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THE DEATH OF ULYSSES.

And a-boue hit ho bare, on the bright end,

A Grydell full gay, gret-full of fiche,
Corius & crafty, clene to be-holde.

13828 pan hit semet, for-sothe, þat þe selfe woman
Wold haue faryn hym fro, but first ho hym said.
"This is a signe, for-sothe, of a sure, Emperour,
And the coniunctoun vniust is Joynit vs be-

twene,

13832 Is care for to come, with a cold ende."
Than waknet the wegh of his wan slepe,
Myche dut he his dreme, & dred hym perfore.
Anone as the night past, the noble kyng sent
13836 ffor Devinours full duly, & of depe wit.

When pai comyn were to court, he the case told
Of the note in the night & the new dreme.
All wiston tho wise, by the weghis tale,

13840 He shuld duly be ded of his derfe sone.
Hit fell hym by fortune of a foole end.

ban Vlixes the lege kyng, of his lyf feerd,
Telamocus he toke, his tru sone,

453

Book XXXVI.

hand, and on the point of it a pan of fish.

She declares the emblem and

meaning of the

vanishes.

Ulysses awakes
in doubt and fear.
(fol. 211 b.)

The Diviners declare he will perish by the hand of his son.

He causes
Telemachus to

13844 Stake hym in a stith house, & stuerne men to be shut up and

kepe,

Wallit full wele, with water aboute.

Thus he keppit hym full cloise, & in care held,
hat no whe to hym wan but wardens full sure.

13848 Hit tide, as I told haue in tymes before, bat Vlixes with a lady in a lond dwellit, High[t] Cerces, for-soth, as I said ere.

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He hade a child with pat choise was a chere sone, 13852 þat Telagonius in his tyme truly was cald; And none wist hit, I-wis, but his wale moder, hat consayuit of the kyng, & a knave bere. When the ffreike had the fulle of xytene yeres,

13856 He fraynit at the fre, who his fader was,

In what lond he was lent, & if he lyue hade.

closely guarded.

Telegonus anxiously inquires of his mother Circe, regarding his father.

Book XXXVI.

After much delay she informs him Ulysses is his father.

Telegonus

resolves to go in

search of his

father.

He sets sail.

(fol. 212 a.)

He arrives at Achaia, proceeds to the palace of Ulysses, and insists on entering.

The guards drive him back harshly:

he kills one of them, and scatters the others.

Sho layuit hit full long, & list not to telle, ffor the sake of hir sone, lest he soght furth. 13860 This mild of his moder so mainly dessiret,

bat ho said hym o sycher, all in soche wordes, bat Vlixes the lord was his leue fader; And enfourmet hym fully of þe fre rewme, 13864 pat the worthy in-wonet, as a wale kyng. Thelagonius of the tale truly was fayne, And depely dessyret the duke for to knowe. He purpost hym plainly to pas ouer sea, 13868 The souerain to seche, and he so myght. The mon at his moder mekely toke leue, fferkit to the flode in a felle hast.

The lady hir leue son lyuely can pray,
13872 To hie hym in hast hom to his moder.

The buerne vnto bote busket onone,
Past ouer the pale and the pale ythes.
So long had he laburt, & the lord soght,
13876 þat he come to Acaya, pere the kyng dwellit.
There arofe he full radly, raght to be bonke,

Past to the palais of the pure kyng,

There were kepars full cant at the close yatis, 13880 þat no buerne was so bold pe brigge for to entre. pai denyet hym onone o no kyn wise;

ffor thei kepe wold the comaundement of pere kynd lord.

ffast prayet the prinse, all with pure wordis, 13884 Of ffrenship, & fauour, and in faire wise.

ffull stuernly with strenght pai stourket hym þan, Bere hym bak on pe brigge, bet hym with-all. Telagonius, full tyte, tenet perwith. 13888 When he suffert the sore in his sad yre,

He nolpit on with his Neue in the necke hole, hat the bon alto brast, & the buerne deghit. With the remnond full rade he rixlit unfaire,

THE DEATH OF ULYSSES.

455

Book XXXVI.

13892 With gronyng & grym gert hym to stynt, Cast hom ouer clanly at the cloise brigge. The noise was noyus the noble court þurgh, Bold men to be brigge bremly pai yode, 13896 Telagonius to take and tirne vnto dethe. han he braid to the buerne on pe brig sone, Ouerraght hym full roidly, reft hym his swerd, fights till 15 are ffaght with tho fuerse men felly agayne,

13900 Tyll fyftene were fay of his fell dynttes,

And he woundit full wickedly in were of his lyf.

han the ruerde wax ranke of pat rught fare,
Vlixes full lyuely launchit on fote,

The noise brings armed men from within.

He wrests a

sword from one;

killed, and he is severely wounded.

Ulysses thinks'
Telemachus has

13904 Hopet his sone was (out) slippit, þat set was in made his escape:

hold,

And put downe his pepull as he past furth.

