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God in glorye of myghtes moost,
That al thinge made in sapience
By vertue of Woorde and Hooly Goost,
Gyvinge to man grete excellence,
And alle that is in erthe wroght
Subjecte to man and man to The,
That he should with herte and thought
To love and serve, and noon but The:
For yyfe man kepte Thy commaundemente
In al thinge and loved The welle
And hadde [ne] synnede in his entente,
Than shulde he fully Thy grace fele;
But for the offences to God i-doon
Many vengeaunces have befalle.
Whereof I wole you telle of oon,
It were to moch to telle of alle.
While that Rome was in excellence
Of all realmes in dignite,
And howe it felle for his offence,
Listinythe a while and ye shall see,
Howe it was wonen and brente
Of a Sowdon, that heathen was,
And for synne how it was shente;
As King Lowes witnessith that cas,
As it is wryten in romaunce
And founden in bokes of antiquyté
At Seinte Denyse Abbey in Fraunce,
There as cronycles remembrede be,
Howe Laban, the kinge of hie degre,
And syre and Sowdon of hie Babilon,
Conquerede grete parte of Christianté,
That was born in Askalon.
And in the cité of Agremare
Uppon the rivere of Flagote
At that tyme he sojorned there
Fulle roially, wel I wote,
With kinges twelfe and admyralles fourtene,
With many a baron and knightis ful boold,
That roialle were and semly to sene;
Here worthynesse al may not be told.
Hit bifelle bytwyxte March and Maye,
Whan kynde corage begynneth to pryke,
Whan frith and felde wexen gaye,
And every wight desirith his like,
Whan lovers slepen withe opyn yye
As nightyngalis on grene tre,
And sore desire that thai cowde flye,
That thay myghte withe here lovere be:
This worthy Sowdon in this seson
Shope him to grene woode to goon,
To chase the bore or the veneson,
The wolfe, the bere and the bawson.
He roode tho uppon a foreste stronde
With grete rowte and roialte,
The fairest, that was in all that londe,
With alauntes, lymmeris and racches free.
His huntes to chace he commaunde,
Here bugles boldely for to blowe,
To fere the beestis in that launde.
The Sowdon woxe wery i-nowe;
He rested him undere an holme tre,
Sittynge uppon a grene sete
Seynge a dromonde com sailyng in the see
Anone he charged to bekyn him with honde
To here of him tidinges newe.
The maister sende a man to londe,
Of divers langages was gode and trewe,
And saide `Lorde, this dromonde
Fro Babyloyne comen is,
That was worthe thousande poundis,
As it mete with shrewes i-wis,
Charged with perle and precious stones
And riche pelure and spicerye,
With oyle and bras qweynte for the nones 1
To presente yow, my lorde worthy.
A drift of wedire us droffe to Rome,
The Romaynes robbed us anone;
Of us thai slowgh ful many one.
With so |