Illumination [not noted in printed edition]: 1. birth of Prince Philip; 2. baptism.Aftir the crucifiyng of oure lord Ihesu crist, and that the holy cristen feitℏ was magnified and augmented in alle the Reaumes that at this day be cristened / and that were founde in oure holy feitℏ by the Apostells, and aftir by the holy doctoures / that same feitℏ of oure lord Ihesu crist was so moche honoured and kepte that alle cristen Reaumes were in so good tranquillite and pees, that there was no warre a-monges them.

And in this tyme reigned a kynge in ffraunce, of rigℏt excellent and grete recommendacion, whos name was Charles, and had weddid a rigℏt faire lady, doughter to the kyng of Nauerne, whiche for hir vertues was so moche biloued and honoured of alle maner people thorughout the Reaume, that more migℏt no princesse be / The kynge and the Quene gouerned the Reaume in suche loue, pees, and concord, that the laude & praise therof sounded and spred ouer alle the worlde, for neuer thei did nor suffred, to their power, no creature to haue wrong nor violence; and if any gentilman were disherite bi mysfortune or euil gouernaunce of his fadir, or were in any maner mysery or trouble, thei wolde helpe and comfort hym, & do their deuoir to recouer hym his rigℏt, and suche honour as he was born vnto. And in like wise, if ther were any poure gentilwoman frendles / thei wold helpe to mary hir / and so did they by Marchauntes that were fallen in-to pouerte by Infortune: thei wold releue them / and so wele thei did, þat by their merites the grace of god so largely abounded in them that thei had a sone / wherof thei were so ioifuƚƚ / that more they might not be; and good cause had thei to be glad / for long it was or they had any / and at laste god sent them suche one as was bettir than any man can write of, aswele towardes god as to the world / and god had formed hym of suche beaute, witte, trouthe and worthynes / and of alle condicions that to a kynges sone perteyne to haue, not only for to gouerne that Reaume / but for to haue had al that part of the world vndir his gouernaunce. Now may ye thynke wele / that at his birthe the kynge & the Quene, and alle the Reaume, were gretly reioised / and gave thankinges and preisynges to god, with general processions, doyng thorugh alle the Reaume as belongith to suche cas / and moche more were thei comfortid / that the Reaume shold be succeded by hym that came of that noble lyne / than of any othir cristen prince that they myght haue aftir the deth of their kynge.

It is to thinke that childe was cristened as to a kynges sone bilongeth / and he was named Philip.

Of his norture & of his kepyng in his childhode / it is to thynke also that he was diligently kepte / and whan he was paste vij. yere age / he was putte in the handes of notable knyghtes / whiche were chosen by the kyng and his counseƚƚ for the most noble of the Reaume, bycause that by them he shulde be induced in alle good maners & condicions; for at that tyme / the sones of kynges and of grete princes aftir that age were put in the handes of the moost notable knyghtes and worthi men / that the kynges or princes had in their lond / for bicause that the condicions of princes may many tymes auaile and helpe to the comon wele / and that princes wele condicioned may make and restore a desolat Reaume / and the contrary may put the moost noble and myghti Reaume in captyuyte & wrecchidnes.

Wherfore it befil that this yonge Philip, the kynges sone, was so wele & honorably norisshed to god-ward and to the worlde / that alle thei of the Reaume, grete and litle, loued hym as moche as fadir myght loue the childe / and with aƚƚ this was he the moost faire creature that any hert coude deuise / and the moost amyable persone to beholde / that they that beheld hym, consideryng the maner & condicions werwitℏ he was enewred / coude neuer be satisfied in beholdyng hym, so moche thei desired it / and more and more multiplied and grewe in hym witte, trouth and curtesie / so long til he came to the age of xix. yere, in such perfecion as I haue tolde you / so moche biloued and so moche honoured / that vnnethe was there any withyn the Reaume that coude be wele content without they had seyn hym sumtyme of the yere.

Now shal I leue of a while to speke of hym til tyme shal be / and shal speke of the kyng of Syzile, whiche was at that tyme the next Reaume vnto the mysbileuers and enemyes of the feitℏ / the whiche suffrid for the feith of Ihesu crist moche peyne and duresse / he and alle tho of his Reaume / yn-so-moche that they were brought to the vttirmost poynt of there destruccion / sauf that god sent them socours / like as ye may here ferther yn this present Boke. [Illumination: a Wedding.]

NOw seith the tale / that than was there a kyng yn that Reaume named Alfour, a valaunt knight, and gretely loued & dred god / and kepte his commaundementes asmoche as any prince might, and so shewed it wele; for to sustene the feith / put he his body many tymes in auenture / and shedde his blode in diuerse batailles.

This kynge was to mary / and,--for to haue comfort and helpe ayenst the miscreauntes / that night and day made him warre, aswele the Turke as othir / holding the dampnable feith of Machoumete,--had counseƚƚ of his princes and Barons to aske to wif the doughter of the kyng of Spayne, named Sybille / And the kyng of Spayne was called Albors, and had to wif the doughter of the kynge of Portyngale / and it was concluded by the hole counseƚƚ of the Reaume / that in asmoche as the kynge of ffraunce had no doughter / that this was the moost myghty place for the kynge of Sizile to be alied witℏ / to haue helpe and comfort for to sustene his warres.

Now then were notable messangers sent forth / and thei labored so that, by the kynge of Spayne, his doughter was agreed & yeuen to the kynge of Syzile; wherof aƚƚ his Reaume was rigℏt ioifuƚƚ, and trusted by tho seide kynge of Spayne to be gretely socoured and holpen.

Now was this lady delyuerd to the Ambassatours, whiche brought hir in-to the Reaume of Sizile, wher-as she was resceyued with fulle grete honour / the kynge maried hir with right grete ioie / and withyn litle while she was with Childe / wherof the Reaume was gretly reioised / abidyng the grace of god til it came to the tyme of .ix. monethes ende / that she was deliuerd / and had a doughter whiche was cristened and named Iolante. whiche was in hir daies the fairest lady of the world / best condicioned and the best biloued; & not without cause / for in hir were all the noble vertues that migℏt or ought to be comprised in so higℏ a pryncesse / and to reherce ferthir .I. passe ouir / for I haue neithir witte nor tonge that suffiseth therto / ffor in hir tyme she passed in beaute and vertu aƚƚ that part of the worlde / for aƚƚthougℏ the kynge hir ffadir were so good a prince & so valiaunt a knyght / yit was the Reaume more susteyned and aided by a hundird part for hir sake than for his, for the pite that eueri body had of the destruccion of such one as she was / And whan she came tothe age of .xiiij. yere / hir renone was so grete that it spredde thorugh the worlde. And yif the kynge hir ffadir wold haue yeuen hir to the grete Turke for his eldest sone, he might haue had peas for hym and aƚƚ his Reaume; but he wold in no wise be agreable therto, for he was so verry parfit goddys knyght, that he had leuer a diede / And thus eueri day encreasid his warres / and his losse grewe more and more; but vigorously, and as a valiaunt knygℏt, he diffendid his Reaume so long, til his tresour was nygh dispendid / and his Reaume at the poynt of perdicion, his noble men amenyssht be the warres, in-so-moche that he was fayn to sende to alle cristen kynges, to asserteyne hem what cas he was yn / requiryng hem in the name of oure lorde Ihesu criste / that, forto mayntene his holy feith / they wold socoure hym & helpe hym.

Now trewe it was that many notable knightes, that had no warres in the cristen Reaumes, disported them thorugh diuerse Reaumes / wherof many passid by the Reaume of Sizile / and whan thei vndirstede the warres that were there / some of them contynued stille there / and some retourned in-to their contrees / to abile them self for the warres whiche were dispuruaide there / wherof there were diuerse knyghtes of ffraunce / aswele as of othir contrees / that were come out of the Reaume of Sizile / & euerich exorted gretly their kynge or prince, vndir whos obeisaunce thei were, to entreprynse the viage, & shewed them the grete pite that was of the Reaume, & of that faire & good lady the kinges doughter / of whom-eueri man seide more wele than othir / and for the pite & loue that many had of hir / thei abode ful long in the kynges seruice at their owne charge, for he was not of power to sowde them / the Reaume was so gretely empouerysht / thus for hir loue had he the seruice of many a noble knyght.

THies tidynges were opende & knowen thorugh aƚƚ cristendome to alle kynges and prynces / yn so moche / that there was daily grete speche therof yn euery Court, Seyng that the reaume of Sizile was nygh lost without any socours, whiche was to grete a pite that so valiaunt a prince / and so noble a Reaume, & so grete, so faire & so good a lady, shold so be destroied by the myscreauntes, whicℏ was to grete a shame to aƚƚ cristen Reaumes, seeng the litle seruice they did to god, wherthorugh they dred that god wold vttirly be displesid / All thies thinges were often deuised in eueri Court / but for aƚƚ that / was noon that adressed hem, neither to go nor to sende any socours.

ye haue herde here-to-fore the maner & condicions of Philip the sone of the kynge of ffraunce / that was the yong man of the worlde that moost loued & dred god. This viage of Sizile herd he often spoken of, and many tymes wolde he speke to his ffadir, and meue him as ferre as he durst, to sende som socours to this poure kyng of Sizile / and besougℏt hym to be ware of goddes displeasir, remembryng the grete wele / god had yeuen hym / the Reaume, & the grete possession that he helde / the tranquillite and peas that was in his Reaume / and he to do no thyng in the seruice of hym that had yeuen him alƚ that / and though there were noon othir thinge but pite / that aught to meue eueri prince to the socours of so honorable a kynge and so faire a lady. Thus many tymes & ofte the rigℏt noble sone of the kynge of ffraunce amonested his fadir, & so long þat þe kynge was constreyned to answere him, seyng thiese wordes / "my sone, .I. knowe wele / that in this that ye exorte me to do socours to the kyng of Sizile, cometh of an high and a noble corage, wherof I am right glad & wele content / but y must remembre agein the charge of this Reaume, the payne and trauaile that .I. haue had, and haue, to kepe & mayntene it in good peas / for many grete prynces & lordes holde of me / that somtyme by enuy and presumpcion wold rebelle and reise werre / wherby the Reaume shold gretly be empeired / but by grete iustise that y haue alwey kepte, & euer shal to my power. wherfore it neuer yit bifelle so, ne neuer shaƚƚ, yif god be pleasid. And be sure I haue remembrid this matier ful ofte, and fayn wold do suche seruice as might be to god agreable / but I wote not how, for yif .I. shold sende any of my blode / the remenaunt that be of estate wold haue enuy ther-ate / and othir kynges and princes that wold go vndir me wold not go vndir them / & thus the seruice that y shol[d] do to god might litil profit or nougℏt / And yif y shold go in myn oune persone / the Reaume that god hath yeue me to kepe shold be without a gouernour / for ye be but yonge yet / and thus at my comyng ageyn / yif euer it pleased god I shold retourne, I might lightly fynde my Reaume empeired and divided in such maner that it might be grete damage to vs bothe, & to the comon wele / wherof we sholde come to late to repentaunce. And yif y sholde sende you forth / take hede hou other kynges and princes wold be content to go vndir you & in your company / but rathir might growe enuy / wherof might falle to you such mysauenture / that y had leuer god sende me the dethe / ye knowe wele that in you is aƚƚ my trust / and the only comfort of this Reaume, and for this y wol that ye haue no lenger hope nordesire to go, nor entreprynse this viage / for and I knewe any man withyn my Reaume, were he neuer so gret, that wold yeue you any counseƚƚ or comfort theryn, he sholde dye for it, as he that wele had deserued it, for he shold take out of this Reaume the grace that god hath yeuen vs / that is, to haue an heire male aftir my daies, whiche is ynough to the pleasir of aƚƚ the Reaume / By whos losse this Reaume sholde be more desolate / then that of Sizile; not by the ennemyes of the feithe, but be enuy & warre of grete princes marchers vnto this Reaume, whiche thinge may lightly byfalle for lakke of Iustice and good gouernaunce. But y trust yn god that, of his grace, aftir my daies ye shaƚƚ guyde this Reaume as wele as y haue don, & better / if it please hym to yeue you lif, whiche is the thyng in the worlde that y moost desire / therfore, yif ye haue had any desire a-fore this to take on you that viage, lete it passe out of your mynde / for my hert can neuer be agreable therto / ye se also othir cristen princes, in especiaƚƚ the kynge of Spayne, whos doughter the kynge of Sizile hath maried, in trust to haue helpe & comfort of hym / yit y can not vndirstonde that he is any thyng comforted by hym. Beholde o that othir side, The kyng of Inglond hath a sone, right wele condicioned as men say / and of age to entreprynse suche auentures / & he hath .ij. faire doughters, wherby he is comforted that the Reaume shalƚ not out of the lyne / & he knoweth thies tidynges aswele as y do / yit can y here no worde that he any thynge puruaieth to the socours of the kynge of Sizile / Beholde / ferther, the kynge of Scottes, that hath .iij. sones, wherof / one is in the age of Armes, wele norisshed & condicioned, as y vndirstonde / & wele may ye wite that he hath thies tidynges aswele as othir / and he doth nothynge ther-to, and yet is he the kynge that hath leste excuse, sith he hath .iij. sones, as it is saide / and yif he wold sende forth one of them / and sende vnto the kynge of Inglonde and to me / y wote wele that for to do seruice vnto god / ther is noon of vs two but wolde aide therto vnto oure power. Se ferther, also the Emperour, that sholde be the verry trewe defence of the Churche, & sustenaunce / and the right arme that aught to be defender / and y can here no thyng that he doth to the socours, helpe or comfort of the kyng of Sizile. Then I, that am ferre from the marches, & of noon acquey[n]taunce nor alliaunce, shold be the first premeuer or exorter to enterprynse the viage, it accordeth not. Beholde thorugh all almayne, where as so many grete princes be, whiche of theym presenteth hem forward /whan I fynde any that this Viage wol take vpon theym, & they sende to me, seurely y shal do seruice to god to my power; but tyl that tyme I wol not entremete me ther-witℏ."

This yonge Philippe, vndirstondyng the wordes of his ffadir, consideryng that they were resonable, dredyng his displeasir, answerd hym litil, seyng al sobrely / "My lord, y know weƚƚ youre causes be good & resonable / but and eueri Prynce be of that opinion / the socours ys like to come to late to the good kynge of Sizile. Where nedith to be sought a gretter prynce or a better gouernour than he is / yif it pleased your grace to sende him of youre folkys. and yif ye thinke ther sholde growe any enuy to sende them in the conduyt of a grete lorde / put hem then in the gouernaunce of knyghtes, suche as be notable, & preued wise and worthy; and yeue them in charge to do what the kynge wil commaunde them / and thus shal thei be sure of a good Capteyne / And than shal there be no cristen prynce but that may and aught to make of you his mirrour & example to do as ye haue dōn, to þe wele of aƚƚ cristendome, wherof the honour shold be doubled in you, ynasmoche as ye were the first meuer & begynner therof."

THe kynge, consideryng the wordes of his sone, thought hem trewe & right honorable / al-though he had no wille therto / yit answerd hym thus: "my sone, youre seyng is good and laudable, & I wol remembre it / and take auyse vpon̄ your exortacion." The right noble sone of the kynge was wise, and knewe anoon / that this was but a meane to be delyuerd of hym, & that he had no wille to entende to this matter; & thus moornyng, pensif and right soroufulƚ, he departed fro hym / & went to his chambre, where-as were many noble folkes; and he withdrewe hym in-to an Inner chambre with suche as pleasid hym / and made one rede holy stories and lyues of Seyntes, seruauntes to the cristen feith / wher-by he sawe the paynes and trauailes that the holy Apostells and Martirs had sofred to gete the perdurable glorie. Sone aftir he went ayen in-to his Chambre, where-as he founde many yonge lordes, sonys to the grete princes and grete lordes of the Reaume / that had be brought vp of childhode with hym, whiche caused bitwene him and them a verry naturel loue; and they exorted hym to speke to the kynge for this Viage of Sizile, whiche they knewe for trouthe that ouir alle thynge he desired; & gladly eueri man meueth his maister of suche matiers as moost may please hym / Also eche of theym was of the age to bere Armes / and ouir aƚƚ thyng desired to be at that viage / and often saide to their maister / "yif ye myghte haue this viage, ye shold haue al the sute of the world / for eueri man wold be ioifuƚƚ to put hym vndir you. Ector of Troie nor Alisaundre had neuer the renome that ye shold haue aftir your dethe" / This yong philippe, heryng dayly thies wordes, knowyng the kynges pleasir contrary, answerd lesse than he was wont to do, wherof they that spake to hym of þe matier were abasshed, & thought in hem self that he was not so hote ther-yn as he had ben bifore / but for trouthe he was more ardaunt in his mynde than euir he was. Thus euerichon departid, for it was tyme to go to slepe. This yong prince beyng in his bedde, contynuelly thinkyng on the wordes that he had hadde witℏ his ffadir / aftir came him to remembraunce the stories he hadde herd redde a litle bifore his going to bedde / callyng to mynde also / the paynes that be in this world / hou myghti a kyng someuer he be, here hath he no surete in noon erthly thyng / but only of the kyngdom of heuen, that neuer hath fyne / thus he debated in him self, seyng thies wordes / "A, verray god ! y may do the no seruice / I haue the wille, but I haue not the power / I remembre the paynes / the seyntes of whom I rede to day endured to come to thy Reaume. Alas ! y had neuer payn for the / but aƚƚ wele and glorie / hou may y than acheue that crowne without ende / I am of thy grace abidyng on that is erthly / whiche right sone y may lese / for dethe shal make the departyng; & than shaƚƚ I haue no more possessioune nor part yn erthe than the porest in this Reaume; wele cured were I, yif y migℏt make a chaunge of that crowne that is morteƚƚ, for that whiche ys ymmorteƚƚ. So y pray the, very god, þat of thy grace thou wilt helpe me, though y may not nowe / that here-aftir this Reaume and I may be emploied in thy seruice." After, he torned hym in his bedde, and said in this wise: "what seruice may y do / y haue no power but of myn only body, that neuer sawe no thyng, ne wote not what it is of Armes / ner neuer sawe company assembled. y am yong & but a childe; what seruyce may .I. than do to god?" / than seide he ageyn, "A, good lord / tho that y redde of to-day, that sought the Reaume of heuen / ne did it not in grete company, but only with their owne propre bodies. It were they that sought the very parfit glorie, and god was suffised with the desertes of their owne bodies / wherfore alle thynges considered, y shaƚƚ put forth my body / and renounce alƚ the successioun þat in this world may befalle me, and for his sake promyse with good hert to go vnto the seruice of the kyng of Sizile / and neuer to departe til the warres be ended / or ellis y shaƚƚ dye yn the defence of his reaume" / and thus vttirly concludid Phelip to departe, & to abandoune the Reaume and aƚƚ his frendes / thynkyng yn hym self / hou to conduyte this matier that no lyving creature shold haue knowlage therof / ffor wele wist he that there was noman in alle the Reaume, and he knewe it / that durst concele it fro the kynge; for he was sure / and they did othirwise / they shold die; and therfore determyned he yn alle poyntes to entreprise this viage without discoueryng of his entent to any lyving creature / considering wele that he had not ben accostomed to be alone / and that it shold be to hym right straunge / neuirtheles, for the loue of oure lord, he determyned to suffre & bere paciently all paynes and troubles that he wolde sende hym. In this determynacion & purpose contynued Phelip the space of a Moneth and more / thinkyng on that besinesse / and did so that he puruaide hym of money y-nough to fynde hym .v. or vj. yere / trustyng withyn that terme to fynde some good auenture / So it befel that on a Monday at night, the mone shone faire and clere, and he departid out of Paris; and this was the xxijth. day of ffeuyrer / And his age was than xxv. yere / and at his departyng, he verrily promysed in his mynde neuer to be knowen what he was, til the warres were ffynysshed / and bettir for to couer hym self / he chaunged his name / & concludid to calle hym self "le despurucu" / and passed so forth / & thought wele that whan his goyng was knowen, that ouir alƚ the marches men sholde seke hym, and in especiaƚƚ vpone the marches of Sizile, for this that many folkes had knowen his desire thiderward; & therfore he avised hym not to go that way, but rather drewe hym to the Reaume of Spayne; for he thought / yn-asmoche as the kynge of Sizile had maryed þe kynge of Spaynes doughtir, there he sholde here more certeyn tidynges þan in any othir Reaume / So rode he forth the streight way towarde Spayne / yn so grete haste that he rode more in one day / than any of the best ryders the kynge his ffadir had / did in two / and rode so fortℏ, aƚƚ-wey vnknowen̄, so long tyme til he came to Spayne / so sore chaunged & amegred that vnnethe any man myght him knowe / for he had not the lif / he had ben accostomed to / where-thorugh, yif god of his grace had not the better comforted & holpen him / he had neuer departed out of Spayne alyue / alweis, what payne and trauaile so euer he had, he toke it in pacience, for the loue of god. So fortuned hym to come to a Cite was named Towlette / where-as the kynge was / And for-asmoche as he thought there were folkes a-boute the kynge of alle nacions, as wele of ffraunce as of othir / and perauenture suche as might lyghtly knowe hym / it thought hym good to fynde some secrete loggyng where-as he shold not be often seyen / and so, by the meane of a gentilman that he mette by the way / he was loggid in the hous of a noble Burgeis, one of the moost riche of the Towne / whiche had weddid the Aunt of that same gentilman / at whos request they loggid hym right wele, and made hym right good chere / which felle wele for le Despurueu; for thei were good and notable folkes, & had a sone & a doughter of right grete and notable recommendacion, faire persones of good condicions, & wele and honorably norisshed / & withyn litle while that the Despurueu had ben there, the loued hym as their owne sone / & the sone & the doughter loued hym as their brother. And to the sone of the hous taught he such thynges of honour, that folkes meruailed to se hym so wele ensured / And the doughter taught he to syng / to harpe, & to play at the chesse, and all such goodly th[y]nges as bilonge to a gentilwoman of honour.

Now felle it so / that while he was in this reste aftir his grete trauaile, whiche he was not accustomed to / bifelle hym a grete sikenesse, that alle tho that sawe him iuged in hym no thyng but dethe / and durid in hym more than half a yere / so that he might neuer rise of his bedde, whereby he was so moche empeired / that, & he had ben in the presence of his ffadir / he coude not know hym / and moche more greued hym his sekenesse / for it taried hym fro the seruice of god / than for any payne that he endured / but our lorde, in whos kepyng he had put hym, whiche wold not refuse his seruice / made hym to haue that sikenes / for othir wise migℏt he neuer accomplissh his desire vnknowen / there was so grete serche for hym yn eueri cristen Reaume / for so grete sorowe was neuer seyn in no contre as was for his departyng, thorughout alle ffraunce. [Illum.]

THe tuysday in the mornyng, aftir the departyng of the kynges sone, came lordes, knyghtes and squyers, as they were accustomed to be at the risyng of their maister, & founde not yit opyn þe chamber dore; for on the nyght afore had he made alle the folkes to avoide, as wele his chambrelayn as othir, seyng that he wold be that nyght alone / whereby they supposed that he had som lady or Ientilwoman there / that he wolde not haue knowen. Thus they alle retourned ageyn in the mornyng to his Chambre dore, and there awated right longe, & durst make no noyse, for displeasir, tiƚƚ it was the houre of noone / meruailyng grettly that he was not stiryng, for he was not accustomed to be in his bedde at that tyme. So concluded they that the Chambrelayn shold̛ knokke at the dore / whiche he did all ferefully / but noon answerd hym, wherof they meruailed gretly / and bode ther so long / that it passed two of the clokke / then worde came to the kynge therof, whiche meruailed gretly, and fortℏwitℏ went in-to the grete chambre of his sones / and founde there many lordes, knyghtes and Squyers, that awaited on hym / of whom he axed "what may this be" / and they tolde hym the trouthe / wherof he was gretly abasshed, for neuer bifore had he founde his sone of suche demeanyng. So he went to the dore, and knokked̛ so loude as tough he sholde haue brokyn vp the dore / but no body answerd hym / whereof he toke grete displeasir, and made the dore to be broken vp / and fonde the Chambre al redy, and the bedde made / and no body theryn; wherof the kynge was sore ameruailed / & made to seche hym ouir all / but noon coude here of hym; than sent he to the stabells, & fond that the best smaƚƚ hors that he had was goon / that was the kynge plainly assured that he was not in the toune. And wele knewe he that his sone was not departed in this maner to come sone ageyn / wherfore he toke suche sorowe that he felle in a sowne / and at last, whan he was releued ageyn / he made the moost pitous regrettes that any man might make / "Alas," quoth he, "my dere sone / what haue I forfete vnto you? / ye haue put me to dethe without desert / for y haue loued you more than my self / ye were my ioie, my recomfort, and myn esperaunce / Alas / aƚƚ this haue ye taken fro me / þat am your ffadir, & by this meane shal abregge my lif / I was he þat more gladly wolde haue died to haue lenghthid youre lif, than to haue lyued by youre dethe; my trust was, that god had geue you vnto me for my grete ioie / but y se wele ye are come in-to this world for to abregge my daies / wold god y had agreed to youre request / touchinge the viage of Sizile / yn-to whiche place I thinke wele ye be gon / but ye be so dispuruaide / that y thinke ye shal neuer perfourme half way, seyng your softe & tendre norisshyng / Alas, my frendes! helpe to comfort a discomfortid / that calleth hym self at this day the moost wrecchid kynge that leuyth. Alas, my wiff! whan ye shal knowe thies tidyngis, .I. haue grete drede hou ye shal bere thegrete paynes that youre hert shaƚƚ suffre / Now y requyre you, my frendes, enquere ouir aƚƚ yif any lyuyng creature be gon with hym / for than shold my soroufuƚƚ hert be in the lesse dispeire" /

YE may thinke that whan the tidinges came to the Quene, she had as moche sorowe / as the hert of any modre sholde haue that had lost suche a sone / for there was no lyuyng body that might recomfort hir / Hir sorow & hir compleint was more than y can deuise you. The kinge, and she, that gladly and by naturaƚƚ reson shold comforte eche one othir / they might vnnethes opyn their mowthes, but as folkes ded & transitory. In like wise was the sorow so grete of alle suche as were there / for they entendid neither the kynge, neither the Quene, but rente their here, & made vnmesurable sorow, as folkes vtterly dispeired / The tidinges spred ouir aƚƚ the Cite of Parys: there might ye here brayng & cryyng in al þe cite of aƚƚ maner of folkes, grete & smale / there is no man that can recorde the sorow that the Cite made / for they might no more make, though thei had lost on o day alle the frendes thei had / In like wise felle it thorough aƚƚ the Reaume of ffraunce / for ther was neuer noon erthly man more biloued than was this yonge Phelip, the kynges sone / not only in the Reaume of ffraunce, but in alle othir Reaumes that marched ther-to / whiche, whan thei herd the losse of this childe, thei made meruailous sorow / And wite for trouthe, that in the Reaume of ffraunce was lost at that houre aƚƚ ioie, whiche dured as longe as his sorowfuƚƚ ffadir lyued / for neuer aftir sawe he the thinge in the worlde that he moost loued / that was, his right dere sone, whiche was grete cause of shortnyng of his lif / ffor aftir his sones departynge, coude he neuer here tidynges of hym / for no serche he coude make.

Now seith the tale / that while Phelip lay thus seke in his bed at Towlette / ffaire fflorentyne, the daughter of his hoste, & hir brothir Ioℏn̄, oftentymes wolde visite hym, and telle him the tidynges of the Reaume of ffraunce, how the kynges sone was lost / the renome that was of hym / the sorow that was for his loue. but, fynally, he neuer made semblaunt / that it touched him in any thynge.

So long contynued this terme, that it was passed half a yere sith he departed out of ffraunce, in somoch that the speche was alle lefte / and put yn forgetyng, of the losse of the kynges sone / at whiche tyme he was in recoueryng, by the helpe of his good hoste and hostesse and their childre / and by that tyme was he al-most oute of the drede of knowlage, by length of tyme and his grete sikenes.

Now aƚƚ this tyme contynued the warres of Sizile; for the grete Turke and his brother fferrabras, kynge of Peerce, contynuelly enforced them to conquere the Reaume, whiche was by that tyme more than half conquered / whereby the kynge of Sizile was constreyned to sende to alle cristen princes for socours, takyng god to witnesse that, and that Reaume were tourned to the mysbeleue / it was for lak of pite & helpe of theym, for without socours it was not yn his power to kepe it lenger / than such a day as he apointed by his writyng.

Thus sent he notable knyghtes, bothe to the Pope and to alle other Reaumes / among whiche he sent vnto the kynge of Spayne one of the moost notable knyghtes of his Reaume / whiche was named fferant / and was his Senesshaƚƚ. and he had a Brother, right a valiaunt man / whiche had in gouernaunce part of the frontiers ayenst the ennemyes of the feith / and rigℏt honourably demeaned hym there.

Now fferant departed out of Sizile yn-to Spayn, and spede so wele his iourneis that he came to Towlette, where-as he founde the kynge, whiche resceyued hym with right grete honour, & loggid there as the Despurueu was, that by than was wele recouerd. & whan he knewe the cause of fferantes comyng / it reioised hym more than aƚƚ the goold in Spayne coude haue done / trustyng to become his seruant / and to go with hym in-to Sizile / than felle he in acqueytaunce with his folkes / whiche had so grete loue vnto hym, for the grete weles that they sawe in hym / that they brought hym in acqueyntance witℏ their maister, whiche was right glad of his company. ffor so wele demeaned hym, le Despurueu, to fferant / and alle his men / that he was gretly desired of them all to go in-to Sizile with them / But ouir alle othir, fferant desired hym moost / wherof le Despurueu was as glad as any man might be / for it was the thynge yn the erthe that he moost desired. Thus is the Despurueu be-lefte with fferant / thinkyng verrily to vse part of his youtℏ yn the warres for the loue of god.

Now seith the tale, that fferant bode at the Cite of Towlette til that he sawe wele his abidyng there might litil profit his maister / for he sped in substaunce nothing that he came for / wherfore he toke his leue of the kynge, & retourned into Sizile / and le Despurueu, his newe seruaunt, with hym / for whos departyng / his hoste & his hostesse toke asmoche sorow as, and he had be their sone / and cursed the houre that the knyght of Sizile came into that contre / thus departed fferant the Senesshalƚ, right sorowfull of that he hath no better spedde, & emploiede his iourney / til that he approched the Reaume of Sizile, auisyng alwey his newe seruaunt / consideryng withyn hym self / his persone, his beaute / his maner, his humbles / wherof he was moche ameruailed / for he wende not that yn the body of any one man might haue ben so many vertues to-gedir / So thought he wele / that if he had as moche worthynesse and prowes as he had persone & maner, he shold be the moost perfit thinge that euer god made sith tyme of his passion̄.

And yit aƚƚ were it that he were not valiaunt yn armes, yit were he worthy to serue any kynge, for it is litle seen that alle vertues be complete in one man. Thus rode they forth so longe til he entred in-to the Reaume of Sizile / and logged hym the first night in a Towne called Taprey, of the whiche, Olyuer, brother to fferant, was Captayne / and for the moost part was abidyng ther / fferabrace, brother to the Soudan, was yn an other Towne but .iiij. leeges thens / that was named / ffoundey, whiche he had conquered vpon̄ the kyng of Sizile / fferant was trauailed & wery, & purposed to rest hym ther witℏ his brother a seuenight or a fourtnight / And sone after he was come / the tidynges were knowen to fferabrace, kyng of Perce / whiche seide to his folkes, "It were il don of vs yif we went not to se fferant that is retourned fro Spayn / and he is with his brother, oure neighbore / & so, if we might take any prisoner, we shold knowe of alle their tidynges / fferant is a valiant knyght, y doute not / if he reste longe vnsought of vs, with-oute he haue the gretter besinesse he woƚƚ come bifore vs / wherfore it shalbe good for vs to go thidir to-morow. To this counseile, accorde alle they that were witℏ hym / for the ceason was faire & plesaunt / It was than yn the entre of Aprile / thus as they concluded, they did / for fuƚƚg erly in the morne they departed from that place witℏ a ij. Mƚ. feighters, holdyng their wey streight to the place where as fferant and his brother were / and whan thei were nygh there / they departed in two: yn the tain part / was kynge fferabrace / and the tothir was a nigh kynnesman of his / when the warte espied the fforeriders, he blewe a Trompet / and fferaunt rose vp / & went to the yate, where as he founde his brother aƚƚ redi, to whom he seide / "Brothir, this course is made for me / and for to take som of oure folkes to knewe of my tidynges; but, y pray you, lete no man go oute / for y knowe for trouthe that he hath moche people / and ye haue not in this Towne passed v. or vj. hundred feightyngmen / and therfore lete them be, for the entreprise of enemyes is euer vnprofitable" / Olyuer, that was a fuƚƚ good man of warre, seide to his brother / "ye sey trouthe," and made to shitte the yates fast / wherof many were right sory / and ouir alle othir Le Despurueu, that hath herde the wordes a foresaide, and was redy armed, and on horsbak, desiryng to haue seyn som dedes of Armes / wherof he had neuer no thinge seyn / whan he sawe this conclusion̛ / he set vp his hors / and went vp to the walles and sawe the fforeriders, whiche was but right a fewe people / wherof he had grete meruaile that so litle compaignie durst come so nere where so many a good man was / Aftir this, that so long tyme currours had be bifore the place, & sawe that ther wold no man come oute / they sente the kynge worde therof, desirynge to knowe his pleasir / The kynge, heryng thies tidinges, concluded to come bifore the place to shewe his puissaunce / than brake he oute with bothe thembusshementes, and came yn ordenaunce bifore the place / Le Despurueu, seeng this compaignie, thought wele that he was with a notable & a wise maister / & that he had grete fore-sight yn suche case / ffor he sawe where thembusshmentes departed yn dyuers compaignies / and enviroinid the towne as they wolde haue bisieged it / fferant and his brother, seeng the Turques thus disseuerd in diuerse compaignies, purposed to gyue them a scarmyssh at one of the yates / where-as the leest compaignie was, thinkynge wele that the moost parte of the kynges people wolde drawe thiderward / and whan it were so, he wold issue out and set vpon the kynge, there his baner was / thus as y haue deuised was don̄. they began to scarmyssh / and the crie aroos, & eueri man drewe thiderward, so that the kynge was but witℏ fewe accompaignied. And than fferant & his Brothir made open the yate / and came alle on a frussℏ out of the Towne so egrely and witℏ suche force that, wold the kynge or not / he was fayne to lese his place & to withdrawe hym shamefully / and had at the same encountre of his men slayn moo then vj.xx, at whiche iourney auaunced hym self le Despurueu a fore alle othir / and did so wele in armes that alle that euer sy hym & knewe him of his parte, were gretly encoraged therby / and blessed them for the meruailes that thei sy him do yn his armes; and his enemyes were as moche abasshed & confused by his prowesse. the mooste parte of the folkes knewe hym not / but only they that he was come in compaignie with, out of the Reaume of Spayne / many went to fferant to telle him the grete meruailes that his seruaunt Le Despurueu did / wherof he was ioifuƚƚ, and praied alle theym that tolde thies tidynges / that they wold drawe toward hym / and do him helpe & socours, yf nede were. The crie & the noise aroos on alle parties so moche / that the Turques withdrewe theym alle to the kynge to socoure hym / and whan they were assembled to-gedre / thei were a right grete puissaunce / as yn regarde of theym of the Towne / the tuo Brethre sawe welle it was tyme to withdrawe / and made a trompet to blowe retreet on alle parties, & made their people to withdrawe. But le Despurueu, that neuer had be yn cure with suche thinges, made no semblaunt to withdrawe hym / but defendid hym & assailed his enemyes alwey stille so long, that fferaunt hym self was constreyned to fecche hym / and put hym forth a-fore hym / and̛ bade hym aƚƚ angrely / to withdrawe hym / and fferant had taried so longe for the seching of his seruaunt, that his enemyes presed so fast / that almoost they had enterd the barers, and had closed yn fferant aƚƚ a-boute. Le Despurueu, seyng this / knowing wele that this auenture was falle to his maister by hym, had leuer haue diede than faile his maister, & retourned his hors, and smote in-to the thikkest of the prees with suche ire and force / that he that mette with his fuƚƚ stroke ouirthrewe / & did so wele that he came to theym that had taken his maister / and smote yn amonges them / and by his grete worthynesse deliuerd the place saue of the kynge to whom men had deliuerd his maister / whiche in no wise wold lete him go / yit at the last he might not chese / for Olyuer, that sawe his brother taken, & the grete armes that le Despurueu did, assembled his folkes ageyn, and retourned aƚƚ at ones in suche wise & with suche vigour, that, wolde the Turques or not / thei lost grounde / Le Despurueu, seyng that the cristen men wan place and approched nere / and that he rescowed his maister / knewe wele the kynge that was nere, and toke his hors by the bridle / & gate his hede vndir his arme / and by might drewe the kynge fortℏ, whedir he wolde or no / and delyuerd hym to his maister / that forthwith sent hym yn-to the Towne / and commaunded that eueri man sholde witℏdrawe / And toke his seruaunt by the bridle, & ledde hym forth with hym. The kynges folkes, seyng the losse of their maister, & the grete vigour of the cristen men / were so abused that they made but litle prese / And thus retourned the cristen in-to the Towne aƚƚ at their ease. It is to thinke, that Le Despurueu was not the first that entird / for it annoied hym moche that it dured no lenger / for it semed hym the moost grete pleasir that euir he was at yn aƚƚ hys lif / hou-be-it / that by his harneis and hys body it shewed wele that he had not ben idle / nor also rigℏt amyably delte with, for in many places the blode ranne out of such hurtes as he had / Anon as they were entird in to the Towne, the brigge was drawen / and folkes ordeigned on the walles to kepe theym / Le Despurueu, when he had conveid his maister to his loggyng / he went to his Inne / and vnarmed him / and leide hym downe on a bedde.

The Turques seeng their kynge prisoner, & many of their folkes ded and taken / it semed them that bifore that Towne thei might litle profit / But many thought it was better to abide til they knewe the pleasir of the Soudan / to whom they sent the trouthe of thies tidynges, & thought it was nede for them to take good kepe aboute the Towne / that the kynge were not had a-way; for yf the Soudan wolde hastly come & set a sege ther / he might lyghtly haue ageyn his brother / thus as they concluded, they did / and loggid them bifore the Towne / abidyng an answere of þe Soudan.

Now retourne we to fferant þat was at his logging vnarmed / right ioifulƚ of the good auenture that was bifallen hym / and than went he to the kynge / that be than was also vnarmed / & made as good chere as he coude after the auenture that was fallen, for wele trusted he sone to be socoured / Ouir aƚƚ the Towne was ther no knyght, Squyer, lady, nor Ientilwoman, riche ne pore / but that spake of le Despurueu; of his grete noblesse, of his persone, and of his maner; & aƚƚ gaue hym the preise & loos aboue alƚ othir / seyng that it came hym of grete corage / whan he sawe his maister taken / that he allone so mightily a-mong so moche people rescowed his maister / and ar any man came at hym / so valiauntly toke the kynge prisoner / there was neuer noon sawe yn one man more worthynesse shewed in a day / his enemyes fled his strokes, & they on his part had ioie and recomfort / and the leest hardy became valiaunt / & were encoraged by his prowesse.

Suche wordes and semblable were spoken of hym thourgh aƚƚ the Towne, of grete / meane & litil. ¶ Now is fferant witℏ his prisoner, and welcomed hym, and did hym alƚ the honour and pleasir that any man coude do his prisoner, comfortyng hym, seyng that by hym / and by his good meanes, a pees sholde be made bitwene his brother and the kynge of Sizile, & he trusted that for that cause god had ordeyned hym to haue hym prisoner / for without grace of god ne might it haue ben / for this he knewe for trouthe / that he that had taken hym / had neuer sene swerde drawen bifore in bataile / and yit was ther no leuyng man / that moost had vsed the warres coude more haue done / wherby aƚƚ men might knowe / that it was verily goddes werke. wherfore he praide the kynge, his prisoner, that he wolde put hym in deuoir to make the pees betwene his brothir and the kynge of Sizile his maister / and in so doyng / he shold wynne grete loos and renome, & gete hym self out of the daunger he was yn now. fferabrace, kynge of Perce, seeng hym prisoner / heryng the wordes of his maister, answerd hym in this maner / "yif it pleasid Mahun that y myght do any thyng touchyng the pees of this tuo kynges, y wolde right gladly emploie me, though y were not prisoner / for y was neuer of contrary wille / But the debate is betwene them for sustenaunce of the feith that he holdeth ayenst oure bileue / whiche, by the feith y owe to that god that y honoure, y had leuer dy than be a treter in any mater contrary to oure bileue / yif youre kynge were content to holde oure lawe, the peas were sone made / but othirwise y se no remedy" / "Be my feith," seid fferant, "than shaƚƚ we neuer haue pees" / than lefte they of thies wordes, and the kynge required fferant that he might se hym that had taken him / for ouer alƚ thing he desired it / fferant knewe wele that he was right wery of the payne & trauail that he had þat day, wherfore he had no wille to sende for hym / hou be it / that he had more desire to se hym than kynge fferabrace had / for he loued hym as moche as any man myght loue his lady / and grete cause had he / for that day had he rescowed hym from the dethe / for, and he had be brought to the Soudan, aƚƚ the golde on erthe ne might haue bought his lif / and so Answerd he to kynge fferabrace, "sir, y suppose that he be at reste, but to-morowe, and god be pleased, y shalƚ sende hym vnto you" / the kynge answerd, "at your pleasir be it / but y shalƚ neuer be at hertes ease til y se hym / for I desire as moche to se him, as seke man doth his hele" / fferant sawe the kynges desire moche; and to accomplisshe it, wist not what to do / for he dred that his seruaunt were sore hurt, wherfore he durst not sende for hym / so wist not he what to answer, but praide the kynge to haue pacience til on the morowe, whiche answerd hym / "so most y / for my wille may not be accomplissht. I am a prisoner; but y sey you for trouthe, and y were at my liberte, y wolde se hym or y slepte, what trauail so euer y toke on me / wherfor, and he be any thyng hurt, and ye wold do me that grace to brynge me ther he is, ye shold do me grete comfort and pleasir" / fferant, heryng thies wordes, toke conclusion in hym self / that he wold go se Le Despurueu his seruaunt, and seide to the kynge, that yif his seruaunt migℏt come to hym, he wolde brynge hym to hym that night / and yif he might not go / he wolde biseche hym of his goodnesse to come se hym / thus departed he from the kyng, whiche praide him right specially that he might se him assone as it coude be / for he coude not bileue that it were any mortal man / but som spirituel thinge sent from heuen to punyssh hym for his trespaces; for he thought "it was not possible to be in one man that y haue seyn hym do this day" / fferant began to laugh, and seide / "sir, whan ye se hym ye shalƚ not fynde him dispuruaide of moche more" / thus departed fferant fro the kynge / and came to the place where Le Despurueu was loggid / and was leide on a bedde fuƚƚ euel ordeyned for / and litle remembred of any man. and so he entird in-to the chambre of le Despurueu, whiche, whan he sawe hym, was aƚƚ abasshid / & wolde haue risen ayenst hym / but he might vnnethe remewe. whan his maister sawe him in that plite, he ranne to hym, and caught hym in his armes, wepyng for pite that he had of hym, and in his mynde leide grete blame vnto him self / that he had noon erste visited hym / seyng, "alas, my frende, ye are porely awaited on after the high dedes that ye haue don̄ to day. I pray you foryeue it me / y knowe wele that hym that gaue me ioie & honour, y haue put yn foryetyng, take the honour to me, whiche cometh of your bounte, that y haue so symply remembred it; but pardon me, my frende / for the remenaunt of my lif y shall better remembre you / ye aught nomore to thanke me than of your dethe for lakke of helpe, yef ye had hadde any mortaƚƚ wounde, and aƚƚ othir wise haue ye deserued vnto me / seing the grete peyne & trauaile that ye haue endured this day to saue my lif & myn honour; and y, as a wrecℏ fuƚƚ of vnkyndenes, haue put you aƚƚ in foryeting, whiche reschewed me this day from dethe / and .I. not comforte you with one onely visitacion." Le Despurueu, heryng his maisters wordes, was so ashamed that he coude vnnethe loke vp / doing him alƚ the honour that he migℏt after the hurtes þat he had on him, reputyng him-self ful vnworthy to haue any suche honour. "seing / my lorde, I neuer deserued such honour as ye put me to / god yeue me grace to do you seruice that may please you / & therwith aƚƚ wold haue drawen him bak as aƚƚ shamefast / but his maister wold not suffre hym / & fourthwith sende for the best Surieoun̄ witℏyn the Towne / and men̄ to serche his woundes a-fore hym; & though he were right sore hurt / ther was no peril of dethe yn hym / so that he were wele loked to / then was he ordeigned for in the best maner. Than sent kynge fferabrace to fferant, prayng him that he might se his maister. fferant made the chambre rigℏt wele to be apointed, and made torches to be brougℏt yn / and sent priuelie to the kynge, that yif it pleasid him he might come / whiche came witℏ right a ioifuƚƚ herte / and for the grete desire þat he had to se Le Despurueu, he felt noon of alƚ the peyne & trauail that he had endured that day. So came he in to the Chambre, and ffounde fferant talkyng witℏ le Despurueu, whiche was leide on a couche / and whan fferant espied the kynge, he kneled downe & toke hym by the hande, and shewed hym hym that hadde taken hym / whiche knewe nothinge of his comyng / but assone as he perceyued hym / he knelid vp as wele as he mygℏt / the kyng toke hym yn his armes, & made hym to arise, seyng / "my right swete frende, yif ye had be somtyme to-day as humble vnto me / and lowly as ye be nowe / y had not ben here / Although your maner were ffeers & vigours yn the felde / it is here humble & amyable, wherby your dedes be the more to be preised. and now y se yowe / Notwithstondyng the grete peyne & trauail that ye haue endured to-day, me thinketh your persone resembleth your werkes, for yn worthynesse non may compare witℏ you. In like wise, in persone, beaute & maner, y knowe noon comparable / & it pleased god, y wolde y might contynue the remenaunt of my lif / youre felawe / with that / that we were parteners in aƚƚ that y haue or euer shalƚ haue, so that y might observe & kepe myn owne feith." / Le Despurueu, that seeth hym self thus honoured and preised at the first dede of Armes that euer he was at in his lif, was so abasshid that he wist not what to Answere, saue only that he seid / "sir, ye do your honoure to praise so moche, so pore a Ientilman as y am / the recommendacion is more youres than myn / for to theym that sey wele, the honoure augℏt to tourne. I wote not what to sey you / for forsothe it was the first auenture that euer y was at / But it semed me, yif alle youre folkes had resembled you, my lord / My maister that here is had not hadde you nowe in his handes / albe it þat he put grete peyne ther-to / And yif it were thus, that god by his grace wold consent / that by youre goode meane the pees might be made bitwene your brother & the kynge of Sizile / ynne good houre for youre self were ye prisoner / for your grete renome sholde multiplie & double / and y bileue verily that my lorde, my maister that here is, wold in that case haue of you noo fynaunce, but holde for your raunsoun̄ your peyne and labour right wele emploied. and as for me, y wolde right humbly biseche you theryn / if so simple a persone might make a request in so hy a matier" / The kynge answerd hym, "my right dere frende and felawe, if it were in my power & at my wilƚ, y certifie you, þat to youre request y wolde emploie me / albe-it þat .I. bileue neuer shalƚ y haue that power / seeng the matier as it is /" witℏ suche wordes they droue fortℏ the tyme tilƚ fferant thought it tyme for the kynge to departe / seyng vnto hym, "sir, ye be trauailed / & so is your maister that toke you / if it pleased you, it were tyme to go to reste, and for hym also" / After thies wordes departed the kynge from le Despurueu. And fferant conueide him to his loggyng / and came ageyn to le Despurueu / and puruaide that no thing failed him / & folkes to waite aboute him / chargyng theym to gif hym as grete attendaunce as they wold to hym self / than toke he leue of hym, & went to his loggyng / where as he made a letter vnto the kynge of Sizile, in such fourme, aftir the commendacion & maner of writyng: "Sir, I am aryued in this your Towne / at my retourne out of the Reaume of Spayne / the xxviij day of marche / and for this, that I and my horses & alƚ my folkes were so trauailed and wery, y most of necessite tary witℏ my brother a while; and the meane ceason of myn abidyng, Kynge fferabrace, brother and lieftenaunt to the Soudan, was at ffounde, but iiij. or v. litle myle hens, & knewe of my comyng / and for that he desired, as y haue vndirstande, to haue some of my folkes to enquere the tidynges of Spayne, & howe y haue spedde / concludid to ren bifore this youre Towne, & had in his company .ij. thousand feighters and moo, & made .ij. embusshementes, and sent his currours a-fore this toun̄ / but for that my brother and I supposed somwhat their entent / we wolde no body to issu out / & whan the kynge vndirstode by his folkes that ther wolde noon of vs come out / he came bifore the Towne him-self witℏ aƚƚ his puissaunce, & parted theym in diuerse parties, environyng the Towne rounde aboute / then ordeyned we a right grete scarmyssh to be made ouer the yate that was ferthist fro the kynge / by the whiche crye & scarmyssℏ the moost part of the kynges folkes drew to that side / & than we, seeng the kyng but witℏ litle company, issued out on hym / at the whiche tyme were many grete armes done on bothe parties / and the kynge taken, and brought by strength to this your Towne / where-as he is stille / and whan his folkes sawgh the takyng of their lorde, they made, and make yet, a maner of abidyng bifore this towne / & trust, as we ymagyne, to haue hasty remedie by theSoudan. wherfore y dar not departe hens / nor sende vnto you the kynge / whos taking was by miracle doon / by a very yong man of my house / that is suche in alle thynges as the berer herof shalƚ enforme you / & I beleue when ye se hym, ye shaƚƚ like him bettir than y write vnto you / if it please god, it shaƚƚ not be the last seruice that he shalƚ do you / and y beseche oure lorde, of his grace to graunte you thacomplisshment of youre high and noble desires: Writen at your Towne of Talpoir, the .viij. day of Aprile." Thus thies letters writen, he called a messangere right wise and discrete / and delyuered them vnto hym / & bitwene mydnyght and the poynt of the day he made him to departe / and so passed he forth, as god wold, aƚƚ peasebly / so that he came saufly vnto the kynge of Sizile / whom he founde right sorowfulƚ. But whan he had seyne his lettres, he was rigℏt ioiful, and made them to be radde in the presence of alle the noble men of his Court / whiche deuoutly to-gedirs thankid & preised god / trustyng, that by this takyng, some frute shold folowe. The kynge commaundeth the Messangere alle openly to telle his credence / whiche seide vnto hym, "sir, we repute yn your towne to be a miracle / and I shalƚ telle you the reason / In the Towne of Towlete was ther a yong man, a-boute the age of .xx. yere / that lay seke of half a yere / whicℏ was newly recoured at the comyng of my lord, my maister / This yong man is so wele visaged / so faire made of body & of alle fetures, that it semeth verily that nature haue made him with hir propre handes / and with this excessif beaute / he hath so moche of humblesse and bounte, that no man can bileue it / without seyng / & of maner he passeth alle othir. This saide gentilman is of good nacion, but not riche / So it fortuned my lord, my maister, to be logged ther as he had leyne so longe seke; and so wele demeaned him this yong man to hym & to his folkes / that eueri man him preised / & so moche that my lorde withhelde him for his seruaunt / & brought hym with hym, often deuysyng with his othir folkes the maner of this man / and hym thought / that he might not faile to be valiaunt; & so hath he founde hym; ffor at the besynesse he sawe him do so wondirfully yn armes, that it is to grete a meruaile / for my lorde was taken / and he alone reskewed hym by his grete strength and hardynes, and toke the kynge prisoner, & brought hym in-to your Towne / and euery man that sawe the hardynes of this yong man, toke suche corage & boldnes, that they abandoned theym to the vtterest / & so they lefte mo than .V.C. of the kynges men ded in theplace / & as the sonne passith the sterres, so passid this yong man othir folkes. he is borne of the Reaume of ffraunce / and for conclusion / alle that se hym loue hym / honoure him / and cherissh hym / and he that aught moost to hate hym, the kynge his prisoner, swerith by his goddes þat he wolde haue hym in his company the remenaunt of his lif, to departe euenly with hym alle the lande & goode he hath / This yong man, yif any man reherce his honour or hardies / is as basshfuƚƚ as a mayden / he woƚƚ not haue the kynge reputed as his prisoner, but for his maisters prisoner" / the kynge was of thies tidynges fulƚ ioifuƚƚ, & thougℏt wele that god had sent this yong man to do hym yit a grettir aide / anon he made to rynge the bellis in alle the ch[i]rches of the Towne / and he and the Quene & his doughter, and alle othir in the Towne, went on processioun / thankynge god of the good auenture that he had gyuen them. Thus bode he stilƚ, herkenyng what the Turke wolde do vpon the takyng of his brother.

YE may wele wite that yn the Chambres of the ladies was spred a-non the tidynges that fferauntes messangere had brought / and rehersid alle the vertues of this yong Squyer, Le Despurueu, wele asmoche or more than the messangere had seide; for ye knowe wele the reporters put to somwhat more alway / The Quene, her daughter, and alle the ladies & gentilwomen, heryng recorded the right parfite bounte, beaute, and worthynesse of this yong man, desired meruailously to se hym. So ther was no day but they had hym in speche, in so moche that some of the gentilmen of the court had grete displeasir therof, thynkyng that by hym aƚƚ their loos & grace sholde be the lesse / Thus bigan the enuye bitwene the yong men of the Court & le Despurueu, that aftir was goode & profitable for the kynge / for that they wolde be as worthy in armes as he, their corage & hardies doubled, whiche did so moch good to the Reaume of Sizile / that it was ayen reuived in honour / as ye shaƚƚ here-aftir here.

ye haue wele herd here-bifore, what messangers the kynge of Sizile had sent in to alle reaumes / & that the messangers had in charge to telle prynces hou it was with him / for the discarge of hym, without he were shortly socoured / taking god to his recorde, & aƚƚ the worlde / that the charge was theires / and not his / Thus thies messangers, goyng to many kynges & prynces / in especiaƚƚ to the kynge off ffraunce / of Englond & of Scotlond, The kynge of ffraunce hauyng remembraunce of his sone, that but litle a-fore he had lost, thynkyng yn hymn self, that god had soffered it for that he hadde done noon helpe nor comfort to this cause / wherfore he had taken fro hym the thinge in the worlde that he best loued, then renewed a grete part of his sorowe, and thought / that of hym selue he was so olde & feble that he might not go. But, & any of the kynges of England or of Scottes wolde go, or any of their sones / he wolde aide theym with xlti thousand men wagid for a yere / The messanger of Sizile heryng the answere of the kynge of ffraunce, was right glad and ioifuƚƚ therof, hauyng grete pite & compassion of the kynges sorowe, which semed more ded than a-lyue. Thus departed he from hym, & went to the Reaume of Inglond / where he fonde the kynge / to whom he shewed his credence / and told him also the Answere of the kynge of ffraunce, whiche he had founde in fuƚƚ grete annoy & trouble, seyng that it semed hym / if his sone had be stiƚƚ ther / witℏ right good wille he wold a sent hym on that viage. The kynge of Englond, whan he had herd the messanger that spake fuƚƚ wele & wisely, he thought moche on that werke / and had many counsells at dyuerse tymes / And so, aftir sad deliberacion, he answerd the messangere yn this maner / "I knowe wele / that among other kynges & cristen prynces y am gretely bounden to god / for he hath gyuen me more of weles than y haue or can deserue, wherfore y wolde ful gladly do hym seruice, thougℏ y may not so moche as y am biholden to do. I haue but one only sone for the holde my Reaume aftir my deth, which y may yn no wise departe with; how be it / if ye can fynde any kynge or prynce that woƚƚ entreprise this viage / y shaƚƚ helpe hym forth witℏ a good puissance / & if my brother & neighbore, the kynge of Scottes, that hath .iij. sones, wolƚ entreprise it / y shalƚ put to yit more gretir helpe and peyne than y wold do yn the company of som othir / and me semyth he might lightlyer do it than the kynge of ffraunce or I, for he hath iij. sones; and if it pleased him to sende forth one of theym, whiche shold only be gouernour and hede of this werke, it sholde be to him grete glorie & honour with the seruice that he shold do to god." The knyght of Sizile, heryng the answere of the kynge of Englond / wist not what to answere, the kynges seiyng was so resonable / but so departid fro hym / and toke the streight wey toward Scotlond. And withyn short while he came there the kynge was / & presented his lettres, & tolde his credence / and aƚƚ that he hadde founde with the kynges of ffraunce and of Englond. The kyng of Scottes remembred him self gretly in this werke / and thought that euerich of the kynges aforesaid had delyuerd to hym the Chapelet / knowyng wele he had moo sones to sende forth than any of that othir / and for that the matier appered to hym fulƚ grete / he answerd no-thyng lightly ther-to, but fulƚ long tyme thought ther-vpon / and for that cause sent to assemble alle the estates of his Reaume / and at their comyng to hym, opened & declared to hem, as wele by lettre as by mouthe, aƚƚ that the knyght of Sizile had brought hym. & for that he sawe this mater peisaunt, & gretely touchid hym, he wold make ther-to noon answere withoute their aduise & agrement, and gaue them leue to take aduise ther-on ij. or iij daies, and commaunded theym at that tyme to be ther present ageyn, eueri man to sey his aduise. Thus departed they, & counseiled to-gedre fro day to day / and were wele instructe, & remembred what thei shold answere. the day came that they were assigned to be a-fore the kynge, where-as they ordeyned a fuƚƚ honourable knigℏt to make the Answere for alle the iij. estates in generaƚƚ, which knigℏt, aftir the honoures & reuerences don to the kynge as to him bi-longed, for alle thestates of his lond seide / "Oure souerayn lord / we haue, my lordes that here be, prynces, prelates, & Barons / knightes / Squyers, & Burgeis of thes Reaume, thougℏt on that it pleased your grace to open vnto us toching the aduertisment that ye had of the kynge of Sizile, the whiche aduertisment touchid gretely to youre holy cristen feith / the sauacion of your soule / and to the honour of you & of your Reaume. & for to geue you counselƚ we haue had deliberacion to take aduise togedre, suche as y shaƚƚ declare vnto you / offryng to you toward this conclusion / that we shaƚƚ put in auenture oure bodies & part of oure goodes. we knowe wele that ye be created kynge / ye and alle othir, for the defence of the comon wele / & specially for to kepe & mayntene the feith / and to this cause be ye ioyned & sacred / and if ye faile to the defence of the feithe whiche is the thinge that moost serueth to the comon wele, than go ye oute of the termes wherfore ye were create / we knowe also the sorowe of the kynge of ffraunce, that hath no children but one þat he loste of late tyme / the dispureaunce also of the kynge of Englond, that hath but one sone / and ye haue iij., wherfore ye be lesse excusable than any of them, with the grete aide that they offre you, which semyth vs, seeng your grete worthynesse / the children that ye haue / & the offris that be made vnto you, by reason witℏ your honour ye may take noon excuse, but ye may conclude to sende one of my lordes your sones, whicℏ that pleasith you / and for to knowe oure aduise, we conclude alle / that the eldest shold be moost propre, for he is more redy to harneys than any of that othir, & more sad to conduyte a grete entreprise / and if it please you this to do, my lordes alle that here be / haue made you suche offres as y haue seide here-bifore / vndir whos correccioun y was ordeyned & commaunded to declare this vnto you / and nowe alƚ lieth in your good grace, for, as it pleasith you to commaunde, we are alle redy to accomplisshe."

