[BUCH II.l
AURON UND AMPHABEL.
H7
And but there (be) done great exe
cution,
■165 By hygh aduise of all the hole empire,
To punysshe all tho, from false re-
beilyon
Whiche to destroye your goddes so
desyre.
With whiche letters the emperour
set a fyre,
Abode no lenger, | but hastyly gan
ordeyne
ii 7° To sende his felowe downe into Bry-
tayne,
And in great hast — the story telleth
expresse —
Dioclesyan hath sent a great power
With Maxymyan, called Herculesse,
Into Braytayne, to serche out the
mattier;
i>75 Wher that anv were founde farre
or nere
OfChrist is fayth,tosleyne euerychone
Without mercy, | except only Albon;
His lyfe to saue by a condition:
If to theyr sectes he wolde agayne
restore (!),
ii8o From Christis loorej turne his opinion,
Of theyr goddes [ the sta(t)utes to sup
port,
To Dioclesyan that they may report
Howe that Albondoth hym sore repent
To Christis fayth | that he dyd assent.
"85 Made hym promyse ) so that he
wolde turnen
To theyr idols, | with fayned fay re
langage;
Amonge with thretninges they dayly
him adiuren,
To peruerte his herte and his corage.
But euer ylyche of chere and of visage
1190 Betwen fyre & water, 1 now harde
nowblädysshyng,
From his Constance they myght hym
neuer bryng.
Lyke a stronge towre bylte on a
hyghmountayne,
Toke none hede of theyr monitions,
Stode in our fayth so stable and so
certayne;
"95 Theyr ryche promysse of castels and
of towns
With many lordshyps in dyuers
regyons
He set at nought, | by grace and by
vertue
His grounde to stable he abode in
Christ Jesue.
Than by precepte of Dioclesyan —
1200 If he not chaunge for fayrenes nor
for drede.
The charge was yeuen to Maxymyan
Bv iugement and dome to taken hede,
To assigne a knyght to smyten of
his hede;
Suche one as had in knyghthode
hygh renoune,
1205 Shulde on this prince done exe-
cutioune.
This was so commaunded by sentence
Of the emperour that Amphibalus,
If he were take, by notable violence
Without mercy shulde be serued thus,
1210 By iugement cruell and furyous:
Made naked fyrst and to a stake
bounde,
At his nauyll made a large wounde —
He compelled amonge the cruell
route —
At the nauyll his bowels to be take
"15 And his guttes serched rounde aboute,
Lyke a longe rope tyed to a stake,
And of his lyfe so an ende (to) make,
And at laste voyde of all pytye
Smyte of his heed, by furyous cruelty.
1220 This was the dome touchyng the
tormentes
Of blessed Albon and Amphibalus,
Falsely concluded in the iugementes
1164) but st. bad. be fehlt. 1179) restore st. resorte. 1182) Ed. stautes.
to w. 1156) an. 1157) But for. and kynde fehlt. 1161) And st. that. 1164) be done, great fehlt. 1165) avice.
1169) in all hast. 1171) thus st. expresse. 1173) hercules. 1174) manere. 1176) sleen. 1179) sect, resorte.
n8o)law. 1181)statutes. 1882) he st. they. 1183) sore him. 1184) that euer. 1185)tornyn«. n86)ydolles. 1189)liehe,
of nach and fehlt. 1193—4 umgesetzt, victorious st. so certayne, v. a. H. (urspr. Lücke). 1193) monycions
(certeyne, v. a. H. zugesetzt). 1195) and townes. 1198) so st. to. he fehlt. 1200) ne. 1203) smyte. hedde.
1204) that st. as. 1211) stoke. 1212) And at. 1216) teyde vnto. 1217) to make. i2i9Smvten. 1222) theire 1223) mvn.
IO*
