University of Virginia Library

Howe the Grekes londede in the playne afor [Troye], and howe the Troyans gave theme batayle at the stronde: in whos meteynge were slayne mony A worthy knygh[t] and others.

The next[e] morwe, wonderly be-tyme,
Or Phebus vprist, longe or it was prime,
Whan it be-gan ful merily to dawe,
Þe Grekis host to schipward gonne drawe
With manly hert, fully deuoyde of drede,
Only þoruȝ comfort of þis Diomede.
But aldirfirst, anoon as þei a-wake,
Þe lordis wysely han her counseil take
And concludid among hem euerychon,
Whiche of her schipes schuld[e] formest gon,
And on þe se howe þei schulde hem guye,
So to ariue þat no man hem espie:
Þis was deuised at a certeyn marke.
Þe nyȝt passid, at singyng of þe larke,
Grekis be schippid with-out more tariyng,
Boþe hiȝe and low, in [þe] daw[e]nyng;
And first a-forne, an hundrid schipes of tour,
Stuffid with many worþi werriour,
Gan proudly saille, as þei had in charge;
And þe baners, brode, briȝt, and large,
Were splaied out vp-on euery side:
And þei departe þe fomy wawes wyde,
Þat to siȝt whelmen vp so grene.
And next [to] hem, for werre enarmyd clene,
A-noþer hundrid folwe fast[e] by,
Whiche bare her sailles passingly proudly,
In whiche þer was ful many worþi knyȝt,
Armyd in mail & in platis briȝt.
And after folweþ hoolly her nauye,
Þat as I trowe, swiche a companye
Of worþi knyȝtes & lordis of degre
Was neuer a-forne seyn vp-on þe se.
And Eolus was to hem fortunat;
And eke Neptune made no debat
With wynde nor trouble among þe [sterne] wawis;
Þatempre wedir ful mery to hem dawes,
Þat in a tyde, as þei seille riȝt,
Of Troye toun þei cauȝt anoon a siȝt,
Wher-of in hert ful glad & liȝt þei ben.
But whan Troyans first her schippes sen
So proudly saille a litel fro þe stronde,
And sawe how þei cast hem for to lond,
Þei bood no more, but arme hem hastily
In plate and mail & Iakkis richely,
With Irous hert—and þat was don anon—
And toke her hors, & forþe in hast þei goon
Out at þe ȝatis & made no tariyng:
For þei nabide prince, duke, nor kyng,
Nor oþer lord to guye hem or gouerne,
But hast hem forþe, so many and so ȝerne,
Þoruȝ-oute þe felde so gret a multitude.
Amongis whom were no folkis rude,
But manly men, & þriftily beseyn,
So clenly armyd on þe large pleyn,
Þat whan Grekis gan hem first beholde,
Of þe noumbre her hert[e] gan to colde:
For þer was noon so manly hem amonge,
So ȝong, so fresche, so hardy, nor so strong,
Of hiȝe estat nor of lowe degre,
Þat he ne was astonied for to se
Þe hardy Troyans so proudly doun descende
To lette Grekis þat þei nat ascende,
Þat þei wist and conceive outterly
Þer was no mene to arive by,
But only deth, or manly for to fiȝt,
Or cowardly take hem to þe fliȝt—
For oþer conduit pleinly noon þer was
But scharp[e] swerdis & speris in þis cas.
Til sodeinly þe hardy ferse kyng,
Protheselaus, whiche in his gouernyng,
Formest of alle, an hundrid schipes ladde,
Gan hasten hym for Ire þat he hadde,
Talondid first, ȝif it wold haue be,
Ta met with hem so gret desire had he.
But swyche a wynde gan in þe seil[e] driue
Of his schipis, whan he schope tariue,
Þat he vnwarly smet vp-on þe londe,
On þe gettis and þe drye sonde,
Þat his schippes schyuered al a-sondre,
And some dreint, to-broken here & ȝondre,
And deuourid of þe wawy se,
Þat it was rouþe and pite for to se—
For but of harde þer myȝte noon eskape.
And whiles some wer besy for to take
Þe drie lond, with mvd and filþe y-lade,
Troyens of hem ful cruel slauȝter made;
Maugre her myȝt, Grekis so constreyned,
Þat with her blood þe wawis wer [y-]steyned,
So mortally, þat sothly to be-holde,
Amonge þe sonde, pale, ded, and colde
Þe Grekis lyn, with woundis fresche & grene;
And al þe eyr with schot of arowis kene
I-schadwed was, þat Phebus bemys briȝt
Vp-on þe soille was dirked of his liȝt.
And new alwey Troyens hem assaille,
Þat to Grekis pleinly þis ryvaille
So mortal was & so infortunat,
So vnwelful and disconsolat,
So vndisposid þoruȝ infelicite,
Þat, I trowe, neuere out of no se
Ne cam noon host of mor harde to londe.
But for al þat, Grekis nolde wonde,
For lyf nor deth, manly to arive.
