University of Virginia Library

Agamynons hawne sone abill of ȝeris,
Þat ydumius the dere kyng only had keppit
ffor ferd of his fos, þat his fader slogh,
Engestus with Iapis shulde Iuge hym to dethe,
Was waxen full wele & wight of his dedis.
xxti wintur, I-wis, the wegh was of age,
And forther by foure, fuerse of his strenght.
Þan honered hym þat od kyng with ordur of knight;
Gaf hym of his gold, & his gay stedis,
And hight hym of helpe with a hede pepull.
Orestes þat onerable oftymes prayet
To ffilsyn hym with folke his fo to dystroy,
His cuntre to kouer, & his kid rewme,
And to deire for the dethe of his dere fader.
The kyng grauntid agayne with a gode wille.
A thowsaund þro knightes, þrepond in wer,
He assignet for hym-selfe to his sad helpe:
And so luffet was the lede in the lond þan,
Þat as mony able men after was grauntid.
Þan Orestes full rad with his ronke knightes,
Come to the Croeze, the cuntre within
There Forenses the fre-kyng fairly can dwell.
He was neghbur full negh to þe noble yle,
There Agamynon the gode gouernaunce hade;
And was Enmy full euyn to Engest with-all,
And held wer with þat wegh winturs full mony.
This Forenses with fyne will faithfully prayet,
Þat he might ryde with þat Orest & his ranke oste,
To Ioyne with Engest for his vniust werkes,
With þre hundrith þrifty, all of þr[i]ed knightes:
And he þriftely, with þro hert, þanket the kyng.
And so busket the bold fro the burgh sone.
Hit was the moneth of May when mirthes begyn;
The Sun turnyt into tauro, taried þere vnder;
Medos & mountains mynget with floures;
Greues wex grene, & the ground swete;
Nightgalis with notes newit þere songe,
And shene briddes in shawes shriked full lowde.
Orestes full rad, with his ranke knightes,
And Forenses, the fuerse kyng, faryn of toune.
Þai meuit vnto messan with þere men hole.
All refusit hom the folke of þe fyne plase.
When he segh þat the Cité sate in defens,
He besegit hit full sadly vppon sere halues,
Þat no buerne of the burgh durst to bent come:
And so keppit he the close of his clene Cité.
He had answare of Appolyn abill before,
Þat he his fomen shuld fell & his folke wyn,
And his moder for hir malice martur to dethe,
ffor all the helpe þat ho hade & the hegh walles.
This Engest with Iolite & Iournay was gone,
To secche hym sum frekes with hor fyn helpus,
Of Bachelers & bowmen the burgh to defend.
Orestes full radly the Renke hade aspiet,
What way þat he went, as weghes hym told.
He purpast hym priuely in pathes to lye.
Knightes, at his comyng to kacche hym olyue,
Þat mekill were of might, & of his men qwelle.
The Cité he assailet with a sewte ofte,
Þat the folke to defend failet o sythes.
Thai werit of þere werke þe wallis to kepe,
And no buerne of þe burgh þere aboue stode.
The XVtene day fuersly he felle to þe toune,
He toke hit full tite, & tomly he entrid,
With all his company clene of kyd men of armys.
He comaundit his knightes for keping the yatis,
ffor Repaire at the port, or presyng the yatis.
He past to the palas of his prise ffader,
There caght he Clunestra, þat closit was in.
He put hir in prison, prestly to kepe,
And all the Rebellis full rad rappit to dethe,
Þat were assent to the slaght of his sure fader.
The same day, sothely, the Cité was takyn,
Engeste with Ioly men aioynet agayne
The Cité for to socour with his sad help.
Noght warre of the weghes, þat waited his harme,
Past furth thurgh the pase with his proude knightes:
A busshement of bold men breke hym vpon;
Kyld all his kant men, kaghtyn hym seluyn;
His hond bounden at his backe, hym to burgh led.
The secund day suyng, sone in the morne,
Orestes his renkes radly comaundet,
Bare to the barre bryng hym his moder,
Hir hondes bounden at hir backe bigly with ropes.
Than he went to þat worthy in his wode yre,
And the pappis of the pure puld fro hir brest
With a knyfe þat was kene, cast hom away;
And with the swing of a swerd swappit hir to dethe.
He comaund the corse cacche vp onone,
And hurle with a horse to the hegh feldys,
And cast hit as karyn vnto kene foles.
There the lady on the lond lay for to rest,
Till the flesshe of þat faire was fret of the bones,
To draghen be with dogges & othir derfe briddes.
Engest he adiuget, for vniust werkes,
Nakid thro the noble toune onone to be drawen,
Þan in hast for to heng vppon hegh galowes,
With all the traitours vntru, þat he toke þere.
Thus he vengit the velany, & the vile grym
Of the dethe, þat hym deiret, of his dere fader.
Thus the lady was lost for hir lechir dedis,
Þat vnhappely for horedam hastyd to sle
Agamynon the goode, the grettist of kynges,
And most worthy to wale while the world last.
ffor ho keppit not hir klennes with a cloise hert,
Thus fell hir by fortune to haue a foule end.

