Skip directly to:Main content Main navigation

University of Virginia Library

Lydgate's Troy Book

A.D. 1412-1420. Edited from the best manuscripts with introduction, notes, and glossary by Henry Bergen

Lydgate, John (1370?-1451?)

collapse section

collapse section

collapse section

I.

PART I. PROLOGUE, BOOK I., AND BOOK II.

I.

BOOK I. Here bigynneth þe first boke of Troy: howe Esone resygned þe Crowne of Thesaly to Pellee.

collapse section

II.

Of Priamus, þe sonne of Lamedoun which, at þe destruccyoun of Troye, was at the obsydey of A Castel. And howe mony sonnes and doughters that Priamus had.

Howe tydengys kame to kynge Priamus howe his Cite was distroyede, and his Fadire sclayn.

Howe Kynge Priamus, aftire his sorowe was asswagede, Edefyede nowe Troye, and it set in þe same place where þe olde stode, so large & so wyde that tofore ne siche was nevere none it lyke.

Howe the goldesmythes, and aftire, every crafft ware disposyde in strete by strete by hem selff.

Howe by grete crafft ther was a Ryvere called Zanctus conveyede thorough þe Cyte.

Howe kynge Pryam made Citeȝens of foreyns, And [gaf] everich of hem certeyne grounde to belde vpone.

Of a Theatyre stondynge in þe princypale paleys of Troye, declarenge the falle of Pryncys & othere.

Howe kenge Priam, aftire his Cite was parformede, ordeynede his paleys princypal, callyd Yllyoun.

Howe kynge Priamus, aftire that he had parfytlye parformede and ymade his Cyte, by þe serpente Of Envye was stirede and Inwardly mevede to bygyne A newe werre vpone the Grekes.

Howe kynge Priamus in opyne declarethe þe harmes done to his progenye & hym by the Grekes.

Howe kynge Priam, by the advyce of his lordes, sente Anthenore into Grece for restitucyoun of Exioun.

Howe Kynge Priamus, aftire that Athenore had declarede to-fore hym and his lordes the contraryous answere of the Grekes, lete set his parlament, to wit what was to be done.

Howe Kenge Priam, in opyne parlement toforne his lordes, schewede the answers that Anthenor brought.

Howe Kynge Priamus callede his sonnes to his presence, and in secrete wyse lamentabyly opynyd and declarede his intollerabyle sorowes, askenge þer avyce in avengeinge his cause.

[T]he answere of Ector [t]o his faders demannde.

Aftire that Ector had shewede his entente, Paris declaryde his dreme of þe golden Appyle.

Howe the god Marcurye brought with hym the thre ladys, Iuno, Venus, and Pallas, to-for Paris lyenge in the wod aslepe; and of the thre gyfftis that they promysed hym for þe apple.

Howe Parys yaf þe golden appele to Venus, and howe sche promysed hym to rekyvere Heleyne.

Howe Elenus, þe fourte sone of Priame, tolde & seid þat Troye shuld be subuerted, and Parys went into Grece.

Howe Parys toke þe See with a grete navye towarde þe londe of Grece; and howe of chance he met with Kenge Menelay, Heleyns husbonde, not knowynge what he was.

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

Howe Quene Heleyne, aftire that she herd of Parys, hasted here to þe Temple.

Howe Parys exortede his pepele for þe spoylynge of þe Tempyle of Venus within þe seid Ille of Citherea, fro whenes he karede to Troye al the Iewellys that he founde þerin.

Howe Paris and Heleyne were ressavyde into Troye, of Pryamus and his lordys; and of þe soroweful lamentacyoun that Cassandra made when she sawe þe weddynge.

Of the sorowe that Kynge Menelay made when he herd that Parys had ravisshede his wyff; and of þe manly comforde and councele þat Agamenon gave hym for to revenge hym.

The descripcion of þe moste part of princes þat kame with þe Grekis for þe destruccyoun of Troye.

