Book XXIX. ban þe Citasyns, with song & solemnete grete, the Trojans drag 11880 Halit furth the horse to pe hegh temple. it to the temple with shouts of joy. Their rejoicing soon turns to sorrow. When the Trojans are asleep, one Sinon is to open a wicket in the horse and let the Greeks issue out. To deceive the Trojans, the Greeks pretend they are about to sail for Tenedos. (fol. 182 a.) The Greeks set sail from Troy: Hit is said oftsythes with sere men of elde, The last Ioy of ioly men Ioynys with sorow. Thies buernes of the burgh blyndit were euyll, 11884 pai halit in no horse, but hor hard deth, Oppression and payne, pyté for euer; And ay lastond lure for lakkyng of wit! One ne Symon, a sure mon, assignet was þe key, 11888 bat was of gouernaunse graith, by the grekes all, To warp up a wicket, & waite on the tyme, And the durres to vndo of the dregh horse. But se first the Cité were on slepe fallyn, 11892 And broght into bed, as hom best lyked: han the ffreike shuld frusshe out, & a fyre make, And light vp a low with a light wille, hat the ost might haue entre euyn as hom liked. 11896 And the bettur in the burgh bale for to wirke, The same day, sothely, the Cité was takon, To Priam, the prise kyng, thai puruait a message, Said hom-seluyn wold saile samyn fro troy, 11900 And turne vnto tenydoun, & tary pere a qwyle, Preuely the pert qwene by purpos to take, ffor clamur & crie of the comyn folke:The murmur was mykell of pe mayn pepull, 11904 Lest þai dang hir to dethe in hor dull hate. Hit plesit well Priam pat purpos to hold, ffor he hedit no harme, ne no hate thoght; To pe gawdes of the grekes gefe he no kepe, 11908 But all semyt hym full sothe the sawe of þe kynges. han the grekes by agrement gird into shippe; With proses and pres puld vp pere ancres; Launchit fro the laund to the low sea; THE TREACHERY OF THE GREEKS. 389 Book XXIX. 11912 And fayne were the freikes of pe faire towne. pai turnet vne to tenydon, & tariet all pere, Before the settyng of the sun, says me the lyne, before sunset they With melody, & myrthe, & myche lowde songe, 11916 And there taried on the town till hom tyme thoght. When the day ouerdrogh, & the derke rose, arrive at Tenedos. As soon as it is dark, they arm and secretly march back to All bownet hom bigly in hor bright wedis 11920 And soghtyn furth to the Cité on a sop This Symon, for-sothe, I said you before, hole. þat hade the keyes to kepe of pe cloise horse, When the Trojans are When the buernes of the burgh were broght asleep, Sinon vpon slepe, 11924 He warpit vp a wicket, wan hom with-oute, Light vp a low, the ledis might know. þan gedryt the grekes to pe graith tokyn, 11928 þat brokyn was on brede for the bright horse. The knightes in the closet comyn out swithe; 11932 The pepull with pyne puttyn to dethe; Brekyn into bildynges, britnet the pepull; 11940 Robbet pere Riches, reft hom hor lyues, Pesis, & platis, polisshit vessell, Mony starond stone, stithest of vertue. 11944 Twenty thowsaund, proly, pai prong to the dethe bat tyme in the toun, as the tale shewes! opens the wicket in the brazen horse, and lights the signal fire. The Greeks rush in through the broken wal!; join those who have issued from the horse; break into the houses; massacre the people; and earry off all their (fol. 182 b.) Twenty thousand perish before day. break. Book XXIX. Priam, roused from sleep by the shrieks and wailings of his people, seeks safety in the temple of Apollo. At daybreak Antenor lead the Greeks to the palace : all are put to death. Pyrrhus finds temple, and slays Hecuba and Polyxena, fleeing for safety, and not knowing where to hide, meet Æneas. The Queen reproaches him for having betrayed