The hystorye, sege and dystruccyon of Troye
Lydgate, John, 1370?-1451?, Colonne, Guido delle, 13th cent. Historia destructionis Troiae., Benoît, de Sainte-More, 12th cent. Roman de Troie.
¶Howe Parys slewe Achylles in the Temple of Appollo / and Anthylogus duke Nestors sone Capitulo. xxxij.
[illustration]
BYnge Pryamus / dyde his besy cureFor to make / a ryche sepulture
For Troylus corps / full noble and ryall
As sayth Guydo / of stones and metall
And hym enclosed / of great affeccyon
And nye besyde / was the kynge Menon
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Solempnely / buryed / and ygraue
And after that day / by day / they haue
Lyke the custome / of Festes funerall
And other Rytis / cerymonyall
For them bothe / with dewe obseruaunce
Seruyse done / by contynuaunce
In theyr Temple / lyke as was the guyse
Whiche were to longe / me for to deuyse
And Tedyus / eke for you to dwelle
But I purpose / ceryously to telle
Howe Eccuba / as I can endyte
Hir caste fully / Achylles to quyte
His Tyrannye / sothely if she may
And vnto hir / she calleth on a day
Alysaunder / in full secrete wyse
And vnto hym / as I shall deuyse
With wepynge eyen / and full heuy chere
Sayde euen thus / lyke as ye shall here
Parys quod she / alas saufe goddes wylle
Thou knowest well / how the fyerse Achylle
My sones hath slayne / nye echone
There is none lefte / but thy selfe alone
He hath me made / alas there is no gayne
Full cowardly / of children now barayne
Bothe of Ector / and Troylus eke therto
Whiche were to me / in euery trouble and wo
Fully comforte / plesaunce / and solace
Wherfore I caste / playnely to compace
By some engyne / his deth to ordayne
And lyke as he / by treason dyde his payne
Trayterously / with his swerde to smyte
Right so I thynke / with treason hym to quyte
As sytrynge is / of right and equyte
And sythe thou wotest / platly how that he
Hath sette his herte / and his loue clene
Oonly on my doughter / yonge Polycene
To fyne oonly / to haue hir to wyue
For whiche I caste / to hym sende blyue
For to come / and treate of that matere
In the Temple / of Appollo here
In the Temple / moste chefe of this Cyte
Whiche tyme / my wyll is that thou be
Thy selfe armed / there full pryuelye
With certayne knyghtes / in thy companye
Armed also / agayne the same daye
That in no wyse / he scape nat away
From your handes / but that he be dede
As I haue sayde / and therfore take good hede
Vnto this thynge / with all my herte I preye
Fro poynt to poynt / byddynge to obeye
And he assenteth / with all his hole herte
Behotynge hir / he shulde nat asterte
And with hym toke / twenty and no mo
Of manly men / that well durste do
And in the Temple / by full good aduys
They were Yhyd / by byddynge of Parys
Whyle Eccuba / couert in hir entent
Hir messager / to Achylles hath sent
As ye haue herde / in conclusyowne
To come in haste / vnto Troye towne
After the effect / was of hir message
Oonly to treate / for a maryage
And he in haste / cōmeth at hir sonde
As he that coude / no thynge vnders•onde
Hir treason hyd / nor playnely it aduerte
He was so hote / marked in his herte
With •oues bronde / and his firy glede
Oflyfe nor deth / that he toke no hede
But sette asyde / wytte and all reason
To caste afore / by good discrecyon
What was to do / with lokynge full prudent
But he in sothe / was with loue blent
Into Troye / whan he shulde gone
Lyke as it fareth / of louers euerychone
Whan they haue caught / in herte a fantasye
For no peryll / though they shulde dye
They haue no myght / nor power to be warre
Tyll they vnwarely / be trapped in the snare
Theyr maladye / is so furyous
And thus Achylles / and Anthylogus
Nestors sone / haue the way nome
Towarde the towne / and be togydre come
Into Temple / as ye haue herde me telle
And Parys tho / lyste no lenger dwelle
But all vnwarely / with his knyghtes alle
On Achylles / is at myschefe falle
Eueryche of them / with a swerde full bryght
And some bokes say / it was by nyght
Whan his deth / longe afore desyred
By Eccuba and Parys / was conspyred
But Achylles / in this mortall caas
Amonge them all / naked as he was
Hent out a swerde / in the selfe steuen
And lyke a knyght / he slewe of them seuen
Of very force / maugre all theyr myght
But whan Parys / therof hadde a syght
Thre dartes raughte / that were kene & square
And sodaynely / are that he was ware
Full secretely / hyd vnder the shade
Markynge at hym / and no noyse made
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Caste at hym / euen as euer he can
That hede and shafte / thorugh his body ran
And therwith all / knyghtes nat a fewe
With sharpe swerdes / gan vpon hym hewe
And lefte hym nat / tyll he lay at grounde
Full pale deed / with many mortall wounde
And rightfully / of reason as it syt
Thus was the fraude / and the falshed quyt
Of Achylles / for his hye treason
As deth / for deth / his skylfully guerdon
And egall mede / without any fable
To them that be / mercyles vengeable
For thylke day / Guydo wryteth thus
That Achylles / and Anthylogus
Of Parys were / in the Temple yslawe
And afterwarde / the body was out drawe
Of Achylle / fro the holy boundes
And cruelly / throwen / vnto houndes
To be deuoured / in the brode strete
The canell rennynge / with his wawes wete
Without pyte / or any maner routhe
Lo here the ende / of falshede and vntrouthe
Lo here the fyne / of suche Trecherye
Of false deceyt / compassyd by enuye
Lo here the knotte / and conclusyon
How god quyt aye / slaughtre by treason
Lo here the guerdon / and the fynall mede
Of them / that so delyte / in falshede
For euery thynge / platly for to sayne
Lyke as it is / his guerdon doth attayne
As ye may se / of this Achylles
Whiche on a nyght / in the Temple les
His lyfe / for he was aye customable
By fraude and treason / for to be vengeable.
