Saidon the same kyng sone after pis ;-
12644 'bat Dyamede be derfe, & doghty Vlixes,
To Palomydon in priuete presit to-gedur:
bai toldyn hym full truly, in hor trayn feble,
pat, doune in the dongyn of a dry pit,
12648 Was a gobet full grete, all of gold, hid,

Of tresoure of the toune, for takyng with fos.
Yf hym-self wold assent be soume forto gete,
In priuete to part, pat no prise wyst;

12652 Onon, at be nyght, bo nobill,' þai saidyn,
'Wold boune to be bonke barly hom-seluyn,
All be gold forto gripe, if hym gode likid.
ben be soueran assentid with a sad will;

12656 Dred no dyssait of his dere kynges.
Past furth to be pit priuely all,
Vne aboue to be bordur, & bodyn bere all.
ben þai fraynet qwiche freke, bat schuld first

enter:

12660 And Palamydon, be prise kyng, put hym þerto; Cast of his clothis cantly & wele,

And his hose in hast, highit hym doun.

When be prinse was past to be pit bothum, 12664 be buernes on be bonk bet hym with stonys, And euyn dang hym to deth in be derk hole, Left hym per lyond, & lurkit to paire tentis.'

Pus told was be tale, & full tru made,

12668 To be nobill kyng Nawle, of his nayt sone, -
Lappit with a ligher in his laith hate,
bat derit mony dughti, & drepit for ay.
Naule ben onon, for noy of bis tale,

Book XXXII.

The same liars told Nauplius that Diomedes and Ulysses shortly afterwards wiled Palamedes to a pit, wherein, they said, much gold was hid.

That, Palamedes, dreading no guile, offered to go down first.

(fol. 193 b.)

But as soon as
he reached
the bottom,
they beat him
dead with stones;
and stole back to
their tents.

Nauplius and Eax determine to avenge the death of Palamedes.

12672 With Othé his othir son, ordant belyue be grekis for to greue, & to ground bryng, ffor be sake of his sone, vppon sum wise. Hit was told hym for tru, in tyme of be wynter, They learn that 12676 be grekis with hor grym ost were gon to be se,

Book XXXII.

and must pass by their coasts.

The king orders fires to be lit at

night on the hills along the coast,

The Greeks sailing past by night, see the fires, and make for land.

Two hundred ships are dashed on the rocks;

the treasures and all on board are lost.

The crash and cry warn the vessels following; they

(fol. 194 a.) make for the open sea, and are saved.

Among those
saved were
Agamemnon,
Diomedes, and
Menelaus.

Eax is chagrined by the escape of Agamemnon and Diomedes and plans another mode of revenge.

In sound for to saile, & seche to paire londis, With all be tresour of troy, & be toune leuyt: Be any wise in bis world, wend hom behode 12680 By be cost in be cuntre per kyng dwellit.

ben be kyng, thurgh pe kyth, comand his men ffaire fyris & furse to ferke vppon hillis,

By a side of be se, bere bai saile most, 12684 On be mowntans mony in be myrk nyght. When bis done was in-dede, as be duk bad, be grete nauy in be nyght come onon after; Segh be fires so faire fast at here honde; 12688 Euyn bounet to be bonke barges & othir, fforto rest in pe rode of be rugh ythis; Letyn sailes doune slide sleghli & faire, Rut euyn to be rokkis with a rank will, 12692 þer were spandit & spilt in a spase litill,

Two hundreth hede schippis in a hond qwile ;-
All drownet with dole, dukis & othir,
With all be gold & be godes, pat pai getyn hade.

12696 be remnond, þat rode by be rugh bonkis,
Herd be rurde & be ryfte of be rank schippis,
be frusshe & be fare of folke pat were drounet,
And held hom on hofe in the hegh sea:

12700 All the skathes thai skepe of po skire hylles.
Among whiche menye, to myn hom by nome,
There was Agamynon the gret, & the good
Dyamede,

Menelay the mighty, & mony other kynges; 12704 Thies passet the perellis of the pale ythes, Houit on the hegh sea, held hom o ferre.

This Othe, I er said, the od sun of Naule,
Dissiret the dethe of the derf kynges, -

12708 Agamynon to grefe, & the gay Dyamede,-
And to hyndur hom in hast, & hit hap might,
And pai past to pere prouyns & no payn pole.

This Othe, with ournyng, ordant belyue 12712 Letturs, by a lede bat he leell trist,

To Agamynon gay wif, gert hym to beire, bat Clunestra was callid, as the clause tellus. To hir he certifiet sothely in his sad lettur, 12716 pat Agamynon had goten to his gay spouse, Of Priam a prise doghter, prayset full mekull: Hir he broght in his barge to his burgh hom, bat faire forto feffe in his fre londes:

12720 And ho mvn douteles be dede, & done fro hir right.

pan he counseld Clunestra, er þat cas fell To be war of þat wegh, & wait on hir-seluyn. The lady leuit the lettur þat the lede sent, 12724 And ponkit hym broly with bonks in hir hert: She compast by course, in hir clene wit,

How this vilany to venge, & voide of hir harme.

OFF THE DETHE OF AGAMYNON AND DE EXILE OF
DYAMEDE BY HERE WYUYS, FFOR THIS LETTUR.

