The Original Chronicle of Andrew of Wyntoun printed on parallel pages from the Cottonian and Wemyss mss., with the variants of the other texts: Edited with introduction, notes, and glossary by F. J. Amours |
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| XLIX. | CHAPTER XLIX. |
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 | CHAPTER XLIX. The Original Chronicle of Andrew of Wyntoun |  |
CHAPTER XLIX.
How Babilone wes first distroyit
Throu Cirus king of Perss anoyit.
Throu Cirus king of Perss anoyit.
Sevin hunder ȝere and viii. beforne
Or God wes of þe Madin borne,
The first of þe consules,
That Brute be name callit wes,
The Sawynis in to stout array
Maid þaim þe cete till assay;
The Romanis þan a dytoure maid
That oure þe laif þe mastry had,
And þe consules be fer
He suld exceid in to powere.
Or God wes of þe Madin borne,
The first of þe consules,
That Brute be name callit wes,
The Sawynis in to stout array
Maid þaim þe cete till assay;
The Romanis þan a dytoure maid
That oure þe laif þe mastry had,
And þe consules be fer
He suld exceid in to powere.
In till þis tyme þat I reherss
Cirus, þat wes king of Perss,
Wan a gret part of Sythy
And mony landis in Asy;
Syne with his oste he come onone
For till assege Babilone;
Bot the ryvere þan of Eufrait
Wes sa reich waxin with spait
That he mycht nocht the toune cum neire,
Bot worthit byde with his powere,
Till thai welland wallis kene
Suld in part haif swagit bene.
Cirus, þat wes king of Perss,
Wan a gret part of Sythy
And mony landis in Asy;
Syne with his oste he come onone
For till assege Babilone;
Bot the ryvere þan of Eufrait
22
That he mycht nocht the toune cum neire,
Bot worthit byde with his powere,
Till thai welland wallis kene
Suld in part haif swagit bene.
Sa wes in till his oste a knycht
Ȝoung and ioly, bald and wycht,
Faire of fassoune and fetyss,
Off prowess pruffit and of pryss,
Off Capadoce callit Alarike.
In all that oste wes nane his like,
Sa faire of fassoune nor sa fre,
And gentill in till all wes he.
He luffit per drury Dame Sybile,
That þan wes lady of Pamphill;
He paramouris sa straitly luffit
That all playis perelluse he pruffit.
Apone a coursere pommill gray
Adressaly he sat þat day
In till a sariot schapin wyde,
Off fassone sle bot sadill syde,
With brokin letteris on þat govne
Breiffit weill with þis ressoune
Susais Ieta, that suld be,
Leif at counsaill, think on me;
And browdin weill in his pennovne
Off gold a reid rampand lyoune
That set wes in till asure brycht;
His harnes flawmand faire to sycht.
Thus all the oste thare huffing maid,
And swageing of the watter baid.
He thocht prowdly þat he wald prufe
For hir quham on he set his luf;
The coursoure hardnyt he with spuris,
And wallopand oure flosche and furris
Fere beforne þe oste he raid;
There stend for stend the coursere maid,
And at the bra all nerrest wes
The furd quhare men vsit to pas,
The horss he hardynit yrously;
The coursour lap deliuerly
All oure þe bank in to þe flude,
Till þe stoure oure þare hedis stude.
The waw wes wod, the watter deip,
Be na forse mycht the knycht him keip;
Bot, for to tell ȝow schortly þan,
Thare drownyt wes baith horss and man.
Ȝoung and ioly, bald and wycht,
Faire of fassoune and fetyss,
Off prowess pruffit and of pryss,
Off Capadoce callit Alarike.
In all that oste wes nane his like,
Sa faire of fassoune nor sa fre,
And gentill in till all wes he.
He luffit per drury Dame Sybile,
That þan wes lady of Pamphill;
He paramouris sa straitly luffit
That all playis perelluse he pruffit.
Apone a coursere pommill gray
Adressaly he sat þat day
In till a sariot schapin wyde,
Off fassone sle bot sadill syde,
With brokin letteris on þat govne
Breiffit weill with þis ressoune
Susais Ieta, that suld be,
Leif at counsaill, think on me;
And browdin weill in his pennovne
Off gold a reid rampand lyoune
That set wes in till asure brycht;
His harnes flawmand faire to sycht.
