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And eftyr that this ilk commonyng
Thus walxand mar and mar by mony a syng
Iuturna hys systyr dyd persaue,
And saw the common wlgar hartis wave
In diuerss sentencis and ententis seir;
Than in amyd the rowtis drew scho neir,
In form and lyknes of Camertis bald,
Of nobill blude cummyn and lynnage ald,
And of hys fader the bruyt and renowne
Was magnifeit in wirschip wonder hie,
Tharto hym self maste douchty cheveller
In dedis of armys and in fait of weir.
Amyd the ostis this wyss dyd scho thryng,
Not onexpert to convoy sik a thing,
And diuerss rumouris in the press skalis sche,
Syne siclyke wordis carpis apon hie:
“O Rutilianys, aschame ȝhe not for feir
Into sa gret a perrell and danger
A sylly sawle to put in aventour,
That for ȝow all sall vndirly sik cuyr?
Quhiddir ar we not equale in our entent,
To the Troianys in numbyr or hardyment?
Lo, all the Troianys and Archadianys
Befor ws heir arrayt on the planys:
The fatall pissans is hail in this sted,
And the Tuscanys that Turnus hess at fed.
Sa few tha beyn, ȝhe may behald and se,
That gif we list mak onset, trastis me,
The half of all our menȝe gret and small
Sall not fynd ȝondyr a fa to mach withall.
Ȝon Turnus, to the goddis abuf full straucht,
To quhais altaris hym vowyt and betaucht
He hess for ȝou, as that ȝhe se,” said sche,
“With fame eternal sal vpheit be,
As euermar alyve and maist name couth,
Carpit and sung in euery mannis mowth;
Quhen we, as thrallys, leif sal our natyve land,
And onto prowd tyrrantis, hess the ovirhand,
Salbe compellit as lordis till obey,
That now, thus sleuthfully, sa fant and fey
Hufys still on thir feldis as we war ded,
And for our self list schape for na remed.”
With siclike wordis the myndis and consait
Of the ȝongkeris was inflawmyt hait,
And mair and mar now, all the feld abowt,
The murmur crepys out throw euery rowt;
So thai quhilkis air desyrit peax and rest,
And for the common weill thocht it was best
To mak end of the bargane on this wyss,
Ar alterit haly in ane other avyss;
For now desyre thai batale, but abaid,
Prayand God this contract had neuer bene maid,
And hass compassioun caucht in hart, but faill,
Of Turnus chans, semyng so inequale.
Thys self tyme eik hess Iuturna, I wyss,
Ane other grettar wondir ekit to this,
And heich vp from the hevyn befor thame plane
A takyn hess scho schawyn auguriane;
Syk a syng, that nane other to that entent
Was mar effectuus nor conuenient
To trubbill Italian myndis and mak thame raif,
And with fals demonstratioun to dissaue.
For Iovis fowle, the ern, com sorand by,
Fleand vp heich towart the brycht red sky,
Befor hym catchand ane gret flycht or ost
Of fowlys that dyd hant endlang the cost,
Quhilk on thar weyngis, sair dredand hys wraik,
Skrymmys heir and thar with mony sprauch and craik;
Quhil suddandly this egill with a surss,
As he towartis the fludis maid hys curss,
Dispittuusly intill hys punsys he
Hes claucht a swan excellent of bewte.
Than the Italianys apon athir syde
Rasyt thar myndis to se quhat suld betyd,
And sone the other fowlys heich in the sky
Turnyt agane with money screym and cry,
To chaiss and to assail thar aduersar,
A wondir thing to se, vp in the air:
The lyght thai dirkyn with thar pennys thik,
And throw the skyis with mony a strake and pik,
Sammyn in a sop, thik as a clowd, but baid,
Thar fa thai dyd assalȝe and invaid,
Sa lang, quhil that by forss he was ourset,
And of the hevy byrdyng sa mait and het
That hys mycht falȝeit, and of his clukis rude
The egill leit hys pray fall in the flude,
And vp amang the clowdis flaw away.
Than the Rutilianys all, full glaid and gay,
With huge brute and clamour lowd onan
Salust this syng or takyn augurian;
Syne sped thar hand, and maid thame for the fight.
And, first of othir, Tolumnyus the wight,
That was a spa man and diuinour sle:
“Ȝa, this was it, ȝa, this was it,” quod he,
“Quhilk oft I visseit and desirit by and by:
This gud takyn I ressaue and ratify,
And knawys the goddis favour in our supple.
Rutilianys, hynt ȝour wapynnys, and follow me,
Quham now ȝon vauengeour, ȝon ilk stranger,
Affrays so with hys onworthy weir,
Lyke tyll onweldy fowlys on the cost,
And our marchis with fors and mekill bost
Inuadis, rubbis and spulȝeis, as ȝe se:
He sall, for fer, sone gif the bak and fle,
Mak sail onon, and hald for euer away
Throu the deip sey outour the fludis gray.
Tharfor ȝhe sall all sammyn, with ane assent,
Assembil now ȝour rowtis heir present,
And into feild defend, as men of mayn,
Ȝour kyng Turnus he be nocht reft and slane.”
