Here begynnethe the boke calledde Iohn bochas descriuinge the falle of princis princessis [and] other nobles tra[n]slated i[n]to englissh by Iohn ludgate mo[n]ke of the monastery of seint edmu[n]des Bury ...

Howe quene Olimpiades for she delyted in vices / murdre and vengeaunce dyed at myscheef

NExt in ordre to Bochas dyd appere After the myscheef of Eumenides The greate quene with a full pitous chere Moder of alisaundre Olimpiades Borne of the lyne of Gaades Amonge quenys hir story bereth witnesse Excelled all other in beutye and richesse

She was doughter to neptolonyus The mighty kinge of Epirothes And had suspect howe Neptanabus By enchauntment put him silf in pres Of wyuely trouth to make him recheles But bochas here for to saue hir name Write but a lytyll of hir disclamirous fame

This seyde quene right faire of hir visage Was first brought forth in thilke regions Where all the worthy of blode and of lynage Helde their scepters and their rich croūs Throughoute all grece with full possessioūs So that this quene that tyme nere and ferre Was of bewtye called the lodesterre

But amonge all hir greate pros{per}ite Hir youth flouynge in moost souereyne noblesse Hir ioye was medled with greate aduersite Whan philip Macedo to hir greate heuynesse Was mortally wounded in distresse In Cythia by a certeyne nacion Called Trybaloys as made is mencyon

For in that cuntre vpon a certeyne day Where as he faught and dyd his best peyne To gete a cyte and at a siege lay And for thassaut dyd his sluff ordeyne He lost vnwarly one of his iyen tweyne That whan the quene behelde his sodeyne wounde For sorowe she fyll euyn plat to the grounde

Anothir thinge bokys specefye Troubled hir fame by greate heuinesse The suspecte sclaundre of auoutrye Wrought by Neptabanus enchauntynge hir fairenes The light Eclipsinge of hye noblesse By swift report for to hindre hir name What fleeth more swift than wyckyd fame

In womanhede as auctoures all wryte Moost thinge commendyd is their chast honeste Thinge moost sclaundrous their noblesse tatwyte Is whan princessys of hasty freelte Excede the boundes of wiuely chastyte For what auayleth lynage or royall blode Whan of their lyuynge the report is nat gode

The holy bed diffoiled of mariage Or onys soyled may nat recured be The voice goth furth & the froward langage By many realmes and many great cyte Sclaundre hath of custum and that is pite Trewe other fals by contagious soun Onys reysed it goth not lightly doun

And to more hindringe of olimpiades Philip awey dyd fram hir declyne And of the kynge of Epirothes The wyf he toke to his concubyne Called Cleopatra pleynly to termyne And thus in mischeef tencres of hir trouble Their fals auoutry gan to wex double

Of this proces write I wyll nomore Cause the mater is abhomynable For kinge philip the bargeyne bought sore As is remembred by cronycles full notable Slayne on a day syttynge at his table Full sodeynly or he toke any hede Pansanias dyd that cruel dede

Of which slaughter there folowed a straunge cas As ye haue herde by pansanias wrought Olimpiades full glad and mery was Heuy outwarde hir herte voyde of thought Yet feynyngly she hath out wayes sought For him to holde solempne and royall Lyke Grekys rightes a feest funerall

After whoos deth wrought of great cruelte Kynge alisaundre made no lengre lette Made Pansanias takyn for to be And to be hangyd vpon an hye gybet Vpon whoos hede there was a crowne sette Of golde and perle and riche stones Inde By olympiades in story as I finde

For he stode greatly in the quenys grace And as folke dempt of suspection They mette to gydre in many preuy place Which greatly turnyd to hir confusion For noyse aroos through all that region That by thoccasion of their mislyuynge Howe pansanias slough philyp the kynge

But she anone in hir malyce feruent Fro the gybet made him to be take doun Made his body solemply to be brent Kept his exequies with great oblacion After the rightes of that region Nat left behinde in party nor in all That apperteyned to festys funerall

