PRIAM IS TO GUARD THE CITY.

He caires furth to pe kyng & his kynd fader, Lowtis euyn to pe lord, & on lowde saide :— 6252 "Dere fader, full faire, & my fre kyng!

Ye shall haue in a here of hend men a thous

aund,

All of knightes full kene, & kid men of armys,

Book XV.

203

Bowing to him
he said:-
"Dear father,

with your guard
of knights and

foot-soldiers watch well the entrances to the city. Strike down any

With all the fotemen in fere, þat are to fight straggler who

abill.

6256 Abidis here at the border, buske ye no fer!
Lokis well to pe listis, pat no lede passe !
If any stert vpon stray, strike hym to dethe,
Oure Cité to saue fro our sad fos!

6260 I haue messangers with me, made for þe nonest,

bat ffor perell or purpos shall pas vs betwene,
Bodword for to bryng, as we best lykys;—
All tythondys to tell, as tydis vs in fight,

6264 How vs happys to haue, in hast shall ye wete.
And wysly bes ware waytys to be towne,

On yche half forto hede, pat no harme fall,
hat our fos with no faulshed in pe fyght tyme,

6268 Sese not our Cité, our seluyn to pyne,
Ne rob not our ryches, ne our ryf godys.

Be ye wayt for pe wallis, warden of all,

may attempt to pass.

(fol. 97 b.)

I have detailed messengers who are to

communicate between us, and to inform you of our hap.

Beware of

ambuscades, lest the enemy thus attempt to seize the city while the battle rages.

Guard well the

walls; and be

And a post for all perellis youre pepull to saue, ready to aid us

6272 As stuf of our strenkyth, yf we stond hard!"

pen Priam to pe prinse prestly onswart :-
"Dere son, all be don, as pou demyt has !

I haue no hope of no halp, after hegh goddys,

if we be hard pressed."

Priam replied:"Dear son, all

shall be done as you have

6276 But in stuf of þi strenkyght, & þi stythe arme; proposed: for

In þi wyt, and þi warnes, & þi wyght dedys,
With pi gouernanse graythe, & pi gode rewle!
perfore, prestly I pray to oure pure sanctys,

6280 þat þai saue þe in sound, sent to pi hele;
Kepe pe fro cumbranse, & fro cold dethe;
And leue me pi lyf in lykyng to se!"
So pe lede toke leue, lut to hys fader,

on you only, after our gods, do I rely!

May our pure saints preserve thee!"

Book XV.

Hector then bows to his father, and passes forth to battle.

He was the bravest, the wisest, the

strongest in battle.

(fol. 98 a.)

Though the last to leave the city, he was foremost in the fight.

From the walls, the honourable women of Troy, with the king's daughters, watch the departure of the troops.

Helen, too, was

there, thoughtful,

sad, and

desponding.

Agamemnon

divided 'ais army into 26 battalions.

Patroclus led the first battalion, which was composed of his own men, and

those of Achilles,

who was suffering

6284 Past furthe to hys pepull, & hys pas held.
He was wyght and wylfull, wysyst in batell,
Strongest in stour, sturnest of other;

Euer frike to pe fyght, fayntid he neuer.
6288 Leder of þe ledys, pat longyt to Troy,
Hys armys were auenond, abill to fyght;
Hys feld was of fyn gold, freche to behold,
With pre lyons launchond, all of lyght goulys.
6292 pus he glod on hys gate, and hys gomys all,
With hys baners o brode, and pe burght past,
Penons & penselles, proud men of armys;
ffore euyn to be feld, and hys ferys leuyt,
6296 Prykyd furthe prestly, past on hys way!
hof he lengyt to pe last, er he leue toke,
He was foundyn þe fyrst, þat in feld stroke,
And pe sonest in assembly in pe sad fyght.
6300 All þe worshypfull wemen of þe wale toune
Wentyn to be wallys, pe weghys to behold.
be kyngys doughter, bedene, droghin hom alofte,
With honerable Elan, pat arghit in hert;
6304 Myche fere had pat fre, & full was of poght,
All droupond in drede and in dol lengyt,
pof Ector pe honerable had ordant hys folke,
And bateld hom bygly, on hys best wyse;

6308 Vnder gouernanse graythe, all hys grym ost
In rewle and aray redy to fyght.

Agamynon hys grekys graythyt to feld :
Twenty batels full bold of byg men of armys,
6312 And sex other besyde, all of sure knyghtys.
Patroclus, pe proud kyng, put to pe first,
With all pe folke, pat hym folowet, and fele

other moo.

Achylles choise men cheuyt hym with;

from his wounds. 6316 Hym-selfe fore to no fyght for hys fel wondys,

But lay in hys loge, lechit hys sores.

AGAMEMNON ARRAYS THE GREEKS.

his patroclus, pe proud kyng, was full pure ryche,
Of aunsetre olde, abyll of kyn,

6320 Wel manert & meke, myghti of pupull.

6324

6328

6332

6336

6340

6344

Achylles, pe choise kyng, cherist hym mekill,
And louyt hym no lesse pen hym lefe seluyn.
pay were so festenyt with faythe, & wyth fyn loue,
bat bothe paire saulis & paire self were set on a
wyll

And qwat so tendit to pe totheris was all.
The secund batell, forsothe, assignet was pen

205

Book XV.

The second

To Merion, a mody kyng, þat mekull couth of battalion,

were,

consisting of 3000 knights, and the Athenians under

led by Merion.

With pre thousond pro knyghtis, prepond in Mnestheus, was
Armys,

And Menestaus the mighty, with his men of

Attens.

