to â—e preferred aboue al persons and for whom I haue oftentimes put my body in hazard aud peril of death hauing no other hope of them but to please God and to augment my name in this world the which was the onely cause that last moued me to absent my selfe so from these câ—ntries to go serch among strange nations those that had néede of my helpe where I haue had many perillous aduentures the which thou hast séen and maist report them vnto him Also I comming to this Isle was aduertised how that King Lisuard forgetting the honoâ—r of God the right of men the counsell of his and the instinct of nature that euery good father dothe commonly beare to his childe woulde as it were by a certaine manner of extreme crueltie driue from his countreys my lady Oriane his owne daughter and principal inheritour gyâ—ing hir in mariage against hir will to the Emperour Patin Whereof she made her complainte not onely to those of the Realme of England but required also aide and succor of all knightes that beare armes aswell by letters messages as other wayes praying them with hir handes ioyned together and abundance of teares to haue pitie and compassion of hir miserie And so much she could do with prayers huÌ„ble Orations that the Lorde of all things hath loked mercifully from heauen vpon hir gyuing the addresse and helpe to the knightes that are nowe in this place to assemble them as it were by a miracle where I founde them as thou knowest purposing to aduenture their lyues to set hir and the other that perforce accompanied hir at libertie considering that doing otherwise they in time to come shoulde haue bene blamed giuing occasion to many to presume that cowardise only had turned backe this ayde so greatly recommended and for persons of the qualitie that they be By the meanes wherof the conflicte and battel chaunced vpon the Romanes â—uen suche as thou hast séene it of the which we haue many prisoners and the ladies out of their handes But to make a meanes for their appointment to King Lisuard Quedragant and my cousin Lorian of Moniaste departed lately with an expresse charge and commaundement from vs all to beséeche him take the thing that we haue done in good part and to receiue to his good grace and fauour my lady Oriane and those of hir companie being yet well minded if he will not receiue this offer audaciously boldly by the meanes of the aide of our good friends alies to defend vs against him of y which number Gandalm thou shalt say vnto him that all we together do estéeme him the first chiefest praying him most humbly that he will â—â—ccorâ—s when néede is 〈◊〉 thâ—â— the Quéene my mother also kisse hir hands in my name say 〈…〉 that I pray hir to send hitheâ— my siâ—ter Meâ—â—tiaâ—◠〈…〉 company with these other ladies with whom she may sée â—earne mâ—inie things But or euer thou depart know 〈◊〉 of my cousin Mabile whether it wyll please hir to sende anye thyng thither and therâ—with that thou aâ—ayâ— to speake to Oâ—iane the which will not be so straunge to thée that thou shalt not vnderstande of hir in what estate hir health is and the good will she beareth me Amadis letter to King Tafiner of Boeme praying him to succour him in his great affaires In the .4 booke the .4 Chap. SYr if euer I did you any seruice that any time contented you the honor and the good receyte that I receiued of you and of yours al the time that I soiournd in your Court haue caused me to remaine and as long as I shall liue to be readie not to spare my person to obey and to saue you Therefore I beséech you most humbly not to estéeme that this thing which hath caused me to dispatch this knight and bearer vnto you is to haue any recompence Neuerthelesse I remembring the honest offers that you made me at my departing from Boheme I haue boldned my selfe to send him vnto you to require you effectuously to helpe me in a certaine affayre that is nigh me of the which he shall certifie you beséeching you syr to beléeue him as my selfe and to commaunde his dispatch as sone as it shal be possible to put him out of paine that for you would hazarde his life the whiche is Amadis of Fraunce surnamed in many places the knight of the gréene sworde The deuice of Orian to Gandalin vncouering to him hir heauinesse and that he would finde meanes she might speake with Amadis whome she loueth so well In the .4 booke the .4 Chapter GAndalin my friende what thinkest thouâ— of fortune the which is to me so contrarie that it depriueth me of that person of all the worlde whose frequentationâ— I loue moste being so nigh me and I wholly in his power This notwithstandinge we can not haue the meanes priuily to speake togither without offending my honor and that greatly wherby my heart endureth such paine that if thou knewest it I beléeue certenly thou woldst haue more pitie on me thaÌ„ thou hast the which thing I pray thée shew him to the inâ—eÌ„t that complaying me he may reioyce of the greate affection that dayly increaseth in me to will him well also that he finde some fashion or meane that we may see one another repayring to some part with his companions vnder the collour of thy voyage and of my comfort Gandalins answer to Oriane aduertising hir that she be not deceiued in the singular loue that she beareth to Amadis for his amitie is stedfast as he dayly doth shew in all his actes In the .4 booke the .5 Chapter MAdame que GaÌ„dalin ye haue good cause to beare him such amitie and to remember also the remedie the which he desireth aboue al things for if ye knew the extremitie wherin I haue a hundred times found him ye would not beléeue with what power loue doth rule him I haue séene him dye a thousand timâ—s remembring the fauors that be past the whiche ye haue shewed him and as often times by the remembrance of them to recouer life And I haue séene him among the great dangers of the worlde do seates of armes caling vpoÌ„ you to succoure him so that it is not easy to be beléeued that any knight might haue in hym so great valiantnesse Therefore Madame I pray you to haue pitie on him and to entreat him as he deserueth assuring you that there was neuer a more faithfull knight nor more yours than he is nor there was neuer Lady that had such power vpon a man as ye haue vpon him for in your hands they may entreat of his death or of his life euen as it shall séeme good to you The Oration of king Lisuard to the Queene his wife declaring to hir the wrong that they do vnto him taking the Romanes that conducted his daughter and yet that she dissembled the matter as much as she might so doing he
