ULYSSES CHARGED WITH STEALING IT.

bat the kyng, þurgh his comyng, by craft hade
hit goten,

Paladian, the pure god, pertly away;

And the troiens betrautid with his triet wit. 11768 A! God of pis ground, who graidly may trist Any lede on to leng, as for lele true,

11772 This poynt is not prynted in proces þat are

Who can be
trusted, when
even this priest
proved a traitor

Syn this prest pus priset the pepull to dissayue, to his country?
As a kaytiff, for couetoise to cumber his land?

now:

Hit lenges not so long tho ledis within,

To be cumbrid with couetous, by custome of old,
That rote is & rankist of all the rif syns.

11780 Couetous men comynly are cald aftur right,

A temple to the tyrand, þat tises to syn.

383

There is no sin so
debasing as

11776 There is no greuaunce so grete vndur god one,
As the glemyng of gold, pat glottes pere hertis: covetousness.
Hit puttes the pouer of pristhode abake,
And forges to the fend a forslet with-in.

Book XXVIII.

The Trojans are told that it was stolen by him.

And the carcas full clanly kowchit on þe auter.
When ffyre shuld be festnet in pat fyne offrond,
Two meruellis on mold maynly were shewid.

11792 The first was to fele, no fyre wold be light,

W

HEN THE GOLDE was all gotyn, & the grete The gold, silver,

and wheat are

hat assait was full sothely of sere men full ofte:
Ten tymes be-tyde, tellis me the lyne,

hat hit fest was on fyre, & flappit out onone 11796 Vnto smorther & smoke, and no smethe low,

("forslet"=
"forcelette," a
fort, a strong-
hold.)

sommes

stored in the temple of

Of qwhete, & of qwhite syluer, qwemly to-gedur, Minerva, 11784 Into Myner mykell temple maynly was broght,

And put vnto pure men till payment were made;
Hit plesit to Appollo, the pure god aboue,
With Sacrifise solemne, besoght at pat tyme,
11788 With bestis, & briddis, britnet full mony,

While the
Trojans are
sacrificing to
Apollo, two awful

omens are
observed.

First, the altar fire is ten times quenched.

(fol. 179 b.)

Book XXVIII.

ffor all the craft þat þai kowthe, & the coynt sleght.

The secund, for-sothe, I said you before,

Second, an eagle screaming wildly swoops down

When the bestis were britnet & broght to pe auter,

upon the

entrails, and bears

them away to the 11800 With the entrell euermore euyn vppo lofte,

ships of the Greeks.

The Trojans, amazed and terrified, seek

counsel of Cassandra.

She declares
Apollo is wroth

because his

temple was defiled with the

blood of Achilles,

and they must fetch fire from his tomb.

=

The second omen reveals that the city is betrayed to the Greeks.

Come an Erne, þat was Eger, euer on a crye,

Light downe lyuely fro the low ayre,
Braid

the bowels, & bere hom away,

vp

11804 And showvet to the shippes of the shene grekes. The troiens merueld full mekyll of pe mayne

11816 To the corse of þat kyng in his cleane towmbe,

Light pere a lowe lyuely with honde,

ffecche pere your ffyre, & festyn on þe auter, And pat bren wull full bright in the brode temple."

(Prugh through, 11820 Than passid the pepull to the pure prugh:

a stone coffin, a tomb.)

foghle,

All stonyed þai stode, starond aboute.

Thai wist þere goddes were greuit with a gret

yre,

11808 And wrothe at the werkes, but wist þai no cause. Cassandra to councell, pen call pai belyue,

To haue a dom of þat dede, if the dere kowthe.

The first signe, ho hom sayd, sothely was this: 11812 þat Appollo, the pure god, was put into wrathe,

ffor tene of his temple was trasit with blode

Of Achilles the choise, pat chaunsit to be slayne:

66

bat mys to amend, is maistur ye go

As kend hom Cassandra þai kyndlit a fire.

Of the secund, for sothe, ho saide o this wise:"This towne is betrayed, trist ye non other,

11824 And grauntid to the grekes by gomys of your

owne."

Calcas the curset, pat comynt with the grekes,
Bisshop of the burgh, as I aboue told,

OF CALCAS AND THE BRAZEN HORSE.

When he wist of thies wondres, thies wordes he
said:-
:-

11828 "Yonder towne wilbe takon in a tyme short." pan the grekes hom graithet to a gret Sacrifice, Thurgh biddyng of the bisshop & a bold prist, In honour of Appolyne angardly thicke.*

[Amongst these things, Calcas and Crisis the Priest, counselled
the Greeks that they should make a great Horse of Brasse, and
that must be so great as might hold within it a thousand
knights armed and they said unto him that it was the pleasure
of the godes. This horse was made by a passing wise Master, a thousand
as Apius was, whose name was Sinon, and he made it so sub- knights.
tilly, that no man could perceive any entry or issue, but within
it was easie for them that were inclosed within for to issue out
when they would.