Vpon kinge philip as it were for the nonys To do hir lorde a shame a despite Solemply she made brenne the bonys Of pansanias for a fals appetyte Vnto no man she had so greate despite For which this feest was lyke in all thinges To thexequies of princes and of kynges

She made his swerde also to be take With which he slough philyp the greate kinge Offred it vp only for his sake Tofore appollo by recorde of writynge Which to hir was sclaundre and greate hindringe Caused folke deme in their entent To sle kynge philyp howe she was of assent

To be cruel was set all her plesaunce For merciles voyde of all pyte On cleopatre causinge this vengeaunce That she hir silf henge vpon a tre Murdred hir doughter the story ye may se What malice may if it be declared Vnto the malyce of wymen be compared

Speke of them that be malicious And lyste of custome for to be vengeable Amonge a thousaunde one may be vertuous And in two thousand sum one is merciable But whan they be of rancour vntretable There is no tigre more cruell doubtles Recorde I take of Olimpiades

And she of malyce was more set of fyre To execute boldly her vengeaunce By thoccasion of the greate empire Of perce and meede full famous in substaunce Which stode by conquest vndre the gouernaunce Of alisaundre wherby she thought hir stronge Tacheue eche thinge whether it be right or wronge

Dempt hir power shulde ay contune By the mene of his high mageste God is stronger than the quene fortune Which suffred hir sonne in hir moost dignite In babylone poysened for to be As is remembred in many olde histories After his triumphes and his victories

But for to passe breuely to the writinge Touchinge the quene as made is mencion Whan dede was philip the famous kynge She had of macedoyne ful possession And gouerned that mighty region Where like a wuluesse as auctours of hir write To shede blode she gan hir silf delyte

In her tyrannye moost feruent and yrou•• Reioysed in slaughter and to se men blede For serpent none was more malicious Than was this quene in bokes ye may rede Yet after all this she receyued hir mede For though fortune fauoured hir a while y••t with hir treynes she coude hir wel begyle

The ende of tyrauntes and eke of tyranesses and of murdres be they neuer so wode Of poyson mongers and enchaunteresses Of fals supplantours contrary to all gode And of conspirers and them thriste blode All these muste haue by goddys purueaunce H••re short life or sodeyne vengeaunce

In macedoyne this quene was moost behatyd For hir vengeable mortall oppression And Cassander ageyne hir hath debatyd And gūne a werre vpon hir region Which to alisaundre mynystred the poyson As ye haue herde to fore of him diuysed By antipater moost mortally practised

She fonde no refute but toke hir to flight This cruell quene this olympiades Into a mounteyne that stode ferre out of sight And of hir kyn there folowed hir a greate p••es Supposynge to haue lyued there in pees For on that hyll stode a greate dongeon Strongly wallyd aboute enuyron

Which that marchyd to a great cyte Called Epidua stondyng in great doubte Bycause Cassandre of olde enmyte Had for hir leyde a syege aboute And none was hardy for to issue out Tyll cassandre of fals compassed treson Made with theym a composicion

His feith was leyde that tyme for hostage By othe assured to olimpyades By couert fraude vnder fayre langage To suffre hir with him to lyue in pees But of his promys he fals and recheles For vnder trete as made is mencion The quene he toke and caste hir in prison

But will ye se a royall hye corage Howe boldly delyuered fro prison She descended imperiall of visage With all hir maydens about hir enuiron Hir enmys present wodder than lyon Seynge hir stonde so statly of hir face Whan they were proudest tareste hir and manace

She was of purpose arayed for the nones As seyth bochas in moost statly wise In rich purpyl golde and precious stonys Lyke an empresse in the grekyssh guyse Hir lyst nat fle the storye doth diuyse With cry nor noyse passed nat hir boundes Whan that hir blode doū rayled from hir woundes