cause Sidonia to die for Dom Florisel but she shall wel defende hir self frō the feare of death for to defend hir faithfulnes that she ought him for the stable and burning loue that she hath cōtinually borne hym at this present dothe beare him Consider then king Balthasar that thinking to winne me thou doest léese mée and thinking to offende me thou shalte offende in nothing for a sworde shall not fayle me at all to resiste thy offence but thou mayste well offende me with thy armes the lawes of the Gods immortall whiche gouerne the sworde of iustice haue muche more force than thine thou shalte likewise offende the Prince of Greece whose righte of mariage thou wouldest violate for although he hath playde by trumperie and deceyte yet it is so that for his honour he will not let passe the iniuries without reuengyng of them that thou shalt doe me And seyng that for the reuerence that he beareth me he in my fauour hath saued their liues that sought to haue his heade as the kings of Gaza and of the Massagenes other of thy cōpanie giuing sure witnesse thou mayst well thinke that nowe he shal be as readie to cause them to léese theyr heades to please me withall as he hath at other times bene prest and readie for my loue to saue them Wherefore kyng Balthasar enterpryse not a warre whereby through hatred thou doest hope to winne hir that hateth and maketh warre agaynst hir selfe the greate loue that enflameth hir cōstrayning nor suffering hir honour to be destroyde nor shal féele hir selfe Demaund neyther loue nor peace of hir that hath neyther loue nor peace with hir selfe and with thée So then I am minded to defende my will and to resist thine and continually sauing my accustomed chastitie I will sustayne my déere countrey and realme calling the Gods to my iustice and men to my defense And purchasing this peace of me I am ready to sustayne suche warre as thou haste denounced vnto me The Oration of Queene Sidonia to the Citizens of Guinday incityng hyr Vassalles valiantly to defend◠hyr and sooner to suffer death than to let theyr renoume be defiled and of hyr parte she had rather die than to fall into the power of hyr enimies In the .12 booke the .43 Chapter IF the duetie whereof we are indetted to vertue my déere fréendes and faythfull Citizens commaunded vs not rather to sacrifice our liues for the conseruation of oure honour than to suffer it in any thing to bée corrupted in asmuche as honour beyng loste we during this mortall life can haue nothing that is good they may complayne them of the vncertaine issue of thinges that with good right and to sustayne their auncient renoume doe giue themselues with a franke courage to the inconstancie of fortune But séeyng that wée be bounde to defende our honour euen to deathe the multitude of enimies nor the doubtfull chaunce of one battell shoulde not put vs in feare for nothing We should onely feare least that the faulte and fayntnesse of heart cause vs to incurre any infamie and that the vniustnesse of our enimie make vs not more afearde than our good right dothe make vs constant for by such slouthfulnesse men might doubte of the experience of fortune the whiche gaue long since to sixe thousande souldiars of Greece the victorie of one million of Perses of the whiche there were slayne two hundred thousande in the playne fielde The selfe fortune graunted to Lucul the Romane hauing but tenne thousande souldiars in his tentes to ouercome by his vertue and good righte the kyng Tygrane and his infinite thousandes of fighting menne among the whiche were fiftie thousande horse menne This greate armie was ouerthrowen and broken in battell araye and the ensigne displayde and in open fielde by those whiche were very fewe in number but many in magnanimitie of courage for by the reason of theyr good righte they supplied the defaulte of theyr number and by the strength of their armes they resisted the feare of fortune as knowyng that the multitude of armed menne maketh the victorie neuer the surer and beyng fewer in number than the enimies menne shoulde not léese the assurance and lesse the hope to winne the glory of the combatte and fielde There is not he that may flée deathe when shée is appoynted him by the destinie of the highe Gods nor also there is not hée the whiche dying is not bounde to saue his good renoume that the shame and infamie of his deathe doe not desile the auncient honour of his lyfe Yée doe knowe the good right that I haue in this warre ye may remember the obedience that hitherto yée haue shewed me as to your Quéene And if I be not disceyued yée do yet remember the rewarde that ye haue receyued for your faithfulnesse I thinke that yée abhorre all tyrannie and I thinke that eche of you is readie to chase it from him as prepared and bounde to receyue deathe for the entertaynement of libertie in the which I haue alwayes enterteyned you and haue hither to defended you We shall haue to our ayde the Gods immortall as those which are the certaine reuengers of outragiousnesse and the sure defenders of innocencie If then reason good right and the ayde of Gods fayle vs not at all in this quarell let vs so doe that good courage fayle vs not and when fortune would enuie our good houre let vs rather choose an honourable death than a shamefull lyfe with a miserable seruitude and bondage Consider also of your part that I refusing the alliances of these barbarous kings that ye shall not onely defende my priuate quarell but also your publike with your goodes your libertie your wiues your children marking the calamities that in time to come ye if ye haue suche tyrants to your Lordes shall indure and suffer Therefore my friendes take a good heart vnto you and nowe shewe the valiantnesse and vertue that ye haue the which is néedfull that ye nowe shewe to defende your selues from those that haue enterprysed your ruine and destruction Do so then that men may sée their spoyles hanging within our Temples for an immortall tryumph of your victorie and ye shall beléeue that the king of Russia shall neuer triumph of the faythfulnesse that Sidonia doth owe vnto him that she first hath receyued for hir husbande but contrariwise for the Barbarian sworde shall not so soone appeare within our walles but that mine shall incontinent appeare within the breast of my daughter and me that by this franke death I shall deliuer my life from subiection leauing my dead bodie vpon the colde earth without spot and satisfying him by the immortalitie of this sacrifice the which as I trust in your vertue and fortitude ye would haue made of your selues before I should sée my self in such extremitie But I am so assured of the iustice of the Gods and of the force and strength of your right handes that I doe yet
