University of Virginia Library

The nixt day followyng with hys bemys brycht
The warld on breid illumnyt hess of lycht:
The kyng Latinus tho seand, but let,
Italyanys discumfyt and ourset
By the fatale aventour of weir,
And weill persavit quhou and quhat maner
The forton haill turnyt to strang Enee;
And in hys mynd revoluyt eik hess he
The huge dowt of batall and deray,
Full mony feirfull chance and gret effray,
Hys confideratioun and hys sworn band,
The wedlok promyst and the ferm cunnand
And spousal of hys douchtir hecht withall:
Of all the rowt ontill hym gart he call
A thousand worthy men walit at rycht,
The quhilkis the Troian duke and dowchty knycht,
Quham he desyrit, suld convoy to town;
In robbys lang also, or traill syde govn,
With thame he ionyt oratouris infeir
And to thame gaif feill strait commandis seir,
And forthir eik, quhen thai depart can,
Of hys fre will thame chargit euery man
That, sen be favouris and admonysyngis
Of the goddis, be mony feirfull syngis,
Expedient it was the kyn Troian
Conioyn and myddill with blude Italian,
At tharfor glaidly to thame gang wald thai,
And with gud willis vissy, and assay
Forto convoy the said Eneadanys
With ioy within hys hie wallys attanys.
In the myd quhile, hym self full bissy went,
The cite, quhilk was disarayt and schent,
To put to poynt and ordinans agane,
And the onweldy common pepill ilkane
To causs adress eftir thar faculte—
Thar myndis mesys and estabillis he,
And gan thame promyss rest in tyme cummyng,
And quhou, within schort tyme, he suld thame bring
Intyll eternall peax for evirmar.
Syne chargit he the pepill our alquhar,
In ioy, blithness, solace and deray,
Tryumphe to mak, with myrth, gam and play,
As was accordyng, and in lugyngis hie
Thar kyngly honour and sport ryall tobe;
And merely commandis man and page,
With ane assent, blith wlt and glaid vissage,
Hys gud son thai suld do welcum and meit
And with hail hart ressaue apon the streit
The Troian pepill, festand thame in hy
With glaid semlant, ryot and melody,
And to furthschaw seir takynnys of kyndnes,
And of new peax so lang desirit soless.
Be this the rowt, as thai instrukkit wer,
In full gude rewle and ordinans infeir
Ar entrit in the Troianys new cite,
And on thar hed garlandis of olyve tre;
Peax thai besocht as cheif of thar message.
Quham gentill Eneas, euery man and page,
Within hys palyss ryall to presens
Chargit convoy, and gafe thame audiens,
And of thar cummyng the causys and maner
With vissage full debonar dyd inqueir.
Than the agit Drances with curage hoyt
Begowth the first hys tong forto noyt,
As he that was baith glaid, ioyfull and gay
For Turnus slauchter, that tho was doyn away;
And thus he said: “O gentill duyk Troian,
Ferm hope and glory of the pepill Phrigian,
To quham of piete and dedis of armys fair
In all the warld thar may be na compair:
We venquyst folkis to witnessyng doith call,
And by the goddis sweris and goddessis all,
Contrar hys willis sair the kyng Latyn
Beheld the gret assemly and convyn
Of the Italyanys and folk of Latyn land;
Agane his stomak eyk, I bair on hand,
Owtragyusly the contract is ybrokkyn,
Ne nevir he in deid nor word hess spokkyn
That mycht the Troian honour trubbill ocht,
Bot far rathar, baith in deid and thocht
(Sen that the goddis responsis swa hess tald),
The weddyng of hys douchter grant ȝou wald,
And with full gret desyre, full weill I knaw,
Oft covat ȝou tobe hys son in law.
For all the brek and sterage that hess beyn
In feir of weir and burnyst armour keyn,
With sa gret rage of laubour and of payn,
The wild fury of Turnus, now lyis slayn,
Inflambit with the stang of wikkytnes,
And infekkit with hie haitrent expres,
Hess brocht on hand and movit sa to steir,
Agane thar will to rayss batale and weir
The Latyn pepill constrenyng by and by,
Quhilk thai playnly refusyt and gan deny:
Hym all the ost, turnand bakwart agane,
Besocht to cess, and draw fra the bargan,
And suffir the gret Anchises son of Troy
Hys wedlok promyst enioys but ennoy.
Syne the maist nobill kyng Latyn, full fayn
Hym forto breke and to withdraw agane,
Hys auld onweldy handis twa dyd hald,
Hym to requir hys purposs stynt he wald
(For weill he saw, in our ardent desyre
Of the bargan he scaldit hait as fyre),
Bot all our prayeris and requestis kynd
Mycht nowder bow that dowr mannys mynd,
Nor ȝit the takynnys and the wondris seir
From goddis send with dyvyne ansuer,
Bot that evir mor and mor fersly he
Furth spowtit fyre, prouocand the melle.
And, for syk succudrus ondertakyng now,
Hys awin myscheif, weill worthy to allow,
He fundyn hess, quhilk finaly, on the land
Thou beand victour with the ovirhand,
Hym bet to grond hess maid do gnaw and byte
The blak erd intill hys mortall syte.
