University of Virginia Library

Of þe grete comforte that kynge Ydumeus shewed to Vlyxes; and howe kynge Alpheon, for his grete wysdam, ressavyd hym worshipfully, and conveyed hym to his kyngdam.

And þauȝ in hert he was constreyned sore,
Þilk[e] tyme Vlixes spak no more,
But held his pes, ful hevy in lokyng.
And Ydumeus lik a gentil kyng
Counforted hym al þat euere he myȝt,
And besy was his hert[e] for to liȝt,
And hym besouȝt his heuynes[se] lete,
And as long as hym list in Crete
With hym abide,—he made hym surete
He shuld[e] faren also wel as he,
And nat want of what may do him ese.
And whan his sorwe som-what gan apese,
Þat his rage drow vn-to an ende,
Leue he toke, & seide he wolde wende
Oute of þat londe home to his contre.
But first þe kyng, of fredam & bounte,
Ȝaf vn-to hym gret riches and array,
And what-so-euere was vn-to his pay,
Gold, tresour, & many oþer þinges;
And at þe partynge of þese tweyne kynges
Þere wer shippes whan him list to saile,
Redy stuffid with meyne and vitaile.
And þus Vlixes gan hym redy make;
And whan he haþe his leue fully take,
He hasted hym & toke anoon þe se,
And gan saile toward his contre.
But first he went to kyng Alphenoun,
Whiche passingly hadde affeccioun
To sen Vlixes at his home-comyng,
And desirous ouer al[le] thing
To han of hym newly aqueyntaunce:
For vn-to hym was inly gret plesaunce
To here hym talke, for his elloquence,
For his wysdam & his hiȝe prudence
And þer he was, after al his smert,
Receyved pleinly with a[s] glad [an] hert
As euere ȝit was any maner man
Siþen tyme þat þe world be-gan;
And to encres of his Felicite,
Þer herd he first of Penolope,
His trewe wyf, with-oute spot or blame,
Of whom ȝit grene is þe noble fame,
Whiche from hir lord, for al his long absence,
In þouȝt nor dede nevir dide offence,
But sothly was, boþe in chere & dede,
Þoruȝ-oute Grece example of wommanhede.
And ȝit was she, as bokes list expresse,
Þoruȝ-oute þe world merour of fairnes,
And among Grekis born of hiȝest blood,
Called of auctours boþe fair and good;
And ȝit seyn bokes of hir, douteles,
Was neuer noon þat had so gret pres,
But she hir kepte, chaunging for no newe,
Vn-to hir lord euere I-liche trewe,
Of hert [ay] oon, nat partid in-to tweyne,
Þat she is called quene & souereyne
Of wyfly trouþe in þis bokis olde.
And oft, I fynde, hir hert[e] wold[e] colde,
She turne pale for hir lord so ferre,
In hir closet to heren of þe werre,
Of drede she had, & for fere eke quake,
Of fantasies for hir lordes sake;
For his absence, boþe eve & morwe,
Was deth to hir & importable sorwe.
And ay, in sothe, for Ioie or any game,
Whan it fel she herd Hectoris name,
In any place anoon she fil a-swowne,
And gan hir silf al in teris drowne,
Of wommanhed so she was a-ferde
To here þe slauȝter of his mortal swerde,
List hir lord, of knyȝtly surquedie,
Hadde of fortune falle in iupartye,
Of hap or sort tamet þat worþi knyȝt,
Þat selde or neuer she felt hir hert[e] liȝt.
And many a dreme a-nyȝtes dide hir gaste,
Al þe while þat þe sege laste;
And euery play was venym in hir siȝt,
Whan þat she was from hir owne knyȝt:
For in þis world she had Ioie noon
Of hiȝe nor lowe, pleinly, but of oon,
For whos sake al myrþe she refuseth.
And who-so be þat in his hert[e] museth
Of any womman any þing but good,
Of malencolye mevid in his blood,
Lat hym aduerte of wisdam and [y-]se,
And remembre on Penolope,
For his decert list þat he be blamyd!
And, o Guydo, þou shuldest ben ashamed
To seyn of wyves any þing but wele:
For, in good feith, as fer as I can fele,
Þouȝ oon or two do among offence,
She þat is good þoruȝ hir prouidence
Is þer-of no þing for to wyte.
And þouȝ Guydo in his boke endite
Þe variaunce of Eleyne or Cryseyde,
Or Medea, þat for sorwe deyde,
Lete þer ageyn, of riȝt and equite,
Þe wyfly trowþe of Penolope,
Þe maydenhed of ȝong[e] Policene,
And þe goodnes of Eccuba þe quene,
Of Cassandra eke þe stedfastnes,—
And with al þis, take þe kyndenes
Of Pantasile, with-oute variaunce,
And put al þis to-gidre in balaunce,
And ȝe shal fynde, ȝif ȝe list acounte,
Maugre who grucchiþ, trouth[e] shal surmounte,—
I dar aferme—& bere a-weye þe pris:
Þer wil no man replie þat is wys,—
He were to feble in his oppinioun!
And while Vlixes was with Alphenoun,
It was to hym made relacioun
Of an hatful conspiracioun,
Þat certeyn lordis enviroun his contre
Ravisshe wolde his quene Penolope,
Maugre alle þo þat were þer ageyn,
Al-be þat she was euere I-like pleyn,
In hir trouþe stidefast as a wal.
Ȝet þei haue cast, pleynly, þat she shal
Be take of force, it may nat be eschewed,
But it so be in haste she be reskewed:
For þei hem cast þe tyme nat aiourne;
For day and nyȝt with hir [þei] soiourne,
Inly in herte for loue disamaied.
But of wisdam she haþe hem so delaied,
Þat þer was noon so manly nor so sage,
Þat koude of hir geten avauntage,
So avise she was in hir wirkyng.
And whan Vlixes conceyved al þis þing,
And fully knewe by open evidence,
And also [had] in special credence
Sent vn-to hym fro Penolope,
Þe mater hool declaringe in secre,
His owne sone Thelamonevs,
He wexe in herte wood and furious,
And wolde make no delacioun,
But in al haste besouȝte Alphenoun,
Þe myȝti kyng, of his hiȝ bounte
To releue hym in his aduersite,
And þat he wold þoruȝ his myȝti hond
Of gentilnes conveye hym to his lond.
He graunteþ hym & seiþ nat onys nay;
And boþe two in ful gret array
Taken þe se whan þe wynd was good;
Wel fortuned, for no þing hem with-stood,
Þei be arived & hadde no lettyng,
Wher Vlixes, as ȝe han herd, was kyng.
And secrely a-nyȝt þei wer conveied
To hem þat han his ligaunce disobeied;
And merciles, or þei myȝt a-wake,
In her beddes þei han hem alle take,
Makyng noon prolongyng til þe morwe,
But in al hast, for no wyȝt durst hem borwe,
Smet of her hedes by iugement final
And set hem vp on þe castel wal,
Eueryche by oþer endelong þe rowe,
Vp-on þe hour whan þe cok gan crowe.
And þus al nyȝt þei kept hem silf[e] cloos,
Til þat Phebus meryly aroos
In þe orient, whan þe larke song;
And þo þis kynges with her meyne strong,
Freshely beseyn, entre þe cite.
Who was þo glad but Penolope!
Who made Ioie but þis goodly quene,
Ful desirous hir owne lorde to sene!
But ȝif I shulde al in ordre sette,
Þe grete myrþe þei made whan þei mette,—
Make rehersaile of compleintes olde,
And how þei gan her hertes to vnfolde
Eche to oþer, and list no þing concele,
And þe gladnes þat þei inly fele,—
Ȝif I shulde put al in memorie,
Þe reioisshinge and þe hertly glorie
Þat his liges made at his comynge,
Þe costis eke þei hadde at his metynge,
Þe ȝiftes grete and presentis riche,
—In al þis world, I trow[e], noon I-liche—
It were to long tariyng for my boke!—
And how þat he newe assuraunce toke
Of his lordis and his liges alle,
And how þat þei to his grace falle,
Þe chere he made eke to Alphenoun
Of gentilnes þoruȝ his hiȝe renoun,
And how þe douȝter, inly debonaire,
Of Alphenoun, Nausia þe faire,
By Vlixes mediacioun
I-wedded was vn-to Thelamoun,
Born by discent—þer may no man say nay—
To reioisshe his crowne after his day:
And þus cam in by his purviaunce
Of two regnes þe myȝti alliaunce,—
And how al þis brouȝt was to þe knotte,
Men wolde deme me pleinly to sotte,
To presume of oppinioun
For to delate a descripcioun,
Siþen Guydo, touching but þe chef
In þis mater, of stile was but bref,
Shortly rehersing how kyng Alphenoun
Repeired is hom to his regioun,
And Vlixes in his chefe cite
Abood stille with Penolope,
Where I hym leue in Ioie and in solace
Til Antropos likeþ to purchace
For to ficche finally þe date,
Þe thred [to] vntwyne of his lyues fate.