Book XXVIII.

The exile of

had been asked

is for one to

Bothe of gold & of goodes, er þei go wille, Certain large

ffor the losse & the lure of hor lef pepull; sums of gold and silver, and that

And Amphimakus, the fre sun of the fyn kyng, Ampbimachus be banished from the 11600 To be exiled for euermore, as Enmy of toune, city.

Neuer in plit to Repaire to his pure fryndis,
Ne the Cité to se, while hym-selfe lyues.”

This prokert full prestly with prayer before, Amphimachus

11604 The traytor Antenor to the tru kynges ; by Antenor, in revenge for

ffor þat noble hym denyet naitly or pan, having tried to thwart his plans.

When he proffert to priam pes for to make.

Lo! how fortheris a freike with a fyne wit, How perilous it 11608 ffor to kepe hit in close, & carp hit no fer ; speak the truth in To speike in despite & Spedis no more,

But hyndres full heghly & harmys hym-seluyn.

Lo! Amphimac the fre, for his fell wordes, 11612 Was dampnet in-dede, pof pai du were ;

Ellis the traytor Antenor hade truly no cause ffor to procur his payne, and his pale harme.

, But god, þat all giltis godely beholdis, (fol. 177 a.) 11616 And wrangis in his wrathe writhis to ground,

Oft-sithes in the same settis to fall himself exiled by

A man with þat mesure he metis till another !

To Antenor hit tide, tellis the story,
11620 An exile for euermore efter a while,

Thurgh Eneas, þat egurly exit perto,
As I shall tell full tite, when the tyme askes.

a time of sedition :

but God often metes to us,

as we have meted
to others.
Antenor was

Æneas,

As they sit in council a horrible cry is heard.

While thies kynges were in councell, þat comyn

fro pe grekes,
11624 Within the palis of prise, as the prose tellus,

There was an orible noise, þat noyet hom full scre,
As a clamour or a crye of a cant pepull,

As pai satyn all somyn sodainly come,
11628 Vne playne in the place pere pe prise met.

ffor doute of hor dethes, tho doghty men bothe Were a-ferd of the fare and the fell noise,

Diomedes and Ulysses are afraid of their lives.

THE COUNCIL SUDDENLY BROKEN UP.

379

whence the noise came.

Antenor for

Lest the troiens for tene hade takon hom sone, Book XXVIII. 11632 And dungen to dethe for dole of the knight,

Amphimacous the fre, þat the freikes louet,
ffor ertyng his exile in ernest before.

Hit was aspiet full Specially, & spird all abowte, No one can tell 11636 The cause of the crie and the cant noise :

There was no wegh in this world, þat hit wete

kowth,
Ne to meue in hor mynd what hit mene shuld.
The kyng & the councell cantly can rise; The King

dismisses the 11640 Depertid the pepull, past to be toune

assembly.
Bothe knightes & comyns, and the court voidet.
THE TRAYTOR ANTENOR toke into counsell,

Dyamede he drogh furth, & dughty Vlixes, 11644 In a place þat was priuey & no prese in,

To forther his foule wille, þat no freike herd.
Vlixes to this other vtterly said :-

Ulysses blames
“Why draghes pou on dregh pes dedis so ferr? delaying to carry

out his promises. 11648 pat pou vs heghly hase het, hold hit onone !"

ban talkes the traytour truly agayne :-
“Ourgoddis knowen fullkyndly pecast of my hert, not by him,
That no dede I desyre so depely in thoght,

(fol. 177 6.) 11652 As your hestes to hold with helpe of Eneas. Lelly, the lett, þat vs long taries,

but by the

Palladiuin.
Is a statur full strong of a stith god :

hat ye shall lelly me leue, & yow list herkon," 11656 Diamede said duly ;-"pou do vs to wete,

Vs likes full Jelly to list yn pi wordis."
Antenor pan talkis, & told on pis wise :

“ Hit is lelly no lesyng, leue if ye will !
11660 There was a kyng in this cost, þat the kith aght,

Honerable, auenaund, & Vlus was callit.
Here foundit he first the faire place Ylion;
After the nome of þat noble, nemyt hit is.

King Ilus, this 11664 Here he tild vp a temple of a trew godde, Of Palades the pure, as prouit is of old.

Antenor declares the hindrance is

In the time of

Book XXVIII.

stuck in the wall of the temple of Pallas, and has remained ever since.

None but the keepers of the temple can remove it.

So long as it remains within the temple, or even within the city, Troy can. not be taken.

Whan the walles were wroght to be wale rofe,

All clanly by course vncouert aboue,
11668 A selly þere sene was with seremen aboute,

Gird to be ground fro the grete heuyn,
A ffygur full fyne, festnyt in the wall,

Wondurfully wroght by wit of a god.
11672 At the end of the auter etlit to stond,

Euer sithen, for-sothe, to this selfe tyme.
Neuer buerne was so big to beire hit away,

Saue kepers of the kirke, for craft vppon erthe.
11676 The mater hit is made of is most of a tre,

But no clerke is so corious to ken vs the nome;
Ne on what wise hit is wroght can wit shew,

But þurgh Palades the pure god, apperit þer þurgh.
11680 Seche trust haue the troiens truly perin,

While hit keppit is in kirke, or in clos walle.
With-in the cercle of þe Cité, as said is of old,

Neuer the toune shalbe takon with tеne of hor fos,
11684 Ne care fro the corone, ne the kynd aire.

