Book JV.

Laomedon is
informed that the
Greeks are
masters of the
city.

Sarl at heart, he assembles his men and returns to the city.

Wondit of þe wightist, warpide hom vnder;
Put hom fuerely to flight, folowet hom after
To the banke of the brode see þere botis were

leuit.
1300 pere Lamydon þem leuyt, for a lede come

With tithynges fro the towne told to the kyng;
One Dotes, with dyntes þat dedly was wondyt,

Said the Citie was sesit & sad men þere-in,
1304 Of our fos full fell, fuerse men in Armys,

A grete nowmber of Grekis, & pe goodes takyn. be kyng for þat care coldit at his hert,

And siket full sore with sylyng of teris,
1308 Henttes his horne and hastily blawes;

Assemblit his sad men on a sop holle,
Left the Grekes on þe ground by the gray water:

Soght to pe Citie on soppes to-gedur
1312 Tho þat left were on lyue pogh þai lite were.

The kyng in his comyng kest vp his egh,
Segh a butell full breme fro pe burghe come

Prickand full prest vppon proude stedys. 1316 He blusshed ouer backeward to be brode see,

Se the Grekys come girdand with a grym noise, bat fled were before & pe fild leuyt.

He was astonyet full stithly to be stad so, 1320 Betwene the batels on bent & so bare leuyt,

Vmfoldyng with his fos þat he ne fle might. ben to batell on bent þai busket anon,

A felle fight & a fuerse fell hom betwene.
1324 But vnmete was the Macche at þe mene tyme :

The Grekes were grym, of a grete nowmber,
And lite of þat other lede, þat on lyue were.

The Troiens full tyte were tyrnyt to be grounde 1328 With batell on bothe halfes, blody beronyn,

Wyde woundes & wete of hor wale dyntes.
Ercules yreful euer vponone,
Pricket furthe into prise and full playne made,

He is attacked in front by the ambuscade, and in rear hy the band from the ships.

(fol. 23 a.)

Hercules strikes terror into the hearts of the Trojans.

Book IV.

1332 Gird gomes vnto grounde with vngayn strokes,

Bere the batell a-bake, mony buerne qwellid.
The freke was so fuerse, the[y] fled of his gate ;

All shodurt as shepe shont of his way, 1336 Non so derffe to endure a dynt of his hond,

ffor all loste pe lyfe þat þe lede touchet.

THE DETH OF LAMYDON BY ERCULES.

a

He falls upon Laomedon; kills him, and throws his head into the crowd of Trojans.

The city is taken, and the Trojans flee to the woods.

Tyll he come to be kyng in a kene yre,

Dang hym derfly don in a ded hate, 1340 Grippit hym grymly, gird of his hede,

hrew it into pronge of his pro pepull;
pat moche sorowe for be sight & sobbyng of teres,

When þaire kyng was kylt, hom be course felle. 1344 Sesit was the Citie, socour non pere,

baire fomen so felle, and so few other,
The Grekes gird hom to grounde & to grym

dethe :

Of the dite & pe dyn was dole to be-holde. 1348 The Troiens with tеne turnyt pe bake,

ffleddon in fere and be filde leuyt,
Quer hilles & hethes into holte woddes,

pat left were on lyue with mony laithe hurtes, 1352 When the Grekys hade the gre & the grounde

wonen.

As the Greeks crowd into the city, the Trojans

THE TAKYNG OF HE TOWNE.
Thai soght into the Cité vpon sere haluys,
Streght into stretis and into stronge houses,
There were wemen to wale, A wondurfull nowm-

bur,
1356 Childer full choise and of chere febill,

Wyth olde ffolke vnfere ferly to see.
All tight to be tempull of þere tore goddes,

ffor drede of the dethe, & myche dynne made. 1360 Mony wyues, for woo, of þere wit past,

(fol. 23 6.) old and young, rush to the temple for safety,

Book iv.

and in their haste leave all their goods behind.

The city is plundered and destroyed.

And þere barnes on brest bere In þere armes,
Hyd hom in houles and hyrnys aboute.

Maydons for mornyng haue bere mynde loste, 1364 (Soche payne of a pepull was pitie to be-holde)

Hurlet out of houses, and no hede toke
Of golde ne of garmenttes, ne of goode stonys;

ffongit no florence, ne no fyn pesys,
1368 Gemys ne gewellis, ne no ioly vessell,

But all left in hor loges & lurkit away.
The Grekes were full gredy, grippit hom belyue,

Prayen and pyken mony priuey chambur,
1372 ffongit þere florence and oper fyn gold,

Geton girduls full gay, mony good stonys;
Wele wantid no wegh wale what hom liste.

A monyth on pis maner meuyt no ferre,
1376 But soughton vp the Cité vpon sere haluys,

Grippit vp the grounde, girdyn doun þe wallys,
Prowde pales of prise puttyn to grounde;

Brent vp the byggynges & full bare maden;
1380 The temple ouer-turnyt, tokon pe folke,

Dydden all to the dethe & for ne drede lettyd ;
Wemen, wale childur, & other weike pupull,

Madens full mony & of mete Age,
1384 Sesit hom sone in seruage to holde.

