Caxton's Blanchardyn and Eglantine, c. 1489 : from Lord Spencer's unique imperfect copy, completed by the original French and the second English version of 1595

¶ The xxxix chapiter conteyneth how blanchardyn fonde his fader, the kynge of ffryse, that was prysoner wythin Cassydonye, and of the pyteouse deuyses that the fader and the sone had to gydre.

After these tydynges don and brought at an ende, It happed that one a day blanchardyn, Sadoyne, and his wyff the fayer Beatryx, were sittyng at the bord takynge their recreacyon / The same tyme herde blanchardyn a voyce of a man that full pyteuosly lamented hym self; [lamented hym self = se lamentoit] wherof he toke grete merueylle, for he alredy had herde hym crye by whiles thre tymes / he demaunded of theym that were there byfore the table, who myght be that wayled and cryed so pyteously /

¶ Ther was a knyght that ansuered hym, and sayde: 'Syre, it is not long a goo that Daryus made a coursse in to ffryse, wyth a grete nombre of shippes, in so moche that by tempeste of the see he was cast in to an hauen of the see of the sayde lande, where he made grete wast, toke and slewe many men, and many he dyde brynge wyth hym prysoners / wherof emong other is one that called hym self lord of them alle / and the same is he that ye haue herde crye so pyteously' / Whan Blanchardyn herde speke of ffryse, he doubted hym well sone that it was som man of his lynage and sybbe, and was sore dyspleased for the dystruction of his lande, & wel glad to be auenged wyth his owne hande vpon the personne of Darius, that the said distruction had commytted and don / Sadoyne thenne dyde sende incontynent toward the pryson, and made to be brought out of it the noble kynge of fryse / The tables were alredy taken vp whan he was brought into the halle / Whan blanchardyn sawe the noble kynge his fader, he knewe hym anone, how wel that he was ryght sore chaunged of face, for grete sorowe and hardnesse of the pryson.

¶ Blanchardyn coude not kepe hym self, but that the grete teerys dropped fast out of his eyen, for grete pyte that he had of his fader / and myght kepe his counteynaunce, nor behaue hym self. [Wanting in the French.] expand_less And whan he was

com ayen to his manere / he demaunded of his fader what lande he was of / The goode kynge ansuered hym, and sayde: 'I am a power caytyf kyng, that somtyme regned in fryse lande / But thourgh fortune changeable my lande hath be wasted and lost by darius, the sone of kyng Alymodes; and after that he had vttirly dystroyed a grete part of my royalme, he brought me wyth hym to be here his prysoner, lyuyng full pourly wythin a derke dongeon / and wold neuer putte me to noo raenson / A fayr sone I had somtyme of myn owne spouse, my wyff, whiche I helde & had full tenderly dere; but bycause I wolde not make hym a knyght / yongthe mouid hym & departed from me. And syth, as I haue tolde you / my self, my royalme, & my folke haue be thus dystroyed and wasted. what wol ye doo of me? I am but a man lost for euer more / I requyre you that ye wyl slee me, for to brynge my grete myserye at an ende / And nought to putte me ayen in to the harde and [Wanting in the French.] expand_less tenebrouse pryson, where I and my knyghtes haue be so longe, shortyng oure dayes in suche pouerte, as ye may see' [Wanting in the French.] expand_less / The goode kynge thenne, that thus reherced his angwysshe and displaysirs, byganne to wepe & sobbe right sore / Blanchardyn asked of the kynge, yf he sawe his sone / whether he sholde knowe hym. 'Alas,' sayde the kyng, 'wel I am sure / that I shall neuer see hym.' Blanchardyn myght not conteyne hym self, and sobbed full sore in his herte. And syth sayde vnto the kynge his fader:

¶ 'Syre, I spake wyth your sone not longe a goo, whan he departed from vs / We two felawes, this gentyllman & I, haue ben a longe espace wyth hym / & nothyng was partyd amonge vs, lyke as the one of us wold haue yt / that other was therof content / he loued me as he dyde hymself, & I heeld hym as dere as my self. we were long tyme

to gyder, in somoche that for grete loue that he had to me, he gaff me this rynge of gold, that ye now see on my fynger.' [Wanting in the French.] expand_less The kyng loked vpon the rynge, & knew yt ryght well; but he knew not the fynger, nor the hande that had yt on [nor the hande that had yt on = ou elle estoit] / 'Certaynly,' sayd the kyng, 'I see & knowe right wel by the tokens that ye shewe vnto me, that ye haue seen hym / Wherfore, sire, I requyre & praye you, for the recomforte of me, that am a poure olde man, & replenyshed wyth bytternes / that ye wol telle me where my sone blanchardyn may be' / Then blanchardyn, wyth grete payne, spake wyth a lowe voyce, aunswerde him & sayd: 'Syr, ye muste knowe that he that ye askd for is ded.' Whan the nobyl kyng vnderstode hym, from a hyghe as he was, he lete hymself falle doun to the erthe all in a swoun before all them that were there / for the grete dyspleasure that he toke atte his hert whan he herd that bytter & pytous tydynge, that of new Ioyned vnto his olde trybulacions / And then blanchardyn, seeng the sorow where the kyng his fader was ynne, toke repentaunce of that he had so longe hyd hymself / and wyth eyen all tempred wyth teerys, dyde put hymself vpon his knees by-fore the kynge his fader, & ryght swetly cryed hym mercy, sayeng in thys wyse / 'My ryght doubted lord & fader! byfore you ye maye see your sone blanchardyn, that from you did departe wythoute your knowyng & lycense; wherof he asketh of you mercy & grace / and thoffence that I dyde take & brynge wyth me your good courser, whiche ys wythoute pyere amonge al other, wyth your good swerde, of whiche I haue brought to deth daryus your enmye' / whan the kyng of ffryse, that alredy was come ayen to hym sylf, herde his son blanchardyn speke, the whiche he knewe not atte that tyme well / for his sighte, that was sore troubled of the derkenes of the pryson, in

whiche he had suffred grete peyne & grete sorow, there nys no tounge of no creature mortall, that vnto you coude telle, wryte, or do to be rehersed, [Wanting in the French.] expand_less the grete Ioye that the same howre entred into the hert of that nobyl kyng prysoner; [Wanting in the French.] expand_less and of all thassystens that were there the same daye, for theyr terys were parted among them. And in especyal, Sadoyne & his wyff had of hit their parte, in suche a wyse that the teerys fell from their eyen al alonge their faces, in so grete habondaunce that theyr ryche raymentes that they hadde on that daye, were all wete wythall. The nobel kyng of fryse was enbrased & kyssed of his sone blanchardyn. the reuerence and honoure that sadoyne & his wyff made, for loue of blanchardyn, to his fader, sholde be longe for to be recounted here / Wyth [r]yght grete Ioye and gladnes they had hym in to the chamberes, where was a bayne redy made, where they made hym to be wasshed clene; And syth toke hym clothyng, accordyng to hys royal astate. And in lyke wyse they ded to all þe knyghtes that had be prysoners wyth hym, euery man after hys degree.

¶ Blanchardyn thenne, seeng the aduenture that was happed to hym, came toward the kyng hys fader, and sayd vnto hym: 'My ryghte dere and honoured lorde and fader, I bespeke you that ye woll / telle me howe the quene my moder dyd byfore your harde Infortune?' 'My ryght dere sone,' said the kynge / 'knowe now, that neuer syth thy departyng, thy sorowfull moder had no Ioye at her herte; and noon was there, my self nor noon other, that myghte recomforte her / wherof thou mayst thynke wele, that after that greuouse sorowe that she hath had of my takynge, and that she had neuer no worde from me [sign. I j.] syth that I was take and broughte here of the sarasyns, Wherby I knowe certeynli, as I fere me / that she ys rather ded than a lyue' / After thees

wordes, the kynge byganne full sore to wepe / and so ded blanchardyn, so that Sadoyne nor Beatryx his wyff coude do no thynge to stynte them.