The kynge of Scottes, heryng the wordes of this forsaide knight yn the byhalue of the iij. estates of his land, thought fuƚƚ moche on this matier, for it touchid him right nere, and therefore differred he it / til on the morowe, ij. aftir none / and commaundid at that tyme / eueri man to be ther ayen / thus euery man departed / and the kyng, that neuir coude put this matier out of his mynde, thynkyng yn hym self that it was in maner leide vnto hym by the kyng of ffraunce & of Englond / & sith auised hym by the .iij. estates of his land / & so restid it but at him self; wherfore hym thougℏt, as a man constreyned by honour, he might not refuse in this viage to sende forth his sone. And then ayen aftir thies consideracions he wolde argue yn hym self to the contrary / thinkyng, "this armee may not be put on me witℏout grete charge / I am the leest of the .iij. kynges, & the despenses ar like to tourne on me / it behoueth me to take grete hede that I haue a notable aide of eche of them / it behoueth alway that my sone be acompaynyed with people of this land, & that the grettist company come with hym, whiche may not be without grete enpouerisshment vnto this land, wherof y am nowe fuƚƚ sorowfuƚƚ / And if y shold sende forth myn eldest sone / whiche is the thinge yn this worlde that y best loue / yif he diede, y shold be so sorowfuƚƚ / that y sholde neuir aftir haue ioie nor rest in my herte / wherfore y wote not wele what y may sey / But y pray the, my creatore, to counseƚƚ me aftir thy pleasir, & to myn honoure /" thus aƚƚ nyght stroue he & argued in his mynde / & wist not what wey he migℏt holde / be aroos in the mornyng, & herd his massis with grete deuocioun, recommendyng him and his werkes to god / aftir his massis and dyner dōōn / as fully affermed of that he wolde do / wente in-to the chambre wher alle thestates were redy at his comyn. so entred he yn with visage and maner fuƚƚ trist and sorowfull / & at his comyng, and silence commaundid, he spake to his men and suggettes / right hertly thankyng theym of the good wille he founde them of towardes hym, and preisyng god witℏ good herte, that thestates of his Reaume were of suche & so high prudence,dredyng & louyng god, as he sawe by experience; for euerichon of hem yn his parte offred seruice to oure lorde / wherof he was as ioifulƚ as he might be. And in like wise he sawe, & verely knewe, the grete & naturalƚ loue that alle they of his blode, with the remenaunt of the .iij. for-saide estates bare vnto hym / yn-as-moche as eche of theym wold, & desired grete honoure of hym & of the Reaume, prayng theym also not to to be abasshed nor ameruailed, though that his manere were perauenture more sobre than it hath ben be-fore tyme, "for this matier gotℏ fuƚƚ nere me / for many reasons / one is / that some folkes not wele seiyng, perauenture woƚƚ sey, 'beholde this presumptuous kynge, the leest of the .iij., that is to wite, of ffraunce & Englond / that of him selue woƚƚ enterprise this viage / that the tothir haue fuƚƚ grete doute to take on hande, whiche haue so many noble lordes of their lynage / wherof they might fulƚ lightly fynde a suffisaunt hede' / thus the thynge may turne more to charge than to preise. I considre, on that othir side / þat by the two forsaid kynges is ny aƚƚ the charge leide on me / echon of them wiƚƚ helpe me / and ye my Cousyns, frendes, & suggettes, counseile me to entreprise this viage / & to sende forth my eldest sone, whiche y loue moost / wherto ye offre youre bodies and goodes to myne aide in this hy maiter. and for asmoche, if y had not corage to do it, seeng your grete offers / I might be reputed with alle straungers, & amonge your selue, a man but of litle feith & of slakke corage / and therfore, what-som-euer befalle vnto me therof / either sorowe or pouert, y ought more to put my trust yn you than any othir; wherfore y am determyned & thorughly concluded, blissyng me with the syne of the crosse, recommaundyng my dede to my blissed creatore / to make my sone Dauid to entreprise this viage / for y haue no sone but hym / but that were to yonge ther-to, & y pray god yeue hym grace to do him suche seruice as may be to his pleasir / and y pray you alle my cousyns, frendes and suggettes, to strecch forth your good willis acordyng to your promyses." Alle the iij. estates, heryng the Answere of the kynge, had grete ioie, vndirstandyng his good wilƚ, and alle to-gedirs, & eche of them, helde vp his hand, promysyng the kyng seruice with body & goodes. and thus was the matier perfitly concludid / and day taken of the departir at ffeuyrer / and it was the feuyrer aftir the departyng of Le Despurueu. The conclusion thus taken / the messanger of the kynge of Sizile was deliuered, to whom was shewed alƚ thentent of the kyng of Scottes, with that the kynges of ffraunce & ofEnglond wold do him any aide / Thus the knyght to Sizile departid fulƚ ioiful out of Scotland, & toke his wey by Englond & be ffraunce, & shewed the ij. kynges aƚƚ the conclusion that hatℏ be taken in Scotlond / humbly bisechyng them this holy viage shold not be letted / so hath he promys of botℏ kynges, for no thyng they wolde faile, but trewly performe aƚƚ that thei had seid bifore. The messangers deuoir doon as is here rehersed / he toke the way streight to Sizile, & came vnto the kynge / sone aftir the comyng of fferauntes messangere / & tolde the kynge of aƚƚ his spede in the forseide matier / ye may wele wite that the Soudan was not without his espies in eueri cristen Reaume / wherthorugℏ he knewe of the conclusion that was taken in Scotland assone or souner than did the kynge of Sizile / and therfore sent he anone of messangere to his brothers folkes that lay bifore fferaunt / commaundyng them to departe thens & to retourne to their garison / for he had herd suche tidynges that he was determyned to haue no sege laide there as yet. and as for the takynge of his brothir / he wolde remedie it when he migℏt, but yit he coulde not / thus alle his brother folkes retourned in-to their garison / and fferaunt in alle haste sente the kynge worde therof / whan the kynge knewe thies tidynges, he sent fferaunt worde that he shold puruey for the comynge of kynge fferabras vnto hym, and by suche a day as he apointed him / he wolde sende him a feliship to helpe conuey the kynge the more surely. fferthirmore he commaunded him not to leue behinde him his newe esquyer / of whom he had herde so moche wele reported / & alle the ladies & gentilwomen of the court praied the messangere that he might not be forgoten. Thus went the messangere fortℏ to fferaunt, & shewed him alƚ his message from the kynge, & from the Quene & hir doughter, & from alle the ladies & gentilwomen of the Court / And withyn litle while aftir, this came to the knowlage of Le Despurueu, whiche desired ouir alle thinges to dwelle in some place of the ffronters / to proue his body in his youthe / and to do that wherfore he was departed fro the kynge his ffadir / feling him self alƚ hole of his hurtes / and so made a request to his maister / if it pleasid him, that he might abide witℏ his brothir / for he neuir entendid but to abide vpon the ffronters / ffor / for to be a man of Court now / wold he neuir a departed fro the place fro whens he came. when fferaunt vndirstode his newe esquyer, that thus wolde take his leue of hym / whom he knewe such that noon other might compare with / yif he were sorowfuƚƚ, it was no meruaile / & vnnethemight he holde manere, seyng vnto hym, " A! Le Despurueu! haue y brought you from so fer contre, so sone to forsake me? haue ye drede / that ye shaƚƚ not fynde fightyng y-now yn this contre / or elles that y be a man of so pore condicion / that y dar not holde my fote nere the fire / truly I truste verily to be founde more often vpon the ennemyes than they shal be that abide in this place / & that more often, if ye be with me, ye shaƚƚ se strokes gyuen than yf ye abode stille here / neuirtheles, if ye be not pleased to abide in my seruice, telle it me at ones, & y shaƚƚ do as me thinke good." The yong gentilman, right shamefast and sorowfuƚƚ that he sawe his maister wroth with hym, wenyng not to haue displeased hym for abidyng witℏ his brothir, answerd hym fuƚƚ humbly / "My lord! y neuir thought but that ther was more worthynes in you than y durst thynke to se / but for that cause spake y not to you of myn abidyng, but for the drede that y had that ye shold not be so often at skarmysshes as your brother / for, as men sey, the kynge loues you wele / therfore y thought that ye wolde kepe you nere aboute hym / and ye knowe wele / it is not accostomed, ne reason, that kynges & prynces, chefteynes of the warre, be allwey on the ffronters / and for this drede y that y shold se but litle war, nor haue the lernyng yn armes, whiche was the cause of my desire nowe to abide / but, sir, and y haue displeased you / y beseche you to pardone me, for y knowe neither kynge nor prynce levyng, as longe as ye haunte the warres, for whom y wolde leue you. y haue so moche sene of noblesse yn you / that y am assured y may lerne more in your seruise / than y dar enterprise or may here" / fferaunt answerd hym, "A, my frende! for lakke of warre ye shaƚƚ not leue me as long as y leue / for there is y-nougℏ in this reaume for you & me, & many moo" / thus fferaunt & his newe seruaunt be accorded. Then came the day / that the kynge sent his folkes to fferaunt / whom they founde alle redy in the felde / & kyng ffirabrace with him / than departed he from his brother Olyuer, prayng hym to take good hede to the place & the ffronters that he had in kepyng / So rode he forth aƚƚ a day withoute any interrupcion.

It is to thynke, ffirabrace folkes dred them of the goyng of their maister, and that he shold be brought to the kyng of Sizile / wherfore they did their diligence to vndirstonde his departyng / & did so muche that they knewe it for certayn that he was departed rigℏt wele accompanyed / than toke they counseilƚ & aduise to-gedir; & it semyd theym that puissaunce was not so bygge, but that they shold take a shame tosuffre their maister thus to be gon. wherfore they vttirly concluded to put them yn deuoir to the rescue of hym / the mone shone faire & clere that night that they departed fro the garison / & they did so moche by the next mornyng / that they passed fferaunt, and embusshed theym yn a wode that was ny the same wey that fferaunt sholde passe / they kepte theym cloos, & made their wacchis to go vp in-to trees to se aferre whiche wey fferaunt sholde come; and thei were in nombre xvj.C feightyng men / And with fferaunt a vj.C or mo of the best men that longed to the kynge of Sizile, whiche were that nyght wele loggid with fferaunt & kynge ffirabrace, & made right mery & gretly auised le Despurueu, whiche thought them of visage, persone, & maner, moche more to be preised than the messangere had siede, & moche desired they to se hym yn armes / & so did they souner than they wende. they auised him in alle his wordes and his demeanyng, & founde him so assured & wise / that they were ameruailed / this nyght passid forth, & the morn̄ came / and fferaunt, that was an ynly wise knyght of warre, saide to his folkes, "my lordes, if the kynge oure soueray[n] lorde were prisoner, as he is that we lede / and ye wold do by my counseiƚƚ, & we had the puissaunce that oure enemyes haue, ther is no place y wolde souner put me in deuoir to reskewe hym, than here by / and yistirday we rode armed & helmed / and as this day y se no man charge hym with harneys; but y sey for me, y shall arme me as y did yisterday." some helde opinion he seide wele, & did by his counseiƚƚ, & some toke litle hede therto / but le Despurueu was aƚƚ-wey armed / for he had no valet to bere his harneys. fferaunt departed fro his loggyng, the moost part of his folkes armed / & som not, whiche dere a-bought it / thus rode they forth til they came ny to the wey there as the embusshementes were leide / many of the yong folkes of the Court whiche had Grenhoundes, trauerst the felde to fynde the hare or some othir disporte, so longe, that they came on the trakkys of there enmyes / and anoon tolde fferaunt therof / but he was so ny that he coude set no remedy to take none othir wey / but taried stilƚ, & put kynge ffirabrace in sure garde / thus put he yn ordynaunce alƚ that he migℏt. on the tothir part / the wacchis of the enmys that were yn the trees tolde to the embusshementes what they sawe / & sodeynly they shewed them-selue, & brake their embusshmentes, and alle at ones ranne on fferaunt & his ffelisship. and aftir the puissaunce that fferaunt had, he encountrid theym right mightly / but fynally they might not wele haue endured, ne had be the grete worthynesse & vertu of Le Despurueu, that did so wondrefully in Armes at that day, that eueri man meruailed / he ouirthrewe men & hors; noon myght witℏℏ-stonde his strokes / so wele was he knowen of his ennemyes that euery man fledde hym / and as he was feightyng thus amonge his enemyes, they that were behynde hym, by strength of Armes / they reskewed kynge ffirabrace, and delyuerd hym to xxti men / that in alƚ haste toke the wey toward his place / and fortuned that Le Despurueu, that so valiauntly fougℏt, herde the crye & noise / howe men seide kynge ffirabrace was reskewed: "se where he goth !" he tourned sodeynly on that part, & sawe hym ferre on his way / then toke he his hors with the spores, & folowed the kynge yn alƚ that he might, without espiyng of any of fferauntes folkes, saue of .vj. that folowed hym. Le Despurueu hastid him in suche wise, that in a valey he ouirtoke the kynge, & smote yn amonges them, & did so, that he slewe v. or vj. of them or the tothir vj. coude ouirtake him, whiche, at their comyng, with the helpe of Le Despurueu, discomfited the Remenaunt. Le Despurueu toke ageyn his prisoner / & be that tyme bothe their horses were so wery & fortrauailed that they might no ferther / but bothe were fayne to alight a fote, to lete their horses take brethe / In this meane tyme fferaunt espied that his prisoner was gon̄ / & that he had lost his newe seruaunt / if he were sorowfulƚ, it is no question, not only for losse of the kynge / but specially for his seruaunt, by whom god had sent him so faire auentures. thus sorowfuƚƚ, he cursed the houre that he came ther / and wisshed that day he had be slayne. Alle tho that were yn his company, as litle as they had knowen le Despurueu, yet for the dedes in armes they had sene hym don̄ that day, thought the losse of hym was as grete a sorowe / as if the Reaume of Sizile had ben vttirly lost / and yn this sorow, as they were to-gedre biholdyng the wey where-as kynge ffirabrace wente / they sawe vj. or viij. horsis comyng / than drewe they them to-gedir, wenyng to haue hadde newe to do, & that they had ben of a newe feliship to a set on them / than sent they som of their forriders thiderward / & anone as they came ny them, they knewe verrily they were of their folkes. than went they to them, and knewe Le Despurueu / that brought ageyn the kyng. than seide they to hym, "A, rigℏt noble Squyer, flour of honour, ye be welcome / for ye haue recomforted this day the moost discomfortable company that euer was / for by your dedis they haue recouerd such honour and surete that they ar out of aƚƚ perile. Blissid be the wey that ye came on hiderwarde, and the place fro whens ye came!" Than anon one of them rode ageyn in aƚƚ haste to fferaunt / and whan he sawe him, he seide / "My lord, be mery, for yondre is Le Despurueu aƚƚ hole & sauf, that by his grete myght & hardynes hatℏ brought ageyn kynge ffirabrace." ye may wele thynke the ioie was grete thorugℏ aƚƚ the company / whan that worde was herd / and eueri man presid who migℏt be first with hym. whan fferaunt came to hym / he toke him in his armes & kist him / and did him suche honour that the pore yong gentilman was gretly abasshet of / than seide fferaunt vnto him / "that day y firste sawe you, was the moost happy day that euer y had / And beholde ye nowe whethir y haue gabbid vnto you / haue ye failed nowe at the begynnyng, of the fyndyng of som auenture with me? had it nedid you now for this cause to haue biden witℏ my brothir / yif ye so had don̄ / there had bifallen this day the moost pitous auenture that euer was in Sizile / that only by your persone is come to good conclusion /" eueri man seide to Le Despurueu so many goodly wordes of honour / that he wist not what to Answere / but as a man shame-fast, smote yn amonge the tothir feliship, for to eschewe such wordes as moche as he might; so he yeldid kynge ffirabrace his prisoner to the handes of his maister / After the auenture thus befalne, they with grete ioie departed alle to gedir / and toke their way in rigℏt good ordenaunce; and eueri man seide that fferaunt was right a wise knyght, for he had tolde them fulƚ wele in the morning as was sith befallen. ffro that day forth, fonde they no recountre that distourbed theym yn their viage / & with-yn litle season they came thider as the kynge was. bifore their comyng, many were gon bifore to take vp their loggyng; & also som officers of armes & purceuantes that had be at this iourney, wente in aƚƚ haste to the kynge / & tolde hym aƚƚ the maner & trouth therof / And wite wele the kynge was as ioifuƚƚ as he might be / and gretely meruailed of the grete prowesse that he herd euery day of this yong man, Le Despurueu; & moche he desired to see him, for he thought wele it was some tokne that god wold recouer him; for the armes that he herd reported of hym, semyd to hym not to be possible to noon erthly man / If the kyng were yn this opynyoun / so were alle the knyghtes, squyers, ladies, & gentilwomen / and the faire & good Iolante, the kynges doughter, that in alle hir werkes was wise, womanly, & vertuous: whan she herde at any tyme of the honour of this yong man, she toke meruailous grete pleasir ther-yn / & shethought verily that such honour migℏt not be yn a man of smale birtℏ / and also she wist wele that without grete nurture, & beyng in high places, he might not knowe the weelis and honoures that he coude / and in hir mynde she wisshed that he had ben of such corage that he wold haue entreprised alle his armes for hir sake / hou-be-it she had neuir, daies of hir lif, ben amorous / not as moche as she enioied the company more of one than of an othir, but as honoure & maner requyred / thus euery man thorugh the towne, as wel as in þe courte, spake of the worthynesse of Le Despurueu. And in this meane season fferaunt & his company came vnto the Towne; & at the comyng, the stretes were so fulƚ of folkes that vnnethe he might passe, for eueri man desired to se hym that had so honorably aquytte hym twies sith he retourned fro Spayne / also euery man desired to se his frendes that had be at this last iournay / In like wise desired they to se kynge ffirabrace / and the tothir prisoners / so did thei Le Despurueu, of whom they had herde so moche wele reported / thus the houses were alle fornyssht with folkes. And yet ther was an othir cause / for a grete while they had not sene no good auenture for the kynge of Sizile, but alle of losis & damages, wherfore this was to them the grettir ioie / thus fferaunt passid thorugh the prees with grete peyne, and came to his loggyng / where as kynge ffirabrace alight, and alle his folkes / and yn alle hast aredied hym to go to the kynge his maister / and to delyuere hym his prisoner. so wente he forth vnto the kynge, that abode hym in the grete halle of his paleis / that was so fulƚ of people that euery wyndowe and borde was charged / and so were alle the stretes of the Towne / so that he was a large half houre or he coude passe the prees to come yn to the halle where the kynge was / and at the laste he came vnto the kynge / and put the kynge his prisoner afore hym / whom he shewed to the kynge of Sizile / and whan he perceyued Kynge ffirabrace, albe-it he was his prisoner / yit did he him such honour that he went toward hym a grete way bareheded, and toke hym by the hande / kynge ffirabrace seeng him self prisoner, & at the wille of the kynge of Sizile, did hym grete reuerence, for at that tyme was he as his sugget / than wente they two hand yn hand vndir the clothe of estate / & than talked the two kynges togedre, and callid fferaunt vnto them / but ouir alle thing / the kynge of Sizile desired to se Le Despurueu, & behelde ouir alle to knowe him / but this yong gentilman, that of his condicioun was shamefast & humble, had drawen him in-to the prees behynde moche people /the kynge that yn no wise coude espie hym, seide to fferauut, "where is your newe seruant / why put ye him to no more honour / be that y haue herde sey / he hath deserued as moche honour as any withyn this halle, noon othir excepte / forsothe y desire gretely to se him" / kynge ffirabrace, þat herd the kynge of Sizile thus speke, coude him in his mynde rigℏt goode thanke / and saide, "be my feith, he is worthy to haue moche honour / & wold god that y had suche a seruaunt, that helde the lawe y holde, and y wolde take hym for my felaw, daies of my lyf / and partener yn alle that y am worth / & shold be as grete maister of my Reaume as my self, seeng that y haue sene him do / whiche is not credible / y am his prisoner by .ij. tymes / and notwitℏstandyng, alƚ the daunger that y am yn, cometh by hym / yet is he the leuyng man that y moost loue / and moost desire the compayny of." The kynge of Sizile commaundid fferaunt to calle him / and so he did / and when he herde him called for / he came forth fro behinde moche of the people / his visage aƚƚ rede for shame that so many folkes called him / He came bifore the kynge, & kneld doun̄, and salewed him as he coude fulƚ wele for aƚƚ honour was yn hym / the kynge toke hym by the hande / & made him to rise vp / and bihelde him right ententifly / & the more he behelde him, the more was he ameruailed of hym that excedid alle othir in euery thinge to be preised / then talked the kynge with him / and so did kynge ffirabrace also. and yn alle his wordes they founde him suche, & so wele assured / that they were ameruailed. The kyng of Sizile, & alle they that sawe him, thought / there were moo laudable thinges yn hym than any might reporte / he was gretely lokid on of alle them that were there / and euery man praiede for him that god of his grace sholde longe contynue hym yn honour. withyn litle while, kynge ffirabrace departed from the kynge of Sizile to his loggyng, to his dyner. The kynge of Sizile commaundid fferaunt to "brynge ageyn kynge ffirabrace aftir dyner, & le Despurueu also. and then shaƚƚ they se the quene, the ladies & gentilwoman." & thus departed they to their loggyng / Aƚƚ that day in euery place was moche speche of the beaute, persone & manere of Le Despurueu. But they that had sene hym in armes seide, that his beaute was not to compare witℏ his worthynesse / and some answerde that than passed he aƚƚ the world. The kynge, aftir his grete assemble was departed, went to his dyner / and with hym dynyd the Quene and his doughter. and ye may wele thynke that this dyner tyme, through aƚƚ the halle they hadde gretespeche of Le Despurueu. The quene, & faire and good Iolante hir doughtir, & alle the ladies & gentilwomen, desired so moche to se hym, that they thought the dyner right longe, and seide amonge them / "fuƚƚ eurous is fferaunt the Seneshaƚƚ, to whom god hath sent this man / by hym is he at this day moche honoured / & the moost renomed knyght yn this Reaume / If y were kynge, y sholde haue Le Despurueu of myn house, for he hath noon suche" / On the tothre part, fferaunt dred right sore leste the kynge wold desire his newe seruaunt from hym, whiche was the thing that moost sholde sorowe hym / and therfore aftir dyner / er he wente to the courte, he toke Le Despurueu alone yn-to his chambre / and seide vnto hym, "my dere frende & my childe, the kynge hath don̄ you to-day grete honour, wherof y am right glad / for he may not do you to moche, neuirtheles y drede that by som enuy that reignetℏ ouir alle, the kynge sholde be exorted to take you from me yn-to his hous; and if ye were yn wiƚƚ now to leue me / it sholde be þe grettist displeasir and sorowe that myght befalle me / but y knowe wele it happeneth alday that men leue company for a higher seruice; hou be it / seeng that y haue sene in you / y can not Iuge þat ye wiƚƚ so do / for ther is so grete bounte in you. I knewe weel þat ye haue not ben acompayned here as bilongeth vnto you, and therfore y graunt you fro this day forth to haue v. or vj. men waityng on you / & to take part of my goodes as longe as it pleasith you to be with me, as my owne sone sholde, if y had any / and if god send me neuir noon, y shaƚƚ make you myn heir, yeldyng thanke to god to haue suche a successour." Le Despurueu fulƚ humbly thankid his maister, & promysed hym trouthe & seruice to his power, without hauyng thought or wille to seche any othir maister, as longe as he wold serue / and that his maister shold lyue / and of this, at the request of fferaunt, promysed him his feith / wherof he was more sure than of any obligacion in the worlde / sone aftir departed fferaunt from his loggyng toward the kynge / & had Le Despurueu with him, that aboue alle thinges desired to se the kynges doughter, whom of beaute, bounte, & alle good manere was renomed thorugℏ the worlde. Wherfore he apoynted hym, as goodly as he coude, to go with his maister / & they came euen as the kyng was arisen. and yit were alle the ladies & gentilwomen there / the prees was not so grete as it was in the mornyng / and therfore men might more easily se fferaunt & his company / Le Despurueu, for his grete humbles, was noon of the first, wherwith his maister was no thinge pleased / for to his powerhe wolde fayn haue auaunced hym. The kynge resceyued fferaunt fulƚ gladly / and aftir that he had salewed the kyng he toke forth Le Despurueu by the hande / and brought hym to se the quene, seyng vnto hir, "Madame, here is a gentilman of ffraunce that y brynge you / if his beaute be not resonable, his worthines recompenseth, for by hym and his dedis hath the kyng, the Soudans brother, yn his prisoun / for to me ougℏt not the honour to turne therof, but to god & to this gentilman / and therfore, madame, y brynge hym to you / that it might please your grace to haue knowlache of hym" / The quene answerd to fferaunt / "for sothe, Seneshalƚ, a grete while sawe not y so faire a presente / & y wilƚ be aqueynted with hym with right goode wilƚ / and he is rigℏt welcome to me, & y shalƚ se hym & welcome him more at leiser / if it please god / and y pray you, brynge hym or sende hym often to disporte hym witℏ my doughter & the yonge ladies and gentilwomen of the courte / for it behoueth that we assay him in alle poyntes, if he be suche amonge ladies & gentilwomen as he is amonge you men / And if he can not wele the manere / y beleue he shalƚ sone haue lerned / for it is a comon seyyng / that men of warre be not good companyers with ladies & gentilwomen" / Le Despurueu Aunswerd / "Madame, y thanke your grace rigℏt humbly / and verily sheweth the same / that of the warres y can no thyng / but that my lord, my maister, hath taught me / for neuir yn my lyue was y yn warre but in his company, wheryn men may lerne bothe wele and honour / for y haue herde hym ymagyne & sey yn the euenyng, that hath befalle yn the morow" / fferaunt answerd & saide / "by my feitℏ, sir, if ye be as ligℏt to lerne your contenaunce amonges ladies & gentilwomen as ye haue ben to lerne the crafte of armes, ye shalƚ yn shorte tyme be a bettir mayster / than they that shalƚ lerne you; for so faritℏ it by you & me in the warres" / the quene lough, & seide, "y beleue / from hensforth, yn like wise he shalbe bettir welcome than ye" / Aftir thies wordes, fferaunt made him to rise vp / & brought him to faire Iolante, that Le Despurueu desired so moche to se / he went not with a nay / but witℏ a right good wille / and whan he sawe the grete beaute that was yn hir, he thought that alƚ that euir he herde speke of hir was no-thing in comparison to that he sawe yn hir / he salewed hir fulƚ humbly, & the faire lady toke hym by the hande & seide, "my right dere frende, ye ar rigℏt welcome, & by that / that y se / your name is 'Le surnome'; for ye ar not Le Despurueu of beaute, ne of alle othir condiciouns as y heresey. Wherfore me thinketℏ your name is gyuen you with wronge / and also me semeth that my lord my fadirs warres be a grete dele bettir puruaide sith your comyng, than bifore / I trowe that god of his grace hath sent you hider" / this yonge gentilman was so ashamed & so supprised with the beaute of this faire lady, that he wist not what to Aunswere, saue that he seide, "Madame, god yelde your grace / but trewly y am wers puruaide than my name can shewe / but what name that pleasitℏ you, y am content to bere" / the quene & fferaunt lough wele at the wordes of hir doughtir / & fro that day forth was he named Le Surnome; whiche euery day multiplied, for the more men asaide him at alle pointes, the more they were assured of hym, & founde him puruaide of alle thinge / that to a noble man belonged.

This meane tyme, abidyng the comyng of the kyng of Scottes sone / fferaunt & his felawe abode stille with the kynge, yn grete ioie, for the tidinges of socours that they abode / and yn this ceason of fferauntes abidyng, Le Despurueu, that now is named Surnome, by the kynges doughter / euery day wold go se the ladies, & in especiaƚƚ the Quene & hir dougther, on whom aƚƚ his mynde restid / and ther was he right ioifully resceyued / and euery day was preuyd in dauncyng / in songes that the ladies coude thinke were couenable for a noble man to conne; but in euery thinge he passed alle them that were there / The kynge, for to assaie him, made Iustis & turneis / & noman did so wele as he yn rennyng, pleyyng at the pame; in shotyng, & castyng of the barre ne founde he not his maister ne his felawe / for yn euery thinge he passid all othir. Thus past forth the tyme / but it annoyed gretly Surnome, that ther were no warres ne dedes of armes / for the cause of his departyng from his fadir was only to do god seruice yn the warres ayenst the hethen men: thus had he litle ioie, saue only of the faire and good Iolante, to whom his hert was bounden for euer without departyng.

Now leue we of a litle, to speke of the kynge of Sizile and alle his courte, & we shalle speke of the armee of Scottes, hou they did aftir the departyng of þe messangere of Sizile.

THe conclusioun thus taken, as ye haue herde, with the kynge of Scottes, that knewe thies tidynges, sent to the kynges of ffraunce and of Englond, now, vpon trust of them / & that they had aunswerde the knyght of Sizile / that he had concluded to sende, yn the seruice of god, to the socour of Sizile, Dauid his eldest sone / albe-it they knewe fuƚƚ wele it was not yn his power to fynde ther-to a suffisaunt nombre of folkes / wherfore he praide eche of theym to assertayne hym what aide & socours they wold do to god / to the kynge of Sizile / & to his seide sone / bicause that vpon this he might take auise / & shewed theym vttirly that without their aide he helde his conclusion noon /

Notable knyghtes & messangers went to the two kynges.

Now was this Viage of Dauid spradde & pubblisshed thorugh alƚ Scotland / wherof Dauid & alle the yonge lordes & knyghtes of the land were gladder than euer they were yn their lyue / seyng amonges them that they were moche bounden to god / that in the floure of theire youthe had yeuen them this auenture. Dauyd was a goodly yonge man, of like age to Surnome, wele condicioned, as to a kynges sone bilonged / and wele shewed it / as hereaftir ye may here / there was not thynge so noious vnto him as his long abidyng / and to the kynge his fader was no thyng so sorowfulƚ as his sones goyng / for it was the day of the worlde þat he drad moost / and so he had cause, for it was fulƚ longe or he sawe hym ageyn / In this ceason of abidyng worde fro the kynges of ffraunce & Englond / he made alle his prouisions & ordenaunces for his sone / so wele and so honourably / that ther was neuer non suche seyn bifore in Scotland / In like wise alle the princes & Barons abielde them, & made to abile their sones, to go in this armee / whiche they desired to do sone / seyng the conclusion taken / many auncyente knyghtes there were also, affermed & concluded to auenture their lyues in this Viage, & thought them wele eurous to make their last viage in so high a seruice bothe for body & soule.

The messangers spedde them so that euery man came there his charge was / he that came to the kynge of ffraunce, did his message right wele, & foryate no thyng what Aunswere he had yeuen to the knyght of Sizile / In trust wherof his maister was determyned to sende his sone, and ellis not / The kynge of ffraunce, remembryng for trouthe what wordes he had to the knygℏt of Sizile, wolde yn no wise for his honour contrary them; and therfore, by good deliberacion of counselƚ, ordeyned to sende his Constable with the nombre of .x. M1. men, certifiyng him that at such day as the kynge of Scottes had taken / ther shold be yn his parte no faile / Thus departed the messanger of Scotland, that was honorably resceyued, & had grete yiftes. And now returne we to hym that went yn-to England / that semblably in substaunce declared his charge, as the tothir had donein ffraunce. the kynge of Englond, heryng the wordes of the messanger, sawe wele that, and he sente not socours as he promysed, vpon him sholde reste the charge, and so concluded to sende his Admyrall of Englond / and witℏ him the nombre of vj. M1. men / promisyng on his feith / that sucℏ day as þe kyng of Scottes had taken, shold not be failed by hym / thus delyuerd he the messanger, and honorably rewarded hym. and thus .ij. Messangers sped them so wele, yn shorte tyme they came ageyn vnto the kynge their maister, to whom they shewed hou they had spedde / Whan he herd thies tidinges, he perceyued wele ther was no lettyng for his eldist sone / than ordeyned he witℏ alƚ diligence his apparaile, & so did euery man yn his parte / & so wele quitte them that at the day they had set / there was noon vnredy / and eche of the kynges kepte his promys. Then was it a meruailous thinge to se, & a faire / the iij. companyes to-gedir / that for the honour of the kynge of Scottes helde them only vndir the obeisaunce of his sone Dauyd.

Wele knewe Le Surnome, that the kynge his ffader sent som folkes to thies socours; wherfore he was in grete sorowe lest any of them shold knowe him, for be his wille he wolde not be knowen.

Now cometh the day of assemble of the puissaunce of thies iij. kynges / and alle were at the porte Deon, yn Scotland. the kynge of Scottes conveied his sone thider / and aftir that eueri mannes harneis was shipped / they toke their leue of the kynge, whiche vnnethe might speke to them, and in especiaƚƚ to his sone / but whan he toke his leue, felle yn a swone / so that men were fayn to bere hym yn-to a chambre, so araied / that he semed rather ded than alyue. Alle they that abode & sawe their frendes go, had suche sorowe that they coude not comfort the kynge / for they were alle comfortles / they that wente made litle sorowe, but only to se the hevynesse that their frendes toke for theym. The kynge hath committed his sone to the aduise of therle douglas & of the Erle Busshaunt, that were wise knyghtes, & connyng yn the warres, & had seide to them bifore their departyng / "my frendes and cousyns, y put yn your handes the thinge in the worlde y loue moost / & commaunde him to the kepyng of almyghti god, & sende hym forth with you" / and more might he not sey vnto theym. whan eueri man was to shippe / and the Sailes & ankers wounde vp, they had good wynde / that brought hem sone from the port / and alle the people that were a lond commaundid them to the kepyng of oure lord / and there was euery day a seuenyght aftir their departir generalƚ processione thorugℏ alƚ the Reaume. Alas! this grete & notable armee did litle profit to cristendome / wherof was grete pite and damage / but it is to thinke that god dotℏ aƚƚ for the best / for perauenture they that went yn his seruice went not as they ought; but I remitte all that to the knowlage of god. [Illumin.: siege by ships.]

Off the departyng of this grete & higℏ armee was the Soudan playnly enfourmed / & yn like wise the kynge of Sizile / but of alƚ the reaume of Sizile was not one with the armee. The Soudan, in eueri parte of the land that was yn his handes, had folkes to here tidynges / and helde him and his power on the feldes nygℏ the portes, where as he thought they might aryue; so withyn litle while came certayne worde to hym, that men sy the cristen navee comyng to take lond at the port of Gayette / the Soudan, heryng thies tidynges, drewe thider with alle his puissaunce, & brought his ordenaunce with hym, & ranged hym & his people vpon the ryuage, and leide his gonnes & his coluerynes to diffende & distourbe the cristen mennys landyng / vpon the tothirside, Dauid of Scotlond, witℏ alƚ his company, approched the port, & perceyued the enmys redy to deffende their landyng; and yn as moche as it was late, & that they knewe not the port, they toke councelƚ to ly at ancre til on the morowe, that they might se bettir what they had to do: So did they as ye haue herde / and at that tyme was the wedir faire and calme, & thorugh alle the cristen navee they made to blowe trompettes, claryons & taberynes, & alle maner of mynstraƚƚcie, so that it semed wele a place of ioie / their baners & penouns set out fleyng with the wynde, so that they that were on land might se them by the bright sonne / & thought it was a riche & a wele ffournyssht navee. Oure good cristen men thought longe, that they might not set vpon the Sarasynes that nigℏt. In the hoste of the Turkes souned they aƚƚ night grete taberynes / that it semid bettir Helle than any othir thinge. Aftir aƚƚ this done, Dauyd of Scotland sent for the Constable of ffraunce & the Admyraƚƚ of Englond / & the moost part of notable knyghtes & Squyers, prayng them to take aduise & counceƚƚ what were best to be done / aftir many wordes & demaundes, the conclusion of the councell was this / that men shold take .xxti. or xxxti. Galiettes, of the lightest that were in tne Navee, & that they shold be wele & strongly garnyssht with artrye & serpentynes, and alle other abilementes that were behoffulƚ / & that they shold go costyng the lond / to se where were best londyng; and in this wise might they se somwhat the maner of their enemyes / And also that in eueri galiette sholde be some notable knyghtes and squyers wele accompayned, suche as were connyng & expert yn armes / this councelƚ was admytted / and euery captayne that had yn charge to ordeyne his folkes, did it with aƚƚ diligence / So euery man was redy at the houre that he was apointed / & the Galiettes wele puruaide for / & full of folkes / But ye may wele thinke that euery man went not that wold, for euery man had desire to auenture him in that higℏ seruice / whan they were assembled, they departed & sprad in many placis / approchyng the aryuail. The Soudan, seyng this company, drew towardes them, wenyng veryly that they had come to take londe / wherfore he ranged his folkes vpone the aryuail as ny the water as they myght, for to defende the cristen mennys londyng; where he did foly, for the Galiettes approched them so nye / that they drewe aƚƚ at ones withyn the shotte of their ordenaunce, & were withyn ij. stones caste to theym / for the Galiettes & bargettes drew but litle depnesse / & at this first encountre were many turkes slayn, & many grete lordes of theym; for the moost noble alwey desired to be formest / that day bare the turkes grete damage / & with litle losse the cristen folkes retourned ageyn to their grete vessels, that lay at ancre without the port / whiche had seyne aƚƚ that they had done on lond / and whan they came, they had grete laude and thanke, for they had so honorably aquitte them þat day. Dauyd of Scotland / the Constable of ffraunce, the Amyralƚ of Englond, sende for their folkes to come to the shippe that Dauid was yn / for to telle what they had seyne on̄ lond, and hou they did for the grete shotte that came among hem, and hou they supposed that they alle might londe / and thus they answerd alle generally, that yif the grete vesselles might haue come as nere as the litle / it sholde haue be a light thinge to take lond / but they sawe wele it was not possible for theym to come so nere / wherefore it was nedefulƚ to take good aduise, ffor the company of the thre kynges that ther was / was not lightly to be auentured, for the losse of them might turne to ouir grete hurte to alƚ cristendome / Dauid and alle the tothir lordes, heryng this reporte, concluded that euery man shold take aduise of this matier / & on the morowe, in the point of the day, that eueri man shold here masse / and forwith aftir meete ther ageyn / & sey ther advise, such as they shalƚ haue remembred that night / this was done, & eueri man wente to soper and to reste.

Nowe shalƚ we retourne to þe Soudan & his folkes, that gretely meruailed of the maner of oure cristen folkes / for moche people had they lost by them / and aftir the departyng of the Galiettes, the Soudan sent for alle his Capteynes, to take auise what was best to do / either to lete the cristen men to take lond / or to resiste theym / they sawe clerely that yif the cristen men contynued yn that they had done the day before / he might no thyng wynne, but alwey lose / so he praied eche of them trewly to counseile him, & say what was to be done / and aftir thies wordes he asked auise at one that him thought most sad to counseile in suche cas / & this knyght was named Baltasar / whiche alƚ his tyme had vsed his lif in warres / as wele on cristen as on hethen / the whiche Baltasar, aftir many excuses made, leyng the charge on them þat were wiser than he / seyng that it was full vnsittyng for hym to speke bifore suche as there were / & whan he sawe he might not be excused, he seid in this manere / "sir, sauyng your pleasir and correccion, ye haue a feble choyse of me / but sith it pleasith you that y shalƚ speke, & may not be excused, y shalƚ sey vndir correccion as me thinketh / ye haue sene the maner of the cristen to-day / what Damage they haue done to you & youre folkes / whiche is more than folkes put you yn knowlage of / ye se wele that alƚ their desir is to take lond ther as we be; wherof y mervaile, for it were more profitable ellis where for them / and therfore y suppose that they haue non of Sizile with them / and so they wote not where to seche their port but here / wherfore me thinketh it were good this night to make pittes ther as they sholde londe, whiche sholde be wele garnysshed with ordenaunce, and that they shold be made yn suche wise that eche of them might defende othir / And also that ther might be made grete trenches, that ther might be grete nombre of people hid theryn / and that your grete armee drewe them a-bakke the draught of an arowblast, and there shewed them. I suppose verily whan the cristen shalƚ se that / they wold come in many placis to take lond / perauenture alle the puissaunce of them / and if they come ones withyn gonne shotte, y suppose that fewe of their vessels, or noon, shal escape vndrowned / and for this that y haue seide of my opinion, alwey with correccion, me thinketh ther shold be apointed moche people, wele puruaide of vitaile til to-morowe yn the mornynge, to go yn hande al night with this werke / and yif eueri man do his deuoir, y trow it wol not dure half the night; and as for my part, y wol begyn, if ye be plesed. and if myn advise be simple, y beseche your grace / & allethat here be, of pardon, for if y coude bettir / bettir y wold sey, and offre me to the best counseƚƚ" / Aftir thies wordes / the Soudan asketh forth alle othir folowyng / hou they thought. and he that spake nexte, seide / "sir, ye haue herde thaduise of Baltasar / that alƚ his tyme hath haunted the warres / and for the spede of this matier, to myn aduise ye may no bettir be adressed / wherfore, without holdyng of longe speche fro pointe to pointe, y can no bettir say / than y haue herd him say; wherfore y offre my self & all my folkes with aƚƚ diligence toward the perfourmyng ther-of / if it so please you." whan thies two had endid their reasons / the Soudan asked ferther / and euery man was of thopinion of Balthasar / offryng them self and alle their folkes to aƚƚ that pleased the Soudan to commaunde / this counseƚƚ was sone taken & concluded / and they that shold do the diligence were ordeyned, and to euery man deliuerd their charge, whiche was done bifore day / and so wele accomplesshed that no man coude amende it / for it was not so wele deuised / but it was perfourmed.

YE haue herde wele hou the cristen men had apoynted the moost noble men to be yn Dauyd shipe yn the mornynge be tymes / to take aduise what was to be done. at the houre apointed they came, & went to a counselƚ / and than spake Erle Douglas for his maister / seyng, "faire lordes, ye knowe at oure departyng yister euen, howe euery man sholde take remembraunce of this grete matier. Wherfore, my lorde that here is, wolde fulƚ fayne knowe your auises / what is to be done, for he knoweth wele amonges you alle, prynces & Barons, ye haue this night fulƚ ofte awaked to stodie aduise yn this higℏ werke, where-yn we be / In whiche we may wynne the glory of heuen / the honour and renome of the worlde / and aquyte vs of the charge þat is youen vnto vs. So praieth you, my lorde that here is / that it plese you to counseile hym / and he is redy to execute it to his power. The kynge his fadir hath ordeyned hym ther-to / and for that cause sent him hider" / aftir tho wordes, Dauyd hym self praide them the same / and than he bisought the Constable of ffraunce to speke first / for he was moost noble man of the company, and not werst puruaide of good aduise / it was no meruaile, for he was one of the chief of the Reaume of ffraunce. Then spake he, & seide / "y meruaile moche, my lorde, of so wise a kynge as is the kynge your fadir, that he hath sent you hider yn this grete & noble company, withouthauyng one only man of that same reaume that ye shold aryue yn. vndir correccion / me semeth it a grete defaute / for as longe as oure enemyes wille / we shalle take no londe here / seyng the Soudan & alle his puissaunce bifore vs, and we not knowyng the londyng, whereby we haue neither Wisdam nor policce to helpe vs / also the kynge of Sizile is not aduertised of oure comyng / wherfore y wote not what to counseile you / but best, me thinketh, it were to sende vnto the kynge of Sizile, and byde stille here til theire comynge ageyn / But ther is o sore point / they that shalle go, knowe not the way / ne where they shalle fynde hym / but y make no doute, if they may haue grace to come to hym / the kynge shall purvay for them to be conduyted surely y-nough / I can se noon other wey but this / for the more y thinke on it / the more straunge me semys the matier / wherfore y can not wele geue you counseiƚƚ, but biseche youre Lordship to axe ferther of them that haue sene more than I. ffor often tyme they that haue grettist charges be not moost wise / & so farith it by me / but as for my parte, y am redy to obeie you / and do you seruise as is commaundid me / and to bileue the counseile of wise & noble men, bettir knowing suche matiers than y, wherof many may lightly be founde in this notable company." Dauid vndirstode wele that the Constable was yn displeasir, by cause they had noon ther of the Reaume of Sizile that might conduyte them / and so he askid forth the Amiralƚ of Inglondes auise, whiche in alle poyntes folowed the Constable of ffraunce / & shewed more sad matier to be troubled than did the Constable / and spake as he that was not please, leyyng grete charge to them that had the conduyte of the armee / and Dauid of Scotland askid ferther, but he fonde noon that coude take a ferme purpose. Thus as they were yn argumentes, without any conclusione takyng, they that were in the somer Castells & toppis of the shippis / that might easely se alle them that were a londe, perceyued verrily that the Soudan and alle his armee was witℏdrawen more than the draught of an arowe; & anoon they tolde thies tidynges to dauyd / & to alle theym that were with hime, whiche forthwith went vp on the shippes / an sawe it was trewe that they had seide / Som of them seid the Soudan did this for to haue bataile, & to haue the cristen men at lesse defence / & som seide that he withdrewe him for the grete losse he had yisterday with the gonnes & shotte of cristen men / whiche he wolde no more abide.alle they that were there, seide that they withdrewe them for they might not wele feight so ny the water, seyng the smalle vessells so wele furnyssht / Than they concluded to go thider ageyn / and it was ordeyned that they shold go, that went the day a-fore, with many moo yn their company / so than was the houre apointed / & to euery man deliuerd the charge of such feliship as shold go at their conduyte / whan the houre came, alle men went to their vessells / and in especialƚ, grete nombre of yong knyghtes & Squyers, moo than had done the day a-fore / & whan they were assembled / they spredde their vessells as they had done the day bifore. Of the tothir parte / grete nombre of Turkes came out of their pauylions toward them, makyng semblaunt to defende the londe; they that were withyn the barges & Galiettes, in alƚ haste nyhed the Londe, & then feyned the turkes to withdraw them, for the grete shote of oure cristen men / this seyng, they of the Galiettes approched so nye that they might a lepte to þe londe if they had wolde; & so they had done, if it had not be defendid fro them / the turkes that were yn the trenches & in the pittes, that were so wel made that their shot was alƚ a longe the see side fro place to place, & was so wele garnyssht that no thinge failed; and whan they sawe the barges & Galiettes so ny, that they might no nerre with-out londyng, then lepe they out of their trenches / with so horrible a noise & cry, as though it had ben alle the ennemys of helle; & alƚ at ones shotte with gonnes, serpentynes & culuerynes, arblastes, crosbowes; & alle suche ordenaunce as they had / they lete go at ones; and whan the turke herde this noise, he made to caste vp a cry & a noise amonge his folkes, & drewe thiderward in suche maner that alle our folkes were a-ferde; & not without cause / for many of their barges were a londe, & had fewe gonnes or serpentynes to defende them self with / and they were araied in suche wise / that they were almost destroied / for the moost part of them withyn / were so hurte that they might not helpe them self / the remenaunt durst not shewe them, for the grete shot that came on them / moreouir, ther were at this first encontryng .iij. or iiij. galiettes & barges drowned / wheryn many a notable knight & squier endid their lyues / It is not to questioune / þat our folkes þat were in þe grete Nauee, & migℏt se þis grete infortune / but they had asmoche sorowe as þey migℏt bere / for yn þis litle Nauee was þe flour & þe choise of alle þeir yong chiuallry / fuƚƚ feyne wold þey at þat tyme a bene a londe to a uentured their lyuesyn the helpe and rescuse of their frendes / but for alle their discomfort / it might now be noon other. The turkes did their deuoir to destroie the cristen / and the cristen put payne to saue them self / without makyng any othir warres, the moost part of them came ageyn to the grete Navee, Wherof were hurt without nombre / & many of them dyde that were hurt with the gonnes & serpentynes / whan aƚƚ this was endid / they tolde of their losse / hou viij. of their smallest vessells were drowned, wherof neuir a man escope, beside alƚ the remenaunt that were hurte / this day hath done asmoche harme to þe cristen men as sholde a done a grete bataile, for suche as were of hy & grete corage, that wolde auenture them / the moost part was dede. There was the sorowe & complaint that eueri man made for his frende / aswele for the hurte as for the dede / whiche were to longe to reherce.

I shalƚ leue of this sorowe, for the writyng therof annoieth me / and I retourne to the Soudan & his company / that make grete ioie this night / thinkyng that for a bigynnyng this was a faire auenture / and knewe wele by them self of the night a-fore / ynne what discomfort the cristen men were / and gretely honoure they The knyght that hadde yeuen them this conseile. that nyght concludid they to tary there stille, til the cristen Navee was withdrawen, for the grete losse & sorow that they had / this nyght was yn the cristen Navee no counseiƚƚ nor conclusion taken, for euery man had y-nough to do, to visite his frende / there is no sorow nor mysfortune but it most passe. So on the morowe Dauyd assembled his counseilƚ; and aftir that he had made the compleyntes & lamentyng of them he had loste, to their nyest frendes / he praied them euerichon to take this auenture yn pacience, & to shewe their best counseilƚ in this matier / & for to reherce the opinions of eueri man, it shold be to longe, I shalƚ go to the conclusion, that was this / they apointed two notable yonge knyghtes, hardy and wise of their age, and wele aduised, & ordeyned them to take that night a Galee / and more than ij. leegis from the Soudans puissaunce thei sholde londe / & put them in deuoir to take som maner of persone walkyng yn the feldes, whiche sholde teche them the wey to the kynge of Sizile. whan this was apointed / they leide the charge of the message on thies two knyghtes, whiche were bothe of Scotland, whiche charge was no thinge elles but that they shold telle by mouthe, what auenture was befalle to the cristen Navee / and aƚƚ for lakke that they had no man of that countre that coude conduyte them / and that they woldeabide ther / the messangers / xiiij. daies / and if thei retourne not withyn that time / they wolde departe / for they had no lenger vitaile. Thus departed the two knyghtes / and euery man praide them to do wele their deuoir; so they went to their vessells, & slepte there til it was night / than toke they their course toward a grete wode / that semed a two leegis from the Soudans hoste / then they toke vnto them vitaile for ij. or iij. dayes, & armed hem lightly, & toke theire sheldes and their swerdes / and eche sware to abide by other yn alle auentures; & wele might eche of them trust othir, for they were cosyn germyns, comen of the best lynage yn Scotland, as of Barons / and of their age of them self moost renomed. So moche did they that, vnperceyued or knowen of any persone, they came to the forseide wode. this forest was ful longe, and but litle wey fro thens was the place fro whens kynge ffirabrace departid whan he was taken / and that forest endured to the playne of Tapyr / that Olyuer, fferauntes brother, had yn gouernaunce. Now ar thies ij. knyghtes londid, and made their praiers to almyghti god to be their guyde, and conduyte hem from alle them that wold hurte them / then they wilke forth thorugh the forest til it was day / & when it was day, they perceyued a grete hy wey, that was moche vsyd & betyn with horsis / it was a wey that went to a Toure of kyng ffirabrace / & assone as they might / they leste this hy wey / and toke a more wilde wey in-to the foreste / alwey costeyng by the same wey, to the entent to mete with some laborer that might auertise them where they were / so long they went til they came out of the forest / and were aƚƚmost at the Towne of ffounde / where a grete garison was of the Turkes / and they dred to come yn any toune til they knewe more / and withdrewe them ayen in-to the forest / they had gone but a while, but they mette an olde woman / that bare a fagot on hir hede of stikkes, that she hadde gedird yn the wode / and whan she perceyued thies knyghtes, she knewe anoon be their abilment that they were not of the turkes, & she dred hir moche, & seide vnto them in sucℏ langage as they might wele vndirstonde / "my lordes, preised be ihesu criste / that y haue founde you here, for y se wele ye be cristen / & forsothe so am I / and for that y wote not that ye knowe this contre / y wol aduise you to be ware / for on that honde is a grete garison of the Turkys folkes." and this seide she, for she thought they had sene the place, by cause they sholde haue the more affiaunce yn hir / whenthe knyghtes herde her speke / they wende wele she seide trouthe, and came the more out of the wode to speke more to hir / and askid whiche was the nexte place that hilde of the kynge of Sizile / she seide it was but .iiij. myle thens / and that a knyght had it in gouernaunce, that was called Olyuer, whiche was Brother vnto the Seneshalƚ of Sizile; & she seide that but a litil while syne / the Soudans brothir, kynge ffirabrace, was taken prisoner bifore the same place / the ij. knyghtes were ioifulƚ of thies tidynges, & praiede the woman that she wold bringe hem thider / she made semblaunt of haltyng, as she might not wele go / for there was no thinge she drede more than to come yn to that place / for she was knowen ther for the worste & the moost vntrewe that yn hir tyme lyued / then asked they hir, what wey they myght holde / and she tolde hem the trouthe, & shewede hem whiche wey they sholde take / and that shold not faile them til they came withyn a bow-shot of the place / than bitoke they hir vnto god / and helde forth that wey aswele as they might. & whan they were out of hir sight / she leide doune hir fagot / and ranne yn suche wise toward the garison of the turkes, that she semed not lame / for vnnethe an horse might ouirtake hir; so fast she ranne / that by than she came to the place, she might vnnethe speke / and whan she was brethed, she called the Captayne & tolde him alƚ that she had founde, & hou she thought they were not of the Reaume of Sizile; & hou she had counseiled them / for she dempte they were of the cristen armee / that is nowe come, "and if ye wille, they may not escape you, for y shall brynge you where y lefte hem" / whan the Captayne herde this olde woman / he callid his folkes, & made hir to reherce the tale ayen bifore them; & so she did, & seide verily they had no horses, but wente a fote, & drewe toward Olyuers place / wherto they might not come but by ij. passages / thenne apointed he xxti. of the garisone to go forth in ij. partes to the two passages that they though thies ij. knyghtes sholde passe by / and sent forth othir .x. with this olde woman, to wite if they might fynde them nere ther she lefte them / Thies ij. cristen knyghtes, that sawe this olde woman renne thus whan she was departed fro them / and that she was not lame as she had seide / knewe fulƚ wele what hir entent was / & wherfore she ranne so fast toward the Sarasyns / wherfore, as wise knyghtes of warre, they drewe them ferther yn-to the wode / yn-to the thikkest therof / costeyng alwey as the woman had taught them / so that they came neither yn hy weynor path / but costeyde forth as streight as they coude, towardes the place / And for the turkes, that y haue tolde you rode to the ij. passagis / they toke no grete hede to the reporte of this olde woman / but seide amonges them, "oure Captayne is wele occupied to geue any credence to the seyng of this olde woman / that is wors than the blak deuelƚ of helle; it may as wele be that she doth this for the harme of vs, as for the hurte of othir / it is not good to trust to moche yn hir sorowe / haue he that hastith hym ouir faste for her wordes / it is goode we auise vs wele a-fore / for Olyuers folkes be men of grete vertu and worthynesse / and if we approche their place, y suppose we shalƚ not retourne without debate" / with suche wordes rode they forth al easely, so longe til one of the x. that were to-gedir, perceyued the ij. knyghtes comyng out of the wode, & toke they wey to Olyuers place / whiche was not fer fro them. & when the turkes perceyued hem, they spored aftir them in aƚƚ that they mygℏt / the two knyghtes vndirstode wele that they were enemys, & fled toward the ffortresse / but they were so nere them / that they ouirtoke them withyn lesse than a bow-shotte to the toune & ffortresse / & whan they sawe they might no ferther, they put on their helmys / and aredied hem to their defence, & made a syne to them of the place for helpe, & set them self ayenst a tre, & defendid them ayenst aƚƚ .x. The wacche of the place, that sawe wele aƚƚ this, sende worde to Olyuer herof in aƚƚ haste, whiche came vp anone on the wallis, & sawe wele alle the feeldes aboute / that there was no moo but they, & that they were so nere his place / wherfore he had no drede to make his folkes issu out on them / & anone they came to the socours of thies ij. knyghtes, that wele and manfully faught / & be than had slayne ij. or iij. turkes / & made suche way aboute them / that their enemyes durst not wele approche them. the turkes perceyued þe comyng-out of þem of the place, and durst not abide them / but anon̄ fled streight toward the wode, but ther was noon that folowed hem / for assone as Olyuers folkes came to the ij. knyghtes, they taryed stille witℏ them / and brought them yn-to the toune to their maister, that resceyued them with grete ioie whan he knewe what folkes they were / and askid them of their tidynges / whan the knyghtes sawe Olyuere, they thankid god of his grace / that had brought them yn-to his handes; and than they tolde him aƚƚ the pitous & sorowfulƚ auenture that was falle vnto the cristen the day bifore their departyng / the discomfort of Dauid, the kynge of Scottes sone / & of alle the Pryncesof ffraunce, Englond and Scotland, that were there / & hou they wist not where they were / nor herde no worde fro the kynge of Sizile, wherof they thought grete meruaile / seyng that he was assertayned of their comyng / of tyme & houre of their departyng / and neuir had sente one only man vnto them / wherfore they toke grete displeasir / and were gretly annoied towardes him, & had sente them / vpon their retourne withyn xv. Dayes / or ellis to go their wey / and tary no lenger / Olyuer excused the kynge as moche as he might / for he sawe wele it was nede / & that the cristen had cause of displeasir / So made he the knyghtes aƚƚ the chere that he coude, & promysed to conduyte them to the kyng of Sizile, that was but ij. dayes iournay thens, or whiche kynge we wol speke nowe, for we haue lefte of hym a grete while.

The kynge of Sizile, knowyng verily the Armee made by the iij. kynges, assembled the thre estates of his lond, and helde a grete counseilƚ, to take aduise hou he might conduyte & gouerne him, the ceason he abode the comyng of the cristen armee / eueri man counseiled hym to reise alle the power of his lond, a litle bifore suche tyme as the cristen armee shold arryue accordyng to this auise he did / and sent for alle maner abile men of warre / & anoon without any delay they came vnto him / arraied and accompanyed as wele as they might / thenne shewed he vnto them / the hope & comfort that he had, to haue socour of the cristen men / and the kyng was then wele accompanyed aftir the pouerte of his Reaume / and the grete losse that had fallyn therto / & for they of the reaume had moche leuer dye / than to contynue yn suche case as they had bene a grete while / for this cause came alle maner of folkes / eueri man for his parte aswele abiled and accompanyed as they might / In like wise the kynge of Hungry, that ioyned to the reaume of Sizile, hadde arredied him & alle his power, to mete with the cristen men at their londyng / accompanyed with the kynge of Sizile, trustyng at that day to se the warres endid / Thus the kynge of Hungry, wele acompanyed, abode eueri day to here tidynges of the cristen / but noon he herd / whiche was a grete defaute yn alle partyes / For lakke of sendyng eche of them to othir, grete harme befille, wherof was grete pite. The kyng of Sizile, abidyng tidynges, was asserteyned by his Capteynes that the Soudan had assembled alle his people, as they vndirstode by suche of his folkes as were taken prisoners / and that he purposed to encountre the cristen armee, whiche was ny the costes, as he vndirstode.The kynge, knowyng for certayn thies tidynges from many places, toke the felde with alle his folkes, a thre leegis from the Soudan on that on side of hym / but his puissaunce was not to dele with the Soudan and his hoste / & than toke he counseilƚ what was to be done yn this matier; and they auised him to ley seege to a place that was named fosses, whiche was but iiij. myle fro the porte where-as the turke lay. This sholde be but for a maner to holde his peple to-gedir til the londyng of the cristen armee / & to thentent to cause the Soudan drawe thiderwarde til the cristen might londe / for he entendid to hoolde no seege ther / for and the Soudan came / he wolde withdrawe him / for he was not able to dele with him / thus was the conclusion taken / and as yn maner or a seege, loggid him and his folkes bifore the place, where he was the same tyme that the ij. knyghtes came to Olyuer, whan he promysed them to conduyte hem to the kynge in ij. dayes.

