The right plesaunt and goodly historie of the foure sonnes of Aymon. Englisht from the French by William Caxton, and printed by him about 1489. Ed. from the unique copy, now in the possession of Earl Spencer, with an introduction by Octavia Richardson.

CHAPTER IX.

¶ How Reynawde and his brethern were betrayed & solde to the kyng Charlemagne by the kyng Yon of Gascoyn, that sent theym in the playne of Valcours all wythout armes but theyr swerdes / and were mounted vpon mewles / & were clothed wyth mantelles of scarlet, furret wyth ermyn / Fro the whiche they escaped by the wyll of god / but they suffred moche peyne & grete traveylle / for they were gretly hurt & sore wounded. But of the kyng charlemagne party abode there deed Foulques of Moryllon, & many other barons and worthy knyghtes, wherof the kyng charlemayn was wrothe and sory.

¶ Capitulum IX.

Now must we telle of Rowlande & of Olyver, that came agen fro hawkyng vpon the ryvers wyth their felawes, & besemynge they were right glad that they had so well chassed & taken a grete quantyte of birdes / & thus as they cam agen / they met wyth damp Rambault, the free knyght / that tolde theym by

a grete angre / 'Ye have taken many birdes; see that ye be good marchauntes, & selle your praye well, for I promyse you ye shall never selle your chasse and haukyng so dere as it hath coste you / And yf ye have taken byrdes / I lete you wyte that Reynawde & his bredern have taken knyghtes and horses / and whan ye see your dragon [folio M.vii.a] vpon the grete [omitted, F. orig. k. vi. back.] towre of Montalban / ye oughte wel to be thenne glad, and thanke moche therof the foure sones of Aymon. For all thoo that seen it set there of an heygth, they wene that ye have goten the castell by force' / Whan rowlande understode thyse wordes, it lacked lityll that he wente oute of his mynde / he lighted doun from his mewle, And sette him selfe vpon a stone / and beganne to thynke & muse sore. And soo dyd Olyver in lyke wyse / And whan Rowlande had thoughte ynoughe / He called to hym the bysshop Turpyn, Ogier the dane, and Richarde of Normandy, and sayd to theym, 'For god, fayr lordes, what counseyll gyve you me vpon this dede / For I dare never more fynde myselfe before my vncle, the king Charlemagne; for I fere me to sore of evyl reporte / and that men tell of me otherwyse than the trouthe' / And he sayd to the bysshop Turpyn / 'for goddis love, good fader in god, gyve me leve to departe / for I wolde goo in to the holy londe to see the sepulture of our lorde, for to werre there agenste the sarrasins / For sith this mysshape is thus come to me, I wyll no more bere armes agenste cristen men' / 'Sire,' sayd the bysshop Turpyn, 'be not dismayed for no thynge / For this is but an vse of werre / suche a thyng befalleth often to many one / I promyse you that ye shall have, or thre dayes ben paste, as many of the folke of Reynawde as he hath of yours' / 'Sire,' sayd Rowlande, 'ye gyve me good corage, and I promyse you that to your prudence I shall arreste

myselfe.' Whan Rowlande had said thise wordes / the bysshop Turpyn and Ogier dyd so moche that they made hym lighte a horsbacke / and they wente togyder all towarde charlemagne. & wite that after rowlande, cam moo than a hundred yonge gentylmen all a fote, bi cause thei had lost their horses. & whan thei were come to thoste of charlemagne, they [folio M.vii.b] wente streyghte to the pavyllion of the duke Naymes / and whan Rowlande entred wythin, he was ashamed / and abode there two dayes that he cam not oute, and durst not goo to the courte, nor loke no man in the face, But helde hym selfe ²in the sayd pavyllion,² [^2—2 omitted, F. orig. K. vi.] as a man all abashed of the grete sorow that he had at his herte [et ne disoit mot du monde, F. orig. k. vi.] / Whan Rowlande and Olyver was thus abyden in the duke Naymes tente, This hangying, Turpyn cam towarde kynge Charlemagne in his tente / where he entred wythin, and saluted the kyng ryght honourably / and the emperour rendred to hym his salute / and after sayd to hym, 'Damp bysshop, ye be welcom' / 'Syre,' sayd Turpyn / 'god be your keper; and I beseche you to pardonne me / yf I telle you ony thyng that shall dysplayse you.' 'Now telle hardly,' sayd the kyng, 'what ye wylle / For nothynge that ye canne telle can not dysplayse me.' 'Syre,' sayd the byshop Turpyn, 'Wyte that the foure sones of Aymon have dyscomfited vs, And have taken wyth theym all that we had in our tentes, bothe horses & harneys / and all our pavyllions / and namly the dragon of Rowlande, beside a grete many of prisoners [quilz en ont amene a montauban, F. orig. k. vi.] / And they have slayne the moste party of our folke' /

Thenne whan the emperour vnderstode this that Turpyn had tolde hym, he was a long while as a man al forcened / And thenne he sware saynte Denys

by grete angre. And sayd / 'Now have ye fonde that ye went tellynge; & the grete pride that ye had, ye have well founde' / At this hour he dyd sende thrugh all his oost by expresse wordes, that every lord and baron sholde come incontynent [omitted, F. orig. k. vi.] afore hym in his tente, for he wolde kepe parlyamente wyth them / whan ye prynces knew ye commaundement of ye kynge, ye shold have seen them com wyth gret hast towarde ye kynge / & whan they wer al [folio M.viii.a] assembled wythin the kynges pavyllion / he stode vpon his feete, & sayd to theym in this maner / 'Lordes, I have sent for you for to shewe vnto you that to vs is happed of newe. Now wyte that the foure sones of Aymon have dyscomfited all our knyghtes that Rowlande my nevew had wyth hym at balencon / wherof I am right wroth & sori. for I wolde I had lost a greter thyng, and that this were not happed; but a thyng that can not be amended, must be suffred & borne as well as men may / I requyre & beseeche you all, my lordes and frendes, vpon the oothe that ye have made to me, that ye wyll counseyll me truly how I shall be ruled in this mater, and how I might have this castell of Montalban' / Whan the kyng had thus spoken, there was none so hardy that ever durste saye one worde, but only the duke naymes of bavyer, the prue and wyse knyght. 'Syre,' sayd the duke Naymes, 'ye aske counseyll for to besege montalban. But no man that hath ony rayson in his hede ought not to counseyll you the same / for whi the daunger is there grete, be cause that Guynarde the lorde of Berne knoweth of it, and so doothe Godfray the lord of Poycy, that are good knyghtes, & sore dred for their worthynes, and also the kyng yon [de Gascongne, F. orig. k. vii. back.] that is at tholose the whiche shall come all to helpe & socoure reynawd / by cause they be of his aliaunce / And also

they know that he is one of the beste knyghtes of the worlde / And they knowe well also that Reynawde gyveth to vs moche to doo. And soo I telle you, yf they sette theym selfe togyder, they shall gyve you ynoughe to doo, And shall maye bere to you a grete dommage. ¶ But and ye wyll have goode counseyll and beleve me, I shall gyve it to you truly / Syre, sende worde to kyng yon / that he wythdrawe not nor kepe your enmyes [folio M.viii.b] wythin his londe, but that he yelde theym in to your handes, for to doo wyth theym your playsur and your commaundement. And yf he wyll not doo soo, ye shall distroye all his londe, and no mercy ye shall have vpon hym.' 'Naymes,' sayd the kyng, 'now gyve you me good counseyll / and I wyll that ye have sayd be doon incontynente' / Thenne the kyng made com an heraulde of his, and sayd to hym / 'Now goo lightly to Tholouse / and telle kynge Yon on my behalve / that I am entred in to Gascoyn accompanyed of ye twelve douspyers of Fraunce, with a hundred thousande fyghtyng men / and wyth Rowlande & Olyver / and telle hym that, by saynt Denys of Fraunce, yf he yelde me not my enmyes, that ben the foure sones of Aymon / that I shall waste and dystroye all his londe / nor to hym shall abyde nother cite nor castell / but it shalle be overthrowen to the erthe / and yf I can take hym / I shall take from hym his crowne / soo shall he be called kyng overthrowen' / 'Sire,' said the heraulde, 'your commaundement I shall do wythout varienge of one worde / ²evyn as your good grace playseth to comaunde me'² [^2—2 omitted, F. orig. k. vii.] / and thus departed the herawde ²from the oost of Charlemagne² [^2—2 omitted, F. orig. k. vii.] / and toke his waye towarde Tholouse / There he fonde the kynge Yon of Gascoyn in his palays / wyth a ryght fayr company / And assone that he sawe the kyng / he knewe hym well / so made he thenne to him the reverence

/ and sayd to hym in the emperours behalve the thynge worde by worde, [sans point varier en riens, F. orig. k. vii.] wherof he was sente there.

And whan the kyng Yon vnderstode the herawde that spake soo / he bowed his hede toward the erthe, and began to thynke a longe while / and sayd not a worde / And whan he had thus longe mused ynoughe / he sayd to the messager: 'Good frende, ye must tari ²here a seven nyght,² [^2—2 par lespace de huit jours, F. orig. k. vii.] I praye you / and thenne ³I shall telle you my wyll / and what I purpose [folio N.i.a] to doo'³ [^3—3 et puis vous respondray ma volente que direz au roy Charlemaigne, F. orig. k. vii.] / 'Sire,' sayd the herawde, 'I shall abide wyth a good will, sith that it playse you' / Thenne wente the kyng Yon in to his chambre, & eyghte erles wyth hym, and commaunded that the dores sholde be well shet / and thenne they set theym all vpon a benche. And whan they were all set, the kinge Yon toke the worde & sayd in this maner / 'Lordes, I beseche & require, vpon the feyth that ye owe to me, that ye gyve me good counseill to thonour [thononr, orig.] of me / not at my will, but bi rayson / Now wite it that ye kyng Charlemagne [le roy de france, F. orig. k. vii.] is entred wyth in my londe with the xij peres of Fraunce, & Rowlande & Olyver, wyth a hundred thousande men. And he sendeth to me worde, but yf I deliver vnto hym the foure sones of Aymon, he shall not leve me nother cyte nor towne / but he shall cast all to therthe, [Et si a jure que si je suis prins, quil me ostera ma couronne, F. orig. K. vii.] & shall take the crowne fro my hed / and so shal I be called a kyng overthrowen / My fader helde never noo thyng of hym, & no more shall I / it is better to dey wyth grete worship than to lyve in grete shame.'

Thenne whan the kyng Yon had thus spoken, there rose vp a knyght named godfray, that was nevewe to kyng yon, and sayd to hym, 'Sire, I merveille me

that ye aske counseyll for to betraye suche knyghtes as ben the foure sonnes of Aymon / Reynaude is your man & your carnall frende [car vous luy aues donne vostre seur a fenme devant vos barons et amys, F. orig. k. viii. back.] / ye knowe what good he hath doon to you & to your londe / It is not longe agoo that he dyscomfyted Marcyll the puyssaunt sarrasyn, & chassed hym well foure myle / and smote of his hede, & presented it to you / and ye have promysed & sworne to hym that ye shall defende & kepe hym agenste all men. Myn vncle, yf ye thynke to faill hym, & wyll not holde that ye have promysed to hym / lete hym & his brethern goo oute of your londe in to som other countrey to seke their adventure / And haply they shall serve some lord that shall doo to [folio N.i.b] theym more goode than ye wyll doo. And also I praye you, my dere lorde and vncle, ³as moche as I can,³ [^3—3 omitted, F. orig. k. viii. back.] that ye wyll doo noo thyng that torneth you to blame, nor to dishonour, nor that can be cast by maner of reproche towarde your frendes.' Thenne spake the olde erle of Ansom, and sayd, 'Sire, we wyll that we gyve you counseylle / yf ye wylle doo that we shall counseille you, ye shall doo well for your selfe.' 'Now saye on hardely,' sayd the kyng, 'that semeth you best to be doon, for I wyll doo as ye shall counseille me' / 'Sire,' sayd the erle, 'ye have well herde saye / and soo it was trouth, that Benes slewe the erle Lohier; wherfore Charlemagne sente for hym and made his hede to be smyten of at Parys [par male intencion. Et puis en prist acordance a benes daigremont, F. orig. k. viii. back.] / And at that tyme Reynawde & his brethern were veri yonge; and of theym was none mencyon made / And afterwarde whan they were grete, the kynge wolde amende it vnto theym. For the thynge toucheth theym, but they had the herte so fell that they wolde take none amendes, and lasted their