HOW MENELAY WAS WROTHE FFOR THE DETHE OF CLUNESTRA.

When Menelay the mighty & his men all
Were comyn out of care of the cold ythes,
With honerable Elan, þat was his aune wife,
To the cuntre of Crete þere the kyng dwellit,
Hit was told hym full tyte of his tru brother,
Þat done was to dethe with a derf traitor;
And how Orestes full rad, with a roid fare,
Hade marterid his moder for malice þerof.
All the comyns of Crete & the kyd lordes,
On the lady to loke longit full sore,
ffor whom the grekes so grymly were to ground broght.
So Eger were all men Elan to se,
ffor to waite on þat worthy went þai belyue.
Then the Seniour full sone, with seasonable windes,
Cairet fro Crete with his clene nauy,
Meuit vnto Mecayne with his men all,
And faire Elan his fere ferkit hym with.
To Orestes his aune cosyn angardly sade,
Noght to rest in his Rewme, ne by right haue
The heritage of auncetry after his fader,
ffor the murthe of his moder, he martired so foule.
Þan the grettist of grese were gedirt þerfore,
Bothe of kynges full clene, & of kid dukes,
To Attens, þat abill toune, angardly mony,
ffor to meue of þat mater, & make þere an end.
Then prinses full prest, and the pure kinges,
Saydon Orestes be right shuld render his londes,
And be exilede for euermore, as orible of dede,
Þat so doggetly had done to his dere moder.
Þan alleggit the lede to the leue prinses,
All the dere þat he did vnduly to hir,
Was barly by biddyng of his bright goddes,
Þat enformet hym before of the fete euyn.
The Duke of Attens full derffe dressit to say,
ffor the right of Orestes radly he proffert
To proue with his person & his pure strenght,
To the boldest in batell with his bare hond,
Þat he had right to his rewme, & no renke ellis;
And all the dedis he dyd were done vppon reason,
Evyn wroght by the wille of hor wale goddes:
There was no buerne with þat bold the batell to take,
The right to derayne with the ranke duke.
By counsell of kynges & comyn assent,
Thai qwite claymit the qwerell, & qwit hym þere all,
And as right to his rewme restorit hym agayn.
Þan þai coroned hym kyng of þat kyd yle,
In the Cité of Syre set hym olofte.
All the ledis of his lond lelly were fayn;
And he wrothe as the wynde to his wale eme.
Idumus the derfe kyng, & his dere cosyn
fforenses, the fre þat hym faith aght,
To Macanas þo men meuit all somyn,
And accordit þo kynges in the kith euyn,—
Menelay the mighty & his mayn nephew,
Orestes the renke, of hor ranke yre.
This accord was knit & in course made,
Þat Orestes the rich kyng radly shuld wed
Ermonia, the maydon, his owne myld cosyn,
His Emes doghter full dere duly to wyf.
Made was this mariage þo mighty betwene,
With Solenité & Sacrifice the Cité with-in,
With ffastyng and fare of the fre pepull,
And lyuet furth in Lykyng a long tyme after.