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Book XIV.

Nestor, with his

men, then reaches the bank,

(fol. 90 a.)

and rushed in to their aid,

and the air

resounds with the shouts of men

and crash of arms.

Ascalaphus and

Alacus then land,

And fell vnto fight his feris to helpe.
5772 Now batell on bent po buernes betwene,
The grevans was gret po grekes among ;
Assemblit were sone þe same in þe fight,
And restorit full stithly be stuff of pe grekes.
5776 ffell was the fight & fuerse hom agaynes,

And mony deghit with dynt of po derfe pepull :
Mony harmys pai hent er hor helpe come.

ben Nestor anon neghit to lond,

5780 With his shippis full shene, & sharpe men of

armys,

Hard hastid to helpe with heturly wille,

And sodainly with his sort soght into batell! Speiris into sprottes spronge ouer hede; 5784 Arowes vp in the aire ysshit full picke; Swordis, with swapping, swaruyt on helmes; The dede, vnder dynttes, dusshit to ground; Cloudis with the clamour claterit aboue, 5788 Of the dit & pe dyn, pat to dethe went! Prothenor the prise kyng, & proud Archelaus, Mony tolke of pe Troiens tyrnyt to dethe. pen Ascalus & Alacus auntrid to lond,

and uniting with 5792 And aryuen full rad with pere rank shippes:

their friends

drive the Trojans back.

But fresh troops come up, and they

regain their ground.

Ulysses and his men then land

and rush upon the enemy.

With pere pouer full prist past fro þe water,

Brusshet into batell, & myche bale wroght.
So felly in fere foghtyn po two,

5796 Obacke went the batell of pe burghe folke;
But pere were fele other fresshe, pat no fight
touchit,

hat gird into the grekes with a grym will,

And all backward hom bere to pe buerne side,
5800 pat fer from þe flode might no freke wyn.
Then Vlexes come vp vne with his folke,
Wan out of pe water & his weghis all,

And braid into batell with a brem wille.

5804 Sharpe was the shoure the sheltrun [amonge]!

5808

THE BATTLE AT THE LANDING.

The Grekes geton hor ground, pat [graidly was

Bɔɔk XIV.

189

The Greeks, thus encouraged,

lost],
And myche comford hom the culm of pat kene gain ground:

knight].

and Ulysses,

dashing wildly
through the
enemy, works
sad havoc among
them.

(fol. 90 b.)

Mony woundes pai wroght, [and warpit to dethe]! Vlixes with vtteraunse vnder [his shild], Mony stithe in stoure stroke on [pere helmes]; Launsit, as a lyoun, þat were [lengen aboute], And of the ffrigies fell with [his fuerse dinttes]: 5812 Sum he stroke in the stoure streght to be erthe; Sum dange to the dethe, & derit full mykyll. The proud kyng of Pafligon persayuit his dede, struck him to the One Philmene, a freike of the ferre halue,

5816 He gird hym to ground with a grym speire;

And he fell vppon fote, faght with the kyng.

And Philmene the fuerse, with a fell dynt,
Vttrid Vlixes vne in the place,

5820 pat hit shot prough the shilde & pe shire maile,

To pe bare of pe body, pat the blade folowet; And he gird to pe ground with a grym hurt, Hade no strenght for to stond, zet he stert vp, 5824 And frusshit at Philmene with a fyn launse. With all the might & the mayn, þat the mon hade, He hit hym so hetturly on hegh on the shild,

þat he breke purgh the burd to the bare throte; 5828 Hurlet purghe the hawbergh, hurt hym full sore;

The gret vayne of his gorge gird vne ysondur,
bat the freike, with the frusshe, fell of his horse,
Halfe ded of the dynt, dusshet to ground.

-5832 The Troiens for pat tulke had tene at hor hert;
Kayron euyn to the kyng, caght hym belyue;
Harlet hym fro horsfet, had hym away.

[He] for ded of pe dynt was drest on his shild, 5836 [And bou]rne on the burde to þe burgh hom ;

[For the de]the of þis duke doll was ynogh
[That trublit pe] Troiens with tene, trist ye no

nother

Pylamenes

ground with a spear; but still he fights.

He is again dashed to the

ground with a sore

wound; but starting up he wounds Pylæmenes in the throat, and hurls him to the ground.

The Trojans drag him from the ground and carry him to the city on his shield.

Book XIV.

(fol. 91 a.) Menelaus and his

men then land,

dash into the

battle to aid their

friends, and

[Myche harm to pem] happit here at pis tyme! 5840 [The Grekes were] so grym þat were to ground

comyn,

[Mony dukes were] ded of pe derfe Troiens.
[pan Toa]x of Toilé Telemon the kyng,
[Agamynon, &] Aiax, & all oper shippis,

5844 [Come launchond to] lonnd and hor lordes all:
And Menelaus the mighty, & his men hole,

ffull radly arofe, raiked to lond;

Halet vp horses, highet olofte;

sorely oppress the 5848 And fellon vnto fight þere feres to helpe,

Trojans.

Protesilaus, worn
out with his long,
hard struggle,
now withdraws
from the battle to
rest a little on the
bank.

When he saw that all his band

had perished, he

was overcome

with grief and rage.

hat were strongly be-stad in a stoure hoge.

