452

(fol. 211 a.)

Ulysses in a

vision beholds a lady of surpassing beauty.

He eagerly desires to embrace her:

she shuns him;

then returns and declares the

awful penalty he would incur.

Ulysses then

observes a drawn

sword in her

The xxxvj Boke: Of the Dethe of Vlixes By his Son.

As Vlixes the lorde lay for to slepe,

With-outyn noise on a night in his naked bed,
13804 He was drecchit in a dreame, & in dred broght,
bat all chaunget his chere & his choise hert.
He segh an ymage full noble & of a new shap,
ffaire of ffeturs & fresshe, of a fre woman,
13808 Or ellis a goddes full gay, as the gome poght.
He dessyrit full depely pat depe forto hondle,
And þat bright for to bras in his big armes;
But hym thught pat ho proly prappit away,

13812 And o fer fro the freike foundit to kepe.
To pat noble, onone, ho neghit agayne,

And spird at hym specially what he speike wold.
"I wold dele with pe damysell," pe duke to hir

saide,

13816 "To know the full kyndly, as my clene luff." pan the lady to Vlixes, as pe lede poght,

Said hym full sone, all in sad wordes ;— "Now full hard & vnhappy is pi hegh lust, 13820 þat þou couetus vnkyndly to couple with me: Hit is nedfull, with noye, onone aftur þis, The tone dauly be ded, by domys of right." ban hit semyt to be souerain, pat pe sure lady 13824 Had a glaive, a full grym, grippit in honde ;

And a-boue hit ho bare, on the bright end,

A Grydell full gay, gret-full of fiche,
Corius & crafty, clene to be-holde.

Book XXXVI.

hand, and on the point of it a pan of fish.

13828 þan hit semet, for-sothe, pat pe selfe woman
Wold haue faryn hym fro, but first ho hym said.
"This is a signe, for-sothe, of a sure, Emperour,
And the coniunctoun vniust is Joynit vs be- emblem and

twene,

13832 Is care for to come, with a cold ende."

Than waknet the wegh of his wan slepe,
Myche dut he his dreme, & dred hym perfore.
Anone as the night past, the noble kyng sent
13836 ffor Devinours full duly, & of depe wit.

When pai comyn were to court, he the case told
Of the note in the night & the new dreme.
All wiston tho wise, by the weghis tale,

13840 He shuld duly be ded of his derfe sone.
Hit fell hym by fortune of a foole end.
pan Vlixes the lege kyng, of his lyf feerd,
Telamocus he toke, his tru sone,

She declares the

meaning of the

vanishes.

Ulysses awakes
in doubt and fear.
(fol. 211 b.)

The Diviners declare he will perish by the hand of his son.

He causes
Telemachus to

13844 Stake hym in a stith house, & stuerne men to be shut up and

kepe,

Wallit full wele, with water aboute.

Thus he keppit hym full cloise, & in care held,
hat no whe to hym wan but wardens full sure.

13848 Hit tide, as I told haue in tymes before, bat Vlixes with a lady in a lond dwellit, High[t] Cerces, for-soth, as I said ere.

He hade a child with pat choise was a chere sone, 13852 þat Telagonius in his tyme truly was cald;

And none wist hit, I-wis, but his wale moder,
hat consayuit of the kyng, & a knave bere.
When the ffreike had the fulle of xytene yeres,

13856 He fraynit at the fre, who his fader was,

In what lond he was lent, & if he lyue hade.

closely guarded.

Telegonus anxiously inquires of his mother Circe, regarding his father.

Book XXXVI.

After much delay she informs him

Ulysses is his father.

Telegonus resolves to go in

search of his

father.

He sets sail.

(fol. 212 a.)

He arrives at Achaia, proceeds to the palace of Ulysses, and insists on entering.

The guards drive him back harshly:

he kills one of them, and scatters the others.

Sho layuit hit full long, & list not to telle, ffor the sake of hir sone, lest he soght furth. 13860 This mild of his moder so mainly dessiret,

bat ho said hym o sycher, all in soche wordes, þat Vlixes the lord was his leue fader; And enfourmet hym fully of pe fre rewme, 13864 pat the worthy in-wonet, as a wale kyng. Thelagonius of the tale truly was fayne, And depely dessyret the duke for to knowe. He purpost hym plainly to pas ouer sea, 13868 The souerain to seche, and he so myght. The mon at his moder mekely toke leue, fferkit to the flode in a felle hast.

The lady hir leue son lyuely can pray, 13872 To hie hym in hast hom to his moder.

