Thornton Manuscripts

in to the tethe, & slewe hym. And ane of the Oste said till Alexander: 'Philippe thi fader' quoth he, 'lyes dede in the felde.' And than Alexander went thedir thare he laye, and 4 saw hym euen at the dyinge. And than he began faste for to wepe. And Philippe luked apon hym, & said. ' A A, my dere son Alexander,' quoth he, ' wit a glade hert [I] may now dye, for that thou so sounwe hase venged my dede,' & euen wit * that 8 worde he yalde the gaste. And Alexander wirchipfully gert hym be entered.

1When kyng Philippe was entered, Alexander went and sett hym in his trone, and gerte calle by-fore hym alle the folke that 12 was gaderd thedir, lordes & other and said vn-to tham on this wyse. 'Men,' quoth he, 'of Macedoyne of Tracy, and of Grece byhaldey the fegure of Alexander and puttey oute of your hertes drede of all your enemys. For sekerly, and ye will take 16 gude hertis to yow, thurghe the helpe of oure goddis he schall hafe the ouerhande of att youre neghtebours, and your name schall spred ouer alle the werlde. And thare-fore ilkane of yow that hase Armour, makes it redy, and he that hase nane come to my 20 palace & I satt gerre delyuer hym all that hym nedis, and ilk a man make hym redy to the werre.' And when the lordes and knyghtis that ware of grete age, herd thir wordes thay ansuerd Alexander, & said vn-till hym: 'lorde,' quoth thaye, 'we hafe 24 seruede youre fader a longe tyme & traueld wit hym in his werres, & thare-fore we ere now so bryssed in armes that thare [es] no myghte lefte in vs for to suffre disesse that often tymes falles to men of werre. For we ere streken in grete age. And 28 thare-fore, if it be plesynge vn-to yow, we consaile yow & we beseken yowe, that ye chese yow yong lordes & yong knyghtes, that ere listy men & able for to suffre disesse for to be wit yow. For here we giffe vp att armes if it be your will & forsakes tham for euer.' And than Alexander answerd & said: ' I will rathere,' quoth he, ' chese the sadnesse of an alde wyse man than the vnavesy lightenesse of yonge men. For uong men often tymes traystand? to mekitt in thaire awenn doghtynes thurgh yjaire awen foly ere mescheued. Bot alde men wirkes all by consaile & by witte.' When he had said thir wordes all me

The Bishop of the Jews' dream.

after, when the Bischoppe hadd made his sacrafice, and was lyand in prayers, he fell on slomeryng and ane Angellle appered un-till hym, and sayd, 'Be noghte ferd,' quoth he, 'bot swythe 4 gere araye honestly all the stretis of (the) citee, and caste open the gates, and warne all the folke that thay aray tham in whitte clethynge, and thi-selfe & alle the prestis reuestes yow solempnely, and to-morne arely wendes furthe of the citee agaynes Alexander 8 in processioun. For hym by-houes * regne & be lord of alle the werlde. But at the laste the wrethe of godd sall falle apon hym.' When the bischoppe wakened of his slepe, he called till hym the iewes and talde tham his reuelacion, and bad tham do 12 all als the Angelle hade schewed hym. And they did so. For they arayed the stretes of the cetee and cledde tham in whitte clethynge, and the bischope & the prestis reueste tham, and bathe thay and alle the folke went furthe of the citee till a place 16 whare the temple & all the citee may be seen. And there thay habade the comynge of Alexander. And when Alexander come near this foresaid place, and saw be-for hym swilke a multitude of folke, cledd alle in whitte, and the prestes arrayed solempnely 20 in riche vestymentis, and the byschope also in his pontyfycales and a mytre on his heued, and thare-apon a plate of golde, whare-one was wretyn the name of grete godd Tetragramaton, he commauded all his men that thay shulde halde tham by-hynd 24 hym, and habyde till he com to tham. And he lighte off his horse, and went bi hym ane to the iewes, And knelid down to the erthe and wirchippede the hye name of godd, that he saw thare wretyn apon the bischopes heued. And than alle the iewes 28 knelid doun & salute Alexander and cried all wit a voyce: 'lyff, lyffe,' quoth thay, ' grete Alexander, lyffe, lyffe the gretteste Emperour of the werlde, lyffe he that sall ouer-com all men and noghte be ouercomen. Prynce maste gloryous and maste worthy 32 of all the princes that regnes apon erthe.' When the kynges of Surry saw this, thay hadd grete wonder thare-off. And a prynce of Alexanders, that highte Parmenon, said un-till Alexander: ' Mi lorde the Emperour,' quoth he, ' we mervelle us gretely that 36 thou, wham all men wirchippes and lowtes, wirchippes here the bischope of the Iewes.' And Alexander ansuered, ' I wirchipe noghte hym,' this quoth he, 'Bot Godd whase state he presentes. For when I was in Macedoyne, and umbithoghte me, on what 2 – 2

