Book XXIX.

pan þe Citasyns, with song & solemnete grete,

the Trojans drag 11880 Halit furth the horse to pe hegh temple.

it to the temple

with shouts of

joy.

Hit is said oftsythes with sere men of elde, The last Ioy of ioly men Ioynys with sorow. Thies buernes of the burgh blyndit were euyll, 11884 pai halit in no horse, but hor hard deth, Oppression and payne, pyté for euer;

And ay lastond lure for lakkyng of wit!

Their rejoicing soon turns to sorrow.

When the Trojans
are asleep, one
Sinon is to open
a wicket in the
horse and let the
Greeks issue out.

To deceive the Trojans, the Greeks pretend they are about to sail for Tenedos.

(fol. 182 a.) The Greeks set sail from Troy:

One

ne Symon, a sure mon, assignet was pe key, 11888 þat was of gouernaunse graith, by the grekes all, To warp up a wicket, & waite on the tyme, And the durres to vndo of the dregh horse. But se first the Cité were on slepe fallyn, 11892 And broght into bed, as hom best lyked:

pan the ffreike shuld frusshe out, & a fyre make, And light vp a low with a light wille, bat the ost might haue entre euyn as hom liked. 11896 And the bettur in the burgh bale for to wirke,

The same day, sothely, the Cité was takon,

To Priam, the prise kyng, thai puruait a

message,

Said hom-seluyn wold saile samyn fro troy,

11900 And turne vnto tenydoun, & tary pere a qwyle,

Preuely the pert qwene by purpos to take,

ffor clamur & crie of the comyn folke :The murmur was mykell of pe mayn pepull, 11904 Lest pai dang hir to dethe in hor dull hate. Hit plesit well Priam pat purpos to hold, ffor he hedit no harme, ne no hate thoght;

To be gawdes of the grekes gefe he no kepe, 11908 But all semyt hym full sothe the sawe of þe

kynges.

han the grekes by agrement gird into shippe; With proses and pres puld vp þere ancres; Launchit fro the laund to the low sea;

THE TREACHERY OF THE GREEKS.

11912 And fayne were the freikes of pe faire towne. þai turnet vne to tenydon, & tariet all pere, Before the settyng of the sun, says me the lyne, before sunset they

arrive at Tenedos.

With melody, & myrthe, & myche lowde songe, 11916 And there taried on the town till hom tyme

vpon slepe,

11924 He warpit vp a wicket, wan hom with-oute, Light vp a low, the ledis might know.

389

thoght.

As soon as it is
dark, they arm
and secretly
march back to

When the day ouerdrogh, & the derke rose,
All bownet hom bigly in hor bright wedis
With Silens full soberly, —was no soune herd, the city.
11920 And soghtyn furth to the Cité on a sop hole.
This Symon, for-sothe, I said you before,

hat hade the keyes to kepe of pe cloise horse,
When the buernes of the burgh were broght asleep, Sinon

When the
Trojans are

opens the wicket
in the brazen
horse, and lights
the signal fire.

pan gedryt the grekes to pe graith tokyn,
ffrushet in felly at the faire yates,

11928 þat brokyn was on brede for the bright horse.
The knightes in the closet comyn out swithe;
Settyn into the Cité all the sad grekes;

Brentyn and betyn doun all the big houses;
11932 The pepull with pyne puttyn to dethe;
Buernes in hor bednes britnet all naked,
þat hedit no harme, ne no bate poght.
Noght dred pai the dethe ne dere of hor fos:
11936 Droghen vp durs, dungyn doun yatis;

Brekyn into bildynges, britnet the pepull;
Wemen & wale children walton to grounde:
Hade no pyté of the poure, put all to dethe;
11940 Robbet pere Riches, reft hom hor lyues,
Gemmes, & Iewels, Iobbes of gold,
Pesis, & platis, polisshit vessell,

Mony starond stone, stithest of vertue.

11944 Twenty thowsaund, proly, pai prong to the dethe bat tyme in the toun, as the tale shewes!

Book XXIX.

The Greeks rush in through the broken wal!; join those who have issued from the horse; break into the houses; massacre the people;

and earry
off all their
valuables.

(fol. 182 b.) Twenty thousand perish before daybreak.

Book XXIX.

Priam, roused from sleep by the

shrieks and

wailings of his

people, seeks

safety in the

temple of Apollo.

At daybreak
Eneas and
Antenor lead the
Greeks to the

palace :

all are put to death.

Pyrrhus finds

Priam in the

temple, and slays him :

bespattering the altar with his blood.

Hecuba and Polyxena, fleeing for safety, and

not knowing where to hide, meet Eneas.

The Queen
reproaches him
for having
betrayed his
king, his country,
and his friends.

The dyn & the dite was dole for to here,
Of men þat were murtheret at the meane tyme
11948 Kyng Priam the pité persayuit onone,

The rewerd & the russhyng of pe ranke sorow
Of Eneas, þat egerly ertid his harme.

He russhit vp full radly, raght to his clothes, 11952 Soche as happit hym to hent, hade he no wale: He highit of his halle hard to the temple

There appollyne was onered, he etlid to bide:
With-outen hope of his heale heturly he weppit.

