Turnus him self, of weir the cheif capitane,
Amyd pryncis and gret chiftanys ilkane
Enarmyt walkis, turnand to and fro
With corps of statur eligant, that so,20
Quhar as he went throw out the rowtis on hie,
Abuf thame all hys hed men mycht weil se,
Quharon his helm set ful richly schane
With cristis thre lyke til ane lokkyrrit mane;
Tharon as tymbrill standing Chymera,
That wondrus monstre, with wide chaftis bla
Furth blawand fyre and flambe sulphureus,
Lyke byrnand Ethna, that mont peralus:
The mair wod wraith and furyus wolx sche,5
With sorofull fyre blesys spowtand hie,
Evir as the batale worthis mor cruell
By effusioun of blude and dyntis fell.
Hys schynand scheld was all of fyne gold bet,
Quhar in thar was, insted of armys, set10
Io the wench, sum tyme but hornys, now
With hair ourgrow, transformyt in a kow;
Quhilk was gret argument and probatioun
That he was of his blude a Gregioun.
The kepar eik of this ilk maid, Argus,15
Was porturit thar, and fader Inachus,
Furth of ane pantyt pig, quhar as he stude,
A gret ryver defundand or a flude.
Ane ost of fut men, thik as the hail schour,
Followys this Turnus, dryvand vp the stour;20
With scheildis schrowdyt mony huge rowt
Thik forgaderis the large feildis about:
Thai ȝonkeris quhilk of Grekis war discend
The power of Arunca thiddir send,
The garnysons alsso of Rutilyanys,25
And the ancyent pepill hait Sycanys,
Of Sacrane the army bald in feildis,
The Lybicanys eik with thar pantit scheildis.
Quhilk telys on thy bankis, Tybyr flude,
Or ȝit endlang thy gresy brays gude,30
O Numycus, thou hallowit fresch ryver,
And thai that with scharp cultyr teil and scheir
Of Rutuly the hilly knowis hie,
Or camy eyge, and holtis fair to se,
That Circeus to surname clepit ar;5
Quhar Anxurus, the berdles Jupiter,
For patron is hallowit our the planys,
And Juno eik ful joyusly remanys
In Feronya, hir sweit schaw ay greyn,
Neir by the blak laik clepit Satureyn,10
Quhar as the chil ryver, hait Vfens,
Sekis with narrow passage and discens
Amyd holl valeis his renk and ische,
And hydis hym self within the Tyrrhene see.
Abuf all thir the stowt wench Camylla,15
Of the famyl and kynrent of Volsca,
Com ledand armyt ostis and stern feldis,
In burnyst plait arrayt and schynand scheldis;
Forsuyth, ane worthy weriour was sche:
Hir womanly handis nothir rok of tre20
Ne spyndill vsit, nor brochis of Mynerve,
Quhilk in the craft of claith makyng doys serve;
Bot ȝit this maid was weil accustumate
To suffer bargane dowr, and hard debait,
And throu the speid of fut in hir rynnyng25
The swift wyndis prevert and bakwart dyng:
Or than alsso so spedely couth scho fle
Our the cornys, ourtred thar croppis hie,
That with hir curs na reid ne tendir stra
Was harmyt ocht, na hurt by ony way:30
And, throu the boldnand fludis amyd the see
Born soverly, furth hald hir way mycht sche,
The swyft solis of hir tendir feyt
Nocht twichand onys the watir hir to weit.
All ȝong folkis, on hir forto ferly,5
Furth of howsys and feldis flokkis in hy.
Litil childer and matronys awondring
On far behaldis hir stowt pays in a lyng,
So manfully and baldly walkis sche,
With spreit abasyt thai gove hir forto se:10
Quhat wys hir slekyt schuldris war array
With kyngly purpour, honorabill and gay;
And quhou the hair was of this damoysell
Knyt with a button in a goldyn kell;
And how a quavir clos scho bair alssua,15
With grondyn dartis wrocht in Lycia;
And ane hail sipplyn of a gret myr tre,
Quhilk hyrdis mycht ourheld with bewis he,
In maner of a speir in hand scho bair,
Hedit with forgit steill full scharp and squair.20
Alswith as Turnus, our the master towr
Of Lawrentum, hys baner quhite as flour
In syng of batale dyd on breid display,
The trumpys blast and hornys maid deray;
And stern stedis stampyng for the dyn,25
The armour clattris, fast ilk man can ryn:
Incontinent togidder, with myndis amovit,
All Latyum assemblit sone controvit
Ane coniuratioun or hasty convyne,
As in feirfull affray thar land to tyne,30
And wod wraith wolx thir ȝonkeris, he and he,
With byrnand hartis fers to the melle.
The first chiftanys for assay or defens,
The gret Mesapus, and the strang Vsens,
With Mezentyus of Goddis contempnar,5
The rowtis for supple baith neir and far
Compellis to assemble with thar poweris,
And large feildis laid waist of lawboreris.
Ane Venulus alsso was send, a Greik,
To gret Diomedis cite, to beseik10
Supple and help, and to schaw all and sum
Quhou Troianys war discend in Latyum;
Ene with navy arryvit vp at hand,
And brocht his venquyst Goddis in thar land,
Sayand that, by the fatis and destance,15
He thiddir callit was as kyng tobe:
And that he suld eik to Diomedis schaw
That mony pepill war adionyt and draw
Onto this ilk forsaid strangear knycht,
For he was cummyn of Dardanus the wyght,20
And wyde quhar our al partis of Italy
Hys name begouth to spreid and multiply.
And sen he had begun sic thing on hand,
Quhat syne he etlyt mycht be vnderstand;
That is to knaw, gif forton war so heynd25
By aventour of weir tobe his frend,
Mair evidently he covat to proceid
Agane his ancyent ennemy, Diomed,
Than to ourset the ȝong knychtly Turnus,
Or ȝit ourcum the ald kyng Latynus.30