CASSANDRA AND POLYXENA.

129

Book VIII.

was tall and

(fol. 62 b.)

little.

An delited hir deply in dedis of charité.

Andromache, Andromaca, auenonde abill of person,

wife of Hector, Worthy Ector wyfe, was a we faire.

stately, 3984 Long body hade the burdde, bright of hir colour, with bright clear

eyes, ruddy Ho was mesurably made, as be mylke white. cheeks and lips,

and golden hair. Hir ene flamyng fresshe, as any fyne stones.

Rud as pe Roose roikede in hir chekes. 3988 Hir lippes were louely littid with rede.

Gilde hores hade þat gay, godely to se.
Most onest of other euer in hir tyme,

And all hir dedis full duly done by a mesure. 3992 Cassandra the clere was a Clene Maydon,

Cassandra,
Semely of a Sise, as the silke white,

daughter of

Priam, was of Womonly wroght, waike of hir colour,

seemly size and

mould, but pale, Godely of gouernaunce, and gleyit a litle. and squinted a 3996 Of wemen werkes wilnet ho none,

Most was hir mynde hir maidonhede to kepe.
Mony cas for to cum ho be course wiste,

By artys of astronomy, & ame of hir wit, -
4000 By staryng on the sternys thurgh hir stithe lore.
Polexena the pert was prise of all other,

Polyxena was by Of feturs & fourme the fairest on lyue ;

daughters.
ffull tendur of hir tyme, triet of hewe.
4004 Of hir fairnes fele may no freike telle,

Ne no wegh has wit ne wordys perfore,
ffor to labur so longe of hir lefe shap ;

But truly I telle as pe text sais,
4008 Ho was of bewte aboue all borne in hir tyme,

Her beauty bamles

all description. To wale þurgh the world of wemen bydene, Alse noble for pe nonest as natur cold deuyso,

To paint in yche place thurgh his pure study, 4012 (bat errit not in anythyng of abilté þer,

Saue he demyt hir dedly, when hir day come.)
And ay cheriste hir chastite with a choise wille,

To pat abundaunse of bewte ho was best norisshed. 4016 Witté to wale, wantid no thewes ;

She was well skilled in astronoiny.

far the fairest of Priam's

Book VIII.

Thus Dares represents those noted ones of Greece and Troy:

Voidet all vanities, & virtus dissyret.
bus Dares in his dyting deuyses be shap

Of þese freikes in fere, þat I before tolde ;
4020 Of kynges & knightes & oper clene ladies ;

Of Dukes by-dene, þat were dere holden ;
Of the gretist of Grece, & of gret Troy,
bat he hade comyng with in company, & knew

well þe persons,
4024 As the worthiest to wale & wildest in Armys.

Of these nomly to neuyn, & nobill men other,
How þai bere hom in batell, I buske me to say ;

And telle how hom tyde, whill I tyme haue.-4028 Stir fuorth to our story, & stynt here a while.

(fol. 63 a.)

and now to our story of what befell them.

Neynt Boke. Of the Nowmber of Shippes

and the Nauy of the Grekes.

Winter was now past,

Comyn was by course þat the cold wyntur
Was wastid & went with his wete shoures.

ffrostes were faren, and the fell cold ; 4032 The slippond slete slidon of the ground ;

filodys were fallyn into furse vales,
And into caues be course cleufit the erthe.

Wyndis wastid away, warmyt the ayre ; 1036 The rede beames aboue blusshet with hete; Ver entrid full euyn, eger with all.

and Spring had

opened, The sun in his serkyll set in þe last,

Passyng fro pisshes vnder playn course; 4040 ffeueryere faryn with his fuerse windes

At the metyng of Marche with his mayn droghte.
The grete Nauy of Grekes with a grym oste,

and the great Entrid into Attens, euyn at hor wille ; 4044 And holly in hauyn þere houyt þai to-gedur,

ffor to rest in pe Rode & hor rede take.
Now wete yche wegh, þat writyng beholdis,

Or þat stares vpon stories, & stirs in bokys,
4048 þat syn the firmament was fourmed, & folke

vpon erthe,
Syche a Nauy was neuer of nowmber to-gedur; Never had suen a
Ne soche a company clene of knightes & other ; collected.
Ne so fele feghtyng men in a fflete somyn.

(fol. 63 6.) 4052 Of the worthy þere were, thus be write sais :

navy of the Greeks entered the harbour of Athens.

Book IX.

Agamemnon had 100 ships;

Menelaus from Sparta had 60 ships.

(Sparta) (Bæotia)

Arcesilaus from
Bæotia and king
Protheus had 50
ships.

