Book XVI.

Again Hector and
Achilles meet.

Achilles is borne down, and barely escapes capture.

He remounts;

again fights with Hector;

and is sorely wounded,

Diomedes and
Troilus meet;

and smite each other to the ground.

Diomedes

remounts, and

with a sword

bursts the helmet

of Troilus, who

kills Diomedes' horse.

7244 And shot purgh pere sheltrons, shent of pe pepull.
ben auntred it eftsones pat Ector hym met,
As he fore purgh the feld he ferkit hym to,
And aither lede full lyuely lachit vpon other,

7248 pat his speire alto sprottes sprent hom betwene,

And he hurlet doun hedstoupis to be hard erthe.
Ector pat od kyng auntrid to take,

But he was put fro his purpos with prese of the

grekes;

7252 And reskewet full radly by renkes of his owne, Achilles highit in hast, and on horse wan,

And auntred vppon Ector a full od dynt.
He hit on his helme with a heuy sword,
7256 pat greuit hym full gretly, gert hym to stoupe;

But in his sadell full sound pe souerain hym held.
Vne wode of his wit for the wale stroke,
He choppit to Achilles with a chere felle;
7260 Heturly his helme hurlit in sonder,

þat the fas in the fell hast femyt on blode.
ffull big was the batell po buernes betwene!
Hade it last but a litle on pe laund so,

7264 Auther doutles had deghit of po derfe knightes;
But other batels full big vppon bothe haluys,
ffrusshet in fuersly po frekes betwene,
And depertid hom with prese of paire palo
dynttes.

7268 ben Diomede the derfe drogh into batell,

With mony grekes full grym of a gret will;
And Troiell with a tore folke turnyt hym agayne.
Boldly tho buernes bickryn to-gedur,

7272 That aither backward was borne & on bent lay;

But Diomede full dernly dressit vp first,

And wightly for all the woo wan on his horse; Swynget out a sword, swappit at pat other; 7276 Sundret the sercle of his sure helme.

þat other freke vpon fote, purgh his fyn strenght,

TROILUS CAPTURED AND RESCUED.

Book XVI.

Diomedes dere horse vnto dethe broght. And so the freikes on fote foghton to-gedur! 7280 But the grekes paire gay kynge getyn appoloft, Again they are

(fol. 113 b.)

mounted and fight together.

And the Troiens pat tother on a tried stede. ben foght pai in fere with pere felle swordes, And delt mony dynttes, po doughty in fere. 7284 But Diomede in daunger duly hym toke,

Troilus is
captured by

And turnyt with the Troien tomly away,
Wold haue broght furth the buerne to his big Diomedes, and
tent;

rescued by the
Trojans.

But he was tarriet with the Troiens, & tenit full

235

euyll,

7288 And wernit of his wille, pof hym wo thoght; His pray fro hym puld, & his pepull slayn. Then to batell was boune bold Menelaus, Hurlit in hastely with a hoge folke. 7292 Withoutyn tarying o pe tother side titly cam Menelaus and

Battle between the forces of

Paris.

Paris,

With mony triet knight of Troie, & the toile
entrid.

So bycceret pe batells vppon bothe haluys,
And Restoret with stithe men þe stoure was full
hoge!

7296 Mony doughty pat day deghit in the fild,

Mony wofully woundit, & wappid to ground! There was crie of kenmen, crussing of wepyn, All the bent of po buernes blody beronnen! 7300 Ector euermore egerly foght,

Breke of pere batell, britnet pere knightes, Mekyll greuit the grekes with his grete strenght, And kild all to kold dethe, pat countrid hym with. 7304 There come launchand o pe lond a lyuely yong

knight,

Now made at the note, & nomet Boethes.

He auntrid hym to Ector euyn at the tyme,
And pe mighty hym met with a main dynt ;

Hector makes havoc among the Greeks.

A young knight, Boetes, engages with him; and is cloven to the navel.

236

Book XVI.

Archilochus, to
avenge the death
of his cousin
Boetes, rushes on
Hector, and is
cloven down.
(fol. 114 a.)

