Wyth charged chariotes þe cheftayn he fynde[z],
Bikennes þe catel to be kyng, þat he cagt hade,
Presented him þe presoneres in pray þat þay token-
Moni a worply wyze whil her worlde laste,

Moni semly syre soun, and swype rych maydenes,

[79a]

1297

Þe pruddest of þe province, and prophetes childer, 1300 As Ananie, and Azarie, and als Mizael,

And dere Daniel also, þat watz devine noble,

With moni a modey moder chylde mo þen innoghe.
And Nabugodenozar makes much joye,

Nou he be kyng hatz conquest and be kyth wunnen,
And dreped alle pe doztyest and derrest in armes,
And þe lederes of her lawe layd to be grounde,
And þe pryce of þe profecie presoners maked;
Bot be joy of þe juelrye so gentyle and ryche,
When hit watz schewed hym so schene, scharp watz
his wonder;

1304

1308

Of such vessel avayed þat vayled so huge,

Never get nas Nabugodenozar er þenne.

1312

He sesed hem wyth solemnete, þe Soverayn he praysed

Þat watz apel over alle, Israel Dryztyn;

Such god, such gomes, such gay vesselles,
Comen never out of kyth to Caldee reames.

1316

He trussed hem in his tresorye in a tryed place

Rekenly wyth reverens, as he ryzt hade;
And þer he wro3t as be wyse, as 3e may wyt hereafter,
For hade he let of hem ly3t, hym mogt haf lumpen

1320

worse.

Þat ryche in gret rialte rengned his lyve,

As conqueror of uche a cost he cayser watz hatte,
Emperor of alle pe erpe, and also be saudan,

1295 MS. fynde, M. fynde[3]. — 1296 Catchwords Bikennes þe catel at bottom of preceding page.—1297 M. expands the same abbreviation above p differently, presented, but prisoneres; but cf. presoneres written out in 1217. — 1299 M.1 soun; M2 sone, cf. 666. - 1308 M. expands prisoners, but cf. 1297.

And als pe god of þe grounde watz graven his name, 1324 And al þurz dome of Daniel, fro he devised hade

Þat alle goudes com of God, and gef hit hym bi

samples,

Þat he ful clanly bicnu his carp bi pe laste,

And ofte hit mekned his mynde, his maysterful

werkkes.

Bot al drawes to dyze wyth doel up[o]n ende;
Bi a hapel never so hyze, he heldes to grounde,
And so Nabugodenozar, as he nedes moste,
For alle his empire so hize, in erpe is he graven.
Bot þenn þe bolde Baltazar, þat watz his barn.
aldest,

1328

[79b]

1333

He watz stalled in his stud, and stabled be rengne;
In þe burz of Babiloyne þe biggest he trawed,
Þat nauper in heven ne [on] erpe hade no pere;
For he bigan in alle þe glori þat hym þe gome lafte,
Nabugodenozar, þat watz his noble fader;

1336

So kene a kyng in Caldee com never er þenne.
Bot honored he not hym þat in heven wonies,
Bot fals fantummes of fendes, formed with handes
Wyth tool out of harde tre, and telded on lofte,
And of stokkes and stones he stoute goddes callz
When pay are gilde al with golde and gered wyth
sylver,

1340

1344

And þere he kneles and callez, and clepes after help.
And pay reden him ry3t, rewarde he hem hetes,
And if þay gruchen him his grace to gremen his hert,
He cleches to a gret klubbe and knokkes hem to peces. 1348
Þus in pryde and olipraunce his empyre he haldes,
In lust and in lecherye, and lopelych werkkes;
And hade a wyf for to welde, a worþelych quene,

1325 MS., M. fro, M. note for(?).— 1327 M.1 bicuver which MS. resembles, M.2 bienv.- 1329 MS. vpn.—1330 MS., M. bi; M. note be(?), accepted by Fi.-1336 MS., M. no erbe; M. note on(?).

And mony a lemman, never be later, þat ladis wer called.

In be clernes of his concubines and curious wedez,
In notyng of nwe metes and of nice gettes,

1352

Al watz þe mynde of þat man on misschapen þinges,
Til þe Lorde of þe lyfte liste hit abate.

XIII. BELSHAZZAR'S FEAST

Thenne pis bolde Baltazar biþenkkes hym ones
To vouche on avayment of his vayneg[1]orie:
Hit is not innoghe to be nice al no3ty pink use,
Bot if alle þe worlde wyt his wykked dedes.
Baltazar þurz Babiloyn his banne gart crye,
And þurz þe cuntre of Caldee his callyng con spryng,
Þat alle þe grete upon grounde schulde geder hem

samen,

And assemble at a set day at þe saudans fest.
Such a mangerie to make þe man watz avised,
Þat uche a kythyn kyng schuld com þider;
Uche duk wyth his duthe and oper dere lordes
Schulde com to his cort to kybe hym for lege,
And to reche hym reverens, and his revel herkken,
To loke on his lemanes and ladis hem calle.