Here folowynge is declarede the grete noumbre of shippes that the Grekys assamblede in the havene of Athenes, bysidis a grete navye that kame to them whene þay wer at Troye.

Howe prudently Agamenon coragyde his lordys ageyns the Troyans.

Howe Agamenon, by þe avyce of al þe princes of Grece, sent Achilles and Pirodus into Delphos, to haue answere of Apollo, whidere thay shulde haue þe victory of þe Troyens or no. And here-aftire is declarid, howe ydolatrye and fals godes had ther bygynnenge; And how Calchas kam to þe same Ille.

Of the answere that Appollo gave, as welle to fals Bisshope Calchas, as to Achylles.

How fals Calchas of Troy was conveyede to þe presences of þe prinses of Grece, and howe he innaturelly exortyde them to make mortal were vpon his kynge and kynrede, as folowith.

Howe the Grekis destroyede the Castel callede Sarabona as þey saylede towarde Troye, and it dispoylede.

Howe Agamenon layde his Oste byfore Thenedoun, a stronge Castele vj myle fro Troye, the which he wan, and it bet to þe grounde; and aftire þat, agally made distribucyoun of the godys.

Howe Agamenon rememberde al his princes of the vngodely answeres that Anthenor had of them when he desyerd to haue had restitucyoun of Exiona, wherupon they sent Vlixes and Dyomede to Priamus, to haue restitucioun of quene Heleyne.

Howe wyse Vlixes and Dyomede enterde Ryale Ylion, of the which they marvelde when the byhelde þe beldynge.

Howe Vlixes and Diomede, withoute dewe reverence purposed þere Embassayte in þe presence of Priamus. And here ye shule se þe birthe of Eneas, and howe Agamenoun sent Achyle, and Thelefus to the Ille of Messay for an eyede of vitaile.

Howe Achilles enterde the Ille of Messay, where Teutram was kynge, whom Achilles gave his dethes wounde. And howe Teutram resyngnede his kingdam to Thelaphus, for the affeccyon that he had to Archules, which was his Fadere, and of olde tyme made him kynge of þat Ille.

Howe Kenge Teutram was buryede in A riche Epethaphye graven with sotele vers.

Here folowyngly be rehersed the namys of þe kyngis that kame to help the Cite of Troye.

Howe the worthy kynge Pallamydes, the secunde parsone of þe Grekes, kame with thirtye shippes to Thenedone, in helpynge of the Grekes. And howe þe famous manful knyght, Dyomede, provokede them to departe fro Thenadon, and to Arryve in þe playne afore Troye.

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.

Here were faste devyces founde in Armes.

Of the pichenge of the Grekes felde; and howe Agamenon reysid his tentes, pavelons, & mansyons.

collapse section

II.

PART II. BOOK III.

III.

BOOK III. Here bygynnethe the thirde boke of Troye.

collapse section

III.

PART III. BOOKS IV AND V, COMPLETING THE TEXT.

IV.

BOOK IV. Her bygynneth the fourte boke of Troyee.

collapse section

V.

BOOK V. Her bigynneth þe fifft boke, & þe laste, of Troye.

How Thelamon, in presence of Kyng Agamenon, vttred his grugge agayn Kyng Vlixes.

How Kyng Vlixes vnderstode the maleys of Thelamon, and of þe great stryff, and [how] Aiax was slayn.

Howe Eneas, beyng still in Troy, councelled the Troyans to sende for A[n]thenor, and to make hym their kyng.

Off A grete tempest of thonder & lytenynge that came to the nauye of Greekes, that brente and drowned .ccxxij. of their Shippes.

How Kyng Naulus by treason was caused to sett vpon the Grekes nauye, & draue þem vppon Rokkes.

How kynge Agamenon, by treason of Oetes aforesaide, by his owne quene Clemestra was slayne in his bedde; and how she maried Egistus.

