The prose life of Alexander

104

The Ten Tribes of Israel.

carry off a knight and his horse. Alexander's knights fight manfully against them. They come to a great river and make boats to cross over. The people of the country send Alexander gifts.

wlilke smate kynghtes in þe vesageȝ reghte felly. Ƿay ware so strange þat ane of þam) wolde bere away an armed knyghte & his horse also, þan) kynge Alexander rade hedir & þedir amangeȝ his men) and comforthed þam) and badd' þam feghte 4 manly agaynes þam) wit speres and wit arowes. And so þay did. Bot þare was slayne of Alexander knyghtes ccviii.

¹ And fra þeine þay remowed' and come till a grete ryuer þe whilke was twenty furlange on brede fra þe ta banke to 8 þe toþer. And on þase bankes þare growed redis wonder grete and hye. Of þaee redes garte Alexander mak bates & anoynte þam) wit terre & talgh of besteȝ, And badd' his knyghtis row ouer þe water in þase bates. And þay did' soo. And when) þe 12 [pople] ² of þe cunntree herde tell of þe commynge of Alexander & his Oste, þay sent hym gyftes of swylk thyngeȝ als was in þaire cuntree, þat es at say Grete spoungeȝ bathe whitte & purpure & schelles of þe see so grete þat an of þam) walde 16 halde twa pekkes or three. Ƿay sent hym also wormes þat þay drew owte of þat ryuer grettere þan) a manes thee, and þay ware swetter of taste þan any fysche. Ƿay gaffe hym Cukstoles all rede þat ware of a wonderfull gretnesse. In þat ryuer ware 20 womans þat ware wonder faire & þay hade on) þam) mekill here þat rechedd doun) to thaire fete. Ƿir women), when þay saw any straunge men swymme in þat riuer, owþer þay drownned þam) in þe water, or etts pay walde lede þam) to þe redeȝ þat 24 growed' on) þe water bankes and garre þam) lye by þam) ay titt any lyfe was in þam). Ƿe Macedoynes persued þam) & tuke twa of þam) and broghte þam) till Alexander,* and þay ware als white as any snawe, and þay ware ten fote lange and þaire 28 teethe ware lyke dogge teethe.

They find women in that river who slay men. Two of them they capture. They come to Gog and

* Leaf 44 bk.

Magog, who are the ten tribes of Israel led out of their own land by a Persian king. They ask Alexander leave to come forth.

³ Efter this Alexander went and closed' in a maner of folkes þat are called" Gog & Magog, with-in þe hilleȝ of Caspy. Ƿis folkeȝ were of þe ten kyndeȝ of Israel, and þay ware leedd' owte 32 of þaire awenn) land" bi a kyng of Perse be-cause of þaire synneȝ and halden in thralledom). And þay asched Alexander leue for to wende furth of þat cuntree. And Alexander gert spirre þe cause of þaire thraldom), and he was encensed þat be-cause þay 36

1 Three lines with red capital A and small a in margin beside.

² MS. reads, And when þe of þe cunntree

(?þ[i] of, &c.).

³ Three lines with red capital E and small e in the margin beside.

Alexander and the Ten Tribes. The ocean. 105

hadd forsaken yaire goddez lawe, yat es at say, godd of Isrl, and wirchiped? Calues & oper Mawmettes, yare-fore yay ware ledd oute of yaire awenn laude & halden in thralldom, and yat 4 prophetes had pophiced be-fore yat yay sulde neuer come oute of thraldom bi-fore agayne ye day of dome. And yan Alexander ansuerde & said yat he sulde sperre yam In mare seurely. And yan he garte close att ye entreez wit stane & lyme & sand, Bot all yat he garte make on ye day was fordone on ye nyghte. And when Alexander saw yat mannes laboure myghte nozte stande in stede, he bi-soghte godd of Isrl yat if it ware his liste yat yay habade yare, yat he walde close pam in. And ye nexte nyghte 12 aftir ilk a cragge felle till oyer, and so yare may nathynge passe m nor owte. And yare-by it semez yat it es nozte goddez witt yat yay come oute. Neuer-ye-lesse abowte pe Ende of ye werlde bay satt breke oute and do mekitt schathe & slaa many 16 men.

¹ Fra yeine yay remowed & come to ye grete See Occeane. In yat See yay sawe ane Ile a littitt fra ye lande. And in yat Ile yay herde men speke grewe. And yan Alexander commanded 20 yat sum of his knyghts sulde do off yaire clathes and swyme ouer to ye ile. And yay did soo. And als sone als yay come in ye See yare come gret crabbes vp oute of ye water & pullede yam downne to ye grounde & drownned yam.

