The hystorye, sege and dystruccyon of Troye

¶Howe the Troyans toke kynge Thoas pry∣soner / and ledde hym into Troye. Ca. xxiiij.

[illustration]

WHan Aurora / w^t syluer droppes shene Hitterys shadde / vpon y^• fresshe grene Cōplaynȳge ay / in wepyng & i sorowe Hir childrens deth / euery somer morowe This to saye / whan the dewe so soote Enbawmed hath / the floure and eke the roote With lusty lycoure / in Apryll and in May Whan the larke / messager of day

Of custome aye / Aurora doth salue With sondry notes / hir sorowe to transmue Or Phebus ryse / to ioye and gladnesse Thorugh Armonye / to leue hir heuynesse Takynge hir leue / with seynt Iohn̄ to borowe The same tyme / Grekes by the morowe With lusty herte / erely dyde aryse And armed them / in all theyr beste wyse For they them caste / that daye for to goon Into the felde / to mete with theyr foon And Ector hath / the same morowe also I caste hym fully / with grekes haue ado And yssued is knyghtly / out of troye In herte he hath / so great desyre and ioye The same day / with grekes for to fyght And with hym ladde / many lusty knyght Of suche as were / of the Cyte borne And forth he rode / hymselfe all aforne And Eneas / with many a worthy Folowed after / wonder faste by And Parys than / and next hym Dephebus And sythe Troylus / that was couragyous With all the wardes / made of troye towne In wiche as Dares / maketh mencyowne Within his boke / there were on troye syde Of fyghtynge men / that went and dyde ryde An hondred thousande / armed for to go Into the felde / and fyfty thousande mo Whiche haue them caste / that day or at eue Of one entent / Grekes for to greue And so they mette / strongly on outher syde And gan assemble / and togydre ryde Full cruelly / and with great hatrede And with them tho / that Parys dyde lede He entrede in / full myghty stronge Archeres Of Perce londe / and many Arbalasteres that w^t theyr arrowes / fyled sharpe & rounde And with quarelles / square whette & grounde Full many greke / hath reuyd of his lyfe And amyddes / of this mortall stryfe Agamenon / into the felde is come Towardes whom / Ector hath ynome The right way / and threwe hym of his stede Amonge his knyghtes / that he dyde lede He spared nought / for all the great prees And therwithall / anone came Achylles That in awayte / of Ector hadde layne And sodaynely / with all his myght and payne ¶Ector he smote / on the hede so sore That w^t y^e stroke / myn Auctour sayth no more His basenet / was bowed and ycrased Of whiche stroke / Ector nat amased On Achylles / shulde anone yfalle Ne hadde Eneas / with his knynghtes alle And worthy troylous / come and go betwene The whiche twayne / with their swerdes kene Gan Achylles / felly for to assayle To hewe his plates / and to perce his mayle And tho began / the slaughter / on euery syde Of men of foote / and of them that ryde Lyke a condyte / their woundes gan blede And in this whyle / cruell Dyomede Were it by hap / aduenture or caas So as he rode / hath mette with Eneas And right anone / as he hadde hym founde He smet at hym / and gaue hym such a wounde That lykely was / he shulde nat recure But if therto / be do the better cure And therupon / full despyteously This Dyomede / in his melancoly Repreuyd hath / this troyan knyght Enee And sayd to hym / all heyle for thou art he That whylom gaue / to Pryamus the kynge A felle counsayle / hasty and bytynge Me for to a slayne / by sodayne vyolence Whan I was laste / at troye in his presence That truste me well / and haue it wel in mynde Amyd the felde / if I the efte fynde Thou shalt thy counsayle / mortally repente If that Fortune / here after wyll assente To brynge the / a right vnto my hande At good leyser / here in thyne owne lande I am full sette / thy labour for to quyte & here my trouth / this swerde shal kerue & byte So kenely / thy troyan blode to shede That fynally / deth shalbe thy mede The which I bere / atwene my handes twayne And w^t that worde / he myght hȳ nat restrayne This Dyomede / but rode all sodaynely Vpon Enee / and so furyously He smote at hym / this hardy cruell knyght With suche a payne / and so great a myght That from his hors / he made hym for to falle Maugre the myght / of his knyghtes alle The whiche stroke / he lyked full ylle And in this whyle / Ector hath Achylle Assayled so / that thorugh his basenet He perced hath / & with his swerde hym smet And so narowe / brought hym to the poynt Of hye myschefe / and in such disioynt