But it befell / at requeste of Eleyne
That the bodyes / of these ylke tweyne
Conserued were / from the hungry rage
Of beste and foule / gredy and ramage
And yet they lay / amyddes the Cyte
Full openly / that men myght them se
To great gladnesse / of them of the towne
Into tyme / that Agamenowne
To kynge Pryam / sent his massagerys
To haue Lysence / to fette them home on berys
By graunt of whom / they haue the corsys take
For whom Grekes / suche a sorowe make
That pyte was / and routhe for to here
And eueryche spake / thus vnto his fere
Farewell our truste / now Achylles is dede
Farewell our hope / and hoolly all our spede
Farewell our ioye / and our chefe diffence
That hadde in manhode / so great excellence
Farewell alas / our soueraygne assuraunce
Farewell in knyghthod / all our suffisaunce
For nowe alas / vnlykely is that we
Shall euer wynne / or gette this Cyte
To vs alas / so frowarde is Fortune
But for that they / myght nat contune
Alway in wo / nor in payne endure
They made haue / a ryche Sepulture
To Achylles / of stones precyous
And another / to Anthylogus
What shulde I now / any lenger dwelle
Ceryously / the rytes for to telle
Of theyr buriynge / nor what wo they make
Theyr wepynge all / nor of theyr clothes blake
Nor how that some / loure in theyr hode
And how some go / with mylke and blode
With dolefull herte / and into fyre it shete
And how other / caste gōmys swete
Amyd the great / flaumbe funerall
Nor of the playes / called pallestrall•
Nor the wrastlynge / that was at the wake
It were but vayne / me to vndertake
To telle all / wherfore I lette be
Fully in purpose / lyke as ye shall se
To resorte / in conclusyon
To telle / how the great Agamenon
For his Lordes / in all haste hath sent
And whan they were / assembled in his tent
Full prudently / this kynge this manly man
With great aduyse / thus his tale began.
SYres quod he / Fortunes varyaunce
Hir chere frowarde / & double coūtenaūce
And sodayne Tourne / of hir false vysage
Your hertes hath / put in suche arage
For the murdre / to god and man odyble
Of Achylles cruell / and the deth horryble
By compassynge / of Eccuba the quene
Now semeth me / that it shalbe sene
If any manhode / in your hertes be
Or knyghtly force / in aduersyte
For to endure / by vertue of suffraunce
Tyll of his deth / ye take may vengaunce
And manly quyte / this outragyous offence
Whan tyme cōmeth / to make recompence
But syth that ye / be manly and prudent
I wolde firste / se the playne entent
In this mater / of you that be so wyse
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Hereupon / what is your aduyse
By one assente / and voyce in comune
Where that ye wyll / the werre forth contune
And the sege ygonne / vpon this towne
Tyll they be brought / to destruccyowne
Or into Grece / now resorte agayne
For cause oonly / that Achylles is slayne
That whylom was / your stronge Chāpyowne
Your diffence / and proteccyowne
But fynally / now that he is dede
Hereupon / lette se what is your rede
Saye openly / and no lenger tarye
And some anone / gonne for to varye
And to grutche / castynge to and fro
Stondynge in doute / what were beste to do
And some sayde / on the tother syde
For lyfe or deth / they wolde an ende abyde
And some of them / that of wytte were rude
For theyr partye / gonne to conclude
That they wolde home / agayne retourne
And other sayde / that they wyll soiourne
Styll at the sege / happe what happe may
And thus they treate / all the longe day
Euery man / lyke his oppynyon
Tyll at the laste / in conclusyon
They be accorded / fully into one
Fro the sege / neuer for to gone
Vnto the tyme / they haue of the towne
Thorugh theyr knyghthode / full possessyon
At theyr fce wyll / to spylle and to saue
All be Achylles / was buryed and ygraue
For the truste / of euery worthy knyght
Was fynally / as goddes haue behyght
That they in haste / shall the towne possede
This was the hope / fully deuoyde of drede
Vndispeyred / in theyr oppynyon
And than anone / Ayax Thelamon
A worthy knyght / and famous of his hande
Amonge all tho / of the Grekes lande
Sayde euen thus / playnely in sentence
Syres quod he / that be here in presence
My counsayle is / platly and my rede
Now it standeth so / that Achylles is dede
For his sone / in all haste to sende
Hyder to come / for to se an ende
Of the sege / and helpe vs in this nede
¶Whiche nowe abyt / with kynge Lycomede
His bysayel / and named is Pirrus
And some hym call / Neptolonyus
Right lusty fresshe / and by lyklynesse
Able to attayne / to great worthynesse
As by reporte / and the fame is kouthe
If he drawe hym / to armes in his youthe
And sothfastly / but if bokes lye
As I haue redde / and herde by prophecye
That fynally / Troye the Cyte
Without hym / shall neuer wonne be
Thus bokes saye / that be of olde memorye
And how grekes / shall haue no victorye
Tyll he come / this sone of Achylles
Wherfore in haste / and be nat reckeles
Sende for hym / that it be done anone
And they cōmende / his counsayle euerychone
And to his rede / fully them assente
And by aduyse / full prudently they sente
In all haste / on this embassyat
The wyse kynge / full famous of estat
I mene the prudent / noble Menelay
And forth he goth / the selfe same day
And on his iourney / gan hym faste spede
Tyll that he came / vnto Lycomede
The olde kynge / as ye haue herde me telle
Wherfore a tyme / I wyll leue hym dwelle
And to Grekes / in the mene whyle
So as I can directe agayne my style.
