SENDS FOR TELEPHUS.

:

5308 All in point for to pas with paynes of dethe.
Then Teutra po triet men tretid o þis wise :-
"Ye worshipfull weghes, well be you euer,
And gode hele mot ye haue with hop of your
lyues!

5312 I say you now sothely, as my sad fryndes,
My lif is not long lastand in erthe.

Done are my dayes, I draw to an end;

And non eire of myn own neuer yet I hade,

5316 þat I my londes might leue, lyuely to kepe, That I getton haue & gate with moche gret trauell,

And holdyn of hard, & with my hond werit

173

Book XIII.

When at the point

of death he addressed them thus:

"I am now drawing to my

end, and there is no heir to whom I may leave my lands.

(fol. 83 a.)

Vnto now, þat with noy is myn end comyn.

5320 The whiche lond I hade lost long tymes past,

Lands which

would have been

Hade not helpe ben of hym, was hardiest of lost long ago, but

othir,

Most doughty of dedis, dreghist in armys,

And the strongest in stoure, pat euer on stede

rode,

5324 Ercules, pat honerable, edist of my knightes. He was pi fader so fuerse, þat me faithe eght, hat preset at my prayer to this pure rewme, In hast me to helpe with his hede strenght,

5328 When my fos were so fell, & fuerse me agayn, bat pai occupiet ouer all, euyn as hom list, And I vncertayn, for-sothe, to sese it on lyue. But he sothely, hym-selfe, of his sad strenght, 5332 Thurgh hardynes of hond & helpe of hym one, All my fos in fight felly distroyit;

Breke all pere batells, britned hom to dethe,
And so rid he this rewme of my ranke fos,
5336 Euer sythen, for sothe, to pis same tyme,
And deliuert me pis lond, & left it in pes.

Thus the septur & the soile sithyn haue I
zemyt,

for the help of Hercules, the

bravest of my knights.

When my foes
occupied my
lands, and all
seemed to be lost,
he broke their
bands, put them
to flight, and
delivered the land
from their sway.

5340

Noght sothely purgh my selfe, ne my sad dedis,
But purghe ffrendship of þi fader, & his fre helpe.
Now son, I will say the, as my sad frynd,
Syn þi fader in fuerse with his fre will,

Rid me pis Rewme out of ronke Enmys,

5344 And wan it full worthely with worship hym-
seluyn,

Hade he lyuyt in lede, he hade ben lorde here,
Duly after my day, be domys of right.

And syn our goddis wold not graunt grace to
be so,

5348 This soile & the septur þi seluyn shall haue,
ffor to reigne in this rewme by right of þi fader:
Thus our goddes the graunttes of hor grace now.
Here qwemly I beqwethe pe to be qwem kyng
5352 Of all my londes full large, & my lefe godis,
ffor to gouerne & to get, as ye good pinke:
his I take the be testament, as my trew aire.
And bryng me to berenes on pi best wise,
5356 As be comys for a kyng in his kyde rewme;
And honour me with obit as ogh myn astate."
He wrote thus his wille, & wightly asselit,
And deght pen full dawlily, as destyny wold.
5360 And Thelaphus a toumbe trietly gart make,
A riche & a riall, with mony ronke stonys.
On a worshipfull wise warpit hym þerin,
With all the princes of pe prouyns, & other
prowde folke,

5364 And sacrifices full solemne, soche as pai vsit.
He puruait a proude stone of a prise hoge,

His course for to couer clenly aboue.

bus the wegh gert write vmbe the wale sides, 5368 With letturs full large, ledis to be-holde :— "Teutra, the true kyng, here in tombe lis, þat Achilles, with a chop, chaunsit to sle; bat to thelaphon betakis all his triet Rewme,

OF MESSAN.

5372 Bothe septur & soile, as souerain to haue."
When pes dedis were done, & the dede leuyt,
All the lordes of the londe, & the lege pepull,
Thurgh the Citis dyd send, and be soile ouer,

5376 ffor to come to the coronyng of þe kyde lord,

175

Book XIII.

When all was settled, the lords and the people are ordered to be present at the coronation of Telephus, to own

as their king.

With honour & homage, as aght hom of right; and honour him
And to call hym as kyng in cuntres aboute,

hat before, purghe his fader right, fell to be

duke,

5380 So cald in his cuntre be course of his londes,— Now coronyd is the kyng this cuntre to weld; Hade homage of all men, & honour full grete, And began for to gouerne, as gome in his owne. 5384 pan fild pai with fraght all pere fuerse shippes, And stuffe of all maner store, pat hom strenght

The Greeks then

fill their ships

with all sorts of

victual, and

Achilles

might; With corne, & with clene flowre, & othir kid prepares to set

vitaill.

Achilles, with choise men, chefe into shipp,

sail.

