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Be this Aurora, levand the safron bed
Of hir lord Titan, had the erth ourspred
With new cleirness, and the son scheyn
Begouth defund hys bemys on the greyn,
That euery thing worth patent in the lyght.
Turnus, enarmyt as ane douchty knyght,
Till armys steris euery man abowt,
In plait and maill full mony forcy rowt
Prouocand to the bargane and assay;
Ilk capitane hys folkis settis in array,
And gan thar curage kyndill in ire to fyght,
Be schamefull murmur of this ȝister nycht.
And forthir eik, ane miserabill thing to se,
Ewril and Nysus hedys, on speris hie
Fixit, thai rasyt haldand to the wall,
With huge clamour followyng ane and all.
The forcy and the stowt Eneadanys,
That for the tyme in this cite remanys,
The bront and fors of thar army that tyde
Endlang the wallis set on the left syde,
For on the rycht hand closyt the ryver;
Thai held the forfront quhar thar was danger,
Kepand the braid fowseis and towris hie;
And as thai stand ful dolorusly, thai se
The twa hedys stikkand on the speris,
A miserabil syght, allace, onto thar feris;
Thar facis war ourweil bekend, baith twa,
The blaknyt dedly blude droppand tharfra.
In the meyn quhile, throw the drery cite
The weyngit messynger, Fame, dyd swyftly fle,
And slippand come to thy moder, Ewrilly.
Than suddanly that wrachit wight onsilly
Al pail become, as na blude in hir left,
The naturale heit was from the banys reft.
Furth of hir hand the spynnyng quheil smate sche,
The ȝarn clewis, spyndill and broche of tre,
All swakkit our, and full onhappely
Furth fleys scho with mony schowt and cry,
With wepyng and with wifly womentyng,
Ryvand hir haris, to the wallys can thring
All wod enragit, and with a spedy payss
Dyd occupy tharon the formaste place,
Takand nane hed, na ȝit na maner schame,
Swa amangis men to ryn, and rowp or raym;
Na maner feir of perrel seys sche,
Nor mynd of dartis cast that fast dyd fle.
And as that from the wall hyr sonnys hede
Behaldis sche, wofull, and will of rede,
With hir petuus rewthfull complantis sayr
The hevynnys all scho fillyt and the ayr.
“O my Ewryll,” lamentabilly scho cryis,
“Sall I the se demanyt on syk wyss?
O thou, the lattyr quyet of myne age,
Quhou mycht thou be sa cruell in thy rage
As me to leif alyve, thus myne allane?
O my maist tendir hart, quhar art thou gane?
Na licens grantit was, nor tyme, ne space,
To me thy wrachit moder, allace, allace,
Quhen thou thy self onto sik perrellis set,
That I with the mycht samekill laser get
Als forto tak my leif for evir and ay,
Thy last regrait and quethyng wordis to say.
Ichane, allace, intill ane oncouth land,
Nakyt and bair thy fair body on sand
To fowlys of reif and savage doggis wild
Sall ly as pray, myne awin deir only child!
Nor I, thy moder, layd not thy corps on beir,
Nor with my handis lowkyt thyne eyn so cleir,
Nor wysche thy wondis to reduce thy spreit,
Nor drest the in thy lattir clathis meyt,
The quhilkis I wrocht, God wayt, to mak the gay,
Full bissely spynnand baith nycht and day,
And with sic wobbis and wark, for the, my page,
I comfort me in myne onweldy age,
And irkyt not to laubour for thy sake.
Quhar sall I seik the now? allake, allake!
Or in quhat land lyis now, maglyt and schent,
Thy fair body, and membris tyrvit and rent?
O deir son myne, O tendir get,” quod sche,
“Is this the comfort at thou dois to me,
Quhilk hes the followyt baith our seys and landis?
O ȝe Rutilianys, steik me with ȝour brandis;
Gyf thar be rewth or piete in ȝour banys,
Do swak at me ȝour dartis all atanys;
With ȝour wapynnys first ȝe sal me sla.
O thou gret fader of goddis,” can scho say,
“Haue reuth apon me, wrach of wrachis all,
And on my catyve hed thou lat dovn fall
Thy thundris dynt of wildfyre fra the hevin,
Law vndre hell tharwith to smyte me evin,
Sen that this langsum cruel life I ne may
Consume nor endyng be nane other way.”
With this regrait the Troiane myndis all
War smyte with reuth; endlang the large wall
The duylfull murnyng went and womentyng;
Thar hie curage, to tel a wondyr thyng,
That oneffrayt was batale to sustene,
Wolx dolf and dull the petuus sycht to sene.
Bot as scho thus kyndillis sorow and wo,
Ane Ideus, and Actor, Troianys two,
At the command of Illyoneus past,
And ȝyng Ascanyus wepand wonder fast,
And hynt hyr vp betwix thar armys squar,
Syne hamewart to hir lugyng thai hyr bair.
Bot than the trumpettis weirly blastis abundis,
With terribill brag of brasyn bludy soundis;
The skry, the clamour, followys the ost within,
Quhill all the hevynnys bemyt of the dyn.
The Volscenaris assemblyt in a sop
To fyll the fowseis and the wallis to slop,
All sammyn hastand with a pavyss of tre
Hesyt togidder abuf thar hedys hie;
Sa sairly knyt that maner embuschment
Semyt tobe a closs volt quhar thai went.
Ane other sort pressyt to haue entre,
And clym the wallis with leddyrris large and hie,
Quhar as the army of the Troiane syde
Was thynnast scattyrrit on the wallis wyde,
And brycht arrayt cumpany of the men
War diuidit or sloppit, at thai mycht ken
The weirmen not sa thyk in syk a place.
Bot the Troianys, that oft in sik lyke cace
Be lang vsage of weir war lernyt and kend
Quhou thai thar town and wallys suld defend,
All kynd of wapynnys and dartis at thame slyngis,
And dang thame down with pikkis and poyntit styngis,
Down weltyng eik of huge weght gret stanys,
Be ony way gif tharby for the nanys
Thai mycht on forss dissevyr that punȝe
Quhilk thame assalȝeit thekit with pavyss he,
For weill thai knew thar fays al maner of teyn
Vndir that volt of targis myght systeyn,
Sa lang as thai sammyn onsyverit war.
Bot now thai mycht thar ordour hald na mar;
For the Troianys, or evyr thai wald cess,
Thar as the thikast rowt was and maist press,
Ane huge weght or hepe of mekill stanys
Ruschys and weltis down on thame atanys,
That diuerss of Rutilianys lay thar ondyr;
The laif skalyt on brede; brok was in sondir
The covertouris and ordinance of thar scheldis.
Fra thens, the hardy Rutilianys in the feildis
Pressyt na mar in hydlys forto fyght,
Bot thame enforcis now with all thar mycht,
With ganȝeis, arrowys, and with dartis slyng,
Thar famen from the wallys forto dyng.
And at ane other syde with felloun feir
Meȝentyus the grym, apon a speir,
Or heich styng or stour of the fyr tre,
The blak fyre bless of reik in swakkis he;
And Mesapus, the dantar of the horssys,
Neptunus son, with hys menȝe enforcis
Tyl vndermynd the dike and rent the paill—
Leddyris he axis the wallys to assaill.