On the morowe fulƚ erly, whan the ij. knyghtes were wele restid at their ease, Olyuere puruaide for them .ij. good horsis / & conveied them so wele that he brought them to the kynge / and with the lesse peyne he might do so, for alle the hethen men were with the Soudan / saue only they of the garisons, whiche were not right wele furnyssht witℏ folke, as it shewed wele by the place that the kynge of Sizile lay bifore / thus as the ij. knyghtes and their guydes rode / they questioned of the kynge of Sizile & his puissaunce / and Olyuers folkes tolde hem the grete paynes, hardnesse, mysery, & pouerte, this pore Reaume had endured / and than they tolde hem / hou, bi-fore the comyng of the cristen armee / a man like an Aungel yn beaute, to seynt George in worthynesse, was come vnto them, & sith hys comyng, they had neuir but good auenture / and alle their dedes & emprises were come to good conclusion / and tolde them of the ij. first good auentures that felƚ sodeynly at his first comyng, and tolde alƚ the maner hou they fell / and that sith his commyng, one Sizilion was worth vj. turkes, and byfore, vj. of them were not worthe one turke / and that nowe the turkes migℏt not endure ayenst them / of thies tidynges were the ij. knyghtes wele comforted / and desired no more of god, but that their company were ones assembled with the kynge of Sizile / And for to knowe more of this yong man that was newe come in-to Sizile / they asked his name / "for sothe," seide their guyde, "whan he came hider, his name was Le Despurueu; but for that eueri man hath sene yn him so moche wele & noblesse / the ladies of the courte haue named himLe Surnome; for they sawe him yn no thinge dispurueid that longid to honour / thus now his name is Surnome. And if ye wilƚ knowe him, it nedith not to desire any man to shewe him you, but beholde the moost faire and amyable, and the moost likly of the kynges armee / and that is he, and by this ye may lightly knowe hym" / The ij. knyghtes of Scotland rode forth aƚƚ ioifully, hering thies tidynges, & had grete meruaile that yn the persone of one man might be so grete cause of preise, desiryng moche to se him / so longe they rode, that they approched the kynge of Siziles hoste / and at their welcomyng, there was right a grete assaute at the place / and they alight as folke of right high corage, and went streight to the saute / & fonde ther many pavis throwen to the erthe / and eche of them toke one, & went to the wallis, beholdyng who did best / & they sawe, by force of defense, that the saute began to waxe lesse / & many folkes to withdrawe them / for there were many of the cristen woundid & sore hurte / but at the laste, they sawe at o toure one of the kynge of Siziles parte that valiauntly fougℏt, and for no thing wolde descende, but rather was maister of that toure / but he had noon erthly helpe / wherefore he made a syne to his company that they sholde retourne / hou-be-it ther were fulƚ fewe þat drewe thiderward / for euery man helde hym vttirly destroied with-oute remedy. men might so wele a-fer that he was sore assailed / but meruailously he defendid him / so that noon durst abide a stroke of his hande. he was so hy a-lofte that nedid to drede, neither gonne shot, ne stone cast / nor no hurt they might do him, saue only witℏ strokes / and the turkes dred his strokes so moche, that they durst not abide him; thus, as half taken, was he vpon this toure, & sy hym self at a mischief / wherfore he made synes to the people, geuyng them corage to come ageyn / thies ij. forsaide knyghtes of Scotland had be their but a while, when they herd cry, "Le Surnome is lost / but if he haue socour / whiche sholde be the grettist hurt that euir befelƚ to the reaume of Sizile;" & anoon they knewe wele that it was the same valiaunt squyer of whom they haue herde speke, whiche stode yn auenture for lakke of socour. than toke they ij. a laddir, and drew them toward the toure / anoon aftir them came many moo folkes, but they were the first, be a good while, that went vpon the laddir / the saute began on alle parties more huger and more sore than it had ben bifore / thies ij. knyghtes of Scotland did aƚƚ their payne to come vp / & to make them to be knowen of Surnome, as wele as of them of the hoste. wherto they did aƚƚ thediligence that any noble men might do / & many tymes were put doune of the ladders / & many tymes remounted ayen. Surnome, seyng the good wille of them, thought, with the helpe of god, to make them better wey / & so betoke him-self to god & blessid him / & auaunced hym-self amonge the turkes that were on the walles a-boute the toure, delyng them suche lyuerey, that many he slewe / and the remenaunt fled bifore hym / and so made he the two knyghtes of Scotland, and many othir, to come vp on the walles / the turkes drewe them to the market place, sore discomfit. the kynge & his folkes entred yn-to the toune by the gates that were opynd vnto them by them that had wonne the wallis. the defence that the turkes made yn the market place ayenst the kynges folkes auailed not; for, with the helpe of Le Surnome, alle were slayne / thus was the towne wonne without any grete losse or damage to the cristen men / and it was bothe faire & stronge. Thies tidinges came anoon to knowlage of the Soudan / wherof he was right sorowfuƚƚ, & knewe wele ther was to hym a right grete losse / & impossible to him to recouer so many good men as he had slayn there. And thies ij. knyghtes of Scotland were gretly ameruailed of þat they had sene that day, yn the persone of Surnome, more than they had herd sey / then desired they moche to accomplish theire charge that they had to the kynge / and also to se Le Surnome vnarmed, and that þey might be aqueynted with hym / assone as they myght, they founde vp them that had conduyte them, whiche they sente to the kynge / to certifie him that ij. of the seruauntes of Dauyd of Scotland were come to him / fro the saide Dauyd, desirynge moche to speke witℏ the kynge / seyng that hir message was hasty. The kynge, hou-be-it that his folkes were yet alle out of aray, & that he wist not where noon of his counseilƚwere logged, yn asmoche as the towne was newly wonne / wherfore euery man was loggid without an herbeiour, he sent them worde that withyn ij. houres he wold sende for them / and commaunded them that had conduyte them, to holde hem company vnto that tyme / and that they shold put them yn deuoir to do them aƚƚ the chere and ease they coude / The kynge of Sizile, aftir that he was wele loggid, & his folkes, and made gret slaughter, & wanne grete good, he made to seche where they of his counseiƚƚ were logged, & sent for them to come to hym; and than sent he for the knyghtes of Scotland / that, as ye may wele thinke, had not chaungid their abilementes / for their somers were not ther / they came to the kynge, their visages grete and swolne ofthe strokes that they had resceyued, & salued him right honorably, as knyghtes of honour that had be right wele acostomed to do suche thinges / yeldyng thankes to god of the grete and good fortune / that he had that day / geuyng hym a grete commendacion and preise / seyng that the place that he had wonne at this tyme, was not conquerable without the grete grace of god, and worthinesse of his persone & of his noble chyualrie / aftir this, fro Dauyd of Scotland, the prynces & lordes of the cristen Armee þat at that tyme were yn the see bifore the port of Gaiette / made they semblable recommendacion, seyyng to the kynge / that for to do seruyse to Ihesu criste / to hym, & also to his Reaume, this grete and mighti armee was sent fro the iij. kynges, of ffraunce, of Englond & Scotlande, of the whiche Armee, Dauyd, the kynge of Scottes eldest sone, is chief / and he and alle the prynces and Barons of his company meruaile, yn-asmoche as ye were assertayned of the Armee by their propre messangers / and of the day of their departyng / and yit haue they not one only messanger fro you / nor your auertisement hou they shold be demeaned, nor haue not yn their company one man of this Reaume; whiche thinge gretly abasshith them / that so mighti a kynge, so porely hath condite so grete an acte / wherethorugh hath folowed moche harme & shame to the cristen men / And there they tolde of the grete ynfortune that felle to the Armee the day bifore their departyng / and enformed the kynge that the flour of chiualre of the cristen armee was fulƚ ny lost that day, and so many of them were slayne / that it was grete pite to reherce: this sore annoied them, and so ought it to the kynge yn whos seruice they came / seyyng ferther, that if they had not right sone tidynges from the kyng, that it was not possible for them to abide there / for this infortunat day caused grete displeasir amonges them / so þat Dauid had right grete peyne to kepe them stille / for whiche cause they fulƚ humbly requyred the kynge to be hastily spedde, for such was their charge. The kyng of Sizile, heryng thies wordes & tidynges that the ij. knightes had tolde him, hou-be-it this day had be right ioifulƚ to hym of the takyng of this stronge towne / yit was he sore troubled yn his corage, & seide / "they shold be answerd & delyuerd the nexte morowe," for he desired moche to se this hy and noble company / to the whiche he was as moche beholden as he might be / "and y beleue verily that ther is the flour & choice of chiualrie / for yn you, faire lordes, hath be shewed this day grete noblesse / and if alle your company be such / it may be called theflour of chiularie of the worlde / for ye haue made you more to be knowen this day in this company, bothe of the worthy men and of cowardes / than they that haue ben moche lenger here / y leue fuƚƚ wele your visages be vnknowen to cowardes, but the abilementes of your bakkes might wele y-nough be knowen of alle them that were behinde you. with them y was / & therfore y knowe your abilement wele / y leue / he that was yn the toure knowe your visages bettir than y do / for ye shewed them vnto him / that at that tyme had ful grete nede of socours." The knyghtes thanked the kynge fulƚ humbly, that for so litle deserte yaue them so grete honour, & seide / "that he allone that was yn the toure, to their conceite was cause of the good auenture that day; & it semed them / that he allone suffised y-nough for half them that were with-yn, for ther was noon that durste abide his strokes." As they were yn this talkyng, fferaunt the Seneshall, & Surnome his seruaunt came yn to þe kynge / & assone as þe ij. Scottyshe knightes sawe Le Surnome come yn / by the report þat they had of them þat had conduyte them / þey wist for trouth it was þe same / for, so goodly a man ne saw þey neuir. & þan thought þey þat it was he þat was on þe toure, & for the vois that þey had herde amonges the people that cried "helpe Surnome þat is on þe toure" / þey thought certeynly þat the name that the Ladies had geuyn hym, was more propre for hym than the first name / for god and nature had highly puruaiede for him. Assone as the kynge sawe hym yn the Chambre, he came to hym / & embraced hym / & seide to the knyghtes of Scotland, "knowe ye this man?" / that one answerd anone & seide / "for sothe, sir, yea; and y sey for trouthe that he is Le nounpareil that euir y sawe or herde speke of. and god of his grace long contynue hym, for by the name that renneth on hym now he is vnarmed, we knowe hym; and by his dedes and prowesse whan he was armed to-day, we iuged it shold be he also / and I wote wele, whan our maister, Dauid of Scotland, shalƚ here that we haue sene yn hym, he shall put hym yn grete peyne to haue his acqueyntaunce / for we knowe certaynly that the gretest desire that he hath, is / to haue acqueyntaunce with Valiaunt folkes / and knowe wele that his body, his power, and his goodes shalbe as redy this gentilmannys, as his oune." Le Surnome thanked them alle shamefastly of the honour that they gaue hym / prayng god that the hundreth part of this that they seide, might be yn hym / for he knewe fulƚ wele that this preise came of their goodnesse / for an ilƚhert deyneth not to preyse anothir. "I sey this, for that this day, ye that were vnknowen, haue made to be knowyn yn eche of you, yn one houre / more than this is yn any of this company; and for sothe y haue to day knowen you more be sight than any man yn this hoste / and the kynge that here is / ought to thanke god & you of his good auenture." Yf y shold reherce the wordes of honoure that were bitwene Le Surnome & them, y sholde haue to moche to do / but e[ue]richon to his power honoured his party.

Aftir this talkyng, the kynge made to conduyte the scottissh knyghtes to their loggyng, & commaundid them to be honourably serued, and wente him self to his counseilƚ to wite hou he shold do to the cristen Armee / & there were they longe debatyng this matier / And at last they were of acorde to sende notable folkes to Dauyd of Scotland, to the prynces & Barons of his company / desiryng them that they shold departe fro thens, & drawe to a-nothir porte, that was, Le toure de gretuz / and there esily & without any perile they might londe. albe-it that the port was som what more daungerous, yit were it not so grete auenture for them the londyng ther / and they thought, if the cristen Armee were onys Londid, sone aftir the turkes sholde haue more than y-nougℏ to do. The knyghtes that sholde do this message, were ordeyned that night, whiche on the morowe by tymes entreprised the viage with right good wilƚ. The Scottisshe knyghtes were sent for / and the kynge of Sizile seide vnto theym yn this wise / "my frendes, and right wise Valiaunt knyghtes! y haue herde the credence that by you was sent me fro my good cosyn, Dauyd of Scotland / and my good frendes, alle othir princes and lordes ther / yn the whiche ye haue right notably declared the mysery that they haue suffred for the honour of oure blissed creatore / and for the socours of this pore and desolat Reaume / whiche is to me right soroufulƚ to here rehersid. and for to make myn excuse, y knewe verily by my folkes that y had sent to the iij. kynges, ther answere / and what tyme the Armee shold departe / but neuir sith, by them nor noon of them, had y neuir tidynges, by letteres nor othirwise / and for that ye knowe wele / the thynges chaunge often yn so hy matiers / y wist not what to thinke, for y supposed verily to be assertayned fro them of their comyng / which, and y had knowen it, had not be conduyte as it is now / but tho thinges that god wolƚ haue suffred, may not now be amendid / therfore remytte we alle thinge to the wilƚ of god / And to go to the conclusion of the surpluis of this matier, to puruey the best thatmay be don̄, y haue ordeyned iiij. knyghtes of my folkes, that knowe best the conduyte of thies marches / and they shal put them in deuoir to brynge you ayen to your maister / & declare vnto hym suche conclusions as y haue taken with my counseilƚ / whiche to their power they shalƚ helpe to execute / and shall not departe fro hym til he and y be to-gedre; & so ye may puruay to departe whan it pleasith you / and they shaƚƚ be redy to accompanye you" / whan the scottissh knyghtes had herd the kynge, they were right wele content of his Answere, and toke their leue of the kynge / whiche gaue eche of them a courser, and othir grete giftes; and thus they departed / and iiij. knyghtes of Sizile with them, whiche conduyte them so wele, that they brought them to their maister ij. dayes bifore the terme that he had set to his seruauntes. and at their comyng, it is no question if ther were ioie thorugh alƚ the company, for they wende neuir to haue sene the houre of their retourne. And after their comyng was knowen, and that they had brought iiij. knyghtes of Sizile with theym, the prees was grete a-boute theym / as wele of the frendes of thies ij. knyghtes, as othir that helde them half lost / & were right ioifuƚƚ that they had accomplisshed their charge, to their grete honour. & eueri man desired to knowe of their tidynges; but, as good & right wise knightes, they tolde nothinge til they had spoken with their maister / and assone as they might, they went vnto hym, & lefte the knyghtes of Sizile accompanyed with many a noble man / til tyme they knewe the pleasir of their maister / what tyme they shold bring the knyghtes of Sizile vnto hym.

And aftir their comyng vnto hym / there had they a lawde, honour & thanke that they so valiauntly had accomplissht the charge he had geuyn them. than tolde they hym hou they had spedde, and that .iiij. knygℏtes of Sizile were come with them to enforme hym of alƚ the kynges entent / and to abide stille with hym til their londyng. Of thies tidinges was Dauid right glad, and alle they in his company / and anoon sende forth ayen thies .ij. knyghtes, with many othir notable men in their company, to fecche them of Sizile. And anoon they came ayen / and brought thies iiij. knyghtes with them, whiche fulƚ humbly salued Dauid & alle the lordes of his company / yn recommendyng the kynge, their maister, to them, & to alle the noble chyualrie & company that was yn this armee / they were resceyued right ioifully of Dauyd, and of all the lordes that were present / they performed their charge, so as ye haue herdebefore, that the kynge gaue them at their departyng / & offred them self to the accomplishment therof / and to helpe to conduyte them without departyng fro them / til the kynge & they were mette with the grace of god / Aftir their credence herd / they were ledde to an othir faire vesseƚƚ, wele accompanyed with knyghtes & squiers. and the counselƚ abode stille to-gedir, to take aduise vpon̄ this message, what was to be done / and so they concludded. In-asmoche as the kynge of Sizile had sente thies knyghtes to conduyte them / that on the morowe alle the maisters shold be warnyde to aredye them forward, and on the next day be-tymes to put them yn the garde & conduyte of thies knyghtes of Sizile that the kynge had sente them / Alas, fortune! whan a man weneth to be moost sure, than is he nere his daungere; for sone aftir this apointement and this grete ioie, there befelle suche infortune that it was grete Damage to aƚƚ cristendome, as ye shalƚ anoon here / this counseƚƚ, takyn, the knyghtes of Sizile were sent for / and tolde them the conclusion that was taken amonge the lordes / wherof they were wele content, and thought the conclusion good. than euery man departed, and brought the knyghtes of Sizile to their loggyng, and did them aƚƚ the honour and chere that men myght do yn suche cas. Dauid made his knyghtes that he had sente yn-to Sizile, to suppe witℏ hym that nyght, to telle hym and the Constable of ffraunce, & the Admyraƚƚ of Englond of their tidynges, bothe of their departyng & of their demeanyng, and of aƚƚ the manere of the contre / than the two knyghtes tolde hem suche tidynges as they knewe, and of the olde woman / yn what wise she wolde a betraide theym / and hou they escope, and were reskowed by fferauntes brother / and hou he made them to be conduyte then in alle haste to the kynge of Sizile, whom they founde assautyng rigℏt a faire towne / & wanne it. than they tolde the noblesse of Surnome, and alƚ the honour they hadde herde of hym, and aƚƚ that they had sene hym do / & what honour he put them to bifore the kynge / and hou he was the moost amyable persone that euir they sawe, daies of their lif / and they wende that nature coude not, nor neuir sholde, make no suche / And so moche they seide of hym, that alle the lordes that were there / and alle othir, had grete meruaile; and if the knyghtes that tolde it had not ben of their age the moost renomed of sadnesse & trouthe yn the cristen Armee / they coude not haue bileued them / for suche worthynes, bounte, & beaute, semyd them ympossible to be yn one persone. Also the knyghtes seide of the kynge of Sizile mochehonour / and tolde yn what maner he excused hym, wherof alle the lordes that were there thought them self coulpable, seyyng, "verily that they did ille, þat they had not sente one to hym bifore the departyng of the armee fro Scotland, for to haue had som of his folkes to be conduyte by. Nowe was alle thinge yn suche cas that it was past remedy" / wherfore they praied god that the remenaunt of their viage might be bettir conduyte, and more to their honour and profite / Than tolde they hem that, "by the noblesse of Le Surnome / the hardynesse of alle them of Sizile was redoubled / for where .vj. of the Turkes haue put to discomfiture .xxti. Sezilions & moo / at this day it is the contrarie; for it faileth not, but vj. Sizilions are worth xxti turkes / and they thynke verily / that, and they mygℏt ones ioyne with the turkes, they sholde ligℏtly wynne the ouir hand of them." The iiij. knygℏtes of Sizile suppid yn a nother vesseƚƚ, rehersyng ther aƚƚ the wynnyng of the towne, and the manere of the ij. knygℏtes / and howe they were knowen for their prowes; & reported grete honour of them / and seide vnto hem that accompanyed them / "if alle ye be such as they .ij. are / I wote wele the turkes shalle not longe abide you." Of this tidynges were alle they ioifulle that herde hem, and coude the ij. knygℏtes right grete thanke, that so wele aquytte them / and so did they to the knygℏtes of Sizile / that so honorably reported them. Aftir soper, eueri man drew hym to his loggyng / for to be vp on the morrow betymes, for to redye hem to departe the next day / thus eueri man went to his vesseƚƚ. Nowe I pray god conduyte them / for this nygℏt toward the point of day befelƚ them a meruailous harde fortune, as ye shalle here folowynge.

Illumination [not noted in printed edition]: tempest.BEtwene midnygℏt and the point of the day, grete wynde & tempest aros vpone the see, yn such wise that the shippes tombled as they shold alle to-breke; and at the point of the day the tempest was grettir than bifore / and the wawes came witℏ such violence, that eueri wawe came in-to the shippes, and ouir them an C. galons of water at ones / oure goode cristen men, seyng this huge tempest, feƚƚ on their knees witℏ their handes ioyned toward the heuen / bisechyng god of mercy, rehercyng vnto hym that they were departed out of their contre & possessions to do hym seruice, & had also forsaken fadir & modir, wif & childe, only for his seruice, bisechyng hym to geue hem that grace / that they migℏt wele retourne ayen yn-to their contrees. At that tyme was the noise so grete a-monge the Nauee, that the Soudan & alle hiscompany were full ioifulƚ / for they migℏt wele here them / and a myle beyonde that he was. It is to thinke, that of this grete and hidious tempest they were gretely reioised / trustyng it sholde do grete hurt to the cristen armee / and so it did / for this tempest contynued til the sonne risyng / and brougℏt them to suche necessite that they cutte their cables & drew vp their sailes, and put them alle in the auenture of god / many shippes were dryuen forth with the wynde / some caste hider and thider witℏ the wa[w]es / that had neither saile ne maste / nor noman so hardy that durst conduyte the steerne; som of the shippes russet to-gedir, that they alle to-brake; & some drawe forth, waityng but dethe. The Erle douglas, that was in Dauid vesselƚ, made the moost pitous compleyntes that any man migℏt make; for he sawe wele by the shippes that perisshed & drowned afore hym / and also by othir that he sawe dryue fortℏ with the wynde, som without either saile or maste / that alƚ was yn auenture to be drowned / than seide he thus / that alle might here that were aboute hym / "A! ffortune male-eurus / I thought me highly honoured to haue in my conduyte the eldest sone of my souerayn lorde, yn so grete a seruice as the seruice of god / nowe se I wele, that to god pleasitℏ neither his seruice nor myn / but rather we must dye / and ende oure lyues wrecchidly / and of þat dethe þat yn this world y moost dredde. A! my creatour! I pray the resceyue the sowles of my maister and of vs alle yn this company, yn-to thy glorie / and knowe wele, that for the1 we are in this cas, and for doyng vnto the, seruice / we are come to oure dethe" / Such wordes and compleintes made the Erle Douglas, that was a fulƚ wise and a worthy knygℏt / and yit was that vessel stille at ancre, and so was noon of the company but they / they thougℏt with euery wawe the vesselƚ shold alƚ to-breke / "& than," seide the maryners, "it behoueth to put vs in the auenture of god." the yonge Dauyd, seyng this dolorous fortune, was agreable to cutte the cables / and anone as they were cutte, the vesselƚ smote a londe streigℏt before the Soudan / and brake all on peces / and so ther escope noon, but alle were drowned saue Dauyd and Erle douglas, and vj. othir persones, that witℏ helpe of boordes droof to Londe, whiche was ther ny / then had the Turke of his cruelte commaundid, that if any of fortune came a-lyue to londe / that they sholde sle them without raunsome / and whane his people sawe this yonge Dauyd, they came to sle hym / and that, sawe the ErleDouglas, and sterte bifore hym / to diffende hym / but his helpe auailed not / for anoon he was slayne at his maisters fete / and so were alle they that came witℏ hym / saue hym self / and he, seyng hym in this daunger, withdrewe hym, and set his bakke ayenst a litle rokke was ther / trustyng to diffende his lif / and that it shold be dere brougℏte to som of them that wolde sle hym / & than he thougℏt his dethe sholde be the more easy / and that eueri noble man of honour wolde haue the more pyte of his dethe / so put he hym vttirly yn the handes of god / and leyde so aboute hym that noman durst approche hym / for he slewe of them many. The Soudan, that saw the armes that he did / yn his hert had grete despite / and spake a-lowde / "what! shaƚƚ o. cristen man discomfort this armee / if there were any noble man amonges you, he shold endure but litle while" / he had a sone of the age of xxti. or .xxiiijti. yere, that behelde aƚƚ this, & had grete pite of this yonge lorde of Scotland, that so manly diffendid hym / and meued with suche pite / ayenst the wilƚ of his fadir, he went to hym, brekyng the prees / & made eueri man to witℏdrawe fro hym / and sithe seide vnto hym / "my frende, thou seest clerely that thy strengtℏ may not auaile the / & that thou stryuest and feightist without reason / but yelde the to me witℏ thy fre wille / and I shalƚ brynge the to the Soudan, and pray hym for the." whan pore Dauid herd thies wordes, he was not of a grete while so glad as aftir the auenture that god had sent hym / for he knewe wele that he had spake to hym / was a lorde of grete estate / bothe by his aray / and by the obeisaunce that alle men did vnto hym / and thus he answered hym, "My Lorde, ye se yn what cas y am / if I feigℏt in diffendyng my lif, noman blame me, for I haue sene your folkes take litle pite on̄ any of vs / alas! what may vj. pore persones do ayenst alle your company, whiche were fallen yn your mercy / & humbly asked your grace & mercy / and, sauf I. allone, they are alle slayne / many folkes shalle calle this rather rigour & tiranny than any honour / but of the offre that ye haue made me, rigℏt humbly, my lorde, I thanke you / and I. yelde me to you / here is my swerde" / whiche he delyuered hym / & seide, "In you is my lif and dethe, whiche, had not be the trust of youre assuraunce, y wolde a done my peyne a litle lenger to diffende / so demeane ye me as it pleasitℏ you." And this yonge sone of the Soudone, named Orcays, assured hym on his feitℏ. and aftir that, was noon so hardy that durst approche hym / thus was yonge Dauyd takyn / & brougℏt byOrcays bifore his fader / whiche made hym take of his helme / and sawe hym, of visage and body, of right excellent beaute / and saide to his sone, "ye wol nedely take this man prisoner / but it is bettir lete hym dye than lyue, witℏout he wol bileue as we do / for he is meruailously shapen to do armes, as ye haue sene hym proued by experience / and if ye be so content / me thinketh best / that men delyuer the worlde of hym lightly" / this yonge Orcays, heryng his fadir, was yn grete sorow and displeasir / & thougℏt yn him self that he shold sle hym also with his prisoner / and seide vnto his fader. "My Lord, the first prisoner that euer was taken witℏ my handes y haue brought bifore you; the payne that y had yn takyng hym was not grete / without any stroke he put his trust yn me / where noman̄ durst come ny hym / & leue not / that yn one man be the power to destroie this company / wherfore ye nede not to haue no drede of hym / but ye may do witℏ hym & me your pleasir / for y thinke not he shalƚ die without me / seyng the feitℏ that I haue promysed hym; and if any othir than ye lay hand on hym, he may be sure to repente it, for y shaƚƚ diffende hym to my power while y haue any lif" / and thies wordes seide Orcays so vigorously, that his visage wex al rede. Alƚ this vndirstode wele, this yonge Dauyd, with visage assured / as he that abode the dethe / without hauyng any regarde to his lif, seide to the Soudan yn this wise / "Sir, y holde me wele ewred of the wordes I haue herde you sey of me / & be ye assured, yf y die, y shaƚƚ die with ioie to thynke for whos sake it is / for of my lif y rekke fuƚƚ litle / if it please my creatour, y haue lyued y-nough / sith this day y haue sene so many a notable man die befor me / and y haue no wiƚƚ to leue their company / for y am wele assertayned that be this houre their dethe is to them rigℏt ioifulƚ / I am yolden to this lorde bifore you vpone his feitℏ / y wote not who he is / but fortℏwith y aquyte hym therof, & pardone hym and you also my dethe / prayng to our lorde, at my dethe to resceyue my soule." The Soudan, heryng his sone speke, seyng hym vttirly wroth, had pite of him / and aƚƚ-be-it he was right hard / yn corage ayenst alle cristen / yet had he pite also of Dauyd / that so hardyly spake, & with so stable manere, abidyng dethe with suche corage / that to beholde, he was aƚƚ recomforted / and so he answerd his sone, not geuyng hym no surete of his prisoners lif / bade him lede his prisoner where he wolde, so he were kepte sure / "and y shaƚƚ take aduise here-on / and shaƚƚ speke with you / and y doute not, aftir ye haue herde me, ye shaƚƚ be content of that / thatI woƚƚ do" / Thus this Orcays sent forth his prisoner; but for drede that men sholde do hym any hurte, he kepte hym aƚƚ that nyght yn his chambre, without departyng fro hym, for he knewe the cruelte of his fadir sucℏ that, & he migℏt gete him at large / he wolde make hym to be slayne / and thenne wolde he laugℏ ther-ate / as though a had made kyl a dog / or som othir vnthrifty beste / and for thies doutes kepte he contynuelly his prisoner witℏ hym / and as a bridde is assottid on hir make / so was Orcays of Dauyd.

Aftir this grete tempest was thus befallen vnto the cristen Navee / ye may thinke welle / that the vessells helde not alƚ one wey / for som arryued by infortune amonges the sarasynes / wherof som were kepte as prisoners / and some were put to pore ocupacions, as to kepe shepe & bestes / for they solde the cristene men as they wolde selle catelle / and they that had bougℏt theym, bete theym euery day like dogges, and they did not wele that / that they had yn charge / the tothir vesselles to whiche god wold extende his grace / aryued / som yn ffraunce, som yn Englond / som in Scotland / many aryued yn othir cristen reaumes / wherby the sorowfulle tidynges were sone spredde thorugℏ-out alle cristendome / and sone came to the knowlage of the kynges of ffraunce, of Englond and of Scottes / that were hugely sorowfulle of that ynfortune / and eche of theym made grete enquerre aftir their frendes & seruauntes / but noon ther was that coude assertayne theym what folkes were saued or loste / eueri man trusted his frende were sauf, their hertes desired it so moche. The kynge of ffraunce vndirstode verily that the moost parte of his folkes shold retourne / so did the kynge of Englond and the kynge of Scottes / that euery day herkened for tidynges of his sone, þat he loued asmoche as any fadir migℏt do his childe / and trusted moche yn the wisdam and conduyte of the goode Erle Douglas / that had the gouernaunce aboute hym / A grete while thougℏt he that he herde no tidynges of them .ij., for there were come many othir / & of the reaume of Scotland were not loste past .vj. shippes / the Erle Bussaunt was sauf, & many othir notable men of Scotland / the grete losse was in Dauyd vesselƚ, for it is to thinke that yn his vesselƚ was many a notable man. Of Englond came ageyn many / bothe the Admyralƚ / and the moost parte of the noble men that went fortℏ, but som were loste. Of the reaume of ffraunce came ageyn many / but the goode Constable abode / men wist not whedir he was drowned or takyne. ffor final conclusioun, eueri man̄ of this thre reaumes trusted welethat their frendes were sauf. Aftir the retourne of hem that were come ageyne, y can thinke the iiijth. parte of this arme was myssed, of such as were takyn, & suche as were drowned / tho that the kynge of Sizile had sent to Dauyd were saued / as for the two knygℏtes that had been with the kyng in message / y wote ner whethir they were saued or not / for y fynde no more of theym.

YE shalle retourne to the kynge of Sizile, that fulle sone was assertayned of this ynfortune, wherof he was so sorowfulƚ that noman migℏt recomfort hym / and iuged him self yn party the cause of this auenture; &, as a man enraged with sorowe, cursed the houre of his birthe / & wisshed hym ded / sitℏ thorugℏ his defaute & negligence, so many notable prynces & lordes were perisshed and dede of so lamentable a dethe / and seide / "y wote wele / and y had aquytte me to them as y shold / they had bene a londe / & noon of aƚƚ this ynfortune had happed; but wele y wote, the turkes shold̛ sone a be destroied / and this londe set yn a perfit reste / But nowe shewetℏ wele god / that y am not to hym agreable / and that I huae done some synne that displeasith hym" / ye may thinke that yif the kynge of Sizile had such wordes / that eche of the iij. kynges, [of] ffraunce, Englond, & of Scotland were of semblable condicioun, thynkynge yn hem self / that the seruise that they did to god was not to him agreable / for by their owne corage they knewe wele they had done this seruise more for veynglory, and to haue a renome, than for the loue of god / and therfore they thought the iugement of god, and his stroke, resonable / thus their owne conscience iuged. The kyng of Scottes compleyned hym / "Alas! y haue sent my sone, for that the kynges of ffraunce & of Englond put it on me / & for myn honoure y durst not refuse it / and yf y had not dred shame, he had ben yit stille with me / at his departyng y had suche sorowe that noman migℏt comforte me / and for thies thinges, y wote wele y haue displeasid god / and haue not done as did Abraham by Isaac his sone / y offred not seruise to god of my childe / but y offred to the worlde, & for drede to haue had shame / god that is iuste / and that knoweth the condicions of man and their thougℏt, hath refused this seruise, as he did the sacrifice that Caym did / and he hath good right / but myn owne sone, that witℏ my trespas migℏt no thyng do / wente with so grete corage & desire, that me semeth / god ougℏt to haue pite on̄ hym. As for my self, I crye god mercy / & beseche hym to haue pite on my childe / where-som-euir he be" / and thus yn secrete place the pore kynge of Scottes made his compleinte, wepyng alwey & prayng to oure lord for his sone / The kyng of Englond, on his party, remembred also / how longe he had taried to sende socour to the kynge of Sizile / and yit had noon sende hym, if he migℏt by any meanes a left of / and so he sende more for drede of shame than for the loue of god / and yit he felte himself ferther coulpable, for asmoche as he had leide the charge to the kynge of Scottes to sende forth his sone / whiche was so goodly a yong man / and now is lost thorugh his counselƚ and yit he did it to thentent but to cause the armee to breke / and for this / he thought wele god was displeased with hym / and of rigℏt hath refused his seruise. The kynge of fraunce had sent his armee yn the company of Dauyd / alle to a nothir entente than the .ij. kynges did / for he dred, if he sent hem not forth, that god wolde be displeased with hym / for at sucℏ tymes as his sone had often meued hym with the same, & he wold not enclyne to his request, god suffrid him to lese his sone / whereof he toke suche sorowe that he neuir recouered to that he was a-fore / and therfore lest god wolde take vengeaunce on hym, & aftir his dethe vpone his reaume, that was fulle like to be lefte withoute heire / he did to god his seruise / wherfore he knewe wele yn hym self / that he had done this seruise to god, more fore drede than for loue / and therfore he thougℏt that god was not pleased. Thus thies iiij. kynges that ye haue herde of, eche of theym leide grete charge to them self of the sorowfuƚƚ auenture. But ouir alle othir, the kynge of Scottes made grete sorowe, and alle his reaume, for yonge Dauyd; and so did alle the iij. reaumes / for the grete vertues yn hym, eueri man perfitly loued hym / and thought it was to importable a losse. Thies thre reaumes aforeseide / were yn compleyntes & wepyng, & in especiaƚƚ for their frendes, that were not retourned ayen yn-to their contrees / neuirtheles, eueri man trusted that they were aryued in some othir lande / or takyn̄ prisoners / and that they shold here tidynges of them / and many contynued yn this hope duryng their lyues, & in especiaƚƚ women, suche as myssed their husbondes, that neuir sawe theym aftir / and some ther were / that in litle while were recomforted with the retourne of their frendes / the fortune of this world is not like to euery body / But nowe y shaƚƚ leue of this sorowe, that was made thorugh all thies reaumes / & retourne to the kyng of Sizile, that, aftir the destruccion of the cristen armee, was discomforted out of mesure / neuirles, he perceyued, as a wise Prynce, that no discomfortmigℏt remedy hym / wherupone he shewed his wisdom, and put aƚƚ his trust yn god / and assembled his grete counseƚƚ, seyng vnto them in this wise.

"My frendes, eche of you is assertayned of this pitous auenture that is befallen vnto oure socours / yn the whicℏ were so many princes and Lordes, that came to vs from iij. reaumes / þat most migℏt helpe vs / and it is to suppose that of them we gete no more helpe / and y holde this company, or the most part therof, loste, whiche kan not be without grete hurte, losse, & sorowe to the iij. kynges and reaumes / and therfore it behoueth vs to take hede to oure self / I haue often sent vnto my fadir, the kynge of Spayne, and we can haue no socour; thens this reaume is yn grete auenture, but god of his grete mercy helpe / and sith it is so / we haue the more nede diligently to beholde what is to do / than euir we had / for oure hope of othir nowe is failed vs / lete vs do oure self what we may / for othir comfort may we not abide / My frendes, I pray eche of you to take good corage / & be content to obeie and abide the wille of oure lorde / & to take suche part yn pacience, as he wol sende / and y sey for me, that haue more to lese than any of you / y shalƚ comfort me yn god, and yn the helpe of you, my trewe frendes / and yn your good counselƚ, whiche y wol vse, and be redy to auenture my body, my lif, & my good amonges you, requiryng you alle, & eche of you, to yeue me counselƚ, comfort and helpe / & to auise shortly what y haue to do." Thus the kynge of Sizile spake to his folkes, witℏ teres trikelyng downe on̄ his visage, whiche caused alle them that herde hym to haue grete pite and wille to helpe to diffende his reaume. And they Aunswerde hym: "sir, to holde longe counselƚ is not profitable, for it behoueth you shortly to conclude; for ye may thinke wele that the Soudan is enhaunced yn suche pride by the destruccion of thies cristene folkes, that hym thinketh the sonne and the sterres shold honoure hym / and that no thinge sholde holde party ayenst hym / wherfore it is to suppose that he wol come yn aƚƚ haste vpone you / ye be not of migℏt to abide hym, seyng their corage is redoubled / & your folkes be amated and alle yn discomfort for this pitous auenture / wherfore y kan not thinke be no meanes how ye may abide hym / but me semetℏ it is best to take auise of suche as pleasetℏ you / & that the matier be shortly concluded, for the cas requiretℏ it." The kynge perceyued that the knightes seide trouthe, & asked ferther this knygℏt was the first that spake, & answerd witℏout tariyng, for him semed that it was tyme, andseide yn this manere / "sir, the cause y presume to speke, is, for the matier requiretℏ such haste; neuirtheles, lete eueri man sey, in dischargyng of his honour & trouthe / the best auise that he can / but me semeth / if the thurke knowe you here / he wol come to besege you; and witℏoute any faile, if he haue good counselƚ, he wol do so / & if he so do / & ye abide him, ye haue no vitaile for your armee, wherfore ye may not longe holde party ayenst hym / & as for feightyng / y haue seide myn aduise / seyng his folkes so moche yn comfort, & youres yn dispeire / But me thinketh that yn this towne, that is rigℏt stronge & wele furnysshed with ordenaunce, ye may leue a ij. Mƚ of good men / and a good Captayne, or ij. of the moost notable of your armee / And your self, to-nigℏt or to morowe at the point of the day, to departe to Naplis, where-as the quene is, with alle the remenaunt of your company / whiche hath at this houre, y dare sey, rigℏt grete sorowe yn hir herte; and if the turke came bifore hir, she is yit right febly acompayned. and yf ye go thider, ye may so wele puruay you, & so wele furnyssℏ the towne witℏ men, ordenaunce & vitaile, that if the turke come bifore you he shaƚƚ more lose than wynne / for the lenger he lith ther / the more shal he spende of his good and lese of his men, & shaƚƚ haue asmoch of youres at his goyng / as he had the first day he came. And nowe lete vs nomore trust on rescue / but put oure only truste yn god / and y trust he shaƚƚ helpe vs bettir than we can thinke / a[n]d therfore lete not oure hertis faile vs for noon y[n]-fortune that is fallen yit / for he may socour vs whan it pleasit hym" / The knygℏt that spake thies wordes, was fferaunt the Senesshaƚƚ, that gladly was herkenyd of alle folkes / & gaue grete corage to eche of theym / Aftir thies wordes, the kynge askid alle the remenaunt of lordes, knyghtes and squyers, of their aduise; and yn conclusioun they were of the opinion of fferaunt / & preised gretly his wit & counseƚƚ / seiyng that it was tyme nowe to leue of alle sorowe & lamentacion for any fortune that was befalle / & to put alle thynge yn foryetyng / sauf only to pray god for the soules of suche as haue lost their lyues yn thies viage, and eueri man to calle vnto hym a desirous corage & good wille to auise to the defence & kepynge of the reaume. And they in alle poyntes concluded & folowed the opinion of fferaunt / The kynge, heryng thies wordes, was rigℏt gretely recomforted & reioised of the corage that his owne suggettes yaue hym / and ordeyned fferaunt to abide yn this place accompanyed with ij. Mƚ men, suche as he wolde chese / andmade hym Capteyn of them alle. fferaunt refused not, but rathir / witℏ good herte & noble corage, rigℏt gladly toke on hym the abidyng & garde of that place / and rigℏt lightly chase oute the nombre of ij. Mƚ and eche of theym bode with hym witℏ rigℏt good wilƚ / for the grete wisdam & noble þat was yn hym / whan Le Surnome knewe that his maister abode, ther was no thinge coude make hym so glad / for he thougℏt wele to se this towne biseged / whiche he had neuir sene to-fore, trustyng euery day to do armes, whiche was the thynge he moost desired / and thought hym self wele fortuned to be yn seruyse witℏ suche a maister as fferaunt was. thus aƚƚ the nyght fferaunt leide & establisshed his ordenaunce yn the moost propre places / wher-of he was rigℏt wele puruaide / And at the pointe of day came to the kynge, that than was at masse, and redy to departe / & so he toke his leue of hym and of alle his company, certifiyng hym that he shold kepe that place to his power / and not departe therfro but acordyng to his trouthe & his pore honour / Aftir masse, the kynge toke his leue to departe, of fferaunt and alle his company, prayng them fuƚƚ hertly that eche of them wold peyne hym to do wele, and to obeie fferaunt their Capteyne / whiche he had lefte ther as his lieutenaunt, promysyng hem alle that, in obeyng fferaunt, he wolde con hem asmoche thanke, or more, than if it were to his owne persone. Thus departed he fro them / takyng the wey streigℏt to the place where as the quene was, & his doughter / and aƚƚ this while he was in grete thought & drede; neuirtheles he comforted hym in aƚƚmighti god, in whom was aƚƚ his truste. fferaunt abode stille in the place / and be than the sonne was vp, he had delyuered euery man his charge, suche as he thought them moost meete vnto /

Now shalle we retourne to the turke, that was on the see side, in suche pride that almoost noman durst approche hym, & wende wele to be kynge of aƚƚ the worlde / and that his renome sholde sprede ferthir than euir did Alisaundres. The nigℏt aftir the perdicion of the cristen Navee, he made him to be serued more rially than euir he was bifore / and aƚƚ that day abode yn his loggyng, for the fortune endured tiƚƚ it was nere noone / so aftir soper he sent for his folkes, to take a conclusion of his departyng, & seide vnto them: "Sires, ye se wele the grace and myracle that oure goddes haue shewed for vs this day / ye haue sene that, in turnyng of an handle / the grete pride of the cristen is ouirthrowen / and ye may wele thinke that the kynge of Sizile and alle his folkes shalle now lese corage, knowyng the myracles of oure goddes; and their hardynesse shalƚ falle & mynyssh / and contrary therto, I trust oures shalƚ encrease / for we may clerely se that oure goddes wolle helpe vs / & we may be called of slak corage, & vnhappy / if we wynne not yn short tyme the remanaunt of this reaume, that is fulƚ ny aƚƚ oures. And it behouetℏ vs to put peyne to the rescuse of my brother, the kynge of Peerce / that y suppose haue grete sorowe yn his herte, that he was not here this day / to se the miracle that oure goddes haue shewed for vs / wherefore lete vs put our deuoir to accomplisshe the remenaunt that oure goddes haue so wele begonne" / and eueri man concludid that it was tyme nowe to put hem in deuoir, and alle accorded yn one, that the Turke, with aƚƚ his grete might, shold ley sege to the towne of Size / that was wonne but late by his enemys / and he sholde wynne it as ligℏtly ayen / & they thougℏt wele that there was noon that durst abide the auenture ther, without the kynge were there him self; and if he were there, they wold trust sone to haue hym / to this conclusion helde they, trustyng that yn that place, nor yn noon othir, shold they fynde noon that might endure ayenst hem / for they thougℏt alle their enemyes were discoraged / and they auised the turke to abide ther ij. or iij. daies, to thentent that he & alle his folkes migℏt departe at their ease and leiser / whiche turned hem rather to hurte than auantage / for their abidyng was to fferaunt & his folkes gretly auailable / for yn that tyme thei fortified their towne bigger than euir it was / for there was neither knygℏt ne squier but labored right diligently ther-yn / who had sene the labour that Surnome toke / and knowyng what he was, wold a merueled / for like as he past them alle yn armes / paste he them alle in labour / and that he did it witℏ so good wille that alle men had ioie to beholde hym / Thus in litle while they were so wele fortified & assured, that they thought rigℏt longe of the Turkes comynge. [Illumin.: knights, poor men.]

NOw came the day that the turke had apointed to departe. ye knowe wele that it is a grete daies iourney to departe witℏ suche a company / he went that day but a leege and a half fro thens as he lay / and sent some of his fore-riders to herkene tidynges of the kynge of Sizile & his company / and they toke some of the pore folkes fulle ny the garison of fferaunt / by whom they knewe for certayne that the kynge of Sizile was departed, and had lefte a grete garisone yn the place that he had wonne; & theypurposed to kepe it, & defende it ayenst the Turke & his power / and they tolde hem also / that as for the mysfortune of the cristen men þat were drowned yn the see / the hardynes & wille of the Sizilions was no thyng mynysshed, but rather encreased, for they sawe wele they had noon othir comfort but god, and with his helpe they purposed to defende them self and their goodes to their power / his knyghtes retourned ayen þat night yn-to the turkes hoste, where they reported as they had herde & founde, & brought the pore folkes that they had takyn, by-fore the turke / that herde hem speke, and fonde yn them the same that his foreriders tolde hym; wherfore he purposed on the morowe to be loggid but a litle leege from the place that he purposed to ley sege to. That night Orcays felle in questionyng with his prisoner, & askid him his name, & of what blode he was descendid / and what he purposed to do / shewyng hym that by reason he ought to turne to their feithe, seyng the gre[te] miracles that their goddes had shewed / with many moo wordes / whiche were to longe to reherce / but in conclusion he seide vnto hym / that pouerte shold not lette hym to be of their creaunce / for if it were his pleasir to be so / he shold be most yn fauour aboute hym of alle othir. Dauid answerd hym / and of his grete bounte right humbly thanked hym / and if his wille were to turne to othir creaunce than his predecessours had alwey holden, the grete loue & honour of hym that hath saued his lif / shold rather make hym to enclyne ther-to, than any othir thinge / but he was determyned yn his feithe to dye / for to suffre as grete martirdome as was possible any man to endure / wherfore he bisought him to speke no more ther-of, for it sholde be in veyn / but humbly beseching him from thensforth to helpe hym / for yn his contre he was a gentilman / but at this houre he trowed there lyued not a porer nor a more redeles / and as for his name, it was Athys / and trustid that his fadir & moder were lyuyng, which were of fuƚƚ litle power to helpe hym, or to brynge hym oute of thies daungers. whan Orcays herd hym thus sey, he had grete pite of hym / & askid him if he had any maister / or whedir his maister were dede / Athis answerd hym / "the same to whom y obeied, was slayne euyn at my fete there as y landid / wheof grete sorowe befelle me, & me thought it grete cruelte / for he wold a yelde him to the Soudone / that, aftir his takyng, might a done with him what he wolde / as ye may do with me whan it pleasith you / that of your grete bounte haue saued me vnto this tyme." Orcays was rigℏt sorowfuƚƚ thathe might not turne his prisonere to his beleue / and sawe wele that their company might not longe contynue, whiche greued hym right sore / for moche he loued hym, for that he sawe hym bothe amyable, wise, and worthi / and bithought hym self hou he might saue hym / for he knewe wele / that witℏ them might he not abide without holdyng their lawe / or ellis dye / and he knewe wele that his fader desired gretely his dethe / & so he remembred hym of a good costom that was amonges them, whiche was alwey kepte amonges notable princes, and by that he was verily assertayned to saue his prisoners lif / The costom was this / than whan the sone of a kynge or of a grete prynce had taken a prisoner, and the first that euir he toke yn his lif, what-som-euir he were worth / if he were not the chiefteyne of the warres / he shold horse hym & harneyse hym honorably, and geue hym a C. scutes / and make him to be surely conduyte vnto his parties / & thus thought he to do by his prisoner / for he knewe wele his fadir might not lette hym ther-of / for, and he did it, shold be to hym an ouir grete reproche / In this thought went he to his fadir, and seide vnto hym / "My lorde, ye knowe wel that by the pite y had of a cristen gentilman the tothir day, at the fortune that befelle them, y toke hym witℏ my handes prisoner / and saued his lif / wherof ye wolde a done me grete wronge / yf ye had put him to dethe, contrary to my promys & assuraunce / whiche had be to grete a shame, if my first feith that euir y yaue yn armes, sholde a be so shamefulli broke / wherfore if y were soroufuƚƚ & somwhat greued yn my mynde, ye ought to take no displeasir / for y knowe wele what the costom ys of alle reaumes here a-boute / & also of your self and of your predecessours / that whan they haue ben in suche cas, they haue delyuered hir first prisoners / & y am remembred for certayne that ye haue done the same yn your tyme / and y trust verrily that ye wilƚ in no thing amenysshe me / & that ye haue noon othir entent / but that y may & shalƚ do / as they of the lyne fro whens y came haue done bifore me/ that is, to geue leue to my prisoner / and to araie hym as y ought / with this / to make hym to be surely conduyte vnto the cristen folkes; and hereof humbly y beseche you /" The Turke, herynge his sone speke yn suche wise, coude hym yn his herte fuƚƚ grete thanke / & knewe wele that, by reason & honour, his request might not be denyed / albe-it that of this delyueraunce his hert yaue hym rigℏt ille, for-asmoche as he had sene hym do so moche ynarmes. Neuirtheles he agreed to the request of his sone / and bade hym yet assay to conuerte the cristen man vnto their lawe. His sone saide / þat so he had done / but in no wise he wold be agreable therto. Thus departed he from his fadir / & wente to his prisoner, and tolde him alle howe he had downe with his fadir / and that a conclusion was takyn that he shold departe on the morowe, wherfore he wold wite whider he wolde go / either to the kynge of Sizile or elliswhere / for whider that euir he wolde / he wolde puruay him to be surely conduyte / and tolde hym that on the morowe they alle sholde departe to ley sege to a cristen place, that but litle bifore was conquered on his fadir / and tolde him hou it was not stronge, wherfore it might no while be kepte ayenst hem. when Athis herde thies tidynges, that ther was a cristen place so nygℏ, that sone sholde be biseged / yif he were glad, it is no demaunde / and aftir the thankynges that he made vn-to Orcays his maister / as right wise & wele aduised, & as he that coude aƚƚ honour / he saide vnto hym / that for no thynge wolde he go ferthir than to the next place, not shewyng no semblaunt that it was of any desire to be yn the warres, but for drede to be ferre conduyte / and for periles that might ensue therof / and he enquerid of Orcays who was withyn that place / he answerd, "that it was one fferaunt, the Seneshaƚƚ of Sizile, that was there" / Assone as Athis herde hym named / he knewe wele that it was the same with whom the Valiaunt man dwelled, that he had herde so moche speke of / and if his wille were bifore to go vnto that place / it was more now by a C. part / Orcays his maister, of good wille counseiled hym to the contrary, seyng / "my frende, this place may not endure ayenst oure power / and if ye taken wit-yn it / y know, my lord, my fadir is such a man that alƚ the worlde may not saue you / wherfore y counseile you to drawe to som other parte / and drede not, but y shalƚ se you to be surely conduyte." But for no thynge that Orcays coude sey / coude he meve Athis from his opinion, wherof he was right sory. Then he yaue hym the best hors that he had, and the harneys that he was armyd yn hym-self / whiche was at that tyme as good & as faire as any migℏt be / and yaue him an C. floreyns / & concluded that on the morow, when they came to their loggynges, he wolde sende hym surely conduyte to the towne. Than tolde he his fadir thentent of his prisoner / by the whiche purpose he ymagyned more & more, that yn this man shold be rigℏt grete honour and corageous wille / nertheles, sith hehad promysed his sone, he wolde not breke his promes, but was agreable to that his sone had ordeyned / and on the morowe they departed, and came withyn litle while to the towne / and than Orcais called his prisoner, and saide vnto hym / "Athis, my frende, the tyme is come now of oure departyng / but, & my company were asmoche desired of you / as youres is of me / it sholde be harde to make the departyng / nertheles, y had leuer we sholde departe, than my fadir shold put you to dethe / se yondir the cristene towne that my fadir entendith to ley sege to / but y pray you, go not thider / & y vndirtake ye shalƚ be saufly brougℏt whidir euir ye wilƚ ellis / but y know wele, and ye go thider, ye may neuir departe thens withoute dethe." Athis answerd then, & seide, "my lorde, y betake me vnto the garde of hym that hath brought me here; and sith that it pleasith you to do me this grace, to yeue me leue, I beseche you that y may be conduyte to yondir place" / Orcays toke him fortℏ witℏ him, & brougℏt him to his fadir / to take his leue of him, aƚƚ armed as he was. The turke was at that tyme out of his tente, acompanyed with many prynces / he sawe his sone bryngyng his prisoner, & seide to theym / "se, my sone, how grete desire he hath to delyuer this man / and he hath rigℏt / but aƚƚ-wey my herte yeuetℏ me ilƚ ther-of" / and some of theym seide / "my lord, what may o man do by his delyueraunce / litle harme may growe ther-of" / and at this wordes approched Orcays / and seide vnto his fadir, aƚƚ smylyng / "my lorde, y haue brought you this cristen to take his leue / thus abiled as ye se / & yif I might haue bettir apoynted hym, y wolde witℏ aƚƚ my herte." The prisoner aligℏt, & toke his leue at the Turke & alle the company that was ther / & humbly thanked Orcays his maister / prayng god to yeue him grace to do some seruise to his pleasir, sauyng his feith / and thus departed he, acompayned with many herowdes of armes purceuauntes, that brought hym to the barres where fferaunt was, & desired to speke with him / & saide vnto hym in this wise, "My lorde! Orcais, sone to the Turke, oure souerayn lord, at this last auenture that befelle vpone the cristen by a vesseƚƚ that brake, some of theym came to Londe, amonge whiche this was one / & taken by the handes of the said Orcais; & mo was ther not saued / And yn asmoche as this is his first prise, that by reason & for his honour he wolƚ not withholde / he hath sende hym you hider yn suche cas as ye se hym / certifiyng you, that from hensforth he hatℏ done his deuoir / if any mo fal yn his handes." fferaunt, heryngthe heraudes speke, knewe wele that yn suche cas euery prynce or grete estate doth the same, and seide vnto the heraudes / "Orcais, your maister, hath done his deuoir / & hath rigℏt wele, and honorably aquyte hym. and nowe may ye witℏdrawe you whan it pleast you"; and commaundid wyne, & made them drynke, and did them alƚ the chere that he coude / and askid them whedir þey shold sone be biseged / the heraudes answerd / "ye may se grete liklihodes." & more seide they not / for at that tyme they were seruauntes committed, aswele for on part as for othir, saue for their feith / Aftir the departyng of the heraudes, Athis entird yn-to the towne / ther was none acostomed so moche to honour and chere to straungers as Le Surnome; and he made him to be brought to his loggyng / & made him to be vnarmed & wele loggid / & wente to se him / and whan he saw him vnarmed / he saw him so goodly a man & so personable, and yn alle his wordes so wele assured, that he had grete ioie of hym / thus eueri thinge sekith his semblable / for he that was a kynges sone had grete fauour & loue to the kynge of Scottes sone / and suche loue felƚ bitwene them, that alwey aftir endured / and he loggid him with himself / and parted with him such goode as he had / and neuir varied they yn wille or opinion / neuirtheles Athys alwey put hym to grete honour, & concludid verily yn his herte, that neuir to no man wolde he discouere what he was, but tolde euery man that he was a pore gentilmannes sone of Scotlande. that night he was brought to fferaunt / whiche questioned him of the manere of takyng of hym / and the fortune that was befallen them yn the see / & he tolde him alƚ the trouthe / and he askid hym specialy of the knyghtes of Sizile that the kyng had sente / & he seide he knewe not what was befalle of them / than were they sore bemoned of fferaunt and alƚ his company / for they were fulƚ notable men / than praide they hym to telle them the trouthe of his takyng / and so he did / sauyng of his owne noblesse, he spake not / but seide / "had not be the grace of god that he was taken by the turkes sone, he had be put to dethe as alle othir were, for there was none that escape a lyue but he" / eueri man that herde him reherce his auenture, thought he had grete fortune / and thought he might not faile to be a man of right grete honour. fferaunt was right ioifulƚ of hym / and also that Surnome hadde takyne hym yn-to his company / wherof he coude him rigℏt goode thanke. the night came / and euery man drewe hym to reste aftir the Vacche was set / and yn the morowe betymes, euery man aroos, and herde masse /and armed hem / for they knewe wele / that day the sege sholde come / wherfore they were alle redy to abide suche fortune as sholde befalle them / for they knewe wele that the Turke had sworne to take that place with assaute / and to do by them as the kynge of Siziles folkes did by his / but god of his grace had othirwise puruaide / for a grete parte of his pride was abated bifore that place.

Now came the day, and the hoste of the turkes, with grete sowne & noise of taberynes & beaumes / they departed at sonne risyng in iij. bataills right wel ordeyned / and diuided theym selfe yn thre parties, and delyuered the charge of the tone partie to Orcais his sone / and the tothir to his Constable / and the iijde. to him self / and thus alle raungid & set, euery to the place that he sholde abide yn for that day / for they durst not come ny for gunnes / but they thougℏt, whan the night was derke, to come nere / & to establissh their sege / fferaunt, seyng the conduyte of his enemyes, had the yates shut, without suffryng any man to go oute, & made no semblaunt of warre, for this cause / that the turke & his hoste sholde haue more hardynes to come nere; and so did they / euery man came to his place apointed, & did their deuoir to dresse vp their loggynges, whiche were a good wey a-sundir / for eche of the iij. bataills were loggid by them self. The Turke, seyng no semblaunce of warre of them yn the towne / toke suche a company as pleasid hym, and went to his sone / to se the maner of his loggyng & of his gouernaunce. fferaunt, espiyng hym ther / whiche was a man of meruailous witte & prowesse, seide to his folkes / "Me semeth / seyng the besynesse that oure enemys haue to logge them / and that we be loggid at auauntage, we ought to visite them, and to go se them a litle ner / for it semeth than that here is nobody / but they shalle haue knowlage that there is" / euery man that herde this seyng was anoon horsed. And fferaunt ordeyned / that ther shold go yn his company but .v. C.; & an othir feliship sholde be redy to releue them, if nede were / and at that yate they roode oute, he ordeyned an othir feliship with grete ordenaunce of smale gownes / that if cas be / that they were dryuen to the yates ayen / as it might fuƚƚ wele happen them / with the grete company / that their enemyes had, that then they shold leuelle & shote alle at ones / lest their enemyes shold come to ny / And longe bifore was no towne bettir garnysshed than that was. This ordenaunce thus made / the yates were opende / and they wente out at that yate that was bifore Orcays / and the first that went oute was Surnome,& Athys, that grete desire had to folowe hym, & to se the meruailes yn Armes þat he hade herde speke of hym. so rode they forth as fast as their horses might renne / tilƚ they came to their enemys / at their first comyng, they slewe many / and migℏtly set vpon the Turke, that was come thider to se his sone / but he and the moost part of his company withdrewe them aswele as they might / whiche, as ye knowe wele, migℏt not be done without grete losse & damage to the Turke & his company / for there were moo slayn of them by double / than they were that assailed them / the crie aroos on alle parties, and euery man assembled and drewe to the Turke & his sone / & than were they so bigge, that by force they made oure folkes to withdrawe to the remenaunt of their company that helde them to-gedir / Orcays, that was yonge & corageous, came byfore alle othir / and knewe anoon his prisoner that was with Surnome, whiche ij. were the laste that withdrewe them / he ranne so ny that they ioyned to-gedir. Surnome, seyng his felawe in daungrre, cam for to socoure hym / but there were so many folowyng Orcais / that, had not their good maister fferaunt a bene, they had neuir retourned yn-to the towne / but he, seyng his ij. seruauntes in suche daunger amonges so grete a nombre of the turkes, witℏ alle his feliship, at ones encountird them so vigorously, that he made them to withdrawe more than the draught of an arowe. In this recountre was takyn Orcais by the handes of Athis / and many moo prisoners were ther takyne without nombre. The Turke sawe & knewe for trouthe his sone to be takyn / witℏ the handes of hym that the night afore he had delyuered / the crie & the noise was so grete yn the turkes hoste, that he might not haue herde a thondre, & they resorted ayen so fast / that by force they made the cristen to withdrawe ayen yn-to the towne / that were folowed vnto the yatis, which were sone closed / and anoon alle the ordenaunce & Arthery were shotte at ones amonges their enemyes / whiche were so thikke assembled, þer might not faile to be hurte & slayne many of them / whiche brought them alle out of aray / for there were so many slayne & hurte, that it was meruaile / for they stynted not, but leide on them with ordenaunce so sore / that the turkes wist not what to do / fferaunt seyng them alle out of aray, made the yates to be opened ayen, & made a newe scarmysh on theym a foote / at whiche tyme he did grete hurte to the turke and his folkes / that neuir sith were they so hardy to come so ny the towne. The cristen did so moche that they retourned pesibly ayen to the towne. & therewere that day so many prisoners taken, þat men migℏt not knowe one fro an othir / But Athis knewe fuƚƚ wele his prisoner / and what he had done for hym / and knewe wele also that it shold not ly yn his power to delyuer hym / and he were ones knowen. wherfore, of fre and honorable corage, he brought hym oute of the towne by an othir yate / and seide vnto hym, "Orcais! ye haue saued my lif / and it is reason therfore that I deliuere you now, & soone, or elles shaƚƚ it neuir lye in my power. I can no bettir arme you than ye be / nor bettir horse you / wherfore y geue your hors & your harneys, that is myn be rigℏt. I pray god to conduyte you oute of alle daungers / and now, saue your self, for it is tyme." Thus lete he his prisoner go so couertly, that noman perceyued it / and came ageyn yn-to the towne, where he founde his felawe Surnome, that was fuƚƚ sory that he wist not where he was / and whan he sawe hym come, he made him grete chere / and askid hym where his prisoner was / and he seide, that at the last encountryng / he was slayn. Surnome bileued hym wele y-nough / for there were many slayn, aswele prisoners as othir.

