The romance of Guy of Warwick. The second or 15th-century version. Edited from the paper ms. Ff. 2. 38. in the University Library, Cambridge, by Dr. Julius Zupitza ...

Now turne we ageyne and speke of Gye, As we fynde in owre storye. Line 7392

Line 7392 All þat yere Gye can gone Þorow kyngys landys many oon All he wente thorow and thorow Ryght vnto Jerusalem, þe borowe. Line 7396 Longe wolde he not dwelle thare. Furthermore wolde he fare Into hethen cuntre: To Anteoge, that cyte, Line 7400 Thedurwarde thoght hee. Hyt was a grete jurne. Vndur an hawthorne þere [tree? See the note.] he fonde [folio 208b:2] A pore pylgryme there stonde. Line 7404 Hyt semyd wele a sarsyne, That had moche pyne. He semyd [MS. semyth. Caius MS. semed.] comen of hye lynage. He had grete eyen and stronge vysage, Line 7408 Hys hed whyte, hys berde [MS. herre. Caius MS. berd.] longe. He semyd a bolde man and a stronge. He made grete mornynge: Gye had pyte of that tythynge. Line 7412 He drewe hys berde and hys hare: He swownyd anon þere for care And seyde: 'allas,' þat he was borne; 'Harde wordys ys me beforne.' Line 7416 ¶ Then seyde Gye: 'what art thou, That makyst all þys dole now? I see well be thy chere, That þou art noyed on some manere: Line 7420 Therfore, syr, telle thou me, In the name of the trynyte.' 'Syr,' seyde the pylgryme, 'Thou haste me congurde at þys tyme: Line 7424 Sone y schall telle the, why That y am so sorye.

I trowe, þou wylt haue pyte, When þat y haue tolde hyt the. Line 7428 ¶ I was some tyme doghty of hande, And to me felle moche lande. I was a bolde man and a wyght: Erle Joonas so y hyght. Line 7432 I had sonnes fyftene, Bolde men and therto kene. I wene, þer was neuer man lyueande, Syth crystendome was broȝt to lande, Line 7436 That had so many sonnes wyght Echeoon in hys owne ryght, As y had onys be the way (Allas, that euyr y abode þys day) Line 7440 At a batayle certeyne Of sarsyns, that haue done trayne. [folio 209a:1] To Jerusalem comen they were And dystroyed farre and nere: Line 7444 We gedurde ooste, as men wyght, And gaue þem batayle anon ryght. A grete batayle was there oon, For there dyed many a man. Line 7448 I and my sonnes fyftene Made the sarsyns for to flene. At þat tyme wyth strenkyth toke we Seuyn amerallys and kyngys thre. Line 7452 ¶ We chasyd them þorow þat londe, I and my sonnes, a kynge folowande: Hys name was Triamore: [In lines 7455, 7476, 7489, 7495, the abbreviation of ri is written with darker ink, with which also r of therto in line 7434 seems to have been freshened up.] He ys a man of grete honowre. Line 7456 To Alysawndur he fledde ryght, There he was kynge of myght. We dud there a folye stronge,

That we folowde hym so longe. Line 7460 There was redy in a wode Two hundurde knyghtys, þat were gode. Owte of the wode þey came anon And belapped vs euerychon. Line 7464 Many of them we smetyn sare: For nothynge we wolde spare. Owre stedys þere soone they slowe And many oon abowte vs drowe. Line 7468 On fote we faght faste than And slewe there mony a man: Or we wolde ȝylde vs or be tane, Many of þem þorow vs was slane. Line 7472 Tyll owre swyrdys were brokyn of stele, We defendyd vs full wele. We sawe there no socowre: We ȝyldyd vs to kynge Triamore. Line 7476 We made soche couenande, Therto he helde vp hys hande, That we schulde for owne rawnsome Be delyuyrde fro pryson. [folio 209a:2] Line 7480 ¶ To Awfryke he led vs thare And put vs in a pryson ȝare: Mete and drynke we had smalle And euyll lyfe led wythall. Line 7484 Hyt ys xii wynter and more, Syth we were put in pryson þore; Tyll hyt befelle soon in a tyde, That the sowdan wyth grete pryde, Line 7488 That was þe kyngys lorde Triamore, He made a feste wyth honowre: Thretty kyngys þere were ryght, That were vnto the sowdan plyght, Line 7492 And amerallys þere were fowrtye, That were vndurnethe hys crye. Theder wente kynge Triamore

And wyth hym hys sone Fabore. Line 7496 He was yonge and also wyght And therto newe made knyght. ¶ At the thrydde day of the feste, That was ryche and honeste, Line 7500 The sowdon sone rose vp full ryght (Syr Sowdan [The spelling of the MS. Sowdan, though evidently wrong for Sadoyne, yet has been left unaltered.] of Perce he hyght): 'Faber,' quod Sowdan, 'y bydde the To playe at þe chesses wyth me.' Line 7504 'Syr,' quod he, 'wyth myn entente I schall do yowre comawndement.' To Faber chaumber þere þey wente And aftur the chesses soon þey sente. Line 7508 They sate downe frendys in all wyse, But þey were wroþe, or þey dud ryse. Syr Faber at þe chesses a worde seyde: [Corrupt without doubt. The Caius MS., p. 158, has At a cheke, that Fabour seyde.] Sowdan [MS. The Sowdan.] was wroþe and owte brayde Line 7512 And clepyd hym horeson thore And wyth a roke he smote hym sore: On the hedde he brake the crowne, That þe blode faste ranne downe. Line 7516 'Syr, thou doyst me dyshonowre,' To Sowdan [MS. To the Sowdan.] seyde Fabowre, 'When thou haste brokyn my heuedde. [MS. hedde.] [folio 209b:1] The grace of god be fro me reuedde, Line 7520 Yf thou were not my lordys sone, Thou schuldyst abye, þat þou haste done.' Then seyde Sowdan: 'what seyste thou? Haste thou me manest nowe? Line 7524 In euyll tyme þou hyt thoght: Thyn own deþe þou haste wroght.' And wyth hys fyste he wolde hym smyte,

But Faber thoght hyt dyspyte: Line 7528 On hys fete dud he stonde And toke the chekur in hys honde. He smote Sowdan vndur the ere: He felle to grounde and dyed þere. Line 7532 ¶ When Faber sye, that he was dedde, For fere he flewe fro that stedde. He yede as faste, as he myȝt renne, Towarde hys fadurs ynne then Line 7536 And tolde hys fadur there anon, How the sowdans sone was slone. The kynge dowtyd hym thare: For the deþe he had grete care. Line 7540 On hys hors lepe he swythe: Forþe þey rode in hye vnblythe Faste fleande to Alysawndur, Or þer were resyn more sclaunder. Line 7544 Owte of the londe soone þey went, Or any wyste, þat Sowdan was schent. When he came to that cyte, A sory man, for sothe, was hee. Line 7548 ¶ But therof be, as be may, Let vs be mery, y yow pray.