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THE KINGS OF GREECE.

Telamon truly was a tulke full faire, 3780 Blake horit, aboue breghis and other

Serklyt of hom seluyn, semly with all.

A Sotell man of song with mony sere notys,

And mellit hym with musike & myrthes also. 3784 He was doughty of dedys, derfe of his hond;

3792

Pompe and proude wordis ay be prinse hated.
Ulexes the lefe kyng was loueliest of other,

123

Book VIII.

Telamon the beautiful; his black hair in ringlets over his brow; a great lover of music.

Ulysses, the loveliest, the

He was the fairest by ferre of all the felle grekes, fairest, the falsest

3788 And falsest in his fare, and full of disseit.
Vndertaker of treyne, of talkyng but litill,
Neuer myrth in his mouthe meuyt with tong:
Sad of his semblaundes, sober of chere.
And of facound fairest with a fre speche,
He hade no make of po men in meuyng of wordye.
Dyamede pe doughty was a dere kyng,
Stronge of his stature, stithe in his armys,
3796 Brode in his brest, byg in his shulders,
With a loke þat was laithe like out of wit.
ffals of his forward, felle of his hond,

A derffe man in dede, dyssirus of batell.
3800 Vnsober with seruaundes, sorofull in hert,
Dredfull in dole for dissait þat he vsit.
Lusty to lechery, vnlell of his trouthe,

And mony harmes hepit for hete of his loue. 3804 Off Duke Nestor to deme, doughty in werre, He was long & large, with lemys full grete. A ffreike þat was fre, and a feire speiker, Wise in his wordys, witté of counsaille; 3808 Tru of his trowthe, tristy to loue,

Meke of his maners malise to pese;

And if he walte into wrathe, wode as a lyon,
But he lengit not long in his lothe hate;

3812 ffaithfull of frendship to frekys þat he louyt,
The hertist to helpe of all the high kynges.
Protheselus the pert kyng was of pure shap,

of the Greeks; none could equal him in eloquence.

(fol. 59 b.)

Diomedes the doughty was a strong, well-buil man, with a scowling look. He was false, cruel, quarrelsome, lecherous, and deceitful.

Nestor, the brave and wise, was tall, strong, and well-built; truthful, trusty, and faithful.

Protesilaus, a

Book VIII.

warrior of fine

mould and fair

size.

Neoptolemus the

noble, a tall, staid

man, with hard,

black, prickly

Semely for sothe, & of Syse faire.

3816 Doughty of dedis, derfe of his hondes,
None wighter in werre, ne of wille bettur.
Neptolon nobill was non of þe lest :

A store man of stature, stabill of chere.

hair; large gray 3820 His here was hard blake, on his hede stode.

eyes and grim;

was broad

shouldered, and

beetle browed,

and stuttered.

(fol. 60 a.)

Palamedes, son
of Nauplius, King
of Euboea, was of
middle size, well-
built, bold, and
daring; a noble
story-teller,

courteous and
kind.

Podalirius, huge, fat, and "plooked" as a porker; his feet had burden enough to "fe ke hym aboute."

Machaon, brother of Podalirius, was of mean stature, proud and presumptuous.

Grete Ene and gray, with a grym loke.
Rounde sydes for sothe, sober of wille;

His shulders were shapon of a clene brede.
3824 Bytell browet was the buerne, þat aboue met ;
And stutid full stithly, pat stynt hym to speke;
But he was lernyd of pe lawe, & in his londe
wise;

ffor to comyn in a case hade a clere wit.

3828 Palomydon the pure, he was prinse faire ;

Naulus son þe nobill kyng, & his next childe.
Vne made of a mene in the medyll shap,
Large of a lenght, lyuely & small,

3832 Noght borely ne brode, but as hym best semyt.
A stythe man of his stature, stirond of wille,
Menyt hym to mony thinges, & of mynde gode;
Nobill talker with tales, tretable alse,

3836 Curtas & kynde, curious of honde.
Polidarius was pluccid as a porke fat,
ffull grete in the grippe, all of grese hoge.

So bolnet was his body, pat burthen hade ynoghe 3840 The fete of pat freke to ferke hym aboute,

Or stond vppo streght for his strong charge.
Aparty was he proude, presit after seruys,
He wold not gladly be glad, ne glide into myrthe;
3844 But euermore ymaginand & entrond in thoghtes.
Machaon the mody kyng was of a mene stature,

Noght to long ne to litle, lusty to se,

Proude & presumptius, prouyt of wille,
3848 Ballit was the buerne with a brode face;
Neuer slept þat slegh for slouthe vppon day.

3852

THE KING AND PRINCES OF TROY.

Dares in his dytyng duly pus tellus,

pat for the helpe of these hende, & hertely of

oper,

125

Book VIII.

Of Perse come the proude kyng with pepull full The king of Persia

mony,

And a company of knightes comly to se, bat tellis his Atyre & his triet strenght. He was large, & long, & of lene shap, 3856 With a face somwhat fat, fellist of colour. The here of þat hathell was huet as pe fire, Bothe o berde & aboue all of bright rede.

