Book XV.

Hector then bows to his father, and

passes forth to battle.

He was the bravest, the wisest, the strongest in battle.

(fol. 98 a.)

Though the last to leave the city, he was foreinost in the fight.

From the walls, the honourable women of Troy, with the king's daughters, watch the departure of the troops.

Helen, too, was

there, thoughtful,

sad, and

desponding.

Agamemnon

divided his army into 26 battalions.

Patroclus led the first battalion, which was composed of his own men, and

those of Achilles,

who was suffering

6284 Past furthe to hys pepull, & hys pas held.
He was wyght and wylfull, wysyst in batell,
Strongest in stour, sturnest of other;

Euer frike to pe fyght, fayntid he neuer.
6288 Leder of pe ledys, pat longyt to Troy,
Hys armys were auenond, abill to fyght;
Hys feld was of fyn gold, freche to behold,
With pre lyons launchond, all of lyght goulys.
6292 pus he glod on hys gate, and hys gomys all,
With hys baners o brode, and pe burght past,
Penons & penselles, proud men of armys;
ffore euyn to pe feld, and hys ferys leuyt,
6296 Prykyd furthe prestly, past on hys way!
hof he lengyt to be last, er he leue toke,
He was foundyn þe fyrst, pat in feld stroke,
And pe sonest in assembly in þe sad fyght.
6300 All þe worshypfull wemen of þe wale toune
Wentyn to be wallys, þe weghys to behold.
be kyngys doughter, bedene, droghin hom alofte,
With honerable Elan, þat arghit in hert;
6304 Myche fere had pat fre, & full was of poght,
All droupond in drede and in dol lengyt,
pof Ector pe honerable had ordant hys folke,
And bateld hom bygly, on hys best wyse;
6308 Vnder gouernanse graythe, all hys grym ost
In rewle and aray redy to fyght.

Agamynon hys grekys graythyt to feld:

Twenty batels full bold of byg men of armys,
And sex other besyde, all of sure knyghtys.
Patroclus, pe proud kyng, put to pe first,
With all pe folke, pat hym folowet, and fele

other moo.

Achylles choise men cheuyt hym with ;

from his wounds. 6316 Hym-selfe fore to no fyght for hys fel wondys,

But lay in hys loge, lechit hys sores.

AGAMEMNON ARRAYS THE GREEKS.

his patroclus, pe proud kyng, was full pure ryche,
Of aunsetre olde, abyll of kyn,

6320 Wel manert & meke, myghti of pupull.

Achylles, pe choise kyng, cherist hym mekill,
And louyt hym no lesse pen hym lefe seluyn.

bay were so festenyt with faythe, & wyth fyn loue, 6324 pat bothe paire saulis & paire self were set on a wyll

And qwat so tendit to pe totheris was all.
The secund batell, forsothe, assignet was pen

205

Book XV.

The second

To Merion, a mody kyng, þat mekull couth of battalion,

were,

consisting of 3000 knights, and the Athenians under

6328 With pre thousond pro knyghtis, prepond in Mestheus, was

Armys,

And Menestaus the mighty, with his men of

Attens.

To Atholapo, a tore kyng, takyn was the prid, And Philmene, his faire son, fre in his hond, 6332 With all the company clene of comaynes pepull,―

Wise men in wer, wight of hor dedes.

The ffourthe batell in feld, he fourmet to leng
With Archelaus, a lede lyuely in armys,

led by Merion.

(fol. 98 b.)

The third battalion was under the command of Ascalaphus and his son Philomenes.

The fourth was assigned to Arcesilaus and

6336 And Prothenor, a prise kyng, with his pepull Prothenor

holl :

In the same was Segurda, with sad men & noble.

The fyfte, þat was fourmit of po fuerse batell, Was Menelay the mighty, with his men all, 6340 With the pepull of his prouynse, & his pert

knightes.

The Sext of pat sort, þat soght to be fild,

with it went Segurda.

The fifth was led by Menelaus.

The sixth was led by the bishop

Was kyng bysshop the bold, with his buernes king,

felle;

And Selidis, for sothe, soght in his honde, 6344 With all the here, pat he hade, highet hym

with.

Epistrophus; and
Schedius.

Book XV.

The seventh was led by Telamon,

who had under him Theseus, Amphimachus, Diores, and Polisarius.

The eighth was

led by Thoas.

The ninth was led

by Ajax Oileus;

The Seuent of the soum, þat I said ere,
Was Telamon pe tidé, with mony tried knightes,
bat suett hym from salerne, sad men & noble,
6348 With foure Erles in fere, fell men of wer,—
Theseus the tru, & tide Amphimake,

And on Domys, the doghty, doutid in fild,
With Polisarius the pert, of person full abill:
6352 Thes comyn with the kyng in his clene batell.
The viij ffreke, pat to feld fore with his batell,
Was Toax, a tore kyng, & tidé of hond.
The ix of the nowmber, to nem pom full euyn,

and the tenth by 6356 Was Aiax Oelius, with od men to wale.

Philoctetes.

The eleventh was led by Nestor,

and the twelfth

by Henex.

(fol. 99 a.)

The thirteenth

was led by

Ulysses; the

fourteenth by

Arestes; and the fifteenth by

Eumelus.

