Out of the swolwe of helle;' and thus in joye
Remembreth him of his estaat in Troye.
To dauncyng chambres ful of parements,*
Of riche beddes, and of pavements,
This Eneas is ladde after the meete.
And with the queene whanne that she hadde seete,
And spices parted, and the wyne agoon,*
Unto hyse chambres was he lad anoon
To take his ese, and for to have his reste
With al his folke, to doon what so hem leste.
Ther nas coursere wel ybridled noon,
Ne stede for the justyng wel to goon,
Ne large palfrey, esye for the noones,
Ne juwel frette ful of riche stoones,
Ne sakkes ful of gold, of large wyght,
Ne rubee noon that shyneth by nyghte,
Ne gentil hawteyn faukone heroneer,*
Ne hound for hert, or wilde boor, or deer,
Ne coup of golde, with floryns newe ybette,
That in the londe of Lybye may ben gette,
That Dido ne hath hit Eneas ysente;
And all is payed, what that he hath spente.
Thus kan this honorable queene hire gestes calle,
As she that kan in fredome passen alle.
Eneas soothly eke, withouten les,
Hath sent to his shippe by Achates
After his sone, and after ryche thynges,
Booth cepter, clothes, broches, and eke rynges;
1 In mediæval pictures of the last judgment hell is represented as a hideous monster, breathing flames, who swallows up the condemned. See ALBERT DURER'S Der Kleine Passion. It will generally be found that the popular notions on religion, in the middle ages, took their rise from a literal interpretation of the Bible, with which they display an intimate acquaintance. Thus, Jonah exclaims :-' Out of the belly of hell cried I.'-Jon. ii. 2.
See vol. i. p. 473, note I.
3 For the custom of distributing wine to the guests the last thing before going to bed, see vol. iii. p. 139, note 1.
4 See vol. ii. p. 373. note 2
Somme for to were, and somme for to presente
To hire, that all thise noble thinges him sente;
And bad hys sone how that he sholde make
The presentynge, and to the queene it take.
Repeyred is this Achates agayne,
And Eneas ful blysful is and fayne,
To seene his yonge sone Ascanius.
For to him yt was reported thus,
That Cupido, that is the god of love,
At prayere of his moder hye above,
Hadde the likenesse of the childe ytake,
This noble queene enamoured to make
On Eneas. But of that scripture
Be as be may, I make of yt no cure.
But sooth is this, the queene hath made swich chere
Unto this child that wonder is to here;
And of the present that his fader sente,
She thanked him ful ofte in goode entente.
Thus is this queene in pleasaunce and joye,
With al thise newe lusty folke of Troy.
And of the dedes hath she moore enquered
Of Eneas, and all the story lered
Of Troye; and al the longe day they twey
Entendeden for to speke and for to pley.
Of which ther gan to breden swich a fire,
That sely Dido hath now swich desire
With Eneas hire newe geste to deele,
That she loste hire hewe and eke hire heele.
Now to theffect, now to the fruyt of al,
Why I have tolde this storye, and tellen shal.
Thus I begynne:-It fil upon a nyghte,
Whanne that the moon upreysed had hire lyghte,
This noble queene unto hire reste wente.
She siketh soore, and ganne hire selfe turmente;
She waketh, walwithe, maketh many a brayde,
As doone thyse loveres, as I have herde sayde;
And at the laste, unto hire suster Anne
She made hire mone, and ryght thus spak she thanne,
'Now dere suster myn, what may it be
That me agasteth in my dreme?' quod she.
'This ilke new Trojane is so in my thoghte,
For that me thinketh he is so wel iwroughte,
And eke so likly to ben a man,
And therwithal so mykel good he kan,
That al my love and lyf lyth in his cure.
Have ye nat herde hym telle his aventure?
Now certes, Anne, yif that ye rede me,
I wil fayne to him ywedded be;'
(This is theffect; what sholde I more seyne?)
In him lith alle, to doo me lyve or deyne.'
Hire suster Anne, as she that kouth hire goode, Seyde as hire thoghte, and somedel yt withstoode. But herof was so longe a sermonynge,
Yt were to longe to make rehersynge.
But, finally, yt may nat be withstonde;
Love wol love, for no wyght wol yt wonde.
