Book III.

goes to meet
Æetes.

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

company and With Ercules and oper mo of his aune men, 820 He sues furth on þe 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 !

permission to Wold ye graunt me your grase goodly to wende, depart. I wold boune me to batell, and take my bare

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

He asks

THE COUNSELL OF CHETES TO JASON.
The Kyng þan full curtesly karpes agayne : Æetes advises

Jason to abandon
Sais, “ Jason, this Jorney is no ioye in,

the enterprise : I am ferd, by my faith, of þi frele yowth, 832 þat hit lede pe to losse and þi lyffe tyne,

And me harme for to haue of thy hegh wille,
To be sclaundret of þi skathe, & pou skape noght.

berfore ffrynd, by my faith, vppon faire wise, 836 I counsell be in kyrt, kaire to þi londe, And put of his purpos, for perille þat may folowe.” but finding him

carpes to the kyng, conyngly he said, proceed,

Sir I hade counsaill in pis case er I come here, (fol. 15 b.) 840 And ye shall boldly be blameles, þof me bale

Jason

determined to

happyn,

bat I wilne of my wit & wilfull desyre.”
Þan the kyng to be knight carpes these wordes;— he grants himn
“ffrynd þou shall fully haue fauer to wend,

Book III.

844

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

Jason seeks the island where the fleece is kept.

Medea, in terror during his absence, bewails her love.

In

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

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

Bowes enyn to be 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 hat 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 þe fuerse bestes, 860 bat 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 þat 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 þou faile of my fyn lore,

And for zenernes for-zete þat þe zeme shuld;
Thou dawly bes dede, & I to doll broght,

Neuer þe comly to kysse, ne clippe in myn armys. 872 Now full pristly I pray to my prise goddes,

þat 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 IIe waites vmbe hym wightly, & was ware sone

Of þe orible oxin, vgsome to see,
bat fyre out fnast with a fuerse lowe,

(fol. 16 a.) Jason gets his first view of the oxen that guard the golden fleece.

HOW JASON WON THE FLEECE.

31

Book III.

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

HOW JASON WAN THE FFLESE OF GOLDE.

and reads the

spear are burnt.

He casts the

monsters are

The tokyn hym taght was of a tru maiden
He forzet not, but zepely zarkit hym þerfore,
And anoyntide hym anon with his noble boyste, He anoints

himself; sets the 884 Bothe the face and pe fete, & all þe fore perte. sacred image;

His noble ymage at his necke for neghyng of fyre, roll,
And his rolle þan he rede as he to reste toke;

ffore evyn to be fight with þo felle bestes. 888 So þe fuerse by-flamede all with fyre hote,

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, þat þe lede caght, 892 And caste it be course into the core hete :

liquor and the Hit stake vp the stith lippes as stiffe bounden, lips of the As pai chaltrede were choisly with chenys of closed.

yerne,
pat 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 He leads them by

the horns : they Of þe balefull bestes, & hom aboute ladde; meekly submit to

the yoke, and 900 Þai were made als meke as maistur behouet, plough up a

And as bowande to be bowes as any bestes might.
Bynerly the zepe knight zokit hom belyue,

Pight hom into ploghe, pilde vp the vrthe, 904 Braid vp bygly all a brode ffeld : And all the gayre of the ground þere be gome (fol. 16 b.)

leuyt. Drow euyn to the dragon, dressit hym to fight, He attacks the

And he gird him agayne with a grym noyse : it rushes towards 908 Mony slecynges vnslogh throughe hys slote yode. and noise.

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

broad field.

fierce dragon, as

him with flaine

Book III.

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

With smorther & a smoko smult through his

nase,
912 He rut out roidly with a rede hete,

þat 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 þat 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.
bis stone full of strenght, as pe story tellus,

Is erdand in Juds, as Isoder sais :
924 Be it smethe owþer 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 þe light, but he his lyffe tyne.
928 bis 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 þat 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,

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

JASON RETURNS TO ÆETES.

33

Buok III.

other.

All the dangers are overcome and Jason obtains the

944 Delt dynttes full derffe, geuyn depe woundes. These balefull brether batell so longe,

they destroy each Till none left was alyue ne o lofte stode. Now thies charmys & enchauntementtes are

cheuit to naght,
948 Dede ys the dragon and the derffe knightes,

The exin left on pe lond vnneth lyfe in,
He past all his perels and no pyne tholed.
By the crafte so coynt þat hym kend were,

golden fleece. 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 þut 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 be lond, 960 bere he found all his feris fayne of his werke; Jason joins his

companions, and Ercules and oper þat euer were abyding,

they all return to

Æetes, þat fayne were to fonge þat freike vppon lyue.

Jason with ioy and his ioly ffellowes
964 Soghten euen to the Sete of Chetes þe kyng.

And he as wee full of worship welcomed hom all who pretends to
With a faynyng fare vnder faire chere;

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

He assignet hym a sete by hym-selfe euyen.
The flammyng of be flese was ferly to see,

zet merueld hym more how Mars was distroyed,
972 Geter of his good and a god holdyn.
Medea the mayden with a mylde chere,

(fol. 176.)

Medea rejoices Was Joyfull of Jason, Aloynit hym to,

that Jason has Kyst hym full curtesly, and of his come fayne.

Bafety.
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;

welcome them.

returned in

976