hate longe / wherof ever sith hath come grete harmes and evylles / For Reinawde slewe Berthelot, the nevewe of the kyng, wyth a chesboorde / Sire, I knowe not why I sholde hide ony thynge fro your knowlege / ye knowe well that Charlemagne is soo myghty a kyng that he never vndertoke werre, but he came to his above of it / Wherfore I doo gyve you counseille that ye yelde Reynawde & his brethern and Mawgis ¹to the kynge Charlemagne;¹ [^1—1 omitted, F. orig. k. viii. back.] and thus shall ye be deliverd of a grete thoughte, and of grete daunger' / And after this spake the erle of Mobandes, and sayd / 'syre, yf ye wyll doo this that the erle of Ansom counseilleth you, ye & we shall be traytours / For Reynawde is your man / and so moche ye have loved hym that ye have gyven hym your suster to his wyf / And whan he cam in thise marches / he came not like a knave / but he cam [folio N.ii.a] to you as a noble knyght, pru and worthy / For he brought in his felawshyp foure thowsande men well armed & well horsed / [Et quant il vint a vous il vois dist, F. orig. k. vii.] and sayd to you afore vs all, or ever he toke of his spores, that he had werre wyth kynge Charlemagne / Netheles ye receyved hym wyth goode herte / and after made of hym at your wyll. And for you he conquested many bataylles / and dyde so moche that he delyvered you from the handes of your enmyes / And therfore, syre, I telle you that ye be not worthy to calle yourselfe, [roy, F. orig. k.] ne to bere the crowne vpon your hede, yf for fere of deth ye betraye suche knyghtes as are the four sones of Aymon; For ye have not yet loste nother castell nor towne: and if ye doo it otherwyse / ye shall be taken and holden for a traytour.' [et mys ou nombre de Judas, F. orig. k. viii.] After spake Anthony the olde erle / and sayd to the kynge / 'Syre, beleve not this counseylle / for suche counseylle he gyveth you

now, wherof ye shall be betrayed at the laste. For I knowe better thentente of Reynawde than ony man that is here: Ye muste vnderstonde, syre, that Reynawde was sone to a man that had but one towne, and was soo prowde that he dayned to serve nor obeye his lorde the kynge of Fraunce; but slewe Berthelot by his grete pryde and owtrage / Wherfore kynge Charlemagne chassed hym oute of the royame of Fraunce. Now it is happed soo that he is in Gascoyn, and ye have gyven to hym grete landes; and by cause he hath your suster to his wyffe / he is become soo prowde that none maye dure afore hym / And he setteth not a peny nother by you nor by your courte / Wherfore I swere to you by the hede that I bere / yf he may by ony wyse, he shall take the lyffe from you / for to have all the royame to hymselfe. Wherfore I advyse to you by ryghtwys counseylle, that ye yelde hym and his bretherne to Charlemagne / And ye shall doo as a wyse [folio N.ii.b] kyng; and so shall you pease the grete wrath of kyng Charlemagne of Fraunce' / After spake the duke Guymarde of Bayonne, and sayd ²to the kynge² [^2—2 omitted, F. orig.] / 'Sire, [roy de gascoyne, F. orig. l. i. back.] I tell you that the erle Anthony lieth falsly / and gyveth you evyll counseyll / For Reynawde is sone to the duke Aymon of Ardeyne, whiche is of right grete lynage / And Charlemagne made to slee the duke Benes of Aygremounte, their vncle, by grete wronge / and Reynawde toke therof vengeaunce vpon Berthelot by good rayson / and that more is, it was his body deffendynge / wherof I telle you that noo kyng is not worthy to bere ony crowne nor to have honoure, that wyll doo trayson for thretynge of a nother lorde' / And after spake Humarde an olde knyghte, and sayd / 'By god, [damps Guymart, F. orig. l. i. back.] Guymarde, I beleve that ye have lost your

wytte / to counseyll the kynge Yon for to bere oute Reynawde agenst ¹the grete kynge¹ [^1—1 omitted, F. orig.] Charlemagne, for to make all the londe of Gascoyn for to be dystroyed / Wherof ye sholde care but lityll / yf the royame were wasted, and the kynge broughte to shame / soo that ye had lawde and praysyng.' Thenne sayd Guymarde, 'Thou liest falsly / and yf we two were in a nother place than here, I sholde shewe the that thou were an olde dooterd and a foole / For I wolde not counseyll the kynge Yon / but all thynge that concerneth his honour / and profyte also of his royame.'

After spake one named syr Hector / an ancyente erle, and sayd to the kynge / 'Sire, ye aske counseyll of suche that canne not counseyl theymselfe / For it is all other wyse than Guymarde sayth / And I ensure you, that yf ye lose in this matere / he shall lese therby noo thynge. Sire, ye knowe that Reinawde is a knyght good ynoughe. But by his grete pryde / he hath made werre wyth Charlemagne / For he slewe Berthelot his nevewe by his owtrage. [folio N.iii.a] now he is come in Gascoyne / and ye have gyven hym your suster in mariage. Wherof ye dyde grete folie / and ye made hym the castel of Mountalban vpon the strengest grounde that is wythin your royame / Now is come the kyng Charlemagne that hath beseged him; wherfore I counseyll you that ye accorde wyth the kynge Charlemagne, and delyver yourselfe of Reynawde assone as ye maye. For it is better that ye lese foure knyghtes than all your royame. take fro hym your suster, and gyve her to a nother that is a gretter gentilman than is Reynawde / and that have no suche enmyes as is Charlemagne / & fynde some meanes to yelde Reynawde & his brethern to Charlemagne. And this ye shall well [well may = be able.] may doo wythoute blame, yf ye wyll doo

that I shall counseyll you.' 'Frende,' sayd the kynge yon / 'I am redy to doo that whiche ye shal counseille me, [Car je voy et congnois que vous me donnez bon conseil, F. orig. l. i.] above all other that ben here' /

Thenne whan the kynge yon of Gascoyn sawe that ye mooste party of his counseylle accorded to that he sholde yelde Reynawde and his brethern to kyng Charlemagne, he beganne to wepe right tenderly / and sayd in hymself, that no body cowde bere it. 'Bi god, Reynawde, I am sore charged for you / now shall departe my love fro you. For ye shall lese the body / and I shall lese therby the love of god and of his moder. For I shall never fynde mercy in hym / for to betraye suche a knyghte as ye be' / But I telle you that god shewed that daye for Reynawde a fayr myracle. for the chambre where the counseille was kepte that was all white / chaunged colour and becam all blacke as a cole: 'Lordes,' sayd the kynge Yon, 'I see well that I muste yelde the foure sones of Aymon. syth that the moost parte of you accordeth therto. And I shall doo it / syth that ye counseylle me soo / But I wote well that my soule shall never have therof noo pardonne: And [folio N.iii.b] shall be therfore taken all my lyffe as a Iudas.' and thenne they lefte the counseylle. and wente out of the chambre. And whan the kynge was come out of the chambre: he sette hym doun vpon a benche, and beganne to thynke sore / And as he was in this thoughte / he beganne to wepe sore for grete pyte that he had / And whan he had thoughte and wepte ynoughe / he called his secretary, and sayd to hym: 'Come forth, syre Peter / and write a letter from me to the kinge Charlemagne, as I shall telle you: It is that I sende hym salutacyon wyth goode love / And yf he wyll leve me my londe in peas, I promyse hym that a-fore ten dayes ben paste / I shall delyver vnto hym

the foure sones of Aymon, and he shall fynde theym in the playne of Valcolours / clothed wyth scarlette / furred wyth ermynes, and ridynge vpon mewles / berynge in theyr handes flowres and roses for a token / bycause that men shall better knowe theym. And I shall make them to be accompanyed of eyghte erles of my royame / & yf they scape from hym, that he blame me not for it.' Thenne sayd the secretare, 'Sire, your commaundemente shall be doon.' ¹ [^1—1 Et lors sen entra en sa chambre ... F. orig. l. ii. back.] the whiche toke anone penne and ynk¹e, and wrote the lettres / worde for worde, as the kyng had devysed to hym. And whan they were writen and sealed. the kynge called his stywarde, and sayd to hym / 'Now make you redy on horsbacke / and goo to the sege of Mountalban / and recommende me to kynge Charlemagne: and gyve hym thise lettres / And telle hym, yf he wyll quyte my londe / I shall doo this that is of reason, and none otherwyse.' 'Syre,' sayd the stywarde, 'I shall gladly doo your commaundemente / doubte not of it.' Thenne wente the stywarde in his house, and made hym redy on horsbacke, and rode out of Tholouse, and toke the herawde of Charlemagne wyth hym / And whan [folio N.iv.a] they were come to Mountalban, thei fonde the emperour in his pavylion / where the stywarde lyghted doun / and wente wythin / and saluted the kynge Charlemagne fro the kynge Yon of Gascoyn / and presented hym the lettres fro his behalve, and sayd to hym; 'Ryght myghty emperour, the kynge Yon sendeth you worde by me / that yf ye wyll ensure his londe, he shall fulfylle the tenoure of this lettre / and otherwyse he wyll not.'

Whan charlemagne vnderstode thise tydynges, he was right gladde / he toke the lettre of the messager / And called Rowlande to hym, and Olyver /

the bysshop Turpyn / the duke Naymes / Ogyer the dane / and the xii peres ¹of Fraunce¹ [^1—1omitted, F. orig. l. i. back.] / and sayd to theym / 'Fayre lordes, be not dysplaysed: goo out of this pavylion / for I wyll talke with this messager pryvely.' 'Syre,' sayd they all, 'wyth a goode wylle'/ And than they wente all oute of the pavyllion / and whan they were all goon / Charlemagne opened the lettres, and red theym all alonge / And he fonde therin that whiche he mooste desyred in this worlde / that was the trayson as it was ordeyned / Whan Charlemagne had red the lettre, he myghte be noo gladder than he was. And of the grete Ioye that he had of it / he beganne to smyle / 'Syre,' sayd the stywarde, 'yf ye see ought in the lettre that playseth you not / blame not me for it / ²For I knowe not yet what it is.'² [^2—2omitted, F. orig. l. ii.] Thenne sayd Charlemagne to the stywarde / 'Your lorde, the kynge Yon, speketh full curtesly / and yf he doo that he dooth me to wyte / he shall be well my goode frende / And soo shall I doo to hym grete worshyp, and shall make hym a grete man / and also I shall defende hym agenst all men.' 'Syre,' sayd the stywarde, 'of this that ye saye / ye shall gyve me suretyes if it playse you.' Thenne sayd Charlemagne, 'I wyll doo soo [folio N.iv.b.] gladly / This I swere vpon the sone of the vyrgyn Mary, and also vpon saynte Denys of Fraunce, whos man I am.' 'Syre, ye have sayd all ynoughe,' answered the messager of kynge Yon / 'And noon other surety I aske of you.'

Thenne Charlemagne called hys chambrelayne, and sayd to hym / 'Make a lettre to kyng Yon of Gascoyne in my behalve / as I shall devyse it vnto you. Wryte that I sende hym salutacyon and good love / And that yf he dooth for me as he sayth, I shall encrease his royaume wyth fourtene goode castelles /

and therof I gyve hym for surete our lorde and saynte Denys of Fraunce / and that I sende hym four mauntelles of scarlette furred wyth ermynes, for to clothe wythall the traytoures, whan they shall goo to the playne of Valcoloures. And there they shall be hanged, yf god wyll. And I wyll not that ony other have harme, but oonly the foure sones of Aymon' / 'Syre,' sayd the chambrelayne / 'your commaundement shall be well doon' / and thenne he made the lettres as themperour had devysed hym. And whan he had made theym, the emperour Charlemagne sealed theym / and after he called the messager afore his presence, and sayd to hym / 'Holde thise lettres, and take theym to kynge Yon from me, and recommende me moche to hym.' And thenne he dyde gyve hym x marke of golde / and a rynge that he toke of [off.] his fynger / wherof the messager thanked hym moche humbly, and incontynente lyghted on horsback. [et sen va vers thoulouse, F. orig. l. ii.] And whan he was arryved, he salved the kynge yon of Gascoyn from kynge Charlemagnes behalve. And toke hym the lettres and the mauntelles, ³as Charlemagne had commaunded hym.³ [^3—3 omitted, F. orig.]

