English conquest of Ireland : A.D. 1166-1185 : mainly from the 'Expugnatio hibernica' of Giraldus Cambrensis : part I, the text / edited by Frederick J. Furnivall.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

Off þe kynge And of hys sonnes, & of the purchace that þe kynge dede, ys Inowe Itold shortlyche: now we wyllen turne ayeyne to our̛ knyghten gestes yn Irlande. The lond of Irland was yn good pees vnder̛ Reymond-ys kepynge; bot heruy of Mountynorthy,—that euer hadde enuy to Reymond, & saw that hys selth & hys wyrshype wex euer more & more,—fore he ne durst nat openly showe the felony that was yn hys hert, he bethoght that he wold dernely; he made hym semblant of myche loue; besoght ful yorne þat he most allyaunce haue to har kynrede, & namely, that he moste haue to wyue a gentyl-womman̛, Moryces doghter, fytz Gereud, that hegℏ Neste. Thys mayd was hym Igraunted, & he hyr spoused; & þat þe kynrede sholden the faster̛ be Ibound togydyr, by procurynge of Reymond & of hym eke, þe Erl yaf helyn, hys sustre, to Wyllyam, Moryces eldest sone; þe erl sent eke aftyr Moryce, that was than Iwent ynto Walys; & at hys comynge, he yaue hym þe haluendele of Ofelan̛, & þe castel of wykynlo; & þat oþer haluendele he yaue Meyler. In the tyme þat þe pees was, & þe lond yn good state, byfel that Obren, the kynge of Thomon, ayeyne hys trouth & ayeyn the kynges pees, began to withdrawen hym from the kynge, & noght nold be bowynge to hym, ne to ham that wer̛ vnder hym yn þe lond.

[Fol. 19a.] Reymond told þer-of myche vnworthynes, & yn lytyl whyle gadered to-dedderes so hys hoste, so that he hadde an hundert knyghtes & .xx.^ti, thre hundret other an hors, & .CCCC. bowmen afote, & about al-halwen-tyde went toward lymeryke. Whan thay wer theder I-come, thay hadden̛ grete lette of the grete watyr of þe shynen, that was betwen ham & þe sytè, so that thay myght nat ouer wende: the yonglynges—that wel coueytouse wer ham self to auaunce, her stalwarthnesse to showe, & also wynnynge to gete & to hawe,—weren wel sore a-tened þat thay myght nat ouer to þe syte that was ham so neght, for þe watyr þat was so depe & so streit rennynge betwene, & eke so stony by the ground. As the formest of ham waren houynge vpon þe waterys brynk, was a yonge knyght amonge ham, newly I-dobbet, fayr & stalwarth, Reymondes Neuowe, that hete Dauy the Welsse [David agnomine Walensis. Op. v. 321.] : throgℏ grete couetyse that he hadde, ouer al other̛ to wyn the formest pryce, ne dredet nat to do hym-self to so horyble perylle of deth; he smote hys hors with the spores, & ouer-threwe adoun ynto þe watyr, þat was so depe & so stony. the horse was myche & stronge, & come sone vp aboue the watyr wyth hym. he wyssed the hors sydlynge ayeyns the watyr asquynt, & come ouer on the other̛ syde, & cryed to hys men, & seyd that he hadde a ford I-found. bot, for he fond no man þat hym wold felowe, bot o knyght that hete Geffrey Iudas [Galfridus Judas. Ibid.] , he turned ayeyne by that same wey, & þe knyght with hym. he come ouer hole & sound; bot þe knyght, þrogℏ þe streyntnesse of þe watyr, was I-throw adoun, he & hys hors, & y-drent to-for ham al. Whan Meyler̛, that theder was wyth Reymond I-comen, þys saw, he hadde grete enuy that such hardynesse shold be I-teld of any other, & nat to hym: vpon the hors þat hym bar̛, he put hymself yn the watyr, & hardylyche, wyth-outten any ferdnesse, passed ouer þe other syde. The cytzeyns sawe hym comynge so al-oon; thay comen ayeyn hym, some for to kepe hym vpward at hys comynge out of þe watyr, for to mak hym turne ayeyne; other̛, to vndo hym ryght yn the watyr. The knyght was stalwarth, & boldly putte hym vp bytwene twe perylle:—on on halue, þe wode-yernynge

watyr so grysly; on other̛ halue, hys fomen, that with stonys & with fawes [MS. fawes. Lat. creberrimis lapidum jaculorumque jactibus. Op. v. 322.] hym leyden on, both at þe watyr, & vpon the wallys of the toun, þat ryght vpon the watyr stode. He pute hys sheld & hys heed wyth the helme ayeyns the dyntes, & hertely held hym amydde al þat harme, alone, wythout any helpe, ful unseker on al syde: þe crye was ful horyble on euery halue. And Reymond, that was at þe last of þe hoste, as hede & lodesman & prynce of al þe hoste, herde the crye, & wyst nat yit what hyt was. He come anoon hastyly thrughe al þe hoste, tyl he come to þe watyr; & when he sawe hys neueu on that other̛ syde, so narowe byladde, & on al syde besete so narowe, he hadde grete angwysshe yn hys hert; & sharpe & byttyrly bygan to cry to hys felowes: "Men̛ that so stalwarth ben of ryght kynd, & yn so fele Anguysshes with vs hath your̛ streynth assayed, cometh forth, men! the way ys open to-for vs, & the ford that noon of vs ne couth, throgℏ hardynesse of our̛ y-found. folow we now the herty knyght, that so stronge ys byladde, & let me hym neuer so neygℏ to-for our eghen be I-shent!" With that word, Reymond was þe fyrst that put hym yn þe watyr; & al þe hoste aftyr dyde ham yn aduentur̛, & yn goddys grace, & wenten our̛ al quyte, bot o knyght that hete Guy, & twey fotemen. her fomen flowen [MS. slowen. Lat. fugatis in urbem hostibus, v. 322.] to-fore hem ynto the Cytè, & thay braken yn aftyr, & wan the cytè, & slowen ful many of þe cytzeyns, & dreyntten. Thay fonden ther so myche gold & syluer̛ & other rychesshe, that for that, & eke for the maystre [Fol. 19b.] that god ham sent, thay told lytel of the perylle & the lostes that thay hadde ther-to-fore. Nowe arede ye, whyche was the hardyest of these thre knyghtes? whether he, that wythout any man to-fore hym, put hym yn-to the watyr for to techen al the other the weye; Ather̛ he, that, aftyr ensample of hym, & the horyble death of ham that weren I-dreynt to-fore har eyghen, passed the watyr, & al-one sette so hardyly hys body to mark amonge so many fomen; Other he, that aftyr ham both, so hardyly & so boldly, with al the hoste, put hym yn so gret perrylle? Thus was, as the [? for 'at this.'] tyme, lymeryk I-wonne

one a tywesday [Later note in margin: 'Ther̛-aftyre hyt was I-socoured one a tywsday.] ; Watyrford I-wonne one a tywesdaye, & dyuelyn also: noght for o coste was that day awayted þer-to, bot as hyt byfelle by cas & by adwentur̛; & nat wythout skyle, ffor the tywesday, by hethen men day yn the old world, was I-sette to a god that day cleped Mars, & was I-hold god of bataylle; & on that day thay fonden, þat whoso bataylle besoght, he shold spede better̛ than yn oþer dayes.