Book XIII. From Thracia came Pirus, the king, with many men; and a Duke (Acamas) with 1000 men and 100 knights. From Pæonia came king Pyræchmes and his cousin Stupex with 3000 men. From Bithynia came Boetes and his brother Epistophus with 1000 knights. (fol. 85 b.) From Paphlagonia came Pylæmenes, the richest of all kings. Out of Trasy pere come pe tru kyng, with a triet pepull, Philon the fuerse, with fele men of armys, 5468 hat is out in the Orient, honerable faire ; And a Duke þat was derfe & of dede felle, 5472 Out of Payuon com prist Pricomysses the kyng, 5476 ffor his kyngdom was clene clustrit with hilles, All merkyd with mounteyns, & with mayn hylles, And no playne in no place, ne plentie of vales, here auntrid hom oft aunsware to haue 5480 Of mowmenttes in pe merke, purghe might of þe fynd, hat with gomes of pe ground, goddes were cald, And mony meruell to mete, & mysshapon bestes. Out of Beyten broght bold men two, 5484 þat were kynges in the coste, and also kyd On Boetes, þat was bigge, & his brother Ephistrus. 5488 ffull is pat fre lond all of fyne spices. Out of Pafflegon,-þat pight is in the playn est, On philmene, a freke full of fyn gold, Bothe of gemmes & Juellis, Joly for pe nonest, þat fonden are in Evfraton & pe flode Tyger, 5496 pat passyn out of peradis purghe the playn. Rewme. AND THEIR COMPANIES. He broght to pe burghe, all of bold knightes, 179 Book XIII. He brought to the city 2000 warriors, with shields ornamented with gold and precious Pight full of prise stonys vmbe the pure sydes. stones. This Philmen, þis fre, was a fuerse man of shape, 5504 Of More Ynde come Merion, a mighty kyng alse, wer; And Symagon, sothely, com with the same kyng, Out of Tire come Theseus, tristé of hond, 5512 And Archillacus also, þat was his aune son, From Ethiopia came Merion and Perses with many Dukes and Earls, and 3000 knights. From Tyre came With knightes in hor company, clene men a 1000 knights. thowsaund : He was cosyn, by course, to the kyng Priam. Two kynges pere come of a clene yle, 5516 pat Agestra, pe ground geuyn is to nome. (Of po kynges, pat I carpe, know I no nomes; ffor in pis boke, of po bold, breuyt are none) pai broght to be burghe, buernes a thowsaund, 5520 And two hundrith by tale, all of triet knightes. There come of a kyngdome, callid is Delissur, From the island of Agestra came two kings with 1000 men and 200 knights. From the Delissur Of an yle be-zonde Amysones, an abill mon of kingdom of A discrete man of dedis, dryuen into age, 5524 And a sad mon of sciens in the seuyn artis, (fol. 86 a.) came Epistaphus with 1000 men ; Epistaphus, to preue, was his pure nome: 5528 He was made as a mon fro pe myddell vp, meruelouse archer,' half-man, And fro the nauyll by-neithe, vne an abill horse, half-horse. Never since the world began had 5532 And couert as a capull, all the corse ouer, þat þe Grekes oft greuit & to grem broght. Mony woundit þat wegh & warpit to dethe, 5536 ffor he was boumon of the best, & bold of his dedis. The nowmbur of þes noble men, pat I nemmyt haue, bat come with thes kynges and other kyde Dukes, Withoute Priams pouer of his prise rewme, 5540 Were thretty thowsaund pro knightes priuond And two, for to tell, þat to be toune soght, such an army been 5544 Was neuer red in no Romans, ne in ronke bokes, brought together. While on the side 5548 (fol, 86 b.) So fele fightyng folke in hor fuerse yowthe, ffor to wale purghe the world, as be writ tellis. Soche sklaundur & skorne, pat skathis to mony; xiiij Bok. How the Grekys sailet from Tenydon to Besege the Cite of Troy: And of stronge fight at þe Ariuaill. DRESSE will I duly to dem of my werkes, 5560 How thai wenton to werre, tho worthy to-gedur. Er þai turnyt fro Tenydon, & token þe se, Palomydon, the proude kyng, presit into hauyn, That was Naulus son pe noble, & his next aire,5564 With xxxti shippes full shene, shot full of pepull ffull onest & abill of his owne lond. At wose come all the kynges kyndly were fayn, hat were heuy to hym for houyng so longe 5568 With anger at Attens, þere all were assemblit; Before the fleet left Tenedos, Palamedes sailed 30 ships. into harbour with The kings reprove him for such delay : he had been kept And he excuset the skathe, þat he skape might, at Athens through ffor sore sickenes & sad, þat hym selfe polet. his Palomydon was pert mon, & prise of his dedis, 5572 He was grete with the Grekes, & godely honourit; ffor he was most full of men, & mighty of londes, Bothe of fuersnes of fight & of fre counsell, sickness. And of Riches full Rife, & rankist of knightes. 5576 bai prayet pat prinse, all po prise kynges, To be close in hor cause for his clene wit, And he grauntid full godely all with glad chere. He promises to All thonkid hym po thristé, proly to-gedur. be true to their cause. Book XIV. (fol. 87 a.) The Chiefs then propose to attack the city during the night but all are afraid, and the plan is dropped. 5580 Then the grete of the Grekes gone into counsell, How pai best might in batell pe burgh to assaile. And pen þai purpast hom plainly, in the pure night ffor to dresse for pat dede, er þa day sprange. 5584 But the ffreikes were ferd of hor fre shippes, ffor to caire by the coste, & knew not the waches; Or to remeve fro rode for rokkes in þe se, Or to wyn to be walles, wachid, hom thoght, 5588 ffor los of hor lyues and hor lefe knightes : And so pai put of þat purpas, & past to another. THE COUNSELL OF DYAMEDE TO STIRRE TO BE CITE. When all counsels were kyde and carpit to end, þai didyn after Dyamede, & demyt hit þe best, of Diomedes, who 5592 pat said hom full sadly all in softe wordes :— They then adopted the plan said, "Ye worthies! It is now a year since we came to this land, and what deed have we done, or how much nearer are we to our end? We have only made our enemies wiser in war. Since we cane here, the Trojans have greatly strengthened themselves. "Ye worthy to wale, wonder me thinke, Of our dedis so dull why we dure here! 5596 Syn we light in this lond & logget our seluyn, The Troiens haue atiret hom with myche tor 5608 paire Cité to saue, and hom selfe alse, With new wallis vp wroght, water before, |