When the great horse was fully made, and the thousand knights therein, by the counsell of Crisis, they prayed the King Pryamus, that he would suffer this horse to enter into the city, and that it might be set in the Temple of Pallas, forasmuch as they said, that they had made it in the honour of Pallas, for a Vowe that they made for restitution of the Palladium, which they had caused to be taken out of the same Temple.

Among these things, the Princes that were yet within Troy, when they saw that the King had so shamefully treated with the Greekes, they went away out of Troy, and oke their men with them, and the King Phylomenus led no more but two hundred and fifty men, and threescore maydens of Amazones, that were left of a thousand that came thither with the Queen Penthasilia, and carryed the body of her with them, and trauelled so long till they came to their owne Country.

* Fol. 180 is awanting in MS. See Note.

385

Book XXVIII.

Calcas makes the same statement to the Greeks

Calcas and Crisis
counsel the
Greeks to make a
capable of holding

brazen horse,

The Greeks

desire that Priam will allow it to be

set near the temple of Pallas.

The allies of
Troy, disgusted

that Priam is in
treaty with the

enemy, depart from the city. The Amazons, carrying with

them the body of their Queen, are led home by Pylæmenes.

The Greeks and Trojans meet to ratify the treaty.

(fol. 181 a.)

The Greeks swear to keep the treaty faithfully:

then Priam and his knights swear.

386

They all promise to do so.

The xxix Boke: Off the takyng of the toune, and the deth of Kyng Priam.

Thus the grete of the grekes grymly þai sware
ffast pes to afferme, & flit of the londe.
11836 Priam on his part, & his prise knightes,

Sweryn all swiftly, & no swyke thoghtyn:
So wend he full wele, po worthy kyngis all
Hade no malis in mynd, ment at the tyme.

Priam delivers up 11840 pan honerable Elan þat abill deliuert,

Helen, and pleads
that she may be
pardoned.

Comendyng þat clere all with cloise wordes,
Prayng the prise men with [his] pure hert,

bat no harmys þat hend shuld haue of hir lord. 11844 Thai heght hym full hyndly his hestes to kepe,

And his desyre for to do, po dukes ychon.

The grekes for-gete noght of the grete trayne,

Then came the day that the Greeks should sweare the peace fainedly vpon the plaine field vpon the Sanctuaries. King Priamus issued out of the City and his people, and sware there each party to hold the peace firmely from thenceforth on and Diomedes swore first to the Greeks after, when they had broken the peace that they had treated with Anthenor of that thing that they concluded after, and therefore they maintayned that they were not forsworne by that colour,] *

11832 But in prouerbe hit is put with prise men of wit, 'Who pat sweyres to be swike, he forsworne worthes.'

* Guido di Colonna: from The Ancient Historie of The Destruction of Troy. Sixth Ed. London, 1635.

PRIAM CONCLUDES THE TREATY.

Prayd to Priam for a gret vow,

11848 ffor to hale in a horse hastely of bras,

Book XXIX.

Palades to ples with, er þai passe furth,
And at Myners mayn temple make hit to stonnd. to set it up at the

They ask Priam
to allow them to
bring in the
brazen horse, and

temple of Pallas.

This couet po kynges, & the cause made

11852 ffor the palladian thai pullit of pe pure temple, þat þai Sayle might in sound, & hor sute hoole, Lest the goddes in greme gert hom to lose

Bothe hor flete & hor folke with a felle storme. 11856 Priam, at þis prayer, aperit not sone,

Ne grauntid not the grekes pat the gret 3ernet.
Eneas pan ertid Egurly fast,

And Antenor also, the abill kyng to:

387

Priam hesitates.

Bothe obreade & aboue brekyn the yates,

Tyll hit might entur at ease, euyn as hom list.

Eneas and Antenor urge him to grant the request.

11860 "Hit is due to be done, & doutles," pai saide, "The sight is full solemne, the Cité to haue Ay lastond to long, þat ledis may knowe

bat soche acord was here knyt with kynges for

euer."

11864 The kyng affirmet the faitours, & no fraud Priam consents:

thoght;

paire dessire for to do demyt onone.

han payet kyng Priam all the pure sowmes Of gold, & of gay syluer, & of goode whete: 11868 All þai shot into ship on pe shire water,

And made hom Redy to Rode on pe rough
ythes.

he then pays over to the Greeks the amounts of gold, silver, and wheat.

All the grekes hom gedrit, the grettist & other,
With Sacrifice solemne, synging of prestys:
11872 With profession & prise puld furth the horse
To a Side of the Cité, and set at þe yate.
Hit was so borly of brede, & of brem heght,
There was no entre with ease abill perfore:

11876 pan the warpit downe the walle, & the wale Part of the wall

is pulled down to admit it:

toure,

(fol. 181 b.) With great ceremony the horse is drawn to the walls of Troy.