20 Alexander worships Jehovah.

ways I might conquer [Assye], I saw him sleeping in such habit & in such array; and he [lete] as he set not by me, but went boldly further by me. And for I see none in such array but him, I suppose it be he that I saw in my sleep. And therefore I know that through the help of God I shall overcome Darius, the king of Persia, and his great pride [fordo]. And all things that I cast in my heart for to do, it is my full trust that through his help I shall fulfill it, and will bring it to end. And this is because I worshipped him.' And he had said these words, he went into the city with the bishop and the priests and went into the temple that Solomon made. And as the bishop taught him, he offered sacrifice unto God. And the bishop took Alexander in hand a book of the prophecy of Daniel , in which he found written, that a man of Grece should destroy the power of Persia. And Alexander was right glad, supposing that it was himself. And then he gave the bishop & the other priests great gifts & rich & precious, And bade the bishop ask of him what so he would. And the bishop asked that he would give them leave to use the same laws that their fathers used before them, and he granted it. And then the bishop asked that would give the jews that were in Medea & in Babyloyn, leave for to use their laws, & he granted him that & all other things that he would ask.

Alexander then went from Jerusalem & left there Andromac, his Messenger, and himself & his Oste went to other cities that were in the land of Judaea, and at [ilke] a city that he come to, he was worshipfully [ressayued]. In the meantime the Syrians that fled from Alexander, went to Persia, and told the emperor Darius how Alexander had done to them. And Darius spurred them of his stature & of his shape, and they showed him portrayed in a parchment skin the image of Alexander. And also as Darius saw it, he despised Alexander because of his little stature, and belief the great

Letters of Darius and Alexander. 43

often wings, or other instruments of flying, for to be lifted up to thee sterness, let not to thine hurt be raised too high in pride for thee victories that thou has gotten. We have well heard tell that thou has done gently, and showed great humanity to our mother, our wife and our children, and therefore I let thee well with that, as long as thou does well to them, thou shall find me none enemy to thee. And if thou do ill to them thou shall have thee enemy of me, and therefore spare them not, but do to them as thee [liste]. For sometime thou shall see and feel the sentence of our ire light upon the high pride.' When Alexander had read this letter he wrote him another again whereof the tenor] was this.

Alexander the son of Phillippe and queen Olympias to Darius king of Persia we write. Pride and vainglory has our gods always hated; and takes vengence of deadly men that takes upon them the name of immortality. But thou, as I well see, ceases not that hitherto for to blaspheme in all that thou may. But of that that thou blames me for the benignities that I showed thy mother, thy wife, and thy children; thou art moved on a [lewd] fantasy. For I let thee well [?] I did it not for to be thanked of thee, nor for to have thy benevolence therefore. But it come of a gentleness of our own heart, founded in virtue. Of the victories also which the foresight of god has sent us, here we nothing enprided. For we know well that our gods always helps us, which thou each a day despises and sets at naught. And this shall be the last letter that I shall write unto thee. Beware if thou will, for I say the [secretly?], I come to thee anon.' This letter gave Alexander to the messengers of Darius and many great gifts therewith. Seyme, he sent another letter to his princes and lords under our subjection in Capadoce, in [laodice?], or elsewhere [duelland?], greeting, and good grace. We charge thou and commands thou straightly that each of thou ordain us in all the haste that thee may [nete-hydes barked], and send them to Alexander, that we and our Knights may [gere?]

44

Letter of Alexander. Another defeat. Porus' letter.

make us of them clothing, and shoes; and with camels that have at Alexander [gerre] carry them to thee water of Euphrates.' In the meantime a prince of Darius, Nostande by name, wrote to Darius on his way.

To Darius the worshipful great god has servant Nostande loyal service. Me ought not to send such things to our royal majesty, but great need [gers] me do it. Therefore be it known unto our high lordship, that the great prince of ours, and I, have fought with king Alexander, and him is fallen thee victory, and slain he has their two worthy princes, and I killed other folk, and I fled grievously wounded. And many worthy knights of ours have forsaken our lordship and joined him to Alexander oste, the which he has worshipfully, and has given great lordships of ours. And when Darius had read this letter, he sent in haste till Nostand and commanded him for to ordain a great Oste; and manfully withstand the folk of Macedonia. He also sent a letter to Porus king of Ynde, praying to him to help him against Alexander, and Porus wrote again in this manner.

