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ULYSSES CHARGED WITH STEALING IT.

bat the kyng, þurgh his comyng, by craft hade

hit goten,

Paladian, the pure god, pertly away;

And the troiens betrautid with his triet wit.

11768 A! God of pis ground, who graidly may trist Any lede on to leng, as for lele true,

383

Book XXVIII.

The Trojans are told that it was stolen by him.

Who can be trusted, when even this priest

proved a traitor

Syn this prest þus priset the pepull to dissayue, to his country?

As a kaytiff, for couetoise to cumber his land?

11772 This poynt is not prynted in proces þat are

now:

Hit lenges not so long tho ledis within,

To be cumbrid with couetous, by custome of old,
That rote is & rankist of all the rif syns.

There is no sin so debasing as

11776 There is no greuaunce so grete vndur god one, As the glemyng of gold, þat glottes þere hertis: covetousness.

Hit puttes the pouer of pristhode abake,

And forges to the fend a forslet with-in.

11780 Couetous men comynly are cald aftur right,

A temple to the tyrand, þat tises to syn.

WHEN

("forslet"=
"forcelette," a
fort, a strong-
hold.)

HEN THE GOLDE was all gotyn, & the grete The gold, silver,

sommes

and wheat are stored in the temple of

Of qwhete, & of qwhite syluer, qwemly to-gedur, Minerva, 11784 Into Myner mykell temple maynly was broght,

And put vnto pure men till payment were made;
Hit plesit to Appollo, the pure god aboue,
With Sacrifise solemne, besoght at pat tyme,
11788 With bestis, & briddis, britnet full mony,

And the carcas full clanly kowchit on pe auter.
When ffyre shuld be festnet in pat fyne offrond,
Two meruellis on mold maynly were shewid.
11792 The first was to fele, no fyre wold be light,
hat assait was full sothely of sere men full ofte:
Ten tymes be-tyde, tellis me the lyne,
hat hit fest was on fyre, & flappit out onone
11796 Vnto smorther & smoke, and no smethe low,

While the

Trojans are

sacrificing to
Apollo, two awful

omens are
observed.

First, the altar fire is ten times quenched.

(fol. 179 b.)

Book XXVIII.

Second, an eagle screaming wildly swoops down upon the

entrails, and bears

them away to the ships of the

Greeks.

The Trojans, amazed and terrified, seek counsel of Cassandra,

She declares Apollo is wroth because his

temple was

defiled with the

blood of Achilles,

and they must

fetch fire from his tomb.

ffor all the craft þat þai kowthe, & the coynt sleght.

The secund, for-sothe, I said you before,

When the bestis were britnet & broght to pe

auter,

11800 With the entrell euermore euyn vppo lofte,

Come an Erne, þat was Eger, euer on a crye,
Light downe lyuely fro the low ayre,

Braid vp the bowels, & bere hom away,

11804 And showvet to the shippes of the shene grekes. The troiens merueld full mekyll of pe mayne

foghle,

All stonyed þai stode, starond aboute.

Thai wist þere goddes were greuit with a gret

yre,

11808 And wrothe at the werkes, but wist þai no cause. Cassandra to councell, pen call pai belyue,

To haue a dom of pat dede, if the dere kowthe. The first signe, ho hom sayd, sothely was this: 11812 pat Appollo, the pure god, was put into wrathe, ffor tene of his temple was trasit with blode Of Achilles the choise, pat chaunsit to be slayne: "pat mys to amend, is maistur ye go

11816 To the corse of pat kyng in his cleane towmbe, Light pere a lowe lyuely with honde,

ffecche pere your ffyre, & festyn on pe auter,

And þat bren wull full bright in the brode temple."

(Prugh-through, 11820 Than passid the pepull to the pure prugh: As kend hom Cassandra þai kyndlit a fire.

a stone coffin, a tomb.)

The second omen reveals that the

city is betrayed to the Greeks.

Of the secund, for sothe, ho saide o this wise :-
"This towne is betrayed, trist ye non other,
11824 And grauntid to the grekes by gomys of your
owne."

Calcas the curset, pat comynt with the grekes,
Bisshop of the burgh, as I aboue told,

OF CALCAS AND THE BRAZEN HORSE.

When he wist of thies wondres, thies wordes he

66

said:

11828 Yonder towne wilbe takon in a tyme short."
han the grekes hom graithet to a gret Sacrifice,

Thurgh biddyng of the bisshop & a bold prist,
In honour of Appolyne angardly thicke.*

385

Book XXVIII.

Calcas makes the same statement to the Greeks

Calcas and Crisis counsel the Greeks to make a

brazen horse,

[Amongst these things, Calcas and Crisis the Priest, counselled the Greeks that they should make a great Horse of Brasse, and that must be so great as might hold within it a thousand knights armed and they said unto him that it was the pleasure capable of holding of the godes. This horse was made by a passing wise Master, a thousand as Apius was, whose name was Sinon, and he made it so sub- knights. tilly, that no man could perceive any entry or issue, but within

it was easie for them that were inclosed within for to issue out when they would.