Thus lelly beleuyn the ledis of þe toune,
And neuer dowtyn no dethe to dere hom with-in.

The nome of bis noble, þat naitly is keppit,
11688 Paladian the pure, with pepull is callid.”

Than Diamede the Duke duly can say :
“Iff thy saghes be sothe, & sad to beleue,

All our labur is lost, & our long sege,
11692 If Paladian with purpos may put vs away.”

Antenor alstite amet to speike :-
“If ye meruell so mekyll we make you non end,

And high not with hast our hestes to kepe,
11696 This is truly the entent we tary so longe.

I haue comynt with the keper, & cumpast aboute,
The stature to steile stithly by night,

ffor a certain somme of syluer & of gold :
11700 And full prestly be prest hase puruayet þerfore.

When hit laght is lelly, leue me for sothe,

(fol. 178 a.)

Diomedes
confesses that the
labour of the
Greeks is in
vain :

but Antenor tells
how he has
prevailed on the
keeper to steal
the Palladium,
and to deliver it
to him for a great
sum of money.

ANTENOR PROMISES IT TO THE GREEKS.

381

secrecy must be

Hit shalbe sentto your-selfe, seche hit no ferther : Book XXVIII.

han hope may ye hertely, to haue in a while 11704 The Cité and the soueran, sese as you likes.

But kepis this in councell, for cas þat may falle, Meantime,
hat no wegh in bis world wete of our cast; preserved.

And I will kaire to the kyng for a cause yet, 11708 And feyne me with fare to forther our werkis.

I will telle hym with trayne, pe trist of our ernde
Is holly in his hond hengand aboue.

I haue knawlache in þe case & comyng with yow, 11712 What sommys in certayn þe sent you to take.”

Thus with lowtyng & leue the ledis depertid;
The grekes agayne ar gon to bere tenttes ;

Ulysses return to The traytur full tomly turnyt to be kyng, 11716 His falshed to forther: the fend hym distroy! the King.

Diomedes and

camp, and

Antenor goes to

THE ORDINAUNCE OF THE TRYBUTE.

Antenor reports that the Greeks

selfe;

Than carpis to the kyng curset Antenor,
All the Cité to assemble hym-seluyn before.
When comyn were the knightes, comyns, & all, At an assembly

of the Trojans 11720 Thes wordes he warpit po worthy vnto :“I haue comynt in this case, knowith hit your demand 20,000

marks of gold,

the same number To the grekes bus vs gyffe, to graunt vs for pes,

of silver, Twenty thowsaund thristy, þrungyn to-gedur, 11724 Markes full mighty, all of mayn gold,

(fol. 178 b.)

and 10,000 And of Syluer, for-sothe, the same bai dessyre : quarters of To whyte vs, of whete, qwarters þai aske

X. M. þroly, to thring in hor shippes." 11728 This oponly is ordant po odmen betwene, And specially spokyn to spede hom away,

The terms are

accepted. Be a tyme for to take, & turne to be sea.

Gedrit was the goode, & gon for to kepe ("gon" = given.) 11732 To Sure men & certen þat sowme to deliuer,

And take sikernes sad the Cité to leue,
Of the grekes agayne for the grete somme.

wheat, within certain time.

Book XXVIII.

Antenor goes to the priest and bribes him to give up the Palladium,

("geeter" = keeper, warden, guardian, see 1. 11746.)

No one will
know thereof :
and his risk is as
great as the
priest's.

While this gode was in gederyng the grettes

among,
11736 Antenor to the temple trayturly yode;

Preuely the prest puld into councell,
(Thoantes, me tellys the text, þat he heght,

þat was geeter of the god, þat the gome yernyt.) 11740 With a gobet of gold, a full gret somme,

And Thoantes betaght, tarit no lengur,
Thies wordes to the wegh warpit onone,

In a place out of prese, priuely there :-
11744 "Lo, of gold, & of good here a gret nowmber,

The to lyue with in lykyng, & thy leue ayris.
The god, þat þou geetis, gyf me per-ffore,
bat I may beire fro the burgh, shall no buerne

wete.
11748 Thou art no farder, in faith, thy fame for to lose,

han I my lyffe were leuer leue in þe plase,

Ι
Er any troiens with truthe might telle suche a

fawte,
Or soche a point on me put in perlament her-

aftur.
11752 Therfore, priuely, by purpos Paladian pou send

To honerable Vlixes, vtwith the toune.
If any fawte per funden be, we faithly may say,

The pure kyng Paladian priuely stale :
11756 And we excusit of skathe, yf sclaunder shall

Rise."
Prestly the prest his purpos with-stode
All the night with noy, till negh at þe day,
Till he caght was in couetouse, & cumbrit hym

seluen.
11760 Than grauntid he the god to the grym traytor,

And toke hit fro the temple, tariet no lengur,
Sent hit furth sodainly by a sad frend,

To Vlixes vtwith, egerly pan.
11764 Hit was noiset onon in the nowble toune,