The firfte day of the bataile
Thou shalt be flain withoute faile
And Jonathas thy fone alfo.
But how as ever it felle fo,
This worthy knight of his corage
Hath undertake the viage
And wolde nought his knighthode let.
For no perill he couthe fet,
Wherof that bothe his fone and he
Upon the mounte of Gelboe
Affemblen with her enemies.
For they knighthode of such a pris
By olde daies thanne helden,
That they none other thing behelden.
And thus the fader for worship
Forth with his fone of felaship
Through luft of armes weren dede
As men may in the bible rede,
They whos knighthode is yet in minde
And shall be to the worldes ende.
And for to loken overmore
It hath and shall ben evermore,
That of knighthode the proweffe
Is grounded upon
hardieffe
Of him that dare wel undertake.
And who that wolde enfample take
Upon the forme of knightes lawe,
How that Achilles was forth drawe
With Chiro, which Centaurus hight,
Of
many a wonder here he might.
Hic loquitur, quod miles in fuis primordiis ad audaciam provocari debet. Et narrat, qualiter Chiro centaurus Achillem, qui fecum ab infancia in monte Peleon educavit, ut audax efficeretur, primitus edocuit, quod cum ipfe venacionibus ibidem infifteret, leones et tigrides huiufmodique animalia fibi refiftencia et nulla alia fugitiva agitaret, et fic Achilles in juven
For it stood thilke time thus,
That this Chiro this Centaurus
Within a large wilderneffe,
Where was leon and leoneffe,
The lepard and the tigre also
With hert and hinde, buk and doo,
Had his dwelling, as tho befell.
Of Peleon upon the hill,
Wherof was thanne mochel fpeche,
There hath Chiro this child to teche,
What time he was of twelve
yere age,
Wherfore to maken his corage
The more hardy by other wey.
In the foreft to hunt and pley
Whan that Achilles walke wolde,
Centaurus bad that he ne fholde
After no befte make his chas,
Which wolde fleen out of his place
As buk and doo and hert and hinde,
With which he may no werre finde.
But tho, that wolden him withstonde,
There fhuld he with his dart on honde
Upon the tigre and the leon
Purchace and make his venison,
As to a knight is accordaunt.
And therupon a covenaunt
This Chiro with Achilles fet,
That every day withouten let
He fhulde fuch a cruel beste
Or fle or wounden ate lefte,
So that he might a token bring
Of blood upon his home coming.
And thus of that Chiro him taught
Achilles such an herte caught,
That he no more a leon drad,
Whan he his dart on honde had,
Than if a leon were an affe.
And that hath made him for to passe
All other knightes of his dede,
Whan it cam the grete nede,
As it was afterward wel knowe.
Lo, thus, my fone, thou might knowe
That the corage of hardieffe
Is of knighthode the proweffe,
Which is to love fuffifaunt
Aboven all the remenaunt,
That unto loves court purfue.
But who that wol no flouth efchue
Upon knighthode and nought travaile,
I not what love him fhuld availe,
But
every
labour axeth why
Of fome reward, wherof that I
Enfamples couthe tel inough
Of hem, that toward love drough
By olde daies, as they shulde.
My fader, therof here I wolde.
My fone, it is wel resonable
In place, which is honourable,
If that a man his herte fette,
That than he for no flouthe lette
To do what longeth to manhede.
For if thou wolt the bokes rede
Of Launcelot and other mo,
There might thou feen, how it was tho
Of armes, for they wold atteigne
To love, which withouten peine
May nought be get of idelneffe.
And that I take to witnesse
An old cronique in fpeciall,
The whiche into memoriall
Is write for his loves fake,
How that a knight shal undertake.
Hic dicit, quod miles Ther was a king, which Oenes
priufquam amoris
amplexu dignus effi- Was hote and he under
ciatur, eventus belli- Held Calidoine in his empire
plectere debet, et nar- And had a doughter Deianire. rat, qualiter Hercules
et Achelous propter Men wift in thilke time none
regis filiam fingulare So fair a wight, as she was one.
inierunt, cuius victor And as he was a lufty wight,
Hercules exiftens armorum meritis amo
rem virginis laudabiliter conqueftavit.
Right fo was than a noble knight,
To whom Mercurie fader was.
This knight the two pillers of bras,
The whiche yet a man may finde,
up in the defert of Ynde,
That was the worthy Hercules,
Whos name fhall be endeles
For the merveiles, which he wrought.
This Hercules the love fought
Of Deianire, and of his thing
Unto her fader, which was king,
He spake touchend of mariage.
The kinge knowend his high lignage
And drad also his mightes sterne
To him ne durft his doughter werne
And netheles, this he him faide,
How Achelous er he first preide
To wedden her, and in accorde
They stood, as it was of recorde.
But for all that this he him graunteth,
That which of hem that other daunteth
In armes, him fhe fhulde take,
And that the king hath undertake.
This Achelous was a geaunt,
A fubtil man, a deceivaunt,
Which through magique and forcerie
Couth all the worlde of trecherie.
And whan that he this tale herde,
How upon that the king anfwerde,
With Hercules he mufte feight,
He trusteth nought upon
his fleight
Al onely, whan it cometh to nede,
But that, which voideth alle drede
And every noble herte ftereth,
The love, that no life forbereth,
For his lady, whom he defireth,
With hardieffe his herte fireth,
And fend him word withoute faile,
That he woll take the bataile.
They fetten day, they chofen felde,
The knightes covered under fhelde
|