University of Virginia Library

Now, of Pirrus by proses I purpos to telle,
When he turnyt fro Troy how hym tyd after.
To Achilles the choise he was a chere sun,
And Dyamada doutles his own du moder.
She was a doghter full dere of the derf kynge,
Lycomede, a lord þat he louyt wele.
Two worthy had the wegh to his wale graunsers,
Bothe, kynges in hor kythe with coroneanoyntted.
This Lycomede by lyne was a leue ayre
To Ascatus the skir, þat skathill was in elde:
He was of winturs, I-wis, waxen full mony,
Ournonde in Elde, eger of wille.
He hade hate in his hert to þe hed kyn
Of Pirrus progeny, and prestly to hym.
What causet the kyng to his cleane yre,
Tellis not the trety, ne trespas of olde.
This Ascatus with skathe skerrit of his rewme
Pelleus, with pouer, þat the prouyns held
Of Thessaile truly, as the treté sais;
And a-waited with wyles þe wegh at his come,
Pirrus with pouer to put vnto dethe.

After the takyng of Troy and the tried godes,
Pirrus passed furth to þe pale ythes.
He was stithly be-stad with stormes on þe sea,
And for wothe of the worse warpet ouer-burde
Mikill riches & relikes reft fro the toune.
With long labur, at the last he light in a hauyn,
Þat Melaus the men of the marche callyn,
With his shippes alto-shent, sheuerit the helmys,
And the takill to-torne, tynt of hor godes.
There lengit he a litill his ledis to refresshe,
His cogges & his cables of crakkyng to ricche,
And his tacle to a-tyre, þat he tynt had.
There hym happit to here of his harme first,
How his graunser with greme was gird fro his right,
Pelleus, with pité þat persit his hert;
And how he purpost hym plainly Pirrus to sle
By his speciall espies, if he spede might.
Pirrus heivet in hert for his hegh chaunse,
And myche dut hym for deth of his derf graunser.
Pirrus hym purpost to pas in the night,
Þat no wegh shuld be war, ne his werk know.
When Pelleus of his prouyns put was by strenght,
And skapit fro Askathes, þat hym skathe did,
ffor-ferd of the freike and his felle sones,
He went till a wildernes, & wond þere full longe.
This Askathes, the skathill, had sket sones thre:
The first was Lycomede the lord, and his leue ayre,
Þat was graunser in degre to the gode Pirrus.
And suster, for-sothe, of þe same Lycomede,
Hight Tetide, as I told haue tomly before,
Þat Pelleus in his pride purchest to wyue,
And was moder to the mon, mighty Achilles.
There were sones vpposyde, semly men two,
To Askathes full skete, skethill of hor hond:
The ton freike of the fre, Philmen was cald;
The tothir mon of þo mighty, Menalipes heght.
Thies keppit hom in company with knightes full mony,
Till þaire cosyn wold come fro contre of troy;
And put hom þan prestly Pirrus to sle.
ffro the cite, the same tyme, sothely to tell,
Of the toune of thessaill, as the tale shewes,
Was a buyldyng on a banke, busshes with-in,
By a syde of the sea, set in a holt.
