AND THEIR COMPANIES.

He broght to pe burghe, all of bold knightes,
Two thowsand pristie & pro men of wille.
Iche shalke hade a shild shapyn of tre,
5500 Wele leddrit o lofte, lemond of gold,

Pight full of prise stonys vmbe the pure sydes. This Philmen, pis fre, was a fuerse man of shape, Of largenes & lenght no lesse pen a giaund. 5504 Of More Ynde come Merion, a mighty kyng alse, With Perses, a proude kyng, and a pert knight, With Dukes full doughty, and derfe Erles mo, pat subiect were sothely to be same Perses, 5508 With pre thowsaund pro knightes, prepond in

wer;

And Symagon, sothely, com with the same kyng, bat was mighty & monfull Merions brother. Out of Tire come Theseus, tristé of hond, 5512 And Archillacus also, þat was his aune son,

He was cosyn, by course, to the kyng Priam.
Two kynges pere come of a clene yle,

5516 pat Agestra, pe ground geuyn is to nome.

(Of po kynges, pat I carpe, know I no nomes; ffor in pis boke, of po bold, breuyt are none) pai broght to be burghe, buernes a thowsaund, 5520 And two hundrith by tale, all of triet knightes. There come of a kyngdome, callid is Delissur, Of an yle be-3onde Amysones, an abill mon of wit,-

Book XIII.

He brought to the city 2000 warriors, with shields

179

ornamented with gold and precious stones.

From Ethiopia

came Merion

and Perses with

many Dukes and Earls, and 3000 kni ts.

From Tyre came
Theseus and
his son
Archilochus with

With knightes in hor company, clene men a 1000 knights. thowsaund :

From the island of Agestra came two kings with 1000 men and 200 knights.

From the
kingdom of
Delissur

(fol. 86 a.) came Epistaphus with 1000 men;

A discrete man of dedis, dryuen into age,
5524 And a sad mon of sciens in the seuyn artis,—
Epistaphus, to preue, was his pure nome:
He broght to pe bate of bold men a thowsaund,

meruelouse

And an archer an ugly, pat neuer mon hade sene. and A
5528 He was made as a mon fro pe myddell vp,
And fro the nauyll by-neithe, vne an abill horse, half-horse.

archer,'-
half-man,

Book XIII.

His body was

covered with thick hair; and his

eyes 'flammet as the fire.'

The number of Priam's allies was 32,000.

And couert as a capull, all the corse ouer,
ffro pe hed to pe hele, herit full thicke.
His Ene flammet as the fire, or a fuerse low,
fferfull of fase, & hade a felle loke,
bat pe Grekes oft greuit & to grem broght.
Mony woundit þat wegh & warpit to dethe,
ffor he was boumon of the best, & bold of his
dedis.

The nowmbur of þes noble men, þat I nemmyt
haue,

bat come with thes kynges and other kyde Dukes, Withoute Priams pouer of his prise rewme, 5540 Were thretty thowsaund pro knightes priuond

5532

(fol. 86 b.)

5536

Never since the
world began had
such an army been 5544
brought together.

While on the side 5548 of the Greeks,

there was the very flower of knighthood.

5552

in armys

And two, for to tell, pat to pe toune soght,
ffor to comford pat kyng & his cause forper.
Syn þe world was wroght, & weghis perin,
Was neuer red in no Romans, ne in ronke bokes,
So fele fightyng folke in hor fuerse yowthe,
Of knightes & clene men comyn to-gedur,
Of tried men & trusty, pat to Troy come.
And of the grekes, þat were gedrit in a grym ost,
Of knighthede to count pere was the clene
floure,

ffor to wale purge the world, as pe writ tellis. Wo so staris on pis story, or stodis perin, Take hede on pe harmys & the hard lures! What mighty were marrit, & martrid to dethe ;Of kynges, & knightes, & oper kyde Dukes, That paire lyues here lost for a light cause! 5556 Hit is heghly to haue, & of hert dryue

Soche sklaundur & skorne, þat skathis to mony;
And mene vnto mekenes for pe more harme!

xiiij Bok. How the Grekys sailet from Tenydon to Besege the Cite of Troy: And of stronge fight at þe Ariuaill.

DRESSE will I duly to dem of my werkes,

5560 How thai wenton to werre, tho worthy to-gedur. Er þai turnyt fro Tenydon, & token þe se, Palomydon, the proude kyng, presit into hauyn,That was Naulus son pe noble, & his next aire,5564 With xxxti shippes full shene, shot full of

pepull

ffull onest & abill of his owne lond.