[folio N.v.a] Thenne whan the messager of the kyng yon was goon / Charlemagne made come afore hym Foulques of moryllon and Ogyer the dane / and sayd to theym, 'Lordes, I have sente for you / For I wyll that ye knowe a lytyll of my secretes. But I telle you, vpon your feythe that none other shall knowe the same, but oonly we, vs thre, unto the tyme that the dede be accomplysshed.' 'Sire,' sayd Ogyer, 'yf ye thynke that we sholde dyscovere your secrete, telle it vs not / And yf ye truste vs, declare hardely your playsur.' 'Certes,' sayd the emperour to Ogyer, 'ye be well worthy to knowe all. For I knowe you for a

goode and a trusty knyghte.' 'Syre,' sayd Ogyer, 'your goode gramercy. But I telle you that I wylle not knowe noo thynge therof / but that ye take firste myn othe theropon' / 'Lordes,' sayd Charlemagne / 'I take it / Now shall ye goo to the playne of Valcolours wyth thre hundred knyghtes well armed / and whan ye shall come there, ye shall fynde the foure sones of Aymon / And thus I commaunde you, that ye brynge theym to me other deed or quycke.' 'Syre,' sayd Ogyer, 'I sawe theym never but armed: How shall we knowe theym' / 'Ogyer,' sayd Charlemagne, 'ye shall well may knowe theym / For eche of them shall be clothed wyth a mauntell of scarlette furred wyth ermynes / and shall bere roses in theyr handes.' 'Sire,' sayd Ogyer, 'that is a goode token / and we shall do your commaundement.' They made none other taryeng, but departed from the ooste ¹of the kynge Charlemagne¹ as pryvely as they myghte doo / And rode to the playne of Valcolours / and put theym selfe in a busshement wythin a woode all of serpyn trees / vnto the tyme that the foure sones of Aymon came to the playne of Valcoloures / Ha, god! why knewe not Reynawde and his bretherne this [folio N.v.b] mortelle trayson, for they wolde not have come there [comme bricons, F. orig. l. iii. back] vpon mewles. / But they sholde have come there vpon goode horses, and well armed, as prue and worthy knyghtes that they were / But, and god had not remedyed it / this Reynawde and his brethern sholde have ben soone taken in a lityl space / for they were in daunger of deth. Whan Ogyer the dane and Foulques of Moryllon were in theyr bushemente / Foulques called his folke and sayd to theym: 'Fayr lordes, I oughte well to hate Reynawde / for he slewe myn vncle by grete wronge / Now am I come to the poynte that I shall be avenged on hym / and I shall

telle you now. Now wyte it that the kynge Yon of Gascoyn hath betrayed theym; [et les doit remectre a charlemaigne ... F. orig. l. iii.] and they shall come hider anone, all vnarmed sauf their swerdes / ²And therfore² [^2—2 Et pourtant quant ilz viendront ... F. orig. l. iii.] I praye you all that ye thynke to smyte well vpon theym / thenne shall I knowe who loveth me beste. Doo soo that none of theym scape / and ye shall be well, my goode frendes. And I shall love you well.'

Now shall we telle you of the kynge Yon that was at Tholouse: whan he had receyved the lettres of the kynge Charlemagne, he called to hym his secretary Godras, and sayd to hym, 'Loke what this lettre sayeth:' And the clerke brake incontynente the seale, and behelde the tenoure of the lettre / and founde how Reynawde & his brethern sholde be betrayed / and lyvered to dethe / And whan the clerke had redde the letre, he beganne to wepe sore tenderly; and yf it had not be for doubte of the kyng, he wolde gladly have vttered it. And whan kynge Yon sawe his secretary wepe, he sayd thus to hym: 'kepe well vpon your lyf that ye hide no thyng fro me, but telle me all that the lettre conteyneth, and what the kynge Charlemagne wryteth [folio N.vi.a] to me.' 'By my feyth,' sayd Godras / 'It is a sore thynge for to reherce' / 'Now lightely,' ⁴sayd the kynge Yon:⁴ [^4—4 omitted, F. orig.] 'telle me what the kynge Charlemagne sendeth me.' 'Syre,' sayd Godras, 'I shall telle it you gladly' / And thenne he beganne to shewe to kynge Yon how Charlemagne sende hym worde / that yf he wolde doo as he had wryten vnto hym, he sholde encreace his power of fourtene goode castelles more than he had.

For the surete wherof, he swereth it vnto you vpon our lord god / and saynte Denys of Fraunce, ⁴his patrone⁴ [^4—4 omitted, F. orig.] / And he sendeth you four mauntelles of

scarlette furred wyth ermynes / that ye shall gyve to the foure sones of Aymon for to were theym / And thus they shall be knowen. For Charlemagne wyll not that none take ony harme / but oonly the foure sones of Aymon / And he doth you to wyte, that his folke are wythin a busshemente wythin a woode by the playn of Valcolours / that is to wyte, Foulques of Moryllon and Ogyer the Dane, wyth thre hundred men well horsed and well armed, that abyden there the foure sones of Aymon / ye whiche ye sholde lyver in to theyr handes.' Whan the kynge Yon vnderstode the tenoure of the lettre, He made haste for to fulfylle his promyse / And Incontynente he lyghted on horsbacke: and toke in his company a hundred men well arrayed / and toke his waye towarde Mountalban. And as soone as he myghte / he came / and entred wythin atte the gate fletcher. And whan he was wythin, he made his folke to lodge theym in the borow / And he wente up to the palays, as he was wounte to doo whan he came there. Thenne whan hys suster, the wyffe of Reynawde, wyste of the comynge of the kynge yon her brother / she came agenst hym & toke hym by the hande, & wolde have kissed hym as she [folio N.vi.b] was accustomed to do whan he cam there, but the kyng, full of evyll trayson, tourned his face a syde / And sayd he had the tooth ache, and wolde not speke wyth her but lityll / But he sayd that men sholde make hym a bedde redy / For he wolde reste hymselfe a lityll [pour myeulx couvrir sa trahison, F. orig. l. iv. back.] / and whan he was layd, he beganne sore to thynke, and sayd to hym selfe, 'Ha, goode lorde / what have I wroughte agenste the beste knyghtes of the worlde that I have betrayed soo falsely / Now shall they be honged to morowe wythoute fawte. I praye god to have mercy and pyte vpon theym / now may I well say that I shall be lykened to

Iudas from hens forthe. And I shall have loste the love of god / and of his moder / and also myn honour. But I muste nedes doo it, syth I have promysed it soo / And the wylle of my barons is suche / for thus they have counseylled and have made me doo it. ¹Wherof I am full sore dysplaysed.'¹ [^1—1 omitted, F. orig. l. iv. back.]

Alle thus as the kyng yon thought in the grete treyson that was thus machyned vpon the four sones of Aymon / there came in Reynawde from huntynge / and all hys bretherne wyth hym, and had taken foure wylde bores sore grete / and whan Reynawde was wythin Mountalban / he herde the noyse of the horses, and wende that it had ben straunge knyghtes that were come vnto hym to take wages. ²And thenne he² [^2—2 Reynault, F. orig.] asked of a yoman, what folke were thees strangeres that were come in wythoute leve / 'Syre,' sayd the yoman, 'they ben the folke of kynge yon, that is come wythin for to speke wyth you of some materes / But me seemeth by his folke that he is not well atte ease of his persone. [Car il semble a le veoir qu'il soit mal dispose, F. orig. l. iv.]

[folio N.vii.a] Thenne sayd ⁵the goode⁵ [^5—5 omitted, F. orig.] > Reynawde / 'Ha, god / why hath my lorde traveylled hym selfe soo moche for to come hyder, For I wolde wyth a goode wyll have goon to hym' / And after, whan he had that sayd, he called to hym a servaunte of his, and sayd to hym / 'Goo fette me my horne Boudyere / For I wyll make feest and Ioye for the comynge of my soverayne lorde.' and Incontynente it was broughte to hym / And Reynawde toke it / and sayd to his bretherne / 'Now take eche of you his owne, and lete vs make feeste for the love of kynge Yon.' [Sire dirent ilz nous le ferons tres volentiers, F. orig. l. iv.] Thenne they toke eche of theym his horne, and beganne to sowne all foure at ons ryght hyghe. And made so grete noyse

that the castell sowned of it. [si que lon cuidoit que le clocher de la chapelle saint Nycholas en deust tomber par terre, F. orig. l. iv.] For they made so grete Ioye for the love of the kynge Yon, that it was merveyll. Whan the kynge Yon herde the trompettes, that thus sowned soo sore ²that the chambre where as he laye shoke of it,² [^2—2 omitted, F. orig.] he arose vp from the bed and came to the wyndowe / and sayd to hymselfe / 'Ha, what evyl have I wroughte agenste thyse knyghtes! Alas, how make ye Ioye agenste soo grete a combraunce, the whiche I have purchaced to you / I have betrayed you right falsely / as a wycked and vntrewe kynge that I am / For a man that betrayeth his frende, oughte never to have honoure, nother in this worlde nor in the other / but oughte to be loste bothe body and soule / For he has forsaken god, and hath gyven hym selfe to the devyll.' And whan he had sayd that / he retorned agayne vpon his bedde, sore vexed atte the herte, and evyll at ease more than ony man myghte be. Thenne Reynawde and his brethern came vp to the palays, where they founde the kyng yon. & whan he sawe theym com, he rose agenst theym, and toke theym the hande, and sayd to Reynawde / 'Be [folio N.vii.b] not merveylled that I have not enbraced nor kyssed you, for I am sore laden wyth grete evyll / And it is well [quinze jours, F. orig. l. iv.] fourtene dayes goon that I cowde nother ete nor drynke ⁵ony thyng that dyde me goode.'⁵ [^5—5 omitted, F. orig. l. iv.] Thenne sayd Reynawde, 'syre, ye be in a good place, where ye shall be tended vpon right well with goddis grace. And I and my bretherne shall serve you to our power' / 'Gramercy,' sayd the kynge Yon / Thenne called he his stywarde, and sayd to hym, 'Goo and brynge me the mantelles of scarlette furred wyth ermynes / that I have doon make for my dere frendes.' Incontynente the stywarde dyde the

commaundement of kynge yon. And assone that he was come agayne, the kynge made the foure bredern to putt the four mantelles vpon theym, and prayed theym to were theym for his love. 'Sire,' sayd Alarde, 'this is a gladde presente / And we shall were theym for the love of you, wyth veri goode wyll' / Alas, yf they had knowen how the thyng was broughte aboute / they sholde not have borne theym, but they sholde have doon all other wyse. Alas, and what sorowfulle harme they had of this, that they were thus clothed. For that were the tokens & reconyssaunce wherof they were in daungeur of deth, yf god had not holpen theym of his pyte and mercy. And whan the foure sones of Aymon had theyr mantelles on / the kynge Yon behelde theym / and had of theym grete pyte, and beganne to wepe. There was his stywarde, that the trayson well wyste / that sayd not one worde for fere of the kynge Yon / And whan the mete was redy / Reynawde prayed moche the kynge that he wolde ete. For he made hym to be served right well. Whan they had eten, the kynge Yon rose vpon his feete / and toke Reynawde by the hande, and sayd to hym, 'My fayre broder & my goode frende / I wyll telle a counseyll that ye know not / Now [folio N.viii.a] wyte that I have ben atte Mountbenden, and I have spoken wyth kynge Charlemagne, the whiche charged me of treyson / by cause that I kepe you in my royame / wherof I have presented my gage afore all his company; and no man was there soo hardy that durste speke agenste that, that I sayd. After this we had many wordes togyder / emonge whiche we spake of goode accorde and of peas / wherof at the last the kyng Charlemagne was contente for my love for to make peas wyth you / in the maner that foloweth. That is to wyte, that tomorowe erly ye shall goo to the playne of Valcoloures,

ye and your brethern, all vnarmed but of your swerdes / mounted vpon your mewles / and clothed wyth the mantelles that I have gyven to you; and that ye shall bere in your handes roses and floures. and I shalle sende wyth you eyghte of myn erles, for to goo more honourable / the whiche ben all of my lynage / And there ye shall fynde the kynge Charlemagne / and the duke Naymes of bavyere / and Ogyer the dane, and all the xii peres of Fraunce / and there charlemagne shall gyve you suerte. And ye shall doo to hym reverence in suche manere that ye shall caste yourselfe to his feete, and there he shall pardonne you / and he shall gyve you agayne all your londes entierly.'

Thenne sayd Reynawde, 'Sire, for god, mercy; For I have grete doubte of the kynge Charlemagne, by cause he hateth us to deth, as ye knowe / and I promyse you, yf he holdeth vs, he shall make vs to deye a shamfull dethe.' 'Goode frende,' sayd the traytour kyng Yon, 'have noo doubte atte all; For he hath sworne vnto me vpon his feyth afore all hys baronye' / 'Syre,' answerde Reynawde, 'we shall doo your commaundementes.' 'Ha god,' sayde Alarde / 'What saye you, brother / ye knowe well that [folio N.viii.b] Charlemagne hathe made his othe many tymes, that yf he maye take vs ones by ony maner of meane, he shall bryng vs to a shamfull dethe. Now I merveylle me gretly of you, fayr broder / how ye wyll accorde for to goo put yourselfe and vs into his handes all vnarmed, as a poure myschaunte / Never have god mercy vpon my soule yf I goo there wythoute myn armes, nor wythout to be as it apperteyneth!' 'broder,' sayd Reynaude, 'ye saye not wele / God forbede that I sholde mystruste my lorde, the kynge Yon, of ony thynge that he telleth me.' And thenne he tourned hym towarde the kynge Yon, and sayd to hym / 'Sire,

wythoute ony fawte we shall be there to morowe erly in the mornynge, What soever happeth of it.' 'Fayre lordes,' sayd Reynawde, 'god hath holpen vs well, that we have peas wyth the kynge Charlemagne, to whom we have made soo longe tyme so mortall a werre; but syth that my lorde, the kynge Yon, hath made this peas, I am contente to doo to hym as moche reverence as to me is possible / For I am delibered to goo naked in my smalle lynen clothes to the mount saynte Mychaell.' And whan Reynawde had sayd this worde, he toke leve of kynge Yon; and wente in to the chambre of the fayr lady his wyff, and fonde there his ¹other two brethern,¹ [^1—1 tous ses freres, F. orig. l. v.] that were wyth her / And whan the lady sawe her husbonde com / she came agenst hym, ²and toke hym betwyx bothe her armes by grete love,² [^2—2 et lembrasse par grant amour, F. orig. l. v.] & kyssed hym / 'Lady,' sayd Reynawde, 'I oughte well to love you by grete rayson / For your broder, the kynge Yon, hath traveyled hymselfe ryght sore for me; and hath ben sore blamed atte the courte of charlemagne for me, but he hath doon soo moche, blessed be god, that he hath made my peas wyth the kynge Charlemagne; And that Rowlande and Olyver, nor all the twelve peres of Fraunce myghte never make, [folio O.i.a] he hath graunted vs agen all our londes / And all thus we shall be riche / and shall lyve all our liffe in rest & peas / and so shall we mowe helpe / and gyve the havoyre that we have, to the powre knyghtes that have served vs all their liff ⁴truly and well.'⁴ [^4—4 omitted, F. orig.]