How quene Egra, the wyff of Dyomede, exilede hym when he wolde have reparyde to his owne kyngdam fro Troye, by the fals ymaginacyoun of Oetes, Palamydes brothere.

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.

Howe kynge Menelay, brother to Agamenon, set a parlement at Athenes, wher he entendyde to haue deprivede Horrestes of his kyngdam, for þe dethe of his moder; bot Horrestes was crownyde.

The wonderfule eskaipis of Vlixes aftire þat he departede fro Troy; and howe he made a soroweful compleynte against fortune to the worshipful kynge, called Ydumye.

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.

Howe Pirrus, the sonn of Achilles, scleughe Menalippus and Polistines, sonnes to Atastus, which kept kenge Pelle out of his kyngdam, to þe which Pirrus restoryd him ageyne.

Howe Atastus enquyred of Pirrus if he knewe ought of Pirrus governance, and Pirrus made him a synge to þe Cave wher Pelle was, to thentent to scley hym in lokenge thidere.

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

How Cruelly kynge Horrestes, in the Tempylle of Appollo within the Ille of Delos, scleugh Pirrus, for that he had ravisshede quene Hermone, his wyff, and here kept in avoutreye.

Howe quene Menone, longe aftire that she dyed, kam to þe towmbe of here husbonde, & karide away his bones.

Of A wonderful dreme that kynge Vlyxes had, and þe last in his days, which was a[ss]ingede by his clerkes, that one next of his blode shulde gyve hym his dethes wounde.

collapse section

Collapse All | Expand All expand section

Howe quene Menone, longe aftire that she dyed, kam to þe towmbe of here husbonde, & karide away his bones.

And to what fyn [þat] þis tale is tolde,
In þis chapitle I shal reherse anoon:
Þe noble quene of þis kyng Menon,
After þe tyme long & many day
Þat she was ded & grauen vnder clay,
At hys toumbe heuenly gan appere
Al be-set with briȝt[e] sterris clere,
Whos similitude, for to rekne al,
Was lyke a þing þat were immortal,
Þat no man myȝt outterly sustene
To beholde,—of lok she was so shene,—
Doun discendyng fro þe firmament,
Ful many man being þere present,
Clad in a mantel ful celestial,
And of hir port passingly royal,
With swet[e]nes freshe as any rose,—
Made in al haste þe toumbe to vnclose
Of hir lord, & takeþ oute þe bonys,
And in a cheste made of gold & stonys

856

She couched hem, as fast as euer she may,
Disapered, & wente anoon hir way.
And to-for þat nor after, in certeyn,
In þilke place she was neuer seyn.
Somme affermyng, as by liklynes,
She was ouþer aungel or goddes,
Þe soule or fate of þe same kyng—
I can not deme in swiche heuenly þing,
Nor þer-in holde noon oppinioun,
For it transcendeth, shortly, my resoun.
And me list nat in swiche mater diffyne,
But resort riȝt as any lyne
To Vlixes, & a while dwelle,
Of his ende þe surplus for to telle,
And how þat he myȝt[e] nat eskape
Þe parodye, þat was for hym shap;
For Parchas han his laste terme set,
And Antropos mesured oute & met
His lyues þrede, on þe rokke sponne.
Defende þi silf, Vlixes, ȝif þou konne!
Shewe þi manhod, & be nat afferde,
And be wel war of þi sonys swerde!
For I shal now, lyk as I am wont,
Sharpen my penne, boþe rude & blont,
To descryue þe fyn of þi soiour,
Vp-on þe boundis set of my labour:
For almost wery, feint & waike I-now
Be þe bestes & oxes of my plow,
Þe longe day ageyn þe hil to wende.
But almost now at þe londes ende
Of Troye boke, ficche I wil a stake,
Saue I mote spende a fewe lines blake
Þe laste chapitle shortly to translate
Of al þis werke, and ympen in þe date
Of þilke day deth sette on hym arest,
Ful execute by hym he louede best.