The prose life of Alexander

in to the tethe, & slewe hym. And ane of the Oste said till Alexander: 'Philippe thi fader' quoth he, 'lyes dede in the felde.' And than Alexander went thedir thare he laye, and 4 saw hym euen at the dyinge. And than he began faste for to wepe. And Philippe luked apon hym, & said. ' A A, my dere son Alexander,' quoth he, ' wit a glade hert [I] may now dye, for that thou so sounwe hase venged my dede,' & euen wit * that 8 worde he yalde the gaste. And Alexander wirchipfully gert hym be entered.

1When kyng Philippe was entered, Alexander went and sett hym in his trone, and gerte calle by-fore hym alle the folke that 12 was gaderd thedir, lordes & other and said vn-to tham on this wyse. 'Men,' quoth he, 'of Macedoyne of Tracy, and of Grece byhaldey the fegure of Alexander and puttey oute of your hertes drede of all your enemys. For sekerly, and ye will take 16 gude hertis to yow, thurghe the helpe of oure goddis he schall hafe the ouerhande of att youre neghtebours, and your name schall spred ouer alle the werlde. And thare-fore ilkane of yow that hase Armour, makes it redy, and he that hase nane come to my 20 palace & I satt gerre delyuer hym all that hym nedis, and ilk a man make hym redy to the werre.' And when the lordes and knyghtis that ware of grete age, herd thir wordes thay ansuerd Alexander, & said vn-till hym: 'lorde,' quoth thaye, 'we hafe 24 seruede youre fader a longe tyme & traueld wit hym in his werres, & thare-fore we ere now so bryssed in armes that thare [es] no myghte lefte in vs for to suffre disesse that often tymes falles to men of werre. For we ere streken in grete age. And 28 thare-fore, if it be plesynge vn-to yow, we consaile yow & we beseken yowe, that ye chese yow yong lordes & yong knyghtes, that ere listy men & able for to suffre disesse for to be wit yow. For here we giffe vp att armes if it be your will & forsakes tham for euer.' And than Alexander answerd & said: ' I will rathere,' quoth he, ' chese the sadnesse of an alde wyse man than the vnavesy lightenesse of yonge men. For uong men often tymes traystand? to mekitt in thaire awenn doghtynes thurgh yjaire awen foly ere mescheued. Bot alde men wirkes all by consaile & by witte.' When he had said thir wordes all me

14

Alexander wars with the Romans and Africans.

They allow and consent to his words.

* Leaf 4. Gathering an army, Alexander ships to Italy, first taking Chalcedonia.

He takes tribute of the Romans and of all Europe as far as the West Ocean.

Thence sailing to Africa he subjugates it.

The adventure with the hart.

He sacrifices to Amon, praying the oracle.

He goes to Taphoresey and sacrifices to his gods.

The Yision of Serapis.

alovvecriiis liie witte and hally fay assentedc to hym for to do his lyste.

^ Sone aUer Alexander assemblede a grete Oste, & went bi Scliippe to-\varde3 Ytaly, and als he come by Calcedoyne, he 4 assaylled" it re^te strangly, and Ipe folke of Calcedoyne * went to ])e walles of })e Citee and defendid" manly. Bot at the laste Alexander wafD the Citee, and fra thethyii) he Schippede in-tiH Italy. And alsone als "pe Romaynes herd" of his comynge 8 J^ay were wonder ferde for hym), and tlie grete lordes of fe lande tuke fourty thowsande3 of besande5 and ic corounes of golde, and went vn-titt hym), and presant hym wet J>am) & bysoughte hym ]>at he scholde no^te werrey appoiD J>am), ne 12 do J)ain) na harme. And than Alexander tuke trybute of J>e Eomaynes, and of alte the folkes Ipat duelt bitwixe that & Ipe weste Occeane, ]>e whilke regione es callede Europe, & lefte J>am) in gude joesse. 16

^Fra thethyn he Schippede in-titt Affrice, in thee whilke he fande bot fewe pat rebelled" agaynes hym and pare-fore als [men] swa saye, euen) sodeynly he conquerid" it & broghte it vnder his subiecciofD. And fra Affric he went by Schippe tilt ane 20 He, pat es called? Frontides, for to consaile wit a godd' pat pay called" Amon). And as Alexander & his mefD went to- ward e^ pe temple of ]:)is for-said? godd", J>ay mett in pe waye a grete hert pe whilke A\exander bad his men) sla wit arowes. And 24 J^ay schott at hj7n; bot nane of ]5am) myghte hitt hym. And })an) Alexander tuke a bowe & schotte at hym & hitt hym & slewe hym. And J'an) Alexander went in-to j^e temple, & made sacrafyce of )?is hert vn-to godd" Amon, and by-soughte 28 hym pat he schulde gyffe hym ansuares. WhefD Alexander hade made his prayers J>are to godd? Amon), he went wit his Oste iy*-tili: a place J?at highte Taphoresey, In j^e whilke were feftene ^ gude townnes, & psij hade twelue grete reuers J^at rane in-to 32 J^e see, and at pe entree of J^ain) in-to pe see pare was drawen) ouer grete chynes of yryne, and thare Alexandir made Sacrafice tilt his godde^. And on j^e same nyghte, a godd? pat [bight] Serapis apperid vn-titt hym in his slepe, cledd"" in riche 36 clothynge in ane horrible forme & a dredefutt, and said? vn-till

^ Three lines miniature S. ^ Five lines miniature F.

