The romance of Guy of Warwick. The first or 14th-century version.

                                
                                  'Now,' seyd Gye, 'have thow mawgry:
                                
                                  Now have I of thy wepon plenty.'
                                
                                  When colbrond saw that dede,
                                
                                  He stert forth as man in nede.
                                  Line 10745 
                                
                                  With all hys strenght he smote to Gye,
                                
                                  But he sterte bake in hye.
                                
                                  As Iesu cryste ys wyll was
                                
                                  (Hyt was a full wondre cas),
                                
                                  The swerd in-to the ground gan dryve
                                  Line 10750 
                                
                                  Thre fote also blyve,
                                
                                  And, as he after the swerd gan stoupe, [Caius MS. 107 page 260] 
                                
                                  Gye hym smote with-owte dowȝte:
                                
                                  With both handys the axe he hente,
                                
                                  And yave the Geaunte a gret dynte.
                                  Line 10755 
                                
                                  Hys ryght arme he smote aweye:
                                
                                  Hys swerd vpon the ground laye.
                                
                                  Tho was the Geaunte full sory,
                                
                                  And to hys swerd he sterte in hye:
                                
                                  With hys lyfte hand he wold assay,
                                  Line 10760 
                                
                                  For the ryght hand was awey.
                                
                                  Ryght as he be-gan to stoup than,
                                
                                  Gye wente nere as a hardy man:
                                
                                  Hys good axe he reryd on hye
                                
                                  With both handys full myȝtyly:
                                  Line 10765 
                                
                                  He smote hym in the neke so well,
                                
                                  That the hed flye of euery-deale.
                                
                                  The geaunte ded on the erth laye,
                                
                                  The danys mad gret sorrow that day:
                                
                                  The king aulof was well sorye,
                                  Line 10770 
                                
                                  And all hys men that stod hym bye.
                                
                                  To theyre shyppys be they wente
                                
                                  All for-shamyd and for-shente.
                                
                                  Ioyfull was the kyng athelstone
                                
                                  And hys barons euerychone:
                                  Line 10775 
                                
                                  They toke sir Gye hem amonge,
                                
                                  And led him [hed hem MS.]  forth with mery song

Pages

Index

About this Item

Title: The romance of Guy of Warwick. The first or 14th-century version.
Canvas: Page 605
Publication: London,: Pub. for the Early English text society by K. Paul, Trench, Trübner, & co., limited,; 1883, 1887, 1891.
Subject terms: Guy of Warwick (Legendary character)

Technical Details

Collection: Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse
Link to this Item: https://name.umdl.umich.edu/aha2638.0001.001
Link to this scan: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/cme/aha2638.0001.001/622:3

Rights and Permissions

The University of Michigan Library provides access to these materials for educational and research purposes. These materials are in the public domain. If you have questions about the collection, please contact [email protected]. If you have concerns about the inclusion of an item in this collection, please contact [email protected].

DPLA Rights Statement: No Copyright - United States

IIIF

Manifest: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/api/manifest/cme:aha2638.0001.001

Cite this Item

Full citation: "The romance of Guy of Warwick. The first or 14th-century version." In the digital collection Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/aha2638.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 13, 2025.

The romance of Guy of Warwick. The first or 14th-century version.

Annotations Tools

Actions

About this Item

Technical Details

Rights and Permissions

Related Links

IIIF

Cite this Item