Constrayned hym / that of necessyte He hadde hym take / ne had oonly be Sodayne reskues / of his chyualrous That called is / the sone of Tydeus I meane the felle / fyerse Dyomede Whiche Achylles / hath holpen in this nede For he thorugh force / of his armes twayne Smote Ector tho / with so great a payne That he hym gaue / a wounde full greuous But he no thȳge / myn Auctour wryteth thus Astoned was / this knyght this manly man But with his swerd / in all the haste he can Smote Dyomede / so furyous and wrothe That from his hors / to the erth he gothe For all his pryde / and his surquedrye The whiche anone / as Troylous dyde espye Without abode / downe of his stede a lyght With Dyomede / a fote for to fyghte And eche of them / in sothfastnesse than Aquyte hymselfe / lyke a manly man That nouther was / in moche nor lyte In no degree / of manhode for to wyte And whyle they faught / Ector and Achylles Togydre mette / agayne amonge the prees And ran yfere / fyersly in theyr rage As woode lyons / whan they be ramage Right so in sothe / they fared in theyr fyghtyng And in that tyme / Menelay the kyng Full proudely shope hym / troyans for to mete Vlixes eke / and also Polymete And after hym came / Neptolonyus Pallamydes / and eke Scelemus Duke Menestee / Nestor and Thoas Currynulus / and Phylotheas Aud Theseus / as it is made mynde With his knyghtes / proudely came behynde And on the partye / of them of the towne Came all the kynges / without excepcyowne That were assembled / into theyr diffence Agayne Grekes / to make resystence Except the knyghtes / whiche Ector ladde And the wardes / that he made hadde The same daye / as sayth the Latyn boke In knyghtly wyse / the felde whan y^t he toke And tho began / the felle mortall fyght In whiche that day / ful many worthy knyght In Fatyshondes / fynally are falle And of Fortune / amonge the wardes alle Agamenon / the noble myghty kynge All sodaynely / as he came rydynge Pantysylaus / in his waye mette Agaynst whom / anone his hors he sette And he to hym / full knyghtly rode agayne And as they mette / there is no more to sayne On horsbacke / whyles they were wrothe Of vyolence / they were vnhorsed bothe And Menelay / Parys mette of newe The whiche two / well togydre knewe Full desyrous / eche other for to dere But Menelay / caught firste a spere And hytte Parys / with all his inwarde cure But for surenesse / of his stronge armure And myghty plat{is} / his wounde was but small Whiche in effect / greued nat at all But with that stroke / vnto grounde he gothe Of whiche fall / Parys wexed right wrothe Wonder confuse / and also rede for shame Lest the reporte / in hyndrynge of his name Came to the erys / of the Quene Eleyne How he that daye / myght nat atteyne With Menely / to holde chaumpartye Lykely to sowne / into his vylonye The whiche at herte / greued hym full sore And Adrastus / the kynge without more So as he rode / the kynge Vlixes fonde & knyghtly both / they foughte honde to honde And as they faughte / downe to the erthe lowe From his hors / Vlixes hath hym throwe And full proudely / in signe of this victorye He sent his hors / home to his Tentorye And in that tyme / amonges all the prees Full sodaynely / kynge Pallamydes Is falle on Hupon / with his lockes hore And in his Ire / wounded hym so sore That he felle dede / and grouelyng to y^e groūde His mortall swerde / was so kene grounde Besyde whom / Neptolonyus Assayled hath / kynge Archylogus The whiche hymselfe / manly gan diffende But as they faught / and many strokes spende In their diffence / it wolde be none other Eueryche of them / hath vnhorsed other And tho came in / rydynge on his stede Pollydamas / and gan to take hede Amonge the renges / a lytell hym besyde Where as the kynge / Pallamydes doth ryde And cruelly / so lyke a manly man He smote his stede / and to hym he ran And maugre his myght / and his worthynesse As the storye playnely / bereth wytnesse

Oonly to venge / the deth of kynge Hupowne From his stede / he proudely bare hym downe And in his rancoure / and his cruell hete Of that despyte / gan hym to rehete And tho besyde / the kynge Scelenus Of dedely hate / and herte full Irous With kynge Carras / by aduenture hath met And furyously / from his stede smet And than also / the kynge Phylymene Is on the Duke / falle of Athene That maugre / both his manhod / & his myght He hath his hors / berafte hym in this fyght And ladde with hym / proudely by his syde Where as hym lyste / that it shulde abyde And Phyloteas / the worthy kynge also The selue tyme / with Remus had ado And euery other / sothly as I rede His felawe hath made / to voyde his stede And Theseus / the kynge / y^t was so stronge Amyd the felde / so as he rode amonge In the great prese / hath met Curyalus The worthy kȳg / of knyghthod right famous And bothe two / in armes wonder stronge By themselfe / faught at leyser longe Tyll eche other / with woundes fresshe & grene Fro horsbak / his felawe threwe endlōg y^e grene And afterwarde / I fynde how they two Vpon foote / knyghtly hadde ado They were in armes / somly desyrous And of manhode / passyngly famous And all this whyle / the sones naturell Of Pryamus / bare them wonder well Amonge grekes / vp and downe rydynge And prudently / togydre abydynge Made a slaughter / of grekes full pytous Of kynges / dukes / and lordes right famous And as I rede / how worthy Thelamowne That tyme met / with kynge Sapedowne And with theyr speres / squared full sharpely Eueryche hath other / wounded mortally Thorugh shelde & plate / & haberion of mayle That as the storye / maketh rehersayle How theyr harneys / wexed of blode all rede And how they fylle / almoste bothe dede At great myschefe / amonge the hors feet Of whose bledynge / the soyle gan wexe weet Thorugh theyr harneys / as it can distylle Whyles kynge Thoas / and the fyerse Achylle As they that were / of kynne and allyed Amyd the felde / Ector haue espyed Where as he faught / beset amyd his foon And vpon hym / of one accorde they goon And mortally / if it wolde auayle On euery halfe / they gan hym newe assayle And of hate / in herte borne of yore They haue beset / this Troyan knyght so sore That they alas / from his hede hath smet By vyolence / his ryche basenet And wounded hym / felly on the hede But for all that / he ne toke no hede This worthy man / floure of Chyualrye But hym diffendynge / tho so myghtely Kynge Thoas smet hym / in the face so That with a stroke / he rafte his nose a two And shorted it / by the halfe dele To whiche stroke / the brother naturele Of manly Ector / faste gan them hye To socoure hym / whan they firste espye His great myschefe / and at theyr in cōmynge They so manly / bare them in fyghtynge Agayne grekes / that Thoas they haue take And The••amon / so they made awake With newe assaute / of sharpe woundes kene That he was take / and lefte vpon the grene And of his men / borne home to his tent And kynge Thoas / home to troye is went Maugre grekes / whiche helpe hȳ may no more For Dephebus / and also Anthenore Haue sente hym / forth to Troye the cyte And Menelay / tho began to se So as he rode / Parys stonde a syde And shope hym shortly / of hate & cruell pryde If it wolde falle / on his chaunce Sodaynely / to ymen hym myschaunce But he was ware / & kept hymselfe so narowe That Menelay / he marked with an arowe The hede of whiche / w^t venym was enoynt Intoxycate / at the square poynt That the kynge / of that dredefull wounde All dispayred / of his men was founde Whiche in great haste / bare hym to his tent And he anone / for Surgyens hath sent Whiche firste the hede / toke out of his wounde Albe it was / yperced full profounde Thorugh his harneys / full depe into the bone But cunnyngely / they dyde theyr crafte echone To drawe it out / with theyr Instrumentes And subtylly / with certayne oyntementes They serched haue / the wounde enuyron To make it clene / from corrupcyon

And prudently / firste they toke hede That the venym / further nat procede Rounde in compasse / clensyd it aboute And after that / bounde it sure withoute And defensyues / made on euery syde And Menelay / no lenger wolde abyde But bad in haste / brynge forth his stede In purpose full / Parys to quyte his mede If he hym fynde / the selfe same daye Hym lyste no lenger / put it in delaye What euer falle / of his grene wounde And forth he rode / tyll he hath hym founde By aduenture / vnarmed in the felde Without swerde / pollex / spere or shelde Or bowe in honde / were it of reklesnesse Or to refresshe hym / after werynesse. And Menelay / anone a spere hath take And in his yre / ••elly gan it shake Towarde Parys / by great auysenesse And shulde haue slayne hym / as by lyklynesse Ne had Eneas / whiche all this thynge behelde Bore of the stocke / with his stronge shelde To diffende hym / in this auenture Destytute / and naked / of armure. Parys that tyme / in suche peryll was Wherfore in haste / hath this Eneas Ordayned knyghtes / armed bryght in stele Aboute Parys / for to kepe hym wele From all myschefe / and confusyowne Hym to conuey / vnto Troye towne Right in despyte / of kynge Menelay Whiche in awayte / so for Parys lay ¶Whom Ector / hadde ytaken sodaynely And vnto Troye / ladde hym vtterly Ne hadde Grekes come / in his diffence Agaynst hym / to make resystence. Of whiche Ector / as they came in his weye Full many Greke / made for to deye And the remenaunt / put vnto the flyghte That thorugh his māhod / y^• day & his myghte Troyans made / the grekes for to flee Vnto theyr tentes / of necessytee And them to sewe / ne wolde neuer leue But slee and kyll / tyll it drewe to eue That Phebus gan / faste for to weste To drawe them home / they thought for y^e beste For Tytan was / at his goynge downe Whan they gan entre / into troye towne Theyr gat{is} shet / they to theyr lodgynge wende And of this day / thus they made an ende Tyll on the morowe / that the rowes rede Of Phebus carte / gonne for to sprede Afore his vpryste / in the Oryent At whiche tyme / kynge Pryamus hath sent For suche as were / with hym moste pryue And of his counsayle / inwardely secre And specially / he sent for by name For worthy Ector / that grettest was of fame For Parys eke / and for Dephebus And for Troylus / fresshe and desyrous For Anthenor / and Pollydamas And for the Troyan / called Eneas For he that daye / caste hym nat to goon Into the felde / to mete with his foon And whan they were / to his Paleys come These lordes haue / the right waye nome Vnto the kynge / within his closet And whan the hussher / hath the dore shet And eueryche hadde / lyke to his degree His place take / and his dewe see This worthy kynge / as made is mencyon Gan to declare / his hertes mocyon And his menynge / afore them specifye And sayde syres / in whom I moste affye To you is knowen / how kynge Thoas is here In this cyte / taken prysonere And is as yet / belocked in prysowne Whiche euer hath be / vnto Troye towne An enemy great / vnto his power And vs offendyd / bothe ferre and ner In many wyse / all be we lytell retche As ferre as he / his force / myght stretche And now with Grek{is} / came to sege our towne As he that wyll not / our destruccyowne And therupon / hath do his besynesse Wherfore of dome / and of rightwysnesse Both of reason / and of equyte I saye playnely / as semeth vnto me So that it be / to you acceptable And that ye thynke / my coūsayle cōmendable Lyke as he hath / caste our deth and shape I holde rightfull / that he nat escape But that of deth / he receyue his guerdon For right requereth / and also good reason that deth for deth / is skylfull guerdonnynge Vnto my wytte / and right well syttynge Saye your aduyse / now playnely in this caas And firste of all / tho spake Eneas And sayde lorde / so it be none offence To your hyghnesse / to gyue me audyence

