The Three Kings' Sons. Part I. The Text / edited from its unique MS, Harleian 326, about 1500 A.D. by F.J. Furnivall

Sultan Orcays of Turkey also arrives in Sicily.

YE haue wele herde here before, how he was determyned to be at this Tournay / and whan he sawe his tyme coueneble, he departed, so richely arayed and so wele accompanyed, [leaf 108] that euery man thought that he was right wele appointed accordyng to his highe estate / and litil while he spedde him so wele, he came into the Reaume of Sizile / his herbegeours were afore, and hadde taken vp his loggyng / whan the Emperour knewe of his comyng / he had grete meruaile / and thought werrily he shold not tournay without he were first cristened; and so he supposed the Turke entendid to be / Than went he and the kynge of Scottes to mette with him / and mette him almost at the Towne. There was amonges them grete ioye / and eche did othir grete honour. and when the Turke behelde the kynge of Scottes, he knew certainly it was the same that he had taken prisoner to-fore; and whan he remembred his worthynesse, he loste anone moche of his hope of the Tournay / wisshing that he hadde slayne hym whan he toke him prisoner / but in asmoche as it was to late / he salewed the

kynge, saynge vnto him / "fforsothe, sir, whan y deliuered you, y wende fulle litil to haue hadde in myn handes the chief of the cristen armee" / "By my feith, sir," seide the kynge of Scottes, "y holde my lif of you" / Than seide the Turke, "y deliuered you / not knowyng what ye were / and ye deliuered me, knowyng for certaine that y was the Turkes sone / by this, was ther gretter bounte yn you than in me; and y am more bounden to you than ye to me" / "trewly," seide the kynge of Scottes, "sauf your grace / ffor y did nought for you, but that y was bounden bifore for to do / and moche more, and y coude / and ye did for me without desert of me or any othir, for my sake" / In suche communicacion rode they vnto the Towne / and the Emperour hadde grete pleasir to here them / Aftir soper, the Turke and the kynge of Scottes came to se the Ladies / and so did alle othir straungers, wherof there were so many, that euery man was ameruailed / for there was no cristen nacion almoost, but there were som folkes therof / The ladies and gentilwomen made grete chere to the Turke / The Turke made it secretly be broken to the Emperour, that if he wolde breke of this Tournay / and gif hym his doughtir in mariage / he wolde become cristen for hir sake / but his entente was, not to be cristened vpon none certaynte / and if themperour had knowen bifore his desire, with right good wille he wold haue agreed therto / for by that meane his Reaume, for alwey sholde haue bene in peas / neuirtheles, he praied [leaf 108, bk.] him now to remembre that the ffesst of the Tournay was alle redy / wherfore it was now to late to breke it / ffor the loggynge was taken vp by the herbeiours for x. kynges and C.C. princes, and grete lordes of blode Roialle, wherfore he neither might, nor wolde, abuse so many grete princes & lordes / for he coude not do it without grete maugre and a shame / But, and he hadde shewed him this whan he was prisoner, Themperour wold haue had grete ioie therof / whan the Turke herd this answere, he thought wele themperour saide trouthe / and content him with the answere, tha[n]kyng moche themperour; and so taried ther stille, abidyng the ffeste / and euery day the kynge of Scottes and he, with many othir grete princes, came to disporte them with the ladies & gentilwomen / Now leue we them, & retourne to the kynge of Englond. [Illumination: Meeting of the Emperor and the King of England, on horseback.]