Porus, king of Ynde, unto Darius, king of Persia, greeting. For thou has prayed for us to come to thee in helping of thee against thine enemies, we let thee [wete], that we are ready and always have been, for to come to help you. But at this time we are [leted] to come to thou, because of great sickness that we are stood in, Nevertheless, [secretly?], it is right [heuy] unto us, and grievous, unto us to hear of thee great injury that is done unto thou. And therefore we let thou [wete], that within short time, we shall come for to help thou with ten legions of knights.' But when Rodogorious, Darius mother, heard tell that Darius her son ordained him for to fight again with king Alexander she was right sorry and wrote a letter unto him that contained this sentence.

To king Darius, her most beloved son, Rodogorius, his mother sends greetings and joy. I have understood that he has assembled our men, and much other folk also, for to fight

Darius' mother. Alexander's vision. 45

[eftsones] with Alexander. But I let thee [wete] it will avail thee nothing. For though he had gathered together all the men in the world dueling, with thee were unable to withstand him. For the foresight of god maintains him, and upholds him. And therefore dear son, it is my counsel, our highness of heart thee left, and fell somewhat from our glory, and be favorable to the greatness of Alexander. For better it is to forego that at he may not hold, and have in [this?] than that thee may hold, that for to covet all and be excluded and forego all.' When Darius read this letter, he was greatly troubled and wept bitterly, come unto his mind, his mother, his wife, and his children.

In the meantime king Alexander removed his army, and drew near the city of Susis, in the which Darius was [?] the same time, so that he might see all the high hills that were around the city. Then Alexander commanded all his men, that each of them should cut down a branch of a tree, and bare them forth with them and drive before them all manner of beast that they might find in the way. And when the Persians saw them from the high hills they [wounded?] them greatly. And Alexander came with his army to the city of Susis and [luged] him near beside the city. And then he called his princes and his other lords and said unto them, 'Let us,' quoth he, 'send a messenger to king Darius and bid him over and come fight with us or else submit him to us'. The next night after, Godd Amon appeared unto Alexander in his sleep bringing him the figure of Mercury and a mantle, and another manner of garment of Macedonia, and said unto him. 'Alexander, son,' quoth he, 'evermore when thou has need, shall I help thee. And therefore let thou send not to Darius that messenger that thou spoke of. For I will that thou thyself clothe thee with my figure and go thither thyself, if all it be perilous for to do, dread thee nothing, for I shall be thy help, so that thou shall have no manner of disease.

On the morning when Alexander rose from sleep, he was greatly comforted by his dream and called to him his princes and told them his whole dream, and they assented all, that he should go to Darius in his proper person. And anon he called unto him all of the princes, the which [hight] Emulus. This

48 Alexander s Flight — His harangue to his men.

forward. Now, Darius sat on his throne and thought of Alexander and how great his daring was. He saw a statue of gold of Xerxes the Persian king, who sat below the high-seat in the hall. And at once the statue broke and was all scattered assunder. And Darius seeing this was smitten with heaviness of heart and began to weep sorely and long. And he said: ' This foretokeneth the wasting of my life, and the utter downfall of the Persian kingdom.' Alexander, however, coming to the river Grancus, found it swollen, and leapt athwart it. But ere he was over the stream burst its banks, and swept his horse away ; with great hardship Alexander escaped and met Eumulus, his lord. And thus he went back to his army and told them of Darius, how he had dealt with him, and the torch with which he had fled away.

HOW ALEXANDER PUT HEART INTO HIS HOST ANEW.

And on the following day, he gathered his army, which told two hundred and twenty thousand of weaponed men. And he went up

*on a high place & comforthed his men and said un-to tham: 'The multitude of the persienes,' quoth he, 'may noghte be euend to the multitude of the greckes. For sewrly we are ma than thay. And if thay were one hundredth sythes maa then wee, late noghte your hertis faile tharefore. For I telle you a greete multitude of flyes may do na harme till a fewee waspes.' And when the Oste had herde thire wordes thay commendide him haleley wit a voyce.

Than the emperour Darius remowed his oste, and come to the river of Graunt on the nyghte, and went ouer on the yss, and thar he luged hym. The Oste of Darius was wonder grete and strange. For thay hadd in thaire oste X ͫ cartes ordaynd For the waerre, and grete multitude of Olyfantes, wit towres of tree on tham, stuffed wit feghtyng men. And sone after appon a day thir twa kynges wit thaire ostes mett samen on a faire felde, Darius wit his men, and Alexander wit his men.

nettis & slewe many of tham. And on this wyse Alexander & his Oste was gretly disesed. Than comanded Alexander that thay schuld make many fyres wit-owtten the Oste aboute the stanke.

