Book XV. Hector dismounts and attempts to despoil the king of his armour. (fol. 100 a.) Merion, with his They drive him back, and try to capture his horse; but he baffles them. In a rage he makes towards Merion, and is THE FFOLY DESYRE OF ECTOR. When the kyng was kyld, cast to pe grene, 6412 His shene armys to shew shone in the filde. Ector to be erth egurly light, The gay armur to get of the gode hew, That he duly dessirit in his depe hert; 6416 And to spoile that spilt kyng he sped ferr. His horse in his hond held by the reyne, And come to be kyng, pere the corse lay, Wold haue Robbit the Renke of his riche wede. A C thousaund on horse highand þe to, 6436 And mony strokes, in þat stoure, po stithe men Till þe knight, vndur knappis, vppon knes fell. might, Was on hys wight horse, for wepyn or other. 6440 ffor all the grefe of po grekes, & pe grete pronge, Was no led might hym let, pof hom lothe were. He meuit taward Merion his malis to venge, Wode of his wit, in his wan yre; HECTOR AT THE BODY OF PATROCLUS. 6444 But Glaucon the grete, with a grym batell, Theseus, þe tore kyng, turnyt hym agayn, With iij. M. pro men pronge hym aboute, And socurd the same kyng with hor sad helpis. 6448 But the first of po frekes þat he fell to, 209 Book XV. rescued by Was Archilacus, a choise kyng, hym cheuit The Dethe of full ille: The buerne, with his bare sword, bere hym to dethe, þat he felle of his fole flat to pe ground! 6152 Mony on he martrid at the meane tyme! Archilacus by (fol. 100 b.) The pruddist, pat hym preset, plainly he slogh. The battle rages fiercely; yet despoil Patroclus; 6456 Yet Ector, eftsones, ettillit to assay, And Patroclus proud geere preset to haue. He light doune full lyuely, lettid he noght, Idomeneus and With two thowsaund pro knightes, & pronge men throng hym aboute: And Myrion, þat I mynt, with his men all. 6464 Thay preset so the prince with power of knightes, þat þai warnit hym his wille, & away put : But fele dynttes he delt, & to dethe cast, And other weghis hym with woundet the grekes. towards him to prevent it. 6468 When he segh þat hym-selfe was set vppon fote, Seeing himself And so fele of his fos fuerse hym aboute, All horset but he, & on hegh set, He aforset hym felly with his fyn strenght; 6472 Gird to the grekes in his grete yre. Mony woundis he wroght, weghis to dethe; Mony foteles freike of his fell dinttes ; 6476 ffele horses with his hond hew he to dethe, surrounded by so slashes right and left, till he makes way for himself. Book XV. Till all shent fro pat shene, & pe shalke leuyt! Of po tulkes, with tene, pat hym take wold. Merion presses to 6480 Than Merion, þe mody kyng, þat I mynt first, Presit to Patroclus in place pere he lay, the body of Patroclus, and bears it to his tent. The Greeks so press around Hector, and attempt to capture his horse, that it is impossible to remount. (fol. 101 a.) A faithful servant of the prince strikes down the knight Carion, and another: then calls on the Trojan knights to rescue their leader. Braid vp the body on his big horse, And so the freike hym before ferkit to his tent. 6484 Now the grekes with grem gedrit vnto Ector, His horse for to haue, & hym away lede. Thay caupit at the knight, kene men of armys, Segh his maistur at mischefe amonges his fos; 6496 At the knight Carion cast he þat one, As he mellit with his maistur, merkit hym euyn, þat he gird to pe ground, & þe gost yalde. The tother speire, pat he sparit, spent vpon hym: Brochit hym prough þe body pat pe buerne swalt. 6504 Then criet he full cantly þe knightes vpon, And the tyde men of Troy, with a tore steuyn, Syuabor, a natural 6508 pen Synabor, forsothe, with a sad pepull, brother of Hector, with his company dashed upon the Greeks; slew thirty of them; and succoured Hector. Neghit to be note,-his naturall brother; He come to pe crye with a cant will, And gird to the grekes mony grym dynt, 6512 ffelled mony fuerse men with his fyne strenght, BUT CUTS HIS WAY OUT. Made wais full wide, wan to his lord, Halpe hym full hertely, hurt of his fos; 6516 Thretty of pe proest he pronge out of lyue: pen the troiens full tyt tokyn þere hertes, ffell of hor fos with a frike wille, 6520 Getyn þere ground with a gret strenght, And frusshet pere fos fer vppo backe. ffuerse Ector was fayn of his fyn helpe, And as wode as a wild bore wan on his horse. Book XV. 211 The Trojans thus assisted take heart and drive the Greeks back. Hector remounts his horse, and (fol. 101 b.) pressing fiercely 6524 He shouuyt þurgh his sheltrum, shent mony on the enemy, grekes, And mard of po men, out of mynd fele ; All þat met hym with malis in pe mene tyme, 6528 Auther dyet of his dynttes, or were ded wondit. The grekes, for pe greuaunce, gyuen hym þe way, ffled all in fere, ferd of hor dethe. Mony batell he broke, myche bale wroght, 6532 All his wedis wex wete of hor wan blode : hen found he no frekes to fraist on his strenght, Ne non so derfe to endure a dynt of his hond. Then Menestaus, þe mighty, with his men hole, 6536 The Duke of Athens full derf, drogh into batell, With pre thowsaund pro men, priuond in armys, And other folke full fuerse, pat the freike hade. He launchit in o pe left side with his ledis all, 6540 There Troilus the tried, turnyd to fight With the frigies fell, þat þe freike lad, There mynget pai pere men, machit hom to-gedur; cuts them down on all sides. In terror they break and flee. Menesteus, Duke of Athens, with his division joins battle with Troilus, Machaon, Alcanus, and Xantippus. Big was the batell vpon bothe haluys, And myche slaghtur in slade, & slyngyng to ground! Troilus, in the toile, turnyt was of hors, ffaght vppon fote felly agayne: 6552 Mony woundit the wegh of his wale fos. Segh Troiell in toile, & tynt had his horse, 6556 And myche harme with his hond happit to do. 6560 6564 6568 6572 6576 knightes, Troilus to take and to tent lede. Presit hym full prudly with his prise folke, But a mon of þat mighty, þat Myseres was cald, tynt, And of sham, þat be shapyn you, shent be ye neuer. Mellis you with monhod & might of your seluyn, To Restore the rynke in a rad hast, Er he be led out of lenght, & lost of your sight, |