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And heir he was of Calidoine and Arge. 805

Criseyde mene was of hir stature,

Ther-to of shap, of face, and eek of chere,

Ther mighte been no fairer creature.

And ofte tyme this was hir manere,

To gon y-tressed with hir heres clere 810

Doun by hir coler at hir bak bihinde,

Which with a threde of gold she wolde binde.

And, save hir browes ioyneden y-fere,

Ther nas no lak, in ought I can espyen;

But for to speken of hir eyen clere, 815

Lo, trewely, they writen that hir syen,

That Paradys stood formed in hir yen.

And with hir riche beautee ever-more

Strof love in hir, ay which of hem was more.

She sobre was, eek simple, and wys with-al, 820

The beste y-norisshed eek that mighte be,

And goodly of hir speche in general,

Charitable, estatliche, lusty, and free;

Ne never-mo ne lakkede hir pitee;

Tendre-herted, slydinge of corage; 825

But trewely, I can not telle hir age.

And Troilus wel waxen was in highte,

And complet formed by proporcioun

So wel, that kinde it not amenden mighte;

Yong, fresshe, strong, and hardy as lyoun; 830

Trewe as steel in ech condicioun;

On of the beste enteched creature,

That is, or shal, whyl that the world may dure.

And certainly in storie it is y-founde,

That Troilus was never un-to no wight, 835

As in his tyme, in no degree secounde

In durring don that longeth to a knight.

Al mighte a geaunt passen him of might,

His herte ay with the firste and with the beste

Stood paregal, to durre don that him leste. 840

But for to tellen forth of Diomede: —

It fil that after, on the tenthe day,

Sin that Criseyde out of the citee yede,

This Diomede, as fresshe as braunche in May,

Com to the tente ther-as Calkas lay, 845

And feyned him with Calkas han to done;

But what he mente, I shal yow telle sone.

Criseyde, at shorte wordes for to telle,

Welcomed him, and doun by hir him sette;

And he was ethe y-nough to maken dwelle. 850

And after this, with-outen longe lette,

The spyces and the wyn men forth hem fette;

And forth they speke of this and that y-fere,

As freendes doon, of which som shal ye here.

He gan first fallen of the werre in speche 855

Bitwixe hem and the folk of Troye toun;

And of thassege he gan hir eek byseche,

To telle him what was hir opinioun.

Fro that demaunde he so descendeth doun

To asken hir, if that hir straunge thoughte 860

The Grekes gyse, and werkes that they wroughte?

And why hir fader tarieth so longe

To wedden hir un-to som worthy wight?

Criseyde, that was in hir peynes stronge

For love of Troilus, hir owene knight, 865

As fer-forth as she conning hadde or might,

Answerde him tho; but, as of his entente,

It semed not she wiste what he mente.

But natheles, this ilke Diomede

Gan in him-self assure, and thus he seyde, 870

`If ich aright have taken of yow hede,

Me thinketh thus, O lady myn, Criseyde,

That sin I first hond on your brydel leyde,

Whan ye out come of Troye by the morwe,

Ne coude I never seen yow but in sorwe. 875

`Can I not seyn what may the cause be

But-if for love of som Troyan it were,

The which right sore wolde athinken me

That ye, for any wight that dwelleth there,

Sholden spille a quarter of a tere, 880

Or pitously your-selven so bigyle;

For dredelees, it is nought worth the whyle.

`The folk of Troye, as who seyth, alle and some

In preson been, as ye your-selven see;

Nor thennes shal not oon on-lyve come 885

For al the gold bitwixen sonne and see.

Trusteth wel, and understondeth me.

Ther shal not oon to mercy goon on-lyve,

Al were he lord of worldes twyes fyve!

`Swich wreche on hem, for fecching of Eleyne, 890

Ther shal be take, er that we hennes wende,

That Manes, which that goddes ben of peyne,

Shal been agast that Grekes wol hem shende.

And men shul drede, un-to the worldes ende,

From hennes-forth to ravisshe any quene, 895

So cruel shal our wreche on hem be sene.

`And but-if Calkas lede us with ambages,

That is to seyn, with double wordes slye,

Swich as men clepe a "word with two visages,"

Ye shal wel knowen that I nought ne lye, 900