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spyed I (230) 1320
 That pursevauntes and heraudes,
 That cryen riche folkes laudes,
 Hit weren alle; and every man
 Of hem, as I yow tellen can,
 Had on him throwen a vesture, 1325
 Which that men clepe a cote-armure,
 Enbrowded wonderliche riche,
 Al-though they nere nought y-liche.
 But noght nil I, so mote I thryve,
 Been aboute to discryve (240) 1330
 Al these armes that ther weren,
 That they thus on hir cotes beren,
 For hit to me were impossible;
 Men mighte make of hem a bible
 Twenty foot thikke, as I trowe. 1335
 For certeyn, who-so coude y-knowe
 Mighte ther alle the armes seen
 Of famous folk that han y-been
 In Auffrike, Europe, and Asye,
 Sith first began the chevalrye. (250) 1340
 Lo! how shulde I now telle al this?
 Ne of the halle eek what nede is
 To tellen yow, that every wal
 Of hit, and floor, and roof and al
 Was plated half a fote thikke 1345
 Of gold, and that nas no-thing wikke,
 But, for to prove in alle wyse,
 As fyn as ducat in Venyse,
 Of whiche to lyte al in my pouche is?
 And they wer set as thikke of nouchis (260) 1350
 Fulle of the fynest stones faire,
 That men rede in the Lapidaire,
 As greses growen in a mede;
 But hit were al to longe to rede
 The names; and therfore I pace. 1355
 But in this riche lusty place,
 That Fames halle called was,
 Ful moche prees of folk ther nas,
 Ne crouding, for to mochil prees.
 But al on hye, above a dees, (270) 1360
 Sitte in a see imperial,
 That maad was of a rubee al,
 Which that a carbuncle is y-called,
 I saugh, perpetually y-stalled,
 A feminyne creature; 1365
 That never formed by nature
 Nas swich another thing y-seye.
 For altherfirst, soth for to seye,
 Me thoughte that she was so lyte,
 That the lengthe of a cubyte (280) 1370
 Was lenger than she semed be;
 But thus sone, in a whyle, she
 Hir tho so wonderliche streighte,
 That with hir feet she therthe reighte,
 And with hir heed she touched hevene, 1375
 Ther as shynen sterres sevene.
 And ther-to eek, as to my wit,
 I saugh a gretter wonder yit,
 Upon hir eyen to beholde;
 But certeyn I hem never tolde; (290) 1380
 For as fele eyen hadde she
 As fetheres upon foules be,
 Or weren on the bestes foure,
 That goddes trone gunne honoure,
 As Iohn writ in thapocalips. 1385
 Hir heer, that oundy was and crips,
 As burned gold hit shoon to see.
 And sooth to tellen, also she
 Had also fele up-stonding eres
 And tonges, as on bestes heres; (300) 1390
 And on hir feet wexen saugh I
 Partriches winges redely.
 But, lord! the perrie and the richesse
 I saugh sitting on this goddesse!
 And, lord! the hevenish melodye 1395
 Of songes, ful of armonye,
 I herde aboute her trone y-songe,
 That al the paleys-walles ronge!
 So song the mighty Muse, she
 That cleped is Caliopee, (310) 1400
 And hir eighte sustren eke,
 That in hir face semen meke;
 And evermo, eternally,
 They songe of Fame, as tho herde I:--
 'Heried be thou and thy name, 1405
 Goddesse of renoun and of fame!'
 Tho was I war, lo, atte laste,
 As I myn eyen gan up caste,
 That this ilke noble quene
 On hir shuldres gan sustene (320) 1410
 Bothe tharmes and the name
 Of tho that hadde large fame;
 Alexander, and Hercules
 That with a sherte his lyf lees!
 Thus fond I sitting this goddesse, 1415
 In nobley, honour, and richesse;
 Of which I stinte a whyle now,
 Other thing to tellen yow.
 Tho saugh I stonde on either syde,
 Streight doun to the dores wyde, (330) 1420
 Fro the dees, many a pileer
 Of metal, that shoon not ful cleer;
 But though they nere of no richesse,
 Yet they were maad for greet noblesse,
 And in hem greet [and hy] sentence; 1425
 And folk of digne reverence,
 Of whiche I wol yow telle fonde,
 Upon the piler saugh I stonde.