The buerne vnto bote busket onone,

Past ouer the pale and the pale ythes.
So long had he laburt, & the lord soght,
13876 þat he come to Acaya, pere the kyng dwellit.
There arofe he full radly, raght to pe bonke,

Past to the palais of the pure kyng,

There were kepars full cant at the close yatis, 13880 pat no buerne was so bold pe brigge for to entre. pai denyet hym onone o no kyn wise;

ffor thei kepe wold the comaundement of pere kynd lord.

ffast prayet the prinse, all with pure wordis, 13884 Of ffrenship, & fauour, and in faire wise.

ffull stuernly with strenght pai stourket hym pan, Bere hym bak on þe brigge, bet hym with-all. Telagonius, full tyte, tenet perwith. 13888 When he suffert the sore in his sad yre,

He nolpit on with his Neue in the necke hole, þat the bon alto brast, & the buerne deghit. With the remnond full rade he rixlit unfaire,

Book XXXVI.

The noise brings armed men from within.

13892 With gronyng & grym gert hym to stynt, Cast hom ouer clanly at the cloise brigge. The noise was noyus the noble court þurgh, Bold men to be brigge bremly pai yode, 13896 Telagonius to take and tirne vnto dethe. han he braid to the buerne on pe brig sone, Ouerraght hym full roidly, reft hym his swerd, fights till 15 are ffaght with tho fuerse men felly agayne,

13900 Tyll fyftene were fay of his fell dynttes,

And he woundit full wickedly in were of his lyf.

han the ruerde wax ranke of pat rught fare,
Vlixes full lyuely launchit on fote,

He wrests a

sword from one;

killed, and he is severely wounded.

Ulysses thinks
Telemachus has

13904 Hopet his sone was (out) slippit, þat set was in made his escape:

hold,

And put downe his pepull as he past furth.

To the noise oponone neghit pe kyng,

Vne wode of his wit for the wale crye,

13908 With a dart vndull þat the duke bare,

Segh his men to be mart with a mad childe,
bat hym-self neuer had sene, ne for sothe knew.
In offens of the freike, with a fyn wille

13912 He drof at hym with pe dart, derit hym but

litle.

Telagonius full tite toke hit in hond,

Cast euyn at the kyng with a cant will, Rent purgh his ribbes at the right syde, 13916 Woundit hym wickedly to the wale dethe, bat he dusshet euen doun of his dede hurt. All ffeblit pe freike, fainted of strenght, Wex pale of his payne, in point for to end; 13920 And weike of his wordes, woinerond in speche, He spird at hom specially, as he speike might, What wegh pat hit was, woundit hym hade

With a dart to the dethe, & deiret full mony:

13924 So hit meuit to his mynd in his mekill noye. Telagonius full tite at a tulke asket,

(MS, has "at")

seizes a dart,

(fol. 212 b.)

and rushes at Telegonus.

Ulysses receives a deadly wound.

In great agony,
he remembers his
vision, and asks
who the youth is.

(In MS. 1. 13923 follows 1. 13927.)

Book XXXVI.

Telegonus is

horrified to find he has so wounded

his father Ulysses.

He falls to the earth in a swoon.

He recovers;

tears his clothes

and his hair; falls

down at his

father's feet, and declares himself.

(fol. 218 a.)

Ulysses tries to comfort him:

sends for Telemachus, who, on seeing his father, desires to slay Telegonus.

Ulysses forbids

him; and exhorts them to be reconciled.

Who the freike was in faith, þat fraynit his nome. The said the lord was Vlixes, pat he lost hade. 13928 When Telagon the tale of the tru herd, bat his fader was fey of his fell dynt,

He brait out with a birr of a bale chere,

And said:" Alas! for this lure, pat I lyue shuld!

13932 I haue faryn out of fere laund my fader to seche, Me to solas in sound, as a sone owe;

And now I done haue to deth, in my derf hate,

hat my solas & socour sothely shuld be!"

1

13936 With fainttyng & feblenes he fell to pe ground. All dowly, for dole, in a dede swone.

Whan he wackont of wo, he wan vpo fote,

All-to rechit his robis & his ronke here;

13940 ffowle frusshet his face with his felle nailes.
pan he fell to pe fete of pe fre kyng,

And told hym full tyte, þat Telagon he was,
His son, pat on Circes sothely was getton :-
13944 "pat pou gate on þi gamyn, as vngrate felle;
And if pou degh of this dynt, by destany pus,
Oure goddis graunt me pat grace, pat I go with,
And no lengur to lyue in no lond after."

13948 When Vlixes pe lord lyuely persayuit,
hat he to Circes was son, þat hym-self gat,
He fauort hym more faithly, & frely comaundit,
To sese of his sorow, and sobur his cher.

13952 pen for Telamoc, pe tothir son, tomly he sent,
And he come out of kepyng to his kid fadur;
Wold haue britnet his brothir with a bare sword,
fforto dere for pe deth of his du lord.

13956 3et Vlixes on lyue, as pe led myght,

With gronyng and greue gert hym to stynt; Bad pe lede schuld hym leue, as his lofe brothir,