AND THEIR COMPANIES. He broght to be burghe, all of bold knightes, Iche shalke hade a shild shapyn of tre, 5500 Wele leddrit o lofte, lemond of gold, 179 Book XIII. He brought to the city 2000 warriors, with shields ornamented with gold and precious Pight full of prise stonys vmbe the pure sydes. stones. This Philmen, pis fre, was a fuerse man of shape, Of largenes & lenght no lesse pen a giaund. 5504 Of More Ynde come Merion, a mighty kyng alse, With Perses, a proude kyng, and a pert knight, With Dukes full doughty, and derfe Erles mo, bat subiect were sothely to be same Perses, 5508 With pre thowsaund pro knightes, prepond in wer; And Symagon, sothely, com with the same kyng, 5512 And Archillacus also, þat was his aune son, From Ethiopia came Merion and Perses with many Dukes and Earls, and 3000 knights. From Tyre came With knightes in hor company, clene men a 1000 knights. thowsaund : He was cosyn, by course, to the kyng Priam. Two kynges pere come of a clene yle, 5516 pat Agestra, þe ground geuyn is to nome. (Of po kynges, pat I carpe, know I no nomes; 5520 And two hundrith by tale, all of triet knightes. A discrete man of dedis, dryuen into age, 5524 And a sad mon of sciens in the seuyn artis, From the island of Agestra came two kings with 1000 men and 200 knights. From the kingdom of Delissur (fol. 86 a.) came Epistaphus with 1000 men; Epistaphus, to preue, was his pure nome: 5528 He was made as a mon fro pe myddell vp, meruclouse archer,' half-man, And fro the nauyll by-neithe, vne an abill horse, half-horse. Book XIII. His body was covered with thick hair; and his eyes 'flammet as the fire.' The number of Priam's allies was 32,000. Never since the world began had And couert as a capull, all the corse ouer, ffro pe hed to be hele, herit full thicke. 5532 His Ene flammet as the fire, or a fuerse low, fferfull of fase, & hade a felle loke, pat pe Grekes oft greuit & to grem broght. Mony woundit pat wegh & warpit to dethe, 5536 ffor he was boumon of the best, & bold of his dedis. The nowmbur of þes noble men, þat I nemmyt haue, bat come with thes kynges and other kyde Dukes, Withoute Priams pouer of his prise rewme, 5540 Were thretty thowsaund pro knightes priuond And two, for to tell, pat to pe toune soght, Syn þe world was wroght, & weghis perin, such an army been 5544 Was neuer red in no Romans, ne in ronke bokes, brought together. So fele fightyng folke in hor fuerse yowthe, Of knightes & clene men comyn to-gedur, While on the side 5548 And of the grekes, þat were gedrit in a grym ost, of the Greeks, there was the very flower of knighthood. (fol. 86 b.) Of knighthede to count pere was the clene floure, ffor to wale purge the world, as pe writ tellis. Soche sklaundur & skorne, þat skathis to mony; xiiij Bok. How the Grekys sailet from Tenydon to Besege the Cite of Troy: And of stronge fight at þe Ariuaill. DRESSE will I duly to dem of my werkes, 5560 How thai wenton to werre, tho worthy to-gedur. Er þai turnyt fro Tenydon, & token þe se, Palomydon, the proude kyng, presit into hauyn,That was Naulus son pe noble, & his next aire,5564 With xxxti shippes full shene, shot full of pepull ffull onest & abill of his owne lond. At wose come all the kynges kyndly were fayn, 5568 With anger at Attens, pere all were assemblit ; sickness. And he excuset the skathe, pat he skape might, at Athens through ffor sore sickenes & sad, pat hym selfe polet. bis Palomydon was pert mon, & prise of his dedis, 5572 He was grete with the Grekes, & godely honourit; ffor he was most full of men, & mighty of londes, Bothe of fuersnes of fight & of fre counsell, be true to their And he grauntid full godely all with glad chere. He promises to cause. Book XIV. (fol. 87 a.) The Chiefs then propose to attack the city during the night but all are afraid, and the plan is dropped. They then adopted the plan 5580 Then the grete of the Grekes gone into counsell, How pai best might in batell pe burgh to assaile. And pen þai purpast hom plainly, in the pure night ffor to dresse for pat dede, er pa day sprange. 5584 But the ffreikes were ferd of hor fre shippes, ffor to caire by the coste, & knew not the waches; Or to remeve fro rode for rokkes in þe se, Or to wyn to be walles, wachid, hom thoght, 5588 ffor los of hor lyues and hor lefe knightes : And so pai put of pat purpas, & past to another. THE COUNSELL OF DYAMEDE TO STIRRE TO BE CITE. When all counsels were kyde and carpit to end, bai didyn after Dyamede, & demyt hit pe best, of Diomedes, who 5592 pat said hom full sadly all in softe wordes: said, "Ye worthies! It is now a year since we came to this land, and what deed have we done, or how much nearer are we to our end? We have only made our enemies wiser in war. Since we came here, the Trojans have greatly strengthened themselves. "Ye worthy to wale, wonder me thinke, Of our dedis so dull why we dure here! 5596 Syn we light in this lond & logget our seluyn, The Troiens haue atiret hom with myche tor 5608 paire Cité to saue, and hom selfe alse, With new wallis vp wroght, water before, 5612 THE COUNSEL OF DIOMEDES. And other wilis of werre wroght for our sake, That may hast vs to harme, & hindur our spede seluyn. bai holdyn vs vnhardy hom for to negh, Or with note for to noye now at pis tyme: 183 Book XIV. (fol. 87 b.) 5616 And ay the ferrer þat we fay our fare opon The longer we longe, The more we procure our payne & our pure shame. his I hope in my hert & holly beleue, Hade we sailit all somyn to pe Cité euyn, 5620 In our course as we came, & cast vs perfore, delay the more are we procuring our own ruin Had we sailed straight to the city, we might have won it We shuld lightlier haue laght pe lond at our easily; wille : Or any we hade ben warre, wonen of ship Withouten hurt other harme to haue in the dede, 5624 Or any lede to be lost, or hor lyue tyne. Now are the war of our werkes, wetyn vs at but they are now hond, prepared for us. Vs will gayne mykell greme er we ground haue: And ay the ser þat we sit our sore be pe harder. 5628 Therfore, sothely me semys, yf ye so wille, hat we dresse to our dede when pe day ready at day 5632 5636 sprynges; All redy to rode, aray for our shippes, All boune vnto batell on his best wise. And monly with might meve vnto londe, The ground for to get, gaynis vs non other. Therefore, if ye so will, let us be break. Row right to the shore, and take up our position. If the Trojans attack us we can We wynnyt not of water but with wight rush upon them from all sides. strokes ; |