7212

7216

HECTOR AND ACHILLES.

Armyt at all peses abill to fyght,

Araiet on a rout redy to batell.

Achilles the choise chargit to batell,

And Diomede the derfe drogh next aftur ; Monelay the mighty meuit with the prid; The Duke of Athens after auntird with the iiij. pus ordant were all men angardly mony, In batels full big all boune to þe werre, ffaire yche furde folowand on other, And past furth prudly into pe plaine feld. Ector, on the other side, egor hym selfe, 7220 Dressit for pe dede, deuydyt his pepull.

Troiell, the tru knight, betakon was the first, In his company to kayre mony kene buerne; Other batels full bigge, with bold men to ride, 7224 He araiet full Riolly by rede of hym seluyn.

7228

Then the prinse with his power past to the lond,
And gird furth on his gate with a grym chere.
He met hom full monly with his mayn dynttes,
And gird hom to ground & to grym dethe.
Ector to Achilles amyt hym sone,

hat he knew well be course was his kene fo;
And he keppit hym kenely, and coupid to-gedur,
7232 That bothe went bakward & on bent lay.
But Ector the honerable erst was on fote,
Lepe on a light horse, leuyt Achilles,
Breke purgh batels, britnet the grekes,
7236 Kyld mony knightes, kest hom to ground.

Mony hurlet to pe hard erthe & pere horse leuyt;
Mony woundit wegh fro his wepyn past!

So he hurlit hom on hepis with his hard dinttes, 7240 Till he was blody of pe buernes, & his bright

wedis.

Achilles also afterward rose,

Hit on his horse, hurlit into fight,

Mony Troiens ouertyrnyt, tumblit to dethe,

233

Book XVI.

under the command of Achilles, Diomedes, Menelaus, and Mnestheus.

Hector arrays the Trojans, and gives Troilus command of the first division.

Hector and Achilles meet in battle: both are unhorsed.

Hector remounts, and leaves Achilles on the ground.

(fol. 118 a.)

Book XVI.

Again Hector and
Achilles meet.

Achilles is borne

down, and barely

escapes capture.

He remounts;

again fights with Hector;

And shot purgh þere sheltrons, shent of pe pepull. ben auntred it eftsones pat Ector hym met, As he fore purgh the feld he ferkit hym to, And aither lede full lyuely lachit vpon other, 7248 bat his speire alto sprottes sprent hom betwene, And he hurlet doun hedstoupis to be hard erthe. Ector þat od kyng auntrid to take,

But he was put fro his purpos with prese of the grekes ;

7252 And reskewet full radly by renkes of his owne,
Achilles highit in hast, and on horse wan,

And auntred vppon Ector a full od dynt.
He hit on his helme with a heuy sword,
7256 pat greuit hym full gretly, gert hym to stoupe;
But in his sadell full sound pe souerain hym held.
Vne wode of his wit for the wale stroke,
He choppit to Achilles with a chere felle;

and is sorely wounded.

7260 Heturly his helme hurlit in sonder,

Diomedes and
Troilus meet;

and smite each other to the

ground.

Diomedes

remounts, and

with a sword

bursts the helmet

of Troilus, who kills Diomedes' horse.

þat the fas in the fell hast femyt on blode. ffull big was the batell po buernes betwene! Hade it last but a litle on pe laund so,

7264 Auther doutles had deghit of po derfe knightes; But other batels full big vppon bothe haluys, ffrusshet in fuersly po frekes betwene,

And depertid hom with prese of paire pale dynttes.

7268 en Diomede the derfe drogh into batell,

With mony grekes full grym of a gret will;
And Troiell with a tore folke turnyt hym agayne.
Boldly tho buernes bickryn to-gedur,

7272 That aither backward was borne & on bent lay;
But Diomede full dernly dressit vp first,

And wightly for all the woo wan on his horse;
Swynget out a sword, swappit at þat other;

7276 Sundret the sercle of his sure helme.

þat other freke vpon fote, þurgh his fyn strenght,

TROILUS CAPTURED AND RESCUED.

Diomedes dere horse vnto dethe broght.

And so the freikes on fote foghton to-gedur!

235

Book XVI.

(fol. 113 b.)

7280 But the grekes paire gay kynge getyn appoloft, Again they are

And the Troiens pat tother on a tried stede.
ben foght þai in fere with pere felle swordes,

And delt mony dynttes, po doughty in fere.

