Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse

The romance of Sir Beues of Hamtoun. Ed. from six manuscripts and the old printed copy, with introduction, notes, and glossary, by Eugen Kölbing ...

[1399—1430:
And then wyth swyrdes draweThey schulde hym haue slawe.Sore adrad he schulde bynIn the londe, that he was yn.They jugyd hym wytterly,5 Wykkyd dethe for to dye;They hym jugyd to hange on tre,And some, wyth stedys todrawe bee.Befyse leyde hys eere and harde,Euery juge how hyt farde;10 'Syrs,' seyde Befyse, 'hyt were wykkyd rede,To juge a knyght to houndys dedd;I am a knyght and so be ye,Kyng Armyn dubbyd me:Graunt me armowre & a stede,15 Spere & schylde gode at nede,A sekur helme and a schylde,And brynge me safe yn to þe fylde,And arme yow, knyȝtes lesse & more,An hundurd yf that ther wore,20 And let me dye yn batayle ryȝt,As maner ys for a doghty knyght!'The sarsyns seyde yn the halleAnd to the kyng can calle:'Yf þat þou graunt þat batayle bolde,25 He wyll thy men downe folde:Therfore graunt hym preson be owre reddAnd let hym lye, tyll he be dedd,Wyth owt mete, wyth owt drynke!''As ye haue seyde gode me thynke:30 In my presons ar dragons twoAnd odur wormys mony moo!''Syr, yf he be yn your preson done,He leuyth not tyll to morowe noon:Sir, y rede, we brynge hym thare35 And let hym holde þere all hys fare,And not yn fylde among þy men:Do now, syr, as we the kenne!'Then seyde the kyng Bradmonde,There he stode yn that stounde:40 'He schall dye wyth moche sorowe,Therfro schall no man hym borowe!'All they can aboute hym dryue,As beys do abowte the hyve;There they bounde syr Befown45 And put hym yn hys preson;As he schulde to preson þat tyde,Ther lay a staffe the preson be syde;Thorn nor boghe was hyt noon,Nodur alablastur no stone;50 Hevy & feyre hyt was to loke,Hyt sauyd hys lyfe, as seyth the boke.When he come there he schulde be,He stode yn watur to the kne,The watur ranne thorow nyȝt & day,55 Hyt bare the odur fro hym a way.Yf that he sate ther ynne,The watur ranne to hys chynne.Two dragons of moche myghtHe fonde þere wyth hym to fyght,60 That caste fyre to hym grete oon:The romans seyth, hyt brent the stone;But thorow the vertus of a ryall ryngThe dragonys myȝt do to hym no þyng;Agayne syr Befyse, that was (om. ms.) so wyght,65 Thre dayes lasted the fyght,That þey nodur stynt nor blanne;Syr Befyse was a sory man.At the IIII the day abowte nooneThe dragonys were bothe done,70 And hys staffe was nere away,A lytull lafte yn hys honde ay.Syr Befyse was so wery for faght,That of hys lyfe roght he noght;Lever he were to be dedd,75 For he cowde no bettur redd,But þanked god, þat all may wynne,Of the care þat he was ynne.Thorow the grace of god almyght,VII yere he stode vp ryght;80 That VII yere he was þer ynne,That he ne myȝt neuer mete wynne,But onys yn a weke a symple messeOf sodyn barley was hart lees;Ratons & myse and soche smale dere,85 That was hys mete that VII yere,For bredd of whete ete he noon,Tyll þo VII yerys were all goon.
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Title
The romance of Sir Beues of Hamtoun. Ed. from six manuscripts and the old printed copy, with introduction, notes, and glossary, by Eugen Kölbing ...
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Page 74
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London,: Pub. for the Early English Text Society by K. Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.,
1885, 1886, 1894.

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"The romance of Sir Beues of Hamtoun. Ed. from six manuscripts and the old printed copy, with introduction, notes, and glossary, by Eugen Kölbing ..." In the digital collection Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/anz2316.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 12, 2025.
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