The sorwe aswaged and þe syges olde
By longe process, (lich as I gow tolde)
þis worþi kyng ycallyd Priamus
Is in his herte now so desyrous
Vpon þe pleyn þat was so waste and wylde,
So strong a toun of newe for to bilde:
At his devyse a cite edefye
þat shal th'assautys outterly defye
Of all enmyes and his mortal foon
With riche tours and wallys of hard stoon.
And al about þe contres enviroun
He made seke in euery regioun.
For swiche werkmen as wer corious,
Of wyt inventyf, of castyng merveilous,
Or swych as coude crafte of gemetrye,
Or wer sotyle in her fantasye;
And for eueryche þat was good devysour,
Mason, hewer, or crafty quareour;
For euery wrigt and passyng carpenter
þat may be founde owþer fer or nere;
For swych as koude graue, grope or kerue,
Or swich as weren able for to serue
With lym or stoon for to reise a wal
With bataillyng and crestis marcial;
Or swich as had[de] konyng in her hed,
Alabastre, owþer white or rede.
Or marbil graye for to pulsche it pleyn
To make it smoþe of veynes and of greyn.
He sent also for euery ymagour
Boþe in entaille and euery purtreyour
þat coude drawe or with colour peynt
With hewes fresche þat þe werk nat feynt;
And swich as coude with countenaunces glade
Make an ymage þat wil neuer fade,
To counterfet in metal, tre or stoon
þe sotil werke[s] of Pygmaleoun
Or of Apell[es], þe which as bokis telle
In ymagery all oþer did excelle.
For by his crafty werkyng corious
þe towmbe he made of Kyng Daryus
Which Alysoundre did on heygt[e] reise
Only for men[ne] schuld his fame preise
In his conquest by Perce whan he went.
And þus Priam for euery maister sent:
For eche keruer and passyng ioignour
To make knottis with many corious flour,
To sette on crestis withinne and withoute
Vpon the wal þe cite round aboute;
Or who þat wer excellyng in practik
Of any arte callyd mekanik
Or had a name flouryng or famus
Was after sent to come to Priamus.
For he purposeth, þis noble worthi kyng,
To make a cite most royal in byldyng:
Brod, large and wyde, and lest it were assailled,
For werre proudly about[en] enbatailled.
And first þe grounde he made to be sougt
Ful depe and lowe, þat it faille nougt
To make sure þe fundacioun.
In þe place where þe olde toun
Was first ybilt, he þe wallis sette.
And he of lond[e] many mile out mette
Aboute in compas for to make it large,
As þe maisters toke on hem þe charge,
Divysed han þe settyng and þe syt,
For holsom eyr to be more of delyt.
And whan þe soil, defouled with ruyne
Of walles old was made pleyn as lyne,
þe werkmen gan þis cite for to founde
Ful mygtely with stonys square and rounde
þat in þis world was to it non lyche
Of werkmanschip nor [non] of bilding riche,
Nor of crafte of corious masounry.
And þat it mygt in prosperite,
In hyge honour and felicite
From al assaut perpetually contune,
It reysed was in worschip of Neptune
And namyd Troye, as it was toforn
Lych þe first þat was þorug Grekis lorn.
þe lengthe was, schortly to conclude,
Thre day[es] iourne, lych þe latitude.
And, as I rede, þe wallis wern on higte
Two hundrid cubits al of marbil gray,
Maskowed without for sautis and assay.
And it to make more plesaunt of delyt
Among þe marbil was alabaster white
Meynt in the walles round þe toun aboute
To make it schewe withinne and withoute
So fresche, so riche and so delitable
þat it alone was incomperable
Of alle cites þat any mortal man
Sawe euer git sith [that] the world began.
And at the corner of euery wal was set
A crowne of golde with riche stonys fret
þat schone ful brigt ageyn þe sonne schene.
And euery tour bretexed was so clene
Of chose stoon (þat wer nat fer asondre)
þat to behold it was a verray wonder.
þerto þis cite compassed enviroun
Had sexe gatis to entre into toun:
þe first of al and strengest eke withal,
Largest also and most principal,
Of mygty bildyng allone peer[e]les,
Was by þe kyng callyd Dardanydes.
And in story (lyche as it is founde)
Tymbria was named þe secounde;
And þe þridde callyd Helyas;
þe fourte gate higt also Cethas,
þe fyfte Troiana, þe syxte Athonydes,
Strong and mygty boþe in werre and pes
With square toures set on euery side.
At whos corners, of verray pompe and pride
þe werkmen han, with sterne and fel visages
Of riche entaille set vp gret ymages
Wrougt out of ston, þat neuer ar like to fayle,
Ful coriously enarmed for batayle.
And þorug þe wal, her fomen for to lette,
At euery tourn wer grete gunnys sette
For assaut and sodeyn aventurys.
And on touretts wer reysed vp figurys
Of wylde bests, as beris and lyouns,
Of tigers, bores, of serpents and dragouns
And hertis eke with her brode hornes,
Olyfauntes and large vnicornes,
Buglis, bols and many grete grifoun
Forged of brasse, of copur and latoun:
þat cruelly by signes of her facys
Vpon her foon made fel manacys.
Barbykans and bolewerkys huge
Afore þe toun made for hige refuge
Gif nede were, erly and eke late.
And portecolys stronge at euery gate
þat hem þar noon assailyng charge;
And þe lowkis þikke, brode and large,
And þe gatys al of goten bras.
And euery hous þat was bilt withinne,
Euery paleys and euery mancioun
Of marbil werne þorug[out] al þe toun,
Of crafty bildyng and werkyng most roial.
And if I schulde rehersen by and by
þe korve knottes by crafte of masounry,
þe fresche enbowyng with vergis rigt as linys
And þe vowsing ful of babewynes,
þe riche copurnyng, þe lusty tablementis,
Vynnettis rennynge in þe casementis —
þoug þe terms in English wolde ryme
To rekne hem alle I haue as now no time:
Ne no langage pyked for þe nonys
þe sotil ioynyng to tellen of þe stonys,
Nor how þei putten in stede of morter
In þe ioynturys copur-gilt ful clere,
To make hem ioyne by leuel and by lyne,
Among þe marbil freschly for to schyne
Agein þe sonne whan his schene lygt
Smote in þe gold þat was bornyd brigt
To make þe werke gletere on euery syde.
And þorug þe toun by crafty purviaunce,
By gret avys and discret ordynaunce,
By compas cast and squared out by squires,
Of pulsched marbil vpon strong pilleris
Deuised wern, long[e], large and wyde,
In þe frontel of euery stretis syde,
Fresche alures with lusty hige pynacles,
And moustryng outward riche tabernacles
Vowted aboue like reclinatories
þat called werne deambulatories,
Men to walk togydre tweine and tweyne,
To kepe hem drie whan it did reyne.
And euery hous cured was with led
And many gargoyl and many hidious hed
With spoutis þorug and pipes as þei ougt
From þe ston-werke to þe grounde
Voyding filþes low into þe grounde
þorug gratis percid of yren percid rounde.
þe stretis paued boþe in lengþe and brede
In cheker wyse with stonys white and rede.
And euery craft þat any maner man
In any lond deuise or rekene can,
Kyng Priamus of hige discrecioun
Ordeyned hath to dwellyn in þe toun:
And in stretis, seueryd her and gonder,
Eueryche from oþer to be sette asonder,
þat þei mygt for more comodite,
Eche for hym silfe werke at liberte.