صور الصفحة
PDF
النشر الإلكتروني

Book IV.

hasty man, lest

like a spark unnoticed among ashes, it waken up a dreadful

blaze.

(MS. has
"happyn.")

This maiden

shall be the cause of much

woe to many

lands, and all on account of

angry words.

While she was in bondage, Troy

was built and destroyed;

(fol. 25 a.)

and many kings, knights, and

people killed on her account.

May feston as a fyre with a fuerse lowe,

1428 Of a sparke unaspied, spred vnder askys,
May feston vp fyre to mony freike sorow;
So lurkes with lordes of a light wrathe,
hat growes into gronnd harme, greuys full sore.
1432 (Happye) is þe here In no hate lengis,

Ne letis bele in his brest wherof bale rises,
Ne mynnes no malis þat is of mynd past;
As yt happes here harme for to come,
1436 And wreke to be wroght for wordes a few;
Soche a kyng to be kylde, A cuntre distroyed,
ffele folke forfaren with a ffeble ende.

Gyf an end hade ben now, & neuer noyet efter, 1440 Bothe of lure & of los, & oure lorde wolde,

Hit was euyn bot a venture of Angur to come,
And a Sesyn of sorow þat þere suet after.

Right as Lamydon pe lorde was of lyue broght, 1444 ffor he grethit with pe Grekys pat on his ground lay;

So pis Maidon shalbe mater of full mekull

harme,

And mony londes to lure pat euer ho lyffe hade.
Lo, how fortune is felle & of fer caste,

1448 pat drawes in a dede hate in a derke wille,
And of a litill hath likyng a low for to kyndull,
pat hepis into harme in a hond while!
By pis mater I meane what myschefe befell,
1452 here no cause was to ken but vnkynd wordes.
And while pis Lady was on lyffe in a lond fer,
And all thies maters in mynde, pat I mene here,
Grete Troy was vp tild with mony toures vmbe,

1456 hat was meruelously [made], & mekell to shew,
And Sesyt was sython & to sorow broght,

And mony kynges were kyld & knightes perfore.
What ledys were lost & of lyue doue,

1460 Now I turne for to telle, whill I tyme haue.

PRIAM'S FAMILY.

OFF KING PRYAM & HIS CHILDREN.

This Lamydon, þat was lord, hade a lefe son,

Book IV.

49

When his father
Laomedon was

away in a far land waging war with rebels.

A pert man þat was prinse, & priam he hight; slain, Priam was
A man witty & wise, wight, wildist in Armes.
1464 Hit felle hym [by] fortune at his fader dethe,
He was faryn to fight in a fer londe,

To riche hym of Rebelles pat of pe rewine held;
To cache a castell þat was kene holdyn,

1468 And to wyn it with werre, went pere a while
With his houshold hole, & here þat he walt.

He hade a woman to wyue worthy & noble,
Onest & abill & Ecuba she hight:

1472 By þat same hade he sonnes, semly men all,
ffyue þat were faire & fuerse men of armes,
And pree doghter by-dene þat were dere holden.
Of his sonnes to say or I sew ferre,

1476 Ector was oldist & heire to hym seluyn;
And most is in mynd for his mykyll strenght.
The secund of his sonnes sothely was parys,
Or Alisaunder ewther was his other name;
1480 He was fairest of pe freikes & a fyne archer,
A bowman of þe best & a buerne wise.
The prid was a pro knight, privand in Armys,
Deffebus pe doughty on a derfe stede.

By his wife Hecuba he had five sons and three daughters.

His sons were,
Hector

Paris, or Alexander, a famous archer.

Deiphobus,

1484 The fourth was a philosoffer, a fyne man of lore, Helenus, a

In þe Syense full sad of þe seuyn Artes.

The fyfte of the fre, þat I first nemyt,
Was Troylus the true, tristy in wer,

1488 That mykell worship wan, witnes ye of story.
Of his Deghter by dene, pat were dere holdyn,
One Creusa was cald kyndly by nome,

bat Eneas afterward Elit to wed,

1492 pat spokyn is of specially in our spede after,
And Virgill of his werkes writis also,

After takyng of pe toune how hym tid pen.
The secund of pe suster for to say feire,

soothsayer,

(fol. 25 b.)

and Troilus.

The daughters were, Creusa,

wife of Eneas,

Book IV.