Now retourne y to the Turke, that, aftir this auenture that was full damageous vnto hym, he lefte good gardes yn his sones hoste, and wente ayen hym self vnto his tentes, where he was serued with many knyghtes & squyers / that aƚƚ that while had kepte stille his loggyng / and at his comyng, askid hym tidynges; & he tolde them the dolorous fortune that this day was befallen hym / as to haue lost his sone, & grete part of his people / and of the best / wherof he named grete nombre of hy and noble estates and valiaunt knyghtes / after this he seide to theym, "ye sawe wele that my herte coude not assente to the delyueraunce of my sones prisoner / and it was not witℏout a resone, for y sawe hym this day take my sone prisoner; and aftir he had ones conquered hym, he wold not leue hym nor fauour hym, for y sawe hym lede hym towarde the towne / and yit y know not whedir at the last encountre my sone were slayne or not / or if he be yn the towne / nor how it is with hym." & amonge, thies wordes he seide to them / that "there was neuir houre sith y sawe this cristen man first / but that my herte tolde me that by hym I sholde haue grete damage; and so tolde y my sone alwey / and now hath he founde it."

As they were in this talkyng, euery man makyng doule, came a man̄ vnto the pauylion, and seide vnto the Turke / "sir, my lorde your sone, ys sauf / for as me thought y sawe him come alone from the towne" / The turke went out / and by thenhis sone was almoost at him / whiche a-light assone as he sawe hym / & came to hym, & comforted hym aswele as he coude, aftir his grete daungere / the Turke seide, "my sone, this auenture that ye haue had to day, & y had ben bileued, had not befallen you / for yn this partie ye are cause of oure losse / for whan ye were takyne, to haue rescowed you, this grete hurte is befalle me" / "truly, sir," qouth Orcays, "that y haue done, y holde for no grete dede / for the sone of a mighti kynge hath delyuerd a felaw that he knew not / which hath not ben scars, nor of so pore corage / but that he hatℏ wele to his knowlage delyuerd the sone of the grettist kynge that leuyth" / Than tolde he his fadir the maner of Athis / and the wordes that he had seide / and how he had delyuerd hym frely / & had put him self in iubarde of his lif, if it were knowen; "thus haue y do no thyng for hym, yn regarde to that he hath done for me" / the Turke, heryng his sone reherse the grete bounte of Athis, more & more in corage dredde hym, and seide / "yn a man of pore condicion ne might be so grete vertu; and alwey more & more me thinketh he shold do vs harme. Nertheles, what-som-euir befalle, he is a man of hy & noble corage" / than comforted he him aswele as he might / aftir this sharpe fortune & annoy, seyng the recouerir of his sone, he made to fortifie his sege, and made stronge wacche / for he sawe wele that he had to do with valiaunt folkes. Nowe shal we leue to speke of the sege / and of alle the warres of Sizile, & retourne to speke of the kynges sone of Englond, that conduyte thus, as ye shaƚƚ here.

IT is trouthe, that, as ye haue herde, the kynge of Englond had a sone named Humfray, faire, wise, and right wele condicioned / for as y haue seide you here-to-fore / the kynges made their children yn youthe to be norisshed by notable folkes & wele condicioned / This yonge Humfray, aftir the discomfiture and harde auenture that the cristen had vpon the see yn Sizile / helde the reaume as lost, wherof he had as grete sorowe yn parte, as alle his frendes had ben destroied /and thought wele that the cristen put hem not yn suche deuoir as they shold / and many tymes he seide to his fadir / that "it was grete pite to se thus cristendome destroied" / The kynge anoon vndirstode wele for what entente he seide it / but for no thinge wolde he sende him forth / he toke ensaumple of the kynge of Scottes, that was yn suche sorowe for his sone, of whom he coude here no worde, that noman might recomforte hym; and therfore the pore Humfray lost his tyme tospeke therof / and whan he sy he might haue non othir comfort of his fadir / he remembred hou the kynge of ffraunce had loste his sone / & thought he wolde secretly breke with the feliship that were aboute him / as the sones of grete prynces and othir grete lordes / that in their youthe had be norisshed with hym / and if he might fynde any fo his accorde / he wold departe from his fadir, & drawe to Sizile; for he thought wele / and he were ones there / and his fadir knewe ther-of, that for no thyng he wold leue hym yn daunger / but rather sende thider folkes to acompany him / whiche might be grete socour and helpe to the kynge of Sizile / and in this thought was he longe tyme or he durst discouer it pleynly to any of his seruauntes. So fortuned, vpone a day he stode at a wyndowe, passyng trist & pensif / and the Erle of warwikes eldest sone was there / that long tyme of youthe had be brougℏt vp with hym / so he came to him and seide, "my lorde! sauyng your displeasir, me thinketh that now of late y haue sene you more pensif & malyncolious than euir ye were before / and as me ought yn this wise, y shewe you the trouthe, that many folkes withdrawe them out of this courte / and be right sorowfuƚƚ to se you in this cas; for by youre Lustynes, & Liberalite & frendly manere, eueri man desired to yeue you attendaunce, and to be acompanyed aboute your persone / and now they se you of right mate & heuy chere / and if they come aboute you, ye make vnto them fuƚƚ litle countenaunce, or noon, whiche they haue not ben acostomed to; Wherfore they haue the grettir meruaile / and thus departe they all abassed and sorowfulle, to remembre how ye ar turned so ferre from that they lefte you / and there is noon that moost desire to do you seruise, but that they are annoyed to se you so / ye knowe wele, my lorde, y say trouthe / for here were many noble men that were rigℏt glad to do you seruyse at their owne coste & charge that nowe be departed. And this courte is sore amenyssed of noble men / and alle by you / I biseche you, my lorde, pardone me of thies thynges y haue shewed you / for y can yn no wise hide fro you / that haue brought me vp / any thinge that y se or here, that shold be to your charge, or amenyssyng of your grete loos & renome / that of your age hatℏ largely be spred thorugh the worlde" / Thus yong Humfray / hering thies wordes of this yong sone of warwik / knewe wele that of good herte, & feithfulƚ loue & seruise, he seide thies vnto hym / and thought wele he seide trouthe; and forthwith the teres felle from his yen / wherby this yonge gentilman perceyued wele that hismaister might not wele speke / the sorow strayned so sore his herte / that seide he / "my lorde! y se wele that there is som thinge yn your herte that sore annoieth you / or displeasith you / and .I. wote not whethir ye haue or wilƚ discouer it to any aboute you / but y sey for me, if y knewe any thyng that were to your annoy or displeasir / and it were possible my seruise to remedy it / y shal auenture my body and lif to accomplisshe it / neuirtheles y desire to knowe of youre secretes no ferthir than pleasith you y sholde knowe / but whan my seruyse may please you ye shalƚ fynde it redy, without any Demaunde reseruyng / aƚƚ-only they kyng, & my pore lorde, my fadir." whan Humfray had herde his seruaunt & kynnesman thus sey vnto hym / and offrid his body and goodes for him / thought wele yn him self that he might trust hym, & seide vnto him, "ye haue be norissht vp witℏ me / and y trust certainly that my wele, myn honour, and preferment, ye wolde as moche as any man that longith to my fadir or me; and for this y am concluded yn my thought to discouer vnto you myn entent / and notwitℏstandynge ye haue be brought vp with me of childehode / and that y haue alwey loued you wele, yit wolƚ y haue an othe of you / and what othe y shalƚ sey you / if that y shalƚ disclose vnto you, please you not / nor that ye wiƚƚ assente and agree ther-to / that neuir, daies of your lif, it shaƚƚ be opend or disclosed by you / and this shalƚ ye promyse me" / and he answerd him / "my lorde, y wolƚ wele / for y had leuir dy than euir y shold discouer thinge that ye commaunde me to kepe" / and here on yaue his trouthe / and then he shewid his sorowe in this wise /

"It is so that ye haue, dyuerse tymes & many, herde speke of the right grete pite & destruccion / that euery day befalleth to the kynge of Sizile / that is a kynge of fulƚ grete honour, whiche is a grete amenysshment to alƚ cristendome, & shame to alle cristen kynges that haue their reaumes in pees / and he hath a doughter, of whom the renome of al honour is spred through aƚƚ the worlde / and the kynge, hir fadir, might haue pees / if he wolde mary hir among the myscreauntes / but he had leuer dy / and þe destruccion of hym & of his doughtir bothe / than euir, daies of his lif, he wold consent ther-to / ye may wele se that this cometh of a stable herte / grete drede & loue of god / ye knowe the socours that by the kynge of ffraunce / my lorde, my fadir / and the kynge of Scottes, hath be done to him / whiche no thing hath profite him / but to him a gretehurte / for his folkes are gretly discoraged ther-by / for, as y vndirstonde, bifore this comyng, one of them was worth .vj. turkes / and nowe y se noman that dressith to any socours of the seide kynge / but they thinke they haue done y-nough. I haue many tymes moued my lorde my fadir, heryn, that litle hede takith to my wordes, but rathir thinkith my speche ys chyldissh & folie / thus for certayn y holde this good kynge / his fair doughtir and his reaume, lost / and for that me thinkith that euery noble man sholde be sorowfuƚƚ of so grete a losse / y can in no wise make good chere / and this is the principaƚƚ cause of my sorowe / And y thynke werrily if y migℏt gete thider / the noble suggettes & seruauntes of this reaume shold can me no maugre / and wolde god that euery man wold employ hym therto / and that the kynge were agreable to sende me yn this viage / but that wol he not, for no thyng, y knowe for certayne / notwithstandyng aƚƚ my speche vnto hym / & also the grete losse that but late is fallen to them that were sent to the socours / But y shaƚƚ telle you more playnly myn entente, suche promyse as ye haue made me / for ye be one of them that y haue most affiaunce yn / and also y knowe you wele assured, and wise ynough to conduyte an hy matier, if it please you / wherfore y pray witℏ aƚƚ my herte in especiaƚƚ, that ye wiƚƚ assente to my desire with-oute breking it / and helpe me to execute it / and here nowe what y haue thought / I knowe wele, as y haue seide, that for no thinge, my lorde, nor alle they of his reaume, fro the grettist estate to the porest degre, ne wol not consente that y shold departe so ferre fro them / but aƚƚ that shaƚƚ not restrayne me / if y may haue the power, & any that will helpe to conduyte me in this werke, y shalƚ departe oute of this reaume right honestly acompayned, not as a kynge, but as a knyght / and for this y haue goode y-nough, & garnyssht wele y-nough / And y wold that "yn the name of som othir than of me, at som port in this reaume, fer fro this towne, a good ship were ordeyned, wele tak-lee & vitailed, whiche sholde alwey be redy to departe / without houre or tyme apoynted / and abide there oure comyng; and yn the meane tyme, to ij. or iij. of my specialle seruauntes & kynnesmen, & othir that haue be norisshed vp with me / vpon an othe y shaƚƚ discouer myn entente/ & y trust that at leste y shaƚƚ be acompayned witℏ xvj. or a xxti. noble men / and euery man, one seruaunt with him / and at suche tyme as alƚ shalƚ be redy / y shalƚ depart at euen out of this towne,that by the mornyng, if y be myssed / y shalbe to fer to be ouirtaken or we come to the port / and then wolƚ y streight to shipe / and go vnto the Reaume of Sizile / and whan y am onys ther / y shalƚ lete my lorde, my fadir, haue knowlage therof / and what causes haue meued me / and y am sure whan thoos tidynges come to his knowlage / he, and alle they of his reame, wol be right wele content to sende suche company vnto me as may be for his honour / whiche shalbe a grete recomforte to the reaume of Sizile / and þis be cause of my goyng; & by þis may I trust to wynne the loue of god, and honour / without hauyng shame; but this can y, nor may, do without helpe / wherfore, myn owne cousyn & frende, I pray you teƚƚ me, heryn as ye thinke" / This yong sone of warwik heryng his maister thus speke, was not so yong / but that he thought yn his corage, that this mocion came of grete honour and gentilnes of herte. and thus he answerd hym / "my lorde, this matier that ye meue, procedith of an hy & noble corage / a[n]d also the mater is right grete / and y alone, & but yonge / & notwithstandyng, your wordes gretly reioise me / yit dare y geue you noon other counseƚƚ than this that y shalƚ sey / ye haue of yong men, thankind be god, that of their age be right wise & discrete, & that wiƚƚ be trewe vnto you as longe as god woƚƚ geue them lif / ye may calle vn-to you iij. or iiij. of them that ye thinke be moost propre to guyde this mater / and if it please you, y wolbe with them / and what-so-euer shalƚ then be concluded / and ye commaunde me to execute it, y shalƚ do my deuoir to the vtterist of my power / and thinke neuir, sir / that, daies of my lif, this that it hath pleased you to seye to me, shaƚƚ be opende by me to no lyuyng creature / for y knowe wele the grete affectione, trust, and fauour, that ye shewede me, discoueryng this matier that is most secrete in your herte / whereof, right humbly y thanke your good grace / and as for my body, & alle the goodes that y haue, if my pore company may plese you, aftir ye haue takyn a ferme conclusion, [I] shall be redy to do you seruise as long as my lif may endure" / his maister thankid him rigℏt hertily / & thought his auise good / and on the morow fulƚ erly was steryng, sent for suche as he wold haue / to whom he had grettist affiaunce / and without long taryng, to abregge the matier / yn like wise as he had broken to the erle of warrewikes sone, of his entente / so did he to them that he had sent for / whiche, anoon as they herde his pleasir, thought the matier right straunge / and seide vnto him / "that yf they shold acompany hym yn this matier, they knewe for certaynethat they durst neuri retourne to this reaume ayen / for the kynge his fadir / and that their owne fadirs wolde be the first that sholde destroie them" / and also they seide, "my lorde, whan ye come to the age of more knowlage, & haue children̄, as my lorde your fadir hath / ye wolde neuir haue loue ne fauour vnto vs / but thinke that we shold be as agreable to beguyle you of your children, as we sholde be nowe agreable to beguyle my lord your fadir, of you, where-thorugh ye shold haue vs alwey yn hate / & mystrust" / But no[t]withstandyng alle thies wordes, he seide to them / "my frendes, doute not but, in conclusion, this matier shalbe reputed to youre Honour and preise / bothe of my lorde my fadir, and of alle your frendes / for whan they here where we shalƚ be, there shalƚ be fewe yn this londe, þat haue any sone of age to bere armes / but that they shaƚƚ wille they were with vs / and as for me, y shold be the moost wrecche yn erthe / if ye that haue fadirs & modirs, kynne & frendes / and grete possessions yn this reaume / which ye shold leue for the loue of me, if y sholde hate you / god neuir be pleased to geue me lif so longe / but shortly to ende it / ffor if god geue vs grace to acheue & brynge our entirprise to good conclusion / y shold be fulƚ vntrewe & right vnkynde / if euer y failed any of you, daies of my lif" / many wordes were amonges them / but at last alle to-gedir concludid to do & accomplissh the pleasir of their maister / not yn so grete nombre as they wolde haue had, for fere it sholde be knowen and discouerd / But now euery man toke his charge, some to ordeyne a ship & the vitailyng / some to puruay good horsis / and to brynge them to suche secrete places where as they might be dayly coursed & renne; som puruaide for gold & siluer & for harneys, and som for aray / so that ther lakked no thynge to noon of them / but that they were alle puruaide of euery thyng longing vnto them for a grete while / Aftir this, was eueri thing puruaide and so wele guyded / that by the day they apoynted / alle thynge was redy ther, without knowyng of any persone saue of them that delt ther-with.

Now fro this day forth was Humfray of bettir chere then he had ben longe before, wherof eueri man had grete ioie, for they had ben yn sore discomfort for his sadness / but no man durst make no questione. The teyme approched of his departyng; he made iustis & turneys, and assembled his ladies and gentilwomen / & did so moche, that alle folkes than had more ioie of him than euir they had / thus beloued of the kynge & of alle the iij. estates of the reaume, departid this yonge gentilman out of hisfadirs house aboute midnight / so secretly that he was vnperceyued / and rode so that night, that it was not possible to ouirtake him / thus, withoute makyng lenger tale, he came to the port ther as the ship abode him / and they that had the charge therof / and assone as he came ther / he & his feLiship in alle Haste possible entrid ther-yn, whicℏ, whan they were there, were yn nombre xviij. persones / of gentilmen and other. then made they to pulle vp the saile, & were withyn litle while withoute sigℏt of the londe.

Now goth Humfray and his company / god by his grace conduyte them / for they be fulƚ ferre from their entent. The kynge of Englond, on the morowe that his sone was departed, herde thorugh his court grete noise & murmour, & askid what it migℏt be; but noon ther was that wold or durst telle it hym / neuirtheles at laste he most knowe it / and so came his counseƚƚ to enfourme hym therof, and seide vnto him / "sir, it behoueth that ye knowe wherfore we are come to you / to-day be comen vnto vs many of the seruauntes of my lordes youre sone / that for certayn knowe not where he is / for they haue ben at his chambre, & founde it open / and he not ther-yn / his chambrelayn yn like wise, & suche as were moost aboute hym / nor wote not where they are / for the seruauntes of diuerse of them be come to vs & sey that they haue lost their maistres / thus for drede that it shold falle vnto you as it did to the kynge of ffraunce, we be come to enforme you ther-of / assone as we mysse hym / for we wote not yif ye knowe where he is or no." The kynge of Englond, heryng this, knewe anoon for certayne that his sone was goon / and thought wele that he had takyn the wey to Sizile / consideryng the wordes that he at diuerse tymes had seide vnto him / and then he made diligently to seche thorugh alƚ his reaume / and whan he sawe that he might haue no tidynges of hym / he determyned to sende notable folkes yn-to Sizile / for to knowe and enquere if any tidynges might be had ther of hym / It is to thinke / that the kynge was yn grete sorowe / & not without cause / for he had no moo sonys; and if he had sorowe, ye may wele thinke þat þe quene & hir ij. dougℏters were not withoute / for they had suche sorow that alle folke had grete pite of them / this sorowe was not alone yn the kynges court / but the fadirs & moders, kynne & frendes of the yonge lordes that were gone witℏ hym had their parte yn like wise / & so had the surpluis of alle the reaume, & had grete drede lest the losse were without recouerir / as that of ffraunce had ben.

Now shaƚƚ we leue of this grete sorowe that they made, & not withoute cause / for moche trouble had they that thus were departid / and ye shalƚ here the manere Howe.

Whan Humfray and his folkes were in the see withoute the sight of any Londe of the reaume of Englond, they toke their wey towarde Sizile / and had connynge maryners to conduyte them, & faire wedir at wille / so that withyn litle while they might haue aryued in Sizile, ne had ben the fortune & tempest of the see, that neuir is sure / ffor on a day bifelle grete tempest in the see / so that the vesselƚ that they were yn was many tymes yn daunger to be perisshed / yn-so-moche that the maryners coude no remedy, but alƚ only yn the handes of god, & lete the vesshelƚ dryue with the wawes and the wynde, whedir as god wold conduyte it. Humfray and alle his company were in orisons and praier with grete deuocion, hauyng no hope but of dethe / and yn the meane while one of the maryners perceyued londe that they were ny vnto / but he knewe not the contre, for he had neuir be ther / so he wente to Humfray / and to the maister maryner / and tolde it theym / whiche made grete ioie / for when they were so ny the londe, the tempest was not so rageous as it had ben in the playne see / sone aftir they aryued at londe without any hurte / and it was nye a grete towne that helde of the turke that was in Sizile / and they went oute yn vessells & botes, & came to this shipe / and founde it garnyssht with cristen men / and when they sawe thies yonge folkes, and the good that was with them, they were right ioiefulƚ, and brought their prise to the towne, and departed their botee / and for it thought them a cas of nouelte / they sente presentes to their neighbores of the cristen prisoners, so that they lefte with them but ij., wherof that one was Humfray / and thus was thys company disseuerd / Humfray was put yn a derke prisone, and his felawe with hym / whiche sone aftir died / and he abode ther aƚƚ alone, where he endured moche payne & trouble / alle othir than he wende to fynde whan he departed oute of Englond / and pitously he complayned him to god / besechyng hym humbly that this payne & prison that he was yn / might stande for part of his purgatory / for he wende neuir to escaped thens / but oure lorde, that knewe the cause of his departyng / and that he was abandoned for his seruise, put him not yn foryetyng / but sone aftir holpe to his delyueraunce / as ye shalƚ here / but nowe he was stille kepte there, to thentent to presente the turke with, at his retourne. The kynge, his fadir, had sente yn-to Sizile vij. or viij. of his folkes aftir his departyng / & whan they were retourned / and tolde thatthorugh alle the reaume of Sizile they had enquered & sought / but for certayne, yn that region had not be seyne no ship / sith the losse of the cristen armee, that was sent for their socours. & they certified for trouthe, that ther Humfray nor his company was not / The kynge of Englond, heryng thies tidynges, helde his sone as loste / and than his sorow redoubled, but it might not be amendid / and aƚƚ his lif he contynued wepyng & teeres / and seide to suche as were a-boute hym / "Alas! ye may se iij. reaumes full desolate! the kynge of ffraunce & y haue loste oure ij. sones / and wote not how the kynge of Scottes hath lost his also / but he hath more recomforte than we two / for his sone died knyghtly yn the seruise of god / and yet hath his fadir ij. sones alyue, which is a grete recouerir to his reaume / & noon of vs two haue noon heire male / and y here sey the kynge of ffraunce litℏ seke in his bedde, without any remedy of his lif / whiche is comen to hym of sorow / of which is grete pite, and withoute faile he seide trouthe / for aftir the departyng of his sone, hadde he neuir ioie."

As the kynge of Englond seide / and as ye haue rehersid heretofore, The kynge of ffraunce, sith the departyng of his seide sone, enioied neuir day of helthe / in so moche that withyn ij. yere aftir, he departed oute of this worlde / and bifore his dethe, made to come bifore him his wif and his brother, the Duc of Burgoigne / and seide vnto them in this wise / "My wif and my brother / y perceyue wele y most dye / whiche is the thynge y haue moche desired / and as ye knowe wele y had a sone a ij. yere syne, and wote not yet / whethir he be a-lyue or not / to whom ye, my wif, be moder / and ye, my brother, be vncle / y haue loued you naturally as my brother / and ye haue done me grete seruyse and honour, wherof y thonke you, and pray you to contynue your kinde and naturaƚƚ loue vnto me aftir my dethe / and to my sone, if he be a-lyue / and if he be not / y may haue no grettir ioie than to wite you kynge aftir my dethe / for to you sholde the reaume falle as rightfulƚ enheritoure / wherfore y wolde that ye shold be regent and gouernour of this reaume by the space of vij. yere / and yn caas be that my sone come not / and that terme passed / I wol that ye be crowned and sacred kynge / for the abidyng is long y-nough of ix yere / and y trust that ye wiƚƚ thus do / and so y pray you promyse me / for the goodes of the reaume be as wele youres, as Regent / as if ye were crowned kynge; and so shaƚƚ ye leese nomore for the tyme, but only the name of the kynge." TheDuc of Burgoigne, that was fulƚ wyse, worthy, and a passing good man, was knelyng afore the kynge his brother, heryng him thus speke, of right feruent loue, and of right stronge and soroufuƚƚ herte, wepte so sore / that he might vnnethe speke a worde / but as he migℏt speke, he promysed him trewly to perfourme his desire & commaundement / Aftir alle this, and that the goode kynge of ffraunce had serchid his conscience wisely and deuoutly, he yelde his soule to god, and was entered as to a kynge perteyneth, and his ordynaunce doone & accomplisshed, as he had diuised. And his Brothir, the Duc of Bourgoigne, was made Regent of ffraunce / and helde entierly, and accomplissid, alle that he had promysed his brother, withoute contraryyng of any thinge / and had noon othir wille ne desire, but that his Nevewe sholde come ayen / for he hadde neither wif ne childe, and he was noon of the moost yonge, wherfore he was determyned yn himself neuir to marye. He helde the reaume, as long as he had the gouernaunce, yn good Iustice, pees & tranquillite.

It is tyme to be stille a litle of this matier, and retourne to the sege that the Turke had set bifore fferaunt and his company.

Longe tyme endured they bifore the Towne without any wynnyng / & euery day there was som sawte or scarmyssh, and alwey profitable for them withyn / and so moche yn armes did Le Surnome and Athis / that of alle othir they bare the name / for their dedes were, as who seith, yncredible; and so wele did Athis / that sawe Le Surnome, ther was noon to compare with hym / wherof le Surnome was as glad as he might be / and loued his honour asmoche as his owne / and he shewed wele he was not enuyous / for whan they were withdrawen from any scarmyssℏ, he wolde so ioifully reherce of Athis, his felawe / that alle men Had grete pleasir to here him / whiche alway passed hym, & was werry mirrour and ensample to alle othir / Thes sege dured fulle longe / and many tymes sent fferaunt to the kynge of Sizile, that he sholde haue no drede for them / nor put himself yn noon auenture / for it neded not / for they had gret plente of vitaile for more than a yere / and whan they most nedes leue the place / they wolde departe to the a nother of their enemyes, maugre them alle / and thus the kynge of Sizile, in trust of feraunt, abode the auenture that god wolde sende / and often made his folkes to ride to the Turkys hoste / to distourbe their vitaille / whiche aquytte them right wele / and did grete damage to the Turkes, and made them right wery /ffynally they loste moo of their folkes before that place then they had done of all the while that they were yn Sizile / and yit were they neuir the nere of the place / On a day befelle that fferaunt had sent a letter to the kynge his maister / yn suche wise as ye haue herde before / the messanger was not so wise as othir had be, nor coude not þe weies so wele / so was he taken with the Turkes meyne / & brought bifore him yn-to his Tente. the Turke toke him aparte, & suche of his counseƚƚ as pleased him / and made to woide the remenaunt / for that he wold not the messangere shold be openly herde / lest he shold sey any thing / that shold discorage them / & whan all folkes were wided, the Turke asked hym certeinly of his tydynges / And he tolde hym suche as he knewe, without hidyng of any thyng / yn embandonyng his lif, if it were founde othir wise / he seide that they withyn dred not the Turke and alle his power / but were rathir glad than sory of his beyng ther / for they wist for trouthe, that it was grete charge to hym / and that he shold alwey lese more than wynne / and yn the meane tyme the kynge of Sizile shold fortifie his Reaume, and be daily releued with newe folkes / so that his puissaunce shalle alwey encresse. The Turke asked the messanger if he had any letters / and he seide "ye" / as he that durst not deny it / and forthwith toke theym hym / the Turke opend them, and founde them aftir suche forme as ye haue herde before this. whan the messangere had be wele enquered / and answerde and seide like as he knewe / whiche was alwey to the honoure of the cristen: then was He delyuerd to one that shold kepe him wele and surely / the Turke abode stille with his counseƚƚ / and they diuised many thinges to-gedre of thies matier / & they thought wele they loste tyme / and therfore toke they this conclusione / that on the morowe the Turke sholde assemble alle his counselle / and the Capteynes / and seid to them that were there with hym / that they shold auise them wele that night of this grete matier, & on the morow to shewe him their best aduise & counselle / Thus departed they, and euery man to his loggyng / til on the morow the Turke sende for them / many tymes and often were they awakid by them withyn / whiche had noon othir delite nor pleasir but to trauaile them, to the annoie of the turkes / and that shewde wele Le Surnome, and Athis his felowe, þat, alle the while he was withyn the place, chaungid not his harneys that Orcais had yeuen him / wherby he was wele knowen; and also he shewde it fulƚ ny them many tymes, to their grete damage /for the Turke wolde often tyme sey / "se there my sones prisonere! here may ye se the profit of his delyueraunce / my herte gaf me neuir othir wise / he is the flour & choise of alle them withyn / one reserued / that dothe vs meruailous grete hurt / by them ij. is alle the losse we haue." Now this night passid / on the morowe came the Turkes counselle to hym, and alle the Capteynes he had sent for, and the Turke declared the matier him self / yn this wise, seyng vnto them / "ffaire lordes, it is nigh the space of a yere sith we leide the sege bifore this place / wheryn it semeth me to be as ferre from hawyng it as the first day we came here / the damages that we haue had, aswele of them without the place, as of them withyn / be without nombre / for we haue lost here, of the best of oure company / & yit if it appered that we might haue it be lengtℏ of tyme, y sholde holde my peyne wele emploied; but we cannot, as fer as y se / this night passed, was taken by my folkes one of their messangers, beryng letters to their kynge / whiche, yn the presence of diuerse suche as be here present, y haue examyned, & founde him trewe, seyng aftir the content of his letters / whiche letters, se here yn my hande / & y wolle they be redde yn presence of you alle, because ye may auise what is to do / and that ye may counselle me to my honour / and so y pray you do" / thies letters, were opende and redde by a Secretary of the Turkes / and were of such matier as ye haue herd to-fore / and aftir they were redde, he seide ayen vnto them / "ye se the termys, and how the matier stondes; I perceyue that, sethe oure comyng yn-to this reaume, oure tyme hath not gretly emploied / neuirtheles, or y sholde departe witℏ shame / y had leuer dye / and if we wolle any moo folkes, we nede but to sende for them / but me semeth that we be y-nough, bothe for theym withyn & for them without, In-asmoche as we haue ben so long vnfoughtēn̄ with / Also the harde ceason of wynter approcheth / and it shold be fulƚ ilƚ for any oure folkes to labor in-to this cuntre frome so fer, and also it shold be fulle grete charge & dispence / and fulle harde for vs to gete vitaile / for the kynge of Sizile diffendith it vs daily yn alle that he may / Now, alle thies thinges considered, I haue assembled you alle, to haue your good aduise and counselle, whether it be behofuƚƚ for vs to sende for moo people or not / So I pray you that eche of you counselle me aswele as ye can." Aftir that he had seide thies wordes / there were many of theym that eche behelde othir / and thought wele yn their mynde that the Turke was wery that the sege endured so longe /wherof they were glad, for it sore annoied theim, their beyng there so longe / In asmoche as they sawe be no meane to be nerre the wynnyng of the place than thei were the first day they came ther / and daily sith had they hadde grete losse and damage, aswelƚ doon by theym withyn the place as by theym without / they had lost many of their next frendes and of the moost worthy of their company / Some other preised moche the Turke their maister / and thougℏt if he reised the sege / it shold be to his shame / and yet they sawe wele he lost his tyme, and had grete charge aboute nought / wherof they abassht theym moche / And in especialƚ, how the kynge of Sizile but litle a-fore had wonne that towne witℏ assaute / and hou they had biden there so longe space / & coude not gete it; but moche preysed they them of withyn, of wisdome & worthynesse, thinkyng that they passed alle other that they had seen in their tyme. Thus euery man thought of the besynesse that belonged to the Tourke, that sawe this company alle sadde and pensif / knewe wele that there was cause / and thought that he had ouir lightly leide sege there / seyng the puissaunce that his enemyes had / that night & day aboute the Sege, were in suche diligence and trauaile, that they vnnethe of the host mighte haue any slepe / for they were nightly distourbed of their reste, either by them withyn or by them without; so seid he to his folkes: "I pray you remembre wele thies matiers, for it nedith to take good aduise; for our abidyng here is fulle noious and dangerous / & oure departyng shold be shamefulƚ / Neuirtheles, it semeth me one of thies ij. we most nedes take; but it behoueth vs to thinke what were the best meane we coude fynde / yestir even, aftir the takyng of fferauntes messanger, some of you were here with me / and I pray to bethinke you what were best / I was not aduised than to assemble you alle, as y haue now done / and for this cause y shalƚ aske first of them that were than with me / for that y know wele they haue had bettir leiser of remembraunce than the remenaunt that be here" / Than asked he the aduise of one of his moost preuy counsellours / and that, as he trusted, toke his matiers moost to herte / And was, as aftir his lawe, a right a notable and a wise knyght / the whiche, by the commaundement of his maister, refused not to sey his aduise, whiche was this / "Sir, it is trouthe that yestir euen ye commaundid diuers of vs to remembre on this matier, & so y suppose we haue, euery man on his party / and as for me, y haue so thought on it that y slepte no slepe this night / and the more y thinke on it / themore me semeth it is harde and doutefulƚ / Also your self haue opened the difficultees any man may sey in this matier, aswele of thabidyng as of goyng, and haue seide wele, as me semeth, that in noon of those ij. is neither honour nor profit / and it behoueth to auise som meane, as ye seide, to kepe your honour, and to eschewe the contrary / fforsothe my thought hath ben this night, and is yet / Vpon this meane witℏ correccion / biseching you humbly, if y say not wele, to pardone me. And this is the meane that moost may be with your honour, as me semeth / if any meane may be founde to take trews for a yere bitwene your Enemy and you / And than by honour may ye reise the seege / And this tyme hangyng, ye may leue garrisons in this Reaume / and retourne your self this wynter in-to your owne Reaume, for it is long sith ye were there / and than may ye make a newe reise, bothe of people & tresour, and than in the newe ceason, whan the grounde is replenyssed with corne & gresse, than may ye come with grettir power than euir ye did / for it is no doute of / whan your people and sogettes se your grete desire and good entent, they wille helpe you more than euir they did / ye haue sene wele the deuoir that your Enemyes haue made to haue socoure / and yet haue noon had / ner noon, y beleue, shalle haue, for if any they shold haue had, ye may thinke weel, seyng the long seege that ye haue holden, they shold haue had it by this / wherfore it is to be thought that, if they be weel remembred heron, they wol be right glad of this trews / ffor they wille thinke that, in that meane ceason, they shalle mowe haue some helpe of the cristen / and at the last assemble, his estates to take aduise of the guiding of his reaume. The maner hou men might come to this trews, is not yet by me wel aduised / but if it please you to conclude to this aduise, men may remembre the maner how / and come hider to you ageyn aftir dyner / euery man to sey his aduise / Sir, suche is myn aduise at this tyme. I knowe no bettir, albeit that I am redy to be confourmed to theym that y shalƚ here, yif bettir counselƚ whicℏ right lightly may be done" / The Turke, hering his knight and rigℏt trusty Counseller thus speke, toke his wordes rigℏt agreably / for he sawe wele that by, other meanes, with his honour might he not departe / a[n]d his abidyng was right damageable / He asked than of many other their aduise / and, for to aberge [so] the matier, euerichon folowed the same that the knyght had seide / And saide that he was fulle wise / for the departyng of the Turke was not possible by noon othir meane witℏout dishonour /and dred moche that they migℏt not gete the trews with their honour & pleasir. The Turke, that saw this conclusion yn nombre of opinions, & alle one / saide to them / "yet of the maner hou this trews might be / we nor noon of you haue spoken / wherfore y woƚƚ that, at iij. after non, eeche of you be here present / and that the meane while ye remembre eche one his party, how y may entre yn this matier to my honour, without shewing of any semblaunt of drede; and if the meane might be founde, that it migℏt be half by their Request." Thus eueri man departed til after dyner / and at the houre of iij. assembled there agein / and there shewed many resons and opinions / but hard it was, as they thought, to fynde hou this matier shold not come of the Turke, for they coude espie no drede yn their Enemyes. whan the Turke, that moche desired to haue this thinge accomplissht, entred in-to his Tente / where as they alle were, & vnto hym did their dewte; & whan he was set in his chaier, he made them alle to sitte downe / & than he asked of him that most pleased him, thauise of how he was remembred of this matier / that they were departed on / And this was one of his Capteynes, a passing wise man of werre / whiche answerd him in this maner / "Sir, ye shal ful porely be aduertised by me / for that y haue like knowlage in so high thinges / but sith that it pleasith you that y say in this matier what y haue thougℏt and diuised, whiche is to litle effecte in regarde of that / that thies notable knyghtes herby shalle say / Natherles, y shalƚ shewe as y haue thought, sitℏ that ye be concluded to the trews, if ye may haue it / & wolde it were by the desire of your Enemyes, or at the lest half by their Request, whiche is an hard thinge to be done / for ye se not yn them no maner liklyhood touching this matier / If we had any prisoners, notable folkes, outher of them without or of them withyn / then were it litle maistrie to fynde the meanes by their oune request & labour / but that wiƚƚ not be / for we haue no suche. A nothir wey there is / withyn the place there is many noble and wise lordes, knyghtes and squiers of those whiche be prisoners ther / And y can thinke they haue so many prisoners there, that they wold with good wiƚƚ be delyuerd of som of them, for spendyng of their vitaile. Thus may ye sende vnto them for delyueraunce of som of them, And in suche wise may the prisoners them self entre in langage with their maistirs, as it were of their owne mocione, for their delyueraunce / And thus, me thinketh, they may playnly touche of this matier to fferaunt, whiche, if he wiƚƚ, maysurely breke this matier, and bring it to conclusion with the kynge his maister / And y can thinke, seyng the grete reason that they haue, & be closed yn this towne, they haue not had their ease in alle thinge; and whan the saide fferaunt shalƚ se a meane of youre departyng, to his honour, he woƚƚ be right glad to brynge it to that conclusion / for his honour shalƚ be wele saued by this meane. An other way also, vndir your correccion: It is longe sith that kynge fferabrace of Perce, that hath ben prisoner yn the handes of the kynge of Sizile, your enemy / and yet hath there ben no speche of his raunsome / ffor that ye trusted alway to recouer hym by strength, whiche, as me semeth, ye are fulle fer fro / ye may sende, if it please you, to the kynge of Sizile, desiryng him to put him to finaunce / and if he wille entende ther-to / than shalle ye haue a good colour to sende of your folkes vnto the kynge your brother, whiche may be aduertised by them to breke this matier vnto the kynge of Sizile, for a meane of his delyueraunce; and if he wille entende therto, ye may make a desire vnto him to haue a saufcondite, for ij. or iij. notable knyghtes of youre house to go speke with youre brother for his delyueraunce / And by them may your brother be weel aduertised in euery thinge touchyng this matier / And thus semetℏ me, by one of thies two weies ye may not faile / but this mocion may be made as though ye knewe no thing therof / And that for the loue of youre brothir and of othir prisoners / and at their grete request, ye shalle be enclynable to this trews, whiche is, as ye shalle make semblaunt, right contrary to your pleasir. I can, as for my parte, noon othir thing deuise / yf y bettir coude, y wolde rigℏt gladly shewe it vnto you, and to my lordes that here be / yn whom y wote wele ye shalle fynde sadder aduise than yn me / I durst not refuse to sey myn opinion, sith that it pleased you so to ordeyne and commaunde me." Thus endid he his aduise. And the Turke asked forth of the remenaunt of his counselle that were / hou it thought them of this matier / so were there many other meanes & mocions made amonges them / but, in conclusion, the Turke liked best the two first waies that his knight had meued / and saide that he coude not thinke by that / that he knewe yn fferaunt, that he wold, be any cause or meane, haue a trews bitwene hym and the kynge his maister, without that he might se it more the profit & honour of his maister / than for his owne allegeaunce and ease / And therfore toke he this conclusion, to sende for a sauffcondite, that his folkes migℏt speke with ffirabras his brotherand by hym this matier to be opende / This conclusion was taken, and letters sent to the kyng of Sizile by two kynges of armes / In whiche letters was conteyned the loue that by naturalƚ reason that he aught to his brother, the kynge of Perce, whiche at that tyme was his prisoner / and had ben a grete while / and right fayn wolde he haue hym ageyn / if by any fynaunce he might haue him / And for this, if his wille were to put him to fynaunce, the Turke his brother wolde sone purvey for his delyueraunce, In asmoche as he was taken in his quarelle & seruise / And for to procede in this matier, the Turke requyred to haue sauffcondite for iij. or iiij. notable knyghtes, of whom he sent the names yn his letters / Thus were the letters delyuerd forth / and they sped theim so weel that in litle while they came to Naples, where as the kynge of Sizile was / and sone were they condited by noble folkes yn-to the place where the kynge was / and anoone was it tolde the kynge that suche folkes were comen vnto hym from the Turke. the kynge made them be brought vnto him, where they founde him wele accompanyed. the kynges of armes presented their letteres / and the kynge of Sizile resceyued them, and redde theim, and sith asked thofficers of armes if they had any othir thing in charge / and they tolde their charge / whiche was suche yn substaunce as the letters specified. & whan he hadde hird alle their message, the kynge made them to be condite to their loggyng, and ther to be wele acompanyed with alle the chere that men might make them. on the morow aftir, he assembled his folkes of counselle, and many of his Capteynes that were there with them, to whom he shewed the letters that the Turke had sent hym / and the credence of the letters / wherupone he asked their counselƚ & aduise yn this matier / and wold here it debated and concluded before him self / So there were ij. notable men bifore him to do this / that one ordeyned to susteyne the delyueraunce of his prisoner / and the tothir to contrary it / He that susteyneth the deliueraunce, shewed to the kynge that this deliueraunce was profitable for hym, and the reasons why / sayng that his body was not ofte in daunger / the delyueraunce of kynge ffirabrace not helpe but to him / for ther was noon othir like vnto him / also he was surely acompanyed / and of a long tyme had not ben gretly annoied / and of liklyhood his strength sholde rather encre[se] than empeyre. And the Turkes might was daily dymynysshed and gretly damaged / wherfore him thought this deliueraunce was moost profitable to the kyng / for with hisraunsone sholde he be of more power to damage his enemyes / The tothir knyght, hering what he had purposed, answerd to the contrary, shewyng that at that tyme the Turke, whiche was brother to kynge ffirabrace, helde seege before the place that the kynge had conquered vndir him / yn the whiche was enclosed the flour of knyghthode of that Reaume, and in especialle they to whom he is prisoner / whoos, of right, the prisoner is, and noon others / and if it so fortune that the Towne were taken by strength, whiche god, of his mercy diffende / if it were so / by the kynge of Perce, alle they that were withyn shold be rescowed, whiche is more worth than iiij. suche fynaunces as he is able to pay / "And for to answere to this that ye haue seide, that none suffiseth to the deliueraunce of the saide prisoner, but the only body of the kyng; by that meane that y say, ij. thousand noble men may be saue & brought agein by hym. And to come to reason / who ought so weel to be bought agein by hym, as they that toke hym, whos propre prisoner he is / forsoothe noon, as me thinketh. Also remembre weel in what perells and in what fortunes ye haue seen the kyng here present, & souverayn lord, be in this tyme, whiche, if he were prisoner, shold be in auenture euir to be had agein, if this kynge were deliuerd / Thies thinges considered, if y were as the kyng, for no thing shold he be delyuered / And whan it shalle please the kyng / vpone the debates of vs two, that be but of litle effecte to the reasons of my lordes that here be, he shalle here there aduise, and to do then as him thinkith moost to his wele" / The kynge of Sizile, heryng thise debates that were made, of good wille, and by noon hate, asked of him that spake last his aduise, whiche seide vnto him / that gladly he wolde say it / sith it pleased him so to commaunde him, whiche was this / that in no wise men ought not, nor might not entre in-to this matier without thauise and counselle of fferaunt, whiche was biseeged withyn the towne and hym, that now men lightly might speke with hym, for the kyng might write vnto the Turke, that without the aduise & counselle of fferaunt & Surnome, to whom his brother was prisoner, he wold not procede in that matier / and he thought be thise meanes the Turke shold be weel content that the kynges folkes might go speke with fferaunt. And ij. reasons he shewed / that meued him to gif this counselle / that one is / that fferaunt is one of the wisist knightes of this Reaume, whiche apperetℏ weel by his werkes / And by this meane, if the kyng sende vnto him of his folkes, he shalle trewly be asserteynedof the demeanyng of fferaunt and of the Towne / and theraftir may he take counselle outher of the deliueraunce of his prisoner or of the contrary / And the tothir reason that he shewed, was this / that the seid prisoner had be taken twies by the handes of Surnome, in the presence of fferaunt his maister / without whom, by reason to holde trewly the right of armes, the seide prisoner might not be delyuered: "suche is the ordre of right and Iustice in dedes of armes / as y haue alway vndirstande / And as yet y can thinke of the saide prisoner, there hath be made no departyng bitwene them, nor noon accorde nor apoyntement / and therfore, shortly to conclude my matier / me thinkith, without their aduise it [were best] to procede no ferther." Thus endid he / & it thought vnto the kynge and his counselle that his aduise was right good & Resonable / And then were letters writen and sent vnto the Turke, vndir suche fourme as thei were concluded by the counselle / as ye haue herde. Thus were the messangers delyuered, and had grete giftes, and were surely condite, vnto the kynges power / and at their retourne agein vnto the Turke, they founde the hoste gretly troubed / for greuously had they ben assailed by them with-yn the Towne / and in especialle toward the Turkes loggyng / for there were made alway the grettist assawtes; and trouthe it was, that they had ben so hourely assailed sith the departing of the messangers, that they neuir might be at leiser to assemble in no counselle to-gidir / and diuers tymes wolde they haue short termes of trews & comunicaccione with fferaunt / but he wold neuir answere hem to any suche matier, for he had no desire to dele nor trete with hem / wherof thei were fulƚ soroufulƚ. So long contynued this maner of demeanyng, that the Turkes folkes were rigℏt wery / and endured grete payne & labour / fferaunt, that was fulle wise, remembred weel this, & thougℏt weel it were litle maistry to annoy them / and thought he had ben idle a gret while, and not mette with his enemyes / and so he saide to his folkes, with a merry contenaunce / "I se weel we be so presed on with oure enemyes to haue a tretee, whiche lettith not but yn vs, for we may haue alle that we can resonably aske / And it is longe sith oure neighboures & frendes herde anything of vs, that knowe not weel where we are / therfore it is good that to-morowe we make vs to be knowen" / Alle they that were yn the place were ioyfulle of thise wordes, and in especialle Le Surnome and Athis / for in dedes of armes were thei neuir satisfied / and so answerd they vnto their maister, it shold be right wele done. "so helpe me god," seidefferaunt, "I thinke to-morowe, with the helpe of god, to take suche acqueyntaunce amonges them, that they shalle not alle be pleased / for it is longe sith we made theim any grete assaute / and therfore go eueri man to his reste / and be vp to-morowe vpone the point of the day / and eueri man serue god / and we shall do aftir as weel as we may" / Thus eueri man went to reste him. And that night made fferaunt al his smaƚƚ ordenaunce to be brought toward the Turkes loggyng / and on that side of the Towne made he to lay his grete Bombardes, ageinst the comyng of his enemyes / and there made he to be kepte moo fayrer & sure watche. In the mornyng / toward the poynt of day, were his folkes assembled about him / so ordeyned he a good company, as him thought sufficiaunt y nough to discomfite the wacche that was bifore / for to wynne the Turkes Bombardes, for they thought it was light y-nogh to do / and of the first company he made Capteynes, Le Surnome & Athis / for wel knewe he that corageously they wolde do this entirprise / And the remenaunt of his folkes he guyded him self, for he thought the first company shold haue nede of releef: thus ordeyned he the assawte / And whan it was purueide, Le Surnome & Athis ordeyned their folkes redy at the gate that was assigned vnto them / than made fferraunt the yate to be opende, and went out / and ascried the Turkes wacche, and they wende fulƚ weel to haue diffendid them / but their diffence litle auailed / for Surnomes company and Athis put as many to the swerde as they might gete, without takyng of any prisoners. This first company passitℏ forth with so grete corage & hardinesse that, er the Turke and his folkes might be armed, thei came to his logging, killyng and sleyng alle that euir mette with them / and ouirthrewe Tentes and Pavilions; and did so moche in armes that eueri man fled fro them / whan fferaunt sawe them passe so fer / he knewe it shold be grete auenture of their retourne / and therfore toke he his feliship, & went aftir them / and passed by the place where the wacche had ben, and where moche of the Turkes ordenaunce lay, whiche he made labores, bothe men & wommen, haue in to the Towne / whil he went to releef his first company. and this assaute dured til the sonne risyng / and there was the noise and the crie so grete / that men might not haue herde the thondre / and the Turkes drewe them alle to the Turke, so grete a multitude that fferaunt saw wele his folkes might not long endure there / wherfore he made to blowe retrete; and by than had his first company taken so many prisoners, that they werealmoost as many as them self / and ther were many of theim noble men / and of the Turkes counseƚƚ suche as had ben at the comunicacion of the trews / whan they withdrewe them / Surnome & Athis were the last / and put their folkes & their prisoners bifore them / and so moche endured they than, that it was meruaile; and had not fferaunt their good maister than releued them, they had neuir retourned agein in-to the Town / and it was meruaile to wite hou many Surnome & Athis slowe at their retrayte / thus entred they in-to the Towne with alle their prisoners, to the grete damage and losse of the Turke, & litle vnto theim. In this grete brewte and trouble, came agein the heraldes, that had ben messangers from the Turke vnto the kyng of Sizile / and sawe the feeldes fulle of men of armes, & had herde the noise and the crie more than ij. myle thens / This auenture turned to grete damage & displeasir to the Turke & his company / for thei sawe weel at length, by litle & litle their power sholde empaire / for whan they witℏ-drewe theim they knewe wele what Losse they had / for they founde of their folkes moo then xv C. dede, and moo then ij C. prisoners taken. If the Turke had grete sorowe, it is no question, for the losse was turned vpon a grete party of the best of his hous / He coude not thinke that Le Surnome nor Athis were any mortalle men, but ij. thinges sente doune by the god of the cristen / for his destruction / for him semed, and alle othir, that there might not be so moche worthynesse yn the body of any erthely man, as he founde in theim that day / thus ranne the renomee of them thorugh alle the hoste / Thus whan the Turke was withdrawen, the heraldes, that y haue tolde you of bifore / entred in-to his Tente / and deliuerd him their lettres, whiche he redde / and then made alle theim to come vnto him, that were of his counselle / at that tyme beyng present / than made he to come afore him agein the messangers / and commaundid theim to telle suche credence as they had from the kynge of Sizile / and they made their report weel and wisely, as they that were of grete discrecion / whiche was suche as ye haue herde before, accordyng to thentent of the lettres / And to make shorte tale, the Turke agreed to the request of the kyng of Sizile right gladly / and hadde good cause / for eueri day he sawe his strenght empayre / So he made the Saufconditz to be made vp for suche names as the heraldes had brought / and in alle haste the Saufconditz, made and sealed, were sent agein vnto the kynge of Sizile. Ye may weelthinke, that whan fferaunt and his company were entred agein in-to the Towne, they made grete ioy of the goode auenture that god had youen theim that day. And whan he shold go to dyner, he made as many knyghtes and noble men sitt at his boorde as might haue Rome / and ij. boordes beside / amonges whiche company, Surnome and Athis were not forgoten, of whom he had more ioie than of any erthly men / and not without cause / for he had seen hem do in armes that day yncredibly / for they had taken with their awne handes vpone a iij.xx prisoners / and alwey deliuerd hem to othir for to kepe / while they contynued in bataile, without hauyng any regarde or remembraunce to couetise / as they that desired no thinge but to gete worship / and to do seruice to god in their cristen feith / for euerich thought in his owne mynde that they had y-nough in their owne contrees. hou be it, their maners resembled no thinge kynges sones; they demeaned them liker pouere gentilmen / ffor albe-it there was noon so honorable as they two / yet for no fortune or auenture that couth befalle them / they wolde neuir take on̄ them to be knyghtes, excusyng them alway by the symplenesse of their birthe / and they hadde reason not to take on them the ordre of knyghthode / for they were knightes long before / hou be it, nouther of theim vndirstode of other / what birthe they were of / And fferaunt their maister, at his dyner, reported to them their outrageous hardinesse, in maner blamyng them of that they had done that day / for in abidyng them had he almoost lost grete part of his people / and if he coude haue thought that they wolde thus haue be rewled, he wold rather haue lefte them kepyng the Towne / than haue had them forth to the assaute. thei answerde no thinge vnto their maister / but were al shamefast of his wordes, and thought that a nothir tyme they wolde not do so / but when they were in like caas agein / that purpose was alle lost and forgoten / Aftir dyner, fferaunt made to visite his prisoners / and founde that he had a party of the grettist & moost prevy of the Turkes counselle, wherof he was rigℏt ioifulle, as reason was, and made them to be kepte, eueri man aftir his worship / and thus abideth he in his place, all ioyfulle & assured of his enemyes / til that he herde tidinges of the kyng of Sizile / as ye shalle here / ye haue here before weel vndirstande hou the Turke sent vnto the kynge of Sizile saufcondite for iiij. of his knyghtes to come to fferaunt / This saufcondite was borne vnto the kyng by the same heraldes that late had ben with him fro the Turke, whicℏ Saufconditethe kynge resceyued, and made it to be redde / & founde that it was good & sure / Than purvaide he the iiij. knightes to go to fferaunt / and they toke leue of the kynge & the quene, & of their faire doughter, & of alle the ladies & gentilwomen / & tolde them whider they wente / and eche of theim made their recommendacions / And faire Iolante forgate not to recommaunde hir to Surnome; and she and alle the ladies seide amonges them / that fferaunt was a notable knyght, and honorably had borne him, and was worthy to be renomed of alle othir that they knewe / On the morow erly the knightes departid, and spede them so, that withyn litil while they came to fferaunt, of whos comyng he was right ioyfuƚƚ / for they were his special frendes / & thought wele that they had brought some grete tidynges / he brought them to their loggynges / and made theim aƚƚ the chere that was in his power / & when they were rested a litil while, fferaunt and they went to counselle in-to a chambr / and there tolde they him eueri worde, hou the Turke had sent vnto the kynge of Sizile / and hou the matier was debated bifore the kynge, for the delyueraunce of kynge fferabrace / and the causes that bothe thies knyghtes shewed / and hou it was determined by the kynge and alle his counselle that, without thavice and agrement of him, the kynge wolde answere to no thyng of this matier, for suche causes as had ben elegged bifore / whiche thei declared and shewed vnto fferaunt / And whan he had herde thise tidynges, he thought the matier was of grete peyce / wherfore he wolde make no sodeyn answere, but made his delay vpone Surnome, sayng that the matier touched him, and that he ought to be called to this counselle / And this they apointed an houre, at whiche tyme Le Surnome shold be ther / and fferaunt seide that he was right wise, & might wele be called to counsell in eueri matier aswele as in that / bothe for his hie wisdome & grete vertu / and than tolde he vnto tho knightes of Sizile of the grete worthinesse of Surnome and Athis, & hou he sawe neuir noon comparable vnto them, but that Surnome passed alle other / hou be it, Athis folowed moche the condicions of Surnome, bothe in honour & largesse / and in habilite of his persone; and fferaunt saide there was no knight in the world might avaunte him of the company of Such two as he was serued with. Than he told hem hou le Surnome receyued Athis vnto his company / and in what maner he came / and hou ther was in Surnome noon envie / for he wold so gladly reporte the worthinesse and prowes of his felawe, that by hismaner and speche it semed he tℏought him self, nor noon othre, comparable vnto him / and reputed him self right ewrous that god had sent him suche a felawe / and than reherced he grete armes that the two felawes had done duryng the sege / and the drede that their enemyes had of theim, and of the grete comfort and hardinesse that his company toke in theim: and thorugℏ their grete worthinesse the Towne was double encoraged / Thies tidynges tolde he to þe knyghtes of Sizile, wherof they thought grete meruaile, and Iuged for trouthe that god had sente them this meruailous fortune, for sauacion of the realme / And so shewed it weel; "for they that no thinge were worth / thorugh theim be at this day as valiaunt as men can fynde / and they that no thinge dred vs, be at this day the moost failyng and wrecchid nacion that lyueth; and parde this werke may not be without miracle." with suche language passed forth the day til the houre that they had taken to assemble agein in counselle, at whiche tyme Le Sournome was sent for to come amonges them / and at his comyng was the matier alle newly reherced / like as ye herde before, seyng vnto Le Surnome, that the kyng had gyuen them in charge to haue his aduise & agrement theryn. fferaunt had weel remembred the matier / and seid ther vnto the knyghtes, "ye se weele in what caas we be / and the gretest harme that we endure, is the prisoners that ben here, þat gretely dispende our vitaile / hou be it, y thanke god we be yet reasonably weel purvaide / wherfore it shalle not nede the kynge to haue no drede of vs / but that we shalle be able to abide them lenger than shal be their ease to lye aboute vs / & y purpose to put those that be noble men to fynaunce / and to put the tothir to dethe; and by this meane shalle oure vitaile endure vs lenger. And as touchyng your charge of puttyng kynge ffirabrace to fynaunce / y shal sone say as y thinke / suche thinge may befalle that the kynge wold for no thing had put him to ffynaunce. It is a faire thinge whan he hath in his hande the same that is sufficiant to delyuere him / if the caas so fortune. But if it were the kynges pleasir, vpone good apointement and good hostages, to enlarge him for a terme / perauenture for his deliueraunce may be founde peas bitwene the kynge & the Turke / The visage of man makith vertu / for if he be present, he may more lightly fynde frenship in his brother and other frendes / than if he be stille in prison; for his brother, seyng him in that daunger, shalle haue gretter pite and compassione of him / than he hath now / wherfore me thinketh hisenlargissing, surely made, shalle do but profit vnto the Realme." After that fferaunt had thus seide / the knyghtes wolde wite the opinion of Surnome, whiche saide: "my lorde my maister, that here is, me thinkith hath taken the best way / & be thus doyng / the kyng shalƚ not be differred from his prisoner, but haue him alway stille in daunger / and if it please the kynge of his grace, I wolde of one thinge beseche him / that if king ffirabras be enlarged for any terme / that or his departyng, he be sworne be his lawe, and the creance that he holdeth, that if there be any persone withyn the landes & possessions of his brother or of his / that hath any cristen prisoner that hath not ben in this werre / but that hath ben taken in passing or in goyng on pilgramage / that thei may be delyuerd franke & quite, without constreynyng theim to renay their feith / and also that fro hensforth there be no more oppression nor hurt done to the poure labores & simple folkes of this lande / and in this is the Raunsome, for my part, that y wille desire / As for the remenaunt, belongeth vnto my lorde my maister, that here is" / fferaunt coude passing grete thanke to Surnome, for his request / and thought weel that grete noblesse, fredom & pite, meued him to that remembraunce. The knightes of Sizile saide / that suche reporte as they had founde with fferaunt & Surnome they sholde make vnto the [Turkes], & thought weel that they wold be agreable to alle this, without contraryyng of any thinge / Aftir thise wordes they went out of the chambre / and came into the halle, were was many a noble man / fferaunt sent for some of his prisoners / for to wite if they wolde be brought to any ffynaunce / amonge the whiche was one or two that had ben at the conclusion that the Turke had taken in his counselle, touchyng the trews / whan they came bifore fferaunt, they toke him a-part, and saide vnto him: "my lorde, if it might be done, and with your pleasir, we wolde fayne, if we might / speke with kynge ffirabras your prisoner / bothe for the meanes of his delyueraunce & oures ; we thinke to fynde suche a meane as shalle be grete weel vnto this Realme / and therfore remembre you / for we thinke yn this ye shal do grete seruice vnto the kynge your maister." fferaunt, heryng thise knyghtes thus speke, whiche by semyng were men of gret honour, called vnto him the knyghtes of Sizile / and made them to reherce agein in their presence like as they had seide vnto him. And whan the knyghtes of Sizile had herde them / they withdrewe them, & counseled a litil to-gedre / and thought, seyngwhat they had saide, there coude no thinge but weel falle of their spekyng with kyng ffirabrace / than called they agein the prisoners vnto them / and asked them what hostage they wold lay for them / and they saide it sholde be harde for them to lay suche hostages as fferaunt shold be content with / but, and it pleasid him, that one of them might go to the Turke, and that othir abide in hostage, on his lif / he thought it sholde suffise / fferaunt and the knyghtes accorded herto / And thus that one of theim is departed vnto the Turke, whiche was right fer thens / and tolde the Turke alle the maner how his felawe and he had done with fferaunt and with the tothir knyghtes of Sizile, that were sent to fferaunt from the kynge, whiche were accorded vpon good hostages, to lete his felawe and him go to kynge ffirabrace / whan the Turke herde this, he was right glad / and thought the matier was weel bigonne to breke to his honour / for eueri man migℏt weel thinke, that what so euir his brother or the tothir prisoners did / was for their owne deliueraunce / and not for the profit of the Turke, nor at his request / so alle thinge was concluded to the pleasir of þe knyghtes prisoners / and suche hostage delyuered as fferaunt was content with / The Turke charged his knyghtes, and praied them to employe wele this matier / and to shewe his brother playnly what case he stode yn / for he wende neuir to haue seen the Houre of his departyng, witℏ his honour and lif / Thus departed the knyghtes, and came agein to fferaunt / and in alle haste were their promyses accomplisshed / and they redy to departe and go with the knightes of Sizile / On the morow erly, the knightes of Sizile toke leue of fferaunt and of alle the company, to whom they seide a lowde / that it was the moost honorable company that was that day vpone the erthe / & aught moost to be renomed in alle honour / sayng that the kyng thanked them alle, as them that he was asmoche biholden vnto, as euir was prince vnto his suggettes, praing them alle way to contynue their high & good corage / Than seide there many, with an high voice, "say vnto the kynge, oure souueray[n] lord / that for vs he make no tretee nor apointement to his preiudice / for, bettir pleasith vs this lif, with suche peyne as we haue, than euir did any dauncyng Iustes or any othir disporte." The knightes answerd / "ye may be sure that god wolle gif you grace to departe out of this place with honour, and then shalle ye se the ladies, where as ye shalle be welcome / and right wele recomforted / & so haue they grete cause / and wele y wote, whan ye come / we that no thing hauedone in armes, shal be litil set by / but alle out cast" / Aftir thise wordes, they toke leue and departed, seyng to alle the company / that they trusted within litil while they shold here good tidinges. Than spedde they so wele their iourney, that they came sone vnto the kynge, whicℏ grete desire had to here tidynges of fferaunt, & of this Towne, and of alle the company therein, & also to knowe what opinions fferaunt helde in such message as he sent hem, touchyng the delyueraunce of the Turkes Brother. It was not long aftir their comyng, but the kynge made them come vnto hym / whiche tolde hym hou they had sped in alle thinges like as is a-boue rehersed / and howe they had by thavice of fferaunte / brought ij. knightes prisoners in their company / for they thought that the kynge, by heryng of their entent, might no thinge lese / And also shewed the kynge ferther of the opinion of fferaunt and of Surnome, whiche the kynge toke right wele in gre, & thought the enlargyng of kynge ffirabrace bettir and more prope[r] for him than his clere deliueraunce / Than sent he forthe knightes prisoners, and asked them what their entent was / & they seide / that if it pleased him, they wolde speke with kyng ffirabras. Than sent the kyng for alle his counselle / and shewed them the message of his knightes prisoners / and it thought them alle, that it was best to lete them speke with kynge ffirabrace a-part, or yn what wise their wolde / for thei thought their speche might litil hurte the kynge / but rather of lyklihode be to his pleasir & profit, seyng the cas they were yn / And assone as this counselle was thus concluded, kinge ffirabrace was enformed how thies folkes were come to speke with hym / and hou the king was wele content that they shold speke with him alle at their pleasir / and that they shold abide a day of ij., or as longe as it pleased him to telle him of their tidynges / and wherfore they desired to speke with hym. kynge ffirabrace, that sith his takyng had herde no tidynges of his Brothir, nor of noon othir frende of his / was rigℏt ioyfulle to here tidinges of them; & yet the more, that the kynge was pleased that he shold speke with them a-part / for he wist weel he shold be the bettir, asserteyned of alle tidynges / than were thei sone brought vnto him. when they sawe him, they salowed him, accordyng to their dewte, the teeres falling downe from their visages, for pite of his longe enprisonment / And whan he espied that / he was in grete drede to here som euyl tidynges of his brothir or of his Nevewe; & anone as they that brought them were departed / he called them vnto hym / & askedthem of alle their tidynges / for setℏ he was first prisoner, herde he neuir tidynges / ffor the kynge of Sizile had so ordeyned / ffor him thought / that if men shold telle him good tidynges, for his partie it was not couenable / & what so euir any man tolde him of the wele of the cristen partie, he wold not haue bileued it / but thought it had ben rather seide yn maner of avaunt / and therfore the kynge had ordeyned that no man shold telle him no tidynges / wherfore he was not the more desirous to here of their tidynges, & askede theim of his brothir, & of his nevewe, & of alle their armee. and they tolde him of alle the certaynte / & of the cristen flete / hou it fortuned amonges theim by tempest; hou they were scaterd / & many of them drowned, & a vesselle of theirs brake vpon the ryvage, even aforne the Turkes Tentes, and many of them came to londe on lyue, whiche were slayn alle at their landyng, sauf one, that Orkays, the Soudans sone, toke with his owne handes, and of his delyueraunce / and how Orkays was takyn by him aftirward, & deliuered, as is a-fore reherced / and than they tolde him of alle the worthynesse of them withyn the towne / and in especial of him þat was taken by Orkays, and of his felawe, Le Surnome, whiche passeth alle othre; & tolde him of the losse that his brothir had had sith he lay aboute the Towne / aswelle by them of the cuntre, as of them withyn þe Towne, wherthorugh his folkes might neuir be out of harneys, nor alƚ-moost had neuir rest / and yet were they neuer the nerre, by ought they coude se, of their conquest, but rather ferther & ferther / than they tolde him what direccion had ben taken bothe by the Turke and by his counselle / and hou, if he might haue departid bifore this tyme with his honour, he had be gone long or this / but he coude fynde noon othir meane but this / Than tolde they him alle the charge that they had from the Turk vnto hym self, & of hem alle. king ffirabrace, hering thies tidinges, was gretly abasshed, seyng that in so litel while the worlde was chaunged with them / for a-boute the tyme of his takyng, their enemyes were in suche discorage that thei durst not wele be seen at no scarmyssh / yet neuertheles thies tidinges moche displeased him not / for he sawe wele therby som profit might growe to his delyueraunce / whiche he desired ouir alle thing; so toke they amonges them the best conclusion that they coude, to conduyte this matier to the pleasir of his brothir and to the honour of him self, and desired to haue certaine of the kynge of Siziles seruauntes, and Counselle to speke with him / and with suche as had be sent vntohim from his brothir / This came to the knowlage of the kynge of Sizile, and he assigned those same that he had sent bifore to fferaunt, to knowe his aduise and counselle / and whan thei were comen to kinge ffirabrace, he seide vnto them yn this manere / "ffaire lordes, the cause that I haue sente vnto the kynge to speke with some of his counselle is this / ye knowe wele that y haue ben, as me thinkith, right long a prisoner, to my grete annoy / ye se here also thies two knightes, that be prisoners aswel as y / hou be it, they haue not contynued so long, yet are they gretly annoyed, as it shewith wele by that y shalle shewe vnto you / they haue remembrid for their deliuerance, and haue ioyned me yn the matier with theim / for this that they thinke the Turke wille be sonner confourmable to any resonable apointement for my wele, than for theires, by cause y am his brothir; and y shal telle you what they haue aduised me: It is, that y shold make a request to be put to ffynaunce, and by meane therof the Turke shold be content to take trewes for half a yere, or a yere, with the kyng of Sizile & alle his / wherby the sege shold be reised, and prisoners delyuerd, aswele of one part as of othir / and by this meane bothe parties sholde ease them for that ceason / whiche, as me thinketh, sholde be a speciaƚƚ wele and comfort vnto this Reaume, that hatℏ so long contynued yn werre. This are the mocions that they made vnto me, whiche is to me right pleasaunt, if they coude haue the power to bring it to the same conclusione with my lord, my Brother / wherof y haue grete doute, seyng that he lith at the sege bifore his Towne, that but late was wonne from hym / Neuirtheles, if it please the kynge of Sizile to entende this matier, I wold employ me to the same entent / and require alle my frendes to giff the Turke counselle to the same" / whan the knyghtes of Sizile had herd this mocione of kyng ffirabras, they seide vnto hym / "fforsothe, sir, or this tyme we haue herde the kyng, oure souuerayn Lord, say / that his entent was neuir to deliuer you tille the warres were ended bitwene the Turke, your brother and him, without ye were rescowed by force / hou be it, we knowe not whether he wold be content, vpon good hostages, to enlarge you at your request, for to fynde some trety of peas betwene your Brother and him, whiche thinge we alle, his company, [desire]. And if vpon this wele ye wille speke and charge vs, therwith, we wol make report vnto the kynge therof, and othirwise not" / Kynge ffirabrace helde longe vpon his vttir delyueraunce / But the knyghtes of Sizile wold in no wise agree therto, seyng thatthey were, alle be it they were not worthy, of the kynges counselle / "and if we shold gif him avise of youre delyueraunce, and not assured of peas, we were not trewe vnto him; wherfore be sure we wille neuir speke therof as long as we lyue, without the warres be ended / But if that were so, we wold right gladly employ vs to your request / and now wille for your enlargyng, vndir suche fourme as we haue seide you / trustyng the sonner to come therby to the weel of peas / ffor we be sure ye wille more largely employ you therto, ye beyng in daunger, than if ye were at your liberte."