Thorugh supporte here / of them y^t be full wyse I shall reherce playnely / my deuyse What is to werke / as in this matere Me semeth firste / my lyege lorde so dere That your noble / royall excellence Consydre shulde / with full hye prudence In euery werke / and operasyon To caste afore / in conclusyon To caste afore / in conclusyon The fynall ende / that may after sewe For to a wyse man / oonly is nat dewe To se the gynnynge / and the ende nought But bothe attones / peyse in his thought And weye them / ••o iustly in balaunce That of the fyne / folowe no repentaunce Why I say this / and platly why I mene Is for that ye / ought for to sene How kynge Thoas / is one of the pryncypall Amonge Grekes / and of the blode royall If ye consydre / descended as by lyne Wherfore if he / haue this foule a fyne To be slayne / whyle he is in pryson It myght happen / in conclusyon That ye and youres / that therto assente Here afterwarde / sore to repente I preue it thus / that if by aduenture Of Fortune / that no man may assure Some of your lordes / were a nother day Of grekes take / as it happe may Or of your sones / so worthy of renowne Or of kynges / that be in this towne Truste me well / that suche gentyllesse As ye shewe to them / in theyr distresse They wyl you quyte / whan in case semblable Fortune to them / they fynde fauourable The whiche no man / cōstrayne may nor bynde Wherfore my lorde / haue this thyng in mynde For if Thoas / of shorte auysement Shall now be deed / thorugh hasty iugement Another day / Grekes wyll vs quyte And for rygour / make theyr malys byte On some of youres / who euer that it be And nouther spare / hye nor lowe degre Though he were / paraunter of your blode The whiche thynge / for all this worldes gode It myght falle / that ye ne wolde se Wherfore I rede / let kynge Thoas be Honestely kepe / in prysowne Lyke his estate / stylle here in this towne Lyste as I sayde / that another day Some lorde of youres / as it happe may Casuelly / were take of auenture By eschaunge of hym / ye myght beste recure Without stryfe / youre owne man agayne In this mater / I can no more sayne But fynally / this my full rede To whiche counsayle / Ector toke good hede And for it was / accordynge to reason He it cōmendeth / in his oppynyon But Pryam euer / of one entencyon Stode alway fyx / to this conclusyon Playnely affermynge / if Grekes may espye That we this kynge / spare of gentrye They wyll arrecte / it cowardyse anone That we dare nat / venge vs on our foone For very drede / hauynge no hardynesse Nor herte nouther / to do rightwysenesse Yet neuerthelesse / after your assent That he shall lyue / I wyll in myn entent To your desyre / fully condescende And of this counsayle / so they made an ende Without more / saue Eneas is go And Trylous eke / and Anthenor also Into an halle / excellynge of beaute The quene Eleyne / of purpose for to se With whom was eke / Eccuba the quene And other ladyes / goodly on to sene And many mayde / that yonge & lusty was And worthy Troylus / with this Eneas Dyde theyr laboure / and theyr besy payne For to comforte / the fayre quene Eleyne As she that stode / for the werre in drede But for all that / of very womanhede Thylke tyme / with all hir herte entere As she well coude / make them good chere Hauynge of connynge / inly suffysaunce Bothe of chere / and of dalyaunce. And Eccuba beynge / in this halle Very example / vnto women alle Of bounte hauynge / soueraygne excellencce In wysedome eke / and in eloquence Besought them / tho wonder womanly And counsayled eke / full prudently For any haste / bothe nye and ferre Auysely / to kepe them in the werre And nat Iuparte / theyr bodyes folylye But to aduerte / and caste prudently In diffence / knyghtly of the towne Them to gouerne / by discrecyowne She spake of fayth / & coude no thynge feyne And than of hir / and after of Eleyne

