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Lydgate's Troy Book

A.D. 1412-1420. Edited from the best manuscripts with introduction, notes, and glossary by Henry Bergen
Lydgate, John (1370?-1451?)

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[Troy Book]
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PART I. PROLOGUE, BOOK I., AND BOOK II.
  
PROLOGUE.
 I. 
BOOK I. Here bigynneth þe first boke of Troy: howe Esone resygned þe Crowne of Thesaly to Pellee.
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BOOK II.
  
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Of Priamus, þe sonne of Lamedoun which, at þe destruccyoun of Troye, was at the obsydey of A Castel. And howe mony sonnes and doughters that Priamus had.
  
Howe tydengys kame to kynge Priamus howe his Cite was distroyede, and his Fadire sclayn.
  
Howe Kynge Priamus, aftire his sorowe was asswagede, Edefyede nowe Troye, and it set in þe same place where þe olde stode, so large & so wyde that tofore ne siche was nevere none it lyke.
  
Howe the goldesmythes, and aftire, every crafft ware disposyde in strete by strete by hem selff.
  
Howe by grete crafft ther was a Ryvere called Zanctus conveyede thorough þe Cyte.
  
Howe kynge Pryam made Citeȝens of foreyns, And [gaf] everich of hem certeyne grounde to belde vpone.
  
Of a Theatyre stondynge in þe princypale paleys of Troye, declarenge the falle of Pryncys & othere.
  
Howe kenge Priam, aftire his Cite was parformede, ordeynede his paleys princypal, callyd Yllyoun.
  
Howe kynge Priamus, aftire that he had parfytlye parformede and ymade his Cyte, by þe serpente Of Envye was stirede and Inwardly mevede to bygyne A newe werre vpone the Grekes.
  
Howe kynge Priamus in opyne declarethe þe harmes done to his progenye & hym by the Grekes.
  
Howe kynge Priam, by the advyce of his lordes, sente Anthenore into Grece for restitucyoun of Exioun.
  
Howe Kynge Priamus, aftire that Athenore had declarede to-fore hym and his lordes the contraryous answere of the Grekes, lete set his parlament, to wit what was to be done.
  
Howe Kenge Priam, in opyne parlement toforne his lordes, schewede the answers that Anthenor brought.
  
Howe Kynge Priamus callede his sonnes to his presence, and in secrete wyse lamentabyly opynyd and declarede his intollerabyle sorowes, askenge þer avyce in avengeinge his cause.
  
[T]he answere of Ector [t]o his faders demannde.
  
Aftire that Ector had shewede his entente, Paris declaryde his dreme of þe golden Appyle.
  
Howe the god Marcurye brought with hym the thre ladys, Iuno, Venus, and Pallas, to-for Paris lyenge in the wod aslepe; and of the thre gyfftis that they promysed hym for þe apple.
  
Howe Parys yaf þe golden appele to Venus, and howe sche promysed hym to rekyvere Heleyne.
  
Howe Elenus, þe fourte sone of Priame, tolde & seid þat Troye shuld be subuerted, and Parys went into Grece.
  
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.
  
Howe Parys enterde þe Ille of Citherea, wher he met with the fayre Quene Heleyne.
  
Howe Quene Heleyne, aftire that she herd of Parys, hasted here to þe Temple.
  
Howe Parys exortede his pepele for þe spoylynge of þe Tempyle of Venus within þe seid Ille of Citherea, fro whenes he karede to Troye al the Iewellys that he founde þerin.
  
Howe Paris and Heleyne were ressavyde into Troye, of Pryamus and his lordys; and of þe soroweful lamentacyoun that Cassandra made when she sawe þe weddynge.
  
Of the sorowe that Kynge Menelay made when he herd that Parys had ravisshede his wyff; and of þe manly comforde and councele þat Agamenon gave hym for to revenge hym.
  
The descripcion of þe moste part of princes þat kame with þe Grekis for þe destruccyoun of Troye.
  
Here folowynge is declarede the grete noumbre of shippes that the Grekys assamblede in the havene of Athenes, bysidis a grete navye that kame to them whene þay wer at Troye.
  
Howe prudently Agamenon coragyde his lordys ageyns the Troyans.
  
Howe Agamenon, by þe avyce of al þe princes of Grece, sent Achilles and Pirodus into Delphos, to haue answere of Apollo, whidere thay shulde haue þe victory of þe Troyens or no. And here-aftire is declarid, howe ydolatrye and fals godes had ther bygynnenge; And how Calchas kam to þe same Ille.
  
Of the answere that Appollo gave, as welle to fals Bisshope Calchas, as to Achylles.
  
How fals Calchas of Troy was conveyede to þe presences of þe prinses of Grece, and howe he innaturelly exortyde them to make mortal were vpon his kynge and kynrede, as folowith.
  
Howe the Grekis destroyede the Castel callede Sarabona as þey saylede towarde Troye, and it dispoylede.
  
Howe Agamenon layde his Oste byfore Thenedoun, a stronge Castele vj myle fro Troye, the which he wan, and it bet to þe grounde; and aftire þat, agally made distribucyoun of the godys.
  
Howe Agamenon rememberde al his princes of the vngodely answeres that Anthenor had of them when he desyerd to haue had restitucyoun of Exiona, wherupon they sent Vlixes and Dyomede to Priamus, to haue restitucioun of quene Heleyne.
  
