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Calepodius in Rome regned̛ þat toke A mayde to wyfe þat conceyuyd & brought forthe A fayre chylde. The Childe wax & was put to scole / Whan he was of xx wyntyr̛ age he desyryd his faders herytage & seyde to his fader, "Syr, ye are old & ye con not rule the Empyre, yf ye yafe to me the Empyre / It sholde be your profyt" / The Emperour seyde, "Sone, þer is now grete hungre in
the Empyre, And I drede if I gafe to þe the Empyre & þe power / If I had nede happyly þou sholdyst denye me of my wylle" The Emperice, þat louyd her son more than her husband, seyde, "syr, þat may not be, for ye haue but o sone, And þerfor I trow þat he wole Alway folow your wyƚƚ / Wherfor It is good to you to graunt hym þe Empyre." The Emperour seyde, "I wole haue of hym an obligacion̛, þat what oure he reysyth hym-selfe a-gayne me & fulfyƚƚ not my wyƚƚ whan reson is, I shaƚƚ priue hym of the Empyre"/ The sone grauntyd & made an obligacion & selyd it / Whan this was done / The Emperour was put fro his dignyte / And his sone was crowned. whan he was made Emperour he was reysyd in-to pryde, In so mych he dred God ne man, And dyd many wronges. And þe fader suffred hym pacyently / It happed after þat þer was a grete hungre in the lond / And the olde Emperour bygan to haue nede / & want to his sone & asked of hym his sustenaunce / & for a tyme he sent hym. But in A shorte tyme after the fader was greuously syke / & called̛ his sone & seyde / "A, my sone, I haue grete þryst / Gyf me A draught of thi wyne moste" / the sone
Answerd / "I shaƚƚ not, for muste is not good for thi complexion" / The fader sayde, "þan gyf me of A-noþer ton of wyne" / The sone seyde / "Nay / It is not clere y-noghe / & if it sholde now be touched the wyne myght be troubled, And therfor I wol not touche it / Tyƚƚ I se it clere I-nogh" / The fader sayde / "Gyf me of the .iij. tonne" / he seyde, "Nay, for the wyne is strong̘ & mighty, And therfor It is not worthe for þe syke" / "Gyf me, þan" / he seyde, "the .iiij. tonne" / The Sone seyde, "Nay, for it is feble & with out susten [leaf 227, back] awnce or comfort / It most be wyne comfortable þat shold̛ be yeue to the syke" / Therfor the fader seyde, "Gyf me of .v. tonne." he answerde, "Nay, for drastes are in the tonne, & such is not worthe for A man̄, scarsely for hogges" / Whan the fader sawe he myght not haue / he suffred pacyently tyƚƚ he waxe hole, And than he want to the Kyng̘ of Ierhusalem, & playned̛ to hym of his sone & shewed hym an obligacion þat he myght put out his sone with out contradiction̄ / The kyng̘ herde þis & called to hym the sone to answere the fader / Whan þe sone myght not resonably Answere / The kyng̘ pryued hym of the Empyre, And restoryd Agayne the fader, And than aƚƚ preysyd the kyng̘ for he had so wysely geuen the dome.