University of Virginia Library

Vlyxes the Lord, that lurkyd by nyght
ffro the Cité to the see, as I said Ere,
When Thelamon, with tene was trayturly slayn,
All bare in his bed & blody beronen,
With two schippis full schene, þat þe schalk hiret,
He come vnto Crete as þe course fell.
All his nauy full nobill naytly were lost,
And refte fro the rynke, as I rede schall.
Telamon tor son toke hym with hond,
He refte hym his riches & his renke schippis,
And wold haue honget þe here vppon hegh galos;
But hit auntrid Vlixes vne for to skape,
Thurgh wiles & wit wan of his hondis,
And past of his pouer to pouert ynugh.
Of all his wallond wele walt he no gode,
And þof he passit with pyne þe pouer of hym,
Ȝet happit hym full hard in a hond qwile.
The noble kyng Naule naytly hym toke,
And purpost with pyne to put hym (o) lyue,
ffor the tale of the treson, I told ȝow before,
Of the prise kyng Palomydon, his aune pure son;
But thurgh wilys & wit he wan of his daunger.
Vnpairit of his person priuely he stale.
By what Iapis or gen, aiuges not here,
Þat he skope fro the skath of thies skathell men;
But full pore of his pride, & in plite febull,
To Idumus, the du kyng, doutles he come,
Þat had meruell full mekill of his myshap,
And welcomyt þat worthy on a wise faire.
He spird hym full specially of his spede feble,
ffor to tell hym the truth how hym tid hade.
(Þan) he grauntid the gret with a good wille,
His dissyre for to do, & dressit to say:—
“Soth hit is, sir kyng, & so ye well know,
After the takyng of Troy me tid for to haue
Mony schippis full shene, shot full of godes,
With Relikes full rife, and red gold ynogh:
Mony seruandes me suet, & sad pepull als;
Knightes in my company, & kide men of were.
So went I to watur, hade winde at my lust,
Past to a port pleasond and faire,
Þat, with men of þat marche, Murna was cald:
Þere launchit I to laund, a litle for ese,
Restid me rifely, ricchit my seluyn.
Non hedit me with hething, ne no harme did,
Nowther barge, ne bote, ne buerne vppon lyue.
Þan toke I my tide, turnyt to ship,
Hade winde at my wille & the wedur calme,
To Colofages I flet, & my feres all,
And þere restid in the rode, as I red toke.
Whan I hade lengit qwile me list, I launchit on swith,
And all the calme ouercast into kene stormes.
ffull wodely the windes wackont aboue;
A myst & a merknes mynget with rayn,
Þat wilt vs in were & our way lost.
Knew we no costis for cauping of ythes,
Ne no lond on to light, þat vs lefe was.
O sithes, vnto Cisile I sailet at the last,
There me happit full hard in a hond qwile.
The same tyme in Cicill, somyn þere were
Two kynges þere wone, þat the kyth aght:
Bothe were þai brether, & bold men of hond,
And fell men in fight, þere found I my part.
Stigeta, a stuerne man & stalworth, was one,
And Ciclophe the secund: so were þai cald.
Þai fell to me fuersly, & my folke slogh;
Robbet my riches, & reft me my godes;
Spoilet me dispitiously, sparit me noght.
Two sons, for-sothe, of the same kynges,—
ffuers men in fight, & fell of hor dinttes,—
Kyld of my knightes, kid men a hundrith,
And sesit my self, & my sure felow,
Alphenor, a freike, þat me faith aght.
In a castell full cloise keppit vs bothe,
And put vs in prison prestly to-gedur.
Poliphemas, the pert, had a prise suster,
ffairest of fetur, fresshe to be-hold,
Clere as the cristall, & a cleane maidon:
Whan Alphenor the freike faithfully can se,
He was lappit with loue & lusty dissire,
Negh wode of his wit went in þe plase.
Sex mones, þat mighty made me to leng
As prisoner, with pyne, in his prowd castell.
Þan pité of my person prikket his hert,
He deliuert me lowse, & my lefe felow,
Alphenor the freike, þat fallyn was in loue.
This Poliphemas me plesit, & putto me þan
Giftis of gold, & greatly honouryt.
Alphenor, in faithe, foundit full ofte
The woman to wyn, & away lede.
So he spake of his spede þat speciall vnto,
Þat onone in the night, þat noble he stale
ffro the souerain hir Syre, & soght with hir furth.
When hit come to the knowyng of hir kid brother,
Poliphemus prudly preset hir after
With knightes full kene, kyde men of hond.
