As thee, O Queene! the matter of my song,
Whose lignage from this Lady I derive along.
WHERE is the Antique glory now become,
That whylome wont in wemen to appeare?
Where be the brave atchievements doen by Who when, through speaches with the Red-
some? [speare, Where be the batteilles, where the shield and And all the conquests which them high did
She learned had th' estate of Arthegall,
And in each point her selfe informd aright,
A friendly league of love perpetuall
She with him bound, and Congé tooke withall :
Then he forth on his journey did proceede,
To seeke adventures which mote him befall,
And win him worship through his warlike deed,
Which alwaies of his paines he made the
chiefest meed.
But Britomart kept on her former course,
Ne ever dofte her armes, but all the way
Grew pensive through that amarous discourse,
By which the Redcrosse knight did earst display
Her lovers shape and chevalrous aray:
A thousand thoughts she fashiond in her
mind,
And in her feigning fancie did pourtray
Him such as fittest she for love could find,
Wise, warlike, personable, courteous, and kind.
With such selfe-pleasing thoughts her wound
she fedd,
And thought so to beguile her grievous smart ;
But so her smart was much more grievous bredd,
And the deepe wound more deep engord her
hart,
Then, when them selves they well instructed
had
Of all that needed them to be inquird,
They both, conceiving hope of comfort glad,
With lighter hearts unto their home retird;
Where they in secret counsell close conspird,
How to effect so hard an enterprize,
And to possesse the purpose they desird:
Now this, now that, twixt them they did devize,
And diverse plots did frame to maske in strange
disguise.
At last the Nourse in her foolhardy wit
Conceiv'd a bold devise, and thus bespake:
Daughter, I deeme that counsel aye most fit,
That of the time doth dew advauntage take.
Ye see that good king Uther now doth make
Strong warre upon the Paynim brethren,
hight
Octa and Oza, whome hee lately brake
Beside Cayr Verolame in victorious fight,
That now all Britany doth burne in armes
bright.
"That, therefore, uought our passage may empeach,
Let us in feigned armes our selves disguize,
And our weake hands (need makes good|
schollers) teach
The dreadful speare and shield to exercize:
Ne certes, daughter, that same warlike wize,
I weene, would you misseeme; for ye beene
tall,
I saw a Saxon Virgin, the which feld
Great Ulfin thrise upon the bloody playne;
And, had not Carados her hand withheld
From rash revenge, she had him surely slayne:
Yet Carados himselfe from her escapt with
payne.'
'Ah! read,' (quoth Britomart) 'how is she
hight?'
Fayre Angela' (quoth she) 'men do her call,
No whit lesse fayre then terrible in fight:
She hath the leading of a Martiall
And mightie people, dreaded more then all
The other Saxons, which doe, for her sake
And love, themselves of her name Angles call.
Unto thy selfe, and equall corage to thee take.'
Therefore, faire Infant, her ensample make
Her harty wordes so deepe into the mynd
Of the yong Damzell sunke, that great desire
Of warlike armes in her forthwith they tynd,
And generous stout courage did inspyre,
That she resolv'd, unweeting to her Syre,
Advent'rous knighthood on her selfe to don;
And counseld with her Nourse her Maides
To turne into a massy habergeon, [attyre
And bad her all things put in readinesse anon.
Th' old woman nought that needed did omit,
It fortuned (so time their turne did fitt)
But all thinges did conveniently purvay.
A band of Britons, ryding on forray
And large of limbe t'atchieve an hard emprize; Of Saxon goods; emongst the which was seene
Few dayes before, had gotten a great pray
Ne ought ye want but skil, which practize small A goodly Armour, and full rich aray,
Wil bring, and shortly make you a mayd Which long'd to Angela, the Saxon Queene,
All fretted round with gold, and goodly wel
beseene.
'And, sooth, it ought your corage much
inflame
To heare so often, in that royall hous,
From whence, to none inferior, ye came,
Bards tell of many wemen valorous,
Which have full many feats adventurous
Performd, in paragone of proudest men:
The bold Bunduca, whose victorious [dolen;
Exployts made Rome to quake; stout Guen-
Renowned Martia; and redoubted Emmilen.