At wose come all the kynges kyndly were fayn,
hat were heuy to hym for houyng so longe

5568 With anger at Attens, pere all were assemblit;

Before the fleet left Tenedos,

5572 He was grete with the Grekes, & godely honourit; ffor he was most full of men, & mighty of londes,

Bothe of fuersnes of fight & of fre counsell,

And of Riches full Rife, & rankist of knightes.

5576 bai prayet pat prinse, all po prise kynges,

To be close in hor cause for his clene wit,

Palamedes sailed

into harbour with

30 ships.

The kings reprove him for such

delay :

he had been kept

sickness,

And he excuset the skathe, pat he skape might, at Athens through
ffor sore sickenes & sad, þat hym selfe polet.
his Palomydon was pert mon, & prise of his
dedis,

And he grauntid full godely all with glad chere. He promises to
All thonkid hym po thristé, proly to-gedur.

be true to their

cause.

Book XIV.

(fol. 87 a.)

The Chiefs then propose to attack the city during

the night but

all are afraid, and the plan is dropped.

"Ye worthies!

It is now a year

since we came to

this land,

and what deed have we done, or how much nearer are we to our end?

We have only made our enemies wiser in war.

Since we came here, the Trojans have greatly strengthened themselves.

5580 Then the grete of the Grekes gone into counsell, How pai best might in batell pe burgh to

assaile.

THE COUNSELL OF DYAMEDE TO STIRRE TO BE CITE.

When all counsels were kyde and carpit to end, bai didyn after Dyamede, & demyt hit pe best,

They then adopted the plan

of Diomedes, who 5592 pat said hom full sadly all in softe wordes :—

said,

"Ye worthy to wale, wonder me thinke,

Of our dedis so dull why we dure here!
Now is 3epely a yere yarket to end,

5596 Syn we light in this lond & logget our seluyn,

And neuer dressid, ne drogh, to no dede ferre ;
Ne so hardy, fro pis hauyn to hale on our fos,-
ffor to turne vnto Troy, ne on þe toun loke.

5600 What dede haue we don, or dryuen to an end;
Or þe farrer in our fare fortherit our seluyn?
But ertid our Enmys, & angert hom noght;
Made hom wiser of werre, ware of our dedys,
5604 And by compas to caste to conquere vs all.
We sothely haue sene, & our selfe knowen,
Syn we come to pis coste & cairet no ferre,
The Troiens haue atiret hom with myche tor

strenght,

And pen pai purpast hom plainly, in the pure night

ffor to dresse for þat dede, er þa day sprange. 5584 But the ffreikes were ferd of hor fre shippes,

ffor to caire by the coste, & knew not the waches; Or to remeve fro rode for rokkes in þe se,

Or to wyn to be walles, wachid, hom thoght, 5588 ffor los of hor lyues and hor lefe knightes:

And so pai put of pat purpas, & past to another.

5608 paire Cité to saue, and hom selfe alse,
With new wallis vp wroght, water before,
And pals haue pai pight, with pittis and caves,

THE COUNSEL OF DIOMEDES.

And other wilis of werre wroght for our sake, 5612 That may hast vs to harme, & hindur our spede With all fare pat may forthir, & filsyn our

seluyn.

bai holdyn vs vnhardy hom for to negh,

Or with note for to noye now at pis tyme:

longe,

The more we procure our payne & our pure

shame.

5616 And ay the ferrer þat we fay our fare opon The longer we

delay the more

are we procuring our own ruin

his I hope in my hert & holly beleue,

Hade we sailit all somyn to pe Cité euyn, 5620 In our course as we came, & cast vs perfore,

Or any we hade ben warre, wonen of ship

Withouten hurt other harme to haue in the

dede,

5624 Or any lede to be lost, or hor lyue tyne.

Had we sailed straight to the city, we might have won it

We shuld lightlier haue laght pe lond at our easily;

wille :

Vs will gayne mykell greme er we ground haue: And ay the ser þat we sit our sore be pe harder. 5628 Therfore, sothely me semys, yf ye so wille, hat we dresse to our

Now are the war of our werkes, wetyn vs at but they are now

prepared for us.

hond,

183

sprynges;

All redy to rode, aray for our shippes,

Book XIV.

(fol. 87 b.)

Therefore, if ye so will, let us be

dede when pe day ready at day

break.

Iche wegh in his wede, as hym well likes, 5632 All boune vnto batell on his best wise.

Row forthe in a rape right to the banke,
Tit vnto Troy, tary no lengur;

And monly with might meve vnto londe, 5636 The ground for to get, gaynis vs non other.

If the Troiens with tene turne for to fight,
We wynnyt not of water but with
strokes ;

wight

Row right to the shore, and take up our position.

If the Trojans attack us we can rush upon them from all sides.