Book XXXII.

He informs Clytæmnestra, wife of Agamemnon, that her husband had wed a daughter of Priam;

and was bringing her home to be his queen instead of herself.

He counsels
her to provide
for her own
safety.
Clytemnestra
believes the story,
and thanks Eax,

When this worthy of wothe wan to his Clytemnestra,

reame,

12728 Oute of perell and pyne of the pale ythes,
Clunestra, that clere, come hym agayne,
His worshipfull wife, with a wale chere;
Resayuit hym with Reuerence, as Renke to his

owne,

12732 With a faynond fare vndur fals thoght.
This Clunestra the clere, as the clause tellus,
ffor lacke of hir lord laiked besyde.

Whille he faryn was to fight in a fer lond,

12736 Sho spilt hade hir spousaile, sparit ho noght: And lodly in hir law the lady hade synnet. Engest, with his Japis, hade Justilet hir with, And getyn in his gamyn on the gay lady, 12740 A doghter bat was dere, in hor derne play.

on Agamemnon's
return, receives
him with great
show of love
and reverence:
(fol. 194 b.)

but she had
been false to him
during his
absence.

She loved a man named Ægisthus, by whom she had a daughter.

Book XXXII.

He is of low

degree, yet she loves him more than Agamem

non,

She arranges with him to murder her husband while he sleeps.

Agamemnon is murdered by Ægisthus, who

afterwards becomes king of Mycense.

Orestes, the son of Agamemnon, is sent by Talthybius to Idomeneus, lest Clytæmnestra should murder him.

(fol. 195 a.)

Eax sends a letter to Ægiale, the wife of Diomedes, stating that her husband had wed a daughter of Priam,

Nawther comyn was pat kyde mon of no kyng
riche,

Ne duke pat was doghty, ne no derfe erle;
Yet ho heght hym to haue, holé at his wille,

12744 All the Rioll rewme with renttes ynow.
This Clunestra vnclene cast with hir loue,
By assent of hom-selfe, sone at be night,
The bold kyng in his bed britton to dethe:
12748 All Slepond to Sle with sleght of hom bothe.
And so fell hit by falshode, fer in the night,
When the bold in his bed was broght vppon

slepe,

ban entrid this Engist, euyn as hym list,

12752 And, with a thricche in the throte, throtlet the

kyng.

When this Duke was dede, & done unto graue,
Clunestra at kirke couplit onone

This Engest, with Jolite to hir iuste spouse :
12756 Of Mechenas she made hym maistur & syre.
This Agamynon the gret hade a gay sone,
Consayuit of Clunestra, þat cald was Oresties:
He was yong & yepe, of yeris but lyte.

12760 Kyng Taltill hym toke for trist of his lyue,
And send hym full sone to a sure frynd,
Ydimius, for doute lest the derfe qwene
Mortheret hym with malice in the meane tyme.

12764 He was keppit full close, & with cleane hert,
And worshippit on all wise as bere wale son,
Ayre to bere herytage aftur hom-seluyn.

This Othe, I ere said, od son of Naule,

12768 To Egea, afturward egurly send,

The dere wife of Dyamede, dernly a lettur:
Gert the lady beleue on a laithe wise,

He hade puruait a prowde wife of Priames
doghter.

12772 This Egea, the gest sais, was a iust lady,

Book XXXII.

To Polence, the prise kyng, vne a pure doghter, (Polynices, King

(Kyng of Argonen cald in cuntres aboute)

And hade a brother full bold, & barly no moo. 12776 ffaire on hir fader syde, as fell hom by chaunse,

of Argos.)

All the londes full large of the lefe kyng,

Polence of price, þat was hir pure fadur,

Lefte to po litle, as his leue heires.

12780 pan partid was prestly the prise Rewme of Argos was left by

Argon,

Polynices to
Ægiale and
Assandrus her

Betwene Assandrus for-sothe, & his suster Egea. brother.
This Egea ajoinet to hir iust spouse,
Dyomede the dughty, with hir due part.

12784 Assandrus, for-sothe, sais me the lettur,
With Dyomed dernly dressit to wend
To the terage of Troy with a tore ost;
And er þai comyn to the company of be clene
grekes,

Assandrus and Diomedes, when conducting their forces to Troy,

12788 There all semblet were sothely at be same tyme,
bai past by a perty of be prouyns of Boys,
There Thelafus þat tyme was a tore kyng.
There bai bowet fro be barge to be banke syde,
12792 To solas hom a season with sum of hor pepull. Telephus.

Thelaphus with tene toke hit to hert,
bat bai light on his lond, & no leue hade:
He fore to bat folke with a fell chere,
12796 With a company clene, kyde men of armys.
There faght þai in fere with a felle wille,
And kild of pere knightes to be cold erthe.
This Assandrus, I said you, with a sad weppyn

12800 Mony dong to the dethe of his derf knightes:

go into the country of King

Provoked by this liberty, he attacks them.

A fierce battle ensues, and many fall on both sides.

(fol. 195 b.)

slain by

There-at Thelaphus hade tene, & turnet belyue, Assandrus is
Caght to a kene spere, cuttyng before,

Caupit euyn with the knight; kyld hym to
dethe.

12804 pan Dyomede with dole drogh hym vp sone,

Telephus.