To the noise oponone neghit pe kyng,

Vne wode of his wit for the wale crye,

13908 With a dart vndull þat the duke bare,

Segh his men to be mart with a mad childe,
bat hym-self neuer had sene, ne for sothe knew.
In offens of the freike, with a fyn wille

13912 He drof at hym with pe dart, derit hym but

litle.

Telagonius full tite toke hit in hond, Cast euyn at the kyng with a cant will, Rent þurgh his ribbes at the right syde, 13916 Woundit hym wickedly to the wale dethe, hat he dusshet euen doun of his dede hurt. All ffeblit pe freike, fainted of strenght, Wex pale of his payne, in point for to end; 13920 And weike of his wordes, woinerond in speche, He spird at hom specially, as he speike might, What wegh þat hit was, woundit hym hade

With a dart to the dethe, & deiret full mony: 13924 So hit meuit to his mynd in his mekill noye. Telagonius full tite at a tulke asket,

(MS, has "at")

ssizes a dart,

(fol. 212 b.)

and rushes at Telegonus.

Ulysses receives a deadly wound.

In great agony,
he remembers his
vision, and a ks
who the youth is.

(In MS. 1. 13923 follows 1. 13927.)

Book XXXVI.

Telegonus is
horrified to find
he has so wounded

his father Ulysses.

He falls to the earth in a swoon.

He recovers;

tears his clothes

and his hair; falls

down at his

father's feet, and declares himself.

(fol. 213 a.)

Ulysses tries to comfort him:

sends for Tele

machus, who, on seeing his father, desires to slay Telegonus.

Ulysses forbids

him: and exhorts them to be reconciled.

Who the freike was in faith, pat fraynit his nome.
The said the lord was Vlixes, pat he lost hade.
13928 When Telagon the tale of the tru herd,
hat his fader was fey of his fell dynt,

He brait out with a birr of a bale chere,
And said:"Alas! for this lure, pat I lyue

shuld!

13932 I haue faryn out of fere laund my fader to seche, Me to solas in sound, as a sone owe;

And now I done haue to deth, in my derf hate, hat my solas & socour sothely shuld be!"

13936 With fainttyng & feblenes he fell to pe ground All dowly, for dole, in a dede swone.

Whan he wackont of wo, he wan vpo fote,

All-to rechit his robis & his ronke here;

13940 ffowle frusshet his face with his felle nailes.
han he fell to be fete of pe fre kyng,

And told hym full tyte, pat Telagon he was,
His son, þat on Circes sothely was getton :-
13944 "pat pou gate on þi gamyn, as vngrate felle;
And if pou degh of this dynt, by destany þus,
Oure goddis graunt me pat grace, pat I go with,
And no lengur to lyue in no lond after."

13948 When Vlixes pe lord lyuely persayuit,
hat he to Circes was son, þat hym-self gat,
He fauort hym more faithly, & frely comaundit,
To sese of his sorow, and sobur his cher.

13952 pen for Telamoc, pe tothir son, tomly he sent,
And he come out of kepyng to his kid fadur;
Wold haue britnet his brothir with a bare sword,
fforto dere for pe deth of his du lord.

13956 3et Vlixes on lyue, as pe led myght,

With gronyng and greue gert hym to stynt; Bad pe lede schuld hym leue, as his lofe brothir,

TELEGONUS RETURNS HOME.

And cheris hym choisly for chaunse vpon vrthe. 13960 Thre dais, in his dole, pe dughti con lyue,

457

Book XXXVI.

Within three days he is dead.

And then lefte he pe lif, & pe lond bothe. In the cuntre of acaya, per he kyng was, Ys he birit in a burgh, & a bright toumbe, 13964 And Telamoce his tor son takyn for kyng, ffull sesit of pe soile, with septur in hond; And Telagon, his tru brothir, tri[e]dly honourit, at his court. With myche worchip & wele, in his wale court,

13968 Til a 3er was full yore, yarkit to end,

And a halfe, er þat end happit to fare,

He made hym knyght in his court, & couet to
leng

All his lyf in his lond, with lordchip to haue. 13972 pen letteris had pe lede fro his lefe modur, fforto high hym in hast, & his home laite:

So lefte he be lond of his lele brothir,
Soght hom to Cerces with solas ynogh.

13976 Miche worchip had þe whe of his wale frendis,
Gay giftys and grete, qwen he go wold.

At þe partyng was pité of po pure knyghtis,
Miche wepyng & wail, wetyng of lere.

13980 And so pe bold fro his brothir into bote 3ode:
Into Aulida afterword abli he come,

To his modir full myld þat hym mykill louyt.
Als fayne of the freike, as pe fre might,

13984 Myche solast hir the sight of hir sone pan,

To se the lede vppon lyue, þat ho louet most:
Wende the wegh hade bene walt in the wale

stremes,

Euyn drownet in the depe, hir dole was the more, 13988 Or ellis fallyn in fight with po felle buernes, At the slaght of his Syre in the syde londes.*

Telemachus is made king; and Telegonus is greatly honoured

His mother,
Circe, desires him

to return home.

Having received many rich presents, he parts from Telemachus

and returns to Eea.

(fol. 213 b.)

A few lines awanting.

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