CAPTURE OF MENELAUS.

8268 Euyll masit of the mynt, & the mayn stroke,
Thes wordys to the whe warpit the prinse :-
"Achilles, Achilles, pou cheses pe fast,
ffor to prese me with pyne in thy proud yre!
8272 The next tym pou noyes me, pou neghis to pe

fer,

Thow dowtles shall dye with dynt of my hond."
But or hit auntrid hym to aunsware Ector agayne,
Come Troilus full tyte with a tore pepull,
8276 ffrushet in felly po frekes betwene,

Depertid the prinse & the prise kyng.

So he greuit the Grekes, and gird hom abacke,
bat fyue houndrith were fay & in fild leuyt,
8280 Off knightes full kene, kild in the stoure;
And o backe fro the burghe bere hom anon.
Menelay with his men meuyt in swithe,
Thre thousaund full pro prang into batell;
8284 Restorit hom stithly, stuffit hom anon,

And cobbyt full kantly, kaghten the fild.
Then Sedymon with a sowme from the Cité come,
Of fell men in fight, freikes of his owne :
8288 He macchit hym to Menelay, & met on pe kyng,
Woundit hym wickedly in his wale face,

And gird hym to ground of his grete horse.
Than Troiell hym toke purgh his tried helpe

8292 Of Sedymon, the same kyng þat þe syre felle,
Wold haue led the lord o-lyue to be towne ;
But the stoure was so stithe, & stedis so thicke,
Thai pullid hym with pyne, but passid pai noght.
8296 Then Diamede full dernly, with a dyn hoge,
On Troiell with tene tachet belyue;

Bere hym backe to the bent of his big stede,
Raght to the Reynes in a rad hast,

8300 Sent hym by a seruaund, or he ses wold,
To Breisaide the bright, & bad hym to say,
That pat was lelly a ledis, pat ho louet well,-

269

Book XX.

Hector threatens to slay him at the next encounter.

Troilus with his followers separate the combatants.

(fol. 128 b.)

The Greeks are driven back. Menelaus comes to their rescue.

Troilus, with the aid of Sedymon, captures Menelaus.

Diomedes smites Troilus to the earth:

seizes his horse: and sends it to Briseis,

Book XX.

praying her to

hold him as her lover.

Briseis receives the present with joy; and says, she may not hate one, who loves her so well,

(fol. 129 a.)

The Greeks, again driven to their tents, are rallied by Agamemnon.

Polydamas succours the

Trojans, who

drive the Greeks

within their lines.

8304 With a stroke, in the stoure, of his stithe arme.— Prayaund her prestly, with all his pure hert, bat hir seruaund were sadly set in hir mynd, Dyamed, the derf kyng, in daunger of loue.

8308 pen the seruond, full sone, with the same horse, Went to the woman fro the wale kyng,

And the palfray of prise present hir to.

Ho receyuit hym with Reuerence, & to pe Renke said :

8312

"To pi lord, þat me loues, lelly pou telle,

I may not hate hym, by heuyn, þat me in hert

tes."

ffro the maidon, with his message he meuyt anon,
And the bodeword broght to be bold kyng.
ffayne was the freike of the fre answare,
Past furth into prese, paynet hym ther-for.
The grekes pan were gird backe to pere grete

tenttes;

With Swym vnder swerd swalton full mony! 8320 Ne hade Agamynon the gret oste gird in anon, The fight in the fild hade ben fynisshed for

euer.

8316

The whiche fro Troiell he toke, & turnet hym besyde,

8332

Than Restoret was the stithe batell stuernly agayn!

The grekes full grymly girdon out swithe, 8324 Harmet hom hogely in a hond while. Polidamas, the pert knight, presit in þen, With a batell full breme, britnet the grekes; ffaght with hom felly, frunt hom abacke; 8328 Droff hom vnto dykes with dynttes of sword. Then Diamede the doughty duly beheld,

Segh pe freke in his felnes his folk so distroy.
He ffrusshit at hym felly with a fyn spere;
And the knight hym kept, caupit with hym so,

DIOMEDES AND ACHILLES WOUNDED.

That bothe the hathell and his horse hurlit to
ground.

Dyamed was derit with a depe hurt,

Euill frusshet with the fall, & on feld lay. 8336 Polidamas the prise horse presit vnto,

Raght to be Reyne, and the Roile toke; Broght hym full bainly to pe bold Troiell, hat was fightand on fote in pe felle stoure. 8340 The triet knight Troiell titly wan vp,

As fayne of the foale, as a freke might.
Then Achilles with angur angardly preset,
Troiell to tene with a triet wepyn;

8344 And he keppit the kyng with a kant wille,
Hurlit hym to hard yerthe, hurt hym full sore.
The bold kyng vp braid, & the bent leuyt,
ffor deire of his dynt dut hym but litle !

8348 pen Ector come auerthwert, as aunter befell,
Presit nym to be place with a prise sworde;
Brittonit the bold men, þat aboute stode,
And mony dange to the dethe & deret full

mekyll!

