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Thys fader than, this gret prynce Ene,
Herand the name of Turnus cryit on hie,
The wallys left, and fra the tovn went away
Richt hastely, secludand all delay;
Styntis all the wark that he begunnyn had,
And hoppit vp for ioy, he was so glaid;
The huslyng in his armour dyd rebund,
And kest a terribill or a feirfull sound.
Vpraxit hym he hess amyd the place,
Als byg as Athon, the hie mont in Trace,
Or heich as mont Erix in Scycily,
Or than the fader of hillys in Italy,
Clepyt mont Apennynus, quhen that he
Doith swouch or bray with roky quhynnys hie,
And ioys to streik hys snawy top on hycht
Vp in the ayr amang the skyis brycht—
That is to say, amang all other wightis
Eneas semyt to surmontyn in hyghtis
The remanent of all the mekill rowt,
As thir montanys excedis the knollys abowt.
And than, forsuyth, Rutilianys egyrly,
And all the Troian ostis or army,
Towart thar dukis dyd return thar eyn;
The Rutilianys, I say, and eik bedeyn
All the Latynys that on the wallys stud,
And all thai als tofor as thai war woid
The barmkyn law smait with the rammys fast,
Now of thar schuldris can thar armour cast.
The kyng hym self, Latyn, abasyt to se
Twa men sa byg of huge quantite,
Generit and bred in realmys far insundir
Of seir partis of the warld, that it was wondir
Twa of sik statur, onmysurly of hycht,
Fortill assembill sammyn into fyght,
Or forto se thame, matchit on the greyn,
Dereyn the bargane with thar wapynnys keyn.
And than athir thir campionys vndir scheild,
Quhen voydit weill and rowmyt was the feild
That patent was the plane a weil large space,
With hasty fard on far hess tane thar rayss,
And can thar speris cast, or thai cum neir,
Quhil scheildis soundit and all thar other geir;
Ane marcial batale thai begyn, but baid,
And athir sternly dyd hys fa invaid.
So dyd the strakis dyn on thar steill weid,
The erd granys and dyndlys far onbreid,
Syne raschit togidder with swerdis, or euer thai stynt,
And rowtis thik thai doublit, dynt for dynt;
With fors of prowess and fatale aventur
Mydlit sammyn the bargane thai endur.
Lyke as twa bustuus bullys by and by,
On the hie month Taburn in Champany,
Or in the mekill forest of Syla,
Quhen thai assembill in austern bargane thra,
With front to front, and horn for horn, attanys
Ruschand togiddir with cronys and feirfull granys,
That fe masteris and hyrdmen, euery wight
Abasyt gevys thame place, so brym tha fight;
For feir the bestis dum all standis by,
And all in dowt squelys the ȝong ky,
Quha salbe master of the catal all,
Or quhilk of thame the bowys follow sall;
Thai twa bullys, thus stryvand in that stond,
By mekill forss wyrkis other mony a wond,
And duschand festynnys fast thar hornys stowt,
Quhill that abundans of blude stremys owt,
That can do wesch, bedy, or all to baith,
Thar grym nekkis and thar spaldis baith;
That of thar rowstyng all the large plane
And woddis rank rowtis and lowys agane—
Nane other wyss Ene, the Troian heir,
And Dawnus son, Turnus, sammyn infeir
Hurlys togiddir with thar scheildis strang,
That for gret raschis all the hevynnys rang.
Thus Iupiter hym self hess atheris chance
A weill lang space to hungyn in ballance
Be equale myssour, and pasyt hess alsso
The fatis diuerss of thame baith two;
Quham the stowt laubour suld deliuer fre,
And quham the pasand wecht ourwelt to de.
Turnus at this tyme walxis bald and blyth,
Wenyng to caucht a stound hys strenth to kyth
But ony danger or aduersyte;
He raxis hym, and hevis vp on hie
Hys bludy sword, and smait in al hys mayn.
A gret clamour gave the pepill Troian,
And eik the Latynys quakyng gaue a schowt,
Full prest thame tobehald stud athir rowt.
Bot this ontraste fals blaid is brokyn in sundyr,
And ardent Turnus brocht hess in gret blundir;
For it amyddis of hys dynt hym falys,
And dissolet hym left, that nocht avalys
To hym hys strenth, hardyment and mycht,
Less than he tak for hys defens the flycht:
Ȝa, swyftar than the wynd he fled, I gess,
Quhen that he saw hys rycht hand wapynless,
And persauyt the plummet was onknaw.
For so the fame is, at the ilk thraw
Quhen he first ruschit in hys cart inhy,
And gart do ȝok hys stedis by and by
To go onto the batale the sam day,
That, for the suddand onset and effray,
The cartar Metiscus sword hynt in hand,
And all forȝet hys faderis nobill brand;
And this ilk swerd was sufficient a lang space,
Quhill that he followit the Troianys in the chaiss,
That gaue the bak, as we haue said or this;
Bot alsfast as it twichit and matchit is
By dyvyn armour maid by god Wlcan,
And tharon smyttyn in al Turnus mayn,
This ontrew temperit blaid and fykkill brand,
That forgit was bot with a mortal band,
In flendris flaw, and at the first clap,
As brukkill ice, in litill pecis lap,
Quhill the small partis of the blaid brokin in twa
As glass gletand apon the dun sand lay.
Quharfor this Turnus, half myndless and brane,
Socht diuerss wentis to fle throu owt the plane;
With mony wyndis and turnys, all on flocht,
Now heir, syne thar, onsovirly he socht.