Thenne sayd the lady, 'I thanke god gretly therof with all my herte / But telle me where the concordauns shall be made, and hide it not from me, if it playse you' / 'Ladi,' sayd Reynawde, 'I shall telle it you wythout ony fawte / Wyte that tomorowe we

muste ride to the playne of Valcoloures, and there the peas shall be made; but I and my brethern muste goo thedir wythoute armes but oonly our swerdes, and vpon mewles / berynge roses in our handes / And there we shall fynde the duke Naymes of bavyere, & Ogier the dane, and all the xii. peres of Fraunce, that shall receyve our othes.' Whan the lady vnderstode thise wordes / she was soo sore an angred therof that almoste she had loste her wytte / and sayd to Reynawde / 'Sir, yf ye wyll beleve me, ye shall not go one fote there / For the playnes of Valcoloures are soo dangerous / for there is a roche right highe, and there ben foure grete woodes rounde aboute. [Dont la maindre dure bien dix lieues, F. orig. l. vi. back.] yf ye wyll bileve me, ye shall take a daye for to speke wyth Charlemagne here in the medowes of Mountalban; and ye shall goo there mounted vpon bayarde, and your brethern wyth you / and there ye maye conferme your peas / or elles contynue your werre. and take two thowsande knyghtes, & gyve theym to maugys your cosin, whiche shall kepe theim in a busshement vpon the ryvage, yf it happe you to have nede; for I doubte me sore of trayson. wherfore I praye you that ye kepe your selfe well sure / For I dyd dreme to nyghte a dreme, that was ferefull and merveyllous. For me semed that I was atte the wyndowes of the grete [folio O.i.b] palays, & sawe com oute of the grete wood of Ardeyn well a thousande wylde bores / that had grete & horryble teeth; the whiche slewe you / ³and rented your body all in peces;³ [^3—3 omitted, F. orig. l. vi. back.] and also I sawe that the grete towre of Mountalban fell doun to grounde / and, moreover, I sawe a shot of adventure / that smote your broder Alarde so harde that it perced his body thrugh and thrughe / and that the chapell of saynt Nycolas, whiche is wythin this castell, felle doun to therthe,

and all the ymages that ben in it wepte for grete pyte. And that two angeles came doun from hevyn, that hanged your broder Richarde at an apull tree / and thenne the sayd Rycharde cryed wyth an hyghe voyce / Fayr broder Reynawde, come and helpe me! and Incontynente ye wente there vpon your horse Bayarde, but he felle doun by the waye vnder you wherfore ye myghte not come tyme ynoughe / wherof ye were full sory. And therfore, ¹good syre,¹ [^1—1 omitted, F. orig. l. vi.] I counseylle you that ye goo not there.'

'Lady,' sayd Reynawde, 'holde your peas; For who that beleveth over moche in dremes / he dooth agenste the commaundemente of god.' Thenne sayd Alarde, 'by the feyth that I owe to god / I shall never sette foote there.' 'nor I nother,' sayd Richarde / 'Alas,' sayd thenne Guycharde / 'yf we muste goo there, lete vs not departe thyderwarde as men of counseille, but lete vs goo there like as prue and worthy knyghtes / havynge eche of vs his armes vpon hym, & well a horsbacke, ¹and not vpon mewles;¹ [^1—1 omitted, F. orig. l. vi.] and that our broder Reynawde be well mounted vpon bayarde, whiche [shall may = be able.] shall maye bere vs all four at a nede' / 'by god,' sayd reynawd, 'ye shall say what ye wyll / but I shall goo there, as I have sayd: what soever happeth' / And thenne he wente out of his chambre, & came to kynge Yon / and sayd to hym, 'By god, I merveylle me moche of my bredern, that wyll not go wyth me, by cause [folio O.ii.a] they have no horses wyth theym. and yf it playse you, ye shall gyve vs leve to take eche of vs a horse, & ye shall kepe styll your eyghte erles wyth you / and we shall go there as ye have commaunded vs' / 'I wyll not doo it,' sayd the kyng yon / 'For the kyng Charlemagne doubteth you to sore, & your bredern, and your horses / and also I have gyven

hostages & suretes ¹that ye shall bere noo maner of harneys wyth you, but oonly your swerdes, as I have tolde you afore / and that ye shall ride vpon mewles, and not vpon horses¹ [^1—1 que vous ny pourterez armes ne ne serez montez sur voz cheuaulx, F. orig. l. vi.] / And yf ye goo there otherwyse arayed, Charlemagne shall thinke that I wil betraye hym, and so shall he dystroye all my londe / that shall be the payment that I shall have for you / I have traveylled myselfe full sore for to brynge you ²& your bredern² [^2—2 omitted, F. orig.] atte one wyth Charlemagne; and therfore, goo there yf ye wyll, and yf ye wyll not / leve it.'

Thene sayd Reynawde, 'Sir, syth that it is soo / we shall goo there;' and thenne he wente from king yon in to his chambre agayne / and fonde his wyff, that noble lady, alarde [Guichart, F. orig.] & Richarde / that asked hym how he had doon / and if they sholde have his goode horse bayarde wyth theym.' 'By god,' sayd Reynawde, 'I canne not have leve to doo so; but, my bredern, doubte you not / for the kyng yon is as true a prynce; and yf he sholde betraye vs / he sholde be sore blamed for it, for he shall make vs to be conduytted by eyght of the moost grete erles of his royame / and god confounde me yf I sawe ever ony evyll doon by hym.' 'Syr,' sayd his bredern, 'we shall goo gladly wyth you, sith that ye wyll have vs nedes to doo soo.' whan they were thus accorded herto / they wente to bed, & slepte vnto the daye appered / And whan Reynawde sawe the day, he rose vp, and sayd to his bredern, 'Arise, syres, & make vs redy / for to goo there as we shold goo / for if Charlemagne be [folio O.ii.b] soner to the playnes of Valcolours than we / he shall haply be angry for it.' 'Syre,' sayd his bredern, 'we shall soone be redy.' and whan they were all redy, they went to the chirche of saynt Nycolas for to here

masse / and whan [they] cam to the offrynge, Reynawde & his bredern offered many riche yeftes / And after the masse was doon [chantee, F. orig. l. vii. back.] / they asked after theyr mewles, & incontynent they mounted vpon / and in their felawshyp were eyghte erles / the whiche knewe all the maner of trayson. and whan they were all mounted they toke on theyr way, but the foure sones of Aymon were good to knowe by thother / for they had on grete mauntelles of scarlet furred with ermynes / and bare in theyr handes roses in token of peas, and also theyr swerdes / for ²they wold not girde theym.² [^2—2 Ilz ne les volurent oncques laisser, F. orig. l. vii. back.] ³Now god be wyth theym³ [^3—3 or en pense nostre seigneur qui prit mort et passion en la croix, F. orig. P. vii. back.] / for if he kepe theim not / they ben in waye of perdicyon, and never to com agen to Montalban / Whan the kyng yon sawe theym thus goo, he felle doun in a swoune more than four tymes, for the grete sorowe that he had atte his hert / ⁴for how be it that he had betrayed theym so / yet had he grete pite of theym⁴ [^4—4 Car non obstant quil les auoit ainsi trahiz Il en auoit peur, F. orig. l. vii.] / but this that he had doon / evyll counseyll had made hym doo it / And thenne he began to make the gretest sorow in the worlde / and sayd / 'Ha, good lord, what have I doon / dyde ever ony man so grete a trayson as I have doon, nay vereli; for I have betraied the best knyghtes of ye worlde / and the most worthy / ⁵and true.'⁵ [^5—5 omitted, F. orig.]

Thenne sayd his folke / 'syre, ye doo not well to make suche a sorow, for Reynawde is / veri wyse; and he shall perceyve it right soone.' 'Ha, god,' sayd the kyng Yon / 'were it as ye saye; for I sholde be more glad than yf I had wonne X. of the best citees of Fraunce; for Reinawde is my frende & my broder. Ha, Mawgys, how shall ye be sori, whan ye shall

knowe this mater / Reynawd dyd grete foly / whan he toke [folio O.iii.a] not your advyse in this thyng / for yf he had knowen of it ye sholde not have suffred hym [to] go there' / 'Lordes,' sayd ye kynge yon, 'I, poure wretche / whether shall I becom, if the four sones of Aymon deye / for mawgis shall slee me wythout merci / and also it is well rayson / for who that betraieth a nother & pryncipally his frende carnall ought not to lyve nor have ever ony worshyp' [Et quant Il eut ce dit, Il cheut tout pasme a terre, F. orig. l. vii., omitted in Caxton.] / but his folke toke hym vp incontynente & began to recomforte hym by many grete raysons ³that thei layde afore hym.³ [^3—3 omitted, F. orig. l. vii.]

Nowe begynneth the piteouse histori of the four sones of aymon, that went to their dethe by the meanes of ye traytour kyng yon / And because of the trayson that he commytted agenst the four sones of aymon / he loste the royame of gascoyn, the name & the dygnyte therof [de non jamais y auoir roy, F. orig. l. vii.] / for never sin that tyme was no kyng crowned in gascoyn. Now shall I telle you of Reynawde & of his bredern [que dieu vueille garder de mal et descombrier par sa pitie, F. orig. l. vii.] / thenne rode Reynawde & his bredern towarde the playne of Valcoloures / and as they rode thiderwarde, Alarde began to synge ⁶right swetly & ioyfull⁶ [^6—6 omitted, F. orig.] a new song / and Guycharde & Richarde dide in lykewyse / but I telle you that no instrument of musike [ne psalterion, F. orig.] sowned never so melodiously as the thre bredern dyd syngyng togider; alas, what pite was it of so noble & so worthy knyghtes that wente syngyng & makyng ioye to their deth; they were as the swan that syngeth that yere that he shal deye / Reynaude went behynde theym sore thynkyng; his hede bowed doun towarde therthe / and behelde his brethern that

rode forth makyng grete ioye / and he sayd / 'O god, what knyghtes be my bredern, that there ben none suche [si bons, F. orig. l. viii. back.] in all the worlde, nother so gracyous' / and whan he had sayd this, he set his handes togyder & heved them vp towarde hevyn, all wepyng / and sayd in this maner, 'Good lorde, by thy glorious & blessed name, [folio O.iii.b] that dydest cast danyell out fro the lyons / and delyverest Ionas fro the fysshes beli / and saved saynt peter whan he caste hymselfe in the see for to com to ye, and pardonned mari magdalene / and made ye blynde to see / and suffred passion and dethe vpon the crosse for our synnes / and pardonned lonugys [Longius.] that smote the wyth a spere ⁴in to thy blessed side⁴ [^4—4 omitted, F. orig.] / wherfro thy blessed blood fell in to his eyen; and incontynent he recovered his sighte therby / and by thy resurrectyon / kepe this daye my body (yf it playse the) fro deth & fro prison; and also my bredern, for I wote not where we goo / but me semeth that we go in grete peryle' / And whan he had fynysshed his oroyson, his eyen wexed weete agen for pite that he had / leste his brethern sholde have ony harme for love of hym / For it playsed theim not well that they were so bare of their armes.

Thenne whan alarde saw his broder Reynaude that had his eyen full of teres, he sayd to hym, 'Ha, broder, [beau sire Regnault, F. orig. l. viii. back.] what eylleth you / I have seen you in right grete peryll, & a boute a harde werke / but I sawe you never make so yll chere as ye doo now, for I have seen you wepe at this owre / Wherof I merveyll me gretly / for I wote well for certeyn that ye wepe not wythoute some grete occasion.' Thenne sayd Reynaud / 'fayr broder, me aylleth no thynge' / 'By the feyth that I owe to you,' sayd alarde, 'ye wepe not for no thyng.