2 MS. has XV crossed through before feftene.

I

Tlte Vision of Serapis ; Anectanabuss image.

him. 'Alexander,' quoth he, 'may thou take this mountain on thy shoulder & bear it away?' Quoth Alexander, 'how might any man do that?' And Serapis answered & said, 'right as this mountain shall never without end be removed [hethen], so thy name & thy deeds shall be made mind of to the world's end. And then Alexander prayed him that he would prophecy him what kind [of] death he should die. Serapis answered and said, 'It is not speedful to a man to know his painful ending. For if he knew it, peradventrue, he should never have Joy in his heart. Nevertheless because thou has prayed me to tell thee, I shall say thee. After a drink thou shall take thy dead. For in thy youth, thou shall make thine ending. But spir me nother the time not the hour when it shall be, For I will in no ways tell it to thee. [For-whi] gods of the [este partiez] of the world shall tell thee all their words.' When Alexander wakened of his dream, he was right [heuy], and sent the most substance of his Oste to the City of Askalon and bade them abide him there, and himself & a certain of men with him abide & there he [garte] make a City & called it Alexander after his own name.

In the meantime the Egyptians heard of the coming of Alexander, & they went against him & submit them unto him & [resayffed] him worshipfully. And when Alexander come unto Egypt, he found an image of a king made of black stone curiously crowned, and he asked the Egyptians whose image it was, and they answered & said, "It is the image,' quoth they, 'of Anectanabus that was king of Egypt not long since gone, the wisest & the worthiest that ever was therein.' Forsooth quoth Alexander, 'Anectanabus was my Father.' And then he kneeled down with great reverence & kissed the image. From there he went with his Oste to Syria. But the Syrians withstood him and fought with him and slew many of his knights. Nevertheless Alexander had the victory. And then he went to Damascus, & ensieged it & won it, and from there he went to Sydon & won it. And then he went unto the City of Tyre and laid siege about it, and [in] this Siege he lay many a day. And there

The conquest of Syria; the battle of Josaphat

his Oste suffered many dysesses. For that City was so strange in itself because of the ground, that it was set upon, and by-cause of great towers & many that ware about it, and also because it was so enclosed" with the see that it might not lightly be won by [nane] assault. Alexander than [unbethought] him, one what ways he might best come to for to destroy this city, and he Great make a great bastell of tree, and set it upon ships in the sea even forgaynes the cete, so that there might no ships come near the haven for to vetaylls the Citee or supply it with men because of the bastelle. In the meantime, Alexander Oste hade great defawte of vetaylls, and then he sent letters unto Jadus, that at that time was bishop & governor of the jews, and prayed him for to supply him with some men, and also that he would send" some vetails for hym & his Oste, and he should pay for them with a glad cheer, and that he should also send" him the tribute that he should give Darius the emperor of Persia. For him were better, he said", have his friendship than the friendship of Darius. The Bischope than of the Iewes ansuerd" the messangers that broghte hym the lettres & said, ' I hafe,' quoth he, 'made [oath] to Darius, that, while he lives, I shall never bear arms against him, and therefore I may not do against my oath.' The Messengers then went to Alexander & told him the bishop's answer, and he was grieved' & said', ' I make my avow,' quoth he,' unto our gods, that I shall take such vengeance on the jews that I shall make them to know, whether it is better to than to be obeisant unto my commandment, or unto the kings of Persia.' And he called a duke, that [highte] Meleager, and with [vc] men of arms, and bade them go into the valley of Josaphat, which was full of beasts & bring of those beasts to the Oste for to vetaille them with. And [ane] Sampson, that knew the country well was their guide. They went into the valley, and gathered together [chattel] without number & began for to [dryfe] on them. And he that was lord of the country, Theosellas by name, raised a great multitude of folk and met them & fought with them & slew many of them. But Meleager & his fellows at that time had the better. And [ane that highte] Caulus went boldly to Theosellas, & smite off his head! All this was done but a little from the city of Gadir. And then Bertyne,

The siege of Tyre. 17

lord of the city, [seeand] this, was greatly stirred and issued out of the city & with xxx fighting men and set up a shout upon the Macedonians all at once, that all the earth trembled withal. And when the Macedonians saw a great multitude of folk come upon them, they were right feared. And then Meleager would have sent a Messenger to their lord Alexander, for to come and succor them, but he might find no man that would undertake the Message. Then their [twa batalles] met [Sampson?] & fought together, and there was Sampson slain, and Bertyne. And the Macedonians with the great multitude of their enemies were driven back, and lyke for to be driven back & discomfites. And one of the Greeks, that highte Arttes, seeing the mischief they stood In, [wann] him out of the Battle & went in all the haste, that he might, till Alexander & told him that the Greeks & the Macedonians were in [poynte] to be [mescheuede], but if he [suppoellde them the tittere]. And then Alexander left the siege of Tyre, and went with his Oste to the vale of Josaphat, and found his men right hardy [by-stadde] with their enemies. And he and his Oste enveloped all their enemies, and [dug?] them down & slew them like a mother's son. And when he had so done he turned again unto Tyre, and found the [Bastelle], that he had made in the See, [dug?] down to the ground. For also as Alexander was gone from Tyre to the valley of Josaphat, Balan that was lord of Tyre escaped out of the city with the folk thereof, & assailled the [bastell] manfully, and took it & [dug?] it down. And when Alexander saw that, he was greatly angered, and his heart wonder [heuy], as so were all the Macedonians and the Greeks. Insomuch that were nearly in despair for to win the city, and were in [pynte] to have risen up the siege. And on the night next [Sunday?], Alexander, as he lay & slept, dreamed that he had in his hand a grape, the which him thought he cast down under his feet, and trade thereon, & also there ran out of it a great deal of wine. And when Alexander wakened, he called to him a Philosopher & told him his dream. And the Philosopher answered, 'be bold,' quoth he, '& live to ensiege Tyre, for the grape that thou