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Book XXXI.

For four days

all goes well;

but on the fifth, the wind rises,

the sky darkens; thunder rolls;

(fol. 191 a.)

and lightning flashes over the whole heavens.

The storm raises billows like hills;

tosses the ships from crest to crest, and scatters them.

The waves dash over-board, and sweep all before them.

The ships of Telamon's band are burnt by

lightning; and all on board perish.

The ships of Oilens Ajax, thirty-two in

number, are also lost.

Clere was the course of the cold flodis, 12488 And the firmament faire as fell for the wintur.

Thai past on the pale se, puld vp hor sailes,

Hadyn bir at þere backe, and the bonke leuyt. ffoure dayes by-dene, & hor du nyghtis, 12492 ffull soundly pai sailed with seasonable windes. The fyft day fuersly, fell at the none,

Sodonly the softe winde vnsoberly blew ;

A myste & a merkenes myngit to-gedur; 12496 A thoner and a thicke rayne prublet in the skewes, With an ugsom noise, noy for to here;

All flasshet in a ffire the firmament ouer;
Was no light but a laite, pat launchit aboue;
12500 Hit skirmyt in the skewes with a skyre low,
Thurgh the claterand clowdes clos to the heuyn,
As the welkyn shuld walt for wodenes of hete.
With blastes full bigge of the breme wyndes,
12504 Walt vp the waghes vpon wan hilles :

Stith was the storme, stird all the shippes,
Hoppit on hegh with heste of the fflodes.

The sea was vnsober, sondrit the nauy;
12508 Walt ouer waghes, & no way held;

Depertid the pepull, pyne to be-hold,
In costes vnkowthe; cut down þere sailes,
Ropis alto rochit, rent vp the hacches;
12512 Topcastell ouerturnyt, takelles were lost.
The night come onone, noye was the more!
All the company cleane of the kyng Telamon,
With pere shippes full shene, & pe shire godis,.
12516 Were brent in the bre with the breme lowe
Of the leymond laite, pat launchit fro heuyn:
And euyn drownet in the depe Dukes & other!

Oelius Aiax, as aunter befelle,

12520 Was stad in the storme with the stith windes,

With his shippes full shene and the shire godes:

THE DESTRUCTION OF AJAX' FLEET.

Thrifty and priuaund, thretty and two

There were brent on the buerne with the breme

low,

12524 And all the freikes in the flode floterand aboue.

Hym-seluyn in the sea sonkyn belyue, Swalprit & swam with swyngyng of armys: 3et he launchet to londe, & his lyf hade, 12528 Bare of his body, bret full of water.

In the Slober & the sluche slongyn to londe,
There he lay, if hym list, the long night ouer,
Till the derke was done & the day sprang.

409

Book XXXI.

Ajax himself is washed ashore, almost dead.

(fol. 191 b.) Next morning

12532 And than wonen of waghes, with wo as pai he is discovered,

might,

pare sum of his sort, þat soght were to lond,
Laited pere lord on the laund syde,

If hit fell (hym) by fortune the flodes to passe.

12536 pan found þai the freike in the fome lye,

And comford hym kyndly, as pere kyd lord:
With worchip & wordes wan hym to fote,
Bothe failet hym the fode and the fyne clothes.

and revives.

(MS. has "hom")

12540 Thus pere goddes with gremy with pe grekes Thus was

fore,

Mighty Myner[v]a, of malis full grete,

ffor Telamon, in tene, tid for to pull

Cassandra the cleane out of hir cloise temple. 12544 Thus hit fell hom by fortune of a foule ende,

ffor greuyng þere goddes in hor gret yre.
Oft-sythes men sayn, & sene is of olde,

Minerva avenged, because Telamon dragged Cassandra from her temple.

Often, for the sin of one, many are

þat all a company is cumbrit for a cursed shrewe. punished. 12548 Now of kynges, & knightes, & othir kyd dukes, pat past of this perell in pes to pere londes, I will tell how hom tyde, while I tyme haue; And how fortune, full fell, forget pere end.

410

At this time

there lived in Greece a king called Nauplius, rich and

powerful.

(fol. 192 a.)

He had two sons with the Greeks at Troy.

The xxxij Boke: Of the Eesyng þat was made to Kyng Nawle; and of dethe of his son Palomydon.

12552 Thys ylke tyme of the toile, tellis the story, There wont a kyng on the coste, in a cuntre of

grece,

Hight Naulus to nome, an old man of age.

He hade londes full long, & of leue brede, 12556 And the grettist of Grise, of gronnde & of pepull. After a syde of the sea, sothely to telle,

Was a-party a prouynse, pight full of hilles, With roches full rogh, ragget with stones, 12560 At the full of the flode flet all aboue,

By the bourdurs aboute, bret full of rokkes. This noble kyng Nawlé hade naite sons two At Troy in the toile the toune for to wynne, 12564 Comyn in company of the kyde grekes, And fuerse men in fight, fell of hor dynttes. The first of po fuerse, and his fre ayre, Was Palomydon pe pert, a prise mon in were: and the younger, 12568 And the yonger of yeres yepely was calde Othe with all men, abill of dedis.