Troianys stude thik bylappit inveroun
In maner of a conpass or a crovn;
And on the ta half eik a laik braid
Hym so inclusyt that he mycht nocht evaid,
And on the tother syde fermyt als was he
With the hie wallys of the cheif cyte.
And thocht the wond tareis Ene sum deill,
Wrocht to hym by the takill with hed of steill,
To weild hys kne maid sum impediment,
That he mycht nocht braid swiftly our the bent,
With na less press and haist ȝit, nocht for thy,
He, fute for fut, persewys him fervently.
Lyke as, sum tyme, quhen that the huntar stowt
Betrappit hass and ombeset about
With hys ralys and with hys hundis gude,
The mekill hart swymmand amyd the flude,
Quhilk thar inclusit neidlingis mon abyd;
For he may not eschape on nother syd,
For feir of hundis, and that awfull bern
Baryng schaftis fedderit with plumys of the ern;
The rynnyng hund dois hym assail in threte
Baith with swift rayss and with hys questis grete;
Bot this hart, all abasyt of thar slycht,
And of the strait and stay bankis gret hycht,
Can fle and eik return a thousand ways;
Bot than the swypir Tuscan hund assays
And nerys fast, ay reddy hym to hynt,
Now, now, almaste lyke, or euer he stynt,
He suld hym hynt, and, as the beste war tak,
With hys wyd chaftis at hym makis a snak,
The byt oft falȝeis for ocht he do mycht,
And chakkis waist togiddir hys wapynnys wycht—
Right so, at this tyme, apon athir syde
The clamour rayss, that all the laik wyde
And brays abowt thame answerd, so thai ferd,
The hevyn our all eik rumlyt of ther rerd.
And Turnus, fleand, sammyn fast can call
Rutilianys, chidand baith ane and all,
Every man clepand by hys proper name,
To reke hym hys trast swerd for schame;
And by the contrar, awfully Ene
Can thame mannans, that nane sa bald suldbe,
And schew present the deth all reddy heir
To thar ondoyng, gif that ony drew neir,
And quakyng for affeir maid thame agast,
Schorand the cite to distroy and doun cast,
Gif ony help or supple to hym schew,
And, thocht he sair was, fersly dyd persew.
Thus fyve tymys round intill a rayss
About the feild can thai fle and chaiss,
And alss feill syss went turnyng heir and thar,
Lyke as befor the hund wiskis the hair.
And na wondir, for sa the mater lyis,
To na bowrdyng twichit thar interpryss,
Na for small wagis thai debait and stryfe,
Bot apon Turnus blude schedding and lyfe.
On cace, amyd this feild had grow of lait
Ane wild olyve to Fawnus consecrait,
Quharon grew bittyr levys, and mony ȝheris
Was hald in wirschip with all maryneris;
At the quhilk tre, quhen thai eschapit had
The stormys blast, and wallis maid thame rad,
Tharon thar offerandis wald affix and hyng
Onto this god vmquhile of Lawrent kyng,
And tharon eik the clathis bekend vpstent.
Bot tho the stok of this tre doun was rent
By the Troianys, mysknawand it hallowit was,
To that entent to plane the batale place.
Eneas byg lance or hys castyng speir
Percayss apon the poynt was stykand heir;
Thiddir this schaft the gret fors of his cast
Had thraw the ilk stund, and thar fixit fast,
Amang the grippill rutis fast haldand,
Weggit full law the lance on end dyd stand.
The Troiane prynce it grippis in that sted,
Willyng in hand to pull owt the steill hed,
With cast tharof to follow hym at the bak,
Quham he throw speid of fut mycht nocht ourtak.
Bot than Turnus, half mangit in effray,
Cryis: “O thou Fawnus, help, help, I the pray!
And thou Tellus, mast nobill god of erd,
Hald fast the speris hed by ȝour werd;
As I that evir hass wirschipit on thir planys
Ȝour honour, that be the contrar Eneadanys
Hess violet and prophanyt be stryfe,” quod he,
“With blude scheddyng, and down hewyn ȝour tre.”
Thus said he, and no thyng invane, I wyss,
The goddys help he axit, for, at hys wyss,
A full lang tyme wrelis and tareis Ene
Furth of the teuch rutis of this ilk tre
Hys speir to draw, and bytis on his lip;
Bot festynnyt sa is in the war the gryp,
That by na maner forss, thocht he was wight,
Furth of the stok the schaft vp pull he mycht.
And as he brymly thus inforcis fast
To draw the speir, this goddess at the last,
I meyn Iuturna, douchter of Dawnus kyng,
Owt throu the feld com rynnand in a lyng,
Changit agane, as that befor scho was,
Into Metiscus semlant and lyknes,
And to hir brother hess hys swerd betauch;
Quhar at Dame Venus gret disdenȝe caucht,
Sik thyng suldbe tholit this bald nymphe to do;
Than suddanly to the speir rakis scho,
Baith schaft and hed onon, or evir scho stent,
At the first pull from the deip rute hess rent.
Than athir restit and refreschit weill
Baith in curage and scharp wapynnys of steill,
He trastand in hys swerd that weill wald scheir,
And he full prowd and stern of hys byg sper.
Incontrar otheris baldly lang thai stand
In marciall batale athir resistand,
Ilkane full wilfull otheris till ourthraw,
At sic debait that baith thai pant and blaw.