ANTENOR ELECTED KING.

Tite for Antenor truly to send;

Make hym kyng of þis kith by comyn assent,
12348 ffor to kepe you fro care with a cleane wit;
In this lond for to lyue lengyng to-gedur,
Your fos to offend, & fylsyn your lyues."
All liked the lede for his lefe counsell,

12360 ffor to sese of his sute, & his sad yre:

They accept his counsel, and

12352 þai soght thurgh the Cité, & sent for Antenor; appoint Antenor. And he come to be comyns with a cant wille. Eneas with anger, after belyue,

Wold haue dungyn hym to deth, & deiret pe fals, 12356 ffor he was bigger in the burgh, boldir of kyn, Of ledys vppon lyue, lelly, pen he.

þan ros pai full radly, all the ronke pepull,
Somyn on a sop soghtyn to Eneas,

Syn hom happit so hard in hast þer before,
With hor fos to be felly ferkit to dethe,
bat no deire, ne no dethe, shuld dull hom

with-in

12364 To stir with no stryue, ne stroy hom no more.

403

Thies wordis to be weghis warpit Eneas:—
"There is no lede vpon lyue may so long suffer
Soche
traytor for tene, pat treason hase
wroght,
12368 And fowle with his falsyng hase feblit vs all,
In dole to endure the dayes of oure lyue.

With his gyle & his gawdis, the gay Pollexena,
bat was comyn of our kyng, & a cleane maidon,

12372 He made to be martrid purgh malice of hym:

And I, pat am outlawhit for euer of þis lond, ffro frendes & felowes, pat me faith ow; hat wold haue leuyt here my lyue in langour & woo, 12376 And haue counceld the comyns in hor case feble, Thus am flemyt to flight thurgh his false caste."

Book XXX.

He advises them to send for Antenor, and make him their king.

Eneas strives to crush him.

The Trojans
plead with
Eneas not to
stir up a new war.

Book XXX.

The Trojans consult together, and determine to exile Antenor.

Antenor with a

great company sets sail from

Troy.

They are attacked and

plundered by pirates.

where Tetides is king.

They reach Gela, 12392 Till they come to the coste of a cleane yle,

in Sicily,

Antenor founds a city;

surrounds it

with walls; and

names it

Melæna.

Than the comyns toke counsell, knightes &

other,

And the traytor Antenor from the towne flemyt, 12380 Neuer the Cité to se, ne his sute after;

And grauntid hym his gode & gate by a tyme.
Antenor full tite pan turnyt to ship,
With riches full Rife, & Relikes ynow;

12384 Shot on the shyre waghes shalkes full mony,
And soght furth on the se with the softe windes.
Tho pure men with payne on the pale sea,
Met with a menye, & mart of hom fele;
12388 Robbet þaire Riches, & refte of pere godes,

And myche torfer & tene tide of paire hondes.
ffro tho ledis at the last lawsit þai were,
With sorow & sad fight sailit away,

pat Gelanda aioynet was to the iust nome. There was a kyng in þe cost, þat the kith aght, Hight Thetides truly, tellis the writ,

12396 pat his prouyns & pepull peasably keppit
Mony wintur I-wis, & in wele leuyt.
There Antenor truly turnyt to lond

With a few of his feres, as fell hym by chaunse,
12400 On a plentious place, pleasaund to se
There fildis were faire, fresshe watur in,
And woddes to wale with wellis full clere.

There aboue on the bonke he bild vp a towne, 12404 By leue of the lord, þat the lond oght, With Riches full Rife & Relikes of troy, þat he broght in his barge to the bare yle. han he wroght vp a walle wightly abowte, 12408 With toures full tore the towne to defend.

pai cald hit a coynt nome, comyns & all,
Menelon, by mouthe, mighty & other.
When hit knowen was the case with comyns of

troy,

THE GREEKS CONSULT CASSANDRA.

12412 Of the plentius plase & plesaund of lyue,

Mony weghes thedur went, & wond in the toune, And Replenisshed the place & the playn londis. The kyng was full curtas, þat þe kith aght, 12416 Myche louyt he the lede & the lell pepull. ffor the wit of the wegh, & his wale dedis,

He was chosyn with pat choise chevest of councell,
And wele louit with the ledis of the lond all.

