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Howe Parys toke þe See with a grete navye towarde þe londe of Grece; and howe of chance he met with Kenge Menelay, Heleyns husbonde, not knowynge what he was.

The tyme aprocheþ whan þe sonne schene
His golden wayn whirlid vp a-twene
Þe clere sterris of Iades so red,
Whiche han her siȝt in þe Crabbis hed,
And Pliades, þe seuene sterris briȝt,
Of whiche sixe apperen to oure siȝt;
For þe seuenþe drawith hir asyde,
And couertly doth hir bemys hide,
Whilom for sche dide a gret offence,
Þat vn-to vs causeth hir absence.
For sche dar nat schewe hir stremys clere,
Nor with hir sustren openly apere,
Whilom for sche with a god mortal
Dide a synne þat was crimynal,
Whiche noised was & kouþe þoruȝ þe heuene,
Þat sche allone among þe susters seuene
Schroudeth to vs schamfastly hir chere.
And whan Tytan in þe ȝodyak spere
Atwen þis sterris had[de] take his se,
Of þe Bole in þe sixtene degre,
Vp-on þe tyme of Ioly grene May,
Whan þat Flora with hir hewes gay
Hath euery playn, medwe, hil, & vale
With hir flouris, quik and no þing pale,
Over-sprad & cladde in lyuere newe,
And braunchis blosme with many lusty hewe,
And bit vs fully to be glad & liȝ—
For by assuraunce þei haue her frute be-hiȝt
Ageyn autumpne, who so list hem shake,
Whan on vynes ripeth euery grape—
And þus þis sesoun, most lusty of disport,
Enbrasiþ hertis with new recounfort,
Only of hope by kynde as it is dew,
Þat holsom frute schal þe blosmys swe,
Whan tyme cometh by reuolucioun.
And þus in May, þe lusty fresche sesoun,
Whan briddes syngen in her armonye,
The same tyme out of Panonye
Repeyred ben Dephebus and Paris,
And with hem brouȝt, chosen by devis,
Þre þousand knyȝtes redy for to goon
With hem to Grece, & schippis many on,
Ful vitailled of al þat may hem nede.
And of þese schippis þe noumbre, as I rede,
Was two & twenty, liche as writ Guydo.
And after þis, with-oute more a-do,
Þe kyng commaundeth vn-to Eneas,
To Anthenor and to Polydamas,
In al hast þat þei hem redy make
With Parys knyȝtly for to vndirtake,
As ȝe han herde, þis Iourne for tacheue.
And on þe tyme whan þei toke her leue,
Priamus, with schort conclusioun,
Scheweþ þeffect of his entencioun,
And specialy þat þei her dever don
For to recure his suster Exioun,
As ȝe han herd her-to-fore me telle:
What schulde I more in þis mater dwelle?
Whan þei wer redy, with-oute more soiour,
Þis Parys first, as lord and gouernour
Of þis viage made by Priamus,
And his broþer, callid Dephebus,
Her leue toke with wepyng tenderly;
And after þat to schippe manfully,
With-oute abode þei be-gan hem dresse,
And in þe name of Venus, þe goddes,
And myȝty Iove, þei token her Iourne.
Þei hale vp ankir, and by þe large se
Þei gan to seile, and haue þe wynde at wille,
Þe water calme, blaundischyng, and stille,
With-oute trouble of any boystous wawe.
And to þe costis þei gan fast[e] draw
Of Grekis lond, for no þing hem lette;
And of fortune in her cours þei mette
A Grekysche schip, myn auctor telleþ vs,
In whiche þer was þe kyng Menelaus,
Toward Pyram, a famus strong cite,
For to visite a duke of hiȝe degre
Þat Nestor hiȝt; and þis Menelaus
Was broþer eke vn-to þe kyng famus,
Þe wyse, worþi, grete Agamenoun,
Most of name and reputacioun
Amongis Grekis for his worþines.
And Menelay, þis story beriþ witnes,
Husbond was to þe quene Eleyne,
Þat was suster to þe breþer tweyne,
Castor & Pollux, whiche, as I ȝou tolde,
Wer of her hond so worþi knyȝtes holde.
And in þat tyme, liche to her degre,
In Strynestar, her most chef cite,
Þei held an housholde solempne & ryal.
Þe loue of whom was so special,
Of wille & hert acordyng with þe dede,
Atwixe hem two, of verray breþerhede,
Þat noon from other koude lyue alone.
With [w]hom was eke þe maiden Hermyone,
Þe ȝong[e] douȝter of þe quene Eleyne,
Of fairnes most inly souereyne,
Most passyngly excellyng in bewte.
And þus Troyans, sailyng by þe se
Toward Grece, among þe wawis wete,
Of auenture happed[e] to mete
Kyng Menelay, seilyng by her syde;
And non of [hem] list, of verray pride,
For to enquere what þat oþer was,
But passe furþe a ful huge pas,
For non of hem oþer koude knowe.
And ey þe wynde pesybly gan blowe,
Þe Troyan flete causyng in a while
For taproche to the noble Ile
Þat callid is Cithera þis day;
And in þe hauene, in al hast þei may,
Þei cast hanker, & bond her schippis strong;
And after þat, hem list nat tarye long
To take þe lond, ful many lusty man,
Arraying hem as freschely as þei can.
Now, in þis Ile of passyng excellence,
Þer was a temple of gret reuerence,
Þat bilded was of olde fundacioun,
And most honoured in þat regioun,
Þoruȝ-oute þe lond, boþe fer & ner—
The fest[e] day, ay from ȝer to ȝer,
Liche as it fil by reuolucioun,
Repeyryng þeder of gret deuocioun,
In honour only of Venus, þe goddes,
Whom þe Grekis with al her besynes
Honoured most of euery maner age,
With ȝiftes bringyng and with pilgrimage,
With gret offeryng and with sacrifyse,
And vsid was in her paynym wyse.
For in þis phane, as þei knele & wake
With contrit hert, & her prayer make,
Þe statue ȝaf of euery questyoun
Pleyn answer and ful solucioun,
With cerymonyes to Venus as þei loute;
Of euery þing þat þei hadde doute,
Þei hadde ful declaracioun.
And þus þe Grekis vp-on Cytheroun
Halwyn þis fest with riche & gret array,
With rytis due, as ferforþe as þei may,
In hope fully þe better for to þrive.
And of fortune, whan he dide aryue
Vp-on þe lond, by auenture or cas,
Þe same tyme þis fest[e] halwed was
Of many Greke, commyng to and fro
From euery cost, þat to þe temple go
On pilgrimage her vowes to acquyte,
Of þe place þe reliques to vesyte.