that haue giuen you suche commission knowe me very ill for I haue all the dayes of my lyfe more estéemed ieopardous warres than shamefull prayse In somuch that I should be greatly reprehensible towards God the Creator that hath appoynted and made me king ouer so many people if for lacke of hart and courage I should suffer them to be outrageous Therefore ye shall returne and shew them that I had rather haue warre all my life the which they demaund and desire and at the last to die sighting and in battell than after their word and minde to haue peace that which should be so greatly to my disaduantage And bicause I desire to know at length their will and mind I wil send one of my knights the which shal go with you cause them at length to vnderstand my mind intention Florestan defyeth Laudin the which spake sore agaynst Amadis aduantage for whose loue he presented him the combat In the second Booke the .12 Chapter KNight I am not borne in this countrey nor the kings vassall so that for any thing that ye haue said vnto him I haue none occasion to answerâ— in asmuch as here are present many â—etter knights than I am aboue whome I wolde take nothing in hand Yet for asmuch as I cannot find Amadis whiche is as I estéeme very profitable vnto you I am ready to fyght with you and to cease and ende the quarell that ye haue vnto him and to the intent ye may knowe me the better I am his brother Florestan the whiche doth offer to fyght with you vnder this condition and conuention that if I may ouercome you ye shall be bounde to leaue off the quarel that ye haue against him and if ye ouercome me reueÌ„ge vpon me part of your choler and anger But yet thus much there is that ye ought not to fynde the dutie strange whervnto I submit me for I haue no lesse occasion to sustain the quarell against you he being absent than ye haue to mainetaine King Abies whose nephew ye are being full sure that it is in the power of my Lord Amadis to reuenge me if fortune doe suffer you to haue the aduantage ouer me Laudins answere to the Lord Florestan the which in time conuenient doth accept the combate In the seconde booke the 12. Chapter MY Lord Florestan que Laudin as far as I sée and perceiue you haue an enuy and a desire to fight but I can not satisfie you not hauing any power in me to do that wherevnto I am sent by other Also I haue promised my Lordes that called me to their companie before my departing not to take any thing vpon me that might let me to assist and to do my dutie before the battell and therfore you shall at this present time haue me excused till the battell be ended for then I promise you to take vpon me the combate and fight that you demaund and soner I can not tend vnto it Vrgandes Letter to King Lisuard where he forspeaketh the ruine of faire Tenebreus In the second boke the .15 Chapter TO you Lisuard King of England salutatioÌ„ gréeting méet for your Maiestie I Vrgand of Cogneue your humble seruant doe giue you knowledge that the battell appoynted betwéene you and King Cildadan shall be one of the moste cruell and daungerous that euer man shall sée in the which the faire Tenebreus that onely hath giuen you so great hope shal lose his name and through one stroke that he shal giue al his noble acts shal be forgotten you euen then shal be in greater enmitie than euer you found your self in For many good Knightes shall lose their liues and you your selfe shall fall into that danger euen at that instant when the faire Tenebreus shall drawe the bloude out of your belly and yet at the last for thrée strokes the which he shall giue them of his part they shall remayne victors And be ye sure Syr that all this doubtlesse shall chaunce therefore prouidâ— wisely for your affayres Vrgands Letter to my Lord Galaor of Fraunce foretelling him his yll fortune In the .2 booke the .15 Chapter TO you Lord Galaor of Fraunce wise and hardie Knight I Vrgand of Congue do salute you as he that loueth you and esteemeth you and would that you shoulde vnderstande the thing that shall chaunce and happen vnto you in the cruâ—ell battell betweene the Kings Lisuard and Cildadan Be sure therefore that about the ende of it if you be there your strong and boystuous members shall deceiue your inuincible heart and at the departing of the battell youre head shall be in the power of him that through the thrée strokes whiche he shall giue shall remaine victor A Letter of Arban of Norgalles and Angrioâ— of Estrauaux to King Lisuard causing him to vnderstande the great paines that they suffered In the .2 booke .15 Chapter TO the most highe and mightie Prince Lisuard King of Englande and to all our friendes and alies being in his Realme we Arban of Norgalles and Angriote de Estreuens detained and being in dolorous prison at this present signifie vnto you that our misfortune more cruell than death it selfe hath set vs in the power of the vnpitifull Gromadace the wife of Famongomad the which reuenging hir husbandes and hir sonnes death doth afflict vs with so many strange tormentes that it is impossible to thinke vpon them and in such sort that from houre to houre we desire the ende of oure liues to be at rest But this mischieuous woman to cause vs the longer while to suffer doth prolong so much as she maye our death the which with our owne handes we would haue prepared but for feare of the loue of our soules And for as muche as we at this preâ—ent are so sore wounded that it is impossible we may resist any longer we sende you this Letter written with oure owne bloude by the which we beséech God to giue you the victorie against these traytors that haue thus outrageously handled vs and to haue pitie vpon oure soules The Oration of Kyng Lisuard to those of hys hoste exhorting them to fyght strongly In the .2 booke the .16 chapter MY companions and great friendes I beleeue that there is not he of you al that doth not sufficiently vnderstand howe we haue enterprised this battell with good right and also to defende the honor and reputation of Englande the which King Cildadan and they of Irelande would deminish denying vs the tribute the which at al times they haue payd to our prodecessors recognising the benefites which they haue receyued of them in times past I knowe well that there is not one of you all that hath not an entiere heart and a bold and therefore it is no néede further to encourage you against those that you haue to do withall hauing your honor before your eyes the which you estéem more than a hundreth lines if it were possible to haue them one after an other
