuer I hadde deye We shall therfore / caste another weye Our honour saue / so that thou and I Shall go all quyte / I say the vtterly That neyther / shall beholde ne parceyuere Of this thefte / but stonde hole and clere What euer falle / without any shame For vlixes / shall bere all the blame Of this dede / and this thefe also For men shall say / whan that it is ago By his engyne / and his sleyghty wyle Thorugh his treynes / and his false gyle That he hath stole / away Palladyowne From the temple / in lesynge of the twone That fynally / durynge all his lyue Men shall to hym / this falsehede ascryue And all the gylte / aretten his offence That thou and I / oonly of Innocence Thorugh out the worlde / of this iniquyte Shal be excusyd / platly and go free It nedeth nat / tarye in this matere Come of attones / lo thy golde is here For thou ne shalte / lenger delayed be And syth thou seest / that no diffyculte Is on no parte / pereyll nor reprefe Shame nor drede / scalundre nor myschefe Delaye nat to take / this thynge on honde And firste this preest / gan hym to withstonde Full myghtely / and sayde for nothynge Nouther for prayer / nor for manasynge For golde nor gode / ne no maner mede He ne wolde assent / to so foule a dede Thus he answerde / at the pryme face But ofte sythe / it happeth men purchace By gyfte of good / to speke in wordes playne That trouth in pouerte / myght neuer attayne For mede more / by falshede may conquere Than tytle of right / that men in trouth lere And gyftes great / hertes can enclyne And golde they maye / in stele & marbyll myne This prestes herte / hath so depe graue That Anthenor / shall his purpose haue For to possede / the Palladyon Thorugh false engyne / and conspyracyon Of this preest / that called was Tonaunte Whiche of falshede / myght hym best auaunte That this relyke / fro the temple rente And to Vlixes / Anthenor it sente Out of the towne / in all the haste he myght By a seruaunt / secretely by nyght Wherof Troyans / mortally dismayde And thorugh treason / fynally out trayed Wrought by this preest / with coueytyse blent False Anthenor / beynge of assent .
How the Grekis made an hors of brasse wherin was men of Armes / & vnder coloure of peas brought it into Troye / by the whiche it was vtterly dystroyed for euer . Cap. xxxv .
O Troye alas / well mayest thou morne & wepe In complaynynge / wthertely syghes depe Falsly defraudyd / of Palladyon And put for euer / out of possessyon O myghty goddes / that the worlde gouerne And euery thyng / thorugh your myght conserue Ryght as it is / of your deyte And trouthe / and falshede / may togydrese In euery herte / thorugh your puruyaunce Why toke ye nat / on this preest vengaunce That traytoursly / thorugh his iniquyte For golde and good / be traysshed the cyte Of troye alas / without more recure Who shall emforth / and more be sure Or any place / stonde in sykerte Syth holynesse / of so hye degre May be infect / and corrupt with mede Euery herte / ought quake and drede To se alas / by false Ypocrysye Prestes that shulde / the worlde exemplefye With good doctryne / of perfeccyon To make so soone / a transmutacyon Of double entent / so daynely to varye For douteles / if the Seyntuarye Be pollut founde / in conuersacyon Naked and bare / of deuocyon And that the shynynge / of theyr parfyt lyght Yturned be / by dyrkenesse vnto nyght Vnto what place / shall men ferther go To take example / what them ought to do Certys the roote / and grounde of euerydele Is coueytyse / who so loke wele Of whiche the greyne / is so fer ysowe That who so lyste / Auaryce to knowe Amonge prestes / he shall it rathest fynde For therwithall / they be made blynde To theyr estate / that they may nat se For in sothnesse / there is no degre Gredyer / nor more rauynous Of worldely good / more coueytous That prestes be / to catche what they may For it is gone / sythe many a day That in theyr brest / fyxhed was the rote Of coueytyse / whiche syt so sote That no man may / arrace hym nor remewe For at theyr tayle / euer it doth them sewe This false worme / moder and noryce Of all myschefe / and of euery vyce For golde is nowe / so shynynge and so bryght So persynge eke / and so clere of lyght That prestes be / with his stemes blent For in sothnesse / they be in theyr entent Of coueytyse / very receptacle And to possede / eke the tabernacle Theyr herte is aye / so gredy to enbrace That Auaryce / hath his lodgynge place Myd of theyr breste / this vyce of vyces all That causeth vertue / rather for to falle Where he abyt / so he can supplaunte Recorde I take / of the preest Tonaunte That for treasour / to Anthenor hath solde The ryche relyke / that he hadde in holde Palladyon / whyle they of Troye towne Haue gaderyd vp / aboute euyrowne Of ryche and pore / thorugh out the cyte Golde and syluer / an huge quantyte Floure and whete / to paye theyr raunson The whiche summe / of entencyon They made kepe / wysely and conserue In the temple / that longeth to Mynerue Purposynge after / of one affeccyowne The Cytesens / thorugh out all the towne Hopynge therby / for to fare the bet Vpon a day / assygned and yset To Appollo / in theyr paynem wyse Solempnely / make a sacryfyse With slaughter of bestes / with encense and blode On whiche day / whan the prestes stode In compasse rounde / aboute the autere And gan to kyndle / the coles bryght and clere Vpon the Autere / playnely as I rede To offre vp / the bestes that were dede In the flawme / and the great leuen To Appollo / stellefyed in heuen Whan they to offre / were most laboryous There befell / two thynges meruaylous The firste was / that the sacryde fyre Ne wolde brenne / lyke to hir desyre Nor the flawme / vp ascende alofte Albe that they / assayed full ofte More than ten tymes / and yet it ne wolde be For aye it queynt / that they ne myght se Nought but smoky / resolucyons Horryble and blacke / lyke exalacyons Of newe lyme / whan that it is meynt With water colde / and of his hete queynt That they myght / in no maner wyse For lacke of fyre / do theyr sacryfyce For aye they founde / a wonderfull obstacle And the next / was a more myracle On theyr Auter / whan they gan to sprede The entrayles / of bestes / that were dede To queme Appollo / with flawmes bryght & fayre There came anone / downe out of the ayre A royall Egle / full persynge of his loke And in his clawes / the offrynge vp he toke And the Entrayles / lyenge enuyrowne In his descence / makynge suche a sowne That none so hardy / of herte nor manhode But that he was / astoned there he stode And supprysed / thorugh nerfe and euery vayne Of this meruayle / and this case sodayne But the Egle / abydynge there no more Ouer the towne / full hye gan to sore Towarde grekes / enhastynge what he myght And on theyr shypes / sodaynely a lyght And the Entrayles / of the bestes alle This Egle let / fro his clawes falle Wherof Troyans / whan they toke hede Disamayed / with a mortall drede By sygnes haue / clerely comprehendyd That theyr goddes / greatly were offendyd Agayne the towne / whan the fyre went oute And for they wolde / be put out of doute To be sure / what this meruayle mente To Cassandra / in all haste they wente Fully to haue / declaracyon And therupon / playne exposycyon And she tolde them / platly out of drede That the quenchynge / of theyr fyres rede Was vnto them / a demonstracyon Both of yre / and indignacyon That Appollo / hath to Troye bore For the blode / that was shad before Of Achylles / in his temple slawe Vengeably murdred / and ydrawe Without any maner / reuerence Or honour done / to the excellence Of Appollo / beynge there present That the Phane / and plates adiacent Were defoulyd / and pollut with the blode Wherfore she sayde / shortly it was gode That they went / on prosessyon With herte contryte / and deuocyon To the toumbe / of Achylles at nyght Oonly to fette / on theyr taprys lyght Sacryd fyre / brennynge at the wake Fully in purpose / by assent to make For his murdre / satissfaccyon The whiche fyre / by none occacyon Shall nat quenche / but his flawmes holde Thorugh none assaute / of stormy wyndes colde The sacryfyce / vpon the Autere Tofore Appollo / brenne shall so clere And they of Troye / wrought by hir rede But of the Egle / she badde them take hede That no thynge was / but token oftreason Pronostycke / and declaracyon Fynally how Troye / and Ylyon Shall tourne in haste / to destruccyon For the flyenge / of this fowle royall Ouer the towne / and the myghty wall With his fethers / maylyd bryght and she And the Entrayles / in his clawes kene To troye was / a fynall demonstraunce Sothfaste shewynge / and sygnefyaunce That grace and Ewer / & hap of olde Fortune By lyklyhede / myght nat contune Nor perseuer / in theyr firste lyght For all attones / they haue take theyr flyght Palladyon / myght them nat withholde That stole was / lyke as I you tolde For no man may / his fatall chaunce refuse And Grekes eke / faste gan to muse And inwardly / in theyrwyttes sought Of the Entrayles / that the Egle brought And therupon / gan togydre rowne Tyll that Calchas / dyd euery thynge expowne And vnto them / full gan assure That the fyne / of this auenture Conclude shulde / vpon theyr welfare And bad also / for no coste they spare To perseuere / and be of herte stable By Fortune / them selfe to enhable Them counsayllynge / to do theyr besy payne Solempnely / in haste to ordayne A certayne offrynge / borne out of the felde To fayre Pallas / with hir Cristall shelde And to hir make / a ryche sacryfyse As the storye / by ordre shall deuyse . BYsshop Calchas / with his lockes hore Traytour forsworne / syth go ful yore That falsed hath / trouth & his aliaunce Whom Clerkes / haue put in remembraunce In theyr lockes / with letters olde and newe To exemplefye / no man to be vntrewe For though yeres / passe faste aweye Rust of sclaundre / lyghtly wyll nat deye The fret therof / is so corrosyfe That it lasteth / full many mannes lyfe And is full harde / to arrace awaye Of whose venym / full selde is made allaye Reporte therof / blowen is so wyde Perpetuelly / that it wyll abyde Remembred newe / and fresshely had in mynde Recorde of hym / that coude away fynde Olde Calchas / euyll mut he sterue Vnder colour / of offrynge to Mynerue To make Grekes / entre into towne This sleyghty serpent / Fader and patrowne And fyndre vp / of treason and of gyle Compassyd hath / and I founde a wyle How grekes shall / the Cyte wynne and take Pretendynge them / sacryfyce to make Vnto Pallas / as I shall expresse For this traytoure / meroure of falsenesse The Grekes bad / for to do theyr payne To Mynerua / an offrynge to fayne And in all haste / that they shulde them spede And of assent / they dyde make a stede Large and wyde / of Coper and of bras By crafte of synon / that contryued was That it myght receyue / large and wele A thousande knyghtes / armed bryght in stele Thorugh the sleyghte / and the compassynge The sotyll wytte / and meruayllous workynge Of this wyse / and crafty greke Synon Whiche thorugh his castynge / and discrecyon Parformed hath / this ryche stede of bras As ye haue herde / by byddynge of Calchas And by the aduyse / of Appyus the wyse That holpe also / the stede to deuyse To fyne oonly / that of deuocyowne Grekes myght / requere of the towne Whan it were made / to graunte them lycence It presente / in the reuerence Of myghty Pallas / in stele armed bryght Amyd hir temple / large and full of lyght By the offrynge / to fynde occasyowne To haue entre / frely into towne By pylgrymage / theyr vowes to fulfylle In whiche stede / daren shall full stylle A thousande knyghtes / as Calchas by deuyse Ordayned hath / that was so slye and wyse By crafte / of Synon / and of Appyus This large stede / of makynge meruayllous Vnder pretense / of oblacyon Was complete full / to his perfeccyon Of werkemanshype / as I tolde afore The same yere / that Troye was forlore Whan the sege / sothly gan to fyne And the Cyte / was brought to Ruyne Thorugh grekes myght / & the wall stronge Were bete downe / large thycke and longe The whiche yere / as made is mencyowne Alytell afore / takynge of the towne Kynges echone / that came fro so ferre Alyue lefte / after the mortall werre Whan they sawe / how Pryam by couenaunt Vnto Grekes / that vtterly made graunt All haste possyble / to paye his raunsowne They toke leue / and went out of the towne And firste I fynde / how kynge Phylymene With hym ladde / the body of the quene ‛ Pantasyllia / home to hir countre Full rychely / there to buryed be And of .ij. thousande knyghtes / that this kynge . Brought vnto Troye / firste at his comynge No mo than fyfty / home with hym he ladde And of women / that the quene eke hadde Of a thousande / the storye sayth certayne But foure hondred home agayne And thus / whan all were fro Troye gone The morowe nexte / Pryamus anone With his lordes / rode out of the towne As was the acorde / for confirmacyowne Of Peas fynall / vpon outher syde And in the felde / Grekes hym abyde And on relykes / openly yborne There they were / on outher party sworne On the forme / to you afore recordyd As Anthenor / with grekes was accordyd And for grekes / firste swore Dyomede They of Troye / takynge lytell hede How the othe was / in condycyon Curyd aboue / vnder false treason Sythe grekes / tho in theyr swerynge Ne bounde them selfe / to no maner thynge To stonde to / as in specyall But for to holde / and kepe in generall The poyntes hole / engrossyd and no more In thylke treate / that daunz Anthenore With grekes helde / this traytour fraudulent In whiche they were / full double of entent Meynt with treason / as ye haue herde toforne Whiche to obserue / oonly they were sworne By fraude of othe / and nat by wordes playne Theyr aduer saryes / to take in a Trayne Excludynge them / from theyr meanynge ferre Peas in the face / but in the herte werre All openly confermed / with theyr honde Inly to treason / by assuraunce of bonde But though the venym / was closyd with a wall It was nat hyd / fro hym that knoweth all For certaynely / so as clerkes teche Who that swereth / falsly in his speche Flourysshynge outwarde / by a fayre coloure For to deceyue / his trewe neyghboure He is forsworne / what so euer he be The treason hyd / though men may nat se How so the worde / be away yborne Who swereth by crafte / is by crafte forsworne There may be made / none excusacyon For god that knoweth / the entencyon Demeth the herte / and the worde right nought For he the wyll / knoweth and the thought Of euery man / nyghe and eke a fere Therfore beware / no man hym forswere As Grekes dyde / Troyans to deceyue That the fraude / coude nat conceyue Supposynge that / Grekes hadde be Faythfull and trewe / of theyr surete But no thynge on / they in herte thought Whiche in the ende / they full dere abought Whan they founde / fully the reuerse And to theyr speche / the dede so dyuerse It were but vayne / by and by to wryte Theyr fayned othes / nor theyr wordes whyte Nor the cherys / that they coude fayne But to conclude / with the quene Eleyne Durynge the treate / vpon the same day Delyueryd was / to kynge Menelay And after that / was payed the raunsowne Graunted tofore / and gaderyd in the towne Golde and syluer / where also and floure And to theyr shyppes / with dylygent laboure In full great / haste euery thynge was brought Where thorugh the Cyte / after came to nought And grekes than / by symulacyon Makynge a coloure / of deuocyon Thorugh holynesse / vnder Ypocrysye Falsly fayned / by fraude and flatery , The kynge haue prayed / to haue lyberte Freely to Entre / into the Cyte To make asseth / by oblacyon For the thefte / of Palladyon And offre vp / the ryche stede of bras To the goddes / that called is Pallas What kynge Pryam / lyketh to assygne That she to them / be wyllnge and benygne In theyr repeyre / saylynge by the see Home into Grece / towarde theyr countree Whan she is quemyd / with his large stede Of whiche alas / Pryam toke no hede The treason hyd / he coude nat aduerte But graunted them / with all his hole herte Whan that them lyst / to brynge it into towne By false entysynge / and suggestyowne Of Anthenor / and also of Enee Hauynge no drede / nor ambygnytee In his entent / nor suspeccyon Nouther of fayngynge / nor of false treason But right frendely / lyke to his beheste Condescendeth / vnto theyr requeste Theyr auowes / that they myght obserue To offre vp / this hors vnto Mynerue And grekes tho / with great dylygence Full great honour / and huge reuerence Haue shapen them / with processyowne To brynge the stede / into Troye towne The men of armes / beynge aye them By whom they calle / Troye for to wyn In shorte tyme / for it stode on the date And whan this hors / brought was to the gate It was so narowe / that there was no space For the stede / into towne to pace Albe that they / assayed ouer all Whefore Pryam / bet a downe the wall To make it large / right at theyr deuyse In whiche thynge alas / he was vnwyse For cause che●e / of his confusyowne Was that this hors / came into the towne But humbly / forth they gan procede To the temple / with this large stede And to Pallas / mekely downe knelynge All attones / they made there offrynge With fayned chere / and false deuocyowne Wherof in herte / glad was all the towne And specyall / they that were of Troye But sothe is sayde / that aye the fyne of ioye Who occupyeth / as men full ofte se For vnwarely / cometh aduersyte After gladnesse / and mysauenture Whan men best wene / for to stonde sure In worldly blysshe / is none affyaunce So dyuers is / his vnhappy chaunce Full of deceyte / euer meynt with trouble And for to truste / varyaunt and double And selde in one / abydynge any throwe For worldly luste / though it be now blowe With pompe and pryde / & with bost & sowne Anone it passeth / recorde of Troye towne That wende well / by this ryche stede To haue be sure / and deuoyde of drede Perpetuelly / as I haue tolde tofore But whan grekes / haue this hors ybore Tofore Pallas / as ye haue herde me telle Them lyketh nat / lenger for to dwelle In the boundes / of this myghty towne But of purpose / to the Greke Synowne They haue commytted / hole the gouernayle Of this stede / the whiche wyll nat fayle Whan he seeth best / opportunyte By his engyne / to traysshe the Cyte And Grekes haue / in this whyle founde A newe sleyghte / them fully to confounde This to say / they haue made theyr sonde To kynge Pryam / they wolde go fro londe Vnto the see / towarde Tenedowne And thyder sayle / for this conclusyowne For that Eleyne / by good a●ysement In secrete wyse / thyder shal be sent For they dradde / if vpon the londe She were delyuered / shortly to theyr honde Grekes wolde of malys / do theyr payne The more party / to slee this Eleyne For she was grounde / & gynnynge of theyr wo The very roote / and the cause also Of the slaughter / of many worthy man Sythen the ryme / the sege firste began Wherfore they sayde / for to stynte all stryfe And to be sure / for to saue hir lyfe The best was / to lende hir out of syght Secretely / to Tenedowne by nyght Thus they fayned / of full false treason Pryam to put / from all suspeccyon Alkaunce they wolde / after neuer theyr lyue Resorte agayne / with Troye for to stryue Thus they made / Pryam for to wene But in the honde / he was deceyued clene Of theyr deceyte / knowynge neuer / adele For in his herte / he thought nat but we le Grauntynge them / all that myght them please And whan they hadde / at leyser and good ease Fro Troyesayled / vnto Tenedowne With theyrnauye / the false greke Synowne In Troye / wakergan to take kepe The houre whan men / were in theyr firste slepe And in all haste / with his sleyghty gynne Many vyse / and many sotyll pynne In the stede / he made aboute gone The crafty lokes / vndoynge euerychone And out he goth / and gan anone to calle Within the hors / the worthy knyghtes alle So secretely / no man myght espye And traytoursly / he gan hym for to hye Vpon the walles / the selfe same nyght And towarde grekes / gan to shewe a lyght Where as they lay / tofore Tenedowne Redy armed / to falle vpon the towne And whan they had / this sodayne lyght espyed On hors backe / anone they haue them hyed Towarde Troye / armed clene at all And in they wente / by the same walle Whiche for the hors / was but late broke And mortally / for to be a wroke The knyghtes eke / in the stede of bras Haue with them met / a full sterne paas And gan anone / thorugh out the Cyte On euery halfe / for to kylle and slee With blody swerde / vpon euery syde And made theyr woundes / brode large & wyde Whyle they alas / no thynge aduertynge At mydnyght houre / a dedde lay slepynge Full innocent / and thought nat but gode All for bathed / in the yrowne blode Bothe man and childe / without excepcyon The Grekes sparynge / no condcyon Of olde nor yonge / woman wyfe nor mayde That with the crye / Pryamus abrayde Out of his llepe / and sodaynely a woke Whiche lay all nyght / and no hede ne toke Of the daughter / nor murdre in the towne But tho he wyste / that there was treasowne Falsly compassyd / vnto his cytee By Anthenor / and also by Enee Of whose malys / he was no more in doute For the venym / was now broken oute And now the galle / of conspyracyon That vnder sugre / of symulacyon Hath so louge / closyd be and hyd In dede is now / execute and kyd And nowe the fraude / fully of treason The caste also / of false collusyon Be taked out / and abrode yblowe And the Autours / openly yknowe Now hath enuye / and contryued hate Of theyr Engyne / sette abrode the gate Now hath deceyte / and olde conspyracye And fayned othes / all of one allye Openly shewed / theyr falsenesse And disclosed / all theyr doubylnesse So ferre abrode / that now is there no geyne For now alas / the wylde fyre is seyne In toures hye / with the wynde yblased Wherof Pryam / astoned and amased All awapyd / sterte out of his bed And comforteles / to the temple is fled Of Appollo / to saue hym if he myght And aye the flawme / of the fyres bryght Brent in the towne / and cousumeth all The ryche byldynge / whylom so royall That the walles / with theyr rofes huge Coueryd with lede / for a chefe refuge Were now alas / bare and bareyne makyd The grekes aye / with theyr swerdes nakyd Murdre and slee / where so that they go That twenty thousande / that nyght and mo They kylled haue / longe or it was day And in this slaughter / and this great affray Spoyle and robbe / and take what they fynde Treasour / and good / and lefte nat behynde By myghty honde / and sturdy vyolence And the temples / without reuerence They haue despoyled / thorugh out all the towne And gredely rent / and racyd downe Of golde and syluer / the ornamentes alle Totore the goddes / foule mote them falle Kynge Pryam aye / with a deedly chere To Appolio / makynge his prayere Furyously / this hertely wofull man As he in soth / that no rede ne can . BUt wayte his deth / & his fatall Eure And Cassandra / that holy creature Of in warde wo / desyrous to sterue Complaynynge / ran vnto Mynerue Makynge to hir / a lamentacyowne With other gentyll women / of the towne And there alas / as they wolde dye Full pyteously / they sobbe wepe and crye And in theyr dooll / there I lette them dwelle For all theyr sorowes / if I shulde telle In this storye / and theyr wo descryue My penne shulde / of very routhe ryue Rehersynge eke / how in euery strete Theyr clothes blacke / redy / moyste and wete As they alas / bothe one and alle On theyr lordes / downe aswowne falle With theyr blode bedewed / and ysprent Where men may se / the cristall terys meynt Of theyr wepynge / in theyr woundes grene That laye and blede / agayne the sonne shene With deedly iyen / castynge vp the whyte It were but vayne / all here to wryte Nor the maner / of theyr mortall sorowe But Guydo wryt / that the same morowe How Anthenor / and with hym false Enee Conueyued haue / thorugh out the Cyte The myghty Grekes / vnto Ylyon The royall toure / and ryche mansyon That whylom was / of most excellence In the whiche / they founde no diffence Of hye nor lowe / nor of none estate For it was lefte / alone desolate With all the golde / and rychesse of the twone Shet and enclosed / in the chefe dongeowne But for there was / no man that withstode They brake the lockes / & raught away the gode And the treasour / that was shet within Eche for his partye / that he myght wyn They gaue no force / who was lefe or lothe And Pyrrus after / to the temple goth Of Appollo / by great cruelte And fyll on Pryam / knelynge on his kne And with his swerde / furyously and wode Tofore the auter / shadde there his blode So hye raughte / both in lengthe and brede That the stremes / of his woundes rede That the statue / of golde borned bryght Of this Appollo / for all his great myght For all his power / and his sterne face Defouled was / and pollut all the place Oonly by deth / of this worthy kynge By Pyrrus slayne / whyle he lay knelynge Of olde hatrede / and enuyous pryde Whyle Anthenor / and Enee stode besyde That routhe was / and pyte to beholde To sehym lye / on the stones colde So pyteously / tofore the auter blede Wherof alas / whan Eccuba toke hede And hir doughter / fayre Polycene With heer to rent / as any golde wyer shene Inly supprysed / with sorowe to the herte Whan they began / consydre and aduerte This noble kynge / with blody stremes rede All for drowned / his eyen dyrke and dede With Pyrrus swerd / gyrt thorugh outher syde For mortall fere / they durste nat abyde But inwardly / thorugh darted with the syght All in a rage / toke them to the flyght And yet in sothe / thorugh out the Cyte They wyste neuer / whytherwarde to flee Rescuse was none / nor no remedye Of kynne nor frende / nor of none allye With grekes swerde / the