This is the day that we sholde be attone wyth kyng Charlemagne; so praye I you for god, my dere broder, that ye leve this sorow / and lete vs goo forth merely, & bere oute a good face as longe as we ben alyve / for after that a man is ones decessed / it is no more spoken of him. And thus I praye you, broder, that ye synge wyth vs; For ye have soo fayr a voyce, that it is a grete playsure for to here you syng, whan ye be wyllynge to it.' 'Brother,' sayd Reynawde, 'wyth a goode [will,] syth [folio O.iv.a] that it playseth you.' And thenne began Reynawde for to synge soo meledyously that it was grete playsure for to here hym. Soo longe rode the four sones ²of Aymon² [^2—2 omitted, F. orig.] the lityll pase of their mewles, syngynge & devysynge amonge theym selfe, that they came to the playne of Valcolours / Now wyll I telle you of the facyon of the valey. For wyte, that yf I telled you not / ye sholde not maye [be able.] knowe it / There is a roche right hie and noyous to goo vp / and it is envyronned rounde aboute wyth four grete [omitted, F. orig.] forestes ryght grete & thyck, for the leest is there a dayes journey to ryde thorughe it; and there ben four grete ryvers all aboute it sore depe / wherof ye gretest is named Gyrounde; the other is called Dordonne; the thirde is named Nore / and the other Balancon; and there is nother castell nor towne [ne nulle habitacion, F. orig. l. viii.] by XX myles nyghe aboute it. And therfore the trayson was there devysed / for this playne ²of Valcolours² [^2—2 omitted, F. orig.] was ferre from all folke / and there was a waye crossed in four / the one waye was towarde Fraunce, the other in to Spayne / ⁵the other⁵ [^5—5 le tiers, F. orig. l. viii.] in to Galyce, and the fourth in to Gascoyn. And at every one of thyse foure wayes was layde a busshement of V hundred men well horsed ²and armed,² [^2—2 omitted, F. orig.] for to take Reynawde & his bredern quycke or deed; for thus had

they sworne it, and promysed to kynge Charlemagne. Thenne cam there Reynawde & his bredern wyth theyr felawshyp of eyghte erles, that the kyng yon ¹of Gascoyn¹ [^1—1 omitted, F. orig.] had take to theym, the whiche wyst well all the mystery of this trayson. And incontynent Ogyer, the dane, sawe theym firste of all / the whiche was all abashed / and sayd to his folke, 'Fayr lordes, ye ben my men, my subgettes, & my frendes; ye knowe that Reynawde is my cosin, & I oughte not to see his dethe nor his dommage. Wherfore I praye you all that ye wyll doo hym no harme at all, nor to none [folio O.iv.b] of his bredern, ¹my cosyns'¹ [^1—1 omitted, F. orig.] / They answerd all, that they sholde doo his commaundement wyth a goode wyll / This hangynge, Reynawde & his brethern passed by and wente in to the myddes of the playne.

Thenne whan Reynawde & his brethern were com there, and fonde noo body / they were of it sore abasshed / And after, whan Alarde saw this / he called his brother Rycharde, and sayd to hym / 'What is this, fayr brother, I see well that we ben betrayed / for I see you chaunge your colour / how thynke ye?' 'Brother,' sayd Richarde, [Guichard, F. orig. m. i. back.] 'I doubte me sore for reynawde.' 'Have noo doubte,' sayd Alarde; 'for we shall have no thynge but goode' / 'My brother,' sayd Rycharde, [Guichard, F. orig. m. i. back.] 'I promyse you all, my herte shaketh / nor never in my dayes I had not soo grete feere; For all my heeres rise vp / Wherof I doubte me sore that we ben betrayed / And that more is, I sholde not be aferde yf Reynawde were armed and set vpon bayarde, and we also; for thus as we ben now, we ben halfe discomfyted' / And whan he had sayd thus, he spake to Reynawde and sayd / 'Brother, why do we tary here, sith that we have founde noo body ¹wyth whom we sholde speke?¹ [^1—1 omitted, F. orig.] for yf xx knyghtes were here armed / they

sholde have vs where they wolde, mawgre our teeth as bestes / seenge that we have so many enmyes in Fraunce. Ye wolde not beleve this that we tolde you / and also your wyf at Mountalban / wherof I fere me sore that ye shall have no leyser for to repente you of it / For yf our cosyn mawgis had ben here wyth vs / and that ye had your goode horse bayarde / ¹we sholde not doubte Charlemagne wyth all his puissaunce, of a strawe¹ [^1—1 nous ne doubterions Charlemaigne ung bouton, F. orig. m. i. back.] / I praye you lete vs goo hens, for I promyse you it is foly for to abyde here long; for I know well that charlemagne hath made vs for to com here as bestes clothed with scarlet / nor I can not beleve none [folio O.v.a] other / but that the kyng Yon hath falsly [et mauluaisement, F. orig. m. i. back.] betrayed vs' /

'Certes, fayr brother, ye say trouth,' sayd Reynawde / 'and I perceyve me well of it / now lete vs goo backe agen all fayr & softe / and as they wolde have retourned,' Reynawde hehelde a side & saw well a thousande knyghtes armed, comynge a grete paas agenst theim / And foulques of morillon cam afore all the other, well horsed, his shelde afore hys breste, & ⁴his spere alowe in the reest, the grete valop agenste Reynawde;⁴ [^4—4 la lance baisse contre Regnault, F. orig. m. i.] for he was that man in the worlde that he mooste hated. Whan Reynawd sawe com foulques of morillon, he knewe hym well at his shelde, and was so an-angred for it that he wyste not what to doo. 'Ha, good lord, what shall we poure synners doo? I see well that we must deye this day withoute doubte' / 'Broder,' sayd Alarde, 'what saye ye' / 'by my feyth,' sayd Reynawde, 'I see here grete sorow. Here cometh foulques of morillon for to slee vs; and whan alarde had seen theim comyng [comyug, orig.] / it lacked lityll that he wexed madde, and fell doun almost for grete

angre that he had of the same / and whan guycharde & Richarde sawe this, they began to make grete sorow. For they scratched theyr vysages & pulled theyr heeres / And whan alarde was a lityll assured / he sayd / 'Ha, fayr brethern, guycharde & rycharde / now is the day com that we shall deye all thrughe mortall [motarll, orig.] treyson; for I knowe well that Reynawde hath betrayed vs, and certes I wolde never have thoughte that ony treyson sholde have entred wythin so noble a man as he is; he made vs come here agenst our wylles & mawgre vs, by cause he knoweth well the trayson. Ha, Reynawde, the sone of Aymon of ardeyne / and who shall ever truste ony man / whan ye that are our broder, and that we take for our lord / have brought vs hider magre vs to our deth / and have betrayed vs so falsly' / 'O richarde,' sayd alarde, 'draw [folio O.v.b] oute your swerde [du fourreau, F. orig. m. i.] / by god, the traytour shall deye wyth vs. For well ought the traytour to deye that hathe procured so mortall a treyson.' Whan alarde had sayd this, they all thre dyde set hande to their swerdes & cam to Reynawde for to sle hym yrefully, [comme lyons, F. orig. m. i.] & sore an-angred as lyons; for they trowed for very certen that Reynaud had betrayed theym. Whan reynaude sawe theym com thus / he made semblaunt to defende hymself / but loughe at theym by grete love. 'alas,' sayd richarde, 'what had I thoughte? I wolde not slee my broder for all the good in ye worlde' / and so sayd alarde & guycharde; for thei were sore repented of this that they had enterprised for to doo / and they began all for to wepe for pite, & caste their swordes doun to therthe, & kyssed reynawde, sore wepynge. And alarde sayd, 'ha, good Reynawd, whi have you betrayed vs so? / we be nother normans nor englyshe, nor almayns; [Flamans, F. orig. m. i.] but we be all bredern of one fader & of

one moder / and we holde you for our lord. For god, brother Reynawde, tell vs of whens cometh this trayson / we ben com of so noble kyn, of gerarde of roussellon, & of dron of nantuell, & of the duk benes of aygremounte, and never none of our lynage thought no treyson / and how have ye doon so that have procured it now / ¹agenst your naturell brethern;¹ [^1—1 omitted, F. orig.] certes it is a grete fawte to you.'

'Brother,' sayd Reynawd, 'I have more grete pite of you than I have of my owne self / for I have brought you here agenste your wyll; and yf I had beleved you, this myshap had not com to vs. I have brought you here, and I promyse you I shall brynge you agen from hens, wyth goddys grace. Recomende our self to our lorde, and thynke for to deffende vs well, and feere not the dethe for our worshyp; For ones we must deye wythoute faylle. But it is goode [folio O.vi.a] to gete worshyp' / 'Broder,' sayd Richarde, 'shall ye helpe vs?' / 'ye,' sayd Reynawd, 'doubt not therof' / and whan he had that sayd, he torned towarde therles, & sayd to theim / 'fayr lordes, the kyng yon hath sent you wyth vs for to conduyt vs, & under the surete of you we be com here to lese our lyves / And therfor I pray you that wyll helpe vs' / 'Reynawde,' sayd therle of ansom / 'It is not for vs to bargayn here long / but lete vs all flee for to save ourself, & we maye' / thenne sayd Reynawd / 'by my hede, ye be all traytours, and I shall smyte of all your hedes' / 'Broder,' sayd alarde, 'what tary ye soo long, for they be well worthy to deye / sith that they ben traitours.' and whan Reynawde vnderstode that worde of his broder / he set hande to his swerde, & smote therle of ansom so grete a stroke vpon the hede that he cloved hym to the harde teeth, & it was well rayson, for it was he that counseylled this trayson to the kynge yon;

that was the rewarde that he had for the first / Whan therle of ansom was thus slayn / the other vii began to flee, and Reynawde ran after; but he coude not renne fast; for his mewle was to sore lade of the weyghte of his body / so that the beest fell down under hym / for Reynawde, [le filz aymon, F. orig. m. ii.] to say the trouthe, was ²so bygge made & so grete,² [^2—2 si grant, F. orig, m. ii.] that no horse myghte bere hym but oonly bayarde. For as it is sayd / Reynawde had xvi. fete of lengthe, & was well shape of body after ye gretnes.

Thenne whan Reynawd sawe hymselfe a grounde, he stode vp lightly ³wyth his mewle,³ [^3—3 omitted, F. orig.] & sayd / 'Ha, bayarde, my good horse, that I am not on your backe armed of all peces, for, or ever that I sholde be overcom / I sholde sell my deth full dere. Alas, none ought not to complayne my deth, sith that I have purchaced it myself' / 'Broder,' sayd guycharde, 'what shal we doo? here by [be.] our enmyes evyn by vs: Yf ye thynke it good, lete vs adventure to passe over this ryver, & go vpon [folio O.vi.b] that highe roche / and soo we shall maye save our selfe' / 'Goo foole,' ⁶sayd Reynawde,⁶ [^6—6 omitted, F. orig. m. ii.] 'what saye ye / ye wote well that our mewles myght not renne before the horses / what sholde avaylle vs for to flee, sith that we myght not save ourselfe / Certes I sholde not flee for all ye world / I have lever deye wyth my worshyp / than I sholde lyve wyth grete shame; for he that deyeth in fleynge, his soule shall never be saved.' Thus as Reynawde spake to his broder Richarde, [omitted, F. orig. m. ii.] alarde sayd to hym, 'broder Reynawde, lete vs lighte from our mewlis a fote, & shryve our selfe the one to thother, [Et communions nous de fueilles du boys a celle fin que nous ne foyons surprins de l'enemy, F. orig. m. ii.] to thende that we be not overcom by the devyll.' 'Frende,' sayd Reynawde, 'ye saye well & wysely.' and they dyde as Alarde had devysed /

And whan they were confessed thone to thother / Reynawd sayd to his bredern, 'Lordes, lete vs doo suche a thyng / wherof we shall gete worshyp, sith it is soo that we maye not scape / lete vs kylle theym that com firste vpon vs / And we shall have avantage vpon thoder; and goddis curse have hym that shal feyne hym selfe.'

Thenne whan Alarde herde Reinawde speke thus / he colled hym wyth his armes, and kyssed hym all wepynge, and sayd to hym / 'Broder, we ben two & two. I praye you that thone faylle not to helpe the other aslong that lyf is in our bodyes.' 'brother,' sayd thother, 'we shall helpe you wyth all our myghte' / and thenne they wente & kyssed Reynawde by grete love. and after, whan they had kyssed eche other / they toke of their mauntelles & wrapped theym aboute their lifte armes / and toke their swerdes in their handes, and beganne to crie, & called their badges & tokens. Reynawde cried 'montalban' / alarde 'saynt nycolas,' guyarde 'balancon' / & ye gentil richarde / 'ardeyn,' whiche was the badge or token of their fader aymon. Whan Foulques of Moryllon sawe the four [folio O.vii.a] sones of Aymon comyng towarde hym all vnarmed / and vpon mewles so boldly / he was all abasshed of it / Thenne he began to crye, and saye, 'Reynawde / Reynawde, ye are come to your dethe; and I promyse you, he that moste loveth you hath betrayed you, that is the kyng Yon / but have pacyence, for I shall set to your necke an halter / Now have you not your horse bayarde / the whiche ye have ryden vpon wrongfully / Now shall be avenged the deth of Berthelot, that ye slewe. [faulcement, F. orig. m. iii. back.] Reynawde, what shall ye doo: wyll ye deffende or yelde you? but your deffence shall be not worthe to you / And yf ye make ony semblaunt to defende your selfe / I shall slee you Incontynente.'