The elder was
Palamedes,

Eax.

Palomydon the pure, a prise mon of armys,
With a nauy full noble fro Naulus his ffader,

12572 Past with a pepull prowde of aray,

And turnyt vnto Tenydon, as I told haue.
The grekes, for his gretnes & his grym knightes,

THE LESING MADE TO NAUPLIUS.

Ordant hym Emperour by opon assent,
12576 And Agamynon degrated of his degre pan,
pat charget was for cheftan of po chere all.
pan Palomydon with Paris put was to dethe
With the birre of his bow, as I aboue rede,
12580 (But ay ledis with lesyng louys to noy,
In baret to bring, & buernis to hyndur:
So happit hit here), þat harmyt the grekes,
And mony doghty with dole vnto dethe broght.
12584 To this noble kyng Naule naitly was told

þat Palomydon, his prise son, put was to dethe
Vntruly by treason of his trist fryndes,

411

Book XXXII.

The Greeks appointed Palamedes their leader, instead of Agamemnon. He was slain

by Paris, but

some one told Nauplius that he had been slain treacherously by his friend Diomedes, at the

And noght in batell on bent as a buerne noble. order of Ulysses. 12588 Thai said Diamede the Duke hade don hym of

lyue,

By ordinaunse of Vlixes, to vtterauns for euer.
Thus lytherly po lyghers lappit pere tales,
And forget a faint tale vnder fals colour.

12592 Thai said Agamynon with gawdes, & pe gay

Dyamede,

Menelay with malis, & mighty Vlixes,

Thies ffoure in hor falshode had forget a lie,

And writen hit in wordes by pere will all.

12596 The tenure to telle truly was þis ;

'pat Palomydon the pure had purpost an end,
ffor to treite with the troiens in trayn of pe
grekes,

bat no whe shuld hit wete till hom wo happit; 12600 ffor a gobet of gold, to gripe of pe Cité,

All the Grekes to be-gyle, & to ground bring.
Thies letturs po ledis lete forto bynd

To a buerne on the bent, in batell was slayne. 12604 pan Vlixes the lord,' licherly pai saide,

(fol. 192 b.)

"That Agamem-
non, Diomedes,
Menelaus, and
Ulysses had
forged a letter
in his name,
offering to betray
the Greeks

for gold.

This letter they attached to a knight lying dead on the field. That Ulysses bribed a servant

of money (the sum stated in

'Preset to a pure mon of Palamydon the kyng, to place a sum
And of gold he hym gaf a full grete soume,
ffor to wirke o this wise, as the wegh bad:

the letter)

Book XXXII.

under the pillow of Palamedes.

The servant did 80:

and was slain by Ulysses, lest he should tell of the treason.

The letter was found on the

dead knight, and read to the

Greeks, who

at once went to the tent of Palamedes;

found under his pillow the exact sum of gold; and

(fol. 193 a.)

charged him with treason.

He asserted his innocence, and demanded the ordeal of combat.

No one dared to accept it, and he was assoiled.'

12608 þat he wold bogh to the bed of the bold kyng, And hade at his hede, pat he haue shuld.

pan he fot hom of florens a full fuerse soume: The gome grippet the gold, & his gate held;

12612 Turnyt to the tent of his tru lord;

Presit to pe pelow, & put hit euyn under. pan the freike, in his fare, fore to Vlixes, And said, all duly was done as the Duke bad. 12616 pan Vlixes, with vtteraunse, vne at the tyme, Gert britten þe buerne with a bare sword,

þat he no talis shuld tell of treson was cast. ben þe letters on þe laund, to þe led boundyn, 12620 Were foundyn with a freke of þe fyn grekis, And red to be rynkis, as pe roll saide,

Of pe cast by pe kyng, & knawen with all. pen pe grete of pe grekis, & pe gay kynges, 12624 ffull heghly in hate hadyn þe prinse.

Wightly po wale kynges wan to his tent, ffund a bag full bret, all of bright gold, Happit at þe hede of his hegh bed. 12628 Vne the selfe and the same sowmet before, As the ledis, in the lettur on the lande, fond. pan þai presit Palomydon with a proude fare, As a traytor vntrew, pat treason had wroght: 12632 But the freike hym defendit with a fyn chere With batell on bent, barly hym-seluon,

To trye out the truthe with his trist hond, On what buerne so was bold pe batell to take. 12636 And when no freike was furse to fight with hym

one,

Of all the grekes so grym thurgh the gret oste, pan Vlixes the lord, with his lefe wordes, Askewset the skathe & sklandur with all: 12640 He plesit the prince, & purgit his fame, And the folke with his flatery falsly dissayuit.' Yet thies lyghers vnlell, with hor laith speche,

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