The sheeldes brighte / testeres / and trappures
Gold hewen helmes / hauberkes / Cote Armures
Line 2500
Lordes in paramentz / on hir courseres
Knyghtes of retenue / and eek Squieres
Nailynge the speres / and helmes bokelynge
Giggynge of sheeldes / with layneres lacynge
Line 2504
There as nede is / they weren no thyng ydel
The fomy steedes / on the golden brydel
Gnawynge / and faste the Armurers also
With fyle and hamer prikynge to and fro
Line 2508
Yemen on foyte / and communes many oon
With shorte staues / thikke as they may goon
Pypes / trompes / Nakerers / Clariounes
That in the bataille / blowen blody sounes
Line 2512
The paleys / ful of peples vp and doun [folio 31b]
Heere thre / ther ten / holdynge hir question
Dyuynynge / of thise Thebane knyghtes two
Somme seyden thus / somme seyde it shal be so
Line 2516
Somme helden with hym / with the blake berd
Somme with the balled / somme with the thikke herd
Somme seyde / he looked grymme / and he wolde fighte
He hath a sparth / of twenty pound of wighte
Line 2520
Thus was the halle / ful of diuynynge
Longe after / that the sonne gan to sprynge
The grete Theseus / that of his sleepe awaked
With Mynstralcie / and noyse þat was maked
Line 2524
Heeld yet the chambre / of his Paleys riche
Til that the Thebane knyghtes / bothe yliche
Honured / were / in to the paleys fet
Duc Theseus / was at a wyndow set
Line 2528
Arrayed / right as he were a god in Trone
The peple / preesseth thiderward ful soone
Hym for to seen / and doon heigh reuerence
And eek to herkne / his heste and his sentence
Line 2532
¶ An heraud on a Scaffold made an Oo
Til al the noyse of peple was ydo
