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To the paleis they gonne ride
And fond this feste in all pruyde
Forth goth Alisaundre, saun fable
Ryght to theo heygh table. w

His horse Bucephalus, who even in classical fiction is a horse of romance, is thus described.

An horn the forhed amydward

That wolde perce scheldis hard.

To which these lines may be added.
Alisaundre arisen is

And sittith on his hygh deys

His duykes and his barouns saun doute
Stondith and sittith him aboute. *

The two following extracts are in a softer strain, and not inelegant for the rude simplicity of the times.

Again,

Mury is the blast of the styvour
Mury is the twynkelyng of the harpour2;
Swote is the smeol of flour

Swete hit is in maidenes bour

Appeol swote berith faire colour
In treowe love is swote amour.a

In tyme of May, the nyghtyngale
In wode makith miry gale;

w line 1075.

* line 3966. I cannot explain this word. It is a wind-instrument.

2 This poem has likewise, in the same vein, the following well-known old rhyme, which paints the manners, and is perhaps the true reading, line 1163.

Swithe mury hit is in halle
When the burdes wawen alle.
And in another place we have,
Mury hit is in halle to here the harpe;
The mynstrall syngith, theo jogolour
carpith.-1. 5990.

Here, by the way, it appears, that the minstrels and juglers were distinct characters. So Robert de Brunne, in describing the coronation of king Arthur, apud Anstis, Ord. Gart. i. p. 304.

Jogeleurs wer ther inouh

That wer queitise for the drouh, Mynstrels many with dyvers glew, &c. And Chaucer mentions "minstrels and eke joglours." Rom. R. v. 764. But they are often confounded or made the same.

a line 2571.

So doth the foules grete and smale

Som on hulle, som on dale.

Much the same vernal delights, cloathed in a similar style, with the addition of knights turneying and maidens dancing, invite king Philip on a progress; who is entertained on the road with hearing tales of ancient heroes.

Mery time it is in May

The foules syngeth her lay;
The knighttes loueth the tornay
Maydens so dauncen and thay play.
The kyng forth rideth his journay
Now hereth gest of grete noblay.

Our author thus describes a battle."
Alisaundre to-fore is ryde

And mony gentil knyght him myde
Ac, for to abide his maignè freo
He abideth undur a treo.

xl. thousand chivalrie

He heom taketh in his batailè,
He dasscheth forth overward
Theo othres comen afterward:
He sought his knyghtis in mischef
He tok hit in heorte agref.
He tok Bulsifal in the syde;
As a swalewe he can forth glide.
A duyk of Perce sone he mette
With his launce he him grette;

He perced his bruny and clewyd his scheld,
Theo heorte he carf; so he him yeilded:

Theo duyk feol doun to the grounde
He starf quykliche of that wounde.
Alisaundre tho aloud saide,

Other tole nane Y payd:

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Yut ye schole, of myn paye
Or Y go hennes, more asay!
Anothir launce in honde he hent;
Ageyns the Prynce of Tyre he went,
And smot him thorugh the breste thare
And out of his sadel him bare;
And Y sey, for soth thyng

He brak his launce in the fallyng.
Octiater, with muche wondur
Antiochim hadde him undur,

With his sweord he wolde his heved
Fro the body have y-weved.

He sygh Alisaundre the gode gome
To him wardes swithe come
He left his pray and fleygh to hors
For to save his owne cors.
Antiocus on stede he leop

Of no wounde tok he kep;
And eke he hadde y-mad furford
Alle y-mad with speris ordf.
Tholomeus and his felawes
Of this socoure weore ful fawe.
Alisaundre made a cry hardy
Ore tost, ore tost, aly! aly!
There knyghtis of Akaye
Justed with heom of Arabye;

Tho' of Rome, and heo of Mede
Mony lond with othir yeode
Egipte justed with Tire

Simple knyghtis with riche sire;
There was yeve no forberyng;
Bytweone favasouri and kyng,
To-fore, me myghte, and by hynde
Contek seche and contek fynde,

f point.
& fellows.

i

n they.
servant; subject.

k strife.

With Perciens foughte Egregies';
Ther ros cry, and gret noyse.

They kyddem there they nere nyce
They braken speres to sclyces:
Me myght fynde knyghtis there,
Mony on lost his justere :

There was sone in litel thrawe",
Many gentil knyght y-slawe;
Mony arm, mony hed°,

Was sone fro the body weved:

Mony gentil levedy P

There les hire amy¶:

There was mony mon killed
And mony fair pencel by bled".
There was sweord lakkyngs
There was spere bathyng'.
Bothe kynges there, saun doute
Beoth y-beten, with al heore rowte;
The on to don men of him speke
The other his harmes for to wreke.

Mony londes nygh and feor.
Losten heore lordes in that weorre.
The eorthe quakid of hir rydyng
The weder" thicked of heore cryeng

Theo blod of heom that was slawen
Ran by flodis and by lauen, &c.

I have already mentioned Alexander's miraculous horn*.

He blew his horn, saun doute

His folk come swithe aboute:

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And he heom saide with voys clere,
"Y bidde, freondes, ye me here!
Alisaundre is y-come in this lond

With stronge knyghtis, and myghty of hond."

Alexander's adventures in the deserts among the Gymnosophists, and in Inde, are not omitted. The authors whom he quotes for his vouchers, shew the reading and ideas of the times.w

Thoo Alisaundre went thorough desert

Many wondres he seigh apertx

Whiche he dude wel descryve

By good clerkes in her lyve

By Aristotle his maister that was
Better clerk sithen non nas.

He was with hym and seigh and wroot
Alle thise wondres, (god it woot)
Salomon that al the werlde thorough yede
In sooth witnesse helde hym myde.
Ysidrey also, that was so wys

In his bokes telleth this.

Maister Eustroge bereth hym witnesse
Of the wondres more and lesse.
Seynt Jerome, yee shullen y-wyte
Hem hath also in book y-wryte;
And Magestene, the gode clerk
Hath made therof mychel werk.
Denys that was of gode memorie
It sheweth al in his book of storie;
And also Pompie of Rome lorde,
Dude it writen every worde.
Beheldeth me therof no fyndera;
Her bokes ben my shewer

w line 4772. * saw openly. Y Isidore. He means, I suppose, Isidorus Hispalensis, a Latin writer of the seventh century.

He means Justin's Trogus Pompeius the historian, whom he confounds with Pompey the Great.

a❝don't look on me as the inventor."

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