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 pat is out in the Orient, honerable faire;

And a Duke þat was derfe & of dede felle,
With a thousand pro men, & prifty of hond,
And a hundrith hole all of his knightes.

5472 Out of Payuon com prist Pricomysses the kyng,
And a Duke, þat was derfe, & his dere cosyn,
pat stithe was & store, & Stupex he heght,
With pre thowsaund pristé, prepond in werre.
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, þurghe might of pe 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 hat were kynges in the coste, and also kyd
brether,-

On Boetes, þat was bigge, & his brother Ephistrus.
And in hor company come knightes a thowsaund.
That is out in the orient the vtmast syde:

5488 ffull is þat fre lond all of fyne spices.

Out of Pafflegon,-þat pight is in the playn est,
And is set on a syde pere pe sun ryses,

And so ferre out of folke, pat no freke sese,— 5492 Come the richest renke, pat reigned in Erthe,

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,
Two thowsand pristie & pro men of wille.
Iche shalke hade a shild shapyn of tre,
5500 Wele leddrit o lofte, lemond of gold,

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, pis fre, was a fuerse man of shape, Of largenes & lenght no lesse pen a giaund. 5504 Of More Ynde come Merion, a mighty kyng alse, With Perses, a proude kyng, and a pert knight, With Dukes full doughty, and derfe Erles mo, þat subiect were sothely to pe same Perses, 5508 With pre thowsaund pro knightes, prepond in

wer;

And Symagon, sothely, com with the same kyng,
hat was mighty & monfull Merions brother.

Out of Tire come Theseus, tristé of hond,

5512 And Archillacus also, þat was his aune son,

From Ethiopia

came Merion

and Porses with

many Dukes and Earls, and 3000 knights.

From Tyre came
Theseus and

his son
Archilochus with

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 þat 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,

From the island of Agestra came two kings with 1000 men and 200 knights.

5520 And two hundrith by tale, all of triet knightes.
There come of a kyngdome, callid is Delissur,
Of an yle be-3onde Amysones, an abill mon of Delissur

5524

5528

wit,

A discrete man of dedis, dryuen into age,
And a sad mon of sciens in the seuyn artis,-
Epistaphus, to preue, was his pure nome:

He broght to be bate of bold men a thowsaund,

From the
kingdom of

(fol. 86 a.) came Epistaphus with 1000 men;

meruelouse
archer,'-

And an archer an ugly, þat neuer mon hade sene. and 'A
He was made as a mon fro pe myddell vp,
And fro the nauyll by-neithe, vne an abill horse, half-horse.

half-man,

Never since the world began had

And couert as a capull, all the corse ouer,

ffro pe hed to be hele, herit full thicke. 5532 His Ene flammet as the fire, or a fuerse low, fferfull of fase, & hade a felle loke,

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, þat 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
in armys

And two, for to tell, pat to be toune soght,
ffor to comford pat kyng & his cause forper.

Syn þe world was wroght, & weghis þerin,

such an army been 5544 Was neuer red in no Romans, ne in ronke bokes,

brought together.

So fele fightyng folke in hor fuerse yowthe,
Of knightes & clene men comyn to-gedur,
Of tried men & trusty, pat to Troy come.

While on the side 5548 And of the grekes, þat were gedrit in a grym ost,

of the Greeks,

there was the

very flower of knighthood.

(fol, 86 b.)

Of knighthede to count pere was the clene

floure,

ffor to wale purghe the world, as be writ tellis.
Wo so staris on pis story, or stodis perin,
5552 Take hede on pe harmys & the hard lures!
What mighty were marrit, & martrid to dethe ;-
Of kynges, & knightes, & oper kyde Dukes,
That paire lyues here lost for a light cause !
5556 Hit is heghly to haue, & of hert dryue

Soche sklaundur & skorne, þat skathis to mony;
And mene vnto mekenes for þe more harme !

xiiij Bok. How the Grekys sailet from Tenydon to Besege the Cite of Troy: And of stronge fight at þe Ariuaill.

Before the fleet left Tenedos,

DRESSE will I duly to dem of my werkes, 5560 How thai wenton to werre, tho worthy to-gedur. Er pai turnyt fro Tenydon, & token þe se, Palomydon, the proude kyng, presit into hauyn,- Palamedes sailed That was Naulus son pe noble, & his next aire,5564 With xxx 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, pere all were assemblit;

5572

into harbour with 30 ships.

The kings reprove him for such

delay :

he had been kept

And he excuset the skathe, pat he skape might, at Athens through

ffor sore sickenes & sad, pat hym selfe polet.

his Palomydon was pert mon, & prise of his

dedis,

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,

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,

sickness.

be true to their

And he grauntid full godely all with glad chere. He promises to
All thonkid hym po thristé, proly to-gedur.

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 DE CITE. When all counsels were kyde and carpit to end, bai didyn after Dyamede, & demyt hit pe 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 came here, the Trojans have greatly strengthened

themselves.

"Ye worthy to wale, wonder me thinke,

Of our dedis so dull why we dure here !
Now is 3epely a yere yarket to end,

:

5596 Syn we light in this lond & logget our seluyn,
And neuer dressid, ne drogh, to no dede ferre ;
Ne so hardy, fro pis hauyn to hale on our fos,-
ffor to turne vnto Troy, ne on pe toun loke.
5600 What dede haue we don, or dryuen to an end;
Or þe farrer in our fare fortherit our seluyn?
But ertid our Enmys, & angert hom noght;
Made hom wiser of werre, ware of our dedys,
5604 And by compas to caste to conquere vs all.
We sothely haue sene, & our selfe knowen,
Syn we come to pis coste & cairet no ferre,

The Troiens haue atiret hom with myche tor
strenght,

5608 paire Cité to saue, and hom selfe alse,

With new wallis vp wroght, water before,
And pals haue pai pight, with pittis and caves,