To rose hym in his rialty rych men so3tten,

1356

1360

1364

[80a]

1369

And mony a baroun ful bolde, to Babyloyn þe noble. 1372
Þer bowed toward Babiloyn burnes so mony,
Kynges, cayseres ful kene, to be cort wonnen,
Mony ludisch lordes pat ladies brozten,
Þat to neven þe noumbre to much nye were.
For þe borz watz so brod and so bigge alce,
Stalled in þe fayrest stud þe sterrez anunder,
Prudly on a plat playn, plek alperfayrest,

1376

Umbesweyed on uch a syde wyth seven grete wateres, 1380

1358 MS. vayne gorie; M. vayne g[1]orie. M. note þing(?).

Wyth a wonder wro3t walle wruxeled ful hize,
Wyth koynt carneles above, corven ful clene,
Troched toures bitwene, twenty spere lenþe,
And piker prowen umbeþor wyth overþwert palle.
Þe place þat plyed þe pursaunt wythinne,
Watz longe and ful large and ever ilych sware,
And uch a syde upon soyle helde seven myle,
And be saudans sete sette in þe myddes.

1384

1388

Þat watz a palayce of pryde passande alle oþer,
Bope of werk and of wunder and walle al aboute;
Heze houses wythinne pe halle to hit m[a]d,
So brod bilde in a bay þat blonkkes my3t renne.
When pe terme of pe tyde watz towched of [be]
feste,

1392

Dere drozen þerto, and upon des metten,

And Baltazar upon bench was busked to sete;

Stepe stayred stones of his stoute throne.

1396

Þenne watz alle pe halle-flor hiled wyth knygtes,
And barounes at þe sidebordes bounet a[y] where,
For non watz dressed upon dece bot þe dere selven,
And his clere concubynes in clopes ful brygt.
When alle segges were per set, pen servyse
bygynnes,

1400

Sturnen trumpen strake steven in halle,

Aywhere by be wowes wrasten krakkes,

And brode baneres þerbi blusnande of gold;

[80b] 1405

Burnes berande pe bredes upon brode skeles,
Þat were of sylveren sygt, and s[e]rved þerwyth,

1385 MS. þõ wt, M. þour-with; M. note pore(?). — 1391 MS., M. to hit med; Fi. proposes ful hyze(!).— 1393 MS. towched quite clearly; M. to vsched; Fi. touched: M. reads þe feste, but in MS. both words are written at the end of 1392 above a break, and though some letters certainly precede feste, I cannot distinguish them. 1398 M. aywhere, but y blurred in MS. and very much like o. 1405 MS. þe þe. - 1406 MS. seved with a flourish apparently over v, M. reads MS. severed, and prints seerved.

Lyfte logges perover and on lofte corven,
Pared out of paper and poynted of golde,
Brope baboynes abof, besttes anunder,
Foles in foler flakerande bitwene,

1408

And al in asure and ynde enaumayld ryche,
And al on blonkken bak bere hit on honde.

1412

And ay þe nakeryn noyse, notes of pipes,
Tymbres and tabornes, tulket among;
Symbales and sonetez sware þe noyse,
And bougounz busch batered so þikke.

1416

So watz served fele sype pe sale alle aboute,

Wyth solace at þe sere course bifore be self lorde,

Þer þe lede and alle his love lenged at þe table.

So faste þay wezed to him wyne, hit warmed his hert, 1420 And breyped uppe into his brayn and blemyst his

mynde,

And al waykned his wyt, and wel neze he foles;

For he waytez on wyde, his wenches he byholdes,
And his bolde baronage aboute bi pe wozes.
Penne a dotage ful depe drof to his hert,
And a caytif counsayl he cagt bi hymselven.
Maynly his marschal þe mayster upon calles,
And comaundes hym cofly coferes to lance,
And fech forpe vessel þat his fader brozt,
Nabugodenozar, noble in his strenpe,
Conquerd with his knygtes, and of kyrk rafte,
In Jude, in Jerusalem in gentyle wyse:

1424

1428

1432

'Bryng hem now to my borde, of beverage hem fylles,
Let pise ladyes of hem lape-I luf hem in hert!
Þat schal I cortaysly kyþe, and þay schin knawe sone
Þer is no bounte in burne lyk Baltazar þewes.'

1436

Þenne towchede to be tresor þis tale watz sone,

And he wyth keyes uncloses kystes ful mony;

1408 MS. glolde. 1414 MS., M. among; Fi. among[es].-1429 MS., M. forbe; Fi. for þe.