To Atholapo, a tore kyng, takyn was the prid,
And Philmene, his faire son, fre in his hond,
With all the company clene of comaynes
pepull,―

Wise men in wer, wight of hor dedes.

The ffourthe batell in feld, he fourmet to leng
With Archelaus, a lede lyuely in armys,
And Prothenor, a prise kyng, with his pepull
holl:

In the same was Segurda, with sad men & noble.
The fyfte, pat was fourmit of po fuerse batell,
Was Menelay the mighty, with his men all,
With the pepull of his prouynse, & his pert

knightes.

The Sext of pat sort, þat soght to be fild,

(fol. 98 b.)

The third battalion was under the command of Ascalaphus and his son Philomenes.

The fourth was assigned to Arcesilaus and Prothenor: with it went Segurda.

The fifth was led by Menelaus.

The sixth was led by the bishop

Was kyng bysshop the bold, with his buernes king,

felle;

And Selidis, for sothe, soght in his honde,

With all the here, þat he hade, highet hym

Epistrophus; and
Schedius.

Book XV.

The seventh was led by Telamon, who had under him Theseus, Amphimachus, Diores, and Polisarius.

The eighth was

led by Thoas.

The ninth was led

by Ajax Oileus;

The Seuent of the soum, þat I said ere,
Was Telamon þe tidé, with mony tried knightes,
þat suett hym from salerne, sad men & noble,
6348 With foure Erles in fere, fell men of wer,-
Theseus the tru, & tide Amphimake,

And on Domys, the doghty, doutid in fild,
With Polisarius the pert, of person full abill :
6352 Thes comyn with the kyng in his clene batell.
The viij ffreke, pat to feld fore with his batell,
Was Toax, a tore kyng, & tidé of hond.
The ix of the nowmber, to nem pom full euyn,

and the tenth by 6356 Was Aiax Oelius, with od men to wale.

Philoctetes.

The eleventh was led by Nestor,

and the twelfth

by Henex.

(fol. 99 a.)

The thirteenth

was led by

Ulysses; the

fourteenth by

Arestes; and the fifteenth by

Eumelus.

The sixteenth was

led by

Protesilaus; the

seventeenth by Podalirius and Machaon; and

the eighteenth by the king of

Rhodes

(Tlepolemus).

The nineteenth

was led by

Gumplius; the twentieth by

Polypoetes; and the twenty-first

by Amphimachus.

The twenty

second was led by

And Philoc, the fell kyng, fore with the tenth.
Nestor, the noble Duke, an old man with all,
The xi with odmen auntrid to fild.

6360 The xij vnthwyuond, pat twyet not in fight,
Was Maumbert mayn son, mightfull Henex.
The xiij thro batell prong with Vlixes,

That past to the playn with proud men of

armys.

6364 The xiiij to pe fight fore with Arestes.
Humelius, the hasty, highit with the fyftene.
Protessalous proud son presit with the sextene,
ffor to dere for the dethe of his dere fader.
6368 Polidarius, the porknell, and his pere Machaon,
Suet with the xvij, sad men & noble.

The riche kyng of the Rodes raiked with
the xviij,

With fell men in fight to the fild past,

6372 The xix of the nowmbur a nobill mon toke,

One Gumplius a gome, þat mony grekes led.

And Philoc the freke fore with the twenti,

þat of Larris was lord & a lege kyng.

6376 With xxj auntrid abill men two,

Amphimas, a fre kyng, and his fere Cepton.
With xxij vnthwyuond twyet to filde,

THE SECOND BATTLE.

Dyomede, the derfe kyng, and doughty Celernis. 6380 Eneus, the nobill kyng, pat neghit fro Sypris,

6384

With xxiij priuond, pronge to the playne.
Procholus, a prise kyng, presit with another.
Now xxiiij fully are faren to pe batell.
Cupenor, a cant man, come with the next,-
The xxv fully, all of fyn knightes.
The xxvj of the soume, pat I said first,

Of bold batels & bigge, pat to bent come,
6388 Led Agamynon the grete, with grekes full mony,
And fore euyn to be fight, & the fild toke.

When the batell on bothe haluys were to bent

comyn,

ffor to fight in the fild, all po fuerse pepull, 6392 Ector the auntrus, ablist of knightes,

6396

6400

Was the first in the fild, pat to fight entrid,
Toke his horse with his helis, hastid before,
Gird euon to pe grekes with a grete yre,
ffrusshet to the forward, felly anon.

THE DETH OF PATROCLUS, BY ECTOR SLAYN.

207

Book XV.

Diomedes: the twenty-third by Eneus (Guneus); and the twentyfourth by Procholus.

The twenty-fifth was led by Agapenor; and the twenty-sixth by Agamemnon.

(fol. 99 b.)

Hector was the first to begin the battle.

Patroclus saw

Patroclus persayuit, þat the pepull led,
hat was formast in fight with a felle speire.
He auntrid vpon Ector, atlit hym a dynt,
With all the forse of his fole & his fuerse arme; through shield

He shot prough the shild & the shene maile,

To be ynmast of his armur, angardly fast;

Hit neghit to be nakid, but no noy did.
6404 Ector for pat od dynt, ournyt in hert,
Wode for the wap, as a wild lyon;
His speire into sprottes sprongyn was before,
But he braid out a brond with a bill felle,
Carve euyn at the kyng & pe crest hit,
Slit hym full slighly to be slote euyn,
bat he dusshet, of pe dynt, dede to pe ground.

6408

him dash towards the Greeks, and rushing on him with a great spear, pierced

and mail; still Hector was unhurt.