6 And, that which more then all the rest may
sway,
Late dayes ens ample, which these eyes beheld:
In the last field before Menevia,
Which Uther with those forrein Pagans held,
The same, with all the other ornaments,
King Ryence caused to be hanged hy
In his chiefe Church, for endlesse moniments
Of his successe and gladfull victory:
Of which her selfe avising readily.
In th' evening late old Glaucè thither led
Faire Britomart, and, that same Armory
Downe taking, her therein appareled
Well as she might, and with brave bauldrick
garnished.
Beside those armes there stood a mightie
speare,
Which Bladud made by Magick art of yore,
And usd the same in batteill aye to beare;
Sith which it had beene here preserv'd in store,
Cadwallader, not yielding to his ills,
From Armoricke, where long in wretched cace
He liv'd, retourning to his native place,
Shal be by vision staide from his intent:
For th' heavens have decreed to displace
The Britons for their sinnes dew punishment
And to the Saxons over-give their government.
Then woe, and woe, and everlasting woe,
Be to the Briton babe that shal be borne
To live in thraldome of his fathers foe!
Late king, now captive; late lord, now forlorne;
The worlds reproch; the cruell victors scorne;
Banisht from princely bowre to wastefull wood!
O! who shal helpe me to lament and mourne
The royall seed, the antique Trojan blood,
Whose empire lenger here then ever any stood?'
The Damzell was full deepe empassioned
Both for his griefe, and for her peoples sake,
Whose future woes so plaine he fashioned;
And, sighing sore, at length him thus bespake:
Ah! but will hevens fury never slake,
Nor vengeaunce huge relent it selfe at last?
Will not long misery late mercy make,
But shall their name for ever be defaste,
Bene in his ashes raked up and hid,
Bee freshly kindled in the fruitfull Ile
Of Mona, where it lurked in exile;
And quite from off the earth their memory be Which shall breake forth into bright burning
'Nay but the terme' (sayd he) 'is limited,
That in this thraldome Britons shall abide;
And the just revolution measured
That they as Straungers shal be notifide: [plide,
For twise fowre hundreth yeares shalbe sup-
Ere they to former rule restor❜d shal bee,
And their importune fates all satisfide :
Yet, during this their most obscuritee,
And reach into the house that beares the stile
Of roiall majesty and soveraine name:
So shall the Briton blood their crowne agayn
reclame.
'Thenceforth eternall union shall be made
Betweene the nations different afore,
And sacred Peace shall lovingly persuade
The warlike minds to learne her goodly lore,
Their beames shall ofte breake forth, that men And civile armes to exercise no more:
Then shall a royall Virgin raine, which shall
Stretch her white rod over the Belgicke shore,
'For Rhodoricke, whose surname shal be And the great Castle smite so sore withall,
That it shall make him shake, and shortly
learn to fall.
Shall of him selfe a brave ensample shew,
That Saxon kinges his friendship shall intreat;
And Howell Dha shall goodly well indew
The salvage minds with skill of just and trew:
Then Griffyth Conan also shall upreare
His dreaded head, and the old sparkes renew
Of native corage, that his foes shall feare,
Least back againe the kingdom he from them
should beare.
'Ne shall the Saxons selves all peaceably
Enjoy the crowne, which they from Britons
'But yet the end is not.'-There Merlin
stayd,
As overcomen of the spirites powre,
Or other ghastly spectacle dismayd,
That secretly he saw, yet note discoure:
Which suddein fitt, and halfe extatick stoure,
When the two fearefull wemen saw, they grew
Greatly confused in behaveoure.
At last, the fury past, to former hew
Hee turnd againe, and chearfull looks as earst
did shew.
'His sonne, hight Vortipore, shall him suc-
In kingdome, but not in felicity: [ceede
Yet shall he long time warre with happy speed,
And with great honour many batteills try;
But at the last to th' importunity
Of froward fortune shall be forst to yield:
But his sonne Malgo shall full mightily
Avenge his fathers losse with speare and shield,
And his proud foes discomfit in victorious
field.
'Behold the man! and tell me, Britomart,
If ay more goodly creature thou didst see?
How like a Gyaunt in each manly part
Beares he himselfe with portly majestee,
That one of th' old Heroës seemes to bee!
He the six Islands, comprovinciall
In auncient times unto great Britainee,
Shall to the same reduce, and to him call
Their sondry kings to do their homage severall.