5388 And thelaphon, the tothir, wold haue turnyt Telephus would

after,

Agayne to the grekes with his grete folke,

In batell to byde, as a buerne noble ;

And be course to his cuntre comyn agayne.

(fol. 84 a.) have gone with him,

5392 pen the choise kyng Achilles chaunget his wille, but was advised

Spake to hym specially for sped of hom all,

In his lond for to long with his lege pepull,
And puruay for the pure oste plenty of vitaill.

to remain to watch over the supplies for the Greek army.

5396 Here at talaphon he toke leue, & turnyt to ship, Achilles takes

And halet to the hegh se in a hond while,

Wan þurgh the waghis, had wind at his ese;

Sailet on soundly, & the se past;

5400 To be gret Navy of þe Grekes graidly he comes.

At tenydon, full tomly, turnyt into hauyn,
Lept into a litle bote, launchit to bonke;
To Agamynon gay tent gos on his way,

leave of Telephus and sails for Tenedos.

Book XIII.

5404

His arrival is

hailed by every

one.

He relates how they had fared;how Telephus

had been made king;

and that a supply 5412

of corn had

arrived.

(fol. 84 b.)

I shall now tell

of the Trojans and their allies, as I have done of the Greeks.

In company clene of mony kyde lordes.
All the gret to hym gedrit with a good chere,
And welcomth þat worthy the weghes ychon,
As derrest bi-dene to pe dukes all.

5408 And he tomly hom told pe tale to pe end,
All the maner in Messan, how po men ferd.
ffirst, how pai faght fuersly to-gedur,
And how thelaphus tide to be treu kyng;
And of the cariage of corne comyn by ship,
hat no wegh suld want while the werre laste,
Ne no fode for to faile, but the fulthe haue,
Sent fro the same lond by pe selfe thelaphon.
5416 All worshippit the wegh for his wale dedis,
And he turnyt to his tent tomly & faire,

To the Mirmydouns his men, þat mekill ioy
hade,

And fayuer of pat fre, pen any folke ellis.

5420 Now here will I houe a litle hond qwhile,

Or any maters mo into mynd fall,

Of the Troiens to telle, & pere triet helpe,
After Dares indityng, as I did first,

5424 Of the Grekes, pat gedrit to the grete nauy.
Sone will I say, & in the same kynd,

What kynges pere come of countres aboute;

What Dukes by-dene, & other derfe Erles,

5428 pat soght to pe Citie with hor sad helpis,
ffor to comford the kyng with hor cant pepull.
Here nem will I now the nomes by-dene,

And the soume of the soudiours, er I sue ferre.

OF THE KYNGES AT COME TO TROY FOR SOCUR OF

PRIAM.

5432 Of the worthy to wale, as the writ shewes, The kynges pere come out of kyde londys, bat holdyn were of hom, as pere hede lordes,

The three kings-
Pendragon,

Thabor, and
Adrastus-came

And Thabor, pat tother, a tor man of strenght; with 3000 men.
Adasthon the doghte, pat derfe was the prid.
And of a cuntre, was cald Colophon to nome,

5440 þat faire was & full all of fre townes,

ffoure kynges pere come with a cant pepull, With ffyve thowsaund full, all of fyn knightes. To acounte of pe kynges,-Caras was on, 5444 And Nestor, another, to neuyn of po same; The thrid Ymasus, yrfull, egor of wille,

And Amphymacus, pe fourt, a felle mon in

werre.

Out of Licé come lyuelé þe lege kyng Glaucon, 5448 With his son Serpidon, a sad mon of strenght, hat to Priam was pure sib, a prise mon of dedes, And pre thousaund thro knightes prifty in

armys.

Out of Lachan, a lond, come a light kyng, 5452 Euphymus the fuerse, fell of his hondes,

And Capidus pe kene,-kynges were bothe With a thousaund pro men prifte in armys, And fyue hundrith ferre all of fyn knightes. 5456 There come of a cuntre, cald was Tebaria,

From Colophon came the four kings and 5000

men.

From Lycia came Glaucus and his son Serpedon with 3000 knights.

From Laconia
came Eupheraus
and Capidus with
1000 men and
500 knights.

(fol. 85 a.)

From Tebaria

came Baunus with

On Baunus, a bold kyng, and broght with hym- 3000 knights: seluyn

pre thousaund pro knightes, priuound in werre:

And seven Erles, sothely, in his sort were,

5460 And foure Dukes dughty, & of dede nobill,
hat to Priam the prise kyng all were pure syb.
All hor colouris to ken were of clene yalow,
Withouten more in the mene, or mellit with

other,

5464 To be knowen by course thurghe the clene ost, As bold men in batell, and of breme will.

in his company

were seven Earls and four Dukes,-relatives of

Priam.