V.

MISCELLANEOUS.

I.

THE TEMPLE OF MARS.

WHY shulde I not as wel eke tell you all
The purtreiture, that was upon the wall
Within the temple of mighty Mars the rede?
All peinted was the wall in length and brede
Like to the estres' of the grisly' place,
That highte the gret temple of Mars in Trace,'
In thilke colde and frosty region,

Ther as Mars hath his soveraine mansion.

First on the wall was peinted a forest,
In which ther wonneth' neyther man ne best,
With knotty knarry barrein trees old
Of stubbles sharpe and hidous to behold;

In which ther ran a romble and a swough,"

As though a storme shuld bresten every bough:
And downward from an hill under a bent,"
Ther stood the temple of Mars armipotent,

Wrought all of burned stele, of which th' entree1
Was longe and streite, and gastly for to see.
And thereout came a rage and swiche a vise,"
That it made all the gates for to rise.
The northern light in at the dore shone,

For window on the wall ne was ther none,

Through which men mighten any light discerne.
The dore was all of adamant eterne,3
Yclenched overthwart and endelong

With yven tough, and for to make it strong,
Every pillar the temple to sustene

Was tonne-gret,' of yren bright and shene.
Ther saw I first the derke imagining
Of felonie, and alle the compassing;
The cruel ire, red as any glede,"
The pikepurse, and eke the pale drede;"
The smiler with the knif under the cloke,
The shepen' brenning with the blake smoke;
The treson of the mord'ring in the bedde,
The open werre, with woundes all bebledde ;
Conteke with bloody knife, and sharp manace."
All full of chirking was that sory place.
The sleer of himself yet saw I there,
His herte-blood hath bathed all his hair :
The naile ydriven in the shode on hight,
The colde deth, with mouth gaping upright.
Amiddes of the temple sate mischance,
With discomfort and sory countenance.
Yet saw I wodenesse" laughing in his

1 Entry.

* Everlasting.

6 Fear.

2 Violence.

4 As large round as a tun.
7 The stable.

Threats or menaces. 10 Unpleasant sounds.

rage,

5 Live coal.

8 Contention.

11 Madness.

Armed complaint, outhees,' and fierce outrage;
The carrion in the bush, with throte ycorven2
A thousand slaine, and not of qualme ystorven ;'
The tyrant, with the prey by force yraft;
The toun destroied, ther was nothing laft.
Yet saw I brent the shippes hoppesteres,
The hunte ystrangled with the wild beres :
The sow freting the child right in the cradel;
The coke yscalled, for all his long ladel.
Nought was foryete by th' infortune of Marte
The carter overridden with his carte;
Under the wheel ful low he lay adoun.

Ther were also of Martes division,

Th' armerer, and the bowyer, and the smith,
That forgeth sharpe swerdes on his stith."
And all above depeinted in a tour

Saw I conquest, sitting in gret honour,
With thilke sharpe swerd over his head
Yhanging by a subtle twined thred.
Depeinted was the slaughter of Julius,
Of gret Nero, and of Antonius:
All' be that thilke time they were unborne,
Yet was hir deth depeinted therebeforne,"
By manacing' of Mars, right by figure,
So was it shewed in that purtreiture
As is depeinted in the cercles above,
Who shall be slaine, or elles ded for love.
Sufficeth on ensample in stories olde,
I may not recken hem alle, though I wolde.
The statue of Mars upon a carte stood

Armed, and loked grim as he were wood,'
And over his hed ther shinen two figures
Of sterres, that ben cleped in scriptures'
That one Puella, that other Rubeus.
This god of armes was arrayed thus:
A wolf ther stood beforne him at his feet
With eyen red, and of a man he ete:
With subtil pensil peinted was this storie,
In redoubting of Mars and of his glorie.

The Knightes Tale.

II.

PREPARATIONS FOR A TOURNAMENT.

GREAT was the feste in Athenes thilke day;
And eke the lusty seson of that May
Made every wight to ben in swiche plesance,
That all that monday justen they and dance,
And spenden it in Venus highe servise.
But by the cause that they shulden rise
Erly a-morwe for to seen the fight.
Unto hir reste wenten they at night.

And on the morwe when the day gan spring,
Of hors and harneis noise and clattering
Ther was in the hostelries all aboute:
And to the paleis rode ther many a route
Of lordes, upon stedes and palfries,

Ther mayst thou see devising' of harneis
So uncouth and so riche, and wrought so wele
Of goldsmithry, of brouding, and of stele;
The shieldes brighte, testeres, and trappures:"

3

3 Also or moreover.
Head-pieces and trappings.

Gold-hewen helmes, hauberkes, cote-armures;
Lordes in parementes' on hir coursers,
Knightes of retenue, and eke squires,
Nailing the speres, and helmes bokeling,
Gniding' of shieldes, with lainers' lacing;
Ther as nede is, they were nothing idel:
The fomy stedes on the golden bridel
Gnawing, and fast the armureres also
With file and hammer priking to and fro;
Yemen on fote, and communes many on
With shorte staves, thicke as they may gon;
Pipes, trompes, nakeres, and clariounes,
That in the bataille blowen bloody sounes;
The paleis ful of peple up and doun,
Here three, ther ten, holding hir questioun,
Devining of the Theban knightes two.
Som sayden thus, som sayde il shal be so:
Som helden with him with the blacke berd,
Som with the balled, som with the thick haired;
Som saide he loked grim, and wolde fighte:
He hath a sparth of twenty pound of weight.
Thus was the halle full of devining
Long after that the sonne gan up spring.
The great Theseus that of his slepe is waked
With minstralcie and noise that was ymaked,
Held yet the chambre of his paleis riche,
Till that the Theban knightes both yliche'
Honoured were, and to the paleis fette."

Duke Theseus is at a windowe sette,
Araied right as he were a god in trone :

1 Rich clothing.

4 Drums of brass. 7 Alike.

2 Rubbing.

5 Discussing.

8 Brought.

3 Straps or thongs.

6 An axe.

• Enthroned.