This

his Thelamon I told of, pat trayturly was slayn, Two sonnes of hym-selfe, sothely he hade, 12440 þat he wan on his wyfes, as pe writ sais.

The first of po fre faithly was cald

405

12420 Now turne wyll I tite, & take pere I leuyt,

To the grekes agayne in the gret toune.

wails the loss of all her kindred.

Cassandra the clere, the kynges owne doughter, Cassandra behat abode in the burgh with bale at hir hert, 12424 Hir modur & hir myld Suster mertrid to dethe, Myche water ho weppit, wailyng in sorow: Hit was ruth any renke, þat Rioll to se! When ho sesit o sicken, & sorow abated, 12428 The kynges into councell callit hir þan, To spir of hor spede, spekyn hir to: han purpast þai plainly to pas out of londe. The maidon to tho mighty menerly saide, 12432 Hom shuld happon full hard in a hond while : Agamynon the grete shuld grymly be slayn With meneye of pat mighty, þat he most louet; be slain. And othir fuersly be flemyt, & fallyn into angur.

They will pass through many perils, and Agamemnon will

12436 All happit hom to haue as the hynd saide, As I shall tell you full tite, & tary not long.

Emynent the mighty, with men pat hym knew,
Of Claustra the clere qwene, clennest of other :
12444 Antissas pat tothir, tellis the story,
Ethimyssa his make to the mon bere.

Book XXX.

It thrives well;

and Antenor

becomes second

to Tetides.
(fol. 189 b.)

The Greeks consult her regarding their return to Greece.

(See Note.)

406

Book XXX.

(fol. 190 a.) Agamemnon and Menelaus advise the Greeks to return home.

The Greeks will

not be advised by them:

but allow them to depart, if they please, while

the whole fleet
is making ready.

DEPARTURE OF AGAMEMNON AND MENELAUS.

Thies were gyuen to the gouernaunce of a gay kyng,

Heght Teucra, full tru, as the tale shewes, 12448 Tho noble to norisshe in hor nait yowthe, Till þai waxen were of wit & of wight dedis, And abill vntill armys, as pere astate wolde.`

Then Agamynon the grete & his gay brothir 12452 Asket leue at the lordes & the lege kynges,

ffor to wende to the watur in hor wale shippes, And turne out of troy & the toune leue; But the grekes to po grete grauntid hit noght, 12456 ffor pai hadon hom in hate & in hert straunge, ffor the dethe and the deire of the duke Thelamon, Syn Vlixes with vtteraunse auntrid to flight. Yet þai grauntid po grete the gate to the sea, 12460 And abide on the buernes in hor big shippes

Till all barges were boune & buernes within

And draghen furth to the depe as hom due thoght.

The xxxj Boke: Of the Passage of the
Grekys ffro Troy.

Hyt fell thus by fortune, pe fairest of pe yere 12464 Was past to the point of the pale wintur ; Heruest, with the heite & the high sun,

Was comyn into colde with a course low;
Trees, thurgh tempestes, tynde hade pere leues; trees had lost

The wynde of the west wackenet aboue,
Blowyng full bremly o the brode ythes;
The clere aire ouercast with cloudys full thicke, floods, told that

their leaves, and
birds had ceased
to sing;
westerly winds,
and clouded
skies, with mist,
and rain, and

winter was near,

12468 And briddes abatid of hor brem songe;

12472 With mystes full merke mynget with showres; fflodes were felle thurgh fallyng of Rayne,

And wintur vp wacknet with his wete aire.

The gret nauy of the grekes & the gay kynges, 12476 Were put in a purpos to pas fro the toune. Sore longit po lordis hor londys to se,

And dissiret full depely, doutyng no wedur;
bai counted no course of the cold stormys,

12480 Ne the perellis to passe of the pale windes.
Hit happit hom full hard in a hond qwile,
And mony of po mighty to misse of hor purpos.
Thus tho lordes in hor longyng laghton pe watur,

Autumn was becoming colder;

12484 Shotton into ship mong shene knightes,

(fol. 190 b.)

when the fleet was ready to sail.

Longing for

home, and suspecting not the approaching perils,

they set sail with all the treasures

With the tresowre of pe toune, pai token before, of Troy.
Relikes full Rife, & miche ranke godes.