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النشر الإلكتروني

Book XIV.

Therefore, delay

no longer.

The attack must be made."

All were pleased with this counsel

(fol. 88 a.)

and determined to follow it.

At day-break all are ready.

One hundred ships with fierce men and all sorts of missiles to annoy the enemy are sent first

then, another squadron of one

And with fightyng full fell with a fuerse pepull,
5640 To set vp on yche syde vppon sere haluys.
perfor, lause of our lyuys, leng we not here;
Put of all purpos, prese on our gate!
This bus duly be done, dem we non other,
5644 Syn we wyn to our wille be no way ellis."
All plesit the prinse with his prise wordes,

And the dom, pat he dulte, duly was kept.
When the derke was done, and the day sprange,
5648 All the renkes to row redyn hor shippes,
Halit out of hauyn to the hegh see,

There plainly thaire purpos putto an end.
Who fare shuld be-fore, of po felle kynges,
5652 And wo kepit his cours for to caire after,
Thus demyt thes dukes on the depe water:—
A hundrith of hede shippes to hale on before,
Sadly to saile on pe salt waghes,

5656 With baners o brede bret for þe werre;
The forcastels full of fuerse men of armys,
With shot & with shildis shalkes to noy.
Anoper hundrith, anon, negh sone aftur,

hundred; and the 5660 With sailes vp set on þe same wise,

whole fleet

follow.

When they reach

the city, the sails

are dropped;

boats are

All wroght for the werre & wight men perin. pen folowet all the flete fast oponon,

Euyn kepyn hor course, as pai kend were, 5664 Turnet euyn to be toune, tariet no lengur, Till o sithen pai segh pe Cité at hond,

And the bonkes aboute to pe bare walles.

Then þai turnyt hor tacle tomly to ground,

lowered; and all 5668 Leton sailes doun slide, slippit into botes,

make for the

land.

Launchet vp to the lond lyuclé bedene,
Buernes buskit vnto bonke; bold men in hast,
Thoght be ground for to gete, & no grem suffer.

But the Trojans saw their boats

THE HARD ARIVALL OF THE GREKES.

5672 But the Troiens, truly, þes tourfer beheld,

THE BATTLE AT THE LANDING.

How the filete of pere fos fell to pe bonke, And armyt hom [at] all peces abill to fight; Lepon vpon light horses, lappit in stele; 5676 Withouten leue of the lege, or pe leffe prince, Bowet euyn to pe banke or pai bide wold ; Out of rule or aray raungit on lenght.

The Grekes in the gret shippes graidly beheld,

185

Book XIV.

making for the bank, and mounting their horses dashed down to prevent the landing.

(fol. 88 h.)

The Greeks marvel at the

5680 Segh the pepull so plaintiouse, presaund in number and

armes,

The bonke to forbede, bold men ynow:

Thai hade meruell full mekyll in hor mynd all, To se the gouernaunce graithe, & the grete chere, 5684 How wisely po werriours wroghten vndur shild. There was no Greke so grym, ne of so gret wille, Durst abate on po buernes, ne to bonke stride; Ne afforse hym with fight to ferke out of ship. 5688 But for hom gaynet no ground to get at pe tyme,

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But þurghe strenght of strokes, & of strong fight, Seeing there was
And with batell full big on a breme wise,

pai armyt hom at all peces all the ost well,

5692 Wonyn to pere weppons wyghtly by-dene,

nothing to be got but by hard fighting, at length they seizo their weapons and drive to

And girdyn vp to pe ground with hor grete land
shippes.

Prothessalon the proude, of Philace was kyng,

He was formast on flete with the first hundrith, Protesilaus was

5696 pat boldly to bonke braidis to fight.

5700

foremost of

those; but his ships were

rocks.

But his shippes were shent with a sharpe wynd, shattered on the
Gird on the ground with so grym wille,
Till þai rut on a Rocke, & rent all to peses,
bat mony was mard & the men drownet:
Vne sunkyn in þe se mony sure knightes.
And who, pat lacchit the lond with the lyf pen,
Were takon with the Troiens & tyrnet to dethe,
5704 Martrid & murthrid, manglit in peses.

pen the fight wex fell po fuerse men amonge,
With shot fro the shippes and the shire banke.

Many of his men were drowned;

and those who slain.

got to land were

The battle became fierce: the air

Book XIV.

was thick with arrows and cross-bow bolts, and resounded

with the din of

arms.

(fol. 89 a.)

But the second division, through better skill, reached the bank, and press on fiercely.

The Trojans resist stoutly;

but the Greeks, with bow and cross bow, bicker on them and

confuse their ranks:

then driving upward press them hard.

Protesilaus now

5708

5712

5716

Of Arowes & Awblasters pe aire wex thicke, And dynnyt with dyntes, pat delte were pat tyme.

The rynels wex red of the ronke blode,

hat were slayne in the slicche, & in slym
lightyn.

There sothely was sene what sorow & pyne,
And how balfull & bittur the banke was to wyn.
How the grekes were gird vnto grym dethe,
Neuer red was in Romanse with no renke yet,
That any weghes in the world, pat to werre yode,
With soche baret, fro pe bote vnto bank wan,
As hit happit here with so hard fight.