his king, his country, and his friends. The dyn & the dite was dole for to here, The rewerd & the russhyng of pe ranke sorow He russhit vp full radly, raght to his clothes, 11956 When the derke was done, & the day sprange, The grekes by pere gydes of the great traytouris, No defence pai pere found in the faire place, 11960 And dyden all to the dethe with-outen dyn more. Pirrus to the prise temple preset full hard, Of honerable Appollyne, as Antenor bade, 11964 Abydyng his bone & his bale dethe. Pirrus full prestly, with a prise swerd, bat the stremys full stithly stert on þe auter. 11968 On seand the same mon the souerayn betrayed, Ecuba the honerable egerly flogh With Pollexena the pert, hir prise doughter; But þai wist not, I-wis, on no wise where 11972 ffor to hide hom fro harme: pan happit hom to mete The traytor with tene, vntristy Eneas. Thies wordes pat worthy warpit hym to:"A! traytor vntrew, how toke pou on honde 11976 pat trew to be-tray, pat trist in pe euer,— Thy lege & pi lord, þat the louet wele, And myche good hase pe gyffen of his gold red? POLYXENA AND ANDROMACHE RESCUED. Thou hase led to pi lord, þat hym lothe was, 11980 His fomen full fele thurgh falshed of the; And done hym to dethe dolefully now, þat thy-selfe shuld haue socourd, hade pou ben The burgh, there pou borne was, baillfully dis troyet, ; 391 Book XXIX. (fol. 183 a.) She pleads with him to rescue 11984 To se hit leme on a low, laithis not þi hert ? qwene. Pollexena, the pert he puld out of prong, Hid hir in a howle vnder a hegh towre, 11992 And keppit hir full close, pat clere out of sight. Of Myner the mighty, with a mayn fare, 11996 Worthy Ectors wife, & a wale maidon, Cassandra the clene, & keppit hom bothe. and moves him to do so. Telamon rescues And Menelay the mighty his myld qwene Elan, Menelaus with ffro the pales he puld of the prise kyng, 12000 ffull glad of pat gay, & of good chere, As mery of þat myld as a mon thurt. han the grekys full glad gyffon to red, Ilion to ouerturne angardly sone, 12004 And the bildynges bete doun to the bare erthe. All the cité vnsakrely pai set vppon fyre, With gret launchaund lowes into the light ayre; 12008 Grete palis of prise put into askys, With flammes of fyre fuerse to behold; great joy finds Helen. The Greeks set the city on fire in all places: Book XXIX. but the houses of Eneas and Antenor are reserved. (fol. 183 b.) Agamemnon assembles the nobles in the temple of Minerva. They agree to keep their promise to the traitors, and to divide the spoil justly. Ajax urges them to put Helen to death. Agamemnon, her. The eloquence of Cassandra is awarded to Agamemnon. 12012 There as certain seignes were set vppolofte, Of the traytor Antenor, & his tru fere, Eneas also anger hom betyde! : THE COUNSELL OF DE GREKES AFTER HE DYSTRUCTION OF THE TOWNE. When the Cité was sesit & serchet to the last, 12016 Agamynon the grekes gedrit to a counsell, Into Miner mayn temple po mighty bedene, ffor to speke of hor spede in a space pere. Den fraynet the freke at po fre kyngis, 12020 Wethir pai couenand wold kepe to pe kene traiturs, pat betoke hom þe toun by treson to haue; And pe gode, þat was getyn, graidly to part Amonge men of might, pat most had disseruyt. 12024 þe onswar of all men was openly þis, Euen the couenand to kepe, as be cas was, As pai sothly desseruyt with hor sad strenkith. Demyt hir to pe dethe with dole at þe tyme, With pe might of Menelay, & paire men hole, 12036 All þe here þat þai hade, with helpis of othir, Were bysé fro bale deth pe burd for to saue; ffor all pe company clene were cast þer agayn. But Vlixes, euermore egerly fast, 12040 Declaret hom pe cause with his clere voyc, |