Now lat that ilk rahatour wend inhy
The blak hellys byggyngis to vissy
Vndir the drery deip flude Acheron—
Lat hym go serss, sen he is thiddir gone,
Other ostis or barganys in hys rage
And als ane other maner of mariage.
Thou, far bettir and gret deill worthiar
To bair the riall ceptyr and tobe ayr,
Succeid to realm and heritage sall
Of Lawrent cuntre with the moblys all:
In the alhaill the howss of Kyng Latyn
And hys onweldy age, lyke to declyne—
Hys hope and all beleif restis in the,
And the only Italianys all,” said he,
“Abufe the schynand sternys, as gold brycht,
Full wylfull ar fortill vphie on hycht;
As maste excelland worthy weryour
Thai the extoll in batale and in stowr,
Thy hevynly armour eik with lowd stevin
And thy verray renoun syngis to the hevyn.
The grave faderis of consale venerabill
In thar digest decretis sage and stabill,
The ancyent pepill onweldy for age,
The glaid ȝong gallandis stalwart of curage,
The lusty matronys newfangill of syk thyng,
Wenschys onwed, and litill childryn ȝyng,
All, with a voce and haill assent at accord,
Desyris the as for thar prynce and lord,
And ioyus ar that into feild fut het
Vndir thy wapynnys Turnus lyis doun bet:
The all Itaill, clepit Ausonya,
Besekis heirof, and forthirmor alssua
Doith the extoll maste worthy, wyss and wight;
In the only returnyt is thar syght:
The kyng hym self Latinus, now full ald,
Hys ancient onweldy lyfe to hald,
Hess only this beleif and traste,” quod he,
“That he hys douchter may do wed with the,
Quhilk of kyn, successioun and lynnage,
Be that ilk souerane band of mariage,
Of Troian and Italian blude discend
Sall childryng furth bryng, quhill the warldis end
Perpetualy to ryng in hie impyre.
Tharfor haue doyn, cum on, thou gudly syre,
Thou gret ledar of the Troian rowt,
Cum entyr in our weirly wallys stowt,
Ressaue this worthy notabill fair proffyr
And saisyn tak of honouris quhilkis we offir.”
Thus endit he, and all the remanent
Intill a voce sammyn gave thar consent,
Quham the reuthfull Eneas with glaid cheir
Ressauyt hess full tendyrly infeir,
And, in few wordis and a frendly mynd
Thame ansuerand, he carpys on this kynd:
“Not ȝou, nor ȝit the kyng Latyn, but less,
That wont was forto ryng in plesand pess,
Will I argew of this maner offens:
For suyth I wait the wilfull violens
Of Turnus all that gret wark brocht abowt,
And I am sovir eik and owt of dowt
Sa gret danger of batale it was he
Provokit swa and movit to melle,
For ȝyng desyre of hie renown, perfay,
And loyss of prowes mair than I byd say.
And netheless, quhou evir it be, I wyss,
This spowsage Italian at me promyst is
Ne will I not refuyss on nakyn wyss,
Nor forto knyttyng vp as ȝhe devyss
This haly peax with frendly allyans,
With etern concord but disseuerans.
The sam Kyng Latyn, my gud fader ald,
Sall hys impyre and venerall ceptour hald,
And I Troian for me vp in this feild
Ane new resset and wight wallys sall beld,
Quhilk cite sall ressaue hys douchteris naym;
And my goddis domesticall, that fra haym
With me I brocht, I sall with ȝou conioyn;
In concord and in vnyte all common
In tyme tocum sammyn athir falloschip
Vndir a law sall leif in gret frendschip.
In the meyn tyme, go to and speid ws soyn
Onto our wark that restis ȝit ondoyn,
And lat ws byrn the bodeis, and bery eft,
Quham the hard wofull rage hess ws byreft,
And into batale kyllyt lyis ded;
Syne, tomorn ayrly, as the son worthis red,
And with hys cleir days lyght doyth schyne,
Blithly we seik to cyte Lawrentyne.”
Thus said he, and the Latynys, quhill he spak,
With vissage still beheld hym stupifak,
Of hyss wyss gracius answeris wonderand all,
And of sik wordis debonar in speciall;
Mayr evidently gan mervell he and he
Of hys gret warkis of reuth and sik piete.
Belyve, with all thar forcis, euery wyght
Weltis doun treys grew full hie on hycht,
And hastely togiddir gadderit hass
In hepys gret, the funerall fyre to rayss,
And thar abuf thar citiȝanys hess laid,
Vndir quham syne thai set in blesys braid:
The flambe and reik vpglydis in the ayr,
That of the laithly smokis heir and thar
The hevyn dyrknyt and the firmament.
Thai hynt from all the feildis adiacent
Innumerabill rowch twyntir scheip syne,
And of thir akcorn swellyaris, the fat swyne;
And tydy ȝyng oxin steik thai fast
And in the funerall fyris dyd thame cast.
The large planys schynys all of lycht,
And, throw thir hait scaldand flambys brycht,
Stude blowt of bestis and of treys bair:
With huge clamour smyt, dyndillit the ayr.