They toke leue and no lenger dwelle But went theyr way / & forth I wyll you telle How the Grekes / on the same morowe Amonge them selfe / complayne & make sorowe Theyr harmes great / in Murmur and in rage The losse / the costes / and the great damage That they haue / enduryd folylye Lastynge the werre / and wyste neuer whye The deth the slaughtre / of many worthy man Syth the tyme / that the werre began Hunger and thurste / watche and colde also Full great vnreste / sorowe thought and wo And all togydre / for a thynge of nought In sothfastnesse / if the grounde be sought This was the noyse / and rumour eke that ran Thorugh out the hoost / y^t day fro man to man And moste amonge / the pore souldy oures Whiche bare the bronte / euer of suche shoures And the myschefe / of werre comenlye And though they playne / they haue no remedy Of thynges whiche sytte / them full vnsofte And thus grekes / complayned haue full ofte Of many myschefe / that hath on them falle The whiche they myght / haue eschewed alle If they ne hadde / of foly gonne a werre Out of Grece / nat come halfe so ferre To theyr myschefe / and confusyon This was that daye / their lamentacyon. ¶Whiche to encrease / the same next nyght So derked was / without sterre lyght So cloudy blacke / and so thycke of ayre Dymmyd with skyes / foule & no thynge fayre So wyndy eke / with tempest all be layne Almoste fordrenchyd / with the smoky rayne And in the felde / astoned here and yonder With sodayne stroke / of the dredefull thonder And with openynge / of the hydous leuene That it sempte / in the hye heuene The Cataractys / hadde be vndo For the cloudes / and skyes bothe two Sodaynely wexen / were so blake Lyke as the goddes / wolde haue taken wrake And hadde of newe / assentyd be in oon The lande to drenche / of Deucalyon And all this worlde / without more refuge To ouerflowe / with a fresshe deluge The wynde also / so sternely gan blowe That theyr tentes / stondynge on a rowe For possyd were / and ybete downe And furyously / to theyr confusyowne The flood{is} raughte / thē fro theyr stādyng place And bare them forth / a full large space Wherof in myschefe / and in great distresse In great laboure / and hertely heuynesse The grekes bydde / all the same nyght What for the tempest / and for lacke of lyght Tyll the floode / gan agayne withdrawe The wynde to appese / and the day gan dawe And the heuen / gan agayne to clere Without cloudes / fresshely to appere And Phebus eke / with a feruent hete Hadde on the soyle / dryed vp the wete And the moysture / enuyrowne on the playne And grekes hadde / theyr tentes set agayne And were adawed / of theyr nyghtes sorowe Thorugh the aperynge / of the galde morowe They them arrayed / nothynge for the pees And into the felde / firste went Achylles As ye shall here / of entencyowne That day to fyght / w^t them of Troye towne.

WHan dryed was / the lusty large playne w^t pheb{us} bemys / as ye haue herd me saȳe The troyan knyghtes / full worthy of renowne Descendyd be / and ycome downe And in the felde / toke theyr fyghtynge place But Achylles / to mete them in the face Tofore went out / lyke as I you tolde With his lordes / and his knyghtes bolde And firste I fynde / without more abode Vnto Hupon / furyously he rode I mene Hupon / that was of his stature Lyke a Geaunt / as bokes vs assure Whom Achylles / with his sharpe spere Thorugh the body / percyd hym so fere That he fylle dede / his wounde was so kene And after this / the kynge Octamene As he fyersly / on Ector wolde haue gone Without abode / Ector hym siewe anone And cruelly / quytte hym his fatall mede And sodaynely / agaynst Dyomede. As zantipus / the worthy kynge gan drawe Full pyteously / he of hym was slawe And right anone / the kynge Epyscrophus And eke the kynge / that hyght Cedyus Of one assent / proudely in batayle Begonne Ector / mortally to assayle And with a spere / firste Epyscrophus Ran at hym / with herte despytous And as Guydo / also doth deuyse

