University of Virginia Library

Howe Parys enterde þe Ille of Citherea, wher he met with the fayre Quene Heleyne.

And whan Paris dide þis espie,
He gadred out of his companye
Þe worþiest þat he chesen may;
And to þe temple he took þe riȝt[e] waye,
Ful wel be-seyn, & in knyȝtly wyse,
And dide his honour & his sacrifyse
Ful humblely to þe Grekis liche,
With many nowche & many Iouwel riche,
With gold & siluer, stonys and perre
He spendeþ þer, liche to his degre,
And quit hym manly in his oblacioun[s];
And deuoutly in his orisouns
He hym demeneþ, þat Ioy[e] was to se.
Now was Parys of passyng gret bewte
Among[es] alle þat euer werne alyve:
For þer was non þat myȝt with hym striue,
Troyan nor Greke, to speke of semlyhede,
Wonder fresche and lusty, as I rede,
And in his port ful lik a gentil knyȝt.
Of whos persone for to han a siȝt,
Þei gan to prese, boþe nyȝe and fere,
So ryally he had hym in his gere,
And coueyte, of hiȝe estat and lowe,
What he was, gretly for to knowe;
And of his men þei aske besely,
Fro when he cam, & þe cause why,
Of his comyng enqueryng on by on.
But prudently þei kepte hem euerychon,
Þat no þing was openly espyed
In her answere, so þei han hem guyed,
Þat euery þing kepid was secre,
Eueryche of hem was so avisee;
Al-be þat somme oppenly declare
What þat he was, & ne list not spare,
But tolde pleynly þe cause of his commyng,
And how Priam, þe strong[e] myȝty kyng,
His fader was, most royal of renoun,
And how he cam also for Exyoun.
Þus eche of hem gan with other rowne,
At pryme face, whan he cam to towne,
And þer-vp-on wer ymagynatyf,
Sore mvsyng and inquisytif,
Eche with other be suspecioun
Demyng þer-of liche her oppinioun,
And raþest þei þat no þing ne knewe,
As folkis don of þinges þat be newe.
And whiles þei of þis mater trete
In sondry wyse amonge her wordes grete,
Þe fame of hem gan anoon atteyne
To þe eris of þe quene Eleyne,
Niȝe besyde in þat regioun.
And whan sche herd be relacioun,
And by report of hem þat cam by-twene,
Þis faire Eleyne, þis fresche, lusty quene,
Anon as sche þe soþe vndirstood,
With-oute tarying or any more abood,
Sche hasteþ hir to þis solempnite,
Þe fresche folke of Frigye for to se—
Wel mor, God wot, in hir entencioun
To se Parys, þan for deuocioun.
Vnder colour of holy pilgrymage,
To þe temple sche takeþ hir viage,
With gret meyne & ryal apparaille,
Parys to sen for sche wil nat faille.
But, o allas! what lusty new[e] fyre
Haþ hir hert enflawmyd be desyre,
To go to vigiles ouþer to spectaclis!
Noon holynes to heryn of myraclis
Hath mevid hir, þat þer schal be-falle;
But as þe maner is of women alle
To drawe þedir, platly to conclude,
Where as þei be sure þat multitude
Gadrid is, at liberte to se,
Wher þei may finde opportunyte
To her desyre, ful narwe þei awaite,
Now couertly her eyne for to baite
In place wher as set is her plesaunce,
Now priuely to haue her daliaunce
Be som sygne or castyng of an eye,
Or toknes schewyng in hert[e] what þei drye,
With touche of hondis [stole] among þe pres,
With arm or foot to cache vp in her les
Whom þat hem list, al-be he fre or bonde,
Of nature þei can hym holde on honde—
Ageyn whos sleiȝt availeþ wit nor myȝt:
For what hem list, be it wrong or riȝt,
Þei ay acheue, who seyth ȝe or nay,
Ageyn whos lust diffende him no man may.
Þus Guydo ay, of cursid fals delit,
To speke hem harme haþ kauȝt an appetit,
Þoruȝ-oute his boke of wommen to seyn ille,
Þat to translate it is ageyn my wille.
He haþ ay Ioye her honour to transuerse;
I am sory þat I mote reherse
Þe felle wordis in his boke y-founde.
To alle women I am so moche bounde:
Þei ben echon so goodly and so kynde,
I dar of hem nat sey[e]n þat I fynde
Of Guydo write þoruȝ-out Troye book;
For whan I radde it, for fer myn hert[e] quoke,
And verrailly my wittis gonne faille,
Whan I þer-of made rehersaille.
Liche his decert lat Guydo now be quit;
For ȝe schal here anon how þat he chit
Þe quene Eleyne, for cause þat sche went
With deuoute hert hir offring to present,
To þe temple of Venus, þe goddes;
Þus, word by word, he seiþ to hir Expres: