University of Virginia Library

Howe Atastus resygnede his parte of the kyngdam of Thesalye to his cosyne Pirrus.

“Sirs,” quod he, “to ȝow is nat vnknowe
How þoruȝ age now I am brouȝt lowe,
And þoruȝ naturis kyndly mocyoun
Am wexe feble of wyt and [of] resoun,
Beyng vnweldy of my lymes alle
—So many ȝeris arn vp-on me falle—
And can vneþe any þing discerne,
To feble, in soth, a kyngdam to gouerne,
Of lyf nor deth takyng now noon hede,
Sith my sonys slay[e]n ben and dede,
And sool am left now with-oute eyr,
Of worldly lust fully in dispeir,
Þe tyme passed of my felicite.
Fortunys turne with mvtabilite
Hath tauȝt me, pleinly, I dar it wel expresse,
In worldly Ioie is no sikernesse,
Nor verray trust no while to abide;
But I wil now for my silf prouide,
And in al hast, by prudent puruyaunce,
Me discharge of al gouernaunce—
Ageyn my sort me list not maligne;
But septer & crowne frely I resigne,
Of Thesalye lordshipe & eke lond
Of my fre wil hool in-to þin hond,—
Þer schal no man reclayme nor seye nay,
Interupte nor make no delay
Touching þis þing, by no collusioun,
For I þe putte in pocessioun.”
And, here-vp-on, of al þat euere he seide
Makyng ful feith, his hond in his he leide,
Quene Thetides sittyng þere present.
And Pelleus, of þe same entent,
Vn-to Pirrus for his purpa[r]tye
Resigned eke þe riȝt of Thesalye,
Fully affermyng þat of ȝore a-go
His ful desire and his Ioie also
Was euere in oon his nevew to succede,
As riȝtful eyr his kyngdam to possede,
“And outerly, with-oute repentaunce,
Al þat longeþ [vn-]to my lig[e]aunce,
Septer & swerd, crowne & diademe,
So as a kyng lyf and deth to deme,
In-to þin hond, with-oute lenger date,
Þis same houre hooly I translate.”
And whan þe knotte of þis conuencioun
Was fully brouȝt to conclusioun,
Parformyd vp hool þe vnite
For euermore, atwen þese kynges þre,
Atastus knyȝtes, disseuered enviroun,
Oute of þe forest be descended doun,
And be bidding, platly, of her lord
Þei were echon sworn to þis acord.
And attonis þis lusti companye
To Thesalye fast[e] gan hem hiȝe;
And Pirrus folke, ligginge on þe se,
Be seiled forþe, streit to þe cite.
And Atastus doth sette a parlement,
Where openly he gaf commaundement
Þat alle his liges, of hiȝe or lowe estat,
With-oute strif or any more debate,
Specially of gentil blod y-born,
Þe same day to Pirrus to be sworn
Like her degres in þe royal halle,
To perseuere his trew[e] liges alle
Durynge her lyf, for ernest or for game.
And Pelleus commaunded haþe þe same
For his parti, with-outen any fraude.
And þus with Ioie & solemne laude,
Pirrus was of euery maner age
Gladly accepted to his heritage.
And on a day fortunat and good,
With glad aspectus whan þe heuene stood,
Wel according to swiche maner þing,
Worþi Pirrus was y-crowned kyng
Of Thesalye, þe riche regioun—
It were but veyn to make mencioun
Of her reuel ne her gret array,
Nor of þe fest made þe same day,
Eke in þe story I fynde it nat, in soth.
I wyl passe ouer as myn auctor doth—
Saue in his boke it is specefied
Þat þe kyngdam was fer magnified
Of Thesalye by þe grete myȝt
Of þis Pirrus, whilom so good a knyȝt,
Where I leue hym in his royal se,
Tournyng agayn to kyng Ydumee,
Whiche in þis while was graue vnder stoon.
And after hym, his sone Mereoun,
Þe story seith, was crownyd king of Crete;
But a while regnyng in quyete,
He deide also—it wold[e] be noon oþer.
And þanne anon Leorica, his broþer,
As riȝtful eyr be successioun
Was crowned kyng of þat regioun,
In whiche tyme Atastus, out of drede,
By þassent of Pirrus, as I rede,
Ful besi was to make in special
A riche toumbe, passyngly royal,
Where buried wern with ful huge pres
Menalippus and Polistenes,
Boþe two in þe forest slawe
Þoruȝ Pirrus swerde, be ful cruel lawe—
Of hem can I noon oþer processe make,
But euene her fully my leve I take
Of hem boþe, and also eke yfere
Of Atastus, her owne fader dere,
Of whom, sothly, for al his lokkes hore,
In Troye boke rede I can no more.
But now mvst I ageyn to Pirrus wende,
To write of hym þe sory woful ende,
Whiche, whan he sat hiȝest in his se,
Made ful blind with veyn prosperite,
Gouernyng þe lond of Thesalye,
He falsly fil in-to a fantasie
To sette his loue on Hermyon þe quene,
Horestes wyf, regnynge in Methene,
For whom he brent hoot as any fyre.
And in fulfillyng of his foule desire,
His purpos hool þus he brouȝt aboute:
Hir rauyssynge whil hir lord was oute,
Lad hir hoom & hilde hir as his wyf,
Semyng to hym it was a blisful lyf
And ful reles of his peynes smerte.
Of whiche Horestes bar ful hevy herte,
And cast hym pleynly avengid for to be
Whan he may haue opportunyte;
For þilk[e] tyme, þouȝ he had[de] wrong,
He was to feble & Pirrus was to strong.
Whiche held also, in stori it is tolde,
Andronomeca with hym in housholde,
Hectoris wyf, by whom whylom she had
A litel child, whiche with hir she lad—
Þe sege complet and destruccioun—
Whan she was brouȝt out of Troye toun:
Lamedonta, I fynde, was his name,
Encresyng after to ful worþi fame.
And by Pirrus she had a sone also
Called Achilleydos, so as writ Guydo;
And þis wommen, for al hir gret estate,
Atwen hem silf amonge wern at debate:
And Hermonye, in hir Ire al hoot,
In compleynyng to hir fader wrot
Þat hir fere, for al hir hiȝe degre,
Andronomeca was cherisshed bet þan she
Of kyng Pirrus, besechyng Menelay
Tenhasten hym, in al þat euere he may,
Come hym silf anoon þat it were do,
To sle þis woman & hir childe also.
And he bood nat, but faste gan him hiȝe,
In an hete, towarde Thesalye
To be venged with his swerde of stele
Vp-on hir þat trespasseþ neuer-a-dele.
But maugre hym, in al his cruelte,
She was reskewed myd of þe cite.
It is a þing whiche haþ nat ben herd:
To a womman a kyng to drawe his swerd—
I wil no more in þis mater dwelle,
In maner shamed it to write or telle.