University of Virginia Library

Howe Kenge Priam, in opyne parlement toforne his lordes, schewede the answers that Anthenor brought.

This worþi kyng, euer of o sentence,
Ay more & more fired with feruence,
Hath his breues and his letters sent
For his lordis to holde a parlement,
And hem commaundid, in al [þe] hast þei may,
To com anon at her assigned day
From euery ward and party of þe toun,
For to assemble in noble Ilyoun,
Chef of his regne; & whan þei were echon
With hym present, þis noble kyng anon,
To-forn hem alle, as schortly as he can,
His wille declareþ, & þus he be-gan:
“Sirs,” quod he, “be-cause ȝe ben wyse,
It nedeth not long proces to deuyse,
For to reherse of ȝour comyng cause;
But for to telle, schortly in a clause
What I mene, and make no delay,
Ȝe wote how I, now þis oþer day,
Sent in-to Grece, by conseil of ȝow alle,
A knyȝt of myn þat Anthenor men calle,
To haue recured Exyona ageyn.
Whos message was [nat] but in veyn;
For of Grekis ful vncurteisly
He was resseyued, and dispitously
Þrat & rebuked, in poynt to haue ben ded:
Vnneþe he myȝt eskapyn with his hed,
Þei put on hym swiche offence & blame,
Þat reboundeþ to oure alder schame.
And day be day it mot encresen more,
But we ordeyn sum remedie þer-fore;
For þer as we al mesour han hem offerid,
Þei haue to vs werre & strif [I-]proferid,
Of heyȝ dispit, of rancour, & of hete,
And of malis cruelly vs threte.
And, wher-as we wold[e] pes purchace,
For wrongis don, þei felly vs manace;
And for þe harmys þat þei han vs wrouȝt,
Þei nat purpos, pleynly in her þouȝt,
Other redres nor amendis make,
But outerly with werre vs to awake,
Whos Ioye is fully encres of our greuaunce.
So wold[e] God, þei wer with repentaunce
Contrit in hert to stynten al meschef,
Þat lykly is to fallyn, & þe gref
On outher part, þat it myȝt ouer-slide;
But þei, allas, with rancour & with pride
Ar swolle of newe to þreytyn more & more.
But God diffende, haluendel þe sore
By infortune euere scholde falle
As þei purpose on eny of vs alle.
But syth þei han schapin þus for vs,
We mote resisten her wille malicious,
Þoruȝ myȝt of God, of necessite,
In oure defence—it wil noon oþer be;
And best I holde vn-to oure entent
To wirche and don, alle by on assent,
So we oure purpos sonest schal acheue.
Wher is discorde, þer may no querel preue;
For on þat part wher hertis be nat oon,
Victorie may in no wyse goon;
Chef of conquest is pes and vnite,
Riȝt as discorde is of aduersite;
On hed of hertis makeþ rewmys sure,
Diuisioun causeth discounfeture.
Wherfore, I rede, of o wille and hert
Lete vs set on to do þe Grekis smerte;
For sothfastly, ȝif ȝe list to se,
I dar afferme þat we strenger be
Þan þe Grekis vp-on euery part,
And han of armys parfitly þe art,
And ben acounted of knyȝthod crop & rote,
And plente han of men on hors & fote,
Arrayed wel, eueryche in his degre;
And þer-with-al, so strong is oure syte,
For to with-stond our fomen euerychon—
Ȝow counseilyng to ordeyn anon,
First tassemble holy oure navye,
And stuf hem strongly with oure chevalrie,
And in-to Grece hastily hem sende,
Þe proude Grekis manly to offende;
And of iust cause & be title of riȝt,
Hem werreyn with al oure ful[le] myȝt,
Her townes brenne, & her feldes waste—
With herte vnfeyned also vs enhast
To quiten hem as þei deserued haue.
For be my red, we schal noon of hem saue,
But cruely take on hem vengaunce.
Ne hath no fer, ne lat be no grevance,
Þouȝ þei a-forn by fortune wer victours,
To sleen our auncetris and progenitours;
For he þat was of vnhap first put doun,
Remounteþ ofte to ful hiȝe renoun,
By þe chaunge and þe variance
Of werre & strif, þat euer is in balance.
For he þat is þis day assurid wel,
To-morwe he is caste doun of þe whe[l];
Þe victor ofte putte in auenture,
And venquysched by discomfeture
Of hym þat he hadde aforne victorie.
Now vp, now doun, in armys stant þe glorie;
In Martys chaunce no man hym assure,
But as it cometh lat hym take his vre;
For gery Mars, by his influence,
Can ȝeue a man whilom excellence
To wynne a pris, liche a conquerour,
And sodeynly, as a somer flour,
He can his honour maken for to fade.
For, whan þat he his aspectis glade
Fro a man listeth for to writhe,
His renoun old goth a-weye as blyve;
After a flowe, an ebbe folweth ay;
As men disserue, preise hem for a day.
For þouȝ Phebus þis day merie schyne,
To-morwe he may his bemys doun decline
Þoruȝ þe þiknes of þe mystis trouble;
Riȝt so of Mars arne þe chances double—
Now vp, now doun, now lowe, now olofte—
As Fortune, whiche þat chaungeth ofte,
List on hir whele make a man ascende,
And vnwarly doun ageyn descende,
Stoundemel his honour to avaunce,
And with a swyȝe þrow hym to meschaunce;
Now with favour sette hym vp ful hiȝe,
Efte avale hym, with twynklyng of an eye.
Hir pley vnstable turneþ as a bal,
While on goth vp, an-other hath a fal;
Sche reiseth on, & doth anoþer loute,
For euery man, whan it cometh aboute,
Mote take his turne, as hir pleye requereþ.
Who is expert and hir fraudes lereth,
Schal with hir sugre finde galle meynt,
And hir hony ay with bitter spreynt—
In pes and werre, in honour & in fame,
In dignetes, in resoun, and in schame,
At hir likyng, as hir list to graunte;
Þerfor no man his hap to moche avaunte.
For þouȝ Grekis whilom wern a-lofte,
It may her-after hem hap ful vnsofte.
Wherfore, echon schewe ȝoure worþines,
Þat so ar named of strenþe & hardynes,
And to Fortune pleinly ȝow committe,
And late no fere ȝoure manly hertis flitte,
But stondeth hool & beth in menyng pleyn,
And here-vp-on, lat se what ȝe wil seyn.”
And attonys her voys þei gonne reise,
And his sentence hiȝly for to preyse,
And of on hert, manly gon expresse,
Þei wil dispende goodys & richesse,
And her bodies put in iupardye—
Þer was nat on þat wolde it þo denye.
And of þis graunt he þanketh hem echon,
And ȝaf hem leue wher hem list to gon;
For he dissolued hath his parlement.
And euery man on his weye is went,
And repeired to his mansioun,
The kyng allone lefte in Ylyoun,
Sool by hym silf inwardly mvsyng,
How his purpos he myȝt aboute bryng;
For he in soth on no þing ellys þouȝt,
And þer-vppon euene þus he wrouȝt.