Book IV.

Sedar fights with Castor, and wounds him.

Pollux with seven hundred men comes to the rescue.

A Sore dynt in the syde at the same coursse.
Sedar was sory for sake of his

cosyn,
1268 Carue euyn at Castor with a kene sworde,

pe shilde away share vnto the shyre necke,
And all þe haspes of his helme þat þe hede zemyt;
With a swinge of his sworde swappit hym in þe

fase,
1272 Bare hym ouer backeward to be bare vrthe.

When þe freke was fallen & on foote light,
He laid vppon lyuely & no lede sparit,

Zald hym not zet for zynernes of hert. 1276 ban pollux full pertly aprochet in hast

With seuyn hundrithe sad men assemblit hym

with,
ffrochit into be frount & a fray made;

Bere backeward the batell & his brother toke, 1280 Horsit hym in haste, halpe hym olofte ;

And pollux with a proude wille prickit to an

oper,
One Eliatus, a lede, and hym o liue broght.

The kynges son of Cartage & a knight noble, 1284 Aliet vnto Lamydon by his lefe suster,

Cosyn to the kyng, & he his kyde Em,
Pité of þat pert knight persit his hert,

hat the shire water shot ouer his shene chekys. 1288 Myche woo hade þe wegh for þe wale knight,

And assemblit his sad men on a soppe hole,
With a horne þat he hade, in a hond while,

(Seuyn thousand be sowne all of sure knightes,) 1292 And charget hom chefely for chaunse vppon

vrthe,
ffor to dere for the dethe of his dere cosyr..
ben the Troiens full tite tariet no lengur,

Gird euyn to the Grekes with a grym fare ; 1296 Slogh hom downe sleghly & slaunge hom to

grounde;

(Alyattes, king of Lydia.)

(fol. 22 b.)

The Trojans are rallied, and drive the Greeks to their ships.

Book IV.

Laomedon is informed that the Greeks are musters of the city.

San at heart, he assembles his men and returns to the city.

Wondit of þe wightist, warpide hom vnder;
Put hom fuersly to flight, folowet hom after
To the banke of the brode see þere botis were

leuit.
1300 þere Lamydon þem leuyt, for a lede come

With tithynges fro the towne told to the kyng;
One Dotes, with dyntes þat dedly was wondyt,

Said the Citie was sesit & sad men þere-in,
1304 Of our fos full fell, fuerse men in Armys,

A grete nowmber of Grekis, & pe goodes takyn.
Þe kyng for þat care coldit at his hert,

And siket full sore with sylyng of teris,
1308 Henttes his horne and hastily blawes ;

Assemblit his sad men on a sop holle,
Left the Grekes on þe ground by the

gray

water:
Soght to pe Citie on soppes to-gedur
1312 Tho þat left were on lyue þogh þai lite were.

The kyng in his comyng kest vp his egh,
Segh a batell full breme fro pe burghe come

Prickand full prest vppon proude stedys. 1316 He blusshed ouer backeward to þe brode see,

Se the Grekys come girdand with a grym noise, pat fled were before & þe fild leuyt.

He was astonyet full stithly to be stad so, 1320 Betwene the batels on bent & so bare leuyt,

Vmfoldyng with his fos þat he ne fle might. ben to batell on bent þai busket anon,

A felle fight & a fuerse fell hom betwene.
1324 But vnmete was the Macche at þe mene tyme :

The Grekes were grym, of a grete nowmber,
And lite of þat other lede, þat on lyue were.

The Troiens full tyte were tyrnyt to be grounde 1328 With batell on bothe halfes, blody beronyn,

Wyde woundes & wete of hor wale dyntes.
Ercules yreful euer vponone,
Pricket furthe into prise and full playne maile,

He is attacked in front by the ambuscarie, and in rear by the band from the ships.

(fol. 23 a.)

Hercules strikes terror into the hearts of the Trojans.

Book IV.

1332 Gird gomes vnto grounde with vngayn strokes,

Bere the batell a-bake, mony buerne qwellid.
The freke was so fuerse, the[y] fled of his gate;

All shodurt as shepe shont of his way,
1336 Non so derffe to endure a dynt of his hond,

ffor all loste pe lyfe þat þe lede touchet.

THE DETH OF LAMYDON BY ERCULES.

a

a

He falls upon Laomedon; kills him, and throws his head into the crowd of Trojans.

1340

1344

The city is taken, and the Trojans flee to the woods.

Tyll he come to be kyng in a kene yre,
Dang hym derffly don in a ded hate,
Grippit hym grymly, gird of his hede,
hrew it into pronge of his pro pepull;
bat moche sorowe for be sight & sobbyng of teres,
When þaire kyng was kylt, hom be course felle.
Sesit was the Citie, socour non pere,
Daire fomen so felle, and so few other,
The Grekes gird hom to grounde & to grym

dethe :
Of the dite & pe dyn was dole to be-holde.
The Troiens with tеne turnyt þe bake,
ffleddon in fere and pe filde leuyt,
Ouer hilles & hethes into holte woddes,
hat left were on lyue with mony laithe hurtes,
When the Grekys hade the gre & the grounde

wonen.