He fell on my folke, & fele of hom slogh,
And my seluyn with a sewte asailet full hard:
Þan I fell to defence with a frike wille,
My-seluyn to saue, and socour my pepull.
The ton Egh in the toile tynt he belyue,
And I shot to my shippes, & the shalke leuit.
With myche labur, at the last, I launchit to se,
Soght out of Cicile with sorow, þat I hade,
With myche noy in the night my nauy to stere.
To the Ile of Aulida I auntrid to hit,
There found I before the fairest on lyue,
Two sister full semly, þat me sore greuit.
Thai were ladies of þe laund, & of lore wise;
Of Nigromansy ynogh nothing hom lakked.
The craft of coniuracioun þo cumly did vse;
With Spretis & experyment so spend þai þere lyf,
Who-so lightes in þat lond fro the low sea,
Þai haue no power to passe fro þere pure art;
And who þat bowes not bainly þere biddyng vnto,
Þo shene wull forshape vnto shire bestis,
Neuermore to be men vppon mold after,
Ne the lond for to leue in hor lyf tyme.
The wiser of tho worthy, to wale hir by nome,
High Sirces, for-sothe, so was sho callid,
And Taliphe, þat tother of the tried suster.
This Circes my-seluyn set on to loue:
With charmes & Inchauntmenttes ho cherisshed me so,
Þat me wissit no wile away for to passe:
A twelmond & two wekes twynnet we noght.
With-in a yere, full yeuerly, þat yepe was with child,
Consayuit of my-selfe, & a son hade.
Þan I purpast to passe with pepull a few,
And cast me by craft & conyng þerfore.
Of me þe worthy was war, & my wille knew,
And sped hir full specially my sped for to let,
With wiles & wicchecraft my way for to hindur;
But my-self of þat sciens somwhat I can,
Well enformet of the feate, & hir fare marret;
And all hir note of Nigromansy naitly distroyet,
Þan I wan fro the woman with wyles ynow;
With a lite, þat me left were, launchit to see;
Past ouer the pale ythes, & perellis full mony,
Into the cuntre of Calaphe cast with a storme,
There the qwene with hir qwaintis qwaitid me to cacche:
Held me with hir, & my hede knightes,
Alse longe as hir list, with hir loue bounden.
But hit noyet me noght for hir noble chere,
That ho made to my men with myrthes & Ioye.
At the last, fro þat lady, I lausyt myselfe
By wiles, & wit, & wo, þat I tholit.
Hir craft & hir conyng by course I distroyet,
And safe with my soudiours slippit hir fro.
Þan I sailet forth soundly on the Sea occian,
With hom þat I hade, and happit to light
In an yle, þere an old temple naitly I founde,
Of a god, þat with gomes was gretly honouret.
There answare hade all men after þere wille,
Both certayn & sothe, þat soght for to wete.
At þat orribill I asket angardly myche,
Of dethe, & of deire, as destyny willes;
And other ferlies full fele I fraynit of hit.
There spirde I full specially in spede for to here,
When dethe hade vs drepit, & our day comyn,
And we went of this world, what worthe of our saules.
To all thing he answarit abilly me thoght,
But of our sawles, for-sothe, said he me noght.
Than went I to watur, & a winde rose,
Shot furth my shippes on the shyre ythes.
To a perellus plase past I fro thens,
And sailet þurgh a sea þere Syrens were in:
ffro the navell netherward noght but a fisshe,
And made as a maidon fro þe myddes vp,
Bothe of face & of feturs as a fre woman.
The songe of þo Syrens was selly to here!
With a ledyn full lusty & likyng with-all,
The myrthe of þaire mowthes musyk was like,
As to here out of heuyn the high song of blisse.
There folis þat faryn by fer costes,
Þat heron the melody, so mekill are masit in hert,
Lettyn sailis doun slyde, & in slym fallyn:
Nowthir stightill þai stere, ne no stithe ropes.
So synkes in hor sawle the song of þo bestis,
Thai have no dainty of drynk, ne of dere meites,
But derkon euon down on a depe slomur.
When the Sirens this sene, sone oponone
Þai wyn to the wale ship, & walton all vnder;
And the folke in the flete felly þai drownen:—
Þai dump in the depe, and to dethe passe.
My-self in thies Sirens sothely was stad,
With my felowes in fere, & my few shippes;
And with crafte of my conyng I keppit vs wele,
Þat no wegh, þat I wist, hade wille for to slepe.
