University of Virginia Library

Where Vlixes hys sermoune
To heme spok þus ine commowne:
He seyde, þe gregeois thynges two
Askede: ande þe furst was of tho
The Restauracioune of skaithes,
To heme throw troyiens done, & wathes,
Inne wondre mekill quantyte
Of golde ande syluer for to be;
Ande þat Amphymacus for-thy
Of the bourghe be perpetualy
Bannyst for-out Retourne ageyne.
Ande this Anthenor ine-to certeyne
Procurede throw hys wykede wyle,
Threw goode Amphymacus throw gyle,
For þat he with all pyth & peyne
Resistede þane hys sawes ageyne
Whene furst he ande Eneas spok
With kyng Pryame þat he sholde mok
With gregeois pece, if þat he myght,
Sene he ne force hath for to fyght. —
A, what to þe wys mane rytht wele
It geynes to haue þe cawteile
That he be not the forspekere,
All-þought þat he thar were,
Inne the tyme of Turbacions
Ande dissawande condicions,
Ande þat of such maner he do
That he myght put kepynge to (!).
For such, this prelocucioune
War shamfull harsk & rytht felloune
To Amphymacus, þe worthy,
That bannyst sholde be ythandly!
And Anthenor þis exilynge
To hyme-seluene of bannysshynge
Procurede nought. — but almyghty
Gode, þat ryghtwise is, soothly,
Revenges oft with samyne peyne
Ande punysys þe mane ine-to certeyne
The quhilk to othere procurede he
Ageynes skill to gevene be;
For-why this ilk Anthenore,
Of whome we oft-syse spak before,
Was bannyst for ay of the lande,
Whene þat Eneas was tretande, —
As folowynge of thys storye
Present declare shall sone clerly. —
Inne the palais Dyomedes
With hys fere beande, Vlixes,
Amonge þe troyiens euerychone,
For spek to-gyddre Junct ine one:
A ferlyfull sowne sodeynly
Amonge heme maide was hydwisly,
That the voceferacions
Of the gret glamoures & þe sownes
War herde ine entryng of þe place
Wher þe forsaide spek tretede was.
Wherfor gretly Vlixes
Was fleyt ande Dyomedes,
Because þat for þe mekile crye
The peple walde rusche sodeynly
One thame & sley thare ine þar teyne.
Ande vther wende þat it hade beyne
The kynges sonnes, þat came so
The two legattes þar for to to
Because of Religacioune
Of Amphymacus of renowne.
Bot the cause they sperede besely
Of þar gret noyse ande þat crye,
Wpone no maner mytht be thar
Perseyvede wele what at þai war.
Wherfor þe spek endyt of Ichone
Frome the kynges palace bene gone.
Anthenor ande Dyomedes
Inne secre place, ande Vlixes,
Thame drew, whare they myght pryvely
Spek what they wolde ande secrely
Of pryvateis of þar falss gyles.
Ande tho thre syttynge ine þat whyles
To-gydder anerly but more,
Vlixes seyde to Anthenore:
»Why drawis þow ine-to delay
The thynge þat þow kane to ws say,
That þow it to effecte gerrys nought,
As þow has hyght to ws, be brought?«
Anthenor answerde sone hyme till
Ande seyde: »the goddes wote my will
That I me besye ine no-thynge,
Ande Eneas, without lesynge,
Bot to þat thynge hight haue we
To ger ine hast fulfillede be.
Bot þar is one Impedyment
That lattis ws ine our entent:
Heyre is one ferlyfull relyk,
That ine no londe I trow is syk,
Of þe goddes; of which ȝow till
I shall ȝow sey, if þat ȝe will.«
Dyomedes seyth þat it pleseth,
»And is thonkfull to ws ande eseth.«
Anthenor seyde þat »wndoutabile
It is ande rytht certeyne, but fabile,
That kynge Ylyus ine þis toune,
Which þat furst foundede Ilioune,
Whome-of Ilioune foundede was,
With all þe duellares ine þat place
Statut ine-to þe honoure
Of Pallas (a) tempile full stoure
Ande mekill als, ine þis Cite,
That is rytht semblyche wnto se.
