EETES' COUNSEL.

Enon lurkys to his loge, & laide hym to slepe. By the renke hade hym restid ryses the sun, Brightis all the burghe and the brode valis ; 816 Meuyt ouer the mounteyns men to beholde. Jason feynit with fare as he hade fast sleppit, And now rapis hym to ryse & rom from his bede. Jason collects his With Ercules and oper mo of his aune men,

company and

820 He sues furth on pe soile to Chethes the kyng,

In company of kynges and oper clene burnes.
Whan he was ware of þe wegh, welcomed hym
faire,

And spird at hym specially what his spede were.
824 Than Jason vnioynid to the gentill speche :-
"Lord, and it like you, longe am I here!
Wold ye graunt me your grase goodly to wende, depart.
I wold boune me to batell, and take my bare

He asks permission to

aunter,

828 Yon worthy wethir to wyn, & your wille be."

Book III.

"Sir I hade counsaill in pis case er I come here, 840 And ye shall boldly be blameles, pof me bale

goes to meet
Eetes.

29

THE COUNSELL OF CHETES TO JASON.

The Kyng pan full curtesly karpes agayne :
Sais, "Jason, this Jorney is no ioye in,
I am ferd, by my faith, of pi frele yowth,
832 þat hit lede pe to losse and pi lyffe tyne,

And me harme for to haue of thy hegh wille,
To be sclaundret of pi skathe, & pou skape noght.
berfore ffrynd, by my faith, vppon faire wise,
836 I counsell þe in kyrt, kaire to pi londe,

And put of pis purpos, for perille pat may folowe." but finding him
Jason carpes to the kyng, conyngly he said,

determined to
proceed,

(fol. 15 b.)

Eetes advises Jason to abandon the enterprise :

happyn,

þat I wilne of my wit & wilfull desyre.”

leave.

pan the kyng to pe knight carpes these wordes;— he grants him "ffrynd pou shall fully haue fauer to wend,

844 And ouer goddes pe graunt grace of þi hele.” He lowted the lege kyng, & his leue toke, Dressit hym for his dede, dose hym to goo.

In an yle þat was negh þe noble kynges sete, 848 This clene flese was inclosede all with clere water,

Euon a forlong perfro, & fully nomore.
Jason to pis Jorney ioynes hym belyffe,

Bowes euyn to pe banke & a bote fonde, 852 Entris with armur & all his other gere,

ffore to pe fer syde, noght aferd was:
Gird vp to be grounde, gripes his weppon,
Armur & all thing atlet before,

856 pat Medea pe maiden myldly hym betaght, And past furth prudly his pray for to wyn. Mournyng the maiden made in hir thought,

Lest þe ffyre shuld hym fere of pe fuerse bestes, 860 þat was blasound of brunston with a brem lowe.

Sho went vp wightly by a walle syde

To the toppe of a toure, & tot ouer the water ffor to loke on hir luffe, longyng in hert. 864 So ferd was pat fre, & he faile shuld,

Sho brast out bright water at hir brode een.
Thus sykyng ho said with a sade wille :—
"A! Jason my ioye & my gentill knight,
868 I am ferd lest pou faile of my fyn lore,

And for 3enernes for-zete þat þe 3eme shuld;
Thou dawly bes dede, & I to doll broght,
Neuer pe comly to kysse, ne clippe in myn armys.
872 Now full pristly I pray to my prise goddes,

hat I may see thee come sounde to pis sale enys,
And me comford of thy coursse, kepe I no more.'

When the knight was comyn into pe cliffe ferre, 876 He waites vmbe hym wightly, & was ware sone

Of pe orible oxin, vgsome to see,

bat fyre out fnast with a fuerse lowe,

HOW JASON WON THE FLEECE.

bat no buerne might abide but he brent were; 880 Hit gird from the grym with so gret hete.

His noble ymage at his necke for neghyng of fyre, roll, And his rolle pan he rede as he to reste toke; ffore evyn to be fight with po felle bestes. 888 So pe fuerse by-flamede all with fyre hote,

HOW JASON WAN THE FFLESE OF GOLDE.

The tokyn hym taght was of a tru maiden.
He forzet not, but 3epely 3arkit hym perfore,
And anoyntide hym anon with his noble boyste, He anoints

884 Bothe the face and pe fete, & all pe fore perte.

himself; sets the sacred image; and reads the

Hit stake vp the stith lippes as stiffe bounden,
As pai chaltrede were choisly with chenys of

spear are burnt.

pai brent vp his brode shilde & his bigge speire; His shield and And Jason for all po Japes hade nere his ioy lost, Hade his licour ben to laite, pat pe lede caght, 892 And caste it be course into the core hete:

yerne,

hat abatede the breme hete, brent it no more. 896 All cold it became & the course helde,

Bothe of ymur & aire, after I-wise.

ffayne was the freike & fore to be hornes

Of pe balefull bestes, & hom aboute ladde; 900 hai were made als meke as maistur behouet,

Book III.

