Book Ill.

Jason proposes to depart immedi. ately. Medea pleads for delay.

And he hir graunted pat gate with a good wille.
980 When it turnyt to be tyme as I told ere,

He bowes to hir bed þere he ben hade,
And lay pere in lustes pe long night ouer,

In Solas on soche wise as hom-selfe thoght,
984 And spekyn of hor spede while þai space hade,

ffor to fare on þe fome into fer londes ;
But Medea mouet hym a moneth to lenge.

Þen leuyt þai the lond and no leue toke,
988 Stale from þe styth kyng styllé by night;

With pe maiden Medea & myche oper goodes,
Þai turne into Tessaile with-outen tale more,

Hit vp into a havyn all the hepe samyn.
992 Pelleus not prowde hade pyne at his hert,

bat Jason of his Jorney Joifully hade sped,
And faynet ay faire wordes vnder felle thoghtes,
Holy het hom to have þe hestes before.

They steal away by night.

1

Jason and
Hercules cherish
vindictive feelings
towards
Laomedon, son
of Mus, king of
Troy.

996 Jason of his Jorney was ioyfull ynoghe,

hat he hade fongit þe flese & pe fresshe gold;
He hedit not the hestes ne the hegh othes,

Ne he keppid no couenaund to be kynd maydon.
1000 But a Sourdyng with sourgrem sanke in his hert,

And a lourekand lust to Lamydon the kyng :
Ercules with Enuy was enmy also.

bai comynd in the case, cast hom þerfore,
1004 Comyn euyn to the kyng & be cause tolde

Of dyshoner he did and his derfe wordes,
hat the grettyst of Grise gremyt þerat;

And heghly to helpe heghtyn þai all,
1008 As I shall telle you the treuthe truly hereaftur.

(fol. 18 a.)

Here begynneth be flourth boke.
Of be dystrucion of be fyrst Troy by

Ercules and Lason.

Hercules de termines to make war with Troy, and seeks the assistance of Castor and Pollux.

(Helena, sister of Pollux.)

All charge of pis chaunse, chefe how it will,
Ercules vppon hond hertely has tane;

He sped hym vnto spart, sparit he noght, 1012 bat a cuntre is cald of þe coste of Roine.

Tow brether full bold abidyng þer-in,
Bothe kynges of þe kythe, Caster was one,

And Pollux, þe proude, pristly þat other. 1016 As poyetis ban put, plainly þo two

Were getyn by a gode on a grete lady,
be fairest of ffeturs þat euer on fote yode :

And a suster to pe same, sothly, was Elyn, 1020 Getyn of þe same god in a goode tyme.

To these kynges he come & his cause tolde,
And to haue of hor helpe hertely dissyred,
And þai graunted hym full goodly with a glad

chere.
1024 ben he lacches his leue and þai lordes bonkit,

Suet forth to (Salame) in a sad haste,
bat gouernet was in gryse by a gome noble,-

One Telamon trewly, as pe text sayse,
1028 þat was kyng in the coste & be coron hade,

A bold man in batell & byg in his Rewme.
Ercules of helpe hym hertely besoght,
And he grauntid to goo with a good wille,

(MS, has
“ Salerne.")
He goes to
Telamon, king
of Salamis, who
promises to aid
him.

Book IV.

The fleets of the allies of Hercules

1032 With mony bold men in batell and biggest in

Armes.

To Pelleus pertly ben past he agayne, (fol. 181.)

Assemblid of Soudiours a full sadde pepull,
He goes to

Of the tidiest of Tessaile, tore men of strenght.
Peleus, king of
Thessaly, and to 1036 Ben to Philon pe freike ferkit in haste,
Nestor, king of

To a Duke þat was derffe & doughti of honde,
Pylus, who
promise to

Nestor, A noble man naitest in werre, assist him.

bat hade louyt hym of long, & his lefe frynde ;
1040 He hight hym full hertely pat he haue sholde

ffertheryng to his fight with a fre wille.
ben leues pe lede & of lond paste

To Pelleus pristly, þat puruiaunce hade made
1044 Of twenty shippes full shene, shot on þe depe,

All redy to the Roode of þe roghe ythes,
With mony barons full bold & buernes þer-in.

ben comyn thies kynges fro þer kyth evyn, meet at Thessaly; 1048 Saylyng full sound with seasonable wyndes;

At Tessaile full tyte turnyt into havyn,

ffor to fare to þere ffoos with a ffryke wille. they set sail for

pus it tyd as I telle þe tyme of þe yere, Troy.