Prothenor unhorses Hector; but is soon after

cut in two.

Prothenor, collects the Greeks, and charges on the Trojans.

DEATH OF ARCHILOCHUS AND PROTHENOR.

The Greeks break and flee to

7308 Carve hym euyn fro the creste cleane to pe nauell, hat he gird vnto ground & the gost yalde;

And sesit hys sure horse & a seruand betaght.

THE DETHE OF ARCHILACUS THE KYNG, BY ECTOR SLAYN.
Archilacus, a choise kyng & cheftain of grece,

7312 Se his cosyn so kild & cast to pe dethe,

Wold venge o pat velany in a vile hast,
And ayres vnto Ector Angardly swithe.
The Prinse hym persayuit & preset hym agayn;
7316 With the bit of his blade he bobbit hym so,
Thurgh the might of pe mon & pe mayn strenght,
He clefe hym to pe coler, & the kyng deghit.

He merkit hym in mydward the mydell in two, bat he felle to pe flat erthe, flote he no lengur. Achilles pan auerthward pis auntre beheld,

Achilles, enraged 7328 How Prothenor was perysshet, his aune pure

at the death of

his cousin

THE DETHE OF PROTHENOR, BY ECTOR SLAYN.

Prothenor, a pert knight, preset hym ner,
7320 Set hym a sad dynt Sydlyng by-hynd;
Vnhorsit hym heturly, er he hede toke.
But Ector in angur egurly rose,

Was horset in hast, hent to his sword,
7324 Preset to Prothenor in a proude yre;

cosyn:

He angurt hym full euyll, & egerd hym with,
ffor the dethe of pe dere his dole was þe more.
pen he gedrit the grekes with a grete yre:

7332 Of po kynges, þat were kild, & oper kene mony,
Wold haue vengit of pe velany, & pe vile harme.
pen preset pai full prudly, & pynet hom selfe.
The Troiens hom tenyt and tyrnit to dethe;
7336 Wet hom with woundes, warpit hom doun;
Greuit hom full gretly, gird hom abacke.
ben fled all in fere, & the fild leuyt,

THE GREEKS FLEE TO THEIR TENTS.

Turnyt to pere tenttes, pe troiens hom aftur, 7340 Slogh hom in the slade, slang hom to ground; Woundit hom wikkidly, walt hom of horse. bus neghet hom with noye, till pe night come; Left hom for late, launchet to towne ;

7344 Entrid in all somyn, euyn at hor wille;

ffore to pere Innes, & pus the fight endit!

237

Book XVI.

their tents. The Trojans pursue, and cut them down.

Night ends the

battle.

(fol. 114 b.)

Night.

The Greek leaders
meet in the tent
of Agamemnon
to plan how they
may accomplish
Hector's death.

They have no hope of taking the city so long as he lives.

238

xvij Boke. Off the Counsell of the Grekes ffor the Bethe of Ector / & pe iiiju Batell.

7360

Herkinys now a hondqwile of a hegh cas,
And I schall tell you full tomly how hom tide
aftur!

7348 When the day ouer drogh, & the derk entrid, The sternes full stithly starond o lofte;

All merknet the mountens & mores aboute;
The ffowles pere fethers foldyn to gedur.
7352 Nightwacche for to wake, waites to blow;
Tore fyres in the tenttes, tendlis olofte;

All the gret of the grekes gedrit hom somyn.
Kynges & knightes clennest of wit,

7356 Dukes & derffe Erles droghen to counsell,
In Agamynon gret tent gedrit were all.
There only was ordant of Ectors dethe,
With all Soteltie to serche opon sere wise;
ffor sothely pai saidon, and for sure holdyn,
But þat doghty were dede & his day comyn,
Thaim happynt not the herhond to haue of

hor fos.

He was fully the fens & the fyn stuff

7364 Of all the tulkes of Troy, pat hom tene wroght;

ffuerse on his foes, fellist of other,

And dethe to the derfe grekes delt hym aboute.
Then by ordinaunce of all men, as abliste perfore,