Thus all the oste thare huffing maid,
And swageing of the watter baid.
24
For hir quham on he set his luf;
The coursoure hardnyt he with spuris,
And wallopand oure flosche and furris
Fere beforne þe oste he raid;
There stend for stend the coursere maid,
And at the bra all nerrest wes
The furd quhare men vsit to pas,
The horss he hardynit yrously;
The coursour lap deliuerly
All oure þe bank in to þe flude,
Till þe stoure oure þare hedis stude.
The waw wes wod, the watter deip,
Be na forse mycht the knycht him keip;
Bot, for to tell ȝow schortly þan,
Thare drownyt wes baith horss and man.
Than Cirus, at þis sicht has sene,
For anger of hert and huge teyne
That sa his knycht he lesit had,
Gret athis soure and wowis maid
Till all his goddis, ȝoung and auld,
That wynd and watter had in wald,
That he suld of þat watter be
Revengit in to sic degre,
And sa schald it suld be maid
That a woman suld it waid,
And, for na wethyre, spring nor spait,
Hir kneis for it suld nocht be wait.
Than gert he draw þat ryvere all
In foure hundreth and sexty small
Narow swyrlis throu landis braid;
That gret revere sa schald he maid
Rynnand throu deip slyk and clay
Wnto þe see þe nerrest way;
And thare lay with his powere
Till he the cete wan but weire,
And gert cast all the wallis doune
Off Babilone, baith toure and toune,
That chemys wes of Assyry,
And biggit at poynt properly,
In till a land of fresche fawour,
And hailsome aire, and gud sawour,
With wod and watter all about,
Plesand and faire, foroutin dout.
A hundreth ȝettis of irne gret
It had forout þe mekle ȝet,
And ma postremys mycht reknyt be
All about that gret cete;
And fra that mekle ȝet befor
Foure hundreth stadiis and foure skore
It had in vngang all about,
And þai to rekin are, but dout,
Ane and fyfty mylis and maire,
And all about þe wallis are
Fife and twenty elnys of breid,
With sekyr syment maid, but dreid,
And ane hundreth elne on hycht,
All at poynt perfitly dicht;
And, as þe clerk Orosyus
In his cornikillis tellis ws,
That were bot fawtumlik and fable,
And nocht till all men ȝit trowable,
That manis vertu or his wit
Mycht ouþer do or vndo it,
As of Babilonis toune or toure
It wes sa huge as of valour.
For anger of hert and huge teyne
That sa his knycht he lesit had,
Gret athis soure and wowis maid
Till all his goddis, ȝoung and auld,
That wynd and watter had in wald,
That he suld of þat watter be
Revengit in to sic degre,
And sa schald it suld be maid
That a woman suld it waid,
And, for na wethyre, spring nor spait,
Hir kneis for it suld nocht be wait.
Than gert he draw þat ryvere all
In foure hundreth and sexty small
Narow swyrlis throu landis braid;
26
Rynnand throu deip slyk and clay
Wnto þe see þe nerrest way;
And thare lay with his powere
Till he the cete wan but weire,
And gert cast all the wallis doune
Off Babilone, baith toure and toune,
That chemys wes of Assyry,
And biggit at poynt properly,
In till a land of fresche fawour,
And hailsome aire, and gud sawour,
With wod and watter all about,
Plesand and faire, foroutin dout.
A hundreth ȝettis of irne gret
It had forout þe mekle ȝet,
And ma postremys mycht reknyt be
All about that gret cete;
And fra that mekle ȝet befor
Foure hundreth stadiis and foure skore
It had in vngang all about,
And þai to rekin are, but dout,
Ane and fyfty mylis and maire,
And all about þe wallis are
Fife and twenty elnys of breid,
With sekyr syment maid, but dreid,
And ane hundreth elne on hycht,
All at poynt perfitly dicht;
And, as þe clerk Orosyus
In his cornikillis tellis ws,
That were bot fawtumlik and fable,
28
That manis vertu or his wit
Mycht ouþer do or vndo it,
As of Babilonis toune or toure
It wes sa huge as of valour.
| CHAPTER XLIX. The Original Chronicle of Andrew of Wyntoun | |