Book VIII. warrior of fine mould and fair size. Neoptolemus the noble, a tall, staid man, with hard, was broad shouldered, and beetle browed, and stuttered. black, prickly hair; large gray 3820 His here was hard blake, on his hede stode. eyes and grim; Grete Ene and gray, with a grym loke. Rounde sydes for sothe, sober of wille; His shulders were shapon of a clene brede. 3824 Bytell browet was the buerne, pat aboue met ; And stutid full stithly, pat stynt hym to speke; But he was lernyd of pe lawe, & in his londe wise; (fol. 60 a.) Palamedes, son story-teller, Podalirius, huge, fat, and "plooked” as a porker; his feet had burden enough to "fer ke hym aboute." Machaon, brother of Podalirius, was of mean stature, proud and presumptuous. Semely for sothe, & of Syse faire. A store man of stature, stabill of chere. ffor to comyn in a case hade a clere wit. 3828 Palomydon the pure, he was prinse faire ; 3832 Noght borely ne brode, but as hym best semyt. Or stond vppo streght for his strong charge. 3848 Ballit was the buerne with a brode face; Neuer slept þat slegh for slouthe vppon day. 3852 THE KING AND PRINCES OF TROY. Dares in his dytyng duly pus tellus, bat for the helpe of these hende, & hertely of mony, And a company of knightes comly to se, bat tellis his Atyre & his triet strenght. He was large, & long, & of lene shap, 3856 With a face somwhat fat, fellist of colour. oper, Of Perse come the proude kyng with pepull full The king of Persia with a great band of soldiers and a company of knights. The here of þat hathell was huet as pe fire, Of the tulkes of Troy telle we now ferre, 3860 Bothe of mesure & mykyll whille I mynde haue, As breuyt is in boke and aboue set, ffull duly by Dares endited of olde. Priam pe prise kyng was of pure shap, 3864 A large man & a longe, liuely & small. A faire man in feturs & hade of furse steuyn. Delited to the deuer on dayes be tyme. 3868 Noght ferfull, ne furse, faueret full wele, Louet he no lede pat lustide in wrange; He rulet hym by Reason & the right spake. Songis of solemnite and songes of myrthe 3872 He wold herkon full hertely in his high wit. Was neuer kyng vnder cloude his knightes more Ne gretter of giftes to his goode men, 3876 Ne with Riches so Rife rewardet his pepull. Of all his sones for sothe, pat semely were holdyn, 125 Non was so noble, ne of nait strenght, As Ector, pe eldist, & aire to hym seluyn. 3880 He was truly in his tyme tristiest of other Book VIII. Of the Trojan leaders. (fol. 60 b.) Priam the king was a tall, noble, active man, of fair feature and commanding voice. Never was a king more beloved by his knights, &c. The noblest and bravest of his sons was Hector. Book VIII. He stuttered a little, was always victorious. Massive and tall, his equal: he (fol. 61 a.) Paris, a pert knight with silken, glossy hair, was a famous archer and hunter. Deiphobus the third son and Helenus the fourth, were very much alike in features; bat leuit in any londe, & a litle he stotid. This prinse with his pure strenght plainly auer come All Auntres in Armys, þat he euer raght: 3884 Non so stuerne þat withstode a stroke of his honde. He was massy & mekull, made for pe nonest, He spake neuer dispituosly, ne spiset no man; Ne sagh, þat was vnsemond, slipped hym fro, 3892 But ay meke as a maydon, & mylde of his speche. Neuer hatfull to hym to hygh into batell, Neuer wery of pþat werke, ne of wegh fferde, He swat neuer for pat swynke, ne in swayme felle. 3896 Was neuer red in no Romanse of Renke vpon erthe So well louyt with all ledys, pat in his lond dwelt. Parys was pure faire, and a pert knighte; Here huet on his hede as haspis of silke, 3900 And in sighkyng it shone as the shyre golde. He was bowman O pe best, bolde with a speire, 3904 Of hunters he was hede, & hauntyd it ofte. 3908 po freikes were fourmet of feturs [a]like, Bothe of hyde & of hew to hede of a mykell; ffor, to loke on pe ledys with a light egh, 3912 3916 3920 3924 3928 TROILUS AND ENEAS. The ton fro pe tother was tore for to ken A wight man for to wale, & wise of his dedis; 3940 And delited hym in dole with damsels ofte; 127 Book VIII. and in form both were very like their father. The one was a tried knight, the other, a • sotele man of syense." Troilus pe tru was full tore mekull, amorous, yet measured. Troilus was tall, massive, and strong; brave, reckless, and (fol. 61 b.) lettid. In strenght ne in stryfe pere strokes were delte, In battle he was He was Ector eftsones, or ellis soche another. 3932 In all the kyngdome & cuntre, þat to be coron almost equal to Hector. longit, Was no yong man so zepe, ne zenerus of dedis, Wise in his werkes, & of wordys sober, ffaire Ene hade pe freike, & of fyn colour, 3944 Of all the tulkes of Troy, to telle þem by name, Troy. Eneas the eager, had fine bright eyes slightly asquint, and was the richest man in Book VIII. Antenor the Wise was a tall, active, but slender man: 3948 Long man & large, lyuely & small. talkative but farseeing. Polydamas, son of Antenor, ['favour.' countenance.] was tall, agile, and slender, like his father; (fol. 62 a.) Meriones, king of famous warrior. Hecuba, the honest and honourable queen, was broad and massive, almost like a man. Was non so riche of Renttes, ne of renke godes, She was learned as became a lady, meek and charitable. Mony wordys hade the wegh, wise of his dedis, Wele louyt of his lege, delited hym in myrthe, ffull zener and 3epe, and a yong knight, 3956 ffaire man of faffure, & of fyn strenght, Worshipfull in wer, wise of his dedis; A large man of lenght, delyuer, & small, 3964 His colour blent was in blake, with a blithe chere. A hard brest hade pe buerne, & his back sware. 3968 Crispe heris & clene, all in cours yelowe, All the borders blake of his bright ene. And in batell full bigge, & myche bale wroght: 3972 Grete worship he wan while the wer laste. Ecuba, the onest & onerable qwene, Was shewyng in shap of a shene brede, 3976 She hade a wonderfull wit a woman to bene, Alse sad in þe syens as semyt for a lady |