Rebukyd hym / in vngoodly wyse To hym so sore / in herte he was a meued Wherof Ector / furyously agreued Hath mortally / his wounde made so large That hym ne geyneth / plate / shelde / nor targe For he fyll dede / amonge his men echone To whom Ector / bad he shulde gone To the Furyes / depe downe in helle Suche wordes / amonges them to telle For here quod he / men take of them no hede And thus whan he / was waged for his mede Anone his brother / called Cedyus Suche sorowe made / for Epyscrophus So hertely dole / and so wofull chere That pyte was / for to se and here So inwardly / on his deth he thought And with a thousande knyght{is} / y^t he brought To be auenged / by manhode of them alle Despyteously / on Ertor / he is falle Where he hym founde / fyghtynge w^t his foon That thorugh the force / of them euerychoon So sore enuyrowne / they haue hym beset That from his stede / downe they haue hȳ smet ¶Whom Cedyus / aye in his cruell rage Whan that he sawe / to his auauntage Ector vnhorsed / and he on his stede His swerde he lefte / of inwardely hatrede Markynge at hym / with so great a payne With all the force / of his armes twayne Fully in purpose / without more delay To slee Ector / playnely if he may But or his stroke / descende myght downe Ector of hate / and indignacyowne With his swerde / that was full sharpe whet From his shuldre / hath his arme of smet And after that / he reuyd hym his lyfe Than Eneas / amyddes all this stryfe Came rydynge in / woode and furyous And as he mette / the kynge / Amphymacus He fell on hym / and slewe hym in his rage And from grekes / holdynge theyr passage There came downe / firste Menelaus And after hym / kynge Thelamonyus The great Duke / also of Athene In whom there was / so moche manhode sene Vlixes eke / and cruell Dyomede And eke also / to helpe them in theyr nede There came with them / the kynge Machaon And alderlaste / the great Agamenon With all theyr wardes / and fyll in sodaynly Vpon Troyans / and they full manfully Diffende them selfe / agayne the Grekes proude And put them of / full knyghtly as they coude And eche on other / sothly as they mette With spere and swerde / enuyously they sette So mortall hate / there was them betwene And whan the sonne / was in merydyen In myd day angell / passynge hote and shene The grekes / gan felly in theyr tene So myghtely / to falle on them of Troye That they them made / for to gyue weye Of very force / and necessyte And Achylles / so full of cruelte Amonge the renges / as he gan hym drawe The kynge Phylem / enuyously hath slawe And amyd of grekes / the same tyme Ector Maugre them all / slewe kynge Alphenor And eke the kynge / called Dorous On them he was / so cruell and yrous That thorugh vertue / of his knyghtly honde Troyans haue wonne / agayne theyr londe Vpon grekes / and made them for to flee And thylke houre / from Torye the Cytee Epyscrophus / full of manlynesse The felde hath take / thorugh his worthynesse And on grekes / proudely for the nones With his knyghtes / he falleth all attones And seuered them / & made them for to twynne And gan the felde / faste vpon them wynne Hauynge that tyme / in his companye Amonges other / that he dyde guye Acertayne Archer / the whiche as I fynde Was monstruous / and wonderfull of kynde For from the myddell / vp vnto the crowne He was a man / and the remenaunt downe Bare of an horse / lyknesse and fygure And horses heer / this monstre in nature Hadde on his skyn / growynge enuyrowne Full rough / and thycke / & of his voyce y^e sowne Was lyke the neyhynge / of an horse I rede And though his face / both in lengthe & brede Of shape were mannysshe / yet in suthfastnesse His coloure was / semblable in lyknesse Vnto the Fery hoote / breynnynge glede Whose Eyen eke / flawmynge also rede As the blase / of an ouen mouthe And for he was / in syghte so vnkouthe Where so euer / he was met in the berde Bothe man and hors / sore were a ferde His face was / so hatefull and so odyble