The people are killed or taken caplive.

Hesione, daughter
of Laomedon, is
given to Telamon,
who was the first
to enter the city. 1388

EXIONA, THE KINGES DOUGHTER LAMYDON.
When the pales was put doun of pe prise kyng,
pai fonde per a fre faire to be-holde,
Euyn of his owne doughter Exiona was callid.
Bannet worthe the bale tyme þat ho borne was,
ffor the care þat þere come because of hir one.
Ercules egerly euyn vponone
Betoke hir to Telamon, for he the towne entrid,
In reward as by right for his ranke wille.

POETA.

But caitif unclene, for thy curst dede !

Book IV.

whose hands she

wedded her, and saved her from

to which Telamon

The Greeks

Syn the fortune felle þat faire into honde,

hat was cumly and clene and a kinges doughter, Hercules, into 1396 Dou shuld have holdyn þat hynd, had hir þi-selfe, fell, should have Weddit with worship and to wife holdyn.

the degradation And þou so doggetly has done in þi derfe hate,

subjected her: hrast hir vnder praldam with þi pro hert,

much war and 1400 To a kyng þat is curst, of vnclene lyfe,

woe might thus

have been ffor to lede in his lechery all his lyfe after. prevented. Thurgh vnhappe of þat hynde, þat þou a hore

mase,

Myche greuaunce shall groo & a gronnd hate; 1404 Wer wakyn & wo for þi wickede dede,

Mony boldes for þat bright in batell be kylde.
When the toune was ouertyrnyt, takyn þe godys,
be Grekes to be gray water gyrdyn belyue ;

depart from Troy, 1408 Shottyn into shippes all be shene godis,

and rejoice over

their spoils, Launchet furthe lightly & the lond passit, Girdon ouer the grym waghes into grece samyn.

All þere lordes were light þat þai lyffe bade, 1412 ffayne of þere fortune & þere fine relikes,

Didyn sacrifice solempne vnto sere goddes.
All pere Rewmes wax riche, hade relikes ynowe, which enrich
And long tyme with hom last & þer e lefe children, their children for

е 1416 When the Cité was sesit, as I said ere,

at length bring

war and woe. And Lamydon the lege kyng out of lyfe broght, Wemyn & wale children vnto wo put,

Set vnder seruage, sorow for euer,
1420 The kynges doughter caght & out of kythe led,

And in horedam holdyn, harme was be more.
Se now the sorow þat þere suet after;

And yche wegh þat is wise & of wit stable, 1424 Light harmes Let ouer-passe, Lap noght in yre (fol. 24 6.)

ffor foly þat may falle of a felle hert.

their realms and

many years; but

a

A PROUERBE.

A word þat is wrappid, and in wrath holdyn,

Heed not the angry word of a

Book IV.

hasty man, lest like a spark unnoticed among ashes, it waken up a dreadful blaze.

(MS. has
"happyn.")

May feston as a fyre with a fuerse lowe,
1428 Of a sparke unaspied, spred vnder askys,

May feston vp fyre to mony freike sorow;
So lurkes with lordes of a light wrathe,

þat growes into gronnd harme, greuys full sore. 1432 (Happye) is þe here In no hate lengis,

Ne letis bele in his brest wherof bale rises,
Ne mynnes no malis þat is of mynd past;

As yt happes here harme for to come,
1436 And wreke to be wroght for wordes a few;

Soche a kyng to be kylde, A cuntre distroyed,
ffele folke forfaren with a ffeble ende.

Gyf an end hade ben now, & neuer noyet efter, 1440 Bothe of lure & of los, & oure lorde wolde,

Hit was euyn bot a venture of Angur to come,
And a Sesyn of sorow þat þere suet after.

Right as Lamydon pe lorde was of lyue broght, 1444 ffor he grethit with þe Grekys þat on his ground

lay; So bis Maidon shalbe mater of full mekull

harme, And mony londes to lure þat ener ho lyffe hade.

Lo, how fortune is felle & of fer caste, 1448 pat drawes in a dede hate in a derke wille,

And of a litill hath likyng a low for to kyndull, þat hepis into harme in a hond while !

By pis mater I meane what myschefe befell, 1452 Here no cause was to ken but vnkynd wordes.

And while pis Lady was on lyffe in a lond fer,
And all thies maters in mynde, þat I mene here,

Grete Troy was vp tild with mony toures ymbe, 1456 Dat was meruelously [made], & mekell to shew,

And Sesyt was sython & to sorow broght,
And mony kynges were kyld & knightes perfore.

What ledys were lost & of lyue done,
1460 Now I turne for to telle, whill I tyme haue.

This maiden
shall be the
cause of much
woe to many
lands, and all on
account of
angry words.

a

While she was in bondage, Troy was built and destroyed ;

(fol, 25 a.)

and many kings, knights, and people killel on her account.