Thus said he, with that word als sa fast
Towartis his fais forganys hym dyd cast
A weirly dart onon with all his byr:
The sovir schaft flaw quhisland with a quhir,
Thar as it slydis scherand throw the ayr,
Oneschewabill, bath certane, lang and squar.
Sammyn with this, vp rysis for the nanys
Ane huge noys and clamour all at anys;
With sik affray and hydduus dyn and beir
The wardis all and ostis war on steir,
That, for the rerd and deray, hait in ire
The hartis kyndillis of euery bald syre.
Furth flaw the takill rycht our forgane his face,
Thiddir as for the ilk tyme stude, percace,
Nyne brethir germane, fresch and ȝyng of age,
Nane in thar ost mair semly personage,
Quham the trew faithfull wife Tyrrhene ilkane
Bair till hir spowss Gilip Archadiane;
Of quham this dart hyt ane, thar he dyd stand,
A gudly spryngald, a fair ȝyng galland,
Richt schaply maid, in armour schynand brycht,
And at the myddill markyt hym full rycht,
Quhar as the wovyn gyrdill or tysche
Abufe his navill was beltit, as we se,
And smate hym evyn into the sammyn place
Neyr quhar the bukkill hys sydis dyd enbrace,
Throw gyrd hys body with a grevoss wond,
And spaldyt hym stark ded apon the grond.
Bot than hys bald brethir in a rowt,
Wod wraith for wo, sum hyntis swerdis owt,
Sum claucht in hand the dart with the steil hed,
And in thar blynd fury, full of fed,
Ruschit on thar fays with a feirfull braid.
Aganys quham to resist and invaid,
The rowtis of the army Lawrentanys
Ran to recontyr thame; and tho atanys
Agane assemblit, as a spait of flud,
The Troianys and the Tuscanys wraith and woid,
With thame of Arcad in arrayt feildis,
With burnyst armour and thar payntit scheildis;
Apon sik wyss that all, with ane assent,
Caucht haill desyre to feght apon the bent,
And to dereyn in feild with bytand brand
The haill mater. Sum schot doun with thar hand
The altaris markyt for the sacryfyss.
Belyve our all the lyft vp semyt ryss
The fell tempest of dartis schote and flanys,
So thik as ony schour of scharp hailstanys,
As dyd incress this flycht of stelit hedis.
Full grewos grew the bargane in all stedis:
Sum ran to the wyn flacconys for gret ire,
And sum hynt vp the furnace full of fyre.
The kyng hym self, Latinus, for the affray,
Fled to the cite, and tursyt with hym away
Hys goddis and hys mawmontis, drevyn abak
With a schamefull rebute and mekill lak,
Left the concord ondone, not brocht till end.
Sum brydillys stedis and cartis vp dyd bend,
And sum in haist with a lowp or a swak
Thame self vpcastis on the horsys bak,
And war all reddy in the stowr at hand
With drawyn swerd and nakit burnyst brand.
Mesapus, full desyrus in the press
Fortill confund the trety and the pess,
A kyng Tyrreyn, Aulestes, in that sted
With kyngis ensenȝeis and with crown on hed,
Affrays sor, at hym dryvand hys steid;
The tother drew away for feir and dreid,
And bakwartis fallys on hys schuldris and crovn,
Onhappely, apon ane altar dovn,
Quhilk stud percace behynd hym on the land.
Mesapus than, full ferss, with speir in hand
Apon hym drave, thocht he besocht hym fair,
And with this schaft, that was als rude and squar
As it had beyn a cabyr or a spar,
Dovn from hys stowt cursor, na thyng skar,
Smait hym a grewoss wond and dedly byt,
And syne thir wordis said: “Ha, art thou hyt?
Ha, that thou hass! This is, be myne avyss,
To our gret goddis mair ganand sacrifyss.”
Italianys hurlys on hym in a floyt,
Spulȝeit hys corps, hys membris ȝit all hoyt.
Chorineus tho, that was a stowt Troian,
To meit ane Ebusus, com hym agan,
That wald haue smyt hym with a bustuus dynt,
And on ane altar a byrnand schide hass hynt,
And gan it rycht amyd hys vissage stair,
That blesyt vp hys lang berd of hair,
Quhilk, scaldit thus, a strang fleur dyd cast.
And forthir this Chorineus alsso fast
Ruschit on hys fa, thus fyrefangit and onsaucht,
And with hys left hand by the hair hym claucht,
Syne with hys kne hym possit with sic a plat
That on the erd he spaldit hym all flat,
And with hys styf stok swerd in sik estait
Throu baith the sydis at the first dynt hym smait.
And Podalirius with drawyn swerd list not cess
Alsus the hyrd to persew throu the press,
Quhilk ruschis abak for feir, hys life to save,
In the vangart, throw mony a poyntit glave;
Bot quhen he saw his fa sa neir invaid
That he na wyss mycht eschew nor evaid,
Vphesit he hys braid ax rude and squair,
And akwartly strake at hys aduersar,
Quhilk from amyd hys forhed, neir hys crovn,
Onto hys chyn the egge dyd carvyn doun,
That far onbreid hys armour, quhar he stude,
Was all bysprent and blandit full of blude.
Tho Podalirius the hard rest dyd oppress,
Or cald and irny sleip of dethis stress,
And vp the breith he ȝald into thar sycht,
With eyn closyt in euerlestand nycht.