We faght with hom felly, and flait hom so,
Þat a thawsaund with threpe we throng vnto dethe;
And noght hedit hom with heryng for harme of oure-s
elfe.
ffro thies perels I past, & no payne tholit!
But me happit full hard in a honde whyle!
ffull swift to the swalgh me swinget the flode,
But fyftene forlong failit I þerof,
ffele of my fraght were before past,
Draghen into the depe, drownet belyue.
The more halfe of my men & my mayn shippis,
There tynt I full tite & turnyt away.
Þan I soght by the sea: to Senyse I come,
There a ferlyful folke I fond, & a cursid!
Thai mvrtherit my men with hor mayn dynttes.
The most parte of my pepull put to þe dethe.
Þai left me but lite þat on lyue were.
Þai toke vs full tite, teghit oure hondes,
And put vs in prison, pyne for to þole.
All the godes þai grippit of the gret vessell,
And robbed vs full radly, right as hom liked.
At the last þai me lausit, by leue of our goddes,
With a few of my felowes, þat me fore with.
No gode þai me gaf but graunt of my lyff,
And lete me go with my gyng on þe gray water!
Thus in pouert & payn I past on the sea,
With myche baret all aboute the bourders of Iude.
At the last, in this lond light am I here,
Naked, & nedefull, as þou now sees.
Now I told haue the torfer, þat me tide hase,
Syn I turnyt fro troy, of tempast & other.”

Idimius the du kyng, þat his dole herde,
Hade pité of his pouert & plesit hym mykell.
Moche gode he hym gaf of his gold red,
And refresshit his fflete with a fyn wille.
When the kyng oute of Crete cast hym to fare,
Two shippes full shene shot full of godys,
And of syluer a sowme, sothely with-all,
The kyng of the cost kyndly hym gaffe,
Þat might Suffise the syre forto saile home.
Þan he prayet hym full prestly, þat he passe wold
To Antenor on all wise, þat ay had dessyred,
Þat was a kyng in his coste, & couet full mekyll,
Vlixes, of long tyme, on lyue forto se.
Þan laght he his leue, & the lord þanked,
Past vnto port, puld vp his sayles,
To Anthenor the tore kyng turnyt belyue.
And he, war of þat worthy, welcomet hym faire,
Mykell cherissht the choise kyng with a chere noble,
And welcomd þat worthy, as he wele couthe.
There were tythynges hym told of his triet realme,
And of Penolope, his owne pure wyf,
Þat had keppit hir full cloise as a cleane lady,
With myche worship & wyn, þat hym wele lyked.
Thelamoc, his tru sun, tythinges had herd,
Þat his fader in fere was ferkit to lond
With Antenor the tru: he trussit hym thedur,
And all tythinges hym told of his tried moder.
How Enmyes were egurly entrid his rewme,
ffor to hold hit with hond, & with hole strenght.
Þan Vlixes full lyuely the lege (kyng) prayet,
To kaire in his company with knightes a few,
His fomen to fell with his fyne helpe:
And he assenttid full sone, sowmet his pepull,
Past into port, puld vp þere sailes;
Hade wind at þere wille, & the watur calme,
Sailet to the Cité somyn in the night.
Euery lede to the lond laghtyn þere gayre.
Þan hurlet into howses all the hed knightes,
By the ledyng of a lede, þat the land knew,
When the fomen were fast fallyn vppon slepe.
There brittnet þai the buernes in hor bed naked,
And none left vpon lyue, þat hom lothe were.
Whan the day vp drogh, & the derke voidet,
Þan the past to the palas of the prise kyng.
Bothe the souerayn hym-selfe & his syb frynd,
And were welcom, I-wis, on a wise faire!
A! what wise was Penolope proude at hir hert,
And gladly ho grippet to hir gode lorde,
Þat ho had depely dessyret on dayes before
In sound for to se, mony sad winttur!
The pepull of the prise toun presit full thicke,
ffor to loke on hor lord longit full sore.
Gret gyftes þai hym gaffe of gold & of Syluer,
And moche worsshippet the wegh all his wale pepull.
He was enhaunsyt full high in his hed toune,
And so treated with Antenor, þat Thelamoc his son,
Nauca, the noble doghter naitly can wed
Of Tyde Antenor, as the tale saise.
There fourmyt þai a fest on a faire wise,
ffele dayes to endure, as hom dere thoght.
Antenor full tyte þan turnyt to his rewme,
And Vlixes with lykyng leuyt at home.
Mony dayes he endurit, all in due pes,
And had rest in his rewme right to his dethe.