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AND THEIR COMPANIES.

He broght to be burghe, all of bold knightes,
Two thowsand pristie & pro men of wille.

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,
hat was mighty & monfull Merions brother.
Out of Tire come Theseus, tristé of hond,

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
Theseus and
his son
Archilochus with

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;
ffor in pis boke, of po bold, breuyt are none)
pai broght to pe burghe, buernes a thowsaund,

5520 And two hundrith by tale, all of triet knightes.
There come of a kyngdome, callid is Delissur,
Of an yle be-zonde Amysones, an abill mon of
wit,--

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:
He broght to pe bate of bold men a thowsaund,
And an archer an ugly, pat neuer mon hade sene. and A

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
in armys

And two, for to tell, pat to pe toune soght,
ffor to comford pat kyng & his cause forper.

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,
Of tried men & trusty, pat to Troy come.

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.
Wo so staris on pis story, or stodis perin,
5552 Take hede on pe harmys & the hard lures!
What mighty were marrit, & martrid to dethe ;—
Of kynges, & knightes, & oper kyde Dukes,
That paire lyues here lost for a light cause!
5556 Hit is heghly to haue, & of hert dryue

Soche sklaundur & skorne, þat skathis to mony;
And mene vnto mekenes for pe more harme !

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,
hat were heuy to hym for houyng so longe

5568 With anger at Attens, pere all were assemblit ;

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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,
And of Riches full Rife, & rankist of knightes.
5576 pai prayet pat prinse, all po prise kynges,
To be close in hor cause for his clene wit,

be true to their

And he grauntid full godely all with glad chere. He promises to
All thonkid hym po thristé, proly to-gedur.

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!
Now is 3epely a yere yarket to end,

5596 Syn we light in this lond & logget our seluyn,
And neuer dressid, ne drogh, to no dede ferre ;
Ne so hardy, fro pis hauyn to hale on our fos,-
ffor to turne vnto Troy, ne on pe toun loke.
5600 What dede haue we don, or dryuen to an end;
Or þe farrer in our fare fortherit our seluyn?
But ertid our Enmys, & angert hom noght;
Made hom wiser of werre, ware of our dedys,
5604 And by compas to caste to conquere vs all.
We sothely haue sene, & our selfe knowen,
Syn we come to pis coste & cairet no ferre,

The Troiens haue atiret hom with myche tor
strenght,

5608 paire Cité to saue, and hom selfe alse,

With new wallis vp wroght, water before,
And pals haue pai pight, with pittis and caves,

5612

THE COUNSEL OF DIOMEDES.

And other wilis of werre wroght for our sake,

That may hast vs to harme, & hindur our spede
With all fare pat may forthir, & filsyn our

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,
Iche wegh in his wede, as hym well likes,

All boune vnto batell on his best wise.
Row forthe in a rape right to the banke,
Tit vnto Troy, tary no lengur;

And monly with might meve vnto londe,

The ground for to get, gaynis vs non other.
If the Troiens with tene turne for to fight,

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 ;

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