Florestan that hir father would marie hir to the Emperoure against hir will prayeth him to speake to hir father In the .3 booke the .14 Chapter ANd beléeue said she that if he continus in his opinion that the first newes that he shall haue after my departure of me the same shall be of my death for what soeuer shall chance if he separate me from this countrie the Sea and death shall separate me also being well minded to ende my misfortunes by the impetousitie and furiousnesse of the waues the which shal be witnesses for euer of my dolours as they of the which I hope to fynd more pitie than in my owne father parents countrey friendes and seruantes And therefore my Lord Florestan I pray you in the name of God to prepare your selfe to dissuade him of his fantasie or else by my faith this thing shall be vnto him a greate charge in conscience and to me the most strange misfortune into the which any poore damsell disherited and forsaken of God and man might fall Florestans answer to Oriane excusing himselfe to hir that he dare not speake to hir father for hir and that he will cause him to bee spoken to by other In the .3 booke the .14 Chapter MAdame ye shall do me great iniurie if ye haue me not in that estimation that I am entirely yours and ready to obey and to serue you vntill death but to speake to the king your father as ye pray me is impossible for me to do for ye know the enmitie that he beareth me in despite of my Lord Amadis forgetting all the great seruices that he and all they of his linage haue done him in times past and if he haue receiued any by me he ought not to thanke me seing that I did it not for his loue but by his commaundement that hath all power vpon me and vnto whome I may not nor I ought not to saye against the whiche was the cause that I of late was in the warre of the seuen knightes not to ayde those of England but only to conserue and kepe the right that ye haue there as she y one day shall be if it please God Lady â— Quene And as concerning the rest I wil obey you and shal cause king Perin to vnderstand the thing that ye haue told me and other my friendes to assay and to finde remedie in your affaires and I trust they wil in such sort prouide for you that ye shall haue an occasion to content you assuring you that I will tarie in no place til that I be in the inclosed I le where I shall find the Prince Agraies the which hath as ye know a great desire to do you seruice also for the loue of Mabile his sister There we shall aduise vs togyther of the thing that we must take vpon vs without sparing of any thing that is in our puissance and power The Oration of the Earle ArgamoÌ„t to king Lisuard touching the mariage of Oriane tending to turne him from the marying of hir to the Emperoure In the .3 booke the .15 Chapter MY Lord seing it pleaseth you that I speake before thys company the thing that I thinke of the Emperoures mariage with my Lady Oriane your daughter I beséech you most humbly to receiue of me the thing that ye shall vnderstand in good part for it is no lesse treason to dissemble good counsell toward his Prince than to offend him in his proper person therefore beléeue that I without dissimulation shall tell you mine aduice notwithstanding that often ynough I haue particularly declared it vnto you Syr ye knowe that my Lady Oriane your eldest daughter ought to succéede you and to be by reason inheriter of the lands that God and fortune hathe gyuen and committed to your custodie vnto the which by right of nature she hath more iust title than ye euer had for they fell vnto you only by the death of king FalaÌ„gâ—is the which was but your brother and she is your owne daughter and the eldest Therefore consider with your selfe that if he had done on your part as ye apoint to do to my Lady Oriane ye had not bene now so great so mightie a Lord as ye are Wherfore will ye chase hir away to cal my niece Leonor into hir place coÌ„sidering that as I beléeue she neuer offended you And if it séeme vnto you the marying hir to the Emperour Patin ye shal make hir a great Princesse very wel to prouide for hir truely syr you are far from your accompt for you know that hauing childreÌ„ togither if she outliue the Emperor she shal remain but the simple dowager of Rome in place to be after you Lady and Queene of this Realme furthermore do you estéem that your subiects wil hardly coÌ„sent there to by my soule I thinke that if they said yea that it should be perforce and against their wils and therefore so shall it not please God I say no otherwise vnto you than my conscience dothe vrge me being yet assured that for any thing that may be persuaded you you will giue no place but to your owne fantasie Thus I beséech you most humbly to pardon me considering that I would neuer haue spoken so farre without the expresse commaundement that you haue giuen me Grasindes letter to King Lisuard declaring his greatnesse vnto him and praying him to giue hir and the Knight of Greece a salfe conduct to come in safetie vnto him In the .3 booke the .15 Chapter RIght highe and magnificent Prince I Grasinde faire aboue all other faire Ladies of Rome giue you to witte that I am only aryued into your countrie in the guarde and custodie of the Knight of Gréece expresly for this cause that as I haue bene iudged and taken for the fayrest woman of all those of Rome and following this glorie the which hathe so contented my heart that when I am so estéemed aboue al the maydens of your Court then shall my spirit remaine as satisfied of that that it desireth more than any other thing And if there be any Knight that for the loue of any one particularly or for all togither will say the contrarie that he take deliberation of two things The first to fight with the Knight of Gréece and the other that he may haue of the damsell such a Coronet as I weare so that the victor in a signe of a triumphe of the victorie maye make a present to hir for whome he hath fought And if it please you syr to graunt me the thing that I desire of you you shall sende to me by this Damsell and to all my company but especially to the knight of Gréece a safe conducte that he receiue no outrageousnesse nor iniurie if it be not of those against whom he shall fight if he ouercome the first let the second the third the fourth come and all they that will proue him one after an other The Oration of the