When the great horse was fully made, and the thousand knights therein, by the counsell of Crisis, they prayed the King Pryamus, that he would suffer this horse to enter into the city, and that it might be set in the Temple of Pallas, forasmuch as they said, that they had made it in the honour of Pallas, for a Vowe that they made for restitution of the Palladium, which they had caused to be taken out of the same Temple.

Among these things, the Princes that were yet within Troy, when they saw that the King had so shamefully treated with the Greekes, they went away out of Troy, and tooke their men with them, and the King Phylomenus led no more but two hundred and fifty men, and threescore maydens of Amazones, that were left of a thousand that came thither with the Queen Penthasilia, and carryed the body of her with them, and trauelled so long till they came to their owne Country.

* Fol. 180 is awanting in MS. See Note.

The Greeks

desire that Priam

will allow it to be set near the

temple of Pallas.

The allies of
Troy, disgusted

that Priam is in
treaty with the

enemy, depart from the city. The Amazons, carrying with them the body of their Queen, are led home by Pylæmenes.

The xxix Boke: Off the takyng of the toune, and the deth of Kyng Priam.

The Greeks and

Trojans meet to ratify the treaty.

(fol. 181 a.)

The Greeks swear to keep the treaty faithfully:

then Priam and his knights swear.

Then came the day that the Greeks should sweare the peace fainedly vpon the plaine field vpon the Sanctuaries. King Priamus issued out of the City and his people, and sware there each party to hold the peace firmely from thenceforth on: and Diomedes swore first to the Greeks after, when they had broken the peace that they had treated with Anthenor of that thing that they concluded after, and therefore they maintayned that they were not forsworne by that colour,]*

11832 But in prouerbe hit is put with prise men of wit, 'Who þat sweyres to be swike, he forsworne

ffast

worthes.'

Thus the grete of the grekes grymly þai sware pes to afferme, & flit of the londe. 11836 Priam on his part, & his prise knightes, Sweryn all swiftly, & no swyke thoghtyn: So wend he full wele, po worthy kyngis all Hade no malis in mynd, ment at the tyme.

Priam delivers up 11840 pan honerable Elan þat abill deliuert,

Helen, and pleads

that she may be pardoned.

They all promise to do so.

Comendyng pat clere all with cloise wordes, Prayng the prise men with [his] pure hert, bat no harmys pat hend shuld haue of hir lord. 11844 Thai heght hym full hyndly his hestes to kepe, And his desyre for to do, po dukes ychon.

The grekes for-gete noght of the grete trayne,

* Guido di Colonna: from The Ancient Historie of The Destruction of Troy. Sixth Ed. London, 1635.

PRIAM CONCLUDES THE TREATY.

Prayd to Priam for a gret vow,

11848 ffor to hale in a horse hastely of bras,

Palades to ples with, er þai passe furth,

387

Book XXIX.

They ask Priam to allow them to bring in the brazen horse, and

And at Myners mayn temple make hit to stonnd. to set it up at the

This couet po kynges, & the cause made

11852 ffor the palladian thai pullit of pe pure temple,
þat þai Sayle might in sound, & hor sute hoole,
Lest the goddes in greme gert hom to lose
Bothe hor flete & hor folke with a felle storme.

11856 Priam, at þis prayer, aperit not sone,

Ne grauntid not the grekes pat the gret zernet.
Eneas pan ertid Egurly fast,

And Antenor also, the abill kyng to :

11860 "Hit is due to be done, & doutles," pai saide, "The sight is full solemne, the Cité to haue

Ay lastond to long, þat ledis may knowe

bat soche acord was here knyt with kynges for
euer."

temple of Pallas.

Priam hesitates.

Eneas and Antenor urge him to grant the request.

11864 The kyng affirmet the faitours, & no fraud Priam consents :

thoght;

paire dessire for to do demyt onone.

han payet kyng Priam all the pure sowmes
Of gold, & of gay syluer, & of goode whete:

11868 All þai shot into ship on pe shire water,

And made hom Redy to Rode on pe rough

ythes.

All the grekes hom gedrit, the grettist & other,
With Sacrifice solemne, synging of prestys:

11872 With profession & prise puld furth the horse
To a Side of the Cité, and set at þe yate.
Hit was so borly of brede, & of brem heght,
There was no entre with ease abill perfore:

he then pays over to the Greeks the amounts of gold, silver, and wheat.

(fol. 181 b.) With great ceremony the horse is drawn to the walls of Troy.

11876 pan the warpit downe the walle, & the wale Part of the wall

toure,

Bothe obreade & aboue brekyn the yates,

Tyll hit might entur at ease, euyn as hom list.

is pulled down to admit it:

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