5612

THE COUNSEL OF DIOMEDES.

And other wilis of werre wroght for our sake,

That may hast vs to harme, & hindur our spede
With all fare pat may forthir, & filsyn our

seluyn.

bai holdyn vs vnhardy hom for to negh,

Or with note for to noye now at pis tyme:

183

Book XIV.

(fol. 87 b.)

5616 And ay the ferrer þat we fay our fare opon The longer we

5620

5624

longe,

The more we procure our payne & our pure

shame.

his I hope in my hert & holly beleue,

Hade we sailit all somyn to pe Cité euyn,

In our course as we came, & cast vs perfore,

delay the more are we procuring our own ruin

Had we sailed straight to the

city, we might have won it

We shuld lightlier haue laght pe lond at our easily;

wille :

Or any we hade ben warre, wonen of ship

Withouten hurt other harme to haue in the

dede,

Or any lede to be lost, or hor lyue tyne.

Now are the war of cur werkes, wetyn vs at but they are now

hond,

Vs will gayne mykell greme er we ground haue:

And

ay the ser þat we sit our sore be pe harder. 5628 Therfore, sothely me semys, yf ye so wille,

5632

prepared for us.

Therefore, if ye so will, let us be

hat we dresse to our dede when pe day ready at day

sprynges;

All redy to rode, aray for our shippes,
Iche wegh in his wede, as hym well likes,

All boune vnto batell on his best wise.
Row forthe in a rape right to the banke,
Tit vnto Troy, tary no lengur;

And monly with might meve vnto londe, 5636 The ground for to get, gaynis vs non other. If the Troiens with tene turne for to fight,

break.

Row right to the shore, and take up our position.

If the Trojans attack us we can

We wynnyt not of water but with wight rush upon them

strokes ;

from all sides.

Book XIV.

Therefore, delay no longer.

The attack must be made."

All were pleased with this counsel (fol. 88 a.)

and determined to follow it.

At day-break all are ready.

One hundred ships with fierce men and all sorts of missiles to annoy the enemy are sent first

then, another squadron of one

And with fightyng full fell with a fuerse pepull,
5640 To set vp on yche syde vppon sere haluys.
perfor, lause of our lyuys, leng we not here;
Put of all purpos, prese on our gate!
This bus duly be done, dem we non other,
5644 Syn we wyn to our wille be no way
ellis."

All plesit the prinse with his prise wordes,
And the dom, pat he dulte, duly was kept.
When the derke was done, and the day sprange,
5648 All the renkes to row redyn hor shippes,
Halit out of hauyn to the hegh see,

There plainly thaire purpos putto an end.
Who fare shuld be-fore, of po felle kynges,
5652 And wo kepit his cours for to caire after,
Thus demyt thes dukes on the depe water :-
A hundrith of hede shippes to hale on before,
Sadly to saile on pe salt waghes,

5656 With baners o brede bret for þe werre;
The forcastels full of fuerse men of armys,
With shot & with shildis shalkes to noy.
Anoper hundrith, anon, negh sone aftur,

hundred; and the 5660 With sailes vp set on þe same wise,

whole fleet

follow.

When they reach
the city, the sails
are dropped;
boats are
lowered; and all
make for the
land.

But the Trojans saw their boats

All wroght for the werre & wight men perin. ben folowet all the flete fast oponon,

Euyn kepyn hor course, as pai kend were, 5664 Turnet euyn to be toune, tariet no lengur, Till o sithen pai segh pe Cité at hond,

And the bonkes aboute to pe bare walles.
Then pai turnyt hor tacle tomly to ground,
5668 Leton sailes doun slide, slippit into botes,

Launchet vp to the lond lyuelé bedene,
Buernes buskit vnto bonke; bold men in hast,
Thoght þe ground for to gete, & no grem suffer.

THE HARD ARIVALL OF THE GREKES.

5672 But the Troiens, truly, pes tourfer beheld,

THE BATTLE AT THE LANDING.

How the fflete of pere fos fell to pe bonke, And armyt hom [at] all peces abill to fight; Lepon vpon light horses, lappit in stele; 5676 Withouten leue of the lege, or pe leffe prince, Bowet euyn to pe banke or þai bide wold ; Out of rule or aray raungit on lenght.

The Grekes in the gret shippes graidly beheld,

185

Book XIV.

making for the bank, and mounting their horses dashed down to prevent the landing.

(fol. 88 h.)

The Greeks marvel at the

5680 Segh the pepull so plaintiouse, presaund in number and

armes,

The bonke to forbede, bold men ynow :

Thai hade meruell full mekyll in hor mynd all, To se the gouernaunce graithe, & the grete chere, 5684 How wisely po werriours wroghten vndur shild. There was no Greke so grym, ne of so gret wille, Durst abate on po buernes, ne to bonke stride; Ne afforse hym with fight to ferke out of ship. 5688 But for hom gaynet no ground to get at pe tyme,

skill of the
Trojans ;

But þurghe strenght of strokes, & of strong fight, Seeing there was
And with batell full big on a breme wise,

bai armyt hom at all peces all the ost well,

5692 Wonyn to pere weppons wyghtly by-dene,

nothing to be got but by hard fighting, at

length they seize their weapons and drive to

And girdyn vp to pe ground with hor grete land
shippes.