moste certaine that there is no martyrdome nor no displeasure that tormenteth a man more than where fayth and true amitie make their habitation Alas my Amadis founde ye euer in me any other thing than affection and good will towarde you Did I euer thing were it neuer so little to cause you to be miscontent By my God ye doe me wrong The Oration of Abra to the Princes and people of Babilon complayning hir of the death of Zair their Prince incyting them to take armes as well for the death of Zair as to resist the Christians In the .8 Booke the .65 Chapter ZAir the last Sommer had enterprised a iourney to Trebisonde trusting with a perpetuall peace and amitie to take and to make an aliance and to marie the Emperours daughter But the euil houre succéeded so that the Souldan frustrated of his intentioÌ„ lost his life as it is manifest to euery man Therefore my Lordes there is not one of you vnto whome such an iniurie doth not redounde your Prince being so euill entreated and finally slaine and with his hande whom I my selfe had chosen and elected for my Lorde and spouse Truely the loue that I bare him hath béene euill recompensed plucking out the bloud out of the bellie of so noble a Prince of the Babilonians and of an infinite of other your friendes parents and kinsfolke And in such a sort that if you well considered how all is past it shall be founde that either your fathers or your brothers or your cousins in particular and general haue béene meate vnto the monsters of the sea their bodies being depriued of all honourable sepulture and buried among the waters of the déepe Abismes Shall this iniurie be forgotten at any time Shall the name of Babilon be made a fable vnto all those that shall heare men speake of their mischiefe Shall the iust veÌ„geance be ended without doing of any other thing Ah ah ye stoute Kings I adiure you by our high and mightie Gods that euerie one of you take his armure not onely to cause it to be knowne throughout all the worlde that ye be the dominators of all Princes that doth offende you but the scourge and chastisement of all nations The Christians as it is reported to me do assemble themselues cause a brute that they will come and finde vs and chasing vs out of our proper heritages proclaime Axiane the sonne of Zirphee Emperour of this Monarch But if ye will beleeue me we shall set them farre from their accountes and go to preuent them and to set them forwards entring into the Empyre of Trebisonde the which being sacked and destroyed we shall passe on to Constantinople where that fire and the edge of our swordes shal be the executours of our vengeance sparing neither king nor man woman nor childe being assured that if ye woulde set forth your ensignes and banners in the fielde that they should resist vs no more than straw agaynst fire And this is the cause Princes most excellent why I sent for you praying and commaunding you that in most greatest and most extréeme diligence ye may possible to cause the Drumme to sound throughout all your Countreyes and to assemble both horsemenn and footemen Galies Ships and other vessels as wel for warre as to carie vittayles that we our preparation being readie may finish and ende the rest of our enterprise so as I haue tolde you the which thing shall be vnto you verie honourable and profitable In the meane while I will sende to my friends and allies requiring and warning them to be fauourable vnto vs and to ayde vs considering that this déed and matter for the reason and cause that I haue declared vnto you doth touch them the Christians being willing to inuade as well theyr Countrey as this here if we will indure and suffer it Niquea preferring Amadis of Grece honour aboue the pleasure that she had of his presence doth suffer him to go and succour his father Lisuardâ— In the .8 booke the .74 Chapter MY Lorde the loue that I beare you is so perfite that vneasily I may giue you councell that shoulde be sounde and to me agréeable in this that ye demaund but yet greater is the force of your honour and renowne séeing that it hath béene the onely meane of the goodnesse that we haue the one of the other And for this cause ensuing and following reason and considering that no Emperour nor King shoulde make himselfe subiect if it were possible nor pay any tribute I thinke that you and I ought to neglect and forsake our pleasures to haue a respect to the thing that beséemeth you for the conseruation of you and of your estate Therefore I giue you if I shoulde so speake all the leaue that shall please you although that in veritie and truth it be due agaynst my will estéeming and holding it great glorie thus to captiuate my selfe to permit suffer you to haue such libertie by the which ye shall execute and cause to be knowne more and more the excellencie of your valiantnesse and high cheualrie The heauinesse of Lisuarde for the death of his wife Onoloria in the .8 booke the .73 Chapter ALas alas fortune what doth rest and remaine from henseforth to satisfie thée to trouble me Wilte thou haue my life a hundred a hundred times thou hast drawne me from the place where I had forsaken thée and yet for all that thou hast taken fro me to cause me to die a hundred tymes vpon a day my deare wife and spouse and hast by this euill houre and chaunce brought vnto me all the other that thou hast reserued and kept for me O God God eternall alas my friend my wife and my faythfull companion ye are all things considered wel at ease liuing in heauen and I remayning and dwelling among such and so great melancolies and heauinesses Pardon me I pray you if I lament wéepe for you too vndiscretely This is not for the good chaunce that ye haue but for sorrow that I do not follow you and accompanie you in your â—ases as ye haue fiftene or twentie yeares folowed me in the most part of my trauels Gradasilea doth comfort king Lisuarde shewing him that heâ— must be constant in his aduersitie and not to sorrow for death so much In the .8 Booke the .73 chapter HOw nowe my Lorde is this the magnanimitie of heart that is woont to be in you haue ye forgotten that you and I are borne to die Thinke ye to reuiue my Ladie againe by wéeping or thus tormenting your selfe she is certainly very fortunate and happie wherefore then do you lament hir so greatly She hath shewed you the way and doth tarie you in the place where one day if it please God we shall see hir Leaue these teares such exterior appearances to those that haue no hope in the second life comfort your self in the lord beséeching him to giue you the vertue of pacience
