University of Virginia Library

As Vlixes the lorde lay for to slepe,
With-outyn noise on a night in his nakede bede,
He was drecchit in a dreame, & in dred broght,
Þat all chaunget his chere & his choise hert.
He segh an ymage full noble & of a new shap,
ffaire of ffeturs & fresshe, of a fre woman,
Or ellis a goddes full gay, as the gome þoght.
He dessyrit full depely þat depe forto hondle,
And þat bright for to bras in his big armes;
But hym thught þat ho þroly þrappit away,
And o fer fro the freike foundit to kepe.
To þat noble, onone, ho neghit agayne,
And spird at hym specially what he speike wold.
“I wold dele with þe damysell,” þe duke to hir saide,
“To know the full kyndly, as my clene luff.”
Þan the lady to Vlixes, as þe lede þoght,
Said hym full sone, all in sad wordes;—
“Now full hard & vnhappy is þi hegh lust,
Þat þou couetus vnkyndly to couple with me:
Hit is nedfull, with noye, onone aftur þis,
The tone dauly be ded, by domys of right.”
Þan hit semyt to þe souerain, þat þe sure lady
Had a glaive, a full grym, grippit in honde;
And a-boue hit ho bare, on the bright end,
A Grydell full gay, gret-full of fiche,
Corius & crafty, clene to be-holde.
Þan hit semet, for-sothe, þat þe selfe woman
Wold haue faryn hym fro, but first ho hym said.
“This is a signe, for-sothe, of a sure, Emperour,
And the coniunctoun vniust is Joynit vs betwene,
Is care for to come, with a cold ende.”
Than waknet the wegh of his wan slepe,
Myche dut he his dreme, & dred hym þerfore.
Anone as the night past, the noble kyng sent
ffor Devinours full duly, & of depe wit.
When þai comyn were to court, he the case told
Of the note in the night & the new dreme.
All wiston tho wise, by the weghis tale,
He shuld duly be ded of his derfe sone.
Hit fell hym by fortune of a foole end.
Þan Vlixes the lege kyng, of his lyf feerd,
Telamocus he toke, his tru sone,
Stake hym in a stith house, & stuerne men to kepe,
Wallit full wele, with water aboute.
Thus he keppit hym full cloise, & in care held,
Þat no whe to hym wan but wardens full sure.

Hit tide, as I told haue in tymes before,
Þat Vlixes with a lady in a lond dwellit,
High[t] Cerces, for-soth, as I said ere.
He hade a child with þat choise was a chere sone,
Þat Telagonius in his tyme truly was cald;
And none wist hit, I-wis, but his wale moder,
Þat consayuit of the kyng, & a knave bere.
When the ffreike had the fulle of xvtene yeres,
He fraynit at the fre, who his fader was,
In what lond he was lent, & if he lyue hade.
Sho layuit hit full long, & list not to telle,
ffor the sake of hir sone, lest he soght furth.
This mild of his moder so mainly dessiret,
Þat ho said hym o sycher, all in soche wordes,
Þat Vlixes the lord was his leue fader;
And enfourmet hym fully of þe fre rewme,
Þat the worthy in-wonet, as a wale kyng.
Thelagonius of the tale truly was fayne,
And depely dessyret the duke for to knowe.
He purpost hym plainly to pas ouer sea,
The souerain to seche, and he so myght.
The mon at his moder mekely toke leue,
fferkit to the flode in a felle hast.
The lady hir leue son lyuely can pray,
To hie hym in hast hom to his moder.