Ande whene þe walles all was mayde,
Befor þat it the coveringe hade,
A ferly tokene of the hevene
Inne-to it doune descendede evene,
O thynge full mekill wirteous
Ande for to seyne ryght precious,
Ande ryght bysyde the hye altere,
Not ferre one lenth but it full nere,
Thrught goddes ordynaunce we call
Stakke þe seluene ine þe wall.
Ande sene þat whyle now, certeynly,
It has stondene þar ythandly,
And it woll lat no-mane it to
The place awey, where it is, fro,
But anerly of the keperes.
And now allone but ony feres
It is not kepte, sooth to seye,
But of o prest, þe which þat ay
It kepte with ryght crafty cure
And diligence with all honoure.
The mater of it is of tree, —
But which kynde of tree þat it be,
Impossibile is mane to wytt;
Ande how ine fourme which þat It
Is mayde, none ine thys lyve wyt may,
þought all hys lyftyme he assaye.
Pallas, of whois benefice
Thys thynge to troyiens gettene Is,
Seyde, þat þis tokene of walue
Hade ine-to it such a wirtue,
That, at it with-Ine myght be,
The tempile, or yhit the Cite,
The walles neuire of þis toune
Shall tone be with þar foes felloune,
Nor þe troyiens þe toune shall tyne
Whyle at þat tokene is with-Ine,
Ne superioryte of the (!)
Troyes kynges of the Cite
Shall tyne, þe tokene þar beande,
Nor yhitt þar aeres folowande.
Forsooth, þis is þe hope certane
Where-thrught þe troyia(n=)s euirilkane
Inne thought ay sekyre ar lyffande
And of the Cite not dredande
The distructioune of Ruyne,
Whyle they this tokene haue þare-Inne.
Ande thys tokene palladinore has
To nome, bycause þat of Pallas,
The goddes, it sholde gevene bene,
As ine this Cite all kane wene.«
To þat answerde Dyomedes,
That ine hys thought astoyned wes,
Ande seyde: »frende, if þat it so be
As þow rehersede heyre to me
Of the palladinar, soothly,
We travaile ine wayne wttrely,
Sene throw it may notht þe Cite
Inne anny maner tokene be.«
Anthenor answerde & gane say:
»Yf ȝhe ferly of the delay
Why þat to ȝow now our hyghtynge
Is not fulfillede at byddynge:
Thys is þe cause I tolde to ȝow,
Why it delayede is whyl now.
But now with besynes haue I
Of the palladinar soothly
With þe prest tretyt of the place
Which it ine-to hys kepinge has,
For of golde a gret quantite,
Which to þat prest is hight thrught me,
He gyffande thiftely ws till
The palladinar at our will.
Wherfor wnfalȝeande ar we
Maide rytht certeyne þat it shall be.
Ande whene þat we obtene it may,
We shall it ȝow sende but delay,
Ande tho shall all fulfillede be
Ȝoure will, as to ȝow hight haue we.«
Ande so þane endede was but more
Amonges heme the counsale yhore.
Ande before they gane pas þar way,
Anthenore þus to heme gane say:
»Dere frendes, at þis counsele here
Present, holdene ine þis maner,
Be not suspect (i)ne the hydynge
Of it, (I) woll pas to the kynge
Pryame ande sey hyme fenȝeandly
That with ȝow tretede heyr haue I,
Of ȝow to haue the certeynte
Which þat shall be the quantyte
Of it ȝhe ettille for to to
Of the kyng ande of hys also.«
And so Ichone þare leve has tane,
And Anthenor, or þat he fane,
Inne hye went to Pryame þe kynge,
To certefye hyme of this thynge.