Then casting my sight on euery syde I saw a sworde hanging the which I tooke sodenly and the villaine came to me hauing a Partâ—ane in his hande wherewith he smote once at me the which leaping aside I auoyded and so that he perced me not but onely my veluet Casdâ—kâ— in two partes or else he had smitten me through the bodie Then I gaue him such a garter in the hamme and so right vpon the ioynt that by and by he fell downe in the place and cast out his armes to take me but I layd the sworde so betwene him and me that it perste him vnto the hiltes thorow the middle of his bellie Then through paine he stretched him and I that they which were beneath shoulde not perceyue it tooke a hatchet wherwith I cut his gorge as it had bene a great Oxe So I tooke the keyes and went to open the gate of the prison where I founde my Ladie trembling for the feare that shée had of the strife and debate that she heard betwéene Bocarel me the which embraced me kist men hundred times saying Alas Florarlan what shall become of thy life if the Duke vnderstand thy déede My minion God prserue thée and kepe thée to much more greater things Madame quoth I the thing that is done cannot be vndone but I sée the remedie that is to go to the Duke and to tell him that ye haue sent me worde by Bocarell to pray him to sende me to the king â—o requyre him of a certaine thing and that afterwardes yée will applie vnto his will. Thus I shall get out and escape Againe she â—ooke me about the neâ—ke smiling for my inuention Then I sayd vnto hir that there was no tarying there that I she beholding the thing being out of that place should haue businesse for hir deliuerance Ye muste she sayd goe to Constantinople and beare me a letter to Prince Florisell of Niquea but we haue not here wherewithall to make it It shall not let sayd I for that for I will go and take a Réed in Bocarels chamber and mingle it with the bloud of this ruffian with the which ye may write this present letter Incontinent I kist hir hands she blessing me and commending me to god I shut the doore tied the keyes againe to the Iaylers girdle bycause men should not perceyue that I had spoken with hir I went to the Duke the which did graunt me my demaund verie willingly and caused the gate to be opened vnto me a horse to be deliuered me vpon whom I haue done my businesse hitherto kéeping no way vntill I was farre from Thrace And I haue bestowed one lincke of my chaine for my expences and this habit the which I haue taken and made conformable and méete for the estate of my Ladie This is it my Lorde that I was charged withall to shewe you Arlande doth shew hir father the king of Thrace howe that the Princes of Grece haue forgiuâ—n hir and deliuered hir of the death that shee had of a long time purchased for them and for this cause she prayeth him to receyue them to his amitie In the .10 booke the .62 Chapter MY Lorde I haue for a time employed all my power to purchase the vengeance of my brother Balerte vpon those that slue him as euery man might haue perceyued afterwards my enimies met with me in such perill that without their succour I had lost mine honour or my life Who then should haue so inhumain a heart to procure his death â—y whoÌ„ he hath and holdeth his life seeing also that the accideâ—â— and chaunce of my brother doth not charge him with any treason or vnfaythfulnesse and is not to be imputed but to the ordinarie hazard chance of warre I being for this cause deliuered by you agaynst my will to Madasanill vnder the condition of vengeance vpon the Princes of Grece vnto whome I was in dâ—t for my deliuerance at leastwise they are quited concerning me for the recompence of good for euill they haue holpen me in the captiuitie that I was in and in such sort as ye doe sée notwithstanding the treason of the Duke as this noble bloud is alwayes in Gods protection Therefore I beseeche you my Lorde to consider my déede with reason pacifying your courage for my sake and making agréement with those whose aliance receyueth no coÌ„parison of that of Furio Cornelio As touching me I doe offer my selfe vnto you to dispose me after your owne will as Isaac did to his father Abraham And of them I ensure you ye shall not be hindered nor let in any poynt of your royall libertie Ye sée here the great king Amadis of France sée Florisel of Niquea whose father saued my life vpon the sea there is the Prince Phalanges of Astre and the valiant Alastraxeree the whiche although they haue you in their handes desire but your amitie The Queene Sidonia dothe wryte to Morasiel the whiche will giue hir daughter of whome he had left hir greate in mariage to him that will bring hir his head to be reuenged by his death of the wrong that he haâ—h done hir deceyuing hir vnder the colour of mariage In the 10. booke the .65 Chapter SIdonia Quéene of the I le of Guinday founder of glorious lawes to hir owne shame to thée fayned Moraisel shée sendeth this salutation to depriue thée the better I hauing presented to thée mine owne person and royal lordship folowing the rigorousnesse of my ordinances thou haste fraudulently accepted it notwithstanding thy incapacitie kéeping the one parte of the edicte and lawe and violating the other And hauing thus vniustly vsurped the honour of my royall bedde haste lefte me in long heauinesse for thy absence without at any time afterwardes aduertising me of the abuse that thou haste brued me but of the new bedde that thou hast practised what excuse can ye forge or inuent but to haue willed to by againe the life of the gentle Prince Phalanges of Astre Ah ah amitie did binde thée to lay thine owne life for his and not thy honour and mine whereof I call the Gods to auenge me of thy periurie in our mariage and I will purchace it among men by the frute that is issued of the daughter of whome thou didst leaue me girded and great the whiche for the vantage of beautie that she hath aboue all the fairest of the worlde I haue named hir Diana to the likenesse of the Plane that in heauen dothe deâ—ace all other The whiche I nourishe for the pryce and hire of thy head promising hir with my realme in mariage to him that shall bring me that present And for this I haue caused the towers of Phebus and Diana to be builded Wherein she shal be inclosed not to be séene of any liuing man vntill the comming of my auenger hir husbande the whiche shall shine in thy place and shée shall fayle in myne after the companie that my soule shall go
Florisel dothe wryte to Queene Sidonia that although shee pursued his death by the bringer of the letter yet he for hir loue saued his lyfe and is minded to doe so to all other letting yet all that he may that Diana drinke not of the cup that she hath promised hym In the eleuenth booke the .14 Chapter MAdame I sende you the salute that ye haue purchased to take fro me by this bearer to the whiche I haue giuen it for the fauour of your seruice as my will is to doe to all those that shall reclayme or speake agaynst you what daunger so euer my life be in The whiche I shall saue to my power to cause other to thinke vpon a better dowrie for Diana and vpoÌ„ a more honest cuppe to drinke in at hir mariage than in hir Fathers goblet Therefore I will sustayne this warre that yée deliuer mée vntill I haue wonne made peace with you and till shée haue founde a more kinde husband than he with whome ye would cause hir to couple and to ioyne hir hand defiled in my bloud the which is hir owne A letter from Abra moste diligently recomfortyng Amadis of Greece vpon the death of his wife Niquea In the .11 booke the .24 Chapter MY Lorde if ye should not suffer extréeme choler and heauinesse for the decease of your good companion the Empresse Niquea ye shoulde be defiled with too great inhumanitie and ingratitude seyng the heauinesse that straungers themselues doe make the whiche ye should haue felte more nearer than all other So swéete and so faithfull a coniunction cannot be departed without a great and a naturall heart breaking but after that the first motioÌ„ hath giuen his alaruin the sprite must come to himselfe agayne and take his breath considering that teares be but loste vpon a thing irrecuperable the torment vaine in a cace that is without remedie Doe ye desire hir yet in this worlde ye are enuious and doe hate hir wealth doe ye sorow hir ill she is in a life immortall muche more fortunate than is yours doe ye wishe to folow hir to the place that she is gone vnto ye shall offende God to labour to departe from hence before ye haue finished all that he hath appointed you to ende in this worlde Ye haue the renoume of magnanimitie among all knightes but if ye suffer to be thus ouerthrowne of your selfe ye shal léese at once al the victories that ye haue wonne vpon other so if ye shewe your selfe strong and vertuous to resist this gréeuous passion ye shall ioyne the heigth and fulnesse to the triumph of all your cleare and noble actes This acte of lamenting is an vnworthy acte for a man and much more for a Prince that should be an ensample of light As for the reste ye know that she was borne mortall and that we shall not tary long after hir to set the countrey at libertie Aduise you then by wisedome to drie vp your teares for vnto the ignorant the time dothe issue at length conformyng your selfe in all things to Gods will. Abra the Emperesse of Constantinople and Princesse of the Oriental regions Arlande dothe complayne hir of the doloures that loue dothe cause hir to endure and suffer afterwards she prayseth the beauties of Cleofila In the .11 booke the .89 Chapter AH ah loue wherein haue I offended thée to intreate mée thus cruelly arte not thou of a straunge nature to torment and martyr those so extréemely that hide thée and inclose thee in the closet of their brestes and if they lefte thée forth to giue thée ayre wilt thou rewarde them within with refuse and pulling them farre from the wealth that they approched vnto loue if this be to assay the constancie of thy subiectes is not mine sufficiently proued by the lengthe of tyme if this be to cause the suger of thy sweete drynke Ambrosia to sauer better by the sourenesse of thy firste iuyces this thing is so greate that it may dull the tast of the palate sâ— greately that it shall haue no vertue nor power to féele the swéetenesse of thy celestiall meate I say not that the appetite dothe not awake and quicken through falling and abstinence but yet a man may suffer so greate famine and hunger that the bowelles may shrinke and so the appetite is loste O loue I knowlodge my crime in that I haue bene bold to vse such amorous language and woordes to so chaste a Lady I ought to haue bene contented with hir good chéere with hir amiable deuices with hir swéete lookes and to be shorte with hiâ— fayre simple and hir gentle receyuing looking at hir discretion for the gifte of hir gratious graunt Ah ah false tongue that doest afflict and punishe all the reste of the body by thy forfast vomiting out at all aduentures the thing that had bene better vnspoken than spoken nowe I would gladly teare him and teare him with my téeth if I trusted not that hereafter with an honorable amendes thou mayest yet vnto hir amende thy faulte and render vnto this weary body some pleasure in rewarde of the ill that thou doest cause it nowe to suffer O God what an euill is it to be depryued of all the goodnesse that I receyued of hir riant and laughyng eye of hir Golden mouthe of hir hande taking mine for there shall neuer be Lady better spoken better manered as I beléeue nor hath bene nor neuer shall be Doth Diana auaunce hir of hir beautie Cleofila doth not owe hir very much she maketh much ado of hir whitenes defacing the snow the brownnesse of my Quéene is wel mingled with ruddinesse the whiche is not so very smothe nor wanton the fashion of hir body is slender and so rounde as it were made after a towrâ— hir disposition so ioly that it séemeth O loue that thou arte tied to all the endes of hir members and that thou doest daunce and playe at all hir ieâ—tes and mouings for shée hath a perfect grace and a certaine good comelinesse in all thing that shée sayth or doth she hath no name the whiche dothe dayly halfe inrich hir beautie wheresoeuer she dothe méete with hir and where there is any fault she doth â—â—uer it with hir diuine clearnesse and so that I beléeue Venus your mother is no other thing than hir grace or if it be so hir onely companion And who would not perish by the sight of such a Basiliske and whose eyes would not vasell at the brightnesse and clearenesse of such a Sunne Dom Rogel doth pray Leonida to hold and to take him for hir knight In the .12 booke the .1 Chapter IF ye knewe the greatnesse of your beautie as well as it is imprinted within my heart I am certaine Madame that ye woulde easily excuse the boldenesse that I take vpon me to declare vnto you the dolours which I féele dayly to increase in meâ— by the swéete violence of your diuine perfections And for as much as ye are the