And his loke / so hydous / and horryble And aye he hadde / in custome and vsaunce As in bokes / is made remembraunce For to go / vnarmed into felde Without swerde / spere / axe / or shelde For he no thynge / coude of that myster But as I fynde / he was a good archer And bare a bowe / styffe and wonder stronge And for he was / also of tyller longe His arrowes were lyke / to his tyller In a busshement / trussed wonder ner By his syde / aye redy to his hande Where so he were / outher on see or lande And as I fynde / how that none armure Agayne his shot / playnely myght endure And there was hors / stede nor courser That durste abyde / nouther fer nor ner But fledde anone / with all theyr full myght As faste as they / of hym hadde a syght To them he was / so passynge odyous So lyke a deuyll / and so monstruous And there was foūde / none so hardy a knyght On hors backe / that hadde force or myght To holde his hors / whan they myght hym se But that anone / a backe he wolde fle And of this Archer / I fynde wryten eke That he that day / slewe full many greke And wounded them / with his arrowes kene Thorugh out y^e plates / forged bryght & shene For there was none / afore hym that abode But to theyr Tentes / faste awaye they rode They myght nat / his hydous loke endure Tyll there befell / a wonder aduerture Whyle they of Troye / by helpe of this Archer Sewe on the chase / to theyr lodgynge ner And slewe of them / in myschefe and in drede Besyde a Tent / mette Dyomede With this Archer / of necessyte For it stode so / that he ne myght hym fle No maner way / nor a backe remewe For lyfe nor deth / he myght hym nat eschewe So many Troyan / was tho at his backe In his flyinge / he hadde go to wracke. ¶Wherfore anone / this worthy Dyomede With cruell herte / faste gan hym spede And towarde hym / proudely for to dresse But this Archer / by great aduysenesse Firste with an arrowe / smette Dyomede Thorugh his harneys / that he made hym blede Of whiche stroke / he wexed so wood & wrothe That to this monstre / so hydous and so lothe He went a pase / and hym vnarmed fonde And with y^e swerde / that he helde in his honde He gaue to hym / his laste fatall wounde That he fylle dede / grouelynge vnto y^e grounde The deth of whom / grekes reioysynge and in all haste / theyr hertes resumynge Began them selfe / for to recomforte And into Felde / proudely they resorte By conueyinge / of Polixenare The worthy Duke / that so well hym bare Vpon Troyans / that day in the felde But whan Ector / the slaughtre of hym behelde Vpon this Duke / anone he gan to sette And on theyr stedes / fyersly as they mette Ector hym slewe / of full great hatrede And after that / on Gallathe his stede So as he rode / forth amonge the prees Or he was ware / he mette Achylles And with theyr speres / longe large and rounde In purpose fully / eche other to confounde They ran yfere / Irous and right wrothe That with y^e stroke / they were vnhorsed bothe But Achylles / wth a despytous herte Firste as I rede / into his sadell sterte And besy was / with all his inwarde peyne Gallathe / to take by the reyne Therof for euer / Ector to depryue And bad his men / to lede it home as blyue So that Ector / there was none other bote Full lyke a man / faught stondynge on fote Amonge grekes / and his fomen alle And to his knyghtes / loude he gan to calle For his stede / that they shulde sewe And they in haste / his hors to reskewe Ben attones / fallen on Achylle And maugre hym / of force agayne his wylle They haue from hym / berafte it on the playne And to Ector / restored it agayne Which in knyghthode / somoche hȳ self assureth Despyte of them / his sadell he recureth Whiche afterwarde / full dere they aboughte For lyke a lyon / all that day he wroughte Amonges them / rydynge here and there And as the deth / they fled his swerde for fere Thorugh whose manhode / troyans eft begyn Vpon grekes / the felde agayne to wyn But it befell / amyd theyr great fyght That Anthenor / a certayne Troyan knyght Amonge the prese / is so fer in gone

That of Grekes / he was take anone And to theyr tentes / sent in haste he was Albe his sone / called Pollydamas To reskue hym / dyde his dylygence So manfully / that no neclygence Was founde in hym / who so lyste to seke And that full dere / a boughte many greke The same day / thorugh his worthynesse But for cause / oonly of derkenesse And for that it / gan drawe towarde nyght They made an ende / oonly for lacke of lyght And grekes went / home to theyr lodgynge And eke Troyans / tyll on the mornynge That Phebus / gan his bryght bemys shewe And Aurora / newe gan to dewe The Erbys sote / and the grene leuys Both on hayes / and in fresshe greuys Syluer bryght / with rounde perlys fyne That so clerely / agayne the sonne shyne And shewe them selfe / so Oryent and shene On hylle and vale / and on euery grene The rody morowe / tyll the hote bemys Of bryght Phebus / with his fyrye stemys Vapoureth vp / theyr moysture into ayre The weder clere / agreable and fayre And attempre / also of his heete Whan the Troyans / caste them for to mete With theyr fomen / platly if they may And out they went / in theyr beste array With theyr wardes / into felde by rowe Agaynst whom / grekes were nat slowe But shope them forth / Without lenger lette Tyll they togydre / manfully haue mette And with theyr speres / and theyr swerdes clere They ran togydre / with a despytous chere Tyll shyuered was / a sondre many spere On sheldes stronge / them selfe for to were And ryuen was / on pecys many targe And with hexys / rounde brode and large On basenettes / as they smyte and shrede Full many knyght / mortally gan blede In sothfastnesse / and as I tell can The same day / was slayne many a man On outher parte / but most of Troye towne Albe Guydo / maketh no mencyowne Of no persone / as in specyall On nouther syde / but in generall Saue he concludeth / playnely that this fyght Laste fro morowe / tyll that it was nyght The whiche Troyans / haue full dere bought For that day / Fortune holpe them nought But tourned hole / to theyr confusyowne And so they be / repeyred to the towne And to theyr tentes / grekes faste them spede Tyll on the morowe / they sent Dyomede ¶Whith Vlixes / to Troye the cyte For a trewes / oonly for monthes thre If kynge Pryam / therto wolde assente And as they two / on this message wente A certayne knyght / borne of Troye towne That hyght Dolon / of great discrecyowne And also was / ryght famous of rychesse Of curtely / and of gentyllesse His deuer dyde / and his dylygence Them to conueye / vnto the presence Of Pryamus / in his paleys royall And in his see / most chefe / and pryncypall Where as he sat / his lordes enuyrowne With many knyght / full worthy of renowne They gan to hym / firste to specefye Hoolly the substaunce / of theyr embassatrye And of the trewes / theyr entent they tolde If it so were / he assente wolde And the kynge / benyngnely them herde And by auyse / prudently answerde That therupon / his honour for to saue At good leyser / he wolde a counsayle haue With his lordes / and fully hym gouerne In this mater / lyke as they discerne And to conclude / shortly euerychone Assentyd be / except Ector alone Vnto the trewes / and ne wolde it nat denye But Ector sayde / that of trecherye Oonly of slaughter / and false Treson Theyr axynge was / vnder occason Firste to berye Grekes / that were dede And vnder coloure / therof out of drede Afterwarde / them selfe to vytayle For he well knewe / that theyr stuf gan fayle And enfamyned / leste they shulde dye They soughte a space / them selfe to purueye By outwarde sygnes / that he dyde espye Wherfore quod he / me lyketh nat to lye By apparence / as I dare presume Whyles that we / waste and consume Oure stuf within / as it is to drede They wyll prouyde / of what y^t they haue nede For all that is / to them auauntage Myght be to vs / hyndrynge and damage And whyles / they encrease and amende

