The first boke: how Kyng Pelleus exit Iason to get the goldyn flese

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The ijd boke how the grekes toke lond vpon troy. Cawse of the first debate

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The iijd boke: how Medea enformyt Iason to get the flese of gold

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The iiijth boke: of the distruccon of the first Troy by Ercules
& Iason
The yth boke of the foundyng of new Troy, & of the qwerell
of Kyng Priam for his fader deth

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[135]

The sext boke: how Kyng Priam toke counsell to wer on the grekes

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the vijth boke: how Paris went into grese for Elan
The viijth boke: of the counsell of the grekes for recoueryng

of Elan The ixth boke of the nowmber of shippes, & the Nauy of the

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The xth boke: how the grekes sent vnto delphon to haue onswar of a god of þere Iornay The xjth boke: how the grekes saylet fro Atthens to Troy [148] The xijt boke: how the grekis sent two kynges in message to Kyng Priam for restitucon of þere harme

The xiijth boke: how the grekes sent Achilles and Thelefon
for vitaill for the oste into Messan
The xiiijth boke: how the grekes sailet fro tenedon to be-sege
of the Cité of troy, & of the counsell of Dyamed to stir
the Cité, & the deth of Prothesselon by Ector slayn, & of
the strong fight at the Ariuall

The xvth boke: of the ordinaunce of the troiens to the secund batell, & of the deth of Patraclus by Ector slayn, & other thinges vt p3

[156]

[168]

[181]

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The xvjth boke: of a trew takyn two monythes, & of the iija batell

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The xvijth boke: of the counsell of the grekes for the deth of
Ector, & the iiijth batell

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The xviijth boke: of the fyuet batell in the feld

The xixth boke: of the sext batell

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The xxth boke of the vijth batell & skyrmychis lastyng xxx dayes betwene the towne & the tenttes

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[238] [245]

[254]

The xxjth boke: of the viij batell, and of the drem of Ector

wyf The xxij boke of the Elleuynt batell of the Cité

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The xxiij boke: of the xij and the xiij batell
The xxiiij boke: of the xiiij and the xvth batell of the Cité
The xxv boke of the sextene, seyuentene, the eghtene, and

The xxvij boke: of the xxj batell of the Cité of Troy
The xxviij boke: off the councell of Eneas & Antenor of treson

of the Cité The xxix boke: off the takyng of the toune & the deth of Kyng

Priam The xxx boke of the stryfe of Thelamon & Vlyxes, & of the deth of Thelamon, with the exile of Eneas & Antenor

[322] [331]

[352]

[364]

The xxxj boke of the passage of the grekes fro Troy
The xxxij boke: of the lesyng that was made to Kyng Nawle,
& of the dethe of his son Palamydon: the dethe of Aga-
mynon, & the exile of Dyamede by pere wifes.

The xxxiij boke: how Orest toke venionse for his fader dethe [423] The xxxiiij boke: how hit happit Vlixes aftur the sege The xxxv boke: of Pirrus, & his passyng ffro Troy, & of his cronyng, & of his deth The xxxvj boke, & the last of the dethe of Vlixes by his son. Whiche endis in the story wt the nome of the knight p causet it to be made, & the nome of hym that translatid it out of latyn in-to englysshe. And how long the sege last, with the nowmber of grekes & troiens that were slayn & what kynges Ector slogh whom Paris slogh: whom Achilles slogh: whom Eneas slogh whom Pirrus slogh and Laudes deo ... [452]

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1

Prologue.

Maistur in magesté, maker of Alle,

Endles and on, euer to last!

Now, god, of pi grace graunt me þi helpe,

4 And wysshe me with wyt þis werke for to end! Off aunters ben olde of aunsetris nobill,

And slydyn vppon shlepe by slomeryng of Age:

Of stithe men in stoure strongest in armes, 8 And wisest in wer to wale in hor tyme,

bat ben drepit with deth & pere day paste,
And most out of mynd for pere mecull age,

(fol. 2 a.) Invocation.