Betwene the biggyng on þe (burne) & þe burgh riche,
Was a wildernes wide, & wild bestes in,
Thedur kynges wold come, by custom of olde,
ffor to hunt at the hert by the holt sydes:
Hit was of long tyme beleft, & no lede there,
Ouergrowen with greues, & to ground fallyn.
There was Kaues, by course, of þe kid walles,
And mony holes in the howses with hurdes aboue,
Ouergrowen with greues and with gray thornes,
Euyn thestur and thicke, thricchet of wode,
With an entre full n[o]yous, narow olofte,
Goand downe by a grese thurgh the gray thornes.
In þis logge, with his lady, lurkit Pelleus,
Euer in doute of his dethe durst not appere.
Oft went þat wegh to the water syde,
The Sea for to serche, if he se might
Pirrus with his pepull & his prise shippes,
Come by the coste to the kyd rewme.
When Pirrus with his pray, & his prise knightes,
Hade mightely at Melapsa mendit his geire,
He turnyt vnto Thessaile, his tene for to venge,
Of the skaith & the skorne Ascatus hym did.
His beayell aboue on þe burne syde,
On his modur halfe, þe myld, þat I mynt first,
Wisly to wirke he his wit preuyt.
Two spies full spedely he sped hym to gete,
Triet men & tru, tristy with-all:
Thos he sent to Assandra, a sure mon of olde,
A trew mon of Thessaile, þat he trist mekyll,
A ffreike þat his fader faithfully louet,
And mekyll was of might in the mayn towne.
There þai wist all the werke & the wild craft,
How the purpos was put Pirrus to sle.
Þan þai lurked to þe lord lyuely agayne,
Made hym wise of the werke, þat þai wiste hade.
Þan Pirrus full prestly presit into shippe,
To turne vnto Thessaile, truly he thoght;
But a tempest hym toke o the torrit ythes,
Þat myche laburt the lede er he lond eaght.
Þan hym happit in haste, thurgh helpe of his goddes,
To hit into havyn with his hoole flete,
ffro the towne of Thessaile, to telle hit full evyn,
Eght furlong, I fynd, & fully no more.
The hauyn, þat he hit to, was hard by the cave,
There Pelleus in pouert priuely lay.
Pirrus, wery of the water & the wild ythes,
Launchet vp to þe laund to laike hym a qwile.
Romyng on the Roces in the rough bankes,
fforto sport hym a space, er he sped ferre,
Hit happit hym in hast the hoole for to fynd,
Of the cave & the clocher, þere the kyng lay.
Þan he glode þurgh the greues & the gray þornes,
To the hed of the hole on the hext gre,
Sore longet the lede lagher to wende,
Sum selkowth to se the sercle with-in.
When he come to the cave þen the kyng rose,
Wele his cosyn he knew, & kaght hym in armys.
By the chere of Achilles he chese hym onone:
So lyke was the lede to his lefe fader.
ffuersly the freike fongit him in hond.
(With) myche wepyng & waile, wo for to here,
Þan he told hym full tite þe tene þat he þolet,
And the skathe of Aschates, þat he skapt fro.
Pirrus heivet in hert for his hede graunser,
And so þai past fro the pitte to þe pure bonke.

Pirrus full priuely persayuit onon,
By a spie, þat especially sped for to wete,
Þat hys Emes full egurly etlit to wode,
fforto hunt in the holtes, & hent of þe dere:—
Menalphes the mon, & his mayn brother,
Policenes, full prest, prati men bothe,—
To Askathes the skathell þai were sket sons.
Þan Pirrus full prestly put of his clothes;
Toke a Roket full rent, & Ragget aboue,
Cast ouer his corse, couert hym þerwith;
Gird hym full graidly with a grym swerd:
With-outen whe to þe wod went all hym one.
As he glode thurgh the gille by a gate syde,
There met he tho men, þat I mynt first,
The sones of the same, þat hym sle wold.
Thai fraynet at hym freckly who the freike was:
Whedur he welke in the wode, wete hom to say.
Pirrus said hom full sone hym-selfe was of grece,
With his company carefull comyn out of troy,
Wold kaire to his cuntre & his kythe hom;
And þere ship was to-shent in the shyre wawes,
ffast by at the banke of the bare Ile,
And all drownet in the depe, saue duly hym-selfe,
ffyue hundreth in flete with the flode lost.
“Thus I skope fro the skathe with skyrme of my hondes,
And with wawes of the water wagget to bonke:
Halfe lyues on londe light I myn one.
The salt water sadly sanke in my wombe,
Þat I voidet with vomettes by vertu of goddes,
And wayuerand, weike, wan to the lond,
Thurgh the slicche and the slyme in þis slogh feble,
There tynt haue I truly myche tried goode.
And now me bus, as a beggar, my bred for to thigge
At doris vpon dayes, þat dayres me full sore:
Till I come to my kyth, can I non othir.
Iff ye haue ferkit any fode to þis frith now,
Bes gracius, for goddes loue, ges me som part!”
“ffolow vs þan furth,” þo fre to hym saide,
“Thou shalt haue meite for a mele to mirth the with-all.”
Þan se þai besyde, in the same tyme,
A grete herte in a grove, goond hym one.
Menalpes full mightely meuit hym after,
Left Pirrus in playne with his prise brother.
There the freike on his fowle folowet the hert,
Thurgh the londes on lenght with a light wille.
His broder, þat abode with the bold Pirrus,
ffell vnto fote, & his fole esyt,
And hym-selfe on the soile set hym onone.
Þan Pirrus full prestly puld out his swerd,
And the lede on the launde out of lyue broght.
Than tite come the tothir, and no trayn thoght:
Pirrus gird hym to ground & to grym deth.
Thus britnet þat bold the brethir, his Emes,
And went on full wightly, & his way held.
Þan he met with a mon of the mayn kynges,
And fraynet at hym fuersly where the freike was.
“Here at hond is þat hery,” the hend to hym saide:
Þen he gird to þe gome with a grym swerde,
And slogh hym downe sleghly by sleght of his hond.
Pirrus full prestly þen past to his shippe,
Araiet hym full riolly all in ryche clothis,
And come, in his course, þe kyng forto mete.
Þen he fraynet at þe freke in his fresshe wede,
Wat whe þat he was, wete hym to say.
Pirrus to the prise kyng pertly onswart;—
“I am a pure son of Priam, þe prinse out of troy,
Prisoner to Pirrus, þat pertly me toke.”
Aschatus fraynet þe freke on his faith þen,
“Were is Pirrus, þat proude, þat prowes has done?”
“He is wery of þe whaghis,” þe whe to hym sayde,
“And here romys on þe rocis to rest hym a qwyle,”
Þen þai drogh to þe dike, þer þe duk lay,
And comyn by course to þe caue euyn.
Pirrus swappit out his sword, swange at þe kyng,
Wold haue britnet þe bu[e]rne in hys breme yre.
Þen come Tetid full tit, toke hym in armys,
His graundam full graidly grippit hym onone,
Modur to þe mon, myghti Achilles,
Wyf, as I wene, to worthé Pelleus,
And doghter to þe duke, þat he dere wold.
Þes wordis scho warpit þat worthy vnto:—
“Dere cosyn and derfe, withdraw now þi hond,
Þow has britnet my brether in þis brode wod,
Þat were þin emys full nobill, nayt men of will;
And now Aschatus with skath wold skirme to þe deth,
Þat is my fader so fre, and þi first graunser.”
Þen Pirrus full pertly to þat prise saide:—
“Has not þi fader full foule flemyt myn ayell,
Pelleus, of his promys, þin awne prise husbond.
Let cal vs þe kyng fro þe caue sone,
If he will spare hym to spill, I spede me þerto.”
Pelleus come prestly, praid for þe kyng:—
“Hit suffis,” he saide, “þe slagh of his childur,
Þe bold, þat were britnet on þe bent syde.”
Þen acord was þer knyt þo kyngis betwene,
ffull frenchip and fyn festnyt with hond.
Þer þai setyn on þe soile, þo souerans togedur,
The two kyngis full kant, and þe clene qwene,
And Pirrus, þe pert knyght, prudly besyde.
Aschatus þen skepe furth with his skire wordis,
Þat was kyng of þe cost by conquest til þen:—
“I am febyll and vnfere fallyn into elde,
Any rem forto rewle, or to ryde furth:
My sons now are slayn, & slungyn to ground,
Þat I had purpost þis prouyns playnly to haue.
Now lengis þer no lede, þat by lyne aw,
Þe soile and þe septur sothly to weld,
But Pirrus, of prowes pertist in armys.
Dernyst & derne, myn awne dere cosyn,
I releshe þe my ryght with a rank will,
And graunt þe þe gouernanse of þis grete yle.”
Pelleus hit plesit, & playnly he saide:—
“And my ryght I renonse to þat rynk sone,
ffor it was playnly my purpos þat Pirrus schuld haue,
Þe terrage of tessayle and þe tryed corone.”
Þen ros þai full radly, raght vnto horse,
Wanen vp wightly, wentyn to towne.
Pirrus full prestly a prati mon sende,
Bade his nauy come nere, negh into hauyn.

OFF THE CORONYNG OF PYRRUS AND OF HIS DETHE.

The souerayn hym-selfe, when he segh tyme,
Aschatus, to all men afterward send
Thurgh the cité fro hym-selfe, & the syde lond,
Þat yche lede to þe lord lyuely shuld come,
With honour & homage, (as þe right ayre,)
Proffer vnto Pirrus, as þaire prise lorde.
ffayne were þo freikes and the folke all,
And swiftly þai swere, swagit þere herttes,
To be lell to þe lord all his lyf tyme.
The secund day suyng, as said is of olde,
He was coroned to kyng in þat kithe riche,
By assent of the seniours & the sure knightes,
In þat souerain cité, with septur in hond.
Þan be fauer & frenship, þat fell to hym after,
He enhaunset his hede heghly aboue
All the londis and the lordship, þat longed to Gryse;
And his cuntre keppit in couert & pes
To the last of his lyf, as a lord shuld.

Here I turne from my tale, & tary a qwile,
Till hit come me be course to carpe of hym ferre.
When Idumius was ded, doghty of hond,
Þat I told of tomly in tymis before,
Two sones of hym-selfe suet hym after,
In his realme for to reigne, as his right ayres:
Merion, a myld & mighty, was one,
And Laertus by lyne was his leue brother.
This Merion hade maistri but a meane qwile,
The lond to Laerte he leuyt as kyng,
And after course of our kynd closit his dayes.
Telamecus, the tall son of tryet Vlixes,
Þat Nausica had, þat noble nam vnto wife,
Doghter of the du kyng, doghty Antenor,
He gate on þat gay vne a gode sone,
Þat Dephebus duly was demyt to nome.
Now I pas will to Pirrus by proses agayne,
Of his dedis to deme, & his dethe after.
Ascatus þe skete, for skath of his sones,
Miche water he weppit of his wan chekis,
Gert bryng hom to burgh, birit hom faire
In a precius plase, so Pirrus comaundit.

THE POETE: OF FORTUNE.

Wen a mon is at myght, & most of astate,
Clommbyn all þe Clif to þe clene top,
Has riches full ryfe, relikis ynow,
All þe world at his will, weghis to serue,
Þen fortune his fall felli aspies,
Vnqwemys his qwate, & þe qwele turnys;
Lurkis in lightly with lustis in hert,
Gers hym swolow a swete, þat swellis hym after.

So Pirrus was prise, pruddest of kyngis,
Had welth at his will, þe worthiest of grice.
A longyng vnleffull light in his hert,
Gert hym hast in a hete, harmyt hym after.
Ermonia, þe myld, þat myghté dissiret,
Elanes aune doghter, abill of chere,
Þat Orestes þe rynke richeli had weddit,
By mariage of Menelay, as I mynt haue.
So he sped hym by spies, & spense of his gode,
Þat þe lady fro hir lord lyuely he stale,
Toke hir to tessail fro hir tru maister,
Orestes þe riche, that regnyt hir with.
Pirrus with that proude presit to þe temple,
Weddit þat worthi, & as wif held.
Þen Orestes full ryfe had myche rank sorow,
Schamyt with þe schalke, that schent of his wife,
And so dernely hym did dere & dispit.
He had playnly no power Pirrus to harme,
To his reme forto ride & reue hym þe qwene;
But he cast hym by course, if a case fell,
To venge of his vilany & his vile schame.
Þen Pirrus by purpos prestly con wend
Into delphon a day, as þe dule bad,
In honour of apolyn, þat abill to seche,
And worchip with wyn, as a wale god,
With sacrifice solemne & othir sere halows,
ffor offens of his fadur, þat felli was slayne
With Paris, þe pert knyght, as preuyt is before.
In aparell of prise, on a proud wyse,
He dight hym to delphon with dukis & othir.
In his palais of prise prudly he leuyt
Worthi Ectors wif, þat þe whe had,
Andromoca, in drede, and her dere son
Lamydon þe litill, þat ho left neuer,
And ho boundyn with barne with þe bold Pirrus:
And Ermonia þe myld maynly was ther,
Þat he had weddit to wyue, & in wrong held.
Wen Pirrus was past, þis proud in hir yre,
A mon vnto Menelay myghtily sende,
Bad hym turne vnto tessail in a tore hast,
Andromaca to dere, & to deth put;
ffor Pirrus of þat pert was pristly enamurt,
He had no daynté with dalianse his doghter to loue.
Þe whe, at þe wordis of his wale doghter,
Turnet vnto tessale with a tore ffare.
He wold haue britnet þe burd with a bare sword,
And schunt for no schame, but hit schope faire.
Andromaca, for drede of þe derf kyng,
Lamydon hir litill sun laght in hir armes,
Hyghet out of halle into hegh strete,
Made an ugsom noyse, þat noyet þe pepull,
With wepyng and waile wo to beholde.
Þe folk, for þe fray, fel to þaire armur,
Cayrit after þe kyng in a cant hast.
Þen fled he for fere, fell to his schip;
Past to his prouyns, of purpos he sailet.