4 After this thare come apon tham a wondere grete beste, grettere & strangere than an Olyphaunt, and he hadde in his frunte three lange hornes. And he was schapen lyke a horse & he was all blakke. And this beste was called in the langage of Inde

8 "Anddontrucion'. And or he went to the water at drynke, he assailled the Oste. Bot Alexander went here & thare amange the oste & comforthed tham. This ilke beste slewe of his knyghtes 12 xxviij and bare donne lij and at the laste it felle in the nettis and was slayne. After this thare come oute of the rede a grete multitude of mys als grete als foxes, and ete up the dede bodys. Thare was na qwike thynge, that they bate that ne also son it dyed. Bot harme did they nane *to the oste. Than come thare flyande 16 amange tham bakkes, grettere tham wilde dowfes, and thaire tethe ware lyke men-thethe. And thay bate offe the nese; of sum the eres. In the mornenynge arely thare come many fewlis als 20 grete as wlturs, reed of colour, and thaire fete and thaire bekes all blakke. Bot thay didd na disese to the oste, bot went to the stanke-syde & drewe fisches & ele oute of the water, & ete tham.

24 Than lefte Alexander thir perilous place, and com wit his Oste, in-to the cuntree of Bactricen, the whilke was full of gole & other reches. Ad the men of the cuntree resayfed him benyngly & wirchipfully and gaffe hym and his Oste grete giftes.

28 And thare he habade XXti dayes. In that cuntree thay sawe trees that, in-stedde of leues, bare wotte; thay whilke folke of the cuntree gadeed & made clathe thare-offe. The knyghtes of Alexander wex wonder balde & strange of hert becasue of 32 the victoryes thay hadd wonnen of the wilde beste before neuenned.

Fra ththyn, Alexander remowed his Oste and come to the place whare Porus lay wit the folke that he hadd assembled.

36 And one the morne bathe Alexander and Porus tuke thaire grounde & arayed thaire betells for to feghte. And than

[begin right margin] greater than bulls. Then follow huge swine with great tusks. And with them sixhanded men and women. They make great fires around the pon. Then comes a horselike beast greater than an elephant. Alexander again * Leaf 29. rallies his men. It slays many, but is at last slain. Mice as big as foxes eat up the dead bodies. Whatsoever they bit at once dies. Then come bats greater than wild doves. They march into Bactia where they are well received. The woolbearing trees. The knights take courage because of the strange beasts they [end right margin]

[begin bottom of page] 1 Four lines with red ornante capital P but small t scribbled in the margin beside. 2 Four lines space with red capital S and small s written in the margin beside. [end bottom of the page]

90

then burn him alive. They come to a wondrous woodland with trees that spring up in the daytime and at sunset sink back into the earth, with fruit of sweet smell but of bitter taste. A knight takes of this, but is smitten dead by an evil spirit, and a voice proclaims the same to any that come nigh. In that * Leaf 38. place are tame birds, and who touches them is scorched by fire. They come to a mountain, climb for 8 days, and at the top they fight dragons, etc. Going down they come into a dark valley with wondrous trees and streams, and a mountain with thick air,

Wondrous trees, mountains, and valleys.

gerte bynd hym till a tree & make a fyre abowte hym & brynne hym. And so pay didd. Fra peine pay remowed & come till anoper felde in pe whilke pare ware growand treesse, of a wonderfull heghte, and pay bigan for to sprynge vp at pe son rysynge ; And bi pe son settynge pay wyted a-way in-to pe erthe agayne. At pe firste houre of pe day bi-gan to sprynge oute of pe erthe, & so pay wex ay to myddaye, and pan pay bi-gan to decresse. And by pe son) settynge pay ware in pe erthe agayne, And was na thyng of pam sene bi-fore on pe morne. Pir treesse bare a fruyte wonder swete of reflayre bot fay [ware] bitter of taste. When Alexander saw pat fruyte he bade a knyghte bryng hym pareoffe. And he went & tuk pare-offe, and onane a wikked spirit smate hym, and be-lyfe he was dede. And pan pay herd a voyce in pe ayer pat said on f is wyse : ' What man so neghes pir treesse he sall dye onane. Pare was also in pat felde fewles wonder meke & tame. Bot what man so layde nande on any of pam, onane pare come fire oute of pam, & brynt hym riz[?]te greuosly.