The buerne vnto bote busket onone,
Past ouer the pale and the pale ythes.
So long had he laburt, & the lord soght,
Þat he come to Acaya, þere the kyng dwellit.
There arofe he full radly, raght to þe bonke,
Past to the palais of the pure kyng,
There were kepars full cant at the close yatis,
Þat no buerne was so bold þe brigge for to entre.
Þai denyet hym onone o no kyn wise;
ffor thei kepe wold the comaundement of þere kynd lord.
ffast prayet the prinse, all with pure wordis,
Of ffrenship, & fauour, and in faire wise.
ffull stuernly with strenght þai stourket hym þan,
Bere hym bak on þe brigge, bet hym with-all.
Telagonius, full tyte, tenet þerwith.
When he suffert the sore in his sad yre,
He nolpit on with his Neue in the necke hole,
Þat the bon alto brast, & the buerne deghit.
With the remnond full rade he rixlit unfaire,
With gronyng & grym gert hym to stynt,
Cast hom ouer clanly at the cloise brigge.
The noise was noyus the noble court þurgh,
Bold men to þe brigge bremly þai yode,
Telagonius to take and tirne vnto dethe.
Þan he braid to the buerne on þe brig sone,
Ouerraght hym full roidly, reft hym his swerd,
ffaght with tho fuerse men felly agayne,
Tyll fyftene were fay of his fell dynttes,
And he woundit full wickedly in were of his lyf.
Þan the ruerde wax ranke of þat rught fare,
Vlixes full lyuely launchit on fote,
Hopet his sone was (out) slippit, þat set was in holde,
And put downe his pepull as he past furth.
To the noise oponone neghit þe kyng,
Vne wode of his wit for the wale crye,
With a dart vndull þat the duke bare,
Segh his men to be mart with a mad childe,
Þat hym-self neuer had sene, ne for sothe knew.
In offens of the freike, with a fyn wille
He drof at hym with þe dart, derit hym but litle.
Telagonius full tite toke hit in honde,
Cast euyn at the kyng with a cant will,
Rent þurgh his ribbes at the right syde,
Woundit hym wickedly to the wale dethe,
Þat he dusshet euen doun of his dede hurt.
All ffeblit þe freike, fainted of strenght,
Wex pale of his payne, in point for to end;
And weike of his wordes, woinerond in speche,
He spird at hom specially, as he speike might,
What wegh þat hit was, woundit hym hade
With a dart to the dethe, & deiret full mony:
So hit meuit to his mynd in his mekill noye.
Telagonius full tite at a tulke asket,
Who the freike was in faith, þat fraynit his nome.
The said the lord was Vlixes, þat he lost hade.
When Telagon the tale of the tru herd,
Þat his fader was fey of his fell dynt,
He brait out with a birre of a bale chere,
And said:—“Alas! for this lure, þat I lyue shuld!
I haue faryn out of fere laund my fader to seche,
Me to solas in sound, as a sone owe;
And now I done haue to deth, in my derf hate,
Þat my solas & socour sothely shuld be!”
With fainttyng & feblenes he fell to þe ground
All dowly, for dole, in a dede swone.
Whan he wackont of wo, he wan vpo fote,
All-to rechit his robis & his ronke here;
ffowle frusshet his face with his felle nailes.
Þan he fell to þe fete of þe fre kyng,
And told hym full tyte, þat Telagon he was,
His son, þat on Circes sothely was getton:—
“Þat þou gate on þi gamyn, as vngrate felle;
And if þou degh of this dynt, by destany þus,
Oure goddis graunt me þat grace, þat I go with,
And no lengur to lyue in no lond after.”