'Foulques,' sayd Reynawde / 'ye speke well like a beste; and trowe you that I shall yelde me quycke to Charlemagne or to you / I shall first smyte of your hede, and the helme wythall / yf I can retche to you. ye knowe well how my swerde cutteth / By god, Foulques,' sayd Reynawde, 'ye are gretly to be blamed for to have gyven the counseylle for to make vs to be betrayed by the kynge Yon / For it is the fouleste crafte that a knyght may for to doo treyson. But doo as a gentylman oughte to doo / to the ende that men say not that it is treyson, yf ye wyll lete vs goo / we shall be all four redy to become liegemen of the kyng Charlemagne, and I shall gyve you my horse Bayarde / the whiche I gaaf not for all the golde [de Paris, F. orig. m. iii.] in the worlde; and also I shall gyve you ye stronge castell Montalban. and yf the kyng Charlemagne maketh werre agenst you for love of vs / we shall serve you wyth fyve [quatre, F. orig. m. iii.] hundred knyghtes well armed & well horsed ever more / and yf it playse you, ye shall save vs our lyves / And yf ye wyll not doo this / doo a nother thynge that I shall telle you, [pour vous oster de blasme, F. orig. m. iii.] for to kepe you to be not called a traytour / Chese XX [folio O.vii.b] knyghtes of the beste that ye have / and put theym in a felde well armed vpon good horses / & we four shall fyght wyth theym vnarmed as we be, vpon our mewles. And yf your XX. knyghtes well armed & well horsed may overcom me & my bredern, though we have no harnes vpon vs / we pardonne theym our deth; and yf god wyll that we sholde overcom theym / that ye sholde thenne lete vs go free where we wolde / it is that I requyre you, for [pour dieu et pour aulmosne, F. orig. m. iii.] goddys love & for your worshyp, & no more. and yf ye doo not so, ye shall be taken for an ylle knyghte all dayes of your liff' / 'By god, Reynawde,' sayd

foulques, 'your prechynge shall not avaylle you no thyng / for I have lever to have founde you now in this araye / than that I hadde wonne an ¹hundred thousande marke of fyne golde.¹ [^1—1 mille marcs dor, F. orig. m. iii.] Now is your cosin, the wyse Mawgis, ferre fro you; he can not give you no counseylle at this hour / and also all your folke be well ferre fro you / they shall not gyve you no socours / And also I knowe the goodnes of my men, & that they have promysed the kyng Charlemagne / that they shall not faylle to assayll you worthily.' 'By my feyth,' sayd Reynawde, 'and we shall defende ourselfe also to our power.' Thenne sayd Alarde to Reynawde / 'broder, what ordenaunce shall we kepe?' 'broder,' sayd Reynawd, 'we shall kepe fote two & two. ye & Guycharde shall be behynde, and I & Richarde shall make the forwarde; and lete vs smyte well harde, I praye you: For the tyme is now come that we must nedes doo so / and make we that thynge that shall be lefte in perpetuell memory to them that shall be after vs / sith that by no wyse we maye not scape.' 'Fair broder,' sayd Alarde to Guycharde, 'ye were well deceyved, for that ye trowed that reynawd had betrayed vs / I promyse you he wolde not doo it for all the golde of the worlde.' 'By my feyth,' sayd thenne Guycharde ²to Alarde,² [^2—2 omitted, F. orig. m. iv. back.] 'I [folio O.viii.a] am now well hole, sith that our dere breder Reynawde shall be to our helpe; for aslonge as he shall be alyve, we shall deffende ourselfe, but not after, for though I myght chose, I wolde not lyve after he were deed.' And whan he had sayed this, they medled theymself among their enmyes. Shortly to speke of, the four sones of Aymon assembled wel agenst thre hundred good knyghtes / But their corages were never the lesse therfore aslonge as they had lyfe in the body, but that they shewed to their

enmyes a knyghtes face / whan Foulques of moryllon sawe Reynawde com / he spored his horse wyth the spores & bare his speere a lowe, and went & smote Reynawde by the mauntell of scarlet that was aboute his arme so grete a stroke that his spere entred thrughe his thye, & overthrew bothe hym & his mewle to therthe. Whan Alarde sawe that stroke / he cried sore, & sayd, 'alas, we have lost Reynawde our broder, that was all our hope & our socour; now maye we not scape / but that we shall be deed or taken, and it is better that we yelde us prisoners at this tyme, thenne to defende vs ony more / ¹For sith it is so, our defence shall helpe vs no thynge agenst so many folke.'¹ [^1—1 omitted, F. orig. m. iv. back.] And whan Reynawde vnderstode that worde of his broder, he cried to hym wyth a hie voys, & sayd, 'Fy vpon you, gloton! what is that ye say? I have no harme yet, but I am all hole as ye ben / ¹thanked be god¹ [^1—1 omitted, F. orig. m. iv. back.] / and yet shall I selle me full dere or I deye' / And whan Reynawd had sayd this, he rose vp quyckly, & toke the spere wyth bothe his handes / and pulled it out of his thye wyth grete greef / and after set hande to his swerde, And sayd to Foulques of moryllon, 'knyghte, yf ye wyll doo like a good man, lyghte a fote as I am / And ye shall knowe what I canne doo' / Whan Foulques of Moryllon vnderstode hym / he tourned vpon hym sore an-angred / and thoughte [folio O.viii.b] to have smytten hym vpon his hede; but Reynawde drewe a lityl aside, and went & gaaf to Foulques suche a stroke vpon his helme, ³that nother yren nor stele myghte not save hym;³ [^3—3 que rien ne le sceust garder, F. orig. m. iv. back.] but that Reynawd clove hym into the harde teeth, and felde hym deed to the erthe / & whan he saw hym falle, he sayd to hym / 'Now vnhappy traytour, that thy soule maye have no pardonne, but goo to the pyt of helle' / And whan he

had sayd that, he toke the horse of Foulques, that was right good / and light vpon it incontynent; and toke his sheelde and his spere / that Foulques had shoved thrughe his thighe. & thenne he sayd to his bredern / 'Be ye all sure that aslong as I am a lyve ye shall have no harme / but the frenshmen shal saye that they have an yll neyghbour of me.' And wyte it, whan he was on horsbacke, he was not well at ease / by cause that the stiroppes were to short for hym. But he had other thyng to doo / than to make theim lenger. and ¹whan he was thus set on horsbacke,¹ [^1—1 omitted, F. orig.] he made his horse to renne, & helde his spere alowe / and wente & met wyth therle Angenon by suche maner that he put bothe yren and wood thrughe the breste of hym, so that he muste falle doun deed fro the horse to the grounde afore his foote / And after, Reynawde set hande to his swerde, and smote a knyghte suche a stroke that his helme [myhgte, orig.] myghte not save hym, but cleved hym to the teth. What shall I telle you more? Now wyte it that at that tyme Reynawde slewe ¹wyth his owne handes¹ [^1—1 omitted, F. orig.] four erles / iij dukes, & [onze, F. orig. m. iv.] VI knyghtes / and after he began to crie 'Montalban' wyth a hie voys. And after his crie, he went and smote Roberte the lorde of dygeon, that was sone to the duk of Burgoyne, [si durement, F. orig.] so that the hede with the helme he made it lepe to the grounde. and after he slewe a nother sterke deed / ⁵that cam to rescue the sayd lorde.⁵ [^5—5 encontre luy en grant angoisse, F. orig. m. iv.]

[folio P.i.a] And whan Reynawde had doon thise noble prowes / he behelde aboute hym / and trowed to have seen his brethern thenne: but he sawe none of theym / wherof he was sore abasshed. 'O god,' sayd he, 'where are my bredern goon, now be they well ferre from me; we shall never com togyder agayn' / And

than cam there Alarde, that in lyke wyse had wonne a horse / the shelde and the spere, for he had slayne a knyghte / and had taken his horse, but he was sore hurte / Nevertheles he came, and helde syde wyth his broder / ¹and Richarde¹ [^1—1 omitted, F. orig. m. iv.] & Guycharde came soone at the other syde / Thenne Alarde sayd to Reynawde / 'Brother, be all sure that we shall never faylle you to the deth' / And whan the four brethern were assembled togyder agayne / they began to make soo grete dystruction of frenshemen, that none durste abyde theym / For all they that they hitte, scaped not the deth / whan the frenshemen sawe this, they were merveylled / and sayd thone to the other / 'By my soule, this passeth all other wounder; I trowe that they ben noo knyghtes, but that they ben devylles / now lete vs make to theym a sawte bothe behynde & before, For yf they lyve longe / they shall doo vs grete hurte' / And whan they were herto accorded, they ran all vpon the four sones of Aymon soo harde that they parted theym, wolde they or not / But Reynawde passed thrughe theym all, and brought hymself oute of the prees, and Alarde after hym / And Rycharde retorned fleenge towarde the roche Mountbron / and Guycharde abode there on fote / for the frenshemen had slayen his mewle vnder hym / and had wounded hym wyth two speres well depe in to the flesshe, & was taken for prysoner; [voulsist ou non, orig. m. iv.] & they bonde hym both hande and fote / and layed hym vpon a lityll horse overhwarte / like as a sacke of corne, soo wounded as he was / and I promyse you men myghte well folow [folio P.i.b] hym bi the trase, by cause of the blode that cam out of his body; and so led hym soo shamfully as that it had be a theef, & went all betyng vpon hym, sayng to hym, that they led him to Charlemagne / the whiche sholde make hym to be hanged, for to avenge

the dethe of his dere nevew Berthelot, that he loved soo moche / the whiche Reynawde slewe soo shamfully playng at the chesse.

And whan Reynawde sawe that his enmyes led his broder ¹Guycharde¹ [^1—1 omitted, F. orig.] so shamfully, he wexed almost mad for angre / and called his brother alarde to hym, & sayd / 'Fayr brother, what shall we doo? see how shamfully they fare wyth our broder ¹guycharde.¹ [^1—1 omitted, F. orig.] Yf we suffre theym to bryng hym forth of this facyon / we shall never have worshyp in our dayes' / 'Brother,' sayd alarde, 'I wote not what we maye best doo, for to abide, or for to goo to theym / For I telle you that we be no moo but two, and they be so grete nombre [nonbre in Caxton.] of folke that we can doo no thynge agenste theym' / 'O god,' sayd Reinawde, 'what shall I doo yf the kyng Charlemagne make my brother to be hanged / I shall never be at my hertes ease / nor I shall never com to no court, but men shall poynte me wyth the fynger / and shall say: "see, yonder is the sone of Aymon, that lete his brother to be hanged to the pyn tre of Mountfacon / and he durst not socour hym." Certes,' sayd Reynawde to alarde / 'broder, I had lever deye firste / but yf I sholde rescue our brother fro deth.' 'Broder,' sayd alarde, 'now set yourselfe afore, and I shall folowe you, & after my power I wyll helpe you to rescue hym' / and whan Reynawde herde that, he caste his shelde behynde hym / and habandouned his body all boldly as a lyon, and cared not how the game sholde goo; for ye sawe never wood men hewe in a forest, nor make so [se, orig.] grete noyse as Reynawde made wyth his swerde amonge his enmyes, [folio P.ii.a] for he cutted and hewed legges and armes by suche wyse ⁵that no man sholde beleve it / but they that see it.⁵ [^5—5 que cest chose Increable, F. orig. m. v.] Thus made Reynawde

at that tyme that the frenshemen must nedes make hym waye to passe, whether they wolde or noo. And many made hym waye for the love of Ogier / for they knewe well that the four sones of aymon were his cosins. and whan Reynawde was passed, he sayd to theym that led ¹his brother¹ [^1—1 omitted, F. orig.] guycharde, 'Lete goo the knyghte, ye yll folkes, for ye be not worthy to touche hym' / and whan they that ledded guycharde sawe com Reynawde / they were sore afrayed, that they put theym selfe to flighte, & lefte Guycharde free, & sayd the one to the other, 'Here cometh the ende of the worlde' / and whan Reynawde sawe that they fled, he sayd to alarde, 'Goo ye, fayr brother, and vnbynde guycharde ¹our brother,¹ [^1—1 omitted, F. orig.] and sette hym vpon this horse / and gyve hym a spere in his hande, and com after me, for the traytours ben discomfited.' 'Brother,' sayd alarde, 'I shall goo where it playse you / but I telle you yf we parte one from thother, we shall never come togider agen / seenge that we be so fewe & so yll armed / but lete vs kepe togyder / and helpe thone the other' / 'Brother,' sayd Reynawde, 'ye saye well & wysely; and we shall doo it.' And thenne they wente bothe togyder to Guycharde / and vnbounde hym / and made hym mounte on horsbacke, the shelde at the necke, and the spere in the hande / Now goo there [the] thre brethern togyder / and the fourthe fyghteth agenste a grete nombre of folke / that was the valyaunt Rycharde / that was the mooste worthy of all ¹after his brother Reynawde.¹ [^1—1 omitted, F. orig.] But men had slayne his mewle vnder hym / and was wounded ryght sore. But he had slayn fyve erles / and well xiiii. knightes [knihtes in Caxton.] / wherof he was soo sore traveylled / and soo wery, that he myghte not almoste deffende hym selfe no more, but went [folio P.ii.b] rounde aboute the roche / And thenne cam Gerarde of Valcome,

that was cosyn to Foulques of morillon / the whiche he had founde deed, wherof he made grete sorowe / and sayd / 'Ha, gentyll knyghte, it is grete dommage of your dethe. Certes, he that hath broughte you to this deth is not my frende. Now shall I avenge me yf I maye.' and thenne he came to the roche. And whan he saw Richarde in soo grete greef, he spored his horse wyth his spores, and bare his spere alowe, and smote Richarde thorughe the mauntell of scarlet / that he had wrapped aboute his lyfte [omitted, F. orig.] arme soo harde, that the spere entred ferre in his body, soo moche that he brought hym to the erthe / and as he drewe his spere agayne / the guttes of Richarde came oute of the body in to his lappe; and the wounde was soo grete that the lyver and the lounges appyered. Thenne beganne Gerarde to crye / 'Now are dyscoupled the foure sones of Aymon, for I have slayne Richarde the hardy fyghter; all the other shall sone be slayne or taken / yf god gyve me helthe. And I shall brynge theym to the kynge Charlemagne / ²that shall make theym to be hanged atte Muntfacon, as sone as he hath theym.'² [^2—2 qui les mectra a montfacon, F. orig. m. vi. back.]