* ^ Than pay remowed fra peine, And come till a Mountayne, pat was so hye, pat pay ware viij dayes in gangyng ar pay myzte wyne to pe heghte pare-offe. And when pay come to pe heghte of it, pare come agaynes pam a grete multitude of dragones, Serpentes, and lyones pe whilke turmentid Alexander & his men reghte gretely. And at pe laste, pay askaped paire daungere, and went doune of pe mountayne and come in-till a vaylay pat was so myrke pat vnnethes myghte ane of pam See anoper. In pat depe valay ware treesse growand of whilke pe fruyte & pe lefes ware wonder sauory in pe tastynge, and reuells of water faire & clere. Aghte dayes contenuelly pay saw na son. And at pe viij days end pay come to pe fote of a mountayne whare all pe Oste thurgh a wikked thikk ayer ware so gretley disessed pat pay ware in poynte to hafe bene choked pare-offe. And when pay come a-bown on pe mountayne, pay fande pe ayer mare sotell, and pe lighte of pe day mare clere. And pus pay ware wendand vpwarde, on pis Mountayne Elleuen, xj, days wit grete trauaile. And when pay come to pe

* Four lines with red capital F and small f beside.

* Four lines with red capital T and

a dragon within, and the head of a dragon above with sting out.

The mountains that border the skies. The battle with the Basilisk. 91

hegheste of this Mountayne, thay saw on the tother syde faire weder

& bryghte. And than thay went down of this Mountayne, and

come in till a grete playne of whilke the erthe was wonder rede.

4 And in this playne thare thare ware growande treesse withouten

nowmer ; and thay ware passed noghte a cubit in heghte, & thaire fruyte

& thaire lefes ware passandly swete as ]:»ay had benefyges. And redearthgrow-

J3ay fande J:are reuetts ri^te many, of clere water as cristatte. i^gdwarftrees

8 And it was als nureschand? to manes body, as it hadd? bene fully sweet

niylke wzt-outen) eny oj^er mete. Thurgh f»at ilk playne J?ay here they

went fourty .xl. days and ban) bay com titt wonder hesjhe ^^^ crystal

'J J i I J o streams whose

Moimtaynes ; and it semed as ])q toppes had towched J?e firma- waters nourish

12 ment. And ]?ir Mountaynes ware als brant vp-ri^te as f'ay had ^ere milk,

bene walles. So ])ai pare was na clymbyng vpon) J?am. And at ^^ou^h^that

Ipe laste J)ay fande twa passagej be-twix, f ase Mountaynes, of plain forty

whilke, Ipe tane streched" to-warde pe west, and pe toper towarde they 'come to

1 6 be Este. Than Alexander demed" hat that dyuyson) be-twix base »aountams

^ J -J '^ i whose tops

Mountaynes was made thurgh Noye flode. And f)an) ]:>ay went reach the skies

by pat passage pat streched to warde pe Este Seuen) days, ^e^e ^wo

And on) pe heghteii) .viij. day J^ay fande a Basilisc }?at meiD passages, one

2o calle^ a Cocatrys, a grete & ane horrible. And bicause of his west and the

grete elde he was foult stynkand". * Dis ilke Basilisc was so ^ ^^^^ „f,

. '^ Leaf 38 bk.

venymous, J?at no5te alt anely thurgh his stynke, bot also the east which

thurgh his sighte allane, whayin) so he luked" on), he sulde dy Alexander

^ o ' J ' -' thinks were

24 onane ; ]pan) pe Macedoynes and pe persyenes, as ]:?ay passede made by the

thurgh pe stray t way dyed" thikk-falde thurgh j^e sighte of )?at ^ east seven "^ ^*^

Basilisc. And when) Alexander knyghtis saw that pmtt, ]?ay f^^^'

durste passe na forther bot sai J amange^ J?am) : ' pe vertue of eighth day

28 oure goddes,' quoth p?ij, 'es bifore vs, pat schewes vs pat we Ba^gniskthat

schulde ga na forthir.' Bot Alexander went bi hym ane vppon) ^^^y^ through

° J ri look alone,

an heghe cragge, where he myghte see on ferrome fra hym. He kills many.

And ))afD he saw this pestellencitts beste pe Basilisc lygg veysMm from

32 slepande in myddes of j^e passage, pe kynde of hym was J>at, ^^^^ ^^'

als so sone als he felid" a man) or a beste coin) nere hym,

for to open) his eghne & stare appoiD J^aiii), and als many

als he luked oil), solde sudaynly fatte doun) & dye. When

36 Alexander had sene hym, Be lyfe he went dounwe of pe *

cragge, and gart sett a merke pat na man) sulde passe. And

^ J)at inserted above the line by scribe.

2 g first turned into c, then finally erased between ^e and cragge.