We shall our store / discrease and dispende Yet neuertheles / how euer that it be Touchynge this trewes / as for monthes thre Sythen ye all / assente and accorde Fro your sentence / I wyll nat discorde In no wyse / to be varyaunt And thus the trewes / confermyd was by graūt On outher syde / them thought for the beste Bycause they shulde / in quyete and in reste The mene whyle / ease them and releue And they that felte / theyr woundes sore greue Myght haue leyser / them selfe to recure And whyle the trewes / dyde thus endure They fylle in Tretee / and in comunynge Of Athenor / and Thoas the kynge That Anthenor / delyuered shulde be For kynge Thoas / to Troye the cyte And so Thoas shuld / to grekes home agayne Oonly by eschaunge / as ye haue herde me sayne One for a nother / as it accorded was And in this whyle / y^e bysshop hight Calchas Remembred hym / vpon his doughter dere Called Cryseyde / with hir Eyen clere Whom in Troye / he had lefte behynde Whan he wente / as the boke maketh mynde For whom he felte / passyngly great smerte So tenderly / she was set at his herte And enprented / both at eue and morowe And chefe cause / and grounde of all his sorowe Was that she lefte / behynde hym in the towne Without comforte / or consolacyowne As he caste / sothly in his absence And specyally / for his great offence That he hath wrought / agaynst them of troye And as hym thought / he shuld neuer haue ioye Tyll he his doughter / recured hath agayne ¶Wherfore / Calchas / the storye sayth certayne In his wyttes / many wayes caste How he myght / whyle the trewes doth laste Recure his doughter / by some maner way And as I fynde / vpon a certayne day In his porte / wonder humbly With wepynge eye / wente pyteously In complaynynge / of terys albe reyned Whose inwarde wo / sothly was nat feyned And on his knees / anone he falleth downe Tofore / the great kynge / Agamenowne Besechynge hym / with all humylyte Of very mercy / and of hye pyte With other kynges / syttynge in the place To haue routhe / and for to do hym grace And on his woo / to haue compassyon That he may haue / restytucyon Of his doughter / whom he loued so Prayinge them all / theyr deuer for to do That thorugh theyr prudent / medyacyon For Anthenor / that was in theyr pryson ¶With kyng Thoas / she myght eschaūged be If that them lyst / of theyr benygnyte To his requeste / goodly to assente And they hym graūt / & forth anone they sente To kynge Pryamus / for to haue Cryseyde For Calchas sake / and therwith all they leyde The charge for hir / wonder specyally On them that went / for this Embassatry To Troye towne / and to kynge Pryamus To whom Calchas / was so odyus So hatefull eke / thorugh out all the towne That this reporte / was of hym vp and downe That he a Traytour / was and also false Worthy to be / enhonged by the halfe For his Treson / and his doubylnesse And ouer more / they sayde eke expresse That he disserued hath / by right of lawe Shamefully / firste for to be drawe And afterwarde / the most horryble deth That he may haue / to yelde vp the breth Lyke a Traytour / in as despytous wyse As any herte / can thynke or deuyse Eueryche affermynge / as by Iugement That deth was none / fully equypollent To his deserte / nor to his falsnesse As yonge and olde / playnely bare wytnesse Concludynge eke / for his iniquyte That they wolde assent / in no degre Vnto no thynge / that myght his herte please Nor of Cryseyde / for to do hym ease They caste nat / to make delyueraunce Leuer they hadde / to gyue hym myschaunce If they hym myght / haue at good large But fynally the effect / of all this charge Is so ferforth dryuen / to an ende That Pryamus / hath graūted she shall wende With kynge Thoas / shortly there is no more Vnto hir Fader / for daūz Anthenore Who euer grutche / the kynge in Parlement Hath therupon / gyuen Iugement So vtterly / it may nat be repelyd For with his worde / the sentence was asselyd That she must parte / with hir eyen glade

And of the sorowe / playnely that she made At hir partynge / hereafter ye shall here Whan it agayne / cometh to my matere.