7284 But Diomede in daunger duly hym toke, And turnyt with the Troien tomly away,

mounted and fight together.

Troilus is captured by

Wold haue broght furth the buerne to his big Diomedes, and

tent;

But he was tarriet with the Troiens, & tenit full

euyll,

7288 And wernit of his wille, pof hym wo thoght;

rescued by the Trojans.

His pray fro hym puld, & his pepull slayn.

Then to batell was boune bold Menelaus,
Hurlit in hastely with a hoge folke.

Battle between the forces of

7292 Withoutyn tarying o pe tother side titly cam Menelaus and

Paris,

With mony triet knight of Troie, & the toile

entrid.

So bycceret pe batells vppon bothe haluys,

And Restoret with stithe men pe stoure was full
hoge!

7296 Mony doughty pat day deghit in the fild,
Mony wofully woundit, & wappid to ground!
There was crie of kenmen, crussing of wepyn,
All the bent of po buernes blody beronnen!

7300 Ector euermore egerly foght,

Breke of pere batell, britnet pere knightes, Mekyll greuit the grekes with his grete strenght, And kild all to kold dethe, pat countrid hym with. 7304 There come launchand o pe lond a lyuely yong

knight,

Now made at the note, & nomet Boethes.

He auntrid hym to Ector euyn at the tyme,
And he mighty hym met with a main dynt ;

Paris.

Hector makes havoc among the Greeks.

A young knight, Boétes, engages with him; and is cloven to the

navel.

DEATH OF ARCHILOCHUS AND PROTHENOR.

236

Carve hym euyn fro the creste cleane to be nauell, bat he gird vnto ground & the gost yalde;

And sesit hys sure horse & a seruand betaght.

THE DETHE OF ARCHILACUS THE KYNG, BY ECTOR SLAYN.
Archilacus, a choise kyng & cheftain of grece,
Se his cosyn so kild & cast to be dethe,
Wold venge o pat velany in a vile hast,

Archilochus, to avenge the death

of his cousin

7312

Boetes, rushes on

Hector, and is

cloven down.

(fol. 114 a.)

7316

ayres

And vnto Ector Angardly swithe.
The Prinse hym persayuit & preset hym agayn;
With the bit of his blade he bobbit hym so,
Thurgh the might of pe mon & pe mayn strenght,
He clefe hym to pe coler, & the kyng deghit.

Prothenor unhorses Hector;

but is soon after cut in two.

7320

7324

Achilles, enraged 7328

at the death of

his cousin

Prothenor, collects the Greeks, and charges on the Trojans.

The Greeks

break and flee to

THE DETHE OF PROTHENOR, BY ECTOR SLAYN.

Prothenor, a pert knight, preset hym ner,
Set hym a sad dynt Sydlyng by-hynd;
Vnhorsit hym heturly, er he hede toke.
But Ector in angur egurly rose,

Was horset in hast, hent to his sword,
Preset to Prothenor in a proude yre;
He merkit hym in mydward the mydell in two,
hat he felle to pe flat erthe, flote he no lengur.
Achilles pan auerthward pis auntre beheld,
How Prothenor was perysshet, his aune pure
cosyn:

He angurt hym full euyll, & egerd hym with,
ffor the dethe of pe dere his dole was þe more.
pen he gedrit the grekes with a grete yre:
7332 Of po kynges, þat were kild, & oper kene mony,
Wold haue vengit of þe velany, & pe vile harme.
ben preset pai full prudly, & pynet hom selfe.
The Troiens hom tenyt and tyrnit to dethe;
7336 Wet hom with woundes, warpit hom doun;
Greuit hom full gretly, gird hom abacke.
ben fled all in fere, & the fild leuyt,

THE GREEKS FLEE TO THEIR TENTS.

Turnyt to pere tenttes, pe troiens hom aftur,

237

Book XVI.

7340 Slogh hom in the slade, slang hom to ground; their tents. The

Woundit hom wikkidly, walt hom of horse.
bus neghet hom with noye, till þe night come;
Left hom for late, launchet to towne;

7344 Entrid in all somyn, euyn at hor wille;

ffore to pere Innes, & pus the fight endit!

Trojans pursue, and cut them down.

Night ends the battle.