8996

THE ELEVENTH BATTLE.

Palamydon, þat was prinse of the proude grekes,
All his Renkes had arayet, as he rede toke,
And met hom with mayn, machit to-gedur.
ffell was the frusshe, fey were þere mony:
Mony kynges were kyld, & kant men of armes !
9000 Priam to Palamydon preset so fast,

hat he gird hym to ground of his grete horse :
There leuyt he the lede, launchet aboute,
And fell in the feld mony fyn knight.

9004 Mony woundet pat worthy, & wroght vnto dethe;
Mony gird vnto ground, with his grym dynttes.
Hit is wonder to wete, in his wode anger,
How doghtely he did pat day with his hond;
Or þat any freike vpon feld of so fele yeres,
So mightely with mayn shuld marre of his fos.
Deffibus, the derf knight, dang hom to ground.
ffuersly & fast, with a fell weppon.

9008

293

Book XXII.

Palamedes arrays the Greeks: a fierce battle follows.

Priam smites down Palainedes :

kills and wounds many.

His feats of arms are wonderful.

9012 Kyng Seppidon, for sothe, a sad mon of strenght, Sarpedon and Bounet vnto batell with a brem wille,

And to Neptilon anon, a noble mon of Grese, As by stowrnes of strenght, streght on hym met. 9016 This Seppidon, for sothe, he set soche a dynt,

9020

That he gird with a grone to the ground euyn:
But the freke vpon fote fuersly can wyn,
Braid out a big sword, bare to hym sone
With a dedly dynt, & derit hym full euyll
Throgh the thicke of the thegh, throly with hond.
The kyng of Persy came full prest with a proud

batell,

And Seppidon fro the Soile set vpo lofte.

9024 Thurgh the tulkes of Troy, & hor triet helpe,

9028

Neoptolemus rush on each other.

(fol. 139 b.) Sarpedon is borne down, but wounds Neoptolemus in the thigh.

The Duke of Athens drogh in, & derf Menelaus, Menelaus and

With a noyus nowmbur, nowble men all,

Vmcloset the kyng and his knightes als.

the Duke of Athens, with their forces, rush

in: kill the king of Persia: and

The kyng of Persy pai put down vnto pale dethe; beat back the
Bare the Troiens abacke, & myche bale did.

Trojans.

Book XXII.

Priam slays many Greeks.

Sorrow for the death of Hector

restores the

strength of his youth.

The Greeks cut off the Trojans from

the city.

(fol. 140 a.)

Priam comes to

their rescue:

Paris also brings

up his company of archers.

In defence of his folke, the fuerse kyng Sepidon ffull worthely wroght with his wale strenght. 9032 Thedur Priam can prese with his prise knightes, And his noble sons naturell, þat naitly hym folowet,

On yche syde for his socour, soght hym aboute. Then the Troiens full tyte, in hor tore angur, 9036 Girdon to the Grekes with a grym fare.

The noble Priam full prest put hom to ground,
Slogh hom doun sleghly with sleght of his hond.
Of all the Troiens so tore & tydé of wer,

9040 Was non so doughty þat day, ne did halfe so
well,

Ne so wight in his werkes, as the wale kyng, hat for sorow & sorgrym of his sonnys dethe, Restouret hym his strenght as in stuerne yowthe. 9044 Then the Grekes by a-grement gedrit hom somyn, Betwene the Troiens & the towne, yf þai turne

9048

9052

9056

9060

wold,

In companys cleane, knightes full mony,
All pight on a playn, þere þai passe shuld.
When the grekes with grem gird hom abacke,
fforset were pai sone with a sad pepull,

bat faght with hom felly, & mony frekes slogh.
Hard hurlyng in hast, highet hom betwene.
Mony buernes on the bent blody beronen!
Ne hade Priam the prise kyng preset hom
aboute,

bat was feghtyng in the feld on the fer syde,
Myche murthe of his men & myschefe hade

fallyn;

And of his ledis ben lost mony lell hundrith.
Parys þen preset in with a prise batell
Of noble men, for the nonest, naitist of wille,
All with bowes full big, & mony bright arow;
Gird euyn to the grekes, greuit hom full sore,

THE TROJANS DEMAND A TRUCE.

Mony birlt on the brest, & the backe pirlet.
So greuit were the grekes purgh the gret shot,
þat þai fled all in fere, & the feld leuit:

9064 Turnet to pere tenttes, the Troiens beheld.

Was no freke vpon fel[d]e folowet hom after,
But soghten to pe Citie with a softe pas,

And entrid in Easely efter þere wille :

9068 And all worshiptin the werke of pe worthy kyng Priam,

As for best of the batell, boldest of hond.