Aftir alle thies wordes, he trusted to come to his delyueraunce. Natheles, kynge ffirabrace was content that they shold speke to the kynge for his enlargyng. The knyghtes seide, that with right god wille they wold so do / And thus departed and came vnto the kynge of Sizile, and made their report, as ye haue herde / and founde the kynge enclynable y-nough to entende to thise matiers, seyng the counselle that he had hadde / and in abregging this matier without moo wordes, they were concluded that, vpon good hostages, suche as the kyng of Sizile was pleased with / that kynge ffirabrace was enlarged and departed from the kynge of Sizile / of whom he toke his leue, and of the quene and of their fair doughtir / & of alle the ladies & gentilwommen. The kyng made him honourably to be condyte / And so wele sped he him / that in litil while he came to the Turke / whiche made him right grete chere / and so did alle they that were there with him / this night was he gretly fested and welcomed of his Brothir, and had moche talkyng to-gedir / for he was a worthy knight, a passing wise man in grete matiers. So founde he his Brother alle of othir opinion than he lefte him / a[n]d so did he alle them that he spake with; wherof he had grete mervaile. In litil while knewe he alle the pleasir of his brothir / and sawe the maner of the sege / whiche thought him right straunge. He sawe the fersnesse of them withyn the Towne / and herd reported the grete damagis that they had done to the Turke and to alle his company: the prowesse of Surnome, and Athis his felawe, was often rehersed vnto him. Thus many tidynges herd he / but noon to the honour of his brothir, nor of his partie, wherof he was right sorowfuƚƚ, and thought wele in him self that it was nedefulƚ to haue a longe trews / for those folkes were discoraged in alle pointes. Than put he him in diligence to this trews / and othir notable folkes, and laboured it as shortly as they coude, so that the trews was taken bytwene them for a yere / and whan the surteeswere made, sworne, and ensealed, the Turke departed from the seege / & made alle prisoners to be yolden agein, aswele of one party as of othir, saving kyng ffirabrace, whiche was but enlarged. And for asmoche as fferaunt and his company hadde moo prisoners than the Turke had / he had in recompense a C. thousand besauntes / and eueri besaunt worth a Doket / and, beside that, the Turke deliuered agein ij. Townes / and deliuerd to the pouere folkes of those Townes alle that they had lost /

Now hatℏ the Reaume of Sizile endured this ij. yere yn grete peyne and mysery / But sith the comyng of Surnome it began alle othirwise to turne.

Thus departed the seege from byfore the Towne, to the grete honour of the kynge of Sizile, and of them withyn. thorugh alle the Reaume This trews was cried & pub[l]issed / wherof Surnome & Athis were right sory / for they thought a long terme to be a yere in peas / seyng the warres be not ended; and they purposed not to departe before the ende of the warres. The kynge of Sizile, that saw him thus yn peas for a yere, bithought him what he might do alle that ceason / where of a longe while afore he had not ben idle so gretly / and so he sent for fferaunt, whom he desired moche to se / for moche he thought him bounden vnto him / and praied him that he wolde bringe with him bothe his seruauntes, for moche desired he to se them, for the grete renome they were of; and so did alle they of his court, bothe ladies & gentilwomen, and knyghtes & squyers, & alle othir / Anon as fferaunt had resceyued his letter to come to the kyng, and aftir that he had departed right largely with the noble of his company / so that they alle were wele content / he wente in alle haste to the kynge / to whom it is not to be asked if he were welcome / where at his comyng the kyng toke him in his armes, seyng / "my frende, ye haue don so moche for me and myn honour, that y am alle youres" / Than toke he Surnome in his armes, and [had] of hym ynly grete ioy / than fferaunt shewed Athis vnto him, of whom he had herde so moche worship / & then he in like wise welcomed him fulle honourably / seyng: "what shal y sey vnto you, faire lordes / ye thre be the rigℏt arme and diffence of my reaume" / Aftir this, fferaunt & his company went vnto the quene, and ladies & gentilwomen, whiche fulle honourably and ioifully welcomed them / And moche was Athis loked on amonges hem / for they had not sene him bifore / and they seide that god had gyuen him grete grace / for heryng sey / his worthines was meruailous / and his habilite suche þat there was none comparableto him, saf le Surnome, that passed al the worlde. This day passed forth in pleasir and in disporte / and euery day after they disported them with the ladies and gentilwomen yn alle honour. The kynges doughter, þat was so faire, as ye haue herde bifore / was right glad to haue thies gentilmen in hir company, without thinkyng of any harme or of any grete loue / hou be it, and hir fortune were to marye / perauenture she wold a sholde resemble one of them two / and in especial, Le Surnome. & if she had knowen that he had be either a kynges sone, or a grete prynce, she wolde haue gyuen hir herte vnto hym a-fore alle othir / But in asmoche as she thought he was but of smalle reputacion in regarde to hir estate, she had no suche ymaginacion, but only to be accompanyed with them in alle honorable disportes, and to make them frendly chere more than any othir / for the grete renome they were of, and for the good seruise they had done to hir fadir / Thus endured they a grete while in makyng Iustes, and turnays, and alle other disportes, for they had no thing ellis to do / And yn euery thinge Le Surnome & Athis passed alle othir / Now leuyth the tale a while to speke of the kyng of Sizile and of his company / that restith them this wynter, as ye haue herde, and retourneth to speke of the Turke, of his Brother, and of their company. [Illumination: March of Sultan, Knights, &c.]

Accordyng to suche apointement as was taken, the Turke departed fro the seege and alle his company, & drewe him in to the gretest towne that he helde at that tyme, that he had conquered in Sizile / so wery and trauailed with the warres, that almost he might be no weryer, and so were alle his folkes, fro the moost to the leest; for, moche payne and mysery had they endured at the sege, as wele of famyne as othirwise / and the Turke thought wele, that he was escaped with his honour fro the worst bargayn that he was atte alle his lyue, by the meanes of his Brother / and no man coude sey that this trews that was taken, had be for his pleasir / or by his cause, but only by the request of his Brother and othir of his folkes that had ben prisoners / Aftir that he and his folkes were a litil rested / he concluded to leue grete garrisones / and his places wele furnysshed, and he and his Brother to retourne in-to their Contre / and seide vnto his folkes that he lefte ther / "that he wolde not faile at the ende of trews to be there agein, so wele accompayned, that he wolde neuir departe thens til he had accomplisshed alle his pleasirs." These titynges wele ordeyned / he departed out of Sizile, & drewe vnto his owneMarches / and his brother with him / whan they came ther / it is no doute but he was honorably resceyued of alle his suggettes / for of a grete while he had not be with hym, he abode there a ceason or he wold speke any thyng of suche purposes as he entended / But kyng ffirabrace foryate not the couenaunt he had made at his enlargyng, for he had sworne vpone his lawe / that he sholde ayen alle cristen prisoners that were in any Londe of his brothers or his / And in the same towne that his Brother and he lay, was yong Humfray prisoner, the kynge of Englondes sone / hou be it, noman knewe what he was; & of that yonge prisoner was kynge ffirabrace enfourmed / and than wente he vnto the Turke, and tolde him of his promes that he had made at his departir out of Sizile / And the Turke asked if any prisoners were in that Towne / and he seide "yea" / for there had ben a vesselle takyn with xiiij. persones yn it / wherof they had reserued but ij., and that one of them dyde, and that othir is yet alyue, a yonge man so megre & seke, that, as men thought, he might lyue no while / Than the Turke sent for him; & whan he sawe him, he asked him of whens he was / this yonge Humfray, þat was so ouir come as he that neuir bi-fore had ben acostomed yn suche mysery & pouert / answerd with with low vois & feble, "fforsothe, sir, y am cristen, borne of the reaume of Englond / and my name is Ector / By fortune y arryued here / grete almes it had ben for them that toke me to haue put me to deth / but sith it pleaseth god that y endure this longe payne, y am contente." The turke, that sawe him megre, & alle out of likyng, was no thing sory therof. And notwithstondyng / that by his owne counselle and his agrement / his brother had made thus promys, yet thought he alwey in his mynde, that asmoche as he might, his brother shold neuir fynde prisoner / but that he wolde put them to dethe or they came yn his brothirs handes; for if he coude knowen of any prisoner bi-fore his brothir / he wolde haue made him secretly be put to dethe / But for the symplesse & pouert of his persone, he gruggid the lesse his deliueraunce, & toke him vnto his brother / that ful grete pite had of this yong man / & sent him vnto his loggyng / & made him to be eased & serued of that was nedefulle to hym, made him to be bayned and newe clothid of alle that longed vnto him / and wythyn little while, by the comfort and helpe of kynge ffirabrace, he amended / and came ayen to his grete bewte / so that eueri man had ioy to beholde him / kinge ffirabrace thought, assone as he was hole, and that he might ride,that he wolde sende him yn-to the handes of cristen men / And many tymes he wold biholde him / & thinke yn his mynde that they were passing wele fetured / and goodly folkes & Englonde, ffraunce, & Scotland, for by they were of his marches, he remembred of Surnome & Athis, that he had sene at his departir our of Sizile / and thought that Ector was moche of the same age / and if Surnome had him, he supposed he wolde be right lothe to lete him oute of his company / And than wolde he thinke / if he had the hardinesse of one of them / a shold not faile to do grete hurte vnto their party, if he lyued long. Than was he somtyme yn wille not to sende him; and than wold he thinke ayen / that he had sworn his feithe, whiche he wold not breke, to dy for it / In this ferme wille contynued he, and on a day wente to se the Turke, his brother, and brought with him Ector / whiche aftirward he repented / for vnnethe might he bryng hym ayein / as ye shal here / The Turke bihelde this yong man that was witℏ his brothir, & thought wele he was a straunger / for he knewe hym not / he was so gretly chaunged & amendid sith he sawe him / and wele he thought he semed ful like to come to grete honour / wherfore he axed his brother what he was; and he tolde him it was the cristen man that was delyuerd vnto him the last day / "fforsothe," seide the Turke, "I knewe him not, he is so meruailously amendid / my hert yeueth me, if he be deliuerd, that he shold do vs grete damage / wherfor, my brother, ther nedith neuir none knowe of this matier / and y pray you, for the wele of vs and of oure lawe, to be agreable that he may be some night secretly drowned / for ye knowe wele that by the comyng of one straunger yn-to Sizile, were ye taken / and almoost to the destruccion of vs alle / wherfore y holde youre conscience more hurte, what othe so euir ye haue made, if ye deliuere him, than to do as .I. sey / for the grete losse of oure folkes that may come by hym / wherfore y pray you, brother, to be agreable to my desire / and y wol take the synne on me / And as for shame, ye may noon haue / for neuir noon shalle knowe it" / whan ffirabrace herde his brother sey thus / and sawe the deth of Ector his prisoner redy, if he socoured him not / he was so wroth and sory / that of a grete while he coude not answere, for right moche loued he Ector; and also in his lawe he was right trewe and a noble knyght, whiche shalle shewe by hym yn alle his werkes. The Turke, þat sawe hym in grete thought / and that he answerd not / asked hym ageyn / "how say ye hereto, faire brother " / "fforsothe," seide ffirabrace,"I haue fere to sey any thyng that shold displese you / and therfore was y so longe stille / but, sir, ye are mighti, and a roialle kynge, yn whom aught to be founde more trouthe than yn a meane persone. And y sey for me, I am not so mighti a kynge as ye be / albeit y am your brothir and a kyng / I haue promysed my feith, suche as ye knowe by youre owne agrement / and if y shold be forsworne for one only man / forsothe, my lord, it shold be noon honour to you nor me / And where as ye say, it shold neuir be knowen / trewly y shold be as sorowfulle to knowe my self vntrewe as alle the worlde knewe it. what wold men sey if it were knowen that y shold put this cristen man to dethe / that was delyuered ynto my kepyng for his surete? they wolle likken me to a Bocher that gressith beestes / and than putteth them to dethe / wherfore, y biseche you, my lorde, take no displeasir though y consente not herto / for if it so befelle that ye wolde put him to dethe, as ye may wele y-nough, if it please you, I make promesse to alle the goodes that we bileue on / that y shal neuer aftir abide yn your seruice, but rather go yelde me prisoner agein, and holde my feith, and perauenture do som thinge that shalle displease you / what ensample shalle oure folkes take at oure dedes if, for so litil a thynge, we shalle breke oure feith and oure promesses" / The Turke, heryng his brother thus spekyng, saide vnto him thus / "he neuir made no suche promys, but only for his wele / and as for any promys, but only for his wele / he might breke it whan he wolde / for he was not sworne therto / and if it were to do agein, he wold neuir do so moche for him / And said he wold sende to alle his officers thorugh his reaume / that if they had any cristen men in their handes, that they shold put them to dethe / and seide that he was not bounde to be sugget vnto his brother" / And whan kyng ffirabrace sawe the Turke wrothe / he answerd right humbly / seyng, "my lord, y neuir made promes but by your auctorite. And by this meane, saving your correccion, be ye bounde as welle as I. Neuirtheles, ye may do it as it pleasith you; I am not bounde to noon ympossibilite / but y say for me, y shall trewly kepe alle that y haue promysed as longe as it is possible for me" / The pouere Ector was yn the chambre alle this while, & thought fulle litle where aboute they were / for he wende fulle wele to be assured of his departyng / Sone aftir kynge ffirabrace toke leue of his brother, right sorowfuƚƚ & wrothe, & thought in his mynde to kepe his prisoner as surely as he might, for he drede moche his brother / and so he had cause, forassone as he was departed / he ordeyned folkes to sle yonge Ector, if they might fynde him at any tyme from his brother. he was so angry with the wordes that his brother had seide vnto him, that he thought to be avenged on Ector. On the tothir party kynge ffirabras knewe his brother right cruelle / wherfore he had grete drede of his prisoner, and ordeyned that he shold haue a chambre withyn his owne loggyng / and a xvj. or xxti men to awaite aboute him / whiche he charged, on their lyues, to awaite wele aboute him / and to diffende him to their powers from alle daungers / and they obeid his commaundement without departyng fro hym at any tyme / Thise folkes that the Turke had youen yn commaundement to slee Ector, put them in alle the deuoir they coude therto; but they coude neuir fynde the meanes to haue him / kynge ffirabras thinkyng alwey on the tiranny of his brother, concluded in him self to sende a-wey his prisoner be night / and to make him surely to be conduyte in-to some cristen lande / and for cause his goyng shold not be espied, he made tho men that he had apointed aboute Ector, to kepe stille his chambre ij. or iij. daies after he was gon, like as he had be stille there / Then tolde he vnto Ector alle thentent of his brothir / and how he was displeased with hym bicause he wold not breke his promes / and therfore wold he sende him nowe thens / and delyuer hym to officers of armes, to whom he had grete trust / & ordeyened them to ride aƚƚ the night / and to kepe the wodes on the dayes / than delyuered he hym to his guydes, & charged them on their lyues to brynge Ector to saufte. Than he made Ector to promyse hym that he shold yelde him prisoner to one that hight Surnome, that was seruaunt with the Senesshaƚƚ of Sizile / Ector toke leue of the kynge his maister / and offerd hym aƚƚ the seruice that he might do / so it were no preiudice vnto his feith / And whan it was night, he departed / and they that shold conduyte him / so secretly, that they were espied of no body.

Nowe retourneth the tale vnto the Turke, that aƚƚ-wey contynuede stille in his grete cruelte / He called them that he had commaundid to slee Ector, and asked them / "howe is it that ye haue not done as y haue commaunded you" / and they seide, "that þei might not" / for eueri day was he with kynge ffirabras / & on nightes had he xxti men waityng on him / when the Turke herd this, he was gretly displeased / In so moche that in a fury he commaundid that iij. or iiij. score of his folkes shold breke vp the dore where as Ector was / and to slee him / and let for no man / this was apointed to be doneon the morow / Here-bifore ye haue herd howe kynge ffirabras made to kepe Ectours chamber, like as he had ben there, to thentent that he migℏt be a good wey of / or his brother knewe of his departing / ffor he knewe wele, and his brother might gete him / ther shold be founde yn him non othir mercy but deth. Thus was Ector departed ij. daies bifore the Turke had made his entirprise vpon him / So the seconde day at night, they came vnto the chamber, where as they wende to finde Ector / purposyng verily to haue slayne hym, not lettyng for noman. Thus brake they vp the dore alle sodeynly vpone them that kepte the chambre / and it was in kyng ffirabraces owne logging / wherof the crie & the noise was suche, that kynge ffirabras himself cam thider, and many of his folkes with him / And whan they sawe the kinge come, they withdrewe them alle, sauf x. or xij. persones that bode stille ransakyng the chambre, whiche kynge ffirabras made to be hewen bifore him. Thise tidinges came to the Turke; and it was tolde him alle the maner how they came in-to the Chambre / where as they founde not Ector, and howe the noise & the crie was suche, that his brother came thider, and slowe x. or xij. of his folkes / The Turke, herynge this tale, was right sorowfuƚƚ and wroth / and sent for his pryuee counselƚ / and tolde them aƚƚ the matier, without hiding of any-thyng / bothe of the wordes that were bitwixt his brother and him / and how, for displeasir therof, he wold haue put Ector to the dethe / and in what wise / and how his brother was displeased / and had put x. or xij. of his folkes to dethe / whicℏ was to his grete shame and displeasir / whiche he wold not leue so / wherfore he asked their best counseƚƚ and advise / ffor if he shold folowe his owne wiƚƚ / he wolde do his brother a grettir annoy and displeasir than he had done him yet. They of whom he asked counselƚ were wise, & perceyued wele by his owne tale that the defaute was yn hym / wherfore they seide thus vnto him, "Sir, saving youre displeasir, ye haue ben with my lorde youre brother to ouir hasty; for, as vs thinkith, tho wordes that he had vnto you meued hym of fre and noble corage; and ye haue done him a vilany / sith, in his owne loggyng ye wolde make to slee his folkes; for the prisoner was his. And to make folkes come yn be night with force of armes in-to the loggyng of so noble a kynge as he is / it semeth vs a grete offence / seyng he hath done so moche for you / we thinke he wilƚ take this in grete displeasir / And we drede moche, yf this matier be not the sonner appesed, grete inconvenience may grove therof / The kynge your brother is a Lorde of suche corage as ye knowen weel / and for you, and yn your werres, he hath aventured body and goodes, and standith at this day yet prisoner / his men and his sogettes haue done you goode seruice / wherby many of them haue lost their lyues / and this is a smalle rewarde that ye yelde him / wherfore we meruaile nought though he be displeased / considering like as he seide vn-to you suche promesse as he made / to deliuere all the cristen prisoners that were in any partie of youre Reaume / bothe by your owne pleasir & agrement / wherfore it were litle meruaile if, for the despite that ye haue done him / he meued werre ageinst you / So moche as he hath done for you a-fore this" / "By my trouthe," seide the Turke, "if y coude thinke he wolde do so / I sholde sone deliuere the worlde of him" / Than his counselƚ answerd him, "Remembre, sir, what sholde falle ther-of if ye put hym to dethe / ffor he hath fair childre, whiche shull not be so nigh of blode vnto you as he is / nor in affection / whiche wolde rekke lesse to meue werre to yow-ward than he wolde / also he is kynge of a noble & a mighti Reaume / and wel beloued theryn / and of the moost worthy folkes that ye be serued of this day, be his sogettes / and they loue him asmoche as is possible for any sogettes to loue their Lorde / Thinke ye than to be without werre, by sleyng of hym? nay, nay / ye may be sure / and that were shold stike nerre you than the werres of Sizile / And more to your shame & reproef." The Turke, hering thies wordes, knewe wele that thise folkes seide hym trouthe / and than seide he vnto them, "it behoueth to knowe howe my brother takith this thing to hert / I trowe he wolde be wele pleased if ye went to hym / and if ye thinke it be to, y am content / and that ye say vnto him, that y knowe nothinge of alle this / and if any haue offendid hym, it shal be wele amendid / And if he seme not myn amendes y-nough / if he require me of Iustice / y shal do it him. And ye may sey hym, that y am right sory of this auenture / and if y had knowen it a-fore, y wold for no thinge haue ben agreable ther-to / how be it y was not pleased of the deliueraunce of the cristen man, ffor the experience that y haue sene in two only men to oure grete damage / I pray you do so moche if ye may, that this thinge be wele appeased / ffor if it be ferre spoken of / there may growe litle honour therby to either of vs bothe." They were glad whan they herde their maister thus speke / for the matier was to hym right shamefulƚ / and they, as good seruauntes, to appease it, toke the charge on themwith right good wille, and departed from the Turke, and went to the kynge his brothir / whom they founde aƚƚ redy to ride / and whan they came, they spake with hym at good leiser, and tolde hym in substaunce alle the wordes as ye haue herde before / And than kynge ffirabrace made alle his compleynte vnto them ful pitously / and seide, "my frendes, y cannot bileue that noon of you were consentyng or agreable to do me so grete a wronge, ffor y haue serued my Lord my brother, with my body, my goodes, and alle my power, as longe as y might, so that y am now prisoner, and in way of destruccion / And thus, in his Towne, and of his folkes, there hath be done to me so grete Iniurye, that I am alƚ abasshed to se his men come yn with force of armes, to breke vp the dore on my prisoner, to haue murthred hym, as they saide, & haue hurte & wounded my folkes; and y haue none othir socour but to saue my self. fulle long shold it be, or a straunger might be sure with hym / whan y, that am his seruaunt & his brother, am yn drede of my lif, & neuir did thinge that of right shold displease him / wherfore it is bettir for me to withdrawe me in-to my contre, and assay amonges my sogettes to gedre my fynaunce, whiche y trust wilƚ not leue me yn this daunger / than to abide in this Towne, and be alwey in thise vnkyndely daungers; wherfore, my frendes, y wilƚ departe / and Recommaunde me to my Lord & my brother, and sey hym that y compleyne me of hym to hym self / and yet alwey y shal contynue his trewe seruaunt and brother" / Thise wordes sent he, without longer taryng with the messangers, and toke his hors, and went his way yn-to his owne Reaume, where as he was resceyued with grete ioie / and was assured of his persone / for there was he mightly loggid / so that he had no drede of his brother / The Turkes messangers came vnto him agein / and told hym alle howe they had done, and what his brother had seide / and how he was departed. whan the Turke herde thise tidynges, he was yn wille to sende a company aftir his brothir, to brynge hym ageyn, wold he or not / But aftir many aduisementes of his folkes, he lefte that opinion, yn trust that by some bettir meane / and with more honour, they sholde accorde.

NOw most we speke a litle of Ector, that aƚƚ the nyght rideth / and on dayes tyme kepith him close yn woodes, til he were surely conduyte in-to the Reaume of Sizile / to suche place as þey had in charge that guyded hym. And there they departed fro hym, & taught hym the way / and the Townes that he sholdepasse by til he came vnto the kynge. Than toke he leue of them, and thanked them right humbly / offryng them seruice & frendship for the peyne they had with hym, ful humbly recommendyng hym vnto kynge ffirabrace, as to hym that he was moost bounde to / of al erthly men. Thus departed he from them / and passed thorugh the Reaume of Sizile; and in his iournay he mette with some of the kynges folkes, to whom he tolde part of his charge / and accompayned with them til he came thider as the kynge was. And yn his iournay, he fil yn remembraunce of the grete goodnesse of oure Lord, remembryng the grete ynfirmitees that god delyuered hym of / bothe out of prison & from the malice of the Turke / whiche he knewe weel, was by no meane that he coude make, but only by the grete bounte of oure Lorde, wherin he thought him ful vnable to do seruice vnto god / aftir the grete grace / that he had youen him / And than made he avowe and promysse to god / that if he lyued so longe, he shold abide in his seruice yn the Reaume of Sizile til god had releued it / or ellis it were vttirly lost / and yn the meane season, neuir to discouer what he was, to no creature. and thus determyned he yn hym self, fro that day forth to take in pacience what peyne or pouerte that god wold sende hym yn his seruice / whan he had taken this ferme purpose, he came thider as the kynge lay / and asked first of alle / aftir the Senesshalls loggyng, whiche was sone tolde him; ffor, nexte the kynge, there was no man in aƚƚ the Reaume kepte so grete an house as he did / nor was so moche renomed / And whan he came to hym / he fonde hym at Dyner, & Surnome & Athis seruyng him, for he coude neuir make hem do othirwise / but to be more diligent yn his seruice than any othir man / that longed vnto hym / Ector is thus entred in-to the halle, and salowed fferaunt and alle his company / and aftir, he asked whiche was he that men called Le Surnome. fferaunt behelde him, and sawe him yonge, faire, and wele proporcioned yn euery feture / and aƚƚ smylyng, saide vnto hym / "my frende, biholde, this same is he / ye may sey to him what it pleasith you / And if ye will speke with hym a-part, ye may" / "In good faith, sir," said Ector, "nay / y had leuer speke with him yn presence of moo folkes / for that his loos & renomee sholde be knowen / and y wold y were of suche worthynesse that he might be enhaunsed by me; hou be it, he hath little nede therof, for it is spred thorughout alle the world." and than saide he to Surnome, "kynge ffirabrace, youre prisoner, that holdith hymself weel ewred sith his fortune is to be prisoner /to be taken of so noble and good handes as of youres, and accordyng to promesse, that of pite, & by trety, ye made hym to make / he recommaundith hym to you, and sendith me to you, to do with me what it pleasith you, & hath deliuerd me out of that prison / wheryn y was brought by fortune and tempest of the see / and he sendith you worde for trouthe, that yet hath he founde no moo cristen prisoners / And whom-som-euir it bifalle, wele I thanke god it is bifallen me wele nowe / and aftir, y thanke you, whom god hath youen the grace to helpe me out of this daunger / wherfore, yn accomplisshyng my feith & promys, y yelde me to you" / than kneled he downe bifore him, and wold haue kissed his feet / Le Surnome, alle abasshed of the honour he did hym, toke hym vp by the hande / and saide / "my frende, y thanke God that ye be delyuerd / for me thinketh it had ben grete pite if ye had ben thus lost. And for Rawnsome, y shalƚ put you to choise, whethir ye wilƚ be felawe to Athis & me, or maistre of oure chambre / and take which it pleasith you." "fforsothe," saide Ector, "I am no man of suche honour to be felawe with neither of you / But and it pleased you to take me as your seruaunt, I wolƚ desire no grettir honour / and I thinke me wele fortuned so for to be" / fferaunt, that sawe this yonge man stande with Surnome and Athis, thought hym-self right moche bounden to god; for eueri day befille hym good aventures / for he hadde grete trust in Ectours worthynesse, and was right glad that he logged with Surnome and Athis; and toke hym in reputacion as felawe to theim. Thise tidynges came to the kynge and to the quene / and to their faire doughtir as they sate at dyner / and eueri man saide, that he was wele fortuned that was sent in-to the company of Surnome. Than was tolde the maner of his comyng, and howe grete ioie fferaunt had therof. "fforsothe," saide the kynge / "he is happy / & hath cause to be ioifulƚ, for his renomee is multiplied & doubled with straungers that come to his seruice, whiche, had not ben for his displeasir, I had receyued hem long sith of my houshold / hou be it, I haue ben serued with them in his company, as wele or bettir than if they had ben abidyng with me" / As they were yn thise wordes, came yn the Seneshalƚ and Ector with hym, whiche he brought vnto the kynge, and he salowed hym right humbly / and the quene & hir doughtir / And than the kynge enquered hym first of the maner of his person, and aftir his deliuerance, and of the tidynges of beyonde the see / and in euery thinge he answerd so wele & so wisely, that the kyngeand alle folkes had grete ioie to here hym / Aftir dyner was he brought vnto the ladies, whiche had grete ioie to beholde him / and so had fferaunt, whiche saide, he was a man replenysshed of alƚ beaute yn visage and body / and in wordes and maner fully assured, "and I trust fully yet to se him do as moche in dedes of armes as alle thise" / "fforsothe," saide the folkes to fferaunt, "we leue it wele; and ye be moche bounden to god, for he hath gyuen you fortune to haue noble seruauntes." Thus contynued Ector with feraunt and his ij. felawes, abiding the ceason of the Turkes comyng, whiche they thought right longe. The kynge made them alle iij. to be reteyned with his doughter / hou be it, their moost abidyng was with fferaunt / But yet, to put them to the more honour, whan they were there as she was, they did hir dayly seruice / And eueriche did his seruice so proprely / that it shewed wele they had be norisshed vp therin. And amonges them iij. was suche frendship / that eche of them desired to honour his felaw more than himself. Now leueth to speke of the kynge of Sizile and of his company, and retourneth to the Turke, that was in his contre / as ye haue herde.

Aftir the departyng of kynge ffirabras, his Brothir, many of his sogettes beganne to grucche ageinst him for the wrong that he had done vnto his brothir; and moche peyne had he to appease it / And fro that day forth, neuir encreased he / ffor ffirabas, that sawe him self in daunger of prison, wold neuir after do his brother seruice yn the warres, he nor noon of his sogettes. And if he had not be prisoner / many folkes Iuged he wolde haue made warre ageinst his Brother him-self, for the grete vnkyndenesse he hadde shewed him / Neuirtheles it was for that tyme appesed. The Turke made, all this ceason, ordinaunce for his goyng yn-to Sizile / and assembled alle his men / seyng vnto them, "my frendes, ye knowe wele howe y haue enterprised to conquere the Reaume of Sizile, and howe y haue at this day in my hande, fulƚ nigh half the Reaume / and if y shold nowe leue of / it were to me grete shame / wherfore y aske nowe counselƚ therin / for y am affermed to go thidre / But y aske aide and comfort of my sogettes and of my frendes / whiche is the cause y nowe haue assembled you" / Than toke they counselƚ amonges them; and, in conclusion, euery man ayded the Turke aftir his power / more than euir they had done bifore / so that he coude them right grete thanke / Than mustred he his folkes, & fonde his nombre grettir than euir it was. Thus emploied he the tyme of the trews in purveaunce, that he wasconcluded, aftir the feste of seynt Iohne, to entre in-to the Reaume of Sizile / to make grettir warre than euir he had done bifore / This was his armes & his departyng concluded / & euery man apointed what he shold do / and him self determyned to lay seege bifore the Towne of Naples, where as the kynge was, the quene & hir doughtir / and the moost of alle the noble folkes of the Reaume / seyng verrily, that if he had ones conquered that Towne, he sholde haue little besynesse to wynne the remenaunt of the Reaume / Thus thought they that they had little to do, but with that Towne allone. They ordeyned also an othir grete company, beside them that shold ly at the seege, to conduyte their vitaile & ordenaunce, without distourbyng or troublyng of them that shold abide at the seege / Than were the Capteynes ordeyned that shold haue the charge of euery thinge / And when alle was wele puruayde / The Turke abode stille in peas til the tyme came that he sholde go in-to Sizile.

NOw seith the tale, that the kynge of Sizile, that was fulle wise, made alle diligence to knowe & enquere the purueaunce of his enemyes / & spent grete good to the same entent / and did so moche, that he had waged folkes of the Turkes owne / and knewe by them, alle suche apointement as the Turke had taken / and here-vpon he assembled his counselƚ / and tolde hem how he was asserteyned, and praied them eueri man to take aduise there-vpon, for it was tyme / the newe ceason approched so nigh, wherfore it was expedient to take good aduise & short, herevpon / and many mocions were made vpon the maner of his conduyte, but no ferme purpose was takyn / This tyme ranne ouir alle of the grete ffense that the kynge of Sizile made in his Reaume to thencountre of the Turke, and howe that the trews shold breke vp at the feste of seynt Iohne / and than the Turke shold come agein in-to the Reaume of Sizile with grete power / but for alle that, there was no kynge nor othir prince that any thinge disposid hym to the helpe or socours therof / Thus on a day the kynge of Sizile, to whom the matier touched moost, whiche daily and hourely had it yn remembraunce, called some of his moost secrete counselle / & newly toke avice of this matier / and there-vpon euery thinge in writyng, yn suche wise as ye shal here / ffirst it was apointed to write and sende newe messangers to alle cristen Reaumes / wherin he had no grete trust of socour, for many tymes had he done so before / natheles, in asmoche as the matier was newer than it had ben othir tymes / for it was aftir a longe trews that the werre shold begynne agein / And alsothat they shold not thinke in hym that he was so presumptuous / that for the wele of the cristen feith he deyned not to requyre no body / ffor thise causes, concluded he to sende to alle Reaumes / hou be it, he had no hope but only yn god, and yn his owne power / wherfore he purueide him as weel as he coude, with the helpe of his owne folkes, to abide suche fortune as god wolde sende him / And hou-be-it that he had tidinges that the seege sholde be leide bifore what place that he were yn / yit lette not he to purvey and ordeyne his othir places / and to sette good and sure Capitaynes in eche of theim, and concluded fro that day forthe to fortifie alle his places / & to purvey for alle thinge that was nedefulle to the kepyng of them, for as long tyme as his power might stretche vnto. Aftir, ordeyned he for the place that he wold abide yn him-self, the Quene and his doughtir, and suche folkes as he wolde haue with him / Than apointed he fferaunt & his company to abide with him / Aftir this, ordeyned he, that if the seege were bifore him, a general Captayne that shold be his lieutenaunt at large in his Reaume, whiche sholde haue power to assemble alle the garisons, what tyme it pleasid hym, for to distourbe & trouble his enemyes / & the seide lieutenaunt shold haue a certayne nombre of folkes that sholde haue none othir charge but to accompany hym / and to go with him to suche place as nede sholde be, for to recomforte them, as wele by power of folkes as othir wise / if by dethe, or fortune of werre, the garrisons were amynysshed / Aftir, he ordeyned that alle men shold drawe theim to the good Townes, with alle their goodes and catelle, for to sustene the garrisons / and also to thentent that their enemyes shold fynde scarste of vitaile to comfort and releue theim with. Thise thinges be put yn writyng. than he assembled his Captaynes and his Counselle, as many as he might / and in their presence made it to be redde / seyng vnto them, that this was but a maner of a mocion, praing them to take good aduise theron / and euery man to sey his opinion.

It was thought by them alle / that they coude take no bettir aduise than the kyng had shewed theim / trustyng, if good were their good Lord, the Turke shold haue wers welcomyng than he had laste / thinkyng that, if he had not bettir yere amonges them than he had laste, he shulde be right wele content to take a lenger trews / and neuir to come again / Thise thinges thus accorded & diligently done / messangers were sent to alle Reaumes / the Capitaynes named & proclamed thorughout alle the Reaume / that euery man shold take his good and his catelƚ, & draw him in-to goodeTownes / for the sauacion of them and their goodes / Thus euery man entendid to his charge, and did so diligently, that yn litil while alle thinge was done as the kynge had ordeyned. fferaunt had the charge to fortifie & furnysshe the Townes that the kyng shold be ynne / and he did it so diligently and so wele / that it was impossible, if god were their good lorde, for any men to wynne it for many yeres / ffor ye may wele thinke / there that the kynge, the quene, and hir doughtir were / there lakked nouther vitaile nor ordenaunce / Thise thinges thus purveid as ye haue herde / alle the Reaume was wele recomforted, to abide suche aventure as god wold sende hem / The tyme drewe fast on, that the trews shold breke / and euery Capitayne drewe him to his garison, with suche company as was assigned hym / and kepte suche rewle and ordenaunce, aswele of spense of vitaile as of othir thinges, as if the seege had be leyde before them / for they knewe wele it wold be long or they coude gete any more vitaile. And on the tothir partie, the Turke assembled his folkes to go in-to Sizile with grettir nombre than euir he had bifore; he made to charge grete shippes with vitaile & ordenaunce, so that hym thought no thinge sholde faile him / He made them to be brought in-to suche places in Sizile as helde of hym / and ordeyned his folkes to conduyte hem fro thens alway to the seege, as nede shold require, like as ye haue herde bifore / his ordenaunce was so grete, that it was meruaile to se it / He and alle his folkes landed at the port of Capletrent / and whan he had ben there a while, he toke his iournay toward Naples, to lay seege there; for there was the kyng alle at his ease, redy purueid ageinst his comyng / whan the kynge vndirstode thise tidinges, he was alle recomforted, trustyng verrily in the helpe of god, and thought right longe aftir the Turkes comyng / But of alle othir, Ector was moost ioifulƚ of their comyng / ffor, daies of his lif, he had neuir sene bataile nor none assemble in armes / and alle his desire was to folowe Surnome & Athis, to se the worthines that he had herde speke of theim, and to take ensample at theim; for wele he wist that there was noon so moche renomed in the Reaume as they / And thise iij. loued togedir as they had be bretheren / ffor neuir had they but one loggyng, one purs, and one wille / and neuir was there amonges them angry word / Surnome & Athis had grete desire to wite how Ector sholde demene him in the werres, for that he was so perfite in alle othir thinges; and he purveide, so that he was right wele horsed and armed / and eche of them iij. promysed feith & trouthe to othir /and bicame brethern in armes / ye may wele thinke that the ladies and gentilwomen, whan they sawe hem in this case / were not wele assured when they herd the belle of the wacche, for the comyng of the Turke: they wepte ful sorowfully / and euery man recomforted them / and brought them to suche places where they might se the puyssaunce come / and if the grete drede that they had of the werre had not be / it had ben a good sight to see / ffor the Eyre and the erthe ressplendisshed with the Baners of gold, and of siluer, and of Cootes of armes / & of bright harneis / & the riche abilementis they had for their horses. So many folkes there were / that the Ladies and gentilwomen wende there had not ben so grete a power in alle the world, and had more feer than euir they had / ffor it semed them the Towne might neuir endure ageinst them / And thus came this company in iij. partis, for to besege and enclose the Towne. withyn the Towne was there a vij. or viij. thousand feighting men / And for as moche as they were there with the ladies / they desired to do some thinge at the bigynnyng that myght recomforte theym / and concluded that on the next morowe, yn the mornyng, they wolde visite their neighbores.

Now y shall telle you of the Turke, howe he did : he remembered him of the [seege] that he had layde bifore fferaunt / and how in loggyng them he had a grete skarmyssℏ, and lost many of his folkes / wherefore he ordeyned that euery day shold be a grete company arredied to horsbak / waityng on a Captayne / to drawe sodeinly to what part nede shole require / And there were iij. grete puissaunces, as ye haue herde, in iij. parties of the Towne / And of that one, was Orkays cheff; and of the tothir, the kynge of Luby; and of the iiijd. the Turke himself.

Now cometh the day that the sawte sholde be made. for asmoche as the Turke knewe ful wele the[re] were many folkes withyn, he wold not begynne the saute tilƚ the sonne were vp. fferaunt, that was fulle wise and wele vndirstandyng in suche matiers, saide to the kynge, "sir, please it you to stande at the gate / and lete no man go oute, but suche as I wilƚ / whiche y shull put alle bifore me" / And than he apointed suche as shold come with hym; and for drede he had of Surnome and of his felawes, he made them to promesse & swere that they shold withdrawe them assone as they here blowe the retrayte / Thus alle thing ordeyned / he departed out of the Towne with ij. thousand feighters / and did so moche, or the cry arose that they were amonges the kyng of Lubyes Tentes / and ouir ranne many of his folkes / the crie and the noise arose thorugh alle the hoste / and than they that had the charge to a-waite on suche sodeyn cries, were redy anone with the kynge of Luby / and came quikly on fferaunt and on his company, In so moche that by force it behoueth hem to withdrawe / and there were some of his folkes taken / wherof Surnome was right heuy and sory / and he [and] his felawes retourned agein to rescowe them / and neuir bifore had he aquytte him so wele as he did there / ffor by the noble prowesse of hym & his company, their enemyes were fayn to withdrawe them agein toward their tentes. All this encountryng shewed wele the worthines of Ector / that neuir vnto this day was sene in suche case / They iij. to-gedir did so in armes, that it was meruaile to thinke / and it semed by Ector that he had ben alwey brought vp in that crafte / the feeld a-boute them was al steyned and couerd with blode / and with ded folkes, In so moche that fferaunt was alle abassed / & entendid to no thinge but to beholde the hardynesse of his iij. seruauntes. And as they were thus feighting, came the Turkes power and his sones / vnto the Kynge of Luby / and than they came so sore vp-on the cristen men that they put them alle out of aray / whan fferaunt sawe this, he sent vnto the kyng for a thousand men moo to socoure them, to helpe to withdrawe them. Than made he to blowe the retrayte / and the iij. felawes, by force of Armes, were departe eche fro othir / and Surnome was enclosed among so many / that hou-be-it he defendid him right valiauntly / yet was he taken be might / for ouir many folkes were on hym / and was anone had out of the prees / seyng fferaunt his maister / that at that tyme wold haue ben ded / ffor he knewe weel that alle the gold in Sizile might not bye him agein, and he might not helpe him / for he and his company were so sore ouirsette / that with grete peyne they recured agein in-to the Towne / and had lefte behinde them the chief of alle their werre /

But now here wheron fferaunt aduised him / he toke al the folkes of armes that were with the kyng at the gate / and sodeinly went out at the gate that was ageinst Orkays tentes, for he sawe him vngarnyssht of alle his folkes / and bitwene his loggyng and the Turkes was a ryuer / and there was no brigge ouir it / but a litil passage / where might not come past ij. horses or iij. on front / and yit with grete peyne he ordeyned a good company to kepe that passage / for by none othir wey coude Orkays haue no socoure / Thus was fferaunt, with grete part of puyssaunce of the Towne, come to Orkays tentes / and there endured the bataile fulle long amonges them / By that tyme wasAthis and Ector enfourmed of the takyng of their ffelawe / whom they held in part for their maister / for whos sake they had suche sorowe that it was meruaile to wite / fferaunt ascried vnto them / "my frendes, now it is tyme that eche of you put peyne to the rescouse of his trewe felawe, whicℏ rescuse can not be without takyng of Orkays, sone vnto the Turke; now shalƚ be seen who shalƚ do wele; for trewly, if one of you were in suche daunger / the good Surnome wolde put him in grete deuoir / the ij. felawes lefte their sorowe / and, as they that had ben oute of their wittes, aventured them forth amonges the presse, without casting of any perilƚ or drede of any daunger; there was neuir man sawe ij. men do so moche in one day in Armes as they did / they were so besy in euery place, that their enemyes thought they sawe noon othir men but them, so moche they dred them / fferaunt folowed them alwey, and had as leef be ded, without he might haue day to rescowe his yonge seruaunt / he had at the leest in his company .v. thousand feighters, whicℏ were of fulƚ good corage / and, by their strength and power, yn short tyme was Orkays and alle his company put to playne discomfiture / and Orkays takyn prisoner by the handes of Ector, that presented him anon to fferaunt, whiche was right glad of his takyng, trustyng therby to recouer Surnome. The meane tyme that this noise and crye was, the Turke sent many of his folkes on horsbak to the rescous of his sone / wherby he thought him sure y-nough / But they that were apointed by fferaunt to abide at the passage, kepte it so wele, that noo might passe there / and at the diffence was grete mortalite of the Turkes. whan fferaunt had done this iournay, and sawe Orkays in his handes in saufte / and that his folkes had take suche pillage as they might easily bere with them and had set fyre in the remenaunt / he made to blowe the retrayte / and withdrewe them in-to the Towne / hauyng prisoners withoute nombre / but, ouir alle othir, he was glad of the takyng of Orkays / whan they were entred agein into the Towne / the kyng was enformed of the takynge of Surnome, and so were the ladies & gentilwomen / and the tidynges spred thorugh alle the Town, wherof the sorowe and complaynt began as moche as if the kyng had ben ded. And the kyng himself was so sory, that noman might comforte him / hou-be-it he had the Turkes sone yn his handes / for he helde him so cruelƚ and felonous, that he had leuer lete his sone dye than deliuere Surnome, by whom he had hadde so many losses and hurtes / Natheles he concluded to sende vnto the Turke an heraudeof Armes, to certifie him of the takyng of his sone, willyng him to entrete Surnome none othir wise than he wolde haue his sone entretid. [Illumination: Surnome bleeding, in a shirt; gallows; sally from the Town.]

NOwe retourne we to the Turke, that, aftir the distresse that he had vpone fferaunt and his folkes, and that Surnome was brought vnto hym / and that he knewe werily it was the same by whome he had hadde so many tymes losse & hurtes; and at that tyme he knewe no thing of the takynge of his sone / And whan Surnome was brought a-fore him / he thought for ioie his worthinesse was doubled / and behilde him, and sawe him so personable and amyable / and so wele assured, that he hadde meruaile to beholde hym / and concluded in him self / that he wold neuir slepe til he had taken on him cruelle veniaunce, and saide vnto him / "Thou vntrew cristen man, thyn vnhappy comyng in-to this lande hathe done me more damage than did the puyssaunce of cristen kynges: I shal neuir slepe / or y se the ded bifore myn ye." Thus Surnome, hering his deth / with humble corage content to abide it, for the pleasir of god / answerd agein vnto the Turke, seyng, "O turk, by my dethe shalt thou not be kyng of Sizile / for there is many more worthy than euer I was, yn the seruice of the kynge; wherfore y knowe wele my dethe shalƚ be litil damage to cristen; and therfore y am to endure suche peyne and turment as thou wilt deuyse, whiche y shaƚƚ receyue in ioie" / The Turke, for angre, might no more here him speke, but ranne on him / and scratte him in the visage / and made him to be voided out of his sight / and commaunded that gallowes shold be made anoon; & concluded, that aftir he had dyned, he wold go hym self to se him hanged / They of the Towne withyn, seing thies galowes adressing, enfourmed the kynge therof / And than bigan the sorowe more than bifore, thoroughout alƚ the Towne / for they knewe wele it was made for Surnomes sake / There migℏt ye se ladies and gentilwomen wepe and sorowe / but ouir alle other sorowed Iolant, the kynges doughter. There was the beaute, bounte, witte & worthinesse of Surnome, many tymes remembred & complayned that day / & euery body thought that, at the houre of his dethe, alle the vertues of the worlde sholde be lost / The kyng was alle out of mesure / as he that had lost only by Surnome alle the ioy he had in this worlde / thinkyng that, after his dethe, he wold no lenger lyue / Ector also, and Athis, were so fer from alle reason, that, for men wold not lete them go out at the gate, they wolde haue lepteouir the walles / It is alwey saide that a mannys witte ys neuir vndirstond til at a grete nede. fferaunt, that neuir was dispurueid, made hastly a paire of galowes to be set vpon the walles, yn the Turkes sight, and euen bifore his loggyng, as though he wold make Orkays dye ther-one / And yit, notwithstandyng þat, fferaunt put yn aduenture him self and alle that were in the towne, reseruyng the kyng / and a fewe that waited on him / & thought werrily alle to dye, or to rescowe his seruaunt / and to this apointed alle his folkes, and in especialƚ Ector and Athis, whiche filƚ to his fete for ioy / humbly thankyng / And yet, notwithstandyng the grete sorow that he had, he comfortyng them, seyng / "what, we haue yit no tidynges of the messanger that went to the Turke. I haue trust in god, and also know wele the loue that a ffadir hath to his childe / wherby he wol neuir be consentyng to the dethe of his sone / And that the prise that hath be made by you this day, my frende Ector, at youre nowe comyng, shalƚ be the sauacion of youre felawe" / Many turkes sawe thies galowes yn makyng on the Towne walle / and anone tolde it to the Turke, whiche strecched him vp at the boorde, and saide / "Lete them hange whom they can gete; for there is none shalƚ lette me to hange this that y haue" / And euen at the same tyme came yn the heralde from the kynge of Sizile, with the message þat ye haue herde tofore / The Turke, hering this, was gretely ameruailed / and coude not bileue it / for he had herde no worde therof bifore / wherfore he saide al wrothly to the messangers / "If the kynge, and they of his company, coude by their language saue the lif of their man / they had wele lerned to speke / But, as for my sone, that is so vnhappily lost, y wolƚ not respite the lif of this / but the rather delyuere hym to the dethe" / And than made he to brynge him to se Surnome, that was redy to go to his dethe / and the rope aboute his nekke / and whan he sawe him in this cas, he was so sory that vnnethe he might stonde on his fete / but Surnome comforted him, and saide / "I pray you, recommaunde me to the kynge & to the quene / and to may faire lady, their doughtir / to whom y haue euir ben trewe seruaunt / and recommaunde me to fferaunt, my good maister / and to my ij. felawes / and sey I praied them not to compleyn nor sorowe my dethe, for y trust verrily in the mercy of god to dye wele / Natheles, pray them to pray for me" / Than he toke hym by the hande, the teeres yn his yeen / and bade hym farewele / and praied his ij. felawes also to take his dethe agreably / thus the messangerdeparted, & came to the towne / and tolde the kynge and fferaunt how he hadde founde him. And whan they herde this report, it touched their hertes so nygh / that they thought they sawe Surnome bifore them / in the same cace that the messanger had seen hym / and after they had wepte & compleyned / euery man concluded either to dye or to rescowe him / Two hundred men were ordeyned to go to thise Iuyse / and a Mƚ. to renne on them that kepte the place, and ij. Mƚ. redy to socour them / if nede were / and the kynge redy, in his owne persone, at the gate with iij. Mƚ. to releef them / at their comyng yn agein, if nede were. And thus was euery thinge ordeyned and redy / and Ector and Athis were delyuered the charge / whiche toke it on them with right goode corage / Surnome, on that othir side, that abode no thinge but dethe, compleyned his fadir & his modir, and them of his reaume / and compleyned his contre, that shold stonde withoute heyre / Aftir, he compleyned the kynge of Sizile, the quene and their doughtir, his maister and his ij. felawes / prayng god right hertily to comfort them, and sende them aƚƚ good auenture, and in especiaƚƚ that his faire lady shol neuir come in the handes of tho myscreauntes. Aftir this, he praied god to haue mercy & pite on his soule, seyng that in his seruice he shold nowe take the dethe / humbly besechyng hym, of his grace, to receyue his soule / and of his grete mercy to pardone alle his offences.

