HECTOR ENCOURAGES THE TROJANS.

223

a

and receives a similar wound in return,

And frunt hym in þe fase a full fel wond,

Book XV. 6924 bat pe blod out brast, & on his brest lyght.

He lede, for þat laith dynt, leuyt not hys horse,
But sound in his sadill, he his sete held,

Turnyt vnto Troilus, þat hym tenyt had, 6928 And wondyt hym wickydly in hys wale fase.

ben be troiens full tite had turnyt pe bak,
Had not honerable Ector, & his aune brethir,

The Trojans

would now have Deffibus pe doughti, & pe derf Troilus,

fled, had not

Hector and his 6932 And þe nobill brethir naturill, þat naitli withstod. brothers rallied

them.
All þe day, with outyn doute, to þis du tyme,
Ector was Euermore Eger in fyght:

His aune batell full breme vppon bent leuyt, 6936 Hym selfe liuely o be launde launchit aboute.

ben he segh þat þe soume of be saide grekys,
Were pe stithir in þe stoure, & strongur of pupull:

He bounet to his batell, bode he no lengur, 6940 bat fayn were in fere of þaire fre prinse,

þat þai had hym at hond & in holl qwert.
Then the lord to his ledis vpon lond said :-

(fol. 107 b.) Now, bold men in batell, buske ye to fight, 6944 Haue mynd of pe malis, & the mykell harme, and incites them

to make a bat vs wold happon to haue in a hond while,

desperate charge

on their enemies. And the grekes may vs gripe, & to ground bryny!

Therfore, feris, bes fell, fraistes your strenght, 6948 Let your hertes be hoole, hold you to-gedur!

Bes frike on your fos, fell of your dynttes,
Settes hom full sadly, sekir for to hit
With all þe might & þe mayn of your mekill

strenght!"
6952 ben he led hom forth lyuely by a law vale,

Raiked in full radly on pe right side,
There deghit mony derfe of pe due grekes;

Miche slaght in þat slade of po slegh knightes. 6956 Hit is wonder to wete of þe wode stoure,

What knightes were kild vnto cold dethe !

Hector, observing
that the Greeks
were stronger
and more
numerous than
the Trojans,
dashes off to his
own division,

Book XV.

death of

Toax þat tyme þurght the toile rode,

pat Cassibilan had kyld, the kyngis son of Troy: 6960 He fell of be frigies with his fuerse dynttes,

And myche wo with his weppon wroght at þe

tyme.
Cassibilan kynd brether ben pe kyng segh,

Wonyn to be wegh in hor wode hate,
King Thoas is 6964 Vmset hym full sone in a sop hole,
assailed by the
brothers of

And gird hym euyn to be ground in a gret Ire. Hector, in

Brokyn was the blade of his bright swerd, revenge for the

Hade no wepyn hym to weire fro þere wild Cassi belan.

harmys; 6968 The haspes of his helme were hurlit in sonder ;

All bare was the buerne aboue on his hed.

He hade lelly ben lost & of lyue done, The Duke of

Ne hade pe derfe Duke of Athens drawen hym to his aid ; is sorely 6972 With fuerse men in fight, & fell to be stoure. wounded by

To Qwintilion the quem he qwithit a dynt, Paris,

Woundit hym wickidly, warpit hym to ground, (fol. 108 a.)

Dressit hym with dere to dele with another. 6976 ben Paris, þe prise knight, with a pile sharp,

Rut hym in thurgh pe rybbis with a roid wond, but succeeds in

þat þe duk for þe dynt derit hym but a littell. roscuing Thoas.

Toax in þe toile out of tene broght,
6980 Wan hym wightly away wondit full sore.

Athens comes to

THE DETH OF HUMERIUS BY ECTOR SLAYN.

Humerius wounds Hector with an arrow,

As Ector rod thurgh þe rout with his roid dyntes,
Miche greuanse and grem to þe grekys dyd,

Humerius pe mighty, with a mayn bow, 6984 ffrunt hym euyn in þe fase with a fyn arow.

be worthi at þe wond wrathit hym sore,
ffore euyn to be freke with a fyn sworde;

Hit þe hathill o þe hede in his hote angur, 6988 And rent hym doun roidly ryght to þe sadill :

He bend neuer bow more, ne no buerne hurt,

Hector, in a rage, cleaves him to the saddle.

THE TROJANS RE-ENFORCED.

225

Book XV.

a

At the blast of a horn 7000 Greeks surround Hector.

obtains 8000

returns to the Greeks,

moct.

But was ded of þe dynt er he doun lyght.

ben hastid on heterly, & a horne blew. 6992 vij .M. said grekys semblit hym ymbe.

To Ector full egerly with enuy pai drogh,
fforto lache be led, or of lyue brynge,

And he were hym full wightly, wondit full mony. 6996 Mony derf to be deth of his dyntis zode!

hen he bounet fro batell, & pe bent leuyt,
Issit out of be ost angarely fast;

Dashing from

out the host, he ffore euyn to his fader in a furse hast,

goes to his father; 7000 Bad hym socore hom sone with his sure knightes; of the bravest

knights, and And he fore to be fyght with a fryke wyll, With pre pousond þro knyghtis þrong into

batell,

ffurse men, & fel, & of fyn strenkyth.
7004 bai gyrd to be grekys & myche grem wroght,

Slogh hom doun sleghly in þe slade moue.
Ector and Aiax auntrid to mete:

Hector and Ajax With fyn spers in þe frount frochit togedur, 7008 pat aythir bakward was borne to þe bare erthe. (fol. 108 b.)

