University of Virginia Library

Howe Horrestes was commawnded by the goddis, that he shulde repayre to his kyngdam, and Cruelly, without pite, scle his moder Clemestra, for the mordere of his Fader, Agamenoun.

It is requerid of equite & riȝt,
Of þilke Iuge þat is most of myȝt
And egally holdeth his balaunce,
On deth conspired for to do vengaunce:
Þe vois of blood doth so ay contune
To crye wreche with clamoure importune
On hem, in soth, þat it iniustly shede;
For mordre wrouȝt wil han his egal mede
And his guerdoun, as he hath disservid.
Þei may nat fle þe Iugement reservid
Of hym þat sitte hiȝest in his throne,
And al beholdeth by hym silf allone,
Ful riȝtfully, þe noble myȝti Kyng;
For þouȝ he suffre, he forȝet no þing,
But al considereth in his inspeccioun.
And for þe mordre of Agamenoun,
Þe myȝti Lord, whiche is most souereyn God,
Made his mynystre of þe same blood,
Ȝonge Horrestes, ful of hiȝe prowesse,
Texecute his dome of riȝtwisnesse,
And gaf to hym power, grace, & myȝt.
And he anoon toke þe ordre of knyȝt
Of Ydumeus, liche as it is tolde,
Whan he was foure & twenti wynter olde,
Fresshe and lusty, & wonderly prudent,
And inwardly desirous of entent,
Ȝif fortune wolde hym nat wyth-seyn,
His heritage to recure ageyn
Whiche Egistus falsly hym denyeth,
And þe crowne iniustly occupieth
By fals title of hir þat was his wyf.
But Horrestes wil iupart his lif,
And aventure, while him lasteth breth:
First to be venged on his fadris deth
Vp-on hem þo þat þe tresoun wrouȝt.
And alderfirst ful louly he be-souȝt
Kyng Ydumee of his goodlyhede
To forþeren hym in þis gret[e] nede;
And þe kyng benignely anoon
Assigned hath with hym for to goon
A þousand knyȝtes, manly & riȝt stronge,
To redresse þe grete horrible wronge
Of Egistus wrouȝt by violence.
And by his wysdam & his dilligence,
Þis Horrestes gan hym so purueie,
With-Inne a while, þer is no more to seie,
Þat he hym gat (þe story wil nat lye)
A-noþer þousand in his companye
Of worþi knyȝtes, alle of oon accorde
To go with hym, as with her souereyn lord,
In euery þing his biddyng to obeie,
As ȝe han herde, Egistus to werreye.
And þus Horrestes, in ful riche array,
Gan hosteye & made no delay,
And his loggynge aldirfirst gan chese
In a cite þat called was Troeȝe,
Received þere with grete reuerence
Of þe kyng, þat named was Forence,
A manly knyȝt, as bokes specefie,
And bare in herte passing gret envie
To Egistus, by double occasioun:
First, for þe deth of Agamenoun,
And eke for he hadde a douȝter dere
Þat was to hym inwardly entere,
Boþe good & fair, & but ȝonge of age,
Þat whilom was ȝoven in mariage
To Egistus; but he of doubilnesse,
Of fals tresoun & newfongilnesse
Þe kynges douȝter haþ outterly for-sake,
And in al haste dide a lybel make,
And forge a writ of repulsioun,
Al-be he hadde no trewe occasioun,
Þis Egistus, þat he hir for-soke,
Saue þat he falsly to wyve toke
Þe quene Clemestra, a-geyn al [riȝt and] lawe,
Whanne by assent þei mordred han & slawe
Agamenoun, as it to-forn is tolde,
Þat whilom was so myȝti & so boold.
And for þe hatful fals conspiracie,
As wel of mordre as [of] avoutrie,
To venge boþe by due recompense,
Þe worþi knyȝt, þe myȝti kyng Forrense
Offred Horestes for to make hym stronge
And go with hym to helpe venge his wrong,
And with hym ladde, armed briȝt in steel,
Foure hundrid knyȝtes, horsed wonder wel,
Takynge þe feld with a manly chere.
And so Horestes and þe kyng y-fere
Be riden forþe with many manly man.