11956 When the derke was done, & the day sprange,

The grekes by pere gydes of the great traytouris
Entrid into ylion egerly fast:

No defence pai pere found in the faire place, 11960 And dyden all to the dethe with-outen dyn

more.

Pirrus to the prise temple preset full hard, Of honerable Appollyne, as Antenor bade, There, Priam the prise kyng prestly thai founde, 11964 Abydyng his bone & his bale dethe. Pirrus full prestly, with a prise swerd, Brittoned the bold kyng & his blod shed, hat the stremys full stithly stert on þe auter.

11968 On seand the same mon the souerayn betrayed,
Ecuba the honerable egerly flogh

With Pollexena the pert, hir prise doughter;
But þai wist not, I-wis, on no wise where

11972 ffor to hide hom fro harme: pan happit hom to

mete

The traytor with tene, vntristy Eneas.

Thies wordes pat worthy warpit hym to:

"A! traytor vntrew, how toke pou on honde 11976 pat trew to be-tray, pat trist in pe euer,— Thy lege & pi lord, þat the louet wele,

And myche good hase pe gyffen of his gold red?

POLYXENA AND ANDROMACHE RESCUED.

Thou hase led to pi lord, þat hym lothe was, 11980 His fomen full fele thurgh falshed of the; And done hym to dethe dolefully now,

hat thy-selfe shuld haue socourd, hade pou ben
sad tru.

The burgh, there pou borne was, baillfully dis-
troyet,

11984 To se hit leme on a low, laithis not pi hert?
3et haue pytie & compassion of this pure maidon;
Put hir in some place fro perisshyng of hondes,
hat the grekes hir not get, ne to grem brynge,
11988 Ne defoule hir vnfaire, & in filth holde !"

The wordes pricket hym with pité of pe prise

qwene.

Pollexena, the pert he puld out of prong,
Hid hir in a howle vnder a hegh towre,
11992 And keppit hir full close, pat clere out of sight.
Telamon full tyte to the temple yode

Of Myner the mighty, with a mayn fare,

And drogh out Andromaca, pat in drede was,—

11996 Worthy Ectors wife, & a wale maidon,— Cassandra the clene, & keppit hom bothe.

391

12000 ffull glad of þat gay, & of good chere,
As
mery of þat myld as a mon thurt.
han the grekys full glad gyffon to red,
Ilion to ouerturne angardly sone,

12004 And the bildynges bete doun to the bare erthe.
All the cité vnsakrely pai set vppon fyre,

With gret launchaund lowes into the light ayre; Wroght vnder walles, walt hom to ground; 12008 Grete palis of prise put into askys,

With flammes of fyre fuerse to behold;
And all the Cité vp soght to be sad walles.
In the burgh pai forbere byldynges mony,

Book XXIX.

(fol. 183 a.)

She pleads with
Polyxena;

him to rescue

and moves him to do so.

Telamon rescues
Andromache and
Cassandra.

And Menelay the mighty his myld qwene Elan, Menelaus with ffro the pales he puld of the prise kyng,

great joy finds Helen.

The Greeks set the city on fire in all places:

Book XXIX.

but the houses of Eneas and

Antenor are reserved

(fol. 183 b.)

Agamemnon assembles the nobles in the temple of Minerva

They agree to keep their promise to the traitors, and to

divide the spoil justly.

Ajax urges them

to put Helen to death.

Agamemnon,
Menelaus, and
Ulysses plead for
her.

The cloquence of
Ulysses saves her.

Cassandra is

awarded to Agamemnon.

12012 There as certain seignes were set vppolofte,

Of the traytor Antenor, & his tru fere,
Eneas also anger hom betyde!

THE COUNSELL OF DE GREKES AFTER DE DYSTRUCTION

OF THE TOWNE.

When the Cité was sesit & serchet to the last, 12016 Agamynon the grekes gedrit to a counsell, Into Miner mayn temple po mighty bedene, ffor to speke of hor spede in a space pere. ben fraynet the freke at po fre kyngis,

12020 Wethir pai couenand wold kepe to pe kene

traiturs,

pat betoke hom þe toun by treson to haue;
And pe gode, þat was getyn, graidly to part
Amonge men of might, þat most had disseruyt.
12024 be onswar of all men was openly pis,
Euen the couenand to kepe, as pe cas was,
hat betrat hom þe toun, & hor truth hold;
And pe ryches full ryf, þat robbet was pere,
12028 To be delt to pe dughti vppon du wyse,

As pai sothly desseruyt with hor sad strenkith.
Aiax to Elayn was angardly wrothe,

Demyt hir to pe dethe with dole at þe tyme, 12032 ffor pe worthy in were pat wastid were purgh hir:

And mony kyng in þe case his counsell alowet.
Agamynon þe grete, and his gomys all,

With pe might of Menelay, & paire men hole, 12036 All þe here pat pai hade, with helpis of othir,

Were bysé fro bale deth þe burd for to saue; ffor all pe company clene were cast þer agayn. But Vlixes, euermore egerly fast,

12040 Declaret hom pe cause with his clere voyc, bat pe grete by agrement grauntid hir lyue. be Emperour Agamynon angardly swith. Couet Cassandra, be cause of reward,—