But the secund sort sothely, pat sewet hom
aftur,

Were graither of gouernaunce, grippet hor sailes, 5720 And light vnto lond lyuely and sound.

More wisely pai wroght purgh warnyng before. hai preset vp proudly with panys in hond,

In refut of hor felowes, pat were foule mart; 5724 And the Troiens tyt turnyt hom agayne,

5728

ffor-bode hom the banke with mony bale dintes.
pai braid to pere bowes, bold men in hast,
With alblastis also atlet to shote,
With big bowes of brake bykrit full hard,
Lacchet on pe ledis, pat on lofte stode,
Hurt hom full hidiously, hurlet hom abake.
There were ded of po dyntes, mony derfe

knightes.

5732 The shalkes for pe shot shout fro pe banke,
And the grekes vp gird in a gret nowmber,
ffell fuersly to fight, & hor felowes halpe,
po pat left vpon lyue, pof þai lyte were.
5736 pen gird þai to-gedur with a grym fare!
ffull fell was the fight with po fuerse troiens.
Prothesselon, pe prise kyng, preuyt his strenght,

THE BATTLE AT THE LANDING.

There wonderfully wroght his weghis to helpe; 5740 Mony Troiens with tene tyrnyt to ground,

Thurgh swap of his sword swaltyn belyue!

187

Book XIV.

displayed his great strength

and cut down

many brave

Mony doughty were ded with dynt of his hond, Trojans.

And myche fortherit his feris in hor fell angur!

5744 Hade not the freike ben so fuerse with his fell But for him the

dyntes,

All the grekes hade ben gird vnto grym dethe,
And all brittnet yche ben, þat were to banke

comyn.

But what fortherit his fight, pof he fell were,

Greeks had been cut down to a man.

(fol. 89 b.)

But what could

even he do with

7000 brave
Trojans ?

5748 With seven thowsaund pro men prongen to-gedur, 100 men against bere a hundrith hole were on a hepe somyn All triet men of Troy þat hom tene wroght? Mony dynttes full dedly delt were anon! 5752 The Grekes were gird doun, & on ground lay, Mony swonyng, & swalt, & in swym felle.

The grekes were so greuyt, & to grem broght,

hai wold fayn haue ben forthe, fled on hor way, Fain would the

5756 But no wise might po weghis wyn into ship;

Ne to lepe fro pe lond into pe low se,

Hit was not holsom for hom, so hard was the
stour!

Hom was leuer on pe lond leng at hor aunter,
5760. And be brittnet in batell, pen burbull in the flod.
hai fell fuersly to fight, po few pat pere were,
And put all pere pcuer, pynyt hom sore.
The Troiens dong hom doun in the depe slithe,
5764 Mony lost hor lyues, & light in the water,

Greeks have fled;

but they could

not.

They make a rush against the Trojans, who soon drive many of them into the sea.

And were ded in the depe withouten dyn more.
The might was so mekyll of po mayn Troiens,
pai hade no strenght to withstond, ne hor stid come, but for

holde,

5768 But all borne were pai backe to þe buerne syde,

And hade deghit by-dene with dynttes of hond;
But Archelaus in armys auntrid to banke,

Again they would have been over

Archelaus, who rallies them; and another fierce combat ensues.

Book XIV.

Nestor, with his

men, then reaches the bank,

(fol. 90 a.)

and rushed in to their aid,

and the air

resounds with the shouts of men

and crash of arms.

Ascalaphus and

Alacus then land,

And fell vnto fight his feris to helpe.
5772 Now batell on bent po buernes betwene,
The grevans was gret po grekes among ;
Assemblit were sone þe same in pe fight,
And restorit full stithly be stuff of pe grekes.
5776 ffell was the fight & fuerse hom agaynes,

And mony deghit with dynt of po derfe pepull:
Mony harmys þai hent er hor helpe come.
ben Nestor anon neghit to lond,

5780 With his shippis full shene, & sharpe men of

armys,

Hard hastid to helpe with heturly wille,

And sodainly with his sort soght into batell!
Speiris into sprottes spronge ouer hede;

5784 Arowes vp in the aire ysshit full picke;
Swordis, with swapping, swaruyt on helmes;
The dede, vnder dynttes, dusshit to ground;
Cloudis with the clamour claterit aboue,
5788 of the dit & pe dyn, pat to dethe went!
Prothenor the prise kyng, & proud Archelaus,
Mony tolke of pe Troiens tyrnyt to dethe.
pen Ascalus & Alacus auntrid to lond,

and uniting with 5792 And aryuen full rad with pere rank shippes:

their friends

drive the Trojans

back.

But fresh troops come up, and they

regain their ground.

Ulysses and his men then land

and rush upon the enemy.

With pere pouer full prist past fro þe water,
Brusshet into batell, & myche bale wroght.
So felly in fere foghtyn po two,

5796 Obacke went the batell of pe burghe folke;
But pere were fele other fresshe, pat no fight

touchit,

hat gird into the grekes with a grym will, And all backward hom bere to pe buerne side, 5800 pat fer from þe flode might no freke wyn. Then Vlexes come vp vne with his folke, Wan out of pe water & his weghis all,

And braid into batell with a brem wille.

5804 Sharpe was the shoure the sheltrun [amonge]!

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