Of the noble deeds of our ancestors,

and of the stout

and wise in war,

true stories have been all but

Sothe stories ben stoken vp, & straught out of forgotten; while

mind,

12 And swolowet into swym by swiftenes of yeres,

Ffor new pat ben now, next at our hond,
Breuyt into bokes for boldyng of hertes;
On lusti to loke with lightnes of wille,
16 Cheuyt throughe chaunce & chaungyng of

peopull;

Sum tru for to traist, triet in þe ende,
Sum feynit o fere & ay false vnder.
Yche wegh as he will warys his tyme,

20 And has lykyng to lerne þat hym list after.
But olde stories of stithe pat astate helde,
May be solas to sum pat it segh neuer,

of those of more modern times, recorded in books "for boldyng of hertes,

some are true and some are false.

Each desires to learn what he likes best.

But old stories of renowned deeds

recorded by men who witnessed them may delight some who never

saw them.

The Poet declares his subject and the authors from whom he has drawn his

information.

(fol. 2 b.)

Homer, who is

not to be trusted, tells how the

gods fought like men, and

other such trifles.

Guido de Colonna

is the author of the following

story,

Be writyng of wees pat wist it in dede, 24 With sight for to serche, of hom þat suet after, To ken all the crafte how pe case felle,

By lokyng of letturs pat lefte were of olde.

N ow of Troy forto telle is myn entent euyn, 28 Of the stoure & pe stryfe when it distroyet was. hof fele yeres ben faren syn þe fight endid,

And it meuyt out of mynd, myn hit I thinke Alss wise men haue writen the wordes before, 32 Left it in latyn for lernyng of vs.

But sum poyetis full prist þat put hom perto,
With fablis and falshed fayned pere speche,
And made more of þat mater pan hom maister

were:

36 Sum lokyt ouer litle and lympit of the sothe. Amonges pat menye,-to myn hym be nome,Homer was holden haithill of dedis.

Qwiles his dayes enduret, derrist of other

40 bat with the Grekys was gret & of grice comyn. He feynet myche fals was neuer before wroght, And traiet pe truth, trust ye non other.

Of his trifuls to telle I haue no tome nowe,
44 Ne of his feynit fare þat he fore with:

How goddes foght in the filde, folke as pai were,
And other errours vnable pat after were knowen,
That poyetis of prise have preuyt vntrew :
48 Ouyd and othir þat onest were ay,
Virgill þe virtuus, verrit for nobill,
Thes dampnet his dedys & for dull holdyn.
But pe truth for to telle & pe text euyn
52 Of þat fight how it felle in a few yeres,

bat was clanly compilet with a clerk wise,
On Gydo, a gome, pat graidly hade soght,
And wist all þe werks by weghes he hade,
56 That bothe were in batell while the batell last,

And euper sawte & assemely see with pere een. Thai wrote all þe werkes wroght at þat tyme, In letturs of pere langage, as þai lernede hade: 60 Dares and Dytes were duly pere namys.

Dites full dere was dew to the Grekys,

A lede of þat lond & loged hom with: The tothyr was a Tulke out of Troy selfe, 64 Dares, pat duly the dedys be-helde.

Aither breuyt in a boke on þere best wise,
That sithen at a cité somyn were founden
After at Atthenes as aunter befell;

68 The whiche bokes barely bothe as pai were,
A Romayn ouerraght & right hom hym-seluyn,
That Cornelius was cald to his kynde name.
He translated it into latyn for likyng to here,
72 But he shope it so short pat no shalke might
Haue knowlage by course how þe case felle ;
ffor he brought it so breff, and so bare leuyt,
pat no lede might have likyng to loke perappon,

76 Till pis Gydo it gate, as hym grace felle,

And declaret it more clere & on clene wise.

which is compiled

from the works of

Dares and Dictys the historians.

(fol. S a.)

Dares, who was present at the deeds which he recorded, wrote his history of the Trojan war in Greek.

Cornelius Nepos translated it into Latin, but so briefly that the work had to he amended by

Guido.

In this shall faithfully be founden to the fer In this history ende,

All pe dedes by dene as pai done were ;

How be groundes first grew, & pe grete hate,
Bothe of torfer and tene pat hom tide aftur.

there is a faithful

account of the

deeds as they

were done;

And here fynde shall ye faire of pe felle peopull, of the origin and

What kynges pere come of costes aboute :

84 Of Dukes full doughty, and of derffe Erles,

That assemblid to pe citie pat sawte to defend :
Of pe grekys pat were gedret how gret was pe
nowmber,

How mony knightes pere come & kynges enarmed, 88 And what Dukes thedur droghe for dedis of

were:

What Shippes pere were shene, & shalkes with in,

progress of the war; of the Kings, Dukes, and Earls who fought on either side: