University of Virginia Library

After e Troyes distructioune
And all þe toures cassene doune
And the slaughtre of þe Citeȝanis
Ande tokyng of þar goode thrught manys,
The gregeois frome Troye myght not pas,
For gret tempest, ine see þat was.
Thane Aiax Thelamonyus,
As þe tempest endurede þus,
Before þe kynge Agameno(n=)e
And vthere prynces of renowne
Apponede ageynes Vlixes,
Seyande þus: þat it ordeynede was
That ine-to distribucioune
Of goodes gottene ine þe toune
That fourme aw for to kepede be
That by meryt ande dignyte
And the laboure of Iche mane
Prerogatyve holdyne be thane;
That ine palladinar grauntynge
Was not holdene þat ordeynynge,
Sene þat palladinar tho wes
Grauntede ande gevine Vlixes
The which for þe rewarde soothly
Wpone no maner was worthy,
And (he) sulde faile it þat be fere,
As he seyde, (wes) more worthyere;
»Ande whene þe gregeois oost gane faile
The expenses oft-syse ande wittaile
Thrught gret falt, of my worthynes
Ande my laboure ande my stoutnes
And thrught strenght of my mekile myght
Ourcommyne troyiens ine-to fyght,
The seyde oost relevede I
Inne welth of wittaile gret copye;
Consideringe ay thrught myght & mayne
The gregeois þare felle foes agayne;
Sene þat (I) the kyng Polymistres
Slew, ine-to whois kepynge wes
Pollydorus of gret fame,
That sone was of kynge Pryame,
That ine hys yhemsale hade & cure
Wnnowmerabile fayre tresoure
Of kynge Pryame: þe which holy,
Whene sleyne Pollydorus hade I,
I to þe oost of Grece gert brynge,
The which oost ay was but faylinge
Inne-to expenses haboundande,
Whill before Troye they war lyande.
I slew also the kynge of Fryse,
And hys goode als one þe same wise
To gregeois oost brought. (&) yhet more,
Kynrykes sere about Troye wore,
That frome it lay not serre one lenth,
Thrught my stodye & thrught my strenth
I ekede to þe grekes lordschipe,
Which furst troyiens hade to kepe:
As Gargarus, Arysdyas,
Ceprissyne ande Arrissas;
Ande all landes þat nyghboures were
To Troye, or about it nere,
To þe walles of þe Cite,
To gregeois lordschip gert I be,
That none was outwith of waloure
Thrught myght þe troyiens to succoure.
And I also with Achilles,
The forcye, þat rytht worthy wes,
Obtenede victoures full mony—
Sett at þe victoures holely
To Achilles reseruede ware,
Yhit with hyme certes I was þare—
Wherfore þat for (!) I oure-sett now
Passynge away as superflue.
Ande Vlixes, wauntynge ine deide
All wourschipe of worthy knyghthede,
But alanerly ine the facoune
Of hys slyghtfull ande slee sermoune
He our-commys ande Ine glutherynges
And thrught arte fallas of spekynges;
Ande syne he sais, thrught hyme þat we
Ar mayde lordes of thys Cite,
Of wourschipe þat procedede nought,
But of traytoury, thrught hyme wrought,
And of falss wordes thrught shame;
For swych with smyt of gret defame
Perpetualy diffamede ar we
Amonge all folk, ande ay sall be,
That the troyiens, which with myght
We ought to haue our-commyne with fyght,
We our-come with fraude & gyle
Ande Machynacions ande wyle.«

And e eftre Thelamonyus
Of hys spek hade maide endynge thus,
Ageynes hys wordes Vlixes,
As he þat not abaysede wes,
Answerde, ande þat rytht hardely,
Sayande: of hys wourschip holy
Troyes oost to haue venquest bene
Ande put to such tynsale ande tene,
Ande thrught hys wytt & hys forsyght;
For, hade he nought bene, yhet ine myght
Remanede hade þe toune of Troye,
Inne sekyrnes ande ine gret Joye,
And the statut (!) of the Citeȝanes
Inne strenth, þat now tholys gret peynes.
»Forsooth, schyre Thelamone, þow trow,
Nought wonnyne was thrught thy wirtue
The palladinar now, soothly,
But errare thrught my gret studye.
To þe troyiens of the Cite,
What þe palladinar myght be,
Was nought knawyne, nor yhit þe myght
Ne the wirtue, ine it was ryght;
But I throw spering besely
Fonde, thrught þat relyk holely
Of the Cite the Capcioune
Maide ws þe Retardacioune,
Sene ine wirtue of it allone
Consistit Troye not to be tone
Whill it withine þe walles were,
As now is kende with lese & moere;
Wherfor to Troye I went lystly
And tretyt it so studiously
That I þat relyke brought away:
Thrught which, who so þe sooth will say,
The lordschipe all of the Cite
At oure lykynge obtenede we.«
Ande so hys spekynge Vlixes
Endyt ande of hys saw kane sesse.
But Thelamonyus wittrely
With prowde wordes full fellonly
Vlixes manasede; and ageyne
Vlixes yhaldede hyme certeyne
Such lyche manasses with sturdy fayre
As he to hyme hade manassede þare.
Wherfore the forspek one þis wyse
Worthede capitale ennymyes,
Ande Thelamonyus publisly
Affermande þat he cruelly
Of hys hondes sulde thole þe dede,
That ine it sulde be no remede.
Syne to determynacioune
Of it, þe kynge Agamenone
Ande Menelayus, who sholde haue
The relyk wherfore at they straue,
They thame submyttede wttrely.
Quhilkes determynande fynaly
The relyk þat ryght nobile wes
For to remayne with Vlixes,
And so decretyt þe lordschepe
Of it to Vlixes to kepe;—
Perchaunce þat they amevede were
Bycause þat ine-to goode manere
And thrught þare contemplacioune
He Heleyne frome þe dede felloune
Frome Thelamonyus hondes,
Vlixes, delyuerede out of bandes,
And sere kynges of renowne,
He Heleyne (!) frome þe dede felloune.
For such provisions maide þus,
Folowede (!) Thelamonyus,
For of the oost all þe gretest
Affermede Thelamonyus best
And worthyer befere also
Ne Vlixes, ȝha or such two,
Ande Thelamonyus our þe laif
Determynande þat relyk to haif.
Agayne Agamenone þarfore
Thelamonyus with gret schore
Put furth gret repreve ine spekynge,
And ageyne Menelay þe kynge,
Berande full angyrly hys thought,
Affermande ine þat at he mought
Of thame capitale ennymye
Hyme for to be perpetualy.
Because of which thyre brethyre two
The which hade determynede so,
And Vlixes, with full mony
Of knyghtes ine þare companye
Procurede with rytht gret cauteles
Thame for to kepe ine-to tho whyles.
Ande eftere gone was dayes lyght
And one cummande myrknes of nyght
Ande of the day next þe dawynge,
Wprysinge makynge þe morowynge,
Ande day next eftre folowande
With lyght illumynit þe lande:
Thelamonyus sleyne fonde they
Inne-to hys bede, quhare þat he ley,
With fele woundes sere and mony,
Ande all to-hewit hys body.
Thrught all þe oost gret was þe crye
Of Thelamonyus þe doughty,
For whois dede all sorowede nere
Commonly ine the oost þat were;
And as ine-to þe werray tournynge,
The blame of hyme (!) both olde & yhinge
That for to do was rytht felloune,
Imput to kynge Agamenone
Ande Menelay, hys broder was,
But errare wnto Vlixes.

Pyrrus, þat right effectuisly
Thelamonyus ande trewly
llouet, ageyne schyre Vlixes
Boustous wordes, or he walde ses,
Put manasande ine fele manerese,
And ageyne all hys presoneres (!)
Of hys dede. wherfor Vlixes,
That of hys dede he syttande (!) wes,
Inne-to gret myrknes of o nyght
With all hys shippes kane hyme dyght
And frome Troye is passede thiftfully
With all thame of hys companye,
To þe depe see ande committande,
Ande þe palladinar levande
To hys dere frende Dyomedes,
Inne-to þe oost þat still þane wes.
Pyrrus gert buryede (!) be þe body
Of Thelamonyus ine hye,
And, of it askes maide euerilkdele,
He gert ine o goldyne wesshele
Thyr asshes wele enclosede be,
For to be hade ine hys cuntre.
Agamenone, with kynges sere
That to hys will anerdande were,
Ande hys broder Menelayus
Ageynes þe wachynge of Pyrrus
Ande anerdande to hys party
Thame kepit ay right wylely,
For Pyrrus sett hyme thame ageyne,
And (þai) ageynes hyme with all meyne.
But resormede Anthenores (!) pese
Amonges thame, or he walde sese,
And of gregeois all the grettest
Of all the oost ande worthyest
Ande (!) rytht moche solempnyte
To one gret fest callede hath he;
Which ine-to diuersitees gret
He thame refresshede with goode mete,
Syne honouryt thame at departynge
And (!) of goode gyftes gret gevynge.—

The gregeois with gret pyth & peyne
Thrught þar effectioune (!) certeyne
Ageynes Eneas fellonly
Put ande seyde: he hade falsly
Brokyne hys feyth ande all hys bonde
Of hys ooth anēnce þar connande,
Because þat he Pollicena,
Gylty to deth, hath helede sua,
Thrught which occasioune sleyne wes
The worthy mekile Achilles.
And þarfor, thrught counsale was tone
Of the gregeois grettest Ichone,
That (!) hyme decretede to disseuire
Frome Troye, and bannyst be for euere.
Ande he, at þar commandynge
Myght not ganstande ine-to no thinge,
The gregeois preyede right humbly
That at þe lest they graciously
Walde denȝhe thame to graunt hyme till,
Yf it emplesede to thare will,
The which shippes Paryse Inne went
To Grece, whene tone was Heleyne gent—
That two ande twenty were but were;
Ande syne þat refections sere
Thame nedede, he of refetyne
Thame preyede space to graunt heme syne.
The gregeois þane liberaly
The space of foure moneth holely
Grauntede to þe Refectioune
Of tho shippes, & hyme to boune.—
Anthenore, ine Troye not willande
To duelle ne soiourne ine þat lande,
With some shippes he gottene hade,
Of hys will syne away hyme maide
And with full mekile quantyte
Of troyiens dyde hyme to þe see—
But whyne he went, or what he thought,
The storye heyre declareth nought.
Ageynes Anthenore Eneas
Full odyous ine hys hert he was,
Because þat for hys deide so he
Frome Troye for ay sholde bannyst be
And Anthenore myght at hys will
Both come ande go þe Cite till;
And he for to be bannyst so,
Inne-to hys hert he was full wo
And wmbethought hyme how he myt,
By ony coloure or by slyght,
That he Anthenore myt gere be
Out of the londe & þe Cite
Of Troye bannyst perpetualy,
Away to be put holely
The faculte of hys commynge
To Troye ande away goynge.
Wherfor Eneas gert call thare
To counsale all þat lyvande ware
Of þe troyiens ine Troye; syne he
One þis wyse schewede hys gule:
»Felawes ande brethere, as ȝe wate,
Thrught frawarde fortune to þis state
As ȝhe see, ȝe ar commyne now,
Ande here attoure ȝe wate, I trow,
Of at (!) may not without counsale
Of some goode governoure awaile
Heelfully ȝoure dayes to lede;
Tharfore to ȝow, me think, it spede,
That, I passande frome ȝow away,
Of some defendoure ȝhe purwaye.
For, if ȝhoure nyghboures heres recorde
Ȝow left but governoure ande lorde,
That bene to ȝow rytht nere marcheande,
They shall alsone tak apone hande
To come one ȝow without delay
Ande skaith ȝow all þat euire they may.
Ande I say for me, me thynk best
Yhe sende for Anthenore but fyrst,
Ande giffis hyme all the governaile,
So þat ȝe may with hys counsale
Ageynes ȝoure foes ȝow defende.»
And they also gane condescende
To do hys counsale, ande þarfore
They sende message for Anthenore.
They fonde hyme & hime brought ageyne.
Inne whois offensioune with all peyne
Eneas rose, for he was þene
Inne Troye fere myghtyere of mene
Thane Anthenore. but þe troyiens
Preyede Eneas all attones
That he of hys purpos walde sese,
Ande they sholde ger ryt wele but lese
All thynges be refourmede ageyne
Withoutene battaile or bargeyne.
Ande Eneas, þat mevede was,
Seyde: »who may (be) lede by meknes
That so wykede o traytoure
He may spare ine anny houre,
Thrught whois tressone Pollicene,
The kynges doughtre, virgyne clene,
Was sleyne wpone Achilles grave,
Of whois dede þe cause he gave?
Ande I ame bannyst for euire
Frome ȝow, & mone fro ȝow disseuire,
The which ȝharnys attour all thynge
With ȝow ine teres ande gretynge
To meyne vthyre mekle skaithis ay
And for to spek (!) þe grathest way
How consolacioune we myght gett
Inne our sorow, some help to sett! «

Thus throw þe spek of Eneas
The sere counsale ordanyt was
Ande decretede þat Anthenore
Sholde bannyst be for euirmore,
Ande neuir to retourne to þat place,
As þane, to pas grauntede hyme grace.
The which sone is done ine deide.
And Anthenore to schipe he ȝheide,
And mony troyiens with hyme hade,
Sone entrede ine the se but bayde
And so long rowede ine the see
Whill at þe last hys shipe & he
Felle ine þe hondes of thame of Pyre (!),
That one hys mene maide felle martyre: