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HECTOR AT THE BODY OF PATROCLUS.

6444 But Glaucon the grete, with a grym batell,

Theseus, pe tore kyng, turnyt hym agayn,

With iij. M. pro men pronge hym aboute,

And socurd the same kyng with hor sad helpis.

6448 But the first of po frekes pat he fell to,

209

Book XV.

rescued by
Glaucus.

Was Archilacus, a choise kyng, hym cheuit The Dethe of

full ille:

The buerne, with his bare sword, bere hym to

dethe,

bat he felle of his fole flat to pe ground! 6452 Mony on he martrid at the meane tyme!

Archilacus by
Ector Slayne.

(fol. 100 b.)

The pruddist, þat hym preset, plainly he slogh.
Breme was the batell on the bent þan!
Mony stithe, in the stoure, stale fro pere lyues. Hector alights to

The battle rages fiercely; yet

despoil Patroclus;

6456 Yet Ector, eftsones, ettillit to assay,

And Patroclus proud geere preset to haue.

He light doune full lyuely, lettid he noght,
And bounet to pe body, pere the buerne lay.
6460 pen come pere a kyng with kene men of armys,
Idymynus, full dernly, & dressit hym to,

With two thowsaund pro knightes, & pronge
hym aboute:

And Myrion, þat I mynt, with his men all.
6464 Thay preset so the prince with power of knightes,

þat þai warnit hym his wille, & away put:

But fele dynttes he delt, & to dethe cast,

And other weghis hym with woundet the grekes.

Idomeneus and Merion with their men throng towards him to prevent it.

6468 When he segh þat hym-selfe was set vppon fote, Seeing himself

And so fele of his fos fuerse hym aboute,

All horset but he, & on hegh set,

He aforset hym felly with his fyn strenght;

6472 Gird to the grekes in his grete yre.

Mony woundis he wroght, weghis to dethe;
Hondes of hew heturly fast t;

Mony foteles freike of his fell dinttes;

6476 ffele horses with his hond hew he to dethe,

surrounded by so
many mounted
knights, he girds
at the crowd
with all his
might,-

slashes right and left, till he makes way for himself.

Book XV.

Till all shent fro pat shene, & pe shalke leuyt!
So he rid hym a rowme in a rad hast,

Of po tulkes, with tene, pat hym take wold.

Merion presses to 6480 Than Merion, pe mody kyng, þat I mynt first, Presit to Patroclus in place pere he lay,

the body of

Patroclus, and

bears it to his

tent.

The Greeks so press around

Hector, and

attempt to capture his horse, that it is impossible to remount.

(fol. 101 a.)

A faithful servant of the prince

strikes down the knight Carion, and another:

then calls on the Trojan knights to rescue their leader.

Braid vp the body on his big horse,

And so the freike hym before ferkit to his tent. 6484 Now the grekes with grem gedrit vnto Ector, His horse for to haue, & hym away lede.

Thay caupit at the knight, kene men of armys,
bat the wegh on no wise might wyn on his horse.
6488 In pat company kene was a knight noble,
That Carion was cald by his kynd nome,
ffull ernestly with Ector auntrid to fight;
Gaf hym dinttes full dedly, & derit hym mekill.
6492 But a souerain seruand of þe same prinse

Segh his maistur at mischefe amonges his fos;
Two speirus full dispitus he sparet to cast,
hat fuerse were before & of fell bite.

6496 At the knight Carion cast he þat one,

As he mellit with his maistur, merkit hym euyn, Hit hym so hitturly with a hard dynt, bat he gird to pe ground, & pe gost yalde. 6500 pen anoper, þat was next, noyet hym alse, Mellit with his maistur at pe mene tyme,

The tother speire, pat he sparit, spent vpon hym: Brochit hym prough pe body pat pe buerne swalt. 6504 Then criet he full cantly þe knightes vpon,

And the tyde men of Troy, with a tore steuyn,
In hast for to hye to perc hed prinse,
þat in perell was put in plite to be slayn.

Synabor, a natural 6508 pen Synabor, forsothe, with a sad pepull,

brother of Hector,

with his company

dashed upon the

Greeks; slew

thirty of them; and succoured

Hector.

Neghit to be note,-his naturall brother;

He come to be crye with a cant will, And gird to the grekes mony grym dynt, 6512 ffelled mony fuerse men with his fyne strenght,

BUT CUTS HIS WAY OUT.

Made wais full wide, wan to his lord,

Halpe hym full hertely, hurt of his fos;
Gird hom to ground, & to grym dethe.

6516 Thretty of pe proest he pronge out of lyue:
Mony weghis he woundit & warpit to erthe!

pen the troiens full tyt tokyn þere hertes,
ffell of hor fos with a frike wille,

6520 Getyn pere ground with a gret strenght,
And frusshet pere fos fer vppo backe.
ffuerse Ector was fayn of his fyn helpe,

6524

And as wode as a wild bore wan on his horse.

Book XV.

211

The Trojans thus assisted take heart and drive the Greeks back.

Hector remounts his horse, and

(fol. 101 b.) pressing fiercely

He shouuyt þurgh his sheltrum, shent mony on the enemy,

grekes,

And mard of po men, out of mynd fele;

Gird hom to ground with mony grym hurt.