The sixteenth was

led by

Protesilaus; the

seventeenth by Podalirius and

Machaon; and

the eighteenth by

the king of

Rhodes

(Tlepolemus).

The nineteenth

was led by

Gumplius; the twentieth by

Polypoetes; and the twenty-first

by Amphimachus.

The twentysecond was led by

And Philoc, the fell kyng, fore with the tenth.
Nestor, the noble Duke, an old man with all,
The xi with odmen auntrid to fild.

6360 The xij vnthwyuond, þat twyet not in fight,
Was Maumbert mayn son, mightfull Henex.
The xiij thro batell prong with Vlixes,
That past to the playn with proud men of

armys.

6364 The xiiij to pe fight fore with Arestes. Humelius, the hasty, highit with the fyftene. Protessalous proud son presit with the sextene, ffor to dere for the dethe of his dere fader. 6368 Polidarius, the porknell, and his pere Machaon, Suet with the xvij, sad men & noble.

The riche kyng of the Rodes raiked with

the xviij,

With fell men in fight to the fild past,

6372 The xix of the nowmbur a nobill mon toke,

One Gumplius a gome, pat mony grekes led.
And Philoc the freke fore with the twenti,
hat of Larris was lord & a lege kyng.

6376 With xxj auntrid abill men two,—

Amphimas, a fre kyng, and his fere Cepton.
With xxij vnthwyuond twyet to filde,

THE SECOND BATTLE.

Dyomede, the derfe kyng, and doughty Celernis. 6380 Eneus, the nobill kyng, pat neghit fro Sypris,

With xxiij priuond, pronge to the playne.
Procholus, a prise kyng, presit with another.
Now xxiiij fully are faren to pe batell.

6384 Cupenor, a cant man, come with the next,—
The xxv fully, all of fyn knightes.

The xxvj of the soume, pat I said first,
Of bold batels & bigge, pat to bent come,

6388 Led Agamynon the grete, with grekes full mony,
And fore euyn to pe fight, & the fild toke.

When the batell on bothe haluys were to bent

comyn,

ffor to fight in the fild, all po fuerse pepull, 6392 Ector the auntrus, ablist of knightes,

Was the first in the fild, pat to fight entrid,
Toke his horse with his helis, hastid before,
Gird euon to pe grekes with a grete yre,

6396 ffrusshet to the forward, felly anon.

THE DETH OF PATROCLUS, BY ECTOR SLAYN.

207

Book XV.

Diomedes: the twenty-third by Eneus (Guneus); and the twentyfourth by Procholus.

The twenty-fifth was led by Agapenor; and the twenty-sixth by Agamemnon.

(fol. 99 b.)

Hector was the first to begin the battle.

Patroclus saw him dash towards the Greeks, and rushing on him with a great spear, pierced

Patroclus persayuit, þat the pepull led, þat was formast in fight with a felle speire. He auntrid vpon Ector, atlit hym a dynt, 6400 With all the forse of his fole & his fuerse arme; through shield

He shot prough the shild & the shene maile,
To be ynmast of his armur, angardly fast;
Hit neghit to be nakid, but no noy did.
6404 Ector for pat od dynt, ournyt in hert,
Wode for the wap, as a wild lyon;

His speire into sprottes sprongyn was before,
But he braid out a brond with a bill felle,
6408 Carve euyn at the kyng & pe crest hit,
Slit hym full slighly to be slote euyn,

bat he dusshet, of pe dynt, dede to be ground.

and mail; still Hector was unhurt.

Book XV.

Hector dismounts and attempts to despoil the king of his armour.

(fol. 100 a.)

Merion, with his

company, rushes up to prevent him.

They drive him back, and try to

capture his horse; but he baffles them.

In a rage he

makes towards Merion, and is

THE FFOLY DESYRE OF ECTOR.

When the kyng was kyld, cast to þe grene,
6412 His shene armys to shew shone in the filde.
Ector to pe erth egurly light,

The gay armur to get of the gode hew,
That he duly dessirit in his depe hert;
6416 And to spoile that spilt kyng he sped ferr.
His horse in his hond held by the reyne,

And come to be kyng, pere the corse lay,

Wold haue Robbit the Renke of his riche wede. 6420 With the ton hond in the toile tyrnyt it offe: But Merion the mighty with a mayn pepull, With pre thousaund pro men prong hym vnto. In defence of the freike, pat on fild lay, 6424 To Ector in ernyst full angurdly said: : "Nay, warloghe wolfe, in þi wode hongur, hat neuer of forray art full, with pi foule vse, The tydis not to taste of pis triet meite! 6428 ffor-bode the firke pi fode forto wyn! Sone shall pou se in a sad hast,

A C thousaund on horse highand pe to, Thyn hede forto haue, & hew pe to dethe, 6432 And put þe fro purpos, pi payn to encres!" Sone, by the same kyng & his sad helpis,

He was borne fro pe body, backward agayn.
His horse for to haue, pai hasted by-dene,
6436 And mony strokes, in þat stoure, po stithe men
hym gefe,

Till þe knight, vndur knappis, vppon knes fell.
Then he stert vp full stithly, with his store

might,

Was on hys wight horse, for wepyn or other. 6440 ffor all the grefe of po grekes, & pe grete pronge,

Was no led might hym let, pof hom lothe were.
He meuit taward Merion his malis to venge,
Wode of his wit, in his wan yre;