Book XIV. Therefore, delay no longer. The attack must be made." All were pleased One hundred ships with fierce men and all sorts of missiles to annoy the enemy are sent first And with fightyng full fell with a fuerse pepull, 5640 To set vp on yche syde vppon sere haluys. perfor, lause of our lyuys, leng we not here; Put of all purpos, prese on our gate! This bus duly be done, dem we non other, 5644 Syn we wyn to our wille be no way ellis.” All plesit the prinse with his prise wordes, And the dom, pat he dulte, duly was kept. When the derke was done, and the day sprange, 5648 All the renkes to row redyn hor shippes, Halit out of hauyn to the hegh see, But the Trojans saw their boats There plainly thaire purpos putto an end. Thus demyt thes dukes on the depe water:- 5656 With baners o brede bret for þe werre ; The forcastels full of fuerse men of armys, then, another squadron of one hundred; and the 5660 With sailes vp set on þe same wise, whole fleet follow. All wroght for the werre & wight men perin. ben folowet all the flete fast oponon, Euyn kepyn hor course, as pai kend were, 5664 Turnet euyn to be toune, tariet no lengur, When they reach the city, the sails are dropped; boats are lowered; and all 5668 Leton sailes doun slide, slippit into botes, make for the land. And the bonkes aboute to pe bare walles. Launchet vp to the lond lyuclé bedene, Buernes buskit vnto bonke; bold men in hast, THE HARD ARIVALL OF THE GREKES. 5672 But the Troiens, truly, þes tourfer beheld, THE BATTLE AT THE LANDING. How the fflete of pere fos fell to pe bonke, Bowet euyn to pe banke or pai bide wold ; armes, The bonke to forbede, bold men ynow: Thai hade meruell full mekyll in hor mynd all, To se the gouernaunce graithe, & the grete chere, 5684 How wisely po werriours wroghten vndur shild. There was no Greke so grym, ne of so gret wille, Durst abate on po buernes, ne to bonke stride; Ne afforse hym with fight to ferke out of ship. 5688 But for hom gaynet no ground to get at pe tyme, (fol. 88 h.) The Grekes in the gret shippes graidly beheld, 5680 Segh the pepull so plaintiouse, presaund in number and The Greeks skill of the 185 Book XIV. making for the bank, and mounting their horses dashed down to prevent the landing. But purghe strenght of strokes, & of strong fight, Seeing there was And with batell full big on a breme wise, nothing to be got but by hard fighting, at length they seizo their weapons and drive to 5692 Wonyn to pere weppons wyghtly by-dene, And girdyn vp to pe ground with hor grete land shippes. Till þai rut on a Rocke, & rent all to peses, 5700 bat mony was mard & the men drownet: Vne sunkyn in þe se mony sure knightes. and for a time not one would land. Prothessalon the proude, of Philace was kyng, He was formast on flete with the first hundrith, Protesilaus was 5696 pat boldly to bonke braidis to fight. foremost of those; but his But his shippes were shent with a sharpe wynd, shattered on the rocks. hen the fight wex fell po fuerse men amonge, Many of his men were drowned; and those who got to land were slain. The battle became fierce: the air Book XIV. was thick with arrows and cross-bow bolts, and resounded with the din of arms. (fol. 89 a.) But the second division, through better skill, reached the bank, and press on fiercely. The Trojans resist stoutly; but the Greeks, with bow and cross bow, bicker on them and confuse their ranks: then driving upward press them hard. Protesilaus now Of Arowes & Awblasters pe aire wex thicke, 5708 And dynnyt with dyntes, pat delte were pat tyme. The rynels wex red of the ronke blode, hat were slayne in the slicche, & in slym lightyn. There sothely was sene what sorow & pyne, 5712 And how balfull & bittur the banke was to wyn. How the grekes were gird vnto grym dethe, Neuer red was in Romanse with no renke yet, That any weghes in the world, pat to werre yode, 5716 With soche baret, fro pe bote vnto bank wan, As hit happit here with so hard fight. But the sccund sort sothely, pat sewet hom aftur, Were graither of gouernaunce, grippet hor sailes, 5720 And light vnto lond lyuely and sound. More wisely pai wroght purgh warnyng before. hai preset vp proudly with panys in hond, In refut of hor felowes, þat were foule mart; 5724 And the Troiens tyt turnyt hom agayne, ffor-bode hom the banke with mony bale dintes. 5728 With big bowes of brake bykrit full hard, Lacchet on pe ledis, pat on lofte stode, Hurt hom full hidiously, hurlet hom abake. There were ded of po dyntes, mony derfe knightes. 5732 The shalkes for pe shot shout fro pe banke, ffull fell was the fight with po fuerse troiens. Prothesselon, pe prise kyng, preuyt his strenght, THE BATTLE AT THE LANDING. There wonderfully wroght his weghis to helpe; 5740 Mony Troiens with tene tyrnyt to ground, Thurgh swap of his sword swaltyn belyue! Book XIV. displayed his Mony doughty were ded with dynt of his hond, Trojans. 5744 Hade not the freike ben so fuerse with his fell But for him the dyntes, Greeks had been cut down to a man. 187 All the grekes hade ben gird vnto grym dethe, But what fortherit his fight, þof he fell were, 5748 With seven thowsaund pro men prongen to-gedur, 100 men against But what could 7000 brave pere a hundrith hole were on a hepe somyn 5752 The Grekes were gird doun, & on ground lay, 5756 But no wise might po weghis wyn into ship; Ne to lepe fro pe lond into pe low se, Hit was not holsom for hom, so hard was the Hom was leuer on þe lond leng at hor aunter, 5760. And be brittnet in batell, pen burbull in the flod. pai wold fayn haue ben forthe, fled on hor way, Fain would the Greeks have fled; but they could not. (fol. 89 b.) 5764 Mony lost hor lyues, & light in the water, hai fell fuersly to fight, po few þat þere were, They make a drive many of them into the sea. And were ded in the depe withouten dyn more. Again they would hai hade no strenght to withstond, ne hor stid come, but for holde, Archelaus, who rallies them; and another fierce 5768 But all borne were pai backe to be buerne syde, combat ensues. And hade deghit by-dene with dynttes of hond; Book XIV. Nestor, with his men, then reaches the bank, (fol. 90 a.) and rushed in to their aid, and the air resounds with the shouts of men and crash of arms. armys, Hard hastid to helpe with heturly wille, And sodainly with his sort soght into batell! Speiris into sprottes spronge ouer hede; 5784 Arowes vp in the aire ysshit full picke; Swordis, with swapping, swaruyt on helmes ; Prothenor the prise kyng, & proud Archelaus, Ascalaphus and Alacus then land, and uniting with 5792 And aryuen full rad with pere rank shippes: their friends With pere pouer full prist past fro pe water, drive the Trojans back. But fresh troops come up, and they regain their ground. Ulysses and his And fell vnto fight his feris to helpe. 5772 Now batell on bent po buernes betwene, The grevans was gret po grekes among ; Assemblit were sone þe same in pe fight, And restorit full stithly pe stuff of þe grekes. 5776 ffell was the fight & fuerse hom agaynes, And mony deghit with dynt of po derfe pepull: 5780 With his shippis full shene, & sharpe men of So felly in fere foghtyn po two, 5796 Obacke went the batell of pe burghe folke; hat gird into the grekes with a grym will, And all backward hom bere to pe buerne side, And braid into batell with a brem wille. 5804 Sharpe was the shoure the sheltrun [amonge]! |