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

K. Alfour afterwards seeks help, and gets it for Iolante's sake.

THies tidynges were opende & knowen thorugh aƚƚ cristendome to alle kynges and prynces / yn so moche / that there was daily grete speche therof yn euery Court, Seyng that the reaume of Sizile was nygh lost without any socours, whiche was to grete a pite that so valiaunt a prince / and so noble a Reaume, & so grete, so faire & so good a lady, shold so be destroied by the myscreauntes, whicℏ was to grete a shame to aƚƚ cristen Reaumes, seeng the litle seruice they did to god, wherthorugh they dred that god wold vttirly be displesid / All thies thinges were often deuised in eueri Court / but for aƚƚ that / was noon that adressed hem, neither to go nor to sende any socours.

ye haue herde here-to-fore the maner & condicions of Philip the sone of the kynge of ffraunce / that was

the yong man of the worlde that moost loued & dred god. This viage of Sizile herd he often spoken of, and many tymes wolde he speke to his ffadir, and meue him as ferre as he durst, to sende som socours to this poure kyng of Sizile / and besougℏt hym to be ware of goddes displeasir, [leaf 10, bk.] remembryng the grete wele / god had yeuen hym / the Reaume, & the grete possession that he helde / the tranquillite and peas that was in his Reaume / and he to do no thyng in the seruice of hym that had yeuen him alƚ that / and though there were noon othir thinge but pite / that aught to meue eueri prince to the socours of so honorable a kynge and so faire a lady. Thus many tymes & ofte the rigℏt noble sone of the kynge of ffraunce amonested his fadir, & so long þat þe kynge was constreyned to answere him, seyng thiese wordes / "my sone, .I. knowe wele / that in this that ye exorte me to do socours to the kyng of Sizile, cometh of an high and a noble corage, wherof I am right glad & wele content / but y must remembre agein the charge of this Reaume, the payne and trauaile that .I. haue had, and haue, to kepe & mayntene it in good peas / for many grete prynces & lordes holde of me / that somtyme by enuy and presumpcion wold rebelle and reise werre / wherby the Reaume shold gretly be empeired / but by grete iustise that y haue alwey kepte, & euer shal to my power. wherfore it neuer yit bifelle so, ne neuer shaƚƚ, yif god be pleasid. And be sure I haue remembrid this matier ful ofte, and fayn wold do suche seruice as might be to god agreable / but I wote not how, for yif .I. shold sende any of my blode / the remenaunt that be of estate wold haue enuy ther-ate / and othir kynges and princes that wold go vndir me wold not go vndir them / & thus the seruice that y shol[d] do to god might litil profit or nougℏt / And yif y shold go in myn oune persone / the Reaume that god hath yeue me to kepe shold be without a gouernour / for ye be but yonge yet / and thus at my comyng ageyn / yif euer it pleased god I shold retourne, I might lightly fynde my Reaume empeired and divided in such maner that it might be grete damage to vs bothe, & to the comon wele / wherof we sholde come to late to repentaunce. And yif y sholde sende you forth / take hede hou other kynges and princes wold be content to go vndir you & in your company / but rathir might growe enuy / wherof might falle to you such mysauenture / that y had leuer god sende me the dethe / ye knowe wele that in you is aƚƚ my trust / and the only comfort of this Reaume, and for this y wol that ye haue no lenger hope nor

desire to go, nor entreprynse this viage / for and I knewe any man withyn my Reaume, were he neuer so gret, that wold yeue you any counseƚƚ or [leaf 11] comfort theryn, he sholde dye for it, as he that wele had deserued it, for he shold take out of this Reaume the grace that god hath yeuen vs / that is, to haue an heire male aftir my daies, whiche is ynough to the pleasir of aƚƚ the Reaume / By whos losse this Reaume sholde be more desolate / then that of Sizile; not by the ennemyes of the feithe, but be enuy & warre of grete princes marchers vnto this Reaume, whiche thinge may lightly byfalle for lakke of Iustice and good gouernaunce. But y trust yn god that, of his grace, aftir my daies ye shaƚƚ guyde this Reaume as wele as y haue don, & better / if it please hym to yeue you lif, whiche is the thyng in the worlde that y moost desire / therfore, yif ye haue had any desire a-fore this to take on you that viage, lete it passe out of your mynde / for my hert can neuer be agreable therto / ye se also othir cristen princes, in especiaƚƚ the kynge of Spayne, whos doughter the kynge of Sizile hath maried, in trust to haue helpe & comfort of hym / yit y can not vndirstonde that he is any thyng comforted by hym. Beholde o that othir side, The kyng of Inglond hath a sone, right wele condicioned as men say / and of age to entreprynse suche auentures / & he hath .ij. faire doughters, wherby he is comforted that the Reaume shalƚ not out of the lyne / & he knoweth thies tidynges aswele as y do / yit can y here no worde that he any thynge puruaieth to the socours of the kynge of Sizile / Beholde / ferther, the kynge of Scottes, that hath .iij. sones, wherof / one is in the age of Armes, wele norisshed & condicioned, as y vndirstonde / & wele may ye wite that he hath thies tidynges aswele as othir / and he doth nothynge ther-to, and yet is he the kynge that hath leste excuse, sith he hath .iij. sones, as it is saide / and yif he wold sende forth one of them / and sende vnto the kynge of Inglonde and to me / y wote wele that for to do seruice vnto god / ther is noon of vs two but wolde aide therto vnto oure power. Se ferther, also the Emperour, that sholde be the verry trewe defence of the Churche, & sustenaunce / and the right arme that aught to be defender / and y can here no thyng that he doth to the socours, helpe or comfort of the kyng of Sizile. Then I, that am ferre from the marches, & of noon acquey[n]taunce nor alliaunce, shold be the first premeuer or exorter to enterprynse the viage, it accordeth not. Beholde thorugh all almayne, where as so many grete princes be, whiche of theym presenteth hem forward /

whan I fynde any that [leaf 11, bk.] this Viage wol take vpon theym, & they sende to me, seurely y shal do seruice to god to my power; but tyl that tyme I wol not entremete me ther-witℏ."

This yonge Philippe, vndirstondyng the wordes of his ffadir, consideryng that they were resonable, dredyng his displeasir, answerd hym litil, seyng al sobrely / "My lord, y know weƚƚ youre causes be good & resonable / but and eueri Prynce be of that opinion / the socours ys like to come to late to the good kynge of Sizile. Where nedith to be sought a gretter prynce or a better gouernour than he is / yif it pleased your grace to sende him of youre folkys. and yif ye thinke ther sholde growe any enuy to sende them in the conduyt of a grete lorde / put hem then in the gouernaunce of knyghtes, suche as be notable, & preued wise and worthy; and yeue them in charge to do what the kynge wil commaunde them / and thus shal thei be sure of a good Capteyne / And than shal there be no cristen prynce but that may and aught to make of you his mirrour & example to do as ye haue dōn, to þe wele of aƚƚ cristendome, wherof the honour shold be doubled in you, ynasmoche as ye were the first meuer & begynner therof."