Whan the Turke had dyned, he herde tidynges that his sones loggyng was alle ouirthrowen and brent / a[nd] moo than x. or xij. Mƚ. men slayne / and his sone taken prisoner, and brought in-to the towne, and the moost part of the grete lordes and noble men of his company / If the Turke were soroufuƚƚ, it is no question / and, for the grete angir, forgetith alƚ fadirly loue, and the seruyce of alle those lordes and noble men that were taken prisoners / and forgetith also his owne brother / that was prisoner to hym that he had than in daungere, by whom he myght haue had his brother agein, or his sone / but than alle was forgoten / And thus, as a wood man furiously puttith the boorde fro him, without aduise, or settyng any ordre to the dede of Iustice that he sholde do / and asked alle hastily where was the prisoner / and men brought him forth; and he toke hym by the Rope that was aboute his nekke, and drewe him so hard that, if folkes had not taken him awey, he had strangled hym / but his folkes toke him from him / and seide / "sir, this bilongeth not to you to do / lete the hangman do his office, sith ye be so fere forththat no reason may meue you / we be kynne and frendes to them at this day, that by your cruelte we shal se dye / and your self be cause therof, and also of the dethe of youre owne sone / ffor, be assertayned, they withyn haue no suche drede / but assone as this man is ded / he and alle they shalle dy bifore your yen / And whan your pleasir shal in this be fulfilled / your sorowe euir aftir shalbe out of mesure / and then shal be to late to repente, for it shalbe passid remedy / Also your brother, or his plegges, shalle dye with sorow and shame" / But of alle that euir they seide vnto him, he rought not / and sware by his goddes, if they spake any more, he shold make them alle to dy an euyl deth / and toke a grete staff yn his hande / and made them cary forth the prisoner to the gallowes / and euir layde on him so grete strokes, that made him alle blody / now sent he forth so woodly this prisoner, that he had but fewe folkes aboute him / and yit they that were in his company were in suche sorowe and distresse, that they had as leef dye / as lyue / for their kyn and their frendes, that they sawe in suche daunger withyn the Towne / and for that cause there was the more vnsure guydyng in this matier / The wacche of the Towne sawe the multitude of folkes comyng / and Surnome amonges them, ledde like a theef; and the folkes couerd aƚƚ the felde / they went & tolde the kynge & fferaunt, whiche wepte for pitie that Surnome was so pitously entretid / Surnome bihelde the Towne, wherin he had hadde so moche pleasir & ioie, thinkyng neuir to come ther more / for he loked aftir no thinge but dethe / often recommaundid vnto god alle them that were withyn the Towne / and whan they were come nere the gallowes, Ector and Athis, that were apointed to go to the Iuyse, toke their company with theim, and went thider as fast as their horses might renne, fore drede that they sholde come to late / the Turke, seyng this auenture, cried many tymes that men shold kille the prisoner, but there was noon that coude fynde in his herte so to do; and there durst they not abide, for they were alle out of array / And at that tyme, were slayn and taken many grete lordes of the Turkes partie / whan Ector & Athis, whiche had the charge to rescowe their felaw / fonde him allone, with his visage all blody, of the strokes that the Turke had youen him on the hede / they wende he had ben hurte to the dethe / and were so sorowfuƚƚ, that vnnethe they might speke one worde / Natheles, they set him vpon horsbak / and brought him agein in-to the Towne, without any encombraunce or hurt of any cristen man, and vnto the grete losse& damage of the turkes. And whan they were comyn in-to the Towne, they had grete drede of thurt Surnome had on his hede / for they wist not wele yit how it was with him / Than Ector and Athis brought him to loggyng, and sawe that he was right seke, and sore diseased / for his nekke was gretly swolne / and alle the skynne of / with the streynyng of the rope / and his shuldres also were blac with the strokes of the staff that he had / and in his hede he had a grete stroke, whiche was alle blody and swolne / and his visage was all to-scrag / The kynge made to sende for alle his surgeons, & made them to serche hym / whiche saide that he was sore hurt / but they sawe no drede of dethe yn hym / but that he shold be heled withyn litil while / The kynge and his company was ioifuƚƚ of this tidynges; and then was tolde to Surnome the grete worthinesse and prowes of Ector that day / and also the grete armes that he and Athis had done to rescowe hym, and yn what auenture fferaunt, their good maister, had put hym that day / whiche semed to be bettir content with his dethe than to lyue / & how Ector had taken with his hande the Turkes sone / And alle this was tolde him to reioice hym / ffor euery man knewe wele þat the preise and grete renome of his noble maister, and of his ij. felawes, was one of the grettist ioies that he coude haue / All thise wordes were seide vnto hym by the kyng, whiche was come to visite him / And Surnome answerd hym, & saide / "sir, y thanke god and you / that it pleasid your grace, for so pore a man as y am, to parte oute of your towne / and put yourself yn daunger / whiche y neuir coude deserue / But y shaƚƚ put me in deuoir alwey to do you the bettir seruice" / And thus departed the kynge fro hym, and came to his owne loggyng / and there mette with hym the quene, hir doughtir, & alle the ladies, whiche were right sorowfulle of the hurt of Surnome. but the kyng tolde them for trouthe that he was in noo perilƚ of dethe / wherof they were as ioifulƚ as they might be / ffor there was noon erthly man so moche biloued of euery body in alle honour as he was, and in especialle of alle them of that Reaume / for sith his comyng, the reaume was more furnysshed of noble men than euir it was bifore / and he neuir did ne seide thinge that sholde displease any body / Thus by hym daily encresed their ioie / But alle othirwise went it yn the Turkes hoste / for he was so troubled at that tyme, that he was half in dispeire / and rought not to haue slayn hym self, to haue ben oute of his grete sorowe / whan he was with-drawen & retourned in-to his tente / and knewe forcertayne þat his prisoner was deliuered / and what outrageous losse he had of the moost notable of his counselle, that were dede & taken, and wele a xij. or xiiij. hundred men slayne beside / and of the cristen, not one hurt at that tyme / And also howe his sone was prisoner, whiche might haue ben deliuered hym ageyn / had not be his outrageous pride / And at the takyng of his sone, slayne the same day .x. or xij. Mƚ men. Remembryng alƚ this, he was so soroufulƚ that he wist not what for to do / but sent in alle haste for his counselle, and for his Capteynes / and praied them to gif him their best aduise. And if bifore dyner he were hote and tempestous / now is he colde and sobre / for he hath had a sharpe showre to cole him with / There was noon of his folkes that bemoned him / but in their hertes dedly hated hym / and dispreised hym / and seide amonges themself, that there was neuir cruelƚ man in the ende had honour nor glory; and they thought wele their goddes wolde punysshe him for his cruelte / and for thys cause they were alle discoraged / Natheles they aduised them, by alle weies they coude, to kepe their honour yn that they had to do / And sent for the puissaunce that they had ordeyned to conduyte the vitailles & other purueaunce for the hoste, and logged them where as Orkays had ben discomfite, & made ij. or iij. brigges ouir the watir / and thus was that quarter furnysshed agein / But for alle that, they were more in drede of them withyn / than they withyn were of theym / The Captayne, that the kyng of Sizile had ordeyned to be his lieftenaunt thorugh his reaume, knewe for certayne that this grete armee, that shold conduyte his vitale, were than at the seege, and might not departe thens / wherfore he thought their vitaile shold come to them with litil ease, if he might / and than assembled he a good company togedir / and daily troubled them, bothe in takyng fro them their vitaile, and sodeyn assautes, comyng on them in the night / and put them in suche trouble that they were wery of their lyues. In this wise endured the seege aboute a iij. monethes / In this meane ceason was Surnome alle hole, and came to se the ladies, as he had ben accostomed to do. And the kynge thought, as his bien venu / and for to reioice the company, to make a Banket, where the ladies and gentilwomen shold be / and the Turkes sone / & a grete part of the noble men that were prisoners / for he wold reherce vnto them the cruelte of their maister, And also to make Surnome to telle of his aventure. Thus ordeyned he this Banket / and sent for his Capteynes, the renomed, & in esspecial for fferaunt& for his iij. seruauntes, whiche iij. serued the ladies at this Banket / hou be it, the kynge wold haue had them to sitte downe / There sate downe the kynge & the quene, and bitwene the quene & faire Iolante was sette Orkays, that ful gladly bihelde this faire lady / And if he had ben lorde of alle the worlde at that tyme, he knewe no woman that he wold so fayn haue had to his wif / and thought yn his mynde, by meane of mariage bitwene them two, the peas might be made / and or he wolde leue hir, he wolde take the cristen lawe / and fro that day forth abode he in this thought / like as ye shalle here. many othir prisoners were sette at the kynges boorde, that gretely bihelde his persone and his demeanyng / so they did the quene and hir doughtir / fferaunt was set at the kynges boorde, with many othis folkes of honour, that sate ther also. whan the kynge had seten ther a while / and ben mery amonges them; he fille in question with Surnome of his hurtes, and commaundid hym to telle the trouthe how it was. Surnome durst not disobey the kynges commaundement, but tolde of his takyng, & of the Othe the Turke made assone as he was brought bifore hym / that he sholde neuir slepe or he were put to dethe in his presence / Aftir, how he made bynde hym to a poste / and putte a rope aboute his nekke / and tolde howe the messanger seide vnto him, and what answere he had / and how-be-it that he was not worthy to qwite suche a prisoner as Orkays, yet was he offred for his deliueraunce / Aftir, tolde he how the Turkes folkes blamed him for drede of the dethe of Orkays / and howe the kynge sent to the Turke, & sware, if that he put him to dethe, that Orkays and alle the other prisoners sholde be hanged / And than, with grete ire and cruelte, he put the boorde fro hym, and came to him ther as he stode bounden / and drewe the rope so fast, that was aboute his nek / that he had strangild him, had not his folkes cried on him / and seide that it was the hangmans office, and contrary to the honour of so grete a prince to do so foul a dede / and whan he herde the speche of his folkes, he vnbonde him him-self / and deliuerd him to the hangman / and gaf him ij. strokes with a grete staff bitwene the shuldres / and one on the hede / and conduyte him him-self vnto the gallowes, he and his folkes vnarmed & without any ordenaunce, ffor the whiche cause they might make no resistence at his rescous.

In heryng this tale, euery man wept for pite, bothe Orkays and all the tothir prisoners. Aftir his tale was ended, the kynge spake to Athis, and seide, "ye were prisoner at the distresse of the armee of the kyng of Scottes sone / telle ye the manere now of your takyng." Athis was alle shamefast / but he durst not disobey the kynges commaundement, and seide / "sir, it is trewe þat by tempest of wedir, the vesselle that y was yn, brake, even bifore the Turkes hoste / wherby the moost part of the folkes þerin were drowned, sauf vij. or viij. that gate the lande / wherof y was one, purposing to haue yolden vs vnto the mercy of the Turke, thinkyng verrily that god hat done moche for vs to bringe vs to lande so nere him, for we trusted to fynde mercy yn hym / and when he sawe vs in this case, he cried with high voice / "sle tho cristen traitours!" then were they alle slayne, sauf y / whiche was to grete a pite / ffor amonges them was slayne the good Erle Douglas, that was a noble man and a wise / and whan I sawe this pitous aventure, y withdrewe me toward a litil Rok, and set my bak ther-ageinst / defending my self as wele as y coude, praing all-mighti god of his mercy, as he that abode no thing but dethe / And as y was yn this daunger / the Turke cried aƚƚ-wey to put me to dethe / my lord Orkays was ther present, and meved with pite, toke me in-to his handes, and assured me for than / y shold not dye / his fadir toke this to grete displeasir, and wold nedis haue put me to dethe, But Orkays did so moche that he put me in saftee. Aftirwarde, agein his fadir required hym that y might dye, but he wolde neuir agree therto / but did so moche, whethir his ffadir was pleased or not / that he delyuerd me / and made me to be surely conduyte vnto fferaunt, with whom y haue contynued in seruice sith that tyme" / Aftir this tale tolde / euery man bihelde Orkays, and thought it was an honorable dede of hym / Than the kynge commaunded Ector to telle by what fortune he was taken, whiche was right shamefast to telle his tale / natheles he bigan, and seide thus / "Sir, it is trewe that in my right grete youthe y desired to se the houre that y might be yn your seruice / for the honour of god principally, and to mayntene the feith; and for the grete weeles that euery man rehersed of you, of the quene, & my lady your doughtir / wherfore it happened me to gete in-to a vesselle with notable men, that were therin / and by fortune of tempest we aryued yn a lande that helde of the Turke / and y suppose that oure seruice was not to god agreable / So we were taken & brought bifore the lord of Towne / and for-asmoche as we were cristen, they thought it a nouelte / and they presentid of the company in-to diuerse places, and kepte stille with them my fellawe and me / andhe dide in prison / And at the tyme of my deliueraunce, y thought fulle litil of my lif / But that it fortuned that my maister and felawe, Surnome, made his prisoner, kynge ffirabras, to promyse that he shold sende agein alle cristen men that by fortune had be taken in the warres in any landes of his brothers or his / And he, remembryng his promyse whan he came home, vndirstode that y was prisoner yn the same Towne that the Turke was yn that tyme / and he asked me of him / than was y brought bifore hem bothe / & the Turke, seyng me so megre & pore, toke litil hede of me / but lete me delyuerd to kynge ffirabras / whiche made me be so wele cherisshed and taken hede vnto / that withyn litil while y recouered, and wex in good plite / than on a day went y to the Turke, and y waited on hym / and was alle newe araied & wele recouered / and he bihelde me, and knewe me not / and asked his brother what y was / and he seide that y was the cristen man that was deliuered out of prison but late / than wold he haue put me to dethe / and seide that, by the worthynesse of one man / his saide brother had be taken / and the noblesse & the corage of the Sezilians was by hym redoubled / and by an othir man, that his sone had deliuerd, he had taken so grete hurte, that it was meruaile to thinke; And his hert gaf him, if y departed, that y shold do him grete damage / and thus in no wise wolde he be agreable to my delyueraunce / and so fille they at wordes / In so moche that kynge ffirabras sware that he had leuir dye than to false his promys / than he deliuered me by night / and made me to be surely conduyte vnto this reaume / where y haue abiden euir sith / and aftir my departyng thens, the Turke sent of his folkes to breke vp the chambre where as he wende y had ben, to put me to dethe, in despite of his brothir. But y thanke god & good kynge ffirabras / y was out of his daunger / ffor y wote wele, and y had ben in his handes, he wold haue had litil pite on me / that wold not haue pite of the dethe of his owne sone / and of so many notable men, asmoche as to deliuere one persone for the sauacione of them alle" / Alle they þat were there of the Turkes meyne, knewe wele thies tales were trewe, wherof they were gretly encombred and abasshed of the cruelle & tyrannous disposicion of their maister. Than spake the kyng to Orkays, & seide / "Sir, ye must now telle your tale" / then saide Orkays, smylingly / "sir, my tale shall sone be tolde / for y had neuir othir fortune of warre but suche as ye knowe, sauf one whiche y wolƚ not reherce for my praise / but for the praise of them that haue deserued it / trouthe it was, alle thatAthis hatℏ seide / It was my fortune to delyuere him ageinst the wilƚ of my fadir / and conduyte him surely vnto fferaunt / and the next day it happened they made a grete assaute on my logginges, where as were many folkes slayn / and prisoners taken out of nombre, wher-of y was one, and filƚ in the handes of Athis, that had ben my prisoner / and whan he was in the Towne, he remembred y had done somwhat for him / and yn grete haste ledde me thorugh the towne / and lete me oute at the gate that was ageynst my fadirs loggyng / and there deliuered me, seyng vnto me / 'I can no bettir horse you, nor harneise you, to your pleasir than ye be / and if y coude, ye may be sure y wolde / therfore ye shalle haue your owne still' / and thus departed y fro hym / and came to my fadir, whiche seide, y ought to blame no man of this fortune but my self / by the deliueraunce of hym that he was no thinge agreable vnto / than tolde y hym of my deliueraunce / and by whom it was, whiche was a thinge, as who seith, impossible for hym to bileue / & howe be it, he sawe me deliuered, and knewe wele that I was delyuered by hym that y had saued bifore / yet repented hym that he had not put him to dethe / And at suche tyme as y toke Athis, y knewe him not but by his dedes, whicℏ shewed wele him to be a noble man / But whan he toke me, he knewe for certayne that y was the Turkes sone / and what good he might haue had by me / yet was he of so noble corage, that he forgate aƚƚ couetise, and deliuered me" / Than might folkes se howe basshfulƚ Athis was, to here his praise, and also for drede he shold be shent / The kynge, the ladies, and alle the company behelde him, which loked alle rede, and sore abasshed / than asked him the kynge / "what / Athis made ye this deliueraunce" / and kneled downe alle shamefastly, and seide / "fforsothe sir, yea / wherof y cry you mercy, ffor y coude in no wise put him in aduenture that had saued my lif / and if yn this matier y haue offendid ageinst youre grace, or ageinst my lorde my maister / y biseche you bothe of pardone / and offre my self to what punysshment it pleasith either of you to apointe / for y had leuer a dyde, than by me he sholde haue ben in daunger of his lif." Orkays repented him sore of this that he had tolde / for he sawe wele by Athis þat he was botℏ abasshed and adred / The kyng perceyued wele that Orkays and Athis were bothe abasshed, and seide to Orkays, "ye haue tolde me of the fredom of Athis / and me semeth ye drede that y shold con him maugre / but forsothe, y do not / I knowe wele there was offence / but the cause was soresonable, that with alle my hert y forgif him" / Athis thanked him right humbly / and than went to his maister, & besought him of pardone, whiche lightly forgaf him; and aftir, alle his lif, loued he him the bettir for that noble dede.

Aftir thies wordes, was brought yn a Poo Poo or Peacock.--In the 14th century Chanson de geste of the Vœux du Paon (MS. Addit. Brit. Mus. 16,956, copied from a MS. No. 6985 (?) in the National Library at Paris: P. Paris Manuscrits François iii. 106, A.D. 1840), "Porrus shoots the peacock (73 b.); it is served up at table, and Cassamus calls on all the knights to make their vows upon it (f. 74 b). 'Elyot,' a damsel of high degree, in the service of Fezomé (daughter of Godifer), carries it round; the vows are made, and the peacock is eaten (ff. 75-82 b)." Ward's Catalog of Romances in Brit. Mus. i. 147. by ij. gentilwomen / And the kynge made to the Poo his advowe first / and promysed to diffende his reaume to his power / "and that, notwithstandyng the pride and tiranny of his aduersary withoute him, he wolde neuir do tiranny nor shame to prisoner[es] that were noble men or of any good disposicion / but shold kepe them yn honour and noblesse as longe as they were in his gouernaunce" / Aftir, made Orkays his avowe, and seide that, "to his power, he wolde put him in peyne to make pees bitwene the Turke his fadir, & þe kynge / & if his fadir died before hym, he shold neuir, daies of his liffe, make warre with the kynge of Sizile, nor with his Reaume / but rathir yelde agein vnto him alle that his ffadir had taken fro hym / for he sawe him so wele puruaide in alle goode vertues / that aboue alle othir kynges, he desired his fauour and acqueyntaunce" / but the trouthe was this / that faire yonge lady, that sate by hym, meued his hert witℏ this pite and kyndenesse more than any othir thinge / though he spake it not / eueri man coude him grete thanke / The kynge, the quene, and their doughter thankid him moche / Aftir was the Poo borne to fferaunt, whiche sent it agein vnto the lordes and knightes that were prisoners, whiche made their avowes accordyng to the same that Orkays had made. Aftir this, made fferaunt his avowe, and sware that, for the grete crueltees that he had seen without nombre in the Turkes persone, wold he neuir yelde him vnto him / and if the Turke came in his daunger, he wolde neuir put him to raunsom; and by the same avowe required he, and praide alle them that were vndir him, that they wolde make the same promes / The Halle was fulle of noble folkes, and the Poo was brought[t] bifore them / and euery man helde vp his hande, & sware with lowde voice the same promesse that fferaunt had made / The Poo was brought bifore the iij. seruauntes of fferaunt / whiche serued bifore the ladies / and they made their aduowe to god, to the ladies, and to the poo / that they shold truly kepe the same promesse / that their maister made / Thies avowes were put in writyng by the kynges of armes / than were the lordes taken vp / and the Mynstrells came yn / and the lordes, knyghtes and squyers, ladies and gentilwomen, daunced ther / that night was ther no tidinges of the seege /Orkays bicame so amorous of this faire lady / that he coude haue no rest / and often tymes came he, by licence of the kynge, to se the quene & their faire doughter / In so moche that folkes perceyued wele by his maner / that he loued hir ouir alle thinge / and folkes seide amonges them, that it were a mete mariage if he were cristened, for therby shold the pees be sure and ferme / but without he were cristened, ther was noon of the Reaume that wold be agreable ther-vnto / This faire lady knewe wele of alle this / whiche made no countenaunce like it / for if she had knowen Surnome, or one of his felawes, of as noble lynage as hym, she had leuer haue had one of theim with right litil, than him with alle the Turkes landes, and in esspecial Le Surnome / for aboue alle othir she liked him best; hou be it, there was in any of the tothir two as moche honour as in any persone neded to be wisshed, though Surnome passed them.

Tidinges sone ranne by some prisoners, that were delyuered in that meane tyme / that the Turke was put in knowlage of thavowes of the Banket & whanne he herd them, he aduised them weel / and perceyued by the kinges avowe that he had made, to diffende his reaume to his power / that he wold not lightly delyuere vp that Towne that he was yn / And aftir, remembred the avowe of his sone, whicℏ was / what-so-euir he conquered in his lif, aftir his dethe shold be deliuerd agein vnto the kynge of Sizile / Aftir this, he thought on the avowe of fferaunt and alle his / whiche was more lothe vnto hym than any of the tothir / for by that sawe he his dethe sworne, if he came in their daunger / Also he sawe his folkes alle out of corage, and thought wele that his goddes hated hym / on the tothir side, he sawe the manner of the sege, that was daily wers for him and wers / and bettir for them that were withyn the towne / also what scarcyte of vitaile they had / and with how grete peyne they gate that litil that they had / Alle thise tidinges considered, he sawe him self how he had done shamefully to his brother / whiche he wist wele wold neuir be agreable to do hym neither ayde ne seruice. with alle thise thoughtes, he fille in suche sorowe and drede that he wist not wele what to do / And so he thought to assemble his Capteynes and his counselle / and to shewe them thies matiers, in suche wise that they shold not perceyue by his maner nor his wordes, drede nor fere in him to slake their corage, but toke this conclusion to breke with them, as though he vndirstode them enclyned to alle his pleasir / and of high and noble corage, and thought to shewe his owne maner high and feers / forwele he wist, in conclusion, that generally they alle wold gif him counselle to departe / There may no man telle the grete deuoir that the kynge of Siziles folkes did euery day / grete peyne it was to kepe them from fighting with the Turke, and many tymes went they out and scarmysshed with hem / and alƚ-way to the damage of the Turke, wherby the kynge saw wele that the Turkes folkes had lost hert & corage / and in his ymaginacion thought to make a grete assaute vpone the Turkes loggyng / & concluded in his secrete counselle so to do / Than sent he a seruaunt of his, that was wele spoken, secrete and wise, to his lieftenaunt, and sent hym worde at what houre he wold make thassaute vpon the Turke, warnyng hym to be there with alle the power he might make; and that he shold first set vpon the Turke; and while he was yn hande with hym vpone the tone side, wolde he haue alle his power come oute of the towne, & sett on hym on the tothir side.

YE haue wele herde how the Turke was determyned to sende for his counselle and alle his Capitaynes / & so he did / and whan they were bifore hym, he seide vnto them in this maner / "ffaire lordes, the cause that y haue sent for you is this / ye knowe wele, first, the takyng of my Sone; I suppose also, ye vndirstonde thavowe that he hath made, whiche turneth me to grete displeasir / for if y were dede, the payne that y haue taken in my conquest shold litil profite; for his avowe is, aftir my dethe to yelde it agein / and ye knowe wele y haue no moo childreen nor othir heyre than him, sauf my brother, whiche y shaƚƚ not right wele accorde with" / than seide he smylyngly / "ye knowe wele also, how by the avowes that haue be made, my dethe is sworne / Also my aduersary hath made his avowe to diffende his lande, and neuir to trete with me / ye se oure conduyte, and thexploite of warre that we haue done / If y coude se you of as good corage as y haue seen you before tymes, y shold be wele comforted / but sith we came bifore this towne, I sawe no good assaute made by vs; wherfore y pray you gete agein your good corage, and I shaƚƚ not leue you, but bere you company in alle daungers" / Thus endid his wordes; and they alle withdrewe them, and spake togedre a while; and than, by one of the best of them, he was answerd in this wise / "Sir, we haue alle wele vndirstand your seyng / and thervpone spoken togedre / and right humbly we beseche you / of that I shal say vnto you, to take no displeasir / for it is as late to breke vnto you now as it can be / and if we had durst, we had done it longsith / ye knowe, sir, the hardnesse and aduersitee that is nowe come on you / and it semeth, sauf your displeasir / that the naturaƚ pite that a ffadir or a brother ought to haue, or a good prince, to his suggettes & seruauntes, is gretly quenchid and almoost failed yn you / whiche is a grete pite and damage / and hath caused alle your frendes and seruauntes to be vttirly discomforted; we knowe wele, for thise causes haue thises avowes be made on your persone / ye knowe youre sone in daunger, that might haue ben yolden vnto you for a right meane man, to regarde of hym / but ye wold be therto in no wise agreable / but to put hym in thaventure of dethe / and alle your trewe seruauntes, that were prisoners with hym, and alle them that ye had leyde in plegge for the kynge your brother; yea / and perauenture his owne persone, ffor we knowe hym suche / that forto suffre dethe he will not breke his promes; and that might ye perceyue wele, by the cristen man that he deliuered" / Than answerd the Turke, and seide: "by that delyueraunce haue y lost my sone. But whatsoeuer hath be done bifore this tyme / be it good or euyƚƚ, we be in suche cas nowe as ye se / whiche we may not long endure without othir purueaunce: and it toucheth you alle aswell as to me / and therfore y haue assembled you to haue your aduise / put out of your hertes all rancour & debates, and remembre the matiers nowe, yn suche cace as they are yn" / It semed to them alle that were there, that debates might litil auauntage / and that they most purvey for othir remedy, for they were in right grete scarste of vitailes, by the kyng of Siziles lieftenaunt and his folkes, whiche dayly toke it from them. The Turke asked thavice of hym that best pleased hym the reason of / whiche saide in this wise / "sir, for tho causes that haue be rehersed here / men shal not se folkes speke to-gedir a doseyn wordes, but it is of the conduyte of you / and of your hoste / and to sey the trouthe of their corage and wille / it is no thing towardes you nor your warres / as they were whan ye came hider / for euery man seith / that in youre persone, as to the guydyng of your warres, they se neither rewle nor ordenaunce; wherby they are so discoraged, that xxti. Sizilians are worth an .C. of your folkes. Also youre vitailes faile you / and wynter shall come on hastily, and ye haue not folkes y-nough to holde your sege / and for to conduyte your vitaile / wherfore the kyng of Siziles folkes distressith them dayly that conduyte it / And therfore, myn aduise shalbe this / that, or ye haue any grettir losse, that ye breke vp the sege / and drawe ye alƚ this wynter tyme in-tosuche townes of this Reaume as ye haue conquered / men shalle sey that this shalle not be for your honour / but byholde / if ye abide here any lenger, what honour ye may wynne therby / I dare sey, at last ye shal be fayn to departe, whan ye shal haue spent youre richesse, and perauenture lost many moo of your folkes, wherthorugh, your departyng than shal be grettir damage and more shame than it shold be at this day / for in defaute of vitaile, can ye not gete that place yet / it is so wele purveide / & by trety ye can not gete it / ffor ye knowe wele what avowe the kynge hath made; wherfore ye may entende by no meane to haue it but by force; and beholde hou fer ye are therfrom / for sith ye came hider, was not one of vs so hardy that durst thinke to approche to their walles / wherfore, alle thinges considered, with your correccion I am of thopinion of your departyng. And whan ye shalle be withdrawen in-to what Towne of this Reaume it shalƚ please you / ye may sende than to the grete lordes of your Reaume, to shewe them yn what cas ye be / and make them to take aduise amonges them, and sende you suche counseƚƚ as they thinke best / and then most they nedes helpe to execute suche conselƚ as they gif you; and from hensforth afferme your self to bileue your counselƚ, and to werke by their aduise / for the moost wise that lyueth, hath nede of counselƚ and aduise / and if it please you so to do / ye shalƚ kepe that ye haue conquered; for youre enemy is not mighti / And y trust, if it will please you to bileue your kynne and counselle, by the next somer your honour shal be recouerd, and be in as good caas as euir it was." Thise wordes, herde by the Turke, displeased him no thinge / and so he asked the tothir folowyng, their aduises / But euery man was so weried and annoied, that they were of the same opinion. The Turke then concluded on this opinion, seyng / "ye blame that y haue not done by counsel, and yet me semeth, by vsyng of this counselƚ bothe shame & blame shal bifalle me / but as hereyn y wol leue myn opinion / and do by your aduise and counselle; and me thinkith it were good to knowe the day of oure departyng." than concluded they on the xijth. day folowyng / And that shold be in the night / euery man shold trusse his tente and his cariage / and euery man be on horsbak at the sprynge of day / The conclusion this taken, euery man was warned that had any charge / but the day of their departyng was ouir longe & damageable for theym /

Ye haue wele herde here-bifore of thentirprise that the kynge of Sizile had taken, and how he had assertaynedhis lieftenaunt therof; and the messanger had quytte hym so wele, that he was entred secretly in-to the Towne agein / and reported vnto the kynge, for trouthe, that in his lieftenaunt shold be no defaute / for he wold be there with moo than .x. thousand men / at suche houre as the kynge had commaundid him / whiche houre was at the poynt of the day, when men might vnnethes se / and they had taken that houre / for cause the tothir ij. puissaunces of the Turke might not so easely come to-gedir vnto hym as if it had ben day / The day of this entirprise was on the morowe aftir the turke had assembled his counselƚ, as ye haue herde. This night the kynge of Sizile made alle purueaunce for his goyng forth, as he that wold be there him-self. vndir his baner that day he herde masse, & made alle his company do the same / and than toke he leue of the quene and of alle the ladies, whiche he lefte fulle sore wepyng; for grete drede had they of hym / and of his company. The kynge wente downe, and came to the gates, praing alle his folkes to quyte hem wele, for if they might abate the Turkes pride / they shold from thensforth lede the remenaunt of their lyues in ioie and in disport, for by this meane shold ende the warres / wherthorugh so moche cristen people had died / fferaunt, that was bifore with his company, whan he shold go oute, he escorted in like wise his iij. seruauntes; and they made their avowes to god, that, shold outher dye, or be the first that shold come to the Turkes tentes, and if they founde him there, they shold put them in deuoir to accomplissh their maisters avowe / In like wise, as the kynge hath monysshed his folkes / so did the lieftenaunt, that was without, and nerre vnto the Turkes tentes, exorted his folkes, shewyng them that his entirprise was not for no smalle scarmyssh or assemble / but either to destroie the Turke, or to dye in the quarelle / eueri man promysed hym to do wele; & that for drede of dethe they wold not lette to accomplissh the kynges pleasirs / And as they were in thise wordes, they were so nygh their enemyes that they were amonges tentes and pavilions / and came with suche strength and corage, that at their first comyng they bare downe alle that they mette with, ouirthrowing pavilions, and sleyng men so many, that it was meruaile to se / Than was the crie and the noise so moche, that they herd it in-to the Towne / than they opened the gates / and fferaunt and his company went first out, and went streight vpon the Turkes wacche, whiche they lightly destroied / than came they to the Turkes loggyng / whiche they fonde fortified/but litil while endured it ageinst them / The kynge folowed fferaunt with grete corage, and alle his folkes / and perceyued wele anon that the Turkes loggyng was wonne; wherof, if he were glad and ioifulƚ, it is no question. The iij. felawes, that y haue spoken of before, that moche desired to accomplissh their promes, did so moche that they came to the Turkes tent, whereas fond hym accompayned with alle his folkes, that were than assembled in harneys, praying them to quite hem wele / when the iij. ffelawes sawe this company, they sent anoon for the kynge, whiche came fforthwith; and whan they sawe the kynge nere them / they smote yn amonges their enemyes with suche strength and corage, that lightly they made them weye / for they ouirthrewe alle that abode their strokes. The kynge, that was nere them, behelde hem in grete meruaile, thinkyng that it was impossible for any mortalle bodies to haue done that they did. Thus in litil while, the grete puissaunce that was aboute the Turke, brake, and was discomfite / than wolde he haue yolden him / but noman wolde take him. Thise iij. ffelawes, whan they sawe him in that caas, coude not fynde in their hertes to lay handes on him / and take him prisoner they might not, for their auowes; so lette they the fote men to slee hym / and made to smyte of his hede, & put it on a spere / And whan the kynge of Sizile sawe he had the ouirhand of his enemyes / he made to blowe retrayte, for drede of the tothir ij. puissaunces / for by than was the sonne risen. And euery man, seing the kynges baner withdrawe / drewe them vnto him glad & ioifulƚ, with prisoners and richesse out of nombre. Thus drewe they hem alle vnto the Towne; for wele they wist the seege was ended / hou be it, they might haue had grete harme by the remenaunt of the Turkes folkes, seyng they were sore foughten with a-fore / Thise othir ij companyes of the Turkes were assembled to-gedre & embatailed for to come vnto the Turke; but anone they were assertayned that he was dede, and alle his logging ouirthrowen / and so they kepte hem stille to-gedre / they sawe the kynge withdrawe to the towne, and entred yn with alle his folkes alle at his pleasir. The ladies were assertayned of the grete iournay and good auenture, that god by his grace had youen the kynge vpon his enemyes: than went they to chirche, to thanke god / The kynge, whan he came to the Towne, he alight at the Chirche, and alle the belles of the Towne range / he and alle his folkes thonked god with goode herte / and made his offrynges / and aftir went to his loggyng / and made to purvey that his lieftenaunt and alle his folkeswere wele logged / They had be there but litil while, but the wacche tolde them for trouthe that the tothir ij. compaynes of the Turkes departed / Than shortly the kynge and alle his folkes went to horsbake, and folowed their enemyes / and withyn short space ouirtoke them / and they wold haue embatailed them / but they were so affraied and discoraged, as they that had lost their hede / for they abode but litil while / but toke them to flee / and than the chace bigan, whiche dured a iij. or iiij. myle, wherin were so many slayne, that it was meruaile to thinke, for there was no diffence amonges them. than the kynge made his folkes to retourne agein yn-to the Towne / and made to take alle the good that was bilongyng to the Turke and his hoste, to be departed amonges his folkes, to euery man aftir his degre / and was good innumerable, biside the prisoners they had goten / Also they fonde in the vessells that caried gold and siluer, more than ij. Millions of golde / eueri man was so wele garnyssed with othir goodes, that they toke litil hede therof; but by a comen assent, and with good hert, gaf it vnto the kynge for to mayntene his warres / prouidyng that they might do their owne pleasirs with their prisoners. The kynge with good wille agreed ther-to, and sawe him by this meane riche y-nough to mayntene his warres, and for to conquere a nother reaume ther-to. Of alle the goodes that were goten there, Surnome, Athis and Ector, were not the bettir / for eueri man knewe him self a kynges sone / and thought, now the warres were ended, they had litil nede of good / for they shold haue good y-nough, bothe for them self, and to make their felawes riche y-nough for euir / and thought eche of theim, if his felowe knewe that he were a kynges sone, they had ben to famylier with him. Thus had alle thies iij. kynges sones one thought / and eche of them thought neuir to faile his felawes, but to make them riche for euir. many folkys merauailed moche that thise iij. toke nomore hede of good / for they toke hede of non othir thinge, but only to be wele horsid and wele armed / and wele beseyne / & of alle this lakkid they nought at any tyme they wold aske it. whan they were retourned agein vnto their logginges, vnarmed & wele araied, they semed liker aungells than men / The kynge of Sizile rehersed in the presence of the ladies, and of alle theim that were there, the grete worthinesse that he had sen in them iij. that day bifore the Turkes tente / and seide that he was half abassed and aferde to beholde the grete noblesse of them; and tolde howe they had parted the prese, and how many folkes filledowne aboute them for fere of their strokes; so many, that their horses might vnnethe haue rowme to stande in / than tolde he aftir of the dethe of the Turke; And that, notwithstandyng the grete crueltee that eche of theym had founde in hym / whan they sawe him in wille to yelde him / there was none of theym wolde lay hande on him / but lete the fote men allone with him. Euery man had grete pleasir to here the kynge reherce the Honour and noblesse of thise iij. yonge gentilmen / This night passed the kynge forth in grete ioie / and on the morowe made many masses to be seide, in thanking god of their good fortune / Aftir dyner, assembled he his counselle, to take aduise vpon suche besinesse as he had to do, for he was bothe wise and worthy, and loued and dred god / and for thise causes eueri man loued him, and desired to serue him. And, aftir his power, he had ben aƚƚwey large and curtaise / and right famylier with noble folkes / wherfore he had their loue so fermely, that, for to dy, they wold leue hym in no daunger /

whan his counselle was assembled, he saide amonges them in this wise / "My trewe & kynde frendes, by whom at this day I haue hadde this high and noble fortune / wherby y may come to the recouere of alle my reaume / yet can y not leue to calle on you, to put you in daunger for me / notwithstandyng the grete damages & harmes that ye haue suffred for my sake / ye se wele, my trewe frendes & sogettes, the estate of oure enemyes, and of vs bothe / wherupon y pray you to counselle me / for the wele of cristendome and the recouere of my reaume / and y am redy in what ye wille aduise me, to iubarde my body and my goodes to thaccomplisshment therof, if me thinke it be leefulƚ." This counselle was long in takyng, for they knewe wele it was tyme and nede / wherfore they counseiled the kynge to tary not, but to ouir-ride his reaume / and to conquere the townes agein, that the Turke had wonne; ffor they thought wele, if he went shortly ther-aboute, his enemyes were yet in suche drede & discomfort, that he shold fynde litil diffence in them / And they thought it neded not to telle Orkays yit the dethe of his ffadir, notwithstandyng he had made his avowe to yelde alle agein / but they thought it shold be grettir honour for the kynge to conquere it agein by might.

In this maner was it ordeyned and concluded / and the kynge made alle comoners to departe, sauf only men of werre and sowdiours / This night made he redy alle thinges for to kepe the felde, an[d] on the morowe was alle his ordenaunce & Artilry carted redy to go forth / And the quene and hir doughtir, and alle hir ladies, went vnto a faire Castelle, but iiij. myle thens. By than was spred the tidynges of the grete victory thorugh alle his Reaume / wherof they made meruailous ioie / and yelded thankynges to god. On the morowe, came many folkes vnto the kynge, bringyng vitaile and othir stuff / so that the kyng wende there had not ben so many holdyng the cristen feith in a gret parte of his Reaume / Than concluded the kynge, to sende forth tidynges to alle cristen princes, of the victory that god had youen him / than were messangers sent to euery Reaume; so that, withyn litil while, this grete iournay was knowen thorugh alle cristendome / & euery prince made processions to be gon, thorugh-out his Reaume / and belles to be rongen in euery chirche, for the good aventure / & many suche, as had take litil hede of the kynge of Sizile, or of his Reaume, and had called him an vnhappy kynge / nowe calle they hym wele vred, & repente them of their seyng / The kynge of Sesile, seing his grete puissaunce, & wille of his folkes, went forth conqueryng on his enemyes / and wanne with assaute the first towne he came vnto, whiche was the strengist of the Reaume, sauf only that / that himself had be biseged yn / but they withyn the towne had lost alƚ corage / wherfore ther was founde litil diffence in them / and alle they were put to dethe, without takyng of any one prisoner / This takyng put the remenaunt of the turkes in suche drede / that daily they departed out of the land / The kynge of Luby him-self, and alle his company, were goon agein in-to his owne Reaume / they that abode, were hopeles of any socour or aide that might come to them / wherby, in litil while, what by force and by tretee, the moost part of the Reaume was recouerd, sauf twoo or thre Townes, that were nigℏ the see / and that was, for they thought that they might sonner haue socour than any that was withyn the Reaume / The kynge, that was sore trauailed / and it was than wynter, toke counselle to lete them be til somer, and than to assemble his power agein / and to lay sege to them, and wynne them / Than lefte he fferaunt in the next place þat ioyned vnto them / for grete trust had he in him / and went home him self / and abode the remenaunt of the wynter with the quene and his faire doughtir, whom him thought tyme was to be maried / But aboue alle thing, he desired to bistowe hir to a man of grete honour and worthinesse.

Nowe shalle we leue a while of the grete warres of Sizile, & speke of Almayne. [Illumination: on right, Messengers giving a letter to a King: on left, Kings, Bishops and Lords.]

TRouthe it was, that he knewe wele that the sege was departed / but he knewe not in what maner / notwithstandyng he enquered often / but noman wolde telle him, for the Emperour had commaundid so / and so he knewe wele, sith the sege was broken, he coude not be delyuered without raunsome / wherfore he desired to speke with the Emperour / and the Emperour went vnto him; to whom he seide / "sir, y knowe certaynly that þe sege þat was this before the Towne, is no lenger / wherfore y beseche you that ye wille entende to my delyueraunce / and y promyse you that y shalƚ do my trewe deuoir to make the pees and accorde bitwene my lorde my fadir, and you" / "fforsothe," saide the Emperour / "it is alle othir wise than ye knowe; but entre in-to yondir litil chambre / and ij. or iij. of your folkes, suche as best shalle please you / and y shalƚ telle you suche thinges as touche you right nere"/ than went he in-to the chambre / and the Emperour called v. or vj. of his counselle with hym / and went in to Orkais, and saide vnto hym / "my frende, for youre wele, it behoueth that ye be aduertised for suche thinges as are befallen sith ye were prisoner" / than tolde he him alle holly the dethe of his ffadir / the destruccion of his folkes, what nombre was ded of them / Aftir, he tolde him the recouere of his places / and of the takyng of his last place, that was wonne agein by Surnome and his felawes. Than tolde he himthe grace that god had youen him, to be chosen a diffendour of the cristen feith; and how he was Emperour; wherby he was bounde to mayntene & encrese the cristen lawe. Aftir he had tolde Orkais this, he seide, vpone the request that he hade made vnto him for his delyueraunce / that he entendid not to put him to fynaunce, bifore he had by force recouerd his inheritaunce / and than he wolde be agreable to his delyueraunce / Orkais, hering thies tidynges, by the whiche he vndirstode the dethe of his ffadir / and of many a noble man that was with him / wherfore he made grete sorow & lamentacion, & so did alle suche of his folkes as he had with him / so moche that noon of hem coude speke a worde. But at laste, a wise knyght of his seid vnto him, "My lorde! suche be the aventures of this world / there is no man can be assured here, of parfit wele / and as for this losse, ye can not recouere it by your sorowe / Wherfore the best meane of remedy is, sitℏ it is so fortuned, now to ouirpasse this sorowe / & to remembre the best waies for your self / for ye be rightfulƚ heire vnto the Turke; & his inheritaunce most descende vnto you / and your abidyng here shalle gretly annoie you / and litil profit vnto the Emperour that is here present. It is not Longe sith ye aduowed bifore Hym / if the Turke were dede, that ye wolde delyuere vnto his handes as moche as the Turke shold leue you of this Reaume; wherfore, it is wele done now, that ye accomplissh your auowe / and as for your delyueraunce, ye may apointe with him to his pleasir / aftir your power" / "Trewly," saide Orkais, "that y haue promysed and auowed, y am redy to holde" / the Emperour thankid him / "nathelees," he saide, "that he purposed, neither be tretise nor apointement, to recouere no place of his owne Reaume, but like as it had ben taken fro him by force / so wolde he wynne it agein, or euir that he entendid to the deliueraunce of any prisoner that he had" / Orkais, hering this answere, with the remenaunt of his sorowe, was passyng heuy and pensiff, and toke leue of the Emperour / and retourned to his logging / where he endured in grete sorow / til such tyme as ye shalle here-aftir here / fferaunt, as y haue seide you, did so wele, that he came saufly to the towne that his folkes had newly taken / where as his thre seruauntes ioifully receyued him / ye may wele wite there was grete ioie amonges them; for he loued them thre as wele as they had ben his owne children. Now shall y telle you of the Turkes folkes that were retourned in-to their Cuntrees. [Illumination: March of Troops from a City: baggage-waggons, footmen, horsemen and Chiefs.]

This meane while the wynter passed, and the newe ceason approche / the Emperour assembled all his counselle, and the Capitaynes, suche as he had moost affiaunce yn, and there was speche of alle his bessynesse / and concluded that, yn the moneth of Iune, the Emperour shold be in the felde, & his puissaunce, to conquere agein the remenaunt of his places that his enemyes helde withyn his Reaume / among alle othir that were sent for / fferaunt was comen thider / and had lefte his iij. seruauntes kepyng the places that they hadde wonne. wherof the Emperour was sore troubled that they were not come / and so was faire Iolante that loued hem ful hertily / and in esspecialle Le Surnome. wherfore she desired moche to se them, and so did alle othir ladies and gentilwomen; and some of them seide unto hir, to trouble hir / for they knewe wele she desired moche to se them / that they herde sey / that, at the takyng of the place, Le Surnome was slayne / and the tothir ij. were wounded to the dethe; but ther was noon that wolde telle it to the Emperour, for troublyng of him. This faire lady, heryng thise tidynges, toke suche sorow at hir hert, that she might neither ete ne drynke / she thought alway that she sawe them bifore hir / doing hir suche seruice as they were wont to do / and had in hir self y-nough of ymaginacions of the beaute and maner of their persones / and of the grete pite and damage that was of their deth / whiche, as she thought, was incomparable / and this thought was neuir out of hir mynde. hou be it, bifore hir fadir, she couerd hir sorow as wele as she might; But she coude not so wele couer it, but that he perceyued hir hert was not in ease / and he had no moo children but hir / wherfore it greued him moche the more to see her in that / So on a day he toke hir a-part, and asked hir what hir ayled / for he saw wele she was right heuy / and she thankid his grace, and saide there was no suche thing; for gretely she dred to telle hym, in as moche as it was tolde hir secretly / and also, if he shold knowe therof, she wist wele / he shold make right grete sorowe. The Emperour was not content with this answere / but toke hir forth witℏ hym in-to an Inner chambre / and wold nedes wite whi it was / than kneled she downe a-fore him / and bisought him, that what so euir she shold sey vnto hym, that he wold not be troubled ther-with / nor also to thinke in hir, that any fonde loue caused hir to haue the annoy þat she had, but only the grete losse & damage of him and of his Reaume / than tolde she him / how she hadde herd say that Surnome sholde be slayne at the last towne that was taken / and his othir ij. felawes wounded to the dethe / and this was it that caused hir to be so sorowfuƚƚ, to thinke that so noble persones as they were / and by whom grete honour and wele was come to him / and to hisReaume, sholde be now so sone ded & destroied / And whan the Emperour herde thise tidynges / he thought verily it had ben sothe / & had suche sorowe / that he lened him downe on his bed / and might not speke. he bade his doughter sende for fferaunt / she did so / and he came anone / and founde the Emperour liyng, his yen fulle of teeres / and coude not speke a worde to him / wherof fferaunt was meruailously abasshed / and kneled downe bifore him, biseching him to telle him / what hym ayled / for in alle his liff had he neuir see him in suche plite / for no losse that euir bifelle him. So atte laste the Emperour tolde him of thise tidinges with fulle grete payne / for his hert was so sore enclosed that he might vnnethe speke / and whan fferaunt herd this, he was sore abasshed / so that he wist not what to thinke / for the grete loue that he had to his iij. seruauntes; hou be it, that he had seen them sith / and lefte them wele y-nough at ease / than seide he to the Emperour / "trewly, sir, than are they dede sith my departyng / for y lefte them alle hole & sauf / and if it were othir-wise, y wote wele y shold not long endure aftir them / for y haue noon honour, but, next god, it cometh me of them / wher-fore it sholde be right hard and heuy to me, if it were so / to make suche chere as y do / alas! how shold y mow comfort an othir / and ther were no cause of comfort in my self" / "forsothe," saide the Emperour, "y leve yon wele" / "trewly, sir," saide fferaunt / "the place they be yn is not to be lefte, but in the handes of right trewe and noble men; and that was the cause y lefte them there" / Than departed fferaunt from the kyng, and sent in alle haste a messanger vnto them / and praied them to come vnto hym / and to purvey, so that the towne were surely kepte / Assone as they herde thise tidynges, they were right ioyfulle / and moche desired they to se the Emperour / and in esspecialle his faire doughter, to whom they were alle thre seruauntes / and thus departed they assone as they might / and withyn litil while came to fferaunt their maister / whiche was of them as ioyful as any man might be / and, assone as he might, brought them to the Emperour, to whom he had no thing tolde that he had sent for them / and assone as the Emperour sawe them / he chaunged sore / coloures / & toke them in his armes, eche one aftir othir / and neuir made them suche chere as he did than / and sent them forthwith to his doughter / & whan she sawe them, she had suche ioie at hir hert / that she coude not a grete while speke o worde, but toke eche of them by the hande, and aduised them wele, thinkyngin hir self, whethir it were a dreme, or matier of trouthe / and whan she might speke, she seide vnto them / "fforsothe, my frendes, y sawe neuir yn my lif so lifly ded folkes as ye be" / and they answerd hir alle smylingly, and saide / "forsothe, madame, we are noon othirwise ded than we were wont to be" / and therwith came the Emperour to his doughters chambre, and tolde them what was reported of them / and than knewe they wele that the grete chere that men made them, was for that cause / and fro that day forth, founde they them more bounden to the Emperour and to his faire doughtir, and also to their maister / than they had ben bifore / and eche of them thought in their mynde, whan they coude se their ceason, they wolde meve him for the mariage of his doughtir / for they knewe noon like vnto hir in beaute / and alle othir vertues /

Now retourne we, and speke of the goode and noble Emperoure.