towne was so be set And in hir flyght / this wofull quene hath met Eneas / causer of all this wrake Vnto whom / rebukynge thus she spake O thou traytour / moste malycyous Thou false serpent / adder enuyous Crope and roote / fynder of falsenesse Soures and well / of vnkyndenesse How myghtest thou / in thy herte fynde Vnto thy kynge / to be so vnkynde Gynner and grounde / exaumple of treason And fynall cause / of our destruccyon How myghtest thou / deuoyde of all pyte Beholde alas / thorugh thy cruelte Of the kynge / shedde so the blode That euer hath ben / so gentyll and so good So gracyous lorde / specyally to the And ouer more / thorugh his hye bounte They honoured / and ymagnefyed All his lyue / it may nat be denyed That lyeth now deed / in the temple alas Thou were nat oonly / traytoure in this caas But to his deth / conspyrynge and vukynde Pyrrus conueyinge / where he shuld him fynde Tofore Appollo / mydes of this Cyte Where thou shuldest / of very duete Rather haue ben / his proteccyon His myghty shelde / and sauacyon That haste this cyte / and this towne ylorne In whiche thou were / fostryd and yborne On the grettest / of reputacyon Of all the lordes / dwellynge in this towne In which thou haddest / whylom most pleasaunce But all is now / out of remembraunce Yet in thy herte / if any drope be Of gentyllesse / mercy or pyte In this deedly rage / full of tene Rewe on my doughter / yonge Polycene From grekes swerde / hir youthe for to saue If thy herte / may any routhe haue Of manly pyte / on hir maydenhede Diffende hir nowe / and kepe hir out of drede If thou canste / fynde any weye In any wyse / that she may nat deye That hereafter / whan men se and rede The false treason / and the foule dede That thou haste done / vnto troye towne It may in partye / be proteccyowne To thy fame / the venym to allye Of this treason / whan men wyll assaye By iuste reporte / thy name to accuse This dede may / the helpe to excuse Agaynst tonges / that speke of Enee Than wyll they say / thou haddest yet pyte On Polycene / oonly of gentyllesse Therwith to sugre / all the bytternesse Of thy decert / blowe forth by fame By rehersayle / of the foule blame That shall of the / thorugh the worlde be borne With sklaundre infect / whan thou art all to torne That thou ne shalt / the shame mowe sustene Than shall my doughter / fayre Polycene Be thy diffence / agayne suche famous stryfe If it so be / now thou saue hir lyfe Of me no forse / though thou make as blyue The swerde of grekes / thorugh my herte ryue And so by prayer / of this wofull quene This Eneas / toke to hym Polycene Whose traytour herte / for all his cruelte On hir youthe / was meued of pyte Oonly of routhe / that in his breste arose And secretely / put hir vp in close Lyste that Grekes / founde occasyon Agaynst hym / and Ayax Thelamon Toke to his warde / Andronomecha Actors wyfe / and wyse Cassandra Out of the Temple / longynge to Mynerue From Grekes swerde / theyr lyues to conserue And Menelay / toke the quene Eleyne Into his Garde / for whom so great a payne Bode in his herte / many day toforne By whom alas / the Cyte is now lorne And grekes aye / were besy in theyr yre To slee and kylle / and cruelly to fyre On euery syde / and to bete downe Paleys and house / and walles of the towne They spare nought / for all goth to the fyre So feruent hate / brent in theyr desyre Of olde enuye / auenged for to be That they ne lefte / within the Cyte No thynge vnbrent / and also Ylyowne Was in this rage / tourned vp so downe There made were / none excepcyons Oonly out take / the possessyons Of Anthenor / euyll mote he fate And Eneas / whom the grekes spare As they to them / were vounde by theyr othe And thus the grekes / furyous and wrouthe Haue all that day / robbed and ybrent Tyll that the kynge / Agamenon hath sent For his lordes / to assemble yfere In Pallas temple / oonly for to here Theyr wyse aduyse / vpon thynges twayne Firste if they wolde / holde and nat fayne Hoolly theyr hope / without excepcyowne To them by whom / they wonne first the towne And ouer more / he axed them also Touchynge the goddes / what they wolde do With golde treasour / and possessyowne That they haue won / thurgh their hye renown̄ And they answerd / without more tariynge They wolde theyr fayth / kepe in euery thynge As they were sworne / and hestys holde And ouer this / they sayde how they wolde That golde treasour / and good of the Cyte As right requyreth / and also equyte Be iustly partyd / by dyuysyon To euery wyght / made distrybucyon Lyke his meryt / of hye / and lowe degre And that the kynge / eke of reason se Eche to rewarde / after his laboure So as it longeth / to a conqueroure That no man haue / mater to compleyne And so they fylle / in spekynge of Eleyne Eueryche after / his oppynyon And tofore all other / Ayax Thelamon . Shortly sayde / she hath deserued deth For whom so many / haue yelde vp the breth Playnely affermynge / there in Parlement Of rightwysnesse / and trewe Iugement She shulde nat escape / with the lyfe That gynnynge was / & cause of all theyr stryfe Rote and grounde / of all theyr sorowe & wo And so sayde eke / many a nother mo And for the noyse / and the great affray Agamenon / nor kynge Menelay Ne durste a worde / for hir party meue To saue the quene / lyste grekes wold them greue Agaynst them / there was so great rumour Tyll Vlixes / chefely / hir socour Thorugh his wyt / and his eloquence His dever dyde / and his dylygence To saue hir lyfe / and fully to purchace Of the grekes / for to gette hir grace And as Guydo / also doth vs lere Agamenon / Grekes gan requere To graunte hym / for a chefe guerdo● Of Cassandra / to haue possessyon All hir lyfe / with hym to abyde Eke Eneas / and Anthenor besyde Of Elenus / to the Grekes tolde How to the werre / he neuer assent wolde And how that he / prudent and vertuous In counsayllynge / was contraryous To all tho / of hye and lowe estate In Troye firste / that began debate At wixe grekes / and this myghty towne Eke by his helpe / and medyacyowne Achylles / was buryed and ygraue The deed corps / from houndes for to saue Whan he was slayne / in full cruell wyse By nyght tyme / as ye haue herde deuyse For sothly he / and Cassandra bothe Of this murdre / in herte were full wrothe And sory eke / of many another thynge Wrought in the towne / without theyr wyttynge And for they were / of malys Innocent The Grekes haue / fully by assent Graunted to them / a prerogatyfe By Parlement / for to haue theyr lyfe But Elenus / firste in teers drowned Tofore the kynge / pyteously hath swowned And abraydynge / with a deedly face In humble wyle / besought hym of his grace Of knyghtly pyte / to haue his aduertence To spare his swerde / fro blode of Innocence And of mercy / that he nat disdayne To graunte lyfe / to the sones twayne Of worthy Ector / his brother most entere And eke to rewe / on theyr moder dere Oonly of grace / that she be nat dede A wydowe left alone / and can no rede And wote nat whyther / that she may dyuerte And so the kynge / ameued in his herte Of his wordes / and his wofull chere Benygnely / graunted his prayere And gaue eke lyfe / and fredam for to go To the moder / and hir children two And to ladyes / and gentyll women alle That for mercy / to his grace calle He graunted eke / of compassyon A safe conduyt / and a fre pardon Where that them lyst / in the towne abyde Or in the countre / adiacent besyde He put it hole / in theyr eleccyowne And thankynge him / they fyll on knees downe With many tere / dewed in the face And so the kynge / parteth fro the place And after that / grekes right anone Fully purpose / to shyp for to gone In haste to sayle / towarde theyr countree But suche a tempest / rose vp in the see Of wawe and wynde / also of cloudes blake All a moneth / that they dare nat take The water salte / for drede of Neptunus Of very Ire / and also Golus Was vnto them / in euery thynge contrarye That on the londe / made them longe tarye The see was aye / so fell and bolyinge Tyll that grekes / of Clachas enquerynge By one assent / what it myght be That euer in one / so dyuerse was the see In his rage / both at eue and morowe And he answerd / god gyue hym euyll sorowe This olde shrewe / with all his prophesye That can so well / whan hym lyst to lye How this tempest / caused was at all By the goddes / and furyes infernall That neuer wolde / appese nor be stylle Tyll the murdre / platly / of Achylle Auenged be / and shedynge of his blode For whiche he sayde / Appollo was eke wode For his temple / to hym consecrate Was thorugh his deth / in Troye vyolate By blode / agayne be made satysfaccyon Wherfore there muste / thorugh redempcyon Of hir that was roote / in specyall Thorugh hir beaute / and orygynall Cause of his deth / yonge Polycene And gynnynge firste / of his mortall tene Therfore to Appollo / she myght vp offred be By sacryfyce / to please his deyte With deth agayne / to make recompence Right as by deth / firste was the offence This grekes muste / vtterly fulfyll If they desyre / for to haue at wyll The large see / to sayle in quyete And Pyrus / tho in a Furyous hete Gan enquere / aboute of euery man For Polycene / but no wyght tell can Of hir a worde / nor shortly where she was Saufe some sayde / how that Eneas And Anthornor / hadde hyd hir pryuely Wherof there rose / amonge them sodaynely Suche a grutchynge / of grekes all aboute Of theyr lyfe / that they were in doute So inwardly / this thynge they toke at grefe Tyll Anthenor / god gyue hym euyll prefe That may of treason / as wardeyne bere the keye To shewe out / his malys euery weye So longe hath sought / tyll in a chaumbre olde He hath hir founde / and the grekes tolde And brought hir forth / vnto theyr presence By cruell force / and hatefull vyolence Without pyte / or compassion And hir delyueryd / to Agamenon And he alas / by hasty Iugement Without respyte / or auysement Shortly hath dempte / that she shal be dede That was flourynge / in hir maydenhede And for to do / excepcyon She was assygned / by Agamenon Vnto Pyrrus / and he of Tyrannye Ladde hir forth / and fast gan hym hye To the place / where she shulde deye Great was the prease / that in the weye Gan Croude and shoue / to beholde and sene This yonge mayde / fayre Polycene That for hir beaute / and hir semlynesse Hir womanhede / and excellent fayrenesse Of all yfere / whan they toke hede They hadde routhe / that she shal be dede Without gylte / or any more trespace Where men may se / vpon many face The salte terys / faste fall downe Of very pyte / and compas●yowne For man nor childe / was none so harde of herte But he felte / for hir sake smerte Hir goodly face / whan they beholde and se And fayne wolde / if it myght haue be Delyuered hir / of very force anone From Pyrrus honde / but for they wende echone Without hir deth / neuer to haue repayre Into Grece / nor the weder fayre As Calchas hadde / made suggestyon And brought them all / in oppynyon And at the laste / whan this Polycene Of dede and wyll / a very mayde clene Was to the graue / of Achylles brought She kneleth downe / & with an humble thought Caste vp hir Eye / and gan syghe ofte And to the goddes / humbly and softe With dredfull herte / and deuocyon Made in this wyse / hir lamentacyon . OYe almyghty / that in this worlde gouerne And euery thynge / consydre & discerne By whom this worlde / so huge large & rounde Bothe eyer and see / heuen and eke the grounde At your deuyse / with a worde was wrought And soth fastly / knowe euery thought Right as it is / of euery maner wyght Without lettynge / so persynge is your syght That no thynge is / concelyd nor ywrye From the beholdynge / of your eternall eye And euery thynge / may attones se Vpon my soule / haue mercy and pyte And of your grace / and benygne cure Vpon my woo / and pyteous auenture Haue some routhe / now that I shall deye My wofull spirite / to lede and conueye Where as you lyste / nowe that I shall pace For vnto you / in this selfe place I me confesse / with all humylyte That hethertowarde / I haue in chastyte Lade all my lyfe / and kept my maydenhede In your seruyse / bothe in thought and dede In porte in chere / and in countenaunce Or for feture / of any dalyaunce With one mysloke / I neuer yet abrayde So that in sothe / I dye shall a mayde As ye well knowe / of synne all innocent Though I be nowe / dempt by Iugement For to be deed / without gylte at all Wytnesse on you / that be inmortall Clene of entent / of that I am accusyd And yet alas / I may nat be excusyd But that the swerde / of vengeaunce mustebyte Routheles / whiche am no thynge to wyte But stonde clere / and pure of all offence And discharged / in my conscyence I dare afferme / and fully gylteles Touchynge / the murdre of worthy Achylles Whiche slewe my brother / and after louyd me And is nowe cause / of myne aduersyte And yet in wyll / dede / worde / nor thought Vnto his deth / assentaunt was right nought But therof / was right sory in my herte Albe that / I may nat now asterte For to be deed / oonly for his sake On me alone / vengeaunce shal be take Without mercy / in full cruell wyse With my blode / to make sacryfy●e To the goddes / theyr wrathe for to queme O people blynde / in sothe amys ye deme Agaynst me / your herte is so cruell To mercyles / to Yrous and to fell Without routhe / to mykell Indurate To slee a mayde / alone desolate Out of your herte / alas pyte is gone Harder in trouthe / than outher stocke or stone And more cruell / in your oppynyon Forlacke of pyte / than Tygre or Lyon Certes ye be / greatly for to blame And oughte therof / for to haue great shame To assent / to so foule a dede To slee a mayde / quakynge in hir drede And graunte hir none / oportunyte For to be wepe / hir virgynyte That of this cruell / & this pyteous wreche My blode / your gylte / hereafter shall apeche And accuse also / your great enuye To the goddes / that shall iustefye Euery vnright / bothe of hye and lowe Full egally / and make to be knowe The trouthe playnely / spare and no degree But make open / that is now secree I saye nat this / nor my selfe complayne To haue reders / of my fatall payne For deth is now / more welcome vnto me Than is my lyfe / and more I take at gree Sythen my brether / most worthy of renowne Be slayne all / and buryed in this towne My Fader deed / in his vnweldy age And I alone / lefte in all this rage And haue abyde / pyteously to se Fynall ruyne / now of this Cyte Whiche at my herte / sytteth now so sore That leuer I haue / than to wepe more Dye attones / in reles of my woo Sythe all my kynne / is passed and agoo Longer to lyue / were to me a deth For better is here / to yelde vp the breth Than to be lad / out of this Cyte Amonge straungers / to lyue in pouerte . O Deth welcome / and longer lette Thy dredefull darte / to fyle & to whette My tendre herte / therwith all to ryue Agayne thy myght / I shall neuer stryue Now is tyme / to kythe thy powere On me that am / of wyll and herte entere A clene mayde / so as I began Without touche / of any maner man In all my lyfe / to this same day This lytell auaunt / make yet I may In myn ende / to the goddes alle After whose helpe / now I clyppe and calle And to theyr mercy / mekely I commende My wofull spirite / & pray them that they sende To euery mayde / better happe and grace Than I haue nowe / and a longer space In hertely ioye / and honour to contune Without assaute / of any infortune To lede theyr lyfe / in prosperyte And all maydens / remembreth vpon me To take exaumple / how ye shall you kepe And that ye wolde / a fewe terys wepe Whan that ye thynke / vpon Polycene That was of age / and of yeres grene Whan she was slayne / by cruell auenture And to the goddes / for to haue in cure My dredfull goste / hoolly I betake Eternally / and thus an ende I make And with that worde / hir hede she gan enclyne Full humbly / whan she shulde fyne And of hir eyen / helde the ledes downe And Pyrrus than / wodder than lyon Dismembred hath / with his sharpe swerde This mayde yonge / dredefull and a ferde And ouer more / his cruelte to shewe On peces smale / he hath hir all to hewe Endelonge / his Faders sepulture Alas how myght / his cruell herte endure Mercyles to do / so foule adede I am astoned / sothely whan I rede After hir deth / how it dyde hym gode Lyke a tyraunt / to caste abrode hir blode Or a Tygre / that can no routhe haue Rounde enuyrowne / aboute his Faders graue He sprent of hate / and of cruelte O thou Pyrrus / thou mayste full well ybe Achylles sone / by lyneall discent For lyke to hym / of herte and of entent Thou were in sothe / deuoyde of all pyte And werse than he / yet in one degree For of thy Fader / in all his lyuynge Ne radde I neuer / yet so foule a thynge Though I wolde / of hatrede hym abrayde For no rancoure / that euer he slewe amayde I fynde well / that he hadde his parte Whylom in loue / of Cupydes darte That made hym sore / in his lyue smerte Whan that he was / wounded to the herte With the castynge / oonly of an Eye Wenynge therby / wystly for to deye He myght nat / the sodayne stroke escape And afterwarde / as his fate hathe shape He murdred was / for the loue of Polycene Whom thou haste slayne / in thy cruell tene Furyously / without routhe or shame For whiche thynge / the foule hatefull fame Thorugh al the worlde / hereafter shal be sprede Whan this storye / rehersyd is and rede Than shal be sayde / that Pyrrus routheles Slewe in his yre / a mayde gyltles And woryed shall / thy name most odyble Be for this dede / passyngly horryble For loue oonly / of fayre Polycene The deth of whom / whan Eccuba the quene Hath seen alas / as she besyde stode For very wo / gan to wexe wode And for sorowe / out of hir wytte she wente And hir clothes / and hir heer she rente All in a rage / and wot nat what she doth But gan anone / with hondes and with toth In hir Furye / crache and eke byte Stones caste / and with fystes smyte Whom she mette / tyll grekes made hir bynde And sente hir forth / also as I fynde Into an Yle / to Troye partynent Where she was slayne / oonly by Iugement Of the Grekes / and stoned to the deth And whan she hadde / yelde vp the breth This wofull quene / by cruell auenture The Grekes dyde make / a Sepulture Ceryously / of metall and of stone And toke the corps / and buryed it anone With great honour / and solempnyte That longe after / men there myght se The ryche toumbe / costfull and royall There set and made / for a memoryall Of Eccuba / whylom of great fame And after gaue / to that place a name And called it / to be longe in mynde Locus in festus / in Guydo as I fynde And thus the quene / oonly for sorowe wode Whan hir doughter / hadde shadde hir blode Of grekes stone / dyde hir ende make As ye haue herde / playnely for the sake Of Polycene / whylom by Calchas Vnto Appollo / falsly offryde was By Pyrrus swerde / Achylles auengynge To make the see / calme and blandysshynge That the goddes / take no vengeaunce Vpon Grekes / that an euyll chaunce Come to this false / goddes euerychone And theyr statues / of stockes and of stone In whiche the serpent / and the olde snake Sathan hym selfe / gan his dwellynge make And fraudently / folkes to illude Full sotyll / can hym selfe include In ymages / for to make his holde That forgyd be / of syluer and of golde That by erroure / of false illusyon He hath ybrought / to confusyon Thorugh myscreaunce / the worthy kynde of man Sythe tyme / that alder firste began The false honour / of ydolatrye And the worshyp / vnto Maumetrye By sacryfyse / of bestes and of blode To apese them / whan that they are wode And to queme / bothe at eue and morowe I pray to god / gyue them all sorowe Where so they be / within or withoute I none excepte / of the false route Saturne / nor Mars / Pallas / nor Iuno Iubyter / Mercurius / nor Pluto Nouther Flora / that doth the floures sprede Nouther Bachus / with grapes whyte & ●ede Nor Cupydo / with his Eyen blynde Nouther Daphne / closyd vnder rynde Thorugh Tellus myght / of the laurer tree Nor thou Dyane / with thy chastytee Myghty Venus / nor Cytherea With thy dartes / nor Proserpyna That lady arte / depe downe in helle Nor Belydes / that draweth at the welle Ixyon / nor thou zezyphus Nor with thyne appyll / thou cruell Tantalus Nor the Furyes / that be infernall Nor ye that spynne / the lyues threde fatall Vpon the rocke / of euery maner man Nor the Muses / that so synge can At wene the Coppys / of Nysus and Cyrra Vpon the hylle / besyde Cyrrea Nor the Cybeles / nor Ceres with thy corne Nor Golus / of whom the dredefull horne Is herde so ferre / whan thou lyst to blowe Nor Ianus / By frons / with backe corbed lowe Nor Pryapys / nor Genyus the preste That curseth aye / with candellys in his feste Them thoechone / that frowarde be to kynde Nor ymeneus / whose power is to bynde Hertes that be knet / in maryage Tyll the goddesse / of discorde and rage Disseuerth them / by dyuysyon Nouther Maues / that haue theyr mansyon Myd the erthe / in dyrkenesse and in woo Nor this Elues / that are wont to goo In vndyrmeles / whan Phebus is most shene Nouther Fawny / in tendre greues grene Water Nymphes / nor this Naydes Satirye / nouther Dryades That goddes be / of woode and wyldernesse Nor other goddes / nouther more nor lesse As Morpheus / that is the god of slepe I holde hym woode / that taketh any kepe To do to them / any obseruaunce He may nat fayle / for to haue myschaunce At the ende / playnely for his mede For all suche feyned falsenesse / out of drede Rose of the deuyll / and firste by his engyne And of his sleyghty / Treynes serpentyne Oonly mankynde / whan he made loute To false ydoles / the whiche out of doute Are but deuylles / Dauyd bereth wytnesse In the sautre / where he wryt expresse And confermeth / there as he endytes How the goddes / of Paganysme rytes One and all / he excepteth none Be made of golde / of syluer and of stone Forged of brasse / of metall and of tree And eyen haue / and yet they may nat se And all at fendes / so as Dauyd sayth That who in them / haueth any fayth Hope credence / or in them delyte It is no drede / that they wyll hym quyte With suche guerdon / as the soule sleeth Perpetuelly / so that the fyne is deth Of theyr seruyse / whan men hense pace And in theyr lyfe vnhap / and euyll grace Myschefe and woo / and confusyowne As men may se / exaumple by this towne That wende well / assured for to haue be And to haue stonde / in longe prospyryte Agayne theyr foon / thorugh helpe of Appollo Of Venus eke / and fauour of Iuno Thorugh Pallas myght / Dyane & Mynerue Whom they were wont / to honour & serue With Cerymonyes / and with sacryfyce As ye tofore / haue herde me deuyse That them haue brought / now vnto ruyne By cruell deth / in a bed them to fyne Here may ye se / how the venym bytes At the ende / of suche olde rytes By euydence / of this noble towne What may auayle / now Palladyowne What may nowe helpe / theyr frauded fantasye Of all theyr olde / false Ydolatrye Alas alas / they bought it all to sore Now farewell Troye / farewell for euermore Farewell alas / to cruell was thy fall Of the no more / now I wryte shall For thy sake / forsothe whan I take hede Of inwarde woo / my herte I fele blede And whan that I / remembre in my thought By ruyne / how thou arte brought to nought That whylom were / so noble and so ryche That in this worlde / I trowe none was lyche Nor perrygall to speke / of fayrenesse To speke of knyghthode / or of worthynesse As clerkes say / that thy byldynge knewe That all the worlde / ought for to rewe On thy pyteous / waste walles wylde Whylom so royall / whan men gan to bylde Thy toures hye / and kynge Pryamus The firste began / moste ryche and gloryous And sette his see / in noble Ylyon O who can wryte / a lamentacyon Conuenyent / O troye for thy sake Thy great myschefe / to complayne and crye Certes I trowe / nat olde Ieremye That so be wepte / the captyuyte Of thylke noble / royall chefe Cyte Ierusalem / and his destruccyon With all the hole / transmygracyon Of the Iewes / nor thou Ezechyell That were that tyme / whan the myschefe fell Vnto the kynge / ycalled Sedeclye In Babylon / and for thy prophesye With stones were / cruelly yslawe Nor he that was / departyd with a sawe Ye bothe two / that coude so complayne Nor Danyell / that felte so great payne For the kynges / transmutacyon Into a beast / tyll thorugh the oryson Of Danyell / he restored was To mynde agayne / and ete nomore gras Yet veryly / though ye all thre With your wepynge / hadde a lyue be And present eke / at the destruccyowne Of this noble / worthy royall towne To haue bewayled / the myschefe and the wo And the slaughter / at the sege do On outher partye / in full cruell wyse All your terys / myght nat suffyse To haue bewept / theyr sorowes euerychone By treason wrought / aswell as by theyr sone Hereof no more / for it may nat auayle But lyke as he / that gynneth for to sayle Agayne the wynde / whan the maste doth ryue Right so it were / but in vayne to stryue Agayne the face / bytterer than galle By the vengeaunce / vpon Troye falle Nor to presume / theyr Furyes sharpe whette Ceryously / in this boke to sette So great a thynge / I dare nat vnder take But euen here / a pyteous ende I make Of the sege / after my symplesse And though my style / be blotted with rudenesse As of metre / be rusty and vnfyled The fourthe boke / that I haue complyed With humble honde / of drede that doth me quake Vnto your grace / hoolly I betake Of your mercy / no thynge in dispeyre So as I can / makynge my repeyre To the Grekes / and no lenger dwelle Theyr auentures / of the see to telle In theyr resorte / home to theyr countre And how that they / there receyued be Oonly of supporte / so ye nat despyse The fyfthe Boke / shortly shall deuyse .
