But they of rome to their confusion
By their busshoppes and preestys gan deuyse
To vse a cursyd fals su{per}sticion
Vnto their goddys in full cruell wyse
To offre vp men by a newe sacrifise
To bury them quik in bochas thus I rede
By a fals hope they better for to spede
Of fraunce and grece they toke ten in noumbre
Half men and wymen to gedre tweyne and tweyne
And by fals murdre they dyd them encoumbre
Buryed theym quyk theyr deth was full sodeyne
At this sacrefyse the goddys gan disdeyn
And to the ramayns wex contraryous
For their fals rightys supersticious
And by recorde of olde croniculeers
The yere fyue hundre fro their fundacion
And one and twenty tho beynge consulers
Thre in noumbre as made is mencion
Which gouerned and rulyd all the toun
The first called Lucius Emilius
And the seconde catulus gaius
Actilius regulus the thrid consulere
By all the Senate ordeyned were these thre
As I haue tolde the selue same yere
For to gouerne and rule the Cyte
And to preserue them from all aduersite
Ageyn two peples of gaule and lumberdye
Which than werred of malyce and enuye
Of which werre the romayns stode in boute
The senatours and all the citeseyns
Bycause ageynst them there cam so great a route
Of lumbardys by this halfe the mounteyns
Ioyned togedre with many fell foreyns
Which stode departed as made is remembraunce
Fro them of rome and their obeysaunce
The people rude bestyall and vnstable
Togedre assemblyd wode and furious
Of multitude very innumerable
Vengeable of herte of corage despytous
Voyde of all reson sodeynly furious
As seyth bochas I can no ferther gone
Their soudiours bare gisarmys euerychon
And gysarmes of gisarmes they were called
Towarde rome them hastinge day by day
Of greate laboure the fotemen sore app••llyd
But ay their truste on multitude lay
Of whoos comynge rome stode in afray
And specially the consuleers thre
That out were sent to fight for the cite
Foure score thousand as write the croniclere
Mighty to stonde at diffence
In his felawship had eche consulere
And of the gisarmes noumbre in sentence
Thre hundred thousande by sturdy violence
Goynge on fote I finde that they had
Eight thousand ouer that all the feeld spred
I rekne nat them that rode on horsbak
Which six and thretty thousand were in noumbre
Sixe hundryd ouer purposed for the wrak
Fynally the romayns to encoumbre
The shadowe of them gaue so great an vmbre
That on the soyle which tofore was grene
There was enneth any sonne shene
Their capteyne was Abitomarus
A manly man and a full worthy knight
And with them went viridomarus
Another capteyne in stele armyd bright
Twene them and romayns longe last the fight
But on the party of rome the cite
Was slayne a consull one of the thre
After whoos deth of fortune anone right
On the party of them of rome toun
Eyght hundred thousande toke them to the flight
And thus began the fame and the renoun
Of abithomarus as made is mencion
Of which victorye his herte was made fayne
And on his partye were thre thousand slayne
But the romayns resorted be agayn
And after that had a stronge batale
And in the feeld so manly they were seyne
And so proudly their enmyes dyd assayle
That as myn auctour maketh rehersayle
Of the Gysarmys longe or it were night
Fourty thausand were slayne in that fight
The thrydde tyme with help of them of fraunce
Ioyned to lumbardes and folke of gaule also
They faught ageyne all oute of ordenaunce
Beside the ryuere that callyd is the Poo
Where both batayles togydre had adoo
And as I fynde consulers tweyne
To romayn sheltrouns knightly dyd ordeyne