To the Troiens pai turnyt & mekill tene wroght!
The frusshe was so felle, po fuerse men betwene,

5852 Crakkyng of cristis, crusshyng of speiris,

The clynke & pe clamour claterit in the aire, And with dynttes of derfe men dynnet the erthe; Mony Troiens with tene were tyrnyt to ground, 5856 Sum ded of po dynttes, sum depe woundit ;— Restoret the stithe batell strongly anon,

5860

And mony dongen to dethe of the derfe Troiens.
Then Prothessalon pe prise kyng, pat preset to

lond

ffirst in the forward, þat his folke lost,

He was wery for-wroght, & woundet full sore,—
Hade laburt so longe, hym list for to rest,-

And bowet fro the batell to pe bonke side, 5864 ffor to beld hym on þe bent, & his brethe take. And o sithen he soght to pe se euyn,

pere pe fight was first, & the folke drounet;
hen he plainly persayuit his pepull were ded,--

5868 pat no lede of pat lordes vppon lyue was.
Soche a sorowe of pat sight sanke to his hert,
hat his wedis wex wete of his wan teris,
And he, stithely astonyt, stert into yre ;
5872 More breme to pe batell his baret to venge,

THE BATTLE AT THE LANDING.

Of his folke þat were fallyn vnto fell dethe,
Hard highet vnto horse with a hert pro,
fforto felle of pe ffrigies felly he poght.

5876 Onon with a naked sword neghit to batell,
Vne wode of his wit as a wild lyon,
Mony breme on pe bent brittoned to ground.
Mony kild the kyng in his clene yre!
5880 Myche tene pe Troiens tid of his hond!

Then Perses the proude kyng prise mon of ynde,
With a batell of bowmen fro the burgh come,
And with a fernet fare fell to be stoure.

191

Book XIV.

Rushing against the enemy, he

(fol. 91 b.)

cut down a great many.

5884 At whose come the cuntre-men comford were all, The Trojans again

And restoret the stithe fight stuernly agayn;

As fresshe to pere fos as at the first tyme, Gird to the Grekes, & moche grem wroght; 5888 Woundit hom wikkedly, walt hom to ground,

Oppresset hom with pyne, put hom abake,

All the batell to pe bonke, & mony buerne slogh. pere the grekes hade ben grymly gird vnto dethe, 5892 Ne hade Palomedon, the prise kyng, preset to lond,

With fele fightyng folke of fuerse men of armys;
Halet vp horses hard out of bote,

Wonyn on wightly, wentyn to batell,

5896 His folke to refresshe with a fyn wille.

The assembly was sorer o pe se banke; Mony deghit full dernly, dole to be-holde! Then the grekes agayne geton þere hertes, 5900 And myche comford kaght of his come pen. This Palomydon paynyt hym pepull to slee, And mony woundys he wroght in his wild yre. He soght to on Synagon, a sad mon of armys,— 5904 Kyng Merion þe mighty was his met brother, bat fele had confoundit of the fuerse grekes ;— He bere to be bold with a big sworde, And rof þurgh the Ribbes right to be hert,

take heart, and press the Greeks

back to the shore.

But for the arrival

of Palamedes,

they would have

been destroyed.

The Greeks then recover themselves; and Palamedes, meeting Symagon,

drives his sword into his heart.

Book XIV.

(fol. 92 a.)

Such havoc he

works among the Trojans, that they scatter and begin to flee;

but the noise of the battle had reached the ears of Hector, and he rushes to their assistance.

Driving in among the Greeks, he

cut his way right and left.

He presses to
Palamedes,

5908 þat he fell of his horse flat to be ground,
Deghit of pe dynt, & deiret no moo.

Palomydon preset furth into pe prise batell ;
Mony tulke out of Troy tyrnyt to dethe;

5912 Mony knight don cast to pe cold erthe.
All were ferd of pe freike, fled of his way;
Durst no buerne on hym bate for his bold dedis.
Myche clamour & crye was kyde in pe ost,
5916 at the Troiens for tene might tary no lengur ;
But with prise of Palomydon put all abake,

And fer in the fight fell hom the worse,

Vne boun fro pe batell busket to fle,

5920 Vntill Ector eris hit entrid belyue

The great noise of pe noy, pat in note was.
He lepe on a light horse lyuely enarmyt,
And soght to pe se banke to socur his pepull;
5924 Wode in his wrathe wynnys into batell!
All shone his shilde & his shene armur,
Glissenond of gold with a glayre hoge :

Thre lions the lord bare all of light goulis,

5928 þat were shapon on his shild, shalkes to beholde.

He gird to the grekes with a grym yre;

In the brest of the batell, pere buernes were thicke,

He ffrusshet so felly freikes to ground; 5932 Made wayes full wide pe weghis among;

Shot thurgh the sheltrons, shent of pe pepull. To Prothesselon he preset, pat pepull hade slayn,

And myche wo had wroght on pe wild troiens.

THE DETHE OF PROTHESSOLON BY ECTOR SLAYN.

and with a fierce 5936 He swappit at hym swithe with a swerd felle;

swing of his

sword clove him

to the middle.

Hit on his hede a full hard dynt;

Clefe purghe the criste & the clene maile;

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