Here begynneth the fyfth Boke of Troye the whiche speketh howe the Grekes retourned into Grece after the dystruccyon / And howe they were perysshed almoste all in the see / And after they that escaped dyed myscheuously . Capitulo . xxxvi .
WHan Eolus / which doth the wyndes rore Apesed was / that he blewe no more Which is of stormys / gouernor & lorde And was also / fully of accorde Whiche myghty Iuno / lady of the ayre Tomake the skye / and the weder fayre That clowde none / in heuen dyde appere And Neptunus blaundysshynge of chere Was of assent / the storye sayth for sothe To make the see / fro tempest calme and smothe Without boyllynge / or trouble of any wawe The myghty grekis / to shypward gan them drawe For to repeyre / home to theyr countre After they hadde / wonne the Cyte Put theyr fomen / fully at the werse But Fortune / aye frowarde / and peruerse Hath with theyr merthe / meynt aduersyte For whan they wende / full assuryd be And haue stonde / stedefaste in quyete This vlynde lady / falsly made flete Into the yrsugre galle / of discordaunce Amonge them selfe / to brynge in varyaunce And theyr hertes / of rancour and of pryde Contagyously / to seueryne and deuyde Whan they sat / hyest in theyr glorye With the palme / of conquest and victorye Fully reioysynge / thorugh theyr hye renowne The crowne of laurer / in possessyowne And hadde also / at theyr lust all wonne Whan bryghtest shone / the lusty fresshe sonne From Eest to west / of theyr worthynesse A clowdy skye / vnwarely with derkenesse Eclypsed hath / a party of theyr lyght And diffacyd the holsome / bemys bryght Of theyr welfare / and prosperyte By the enuyous / false contagyouste Of the serpent / pompouse and ellat Amonge them selfe / tomake them at debate Indusynge in / rancoure and discorde For or they entre / within shyppes borde Agayne vlixes / worthy Thelamon In presence / of kynge Agamenon Purposed hath / playnely his matere Tofore Grekes / anone as ye shall here . SYres quod he / so it you nat greue Me semeth iustly / of reason I may meue Touchyng the wynnyng / & gettyng of this towne With golde rychesse / and possessyowne Fully delyuered / and taken to our honde With all the treasoure / founde in the londe The which me thynketh / in my inwarde syght Ne hath nat ben departed / halfe a ryght Amonge vs / by iuste dyuysyon Nor by egall / distrybusyon Consydred firste / by tytle of equyte Of euery wyght / the estate and dignyte Remembred eke / in this sharpe shoure The worthyest / the meryte / and laboure And decertys / in this mortall stryfe Grauntynge to eueryche / his prerogatyfe Lyke Fortune / as he hath deseruyd But this ordre / hath nat be obseruyd Amonges vs / without excepcyon In delyueraunce / of Palladyon Whiche Vlixes / I say without drede Tofore you all / vniustly doth possede On hym vsurpynge / by false oppynyon By merytorye / retrybucyon And apparence / his tytle for to grounde Vnder pretense / of coloure falsly founde That he this relyke / reioyse shulde of ryght By sleyghte wonne / rather than of myght And vsurpeth / by maner of a vaunt As it were gyuen / to hym by graunt Of you echone / for a chefe guerdon But I wyll make / a replycacyon That this relyke / is nat to hym mete Whiche he shall nat / reioyse in quyete If that I may / distourbe hym or lette For I it cleyme / duely of dette As for guerdon / to me conuenyent So that ye lyste / to be indifferent Of reason oonly / as it doth you seme Atwene vs two / Egally to deme Iustly firste / with euery circumstaunce Out outher meryte / weyed in ballaunce Firste consydered / forth fro day to day All the whyle / that the sege lay That ye shulde / of plente of vytayle On no syde / fro no myschefe fayle And if I shall / without auaunt out breke As of knyghthode / and armes for to speke In the felde / by longe contynuaunce Of manly Force / and perseuerance Vpon our foon / that were so fell and kene Day by day / I was armed clene It nedeth nat / to make mencyon With my right honde / I slewe Phylemon As ye well knowe / whiche had in his kepynge The yonge sone / of Pryamus the kynge Fresshe and lusty / and of great fayrenesse And with hym hadde / infynyte rychesse Of treasoure / golde / passyngly plente And euerydele / was brought to you by me If ye remembre / and lyst take hede That ye were quyte / of Indigence and nede By occasyon / of that great gode And thorugh my manhode / shad I nat the blode Mercyles / in full cruell wyse For your sake / of the kynge of Fryse And the treasour / in his cofres sought And all yfere / to the sege ybrought And by my knyghthode / sythe go full yore Haue I nat eke / augmented and made more The Grekes londe / with possessyons By conquest oonly / of two regyons Thorugh my prudence / and my labour wonne Sythen that ye / the sege firste begonne With prouynces / to Troye adiacent To your encrease / I was so dylygent And with Achylles / the worthy warryoure Ye be experte / full well of my laboure What we wrought / to your auauntage And sythen ye so prudent / be and sage Nat foryetyll / but fully remembrynge It nedeth nat / reherse euery thynge And to dispreue / manly as a knyght His tytle and cleyme / that he hath no ryght The dome commyttynge / to your oppynyons By rehersayle / of his condycyons He nouther hath / manhode nor prowesse Force knyghode / nouther hardynesse And at a poynt / for to haue rewarde In dorynge do / preued a cowarde Experyence / hath shewed you in dede How that he is / whan it cometh to nede But worde and wynde / & sleyghty compassynge And on falshode / euer ymagynynge For euer yet / to this daye was preuyd That any thynge / was by hym acheuyd Whiche myght be / entytled to his laude But the ende / medlyd were with fraude For vnder coloure / he can cure alle Pretende fayre / lyke a paynted walle Dyuerse hewed / that nouther hye nor lowe There may no man / his playne menynge knowe And with suche sleyghte / compassyd by treason Out of Troye / he gat Palladyon Whiche is great shame / & sclaundre to vs alle For of our conquest / it is thus befalle More of treason / we haue the cyte wonne Than of knyghthode / as men reporte konne And crop and rote / if I reherse shall Vlixes there / is grounde and cause of all And gynnynge firste / of this vnhappy fame That reboundeth / to our alder shame And syth the trouthe / is platly knowen & wyste My tale is endyde / deme as ye lyste . VLixes than / in his aduertence Conceyued hath / the great inpacyence Of Thelamon / and the great enuye The feruent rancoure / and melancolye . Forbare hym firste / by full great aduyse As he that was / full prudent and right wyse And thought he wolde / make therof no iape By no worde for haste / that shulde escape Nouther by none / vnbrydled countenaunce Outwarde conceyued / in his regardaunce And abraydynge / with a stable face Syres quod he / so I may haue grace Vnder supporte / of your hye presence That my tale / may haue audyence I nouther am / in doute nor in drede Of equyte / that I shall possede Palladyon / durynge my lyues day Maugre the myght / of who that say nay For if ye lyste / of reason for to se At the sege layde / firste to this cyte I haue my selfe / in double wyse a quyt As well by knyghthode / sothly as by wyt And thorugh my counsayle / and my besy cure Be ofte cause / of theyr discomfyture Aye dylygent / to your auauntage Worught and compassyd / vnto theyr damage That to this day / in sothe ne hadde I be They hadde floured / in theyr felycyte In theyr force / contuned and welfare And if that I / the trouthe shall nat spare If it be dempt / and lokyd of reason I was moste cause / of theyr confusyon Who so euer / agaynst it replye How ofte wente I / on embassatrye With importable costes / and dispense The treate aye / concludynge in sentence To the forthrynge / of your entencyowne And disencrease / and hyndrynge of the towne And whan I sawe / other mene none In myne aduyse / and wyttes euerychone By our force / the cyte for to wyn Whyle they hadde / the relyke them within Therupon / so sotelly ywrought That vnto you / Palladyon ybrought . Whiche Thelamon / that of malys stryueth Of olde hatrede / vnto my gylt ascryueth Hoolly this thynge / that I haue for you worught But ye that be / so prudent in your thought Aduerteth wysely / and an ende maketh And in your honde / this quarell fully taketh Palladyon iustly / to prouyde And all fauour / let be layde a syde Syth all this thynge / ye platly vnderstonde And let vs both / to your demynge stonde By one assent / how so the mater wende Lo here is all / my tale is at an ende Than Thelamon / in Ire full feruent Of hate / made inpacyent And of enuye / inwardly ameued Vlixes hath / dispyteously repreued Oonly of malys / and of hye disdayne And Vlixes / rebukynge hym agayne Full bytterly / without abode anone And so they twayne / made full mortall fone In the presence / of Agamenon But furyously / Ayax Thelamon Of melancolye / pale and nothynge rede Thratte Vlixes / that he shal be dede Of his hondes / he shulde it nat eschewe And grekes tho / all rancour to remewe This quarell / put in arbytracyon Of Menelay / and Agamenon That caused after / a full mortall stryfe For by sentence / anone diffynytyfe They put Vlixes / in possessyon Perpetuelly / of Palladyon With hym confermynge / to abyde stable And cause why / they were fauourable To Vlixes / lyke as Guydo / wryt Was / for that he so goodly hath hym quyt Vnto Eleyne / at gettynge of the towne Beynge in cause / of hir ●auacyon Dispeyred / and of hir lyfe in drede Grekes wyllynge / to haue had hir dede But thorugh his prudent / medyacyon Maugre the myght / of this Thelamon He hath the quene / fro the deth preserued Albe that she hadde / it well deserued As Grekes sayde / in theyr oppynyon And thus defrauded / of Palladyon As ye haue herde / was this worthy knyght For all his manhode / and his great myght Where thorugh there gan / in his herte brede Passynge enuye / and full great hatrede And thought he wolde / auenged be some day Vpon Vlixes / and on Menelay And eke also / vpon Agamenon And out he brake / lyke a wood lyon With his knyghtes / aboute hym that were stronge And sayde playnely / of this great wronge For to be deed / he wolde auenged be And specyally / on this ylke thre And therwithall / Furyous and wrothe Tournynge his backe / out anone he goth In herte fret / with full mortall tene With many greke / his quarell to sustene That in herte sore / gan disdayne Agayne Vlixes / and the tother twayne But they full ware / what so euer falle Theyr knyghtes / made aboute them for to calle And with great stuffe / where they wake or slepe To awayte on them / and manly for to kepe With full good watche / enuyron all the close But full erely / or the sonne arose This worthy Ayax / in his bed vpryght Ymurdred was / the selfe same nyght And all be bledde / in the morowe founde Onpeces hewe / with many mortall wounde That for this thynge / cruell and horryble To god and man / lothsome and odyble Full many greke / that wofull morowe wepe To se a knyght / so murdred in his slepe That the crye / and the noyse ran Thorugh out the hoost / an one fro man to man And for constreynt / of this foule dede Eueryche of them / felte his herte blede Full desyrous / to make an ordynaunce On this murdre / for to do vengeaunce Hauynge therof / great suspecyon To Menelay / and Agamenon . But to Vlixes / moste in specyall By comon voyce / to hym arrettynge all The foule fame / he myght nat asterte But Pyrrus moste / toke this thynge at herte Makynge a vowe / Furyous and wode To be venged / playnely on the blode Of Thelamon / vpon vlixes hede Hym manasynge / that he shal be dede So sore on hym / fretynge was the sorowe But vlixes / erely on a morowe For drede of Pyrrus / taken hath the see And with his sheppes / faste gan to flee But or he wente / platly as I rede Palladyon / he toke to Dyemede Hauynge in herte / a full great remors And Pyrrus than / taken hath the cors Of Thelamon / for loue in specyall And dyde make / a flawme funerall Large and great / of colys hoot and rede And amyddes / the feruent firy glede Full many a Greke / stondynge to beholde He lette it brenne / into asshes colde And in the storye / after as is tolde Herlosed them / in an vrne of golde Full reuerently / and after hath it shette And therupon / he hath the prynt ysette Of his armes / curyously ygraue From all myschefe / the asshes for to saue And sent them home / by great affeccyon To be conserued / in the regyon Where he was kynge / whyle he was alyue And euery thynge / was perfourmed blyue After the rytes / in tho dayes vsed And euer in one / Pyrrus hath ymused Vpon this murdre / traytoursly ywrought And caste it shulde / be full dere abought The pyteous deth / of this Thelamon Hauynge aye herte / to Agamenon And hadde eke suspect / olde Menelay That in a wayte / eche for other lay Makynge them selfe / with theyr knyghtis stronge To trye out / who hath right or wronge For Pyrrus ne wolde / let it lyghtly gone And thus they were / made mortall fone This ylke thre / platly to the deth Thorugh false enuye / whiche their hertes sleeth And whyle they were / amonge themself vntrewe Stryfe vpon stryfe / gan euery day renewe And debates / for to multeplye Tyll Anthenor / gan this thynge espye And by his wysdome / to stynte all disdayne Them reconcyled / vnto peas agayne And caused them / to accorde in all And after made / a feste full royall Besechynge them / full lowely all thre To graunt hym / therat for to be Of gentyllesse / that Grekes myght echone Outwarde conceyue / that they were alone And to this feste / he manly made calle As wryt Guydo / the worthy grekes alle Of hye ne lowe / was none excepcyon But if I shulde / make descripcyon How the lordes / and estates sete Of sondry courses / and the gyftes grete That Anthenor / gaue on euery syde It were to longe / to you for to abyde There was of plente / so great suffysaunce And I fynde / they fyll in dalyaunce Syttyng at met / to speke of Enee Brought in of hate / and of enmyte And of disdayne / shortely in sentence They put on hym / many great offence And specyally / in theyr hasty tene Whylom how / he concyled Polycene And by his sleyghte / made hir be withdrawe Whiche was in cause / Achylles was slawe Shortly concludynge / by one oppynyon His fynall exyle / out of Troye towne Nat withstandynge / the graunt and lyberte Gyuen to hym / to abyde in the Cyte Also longe / as hym lyste deuyse But grekes haue / annullyd his Fraunchyse Fro the lowest / vp vnto the meste That were present / at this hye feste But douteles / I can nat well espye By whom was brought / this conspyracye In Troye boke / I fynde can no more Saue that hym selfe / wytte it Anthenore Ilyche false / bothe in one degre As ye haue herde / betraysshynge the Cyte Lyke as they hadde / spronge out of one roote And whan he knewe / there was none other boote This Eneas / his dome to modefye He prayed them / of theyr courtesye At the leest / to graunte hym grace Foure monthes / that he myght haue space To make his stuffe / and his apparayle And hymselfe / to puruey of vytayle Eke to graunt hym / that they wolde assent Thylke shyppes / that with Parys went To Cytheron / vnto that temple olde That were in nombre / two and twenty tolde And with full graunt / of his petycyowne He is retourned / home to Troye towne Tryste and heuy / to se and beholde The waste Cyte / with his walles olde And for sorowe / felte his herte blede Within hymselfe / whan he taketh hede And remembred / in his aduertence The false treason / and the great offence By hym compassyd / to the towne aforne And howe that he / so sodaynely hath lorne The grace of grekes / and stode disconsolate That whylom was / of so great estate Now in his herte / fully dispayred That he vnwarely / was so euyll apayred Vnto Grekes / behynde at his backe Beyng vngylty / and without lacke And by whom / he coude nat well deme Saue by sygnes / as it dyde seme That Anthenor was / most for to wyte And caste playnely / that he wold hym quyte And thorugh the towne / he made sende blyue For thylke fewe / that were lefte a lyue Comynge anone / at his commaundement And whan they were / euerychone present . SYres quod he / ye se how that fortune Towardes me / gynneth discontune Aye vnstable / with hir eyen blynde As ye experte / in your selfe now fynde Whylom frowarde / now tourned into werse That of clerkes / called is aduerse Whan hir lyste / hir cruelte to shewe Now it standeth so / ye be here but a fewe And I must parte / and ye stylle abyde But it so be / that ye wyll prouyde Stondynge alone / deuoyde of all socoure Amonge your selfe / to make a gouernoure I can nat se / but ye shal be acloyed On euery parte / and fynally destroyed As sely shepe / that ne can no rede All disparpled / whiche am with drede Wherfore best is / in this dredfull thynge By one assent / to chese you a kynge And moste able / the estate to occupye From all assaute / manly you to guye Is Anthenor / of knyghthode and renowne If it accorde / with your oppynyowne Wherfore in haste / vnto this entent Without abode / lete hym for be sent And at his comynge / playnely into towne Vpon his hede / let be set a crowne Grauntynge to hym / sceptre and regalye By his wysedome / that he may you guye From all assaute / of any parturbaunce By his knyghthode / & prudent gouernaunce And they assent / makynge no delay There was neuer one / that lyketh to say nay But were right gladde / in all maner thynge As ye haue herde / for to make hym kynge . But they full lytell / sothly in theyr sonde Of Eneas / the menynge vnderstonde For he ne mente / but treason and falsehede How at his entrynge / that he shal be dede Full traytoursly / in awayte liynge To slee hym falsely / at his in commynge But Anthenor / of all this no thynge ware Dysarmed came / and no wepen bare And Eneas / with an huge route With swerdes drawe / set hym rounde aboute Tyll they of Troye / both yonge and olde Ran atwene / and manly hym with holde And on theyr knees / fyll mekely downe Besechynge hym / to haue compassyowne Of worthynesse / and also of manhede Lyke as a knyght / for to take hede How they were left / but of people bare Besechynge hym / his dredfull swerde to spare And his rancoure / and his yre leue Lest the slaughtre / wolde them all greue And on the comon / they besought hym rewe Quod Eneas / is he nat vntrewe Is nat he double traytoure / and eke false Worthy to be / enhanged by the halfe Of all desceyte / and of fraude welle Amonge no comon / worthy for to dwelle Hath he nat be / chefe occasyon Of your vndoynge / and destruccyon And of newe this serpent / whiche there gothe Vndisserued / make the Grekes wrothe Agayne me / by false coll●●yowne And myne Exyle / conspyred fro the towne Whiche may nat be / repellyd nor withdrawe But with my swerde / firste he shal be slawe That his falshede / may fynally be daunted Right as he hath / me traytoursly supplaunted The grekes menynge / fer out of this yle By his engyne / me playnely to exyle Where as I caste / if it myght haue be Bothe in ioye / and in aduersyte To haue had my parte / what so had falle Durynge my lyfe / here amonge you alle But he thurgh whom / all is wronge & kourbed Of my desyre / hath the fyne perturbed Whiche in my herte / abydeth alway grene Was he nat cause / eke that Polycene Yslawe was / at Achylles graue And for all this / yet ye wolde hym saue But vtterly / there shall no mene gayne Who so euer / there agaynst playne That he / whose herte / al treason hath compyled Perpetuelly / shall now be exyled Out of this towne / there shall it no man lette And by assent / they his tyme sette Whiche he shulde / for no raunson pace This was the fyne / he gete none other grace Thus bothe false / as brother lyke to brother Eueryche of them / hath exyled other Traytours bothe / to Troye the Cytee This Anthenor / and with hym eke Enee But Anthenor / gan hym redy make And in all haste / hath the see ytake With many Troyan / in great apparayle The wynde was good / and he began to sayle By many coste / and many sondry yles It nedeth nat / reherse all the myles Nor the perrelles / playnely whiche that he At great myschefe / escaped in the see I haue no ioye / therupon to dwelle His auentures / by and by to telle But shortly he / in a lytell whyle Aryued vp / at a noble Yle That whylom was / Gorbodya Ycalled Where he bylt a Cyte / strongly walled As wryt Guydo / large wyde and longe Vpon a roche / whiche passyngly was stronge Whiche had enuyron / as myn Auctour telles Woddes / ryuers / and many lusty welles And hadde plente / of all maner thynge And Tethydes / called was the kynge That helde in peas / his sceptre and his crowne On whom Fortune / lyst nat for to frowne But fauourable / fully to his wylle Conseruynge hym / in peas and in tranquylle Without trouble / many a daye afore To whom acceptyd was / this Anthenore And right welcome / as the storye sayth And vnto hym / confederate by fayth Fully assured / be came his lege man Whan Tethydes / in all that euer he can This worthy kynge / dyde magnefye And fro Troye / great nombre of his allye There came in soth / to vysyte hym and se And to enhabyte / his myghty stronge Cyte Full curyously bylte / of lyme and stone In that dayes / called Menelone To whiche he dyde / great rychesse a croche Besyde the see / set vpon a roche And besy was / with plente to astore Of this traytoure / what shulde I wryte more With his name / my penne is so a cloyed By whose falshede / troye was destroyed As in the storye / ye haue red and seyne But muste I playnely / resorte ageyne And to reherse / do my besy cure How Cassandra / tolde euery auenture That to Grekes / after shulde falle And how that she / tolde amonge them alle As she that was prudent / and vertuous That traytoursly / within his owne hous Agamen on / shulde murdred be That fatall ende / for no thynge myght he fle Let hym beware / and prudently prouyde For in his lyfe / he shall nat longe abyde Agayne his fate / was none other rede Eke Guydo wryt / whan Thelamon was dede By false murdre / as ye haue herde toforne Two sones he hadde / ofsondry wyues borne That were commytted / to be in kepynge With worthy Tentre / a full manly kynge That nourysshed / them the storye sayth for sothe Tyll they after / were worthy knyghtes bothe The tone of them / called Anthenycus And the tother hyght / Antissacus Of shape full semely / and wonder fayre of face And shortly here / Guydo / doth forth pace And lyst of them / no lenger processe make But bryngeth in / how Menelay hath take His