'All which his sonne Careticus awhile
Shall well defend, and Saxons powre suppresse;
Untill a straunger king, from unknowne soyle
Arriving, him with multitude oppresse;
Great Gormond, having with huge mightinesse
Ireland subdewd, and therein fixt his throne,
Like a swift Otter, fell through emptinesse,
Shall overswim the sea, with many one
Of his Norveyses, to assist the Britons fone.
'But after him, Cadwallin mightily
On his sonne Edwin all those wrongs shall
Ne shall availe the wicked sorcery [wreake;
Of false Pellite his purposes to breake,
But him shall slay, and on a gallowes bleak
Shall give th' enchaunter his unhappy hire.
Then shall the Britons, late dismayd and weake,
From their long vassalage gin to respire, [ire.
And on their Paynim foes avenge their ranckled
'Ne shall he yet his wrath so mitigate,
Till both the sonnes of Edwin he have slayne,
Offricke and Osricke, twinnes unfortunate,
Both slaine in battaile upon Layburne playne,
Together with the king of Louthiane,
Hight Adin, and the king of Orkeny,
Both joynt partakers of their fatall payne:
But Penda, fearefull of like desteny, [fealty.
Shall yield him selfe his liegeman, and sweare
'Him shall he make his fatall Instrument
T' afflict the other Saxons unsubdewd;
He marching forth with fury insolent
Against the good king Oswald, who indewd
With heavenly powre, and by Angels reskewd,
Al holding crosses in their hands on hye,
Shall him defeate withouten blood imbrewd:
Of which that field, for endlesse memory,
Shall Hevenfield be cald to all posterity.
'Whereat Cadwallin wroth shall forth issew,
'He in his furie all shall overronne,
And an huge hoste into Northumber lead,
And holy Church with faithlesse handes deface, And crowne with martiredome his sacred head:
With which he godly Oswald shall subdew,
That thy sad people, utterly fordonne,
Shall to the utmost mountaines fly apace.
Whose brother Oswin, daunted with like dread,
With price of silver shall his kingdome buy;
Was never so great waste in any place,
Nor so fowle outrage doen by living men;
And Penda, seeking him adowne to tread,
Shall tread adowne, and doe him fowly dye;
For all thy Citties they shall sacke and race,
But shall with guifts his Lord Cadwallin pacify.
And the greene grasse that groweth they shall
bren,
[den.
That even the wilde beast shall dy in starved
Whiles thus thy Britons doe in languour pine,
Proud Etheldred shall from the North arise,
Serving th' ambitious will of Augustine,
And, passing Dee, with hardy enterprise
Shall backe repulse the valiaunt Brockwell
twise,
And Bangor with massacred Martyrs fill,
But the third time shall rew his foolhardise:
For Cadwan, pittying his peoples ill, [kill.
Then shall Cadwallin die; and then the raine
Of Britons eke with him attonce shall dye;
Ne shall the good Cadwallader, with paine
Or powre, be hable it to remedy,
When the full time, prefixt by destiny,
Shal be expird of Britons regiment:
For heven it selfe shall their successe envy,
And them with plagues and murrins pestilent
Consume, till all their warlike puissance be
spent.
Yet after all these sorrowes, and huge hills Shall stoutly him defeat, and thousand Saxons Of dying people, during eight yeares space,
The hard beginne that meetes thee in the dore, To Elfes, but sprong of seed terrestriall,
And with sharpe fits thy tender hart oppres
And whylome by false Faries stolne away,
Whyles yet in infant cradle he did crall;"
Ne other to himselfe is knowne this day,
But that he by an Elfe was gotten of a Fay:
Way for themselves their purpose to pertake?' 'Like as a Lyon that in drowsie cave
Then Merlin thus: Indeede the fates are Hath long time slept, himselfe so shall he
firme,
[brave
And may not shrinck, though all the world do And comming forth shall spred his banner
Yet ought mens good endevours them confirme, Over the troubled South, that it shall make
And guyde the heavenly causes to their con- The warlike Mertians for feare to quake:
Thrise shall he fight with them, and twise
shall win;
The man, whom heavens have ordaynd to But the third time shall fayre accordaunce
[bee And, if he then with victorie can lin,
He shall his dayes with peace bring to his
earthly In.
The spouse of Britomart, is Arthegall:
He wonneth in the land of Fayeree,
Yet is no Fary borne, ne sib at all
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