University of Virginia Library

In Tessalie, as Guido tellith us,
There was a kyng that highte Pelleus,
That hadde a brother which that highte Eson;
And whan for age he myghte unnethes gon,
He yaf to Pelleus the governyng
Of al his regne and made hym lord and kyng.
Of which Eson this Jason geten was,
That in his tyme in al that land there nas
Nat swich a famous knyght of gentilesse,
Of fredom, and of strengthe and lustynesse.
After his fadres deth he bar hym so
That there nas non that liste ben his fo,
But dide hym al honour and companye.
Of which this Pelleus hadde gret envye,
Imagynynge that Jason myghte be
Enhaunsed so and put in swich degre
With love of lordes of his regioun,
That from his regne he may ben put adoun.
And in his wit a-nyght compassed he
How Jason myghte best distroyed be
Withoute sclaunder of his compassement,
And at the last he tok avysement
To senden hym into som fer contre,
There as this Jason may destroyed be.
This was his wit, al made he to Jasoun
Gret chere of love and of affeccioun,
For drede lest his lordes it espide.
So fyl it, so as fame renneth wide,
There was swich tydyng overal and swich loos,
That in an yle that called was Colcos,
Beyonde Troye, estward in the se,
That therin was a ram that men mighte se
That hadde a fles of gold that shon so bryghte
That nowher was ther swich anothir syghte;
But it was kept alwey with a dragoun,
And many other merveyles, up and doun,
And with two boles maked al of bras,
That spitten fyr, and moche thyng there was.
But this was ek the tale, natheles,
That whoso wolde wynne thylke fles,
He moste bothe, or he it wynne myghte,
With the boles and the dragoun fyghte.
And kyng Oetes lord was of that yle.

This Pelleus bethoughte upon this wile,
That he his neveu Jason wolde enhorte
To saylen to that lond, hym to disporte,
And seyde, "Nevew, if it myghte be
That swich a worshipe myghte fallen the,
That thow this famous tresor myghtest wynne,
And bryngen it my regioun withinne,
It were to me gret plesaunce and honour.
Thanne were I holde to quyte thy labour;
And al the cost I wol myselven make.
And chees what folk that thow wilt with the take;
Lat sen now, darst thow take this viage?"

Jason was yong, and lusty of corage,
And undertok to don this ilke empryse.
Anon Argus his shipes gan devyse;
With Jason wente the stronge Ercules,
And many another that he with hym ches.
But whoso axeth who is with hym gon,
Lat hym go rede Argonautycon,
For he wole telle a tale long ynogh.
Philotetes anon the sayl up drogh,
Whan that the wynd was good, and gan hym hye
Out of his contre called Thessalye.
So longe he seyled in the salte se,
Til in the yle of Lemnon aryvede he —
Al be this nat rehersed of Guido,
Yit seyth Ovyde in his Epistels so —
And of this ile lady was and quene
The fayre yonge Ysiphele, the shene,
That whylom Thoas doughter was, the kyng.

Isiphile was gon in hire pleying,
And, romynge on the clyves by the se,
Under a banke anon aspied she
Where that the ship of Jason gan aryve.
Of hire goodnesse adoun she sendeth blyve
To witen if that any straunge wight
With tempest thider were yblowe a-nyght,
To don him socour, as was hire usaunce
To fortheren every wight, and don plesaunce
Of verrey bounte and of curteysye.
This messangeer adoun hym gan to hye,
And fond Jason and Ercules also,
That in a cog to londe were ygo,
Hem to refreshen and to take the eyr.
The morwenynge attempre was and fayr,
And in his weye this messanger hem mette.
Ful cunnyngly these lordes two he grette,
And dide his message, axinge hem anon
If they were broken, or ought wo begon,
Or hadden nede of lodman or vitayle;
For of socour they sholde nothyng fayle,
For it was outrely the quenes wille.

Jason answerde mekely and stylle:
"My lady," quod he, "thanke I hertely
Of hire goodnesse; us nedeth, trewely,
Nothyng as now, but that we wery be,
And come for to pleye out of the se
Tyl that the wynd be better in oure weye."

This lady rometh by the clyf to pleye,
With hire meyne, endelong the stronde,
And fynt this Jason and this other stonde
In spekynge of this thyng, as I yow tolde.
This Ercules and Jason gan beholde
How that the queen it was, and fayre hire grette
Anon-ryght as they with this lady mette;
And she tok hed, and knew by hyre manere,
By hire aray, by wordes, and by chere,
That it were gentil-men of gret degre,
And to the castel with hire ledeth she
These straunge folk and doth hem gret honour,
And axeth hem of travayle and labour
That they han suffered in the salte se;
So that, withinne a day, or two, or thre,
She knew, by folk that in his shipes be,
That it was Jason, ful of renone,
And Ercules, that hadde the grete los,
That soughten the aventures of Colcos;
And dide hem honour more than before,
And with hem deled evere lenger the more,
For they ben worthy folk, withouten les.
And namely, most she spak with Ercules;
To hym hire herte bar, he shulde be
Sad, wys, and trewe, of wordes avyse,
Withouten any other affeccioun
Of love, or evyl ymagynacyoun.

This Ercules hath so this Jason preysed
That to the sonne he hath hym up areysed,
That half so trewe a man there nas of love
Under the cope of heven that is above;
And he was wis, hardy, secre, and ryche.
Of these thre poyntes there nas non hym liche:
Of fredom passede he, and lustyhede,
Alle tho that lyven or been dede;
Therto so gret a gentilman was he,
And of Thessalye likly kyng to be.
There nas no lak, but that he was agast
To love, and for to speke shamefast.
He hadde lever hymself to morder, and dye,
Than that men shulde a lovere hym espye.
"As wolde God that I hadde yive
My blod and flesh, so that I myghte live,
With the nones that he hadde owher a wif
For hys estat; for swich a lusty lyf
She shulde lede with this lusty knyght!"

And al this was compassed on the nyght
Bytwixe hym Jason and this Ercules.
Of these two here was a shrewed lees,
To come to hous upon an innocent!
For to bedote this queen was here assent.
And Jason is as coy as is a mayde;
He loketh pitously, but nought he sayde,
But frely yaf he to hire conseyleres
Yiftes grete, and to hire officeres.
As wolde God I leyser hadde and tyme
By proces al his wowyng for to ryme!
But in this hous if any fals lovere be,
Ryght as hymself now doth, ryght so dide he,
With feynynge, and with every subtil dede.
Ye gete namore of me, but ye wole rede
Th'origynal, that telleth al the cas.

The somme is this: that Jason wedded was
Unto this queen and tok of hir substaunce
What so hym leste unto his purveyaunce;
And upon hire begat he children two,
And drogh his sayl and saw hir nevere mo.
A letter sente she to hym, certeyn,
Which were to longe to wryten and to sen,
And hym reprevith of his grete untrouthe,
And preyeth him on hire to have som routhe.
And of his children two she seyde hym this:
That they ben lyk of alle thyng, ywis,
To Jason, save they coude nat begile;
And preyede God, or it were longe while,
That she that hadde his herte yraft hire fro
Moste fynden hym untrewe to hir also,
And that she moste bothe hire chyldren spylle,
And alle tho that sufferede hym his wille.
And trewe to Jason was she al hire lyf,
And evere kepte hire chast, as for his wif;
Ne nevere hadde she joye at hire herte,
But deyede for his love, of sorwes smerte.