leue of Grekes / with Agamenon Eueryche to sayle / to his regyon With many a greke / in theyr companye And though grekes / firste gan them denye At the laste / with Instaunce and payne They hadde leue / to sayle bothe twayne And to the see / they faste gan them hye Myd of Autumpne / whiche is colde & drye Melancolyke / of complexyon Whan Phebus / is passyd the Lyon The heuenly beest / the beest most royall And halfe Yronne / the sygne virgynall Whiche after somer / is naked and bareyne Whan Ceres hath / full ryped euery grayne The tyme of yere / straunge and full dyuers And sondry floures / red whyte and pers The whiche in May / so lusty were and glade Vpon theyr stalke / gan droupe and fade And enclyne / theyr fresshe lusty cheres At goynge out / of the Canyculeres Whan wycked humours / inwardly habounde With sodayne Feuer / folkes to confounde To make them / in an Axes shake And of custome / wyndes gynne wake Bothe bough and leef / causynge for to falle On the tyme / whan folke do Bachus calle Fro storme and rayne / their grapes to conserue That hydous tempest / make them nat to sterue Nor no duresse / of fretynge of no froste Where thorugh full ofte / moche fruyte is loste With moysture / that cometh fro the skyes euen And also eke with thondrynge / & with leuen Whiche vnwarely / with suche weders kene Boyllynge vp / with many wawes grene Rorynge and rough / and frowarde to manasse And passyngly peryllous / by to passe Albe / that it be blandysshynge a whyle The dredful calme / though it be smoth & smyle There is no trust / that it wyll longe abyde Recorde on grekes / that suche a lusty tyde The see haue take / and began to sayle With theyr stuffe / and theyr apparayle Home into Grece / full many lusty man With all the golde / and treasour / that they wan At the sege / and infynyt rychesse And dayes thre / deuoyde of all distresse The see obeyed / fully to theyr wyll Deuoyde of trouble / and of wedres yll For they full lusty / within shyppes borde The foure wyndes / beynge of accorde Them to conueye / to euery maner coste But gladly euer / whan men truste moste Vnto Fortune / to stonde in hir grace Shesodaynely / chaunge can hir face Smyle afore / and mowe at the bake For she vnwarely / tourned all to wrake This chaunteresse / and this stormye quene FOr whan Grekes / effectuously best wene In theyr passage / fully assured be Vpon the see / that called was Egee This false goddes / them anone forsooke And Boreas / the fell wynde awooke And with his hydous / dredfull noyse & sowne He tourned / all theyr quyete vp so downe And made the wawes / grysely to aryse And as the storye / shortly doth deuyse The bryght daye / was tourned into nyght The heuen derke / except the dredfull lyght Of the leuen / whiche made them sore a gaste And the thondre / that seuered sayle and maste Theyr toppes smette / into peces smale And into water / made them lowe auale And fyre of lyghtnynge / sodaynely therwith That Wolcanus / forgeth on his styth Hath borde fro borde / with the flawme rent And two and twenty / of theyr shyppes brent Without escape / platly or refuge Thorughe the rage / of this fell deluge For all to wrake / this wofull Nauy goth Whylom with grekis / Mynerua was so wroth For they dyde hir / no reuerence And specyally / for the great offence That spytefully / Cylleus Ayax wrought Whiche in his tempest / he full dere abought For whan his shyppes / were almost ydrowned This goddesse / hath so on hym frowned And of vengeaunce / so felly hym awaked That he was fayne / for to swymme naked As sayth myn Auctour / at myschefe to the londe And there he was / founde on the sonde Almoste at deth / without remedye To hym Mynerua / hath so great enuye For he so woodly / to hir temple wente And Cassandra / tofore hir Auter hente By cruell force / and hatefull vyolence Lo what perell / is to do offence Of hye despyte / to any holy place I doute nat / he shall fayle grace Who so euer / vseth it in dede At the laste / god wyll quyte his mede And rewarde hym / lyke as he disserueth And for such thyng / many greke now streueth Bycause oonly / of suche occasyon To exemplefye / for no presumpcyon Folyly to atame / as I haue tolde For agayne god / who so be to bolde Shall repente sooner / than he weneth And many man / that no harmene meneth Suffreth vengeaunce / for trespasse of one The firste Auctour / goth nat quyte alone But many other / his offence abayth For ceryously / Guydo / wryt and sayth Suynge in ordre / the wofull auenture That euery greke / homewarde dyde endure Of hye and lowe / sparynge none estate How some welfull / and some infortunate Bothe of theyr woo / and of theyr welfare Right as it fyll / the storye shall declare . IN grece whylom / was a worthy kynge Manly & ryche / and prudent oflyuynge And hadde in sothe / lyke as wryt Guydo In his tyme / worthy sones two Pallamydes / was the eldest brother And Oetes / called was the tother Bothe twayne / of one moder borne And as the storye / reherseth hath toforne Pallamydes / was a noble knyght Full famous / eke of power and of myght And fer spoke of / in many sondry coost And hadde also / of all the Grekes hoost For his wysedome / whylom gouernayle But he alas / was slayne in batayle Thorugh vnhap / of Martys cruell tene Whan the sonne shone / most bryght and shene Of his knyghthode / and his worthynesse Lyke as tofore / the storye bereth wytnesse And of his deth / doth playnely specefye But nowe of malys / hatrede and enuye Of suche as haue / tunges infortunate To make oonly / kynge Naulus at debate With the Grekes / contryued haue of newe An hye treason / false and full vntrewe The which in soth / was neuer do nor wrought Nor in effect / ymagyned nor thought But a false thynge / yfeyned of malyce That this kynge / so manly and so wyse And so prudent / this Pallamydes Shulde of enuye / god wot causeles At the sege of Troye / the Cyte Vpon a nyght / falsely murdred be So that this slaughter / & this lothsome dede ●y vlixes / and by Dyomede Were fully wrought / as ye haue herde deuyse Whiche euery herte / ought to agryse This false also that this tale haue fayned To kyng Naulus / haue traytoursly complayned Albe / in dede / it was neuer mente That Grekes were / also of assente To this murdre / and conspyracyon Both Menelay / and Agamenon Albe in sothe / that euery●ele was false That hanged be they / hye by the halfe That can tales / so forge and contryue To make frendes / causeles to stryue For they thorugh fraude / of false collusyon Kynge Naulus / put in suspecyon That grekes hadde / conspyred douteles Vpon the murdre / of Pallamydes Makyng theyr grounde / which they dyd fayne That fro Troye / were sent lettres twayne To Pallamydes / inmedyatly dyrect Whiche concluded / treason in effect How that he was / for all his hye estat Falsly allyed / and confederat To them of Troye / for a summe of golde All this they haue / fayned and ytolde And how he hadde / out of the Cyte Of good receyued / huge quantyte To fyne oonly / Grekes / to betraye And to prolonge them / platly and delaye At the sege / in gettynge of the towne By his engyne / and medyacyowne And to conferme / all this in sentence To make Naulus / gyue full credence They sayd playnely / in conclusyowne The lettres whiche / that were sent fro the towne Yfounde were / enclosed in a shelde Vpon a knyght / yslayne in the felde Comprehendynge / hole / the trecherye The treason full / and confederacye Atwene the towne / and Pallamydes Veryly / though he were gylteles And to gyue / more open euydence To make a prefe / of this great offence They sayde vlixes / affermynge in certayne Accorded was / with a chaumberlayne That was in offyce / with Pallamydes Wonder secrete / and no thynge reckeles For to assente / to this conspyracye Wrongly compassyd / of brennynge hote enuye Behotynge hym / guerdon and great mede Lyke his deuyse / to execute in dede To take a treasour / and a summe of gode Full secretely / and knyt it in a hode And hyd it / whan voyded was the prees Vnder the bedde / of Pallamydes And more to put / Grekes in suerte The treasoure was / the same of quantyte That it ne myght / after be denyed Lyke as the lettres / hadde specyfyed . And whan all this / founde was and knowe Thorugh out the hoost / noysed and yblowe Bothe of the lettres / and the golde also Fro poynt to poynt / accordynge bothe two Whiche that this kynge / assentynge to treasowne Receyued hadde / out of Troye towne To be assented / as ye haue herde me telle The grekes tho / no lenger wolde dwelle But shope them forth / all of one entent And in all haste / came vnto the tent Of this kynge / full innocent and clene That lytell knewe / what they wolde mene But vpon hym / full knyghtly as he stode In theyr Ire / furyously / and wode To be venged / loude gan to crye There may no man / theyr malyce modefye They were on hym / so mercyles at all And as I fynde / moste in specyall Kynge Menelay / and Agamenon Oonly meued / of indignacyon Wolde haue proceded / vnto Iugement Of hasty rancoure / withoute auysement On this treason / auenged for to a bee Nat withstandynge / all his hye degree But in sothenesse / whan this worthy kynge Conceyued hath / this malyce in werkynge Firste astoned / in his inwarde syght All sodaynely / stert vp lyke a knyght This wyse worthy / this Pallamydes Hardy as Lyon / amyd all the prees No thynge agaste / hym knyghtly gan expresse And playnely sayde / he wolde nat refuse To acquyte hym selfe / of this horryble caas Nat exceptynge / that he so worthy was Of byrthe and blode / and of hye kynrede All this deuoydynge / of knyghthode & manhede As he that gaue / of lyfe nor deth no fo rs Tofore them all / to Iuparde his cors Within a felde / where them lyste ordeyne Lyke as a knyght / this quarell to dareyne With whom that lyst / or durste it vndertake Excepcyon / hym lyked none to make Of hye nor lowe / who that were so bolde To preue the reason / that I haue you tolde Besechynge them / to make no delay Nor prolonge hym / but the same day Manly requerynge / it may be do in haste But they that had / falsly this thynge compaste Of his answere / stoned were echone In all the hoost / that there was nat one That hardy was / if I shall nat feyne In chaump close / this quarell to dareyne Nouther Vlixes / nouther Dyomede Chefe workers / of this foule dede But Vlixes / as he was customable In euery thynge / to be deceyuable Double in his werke / and full aye of disceyte Lyke a serpent / that lyeth in awayte Whiche vnder floures / can so glyde and trace Right so vlixes / with a fayned face Whan that he sawe / the knyghtly hye prowesse The manly chere / and the hardynesse And hye renowne / of this Pallamydes Anone of falshede / put hym selfe in prees And lyke a frende / that mente nat but wele Brotell as glasse / pretendynge outwarde stele With one the firste / gan hym to excuse Them counsayllynge / no longer for to muse On this matere / for theyr alder ease And by crafte / gan them so appease Touchynge the rumoure / of this hye treason That he hath / voyded all suspecyon Out of theyr hertes / concludynge in tertayne This accusynge / made was in vayne And conspyred / oonly of hatrede Albe hym selfe was roote / of all this dede . But whan he sawe / he myght nat acheue As ye haue herde / this worthy kynge to greue Some spot of treason / on hym for to laye Hehath anone founde / another waye By the assent / fully of Dyomede Vnder pretense / playnely of frendelyhede Comynge to hym / agayne a certayne nyght Vndersuraunce / as he was trewe knyght Counsayle to kepe / outher for sote or soure Enformynge hym / of a great treasoure Of golde and good / and infynyte ryches To hym discured / vnder secretenes The whiche sothly / no man dyde knowe Hyd and enclosyd / in a welle lowe Within a felde / a lytell there be syde The whiche hym lyste / fro hym nat to hyde But of truste / vnto hym discure So he wolde / do his besy cure The same nyght / with hym for to go Vnto the welle / they thre and no mo To fette away / that great summe of gode And he in sothe / that no thynge vnderstode What they mente / assentyd was anone And so they thre / be togydre gone Vnto the well / lyke as I haue tolde And for that he / moste manly was and bolde Pallamydes / lyke as they hym telle Descended is lowe / into the welle Supposynge to haue / a treasour founde But they alas / hym falsly to confounde Haue murdred hym / with stones great and huge He in the botome / hauynge no refuge And whan they had / acomplysshed their entent They be repeyred / eueryche to his Tent. THis tale / the storye telleth vs That feyned was / to the kynge Naulus Touchynge the deth / of Pallamydes Them to desclaundre / that were gylteles For vlixes / and with Dyomede Were innocent / platly as I rede And grekes all / bothenygh and ferre For he was slayne / knyghtly in the werre Durynge the sege / of Parys with an arowe But who is false / fayne can full narowe To fynde a tale / that neuer yet was thought And of the treason / that shuld haue be wrought Touchynge the lettres / sent out of the towne There was no suche / conspyracyowne By grekes wrought / but a fable vnsoth Falsly feyned / to make Naulus wroth With Vlixes / and Dyomede also Agamenon / and other grekes mo To lette them / homewarde in theyr waye And hyndre also / there is no more to saye As they repeyre / to theyr regyons And Naulus than / by this occasyons And Oetes his sone / a manly man Accorded be / in what they may or can By one assent / to auenge mercyles The cruell murdre / of Pallamydes And to ordayne / at theyr home passage To worke fully / into theyr damage For Grekes muste / of necessyte Homewarde sayle / foreby his countre Wherfore this kynge / shapen hath a wyle On hyl●es hye / by a lytell yle In wynter season / euery maner nyght To make fyres / and to sette vp lyght To cause them / on the see to erre For as Grekes / sawe the fyre a ferre Vnware of harme / caste them for to lande As they that coude / no perell vnderstande But shope them / with all theyr full myght For to aryue / faste by the lyght Wherwith .ij. hondred / of theyr shyppes brake Amonge rockes / and fully go to wrake That there was drowned / many worthy man And thus the vengaunce / alderfirste began That kynge Naulus / hath on grekes take Of deedly hate / for his sones sake To great myschefe / and confusyon Of Grekes nauye / but Agamenon With great perell / is the deth escaped That hadde almoste / amonge them be beiaped For erles / dukes / & worthy kynges crowned Thorugh this trayne / in the see were drowned But Menelay / and also Dyomede Escaped / this myschefe / as I rede And whan they were / from all daunger gone This Oetes / wood foryre an one In his herte / shope another wyle And thought / he wolde Agamenon begyle Compassynge / a full mortall stryfe Let sende a lettre / anone to the wyfe Of this myghty / great Agamenon In whiche / there was / included false treason For euen lyke / if I shall nat lye Thus in effect / they dyde specyfye . Firste how hir lorde / Agamenon the kynge Hadde at the sege / wrought a wonder thynge In preiudyce / and sclaundre of hir name Albe in hir was / no maner blame Lyke as he wrote / platly nor trespace His knyghtly honoure / of foly to difface This to say / Guydo telleth thus He loued a doughter / of kynge Pryamus And for beaute / hadde hir to wyfe take And hir in herte / fynally forsake This worthy quene / whylom of great fame And Clemestra / sothly was hir name Wonder semely / and right fayre with all And by descent / borne of the stocke royall Hir celly nge eke / for all hir excellence Albe / that she neuer dyde offence Yet hir lorde / of newe fangylnesse Toke a nother / the lettres dyde expresse Fully in purpose / anone at his repayre Though Clemestra / were bothe good & fayre All sodaynely / hir to exyle Out of his londe / many thousande myle Warnynge hir / that she be prudent This was the substaunce / as in sentement That Oetes / wrote / vnto this quene Albe the kynge / was innocent and clene And was to hir / in all his fore lyuynge Louynge and trewe / in all maner thynge And hir to please / passynge ententyfe In worde and dede / durynge all his lyfe As fer as oughte / of reason be desyred But the lettres / that falsly was conspyred They haue hir put / parcas of Innocence For to gyue / to hasty credence Thankynge firste Oetes / for his trouthe That so goodly / hym lyst to haue routhe Vpon hir wronge / of hye compassyon And yet the storye / maketh mencyon Here afterwarde / as I shall descryue That she was / the falsest one alyue Vnto hir lorde / and in his longe absence And in all haste / she made stronge d●ffence Agayne this thynge / and gan hir to purueye By suche fraude / that she nat ne deye But of hir werke / in sothe she was to wyte The whiche alas / I muste anone endyte As the storye / platly doth me lere Whiche dolefull is / and mortall for to here . OVnsure truste / of all worldly glorye with sodayne chaunge / put out of memorye O ioye vnstable / of vayne ambycyon With vnware tourne / reuersed vp so downe O ydell fame / blowe vp to the skye Ouer whelmyd / with twynclynge of an eye O pompe / o boste / of tryumphe and victorye Lyke a shadowe / waste and transytorye O Fortune false / and vnassured That to no man / was neuer fully lured To hye nor lowe / of no maner estate With bonde of fayth / to be conferate Agayne whose myght / no man may hȳdiffende But at his tourne / that he shall discende Whan he syt hyest / on thyne vnstable whele Thy brotyll fauour / forged nat of stele Meynt and allayed / with mutabylyte For welfulnesse / and false felycyte With sodayne sweygh / frowarde thou canst auale Now fresshe of chere / now for anger pale Of hye disdayne / thou sparest no degree For Prynces Dukes / hyest in theyr see Myghty kynges / and worthy Emperours That rychest reygne / in theyr royall floures With Sceptre and crowne / thou canst pull downe I take wytnesse / of Agamenowne That was so noble / and myghty in his lyue As sondry Auctours / his hye renown descryue But sothfastly / for all his excellence He myght nat make / no diffence With all the kynges / that his baner sewe Conspyred murdre / to voyde and eschewe Rescuse was none / that he coude make For whiche alas / my penne I fele quake That doth myn ynke / blotte on my boke O myghty god / y● with thyne inwarde loke Seest euery thynge / thurgh thy eternal myght Why wylt thou nat / of equyte and ryght Punysshe & chastyse / so horryble a thynge And specyally / the murdre of a kynge Alas the payne / of Ixyon in helle Or of Manes / that with Sathan dwelle Were nat egall / nor equypolent To venge murdre / nor suffycyent For it excedeth / in comparyson All felonye / falshede / and treason Wherfore o lorde / that seest and knowest all Thorugh thy power / that is eternall Suffre no suche / to lyue vpon the grounde Worse than Tygre / or Cerberus the hounde That chayned lyeth / bounde at helle gate Whiche of malyce / playnely though he hate He berketh firste / or he do offence But murdre gladly / is wrought in sylence Or men aduerte / or take any kepe Alas a Prynce / to sle hym in his slepe On his pyllowe / whan he slepeth softe That cryeth wreche / to hye god a lofte And axeth vengaunce / to take as faste Though it abyde / it wyll out at the laste Alas a kynge / spoken of so ferre That was so worthy / outwarde in the werre His cruell fate / passynge odyous Disposed hath / in his owne hous His mortall ende / to be execute Agaynst whiche / there was no refute For right as he / his shyppe to londe sette The quene Clemestra / on the stronde him mette With humble chere / and loke full benygne And shewed out / full many faythfull sygne Of wyfely trouthe / in hir countenauce Albe in herte / there was varyaunce Nat parceyued / playnely in hir face Whom the kynge goodly dyde enbrace As he in soth / that but trouthe mente And to his paleyse / the hye way he went Nat aduertynge / the treason that was shape The whiche alas / he myght nat escape Of the falshede / he coude no thynge fele But I ne may / no lenger it concele Agayne hir lorde / how Clemestra wrought For on hir bonde / of wedlocke she ne thought The trewe loke / sothly of spousayle Agayne hir malyce / lytell myght auayle Vnto hir lorde / hir trouthe to conserue Newfangelnesse / caused to streue Hir olde fayth / and hir assuraunce Hir loue abode / on a fykyll chaunce Longe absence / hadde hir herte appalled She loued one / that was Egistus called Whiche afore all / in hir grace stode That nouther was / of byrthe nor of blode Lytell or nought / of reputacyowne Nor renowned / of manhode nor renowne Nor of knyghthode / nor of hye prowesse But for his labour / and his besynesse And good awayte / vpon hir by nyght Therfore he was best / furthrede in hir syght Suche drede hadde she / for to lyue alone Sorowles / so well / she coude grone I can nat say / what lyfe that they ladde Except that she by hym / a doughter hadde And Exyona / Guydo sayth she hyght And vnto hym / Clemestra behyght Assurynge hym / vpon payne of hir hede He shulde reygne / whan hir lorde were dede And to enhaste / this conclusyon Hir worthy lorde / kynge Agamenon The nexte nyght / was murdred & yssayne By false Egistus / and the quene full fayne No lenger bode / the storye can you lere But in all haste / they wedded were yfere And by hir false / and sleyghty compassynge Of Messene / she made hym crowned kynge And put hym full / in possessyon Alas / that synne hath domynacyon To furthre wronge / and abate ryght For in this worlde / falshede hath more myght Full ofte sythe / than hath rightwysenesse And in the estate / sette of worthynesse Loo how the synne / of auoutrye Brought in murdre / by conspyracye Synne vpon synne / lynked both twayne And enbraced / in the fendes chayne Perpetuelly / in helle to endure Alas who shall / hymselfe full assure Fro cruell murdre / his body to withdrawe Whan that kynges / in theyr bed are slawe Whiche bryngeth in / Alyenacyon By extort tytle / false successyon There may coloure / of pretense seme But full straytely / god shall after deme And iustly venge / with dewe recompence Intrusyon / brought in by vyolence And felly quyte / suche horryble thynges And sodayne slaughter / & specyally of kynges Greatly to drede / in euery regyon And as I fynde / that Agamenon By Clemestra / the false double quene Hadde a sone / passynge fayre to sene Right gracyous / in euery mannes syght And Horestes / the boke sayth that he hyght Wonder semely / and but yonge of age And for great fere / of this mortall rage Lyste he were slayne / as it was to drede To anulle his tytle / that he nat succede Hym to preserue / that he were nat shent Kynge taltybus / with power hath hym sent Full secretely / out of that countre Vnto a kynge / called Ydume That helde his sceptre / and his royall sete Full myghtely / in the lande of Crete And Carkasys / named was the quene That hadde a doughter / called eke Clymene Borne to be heyre / of that regyon And as it is made / eke mencyon This Horestes / to reken all thynge Was with the quene / and also with the kynge Cherysshed as well / the storye can you lere As Clymen a / theyr owne doughter dere And was eke kept / and hadde in cherte Fro poynt to poynt / lyke to his degre With attendaunce / conuenyent and dewe To his estate / that euer vpon hym sewe Of suche as were / moste expert and sage To gouerne hym / tyll he came to age To reioyse / if god gaue hym myght His herytage / to whiche he hadde ryght By clere discent / if happy were his chaunce Thus leue I hym / vnder gouernaunce The yonge lone / of Agamenon For I muste make / a dygressyon . Fro this mater / and telle of Dyomede The auentures / in Guydo as I rede His wofull fate / and his paynes smerte The whiche alas / he myght nat asterte As is remembred / playnely in wrytynge That Oeres / sone of the ryche kynge Called Naulus / as ye haue herde toforne Suche heuynesse / in his herte hath borne Vnto Grekes / repeyrynge home fro Troye That his luste / and his inwarde ioye Was them to hyndre / bothe hye and lowe And cause why / to you is nat vnknowe To them he was / so passynge enuyous In wyll and thought / ylyke desyrous If he myght / sothly this no les The deth to venge / of Pallamydes Lyke as tofore / the stroye can deuyse To you that be / so prudent and so wyse And how Oetes / now of malyce wrought And traytoursly / newe menes sought If he myght / by any maner weye Dyomedes / vnwarely to destroye Of all this thynge / I caste nat to fayle Ceryously / to make rehersayle . IN Grece was a kyngdome / wyde & large Conyumpt in one / Calydonye and Arge Full habundaunt / of rychesse and of rente Of whiche the kynge / called was Pollente A worthy man / and of noble fame And had a sone / Assandrus was his name And a doughter / passynge fayre of syght And sothly Egra / I fynde that she hyght And for hir Fader / lyke as wryt Guydo Hadde nomo / but thyse childre two For them he hath / of wysedome so prouyded This myghty reygne / for to be deuyded Atwene them two / after his dissees Eche with his parte / for to lyue in pees To exclude them / fro indigence or nede And she was wyfe / vnto Dyomede Albe tofore / the storye of hym sayde That he whylom / loued well Crysayde I can nat say / where it was doublenesse But well wot I / Guydo bereth wytnesse And in his boke / sothely sayth none other And how Assandrus / his owne wyues brother Full lusty fresshe / and full of manlyhede To Troye wente / with this Dyomede But in the see / fordyuen vp so downe They ryued vp / in the regyon Called Boece / all disconsolate With tempest dryue / wery and full mate Them to refresshe / and for none other thynge In whiche lande / Thelephus was kynge Of whose ryuayle / whan he herde sayne In his herte / he hadde hye disdayne That they were bolde / to do so great offence To entre his grounde / hauynge no lycence And yet in sothe / they dyde no damage To hye nor lowe / of no maner age Nortoke nat / that myght disauayle Vnto that lande / but it were vytayle For whiche they payde / iustly at the fyne For flesshe and fysshe / and for brede and wyne Yet for all that / of indignacyowne Kynge Thelephus / is descended downe With great array / to harme them if he myght And so they gan / to bycker and to fyght And Assandrus / full of hye prowesse Lyke a Lyon / his fomen gan oppresse And wonder knyghtly / the feld vpon them wan And slewe that day / many worthy man Of hye courage / and of manly pryde And whan the kynge / whiche that stode asyde Sawe his men / slayne on euery parte Of hye disdayne / hent anone a darte And caste at hym / alas the mortall fate And ꝑcyd hath / thurgh mayles & thurgh plate Of Assandrus / that he felle downe dede The soyle aboute / of his blode all rede His deedly wounde / so began to blede And wood as Tygre / tho came Dyomede And hym to auenge / bare hym lyke a knyght Sleeth and kylleth / and put them vnto flyght And after that / suche sorowe gan to make Of knyghtly routhe / for his brothres sake That he ne wyste / what was best to do But as I fynde / myd of all his wo From best and foule / the deed corps to saue Lyke his estate / he lette make a graue And buryed hym / after rytes olde But Oetes / to his suster tolde That he was slayne / by fraude of Dyomede To fyne / that he myght full possede The reygne of Arge / hole without stryfe With the purpartye / annexed to his wyfe For by his deth / he myght season take And tolde hir eke / that she was forsake This fayre Egra / for all hir womenhede Of hir lorde / called Dyomede All this he tolde / in helle be he chayned And ouermore / he forged hath and fayned How of enuye / Assandrus lost his lyfe And howe hir lorde / hath take a nother wyfe That was to hir / dishonour and shame And passyngly / great sclaundre to hir name In preiudyce / ydone of hir estate All this he tolde / to make them at debate Lyke as he wrote / in conclusyon To Clemestra / of Agamenon Whiche hir herte / made sore greue For he put hir / fully in byleue Of all the treason / ye haue herde me tolde That for yre / she pale wexe and colde Vnkyndenesse / so hir herte sleeth And heuynesse / of hir brothre● deth For neuer yet / Guydo doth assure No woman / loued better a creature Than she loued hym / in no maner age For firste at nought / she sette hir herytage In comparyson / of hir brothres lyfe Loo how Oetes / made a newe stryfe As ye haue herde / in the storye rede That gylteles / worthy Dyomede Whan he hath longe / at the sege layne And to his kyngdome / wold haue come agayne By myghty honde / of this worthy quene And hir lyeges / that assentyd bene He was exyled / out of that regyon There may be made / no medyacyon Thus in hym selfe / mate and dispeyred Disconsolate / he is agayne repeyred To Salerne / a londe of great rychesse Where that Tenter / thorugh his worthynesse With crowne & sceptre / hadde reygned longe With his lyeges / and his knyghtes stronge And brother was / to Apax Thelamon Murdred tofore / as made is mencyon And Dyomede / pore and destytute May in Salerne / fynde no refute For whan Tenter / firste gan hym espye He sewed hym / by full great enuye Hauynge to hym / aye suspecyon Touchynge the deth of kynge Thelamon But Dyomede / on a certayne nyght Full secretly / hath taken hym to flyght And fro Salerne / faste gan hym hye In hope to fynde / better remedye Helpe or socoure / in some other place If Fortune wolde / graunte hym grace For of hymselfe / ashamed and confuse As man forsake / abiect and refuse Right so fared he / wandrynge to and fro As he that ne wyst / what was best to do . BVt I fynde / the Troyan Eneas That al this whyle / styll at Troye was Oonly of routhe / and compassyowne To supporte them / that were lefte of the towne Beynge alway / of theyr lyfe in doute Of theyr fomen / rounde beset aboute As they that lyued / for lacke of an hede Contynuelly / in myschefe and drede Knowynge no refute / nor comforte in this caas Tyll by counsayle / of this Eneas To supporte them / in this great nede They sent in haste / for this Dyomede Knowynge full well / his desolacyon How he was proscrip / fro his regyon Besechynge hym / of manhode and of routhe Hym to enhaste / without any slouthe With all the stuffe / that he get can And souldeours also / manly euery man Without abode / and to Troye them lede To socoure them / in this great nede And Dyomede came / and taryed nought At theyr request / as he was besought To releue them / in this sharpe shoure And with hym brought / many souldeoure And Eneas / on the way hym mette In frendely wyse / and into towne hym fette And to hym made / passyngly great chere And there they gan / to comune yfere Theyr auentures / bothe of lande and see Entermedlyd / with great aduersyte That no man may / deuoyde nor eschewe But take his parte / as it to hym is dewe As sorte or hap / doth his brydell lede And in this storye / shortly to procede Cely Troyans / that almost were shent With theyr fomen / of Yles adiacent That them besette / aboute enuyrowne But thorugh the manhode / & the hye renowne Of Dyomede / and his souldeours And other knyghtes / noble werry ours They were reskued / and holpen vtterly And foure dayes / they foughte by and by In knyghtly wyse / deffendynge the Cyree And thorugh prowesse / also of Enee They slewe and toke / all that them withstode And in diffence / of Troyanysshe blode Suche as they fonde / to the Cyte false They henge them vp / hye by the halfe And punysshed them / for theyr great wronge And Dyomede / thus gan wexe stronge By longe processe / as made is mencyowne Chefe protectoure / nowe of Troye towne That enmye none / by a large space Durste abyde / but he hadde grace To this lygaunce / so he made them loute And thus his name / sprede gan aboute That of his fame / the great oppynyon Dylated is / vnto the regyon By swyfte reporte / to Calydonye and Arg● Whiche the quene / greatly gan to charge And astoned / whan she taketh hede His power gan / and his myght to drede Lyste he wolde / hir londe vpon hir wynne And of knyghthode / a werre newe begynne And secretely / gan muse on this thynge That hir lorde / and hir myghty kynge Late exyled / and yput to flyght Hath grace founde / in Fortunes syght And is remounted / to so hye estate Wherof she was / in hir selfe chekmate And wayes caste / as she that was prudent By hole aduyse / of hir Parlement Without grutchynge / or rebellyon Hym to reuoke / to his regyon And therupon / to hym lowly sent And with lettres / the messager forth went The cause annullyng / by which he was exyled And how he was / fully reconcyled By hole assente / of his lyeges alle And full lowly / euerychone they calle For theyr offence / and of theyr trespace Without rygoure / for to do them grace And he anone / lyke a manly knyght More of mercy / sothly than of ryght Whan he hath / theyr sonde well conceyued And theyr menynge / fully apparceyued To stynte all stryfe / thought for the beste In goodly wyse / to grauute theyr requeste And to his reygne / within a certayne day He is repeyred / in full ryche array Of whose commynge / full glad his lyeges bene And reconcyled / bothe he and the quene And all rancoure / of any olde offence Oonly of wysdome / they put in suspence And of one herte / a blysfull lyfe they lede In Troye boke / no more of hym I rede But lette hym lyue / in felycytee Agayne resortynge / to tell of Enee After how he hath / his tyme spent Whiche is fro Troye / with many Troyan went His shyppes stuffed / he and his meynee Be sayled forth / by many straunge see Many daunger / and many strayte passage Tofore or he / aryued in Cartage Ledynge with hym / his fader Anchyses And by the way / I fynde that he les His wyfe Crewsa / by fatall auenture But all the woo / that he dyde endure Who so lyste / ceryously to sene And how that he / falsehede the quene I mene Dido / of womanhede floure That gaue to hym / hir rychesse and treasoure Iewellys and golde / & all that myght hym please And euery thynge / that myght do hym ease But for all that / how he was vnkynde Rede Eneydos / and there ye shall it fynde And how that he / falsely stale away By nyght tyme / whyle she a bedde lay And of his conqueste / also in Itaylle Where he hadde / many stronge bataylle His auentures / and his workes all And of the fyne / that is to hym fall Ye may all se / by full souerayne style Fro poynt to poynt / compyled in virgyle Wryte and made / sythen go full yore For Troye boke / speketh of hym no more But procedeth / as I shall endyte How Horestes / caste hym for to quyte His fadres deth / playnely / and nat spare If ye lyste here / as Guydo shall declare . IT is requered / of equyte and ryght Of that iuge / that is moste of myght And Egally / holdeth his balaunce On deth conspyred / for to do vengaunce The voyse of blode / doth so aye contune To crye wreche / with clamour importune On them in sothe / that it iniustly shede For murdre wrought / wyll haue his egal mede And his guerdon / as he hath disseruyd They may nat flee / the iugement reseruyd Of hym that sytte / hyest in his Trone And all beholdeth / by hym selfe alone Full rightfully / the noble myghty kynge For though he suffre / he foryet no thynge But all consydereth / in his inspeccyon And for the murdre / of Agamenon The myghty lorde / that is most souerayne gode Made his Mynystre / of the same blode Yonge Horestes / full of hye prowesse To execute his dome / of ryght wysnesse And gaue to hym grace / power and myght And he anone / toke the ordre of a knyght Of you me●s / lyke as it is tolde Whan he was / foure and twenty wynter olde Fresshe and lusty / and wonderly prudent And inwardely / desyrous of entent If Fortune wolde / hym nat withsayne His herytage / to recure agayne Whiche Egistus / falsly hym denyeth And the crowne / in iustly occupyeth By false tytle / of hir that was his wyfe But horestes / wyll Iuparde his lyfe And auenture / whyle hym lasteth breth Firste to be venged / on his fadres deth Vpon them tho / that the treason wrought And alderfirste / full lowely he besought Kynge y●dumee / of his goodlyhede To forther hym / in this great nede And the kynge / benygnely anone Assigned hath / with hym for to gone A thousande knyghtes / manly & right stronge To redresse / the great horryble wronge Of Egistus / wroughte by vyolence And by his wysedome / and his dylygence This Horestes / gan hym so purueye Within a whyle / there is no more to seye That he hym gat / the store wyll nat lye Another thousande / to his companye Of worthy knyghtes / all of one accorde To go with hym / as with theyr souerayne lorde In euery thynge / his byddynge to obeye As ye haue herde / Egistus to werreye And thus Horestes / in full ryche array Gan hoostey / and made no delay And his lodgynge / alderfirste gan chese In a Cytee / that called was Troyese Receyued there / with great reuernece Of the kynge / that named was Forence A manly knyght / as bookes specefye And bare in herte / passynge great enuye To Egistus / by double occasyon Firste for the deth / of Agamenon And eke for he / hadde a doughter dere That was to hym / inwardly entere Both good and fayre / & but yonge of age That whylom / was gyuen in maryage To Egistus / but he of doubylnesse Of false treason / and new fangylnesse The kynges doughter / hath vtterly forsake And in all haste / dyd a lybell make And forge a wryt / of repulsyon Albe he hadde / no trewe occasyon This Egistus / that he hir forsoke Saue that he falsly / to wyue toke The quene Clemestra / agayne all ryght & lawe Whan by assent / they murdred haue & slawe A gamenon / as it tofore is tolde That whylom was / so myghty and so bolde And for the hatefull / false conspyracye As well of murdre / as auoutrye To venge bothe / by dewe recompence The worthy knyght / the myghty kyng Forence Offrede Horestes / for to make hym stronge And go with hym / to helpe venge his wronge And with hym ladde / armed bryght in stele Foure hondred knyghtes / horsed wonder wele Takynge the felde / with a manly chere And so Horestes / and the kynge yfere Be ryden forthe / with many manly man But Horestes / or he this werre gan Whan bryght Phebus / in the bole shone To the temple / is full lowely gone And to the goddes / in his best wyse With humble herte / dyde sacryfyse Fully in hope / the better for to fare Where he was bode / for lyfe nor deth to spare Without mercy / or remyssyon The deth to venge / of Agamenon On Clemestra / that was moste to wyte And that he make / firste his swerde to byte On his moder / with his hondes twayne And ouer more / to do his besy payne Without pyte / and no mercye shewe On smale peces / tyll she be to hewe And dismembred / a sonder ioynt fro ioynt And eke that he / foryet nat a poynt Iustly to punysshe / by rygoure and by ryght Egistus eke / the false vntrewe knyght And that he be nat / slowe nor neclygent To execute / the commaundement Of the goddes / lyst what after falle And than Horestes / with his knyghtes alle And Forensis / the myghty kynge also Of one herte / be to the sege go Of the Cyte / that called was Methene Within whiche / was the false quene Clemestra / god gyue hir harde grace And whan Horestes / seged hath the place With his knyghtes / set it rounde aboute False Existus / was Yryden oute To gadre men / and to be a wreke And falle vpon / and the sege breke . If he myght / on any maner syde And with great stuffe / thus he gan to ryde Takynge vp men / from euery coost Tyll he hym made / a full myghty hoost But horeste / whiche at the sege lay His gouernaunce / espyeth day by day And sent out men / as he that was full sage To stoppe wayes / and lette his passage And made knyghtes / a full huge route To pursue hym / euery coste aboute And of the sege / man fully begonne By assaute / he hath the towne y wonne And entrede in / on a nyght full late And sette wardes / stronge at euery gate And in a doungeon / moste strong & pryncypall That was of byldynge / myghty and royall This horestes firste / his moder fonde The quene Clemestra / lady of that londe Whiche for drede / sore gan to quake But mercyles / anone he made hir take And put in chaynes / tyll the nexte morowe And Egistus / god gyue hym euyll sorowe With all the stuffe / that he myght accroche Towarde the towne / fast gan approche In purpose full / horestes / for to greue And them within / sodaynely releue But all in sothe / myght nat auayle For or that he / the Cyte myght abayle Horestes knyghtes / vnwarely haue hym mette And all attones / proudely on hym sette Firste slewe his men / & put them to the flyght And taken hym / maugre all his myght And with chaynes / lyke as they hym fynde Mercyles / full faste they hym bynde And shet hym vp / fetryd in prysowne And all false / founde in the towne That were assentyd / wynynge or helpynge To the murdre / of the worthy kynge Great werkers / and conspyratours Agayne theyr lorde / rysynge as traytours An were take / and bounde by rygoure The same nyght / and shet vp in a toure Tyll on the morowe / lyke as the lot be drawe Eueryche of them / vnder fonge his lawe Lyke his decerte / excepcyon was none And whan the nyght / passed was and gone And Phebus / role esswarde in his spere And on the tours / shone full bryght & clere Whan Clemestra / rote of all falsehede Was brought forthe / quakynge in hir drede Before Horestes / to Iugement yfet He with a swerde / sharpe and kene whet Lyke as the goddes / charged hym toforne On peces smale / he hath hir all to shorne And made hir bere / out of the townes boundes To be vouryd / of bestes and of houndes Pyte was none / in his breste reseruyd But quyt hir fully / as she hath disseruyd Fro poynt to poynt / and forgat right nought And than chayned / egistus was forth brought And iustly dempt / by rygour of the lawe On an herdell / naked to be drawe Thorugh the towne / that all myght se And after / hye hanged on a tree For to rot and drye / agayne the sonne Loo howe murdre / hath his guerdon wonne Loo how falsehede / his master can awake And all the traytours / in the towne ytake Were on galowes / enhonged euerychone Tyll they were seueryd / a sonder bone fro bone Hye on an hylle / agayne the sterres shene Thus was the towne / fro treason purgyd clene And with trouthe / augmentyd and ymoryd And to his reygne / Horestes full restoryd As the storye sewynge / shall expowne And of the daye / whan he toke his crowne . ANd whan the myste / & euery cloudy skye Of false treason / and conspyracye Were tryed out / vpon euery syde That falsehede hadde / no place to abyde The storye sayth / in ordre rehersynge The same tyme / Menelay the kynge Out of see / full of wawes were Fro Troyewarde / aryued was in Crete Frely escapyd / many drede and peyne With his quene / the goodly fresshe Eleyne And for cause / she was so famous fayre Great was the prees / and meruayllous repayre Fro euery parte / hir beaute to beholde For whom Troye / with walles nat full olde Destroyed was / the noble royall towne And many man / full worthy of renowne Hath loste his lyfe / there may no man say nay All for Eleyne / wyfe to Menelay Whan thynge is done / it may be none other But whan this kyng / knew fully of his brother A gamenon / murdre and euerydele He was full tryste / and lyked no thynge wele But inwardly / felte full great smerte And his neuewe / he hadde also at herte I mene Horestes / that so mercyles Lyke a tyraunt / that were graceles His Modre slewe / and had no pyte Of morrall y●re / in his cruelte And fully caste / that he wolde blyue Of sceptre and crowne / platly hym depryue Full affermynge / for this hatefull caas By all lawe / that he vnworthy was His faders reygne / as heyre to possede Iustely consydred / his horryble dede And all attones / Furyous and wrothe Without abode / vnto shyp he gothe Melancolyke / in his great tene Out of Crete / saylnge to Athene And toke the londe / out of shyppes borde Where duke Nestor / was gouernour & lorde Whiche them receyueth / lyke a gentyll knyght With all his power / dylygence and myght But Menelaye / of rancoure / and great hete Gan with the duke / secretely to trete To fynde a mene / in his inwarde syght For to depryue / Horestes of his ryght And therupon / to haue a iugement At Athenes / was holde a Parlement Of all the lordes / of that regyon To gyue theron / a diffynycyon In whiche was shewed / openly ynoughe How Horestes / his owne modre sloughe And the maner / of his great offence Hym selfe tho / beynge in presence And whan this thynge / he fully dyde espye For his partye / he gan agayne replye As he that felte / hym frely at his large For hym allegynge / how he hadde in charge Of the goddes / shortly to declare His mortall swerde / that he nat ne spare Vpon Clemestra / roote of false treason That slewe hir lorde / kynge Agamenon And the murdre / thorugh hir malys wrought Wherfore Horestes / humbly besought The lordes all / with a manly herte Of equyte / consydre and aduerte For no malyce / rancoure nor for rage Hym to depryue / of his herytage Syth he was sone / of Agamenon Borne to be heyre / of that regyon As ye haue herde / that called was Methene Albe his moder / Clemestra the quene Compassyd hadde / his