THe Emperour sent for his folkes / and by than they were assembled / it drewe vpone suche tyme as he had concludid bifore to take the felde, and so vndirstode him self right wele accompayned / and his ordenaunce was grete. Than went he to the next place of his enemyes, and bisegid it rounde a-boute / and made so sharpe assaute / that withyn litil while þe towne was wonne / and for to put the remenaunt in drede, that helde any place withyn his reaume / alle tho that were withyn that towne were put to dethe / And aftir that / alle tho that kepte any othir places were so dredefulle, that they had neither wille ne corage to holde them / but some stale their wey, and lefte the places allone / and some deliuerd them by apointement / The Emperour taried in no place to speke of / til he had perfourmed his conquest / and withyn litil while, he had his reaume holly in his hande / The Emperour thus beyng on the felde / came vnto him the same tyme / the kynges of armes that were sent to hym oute of Turky, requiryng him for a saufcondite, like as was spoken of here to-fore / Themperour was conseiled to agre to this Saufcondite, in asmoche as he had accomplisshed his conquest / and so graunted a saufcondite to CC. persones / And than he departed his armee, & retourned to themperesse his wif, and apointed a day to assemble the estates of his Reaume, to take auise of suche besynesse as he had to do / and there abode he in ioie and rest / til suche day as he had taken / Now cometh this Day of metyng of his estates. And a litil bifore, were comen the Turkes folkes, that had noon othir charge but to put their yong lorde to fynaunce / and the Emperourhad herd them bifore the comyng of the estates. So when thise estates were comen / he made to assemble them vpon a gret day in an halle / for there were many folkes / Than, in presence of them alle, he shewed his grete besynesse: ffirst, of the demeanyng of his warres, wherof he was in no surete as yit / aftir, of the delyueraunce of Orkais, and othir prisoners that he hadde / for whiche cause the Ambassatours came to him out of Turky / aftir this, spake he of the demeanyng of the Empyre / and that, for the grete warres that he hath had / he had not yit be in no place to receyue none of the crownes that to the Empyre bilonged / "Aftir," saide he, "that he is nowe bicome aged, and that he hath had in the warres grete payne to trauaille / wherfore it was nedefulle for hym, fro hensforth, to se the meanes somwhat to be supported and holpen / But in case of nede, to do as welle as euer he did / with the good helpe of his suggettes. but what he mente he shold shewe them, whiche was, as semed hym, to marye his doughtir to some mighti prince / by whom he might haue aide and comfort to discharge him of his laborous troubles in his olde dayes / seyng also that she was of resonable yeres to be maried. Thies iiij. thinges touched his hert right nere / Requiring / that euerich of them wold take good auise hereon / ageinst suche houre as they shold mete ther agein." Aftir thise wordes seide, the emperour departed / and they that were of his pryve counselle, spake of thise matiers / whiche thought that two the first poyntes were but one / that was, of the warres that he had hadde / and of the deliueraunce of Orkais and his othir prisoners / for, by that one, that othir sholde be made / As thus / they semed, seyng the Emperour had alle his reaume in his hande / that by the deliueraunce of Orkais he might haue a grete fynaunce for to helpe hym to his empyre / and by his delyueraunce, might he take a longe trewes of x. or xij. yere / and in the meane while might he receyue his crownes / and vndirstande the demeanyng of his Empyre / and what aide he might haue there / And than, this trewes ended / he might go aftir in-to the Turkes Land / and put him in deuoir to encrease the cristen feith / and in this meane tyme / he might wele entende to the mariage of his doughtir / In this wise, as I haue seide, they auised the Emperour / whiche sone agreed to their opinion touchyng his warres / and the deliueraunce of his prisoners / and the demeanyng of his Empyre / But he thought to vse othir auise touching the mariage of his doughtir, seyng vnto them / "Remembre ye what a valiaunt man is worth;for, sith the comyng of Surnome, as moche wele is fallen to vs by his worthynesse / as if the grace of the holy gost had lighte amonges us / ffor, fro that day sith, we haue so moche be comforted and enhardyed, that they that bifore, no-thyng were / became moost worthy / and moost valiaunt / And on that othir side / oure enemyes, that were worthy and hardy, haue lost corage and strength. Thus may ye se, what the body of one noble man is worth / and for asmoche as ther may cowardise be loggid in the hert of a right mighti kynge, aswele as in a symple persone, Therfore y wolde knowe, for the wele of you alle / hym that shuld haue my doughtir, for a noble man / for y hadde leuer she had the pore hardy / than the riche cowarde / for the wele of me, my Reaume, and of you alle .I. had leuer she had one of the iij. straungers, that is to sey, Le Surnome, Ector, or Athis / if they were of roialle blode / than the moost riche kynge that at this day is livynge" / with thies wordes, alle they of his counselle were right wele content / for they sawe wele it meued of grete honour / and of his corage / and moche they thought here vpon / for they thought it right straunge to knowe the corage of folkes / Natheles, one of them auised hym, & saide thus / "hou be it, that to many folkes it shold be right harde to knowe the corage and noblesse of suche princes as shalle desire youre doughtir in mariage / yit it semeth to me right light to vndirstande / and y shalƚ sey you hou / Me thinkith that alle that be here, are agreed to take long trewes / for the causes that haue be shewed / this trewes endurynge / if the Emperour do make crye an high and myghty Tournay / wherin noon shalle tournay, but if he be descendid from a roialle lyne / and that he make to declare the mariage of his doughtir / and that who that shalƚ wynne the price thre daies, shalƚ haue hir / whiche shalƚ be a grete payne to any one man, to haue the Renomee by iij. dayes ouir alle worthy / thus shalbe knowen the moost victorious & noble / And if so be that one man wynne not the price alle the iij. daies, then shalƚ the Emperour be at his choise / to chese for hir whiche of them pleasith him best" / And whan they had herde this opinione, they loughe / hou be it, they thought it right wele saide / But among alle othir, the Emperour was pleased wele therwith / and was vttirly concluded to shewe it bifore the iij. estates of his Reaume / and what causes meved hym / As he concluded, so he did / and shewed it vnto them / with the iij. othir poyntes bi-fore rehersed / wherof they were alle right wele content / And as for the Tournay that shold be for hisdoughtir / they thought there shold none be there / but if he were of Roialle blode / and nere vnto the crowne / And than was it saide amonges them / that it was pite that Surnome & his ij. felawes were not of the roialle blode / and wisshed that Surnome had be so / and had hir to his wif / Such conclusion as the Emperour had taken bifore, was affermed amonges them. On the morowe, the Emperour sent for the Ambassatoures to come bifore hym / and there they purposed for the deliueraunce of Orkais and thise othir prisoners, and in like wise for the deliueraunce of kynge ffirabrace; and there were they longe tyme / and coude in no wise accorde / and often tyme they withdrewe them, & went to Orkais, that so moche desired his deliueraunce / that he rought not wele what he did / And atte laste they brought this worde, if that the iij. estates wold so assente, that if Orkais, and kynge ffirabrace, and alle the prisoners of their partie might be delyuered / they wolde in like wise deliuere alle the prisoners of themperours partie, if any there were / & also gif vj. walled Townes & Castelles, suche as the Emperour wold chese withyn the Turkes land, Reseruynge the chief Citees / and pay at one payment Vc. Mƚ. fflorences / and to haue trewes for iij. yere / and here they to go in-to Turky, and bringe answere agein withyn iij. monethes / and than to deliuere hostage / at their comynge agein, to pay this money at one payment withyn the yere / and the Townes and Castells to be deliuered into the Emperours Handes withyn ij. monethes aftir / Hereto, at the last, agreed the Emperour & the iij. estates / than departid the Ambassatours / and sped them so, that withyn litil while they came into their contre / where as, sone were alle the nobles assembled / and there made they reporte, whiche was to them no thynge harde nor straunge, sauff yn one poynte / whiche was, the deliueraunce of their Townes and places in-to their enemyes handes. Neuertheles, kynge ffirabrace was there, and put him in suche deuoir amonges them / and made them suche exortacions, that, in conclusion, they were accorded / and whan it was thus concluded & accorded / they that hadde the charge, therwith departed / & withyn litil while came ther the Emperour was / and by his licence spake with Orkais / their yong lorde, whiche asked them hou they has spedde, and they tolde him alle / and howe grete peyne they hadde for the places that shold be deliuerd / He was right ioifull to here of his deliuerance / and prayed them, assone as they might / to make their report / Than required they to speke with themperour;and he graunted, and made them to be brought bifore him and his counselle / & there made relacione, & offred to delyuere their hostage at the pleasir of themperour / themperour was content to holde his promys / and puruaide, for the honour of the Turke, to holde a feste duryng iij. dayes / and made a grete tournay, and made to assemble the most parte of the ladies & gentilwomen of his Reaume / Orkais, knowyng certainly that his delyueraunce was concluded, was ioifulle / He knewe also of the feste that the Emperour had ordeyned for his sake / wherfore he was the more leef to abide that day / trustyng, for the loue of faire Iolant, to do so that day / to be somwhat the more in hir grace / hopyng to haue hir to his wif; and made request to the Emperour to haue hors & harneys & habilmentes for him / and xxti of his folkes / Aftir this tournay was cried / euery man desired to be ther-at / but among alle othir, Surnome and his ij. felawes put them in deuoir to be wele apointed there; and so were they, as if they had ben knowen kynges sones / as they were / and though it were vnknowen to other folkes, yit echone of them knewe in them-self / what he was, whiche made their hertes the more highly coraged to be habiled theraftir / Thorughout the Reaume was ther none othir speche but of ioie of the fest / for bifore, had they hadde but warres and trouble / Thus passed the tyme, eueri man in ioie & disport, til the ceason came that the Tournay shold be. the night afore the tournay, eueri man made his musters / as in suche cas bilongith / Than were the knightes and squiers departed / suche as shold tournay, by notable auncient knightes & kynges of armes, & heraudes that ther-to were commytted / and they made euery man sette their kageys at their wyndowes / or at their gates; and at a wyndowe were hanged the sheldes of the iij. ffelawes / but their propre armes were not knowen therby, for in their sheldes had they nothyng but alle of one colour, & writen theron their names / eueri man meruailed herof, and supposed therby that they were no gentilmen. Thise wordes came bifore the ladies, whiche were right sory to here suche speche / for wele they Iugid, without grete noblesse of blood, there might not be in them suche honour & vertu / and wele thei thought that they did it by-cause they wolde not be knowen / Eche of them had in colour the felde of the armes they to-bere. whan the tournay was thus ordeyned / and thies iij. had noon armes vpon their sheldes / they were constreyned to swere bifore many noble men, if they were gentilmen or not; and toke an othe that they were gentilmen /and than seide they that herde it, their werkes shewed it wele to be so / and eche one of them trustid in him self, that the Emperour and alle his Reaume shold knowe that he was a gentilman / Thus was euery man wele content. On the morowe, bigan the tournay / the ladies and gentilwomen were at the wyndowes / and they that shold tournay, came yn / every man on his side, as they were apoynted ouir even. then was the corde cut; and the trumpetes blewe up; and euery man put him yn peyne to do wele. At this tournay, were so many dedes of armes, and so grete strokes, that it were to longe to write them. It were to long, to reherce the grete noblesse and prowesse that Le Surnome and his ij. ffelawes did; also Orkais, the yonge turke, it were moche to reherce the grete actes that he did, as he that was thorough thrilled with the nedle of loue / Neuirtheles, that side where the thre ffelawes were on, made alle othir to resort bifore them / ffor their mighty strokes and high prowes, no man myght endure / and so wele thei did that day, that ouir alle othir they were renomed; & next them, Orkais had the name; but he might not compare with noon of the iij. That day had Surnome the price / and whan he came to daunce with the ladies & gentilwomen, he and his ij. ffelawes were so richely and so wele apointed / that as the sonne in clerenesse passith the mone & the sterres, so they iij. ouir alle othir bare the brute of that feste / Aftir them, as y seyde bifore, Orkais is alle thing passid alle othir / this ffeste endured iij. dayes, & euery day bare Surnome the price / Neuirtheles, he wold right fayne that eche of his ffelawes had hadde the price of that day / Nowe is this last day accomplissht / and the grettist soper ordeyned, that bifore had be sene / In the halle was no crie, not speche, but of thies iiij. Aftir soper, the daunces began / and the prices were youen / euery man spake of Surnome / at eueri price were gyuen grete giftes and grete larges / a litil bifore the Emperour shold be taken vp, a notable kyng of armes went vpone a Cupbord on high / & made crie "pees" thre tymes; and than was the trewes publishid bitwene the Emperour and the Turke for iij. yere / Aftir this, made the kyng of armes an other crie, whiche was this / that for asmoche as the Emperour had in his tyme grete fortunes / and that Reaume was next vnto the enemyes of the feith, whiche hath caused him meruailous and huge warres / wherfore it was nedefulle vnto him and to his Reaume to haue one that sholde enherite aftir his daies / of grete nobles and vertu / seyng that he had but one only doughtir. Therfore it was necessarie vnto himfor to allie hym with som man of grete corage / wherfore he did alle men to wite, that at May, come twelue montℏ, the xv. day, shold begynne a tournay / and shold endure iij. daies / and that he wold giff his doughtir, witℏ grete part of his Reaume, to him that best shold do tho .iij. dayes duryng / so that there shold noon tournay ther, but if he were of roialle blode, nigh vnto kynges. Moreouir, doyng them to wite / that if by one man the iij. dayes were not acheued and wonne / he shold not be bounde to gif his doughtir, but if it pleasid him / and also ther might noon tournay there, but if he were cristened. This crie publissht / the kyng of armes descended / the daunces bigan agein / and eche man thanked god in his hert, of the trewes and good pees that nowe is in the Reaume. This faire yonge lady, heryng the crie of hir mariage, vexe alle rede & shamefast / and also it forthought hir moche, that noon might tournay without he were come of roialle blode / for she supposed wele, that noon of hir iij. seruauntes might be resceyued at that tournay. among alle othir, was noon m??re ioyfulƚ herof than Orkais was / for that he thought wele / that thies iij. that passid him, might not be at the tournay / wherfore he trusted to haue the price bifore alle othir / wherby he thought him self sure to haue that fair lady to his wif, that he loued so moche / thus concluded he in him self to rennaye his feith and lawe / and take him to cristen feith / where it shewed wele, loue, of more strength than lawe. On the tothir side, Le Surnome, þat herde this crie, was no thing sory therof / for he thought wele to haue leiser y-nough to go vnto his ffadir, and retourne agein by that tyme, where he wolde not faile to be for alle the worlde / for there trusted he to wynne hir that his hert moost desired / In like wise thought his .ij. felawes / for eche of them trusted that day to haue goode aventure / thinkyng that noon of the tothir shold tournay. This thought, egal and like, had eche of them / the night passed / and the disportes endid / eueri man went til his reste / til on the morow, that many folkes toke their leue / aftir their departyng / Orkais made alle his assuraunce with the Emperour, and fulfilled alle that he had promysed / and than toke his leue of him / of the Emperesse / and of their doughtir / to whom he seide, "I truste to se you agein at this Tournay / and I promyse you, on my trouthe, if y may haue suche fortune as y desire / ther can nothyng be so peynfulƚ vnto me / but y woƚƚ do for your sake / and if the Emperour your ffadir had not do make the crie that he did / y wolde haue spoken witℏ himbifore my departyng, in suche wise as y trust he shold haue ben content with my request / but I wote wele, sith he hath made this ordynaunce / he may in no wise breke it" / This faire lady was alle shamefast, and no thing answerd him / thus toke he leve of hir and of alle the tothir ladies and gentilwomen / the Emperour conveyed him, and did him grete honour / than toke their leve / & many of the Emperours folkes conveyed hym forth / but ferthist of alle othir, the iij. ffelawes conveyed hym / for they were moche of an age / and alle of roialle blode / and moost comonly men seke their semblable / when tyme came they sholde departe, Orkais saide vnto them / "my faire frendes, fareweƚƚ / and y purpose to be here agein at this ffeste, at the whiche y thynke my self right wele vryd, that noon of you may that day tournay / Neuirtheles, if any fortune or wele than bifalle me, y shalbe glad of youre company bifore alle othir" / eche of them thankid him; hou be it, there was noon of them but thought to endure grete payne / or that he came to that he wende / thus they departed from him, and retourned to the Emperour / and so passed forth tyme, til on a day Le Surnome, Ector, & Athis, were gon to the felde to disport them; and Surnome talkid to them of many thinges; and amonges othir, he seide thus / "my frendes, whan I departed out of my contre, and fro my pore fadirs hous / my principaƚƚ cause was for the renome of the warres of this Reaume / and specially to the wele of my soule, whiche euery good man ought to desire / nowe is it, thankid be god, that this Reaume is recouerd, and grete & a long trews taken; wherfore y purpose nowe no lenger to abide in this Reaume, but to go home to my ffrendes / whiche, y doute not, haue grete desire to knowe hou it is with me; ffor y am sure they wote not whethir y be ded or on lyue. and for this cause most y nedes leue your companyes, whiche sore forthinketh me / but that y may noon othir do." Than seide Athis, "by my trouthe, my maister and felawe, youre departynge sorowith me, and shalƚ sorowe me more than any erthly thing; but, daies of my lif, where so euer I be, I shalbe alle youres / and yit may happe to come the houre that y shalƚ mowe deserue that ye haue don for me, whiche y neither haue, nor can deserue yit / and sory y am that youre contre and myn be no nerre to-gedir. Neuirtheles, y shalƚ put me in deuoir to se you fulle ofte, so that y knewe where ye dwellid, or of what folkes ye were come: and nowe y haue herd youre entent, I shalƚ shewe you myn / ffor, like as seide to-fore, and for the same entent, I put me in the Arme of Scotland, for thesocour of this Reaume, with othir / and now y se it in pees, my purpose is to drawe me in-to the Cuntre fro whens I came / ffor now, thanked be god, the Emperour hath litil nede of my seruice." "Nowe forsothe," seid Ector to Surnome, "if your departyng aught to sorowe any body, it aught sorowe me / for by you haue y ben saued / and ye haue accepted me in-to your company, wherof y thought me right hapyy / and so wold thinke, if in alle my lif I might do thing that might be your pleasir / and as long as ye had abiden here, I thought not to departe. But sith your pleasir is nowe to departe, I wolƚ no lenger abide here / but go agein in-to the Reaume of Englond, of whens y am; and there shalbe neuir day of my lyf, but my body & goodes shalbe alle youres. [Illumination.]

IN this wise, talke the thre felawes, and diuised the maner of their departyng / and howe they might haue leue / and arguyd sore amonges them / whethir was bettir to take leue to-gedre / or ellis eche one by hym self / But at the last, they concluded alle iij. to-gedre to take leue at their maister at ones / whan they might se him best at leiser. Thus withyn a day or ij. aftir, they waited on their maister at a soper / and aftir he had soped, they thre to-gedre besought him that they might speke with hym / and he, as abasshed, toke them a-part / thinkyng ther was som matier of displeasir / for neuir bifore had they desired to speke with him in suche, wise. Le Surnome spake for them alle, seyng in this wise / "My lorde! it is longe that we haue ben in your seruice, wherin we haue had suche wele, and so grete honour, that we can neuir suffice to deserue it / Natheles, in the mooste humble wise that we can, we thanke you," and therwith they kneled downe / and he made hem to rise vp agein / and Surnome tolde forth his tale, seyng, "my lorde, ye se nowe the estat of this Reaume in suche cace / thankid be oure lord, that there is no werre, to the grete honour of the Emperour / and his Recommendacion is spredde through the world / ye knowe wele the long trewes that he hath taken / wherby he hath litil nede of folkes / And we be pore gentilmen straungers, whiche gladly wille drawe to oure pore frendes / for euery man aught to haue naturalle loue to fadir & modir / and thies thinges considered, we be affermed & constreyned, by reasone & honour, to drawe vs home, and departe out of this cuntre / wherfore, humbly we beseche you, to licence vs to departe with the fauour of your good lordshippe / whiche we moost desire, next the Emperour" / It is not to be douted that this desire was a greuous at fferauntes hert / as he had felt him sorehurt with a spere / and not without cause / alle his honour was by them iij., ffor he knewe wele at this day he was the moost renomed knyght of the world / and forthwith felle the water in his yeen / and seide / "my dere frendes, wille ye leue me nowe / haue y done any thing that shold myscontent you with me / no, to my knowlage / and as for the warres of this Reaume, they ar not yet ended / trouthe it is that there is a trews / but that shalƚ not long endure / and whan the warres shal begynne agein / y wold not haue lost your company, for no good. and also whan the werres begynne / we shalle entre in-to their Reaume, where men shalle se many grete dedes of armes / and allas! so moche as y haue loued you / and so glad as y haue ben to encrece your honoures / hou be ye now content to departe fro me?" Le Surnome answerd, "my lord, we may haue leiser y-nough to be with oure frendes / and come agein or the warres begynne" / whan fferaunt herd his wordes & conclusion, he departed fro them, and seide, "that on the morowe he wolde speke more with them." It is no question if he were that night pensif and fulƚ of sorow. his folkes that were aboute him, sawe wele by him, that he hadde herd som thing that pleased him not / fferaunt toke his hors, and rode to the Emperour / and tolde him fulle sorrowfully thentent of his seruauntes / wherof the Emperour toke right grete sorowe & displeasir / and askid if any remedy were to witℏolde them / "trewly," said fferaunt, "nay" / "Than," seid the Emperour, "I shalƚ make them to be required be my wif, my doughter, and alle my ladies" / "fforsothe," seide fferaunt, "alle that botith not. But y auise me of one thing / It is so, that for the grete honour ye haue don them / they be gretly bounden vnto you; wherfor ye may wille them, seyng the mariage of your doughter shalbe yn May come tweluemoneth, that eche of theim promyse you to do your pleasir to be here at that tyme; for they be your seruauntes / and euery seruaunt aught to honour maister / and so may ye require them that they do at that tyme / and whan they come agein, perauenture ye may so entrete them that they wille abide stille with you" / To this counselle agreed the Emperour / and yn this purpose departed fferaunt fro him / and went to his loggyng / and made that night as goode chere as he might / alƚ-though his hert were rigℏt sorowfulƚ / and on the morow, aftir he had dyned, came his thre seruauntes to him agein, to know his pleasir vpon the request they had made him the day bifore / fferaunt answerd them in this wise / "my frendes, notwithstandyng / that of your gretegoode wille and curtesy, ye haue done me such honour as to repute you my seruauntes / Natheles ye be not so, for y neuir held my self worthy, nor of suche honour, to haue the seruice of so noble men / hou be it, your company hath ben to me moost ioie / and fulle fayne wold y haue done you more honour / if it wold haue pleased you to take it. Neuirtheles, ye be nowe with the Emperour; and he had you in suche chierte, that he hath put you vnto his doughter / whiche is the thing in the worlde that he loueth moost / and hath grete cause so to do; for she is one þat can deserue loue, and the thanke of euery creature / and of thies two most ye take leue / and whan ye haue leue of them, ye and y shalle agree weƚƚ y-nough" / they answerd that they "purposed so to do / and that on the morowe, with the pleasir of god, they wold go to him; and as they had grete cause to thanke his grace of his grete honour and curtesie that he had shewed them / whiche was impossible for them euir to deserue" / so on the morowe they for-gate not, whan tyme was, to come to do their seruice to their maistresse as they were accostomed, whiche had herde of this matier / wherfore she was in grete trouble and annoye / and when she sawe them bifore hir at the table, she coude no[t] withholde the teres from hir yeen / In this dyner tyme, ete she nothing that did hir good / for wondrely wele loued she them. whan the Emperour had dyned, they iij. came to-gedre before him / and, as humbly as thei coude, thankid him of the grete wele and honour that, of his grace, he had done them / and aftir shewed him, hou "by the grace of god, and of high and good prowesse, and of his suggetes, he had his hole Reaume peasibly; and for that cause they alle were concluded, by his licence, nowe to drawe agein to their cuntrees; for it was longe sith they sawe their frendes, or herd of them / whiche euery man of right aught to desire / wherfore they besought the Emperour that it might please him to gif them leve." The Emperour made them many grete desires to abide / and grete and large offres / but by no meane coude he remeue them from their purpose; and he sawe that / and in conclusion, he desired them to come agein to the tournay / that shold be made for the mariage of his doughter / and seide vnto them / "althougℏ that none of you iij. may tournay there, I shall make othir tournays and ffestes, where your worthynes shalbe showed with many othir noble men / and also ye know wele it is the custome, euery man to be redy with his seruice to his maister and maistresse at any suche ffeest, and ye be reteyned with hir / wherfore ye aughtin no wise than to faile hir" / Alle thre of one wille made hym promyse & othe, that if they were in helth and at their large, they wold not faile to be there agein at that day. On this condicioun the Emperour licenced them to departe. Thus toke they leve of him / and went to the Emperesse to take their leve; wherof she was right sory / & ther toke they their leve / and went to their maistres / and tolde hir hou they had taken leve bothe of the Emperour and of themperesse / and eueriche of them offred him-self to aventure body, liff, and goodes in hir seruice, for his pleasir and honour / This yong lady answerd them with fulle sorowfulle hert / "I pray god, my frendes, conduyte you, & sende you asmoche ioye and honour as eche of you is worthy to haue; and then shalle ye be largely sped / and that shalle alway be my prier" / and thus departed they out of the chambre / [alle folkes] when they herd here-of, wepte full sore, and sorowed / for wondrely wele were thies iij. felawes belouid with euery creature; neuirtheles it might noon othirwise be / Thies iij. felawes went to their loggynges til on̄ the morowe / Themperour sent eche of them iij. M.ƚ scutes and ij. coursers / and the faire lady, his doughter, sent eche of them a purs & a dyamant. In the mornyng toke they leve of alle their company / and eche of them toke leve of othir / whiche departynge was right sorowfull, for eche of them loued othir as bretheren. Thus leue y them, euery man takyng his way / and retourne agein to the Emperour. [Illumin.: Emperor's reception.]

YE haue herd bifore, hou the Emperour was concluded to go to Rome & to othir places / where he shold resceyue the Crownes of the Empire; and as he had concluded, so he did, and departed toward them assone as he might, where he was resceyued of alle the lordes of the Empyre / ffor his renome was so spred ouir alle the worlde, that euery man desired to se him, and knowe who he was / they had him in grettir fauour than they had bifore. and the lordes askid him of the demeanyng of his warres / and he tolde them the trouthe, & forgate not to reherce the noblesse of Le Surnome and his ij ffelawes / Aftir his coronacion, he toke his way to millayne, and was crowned ther agein / & from thens departed and went to Rome, and helde there a grete court, and there soiourned a long while, where he was resceyued of the Pope and alle the Cardynalls with grete ioye / and whan he had contynued there as long as it pleased him, he retourned agein in-to his contre / where he made grete purueaunce ageinst the tournay / whiche began fast to approche. & he made thorugh alle the Towne, the loggynges to be apointed, anddressid in the best wise / and euery man applied him so wele / that alle thing was sure & redy. Euery prince & lord that was of roialle blode, that had herd the crye of this Tournay, and knewe also the grete renoun of this ffaire lady for whom the tournay shold be / aredyed them the moost richely that they coude, to be ther at that day. But ouir alle othir, Orkais, the yonge Turke, had desire and wille to shewe him self at this ffeste. he was so sore taken with the loue of this faire lady / that he was yn fulle wille to bileue in the lawe of Ihesu crist / the gretist drede he had, was, hou he might bringe this aboute by the agrement of alle his suggettes / whan he was comen in-to this contre, he was resceyued as to his estate belonged / and euery man had grete trust in his persone / for that they sawe him alle othirwise in his maner and condiciouns than his ffadir had ben bi-fore. Alle thestates of his Reaume came vnto him / for eche of them desired gladly to se him / he was right large & courtaise / and moche conuersaunt with the noble men of his Reaume / and many tymes they asked him of the warres, and of the maner of the cristen folkes, in whos handes he had long tyme bene. Orkais tolde hem the trouthe / and rathir seid more of honour, than lesse, to thentent to drawe the hertes of his people the more to that bileve / and seide verrily, "that he bileued, that if the god that the cristen folkes worshipped, had not ben their helpe / it had ben impossible for them euir to haue recouered." Than tolde he them in what caas the Cezilians were / and of their pore corage / and howe that, by one only man, they were sodeinlye transmuted in to the moost valiaunt nacion that at this houre was cristen / and hou aftir that, ij. othir were comen, by whom, with the helpe of the first, was the destruccion of his ffader, & dethe of alle them of his lawe, whiche thought him a thing ouir meruailous / and so moche preised he the cristen feith, that his folkes thought wele he had some pleasir therin / and some of them seide that "the cristen god was more worthi than their god that they bileued on" / and so moche did the yonge Turke by his wordes, with contynuaunce of tyme, that he sawe & knewe verrily that, suche part as he toke, the most part of his reaume wold take / wherof he was as ioifull as he might be / and thervpone ordeyned his habilementes, the moost riche þat had be seen in that reaume / & thought to take with him the grettist parte of princes & Barons of his reaume, to thentent that they shold be cristened with him / and he trusted verrily by this dede to conquere this faire lady / whiche in hir tyme was very mirrour of alleothir fair ladies / Many men askid him whider he wold go, and he seide, his entent was to go the ffeest of themperour, with whom he had ben prisoner, & was in his Daunger by the places that he helde in his contre. wherfore he wolde do him honour and pleasir, to thentent he might haue his places the sonner agein / and to take a Lenger trewes with him / "for I propose nomore to Warre with him. They that herde him, were right ioifulle of thies tidynges. they that had apointed to go with him / habiled them-self as richely as they coude, and so wele, that the yong Turke thought him-self there sholde come neither kynge ne prince at that day bettir appointed than he and alle his people shold be / he puruaide so that alle thing was redy longe bifore the day of his departyng; and in his mynde he dred noman; sith that he knewe wele the iij. seruauntes of fferaunt might not turnay, he thought him verily assured that the faire Iolant shold be his wiff. Thus passed forth the tyme alle in ioie, trustyng in goode auenture. And thus shalle we leve a while of hym, and speke of the iij. ffelawes that were departed eche fro othir / and euery man hielde his way with grete sorowe and payne, contynuelly remembryng the faire Iolant / whiche eche of them trusted to haue to his wif, Remembryng also the bounte of the Emperour and of the Emperesse / and aftir, they thought on their curtaise maister, and of the fortunes they had there / and aftir, remembred hou they shold come agein in-to that Reaume, and hou the Emperour shold meruaile to se them come agein, like kynges sones / and in esspeciall, fferaunt, whiche hadde reteyned them so long in seruice / and so shold their ij. ffelawes that most be there that day, whan they shalle saye how long they haue ben ffelawes vnto a kynges sone / and euerich of them had his thought bie his two ffelawes. [Illumination: a King, or Noble, receiving and embracing a young Man.]

NOwe shall y telle you of eche of them, hou they arryued in their marches. and first shalƚ y speke of Surnome, for he was the first, that departed & lefte his fadir for the seruice of god, and also was the first that came agein in-to his countre. whan Surnome was passed out of the Reaume of Sizile, he called a yonge gentilman vnto him, that was with hym / and saide vnto hym / "my frende, I shaƚƚ perauenture be ashamed if ye sawe the pore place of whens y am comen / wherfore ye shalle departe home agein in-to your contre; and y gif you my horses, sauf only that y ride on, & my harneys, and ij. C. scutes, that yit are bilefte me; & I pray you that ye abide in the Reaume of Sizile til tyme of thetournay / at whiche tyme y trust to be ther, with the mercy of god. neuirtheles, if ye may haue any bettir maister, or othir good fortune in the meane tyme, y pray you leve it not for me" / This yong gentilman, that herd his maister thus speke, thought wele it came him of noble corage / and sory was to departe out of his company / and seide vnto him / "sir, for goddes sake be not a-shamed of me / for whoos sone that euir ye be, y had leuer be in your company than in the company of the grettist man of the world." Surnome thanked him, and saide / "I shaƚƚ discouer me now to you / I am a gentilman of roialle lyne; and that y trust shall be knowen or the Tournay be ended / But y most go now in-to suche places where as I wilƚ no company" / his seruaunt than departed / and thanked him of his grete geftes, and retourned agein in-to Sizile / Nowe is Le Surnome alle alone, and kepitℏ fortℏ his way in-to ffraunce / and within fulle litil while knewe certainly that his ffadir was ded / wherof he was fulle sorrowfulle. also he was ascerteyned that þe quene his moder was alyue, and his vnkle, the Duc of Burgoigne was Regent of ffraunce; with whom he thought to speke vnknowen / and so rode he forth to Parys, with a visour bifore his face, and acqueinted him with a seruaunt of his vnkells / and besought him to fynde the meane that he migℏt speke with him vnsayne / This seruaunt came vnto the Regent, and seide vnto him / "my Lord, here is a yong man in this towne that wiƚƚ not shewe his visage, whiche hath desired me that he might speke with you secretly" / The Regent, vpon thies wordes, thought moche what it might be, and asked, of what fassion he was / "fforsothe," seid [the] seruaunt / "the moost goodly persone that euir y sawe" / "I shall telle the what thou shalt do," said the Regent, "Soone in the evenyng, brynge hym in-to myn Inner chambre, & there bere him company til y may be at leyser to speke with him" / Like as he commaundid, was it done. and at the houre apointed, this yong man was brought yn / and the chambre avoided / and whan the Regent knewe therof / he made his seruaunt to take a light / and nomoo went in with him / And assone as Le Surnome sawe him, he did him reuerence, kepyng alway stille the visour bifore his face / and whan he came nere him / he tolde him the cause of his comynge was to put him in knowlagge that "the kynges sone of fraunce, that departed out of the londe suche a tyme, was not ded, but in good helth / and that he trusted for trouthe he shold withyn short tyme here tidynges of him / and to disclose the trouthe vnto him, he camehim-self from the place that he was yn." whan the Regent herde thies tidynges, he shewde not the high chere of a prince, but streyned le Surnome in his Armes, and saide / "A, my frende! ye haue brought me grete ioie! sith the sorowfull losse, herd y neuir so ioifulle tidynges, whiche is more than iiij. yere passed" / and with thies wordes, the teeres ranne from his yen / bothe for ioie and pite. and saide, "my frende, if it please you, I pray you telle me the trouthe, hou it is with him?" Le Surnome hadde pite of his vnkelƚ, and coude no lenger kepe his visage couerd, but toke his visour away / and whan the Regent had auised him, and remembred the age of his Nevewe, and the fetures of his face / and than knewe verrily that it was he / And for the ioie therof, so sodeinly he vnclosed his hert, that he was almoost in a swoune / so that he might not speke / and whan his hert came to him agein / he kneled downe bifore him, and toke him in his armes and kissed him, so that he wette alƚ the visage of his nevewe with teeres that felle fro his yen, and sith saide vnto hym, "allas, my lorde, and alle my ioie! where haue ye be so longe? / allas, myn owne lord! your sorowfulƚ fadir had neuir ioie sith your departyng / grete synne haue ye for his dethe / The sorowes of this Reaume that hath ben for you, ben ouir moche to reherce / But now shalle alle tho sorowes be chaunged into Ioy. Allas! how shalƚ my lady your modir knowe of this ioifuƚƚ recouere? / I trowe, whan she shalle first knowe it / the chaunge shalbe so sodeyn that hir hert shalƚ breke for ioy / My lord, y wote not what y shalƚ say / or how y shalƚ auise you of your demeanyng / Wille ye that y calle yn the company that is yonder in my chambre, whiche, whan they se you, shalle haue more ioy / than alle the remenaunt of your Reaume haue had sith your departyng." "ffaire vnkle," saide Le Surnome, "I shalle telle you alle my demeanyng sith my departir hens / and whan ye haue herd my tale / ye shalle avise me as ye thinke best / and by your counselle wiƚƚ I do" / After thies wordes, began he to telle of his departyng / and of his comyng in-to the Reaume of Sizile, and lefte no thing vntolde, sauf only that he had done with his owne handes/ and saide / "myn vnkle, my departyng oute of this Reaume was for this cause / my lord my ffadir, (whoos soule god pardone!) wold do noon helpe nor socours to the Reaume of Sizile, whiche was in way to be lost, whicℏ caused me to departe so allone" / and tolde his vnkle so forth, by & by, forgate not specially the ij. seruauntes that were with his maister, to reherce the worthynesse of them / and howe the warreswere ended a grete parte by their prowesse / and howe the trewes holdith yit for ij. yere / and half / and howe the kynge of Sizile, for his noblesse, was chosen to be Emperour / and how he hath the fairest lady of the world to his doughtir / and the best / and of the age of xviij. or xxti yeres / "and the Emperours desire is, aboue alle thinges, that she be accompayned with a noble man / wherfore, to be the more certayne, he hath made crie a tournay, whiche shalbe kepte in may next comyng / and but yif one man may venquyssh the Tournay iij. dayes / the Emperour shalbe at his liberte to chose the best of them, and ther may noon tournay, but if he be borne of roialle lyne, knowen & named / and forasmoche as y haue long tyme serued there vnknowen, I haue the more desire to be ther at that day / ffor y shaƚƚ put me in as grete deuoir and payne as y may endure with lif / but I come to that wele / ffor it is she that hath my hert assured in hir seruice / and long hath ben / for she is incomparable; Wherfore I haue affermed my self to be there / And nowe, sith y vndirstond the dethe of my lord my fadir, ye shalle here myn auise. The terme is short, and but litille vnto that day / wherfore me thinkith best to be vnknowen / ye are your self yit of resonable age / and haue neither wif nor childe / and men holde you heyre of this Reaume / wherfore I wolde, if it pleased you, to do so moche for me as to be at this Tournay / and to make alle folkes of this Reaume to beleue / that ye entende to haue this faire lady to your wif / if your fortune be suche / and, y pray you, were suche deuises as y shalƚ desire you; and in the meane while, y shaƚƚ kepe me in suche places as ye thinke best y may be vnknowen; and ye shalle go in suche astate as bilongeth vnto a kyng; and my harneys and abylementes for my body shalbe trussid forth as yours / And the dayes of the tournay / y shal arme me in your pavilione / and ye shalle put a visour ouir your face, and serue me at the tournay. and at the ende therof, If I do any thing wele, alle be tymes y shalƚ make me to be knowen, whiche shalbe the grettir ioie to suche as wold y wele did / and y trust there be none othir there that knowe me, but wold be glad to wite me do wele" / The duc of Burgoigne, heryng alle his tale, herkened him fulle gladly, remembryng wele hou he had herde that by iij. yong men, straungers, the Reaume of Sizile was gretly holpen / wherfore he thought wele, by the tale of his Nevewe, that he shold be one, wherof he was right ioyfuƚƚ / and the bettir willed to go. hou be it, he thought alle folkes wold iuge his age was nothing accordyng to haue that fair lady / wherfore hepraide his Nevewe to take thaduise of vj. or vij. moo of his preuy counselle, whiche shold be nedefulle, aswele for the purveaunce of their going forth, as for any othir cause. wherto Le Surnome was agreable / and at night wold haue departed / but his vnkle wold in no wise lete him / but made the chambre to be avoided; & þat nyght lay ther to-gedir / and the Regent slepte not moche, he was so ioyfulle / he thought it shold be but a dreme / it was so Newe vnto him, that he coude not wele bileue that he sawe & herd / He rose be tymes in the mornynge / and so did the kynge / and than was called yn to the chambre alle suche as the Regent wolde name. and there was discouerd vnto them alle the matier vpone grete othes & charge. there may noman thinke of more ioy than was at that tyme in that chambre. This ioy was bydewed with teeres of pite / And after, whan they vndirstode the pleasir of their yong kynge, they were alle concluded to his avise & pleasir, and made the duc of Burgoigne to be published thorugh the Reaume, that his entent was to go to this tournay / in asmoche he had neither wif ne childe, nor coude here no tidynges of the kynges sone / wherby the Reaume might falle in-to othir lynage, wherof many inconueniences might growe / wherfore he purposed, in eschuyng of suche Inconuenience, to dispose him to be maryed. Many men saide that he did wele; and som saide "nay / for he might haue ben maried to lesse charge of his Reaume & lesse iubardie of himself: what nedeth him, of his age, to put him in a tournay? The kynge of Inglond had ij. faire ladies to his doughters; and withouten any iubardy he might chose whiche of them that pleased him" / suche argumentes were amonges the people / Natheles, the Duc of Burgoigne toke litelle hede to suche wordes / but put him in deuoir and diligence, that alle thinge was redy longe bifore the day / The yong kynge made to ordeyne richesses y-nough / so that he might kepe estate incomparable there to any othir / for he trusted his fortune shold be to haue that / that alle other shold faile of / ffor his hert was highly and surely set, &c. Now shalle we leve of him a while / and speke of Ector, how he did aftir his departyng from his ij. ffelawes. [Illumination.]

HE rode fulle pensif and soroufulle yn his hert, for their departyng / Also fel in remembraunce of his owne departyng out of his cuntre, & how many noble mennes sones had be lost for his cause / wherfore he thought / the ffadirs wold dedly hate hym, whiche brought him in grete drede and annoye / and concluded in him-self that he wold not be knowen til he vndirstodehow they toke his departyng / and how they wold be content with his comynge / So fortuned, that he had a gentilman of Sizile in his company / whiche was right wise, as he had founde in his right goode counselle in diuerse thinges bifore / wherfore he thought to discouere vnto him alle his matiers / and tolde him what he was, and how he was departed oute of his Reaume, & xiiij. of the grettist Lordes sones of the Reaume with him / "wherfore," saide Ector, "y am gretly in drede of the hate of their ffadirs / But what so euir befalle me, I most nedes be knowen there." The gentilman of Sizile was gretly abasshed whan he vndirstode his maister / he was also right glad to knowe his maister of so noble birth / sayng vnto him / "my lord, y thanke god that he hath youen me grace to be nowe in your seruice, & .I. shalƚ say you what y thinke best / that ye conclude you in no thinge til ye be entred in to the Reaume of Inglonde. By than shal ye here suche tidynges, as ye shalle more surely take youre auise vpone / and, in the meane while, pluk vp your herte, and take no thought; ffor y trust, at your comyng, the kyng and alle the Reaume shalle be so reioysed / that they shalle sette litil by the losse of the Remenaunt that were in youre company / for perauenture the kyng and the lordes shalle Iuge that they were the cause and meovers of your going" / "The thing," saide Ector, "that y haue moost yn drede, ys, lest that the kynge haue taken suche displeasir with my departyng / that he wolƚ not se me nowe / whan y come / nor no thinge departe with me, to appoint my self like his honour, to be at yondir Tournay / whiche is the place of the worlde that y desire moost to be at" / "fforsothe," saide the gentilman, "ye haue right" / And with suche talkynge passed they forth the wey, til they came in-to the Reaume of Inglond; and the first Towne they came to / they mette with a grete procession / euery man goyng barfoot in their prayers, with grete deuocione, as it semed / Ector asked the cause of this procession / and they saide for the kynge, that was so sore seke, that noman coude promyse him liff / wherfore there was made generalƚ procession thoroughout the Reaume / for of his dethe, the Reaume shold haue to grete a losse / seyng he had noon yssue a lyue but ij. doughters / wherby the Reaume shold stande in grete trouble / and likly to falle in the handes of straungers / whiche was grete pite / ffor the kynge had a sone, as goodly a prince toward, as any was o where / and right gretly biloued / & right wele coude deserue it, as any man a lyue of his youthe, and a iiij. yere passed he departed from hens / andmany a Grete Princes sone of this Reaume with him / and neuir sith was herd no tidinges of them / wherfore the Reaume is in grete trouble / and neuir sith had ioie / and many suche processions haue ben made sith that tyme for him / and the kyng himself had neuir good day sith" / Ector askid his hoste, of what age he supposed the kynges sone was. "Be my faith, sir," saide he, "I suppose of youre age, if he be a lyue; me thinkith y coude not bettir liken hym, bothe in length and resemblaunce" / "how trowe ye," saide Ector, "wold not the kynge be glad, and the Reaume, of his comyng agein, if he were a lyue?" / "yis, y dare sey," saide his hoste. "The hole Reaume wold make a fyne of half they are worth, to haue him agein." Thies wordes pleased Ector moche, and caused him to ride the remenaunt of his iournay more ioyfully than he did afore / and spedde him so, that withyn litil while he came to london / & loggid hym yn an Inne / his visour alway bifore his face / and enquered tidynges of the kynge: it was saide he was so seke that noman coude promyse him liff / than sent he his man in-to the Towne to enquere ferther / and made him to go vnto one of the lordes, that had lost one of his sones with hym, & telle hym that "he was of the Reaume of Sizile / and that he had late spoken with folkes that had seen the kynge of Inglandes sone a lyue / and hole, but he is yit prisoner" / This gentilman went forth, and did his message to the Erle of Warrewik / and the Erle askid hym / "my ffrende, say ye trouthe? may any man speke witℏ him that hath tolde you this?" / "fforsothe," saide the gentilman, "y trowe y wote where he is / and I am sure he wolƚ iubarde his hede of that y haue saide" / "If this be trewe," saide therle, "no fors of alle the remenaunt of his company / for they were cause of his goyng" / than toke he him by the hande, and brought him in-to a chambre nye to the kynge / & made him tary there; and went him self in-to the kynges chambre, and tolde the kynge hou he had founde a gentilman of Sizile; and tolde him what tidinges he had brought. The kynge made calle him yn / and herde his tale to an ende / and than he helde vp his handes to god, sayng / "A, my blissed creatour! y haue alway requyred thy grace, that y might se him er y dide / and right so, y biseche the that y may." whan the gentilman sawe the kyng so desirous for to se him / he toke the Erle a-part, and saide vnto him / "sir, y shal tel you tidynges that yit shalle please you bettir / sir, he is in good Helthe, for y sawe him but late, and spake with him, and I am his man / and he sent me hider toknowe what men saide of him / and he hath grete desire to come hider agein / but he knoweth not wethir his ffelawes be dede or a lyue / wherfore he is in grete drede of the kynges displeasir / and of the evil wiƚƚ of you, and of othir grete Lordes of this lande / whoos childre went with hym" / And whan the Erl herd this, he was so glad, he coude not sey a worde to the gentilman, but went streight to the kynge / and tolde it hym, wherof the kyng was ioyfuƚƚ as he might be, sayng vnto hym, "ffaire Cosyn, y pray you make suche purveaunce as ye thinke may be moost for his honour; and dispose your-self with suche company as ye thinke best to go for him, in what Reaume so euir he be, and brynge him vnto me assone as euir ye may" / Than departed therle vnto his loggyng / & this gentilman with him / and whan they were there, the gentilman seid vnto him / "sir, ye nede make no grete purveaunce / for ye haue not right ferre to go / ye shalle nede to sadelle no hors therfore, but it please you, for y can bringe you thider on foote with youre ease / the fewer that come with you, y suppose, the gladder woll he be" / Therle herd that, and taried not, but toke this gentilman by the arme / and went forth, without other company, streight to his loggyng / and whan he came in-to the chambre where Ector was / he knewe him anone / and knelede downe, and toke him in his armes without sayng any worde / and whan he might speke, he saide / "A, sir! blessed be the houre of youre comyng now in-to this Reaume" / then he asked him hou it was with him, and of his auentures that felle him sith his departyng. Ector was in suche drede, that he durst say no thyng as than, sauf only that he saide, "I shall with right good will telle you at leyser of alle my fortunes / but first, y pray you, telle me som of your tidynges." Therle tolde him suche as he knewe, and what sorowe the kyng had, and alle the Reaume, for his departyng / seyng / "thanked be god! now, by your comyng, this Reaume shalbe revived in gladnesse" / thus passed forth the tyme; til at the last, therle saide, "sir, and it please you, y shal go to the kyng / whiche shalbe as ioyfuƚƚ as any man erthly, whan he knowith how it is witℏ you; and sone y shaƚƚ brynge you worde of aƚƚ his pleasir, hou he woƚƚ haue you demeaned / and toke his leue & departed." The gentilman of Sizile brougℏt therle agein to his Loggynge / & went agein to his maister / and tolde him alle hou he had don that day, and howe he had ben with the kynge / and what he said; wherof he was rigℏt ioifuƚƚ. On the tothir side, whan therle of Warrewik came to his loggyng / he sent for thekynges counselle, to whom he shewed, without hidyng of anythyng, the maner of comyng of their yong prince, to thentent that thei might take auise how they shold telle it to the kynge / and so they concluded alle togeder to go to the kynge, and telle it him / thus departed they to the kynge as ioyfulƚ as they coude / and whan they came to him, they tolde him how sone was in the Towne, in grete drede / for that / that he wist for trouthe, he had deserued his grete displeasir. whan the kynge herd this, he was so ioyfuƚƚ that he coude not speke a worde / and whan he might speke, he saide, "assone as it is possible, I pray you bryng him to me, for y fele that dethe approchet fast / whiche y shalƚ resceyue more ioyfully for alle your sake / whiche haue this daie recouered an heire male to gouerne you aftir my dethe; I pray god graunte him wele to do." Than departed alle the lordes, with suche company, that alle the stretes were fulle of men / and whan they came nere at Ectours loggyng / his hoste aspied so moche people comyng toward his hous, and had grete drede, and came to Ector in grete haste, sayng, "sir, yf ye haue done any offence to the kynge or to his lawes saue your self be tymes / for here cometh grete nomber of people, I suppose to take you" / Ector, hering thies wordes, wist not wele what to say or to thinke, but abode stille, til the lordes came vp into his chambre, whiche did him suche reuerences as longed to his estate / and whan he sawe them, he knewe the moost part of them, and welcomed them right curteisly. There was that tyme more ioy in that chambre than y can reherce to you / than tolde they Ector the sekenesse of his ffadir / and how he sent for him to come hastely to him, for he desired moche to se him bifore his dethe. Of thies tidynges was Ector right soroufulƚ, and departed out of his loggyng, and toke one of the lordes by the arme / and went forth toward the kyng. The prease was so grete, that vnnethe he might passe, for euery man desired to se hym / and whan̄ he came to the Court, he went streight in-to the Kynges chambre, & kneled downe by the beddes side / & whan he sawe the grete payne and sekenesse he was yn / he was in suche sorowe that he coude not speke a worde a grete while / And on the tothir side, the kyng was so glad that he coude not speke / At the last, whan the yong prince might speke, he saide, "My lord, y biseche you, þat of youre grace it please you to pardon me the displeasir that y haue done you; for y haue to gretly offendid you, whiche me sore repenteth / I am redy to obey what punisshment it wolƚ please you to put me to" / The kyngetoke his sone by the hande, saynge, "my sone, y pray god forgif it the; and for my part, y forgif the with alle my hert / and thanke god / that hath youen me grace, bifore my dethe, to recouere the / ye se thise noble men of whom ye had the children with you, whiche yit be not retourned agein, as y vndirstande / I committe them vnto you / and so do y alle thestates of my Reaume. and, how be it, y am feble, and not like to lyue, yet haue .I. grete desire to knowe of your auentures sith your departyng" / Than Ector tolde him of his departyng, not chargyng any othir ther-with but himself / than tolde hou he and his company were taken / and hou fortℏwith they were departed eche from othir / saue it fortuned a child of his chambre to be lefte with hym, whiche lyued but a while aftir / and than tolde he the maner of his Delyueraunce / whiche was caused by a yong cristen esquyer, the moost goodly man, and the best assured, and the moost noble man of his handes, that euir y knewe or herd telle of / and by his prowesse he toke the kynge of Perce, the Soudans Brother, by whom he was delyuered / and tolde the maner hou, as is bifore reherced / and hou that, aftir his deliueraunce, he came in-to the Reaume of Sizile / and there, was in the company of two the worshipfulle men of the worlde, of their degre / of the whiche, one was the same gentilman by whoos meanes y was deliuered; and a-nothir one that was escaped of the armee of Scottes, whiche is an yngoodly man, and a worthy / ffor thise ij. men haue doon more hurt to the Turkes, than alle the Reaume of Sizile / And aftir, he tolde the destruccion of the Turke, and hou the kyng of Sizile was chosen Emperour, and what terme of trewes was taken bytwene themperour and the yonge Turke / and than he forgate not to telle of the Tournay that was cried for the Emperours doughtir, and tolde the grete beaunte and bounte she was of / and noon auenture he vntolde, sauf his oune prowesse / and of his ij. ffelawes reherced he so moche worship / that euery man meruailed, that herd it / and whan he had ended his tale / he behelde the grete princes and lordes ther / of whom he had away the sones of / and than went he vnto them & seid / "My Frendes & Cousins, y crie you mercy! for by me are ye differred from your children; for y wolƚ not, nor can, denye it, but that oure departyng came of me, & not of them / and y trust veryly in god that they be alyue / and if they so be, y promyse you without faile, their Raunsone shalbe no charge to none of you / and y trust to haue suche acqueyntaunce ther, to haue them delyuerd without fyne orRaunsom, if they lyue" / whom they forgaff / with right good wille / sayng / that nowe god had sent them hym, it was but litil change of the remenaunt." Than departed he and they alle from the kyng / and within litil while aftir, he decesed, and yeldid his soule to god / ffor his dethe, was alle the Reaume heuy and right sory; but they were gretly recomforted by the comyng of the yonge prince / and wele they might be / for in this tyme he gouerned the Reaume fulle wele & rightwisly. The obsequeyes for the kynge were done as belonged to his estate. And after, his sone was crowned, as of dewte he aught / and aftir his coronacion, he sent for his counselle / and shewed them what wille he hadde to go in-to the Reaume of Sizile / to put him in deuoir to haue this faire lady, trustyng to accomplissh wele his desire, for he was sure that his ij. felawes might not be ther-at / In asmoche as noon migℏt tournay there, but he were descended of roialle blode right nygh; and that were not they / whiche were the men of the word that he moost dred at that point / if they might haue ben there / Thise lordes, whan they vndirstode his pleasir, contraried him in no-thinge, but thought it was right wele to do, though it were only but for to lete him to be knowen in the Reaume of Sizile, where he had ben so long bi-fore / when they were thus concluded, he purueide for his estate / and his abilementes to be made aswele and as richely as was possible for him / and in this meane while, the gentilman of Sizile that was comen with him, reherced contynuelly the vertues and the grete worthynesse that was in his maister / and seide that he might not faile to haue the Emperours doughtir / seyng / the tothir ij. of whom ye haue herd, might not be there-at / and in esspecialƚ one that was called Le Surnome, whiche was nounpareilƚ of the world / The kynges purveaunce was alle redy, and abode no-thing but the tyme of his departyng / Now is it tyme that we retourne to speke of Athis.[Illumination: a King receives Messengers: a Cavalcade rides forth.]

YT is no doute he was right heuy whan he was allone, departed from his company, whom he loued so moche / but his thought was not like the tothir two, for he was not departed against the pleasir of his fadir / but by his licence & commaundement; wherfore he was assured to be right welcome / Thus rode he forth more ioyfully, and nought discouerd to noon of his men, of his estate, nor what he was. and whan he came in-to Scotland / he askid tidynges of the kynge and of his children / and where he shold fynde the kynge / men tolde him where the kynge was, andalle his children in good helthe / sauf only for the dethe of his eldest sone, that died in the cristen armee, that went in-to the Reaume of Sizile / Than rode he forth til he came to the Towne where the kynge was, & loggid him yn an Inne, vnknowen what he was, of any body / than enquered he what folkes there where aboute the kynge of his counselle / Than sent he for two or thre of them / and whan they came to his loggyng, and knewe him / they had as grete ioye as coude be thought / And than said he to them / "My frendes, the cause that y send for you, is this / I drede the grete ioie that the kynge shaƚƚ haue, if he here sodeinly of my comyng / shold do him to grete an hurt / wherfore me thinketh best that it be tolde him at diuerse tymes and by leyser / ffirst, to telle hym that y am a lyve / and in prisone / and aftir to telle him that y am escaped, and than to telle him that y am comen" / and as it was deuised, it was done. And by processe of tyme the kyng had knowlage of the comyng of his sone, wherof he was as ioyfuƚƚ as he might be / for he neuir loked to haue seen him a-lyue / than he sent his ij. brethern for him / and alle the lordes, knightes, and Squiers of the Court / grete was the ioy amonges them whan they were mette / so that no sorowe was thought on. They that were comen out of Sizile with him, were sore abasshed whanne they knewe their maister was the kynges sone / hou-be-it they thought alƚwey he was of som noble blode, he was so fulƚ of all goodly maners / Athis, accompanyed with his two brethern, and grete nombre of princes and lordes, departed from his loggyng, and went to the kynge / whom he founde in a grete halle: and whan he sawe him he kneled doune; and assone as the kynge sawe him, he ranne to hym a grete paas, and toke him in his armes without speche; & whan he might speke, he welcomed him in his best maner, and asked him of his Auenturys, & that he sholde telle it openly / he began his tale thus / "My lord, here be many yn your presence that can telle you of the grete fortune that befell at the port where we were / and of my self y shalƚ telle you / for y wote not what befelle of the remenaunt. The vesselƚ where y was, smot on land bifore the Turkes baner; and alle that were theryn were drowned, sauff vj., wherof y was one / and the Erle Douglas an othir / & othir iiij. that y remembre not / and we purposed verily to haue yolden vs to the Turke / but he charged his men to sle vs / and there was the Erle Douglas slayne at my feet / and y withdrewe me / and set my bak to a Roche / and the Turkes sone espied me /and hadde pite on me, and commaunded alle men to come fro me, and toke me with his owne handes, and promysed to saue my lif / wherof the Turke was not pleased / and wold haue sleyne me in his handes / but he defendid me right valiauntly / and for cause he was a kynges sone / and y was his first prisoner, he delyuerd me frely / and brought me surely in-to a cristen place, whiche was beseged within two daies aftir / and the Captayne of the place was right a a noble man & a knyght / and had in his company a man that higℏt Le Surnome, whiche was the floure and surmountour of alle othir: with hym haue y bene alle the while sith the tyme of my takyng / and he deliuered out of the Turkes handes a yong man that was named Ector, whiche dayly did so wele, that within litil while his renome was fer knowen. Thise ij. and I had but one purse & one wille; for debate was neuir amonges vs." Than tolde he hou, by the worthynesse of his ij. ffelawes, the Reaume of Sizile was recouerd; & told of the batailes & grete aventures that were duryng the werres / than tolde he of the long trewes that was taken / & forgate not to telle of the Tournay that shold be, & for whoos sake; & hou noon might tournay there, but if he were of blode roialle / whan the kynge hadde herde alƚ his tale, he was right wele content therwith / and toke him by the hande, & drewe him apart with v. or vj. othir that he called to him, & askid his sone, by his feith, if he had not grete desire to be at this Tournay; & he saide, "yis, if it pleased him." & besought him at his first comyng to graunt him that request / "forsothe," seide the kyng / "& ye shalle go as wele acompanyed & appointed as y can make you, what so euir it cost me" / Than made the kynge grete purveaunce for his goyng forth / and appointed the moost part of his noble men, & lusty knyghtes of his Reaume, to accompany him. In this besy tyme, such sekenesse toke the kynge, that he died. his sone was right sorowfulƚ, as of reason he aught / but he might not be recouerd / The tyme passed, & his sorowe wele appeased / the yonge kyng was crowned / & than ordeyned he his abilementes moche more riche than bifore. And purposed him to departe, so that he might be ther .x. or xij. daies bifore the Tournay / trustyng to come to this high wele, and mariage of this faire lady / and thought, whan he came there, to enquere alle aboute aftir his two felawes / and to kepe them in his company. [Illumination: Meeting of Emperor and King, &c.]

FOr to abregge my matier, the tyme came that it semed the kynge of Scottes ceason to departe; and he departed out ofhis contre in grete estate, alle his folkes in a lyuere / and so many lordes & knyghtes with him, that it was meruaile to se; he had to the nombre of a Mƚ horses with him, or moo / he sent his herbegeours in-to Sizile before, to take vp his quarter for his loggyng / more than a moneth bifore his comyng / and men meruailed moche that he came with so moche people / and delyuerd him suche logging / as was accordyng to the nombre / whan tyme came, the kynge of Scottes approched, and lay but viij. myle from the Emperour. and whan themperour hadde dyned, he toke his hors, with grete and noble company of princes and lordes, for alle the floure of Sizile was ther / thus departed he oute of the Towne, & mette the kynge of Scottes more then a myle thens / and whan he sawe the kynge of Scottes, he thought it shold be Athis / and asked "where was the kynge" / and whan he knewe for trouthe that it was he / he toke hym in his armes, and seide / "A, sir! ye haue done grete wrong, that thus longe ye haue hidde you from me; for, and y had knowen you to my power, y wold haue honoured you accordyng to your estate / y coude neuir haue thought, that the sone of so mighti a kynge, shold haue ben seruaunt to my Senesshalle" / fferaunt, whan he knewe Athis, that so long had ben in his seruice / and sawe him nowe a kynge, humbly came to salewe him / seyng / "sir, y aught gretly to thanke god that hath youen me suche grace, to haue the seruice of a kynge / hou be it / ye aught not to blame me, though y haue not honoured you as me aught / for fulle gladly y wold, if y hadde knowen you" / Thus rode forth the knightes of Sizile and they of Scotland; and ther was not forgoten amonges them the grete worthynesse of the kynge of Scottes, and how valiauntly he acquyte him at the takyng of the yonge Turke, & in what maner he had deliuerd hym / Anone the tidynges came vnto the Emperesse, and to his doughtir, that the kyng of Scottes, that was now come, was Athis / that so long had ben in seruice there, whiche was to them grete meruaile / anone themperour and the kyng approched the palaice / But themperour in no wise wold lete him alight there / but brought him to his owne loggyng / and assone as he was a-ligℏt there / he chaunged him / and came in to themperesse, that abode him in the halle, and hir fair doughtir, with grete company of ladies & gentilwommen / & lordes, knightes, & squyers / and whan He came in-to the halle, the Emperesse welcomed him ioyfully / seyng vnto him / that "he was moche to blame to hide him thus long fro them / for they had done him mochewrong / & alle by his owne cause" / he excused him, seyng, "that he had made his auowe to be vnknowen duryng the werres, sith god had youen him that grace to escape with his lif so wele as he did" / than went he to this faire lady, the Emperours doughtir, & talkid with hir, seyng / he shold put him in deuoir more to deserue hir grace than he had done, if god wold sende him that grace & fortune / This faire lady answerd nothynge / but was alle abasshed, for there was no man in the world she was so leef to haue, as one of the iij. seruauntes. But ouir alle othir, she loued best Le Surnome, if he were of birthe accordyng vnto hirs / The kynge of Scottes excused him that tyme for sopyng with themperour / and desired his maister, fferaunt, & many othir noble men of Sizile, to suppe with him at his loggyng / thus went they forth with him / Alle they of the Towne that sawe Athis in his estate, preised god, wisshing amonges them that his ij. felawes were of as noble birth and grete power as he was. Aftir soper, the kyng of Scottes went agein to the ladies whiche he founde redy to the daunces / the daunces and the sportes were there right grete / and whanne tyme was, spices & wyne were sette / and than went alle folkes to rest / and thus contynued the tyme in disportes & pleasir, and the ffeste kepte in grete estate & nobley til aftir the mariage; and euery man lyued yn hope and desire to haue this faire lady.

Now shalle we leve a while, & speke of Orkais, the yong Turke. [Illumination: Emperor and Sultan meet.]

YE haue wele herde here before, how he was determyned to be at this Tournay / and whan he sawe his tyme coueneble, he departed, so richely arayed and so wele accompanyed, that euery man thought that he was right wele appointed accordyng to his highe estate / and litil while he spedde him so wele, he came into the Reaume of Sizile / his herbegeours were afore, and hadde taken vp his loggyng / whan the Emperour knewe of his comyng / he had grete meruaile / and thought werrily he shold not tournay without he were first cristened; and so he supposed the Turke entendid to be / Than went he and the kynge of Scottes to mette with him / and mette him almost at the Towne. There was amonges them grete ioye / and eche did othir grete honour. and when the Turke behelde the kynge of Scottes, he knew certainly it was the same that he had taken prisoner to-fore; and whan he remembred his worthynesse, he loste anone moche of his hope of the Tournay / wisshing that he hadde slayne hym whan he toke him prisoner / but in asmoche as it was to late / he salewed thekynge, saynge vnto him / "fforsothe, sir, whan y deliuered you, y wende fulle litil to haue hadde in myn handes the chief of the cristen armee" / "By my feith, sir," seide the kynge of Scottes, "y holde my lif of you" / Than seide the Turke, "y deliuered you / not knowyng what ye were / and ye deliuered me, knowyng for certaine that y was the Turkes sone / by this, was ther gretter bounte yn you than in me; and y am more bounden to you than ye to me" / "trewly," seide the kynge of Scottes, "sauf your grace / ffor y did nought for you, but that y was bounden bifore for to do / and moche more, and y coude / and ye did for me without desert of me or any othir, for my sake" / In suche communicacion rode they vnto the Towne / and the Emperour hadde grete pleasir to here them / Aftir soper, the Turke and the kynge of Scottes came to se the Ladies / and so did alle othir straungers, wherof there were so many, that euery man was ameruailed / for there was no cristen nacion almoost, but there were som folkes therof / The ladies and gentilwomen made grete chere to the Turke / The Turke made it secretly be broken to the Emperour, that if he wolde breke of this Tournay / and gif hym his doughtir in mariage / he wolde become cristen for hir sake / but his entente was, not to be cristened vpon none certaynte / and if themperour had knowen bifore his desire, with right good wille he wold haue agreed therto / for by that meane his Reaume, for alwey sholde haue bene in peas / neuirtheles, he praied him now to remembre that the ffesst of the Tournay was alle redy / wherfore it was now to late to breke it / ffor the loggynge was taken vp by the herbeiours for x. kynges and C.C. princes, and grete lordes of blode Roialle, wherfore he neither might, nor wolde, abuse so many grete princes & lordes / for he coude not do it without grete maugre and a shame / But, and he hadde shewed him this whan he was prisoner, Themperour wold haue had grete ioie therof / whan the Turke herd this answere, he thought wele themperour saide trouthe / and content him with the answere, tha[n]kyng moche themperour; and so taried ther stille, abidyng the ffeste / and euery day the kynge of Scottes and he, with many othir grete princes, came to disporte them with the ladies & gentilwomen / Now leue we them, & retourne to the kynge of Englond. Illumination: Meeting of the Emperor and the King of England, on horseback.