ye should beare me For it séemed to me if ye had loued me so much as I loued you ye would not haue deferred the healing of my sickenesse so long as ye haue done Alas Madame howe farre are ye deceiued if ye thinke that I at any time haue the power to repent or to go farre from the great loue that I haue borne you and shall beare you as long as the spirite shall breath within my body for truely there is nothing in the world that was more impossible for me Think not at all Madame louing you as I doe loue you that euerâ— I coulde fall into any repentance of your loue considering the glorie and pleasure that I finde in louing of you I pray you then to giue me life through your fauour to my great ioye or shortly to send me death through your disfauour to make an ende of my anoyance and of the dolour in the which I shall continually remaine vntil ye giue me rest and the tranquillitie that your letter dothe promise mée and looking for so great and good and houre I kisse a thousand times your fayre and delicate handes A letter from Filisell of Montespin to Marfira complayning of the long terme and time that she hath set him to haue the ioyfull pastime whereof he had alreadie tasted and he prayeth hir to alleage it In the twelfe booke the .14 Chapter DOm Filisell of Montespin doth sende to the faire and gracious Marfira health the which he hathe losâ—e by the moste gréeuous sickenesse that he as yet hath proued Alas Madam if euer I loued you with good affection nowe I die wholly for your loue and if euer I had any hope to reioâ—ce of your diuine beauties now I am at the last in desparation bicause the long time that I must tarie without hauing any more the ioy of the goodnesse and pleasure whereof through your good grace I haue tasted and sauored the tranquilitie and gracious swéetenesse If before this I haue had any desyre I haue desired it after such a fashion that I knew not the thing that I desired But now being learned by experience I know that I desire the most pleasure and goodnesse that is possible to desire sauing one other that I knowe but ye maye not know it although the pleasure that I desire be extréeme Hitherto Madame I haue tormented my selfe to sée and to beholde the apparant graces of your beautie by the whiche yé◠maye make subiect to your seruice the fierce heartes of men more than barbarous but nowe I torment me to reioyce and play with your graces secretes of the which I among all other haue merited the pleasure Alas Madame cause I beséech you that so great goodnesse as ye haue shewed me turne me not to greater euill and denie me not the remedie which kissing your fayre and white handes I pray you to graunt me as soone as the dolorous passion in the whiche I am doth requyre it Filisels letter to Marfira reioysing himselfe and giuing hir thankes for the good houre that shee caused him to haue praying hir to continue vnto him hir grace and fauour In the .12 booke the .15 Chapter DOn Filisel of Montespin doth sende to the fayre and gracious Marfira the salute whereof he enioyeth to his great contentation The glorie wherein I am is so great that I can not tell with what wordes I ought to prayse it so that the prayse may be compared to his greatnesse O I the most happiest of all knightes of the worlde séeing it hath pleased you Madame to make me worthie through your fauours of the thing that I by my selfe could in no wise decerne This letter is onely to cause you to vnderstand my great ioy by the which ye are now indetted to me for the thing that hath caused me to merit it that is that I returne very shortly vnto you to take and to haue the selfe same pleasure of your beautie that it pleased you the last night to graunt me so that by this newe ioy I may rewarde the anoyance that I endure in the time that I cannot finde the oportunitie of so great a pleasure Wherefore Madame I pray you continually to intertaine me in such a good houre that if ye haue béene the cause that I am nowe exalted to so high a degrée that hereafter ye be not the cause of my miserable fall and ruine But to the entent ye shall not reprehend me of too great importunitie I will make an ende of my letter kissing a thousande tymes your white and delicate hands in remembrance of the peace that folowed the warre that is past I recommend me to my deare Caria praying hir shortly to purchase me the tyme so greatly desyred in the whiche I maye renue the fortunate occasion of my glorie The complaint of Queene Sidonis In the .12 booke the .21 Chapter O Graue honour of my high and royall lynage howe hast thou conducted me to an euill fortune whereof I may receyne a iust rewarde of my folly O loue howe doest thou cause to appeare in me thy deceytfull force and strength causing mée to vse hatred and crueltie vnto him that I loued much more than my selfe O Fortune with what inconstancie and lightnesse art thou chaunged putting me then in such desperation when I beganne to haue hope shortly to accomplish the thing that I desired most in this worlde O Gods immortall with howe much rigour haue ye willed to recompence the flerce pride and the prowde presumption of the Quéene Sidonia O my deare daughter and yet the daughter of him that robbed the holy rites of my chastitie Alas howe woulde ye haue payed me for the thing that ye denyed anâ— for the loue that ye bare continually to your father in recompence of the outrages and iniuries that I dayly sought for him O my daughter the first of the worlde and none like in beautie to the ende to make and to render like vnlike the delour that I endure nowe for thy death O cruell death howe doest thou leaue me in so miserable a life O cruell life howe doest thou leaue me in so miserable a death O Gods immortall wherefore doe ye suffer so great an iniurie as is that which I receyue by my life séeing my daughter Diana is dead But what do I say It is iust that ye as ye are iust doe shewe me to rigorous iustice to cause me to take vengeance vpon my selfe confounding me in a certaine dolour and heauinesse the which I haue procured to my selfe Alas Daraide howe doest thou giue to me and my daughter the dutie whereof thou wast indetted vnto vs to me giuing me with thy ende the ende of the folly of my vengeance in killing againe by thy death the hope and confidence that I had in thy life to my daughter recompencing hir death by thine the which is the last payment whereof thou wast bounde to the loue that thou didst beare hir and to that that she did