Cassandra, a prophetess,

1496

and Polyxena, the 1500 beautiful.

Besides these,

Priam had thirty sous and other

daughters, by

concubines.

Cassandra was cald, clennest of wytte,
bat Enformet was faire of þe fre artis,

And hade knowyng by course of pe clere sternys.
The last of pos lefe children was a lysse faire,
Polexena the pert, prise of all other;

Of hir ffeturs & fairhed is ferly to telle,

Alse noble for þe nonyst as nature cold deuyse Bothe of color & clennes, to declare all. 1504 This prise kyng Priam hade of pert childer, Thretty sonnes besydes, als other wemen, þat he gate in his gamen, goode men of Armys, And felle men in fight, as we shall fynd after. Now I turne to my tale & tary here a while.

1508

Here beginnys the Fyfte Boke: Of the Foundyng of New Troye and of the Qwerell of Kyng Priam for his flader dethe.

1512

(fol. 26 a.) As Priam lay

he was informed about the destruction of

Troy, and at once returned home.

Now as pis kyng vmbe the Castell lay closit abute,
With his folke all in fere & his fyn childur,
He was enformyt of pe fare & of his fader dethe;
How his towne was takon and tirnyt to grounde; before the castle
His Suster sesyd and soght into syde londis;
His knightes downe kylde vnto cold vrthe.
Soche sikyng and sorow sanke in his hert,
1516 With pyté and complaint pyne for to here,
He toke vp his tentes & the towne leuyt,
Teght hom vnto Troy with tene þat he hade,
Segh the buyldynges brent & beton to ground.
1520 Soche wo for þat werke pan þe wegh thowlit,
þat all his wongys were wete for weping of teres,
Thre dayes proly, with thriccing of hondys,
And drowpet of dole as he degh wold.

1524 ben he sesit of sychen & his sorow voidet,
Mendit his mode & his mynd stablit,
Toke councell in the case & his care leuyt.
The styfe towne to Restore & so strong make,
1528 ffor daunger and drede of enny derfe enmys,
Gate masons full mony, pat mykull fete couthe;
Wise wrightis to wale werkys to caste;

Qwariours qweme, qwaint men of wit;

1532 Mynors of marbull ston & mony oper thinges.

The ruins of the city overwhelmed him with sorrow.

But after three days he resolves to build a greater and stronger city.

Book V.

The new city,

built in the name of Neptune,

was three days journey in

circumference.

(fol. 26 h.)

The walls were 20 cubits high,

1536

Sone he raght vpon rowme, rid vp þe dykis,
Serchit vp the soile pere pe Citie was,
And byld vp a bygge towne of pe bare vrthe,
In the nome of Neptune þat was a noble god.

THE DISCRIPCION OF TROYE.

This Cite was sothely, to serche it aboute, pre iorneys full iointly to ioyne hom by dayes: Was neuer sython vnder son Cite so large, 1540 Ne neuer before, as we fynd, fourmyt in vrthe, Nonso luffly on to loke in any lond oute. The walles vp wroght, wonder to se,

With grippes full grete was pe ground takon 1544 Bothe Syker & Sad, pat selly were pik ffro the vrthe vpward vne of a mesure. Of the walle for to wete to be wale top, xx Cubettes be coursse accounttid full euyn, hat of marbill was most fro pe myddes vp, Of diuers colours to ken craftely wroght.

built of marble of 1548
different colours
from the middle
upward.

In the walls there

were six gates,

called Dardan,

Tricerda, Thetas,

Trojana,

Anchinordes, and

Hylias, sur

rounded by

towers.

hat were shene for to shew & of shap noble, Mony toures vp tild þe toune to defende, 1552 Wroght vp with the walle as þe werke rose, One negh to Anoper nobly deuyset.

1556

Large on to loke, louely of shap,

In the Sercle of the Cite were sex faire zates, ffor entre & yssue & ease of pe pepull.

The furst and the fairest fourmet was Dardan,

Tricerda, Thetas, Troiana, po foure;
Anchinordes, Hylias, heght þe two other,

1560 With grete toures vmb-tilde & torettis aboute,
Well wroght for the werre, wacches O lofte.
Ymagry ouer all amyt pere was,

1564

Of beste and babery breme to be holde,
Bost out of þe best þe byg toures vmbe.
The wallis in werre wikked to assaile

With depe dikes and derke doubull of water.

« السابقةمتابعة »