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Book VIII.

warrior of fine

mould and fair

size.

Neoptolemus the

noble, a tall, staid

man, with hard,

black, prickly

Semely for sothe, & of Syse faire.

3816 Doughty of dedis, derfe of his hondes,
None wighter in werre, ne of wille bettur.
Neptolon nobill was non of pe lest:

A store man of stature, stabill of chere.

hair; large gray 3820 His here was hard blake, on his hede stode.

eyes and grim;

was broad

shouldered, and beetle browed,

and stuttered.

(fol. 60 a.)

Palamedes, son
of Nauplius, King
of Euboea, was of
middle size, well-
built, bold, and
daring; a noble
story-teller,

courteous and
kind.

Podalirius, huge, fat, and "plooked” as a porker; his feet had burden enough to "fer ke hym aboute."

Machaon, brother of Podalirius, was of mean stature, proud and presumptuous.

Grete Ene and gray, with a grym loke.
Rounde sydes for sothe, sober of wille;

His shulders were shapon of a clene brede.
3824 Bytell browet was the buerne, pat aboue met ;
And stutid full stithly, pat stynt hym to speke;
But he was lernyd of pe lawe, & in his londo
wise;

ffor to comyn in a case hade a clere wit.

3828 Palomydon the pure, he was prinse faire;

Naulus son þe nobill kyng, & his next childe.
Vne made of a mene in the medyll shap,
Large of a lenght, lyuely & small,

3832 Noght borely ne brode, but as hym best semyt.
A stythe man of his stature, stirond of wille,
Menyt hym to mony thinges, & of mynde gode;
Nobill talker with tales, tretable alse,

3836 Curtas & kynde, curious of honde.
Polidarius was pluccid as a porke fat,
ffull grete in the grippe, all of grese hoge.
So bolnet was his body, þat burthen hade ynoghe
3840 The fete of þat freke to ferke hym aboute,

Or stond vppo streght for his strong charge.
Aparty was he proude, presit after seruys,
He wold not gladly be glad, ne glide into myrthe;
3844 But euermore ymaginand & entrond in thoghtes.
Machaon the mody kyng was of a mene stature,

Noght to long ne to litle, lusty to se,
Proude & presumptius, prouyt of wille,
3848 Ballit was the buerne with a brode face;
Neuer slept þat slegh for slouthe vppon day.

THE KING AND PRINCES OF TROY.

Dares in his dytyng duly pus tellus,

bat for the helpe of these hende, & hertely of

oper,

125

Book VIII.

3852 Of Perse come the proude kyng with pepull full The king of Persia

mony,

And a company of knightes comly to se, bat tellis his Atyre & his triet strenght. He was large, & long, & of lene shap, 3856 With a face somwhat fat, fellist of colour. The here of þat hathell was huet as þe fire, Bothe o berde & aboue all of bright rede.

Of the tulkes of Troy telle we now ferre,

3860 Bothe of mesure & mykyll whille I mynde haue,
As breuyt is in boke and aboue set,
ffull duly by Dares endited of olde.
Priam pe prise kyng was of pure shap,

3864 A large man & a longe, liuely & small.

A faire man in feturs & hade of furse steuyn.

Wight in his werkes & of wit redy;

Delited to the deuer on dayes be tyme.
3868 Noght ferfull, ne furse, faueret full wele,
Louet he no lede pat lustide in wrange;
He rulet hym by Reason & the right spake.
Songis of solemnite and songes of myrthe

3872 He wold herkon full hertely in his high wit.

with a great band of soldiers and

a company of knights.

Of the Trojan leaders.

(fol. 60 b.) Priam the king was a tall, noble, active man, of fair feature and commanding voice.

Was neuer kyng vnder cloude his knightes more Never was a king

louet,

Ne gretter of giftes to his goode men,

Ne lellier louyt ledys of his aune,

3876 Ne with Riches so Rife rewardet his pepull.

Of all his sones for sothe, pat semely were
holdyn,

Non was so noble, ne of nait strenght,

As Ector, pe eldist, & aire to hym seluyn. 3880 He was truly in his tyme tristiest of other

more beloved by

his knights, &c.

The noblest and bravest of his sons was Hector.

Book VIII.

He stuttered a little,

was always victorious.

Massive and tall,

Troy never bred

his equal: he was so ready, so good, and so powerful.

(fol. 61 a.)

Paris, a pert knight with

silken, glossy hair,

was a famous archer and hunter.

Deiphobus the

third son and

Helenus the

fourth, were

very much alike in features;

bat leuit in any londe, & a litle he stotid.
This prinse with his pure strenght plainly auer-

come

All Auntres in Armys, þat he euer raght:

3884 Non so stuerne pat withstode a stroke of his
honde.

He was massy & mekull, made for pe nonest,
Neuer Troy no tyme soche a tulke bred,
So graithe, ne so good, ne of so gret myght.
3888 Ruly & rightwise, a roghe man of hors,

He spake neuer dispituosly, ne spiset no man;
Ne warpit neuer worde of wrang with his
mowthe.

Ne sagh, þat was vnsemond, slipped hym fro, 3892 But ay meke as a maydon, & mylde of his speche. Neuer hatfull to hym to hygh into batell,

Neuer wery of þat werke, ne of wegh fferde,

He swat neuer for pat swynke, ne in swayme

felle.

