The Rutilianys onon all in a rowt
This ded corps, that slayn lay, start abowt:10
The gentill body of this stowt ȝongkeir
Thai haue addressit, and laid on a rich beir;
And with hym eik feill takynnys by the way,
Reft from Troianys in the bargan, bair thai,
Baith helmys, hors, swerdis, and other geir,15
Scheildis, gittarnys, and mony stalwart speir.
Syne eftir this hys wery cart furth went,
Of Troian slauchter and hait blude all bysprent.
Furth haldis wepand Metiscus, the carter,
As he that in the craft was not to leir,20
Ledand the steid bedowyn all of swete,
And chekis wait of flotterand terys grete;
Quhilk steid had careit Turnus oft tofor
As victor hame with gret triumphe and glor
Full pompusly, apon ane other wys,
Eftir fervent slauchter of his ennymys.
Ȝondir otheris, about hym inveroun,5
Baris thar armour and scheildis turnyt dovn;
The remanent syne of the haill barnage
Followys wepand, knycht, swane, man, and page,
With habundans of mony trigland teyr
Wetand thar brestis, wedis, and other geir:10
And thus wery furth went thai euery wycht
Amyd the dirk silens of the nyght,
Betand thame self with wondir drery cheir.
And kyng Latyn, with all thame with hym wer,
Towart hys palyce gan return onon,15
With mynd trublit, trist, and wobygone,
For sa excelland ded corps as was slane;
Terys all sammyn furth ȝettis euery ane,
Baith agit men, matronys, and childer lyte,
The cite fyllis with womentyng and syte.20
Dawnus, hys fader, na wys wittand tho
He suld remane to se sik duyll and wo,
Nor that his son hys stalwart spreit had ȝald,
And maid end in the lattir bargan bald,
That thus was brocht to tovn ded by his feris25
With sik plente of bittir wepand terys;
The sammyn tyme with othir dyseys was socht,
At mekill sad dolour and hevy thocht.
For, as the Latyn pepill war ourset
Into batall by Troianys, and dovn bet,30
And Turnus be his hait and recent ded
Had with bys blude littit the grond all red,
A suddan fyre within the wallys hie
Ombeset halyly Ardea cite:
The biggyng of this fader wobegon,5
Brynt and doun bet, of reky flammys schone,
And all returnys intill assys red;
The fyry sparkis into euery sted
Twynkland vpspringis to the starnys on hie,
That now na hope of help may fundyn be:10
Quhidder so it was onto the Goddis lykyng,
Or that the fatis befor list schaw sum syng
Of Turnus deth, in horribill batal slane.
And quhen the pepill saw remed was nane,
Belyfe the wofull trublit citesanys,15
Thar drery brestis betand all atanys,
Gan fast bewaill with petuus wepand face
Of this onhappy chance the wrachit cace;
In lang rabill the wemen and matronys
With all thar fors fled reuthfully atonys20
From the bald flammys and brym blesys stowt.
And lyke as that of emottis the blak rowt,
That ithandly laubouris and byssy be,
Had beldit, vnder the ruyt of a heich tre,
Intill a clift thar byke and duellyng sted,25
To hyd thar langsum wark and wyntry bred:
Gyf so betyde thai feill the ax smyte
Apoun the treis schank, and tharon byte,
So that the crop doun weltis to the grund,
That with the felloun rusch and grysly sound30
Thar small cavernys all to brok and rent is;
Than spedely this litill rowt furth sprentis
All will of red, fleand thai wait nocht quhar,
Tursand thar byrdyngis affraytly heir and thar:
Or lyke as that on the hous syde the snaill,5
Schakand hir coppit schell, or than hir taill,
Fleand the byrnand heit that scho doith feill,
A lang tyme gan do wrassill and to wreill,
Thristand fast with hir feit onto the wall,
And ȝit hir hed with fors and strenthis all10
Frawart the fervent flammys fast withdrawys;
Scho scaldis, and with mony wrikis and thrawys
Presys forto eschew the feirfull heit:
Nane other wys in sa feill perrellis gret
Thir woful citesanys gan thame self slyng,15
Ruschand with trublit mynd intill a lyng
Baith heir and thar, and wist not quhar away.
Bot maist of all, allace! and weil away!
With reuthfull vocis cryand to the hevyn,
The agit kyng Dawnus with wofull stevyn20
Gan on the Goddis abuf clepe and call.
And tho amyd the flambis furth with all
Ardea the fowll, quham a heron clepe we,
Betand hir weyngis, thai behaldyn fle
Furth of the fyre heich vp in the air,25
That baith the name and takyn our alquhar
Baris of this cite Ardea the ald;
Quhilum with wallis and towris hie ontald
Stud weirly wrocht, as strenth of gret defens,
That now is changit and full quyte goyn hens,30
With weyngis wyde fleand baith vp and doun,
Now bot a fowle, was ayr a ryall tovn.
Astonyst of this nyce and new cace,
And of the wonderus mervellis in that place,
Quhilk semyt no thing litill fortobe,5
As thocht thai send war by the Goddis hie,
The pepill all confusyt still dyd stand,
Thir byrdyngis on thar schuldris caryand,
And movit nowthyr fut, tung, nor mouth:
And kyng Dawnus, for this affray onkouth,10
With ardent luf smyttin and hait desyre
Of hys cheif sete distroyt and brynt in fyre,
The hard dolour and the sorow smert
Haldis full clos, deip gravyn in hys hart.