 Alderfirst, lo, ther I sigh,
 Upon a piler stonde on high, (340) 1430
 That was of lede and yren fyn,
 Him of secte Saturnyn,
 The Ebrayk Iosephus, the olde,
 That of Iewes gestes tolde;
 And bar upon his shuldres hye 1435
 The fame up of the Iewerye.
 And by him stoden other sevene,
 Wyse and worthy for to nevene,
 To helpen him here up the charge,
 Hit was so hevy and so large. (350) 1440
 And for they writen of batailes,
 As wel as other olde mervailes,
 Therfor was, lo, this pileer,
 Of which that I yow telle heer,
 Of lede and yren bothe, y-wis. 1445
 For yren Martes metal is,
 Which that god is of bataile;
 And the leed, withouten faile,
 Is, lo, the metal of Saturne,
 That hath ful large wheel to turne. (360) 1450
 Tho stoden forth, on every rowe,
 Of hem which that I coude knowe,
 Thogh I hem noght by ordre telle,
 To make yow to long to dwelle.
 These, of whiche I ginne rede, 1455
 Ther saugh I stonden, out of drede:
 Upon an yren piler strong,
 That peynted was, al endelong,
 With tygres blode in every place,
 The Tholosan that highte Stace, (370) 1460
 That bar of Thebes up the fame
 Upon his shuldres, and the name
 Also of cruel Achilles.
 And by him stood, withouten lees,
 Ful wonder hye on a pileer 1465
 Of yren, he, the gret Omeer;
 And with him Dares and Tytus
 Before, and eek he, Lollius,
 And Guido eek de Columpnis,
 And English Gaufride eek, y-wis; (380) 1470
 And ech of these, as have I Ioye,
 Was besy for to bere up Troye.
 So hevy ther-of was the fame,
 That for to bere hit was no game.
 But yit I gan ful wel espye, 1475
 Betwix hem was a litel envye.
 Oon seyde, Omere made lyes,
 Feyninge in his poetryes,
 And was to Grekes favorable;
 Therfor held he hit but fable. (390) 1480
 Tho saugh I stonde on a pileer,
 That was of tinned yren cleer,
 That Latin poete, [dan] Virgyle,
 That bore hath up a longe whyle
 The fame of Pius Eneas. 1485
 And next him on a piler was,
 Of coper, Venus clerk, Ovyde,
 That hath y-sowen wonder wyde
 The grete god of Loves name.
 And ther he bar up wel his fame, (400) 1490
 Upon this piler, also hye
 As I might see hit with myn yë:
 For-why this halle, of whiche I rede
 Was woxe on highte, lengthe and brede,
 Wel more, by a thousand del, 1495
 Than hit was erst, that saugh I wel.
 Tho saugh I, on a piler by,
 Of yren wroght ful sternely,
 The grete poete, daun Lucan,
 And on his shuldres bar up than, (410) 1500
 As highe as that I mighte see,
 The fame of Iulius and Pompee.
 And by him stoden alle these clerkes,
 That writen of Romes mighty werkes,
 That, if I wolde hir names telle, 1505
 Al to longe moste I dwelle.
 And next him on a piler stood
 Of soulfre, lyk as he were wood,
 Dan Claudian, the soth to telle,
 That bar up al the fame of helle, (420) 1510
 Of Pluto, and of Proserpyne,
 That quene is of the derke pyne.
 What shulde I more telle of this?
 The halle was al ful, y-wis,
 Of hem that writen olde gestes, 1515
 As ben on treës rokes nestes;
 But hit a ful confus matere
 Were al the gestes for to here,
 That they of write, and how they highte.
 But whyl that I beheld this sighte, (430) 1520
 I herde a noise aprochen blyve,
 That ferde as been don in an hyve,
 Agen her tyme of out-fleyinge;
 Right swiche a maner murmuringe,
 For al the world, hit semed me. 1525
 Tho gan I loke aboute an
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