Glory and honour, regnë, treasure, rent;4086
And he was proud, and nothing God he drad;4087
And therefore God great wreche4088 upon him sent,
And him bereft the regnë that he had.
“He was cast out of mannë’s company;
With asses was his habitatión;
And ate hay, as a beast, in wet and dry,
Till that he knew by grace and by reasón
That God of heaven hath dominatión
O’er every regne, and every creatúre;
And then had God of him compassión,
And him restor’d his regne and his figúre.
“Eke thou, that art his son, art proud also,
And knowest all these thingës verily;
And art rebel to God, and art his foe.
Thou drankest of his vessels boldëly;
Thy wife eke, and thy wenches, sinfully
Drank of the samë vessels sundry winës,
And heried4089 falsë goddës cursedly;4090
Therefore to thee y-shapen4091 full great pine4092 is.
“This hand was sent from God, that on the wall
Wrote Mane, tekel, phares, trustë me;
Thy reign is done; thou weighest naught at all;
Divided is thy regne, and it shall be
To Medës and to Persians giv’n,” quoth he.
And thilkë samë night this king was slaw;4093
And Darius occupied his degree,
Though he thereto had neither right nor law.
Lordings, example hereby may ye take,
How that in lordship4094 is no sickerness;4095
For when that Fortune will a man forsake,
She bears away his regne and his richéss,
And eke his friendës bothë more and less.
For what man that hath friendës through fortúne,
Mishap will make them enemies, I guess;
This proverb is full sooth, and full commúne.
Zenobia, of Palmyrie the queen,4096
As writë Persians of her nobléss,
So worthy was in armës, and so keen,
That no wight passed her in hardiness,
Nor in lineage, nor other gentleness.4097
Of the king’s blood of Perse4098 is she descended;
I say not that she haddë most fairnéss,
But of her shape she might not he amended.
From her childhood I findë that she fled
Office of woman, and to woods she went,
And many a wildë hartë’s blood she shed
With arrows broad that she against them sent;
She was so swift, that she anon them hent.4099
And when that she was older, she would kill
Lions, leopárds, and bearës all to-rent,
And in her armës wield them at her will.
She durst the wildë beastës’ dennës seek,
And runnen in the mountains all the night,
And sleep under a bush; and she could eke
Wrestle by very force and very might
With any young man, were he ne’er so wight;4100
There mightë nothing in her armës stond.
She kept her maidenhood from every wight,
To no man deigned she for to be bond.
But at the last her friendës have her married
To Odenate,4101 a prince of that countrý;
All were it so, that she them longë tarried.
And ye shall understandë how that he
Haddë such fantasies as haddë she;
But natheless, when they were knit in fere,4102
They liv’d in joy, and in felicity,
For each of them had other lefe4103 and dear.
Save one thing, that she never would assent,
By no way, that he shouldë by her lie
But onës, for it was her plain intent
To have a child, the world to multiply;
And all so soon as that she might espy
That she was not with childë by that deed,
Then would she suffer him do his fantasy
Eftsoon,4104 and not but onës, out of dread.4105
And if she were with child at thilkë cast,
No morë should he playë thilkë game
Till fully forty dayës werë past;
Then would she once suffer him do the same.
All4106 were this Odenatus wild or tame,
He got no more of her; for thus she said,
It was to wivës lechery and shame
In other case4107 if that men with them play’d.
Two sonës, by this Odenate had she,
The which she kept in virtue and lettrure.4108
But now unto our talë turnë we;
I say, so worshipful a creatúre,
And wise therewith, and largë with measúre,4109
So penible4110 in the war, and courteous eke,
Nor more labour might in war endure,
Was none, though all this worldë men should seek.
Her rich array it mightë not be told,
As well in vessel4111 as in her clothíng:
She was all clad in pierrie4112 and in gold,
And eke she leftë not,4113 for no huntíng,
To have of sundry tonguës full knowíng,
When that she leisure had, and for t’ intend4114
To learnë bookës was all her likíng,
How she in virtue might her life dispend.
And, shortly of this story for to treat,
So doughty was her husband and eke she,
That they conquered many regnës great
In th’ Orient, with many a fair city
Appertinent unto the majesty
Of Rome, and with strong handë held them fast,
Nor ever might their foemen do4115 them flee,
Aye while that Odenatus’ dayës last’.
Her battles, whoso list them for to read,
Against Sapor the king,4116 and other mo’,
And how that all this process fell in deed,
Why she conquér’d, and what title thereto,
And after of her mischief4117 and her woe,
How that she was besieged and y-take,
Let him unto my master Petrarch go,
That writes enough of this, I undertake.
When Odenate was dead, she mightily
The regnë held, and with her proper hand
Against her foes she fought so cruelly,
That there n’as4118 king nor prince in all that land,
That was not glad, if be that gracë fand
That she would not upon his land warray;4119
With her they maden álliánce by bond,
To be in peace, and let her ride and play.
The emperor of Romë, Claudius,
Nor, him before, the Roman Gallien,
Durstë never be so courageoús,
Nor no Armenian, nor Egyptien,
Nor Syrian, nor no Arabien,
Within the fieldë durstë with her fight,
Lest that she would them with her handës slén,4120
Or with her meinie4121 puttë them to flight.
In kingës’ habit went her sonës two,
As heirës of their father’s regnës all;
And Herëmanno and Timolaó
Their namës