And as bowande to pe bowes as any bestes might.
3ynerly the 3epe knight 30kit hom belyue,

Pight hom into ploghe, pilde vp the vrthe, 904 Braid vp bygly all a brode ffeld:

He casts the liquor and the

lips of the

31

monsters are

closed.

He leads them by
the horns: they
meekly submit to
the yoke, and
plough up a
broad field.

(fol. 16 b.)

And all the gayre of the ground pere pe gome

leuyt. Drow euyn to the dragon, dressit hym to fight, He attacks the And he gird him agayne with a grym noyse: 908 Mony slecynges vnslogh throughe hys slote yode. and noise.

fierce dragon, as

it rushes towards
him with flaine

As þe welkyn shold walt, a wonderfull noyse
Skremyt vp to the skrow with a skryke ffelle.

Book III.

Jason hastily
clutches his ring;
holds it aloft;
and overcomes
the dragon with
the shining of the
bright stone.

With a sword he deals it some dreadful wounds,

then cuts off its head, and sows the teeth.

(fol. 17 a.)

They start up armed knights, who fight till

With a smorther & a smoke smult through his nase,

912 He rut out roidly with a rede hete,

hat all blasit the bent on a breme lowe;
And as he tilt out his tung with his tethe grym,
He straght fro hym stremes all of styth venym.
916 The freike was a-ferd of pat felle beste,

And raght to his Ryng in a rad haste,
Held it high in his hond, þat he behold might.
ffor chynyng of the chene stone he shont with
his hede,

920 And with-droghe the deire of his dere attur ;
All dropet the dule as he degh wold.

pis stone full of strenght, as þe story tellus,
Is erdand in Jud', as Isoder sais:

924 Be it smethe owper smert, smaragden hit hat.

here is no derffe dragon, ne no du edder,

Ne no beste so bold with no bale atter,

May loke on pe light, but he his lyffe tyne. 928 his stone with his stremys stroyed all the venym, And drepit the dragon to the dethe negh. Jason grippede graithly to a grym sworde, Dange on the deuyll with a derffe wille, 932 Tyll the stremys of stynke & of stythe venum

Past out in the place pyne to be-holde.

He laid on pat loodly, lettyd he noght,

With dynttes full dregh, till he to dethe paste, 936 And he Enfecte the firmament with his felle

noise.

Jason of his iorney was ioyfull ynoghe,
Gryppet a grym toole, gyrd of his hede,

Vnioynis the Jamnys put iuste were to-gedur: 940 Gyrd out the grete tethe, grippet hom sone, Sew hom in the soile or he sesse wold.

Stythe knightes and stoure stert vp agayne,
Armet at all peses abill to fight,

JASON RETURNS TO ÆETES.

944 Delt dynttes full derffe, geuyn depe woundes.
These balefull brether batell so longe,
Till none left was alyue ne o lofte stode.
Now thies charmys & enchauntementtes are
cheuit to noght,

948 Dede ys the dragon and the derffe knightes,
The exin left on þe lond vnneth lyfe in,
He past all his perels and no pyne tholed.

By the crafte so coynt þat hym kend were, 952 He glydis forthe gladly to the golde fflese, Wynnes to the wethir, wroght hym to dethe, fflypit of the fflese ffoldet it somyn;

Thonkes gretly his goddis put hym grace lent 956 The flese for to fonge and no fay worthe. Jason was ioly, hade Juels ynogh,

Busket to the bank and the bote tok,
Stird ouer the streame streght to pe lond,

960 þere he found all his feris fayne of his werke ;
Ercules and oper pat euer were abyding,

bat fayne were to fonge pat freike vppon lyue.
Jason with ioy and his ioly ffellowes

964 Soghten euen to the Sete of Chetes pe kyng.

3332

Book III.

they destroy each other.

All the dangers are overcome and Jason obtains the golden fleece.

Jason joins his companions, and they all return to Eetes,

And he as wee full of worship welcomed hom all who pretends to

welcome them.

With a faynyng fare vnder faire chere;

Hade no deynté of the dede but dere at his hert, 968 Ne of ryches so Riall pat the Renke hade:

He assignet hym a sete by hym-selfe euyen.
The flammyng of pe flese was ferly to see,
3et merueld hym more how Mars was distroyed,
972 Geter of his good and a god holdyn.

Medea the mayden with a mylde chere,
Was Joyfull of Jason, Aioynit hym to,
Kyst hym full curtesly, and of his come fayne.
976 By þat semly he sate as hir syre bade,

Ho prayet hym priuely all with pert wordes,
To bow to hir bede boldly at euyn;

(fol. 17 b.) Medea rejoices that Jason has returned in safety.