Melusine. Part I

Cap. LII. How Geffray fonde the sepulture of the king of Albany, his granfader Helynas, within the mountayn.

Geffray thenne went not ferre whan he fond̛ a ryche Chambre, where as were grete ryches and grete Candstykes of fyn gold, and vpon them grete tapers white wax, brennyng so clere that it was meruayƚƚ. And in the myddes of the Chambre he fonde a noble & ryche tombe of fyn gold, al sette with

perlys & precyous stones, & vpon it was figured the fourme of a knyght, that had on hys heed a ryche croune of gold̛ with many precyous stones / and nygh by that tombe, a grete ymage of Albaster, kerued & made aftir the fourme of a quene, crouned with a ryche crowne of gold / the whiche ymage held a table of gold̛ / where-as were wryton the wordes that folowen. 'Here lyeth my lord myn husband the noble kyng Elynas of Albanye' / and also shewed al the manyere how he was buryed there, and for what cause. And also spake of theire thre doughtirs, that is to wete, Melusyne, Melyor, and Palastyne / and how they were punysshed bycause that they had closed theire fader / as in thystory tofore is reherced. Also it shewed by wrytyng how the geaunt had be there ordeyned for the kepyng & sauegarde of the place, vnto tyme he were putte therfro by the prowesse of one of the heyres of the said thre doughtirs / and how there myght none neuer entre within yf he were not of that lynage / and in these tables of gold̛ was wel dyuysed along as it is wreton in the Chapytre of king Elynas / and thus geffray beholding & seeyng, [pondered] by grete space [folio 193b] vpon the tables as vpon the beaute of the place / but he knewe not yet that the tables shewed that he was of the lynee of kyng Elynas & Presyne his wyf. And whan he had wel behold̛ a long tyme he departed, & went by a waye obscure tyl he fond̛ a feld̛, thenne loked he tofore hym, & sawe a grete toure, square, wel batelmented, & went toward and went about the toure tyl he fonde the gate the whiche was open, & the bridge let faƚƚ doun, & entred in, & came to the haƚƚ, where he fonde a grete yron trayƚƚ, wherin were closed a hondred men & more of the Countre that the geaunt

held for hys prysonners./ And whan they sawe geffray they meruaylled moche, & hym sayd, 'Sire, for the loue of god flee you, or ye shal be deed; For the geaunt shaƚƚ come ryght foorth that shal dystroye you al, were ye an C suche as ye are' / And geffray ansuerd̛ them al thus: 'Fayre lordes, I am not here come but only the geaunt to fynd̛ / & I shuld haue don to grete foly to be come fro so ferre hither to retourne so hastly.' And after these wordes cam the geaunt fro slepe. But whan he sawe geffray he knew hym, and sawe wel that his deth was nygh, and had grete feer / and thenne he fledd unto a chambre, the whiche he sawe open, & speryd the doore to hym. And whan geffray that perceyued, he was ryght sorowful that he had not mete with hym at the entryng of the Chambre./

Thystorye sayth that geffray was right dolaunt whan he sawe the geaunt was entred into the chambre, and that he had speryd̛ the doore to hym. Thenne cam geffray toward the doore, rennyng with a grete radeur, & smote with his foot so mightyly that he made the doore to flye vnto the myddes of the chambre. [folio 194] And thenne the Geaunt swyftly went out at the doore bycause he might none other way passe, and held in his hand̛ a gret mayllet wherof he gaaf to geffray suche a stroke vpon the bassynet that he made hym al amased. And whan geffray felt the stroke, that was harde & heuy, he foyned with his swerd̛ at his brest, with suche yre that it entred in the geaunt thrughe to the cros of the swerd̛. And thenne the geant made vp an horryble cry, sayeng, 'I am deed, I am deed.' And whan they that were in the traylles of yron herd̛ it / they cryed with an hye voys, 'Ha, noble man, blessid be the ooure that thou were borne of a woman. We pray the for the loue of god, that thou haue vs hens,

For thou hast at this day delyuered this land̛ out of the gretest myserye that euer peuple was in.'/