Thenne whan Rycharde was come a lityll to his ease, he rose vp quyckely vpon his feete / and toke his bowelles wyth both his handes and put theym agayn in to his bely; and after set hande to his swerde, and came to Gerarde, and sayd to hym in grete angre / 'Thou cursed man, thou shalte have thy rewarde anone for that ye have doon to me. For, certes, it shall not be vmbrayed to Reynawde that ye have slayne his brother.' And whan he had sayd thus, he smote Gerarde thrughe the quyras / and thorughe the shelde, soo grete a stroke / that he hewed the sholdre and the arme wyth all from the body,

& felled hym doun deed to the erthe [folio P.iii.a] afore his feete / and thenne sayd to hym / 'Certes, Gerarde, it had be better for you that ye had not come hitherwarde / for to the kynge Charlemagne / Now shall ye not bere your boste that ye have slayne one of the foure sones of Aymon.' And whan he had sayd that, he felle doun in a swoune; and whan he was come agayne to hym selfe / he beganne to wysshe after his bretherne, ²and complayned theym sore,² [^2—2 omitted, F. orig. m. vi.] saynge, 'O Reynawde, fayr brother, this daye shall departe our company, For I shall never see you, nor ye me / O castell of Mountalban, I comende [comeude in Caxton.] the to god, that he wyll by his mercy and pyte brynge agayne your lorde sauff and sounde of his body / Ha, kynge Yon of Gascoyn / Why have ye betrayed us / and taken vs to the kynge Charlemagne / certes, ye dede therin grete synne / ²and a shamfull fawte.'² [^2—2 omitted, F. orig. m. vi.] and after, he sayd all wepynge / 'O fader, kynge of glory / and lorde of all the worlde / socoure this daye my power bredern, For I wote not where they ben; nor of me they maye have nother helpe nor socours, for I am all redy for to deye.'

Now shall I telle you of Reynawde, of Alarde / and of Guycharde, that faughte strongely agenste theyr enmyes, as worthy knyghtes that they were. But all theyr grete fayttes of armes sholde avaylled theym noo thynge [... quilz ne fussent ou mors ou prins .., F. orig. m. vi.] yf they had not come to a narow waye of the roche / where men myghte not come to theym but afore. And whan they had be longe there / Reynawd beganne to saye to his brother Alarde / 'Brother, where is become our brother [brether in Caxton.] Richarde, that we sawe not of a goode while agoo. Now thynke none other but that we shall never see hym / For I lefte hym here by this sapyn tre, whan ye and I

had soo moche adoo. I praye god, yf he be deed, that he have his soule / Now [folio P.iii.b] I wyll wyte tidynges of hym yf it be possyble' / 'Brother,' [Sire, F. orig. m. vi.] sayd alarde, 'yf ye wylle beleve me, ye shall abyde here / god pardonne hym yf he be deed, For we may not helpe hym, the parylle is to grete / And I beleve that we sholde deye afore that evyn were come' / 'Ha, brother,' sayd Reynawde, 'shall we faylle to our brother Rycharde, the goode knyghte and worthy.' 'Thenne,' sayd Alarde / 'what wyll ye that we shall doo therto / For as to me, I knowe no remedye to it' / 'Alas,' sayd Reynawde / 'ye speke folysly / For I sholde not doubte for fere of dethe to wyte where he is become / And yf I sholde goo alone / yet shall I vnderstonde some tydynges of hym.' 'Brother,' sayd Alarde / 'I promyse you / yf we departe thone from the other, we shall never see vs agayne togyder.' 'Brother,' sayd Reynawde, 'other deed or all quycke I shall fynde hym, where soo ever he be / it maye none other be' / And whan Reynawde had sayd thise wordes / he spored his horse with his spores / and came atte the other side of the roche / And whan they that had chased Rycharde there for to slee hym / sawe Reynawde [et ses aultre deux freres .... F. orig. m. vii. back.] come / they smote theym selfe to flyghte. And thenne Reynawde wente a lityll more vpwarde vpon the roche, and founde there his broder Rycharde, that laye nyghe deed vpon the grounde, and helde his bowelles bytwene his handes; and aboute hym were a grete nombre of folke whyche he had slayne. Whan Reynawde sawe hym deed, and soo sore wounded / he had of it soo grete sorowe at his herte that almoste he felle doun deed to the grounde / But he toke corage, and came nyghe his brother / and lyghted doun from his horse, and kyssed hym sore wepynge, and sayd / 'Ha, fayre brother / It is grete

pyte and dommage of you / and of your dethe / For, certes, never man was worthe you; for yf ye had [folio P.iv.a] come to mannys age / never Rowlande nor Olyver were so prue in knyghthode / as ye sholde have be. Alas, now is loste our beaulte and our yougthe thorughe grete synne / O, goode lorde / who sholde ever a thoughte that ony treason sholde have entred [... dedens ung si noble cueur comme du roy jon, F. orig. m. vii. back.] in to the herte of the kynge Yon / Alas, my brother Richarde, woo is me for your dethe / For I am cause of it / Alas, this daye in the mornynge, whan we departed oute of Mountalban we were four bretherne, all good knyghtes. Now are we but thre, that ben worthe noo thynge, for we ben peryllously wounded, and all vnarmed. Now god forbede that I sholde scape, syth that ye be deed ³vpon the traytours.³ [^3—3 omitted, F. orig.] But I praye god that I maye venge your deth vpon [les traictres, F. orig. m. vii. back.] theym or ever I deceasse / For I shall sette therto my gode wylle; and yf god wyll, it shall be soo.' Evyn thus as Reynawde made mone over his brother / he behelde behynde hym, and sawe come his brethern Alarde & Guycharde, all dyscomfyted / that cryed vpon Reynawde, 'Brother, what doo you / come anone and helpe vs / for we have grete nede' / And whan Richarde herde the voys of Alarde / he opened his eyen. and whan he sawe his brother Reynawde afore hym, he sayd to hym / 'O, brother Reynawd, and what doo you here / see ye yonder that roche, whiche is soo highe and so stronge / where as ben many smalle stones above; yf we myghte doo soo moche that we clymed vp there / I beleve that we sholde be sauf from our enmyes, for it can not be but our cosyn mawgys knoweth our dysease by this / and he shall come to socour vs.' 'Brother,' sayd Reynawde, 'wolde god we were there. Now telle me,

my fayr broder / how fele your selfe; thynke ye that ye maye recovere helthe?' 'Ye,' sayd Richarde, 'yf ye scape, and elles not; for wyth the sore that I have I myghte well deye ¹for sorowe.'¹ [^1—1 omitted, F. orig.]

[folio P.iv.b] And whan Reynawde herd Rycharde speke thus, he was ryght glad of it. Soo called he Alarde to hym / and sayd, 'brother, take Richarde vpon your shelde, and lede hym vpon the roche / and Guycharde and I shall rowme the waye afore you.' 'Brother,' sayd Alarde, 'doubte not / I shall doo my power.' And thenne he lyghted doun, and toke vp Rycharde and layd hym vpon his sheelde; and after he lyghted agayne on horsbacke. and Reynawde and Guycharde leyd hym wyth his broder vpon the horse necke / And after put theym selfe a fore to breke the preesse of the frenshemen. And they dyde so moche that they came to the roche / But wyte it well that Reynawde made there soo grete fayttes of armes that all his enmyes were sore merveylled wyth all. For he slew at that tyme well thirty knyghtes / that never wylde bore, nor tygre, nor lyon / nor bere, dyde that Reynawde made there of his body / But, for to saye the trouthe, Reynawde setted noughte by his lyffe, and ieoparded hym selfe all togyder / for he was as a man dysperate / And whan they were come to the roche, Alarde set doun his brother Richarde to the erthe / and beganne to deffende quyckely. but I wote not how they myghte endure / for they had nother castell nor fortresse / but onely the roche.

Alle thus as the thre bretherne deffended theym selfe wyth grete woo, Thenne came there Ogyer the dane and his folke / And had in his company Magōn of Fryse, wyth well a thousande knyghtes, and cryed vpon Reynawde, 'Certes, knyghte, ye shall be deed / we have sworne your dethe. This daye is

the departynge that ye and your bretherne shall suffre dethe / Ye dyde as fooles [folio P.v.a] whan ye belived the kynge Yon, For he hath put you all to dethe.' Whan Alarde sawe soo grete folke come / he was sore an angred / and sayd to Guycharde, 'See how grete a sorowe is here afore vs, and the grete nombre of folke that ben redy for to slee vs four knyghtes. Certes, yf we were fyve hundred well armed / yet sholde not we scape / For they ben well armed, and a grete quantyte of knyghtes' / 'Surely,' sayd Guycharde, 'here is a mervelouse company / ²but yf god helpe vs now,² [^2—2 Si daventure dieu ne pense de nous ... F. orig. m. viii. back.] we ben come to the ende of our dayes / It is noo grete dommage of me nother of Rycharde / but the grete dommage is of Reynawde, that is the best knyghte of the worlde' / And whan Alarde and Guycharde had spoken togyder, they wente to Reynawde and kyssed hym, full sore wepynge, and sayd to hym / 'O, brother Reynawde, gyve vs a gyfte yf it playse you, for the love of our lorde god.' 'Lordes,' sayd Reynawde, 'what thynge aske you of me? ye knowe well ynoughe that I canne not helpe you of noo thynge. And this daye muste I nedes see you deye byfore my eyen.'

'Brother,' sayd Alarde, 'herke what we wyll telle you, and yf it playse you ye shall doo it' / 'Sey on, hardely,' sayd Reynawde. 'Brother,' sayd Alarde, 'men sayon comynly that it is better to doo one harme than two / I saye this, by cause that yf ye deye here, it shall be grete dommage, And the loss shall never be recovered agayne. For none shall avenge your dethe / But thoughe we deye here and not you / it shall be noo grete dommage / For ye shall avenge vs well. And therefore we praye you, swete brother, ³for all the playsures that ye wolde doo ever to vs;³ [^3—3 omitted, F. orig. m. viii.] that ye wyll goo

your wayes / and we shall abyde here. And whan the [folio P.v.b] dethe shall come, we shall take it a worthe / This that we saye ye maye well doo; For ye be well horsed / and ye shall well save your selfe mawgre the frenshemen, yf they [vous, F. orig. m. viii.] goo to Mountalban. And whan ye be at Mountalban / lyghte vpon Bayarde well armed / and brynge anone wyth you our cosyn Mawgys for to socoure vs' / 'Brother,' sayd Reynawde / 'ye speke to folyshly. Certes, I wolde not doo so for all the golde of the worlde. I sholde be sore badde and full vnkynde yf I dyde soo / ³For I cowde not spylle my selfe sooner³ [^3—3 Car je ne me pourroye myeulx honnir .. F. orig. m. viii.] than for to leve you in soo grete perylle. Other we shall all scape, or elles we shall all deye togyder / For the one shall not fayll the other as longe as we maye lyve / Now god that suffred deth and passyon [par mortelle trahison, F. orig. m. viii.] save vs!' Thus, as Reynawde spake to hys bretherne, came the erle Guymarde / to whom god gyve evyll adventure, and sayd to Reynawde / 'knyghte, ye be take / and ye muste deye wyth shame vpon this roche / Whan ye beleved the kynge yon, ye dyde grete foly. He wrought grete trayson whan he dyd sell you to the kyng Charlemagne, that hateth you soo moche / For ye loved hym more than ye dyde your cosyn Mawgys / He hath well rewarded you for the grete love ⁵that ye oughte to hym.⁵ [^5—5 qui a luy avies, F. orig. m. viii.] Telle me, Reynawde, [omitted, F. orig.] whether ye wyll yelde you or deffende you?' 'Certes,' sayd Reynawde, 'now speke ye for noughte / I shall never yelde me as longe as I am man a lyve' / 'Reynawde,' sayd thenne Ogyer, 'what wyll ye doo? We canne not helpe you of noo thyng; other gyve yourselfe vp, or deffende your selfe.' 'Ogyer,' sayd Reynawde, [par celluy dieu ... F. orig. m. viii.] 'by hym that made the worlde, I shall never yelde me. I was never noo

theef, & therfore wyll I not be hanged / I have lever deie lyke a knyght, than to hange [folio P.vi.a] lyke a theeff.' 'Lordes,' sayd Guymarde, 'lete vs sawte theym / For they shall not [be able.] may kepe longe agenste vs' / 'Lordes,' sayd Ogyer, 'ye maye well sawte theym yf ye wyll / but by my soule I shall doo theym no thyng, For they ben my cosyns, nor I shall not helpe theym / For ye shall take theym well wythoute me' / 'Certes,' sayd the frenshe men, 'we shall thenne assaylle theym worthyly' / Thenne Ogyer drew hym selfe and all his folke a side, well the lengthe of a bowe shot, And beganne to make soo grete a sorowe as thoughe all the worlde had fynysshed a fore his eyen; and all his sorowe was for Reynawde his cosyn / and for his bretherne / And thus as he made his mone, be beganne for to saye / 'Ha, fayr cosyn Reynawde, it is grete pyte of your dethe; And I, vnhappy man, that am of your kyn, suffre you to deye afore myn eyen / And yet I canne not helpe you / For I have promysed it to Charlemagne / nor I oughte not or to breke myn othe.' But the history telleth that [Ogier se faignit celluy jour grandement, F. orig. n. i. back.] Ogyer duange hym [seffe in Caxton.] selfe gretly that daye / And thorughe his purchace the four sones of Aymon scaped [tant quilz ne furent mye prins, F. orig. n. i. back.] / For yf he wolde have put peyne to it, they sholde not have scaped by no maner / But as men sayen, 'true blood may not lye.'