Of the tulkes of Troy telle we now ferre,
3860 Bothe of mesure & mykyll whille I mynde haue,

As breuyt is in boke and aboue set,
ffull duly by Dares endited of olde.
Priam pe prise kyng was of pure shap,

3864 A large man & a longe, liuely & small.

A faire man in feturs & hade of furse steuyn.
Wight in his werkes & of wit redy;

Delited to the deuer on dayes be tyme.

3868 Noght ferfull, ne furse, faueret full wele,
Louet he no lede pat lustide in wrange ;
He rulet hym by Reason & the right spake.
Songis of solemnite and songes of myrthe

3872 He wold herkon full hertely in his high wit.

with a great band of soldiers and

a company of knights.

Of the Trojan leaders.

(fol. 60 b.) Priam the king was a tall, noble, active man, of fair feature and commanding voice.

Was neuer kyng vnder cloude his knightes more Never was a king

louet,

Ne gretter of giftes to his goode men,

Ne lellier louyt ledys of his aune,

3876 Ne with Riches so Rife rewardet his pepull.

Of all his sones for sothe, pat semely were

holdyn,

Non was so noble, ne of nait strenght,

As Ector, pe eldist, & aire to hym seluyn. 3880 He was truly in his tyme tristiest of other

more beloved by

his knights, &c.

The noblest and bravest of his sons was Hector.

Book VIII.

He stuttered a
little,

was always
victorious.

Massive and tall,
Troy never bred

his equal: he was so ready, so good, and so powerful.

(fol. 61 a.)

Paris, a pert knight with silken, glossy hair,

was a famous archer and bunter.

Deiphobus the

third son and

Helenus the

fourth, were

very much alike

in features;

THE PRINCES OF TROY.

bat leuit in any londe, & a litle he stotid.

This prinse with his pure strenght plainly auer

come

All Auntres in Armys, þat he euer raght :

3884 Non so stuerne þat withstode a stroke of his
honde.

He was massy & mekull, made for pe nonest,
Neuer Troy no tyme soche a tulke bred,

So graithe, ne so good, ne of so gret myght.
3888 Ruly & rightwise, a roghe man of hors,

He spake neuer dispituosly, ne spiset no man ; Ne warpit neuer worde of wrang with his mowthe.

Ne sagh, þat was vnsemond, slipped hym fro, 3892 But ay meke as a maydon, & mylde of his speche. Neuer hatfull to hym to hygh into batell,

Neuer wery of pat werke, ne of wegh fferde,

He swat neuer for pat swynke, ne in swayme

felle.

3896 Was neuer red in no Romanse of Renke vpon erthe

So well louyt with all ledys, pat in his lond

dwelt.

Parys was pure faire, and a pert knighte;

Here huet on his hede as haspis of silke,

3900 And in sighkyng it shone as the shyre golde. He was bowman O pe best, bolde with a speire, A wilde man to wale, wode on his fos; ffull siker at asaye, & a sad knight, 3904 Of hunters he was hede, & hauntyd it ofte. Deffebus was doughty & derfe of his hond, The prid son of pe sute, & his sure brother Elenus, the eldist euyn after hym.

3908

po freikes were fourmet of feturs [a]like,
Bothe of hyde & of hew to hede of a mykell;
ffor, to loke on pe ledys with a light egh,

TROILUS AND ENEAS.

The ton fro pe tother was tore for to ken 3912 In sight at þat sodan, somyn & pai were.

3916

3920

The fourme of po freikes was, faithfully to se,
Right suche as the syre, pat I said first;
Vndifferent to deme fro pere dere fader,
Saue Priam the prise was past into eld,
And þai of yeris full yong, zenerus of wille.
The ton was a triet knight, tristy in armys,
A wight man for to wale, & wise of his dedis;
The tother, sotele of syense to seke in a lond,
And a corius clerke with a clene wit.
Troilus pe tru was full tore mekull,

ffull massely made, & of mayn strenght; 3924 And yet hoger of hert & of her wille,

3928

3932

He demenyt well his maners, & be mesure wroght.
Amirous vnto Maidens, & mony hym louyt,
And delited hym in dole with damsels ofte;
But he mesuret his maners, pof he þe myrth vsid,
hat it impairyt not his person, ne his purpos

lettid.

127

Book VIII.

and in form both were very like their father.

The one was

a tried knight, the other, a 'sotele man of syense.'

Troilus was tall,

massive, and

strong; brave,

reckless, and

amorous, yet mannerly and measured.

(fol. 61 b.)

almost equal to Hector.

In strenght ne in stryfe pere strokes were delte, In battle he was
He was Ector eftsones, or ellis soche another.
In all the kyngdome & cuntre, þat to be coron

longit,

Was no yong man so 3epe, ne zenerus of dedis,
Ne so hardy of hond holdyn in his tyme.
Eneas was euermore eger of wille,
3936 Brode in his brest, & of body litill.

Wise in his werkes, & of wordys sober,
A faire speiker in a spede, speciall of wit,
A clene man of counsell, with a cloise hert,
3940 Of litterure & langage lurnyt ynoghe.

3944

A man full of mekenes & mery of his chere.
ffaire Ene hade pe freike, & of fyn colour,
Glemyt as pe glasse and gliet a little.

Eneas the eager, broad-chested but

ättle; he was

skilful, wise, learned, and meek;

had fine bright eyes slightly asquint, and was

the richest man in

Of all the tulkes of Troy, to telle pem by name, Troy.

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