All þat met hym with malis in pe mene tyme,

6528 Auther dyet of his dynttes, or were ded wondit.

6532

cuts them down

on all sides.

break and flee.

The grekes, for pe greuaunce, gyuen hym þe way, In terror they ffled all in fere, ferd of hor dethe.

Mony batell he broke, myche bale wroght,

All his wedis wex wete of hor wan blode :
ben found he no frekes to fraist on his strenght,
Ne non so derfe to endure a dynt of his hond.
Then Menestaus, pe mighty, with his men hole,
6536 The Duke of Athens full derf, drogh into batell,
With pre thowsaund pro men, priuond in armys,
And other folke full fuerse, pat the freike hade.
He launchit in o pe left side with his ledis all,

6540 There Troilus the tried, turnyd to fight

With the frigies fell, þat pe freike lad,
bat myche greuaunce & grem to be grekes did;
With Alcanus, a kyng, a kid man of strenght,
6544 And Machaon, the mighty, with his men all:
Xantipus the same batell sothely was pen.

There mynget pai pere men, machit hom to-gedur;
Mony dedly dint delt hom amonge!

Menesteus, Duke his division joins

of Athens, with

battle with

Troilus, Machaon,

Alcanus, and

Xantippus.

Book XV.

Troilus is un

horsed, but still fights bravely.

Menesteus and his knights surround him.

(fol. 102 a.)

He is captured

and led away to their tents.

6548 Big was the batell vpon bothe haluys,

And myche slaghtur in slade, & slyngyng to

ground!

Troilus, in the toile, turnyt was of hors,

ffaght vppon fote felly agayne:

6552 Mony woundit the wegh of his wale fos.
Menestaus, the mighty, mainly beheld,

Segh Troiell in toile, & tynt had his horse,
ffoght vppon fote in pe fuerse batell,

6556 And myche harme with his hond happit to do.
Then aforsit hym the freike with his fuerse

knightes,

Troilus to take and to tent lede.

Presit hym full prudly with his prise folke, 6560 Halit hym fro horse fete, & in hond toke. Then he led hym furthe lyuely, and his wille

But Miseres calls
upon the Trojans
to rescue Troilus, 6564

or be disgraced.

Alcanus, with a great spear, presses after the Greeks, who

guard Troilus.

hade.

But a mon of pat mighty, þat Myseres was cald,
To the frigies in fere felly he saide ;-

"Alas! ledis of pis lond, þat ye lyfe haue!
Wherto bounet ye to batell in your bright geire,
Whethur worship to wyn, or willfully shame?
Se ye not the sun of youre sure kyng,

6568 With torfer be takon, & turnyt away?

If ye let hym be led furthe, your lefe haue ye tynt,

And of sham, þat be shapyn you, shent be ye

neuer.

Mellis you with monhod & might of your

seluyn,

6572 To Restore the rynke in a rad hast,

Er he be led out of lenght, & lost of your sight,
And past fro your pouer thurgh the prese hoge!"
Then Alcanus, the kyng, kyndlit in yre,
6576 Gird after the Grekes, with a grete speire,

bat Troilus hade takon, hym tenyt full ylle.

THE RESCUE.

So he frusshet to a freike, pat the fre led, bat sodenly he seit doun, soght out of lyue; 6580 And anoper, anon, he nolpit to ground,

Shent of po shalkes, shudrit hom Itwyn.

So fuersly he fore, and freikes pat hym halpe, bat Troilus was takyn, & turnyt furth louse, 6584 And don out of daunger for the due tyme.

The freke pen in fuerse hast ferkid on horse, Grippit to a grym sword, gird on his fos, ffor to comford the kyng, þat hym caght hade. 6588 his Xantipus soght forth with a sad dynt To Mynestaus with might, & pe mon hit, That pe freike hade ben fay but for his fyn

armur.

Then Menestaus mournyt, & mykell sorow hade,
6592 That Troilus, pe triet, was takyn of his hond,
And afforsit hys frekys to pe fight harde :
He gedrit all hys gomys in a grete hate.
be fyght was fel po frekis betwene;

6596 Mony derf, to pe deth, vndur dyntes yode;
Mony buerne on the bent bytturly wondyt;
Mony knyghtys were kyld to pe cold deth!
Ector was euermore Eger with-all;

6600 Mony weghys in hys wrath welt to pe ground;
Mony Slogh in þe slade purgh sleght of hys hond;

And sore greuyt pe Grekys with his grete dyntys. Menestaus pe mighty, þat mekill was in yre, 6604 ffor he faylit of pe freke, pat he first toke, As he rod purgh þe rout with his roid fare, be troiens to tene with his tore strenkyth, He met with pis Myseres at pe mene tyme, 6608 By qwom he lost pe lord, þat he laght hade. He knew hym full lyuely by colore of his armys, And frunt euyn to pe freke with a fell spere, Hurlet hym to hard vrthe vndur horse fete;

6612 But pe lede vppon lyue leuyt he pen,

Book XV.

213

(seit = sied dropped.) Rushing upon them, he scatters them, and sets Troilus free.

(fol. 102 b.) Menesteus, grieved that Troilus had been rescued, urges his men to be revenged.

Menesteus meets with Miseres, who

had rescued

Troilus, and hurls

him to the earth.

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