And so befil, of auenture as blyue,
Þe hundrid schipes þat next aftir sew,
Avisely, and in tyme dew
Ben entrid in, and hast[e] nat to faste,
And strike sail and her ankris caste,
For þe werre strongly enbatailled,
In her londyng list þei wern assailled.
And wisly first þei sette her arblasteris
And her gonners & her best archeris,
With pauiseris for to goon aforn,
Knyȝtly to londe, þouȝ Troyens had sworn
Þe contrarie, proudly hem to lette;
Ȝet for al þat, fersly vp þei sette.
The Grekysshe schot made hem to with-drawe,
And many of hem on þe lond ley slawe,
Þat maugre hem þe stronde þei recure;
And swiche as myȝt most manfully endure
Wer set aforn, til þei þe lond han take.
And al attonys swiche assaut þei make
Vp-on Troyens; and þo be-gan þe fiȝt,
Whan Prothesilaus, þe noble worþi knyȝt,
Wonder lifly & riȝt passyng strong,
With þe Grekis entrid in among
Þe hardy Troyens, & euer[y]-wher hem souȝt;
For he of armes merueilles on hem wrouȝt
Þilke day þoruȝ his worþines,
Þat many Troyan he brouȝt in distresse—
Wher he went þei felt[e] ful vnsofte,
Þoruȝ whos manhod Grekis wern a-lofte.
For þilke day, ne hadde his knyȝthood be,
Þe Grekis hadde in gret aduersite
Be venquisched by fatal puruyaunce,
And fynally brouȝt vn-to vttraunce,
I-putte a-bak, pleinly þis no lye.
But what availleþ al his chiualrie,
His worþines, or his fers corage—
What myȝt it helpe or do avauntage,
Sith seuene þousand Grekis had a-do
With an hundrid þousand Troyens & ȝit mo!
It merueil was how þei myȝt endure
In any wyse þe stronde to recure,
Or so fewe [for] to holde a felde.
But in hem silf o þing þei behelde,
Ful prudently, whiche þat ȝaue hem hert;
Þat þei saw þei myȝt[e] nat asterte
To eskape alyue ȝif þei wolde fle:
For at her bak was no þing but þe se,
And to-forn hem an host so gret & huge
Þat oþir way was þer no refuge,
But deye attonys or fiȝt manfully.
Wherfor þei caste & schope hem ful knyȝtly,
Lik manly men, her lyues to iuparte
Þan cowardly from her foon departe,
To lese her grounde & drenchyn in þe se.
And þus as long as it wolde be,
Grekis diffende hem fer aboue her myȝt,
Al-be þat many wer kylled in þis fiȝt,
Þat þe stremys of þe rede blood
Ran on þe sonde, large as any flood,
So cruelly Troyens on hem sette
With spere and swerde, [ful] scharp[e] grounde & whet,
Þat rouþe was and pite for to þinke,
Til þei almost drof hem to þe brinke,
Wher þe Grekis, in meschef & distresse,
In gret anguysch & passyng werines
Hem silfe diffende, maat & ful wery,
Wher þei schulde haue perschid outerly,
Recurles, in soth, for euermore,
Nadde Archelaus and worþi Prothenor
From her schipes aryued vn-to londe,
Of sodeyn hap with hem for to stonde.
And ȝit þei had ful gret aduersite
For to ariue, þoruȝ þe cruelte
Of þe Troyens; but ȝit þe lond þei wynne.
And Grekis þan cruelly be-gynne
Ageyn her foon to stonden at diffence
With manly force and gret violence;
And þo encreseth þe blody werre newe,
Þat al þe soil depeynt was with þe hewe,
Þat first was grene, turned in-to red,
On eche side so many on lay ded
Vp-on þe grounde, of his lif depriued.
But duke Nestor is sodeynly aryued
With his knyȝtes, felle and ful Irous,
And of hert riȝt malencolyous,
With his speris, archeris oute a-syde,
He entrid in, sterne & ful of pride.
With swerd and axe, grounde scharpe & kene,
Þei ran y-fere & mette vp-on þe grene;
And hokid arowis alwey flen among,
And schaftis schiuere, to-braste, & torne wrong;
And with her tolys, stelyd & wel whet,
Þe long[e] day þei han to-gidre met.
And þe slauȝter new alwey began,
On euery half, of many worþi man,
With woundys large, fel, & dispitous:
For Prothenor and kyng Archelaus
With swerdis stif among þe rengis kerue,
Whiche many Troyan made for to sterue—
Þei were þat day so passyng[ly] Irous,
And hem to auenge inly desyrous,
Neuer cessyng in her pursewyng.
And to releue hem, Alagus þe kyng
I-londid is, and eke kyng Athalus,
Whiche on Troyens werne ful envious,
Brennyng of Ire as þe fyry glede,
And vp-on hem, of verray olde hattrede,
With her knyȝtes sodeinly be falle;
And in her Ire, bitterer þan galle,
Cruelly þei her foon oppresse,
And of assent dide her besines
Maugre hem bakward to resort
Amyd þe feld, as I can report—
Þer was no choys, so þei wer constreyned
Of verray force, & of manhod peyned
To withdrawe, to her confusioun.