destruccyon But Duke Nestor / ymeuyd of reason In susteynynge / of horestes ryght Rose vp anone / lyke a manly knyght Offrynge hym selfe / proudely for his sake This hye quarell / for to vndertake With his body / to the deth darreyne With whom that lyst / his tytle to withseyne But there was none / in all that companye That durste a worde / agayne hym replye So hoole he stode / in his oppynyon And by his knyghtly / medyacyon He bare hym so / feynynge in no thynge That Horestes / was ycrowned kynge Of Meneste / all beynge of assent And whan dissolued / was the Parlement This Horestes / of his lyeges trewe Receyued was / with a crowne newe And by treate / of lordes many one Kynge Menelay / and he / were made atone And gan theyr Ire / and theyr rancourelete And y●dumee / the worthy kynge of Crete So prudently / gouerneth this matere That hermyone / the yonge doughter dere Of Menelay / and the quene Eleyne So yonge so fresshe / of beaute souereyne Yweddyd was / without more tariynge To Horestes / the newe lusty kynge And bycause / of this allyaunce Deuoyded was / all rancour and distaunce Atwene the kynges / Menelay the olde And horestes / of whom right now I tolde Thus leue I them / as it was the beste Eche in his reygne / lyue in peas and reste For all stryfe / was ceasyd in this caas But Erygona / that the doughter was Of Egistus / as ye haue herde me telle For sorowe and drede / lyste no lenger dwelle But toke a rope / and lyst no thynge to spare And therwithall / gan hir selfe to gnare The storye sayth / hye vpon a tree This was hir fyne / ye gette no more of me But I wyll forth / ceryously entreate Of the storye / to telle you the greate . OVlixes by ordre / in my wrytynge Thyne auentures / come on the rynge Full wonderfull / both on londe & see Entermedlyd / with great aduersytee For Guydo firste / descryuynge thy repayre Sayth how thou founde / weder foule & fayre Now agreable / now the thonder sowne Now stylle and smothe / now with clwdes frowne And sayth also / that thou dyddest ordayne To thy passage / myghty shyppes twayne Apparaylled / all for marchaundyse That thou myghtest / in moste secrete wyse Euery myschefe / of the see escape But for all that / thou haddest a felle iape For as this Auctour / thy resorte doth wryte He sayth Vlixes / for all his wordes whyte Yrobbed was / of rychesse and of gode Contraryous wynde / so agayne hym stode That he was dryue / to his confusyon Into the myghty / stronge regyon Where Thelamon / reygned by his lyue And there he was / hent and take blyue By myghty honde / sesyd by the brest And mercyles / put vnder arest For they hym hadde / suspect in workynge Touchynge the murdre / of the same kynge But he so wroughte / by his sleyghty wyle And his tale / sette in suche a style That them all / he playnely hath be iaped And fro theyr honde / freely is escaped Except that he / for all his queynt fare Of his treasour / was ymade full bare And for his passage / was to hym vnkouthe He fyll agayne / into the wolfes mouthe For veryly / as it is specyfyed Kynge Naulus men / haue hym eft espyed Take and bounde / and chayned mercyles For the murdre / of kynge Pallamydes But the storye reherseth / in certayne By his prudence / he scaped is agayne For he was bothe / expert wyse and olde All though the maner / be nat fully tolde Of his escape / thorugh his besy payne Out of daunger / of these kynges twayne Tyll thurgh Fortune / he came fro myschefe fre To the presence / of kynge ydume In symple array / and torne apparayle Wherof the kynge / greatly gan meruayle Tose his pouert / in so lowe manere But for all that / he made hym good chere Though that tyme / he were infortunate He hym receyueth / lyke to his estate And whan they were / bothe twayne alone In complaynynge / Vlixes made his mone Vnto the kynge / as he that was full sage Ceryously / the sorte of his passage With face sad / and a sobre chere Fro poynt to poynt / anone as ye shall here My lorde quod he / shortly to expresse Of truste I haue / in your gentyllesse I shall to you / myn auentures alle Reherse here / right as it is falle . FIrste whan that I / Troye londe forsoke And the water / with my shyppes toke I was anone / with wynde pesyble blowe To an y●le / whiche was to me vnknowe Called Mirma / of great hab●●daunce And all thynge / that was to my plesaunce That may for syluer / or for golde be bought I redy founde / and wanted right nought And there abode / full longe whyle in ioye With the treasoure / that I gat at Troye My shyppes stuffed / my men hole and sounde And for commodyte / of that ylke gounde We lyked so / the countre enuyron That for disporte / and recreacyon Our tariynge there / we thought nat full longe For no man dyde / vnto vs no wronge Tyll on a daye / that the eyer was styll The wynde also / fully at our wyll We sayled forth / in quyete and in pees Vnto a porte / called Claustafages Wherwith my meyne / longe and many day I founde all thynge / accordynge to my pay The weder lusly / agreable and fayre But who may truste / outher in wynde or ayre For vpon fayth / of the smothe skye Agayne to shyppe / faste I gan me hye Taryed nought / but toke anone the see Smothe and calme / endurynge dayes three That in the weder / founde was no lacke But sodaynely / the heuen tourneth blacke The hydous tempest / and the wawes grene Out of hope / haue me dispeyred clene Troubled my spirite / and made me so pensyfe Without refute / to escape with the lyfe Tossyd and dryuen / by many sondry yle Tyll at the laste / caste vp at Cecyle Recurynge londe / with great annoye & payne Where that tyme reygned / kynges twayne And as I can / remebre douteles The tone of them / called Sorygenes Whiche vnto me / full contraryous was And the tother / named Coclopas Bretherne of byrthe / and in conclusyon Ylyke cruell / of condycyon For though my sorte / hadde shape for the nones Bothe twayne / fylle on me attones Oppressynge / in full great distresse Spoyled my shyppes / of treasour and rychesse And for pyte / lyked nat to spare Tyll I was lefte / destytute and bare Of all my good alas / my mortall chaunce And moste of all / was to me greuaunce Whan of my golde / they may nomore restrayne They sent downe / their myghty sones twayne Alypham / that was full large and longe And Polypheme / the myghty gyaunt stronge Which on my men / to auenge them were so fayne That they of them / haue an hondred slayne Disarayed / to stonde at diffence And of malyce / with sodayne vyolence They toke me / for myschefe almost lorne And Alphenor / myn owne brother sworne And hatefully / as they haue vs founde In chaynes caste / and in stockes bounde And after that / ylocked in pryson And for to make / platly mencyon This myghty man / this great Polypheme A suster hadde / shortly for to deme One of the fayrest / that euer yet was borne She myght in beaute / so besette aforne Nature hir gaue / suche a prerogatyfe A clene mayde / sothly and no wyfe Flourynge bothe / in fayrenesse & bounte Whom Alphenor / whan he dyde se Albe he was / fetred in pryson For loue he loste / wyt and eke reason And wexe all mad / so narowe she dyd him bynde Saue vpon hir / alway was his mynde And closed aye / was his peryllous wounde And syxe monthes / thus we lay bounde Both he and I / to say the platte trouthe Tyll Polypheme / hadde vpon vs ●outhe And thorugh his grace / and medyacyon He quyt vs fre / out of that pryson And shewed vs / of mercy and pyte After our sorowe / great humanyte But Alphenor / ylyke of one entent Was with the bronde / of Cupyde brent And felte his parte / with many mortall fyt Tyll he so wrought / with his sotyll wyt That on a nyght / who was leef or loth He stale this mayde / and his way he goth Thorugh helpe of men / with hym at that tyme But on the morowe / at the houre of pryme Polyphemus / gan vs for to sewe Whose myghty honde / we myght nat eschewe And suche assaute / on vs they gan make That of force / they haue the mayde take From Alphenor / mauge all his rage And Polypheme / vnto my damage With his knyghtes / so sore vpon me lay That I myght / vnneth scape away To saue my selfe / compassyd enuyron To deth pursued / of that champyon But whan I sawe / there was no other gayne To fle the deth / shortly for to sayne Whyle this geaunt / most freesly on me sette With my swerde / out his eye I smette And vnto shyp / with my companye I fledde in haste / that no man myght espye Where I be came / nor Alphenor my fere And whan the wawes / gan for to clere And gracyous wynde / gan to vs a wake That countre / we haue anone forsake It was nat holsome / for vs to abyde But of this man / lyke as wryt Ouyde Polyphemus / the Geaunt out of drede Hadde an eye / amyd of his forhede Whiche vlixes / smote out at a stroke And lyke the browes / of a braunched oke Was all his heer / and his longe berde On whom to loke / childre were aferde And whan that he / hadde lost his syght Amonge the hylles / he ronneth day and nyght In a rage to fynde / hym some refuge Caste rockes / and great stones huge On euery parte / enuyron the countre On Vlixes / auenged for to be Thus sayth Ouyde / in conclusyon In his boke / of transformacyon Methamorphoseos / there ye may it se Whan so euer / that your leyser be Ce●yously / the storye for to rede And in wrytynge / forth I wyll procede How vlixes / with face deed and pale To ydumee / tolde forth his tale Re●ersynge thus / supprysed and awaked Fro Polypheme / whan we were escaped Thorugh our vnhappe / and infelycyte Into an yle / myddes of the see We were dryue / whan it gan to nyght And Elodiū / that lytell kyngdome hyght Where that Circes / the great enchaunteresse Thylke tyme / was Lady and goddesse Th●● coude hir crafte / so wonderly perform All sodaynely / a man for to transforme To haue the lykenesse / and lese his reason Of horse / of bere / Tygre or lyon Wolfe / or fox / or what hir lyste deuyse Hir dredefull craft / was shapen in suche wyse So myghty were / hir straunge pocyons Hir letuaryes / and confeccyons And she also / so fayre vpon to se That fro hir power / no man myght fle For by the werke / of this sorceresse I was so founcyd / vpon hir fayrenesse That fynally / thus with me it stode That all a yere / I with hir abode And playnely hadde / power none nor myght For to departe / nouther day nor nyght So lusty was / the lyfe that I ladde In whiche tyme / by me a childe she hadde Right inly fayre / and goodly to the syght And Thelagonyus / in sothenesse he hyght Whiche afterwarde / I well reherse can By processe / wexe a manly man And by my sotyle secrete / prouydence Of hir crafte / I hadde experyence That maugre / hir enchauntementes olde I stale away / she myght me nat holde And fynally / my fate to conclude With my connynge / hir crafte I gan delude That with my men / I scaped fro hir honde And went at large fre / out of hir londe But all this thynge / me lytell dyd auayle For on my way / as I gan to sayle For all my sleyghte / in a lytell whyle Yblowe was vp / into an yle Where Calypha / suster to Circes Was crowned quene / & helde hir sceptre in pees Whose craftes were / so myghty and so stronge Maugre my wyll / she helde me there full longe But she in sothe / to speke of womanhede Of bounte fredome / and of goodlyhede Surely hadde / so souerayne excellence That myne abode / to me was none offence But who so euer / there at crye or clappe At the laste / I scaped / fro hir trappe And came to an Yle / right as any lyne Whiche specyally / thorugh hye power dyuyne Ordeyned is / of yore by myracle As it were / a spirituall oracle A man to haue / in a temple there Sodayne answere / of what hym lyst enquere Of questyons / and demaundes alle And of soules / what shall eke befalle Whan men are dede / and grauen vnderstone And I gan axe / in the temple anone Myn auentures / that shulde after sewe And where a man / myght his fate eschewe And of all this / lyke to myn entent I hadde answere / full conuenyent Saue what befalleth / whan a soule is gone Diffynycyon / vnto me was none Such thyng to assoyle / accordeth nat to ryght It is reseruyd / vnto goddes myght And excedeth reason / and wyt of man And fro thense / forth to sayle I gan Dryuen with wynde / and no parte socoured Where I was lyke / to haue be deuoured Of Karybdes / with his profounde welle Where Syrenes / Meremaydenes dwelle That fro the brest / with scales syluer shene Be of theyr shape / fysshes fresshe and clene And ouer more / kynde doth compasse Them to appere / Femynyne of face Lyke virgyns / that were of nature Without spot / vndefouled pure And of custome / in wawes as they flete The songe of them / is to heuenly swete So Aungelyke / and full of Armonye That veryly / the sugred melodye Rauysshe wolde / any man a lyue Of inly ioye / almoste his herte ryue Make a man / of sodayne hye plesaunce Foryet hym selfe / and lese his remembraunce Deuoyde hym clene / from his owne thought Tyll vnwarely / he be to myschefe brought And with theyr songe / or he take kepe He shall be brought / in a mortall slepe And they anone / it may nat be withdrawe Wyll drenche his shyp / lowe vnder the wawe Thus the swetnesse / of theyr heuenly sowne Bryngeth a man / to confusyowne Who so euer / by theyr boundes passe But with the lyfe / I scaped by grace For myn eres / with waxe & gummes clere Were stopped so / that I ne myght here Touche nor werble / of theyr instrumentis Wherby the reason / of a man blynded is And fynally / thorugh my sotylte I and my men / be escaped fre Saylynge forth / all mate of werynesse Tyll we came vp / with full great distresse At Phenyce / and toke anone the londe Caste anker / and our shyppes bonde But sothly there / it fyll vs full vnfayre For the people / cruell and contrayre Oonly of malyce / fyll on me anone And slewe my men / almoste euerychone Tresoure and good / lytell that I hadde Was me berafte / & all with them they ladde And fewe of them / that were left a lyue They toke them / and put in pryson blyue Thus hath Fortune / lad me an hir daunce With lytell ioye / and plente of myschaunce Of whose daunger / lernyd and experte I am fall in mychefe / and pouerte And with great dole / & sorowe full my breest On see and londe / by Southe and nat by Eest I am come / vnto your presence And haue declaryd / playnely in sentence Myn auentures / to your worthynesse Of truste oonly / and of faythfulnesse That I haue to you / in specyall And now I haue / rehersyd and tolde all To your hyghnesse / and my beste wyse Without more / to me it dothe suffyse And though in hert / he was constrayned sore Thylke tyme / Vlixes / spake no more But helde his peas / full heuy in lokynge And Ydumeus / lyke a gentyll kynge Comforted hym / all that euer he myght And besy was / his herte for to lyght And hym besought / his heuynesse lete And as longe / as hym lyste in Crete With hym abyde / he made hym suerte He shulde fare / also well as he And nat wante / of what may do hym ease And whan his sorowe / some what gan apease That his cage / drewe vnto an ende Leue he toke / and sayde he wolde wende Out of tha● londe / home to his countre But firste the kynge / of fredome and bounte Gaue vnto hym / great rychesse and array And what so euer / was to his pay Golde treasour / and many other thynges And at partynge / of thyse two kynges There were / shyppes / whan hym lyste to sayle Redy stuffyd / with meyne and vytayle And thus vlixes / gan hym redy make And whan he hath / his leue fully take He hasted hym / and toke anone the see And gan sayle / towarde his countree But firste he wente / to kynge Alphenon Whiche passyngly / hadde affeccyon To se vlixes / at his home comynge And desyrous / ouer all thynge To haue of hym / newely aqueyntaunce For vnto hym / was inly great plesaunce To here hym talke / for his eloquence For his wysdome / and his hye prudence And there he was / after all his smerte Receyued playnely / with as glad an herte As euer yet / was any maner man Sythen tyme / that the worlde began . And to encrease / of his Felycytee There herde he firste / of Penolopee His trewe wyfe / without spot of blame Of whom yet grene / is the noble fame Whiche from hir lorde / for all his longe absence In thought nor dede / neuer dyde offence But sothly was / bothe in chere and dede Thorugh out Grece / exaumple of womanhede And yet was she / as bokes lyste expresse Thorugh out the world / Myrour of fayrenesse And amonge Grekes / borne of hyest blode Called of Auctours / bothe fayre and gode And yet say bookes / of hir doutlees Was neuer none / that hadde so great prees But she hir kept / chaungynge for no newe Vnto hir lorde / euer ylyke trewe Of herte aye one / nat parted into twayne That she is called / quene and souerayne Of wyfely trouthe / in this bokes olde And ofte I fynde / hir herte wolde colde She tourne pale / fro hir lorde so ferre In hir closet / to here of the werre Of drede she hadde / and fro fere eke quake Of fantasyes / for hir lordes sake For his absence / bothe eue and morowe Was deth vnto hir / and importable sorowe And aye in sothe / for ioye or any game Whan it fyll / she herde Ectors name In any place anone / she fylle a swowne And gan hir selfe / in teres drowne Of womanhede / so she was a ferde To here the slaughter / of his mortall swerde Lyste hir lorde / of knyghtly surquedye Hadde of Fortune / falle in ieopardye Of hap or sorte / to a mette the worthy knyght That selde or neuer / she felte hir herte lyght And many dreme / a nyghtes dyde hir gaste All the whyle / that the sege laste And euery play / was venym in hir syght Whan that she was / from hir owne knyght For in this worlde / ioye hadde she none Of hye nor lowe / playnely but of one For whose sake / all myrthe she refuseth And who so be / that in his herte museth Of any woman / any thynge but gode Of melancolye / meuyd in his blode Let hym aduerte / of wysdome and ysee And remembre / on Penolopee For his decert / lyste that he be blamyd And o Guydo / thou shuldest be ashamyd To say of wyues / any thynge but we le For in good fayth / as ferre as I can fele Though one or two / do amonge offence She that is good / thorugh hir prouydence Is therof / no thynge for to wyte And thoughe Guydo / in his boke endyte The varyaunce / of Eleyne / or Creseyde Or Medea / that for sorowe deyde Let the agayne / of right and equytee The wyfely trouthe / of Penolopee The maydenhode / of yonge Polycene And the goodnesse / of Eccuba the quene Of Cassandra eke / the stedefastnesse And with all this / take the kyndenesse Of Pantasylle / without varyaunce And put all this / togydre in balaunce And ye shall fynde / if ye lyste accounte Maugre who grutcheth / trouth shal surmounte I dare afferme / and bere away the pryse There wyll no man / replye that is wyse He were to feble / in his oppynyon And whyle vlixes / was with Alphenon It was to hym / made relacyon Of an hatefull / conspiracyon That certayne lordes / enuyron his countree Bauysshe wold● / his quene Penolopee Maugre all tho / that were there agayne Albe that she was / euer ylyke playne In hir trouthe / stedfaste as a wall Yet they haue caste / platly that she shall Be take of Force / it may nat be eschewed But if so be / in haste she be reskewed For they them caste / the tyme nat aiourne For day and nyght / with hir they soiourne Inly in herte / for loue disamayde But of wysedome / she hath them so delayde That there was none / so manly nor so sage That coude of hir / gette auauntage So auyse she was / in hir werkynge And whan vlixes / conceyueth all this thynge And fully knewe / by open euydence And hadde also / in specyall credence Sent vnto hym / fro Penolopee The mater hole / declarynge in secretee His owne sone / Thelamonyus He wexe in herte / wood and Furyous And wolde make / no dylacyon But in all haste / besoughte Alphenon The myghty kynge / of his hye bounte To releue hym / in his aduersyte And that he wolde / thorugh his myghty honde Of gentyllesse / conueye hym to his londe He graunteth hym / and say nat ones nay And bothe two / in full great array Toke the see / whan the wynde was gode Well fortuned / for no thynge them withstode They be aryued / and hadde no lettynge Where vlixes / as ye haue herde was kynge And secretely in a nyght / they were conueyed To them that haue / his lygaunce disobeyed And mercyles / or they myght awake In theyr beddes / they haue them all take Makynge no prolongynge / tyll the morowe But in all hast / for no wyght durst them borowe Smette of theyr hedes / by Jugement fynall And sette them vpon / the castell wall Eueryche by other / endelonge the rowe Vpon the toure / whan the kocke gan crowe And thus all nyght / they kept them selfe close Tyll that Phebus / meryly arose In the Oryent / whan the larke songe And tho these kyngis / with their meyne stronge Fresshely besene / entre the Cytee Who was tho glad / but Penolopee Who made ioye / but this goodly quene Full desyrous / hir owne lorde to sene But if I shulde / all in ordre sette The great myrthe / they made whan they mette Make rehersayle / of complayntes olde And how they gan / theyr hertes to vnfolde Eche to other / and lyste no thynge concele And the gladnesse / that they inly fele If I shulde / put all in memorye The reioysynge / and the hertely glorye That his lyeges / made at his comynge The costes eke / they hadde at his metynge The gyftes great / and presentes ryche In all this worlde / It cowe none ylyche It were to longe tariynge / for my boke And how that he / newe assuraunce toke Of his lordes / and lyeges alle And how that they / to his grace falle The chere he made / eke to Alphenowne Of gentyllesse / thorugh his hye renowne And how the doughter / inly debonayre Of Alphenon / Nausica the fayre By vlixes / medyacyon Yweddyd was / vnto Thelamon Borne by discent / there may no man say nay To reioyse his crowne / after his day And thus came in / by his purueaunce Of two reygnes / the myghty allyaunce And how all this / brought was to the knotte Men wolde deme / playnely me to sotte To presume / of oppynyon For to delate / a descripcyon Sythen Guydo / touchynge but the chefe In this mater of style / was but brefe Shortly rehersynge / how kynge Alphenon Repeyred is / home to his regyon And vlixes / in his chefe Cytee Abode stylle / with Penolopee Where I hym leue / in ioye and in solace Tyll Antropos / lyketh to purchace For to Fychche / fynally the date The threde to vntwyne / of his lyues fate .
How the translatoure wryteth the stocke of Pyrrus by lyncall dyscent / and how his Fader hyght Pelleus / & his graunmoder called Thetydes . Capitulo xxxvij .
NOw muste I full besy be a whyle To directe / the tracys of my style In descryuynge / shortly of entent The stocke of py●●us / by lyneal discent Myn Auctour folowe / and be compendyous Whose olde Fader / hyght Pelleus His graunmoder / called Therydes Of whiche two / came worthy Achylles That at Troye / by treason loste his lyfe And Dardanyca / called was his wyfe Pyrrus moder / and doughter as I rede Vnto the kynge / called Lychomede Hauynge a Fader that Acastus hyght Whiche in sothnesse / all that euer he myght Bare heuy herte / to kynge Pelleus To Achylles / and also to Pyrrus To all the kyn / playnely on that syde And of malyce / rancoure and of pryde And of enuye in an hatefull rage Whan Pelleus / salie was in age He berafte hym / bothe sceptre and crowne And from his see / lowe a lyght hym downe And into exyle / auayle way no stryfe He made hym go / with Thetydes his wyfe Of hye disdeyne / gayne may no grace And in his herte / gan day and nyght compace The deth of Pyrrus / kepe hym if he can And therupon / malycyously began To shape away / by awayte lyinge Hym for to sle / at his home comynge But this Pyrrus / from his treynes free Many daunger / escaped of the see Many wawe / and many tempest wode With great losse / bothe of men and gode At Malasus / alder firste gan londe A stronge Cyte / a lytell fro the stronde Where that he was / refresshed wonder wele And there he knewe / grounde and euerydele Firste of Thexyle / lyke as men hym tolde Of Therydes / and Pelleus the olde And how Atastus / bare to hym hatrede Vnto the deth / wherof he gan drede And thought he wolde / as he that was right wyse By some engyne / eschewe his malyse And therupon / do his besy payne Nowhadde Atastus / other sones twayne Menalyppus / and Polystenes And adoughter / ycalled Thetydes And all this whyle / wofull Pelleus In a Castell olde / and ruynous With Thetydes / full of sorowe and care For drede of deth / day and nyght gan dare Disespeyred / in his vnweldy age Recure to fynde / of this mortall rage Except that he hadde / an hope of yore That Pyrrus / shulde helpe hym and restore At his repeyre / whan so that it falle After whose comynge / often he gan calle The tyme curse / that he so longe abode But whan Pyrrus / all this vnderstode At Malasus / by relacyowne Full faste he gan / haste out of the towne Toke the see / and faste gan hym hye Towarde the londe / called Thesalye Ofentent / to make ordynaunce On Atastus / for to do vengaunce But alderfirste / this Pyrrus full prudent Espyes twayne / he tofore hath sent To Thesalye / forth togydre gone And Crylyppus / called was the tone And Adastrus / named was his fere They were expert / them nedeth nat to lere In whose expleyte / to more auauntage This Pyrrus hath / direct his massage Of Thesalye / to a Cyteseyne Called Assandrus / a maner chaumberleyne With Pelleus / and whylom full secree Whyle he was / flourynge in Felycytee And whan Pyrrus / in conclusyon Knewe all the sothe / by relacyon On see / nor londe / hym ne lyste to tarye Albe that he / founde the wynde contrarye But he ●●caped / many dredefull stoundes Of Thesalye / aprocheth to the boundes For Eolus / that his luste obeyed And of Fortune / won●erly con●eyed He dryuen was / as it were by grace To aryue / in the same place Where Pelleus / in a dolefull caue For drede of deth / lay hym selfe to saue Sool saue his wyfe / withouten any ferys All enclosyd / with husshes and with brerys And Pyrrus / there went vp firste to sonde Sool by hym selfe / walkynge on the stronde Pensyfe and tryste / and his way toke Where Pelleus / in the caue quoke Hauynge with hym / tho none other guyde Saue his swerde / hangynge by his syde And vnwarely / with a dredefull herte Pelleus / out of the caue sterte Disamayde / of his lyfe in doute Whan he behelde a knyght / there walke aboute And astoned / abode / and stode full stylle Ymagynynge / that he sawe Achylle By this Pyrrus / stondynge in the place By all the sygnes / shewed in his face For nature / without varyaunce Made them so lyke / of chere and countenaunce Of forme / of shape / and lymmes euerychone That difference / in effect was none And Pelleus / without longer space Gan anone Pyrrus / to enbrace And abrayde out / of his deedly thought And for ioye / sette all his sorowe at nought And gan to hym / by and by declare Bothe his exyle / and his euyll fare His pyteous lyfe / his pouerte and myschaunce And Fortunes / false varyaunce And of Atastus / the feruent hoote enuye The cruelte / and the Tyrannye Ceryously / he tolde Pyrrus alle And he full sobre / stode stylle as a walle With face pale / and in herte wrothe Specheles / to shyp agayne he gothe And there he was / enformed douteles That Menalyppus / and Polystenes And Atastus / togydre / all thre With huge array / and a great meyne The same day / full surquedous of pryde Hunte in a Forest / lytell there besyde And whan Pyrrus / therof toke good hede Without abode / chaunge gan his wede Full porely rent / and disarayed Lyke a man / that were for thought dismayed Gyrte with his swerde / made no delay But to the forest / toke the ryght way Sool by hym selfe / without companye So secretely / that no man myght espye And as he drowghe / many dyuerse boundes He herde hornes / vncouplynge of houndes And lyke a man / that lyst make his mone Fro syght of folke / he drewe hym aye alone And casuelly / disseueryd fro the prees Firste he mette / with Polystenes Menalyppus / rydynge by his syde And bothe two / on Pyrrus gan abyde And boystously / of hym to enquere Fro whense he came / & also what he were So febly cladde / and of so pore estate Walkynge there / as he were desolate And lowly he / of chere and countenaunce Styll and humble / in his dalyaunce Answerde agayne / and sayde how that he Fordyuen was / with myschefe of the see And affermed pale / and no thynge rede His felowshyp / drowned was and dede Fyue hondred / the wawes were so rage Of olde and yonge / and of medell age And he escaped / the tempest was so ryfe As he them tolde / vnneth with the lyfe And ouer more / he tolde them platly eke Touchynge his byrthe / that he was a greke And went there / destytur of ioye Late come / fro the sege of Troye And besought them / towarde his lyuynge To helpe hym / with some refresshynge As hym that hadde / catell loste and gode Lyke as they sawe / naked how he stode Prayinge also in hope / it shulde auayle Hym to releue / with clothynge or vytayle To his refute / somewhat to prouyde And they had hym / that he shulde abyde For they wyll wyt / playnely what he can And that whyle / besyde them there ran A full great harte / downe by the ryuer And Menalyppus / prycked his courser As it sempte / it was to hym dewe Thorugh thynne / and thycke onely to pursewe He spareth nat / but alway after rode And his brother / with Pyrrus stylle abode Polystenes / and toke of it no hede But in all haste / alyght fro his stede On the grene / to reste hym there besyde As he that was / wery for to ryde Without meyne / beynge hym selfe sool Lys●ynge of Pyrrus / the complaynte & the dool But sodaynely / or he myght aduerte Cruell Pyrrus / ran hym to the herte And lefte hym dede / lyinge on the playne Whan Menalyppus / repeyred was agayne Seynge his brother / baskyn in his blode And Pyrrus efte / furyous and wode With a face / of coloure pale and wan To Menalyppus / in his yre ran And slewe hym eke / or that he toke hede And thus they lay / on the grounde and blede The bretherne two / with Pyrrus swerd yslawe And he anone / asyde gan hym drawe Metynge aknyght / were it of sorte or caas As sayth the storye / called Cynaras Of whom Pyrrus / gan in haste enquere Whose man he was / or what he dyd there And he answerde / and made no tariynge He was seruaunt / with the myghty kynge Called Atastus / lorde of that countre And Pyrrus tho / of dedely enmyte With cruell swerde / all fresshe & rede of blode Ran hym thorugh out / as any Lyon wode And after that / the forest he forsoke And in all haste / the right way he toke To shyppe agayne / pale and blacke of hewe And gan anone / to array hym newe All in purpyll / whiche as clerkes telles Is for kynges / and for no wyght elles And than Pyrrus / fresshe and well deseyne To the forest / repeyred is ageyne Where sodaynely / of hap in his walkynge In shorte whyle / he mette with the kynge Olde Atastus / that asked of Pyrrus What man art thou / that by thy selfe thus Walkyst thus here / all day to and fro Certes quod Pyrrus / full of sorowe & wo Inly supprysed / of hertely complaynynge One of the sones / of Pryamus the kynge I was whylom / nowe put out of memorye Whan that Troye / flouryd in his glorye Now refutles / into myschefe brought I walke sool / full of care and thought For in exyle / out of Troye towne With cruell Pyrrus / to lyue in prysowne Bounde vnto hym / though me be full lothe My honde assured / with many full great othe To obeye his luste / in captyuyte Loo : here is all / thus it standeth with me Atastus tho / of entencyon After many / other questyon Enqueryd of hym / in his dalyaunce If he knewe / ought of Pyrrus gouernaunce Or if that he / coude ought vnderstonde Where he hym kept / sythe he came to londe Ywysse quod he / if ye lyste hym haue He kepeth hym close / in yonder caue Amonge bruskayle / with a shrowded face Makynge a sygne / to the same place And all was done / for an ydell mase For whyle the kynge / thyderwarde gan gase Hasty Pyrrus / gan his swerde out drawe In purpose fully / Atastus to haue slawe But wonderly / the storye can you lere Quene Thetydes / dyde anone appere All be rayned / with teres on hir face And gan the swerde / of Pyrrus to enbrace Prayinge hym / his deedly honde restrayne Hast thou nat slayne / my yonge brethren twayne And now alas / my Fader hore and gray Mercyles / fro me wylt take away Put vp the swerde / and no blode ne shede And haue pyte / vpon thy kynrede And aduerte clerely / to the fyne How thou arte come / of the same lyne And hatefull is / who loke a ryght Vnkynde blode / in euery mannes syght And Pyrrus tho / as any Tygre wrothe Gan afferme / with many full great othe That who so grutche / or agaynst playne He shall hym sle / with his hondes twayne For hath nat he / by false extorsyon Put Pelleus / out of his regyon Whiche is your lorde / and ye his trewe wyfe That fynally / he shall lese his lyfe And here anone / of myn handes deye In this matere / there is no more to seye But Pelleus / darynge in the caue Of grace oonly / lyste his lyfe to saue All other helpe / platly is for nought And Pelleus / was anone forth brought Croked and olde / vnweldy eke to se And tofore Pyrrus / fyll downe on his kn● Besechynge hym / with apyteous face At his requeste / take hym to grace And that he wolde / in his manly herte Goodly consydre / the deedly wo and smerte Of Atastus / and the mortall payne That he hadde / for his sones twayne Whiche lay deed / tofore hym on the grene Slayne with your swerde / that is so sharpe & kene Whiche he ne may / recure in no wyse The sorowe of whiche / ought ynough suffyse Though ye on hym / do no more vengaunce All this peysyd / iustly in balaunce Syth he is hoolly / submyttyd to your myght Take now hym / to mercy anone ryght And let your swerde / his age nat consume This my request / as I dare presume . ANd than Pyrrus / shortly for to sayne Whan he had / put vp his swerde agayue Seynge mercy / myght moost auayle Without wordes / or any rehersayle Firste of all / tofore them euerychone The kynges made / accorde into one By his wysdome / concludynge vp in dede That eche of them / shulde his right possede In Thesalye / partyd into twayne That neyther hadde / mater to complayne Eueryche to reygne / in his dewe see And whyle they were / togydre all thre Out of presence / of any other man Atastus firste / thus his tale began Syres quod he / to you is nat vnknowe How thorugh age / now I am brought lowe And thorugh natures / kyndely mocyon Am wexed feble / of wyt and reson Beynge vnweldy / of my lymmes alle So many yeres / are vpon me falle And can vnneth / any thynge discerne To feble in sothe / a kyngdome to gouerne Of lyfe nor deth / takynge now no hede Syth my sones / slayne be and dede And sool lefte / now without heyre Of worldly luste / fully in dispeyre The tyme passyd / of my felycyte Fortunes tourne / with mutabylyte Hath taught me / playnly I dare it wel expresse In worldly ioye / is no sykernesse Nor very truste / no whyle to abyde But I wyll now / for my selfe prouyde And in all haste / by prudent purueaunce Me discharge / of all gouernaunce Agayne my sort / me lyste nat malygne But sceptre / and crowne frely I resygne Of Thesalye / lorshyp and eke londe Of my fre wyll / hole into thy honde There shall no man / reclayme nor say nay Interupte / nor make no delay Touchynge this thynge / by no collusyon For I the put / in possessyon And hereupon / of all that euer he sayde Makynge full fayth / his honde in his he layde Quene Thetydes / syttynge there present And Pelleus / of the same entent Vnto Pyrrus / for his purpartye Resygned eke / his right of Thesalye Fully affermynge / that of yore ago His full desyre / and his ioye also Was euer in one / his neuewe to succede As rightfull heyre / his kyngdome to possede And vtterly / without repentaunce All that longeth / vnto my lygeaunce Sceptre and swerde / crowne and dyademe So as a kynge / lyfe and deth to deme Into thy hande / without longer date This same houre / hooly to translate And whan the knot / of this conuencyon Was fully brought / to conclusyon Perfourmed vp / hole the vnyte For euermore / atwene these kynges thre . Atastus knyghtes / disseueryd enuyrowne Out of the forest / be descendyd downe And by byddynge / platly of theyr lorde They were echone / sworne to this accorde And attones / this lusty companye To Thesalye / faste gan them hye And Pyrrus / folke lyinge on the see Be sayled forthe / streyght to the Cytee And Atastus / doth sette a Parlement Where openly / he gaue commaundement That all his lyeges / of hye or lowe estate Without stryfe / or any more debate Specyally / of gentyll blode yborne The same daye / to Pyrrus to be sworne Lyke theyr degrees / in the royall halle To perseuere / his trewe lyeges alle Durynge theyr lyfe / for ernest or for game And Pelleus / commaundeth hath the same For his partye / without any fraude And thus with ioye / and solempne laude Pyrrus was / of euery maner age Gladly / accepted / to his herytage And on a day / fortunat and gode With glad aspectis / whan the heuen stode Well accordynge / to suche maner thynge Worthy Pyrrus / was ycrowned kynge Of Thesalye / the ryche regyon It were but vayne / to make mencyon Of theyr reuell / nor theyr great array Nor of the feste / made the same day Eke in the storye / I fynde it nat in sothe I wyll passe ouer / as myn Auctour dothe Saue in his boke / it is specefyed That the kyngdome / was fer magnefyed Of Thesalye / by great myght Of this Pyrrus / whylom so gode a knght Where I se hym / in his royall see Tournynge agayne / to kynge ydumee Whiche in this whyle / was graue vnder stone And after hym / his sone Meryone The storye sayth / was crowned kynge of Crete But a whyle / reygnynge in equyte He deyed also / it wolde be none other And than in haste / Leorica his Brother As rightfull heyre / by successyon Was crowned kynge / of that regyon In whiche tyme / Atastus out of drede By the assent / of Pyrrus as I rede Full besy was / to make in specyall A ryche toumbe / passyngly royall Where buryed were / with full huge prees Menalyppus / and Polystenes Bothe two / in the forest slawe Thorugh Pyrrus swerde / by full cruell lawe Of them / can I / none other processe make But euen there / fully my tale I take Of them bothe / and also eke yfere Of Atastus / theyr owne fader dere Of whom sothly / for all his lockes hore In Troye boke / rede I can no more But now must I / agayne to Pyrrus wende To wryte of hym / the sory wofull ende Whiche whan he sat / hyest in his see Made full blynde / with vayne prosperyte Gouernynge / the londe of Thesalye He falsly fyll / on a fantasye To sette his loue / on Hermyon the quene Horestes wyfe / reygnynge in Methene For whom he brent / hote as any fyre And in fulfyllynge / of his foule desyre His purpose hole / thus he brought aboute Hir rauysshynge / whyle hir lorde was oute Ladde hir home / and helde hir as his wyfe Semynge to hym / it was a blysfull lyfe And full relese / of his paynes smerte Of whiche / Horestes bare full heuy herte And caste hym playnely / auengyd for to be Whan he may / haue opportunyte For that tyme / though he hadde wronge He was to feble / and Pyrrus was to stronge Whiche helde also / in storye it is tolde Andronomecha / with hym in housholde Ectors wyfe / by whom whylom she hadde A lytell childe / whiche with hir she ladde The sege complete / and destruccyowne Whan she was brought / out of Troye towne Lamedouta / I fynde was his name Encreasynge after / to full worthy fame And by Pyrrus / she hadde a sone also Called Achylleydos / so as wryt Guydo And these women / for all theyr great estate Atwene them selfe / amonge were at debate And Hermyone / in hir yre all hote In complaynynge / to hir Fader wrote That hir fere / for all hir hye degree Andronomecha / was cherisshed better than she Of kynge Pyrrus / besechynge Menelay To enhaste hym / in all that euer he may Come hym selfe anone / that it were do To sle this woman / and hir childe also And he abode nat / but faste gan hym hye In an hete / towarde Thesalye To be venged / with his swerde of stele Vpon hir / that trespasseth neuer adele But maugre hym / in all his cruelte She was reskewed / amyd of the Cyte It is a thynge / whiche hath nat be herde To a woman / a kynge to drawe his swerde I wyll no more / in this mater dwelle In maner shamed / it to wryte or telle But this was done / whyle Pyrrus of courage To Delos was gone / on pylgrymage Hauynge with hym / but a lytell route To Appollo / to knele and to loute For the soule / to praye of Achylle And his vowes / also to fulfylle And thanke hym / with humble affeccyon Of god exployte / he hadde at Troye towne And for wreche / also that was take At the Cyte / for his Faders sake But all this thynge / here yspecefyed Kynge Horestes / warely hath espyed And to Delos / gan haste hym full ryght Ledynge with hym / many lusty knyght And vnwarely / he with Pyrrus mette And vengeably / vpon hym he sette That fynally / in that straunge londe Horestes slewe hym / with his owne honde I fynde in sothe / he made no defence So sodayne was / the mortall vyolence Of his enmye / he coude nat asterte For or that he myght / his swerde aduerte He was on hym / enuyron all deset Thylke tyme / it myght be no bet For there was / nouther socoure nor declyne Thus was Pyrrus / brought vnto his fyne Late crowned / kynge of Thesalye Loo : here / the guerdon / of anoutrye Lo: how the mede / and rewarde is full ryfe To mysse vse / another mannes wyfe It is no drede / folowe shall vengaunce Sodayne deth / or vnware myschaunce Whiche euery man / greatly ought charge And in Delos / in a temple large Kynge Pyrrus / was locked vnder stone And Horestes / forth his way is gone And by force / gat his wyfe agayne There was no wyght / durst hym tho withsayne And to Methene / proudely is repeyred And Thesalye / pyteously dispeyred Destytute / as they that can no rede Whan they wyste / their worthy kyng was dede And heyre was none / by successyon To gouerne / that noble regyon Saue Achylleydos / that but iytell aforne In Pyrrus absence / was in Grece borne Fully of age / nat a quarter clene The youthe of whom / sothly was to grene Who lyste consydre / and to rendre of myght Full many day / to reioyse his ryght And to gouerne / with Sceptre in his honde The large boundes / of so great a londe And yet this childe / lykely and right feyre In very soth / was borne to be heyre After Pyrrus / this the trouthe playne There was no man / that lyste it withsayne But I fynde / whan he came to age He resygned / hole his herytage To his brother / frely and his ryght Lamedoute / a wonder manly knyght That was descended / of troy anysshe blode Downe fro the stocke of hym that was so gode Floure of knyghthode / diffence of Frigya That hym begat / on Andromecha Ordeyned nowe / who so gru●che or frowne Of Thesalye / for to bere the crowne And whan he was / made lorde of that londe And all was frely / resygned to his honde He hath commaunded / no man dare replye Thorugh the kyngome / of all Thesalye That all that were / in captyuyte Or prysoners / of Troye the Cyte For loue or hate / excepcyon was none That all shulde / at theyr large gone By full assent / of Achylleydos And suche as were eke / in pryson cloos Without raunson / shall belyuered be And reioyse / the full lyberte By custome vsed / bothe in borugh and towne Of the lyeges / of great regyon And thus the folke / that came thralle fro Troye Restored be / sodaynely to ioye By Lamedoute / and ymade free And he eke reygneth / in his royall see Full myghtely / as I haue made mynde In Troye boke / no more of hym I fynde Nor of Pyrrus / nor of his kynrede Fro hensforth / I can no processe rede But incydentes / that bere no substaunce Whiche were but vayne / to put in remembraunce Except myn Auctor / I note to what entent Here impeth in me / a lytell incydent Ywrought and done of full yore agon Touchynge the deth / of kynge Menon Whiche by enuye / of cruell Achylles Was slayne / in sothe amonge myrundones O only for he / proudely gan pursewe Vpon Achylles / Troylus to reskewe Whom kynge Pryam / made buryed be Besyde Troylus / in Troye the Cyte In a temple / ybylte / of marbyll olde And to what fyne / this tale is tolde In this Chapitle / I shall reherse anon THe noble quene / of this kynge Menon After the tyme / longe and many day That she was dede / and grauen vnder clay At the toumbe / heuenly gan appere All beset / with bryght sterres clere Whose symylytude / for to reken all Was lyke a thynge / that were immortall That no man myght / vtterly sustene To beholde / of loke / she was so shene Downe descendynge / fro the fyrmament Full many man / beynge there present Clade in a mantell / full celestyall And of hir porte / passyngly royall With swetnesse / fresshe as any rose Made in all haste / the toumbe to vnclose Of hir lorde / and taketh out the bones And in a cheste / made of golde and stones She couched them / as faste as euer she may Disapered / and went anone hir way And tofore that / nor after in certayne In that place / she was neuer sayne Some affermynge / as by lyklynesse She was outher / aungell or goodesse The soule or fate / of the same kynge I can nat deme / in suche heuenly thynge Nor therm holde / none oppynyon For it transcendeth / shortly my reson And me lyste nat / in suche mater diffyne But resorte / right as any lyne To vlixes / and a whyle dwelle Of his ende / the surplus for to telle And how that he / myght nat escape The parodye / that was for hym shape For parchas haue / his laste terme sette And Antropose / mesured out and mette His lyues threde / on the rocke sponne Diffende thy selfe / Vlixes if thou konne Shewe thy manhode / and be nat aferde And be welfare / of thy sones swerde . For I shall now / lyke as I am wonte Sha●pe my penne / bothe rude and blonte To descryue / the fyne of thy soioure Vpon the boundes / set of my laboure For almost wery / feynt / and weyke ynough Be the vestes / and oxes of my plough The longe day / agayne the hylle to wende But almost / now at the londes ende Of Troye boke / fychche I wyll a stake Saue I must spende / a fewe lynes blake The laste chapitre / shortly to translate Of all this werke / and Ympen in the date Of that day / deth sette on hym arest Full execute / by hym he loued best . LOwe on my knees / now I must loute To this god / that maketh men to route And causeth folke / to haue glad sweuenes Bothe at morowe / and on lusty Euenes Whan Mortheus / with slepy wonde Whiche that he holdeth / alway in his honde Hath marked them / agayne the derke nyght To make men / bothe mery and lyght And some whyle / for to haue gladnesse And sodaynely / to falle in heuynesse Lyke as to them / he gyueth euydence By sondry sygnes / in his apparence Vnto that lorde / now must I mekely preye At this tyme / my style to conueye Of vlixes / the dreme to descryue The laste of all / he hadde by his lyue Declarynge hym / by tokens full notable And by sygnes / very demonstrable As he slepte / agayne the pale moone His fatall day / that shulde folowe soone For it fy●l thus / as he a bedde lay After my onyght / tofore the morowe gray Hym thought he sawe / appere a creature To his syght / celestyall of Fygure None erthly thynge / but veryly dyuyne Of porte and chere / wonder Femynyne And as hym sempte / in his fantasye Lyke a thynge / sent out of Fayrye For the beaute / of hir goodly face Recomforted / playnely all the place Most surmountynge / and moste souerayne And the clerenesse / of hir eyen twayne All sodaynely / or men myght aduerte Perce wolde / euen to the herte Diffence none / myght be deuysed And Vlixes / with hir loke supprysed Gan hir beholde / alway more and more And in his slepe / for to syghe sore Persynge aye / with full besy payne Hir to enbrace / in his armes twayne But aye the more / that he gan pursewe She agaynewarde / gan hym to eschewe And aye the more / he presed hir to se Aye the more / from hym she gan to flee So contrayre / to hym was Fortune And whan she sawe / he was importune She axed hym / shortly what he wolde And he to hir / the platte trouthe tolde Certys quod he / my lyues Emperesse Where that ye be / woman or goddesse I can nat deme / nor iuge halfe a ryght I am so derked / and blynded in my syght But I dare well afferme / in this place My lyfe my deth / stande hoolly in your grace More of mercy requerynge / than of ryght To rewe on me / whiche am your owne knyght And of pyte / and of compassyon Goodly to se / to my sauacyon For my desyre / but I may fulfylle This same nyght / to haue of you my wylle To my recure / I can no remedye For lacke of rouche / but I must dye Nowe haue I all / atwyxe hope and drede My selfe declaryd / to your womanhede And after that / she kepte hir close a whyle And full sadly / gan on hym to smyle And as it is / put in remembraunce Sayde vnto hym / with sobre countenaunce Sothly quod she / thyne affeccyon Wolde fully / tourne to confusyon Of vs bothe / it is so peryllous So inly mortall / and contagyous That vtterly / there gayne may no rede But one of vs / must an one be dede This is the fyne / of the hatefull chaunce That shulde folowe / after our plesaunce And as vlixes / gan to nyghe nere Beholdynge aye / on hir heuenly chere Where as she stode / vpryght on the grounde He sawe hir holde / a spere longe and rounde The hede therof / all of borned stele Forged newe / and grounde wonder wele And therupon / in his a vysyowne He sawe a baner / blasynge vp and downe The felde therof / all of coloure ynde Full of fysshes / beten as I fynde And in some bokes / lyke as it is tolde In the myddes / a large crowne of golde And or that she / tourne gan hir face Lykely anone / to parte out of the place She spake to hym / & sayde in wordes playne This full token / of partynge of vs twayne