24 ² Thanne remowed yay fra thethyn and went ay endlande ye See syde to-warde ye solstice of wynter trauellande xl days ; and at ye laste yay come to a reede See, and yare yay lugede yam. Yare was faste by a Mountayne wonder hye, One 28 ye whilke Alexander went vp. And when he was abown on ye heghte yare-offe, hym thoghte yat he was nerre ye Firmament yan ye erthe ; yan he ymagned in his hert swilk a gynn how he myghte make * grippes bere hym vp in-to ye ayere. And 32 onane he come doune of ye Mountayne and garte come bi-fore hym his Maistre wrightes and comandid yam yat yay sulde g make hym a chayer and trelesse it wit barrez of Iren one ilk a syde so yat he myzte sauely sitt yare-in. And yan he gart . 36 brynge foure gripes and tye yam faste wit Iren cheynes vn-to ye chayere, and in ye ouermare party of ye chayere he gart putt

[Right margin] But he learns that they had forsaken the True God for idols, and therefore banished and imprisoned till Doomsday. Alexander says he shall bar them in more surely. God answers his prayers, and rocks fall down and shut them in until Doomsday, when they shall come forth to do great harm. They come to the sea and an isle near the shore. They hear men speak Greek there. Alexander´s messengers to the isle are killed by crabs. They travel along the *Leaf 45. seashore to the Red Sea. Alexander goes up a mountain. His master workers make him

1 Four lines with red capital F and ^ Three lines with red capital T and

small f in the margin beside. small capital T in margin.

mete for the grippes. And than he wente and sett hym in the chayere. And onane the grippes bare hym vp in the ayer so hye that Alexander thoghte all the erthe na mare than a flure thare men thresschey corne, and the See lyke a dragon abowte 4 the erthe. Than sodaynly a speeyatt vertu of godd vmbilapped the grippes that gart tham discende doune to the erthe in a felde: ten .x. day iournee fra the Oste, and he hadd na hurt ne na schathe in the chayere. Bot wit grete disesse at the laste he 8 come till his Oste.

¹After this Alexander ymagened in his hert that he walde knaw the preuates that are in the see. And onane he gart come bifore hym att the Maister glasyers that ware in the Oste, And comandede 12 tham to make hym a grete tounne of passandly clere glasse that he myghte thurgh it clerely see [att] maner of thynge that ware witowtten it. And when it was made he gart trelesse it al abowte witowtten wit barres of yren and feste thare-to lang cheynes of 16 yren, and gart a certane of the strangeste & maste tristy knyghtes that langed vn-till hym halde thir cheynes. And than he went in-to the tounne & gart pykke wele the entree whare he went in, and than late it doun into the See. And thare he sawe dyuerse 20 schappes of fisches of dyuerse colours ; and sum he sawe hafe the schappe of dyuerse bestey here one the lande, gangande on fete as bestey dose here & etande fruyte of treesse that growez on the See grunde. Thir bestey come till hym. Bot onane as thay 24 saw hym thorow the glasse thay fledde fra hym. He sawe thare also many other meruaylous thyngey, the whilke he walde tell na man bi-cause men walde noghte hafe trowed tham if he had talde tham, and at a certayne houre thase that he hadd assyngned 28 be-fore, his knyghtes drewe hym vp oute of the See.

²Fra theine tyay Remowed Folowande the bankes of the Rede See, and luged tham in a place, whare thare ware wylde Bestey that hade on thaire heuedis hornes lyke vn-to * sawes, and thay 32 ware als scharpe als swerdey. And with thire hornes thay slewe & hurte many knyghtis of Alexanders & clone thaire cheldes in sonder. Neuer-the-lesse Alexander knyghtis slew of tham ccccli.

³And fra theine thay remowed and come in-till wilderness 36

¹ Four lines with red capital A and small a in the margin beside.

² Three lines with red capital F and small f in margin besides.

³ Three lines with red capital A and small a in the margin beside.

bitwex the reed See and Araby, whare grete multitude of Pepir growed; And thare ware many grete nedders wit hornnes on thaire hedes lyke tuppe horned, wit the whilke thay smate Alexanders 4 knyghtis riyt felly. Off thase nedderes slew tye Macedoynes a grete party.

¹ Theine thay remowed and luged in a place whare many Rynosephales ware, the whilke hade heuedes & manes lyke 8 horsez. And thay hade grete bodys, and wonder grete teethe and lange, and oute of thaire mouthes thay schotte flawmez of fyre. And when thay saw the Oste luge thare thay come & assaylled tham. And Alexander ran hyder and thedir

12 amangez the oste and comforthed his knyghtes and bad tham feghte manly wit thase monstres. And so thay didd. Neuer-the-losse thare ware a grete multitude of his knygbtis slayne of thase bestez. Bot of the Rynocephales thare was slayne an hugge 16 mutltitude.

² Than thay remowed fra theine and come in-till a champayne cuntree and luged tham thare, And lay thare a certane days, Bi-cause of his horse Buktyphalas that fell seke thare ; of the 20 whilke sekenesse he dyed. And when Alexander saw hym dedd he made grete dole for hym and weped for hym rizt sare. For he hadd borne hym in many a Batelle, and broghte [hym] oute of many perells. And thare-fore when he was dede Alexander 24 gart doo aboute hym grete exequyes and gart make hym a full riche toumbe & a hye and did hym thare-in and made a grete citee thare, the whilke in mynde of his horse he gart call Buktyphalas.

28 ³ Fra theine thay remowed and come till a ryuere ⁴ that was called Cytan or Deciracy whare men of the cuntree broghte hym ṽ Olyphantes and ṽ cartes of werre. And fra theine thay remowed & come till kynge zerses palace. And in that Palace 32 thay fande beddez of clene golde many a thowsande. Thare also grete fewles white als doufes, the whilke had knawyng be-fore of a seke man wheder he schulde lyffe or dye. For if thay by-helde the seke man in the vesage, he schulde mende & 36 fare wele. And if thay tourned tham awaywarde witowtten

¹ Three lines. ² Three lines. ³ MS. has a small f written in margin, but no space for the large capital to be put. ⁴ The scribe first wrote rever, then altered it to ryver then scratched it all out and wrote ryvere after it.