1348

1352

As the Greeks crowd into the city, the Trojans

THE TAKYNG OF HE TOWNE.
Thai soght into the Cité vpon sere haluys,
Streght into stretis and into stronge houses,
There were wemen to wale, A wondurfull nowm-

bur,
1356 Childer full choise and of chere febill,

Wyth olde ffolke vnfere ferly to see.
All tight to þe tempull of þere tore goddes,

ffor drede of the dethe, & myche dynne made. 1360 Mony wyues, for woo, of þere wit past,

(fol. 23 6.) old and young, rush to the temple for safety,

Book IV.

a

and in their haste leave all their goods behind.

The city is plundered and destroyed.

And þere barnes on brest bere In þere armes,
Hyd hom in houles and hyrnys aboute.

Maydons for mornyng haue pere mynde loste, 1364 (Soche payne of a pepull was pitie to be-holde)

Hurlet out of houses, and no hede toke
Of golde ne of garmenttes, ne of goode stonys;

ffongit no florence, ne no fyn pesys,
1368 Gemys ne gewellis, ne no ioly vessell,

But all left in hor loges & lurkit away.
The Grekes were full gredy, grippit hom belyue,

Prayen and pyken mony priuey chambur,
1372 ffongit þere florence and oper fyn gold,

Geton girduls full gay, mony good stonys;
Wele wantid no wegh wale what hom liste.

A monyth on pis maner meuyt no ferre, 1376 But soughton vp the Cité vpon sere haluys,

Grippit vp the grounde, girdyn doun pe wallys,
Prowde pales of prise puttyn to grounde;

Brent vp the byggynges & full bare maden;
1380 The temple ouer-turnyt, tokon be folke,

Dydden all to the dethe & for ne drede lettyd ;
Wemen, wale childur, & other weike pupull,

Madens full mony & of mete Age,
1384 Sesit hom sone in seruage to holde.

The people are killed or taken captive.

Hesione, danghter

| Laomedon, is given to Telamon, who was the first to enter the city.

EXIONA, THE KINGES DOUGHTER LAMYDOX.
When the pales was put doun of þe prise kyng,
bai fonde per a fre faire to be-holde,

Euyn of his owne doughter Exiona was callid. 1388 Bannet worthe the bale tyme þat ho borne was,

ffor the care þat þere come because of hir one. Ercules egerly euyn vponone

Betoke hir to Telamon, for he the towne entrid, 1392 In reward as by right for his ranke wille.

(fol. 24 a.)

POETA.
But caitif unclene, for thy curst dede !

DEPARTURE OF THE GREEKS.

47

Book IV.

whose hands she

saved her from

The Greeks

Syn the fortune felle þat faire into honde,

hat was cumly and clene and a kinges doughter, Hercules, into 1396 bou shuld have holdyn þat hynd, had hir þi-selfe, fell, should have

wedded her, and Weddit with worship and to wife holdyn. And þou so doggetly has done in þi derfe hate, to which Telamon

subjected her: hrast hir vnder praldam with þi pro hert,

much war and 1400 To a kyng þat is curst, of vnclene lyfe,

woe might thus

have been ffor to lede in his lechery all his lyfe after. prevented. Thurgh vnhappe of þat hynde, þat þou a hore

mase,

Myche greuaunce shall groo & a gronnd hate; 1404 Wer wakyn & wo for þi wickede dede,

Mony boldes for þat bright in batell be kylde.
When the toune was ouertyrnyt, takyn þe godys,
be Grekes to pe gray water gyrdyn belyue ;

depart from Troy, 1408 Shottyn into shippes all þe shene godis,

and rejoice over

their spoils,
Launchet furthe lightly & the lond passit,
Girdon ouer the grym waghes into grece samyn.

All þere lordes were light þat þai lyffe hade, 1412 ffayne of þere fortune & þere fine relikes,

Didyn sacrifice solempne vnto sere goddes.
All pere Rewmes wax riche, hade relikes ynowe, which enrich

their realms and And long tyme with hom last & þere lefe children, their children for

many years; but 1416 When the Cité was sesit, as I said ere,

at length bring

war and woe. And Lamydon the lege kyng out of lyfe broght, Wemyn & wale children vnto wo put,

Set vnder seruage, sorow for euer,
1420 The kynges doughter caght & out of kythe led,

And in horedam holdyn, harme was be more.
Se now the sorow þat þere suet after;

And yche wegh þat is wise & of wit stable, 1424 Light harmes Let ouer-passe, Lap noght in yre (fol. 24 b.)

ffor foly þat may falle of a felle hert.

a

A PROUERBE.

A word þat is wrappid, and in wrath holdyn,

Hced not the angry word of a