Prothessalon the proude, of Philace was kyng,

He was formast on flete with the first hundrith, Protesilaus was

5696 pat boldly to bonke braidis to fight.

foremost of

those; but his

ships were

But his shippes were shent with a sharpe wynd, shattered on the

Gird on the ground with so grym wille,
Till þai rut on a Rocke, & rent all to peses,

rocks.

Many of his men

5700 pat mony was mard & the men drownet:
Vne sunkyn in pe se mony sure knightes.
And who, pat lacchit the lond with the lyf pen, and those who
Were takon with the Troiens & tyrnet to dethe,

5704 Martrid & murthrid, manglit in peses.

pen the fight wex fell po fuerse men amonge,
With shot fro the shippes and the shire banke.

were drowned;

got to land were slain.

The battle became fierce the air

Book XIV.

was thick with arrows and

cross-bow bolts, and resounded

with the din of

arms.

(fol. 89 a.)

But the second division, through better skill, reached the bank, and press on fiercely.

The Trojans resist stoutly;

but the Greeks, with bow and

cross bow, bicker on them and

confuse their ranks:

then driving upward press them hard.

Protesilaus now

Of Arowes & Awblasters pe aire wex thicke, 5708 And dynnyt with dyntes, pat delte were pat

tyme.

St. The rynels wex red of the ronke blode,

hat were slayne in the slicche, & in slym

lightyn.

There sothely was sene what sorow & pyne, 5712 And how balfull & bittur the banke was to wyn. How the grekes were gird vnto grym dethe,

Neuer red was in Romanse with no renke yet, That any weghes in the world, pat to werre yode, 5716 With soche baret, fro pe bote vnto bank wan, As hit happit here with so hard fight.

But the secund sort sothely, pat sewet hom aftur,

Were graither of gouernaunce, grippet hor sailes, 5720 And light vnto lond lyuely and sound.

More wisely pai wroght þurgh warnyng before. hai preset vp proudly with panys in hond, In refut of hor felowes, þat were foule mart; 5724 And the Troiens tyt turnyt hom agayne,

ffor-bode hom the banke with mony bale dintes. pai braid to pere bowes, bold men in hast, With alblastis also atlet to shote, 5728 With big bowes of brake bykrit full hard, Lacchet on pe ledis, pat on lofte stode,

Hurt hom full hidiously, hurlet hom abake.
There were ded of po dyntes, mony derfe
knightes.

5732 The shalkes for pe shot shout fro pe banke,
And the grekes vp gird in a gret nowmber,
ffell fuersly to fight, & hor felowes halpe,
po pat left vpon lyue, pof þai lyte were.
5736 pen gird pai to-gedur with a grym fare!

ffull fell was the fight with po fuerse troiens.
Prothesselon, pe prise kyng, preuyt his strenght,

THE BATTLE AT THE LANDING.

There wonderfully wroght his weghis to helpe;

5740 Mony Troiens with tene tyrnyt to ground,

Thurgh swap of his sword swaltyn belyue!

187

Book XIV.

displayed his great strength

and cut down

many brave

Mony doughty were ded with dynt of his hond, Trojans.
And myche fortherit his feris in hor fell angur!

5744 Hade not the freike ben so fuerse with his fell But for him the

dyntes,

All the grekes hade ben gird vnto grym dethe,
And all brittnet yche ben, þat were to banke

comyn.

But what fortherit his fight, pof he fell were,

Greeks had been cut down to a

man.

(fol. 89 b.)

But what could

even he do with

5748 With seven thowsaund pro men prongen to-gedur, 100 men against

pere a hundrith hole were on a hepe somyn All triet men of Troy þat hom tene wroght? Mony dynttes full dedly delt were anon! 5752 The Grekes were gird doun, & on ground lay, Mony swonyng, & swalt, & in swym felle.

The grekes were so greuyt, & to grem broght,

7000 brave
Trojans ?

hai wold fayn haue ben forthe, fled on hor way, Fain would the

5756 But no wise might po weghis wyn into ship;

Ne to lepe fro pe lond into pe low se,

Hit was not holsom for hom, so hard was the
stour!

Hom was leuer on þe lond leng at hor aunter, 5760 And be brittnet in batell, þen burbull in the flod. pai fell fuersly to fight, po few pat pere were, And put all pere pouer, pynyt hom sore.

Greeks have fled;

but they could

not.

They make a rush against the

The Troiens dong hom doun in the depe slithe, Trojans, who soon

drive many of them into the sea.

5764 Mony lost hor lyues, & light in the water, And were ded in the depe withouten dyn more. The might was so mekyll of po mayn Troiens, pai hade no strenght to withstond, ne hor stid come, but for

holde,

Again they would have been over

Archelaus, who rallies them; and another fierce

5768 But all borne were pai backe to pe buerne syde, combat ensues.

And hade deghit by-dene with dynttes of hond;
But Archelaus in armys auntrid to banke,