For euermore / nouther for soure nor swete After this daye / neuer agayne to mete And disaperynge / anone hir leue she toke And after that / he sodaynely a woke And gan to muse / in his fantalye What thynge this dreme / myght sygnefye But where it mente / outher euell or gode The secretnesse / he nat vnderstode For it surmounted / sothly his reason Therfore he sente / thorugh his regyon For suche as were / sotell exposytours Of fate or sorte / or crafty dyuynours For all the clerkes / soget to his crowne To assemble in one / his sweuen to expowne And whan they knewe / by informacyon The maner hole / of his a vysyon They concluded / accordynge into one The tyme approcheth / and shall come anone That one / that is next / of his kynrede With a spere / shulde make hym blede Let se / where he / his fate can remewe Syth it is harde / destynero eschewe As say tho folke / in theyr oppynyon That werke and truste / on constellacyon . And vlixes / musynge on this tale Chaungeth coloure / and gan wexe pale Wonder dredefull / and full of fantasyes Gan in hym selfe / seke remedyes To voyde away / thynge that wyll nat be He stareth brode / but he may nat se His in warde loke / was with a cloude shent But wenynge he / for to be prudent Made calle / his sone Thelamon And to be take / and shet vp in pryson He supposynge / fully in his wytte For all myschefe / therby to go quyte He nat aduerteth / nor ne toke none hede To the sharpnesse / of the speres hede Nor to the fysshes / in the baner beete Nor of the see / where they swymme and flete Nor of the quene / that called is Circes That sygnes brought / of werre and nat of pees Nor of the crowne / token of dignytee Of one / that shall holde his royall see Myd the wawes / bothe felle and wode Amonge the fysshes / in the large flode And he shall make / the dyuysyon Tofore remembred / in the auysyon Agayne his wyll / of very ignoraunce And execute the fatall puruyaunce Vp of the dreme / with his spere of stele Whiche vlixes / consydreth neuer adele Nor to no wyght / hath suspecyon But to his sone / called Thelamon That is closed / and shet vp in a toure And vlixes / with coste and great laboure Fro day to day / doth his besynesse For hym selfe / to make a forteresse Bylte on a rocke / of lyme and square stones Depe dyched aboute / for the nones That no man may / entre on no syde Where he casteth / all his lyfe to abyde 〈◊〉 certayne men / chosen in specyall Nyght and day / to watche vpon the wall That no wyght shulde / haue none entree But it so falle / that he be secree Knowen of olde / and to counsayle sworne NOw as the storye / rehersed hath to forne The olde fole / this dotarde vlixes A sone hadde / begoten on Cyrces Fresshe and lusty / yonge and coragyous And he was called / Thelagonyus Borne in the see amonge the floddes rage That was also / for to reken his age fyue and twenty yere / or there aboute But of his Fader / he was aye in doute What man he was / or who it myght be Beynge therof / in no seurte Tyll on a day / he desyrous to knowe In his Moder / fyll on knees lowe Besechynge hir / goodly and nat spare Of his Fader / the trouthe to declare What he was or where he shulde dwelle He besought that she wolde telle But sothly she / longe and many dayes Of prudence put hym in delayes Tyll that she sawe / she myght haue no reste So importune / he was in his requeste And whan she knewe / there was none other bote Fro poynt to poynt / she tolde crop and rote Of vlixes and where that he was kynge And he anone / made no lettynge But toke leue / it may none other be And sayde playnely / he wolde his Fader se Wherof the quene / gan in herte colde But whan she saide / she myght him nat withholde She hym besought / with chere debonayre That he wolde soone / agayne repayre And forthe he sayleth / onwarde on his way Without abode the selfe same day By many porte / and many fer countre Tyll he was brought / there he wolde be To Achaya / a londe of great renowne And he gan serche / thorugh the regyon After the place / and paleys pryncypall Where as the kynge / helde his see royall And he so longe / in the countre rode Tyll he was taught / where the kynge abode There vlixes / was shytte vp in mewe To whiche place / in haste he gan pursewe A great party / releuyd of his sorowe And on a monday / erely by the morowe Vnto the brydge / the ryght way he toke And founde a porter / deynous of his loke And lowely firste / he gan hym to praye That he wolde / goodly hym conueye Into the courte / and make no tariynge For a message / he hadde to the kynge But proudely / he denyed hym the gate And shortly sayde / that he came to late To entre there / in any maner wyse And vngoodly / gan hym to despyse Frowarde of speche / and malycyous But in all haste / Thelagonyus As he that was / in herte nat aferde The proude porter / hente by the berde And with his fyste / rofe his chawe bone That he fyll deed / Muet as a stone And other eke / that hym tho withstode He made proudely / lepe into the flode And whan mo came / to make resystence He hente a swerde / by manly vyolence And furyously / in his Irous tene The storye sayth / he slewe of them fyftene Hym selfe almoste / wounded to the deth And gan for wery / sothly fayle breth And vlixes / what for noyse and sowne To the brydge / is descendyd downe Fyndynge his men / at entre of the gate Deed and slayne / by full mortall hate And he full Irous / hente anone a darte Of auenture / stondynge tho a parte And cruelly caste / at Thelagon But the stroke / as in conclucyon Damageth nat / for it glode asyde And he for haste / no lenger wolde abyde . Hent vp the darte / without more a rest And smote the kynge / lowe vnder the brest Thorugh the rybbes / shortly for to seye Of the wounde / that he must deye Hauynge tho / none oppynyon That he was kynge / nor suspecyon Nor that he hadde / his owne Fader slawe Whiche faste gan / to his ende drawe His wounde was / so deedly and so kene That he myght / hym selfe nat sustene But pale and wan / to the grounde gan glyde His men aboute / vpon euery syde That besy were / to helpe hym and releue But his sore / gan so ake and greue That he well felte / that he must be dede But abraydynge / as he lyfte vp his hede Hauynge as yet / mynde and good reason Remembre gan / of his auysyon And how it was / tolde hym out of drede That one / that was next of his kynrede Descendyd downe / from his owne lyne His sweuene shall / parfourme to the fyne Accomplysshe it / with a darte of stele And for he coude / nat conceyue wele What that he was / nor who it shulde be He badde anone / vnto his meyne Without harme / or any vyolence Fette anone / vnto his presence The yonge man / whiche at the gate stode That hath that day / shad so moche blode And whan he was / afore vlixes brought Of hym he hath enqueryd / out and sought Firste of his kyn / and nexte of his countree Certes quod he / I was borne in the see Amonge fysshes / myd the wawes grene And sayde also / his Moder was a quene Called Circes / of whom the name is kouthe Bothe Est and west / and right fer by southe And tolde also / his Fader was a kynge That hym begat / at his home comynge Fro Troye towne / towarde his countre And as my Moder / Cyrces / tolde me Secretely / that he vlixes hyghte Of whom desyrous / for to haue a syghte I entred am / this myghty regyon And haue pursewed / vnto this dongeon Oonly in hope / my Fader to haue seyne But I se well / my labour is in veyne And sythe in sothe / lost is my trauayle And that it may / in no syde auayle It were foly lenger / here to dwelle Lo: here is all / that I can you telle Of my kynred / axe me no more With that vlixes / gan to syghe sore For lacke of blode / as he that was full pale And sayde anone / whan he herde his tale Now wot I well / my wofull destyne Fulfylled is / it may none other be Now wot I well / that it is to late To grutche or stryue / agayne my pyteous fate For my sone / as clerkes whylom tolde Hath made an ende / of my dayes olde Theron expectant / with paynes full greuous And with that worde / Thelagonyus Whan he wyste / agayne natures lawe That he alas / had his Fader slawe Whiche in that londe / longe bare his crowne Without abode / he fylle anone a swowne His clothes rent / his yelowe heer to torne Alas quod he / that euer was I borne For cursed is / my wofull destyne And my Fortune / whiche I may nat fle Cursed my sort / cursed myn auenture And I refuse / of euery creature Forwaryed eke / my disposycyon And cursed is / my constellacyon Cursed also / and infortunat The houre / in whiche / my Fader me begat So wolde god / without lenger rede To aquyte hym / anone that I were dede To lay my lyfe / for his deth to borowe And whan the kynge / sawe his great sorowe And wyste he was his sone / of Cyrces borne By many sygnes / rehersed here toforne He vnto hym / anone forgaue his deth As he myght / for lacke and want of breth So importable / was his passyon And his sone / called Thelagon Whiche hath in pryson / so many daye be shet To his presence / in all haste was fet Whiche whan he sawe / his fader in suche poynt Vpon his deth / stondynge in disioynt And knewe also / and the trouth hath founde By whom he hadde / his laste deedly wounde A swerde he hente / and mortally Irous And wolde haue ronne / on Thelagonyus Of hye despyte / auenged for to be But vlixes / of Faderly pyte Made his men / holde hym and restrayne And amyd / of all his greuous payne By his prudence / and that was done anone He made his sones / for to be all one And gaue in charge / vnto Thelamon Of enteernesse / and affeccyon And of hole herte / fayned neuer adele All his lyfe / to loue his brother wele To parte with hym / treasour golde and gode As to the nexte / borne of all his blode And tho in sothe / was no lenger taryed That vlixes / royally was caryed Of Achaya / to the chefe Cyte And after that / lyued dayes thre Without more / and tho gaue vp the gost I can nat say playnely to what cost After this lyfe / that his soule is gone But in atoumbe / of metall and of stone The body was / closed and yshet And after that / made was no let That Thelamon / with great solempnytee Ȳcrowned was / in his Fadres see Swerde and sceptre / delyueryd to his honde Of Achaya / a full worthy londe Ryght habundaunt / of treasour and of gode And Thelagon / with hym there abode A yere complet / well cherysshed in his syght And of his brother / toke the ordre of knyght And for hym lyste / no lenger there abyde The kynge for hym / wysely gan prouyde That he with golde / great treasour and plente Repeyred is home / to his countre And his moder / of age wexe sad Of his repeyre / passyngly was glad As she that sawe / by hir Sorcerye He scapyd was / many Iupardye Many pereyll / and many great distress● And after that / she fylle into sykenesse And hir dette / yelde vnto nature Whiche escape / may no creature In all this wolde / that is here lyuynge After whose deth / hir sone was made kynge Of Anlydos / the meruayllous countre As I haue tolde / enclosed with a see Amonge rockes / where many shyppes drowne And syxty yere / there he bare his crowne This manly man / Thelagonyus And his brother / Thelamonyus Reygned also / in his regyon Seuenty wynter / as made is mencyon And after that / they made a royall ende And bothe two / to Iubyter they wende To reygne there / amonge the sterres bryght BVt now the lanterne / & the clere lyght Is wasted out / of Frygyus Darete Whylom of Troye / wryter & Poyete Guyde haue I none / ferther for to passe For euen here / in this selfe place He fychched hath / the boundes of his style At the sege / he present all the whyle And aye in one / with them dyde abyde Dytes the Greke / on the tother syde And bothe two / as in theyr wrytynge Ne vary nat / but in a lytell thynge Touchynge / matere as in specyall That is notable / or hystoryall I do no force / of incydentis smale Of whiche in sothe / it is but lytell tale Saue this Dytes / maketh mencyowne Of the nombre slayne / at the towne Lastynge the sege / affermynge out of drede Eyght hondred thousande / & syx were there dede On Grekes syde / vp right in the felde And as Dares / also there behelde On Troye partye / in the werre kene Syxe hondred thousande / seuenty and syxtene Were slayne there / in Guydo ye may se With them that came / to helpe the Cyte Fro many coste / and many regyowne In diffence / and reskus of the towne And full ten yere / so as I can caste And syxe monthes / the myghty sege laste Or it was gette / Dares wryte hym selfe And ouer more / complet dayes twelue Or Grekes hadde / full possessyon By false engyne / of the Greke Synon Lyke as tofore / rehersyd was but late I haue no more / of latyn to translate After Dytes / Dares / nor Guydo And me to adde / any more therto Than myn Auctours / specefye and seyn● The occupacyon / sothly were in veyne Lyke a maner / of presumpcyon And tyme complet / of this translacyon By iuste rekenynge / and a countis clere Was a thousande / and foure hondred yere And twenty nere / I knowe it out of drede After that criste / receyued our manhede Of hir that was / Emperesse and quene Of heuen and helle / and a mayde clene The eyghte yere / by computacyon Suynge after / the Coronacyon Of hym that is most / gracyous in werkynge Herry the fyfthe / the noble worthy kynge And protectoure / of Brutys Albyowne And called is / thorugh his hyerenowne Thorugh his prowesse / and his Chyualrye Also fer / as passeth cloude or skye Of Normadye / the myghty conquerour For thorugh his knyghthod / & dilygent labour Maugre all tho / that lyste hym to withseyne He hath conqueryd / his herytage ageyne And by his myghty / prudent gouernaunce Recuryd eke / trewe tytle of Fraunce That who so lyste / loke and vnfolde The pee de Grewe / of Cronycles olde And sercheth bokes / ywryt longe aforne He shall fynde / that he is iustly borne To reygne in Fraunce / by lyneall discent And onwarde now / he is made regent Of thylke londe / durynge his Faders lyfe Of his goodnesse / to voyde werre and stryfe He to reioyse / without more delay Sceptre and crowne / after the kynges day As it is clerely / in conclusyon Enrolled vp / in the conuencyon : And than I hope / the tyme Fortunat Of the olde worlde / called Aureat Resorte shall / by influence of grace That cruell Mars / shall no more manace With his lookes / furyous and wode By false Aspectes / for to shede blode Atwene the folkes / of thyse Realmes twayne Whiche euery wyght / ought to complayne But as I truste / in myn oppynyon This worthy kynge / of wysedome and reson And of knyghthode / shall so do his payne To make one / that longe hath be twayne I mene thus / that Englonde and Fraunce May be all one / without varyaunce Out of hertes / olde rancour to enchace By influence / of his myghty grace That called is / of clerkes douteles The soueraygne / lorde and the prynce of pees And I hope / his grace shall now reygne To set reste / atwene thyse Realmes twayne For in his power / sothly stondeth all And allyaunce / of the blode royall That is knet vp / by bonde of maryage Of werre shall voyde / away the rage To make peas / with bryght bemes shyne And one that is called / Katheryne And named is / right good and fayre also Shal be mene / atwyxe bothe two Of grace emprynted / in hir womanhede That to complayne / we shall haue no nede And I hope / hir gracyous aryuaylle Into this londe / shall so moche auaylle That ioye honour / and prosperyte Without trouble / of all aduersyte Repeyre shall / and all hertely plesaunce Plente welfare / and fulsome habundaunce Peas and quyete / bothe nyghe and ferre Without stryfe / debate or any werre Myschefe pouert / nede or indigence With full cessynge / of deth and pestylence Sothly all this / I hope ye shall sene Come into londe / with this noble quene That we shall say / of herte and feyne nought Blessyd be she / that all this hath vs brought And he that hath / thorugh myght of his werkyng Of his knyghthode / concludyd all this thyng And suche meruayles / in armes done & wrought And his purpose / fully aboute brought Of hye wysedome / set in his inwarde syght Reioysynge all / that longeth to his ryght And hyest syt / of worthynesse in glorye With the Sceptre / of conquest and victorye I praye god / oonly for his beste Whan he hath all / set in peas and reste And is full put / in clere possessyon Of all that longeth / to his subieccyon To sende hym home / with as great honour As euer yet hadde / any conquerour Longe after / in ioye and in quyete For to reygne / in his royall sete Thus shall I aye / there is no more to saye Daye and nyght / for his expleyt I praye Of faythfull herte / and of hole entent That whylom / gaue me in commaundement Nat yore ago / in his faders tyme The sege of Troye / on my maner to ryme Most for his sake / to speke in specyall All though that I / be boystous and rurall He gaue me charge / this storye to translate Rude of connynge / called Iohn Lydgate ●onke of Burye / by professyon Vsynge / an habyte / of perfeccyon Albe my lyfe / accorde nat therto I feyne nat / I wot well it is so It nedeth nat / wytnesse for to calle Recorde I take / of my brethren alle That wyll nat fayle / at so great a nede And all that shall / this noble storye rede I beseche of supporte / and of grace Where I offende / in any maner place Or where so euer / that they fynde errour Of gentyllesse / to shewe his fauour Benyngnely / for to do theyr payne To correcte / rather / than disdayne For well wot I / moche thynge is wronge Falsely metryd / bothe of short and longe And if they shulde / haue of all disdayne It is no drede / my labour were in vayne Let ignoraunce / and rudenesse me excuse For if that ye / platly all refuse For certayne Fautes / whiche ye shall fynde I doute nat / my thanke is set behynde For in metrynge / though / there be ignoraunce Yet in the storye / ye fynde may plesaunce Touchynge substaunce / of that myn Auctour wryt And though so be / that any worde mysse syt Amende it / with chere debonayre For an Errour / to hyndre and appayre That is nat sayde / of purpose nor malyce It is no worshyp / to hym that is wyse And no wyght gladly / so soon demeth a lacke Specyally / behynde at the backe As he in soth / that can no skylle at all He gothe full hole / that neuer hadde fall And I nat fynde / of newe nor of olde For to deme / there is none so bolde As he that is yblent / with vnconnynge For blynde bayarde / caste pereyll of no thynge Tyll he stumble / myddes of the lake And none so redy / for to vndertake Than he in sothe / nor bolder to say werse That can no skylle / on prose nor on verse Of all suche / that can nat be stylle Lytell forse / where they say good or ylle For vnto them / my boke is nat dyrect But to suche / as haue in effect On symple folke / full compassyon That goodly can / by correccyon Amende a thynge / that hyndre neuer adele Of custome aye / redy to say wele . FOr he that was grounde / of well sayinge In all his lyfe / hyndred no makynge My mayster Chaucer / that founde full many spot Hym lyst nat pynche / nor grutche at euery blot Nor meue hym selfe / to parturbe his reste I haue herde tolde / but sayde alway the beste Suffrynge goodly / of his gentyllesse Full many thynge / embraced with rudenesse And if I shall / shortly hym descryue Was neuer / none / to this daye alyue To reken all / bothe yonge and olde That worthy was / his ynkehorne for to holde And in this londe / if there any be In borugh or towne / vyllage or Cyte That connynge hath / his tracys for to sewe Where he go brode / or be shet in mewe To hym / I make a dyreccyon Of this boke / to haue inspeccyon Besechynge them / with theyr prudent loke To race and scrape / thorugh out all my bok● Voyde and adde / where them semeth nede And though so be / that they nat ne rede In all this boke / no rethorykes newe y●et I hope / they shall fynde trewe The storye playne / clefly in substaunce And who so lyste / to se varyaunce Of worldly thynge / wrought by dayes olde In this boke / he may full well beholde Chaunge of Fortune / in hir course mutable Selde or nat / faythfull outher stable Lordes / Prynces / sfrom hir royalte Sodaynely brought / in aduersyte And kynges eke / plounged in pouerte And for drede / darynge in deserte Vnware slaunghtre / compassed of enuy● Murdre execute / by conspyracye Awayt leyinge / falshede and treason And of kyngdome / sodayne euersyon Bauysshynge of women / for delyte Rote of the werre / and mortall despyte False mayntenaunce / of auoutrye Many worthy / causynge for to dye Synne aye concludynge / who so taketh hede Vengaunce vnware / for his fynall mede . VO declare / that in all worldly luste Who loke a right / is but lytell truste As in this boke / exaumple ye shall fynde If that ye lyste / enprente it in your mynde How all passeth / and halt there no soiour Wastynge away / as doth a somer floure Ryche and pore / of euery maner age For our lyfe here / is but a pylgrymage Meynt with labour / and with moche woo That if men wolde / take hede therto And tofore / prudently aduerte Lytell ioye / they shulde haue in theyr herte To set theyr truste / in any worldly thynge For there is nouther Prynce / lorde / nor kynge By example of Troye / lyke as ye may se That in this lyfe / may haue full seurte Therfore to hym / that starfe vpon the rode Suffrynge deth / for our aller gode Lyfte vp your hertis / & thynke on hym amonge For be ye neuer / so myghty / nor so stronge Without hym / all may nat auayle For he can gyue / victorye in batayle And holde a felde / shortly to conclude With a fewe / agayne great multytude And by grace / he maketh prynces stronge And worthy kynges / for to reygne longe And Tyrantes / sodaynely oppresse Thorwe them downe / for all theyr great rychesse And in his honde / power he reserueth Eche to aquyte / lyke as he disserueth To whom I praye / with deuocyon With all myn herte / and hole affeccyon That he lyste graunte / longe contynaunce Prosperyte / and good perseueraunce Helthe welfare / victorye / and honoure Vnto that noble / myghty conqueroure Herry the fyfther / tofore yspecefyed So that his name / may be magnefyed Herein this lyfe / vp to the sterrys clere And afterwarde / aboue the nynthe spere Whan he is deed / for to haue a place This praye I god / for to sende hym grace At whose byddynge / as I tolde late Firste I began / the sege to translate And now I haue / hoolly in his honoure Executed the fyne / of my laboure Vnto all that / shall this storye se With humble herte / and all humylyte This lytell booke / lowely I betake It to supporte / and thus an ende I make . Laus deo .
Of the moost noble excellent Prynce kynge Henry the fyfthe . MOost worthy / Prynce of knyghthode soures and welle Whose hye renowne / thorugh the worlde dothe shyne And all other / in manhode doest excelle Egall of meryt / to the worthys nyne And borne also / by discent of lyne As rightfull heyre / by tytle to attayne To bere the crowne / of worthy Realme twayne And also fer / as Phebus in his spere From Eest to west / shedyth his bemys bryght And Lucyna / with ashrouded chere Gothe compasse rounde / with hir pale lyght Thou art yrekened / for the best knyght To be registred / worthy as of name In the hyest place / of the house of fame To holde a palme / of knyghthod in thy honde For worthynesse / and for hye victorye As thou that art drade / on see and londe And euermore / with laude honoure and glorye For iuste conquest / to be put in memorye With a crowne / made of laurer grene Vpon thy heed / tofore that famous quene Whylom ordeyned / oonly for conquerours Stable of herte / with longe perseueraunce And gaue nat vp / tyll they were victours Empryses take / for no sodayne chaunce Whose name / ay floureth with newe remembraunce And fadeth nat / of yeres yore agone Amonges whiche / thou mayste be set for one For thorugh the worlde / in many regyon Reported is / with fame that flyeth wyde That naturelly / thy condycyon On thynge begonne / is knyghtly to abyde And for the tyme / manly set asyde Rest and ease / what cost theron be spente Tyll thou haue cheued / the fyne of thyn entente Moste circumspect / and passynge auysee All thy werkes / conueyed with prudence Sad and demure / lyke to Iosuee Agayne whose swerde / is no resystence And hast also / heuenly influence With Salamon / wysely to discerne Oonly by grace / thy people to gouerne Mercy eke meynt / with thy magnyfycence On all oppressed / for to haue pyte And of rebelles / by manly vyolence Abate canste / the great cruelte And so with Dauyd / thou haste kyngly pyt● And hye prowesse / with Sesar Iulyus In his tyme / moost victoryous And manly holdest / in thy hondes two Who can beholde / by clere inspeccyon The swerde of knyghthode / thy Scepture also The tone to brynge / to subieccyon Hertes made proude / by false rebellyon And with the Sceptre / to rewle at the best Thy trewe people / that can lyue in rest Now thou y● haste / manhode / vertue & grace Attemperaunce / fredome and bounte Lowly I praye / with dredefull face Disdayne nat / benyngely to se Vpon this boke / rudely made by me To fyne oonly / to agrene thyne hyghnesse And rewe of mercy / vpon my symplesse And in thy noble / kyngly aduertence Consydre & se / my soueraygne lorde most dere Of thyne inuat / famous sapyence That criste Ihesu / receyued with good chere The twey Munytys / you of herte entere By the wydowe / whiche of wyl and of thought Gaue all hir good / & kept hir selfe right nought By whiche ensaumple / so that it nat offende Thorugh myn vnconnyng / to thy hye noblesse Let good wyll / my lytell gyfte amende And of thy mercy / and renowmed goodnesse Haue no disdayne / of my bareyne rudenesse And in makynge / though I haue no muse Let trewe menynge / the surplus all excuse More than good herte / hath no maner wyght To present / nouther to god nor man And for my parte / to the as it is ryght That gyue I hole / as ferforth as I can Aye to perseuere / fro tyme that I gan With wyll & thought / for thyne estate to praye Whiche to conserue / thus fynally I saye Firste of all / almyghty god to queme With all that may / be to his plesaunce And to thy crowne / and thy dyademe Grace and good Eure / with longe contynuaunce Of thy lyeges / faythfull obeyssaunce And eche vertue / that man may specefye I praye god / graunte vnto thy regalye .
Explicit Liber quintus & vltimus .
Lenuoye . ●Oo lytell boke / and put the in the grace Of hym that is / moste of excellence And be nat hardy / to appere in no place Without supporte / of his magnyfycence And who so euer / in the fynde offence Be nat to bolde / for no presumpcyon Thy selfe enarme / aye in pacyence And the submytte / to theyr correccyon .
Verba translatoris ad librum suum . And for thou art / enlymned with no flowres Of Retoryke / but with whyte and blacke Therfore thou muste / abyde all showres Of them that lyste / set on the alacke And whan thou art / most lykely go to wracke Agaynst them / thyne Errour nat diffende But humbly / with drawe and go a backe Requerynge them / all that is amysse to amende .

Here endeth the Troye booke otherwyse called the Sege of Troye / translated by Iohn Lydgate monke of the Monastery of Bery / And Emprynted the yere of oure Lorde a. M. CCCCC . & . xiij . by Richard Pynson / prynter vnto the kyngis noble grace .