The secund day suyng, when the sun rose, The Troiens to the tenttes tristy men send, 9072 ffor a tru to be tan, as the trety sais:

(Whethur long, othir littull, list me not tell, ffor no mynd is pere made in our mene bokes, Ne noght put in our proses by poiettes of old.) 9076 Within the tyme of pis tru, the Troiens did

aske

The corse of the kyng, [that] come out of Pers, ffor to bery in the burghe on hor best wise. ffor whom mournyng was made mekill ynogh, 9080 And prinsipall of Paris, that the prinse louit, pat of faith & afinytie were festnet to-gedur; bat ordant on all wise after his dethe, The souerain to send into his soile hom; 9084 On a bere to his burgh broght hym belyue, To be entiret trietly in a toumbe riche, As bi-come for a kyng in his kythe riche,

In presens of his prise sonnes, as the prose

tellus,

9088 That shuld be ayres after him auenond of lyue.

THE SOLEMPNITE OF THE OBIT OF ECTOR, AND HOW
ACHILLES FELL IN DE MOMURDOTES FOR LUFF.

Duryng the dayes of this du pes,

295

Book XXII.

The Greeks are driven to their tents, and the Trojans return to the city.

The Trojans demand a truce.

(MS. has 'to')

The Trojans

mourn for the

King of Persia,
and send his body
to be buried in
his own country.

(fol. 140b.)

Book XXII.

Priam appoints a

time of solemn sacrifices in

honour of Hector:

and a funeral feast.

The prise kyng Priam prestly gert ordan
A gret solenité, for sothe, all the cité thurgh,
9092 Xj dayes to endure, as for dere holy,

In honour of Ector oddist of knightes,
With Sacrifice & solenité vnto sere goddes.
When thies dayes were done of the du fest,

9096 pen ordant was on,-oddist of all,
A ffynerall fest, þat frekes pen vset,
Eat become for kynges, & for kyd prinses,
That most were of might & of mayn state.

During this truce, 9100 That in tymes of the tru the Troiens might

the Greeks and

Trojans visit each

other.

Achilles goes to

the temple of

wend,

In-to the tentis by tymes, and tary while þem

list;

And the grekes, agayne, go to the toune,

To sporte hom with speciall, & a space lenge. 9104 Achilles hade appetite, & angardly dissiret, The Citie for to se, and the solemne fare At the entierment full triet of pe tru prinse. þan vnarmyt he entrid, euyn to pe citie;

Apollo, where the 9108 To Appollo pure temple passit anon,

body of Hector

was set.

The temple is

filled with

mourners:

Hector is beheld

as when he was alive.

fol. 141 a.)

At his feet,
Hecuba,
Polyxena, and

There the body of the bold blithly was set,

Of honerable Ector, as I ere said.

There were plenty of pepull, prise men & noble, 9112 And worthy wemen to wale weping with teris, In sykyng & sorow syttyng aboute.

The taburnacle titly vntild was aboue,

On yche syde, as I say, who pat se wold,

9116 here the body was aboue of the bold prinse,
In his sete, as I said, sittyng full hoole,
bat arayet was full richely, as I red haue,

9120

With bame & with balsaum, þat brethid full

swete.

At the fete of pat fre was his faire moder,
Honerable Ecuba, oddist of ladys,

And Polexena the pert, þat was his prise suster,

ACHILLES AT THE TOMB OF HECTOR.

With mony worshipfull wemen to wale in þe

towne,

9124 The here of pere heddes hynging on brede,
On backe & on brest bare for to shew;
With remyng, & rauthe, & myche rife sorow,
Sobbyng & sourcher soght fro þere herttes.

9128 Polexena the pert pairet of hir hew,
All facid hir face with hir fell teris,

hat was red as the Roses, richest of coloure,

Hit was of hew to behold with hend men aboute. 9132 The teris pat trickilt on her tryet chekes, As pure watur pouret vn polishet yerne, pat blaknet with bleryng all hir ble qwite. The faire heris of pat fre flammet of gold, 9136 All abouen on hir brest & hir bright swire, pat sho halit with hond, hade it in sonder, And puld hit with pyn, pité to be-hold.

When the hond of þat hend to be hede yode,

9140 Hit semyt by sight of sitters aboute, As the moron mylde meltid aboue,

When ho hasted with hond pe hore for to

touche.

297

Book XXII.

the noblest ladies of Troy, sit with disnevelled hair, mourning.

The beauty of
Polyxena, as

seen through her
tears.

When Achilles the choise maidon with chere Achilles gazes on

can behold,

9144 He hade ferly of hir fairhede, & fell into thoght.

To hym-seluyn he said in his saule pen,
bat neuer wegh in this world of woman kynd,
Hade fairnes so fele, ne so fyne shap,

9148 Ne so pleasaund of port, ne of pure nurtur.
As Achilles this choise in chapell beheld,
A fell arow in his frunt festnet of loue,
Woundit hym wickedly by will of hym-seluyn;
9152 And lurkid doun lagher to his low brest,

All hatnet his hert, as a hote fyre,

Made hym langwys in Loue & Longynges grete.

Polyxena with wonder

and admiration.

He is love-struck:

(fol. 141 b.)

Ay the more on pat maidon the mighty beheld, and the longer he