Menelaus, a myghti out of mayn Troi,
With his wepyn he wondit, & warpit to deth.
Selidonas, a son of þe self Priam,

Celidonus, a son

of Priam, slays 7012 Slogh Moles þe myghty, a mon out of Oreb,

bat to Toax, þe tore kyng, was a tru cosyn.
Madon, a myghty kyng - þe Medion was cald

Of be grekys full gret, he gaf soche a dynt, 7016 bat bothe his Ene out brast & on bent light.

Serdill, anoþer son of the same kyngis,
Slogh a grete of þe grekes, þat was a grym syre.

Margariton, a mighty of po mayn brether, 7020 Tachet vpon Thelamon, & tenfully woundit.

Famen, a fuerse of þo fell children,
Presit to Protheus & put hym to grond.

So all be noble brether naturyll of þe naite kynge, 7024 Priam sons, þe prise kynges prestly pai foghton,

Moles, cousin to
Thoas,

Madon strikes out
the eyes of a
noted Greek.

Famen strikes Picthenor to the earth.

Book XV.

Anglas presses Mnestheus, and is severely wounded.

His brother
Dyanor in revenge
onhorses
Mnestheus;

And mony buerne in þe batell broght vnto ground.
Anglas, the able kyng, antrus of dede,

To Menestaus mightyly, pe maistur of Attens, 7028 He gird with a gret speire, greuit hym sore ;

And the duke with a dynt derit hym agayn, þat the viser & the ventaile voidet hym fro:

The noble kyng in the nase hade an euyll wound. 7032 Then Dianior the doughty, þat þe dede segh,

How his brother on the bent was blody beronyn,
He merkit to Menestaus with a mayn dynt,

bat he hurlit fro his horse to be hard erthe; 7036 But the Renke vp rose with a rad wille,

And foght vpo fote as a freke noble.
Anoper brother of þo bold to be buerne rode,

And foght with hym felly as he on fote was : 7040 Throly the pre men thronght hym aboute,

The bold for to britton or to burghe lede ;
But manly he macchit hom with his mayn

strokes, - t

another brother comes to his aid; and the three would have slain Muestheus had not Theuter come to the rescue.

Hector slays a thousand knights :

cuts down Memnon:

[--and anon he was succoured by the king Theuter. But Hector then assayled them both, and without fault they had not escaped, had not Ajax the strong and valiant knight haue come to the reskue with a thousand knights, that he had in his company. Then came on the King of Perse with fiue thousand knights, that Paris lead ; and so did all the other Troyans, and made the Greeks recule, and goe back by force. Dares writeth in his Boke, how that Hector slew a thousand knights, onely in this assault.

Among all other things, Hector encountred the King Menon before a Tent, and said to him; “ha, euill traitour, that thou lettest me to take the armes of Patroclus ;” and then he smote him so great a stroke that he fell downe to the ground. And after Hector alighted downe, and smote off his head, and would haue taken his armes from him : but Menesteus letted him, and smote upon Hector ouerthwart, by such force that he gaue him a great wound, and went then his way without more tarrying, doubting the fury of Hector. Then Hector went out of the throng and bound up his wound, that it bled no more; and after went in againe into the prease, and slew in his comming many Greekes. Aud Dares sayth, that after he had bound up his wound, he slew the same day a thousand Knights, and there was none had courage to auenge him

and is wounded by Mnestheus.

† Fol. 109 is awanting in MS. See Note.

OF HIM THAT NOTES NOT HIS TIME.

227

Book XV.

The Greeks are put to flight, and

Marked 109 in

against him, or defend himselfe, but he put them all to flight; and the Troyans entred into their Tents, and pilled and robbed them, and tooke all the best that they could finde.] Guido di Colonna : (from The Ancient Historie of The Destruction of Troy. Sixth Ed. their tents are

pillaged. London, 1636.) Garmentes full gay all of grete furris,

(fol. 110 a. 7044 Bright beidis & Brasse broght þai with-all, MS.) :

The Trojans And voidet all as victors avauntage to haue;

divide the spoils. And euyn laiked as hom list, lettid hom noght. bat was duly the day & desteny wold,

On this day the

Trojans might 7048 bat for euer hade ben ende Angur to voide;

victory, if fortune And þai wonen þaire wille neuer the werre aftur, had consen:ed. Ne neuer greke hom haue greuyt ne to grem

broght;

But wirdis, þat is wicked, waitis hir avauntage, 7052 With ffortune so felle, þat is of fer cast.

All þat desteny with dole has demyt to falle,
Ay puttes of þe purpos, þat it enpaire shuld,
And ay ertes to be end ordant before.

have had the

OFF HYM HAT NOTES NOT HIS TYME WHEN GOD HASE

GRAUNTID: BY ECTOR,

crushed his
enemies.

7056 And Ector of all men euyll hit dissayuet, Hector might

have saved his bat his pepull, and his prouyns, & his pure hele, people, Might soundly haue sauit with his sad strenght; himself; and

country,
And all his fos in the fight felly distroyet,
7060 Doutles þat day, withouten deire aftur,

And all perels ouer put plainly for euer.
Hit is lelly not louable in no lede oute,
Of no wise mon to wale, when wirdes has

grauntid,
7064 ffor to tary on his tyme, when hym tydes faire,

And put of a purpos, þat empaires after,
Or þat draghes to dethe, and deres at þe ende.

He þat tas not his tyme, when þe tyde askes, He that improves 7068 But lettes it deuly ouerdry ve with delling to opportunity,

noght,

not his