HERE ECTOR KYLDE A THOWSAUND.

8352 Thus Dares of his dedis duly vs tellus,

8356 There Achilles with choppes chaunset so hard, With myche wo he hym werit in wothe of his

271

lyffe.

Then the night come anon, neghit with merke,
And for lacke of the light the ledis depertid :

8360 ffro the batell on bothe halues busket anon
And turnyt to towne & to tenttes all.

Book XX.

Diomedes is hurled to tho earth by Polydamas, who seizes his horse,

and brings it to Troilus, as he is fighting on foot.

Troilus hurls Achilles to the ground.

Hector ruslies to the fray.

A thowsaund, full throly, he prang to pe dethe,

surrounded

All the knightes full kant, þat keppit Achilles,— The knights that To haue wonen to þat worthy, so wodely he Achilles are cut fore!

down.

(fol. 129 b.)

Night comes down; the battle ends.

Book XX.

Skirmishing for thirty days.

Six of Priam's sons are slain;

and Hector is wounded in the face.

the Greeks consent.

feld,

And Ector wondit, I-wis, in his wale face. ben Priam, the prise kyng, prestly can sende To Agamynon the grete, gomys of his awne,

Priam demands a 8372 ffor a trew to be takon of a tyme short,—

truce for six

months:

Sex moneth & no more,-his men for to rest: hat the Grekes hym grauntid,.grucchet þai noght. Hit was festenit with faithe, & with fyn othes, 8376 On bothe halues to hold holly assentid, Withouten fight or affray to the fer end.

During the truce Hector recovered from his wounds.

He lay in the great hall of Ilion,

(fol. 130 a.) which had gorgeous pillars;

("Rowchet"= Wrought.)

a floor wrought with crystal; and strong fair walls.

("Hyernes"= hyrons, corners.) In each corner was a pillar of

Than

han thretty dayes proly þei prappit in feld, And mony bold in the bekur were on bent leuit! 8364 Mony doughty were ded of the derfe Troiens, But mo were pere marrit of pe mayne grekes. With-in thies dayes, with dole, was to dethe broght Sex sonnes, for sothe, of the sure kynges,

8368 Of the noble brother naturill,-pat nait were in

Er pes dayes were done, the doughty prinse

Ector

Was hole of his hurtes purgh helpe of a leche. 8380 In a halle, pat was hoge, pere pe hend lay, In honerable Ylion, eset hym a qwile,

Of whiche fairched & fourme, the fynest clerke

Dares

8392

Tellys in his trety, vppon trew wise.

8384 Hit was pight vp with pilers all of pure stones,
Palit full prudly; and a proude flore

Rowchet all with cristall, clere as the sonne.
The walles vp wroght on a wise faire

8388 With stones full stoute, stithest of vertue.

ffaire pillers were pere proude, all of pure coper,
In ffoure hyernes of the house hogely fest.
O lofte on tho louely were loget to stond,
ffoure ymages full fresshe, all of fyn gold,

8400

A PESTILENCE.

Wonderfully wroght weghis to be-hold, With gematry Justly aioynet to gedur; Miche soteltie, for-sothe, settyng of notes, 8396 Crafte þat was coynt, knawyng of tymes, And other faynet fare & fantasy olde! Within the tyme of the tru, the triet kyng Priam, Priam buries His noble sonnes naturell naitly gert bery,

his sons, each in
a separate tomb.

With hor brether, in the burgh, on his best wise:
Eure son by hym selfe, sais me the lyne,
In a precius place, & in prise toumbis!

HERE PAI FFAGHT TWELUE DAYES TO-GEDUR.
When the sex monethes were meuit of pe mene

true,

8404 Than faght þai in feld felly to gedur, Twelue dayes, be-dene, dole to be-holde!

ffull myche was the murthe of po mayn knightes,
On bothe sydes, for-sothe, sayes me the lyne ;
And myche blode on the bent of tho bold leuyt.
Than the hete was so hoge, harmyt the grekes,
With a pestylence in the pepull pynet hom sore:
Thai fore out to the fildes, fellyn to ground,

8412 And droppit to dethe on dayes full thicke.
ffor þat Agamynon, by grement, graidly did send
To the toun, for a true of a tym shorte;
Thretty dayes to endure, & no deire wirke.
8416 Hit was grauntid þat grete, by grement with-in
Of Priam, & [the] prinse, & the prise all
Of kynges, and Comyns, and of kyde Dukes.
Therto sworne were pai swiftly on hor swete
haloes,

8120 And affermyt hit fast: and here a ffyt endes.

8408

273

Book XX.

copper supporting
an image of pure
gold.
("Gematry"=
geometry.)

The truce is ended: fighting is resumed.

Because of the great heat, a pestilence breaks out; many of the Greeks die in the fields.

Agamemnon desires a truce for 30 days:

which is granted.

(fol. 130 b.)