1052 he sun in his sercle was set vppon high,

Entrid into Aries vnder a signe,
And euyn like of a lenght þe light & þe derke.

be cloudes wax clere, clensit the ayre;
1056 Wynter away, watris were calme;

Stormes were still, þe sternes full clere ,
Beforus softe wyndis Soberly blew;

Bowes in bright holtes buriont full faire ;
1060 Greuys wex grene and þe ground swete ;

Swoghyng of swete ayre, Swalyng of briddes ;
Medowes & mounteyns myngit with foures,

Colord by course as þaire kynd askit.
1064 At Mid Aprille, the mone when myrthes begyn,

The season full softe of þe salt water, (fol. 19 a.)

And the bremnes abated of the brode ythes,

and at the
season of the
year when the
sun enters Aries,

Book IV.

(MS, has

*cole.")

before Laomedon

Thies kynges, with knightes in companies grete, 1068 Past fro port, pulled vp þere sailes,

Were borne to be brode se & the banke leuyt;
Sailed fourthe soberly with seasonable windes
Till þai comen (to] the cost, as þe course felle, At sunset they

arrive at Sigeum, 1072 Of the terage of Troy & turnyt into hauyn, and lie ai anchor

till morning. þat sothly was said Segeas to nome. By thies rialles aryven were, to rest was þe

sun,
And neghed to þe night, noy was þe more :
1076 Kaste ancres full kene into þe (cold) water,

Cogges with cablis cachyn to londe,
And lay so on lone the long night ouer.

Wen the derke was done & the day sprange, 1080 And lightid o lofte ledis to beholde, The Grekys in hor geyre graithid hom to banke, The Greeks land,

pitch their tents, Launchid vp lightly lordis and other.

and set guards The kyng had no knawlache, þat the kith aght, is aware of their 1084 of the folke so furse bat hym affray wold,

ffor-bi vnkeppit were pe costes all þe kythe ouer.
bai hailit vp horses & hernes of maile,

Armur and all thinge euyn as hom liked : 1088 Tild vp þere tentis tomly and faire,

Skairen out skoute-wacche for skeltyng of harme,
Armyn hom at all

peces

after anon.
Er the sun vp soght with his softe beames,
1092 Pelleus full prestly the peopull did warne

To appere in his presens, princes and dukys.
With-out tarying to his tent tytly pai yode,

And were set all samyn þe souerain before.
1096 When the peopull were pesit he proffert þes

wordes,
Sais, “Ye noblist of nome þat neuer

adouted,
The worde of your werkes & your wight deilis,
And the prise of your prowes passes o fer ! (fol. 196.)

arrival.

Peleus summons a council of war to meet in his tent.

man The counsel of

Peleus.

Book IV.

In times past, always victorious.

Laomedon, the cause of their coming, and of all that may follow.

1100 Hit was neuer herd, as I hope, sith heuyn was o lost,

In any coste where ye come but ye were clene

victorius, And happet the herre hond to haue at þe last.

Lamydon, þat is lord, has vs ledde hedur, 1104 ffor to wreke vs of wrathe, & pe wegh harme:

hat is the cause of the course þat we come hidur. And syn our goddes haue vs graunt þe ground for

to haue,

Hit is spede-full to speike of our spede fur, 1108 And of gouernaunce graithe at our gret nede,

ffor to fillyn our fare & our fos harme;
Hald all our hestes, harmles our-seluyn;

The tresour to take þat to Troy longes,
1112 þat us abides in the burgh & we be better haue.

Hit is knowen in cuntres & costis o fer,
hat the tresour of Troy is of tyme olde,

Out of nowmber to nem & pedefull to vs;
1116 Iff vs fallus in fight be fairer at ende,

We shall haue riches full riffe & red gold ynogh
Our ffyne shippes to fille and our fraght make:

Now fraist we before how fairest wille be,
1120 And speike for our spede while we space haue.”

The treasures of Troy will prove an abundant spoil.

ERCULES.

Hercules proposes
to attack before
daybreak, in
two bands :

Then Ercules the Avntrus onswarid Anon,-
“Sothely, Sir kyng, ye haue said well,

Wise wordes I-wis & of wit noble ;
1124 Iff it be worship & wit wisdom to shewe,

Hit [is] sothely more soueran to see it in werke.
I will say for myself, sauyng a bettur,

As me thinkes full throly with-outyn threp more. 1128 Let us dres for our dede er þe day springe,

And thrugh lemys of light be lond vs perseyue :
Part we vs pertly be pupull in two,
In the ton shall be Telamon, þat is a tore kyng,