The "Gest hystoriale" of the destruction of Troy: an alliterative romance tr. from Guido de Colonna's "Hystoria troiana." Now first ed. from the unique ms. in the Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow, with introduction, notes, and a glossary, by ... Geo. A. Panton, and David Donaldson, esq.

The xxxj Boke: Of the Passage of the Grekys ffro Troy.

Hyt fell thus by fortune, þe fairest of þe yere Was past to the point of the pale wintur; Line 12464 Heruest, with the heite & the high sun, Was comyn into colde with a course low; Trees, thurgh tempestes, tynde hade þere leues; And briddes abatid of hor brem songe; Line 12468 The wynde of the west wackenet aboue, Blowyng full bremly o the brode ythes; The clere aire ouercast with cloudys full thicke, With mystes full merke mynget with showres; Line 12472 fflodes were felle thurgh fallyng of Rayne, And wintur vp wacknet with his wete aire. [folio 190b] The gret nauy of the grekes & the gay kynges, Were put in a purpos to pas fro the toune. Line 12476 Sore longit þo lordis hor londys to se, And dissiret full depely, doutyng no wedur; Þai counted no course of the cold stormys, Ne the perellis to passe of the pale windes. Line 12480 Hit happit hom full hard in a hond qwile, And mony of þo mighty to misse of hor purpos. Thus tho lordes in hor longyng laghton þe watur, Shotton into ship mong shene knightes, Line 12484 With the tresowre of þe toune, þai token before, Relikes full Rife, & miche ranke godes.

Clere was the course of the cold flodis, And the firmament faire as fell for the wintur. Line 12488 Thai past on the pale se, puld vp hor sailes, Hadyn bir at þere backe, and the bonke leuyt. ffoure dayes by-dene, & hor du nyghtis, ffull soundly þai sailed with seasonable windes. Line 12492 The fyft day fuersly, fell at the none, Sodonly the softe winde vnsoberly blew; A myste & a merkenes myngit to-gedur; A thoner and a thicke rayne þrubletin the skewes, [folio 191a] Line 12496 With an ugsom noise, noy for to here; All flasshet in a ffire the firmament ouer; Was no light but a laite, þat launchit aboue; Hit skirmyt in the skewes with a skyre low, Line 12500 Thurgh the claterand clowdes clos to the heuyn, As the welkyn shuld walt for wodenes of hete. With blastes full bigge of the breme wyndes, Walt vp the waghes vpon wan hilles: Line 12504 Stith was the storme, stird all the shippes, Hoppit on hegh with heste of the fflodes. The sea was vnsober, sondrit the nauy; Walt ouer waghes, & no way held; Line 12508 Depertid the pepull, pyne to be-hold, In costes vnkowthe; cut down þere sailes, Ropis alto rochit, rent vp the hacches; Topcastell ouerturnyt, takelles were lost. Line 12512 The night come onone, noye was the more! All the company cleane of the kyng Telamon, With þere shippes full shene, & þe shire godis, Were brent in the bre with the breme lowe Line 12516 Of the leymonde laite, þat launchit fro heuyn: And euyn drownet in the depe Dukes & other!

Oelius Aiax, as aunter befelle, Was stad in the storme with the stith windes, Line 12520 With his shippes full shene and the shire godes:

Thrifty and þriuaund, thretty and two There were brent on the buerne with the breme low, And all the freikes in the flode floterand aboue. Line 12524 Hym-seluyn in the sea sonkyn belyue, Swalprit & swam with swyngyng of armys: Ȝet he launchet to londe, & his lyf hade, Bare of his body, bret full of water. Line 12528 In the Slober & the sluche slongyn to londe, There he lay, if hym list, the long night ouer, Till the derke was done & the day sprang. [folio 191b] And than wonen of waghes, with wo as þai might, Line 12532 Þare sum of his sort, þat soght were to lond, Laited þere lord on the laund syde, If hit fell (hym) by fortune the flodes to passe. [MS. has "hom"] Þan found þai the freike in the fome lye, Line 12536 And comford hym kyndly, as þere kyd lord: With worchip & wordes wan hym to fote, Bothe failet hym the fode and the fyne clothes. Thus þere goddes with gremy with þe grekes fore, Line 12540 Mighty Myner[v]a, of malis full grete, ffor Telamon, in tene, tid for to pull Cassandra the cleane out of hir cloise temple. Thus hit fell hom by fortune of a foule ende, Line 12544 ffor greuyng þere goddes in hor gret yre. Oft-sythes men sayn, & sene is of olde, Þat all a company is cumbrit for a cursed shrewe. Now of kynges, & knightes, & othir kyd dukes, Line 12548 Þat past of this perell in pes to þere londes, I will tell how hom tyde, while I tyme haue; And how fortune, full fell, forget þere end.