THE DETHE OF PIRRUS, BY ORESTES SLAYNE.

Orestes full radly of the Renke herd,
Þat Pirrus by purpos was past into delphon:
He assemblit of soudiors mony sad hundrith,
And met hym with mayn in the mekill Ile:
There Pirrus with payne he put vnto dethe,
Slogh hym full sleghly, & slange hym to ground,
And britnet þat bold with a bigge sword.
Then Pirrus the proude was pute vnto graue,
Orestes by right raght to his wife,
And led furth the lady to his lond hom.
Pelleus full prestly and his pure qwene,
Tetid, full tite tokyn Andromaca,
Hir litill sonne Lamydon leddon hir with.
Þai turnet out of tessaile for torfer of other,
To melapsa þat menye mevyt to-gedur,
Was a Cité full sure, þere soiornet þai long,
Till the lady was deliuer of a loue sone.
Andromaca þat dere þat duly conceyuit
Of Pirrus the prise kyng, as his pure wife.
The child with chere men Achilides was cald.
Wex & wele threvan in winturs a few,
The corone & the kyngdome kyndly he gaffe
To Lamydon the lord, þat was his leue brother,
The abill sone of Ector, heire vnto Troy,
And in Thessaile he was takyn for a tru kyng.
Thus Achillis achevit his awne choyse frendes,
Thurgh his prokuryng prestly all the pure Troiens,
Þat the grekes hade getton at the great toune,
Were deliuert yche lede, & lause at hor willne.
And thus hit turnyt, as I tell, in a tyme short,
Now is Lamydon lord, & the laund hase,
Bothe the corone & the kyth, and a kyng noble
Of Tessaile truly, þere the toyle rose,
Þat by Eritage of Auncetry ayre vnto troy.
Here the prosses of Pyrrus I putto an end,
Of other maters to mene, þat in mynd falles.

HERE YE A MERUAYLE OF A LADY BY NYGRAMANSY.

When Troylus, the tru knight, was turnyt to ground
By Achilles, as chaunset of þat choise kyng,
As ye fynd may before in the— & xx boke,
The mighty kyng Menon mainly Achilles
Gird to þe ground with a grym hurt,
Þat the Myrmydons þaire maistur masit þai toke,
And bare to his bastell on a brode shelde,
As for ded of þe dynt, dressit to lye.
Þan hit happont in a hond qwile this hed kyng be slayne,
By the myrmydons vnmonly murtherit to dethe,
Whose body, as the boke sais, was beriet in the toune
By Troiellus truly in a toumbe riche.
This Menon the mighty hade a mayn suster,
The fairest on fold þat any folke knew;
Ho soght to þe Cité sythen hur one,
To the toumbe of þat tried truly ho yode,
Toke the bones of hir brother, as the boke sais,
Closit hom full clanly in a clere vessell,
All glyssononde of gold & of gay stonys;
Evyne ymyddes all men, meruell to se,
Waynyt vp to the welkyn, as a wan clowde,
And neuer apperit to the pepull in þat place efte.
The folke, for þat ferly, faithly hur holdyn
A Goddes full glorius, for grace þat hir fell,
Or a doghter, þay demyt, of a due god.
So thies gentillis a-iugget, & for iuste held?