Byfore the roche were four erles / for to sawte the four sones of Aymon, and made theym moche adoo; For theyr folke sawted theym in four partyes. Wherof Reynaude kepte the two partes / and Alarde and guycharde kepte the other tweyne / For Rycharde laye doun vpon the erthe sore wounded / as I tolde you a fore / And yet was Guycharde [alart, F. orig. n. i. back.] wounded sore

thrughe the thye / wherof he had bled soo longe that he was feynte / and felle doun to the erthe. [folio P.vi.b] And whan he sawe that he myghte noo more deffende, he beganne to call ²vpon Reynawde,² [^2—2 omitted, F. orig.] and sayd / 'Ha, Reynawde, fayr brother / Lete vs yelde vs, I praye you / for I nor Richarde maye noo more helpe you' / 'Brother,' sayd Reynawde, 'what saye you, now shew ye well that ye be ferdfull; but I lete you wyte / that yf I trowed to scape other for golde or for sylver / or for cyte, or for castelles / or for my horse Bayarde that I love soo muche / I shold have yelde me prisoner to day in the mornynge. For ye wote well, ³that yf we ben take, all the golde of the worlde save vs not from hangyng / or som other shamfull dethe:³ [^3—3 que tout le monde ne nous pourroit eschapper de mort se Charlemaigne nous peut tenir, F. orig. n. i. back.] And therfore I wyll not yelde me by noo maner of wyse / A man that wyll be valyaunte oughte to deffende hym selfe for to be hole' / 'Ha, Richarde, [alart, F. orig.] socoure vs for the love of Ihesus / for we have well mystre. We ben nother normans nor bretons / but we ben all of one fader and of one moder / Now oughte we well to helpe eche other wyth all our power for our worship; for otherwyse men shold saye that we ben bastardes, and of an ylle fader.' 'Ye saye trouth,' sayd Guycharde [alart, F. orig.] / But ye wolde not beleve how feble I am, for I am wounded to the deth.' 'Certes,' sayd Reynawde, 'I am sory for it / but I shall deffende you as longe as lyffe is in my body.' Who had seen thenne the noble knyghte Reynawde take vp the grete stones, and caste theym vpon hys enmyes, ye wolde not have sayd that he had not be wounded nor traveylled of noo thyng / Whan Rycharde that lay a grounde thus wounded, as I have tolde you above, sawe and herde the grete noyse that they that sawted the roche made, he toke up his hede,

and sayd to Reynawde, 'Brother, I shall helpe you; But cutte me some of my sherte, and I shall bynde my syde and wounde soo that my bowelles maye not yssue oute of my bely / And thenne I shalle sette me [folio P.vii.a] to my deffence and shall helpe you wyth all my herte' / Thenne sayd Reynawde, 'Now arte thou well worth a true man' / And whan Guycharde vnderstode hym, he was ashamed / and toke agayne strengthe in hym beyonde his power, and came to the deffence / ²and sayd wyth a hyghe voys, 'Ogyer,² [^2—2 et dist a Ogier, F. orig. n. i.] Fayr cosyn, what doo you to your lynage? Certes, it shall be a grete shame to you yf ye socoure vs not / for the fawte that ye doo to vs shall be layd vnto you in every place where ye goo, to lete vs deye thus, we that ben your kynnes men / the beste of all the worlde / Save Reynawde, and ye shall doo lyke a true man. And as for vs other / it maketh nother lesse nor more' / Whan Ogyer vnderstode thise wordes / he was sory for it / that noo man myghte more / and wolde have gyven a grete thynge to have delyvered theym, And sayd that he wolde doo wyth all his herte all that he myghte doo for theym / And thenne Oger spored brayforde wyth his spores / & came to the roche wyth a staff in his hande, And sayd to theym that sawted the roche, 'wythdrawe yourselfe a lityll tyll I have spoken wyth theym a lytyll, for to wyte whether they wyll gyve theymselfe vp or noo / For it is better that we have theym quycke than deed.' 'Syre,' sayd the frenshemen, 'we shall doo [dooo in Caxton.] your commaundemente; But we leve theym wyth you to kepe in the name of the kynge Charlemagne.' 'Ha, god,' sayd Ogyer, 'I never thoughte trayson / nor I shall not begynne yet' / And thenne he came more nyghe the roche than he had be, and called to hym the foure sones of Aymon / and

sayd to them, 'Fayre cosyn, rest you, and take agayn you[r] brethe / and yf ye ben hurte, wrappe vp your woundes / And make good garnyssheng of stones / and so defende yourself nobly of all your [folio P.vii.b] powre; For yf the kynge Charlemagne maye have you, ye shall never have pardonne; but he shall make you to be hanged and strangeled / And therfore ye muste nedes kepe your selfe well. For I promyse you, yf Mawgys knowe of it, he shall come to socoure you / thus shall ye scape, and other wyse not.' 'Cosyn,' sayd Alarde, 'ye shall have of it a goode rewarde / yf ever we may scape.' 'Ye saye true,' sayd Reynawde; 'For yf I maye scape, by god that suffred deth and passyon for vs vpon the crosse / all the golde of the worlde shall not save hym / but I shall slee hym wyth my owne handes / For I hate hym moche more than I doo a straunger; For he that sholde deffende and helpe me agenste all men, It is he that dooth me harme.' 'Cosyn,' sayd Ogyer, 'I maye not doo therto, so helpe god my soule / For the kyng Charlemagne made me swere afore all his barons that I sholde not helpe you in noo maner of wyse. And of this that I doo / I am sure that the kynge Charlemagne shall conne me noo thanke' / 'Brother,' sayd Alarde, 'Ogyer telleth you trouth.' And also it was well trouth that ogyer was repreved therof for treyson; For Charlemagne called hym traytour afore all his barons. Thenne Reynaude bonde the woundes of his bretherne as well as he cowde / But the wounde of Rycharde was soo greefull to see, that it was pyte to beholde / For / all the entraylles appyered oute of his body / And whan he had lapped theym all, Alarde wrapped the wounde that Reynaude had in the thye / And whan they had reste theymselfe a lityll / Reynawde stode vp and wente vpon the roche for to gader stones to deffende theym selfe. And garnysshed therwyth

their deffence where [folio P.viii.a] hys bretherne sholde stande. Whan the frenshemen sawe that Ogyer, the dane, made there to long a soiournyng, they beganne all to calle and crye / 'Ogyer, ye make there to longe a sermon, telle vs yf they wyll yelde theym or noo / or yf they shall deffende theym selfe.' 'Naye,' sayd Ogyer, 'as long as they have lyffe in theyr bodyes' / 'By my soule,' sayd the frenshemen, 'thenne goo we sawte theym efte agayne.' 'Thenne,' sayd Ogyer, 'I promyse you, I shall helpe theym with all my power.' Whan therle Guymarde herde Ogyer speke soo, he wente to hym, and sayd / 'We commaunde you in the kynges name of Fraunce, that ye come to the batayll wyth vs, agenste the four sones of Aymon / As ye have promysed and sworne / and for doubte of you many a lorde is here in our companye that wyll not fyghte' / 'Lordes,' sayd Ogyer, 'for god mercy / ye knowe all redy they ben my cosyns germayne / I praye you lete vs wythdrawe ourselfe abacke, and lete theym be in peas; and I shall gyve eche of you large goodes.' 'Ogyer,' sayd the frenshemen / 'we shall not doo soo, but we shall brynge theym prisoners to the kynge Charlemagne that shall doo wyth theym his playsure / and also we shall telle hym what ye have doon. Whereof / he shall conne you lytyll thanke all his lyff.' And after whan Ogyer vnderstode thise wordes, he was sore an angred / and sayd by grete wrathe, 'By the feyth that I owe to all my frondes, yf there be ony of you soo hardy that take Reynawde or ony of his bredern for to delyver theym to kynge charlemagne I shall smyte of his hede, what somever come after it.' 'Ogier,' sayd the erle Guymarde, 'we shall not leve therfore, for to take theym ryght shortly / And whan we have theym / we shall see who shall take theym from us / [folio P.viii.b] for we shall well conne shewe this to the kyng Charlemagne.'

And thenne they began to sawte the roche agen. Wyte it that Reynawde & his bretherne deffended theym selfe full nobly. But whan Reynaude sawe this grete multytude of folke that cam for to sawte theym / he beganne to saye / 'Ha, Mawgis, my fayr cosin / where are ye now that ye knowe not this myshap, for ye wolde come anone to helpe vs, but ye knowe it not; wherof I am evyll contente / For I was a foole and over hasty that I spake not to you of this matere afore that I cam here / Ha, bayarde, yf I were vpon your backe / I sholde never entre wythin this roche, for fere of the frenshemen. But the kynge Charlemagne sholde lose here of the beste knyghtes of his company.' and whan he had sayd thys, he beganne to wepe full tendrely for the love of his bretherne, that he sawe soo sore wounded & soo wery / Thenne the frenshemen sawted theym efte as stronge agayn; and I promyse you yf it had not be the grete prowes of reynawd they sholde have ben taken at that tyme by fyne force. Whan the sawtynge was fynysshed / Reynawd set hymself vpon his deffence; for he was so wery, that yf he had goon he sholde have fallen doun to the erthe, soo weke he was, and that was noo merveylle, for they had soo sore traveylled hym / and had suffred soo many tormentes & terrible sawtes that it was wonder they [they repeated in text.] cowde endure soo longe.

And whan Oger, the dane, sawe his cosyn soo sore tourmented, he toke hymselfe to wepe tendrely. And thus as he wepte, he bethoughte hymselfe of a grete wysedome, & called to hym a knyght of his that was named gerarde, and sayd to hym / [Girart, F. orig.] 'have, for god, mercy of me; & ³but yf ye doo that I shall telle you³ [^3—3 se vous ne faictes ce que vous diray, F. orig. n. iii. back.] / I am dishonoured for ever more' / 'sire,' said Gerarde, 'telle me what it plaise you / for it shal be doo

though [folio Q.i.a] I sholde lose my liffe' / 'gramercy,' sayd Ogyer / 'Now shall I tell you what I wyl that ye do. Take wyth you XL. knyghtes of the best of my felawshyp / and goo lightly to the mount Hosy / and kepe your selfe thervpon / and beholde towarde Mountalban all the ryght waye that noo body come but ye see hym / For yf Mawgys maye wyte by ony waye the mysfortune of his cosins, I promyse you that he wyll come to socoure theym, and shall gyve vs moche a doo, soo that ye moste hardy shall be sore afrayed' / 'Sire,' sayd gerarde, 'this that ye have sayd shall be well doon' / and thenne he toke XL of ye best knyghtes of his company, and went to the mount Hosy; where they made not well theyr watche for the prouffyte of the frenshemen / Ye oughte here to wyte that Ogyer founde this manere to sende his men forth, but oonly that Reynawde & his brethern sholde not have a doo wyth soo many folke; and thoughte not of that that happed. ¶ But now leveth here the history, to speke of the foure sones of Aymon that were in the roche Mountbron. And also leveht to speke of Ogyer the dane, and of thother folke that Charlemagne had sent / and retorneth to speke of Godarde the secretary of the kyng Yon, that had red the lettres, where the trayson was conteyned all playnly /