(Sicyonia)

Ascalaphus and his brother Jalmenus with 30 ships.

Agamynon the gret, was gide of hom all,
Leder of po lordis, fro his lond broght
A hundrith shippes full shene with sharp men

of armys,
4056 Pight full of pepull & mony prise knight.

Menelay the mighty, þat was his mete brother,
Come fro his kingdom with clene shippes Sixti,
With nobill men for þe nonest a nowmber full

hoge,
4060 And sped hym fro spart his awne spilte Rewme.

Out of boyse was þere brought with bold men

two,
Archisalus was an, auntrus in werre,

And Protheno, a prise kyng, prestly þat other. 4064 In hor company come clene shippes fyfté,

With abill men of armys, auntrus in fight.
ber suet of Siche semly men two, -

Ascalaphus, a skathilduke & skant mon in wer, 4068 And Helminus, a hede vrle, hadyn to-gedur

Thretty shippes full shene o pe shire water,
With barons of the best & bold men within.

Ephistaphus, a pert kyng & prinse out of focce, 4072 And Tedius þat tothir, þat was his trew felowe:

ffyfty shippes in fere folowet hom two,
With a company of knightes cast for the wer.

Telamon, the tore kyng, tide for to haue
4076 ffyfty shippes full faire of his fuerse Rewme ;

And of the Cité of Salame, þut suyt hym aster,
In his company come mony clene Dukes,

And Erles also, with mony gret lordis.
4080 The Duke of Teucor, to telle truly, was þere ;

Amphimakus also, auntrus in wer;
Donori, the derfe Erle, & doughty Theseus.

Nestor, the nobill Duke, þat was an old man, 4084 ffore out of Phylon with fyfti gret shippes.

Toax fro toylé, þat was a true kyng,

Epistrophus, king of Phocis,

hialine her Tedius, with 50 ships.

Telamon, king of
Salamis, with
50 ships.

Teucer,
Amphimacus,
Dinres, and
Theseus.
Nestor from
Pylus, with
50 ships.

(fol. 64 a) Thons from Atolia,

AND THEIR SQUADRONS.

133

Book IX.

others.

Eumelus from

Protesilaus from

Machaon and
Podalirius from

ffyfte shippes in fere to the mete broght.
Aiax celius, aunterous in werre,

with 50 ships

Ajax Oilous, with 4088 Thretty shippes full thriste throng into hauyn ; 8o ships, and 6

And sex of a sort þat suyt hym after.
Polibos, a proude kyng, & his pere Amphimake, — Polybetes and

Amphimacus from hai come out of Calydon with a clene pepull ; Calydon, with

80 ships. 4092 And foure scoure fyne shippes to the flete broght. Out of Trasy þere turnet triet Vlexes the kyng, Ulysses froin

Thracia, with With fyfty, in a furthe, all of fuerse vesell. 50 ships. Duke Melios the mighty met in a hauyn,

Pheræ, with 11 4096 And soght fro his Cité sothely of Pygre,

slips. With Eleron od shippes abill to werre. Poterhas & Protesselon, po proude Dukes twoo, Podarces and bai fecchid out of Philace, þat was þere fre londe, Phylace, with 50

ships, 4100 ffyfté shippes in fere, & fore vnto Attens.

Machaon & Polidus, pris kynges bothe,
Turnyt out of Trision, & triet shippes broght Trica, with 32

ships.
Two & thretty full thryuond, & þrong into prise.
4104 Out of Phithes, pe faire Cité folowet Achilles,

with 50 ships. ffifté slippes full shene strode fro pe depe. Kyng Thelephus tomly toke from his hauyn, Telephus, king of

Mysia, with 12 Twelue shippes well shapon, & shalkes within, ships. 4108 of his Rewme noght Riche, Rodan was cald. (Rhodes) Rufirus the ryche raght fro his Rewme,

Euryalus from

Sicyon, with pat Sicham was said sothely to nome;

50 ships.
And fyfté shippes full shene folowet hym after.
4112 Two Dukes full derke droghen in fere,

I shall neme you þere nomes now, er I pas :-
Antius & Amphimake, auntirous in werre. Antiphus and

Amphimachus bay were lordes of a londe pere ledis in dwelt, from Elis, with

40 ships. That were bioustious of beiryng, byg men with all, (fol. 64 b.) Enerdond by hor one, & Elyda hit hight. pai broght to the Brym XL bigge shippes. Polibethes, a proud kyng, pert of his dedis, Polyportes, with

11 ships. 4120 He broght to the brym barges eleivan,

Prothylus, or Prothylus, a pert kyng, put on the water 50 ships.

Achilles froin
Phthiotis,

4116

Prothous, with