When Vlixes þe lord lyuely persayuit,
Þat he to Circes was son, þat hym-self gat,
He fauort hym more faithly, & frely comaundit,
To sese of his sorow, and sobur his cher.
Þen for Telamoc, þe tothir son, tomly he sent,
And he come out of kepyng to his kid fadur;
Wold haue britnet his brothir with a bare sword,
fforto dere for þe deth of his du lord.
Ȝet Vlixes on lyue, as þe led myght,
With gronyng and greue gert hym to stynt;
Bad þe lede schuld hym leue, as his lofe brothir,
And cheris hym choisly for chaunse vpon vrthe.
Thre dais, in his dole, þe dughti con lyue,
And then lefte he þe lif, & þe lond bothe.
In the cuntre of acaya, þer he kyng was,
Ys he birit in a burgh, & a bright toumbe,
And Telamoce his tor son takyn for kyng,
ffull sesit of þe soile, with septur in hond;
And Telagon, his tru brothir, tri[e]dly honourit,
With myche worchip & wele, in his wale court,
Til a ȝer was full yore, yarkit to end,
And a halfe, er þat end happit to fare,
He made hym knyght in his court, & couet to leng
All his lyf in his lond, with lordchip to haue.
Þen letteris had þe lede fro his lefe modur,
fforto high hym in hast, & his home laite:
So lefte he þe lond of his lele brothir,
Soght hom to Cerces with solas ynogh.
Miche worchip had þe whe of his wale frendis,
Gay giftys and grete, qwen he go wold.
At þe partyng was pité of þo pure knyghtis,
Miche wepyng & wail, wetyng of lere.
And so þe bold fro his brothir into bote ȝode:
Into Aulida afterword abli he come,
To his modir full myld þat hym mykill louyt.
Als fayne of the freike, as þe fre might,
Myche solast hir the sight of hir sone þan,
To se the lede vppon lyue, þat ho louet most:
Wende the wegh hade bene walt in the wale stremes,
Euyn drownet in the depe, hir dole was the more,
Or ellis fallyn in fight with þo felle buernes,
At the slaght of his Syre in the syde londes. [OMITTED]
There were fey in the fight, of the felle grekes,
Eght hundrith thowsaund þro throngyn to dethe,
And sex thowsaund besyde all of sad pepull.
The Sowme of the sure men, þat þe Cité keppit,
Sex hundreth thowsaund, seuyn hundreth & sex, on the last.

Whan Eneas was exiled, euyn were his shippes
Two hundreth full hole, all of hede vessell.
The troiens fro the toune, þat turnet with Antenor,
Were two thowsaund full thro, thristy men all,
And fyue hundreth fere, þat folowet hym after.
All the Remnond of Renkes, þat raght fro þe toune,
With Eneas afterward etlid to see.

The worthiest to wete, þat in wer deghit,
I shall nem you the nomes vponone here,—
Bothe of grekes, er I go, and of gret Troy,
And who dight hom to dethe with dynttes of hond.

THIES ECTOR SLOGH WITH HOND, OF KYNGES.

Thies, honerable Ector auntrid to Sle,
Er the doghty was ded, all of du kynges.
Achilagon, a choise kyng, he choppit to dethe.
Protheselon, in prese, he put out of lyue.
Myrion the mighty, he martrid with hond.
Protroculun, Prothenor, the prise knight slaght;
Othemen, also, abill of person:
Polexenun, Paralanun, Polibeton, also:
Kyng Philip, þat bold britnet with strokes.
Tedynur, in the toile he tyrnit to ground.
Durion of his dynttes drepit was there.
Phephun, palamydon, the fuerse in the feld slogh.
Xansipun the souerain, with a Sore dynt.
Leenton the Lord, on the laund fellit.
Humeriun the herty, hew to the dethe,
And Famen the fuerse, fey with his hond.

THEZ PARIS SLOGH IN THE FFELD.

Paris, palamydon put out of lyue,
And Frygie, the fell kyng, fonnget to dethe:
Antilagon also, after forsothe.
Achilles the choise kyng, hym chaunsit to sle,
And Aiax, afterward, abill of dede.

THIES ACHILLES SLOGH IN THE FFELD.

Achilles, with his choppes, chaunsit to sle
Emphemun the fuerse, & the prise Emphorbiun:
Austeron the stith, out of state broght:
Lygonun the lege kyng, launchet thurgh dint:
Ector the honerable, oddist of knightes,
Troiell, with treason, & the true kyng Menon:
Neptolomon, with noy, of þat noble was ded:
Thies brettonit þat bold or he bale dreghit.

THIES ENEAS SLOGH.

Eneas also auntrid to sle
Amphymak the fuerse, with a fyne speire;
And Neron the noble with a nolpe alse.

THIES PIRRUS SLOGH.

Pyrrus, the pert kyng, put vnto dethe
Pantasilia the prise qwene, pertest of ladies;
Kyng Priam, with pyne, Polexena his doghter:
Thies worthy to wale, as werdes hom demyt,
Were martrid in maner, as I mynt haue.

Now the proses is plainly put to an end:
He bryng vs to the blisse, þat bled for our Syn.