Howe wyse Vlixes and Dyomede enterde Ryale Ylion, of the which they marvelde when the byhelde þe beldynge.
  
Howe Vlixes and Diomede, withoute dewe reverence purposed þere Embassayte in þe presence of Priamus. And here ye shule se þe birthe of Eneas, and howe Agamenoun sent Achyle, and Thelefus to the Ille of Messay for an eyede of vitaile.
  
Howe Achilles enterde the Ille of Messay, where Teutram was kynge, whom Achilles gave his dethes wounde. And howe Teutram resyngnede his kingdam to Thelaphus, for the affeccyon that he had to Archules, which was his Fadere, and of olde tyme made him kynge of þat Ille.
  
Howe Kenge Teutram was buryede in A riche Epethaphye graven with sotele vers.
  
Here folowyngly be rehersed the namys of þe kyngis that kame to help the Cite of Troye.
  
Howe the worthy kynge Pallamydes, the secunde parsone of þe Grekes, kame with thirtye shippes to Thenedone, in helpynge of the Grekes. And howe þe famous manful knyght, Dyomede, provokede them to departe fro Thenadon, and to Arryve in þe playne afore Troye.
  
Howe the Grekes londede in the playne afor [Troye], and howe the Troyans gave theme batayle at the stronde: in whos meteynge were slayne mony A worthy knygh[t] and others.
  
Here were faste devyces founde in Armes.
  
Of the pichenge of the Grekes felde; and howe Agamenon reysid his tentes, pavelons, & mansyons.
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PART II. BOOK III.
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PART III. BOOKS IV AND V, COMPLETING THE TEXT.

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Howe the Grekis destroyede the Castel callede Sarabona as þey saylede towarde Troye, and it dispoylede.

And swiche tyme Agamenoun hath take
His happy weye schipped for to be;
And in good hour he taken haþe þe se
With þe Grekis, þe wedir agreable;
And Eolus hath maked acceptable
Wynde and eyr, hoolly at her wylle,
Nouþer to loude, pleynly, nor to stille,
But in a mene so merie made blowe,
Þat þei atteyn, in a litel þrowe,
To certeyn boundis of Troye þe cite,
Vn-to a castel, þat stood vp-on þe se,
Riȝt wonder strong, þouȝ it wer but lite,
Þe name of whiche, þouȝ Dares not ne write—
I mene Dares callyd Frigyus—
Ȝet oþer auctours rehersen sothly þus,
Sarobona þat it was y-callid,
Rounde aboute diched & wel wallid,
With hiȝe touris rounde, square, and wyde;
Þe se went vnder, and faste þer be-side
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Was an hauene able for ryvaille.
At whiche, pleinly, þe Grekis wil nat faile
With her power myȝtely to aryve,
Maugre alle þo þat þer ageyn[es] stryue—
Þei myȝt[e] wel, for it was nat denyed,
Only excepte þat þei wer espied
Of hem allone þat in þe castel dwelle.
Þe whiche anoon, as þei herde telle
Of her commyng, proudly in þe berde
With hem to mete were no þing a-ferde,
But issen oute, doun vn-to þe stronde,
In purpos only to letten hem for to londe
With al her myȝt, ȝif it wolde availle.
But þe Grekis so proudly hem assaille
Þat þei ne myȝt in her diffence endure:
For wher-as þei wendyn haue be sure,
Demyng þe Grekis pleinly of þe se
Forweried and feynted hadde be,
Wiþ longe seilyng parbraked & forbroke—
Wherfor þe[i] cast on hem to haue be wroke
Al sodeinly, and settyn on of hede,
And putte hem silf in auenture & drede
Of rakilnes, vn-avisely.
Wher-of to hem ful vnhappily
It be-fil whan þei þe Grekis mette
With speris longe & swerdis scharpe whette,
Eche on oþer manhod for to schewe.
But, for cause Troyans were so fewe,
To issen oute þei dide folily;
Þe felde was nat partid egally:
For þe Grekis wern Innumerable,
Þat hem to mete þe Troyans wern nat able—
For þat tyme þei myȝt[e] nat suffice:
Þei toke on hem so passyng hiȝe emprise—
And ȝit þei nolde for no þing hem withdrawe
Til þei were wounded and y-slawe,
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And ouerleyn of Grekis outterly—
Now here, now þere, bor doun cruelly,
Merciles, as Guydo doth reporte,
Þat hem behoveth hom ageyn resorte
Of verray nede and necessite.
And alle attonys gonne for to fle—
I mene swiche as were lefte alyve—
To þe castel þei hasten hem ful blive;
For þei ne myȝt no lenger holde felde
Ageyns Grekis, with spere nor with schelde:
Þei were to feble, schortly to conclude,
To abide so gret a multitude.
And as þei fle, þe Grekis a gret pas
Ne cesse nat to swen on þe chas,
Ful hastely to þe castel gate,
And entren in, and by cruel fate
Þei kille & sle boþen hiȝe & lowe;
Þei spare noon, ne list no wiȝt to knowe
Of non estat, but felly hem oppresse;
And what þei fond, gold & eke richesse,
Vn-to schip þei cariden anoon;
And of þe castel þei left nat a stoon
Aboue a-noþer, but turnen vp so doun
Boþe wal & tour & þe chefe dongoun,
Þat no þing stood, so þei vnder-myne.
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