46
Alexander goes to Darius,
Alexander
rides with
a single
knight to
the River
Grancus
which was
frozen over.
He will not
allow his
knight to
fare further
with him.
The river
ever freezes
in the
night and
thaws in
the morn-
ing.
The Per-
sians are
amazed at
him. Alex-
ander
comes to
Darius and
summons
him to give
tribute or
fight.
* Leaf 19.
prynce wns a wyghte mafD, & an hardy & wonder trewe titt
Alexander. And Jr'an) Alex«7if/er bad hym lepe one a horse, and
brynge \\ii hym a noJ?«r horse & folow hym. And he didd" so.
And wheii) })ay come to gedir to J^e water of Graunte, fat in \>q
hmgage of Perse es called' Struma, J?ay fande it froseiD ower, and
Mtyiander onane chauwged he * wede, & lefte ]?e foresaid" prynce
wtt twa horse at ]?e water-syde and hym selfe, wtt f)e horse J?at
he satt apon), went ouer \>e water apoiD fie Ysj, towarde )?e citee of
Susis. And his prynce besoghte hym Jjat he walde sufifre hywi
wende wit hj^w, ne perauentwre any disesse fette hym by }>e
waye. And AlexancZer ansuerd" & sayde, ' Habyde me here,' c\uo\>
he, ' For he satt be my helpere, wham) in dreme3 I sawe appere
vn-to me.' This ilke water I spake of bi-fore, alt ]:e wynter seson
ilke a nyghte was frosen) att ouer ; bot tymely in J^e mornynge als
sone als )?e warme son) smate apon) it, ]:'an) it dissoluede agayne,
<fe ran) wonder swiftely ; J:e brede of J)at water es \>e space of a
furlange. When Ki^xander come to Jje 5ate of J?e citee the
Perciens, when ]?ay saw hym, hadd" grete wonder of his figure,
and wend" he hadd" bene a godd", and onane J'ay asked* hym what
he was 1 And he ansuerd', and said" he was a messangere sent
fra kyng Alexawc/er to ]?aii e lorde Dariws, and be-lyfe J^ay broghte
hym til hym. Dariws, when Alexawc?er come bi fore hym, said
vn-til hym. ' Whethyn) ert \o\x^' c\uo\) he ? 'I ame,' qwo)>
Alexander, ' sent vn-to J>e fra kyng Alexander to wiete where
to )?ou taries to come titt hym to gyffe hym batette. Owthir
come & feghte manfully wzt thyne enemy s or etts submitte f>e
titt hym) & * pay ^ hym tribute.'
And Darius heard him and said, * Art thou then the Alexander
who with such madness shaped thy speech, for I see thou
boldest thyself not from words as a messenger doth, but art
bold as a king. Yet know that by thy words I am not
frightened at all. Come dine with me this day.' And with
these words, he reached out his hand to him and took him by
his right, and led him into the palace. And Alexander,
musing, began to say : ' A right good token hath this barbarian
wi'ought me when he clasped my right hand and drew me into
12
16
20
24
28
32
36
^ MS. reads * Ae*. We ought perhaps to
substitute ' his'.
2 Pay him tribute is written at the
bottom of leaf t8; between that leaf and
what is now leaf 19 a whole leaf is missing.
EN