But Horestes, or [he] þis werre gan,
Whan briȝt[e] Phebus in þe Bole shoon,
To þe temple is ful lowly goon,
And to þe goddis in his best[e] wyse
With humble herte dide sacrifise,
Fully in hope þe better for to fare:
Wher he was bode, for lif nor deth to spare,
With-oute merci or remissioun,
Þe deth to venge of Agamenoun
On Clemestra, þat was most to wyte,
And þat he make first his swerd to bite
On his moder, with his hondis tweyne,
And ouermore to done his besy peyne,
With-oute pite, & no merci shewe,
On smale pecis til she be to-hewe
And dismembrid assondre Ioint fro Ioint,
And eke þat he forȝete nauȝt a point,
Iustly to punyshe by rigour & by riȝt
Egistus eke, þe fals vntrewe knyȝt,
And þat he be nat slowe nor necligent
To execute þe commaundement
Of þe goddes, list what after falle.
And þanne Horestes with his knyȝtes alle,
And Forense þe myȝti kyng also,
Of oon herte be to þe sege go
Of þe cite þat called was Methene,
With-Inne whiche was þe fals[e] quene
Clemestra,—God ȝif hir harde grace!
And whanne Horestes seged haþ þe place,
With his knyȝtes set it rounde aboute,
False Egistus was y-riden oute
To gadre men and to ben awreke,
And falle vppon & þe sege breke
Ȝif he myȝt, on eny maner side;
And with gret stuf þus he gan to ride,
Takyng vp men fro euery cost,
Til he hym made a ful myȝti host.
But Horestes, whiche at þe sege lay,
His gouernaunce espieth day be day,
And sent oute men, as he þat was ful sage,
To stoppe weies & lettyn his passage,
And made knyȝtes, a ful huge route,
To pursewe hym euery cost aboute.
And of þe sege, manfully be-gonne,
By assaute he hath þe toun y-wonne,
And entrid in on a nyȝt ful late,
And set[te] wardis stronge at euery gate.
And in [a] dongoun, moste stronge & principal,
Þat was of bildynge myȝti and royal,
Þis Horestes first his moder fond,
Þe quene Clemestra, lady of þat lond,
Whiche for drede sore gan to quake;
But merciles anoon he made hir take
And putte in cheynes til þe next[e] morwe.
And Egistus,—God ȝif hym euele sorwe!—
With al þe stuf þat he myȝt acroche,
Toward þe toun fast[e] gan a-proche
In purpos ful Horestes for to greve,
And hem with-Inne sodeynly releve.
But al, in soth, myȝt[e] nat availle;
For or þat he þe cite myȝt availle,
Horestes knyȝtes vnwarly han hym met,
And alle attonis proudly on hym set:
First slayn his men & putte hem to þe fliȝt,
And taken hym, maugre al his myȝt,
And with cheynes, lik as þei hym finde,
Merciles ful fast[e] þei hym binde,
And shet hym vp, fetrid in prisoun.
And alle fals founden in þe toun,
Þat wer assentid, willy, or helpynge
To þe mordre of þe worþi kyng,
Grete werkers and conspiratours,
Ageyn her lord rysing as traitours,—
Alle were take and bounde be rigour
Þe same nyȝt, & shet vp in a tour,
Til on þe morwe, lik as þe lot be drawe,
Eueryche of hem vndirfonge his lawe
Liche his decert,—excepcioun was noon.
And whanne þe nyȝt passed was & goon,
And Phebus ros estwarde in his spere
And on þe toures shon ful briȝt & clere,
Whanne Clemestra, rote of al falshede,
Was brouȝt forþe, quakyng in her drede,
Beforn Horestes to Iugement I-fet,
He, with a swerde, sharpe and kene whet,
Liche as þe goddes chargid hym to-forn,
On pecis smale he hath hir al to-shorn,
And made hir bern oute of þe tovnis boundis
To be vowrid of bestis & of houndis:—
Pite was noon in his brest reseruyd,
But quitte hir fully as she haþ disservid
Fro point to point, & forgat riȝt nouȝt.
And þanne cheyned Egistus was forþe brouȝt,
And iustly dempt by rigour of þe lawe
On an hirdel naked to be drawe
Þoruȝ-oute þe toun, þat alle myȝt[e] se,
And after hiȝe [en]hangid on a tre,
For to rote & drye ageyn þe sonne.
Lo, how mordre haþ his guerdoun wonne!
Lo, how falshede his maister can awake!
And alle þe traitours in þe toun y-take
Wern on galwes enhonged euerychon,
Til þei were seuered asonder bon fro bon,
Hiȝe on an hil ageyn þe sterres shene.
Þus was þe toun fro tresoun purged clene,
And with trouþe awmentid & y-morid;
And to his regne Horestes ful restorid,
As þe story suynge shal expowne,
And of þe day whan he toke his crowne.