THe kynge of Englond had wele herde in what aray & grete estate the kynge of Scottes was departed to this Tournay; wherfore he accompanyed him self the bettir / and appointedhim self aswele as he coude, like as ye haue herde bifore / and whan he thought hys tyme best, departed, & within litil while came in-to the Reaume of Sizile / and whan themperour was assertayned he was nere / he toke his hors / and in his company, the Turke & the kynge of Scottes, and many othir grete princes and Lordes / and whan they mette with the kynge of England / and was assertayned it was Ector, The Emperour was neuir so ameruailed / The Turke & the kynge of Scottes were sore abasshed / Natheles, eche one made othir grete chere / and in esspecialle the kynge of England made Athis grete chere, no thing wenyng he had ben kyng, nor of blode Roialle; but whan he knewe he was a kynge, as wele as he & the next neighbour that he had / eche of them made meruailous Ioie of othir / But ouir alle men / fferaunt had grete ioie / and helde him self moost vrous man that lyued in his tyme / seyng two so grete kynges that had so long contynued in his seruyce / and than came he to salewe the kyng of England / and he did him alƚ the honour that he coude / sayng / "myne owne maister / Lo, here your seruaunt / that neuir shaƚƚ faile you, daies of his lif / Here may ye se two of your seruauntes: wold oure lord, the thridde were in suche condicion!" than asked he if any tidinges were of him / "Trewly," saide themperour, "nay / and therof haue y grete meruaile" / whan the two kynges herd that / they were right sory / thinkynge eche in him self / they wolde gif the third part of their Reaume to haue him in their company / The kynge of England thought verily, that if he coude gete him, he wolde marye him to one of his susters / and gif him grete possessiouns. thinkyng he coude nowhere so wele bistowe hir witℏ that he were a gentilman / In suche thoughtes & wordes, rode they to the Towne. And like as the tidynges of the kynge of Scottes came to themperesse and to hir doughtir, came tidynges of the kynge of England, how for trouthe it was Ector, that so longe had be in seruice there. The Emperesse & hir doughtir, & alle the ladies & gentilwomen, gretly reioised it, and thought it was half a miracle, for the meruaile they had therof / Themperour went to his loggyng / and the kynge of Englond went to his / by the commaundement and ordynaunce of the Emperour; and the Turke, & the kynge of Scottes, brought him there / and went agein to their owne loggyng / and taried not there scantly til they had half soped / but went agein to the kynge of Englond, and founde him yet stille at soper / and fferaunt with him / than sate thei downe with hem / and than talkid they of Le Surnome. a man might haue had ioieand meruaile, to haue herd them reherce the grete noblesse & bountees of him / and for his grete renome, euery man loued him / On the tothir side was themperesse in the halle, accompayned with ladies & gentilwomen / and ther was noone othir talkyng, but of the kynge of Englond, and the kyng of Scottes, hou long they had be amonges them vnknowen / and there was Le Surnome complayned / and somme saide that yet he might come to this Tournay tyme y-nough / and if it were possible to him, so wold he accordyng to his promys / The ladies had grete desir to se him; but ouir alle other, themperours doughter had grete sorowe that he was not come; and praied god, Le Surnome might be of as grete blode & power as any of the ij. kynges. Aftir soper, the kynge of Englond & of Scottes, & the Turke, & alle the princes, came to se the ladies / the kynge of Englond was fulle wele receyued amonges them / and questioned, wherfore he kepte him self so long vnknowen. he answerd & saide, that in his emprisonment, & at his deliueraunce, he made suche promesse / Than saide he, " y pray god comfort Le Surnome, and sende him good auenture, where so euer he be; for, next god, y may thanke him of my lif." and sayng thies wordes, the teeres fille from his yeen / for sorow þat he hadde þat he coude here no tydynges of hym / The ladies gaf him a grete preise, seyng that "Le Surnome had wele bistowed his seruice, that it was so wele remembred" / anoon the mynstralls playde / and the daunces began on alle partes / there knightes, ladies & gentilwomen dauncyng; and euer amonges was Surnome remembred / moost of any thing / In this festing & pleasir, abode they til the day of Tournay / Now is it tyme to speke of the kynge of ffraunce, and of his vncle the Duc of Burgoigne. [Illumination: Meeting of the Emperor and the King of France.]

THe kynge of ffraunce, þat wold be vnknowen, wolde not departe so sone as to the tothir did / hou-be-it he knewe of the departyng of many kynges and princes / and in what estate and richesse the kynge of Englond & the kynge of Scottes were departed yn. and many tymes was his vncle and he in communicacion for his purueaunce; and the kynge was the best diuiser that any man coude fynde: he devised not as pore caitif, but as a kynge / so that there was noon, of what estate and condicion he was of / to be compared to him. Thre daies bifore, he had sent his seruauntes to take vp loggyng for the Duc of Burgoigne / enheritour and Regent of ffraunce, whiche hath in his company v. or vj. Mƚ horses, wherof there by vj. Dukes and xiiij. Erles, beside grete Baronsand noble knightes, that were in his company. He ordeyned than his vncle to take vpone him the playne armes of ffraunce, seyng, "that it ought to be so / for it shold be to him repreef to tournay in any other cote armour than in his owne" / The duc of Burgoigne, whiche entended no-thing so moche as the pleasir of his nevew, was content with alle that he wold ordeyne / how-be-it, he tolde him that folkes wolde speke moche therof / inasmoche as he was not crowned kynge, nor bare the name therof / Neuirtheles, in conclusioun, thus it was apointed / and thus it was done / And ther was noman in alle ffraunce that [wold] contrary the Dukes pleasir / hou-be-it, his day was not come, by a yere and more, of the vij. yere / and alle such murmur & wordes, dred the Duc. But it was sure at the ende, what-som-euir was saide, shold be to his grete honour / and alle thinge was arredied thus as y haue tolde you / and the kynge departed at suche tyme as he might come to the Emperour a ij. nightes bifore the Tourney and whan his herbegours came afore / and asked loggyng for so grete a nombre / themperour was abasshed, and meruailed moche / Than they tolde him how he was Regent of ffraunce, and enheritour / and noon but he apparaunt to be kynge / and so toke he him self / Of alle this, themperour had grete meruaile / & specially, sith he was so nere vnto him, that he had not before tyme sent noon embassat for the mariage of his doughtir.

Now cometh the tyme of the Dukes departyng / no man̄ may thinke the richesse that that tyme was at Parys, of he grete princes that were come thider / whos abilementes and purueaunce were to long to reherce / when alle was redy, the Duke departed / and they that he had in his conduyte / The kynge went alwey before or behinde / euery man praied god to sende the Duc good auenture, for moche was he biloued amonges them; hou-be-it they had a litil grugge vnto him now / for this, that he bare the playne armes of ffraunce / and they praied god they might ones se the kynges sone a lyue amonges them / for than sholde he be fayne to leue thoos armes / Thus departed he, as y telle you. The Duc spedde his Iournay so, that he came in-to the Reaume of Sizile / and whan he ffirst entred in-to the Reaume, he was assertayned what kynges & prynces were there / and how the kynge of England was Ector; and the kynge of Scottes was Athis / that so longe had be in seruice there. The Duc knewe thies names wele, by reporte of his Neuewe / and had right grete ioie of them and assone as he might, he made relacion vnto the kynge, whiche had therof a meruailous gladnesse / thinkyng in himself / that sucheauenture had neuir be seen / that iij. kynges sones vnknowen shold be daily seruauntes yn one house to a knyght / Than thought he that this entent might not be had / for he thought before to haue had them bothe yn his house / though they had coste him the half of his Reaume / whiche now might not be / Than saide he to his vncle, "now shalƚ y ride ioyfully / for y shalƚ se the moost part of them that y loue" / Thus rode they til they came nere vnto the place where themperour was / and at the towne that he logged / next vnto themperour / there mette with him many noble men / that themperour had sent vnto him; and there dyned they with hym / and the Duc asked them many questions of the werres that had ben amonges them / and they tolde him, and also of the fortune of fferaunt, "whiche had ij. kynges in his seruice / whiche were the moost noble men of the worlde sauf one, whiche was in their company, that was named Le Surnome, whiche was the ffloure, and surmounted alle othir" / & there they reherced his persone, his worthynesse, and bounte / and alle the wele that coude be seid of any man / yit knewe not the Duc that it was his nevewe that was called Le Surnome. But assone as he might departe from them of Sizile / he came to his nevewe / & besought him on his feith to telle him how he was named whan he was in Sizile. and the kynge, that wold not displease his vncle, tolde him that his first name was Le Despurueu / but the Emperours doughtir had chaungid it, and named hym Le Surnome. And whan the Duc herde this / and knewe for trouthe it was he of whom the grete renome sprange so ferre / he embraced him with grete ioie. and the kyng asked him what meved him so to do; and he tolde him the grete honour that he had herd spoken of him; and seid so moche, that the kynge wax alle rede & shamefast / and saide, "faire vncle, they that haue made this report, y suppose be my grete frendes; but parauenture ye shalle here suche tidynges, or ye go oute of this cuntre, that happily shalle not please you so moche." The Duc in his mynde praised him moche for that answere, & saide / "now wille ye go bifore or behinde" / "forsothe," saide the kynge, "y wolƚ go bifore / and not fer from you, but as a gentilman of youres" / The Duc was content with his pleasir / The Emperour had alwey hope to here som tidynges of Le Surnome. The ladies that had herd speke of the grete richesse, and of the grete lordes that shold come to the towne, besought themperour they might be at the wyndowes to se them come / Themperour was agreable. Themperesse, & hir doughtir, and alle the ladies, went forth / whanthey that were in the towne herd thies tidynges / euery man appointed him self in the best wise they coude / to ride forth and mete the Duc of Burgoigne. The kynge of ffraunce was araied as a squier, and set on the best hors that was in alle the company / and iij. or iiij. moo that knewe of his counselle, were araied in sute witℏ him / and eche one a visour bifore his face / Themperour, and the yong Turke, & alle the kynges & princes that were in the towne, rode oute to mete the Duc of Burgoigne / and within litil way of the towne, they mette with hym; and there was neither knigℏt nor squyer in his company, but he had outher trapoures or horsharneys of clothe of gold / or velewet embrowdird / there was neuir so grete richesse seen in Sizile bifore in one day / whan the yong kynge saw the kyng of Englond and the kyng of Scottes, he salewed them a ferre; & the hors wheron he rode was so plesaunt, that his maister might guyde him as he wold / and he made ij. or iij. lepes fulle manerly / the hors was plesaunt, and the man that was on hym moche more / he was loked on of many folkes / but noon knewe hym [as] he passed forthe. The Emperour came to the Duc, and salued him as perteyned to his estate / aftir acqueyntaunce, they rode alle togedir to the towne; and the yong kynge and his company was alway nere vnto the Duc / At their comyng in-to the Towne, was not seen suche estate of richesse sitℏ the worlde began / the wyndowes and the stretes were alle hanged with riche clothes / and alle the wyndowes fulle of ladies & gentilwomen / and whan they shold passe by themperesse & hir faire doughtir, the yonge kynge knewe them wele y-nough, ye may wele thinke / the cawcy was to litil for his hors & him / for alle that was possible for hym or his hors to do / was done bifore the ladies ther; and it semed to as many as bihelde him / that he sate as easely as he had ben vpon a litil amblyng nagge / and the ladies & gentilwomen gaff their beholdyng moost vnto him / but the prese was suche, they lost the sight of him longe or they wold. and whan themperour came there as the ladies lay / he alight, and made to conduyte the Duc of Burgoigne vnto his logging, with many kynges & princis; & whan they had brought hym there, Than the Duc knewe that themperour had supped / and that it was tyme to se the ladies, he departed from his loggyng / so accompanyed, that it was meruaile to se / he came to themperours paleis, where he founde themperesse accompanyed with grete nombre of ladies and gentilwomen / and so many faire, that it was a paradis to biholde them / but as the sonne passeth in beaute the sterres / so,in beaute & behaving, passeth alle othir, the faire & good Iolant. The duc salued the ladies, as to their estate belonged; and than he felle in talkyng with this faire lady / whom he founde so wele assured in alle hir behauyng that he thought his nevewe wele fortuned to haue such chois / if his fortune might folow the remenaunt of his wille / for as him thought, she was nounpareilƚ of the world / The daunces began; the kynges and princes came to se the daunces / the halƚ was newe, made so grete and so plenteuous / that suche a-nothir was neuir seyen / The yong kynge of ffraunce was behinde alle othir, holdyng a knight of his by the arme / and bihelde the daunces, and specially his faire lady / and besought god his fortune might be as good as his wille; and biheld his ij. felawes disportyng them / & dauncyng among the ladies / trustyng / or long to / to be knowen there, asmoche to his hertes ease / as was to any of them / There was many of themperours court that compleyned sore Le Surnome, whiche he him-self might here / seyng, "that they were nowe alle out of hope / and that they thought wele that he was outher dede or seke, seyng the promys that he had made to be there at that day / and if he were dede / it were the grettist pite of his dethe that euir was of any so pore a man in alle this worlde." Thise wordes herde many of the frenshmen̄; and tolde vnto the Duc their maister, the grete lawde that this man had, whiche was named Le Surnome. and themperour him-self spake of him, and had for him right grete sorowe / & so had alle the ladies and gentilwomen. The kynge of ffraunce, knowyng alle this / saide vnto suche as knewe his entente / "if euer he had hert to do wele / it was now tyme to shewe it at this tournay / and also he wist wele, without grete paine & trauaile this grete conqueste might not be made wele" / they smyled & seide / "they of this Reaume sey so euel of you / that we ar half in drede of your spede." "Truly," seide the kynge, "y shalƚ do aswele as y can" / Themperour praid the Duc of Burgoigne, on the morowe to suppe with hym and alle the princes of his company / ffor he had fested alle other straungers bifore / and this was the even of the tournay. The Duc graunted hym / and toke leue of him and of the ladies / and went to his loggyng / many were there that wold haue conueyed hym, but he wold not suffre them / and assone as he came to his loggynge / he founde leiser to speke with his Nevewe, saing vnto him / "that wele he had chosen / and yf there were any prowesse in him / he shold put him in payne now to do wele; for if in his defaute he lost suche a wele / he might be sure neuer torecouere the semblable" / if the kynge were amorous to-fore / his vnkells wordes made him more; sayng vnto him / "ffaire vncle, myn armes shalle faile me, outher y shalƚ dye in the payne / or y shalƚ haue hir." The Duc began to laugℏ, and tolde him how themperour had praied him to soper on the next day / and alle the princes of his company / this nyght they went to rest. The kynge of ffraunce thought euery houre a yere / til the day of the tournay / and yit was there but one day therto. The ffelde was ordeyned by themperours commaundement, where the Tournay shold be / and placis apointed, & deliuerd to euery kynge and prince, to hang vp theire tentes and pauilions. I had forgoten to reherce, howe that very night was shewed vnto the yong Turke / that, but if he were cristened / he might not be receyued vnto the tournay / He made many grete doutes, lest his suggetes wold destroie him, or chase him out of his Realme / and than the Emperour and alle the kynges and princis that were there, promised him aide, and to take his part, if any suche cause were / and in trust of their promesse, he bicame cristened on the morow / the kynge of Englond and the kynge of Scottes cristened him / and eche of them put othir to such worship, that they wold not gyue the Turke their owne name / so that he hight aftir neither of them, but was named Charles / also a grete part of his company bicame cristened. On the morow, did euery man set vp his Tentes & Pauylions / euery man in his owne quarter / But ouir alle othir, the Duc of Burgoignes Tente bare the brute / whiche was of the playne armes of ffraunce / and was valued at CCC Mƚ. scutes. that night came the Duc to soper to themperour / and the Emperour and the ladies made him grete chere; and at that soper, was speche of le Surnome, and was asmoche complayned as any man might be / The Emperour seide asmoche good of him as coude be thought / and tolde the Duc that he was cause of alle his honour / and rehersed his persone, maner, and condicions / and than wisshed him as mighti a kynge as any of his ij. ffelawes / and than saide he / "he promysed me to haue ben here agein at this day, if he had ben a lyve and at his liberte / wherfore y thinke verily he ys dede" / and in sayng thise wordes, the teeres felle from his yen. whan this faire lady herde speke of the dethe of Le Surnome, she coude not kepe hir from wepyng; and alle othir that there were, bemoned him moche. And whan the Duc saugh the grete loue that alle folkes had to his nevew / and herde his grete vertues rehersed, ye may be sure he had grete ioie / and saide to theEmperour, "truly, sir, he hath wele employde his seruyse / and perauenture he may be seke without dethe; and if god wille, ye shal fulle wele se him hereaftir" / Thus, and in suche wordes, passid forth the soper / and aftir soper, the Duc, as though he were a litil envious of the preise that he herde of Le Surnome, saide vnto the faire Iolante, "Madame, me thinketh / Le Surnome wele vred / for whan he was spoken of this night / ye coude not kepe you from wepyng / wherfore y suppose he be more in your grace than many othir" / "In good feith," quod she, "y loue him right wele; and so haue y grete cause / yf ye had in your company one that had done asmoche for you, as Le Surnome hath done for my lord my fadir, & for me / ye had an hard hert, if ye herde speke of his dethe / and were not sory" / The Duc sawe wele she was not pleased with his wordes. he was not sory, for he thought it touchid hir hert somwhat, & trustid within iij. daies after / the peas shold be made. anoon aftir, he toke his leve, saing, he most that night attende to his besinesse / that night came noon of the tothir Princis to the Emperour / for eche of them attendid that he had to do on the morow. The duc came to his loggyng; and assone as he might, went to the kynge his Nevewe, and tolde him what wordes he had herde of him that night / and what speche was bitwene him and the Emperours doughtir, saing, "sir, now do so, that this preyse and recommendacion may contynue." he answerd, "I pray god graunt me that grace." That night went he to rest / and on the morow rose vp be tymes, and went & herd masse, and than apointed them to be redy. [Illumination: the Tournay: Knights charging; Iolante, &c. looking on.]

THe Princis were departed by the knightes and kynges of Armes, one ageinst a nothir / and were nombred, of kynges x, beside the kynge of ffraunce, whiche was vnknowen; and of othir princes & lordes of Roialle blode, CC. and vj.; so that they were in all CC. & xvj. and on eche side, C. & viij.; on that one side the kynge of England and the Duc of Burgoigne / & on that othir side, the yonge Turke and the kyng of Scottes / The scaffold on the tothir side was where the ladies were; and this faire lady was set vp allone on hight, because euery man shold se hir. Themperour was on an scaffold, accompayned with many noble men / and fferaunt the Seneshalƚ was with him. At the houre that the Tournay shold be, the Trumpetes blew vp / The kynges & princes came out of their pavilions, euery man armed with his helme onhis hede / his Cotearmour on him, his baner a-fore him, and alle their horses couerd with their armes. The yonge Turke and the kynge of Scottes came on the tone side / the kynge of Englond / and he that men helde the Duc of Burgoigne, on the tothir side / and whan the kynge of ffraunce came out of his pauylion / eueri man beheld him with grete meruaile, wenyng he had ben the Duc of Burgoigne / by cause he ware the playne armes; and there was leyde grete charge vnto him in many folkes mouthis, for weryng thies armes, he not beyng kynge. Alle thise thinges done / thei were embatailed eche ageinst othir, the corde drawen before eche partie / and whan tyme was, the cordes were cutt / and the Trumpetis blew vp, for euery man to do his deuoir / And for to assertayne you more of the Tournay, there was on eche side a stake / and at eche stake two kynges of armes, with penne and Inke and paper, to write the names of alle them that were yolden / for they shold nomore Tournay / The Duc of Burgoigne was on horsbak, accompanyed with them with the visours / and had a visour alwey bifore his visage; and they kepte them to-geder alway nere the kynge; for grete desire had the Duc to se his worthynesse. Suche an assemble was neuir noon seen bifore / nor so many noble armes to-gedir / euery man payned him to haue the price / The kynge of ffraunce saw where his lady stode / and so did alle the remenaunt, whiche doubled their corage and worthynesse. This Tournay dured longe tyme; so moche / that it was meruaile that any man might endure that / that eche of theym did / Ouir alle othir, the kynge of ffraunce did meruailously: he ouirthrewe men & horses, so that there was vnnethes any that durst abide his strokes. the Emperour, and they that were in the scaffoldes, were alle abasshed of the prowesse of the Duc of Burgoigne / there was noon to be compared with him / In like wise seid the ladies, and were ameruailed and sory that the kynge of Englond and the kynge of Scottes were of no bettir power to encountre the Duc. It is to thinke, the Duc of Burgoigne had grete ioie to se the worthynesse of his Nevewe; and so had the Frensshemen, wenyng it were the Duc / saing amonges them / "oure maister is a meruailous noble man" / and so seide alle othir nacions that were there / and meruailed alle of him. So long endured this Tournay, til, by the Emperours ordenaunce, the Trumpetes blewe the retrayte, that euery man shold withdrawe him / there were not xxxti men on the Turkes side that migℏt feight / but alle were sent to the stake. There were double the feighters on the kynges side of ffraunce; for, by the seide kynge,were sent to the stake vj. kynges and viij. Dukes, & xxij Erles, wherof the yonge Turke was one / whiche at that tyme had leuer haue dyued than lyued / The kynge of Englond and the kynge of Scottes sawe wele they coude not wynne the pryce alle daies, ffor the first day the pryce was wonne fro them bothe; wherof they were right sorowfulle / than euery man drewe to his Pavilion, trist & pensiff as they might be / But the kynge of ffraunce was alle in a nother thought / for he departed with good hope, as glad and ioyfulle as he might be / and made him to be vnarmed / and his vncle coude not kepe him for takyng him in his armes / whan he remembrid his grete noblesse that he had seen him do that day. Than went euery man to soper / and ouir alle the towne ranne the brute on the Duc of Burgoigne / euery man seid that, sauf Le Surnome, he was the moost valiaunt man that euer they sawe / Aftir soper the ladies came in-to the halle to the daunces / and there they seide to this faire lady / "By my feith, madame, and the Duc contynue thus worthyly, ye be his / wold oure lorde he were xxti yere yonger than he is!" Some seid that, "to-morow he shalbe so wery, that he shal not mowe contynue / and if he do not, the Emperour may chose whiche of them best pleasith him / and if it so be / I suppose he wilƚ knowe your wilƚ or he make any graunt of you" / "By my feithe," seid the faire lady, "my wilƚ shal be as pleasith him / and neuir other-wise shal y thynke" / As they were in such talkyng came the kynges and the princis to Courte / but ouir alle othir was the Duc of Burgoigne beholden of alle folkes; & moche murmour was ther of him / somme saide "he made a nothir to tournay in his place; for certain it was not He that was to day yn the felde / it sheweth nothing in his face; for he ys as fressh as he was yester even this tyme." Thise wordes multiplied so moche, that the knightes and ladies had noon othir talkyng but of him / In so moche that men spake vnto themperour therof / and saide, that "by this meane the kynges and princes might be deceyued." Wherfore they besougℏt the Emperour / that on the morow, to put alle thing oute of suspecion, euery sholde departe oute of the felde vnhelmed / The Dukes folkes herde wele thise wordes that were spoken of their maister / for alle the halle was ful therof / and somme of them went and tolde the Duc therof; and how alle folkes shold go vnhelmed out of the felde / and he made countenaunce of grete displeasir / but he had right grete ioie in his thought, hou-be-it he wold telle his nevewe no thing therof. Than remembred he / howeuery kynge bare a crowne on his helme / sauyng the kynge of ffraunce / than toke he leue, & went home to him / and tolde him how many folkes spake that he bare the playne armes of ffraunce that day / and was not crowned / "wherfore it behoueth you to bere the crowne, or ellis to bere myne armes" / Than seid the kynge, "I am content to bere the crowne to-morowe" / Thus concludid, they went to bedde til on the morow / That mornyng, alle the princis besought the Emperour that eche one of them shold come vnhelmed before the ladies; and so forth euery man go streight forth to his pavilion / Themperour agreed therto. The Duc was ware therof be tymes in the mornyng / and appointed him-self right richely / and sat vpone a stately Courser / his visour stille on / and whan tyme came, as the ordenaunce was the day bifore / euery prince came out of his pavilion aftir the blowyng of the Trumpetes; and euery man shold haue come out vnhelmed / But the kynge of ffraunce came out alle armed / his helme on his hed / and his crowne theron / whan men saw him bere the crowne / euery man meruailed, & saide that "he aught not to bere it / sith he toke not on him the name of kynge"; euery man spake herof / the cordes were cutte as they were the day bifore. The tournay dured long, wele foughten / & grete armes that day were seen / wher-thorugh some dyed. Ouir alle othir, the Duc of Burgoigne bare the brute / the dedes of alle the tothir that were in the tournay, were not to be compared with his / notwithstandyng the moost worshipfulle of the world were ther / he ouirthrewe man and horses, he racyd of helmes fro hedes / and finally he did so in armes, that euery man fled him; ther was not of them that were ageinst him whan the Trumpetis blew the retraite, pasing x. that might defende them; and if the Trumpetes had taried a litil lenger, alle they on his side sholde haue founde noon to feight with. The kynge of Scottes was not brought to the stake that day, nor the Turke nother / the trumpetes sowned, the listes were closed. The kynge of fraunce wende to haue passid as he did the day before / but fferaunt came bifore him / and tolde him the crye & ordenaunce of themperour. The Duc of Burgoigne knewe of thies werkes, and was entred withyn the listes alle allone, wherof many folkes meruailed / The kynge of ffraunce, feling thus taken, had grete displeasir in his herte; hou-be-it, he most nedes obeye, & came bifore the scaffold, where as the Emperour and the ladies were / The Duc of Burgoigne alwey folowing him / Now cometh fferaunt as nere to the scaffold as he coude, and vnlacid the helmeof him that he had in charge; and assone as it was of his hede, that he knewe it was Le Surnome, he coude not refrayne him to kisse him / and whan the Emperour and the ladies knewe him / they made ioie out of mesure / whan the kyng of Scottes and the kynge of Englond knewe that their felaw was there, they embraced him with as grete ioie as coude be thought. The Emperour coude no lenger kepe him on his scaffold, but came downe, and lepe an hors bak, and came to embrace Le Surnome, his special frende & seruaunt. There was the preas aboute him out of nombre. Somme saide, "beholde the outrage of this Duc! This man is of ffraunce / and the Duc knoweth his worthynesse, and hath made him tournay in his place, wenyng therby to haue the faire Iolant." The Duc of Burgoigne toke of his visour / and required to speke with the Emperour in the presence of alle his ladies. Than came he before the Emperour, and spake so higℏ that alle migℏt here him / "sir, this same that hath tournaide, is the Kynge of Fraunce" / and tolde he how he departid out of ffraunce / and of the dethe of his ffadir / seing that alle that he had done was by his commaundement / wherfore he bisought the Emperour of pardone. whan the Emperour knewe that he was kynge of ffraunce, he saide that god was Iuste. This was anon knowen ouir alle men / and in esspecialle amonge them of ffraunce / that knewe nothinge thereof afore. But than they cried with a high voice, "Nowelƚ!" clappyng their handes / The Emperour and ladies wepte bothe for ioie & pite; and aboue alle othir, made faire Iolant grete ioie / thinking in hir-self there was neuer womman more bounde to god / trustyng to be accompanyed with him / that hir hert moost desired / Aftir this grete, ioie euery prince went to his pavilione. Themperour coude not wele leue of embracyng and kissing the kynge of ffraunce. grete was the ioie amonges them / and fferaunt, whan he hadde beholde his iij. seruauntes saide that, "neuer man of his power was so mightily serued as he had ben" / whan the Emperour behelde the Duc of Burgoigne, he thought he was a passing goodly man of his yeres, seyng, "that god had wele ioyned so grete truthe and comlynesse in o persone; for honorably and truly he had acquyte him to his Nevewe." the kynge seid then, that "of long tyme had he knowen his vncles trouthe; for there was neuer fadir kynder to his childe / than he had alway founde his vncle to him." The kynge of England & of Scottes, the more they thought on their fortune, the more were they abasshed & ameruailed; for they had neuer redde inromans nor in Cronicles, noon like vnto theirs. The Turke, whan he sawe this, wondird also gretly in hym-self / and thought wele, by the kynge of ffraunce, the Realme of Sizile had be recouerd / therfore it was moost conuenient, & best right, that his fortune shold be to enioie it. Themperour thought this fortune a miracle; wherfore he made alle the belles of the towne to be rongen / and toke the kynge by the hande, & brought him to the chirche / and euery man thankid god, that by his grace he had sent thise iij. kynges to their recouere, and releef of the cristen feith / and alle the straungers that herd therof, yaue god a grete lawde, holdyng it for a very miracle / Frensshmen, that had recouerd their kyng / and knewe for trouthe it was the same that was named Le Surnome, that had done so grete a wele to the realme of Sizile, of whom the renome spred thorugh alle the world / thankid god as hertly, and with a grete ioie, as was possible / Than brought themperour the kynge of ffraunce to se the ladies / whiche coude not refrayne their lokes fro him while he was there, sauf the faire and good Iolant, whiche was so wele assured in euery manere, whiche bihelde him with suche wommanhode and wisdom, that neither he nor noon othir shold perceyue hir thought, al-be-it she had not leste pleasir to behold him / In like wise was he as wele assured, for he thought than no place nor tyme couenable to shewe that moost touchid his hert / But whan he might, he toke leve of themperour to chaunge him, and aftir soper to come agein to se the ladies. The emperour made to speke vnto him secretly / that he and his vncle shold come suppe with the ladies / In like wise warned he the kynge of England and of Scottes. The kynge of ffraunce agreed to his commaundement without any grugge / for there was no-thinge that he desired so moche, as to be in the company of somme that shold be ther. Thus departed he, and toke fferaunt by the arme, wold he or not / and so went with him, arme in arme, thorugh the towne, til he came to his logging / where as they made grete ioie / and talked of many thinges passed / and so drave fortℏ, til tyme came they shold go to soper to the Emperour / than departed they fro his loggyng til he came to themperour, whiche was accompanyed with the kynges afore rehersed. There were set at his boorde, himself, his wif, & his doughtir, and ij. othir grete ladies / The kynge of ffraunce, of Englond, and of Scottes, and the duc of Burgoigne; and fferaunt, maugre his wille, was set there at the request of the thre kynges. At the soper, was rehersed the gouernaunce of them / how they iij.had ben seruauntes to fferaunt / and how they shewed them self at this tournay in suche fourme, that their first noblesse might not be forgoten in this Realme. thus passed forth the soper / And the Emperour saide to fferaunt, "that there might no mysauenture befalle hym, seyng such iij. seruauntes had seruid him" / & they seid, "god had sent hem grete grace to serue so good a maister as he was / that, next themperour, there was no man lyving they wolde be gladder to do honour and pleasir vnto." The soper passed forth ioifully / litil was eten there, for they were alle fedde with ioie. The Emperour behelde the kynge of ffraunce, that his faire sone shold be, and thought wele that god had accomplisshed alle weles in him. Themperesse thought accordyng to the same. This faire lady, how moche so euer she was reioised in hir thought, hir maner was suche that no man coude perceyue it; on the tothir side, the kynge of ffraunce, in beholdynge hir, trustid as wele to performe the iijde. day as he had begone; wherthorugh he was so ravissht with ioie, that he neither eete ne dranke / Aftir soper, bifore the comynge of othir kynges and princis / the kynge of ffraunce talked with the faire Iolante / and askid hir, by hir feith, so many noble Princis as were at this assemble / if there were not one more than anothir in hir grace / for any thynge that he coude do / he coude perceyue by no wordes of hir / but that alle hir hert & wille was at the pleasir of hir ffadir / seyng also she was right ioyfulle of the grete estate that he was yn, prayng god to sende him asmoche honour & ioie as he coude wisshe / he thankid hir ful humbly / and askid hir / if god gaf him that fortune to come to the mariage of / if she wold not so be aswele content as with a-nothir / she chaunged colour, & saide, "God gif hir grace to lyue no lenger than she be content with hym / that pleasith hir fadir to yeue hir, were it be he, or any othir." with thise wordes came yn many othir kynges and princes to themperours Court. The kynge of ffraunce, of Englond, and of Scottes, went to mette them / and brought them yn to the ladies; the mynstralles pleide so many / that alle the halle resounded / the daunces began / The kynge of ffraunce toke this faire lady, his maistresse, by the hande, and daunced with hir / euery body behelde them gladly / And themperour and the Duc of Burgoigne talked togedir / and behelde this goodly couple dauncyng: "fforsothe," seid the Emperour / "here is a mete couple / god, by his grace, preserue them long" / "fforsothe" / said the Duc / "If it please you to make the mariage, I trowe ye shalle displeasenthem neither" / "fforsothe," seid themperour, "if it please the kynge to take my doughtir / noon shall haue hir but he / By the ordenaunce of this Tournay, no man̄ [can] clayme hir of right / but if he wynne alle the iij. daies / and that can noman do but he / and though he do not / if it please him to haue hir, I woƚƚ be right ioyfulƚ, ffor he hath deserued a grettir rewarde / yif it were in me to yeue it him; for y hode myn honour and this Realme, only by god and him" / euery man that was in the halle spake of this matier / and in their mynde gaf this faire lady to the kynge of ffraunce. Aftir the daunces, euery man lay downe by the ladies, and talked to-gedir / the night came & departed them / and alle folkes went to rest / and on the morow, at the houre apointed, the kynges and princes came to the tournay / as they did the dayes bifore / The kynge of ffraunce was wele loked on / that day / & if he had done meruailes the ij. daies bifore / it semed to alle folkes it was nothing in comparison to that he did the last day; for at that day there was none that might abide his strokes; so that by than the Trumpetes blewe the retraite, there was not one on that othir side to feigℏt with-alle. Thus venguisshed he the Tournay by alle iij. daies / and ouir alle othir next him / the kynge of Englond & the kynge of Scottes had the preyse / At the departyng of the Tournay, the Emperour sent to alle the kynges & princes to suppe with him that night / and their had he ordeyned the most noble and riche soper that euer had be seen there bifore / thider came all folkes; and eueri man set in ordre / a prince alwey, and a princesse, or a grete lady / Aftir soper, the Emperour called the moost part of the noble men that were in the halle, reseruyng them that had tournaide / and also toke vnto hym the kynges of Armes / and the notable heraldes of euery prince that there was, and went in-to another halle in counselle, and made the Daunces to begynne, to disport the princes the meane while / and whan he was in his counselle, accompanyed as y haue seid you / he asked what he shold do / and deliuerd the ordre of the tournay; and asked if "they knewe any man that had accomplisshed the trye of this, he wold holde his promesse, without makyng lenger tale" / It was so clere matier, that alle, of one accorde, gaf the price of alle iij. daies to the kynge of ffraunce. The Emperour wolde haue the witte & thauise of the ladies, and sent for the emperesse, & for the moost part of the ladies / and the remenaunt abode stille at the Daunces with his doughtir. Than asked he their auise, as he had done of the men / and anone they gaf their iugement to the kynge offfraunce. Themperour herynge this, toke the Emperesse by the hande, & came in-to the halle, and toke their daughtir as she was dauncyng / bitwene them bothe, and came toward the kynge of ffraunce; and whan he saw them, he came to them. Than said themperour, "Right noble & valiaunt kyng! this Tournay was ordeyned like as ye knowe / wherof the price ys youen vnto you by alle iij. daies / hou-be-it, this Tournay compellith you not to take my doughtir, but if it please you.

Natheles, here y presente hir to you, in kepyng my promesse / and gif you the price / & hir, if it please you to take hir." [Illumination: 1. Iolante offerd to K. Philip; 2. married to him.]

WHan the kynge of ffraunce sawe this present that he moost desired, he kneled donne, & saide, "my lord! of the grete honour and curtesie that ye do me / of hir that is so moche worth,--first, y thanke almighti god / and right humbly y thanke your grace & the Emperesse / and to outrageous & ferrest ouirseyen shold he be, that suche a present refused / and as for me, I am redy to take hir / and moost glad therof of any thinge"/ Than toke he the faire maide, & kissed hir / and euery man preide god to sende them long lif to-gedir, with moche honour and ioie/ fforthwith was an Archebisshop called, and he enssured them / and the day of mariage was apointed the thrid day / and agein that day were cried Iustes of .xx. helmes against alle comers / at whiche day the kynge of ffraunce and alle his company apointed them as richely as was possible / The moost part of kynges & princis came to his loggyng, to do him honour & company that day / than went they to the Emperours loggyng / where the fonde themperesse and hir faire doughtir / accompanyed with many ladies and gentilwomen redy to go to chirche. I can not reherce the grete richesse that was that day shewed, in aray and in Iewels, amonge the princes and princesses / for eche was araied as riche as they coude / ye may wele thinke, the kynge of ffraunce & his company were not the werst; for, ful sory wold he haue ben to a wist any othir nacion to haue passed him that day / But he and his vncle exceded in richesse, that day, alle othir princis that were there. whan he had seen the faire Iolant, he went to chirche, accompanyed with many a grete prince. and after was she brought to chirche; where they were maried with grete ioie / and than retourned home agein to dyner / whiche was as grete and as roialle, as to such folkes belonged / The kynge of ffraunce gaf to the heraldes grete richesse, whervpone they cried "largesse" thorugh the halle, as was accustumed / after theboordes were taken vp / the daunces endured but a while, be cause of the Iustes / At the Iustes, for the loue of the kynge of ffraunce and of his wif, Themperour was on the vttir party, and the Duc of Burgoigne was on the Inne side, with the kynge of ffraunce / Thise Iustes dured til it was euen / and torche light / There were iij. C. helmes / and there were so many ladies & gentilwommen, that there were Scaffoldes for them on eche side the felde / there had not be seen bifore, grettir Iustes than tho. That day, was many an high & noble crye of mighti kynges and princes & grete lordes. Thus passed the day til soper tyme / & aftir soper, began the Daunces / And there were riche monnaynges of grete princes / & many riche presentes brought to this faire lady / Thus passed forth the night, til it was tyme to go to rest / Than was the faire Iolant brought to bed / The kyng of ffraunce taried not long aftir. Now were there togedirs tho persones of the world the moost were to be preysed / the night passed / the day came / the kynge arose / and the quene bothe, and were araied so richely that it was meruaile to beholde. The lordes came to se the kynge / the ladies & gentilwomen came to se the quene / what shalƚ I make lenger tale / this fest endured xv. daies hole; and euery day, newe Iustes & Tournay / But there was neuir ffeste in this worlde / but onys it must haue an ende.

YN an Euenyng, at a grete assemble, the Turke came to themperour, and to the tothir kynges and Princes that were there, seyng vnto them / "My lordes, ye knowe wele that, in trust of you / y haue lefte the lawe that I held of / and toke me to the lawes of Ihesu crist / eche of you hath promysed me aide / and withoute helpe I can not abide in myn onne Cuntre / wherupon I require you nowe of counselle and aide" / The princes there present, knewe that he seid trouthe; [&] remembryng their promesse / aduised them to sende, euery prince, [a lettre] vndir his seale, to alle thestates of the Turkes lande, certifiyng them by the same, to take his part, if it so were that they wold rebelle ageinst him / Thus concluded they to sende messangers forth / In the meane tyme, avised him the kynge of Englond / how he had ij. Susters of grete beaute, and of resonable age to be maried; wherfore he thought he coude not bettir bestowe the one of theym, than on the kynge of Scottes, his next neighbour, for the grete loue, and long acqueyntaunce and familiarite that had ben bitwene them. And the tothir Suster, he thought to mary to the Duc of Burgoigne / But he seid, "verily he wold neuerbe maried / nor in his youthe entendid no mariage" / And whan the kynge vndirstode the answere of the Duc, he thought to mary hir vnto the Turke / for he herd say the Turke had a Sustir of higℏ beaute, & she wold become cristen / he thought it were a metely mariage for him to mary the Turkes suster, and the Turke to mary his / Suche wordes were cast forth amonges the Princes; so that the Emperour, and the kynge of ffraunce, and the Duc of Burgoigne, that was an inly wise man, toke the besinesse vpon them / and conduyte it so that thise mariages were accorded, and a messanger sent forth for the Turkes suster / And assone as she might, she came / at the commaundement of hir brothir / and whan they knewe of hir comyng / The kynge of ffraunce, the kynge of Englond, and the kynge of Scottes, mette with hir, & brought hir to hir logging. And whan she was alight, and they departed / the Turke shewed vnto hir the cause of hir sendyng for / and howe he was bicome cristened / and How, if she wold Bicome cristened, he had maried hir to right a goodly Prince, & a mighti, whiche was the kynge of Englond / But the first day, the seconde, & the third after, coude he neuer turne his suster / and whan he sawe it wold no bettir be, he came to the Emperour and to the kyng of ffraunce, the kynge of Englond & the kynge of Scottes, and tolde them / 'how in no wise his suster and he coude accorde'; & tolde them what answers she made him / The kynge of Englond,--that be this tyme was right amorous, & supprised with hir grete beaute,--whan he herd thise tidynges was right sorowfuƚƚ / and chaunged colour & countenaunce so fer forth, that he had not a word to speke. This espied wele bothe themperour and the kynge of ffraunce / and than seide the kynge of ffraunce / "brynge hir to the Emperesse, to be accompanyed with the ladies here, to se if they be of any grettir power to chaunge hir than ye / and by this meane, may she haue some acqueyntaunce of my brother, the kyng of Englond; whiche, perauenture, may so turne hir hert, that she shal pray you of that ye now pray hir." Themperour and alle they lough / The Turke saide, 'and he might by any meane, he wolde bringe hir to the Daunces to the ladies' / he did so moche, that aftir soper he brought hir. And whan she sawe so grete assemble of Princis & princesses, she meruailed gretly, thinkyng she sawe neuer so good a sight / She salewed the Emperour and themperesse / and alle the ladies / and alle the kynges and princis / than began the daunces / where she avised wele the kynge of Englond, & thought him right agoodly knight / and a wele assured; and there herd she y-nough rehersed of his noblesse & good maners. The ladies escorted hir apart to leve hir lawe / & eche seide the best they coude / but in no wise coude they conuerte hir / Thus departed she to hir logging, whan tyme was / sone aftir, came hir brothir vnto hir / and asked hir 'how she liked the company that she had seen that night.' she said, "right wele" / he asked hir 'how she liked the kynge of Englond' / and her hert serued hir vnto him / she saide 'right wele, if she might kepe hir owne feith' / othir answere coude he noon gete of hir / Thus departed they; and she went to bedde that night; [then] thought she of this goodly company she had seyne. The kynge of Englond was not forgoten / the more she remembrid him, the bettir she liked him / hou-be-it her herte coude not agree for him, nor noon othir, to leve hir feith / The kynge of Englond, on the tothir side, the oftener he sawe hir, the more he loued hir / and supposed wele in his mynde that he coude not bringe his purpose aboute / wherfore he thought best / to depart. And on the morowe, came vn-to the kynge of ffraunce, and tolde him his entent / The kynge of ffraunce counseld him yit to abide / and went him self to the Turke, and tolde him / "ye ar likly to lese here the kynge of Englond, for he wilƚ departe / for he thinkith his abidyng here serueth him of nought / and so thinke y also / ffor thinke ye he is a man to be kepte so long in speche? me semeth it is wele doo, ye go to your suster to vndirstonde hir wille / and to take of hir this night a ferme answere / ffor it is tyme that he be answerd one way or othir" / "By my trouthe," seide the Turke, "it is not in my defaute / that he is so long vnanswerd; but to-morowe y shalƚ telle you vttirly hir will" / Aftir this, the Turke departed, and came to his suster, and tolde hir, "I most this night telle a playne answere of your entent / The kynge of ffraunce, the kynge of Englond, and othir princis that be in this towne, wille departe / for the good wille they haue vnto you and me / they haue longe kepte them here; wherfore me thinkith ye deale meruailously / But y pray you now, say at ones howe ye wille be demeaned / whethir ye wille be agreable to their desire and myne; or ellis y shaƚƚ lete them departe / and thanke them of their good wille they haue shewed me / how be it, if they thus departe / by you shalƚ y lese the moost sure & specialle frendes y haue in this world." whan his Suster herd him thus sey / she knewe wele of force she most discouere hir entente touchyng his alliaunce / and was so supprised that she wist not what to say /She thought, 'if she renaide not hir feith, she shold displease hir brother / and also put him in grete daunger, & losse of his frendes' / She thought also, 'if she shold leve hir feith / and take a newe, what iubarde that shold be vnto hir soule.' Thus was she a grete while without speche. hir brothir presyd sore on hir alway to haue an answere / And at the laste she said, "y am in a sorowfulle case / ffor ye, that be my souerain Lorde and brother, say / if y accomplissh not your pleasir / y shalƚ cause your grete iubarde / and perauenture your destruccion / and on that othir side / yf y renounce my feithe / what shal than befalle of my soule" / "Be my feith," seide the Turke, "I take the perelƚ therof on me" / "Than," quoth she, "y pray you respite me for ij. daies" / The Turke in no wise durst graunte hit, til he hadde spoken with the kynge of ffraunce / Than went the kynge of ffraunce and he, to the kynge of Englond for this respite / and he was therto agreable, trustyng vpon a good answere. On the morowe, the Turke toke ij. or iij. notable clerkis, & went to his suster, and made them to shewe hir oure feith / and they exorted hir in suche wise that she was agreable to be cristened / and the same night was she cristened by the Emperesse and the quene of ffraunce. Aftir that she was cristened, she came to se the Emperour, & was there with the ladies til she was maried / and the thridde day after, was the kynge of Englond and she maried to-gedir with grete solempnite and Ioie.

NOw shaƚƚ y telle you of the messangers that were sent in-to the Turkes land: they did their deuoirs, so that thestates were assembled, and redde the letters of alle the Princes. and whan they knewe the tidynges, that their lord had taken the cristen feith / they were right sory / how-be-it they durst not make no besinesse ageinst him / for the drede they had of the promyses that alle thise princes had made vnto him / wherfore, of common assent, they made a lettir to the Emperour and to the Turke, & to alle the princes that were there / puttyng them in knowlache / that, 'as for the chaunge of his feith, they remitted that [to] his conscience; they were content to obey him on suche condicion, that noon shold be constreyned to leve his feith / for that wold they neuer do' / whan the messangers came agein, the Emperour and alle the kynges and princis were wele content witℏ their message. The suretees were taken bitwene them / Alle this done & performed, euery prince toke hede to his owne besinesse / The kynge of ffraunce desired moche to go in-to his Realme. The Turke desired to mary his wif / Thekynge of Scottes in like wise / wherfore euery man wold departe from the Emperour / On a day, at good leiser, they came to the Emperour / and shewed him their desire; wherfore he was right sory / but he knewe wele it most nedes be so. Than asked he what they wold do. The kynge of Englond spake first, & seid he had promysed his ij. Sustres in mariage, as he knewe wele / whiche he wold fayne perfourme. Themperour desired the kyng of Englond & the kyng of Scottes, to pray the kynge of ffraunce to abide stille with him / "fforsothe," saide the kynge, "sith my first departyng oute of ffraunce to come in-to the werres of Sizile, sawe y not my lady my moder" / "forsothe," saide themperour, "ye haue grete reason than to se hir"/ The kyng of Englond than besought the kyng of ffraunce to be at the mariage of his ij. Sustirs / "fforsothe," seide the kynge of ffraunce, "I shalƚ with right good wille." Themperour, hering alle thise apointementes, saide: "trewly, y hold my lond by god & you iij.; and therfore, my sone, y wille first go with you in-to your Realme / & fro thens in-to the Realme of Englond, to the mariage of the kinges Susters; & so come home thorugh the Realme of Scotland, & conduyte the yong Quene; & fro thens come hider agein, where y shalƚ ende the remenaunt of my daies." This conclusion was taken bitwene him, the Turke, & the kynges, & the Duc of Burgoigne. Than euery man aredied him to departe; and alle on a day departed they. The kynge of Englond, his wif, & the Turke, departid of Englond / The king of Scottes in-to Scotland / Themperour, & the kyng of ffraunce & their wifes, went in-to ffraunce / Now behoueth it to reherce how euery man sped his Iournay. [Illumination: Emperor, French King, &c. riding off.]

FIrst shalle we speke of the kynge of ffraunce / At his departing, he sent to assertayne the Realme of ffraunce, & specially vnto his moder, of his comyng, & the trouthe of alle his fortune / And whan the messangers came there / it can not be writen, the ioie that was than in the Realme of ffraunce. But ouir alle othir this disconsolate moder, the Quene of ffraunce, was glad whan she herd tidynges of hir right dere sone / Hou-be-it, she toke displeasir that he had be in ffraunce, & not spoken with hir. And whan she first herd tidinges of his comyng, she said / "Allas, my childe! if thi good ffadir had knowen the alyve, he had yit lyued / or ellis departid out of this world more at his ease / But now, do god by me his pleasir; so that ones I might se the or y dye" / Suche wordes saide the good olde Quene of ffraunce, moder to the kyng /Ouir alle the realme they range belles & made processions, thankyng god of his grete grace; for thei neuer trusted to haue hadde the ioie of presence of their yong king / fulle grete ioie had thei also of his mariage, & of the good renoune of their yong Quene / This meane tyme, came themperour & the kinge of ffraunce into the Realme / & at their first entryng, ther mette them many estates & moche people. & whan he came amonges the people, they cried "Nowelƚ" with an high voice, yelding thank to god on their knees, ioynyng their handes to hevinwarde / whan the Emperour & his wif sawe in his Realme suche people in suche estate, their hertes were alle renewed with ioie. Aftir, came the nobles, in the moost & best biseyn company that was seen there bifore. There was the clergie without nombre, solempnely & honourably set in ordre, whiche, next the comon people, salewed the kyng, preysyng god of his agein-comyng, whiche was not without wepyng / Than came the noble folkes, accompanyed as is bifore reherced / and did vnto him their reuerences / and by one of them were the wordes saide bifore them alle, a grete processe / preisyng god of his retourne / grete was the preise there. And at thentryng of the Towne, the stretes were hanged / before theire houses were the ladies & gentilwommen / burgeises & maydens; grete was the ioie there. The processions were alwey bifore the kyng / And the Emperour and he alighted at the chief chirche / and so did the ladies, to praise and thanke god. Aftirwarde the kyng conueyed themperour to his loggynge / and than retourned to his owne. The towne made to the kyng & the Quene grete presentes; & so they did to themperour & thempresse. Thus was the kinge & themperour receyued in euery place they came to in the Realme / and whan the Emperour came to Paryce, he and his folkes alle meruailed of the gret Richesse they sawe there / the kynge brought him to the palice / where as the Quene his moder, gretly accompanyed with ladies & gentilwommen, mette with themperour & themperesse. But whan she sawe hir sone, she had no power to susteyne hir-self / for the ioie she had / and forthwith felƚ in swoune, wherof themperour & themperesse were right sorowfulle / but ouir alle othir, the king was moost sory / & brought þe Themperour to his chambre, & forthwith went to his moder, whiche he fonde somwhat recouerd. & whan he saw hir, he kneled downe, and fulle humbly axed hir mercy / and besought hir / that it pleased hir to take som payne to make chere to themperesse & to hir doughtir / The quene, that was right feble, saide vnto him /"my sone, sitℏ that y haue seen you a lyve bifore my dethe, I am now content that god do by me as it pleasith him / Neuirtheles, I shal make the best chere y can; but trewly my lymmes may not yit susteyne me; wherfore y pray you sende for my faire doughtir, your wif, that y may se hir" / and whan she behelde hir, she thought hir the fairest creature that euir she sawe / & made as moche of hir as she coude / At night, the Emperour and themperesse supped in their chambre. The king & the Quene supped with his modir / whiche might not ete that soper tyme, for ioie she had of them bothe / That night, were brought grete presentes by them of Parice / bothe to the Themperour & to Themperesse / & to the kynge & to the Quene / &, whan tyme was, alle men went to rest / til on the morow / they rose vp at good tyme, & herd diuine seruice / and than went to dyner / And whan they had dyned / the Iustes began / It semed that tyme that alle the world was in ioie / This ffeste endured the space of an hole moneth. The olde Quene reioysed hir so now, that she put oute of mynde alle passed sorowes / Now came the tyme that they most depart, to to go the mariage in Englond. The kinge led with him his moder, to cause hir take som disport & ioie / for longe tyme had she be without any / Themperour, thorughout alle the Realme, was fested in euery Cite, and in euery grete princes house / that lay in his way / til he came to the departyng out of ffraunce / where as he was as honourably conduyted, as he was receyued at his first comyng. Now passeth he the see / & landid at Dover / where as the kynge of Englond, and his wif, and the Turke, resceyued them with grete honour; & with the Quene were the kynges ij. Susters / that were right faire / The kynge of Scottes was not yit come / but he taried not long aftir / ffor the day of his mariage was set or he went out of Sizile. There resceyued the kynge of Englond, Themperour and Themperesse, the kynge of ffraunce, & the ij. Quenes with grete honour / and, as long as they were in the Realme, wold suffre them, nor noon of them, to pay for no thing that they spent / Then rode they til they came to London; and in euery place Themperour and his company welcomed, as belonged to their estates. And whan they came to London, The kynge of ffraunce was inly glad to se the richesse and estate that he sawe there / & how nobly & honourably Themperour was resceyued ther. Sone aftir their comyng, came the kyng of Scottes, whiche was mette with / by the kynges & princes that were in the Towne, and was right highly & honourably resceyued. Theday came, that the Turke and the kynge of Scottes shold be maried to the kynge of Englondes susters / A meruailous grete feste there was, and a riche & a wele serued / The Iustes & festes were grete by many daies. The feste endured xv. daies / Than departed themperour & the kyng of ffraunce. The princes & the lordes of Englond, that had lefte their childre with the kynge whan he departid fro his fadir / made a grete request vnto the Turke / that there might be a serche thorugh his land, if any of their childre were lyving / sayng that they wold with right good wille pay their fynaunce / The kyng of Englond required him right hertly for the same. The Turke promysed him to do asmoche as was possible therin / The Emperour, that knewe wele that alle his conquest and good fortune was comen him, next goddes helpe, by the thre kynges present, and for the loue that he had to the kyng of Englond, he saide to the Turke / "the aliaunce that ye haue with the kynge of Englond, shalƚ make you nowe to recouere the places that y haue within your land / ffor now ye be his brothir, y yelde and yeue vnto you them frely agein / wherfore say gramercy to your brothir." The Turke right humbly thankid the Emperour, and so did the kynge of Englond also / Nowe cometh the tyme of Themperours departyng / The kynge of Scottes besought him to take his way thorugh Scotland / and besought his ij. felawes that they wold conduyte the Emperour thider / and desired the Turke in like wise. Themperour and alle thise kynges agreed to the kynges of Scottes request / Thus departed they fro londone / and til they were out of the Realme / the kinge of Englond wold not lete them be chargid with nothing that they toke / And whan they came in-to Scotland, they were there right wele and honourably resceyued, & gretly fested ouir alle the Realme / Thus were they thre wekis in passing thorugh the Realme. And many grete festis & Tournais / And whan the Emperour saw thise iij. seruauntes, that so long had serued him / he was right ioifulƚ of their estate & puissaunce / and thought his doughter wele vred / so did he the Realme of Sizile, & desired no thinge so moche / as to se some childre of his doughtir bifore his dethe / god graunted his request / for he sawe y-nough come of hir, as faire childre as euer were borne / whiche did aftir, grete thinges, as men may finde in Stories of ffraunce. There departed he & his ioifulƚ company / at whiche departynge was remembred more sorow than ioie / whan the Emperour shold say fare wele, he coude not speke of a grete while; but at last, whanhe might speke, he saide that, daies of his lyve, had he neuer be so long to-gedir in ioie & wele / euery man toke leve of him / And whan his faire doughtir sholde take hir leve of him / he toke hir in his armes, and stode so a long while, & nouther of them coude speke a worde / And whan the kynge of ffraunce saw that / he made the departyng / and said to themperour / that at any tyme that it pleasid him, she shold come se him / than brought he hir to the Emperesse / and nouther of them coude wele loke on othir for wepyng. Than departed the kyng them, like as he had done themperour and hir. Than went she in-to hir chambre, accompanyed with many ladies & gentilwomen / Then the Emperour & themperesse departed / and the Turke and his wif in his company / The king of ffraunce, Englond, and of Scottes, conveied Themperour, & than toke their leve / at whiche departyng was grete sorowe; and eche embraced othir ful louyngly. Whan they were departed, Themperour, the Turke, and fferaunt, kepte their streight course into Sizile / and passed forth the tyme with talkyng of suche aventures as they had seen in their daies / & sped so wele that they came into Sizile / the Turke taried there but litil / but went home in-to his owne Cuntre, and his wif with him /where he was right worshipfully resceyued, for dred of the two kynges that he was alied with / Than made he grete serche thorugh alle the Realme for the childre of Englond, and founde the moost parte of them, so that ther lakked not passyng two / Than made he them to be bayned, and kepte aswele as they coude / til they were agein in their strengthe and colour. than horsed he eche one of them, and apointed them in the best wise, and sent them in-to Englond, without payng of any raunsom / and sent letters vnto his brother of Englond, & this present withall / wherof the kynge was ioifulƚ as he might be / and gretely thanked the Turke / and sent him agein grete giftes. Now were the ffadirs & the modirs in grete ioie, that hadde agein their children.

THe kynge of ffraunce, aftir the departyng of Themperour, abode there but a while / and the night before his departyng, supped alle thise iij. kynges to-gedre, & there made assuraunce & promesse, eche to othir / that neuer noon of them shold faile othir; but that eche shold loue othir as brethern, and eche take othirs quarelƚ as his owne. On the morowe, departed the kynge of ffraunce / the kyng of Englond & the kynge of Scottes conueied him / and at the departing there was many a sorowfuƚƚ embracyng/ for ful glad wold they haue ben to haue contynued the remenaunt of their lyves to-gedre, if it might so be / but eche of them was of suche estate / that their besinesse and charge was suche / that thei might not contynue to gedre, whicℏ sore forthought them alle / whan the kynge of ffraunce, the Quene, & their company were shipped / the wynde serued them so wele / that within litil while they landed at Scluse. The Erle of fflaundres herd of his comyng, and met with him there / and made him grete chere & feest / and so forth brought him to Bruggys / and there made him alle the chere that was possible vnto him / The kynge, at his departyng, gaf him grete giftes / And whan the kynge came in to ffraunce / he forgate not his good Hoste at Tolet in Spayne / nor his Nevewe, nor his wif / that longe had logged him / for he thought it was reason, now he was of suche estate & power, to remembre them that had so moche done for him / Wherfore he sent vnto them, assertaynyng them who he was that they had logged, praing them alle to come vnto him / And whan they spake with the messanger / & had verrily vndirstande his message / they were alle supprised with ioie / and in alle haste possible arredied them to go vnto the kinge / whiche, at their comynge, made them passing grete chere / and thanked them of the grete goodnesse they had shewed him in his disease / and gaf vnto eche of them / of land / possessions and offices, y-nough for them, and those that shold come of them, to lyve alway in honour / Aftir thise tidynges thus done, the olde Quene of ffraunce contynued the remenaunt of her daies with grete ioie in goode & perfit lif. The Duc of Burgoigne coude not departe from his Nevewe / The kinge, & the Quene his wif, contynued to-gedre many yeres / & eche loued othir aswele as was possible / and serued, loued, & dred god, helde the Realme alle their lif in grete Iustice, peas, & tranquillite, and had children to their pleasir / The kynge of Scottes departed from the kynge of Englond, and brought his wif home in-to Scotland / and bothe the king of Englond, and he, & their wyues, contynued in many yeres to-geder / & had children, eche of them, suche as they were aftir right ioyfulle of / and helde their Reaume in grete Iustice & peas / and their children contynued in the same aftir their daies, hauyng moo Reaumes to gouerne than their fadirs had / wherof this storie makith noo mencion. But y suppose the Cronykells of the Reaume reherceth the noblesse of them / Themperour lyved but a while aftir / Than felle the Reaume of Sizile to the kynge of ffraunce, by reason of his wif / wherof hetoke the possession. The Turke helde fermely the lawes of Ihesu criste / and many of his Reaume / But the moost part wold neuir leve their feith / but he lyued not long aftir / nor neuer hadde childe by his wif / & aftir his dethe, was neuer goddis [lawe] kepte nor dred in that Cuntre / wherfore she went in-to Englond agein / and contynued the Remenaunt of hir lif with hir brothir.

Thus endith this Boke, whiche hath ben translated with peyne, for the length of tyme sith alle thise thinges felle. And vndir the Boke was writen, Si fortuna tonat, caueto mergi. Si fortuna iuuat, caueto tolli.

A much later hand has written above these 2 verses, 4 others as prose:-- "by faith, we please the lord / by faith, we are set free / by faith we work the will of god, faith will not idell bee."