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Howe kenge Priam, aftire his Cite was parformede, ordeynede his paleys princypal, callyd Yllyoun.

But I wil furthe of þis story wryte,
And on my maner boistusly endyte,
How Priamus was passyng dilligent,
Riȝt desyrous, and inwardly fervent,
Ȝif he myȝt, among his werkes alle,
To bilde a paleys and a riche halle,
Whiche schuld[e] ben his chose chef dongon,
His royal se and souereyn mansioun.
And whan he gan to þis werke aproche,
He made it bilde hiȝe vp-on a roche,
It for tassure in his fundacioun,
And callyd it þe noble Ylyovn.
Þe siȝt of whiche, iustly circuler,
By compas cast, rounde as any spere—
And who þat wold þe content of þe grounde
Trewly acounten of þis place rounde,
In þe theatre first he moste entre,
Takyng þe lyne þat kerueþ þoruȝ þe centre,
By gemetrie, as longeth to þat art,
And treblid it, with þe sevenþe part,
He fynde myȝt, by experience,
Þe mesour hool of þe circumference,
What lond also, pleynly eke with al,
Contened was with-Inne þe strong[e] wal—
Þe creste of whiche, wher it lowest was,
Hadde in hiȝt ful sixe hundred pas,
Bilt of marbil, ful royal & ful strong,
And many other riche stoon a-mong;
Whos touris wern reysed vp so hiȝe,
Þat þei raȝt almost to þe skye;
Þe werk of whiche no man myȝt amende.
And who þat list by grecis vp ascende,
He myȝt[e] seen in his inspeccioun
To þe boundis of many regioun
And provincys þat stoode rounde aboute.
And þe wallys, with-Inne and with-oute,
Endelong with knottis graue clene,
Depeynt with aȝour, gold, ȝinopre, & grene,
Þat verraily, whan þe sonne schon,
Vp-on þe gold meynt among þe stoon,
Þei ȝaf a liȝt, with-outen any were,
As Phebus doþ in his mydday spere—
Þe werke of wyndowe, and [eche] fenestral,
Wrouȝt of berel and of clere cristal.
And amyddys of þis Ylyoun,
So fresche, so riche of fundacioun,
Whiche clerkys ȝit in her bokis preyse,
Kyng Pryam made an halle for to reyse,
Excellyng alle in bewte & in strenthe
Þe latitude acordyng with þe lengthe.
And of marbil outeward was þe wal;
And þe tymbre, most nobil in special,
Was halfe of cedre, as I reherse can,
And þe remenant of þe riche eban,
Whiche most is able, as I dar specefye,
With stoon to Ioyne by craft of carpentrie;
For þei of tymbre haue þe souereynte.
And for to telle of þis Eban tre,
Liche in bokys sothly as I fynde,
It cometh out of Ethiope and Ynde,
Blak as is get; and it wil wexe anoon,
Whan it is korve, harde as any stoon,
And euermore last[en] and endure,
And nat corrupte with water nor moysture.
And of [t]his halle ferþer to diffyne,
With stonys square by leuel and by lyne
It pavid was, with gret diligence
Of masownry and passyng excellence.
And al aboue, reysed was a se,
Ful coriously of stonys and perre,
Þat callid was, as chefe and principal,
Of þe regne þe sete moste royal.
To fore whiche was set by gret delyt
A borde of Eban and of yvor whyt,
So egaly Ioyned and so clene,
Þat in þe werk þer was no rifte sene;
And sessions wer made on euery syde,
Only þe statis by ordre to deuyde.
Eke in þe halle, as it was couenable,
On eche party was a dormant table
Of evor eke, and þis eban tre;
And euen ageyn þe kynges royal see,
In þe party þat was þer-to contrarie,
I-reised was by many crafty stayre,
Hiȝe in þe halle, in þe tother syyt,
Riȝt as lyne in þe opposyt,
Of pured metal and of stonys clere
In brede & lengthe, a ful rich auter.
On whiche þer stood, of figure & visage
Of masse gold, a wonderful ymage,
To ben honoured in þat hiȝe sete,
Only in honour of Iubiter þe grete.
And þe statue, for al his huge weȝgte,
Fiftene cubites complet was of heiȝgte,
A crowne of gold hiȝe vp-on his hed,
With heuenly saphirs & many rube red
Fret enviroun, with other stonys of Ynde;
And among wer medled, as I fynde,
Whyte perlis massyf, large, & rounde;
And for most chefe al dirkenes to confounde,
Was a charbocle, kyng of stonys alle,
To recounfort & gladyn al þe halle,
And it tenlumyn in þe blake nyȝt
With þe freschenes of his rody liȝt.
Þe valu was þer-of in-estimable,
And þe riches pleynly incomperable;
For þis ymage, by diuisioun,
Was of schap and proporcioun
From hed to foot so maisterly entayled,
Þat, in a point, þe werkeman haþ nat failed
It to parforme by crafty excellence.
Whom Priamus, with drede and reuerence,
Honoured hath aboue þe goddys alle,
In al meschef to hym to clepe & calle;
For in hym was his hool affeccioun,
His souereyn trust and deuocioun,
His hope also, and his affyaunce,
His heile, his Ioye, and his assuraunce;
And his welfare and prosperite
He hath commytted to his deite,
Wenyng in hert wonder sekerly,
To ben assured from al meschef þer-by,
And diffended in eche aduersite,
And hold his regne in hiȝe Felicite,
And in honour continuelly to schyne,
Whil Iubiter, þoruȝ his power diuyne,
Hym and his hath in proteccioun—
Þis was his trust and ful oppinioun.
And þus þis werke finally acheved,
Wher-of Priam, with Ioye ful releued,
Þat he his cite and noble Ylyoun
Hath fully brouȝt vn-to perfeccioun,
Liche his entent, whan þat he began.
And þus Priam, þis kyng, þis worþi man,
Ful many day in [t]his newe Troye,
With his liges lad his lyf in Ioye,
Wher I hym leue in his royal sete
Souereynly regnynge in quiete,
Procedyng forþe, ȝif ȝe liste to here,
Vn-to þe effect anoon of my matere.