She nat affrayed in all hir mortall shoures Voyde of all fere lyste nat lowe hir chyne Make no prayer to hir turmentoures Nor no tokne of corage feminyne Vpright she stode lyste nat doun declyne Gaue euidences as it is comprehended Of what lyne and blode she is descendyd

For vnto tyme that she gaue vp the breth Was neuer seyne prince nor princesse That more proudly toke their fatall deth For as I deme hir marciall hardynesse Cam from Bellona of armys cheef goddesse Or she had it by influence of corage Youe by the goddys to hir and hir lynage

Force is a vertue bokes specefye Agayne all vices to make resistence But frowarde rancoure and proude malencolye Gaue hir a sprite of feyned pacience A fals pretence of hir magnyficence As scaunce she had ben in vertue stronge For trouth to haue endured euery wronge

Contrarious force made hir despitous Stronge in hir errour to endure peyne Of obstynate herte she was fell and Irous In dethys constreynt listnat to complayne Counterfet suffraunce made hir for to feyne No thinge of vertue pleynly to termyne Nor of no mannys that be femynyne

In hir entrayles all malice was enclosyd And all contagyous venym serpentyne Nat lyke a woman but as a feende disposyd Able to destroye all vertuous disciplyne Thus she began thus she dyd fyne In vicious murdre she dyd hir ay delyte Wherfore of hir me lyst no more tendyte

Lenuoye.

AL ye that shall this tragedye see Of ruth and mercy haue compassion To se a princesse from hir Imperiall see So vnwarly by fortune throwe doun Of whose myscheef this was thoccasion That in thre thinges was set moost hir plesaunce In vicious life in murdre and vengeaunce

Alas that euer the mortall cruelte Of blody swerde by execusion Shulde be appropryd to feminite Ageyne the nature of their condicion Causinge the fynall sclaundrous confusion Of olimpidiades here put in remembraunce For vicious lif murdre and fals vengeaunce

Vnder fressh floures sote and fayre to se The serpent dareth with his couert poyson In cristall waters that calme and sote be Are perilous pittes full of decepcion Men se al day by clere inspection In feynynge facys aungelike suffisaunce Hir vnderneth rancoure and greate vengeaunce

Though she excelled of hir natyf beutye All other princys of that region Was neuer none feller seen than she To execute like hir opinion The perilous treynes contreuyd of treson And specially in hir pompous greuaunce Where she hated for to do vengeaunce

Noble princes set hye in dignite Do aduertise of discrecion In youre moost power and largest liberte Be merciable and do remission Sugre with pyte your indignacion Late grace and mercy tempre your hye puissaunce Of olimpiades eschuynge the vengeaunce

Exile ricoure ferre oute of cuntre Yeue him with you no Iurisdiction To womanhede laugh nat parde Of cancred rancoure newe execucion Where mercy regneth of grace there is foison Haue this in mynde by longe contynuaunce Of olimpiades forgetinge the vengeaunce

Late pacience by vertuous plente Within your hertys purchace a mancion Late youre compassion attempre equite That right excede nat the boundes of reson So that youre femynyn humble entencion Be alweye brydled by prouident suffraunce Voidinge all excessys of ricour and of vengeaunce

For it is sayde of olde auctoryte To woman longeth by disposicion Mekenesse in langage in port humilite In all vertue humble subiection Voide of manacis strif and contencion So that no man in your attendaunce Espye no tokyn of rancour nor vengeaunce

The speciall mene the parcialite Shulde of all mercy be descripcion Rebounde to wymen for of antiquyte The lambe nat vsed to pley the lyon Nor no meke downe enuyed the faucon Nor to youre degre by naturall accordaunce Sit nouther ricoure nor hasty fell vengeaunce

Thys simple lenuoye receyue it at gre And haue therof none indignacion Lowly directe to youre benignite Only of mekenesse and no presumpcion Knowynge of kinde youre inclinacion Disposed is by naturall purueaunce Vnto al mercy and no thinge vnto vengeaunce