3896 Was neuer red in no Romanse of Renke vpon

erthe

So well louyt with all ledys, pat in his lond

dwelt.

Parys was pure faire, and a pert knighte;

Here huet on his hede as haspis of silke,

3900 And in sighkyng it shone as the shyre golde.
He was bowman O pe best, bolde with a speire,
A wilde man to wale, wode on his fos;
ffull siker at asaye, & a sad knight,
3904 Of hunters he was hede, & hauntyd it ofte.
Deffebus was doughty & derfe of his hond,
The prid son of pe sute, & his sure brother
Elenus, the eldist euyn after hym.

3908 po freikes were fourmet of feturs [a]like,

Bothe of hyde & of hew to hede of a mykell; ffor, to loke on pe ledys with a light egh,

3916

TROILUS AND ENEAS.

The ton fro pe tother was tore for to ken
3912 In sight at þat sodan, somyn & þai were.
The fourme of po freikes was, faithfully to se,
Right suche as the syre, pat I said first;
Vndifferent to deme fro pere dere fader,
Saue Priam the prise was past into eld,
And þai of yeris full yong, zenerus of wille.
The ton was a triet knight, tristy in armys,
A wight man for to wale, & wise of his dedis;
The tother, sotele of syense to seke in a lond,
And a corius clerke with a clene wit.
Troilus pe tru was full tore mekull,
ffull massely made, & of mayn strenght;

3920

3924

3928

127

Book VIII.

and in form both were very like their father.

The one was a tried knight, the other, a 'sotele man of syense.'

Troilus was tall,

massive, and

strong; brave,

reckless, and

amorous, yet

measured.

(fol. 61 b.)

And yet hoger of hert & of her wille,
He demenyt well his maners, & be mesure wroght. mannerly and
Amirous vnto Maidens, & mony hym louyt,
And delited hym in dole with damsels ofte;
But he mesuret his maners, pof he pe myrth vsid,
hat it impairyt not his person, ne his purpos

lettid.

In strenght ne in stryfe pere strokes were delte, In battle he was
He was Ector eftsones, or ellis soche another.

3932 In all the kyngdome & cuntre, þat to be coron

longit,

Was no yong man so 3epe, ne zenerus of dedis,
Ne so hardy of hond holdyn in his tyme.
Eneas was euermore eger of wille,
3936 Brode in his brest, & of body litill.

Wise in his werkes, & of wordys sober,
A faire speiker in a spede, speciall of wit,
A clene man of counsell, with a cloise hert,
3940 Of litterure & langage lurnyt ynoghe.

3944

A man full of mekenes & mery of his chere.
ffaire Ene hade pe freike, & of fyn colour,
Glemyt as pe glasse and gliet a little.

almost equal to Hector.

Eneas the eager, broad-chested but

ättle; he was

skilful, wise, learned, and meek;

had fine bright eyes slightly asquint, and was the richest man in

Of all the tulkes of Troy, to telle þem by name, Troy.

Book VIII.

Antenor the Wise

was a tall, active,

Was non so riche of Renttes, ne of renke godes,
Of castels full close, & mony clene tounes.
Antenor also was abill man of wit,

but slender man: 3948 Long man & large, lyuely & small.

talkative but far

seeing.

Polydamas, son of Antenor,

['favour.' countenance.]

was tall, agile, and slender, like his father;

(fol. 62 a.)

Meriones, king of Crete, was a great, massive, broadshouldered

knight, with crisp yellow hair, and black eyelashes:

a fierce and

famous warrior.

Hecuba, the honest and honourable queen, was broad and

massive, almost like a man.

She was learned

as became a lady,

meek and charitable.

Mony wordys hade the wegh, wise of his dedis,
In fele thinges forwise, & a fer caster.

Wele louyt of his lege, delited hym in myrthe,
3952 Bourdfull among buernes, blithe of his wordis,
Hethyngfull to hathels, but it harmyt not.
Polidamas pe pert þat was his prise son,
ffull zener and 3epe, and a yong knight,

3956 ffaire man of faffure, & of fyn strenght,
Worshipfull in wer, wise of his dedis ;
A large man of lenght, delyuer, & small,
Euyn fourmyt as his fader of feturs & other.
3960 A full strong man in stoure, sturnyst in Armys,
Wrothe with a worde & away sone:

His colour blent was in blake, with a blithe chere.
Merion the mighty kyng was massely shapen,

3964 A faire man of fourme, & a fre knight.
Grete sydes to gripe growen full sad,
Brode shulders aboue, big of his armys,
A hard brest hade pe buerne, & his back sware.
3968 Crispe heris & clene, all in cours yelowe,
All the borders blake of his bright ene.
A felle man in fight, fuerse on his enimys,
And in batell full bigge, & myche bale wroght:
3972 Grete worship he wan while the wer laste.
Ecuba, the onest & onerable qwene,

Was shewyng in shap of a shene brede,
Massily made as a man lyke.

3976 She hade a wonderfull wit a woman to bene,
Alse sad in þe syens as semyt for a lady
Wele norisshed perwith; wise of hir dedis,
Meke of hir maners, myldest of chere;

3980 Onest ouerall, as aght hir astate,

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