The dawenyng upryst oute of the see,
This amorouse queene chargeth hire meynee
The nettes dresse, and speres broode and kene;
An huntynge wol this lusty fresshe queene,
So priketh hire this newe joly woo.
To hors is al hire lusty folke ygoo;
Unto the courte the houndes ben ybroughte,
And up on coursere, swyfte as any thoughte,
Hire yonge knyghtes heven al aboute,
And of hire women eke an huge route.
Upon a thikke palfrey, paper white,
With sadel rede, embrouded with delyte,
Of golde the barres, up enbosed heighe,
Sitte Dido, al in golde and perrey wreigh.
And she is faire as is the bryghte morwe,
That heeleth seke folkes of nyghtes sorwe.
Upon a coursere, startlyng as the fire,
Men myghte turne him with a lytel wire,
Sitte Eneas, lyke Phebus to devyse,
So was he fressh arrayed in hys wyse.
The fomy bridel, with the bitte of golde,
Governeth he ryght as himselfe hathe wolde.
And foorth this noble queene, this lady ride
On huntyng, with this Trojan by hire syde.
The heerde of hertes founden ys anoon,
With Hay! goo bet! prike thou! lat goon,
Why nyl the lyoun comen, or the bere,
That I might hym ones meten with this spere?'
Thus seyne thise yonge folke, and up they kylle
The wilde hertes, and han hem at hire wille.
Amonges al this, to romblen gan the hevene;
The thonder rored with a grisly stevene;
Doune come the rayne, with haile and sleet so faste,
With hevenes fire, that ys so sore agaste
This noble queene, and also hire meynee,
That yche of hem was glad awey to flee;
And shortly, fro the tempest hire to save,
She fled hire selfe into a lytel cave,
And with hire went this Eneas alsoo.
I not with hem if ther went any moo;
The auctour maketh of hit no mencioun.
And here beganne, the depe affeccioun
Betwix hem two; (this was the first morwe
Of hire gladnesse, and gynnynge of hire sorwe.
For there hath Eneas yknyled soo,
And tolde hire al his herte and al his woo;
And sworne so depe to hire to be trewe
For wele or woo, and chaunge for no newe,
And as a fals lover so wel kan pleyne,
That sely Dido rewed on his peyne,
And toke hym for housbonde, and became his wife
For evermor, while that hem laste lyfe.
And after this, whanne that the tempest stente,
With myrth, out as they come, home they wente.
The wikked fame up roos, and that anoon,
How Eneas hath with the queene ygoon
Into the cave, and demed as hem liste.
And whanne the kynge that Yarbas hight, hit wiste,
As he that had hire loved ever his lyf,
And wowed hire to have to hys wif,
Swiche sorowe as he hath maked, and suche chere,
Yt is a rewthe and pitee for to here.
But as in love alday it happeth soo,
That oon shal lawghen at anotheres woo;
Now lawghed Eneas, and is in joye,
And more riches than ever was in Troye.
O sely woman, ful of innocence,
Ful of pitee, of trouthe, and conscience,
What maked yow to men to trusten soo?
Have ye suche rewthe upon hire feyned woo,
And han suche olde ensaumples yow beforne?
Se ye nat al how they ben forsworne?
Where se ye oon that he ne hath lafte his leefe?
Or ben unkynde, or done hire some myscheefe?
Or pilled hire, or bosted of hys dede?
Ye may as wel hit seen as ye may rede.
Take hede now of this grete gentilman,
This Trojan, that so well hire plese kan,
That feyneth him so trewe and obeysinge,
So gentil, and so privye of his doynge;
And kan so wel doon al his obeysaunce
To hire, at festes and at daunce;
And whanne she gooth to temple, and home agayne;
And fasten til he hath his lady seyne;
And beren in his devyses for hire sake
Wot I nat what; and songes wolde he make,
Justen, and doon of armes many thynges,
Send hire letters, tokens, brooches, and rynges.
Now herkneth how he shal his lady serve.
Ther as he was in peril for to sterve
For hunger and for myscheef in the see,
And desolate, and fledde fro his countree,
And al his folke with tempeste al to-driven,
She hath hire body and eke hire reame yiven
Into his honde, theras she myghte have beene
Of other lande than of Cartage a queene,
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