Canto 11

THe galiant courser in his full carrire.
Is made by man, to stop with sl[…]nder raigne:
But man himselfe his lust and fond desire,
Is seldome drawn by reason to refraine;
Tis hard to stop, but harder to retire,
When youthfull course ensueth pleasure vaine,
As Bears do breake the hiues and weake defences,
When smell of honie commeth to their sences.

No maruell if Rogero could not hold,
But that he would now take a little sport,
That naked did Angelica behold,
Within a groue alone from all resort;
His loue to Bradamant now waxeth cold,
Or at the least is temperd in such sort,
He meanes therewith at this time to dispence,
And not to let this go a maiden hence.

Whose beautie was so rare as well it might,
Haue made Zenocrates an Epicure,
No maruell then if this same gentle knight,
Could not so great temptation well endure:
But while he hastend to his hopt delight,
Of which he thought him in possession sure,
There fell a strange and vnexpected thing,
By meanes Angelica did know the ring.

This was the ring that she with her had brought,
To France, the verie first time she was there,
What time by ayd thereof so well she wrought,
She holp her brother to th'inchanted speare,
By vertue of this ring she set at nought,
Those magicke arts, that men so greatly feare:
With this Orlando Countie Palladine,
She did release from wicked Dragontine,

By helpe of this inuisible she went,
Out of the towre where Atlant had her set:
For this same ring Brunello false was sent
By Agramant, who longd the same to get,
To tell that storie is not my intent,
For feare it might my other matter let,
But certaine tis, that when this ring was lost,
In fortunes waues she had bene euer tost.

Now when she saw this ring was on her hand,
She was so strooke with maruell and with ioy,
That scarce she could discerne and vnderstand,
If she were wake or if she dreamd sometoy:
But to make triall how the case doth stand,
And know if she this treasure doth inioy,
Into her mouth the ring she doth conuay,
And straight inuisible she goeth away.

Rogero that each minute thought an howre,
(His armour of, and readie for the play)
Expecting now the damsell in a bowre,
Where he had pointed her for him to stay,
Found all to late, that by the rings strange powre,
She had vnseene conuayd her selfe away.
He lent it her to saue her eyes from blindnesse,
And for reward she quits him with vnkindnesse,

With which her act dipleasd and ill apaid,
He curst himselfe, and chased in his mind:
O cruell and vnthankfull wench (he said)
Is this the loue that I deseru'd to find?
Dost thou reward him thus that brought thee aid?
To thy preseruer art thou so vnkind?
Take ring and shield, and flying horse and me,
This onely barre me not thy face to see.

This said, he go[…]th about where she had beene,
Still groping as the weather had bin darke,
Embracing oft the aire his armes betweene,
In steed of her, then heedfull he doth harke,
To find her by the sound that was not seene,
And whence the same doth come he wel doth mark.
But on went she vntill it was her lote
To come into a silly shepheards cote.

And though this same were far from any towne,
Yet there she quickly did her selfe prouide
Of meate and drinke, and of a simple gowne,
Sufficient for the time her bare to hide,
Not suting for a Ladie of renowne,
That had bin euer clad in pompe and pride,
Had gownes of crimson, purple and carnasion,
Of eu'ry colour, and of eu'ry fashion.

But yet no kind of weed so base or ill is,
Her of her princely beautie to bereaue,
They that so much extoll faire Amarillis,
Or Galate, do but them themselues deceaue:
Cease Tyterus to praise thy golden Phillis,
Peace Melebe, this passes by your leaue;
Ye souldiers all that serue in Cupids garrison,
May not presume with this to make comparison.

Now here the damsell faire a palfrey hired,
With other things most needfull for her way,
And means to her owne home to haue retired,
From whence she had bin absent many a day.
The while Rogero now with trauell tired,
Lamenting he had lost so faire a pray,
Doth seeke his horse who had not long bin idle,
But in his masters absence brake his bridle.

Which when he found, the raines in peeces torne,
The horse soard far away with mightie wing,
How could such haps with patientnesse be borne,
Of one great losse to find a greater spring?
He sitteth in a dumpe, like one forlorne,
For losse of her, his horse, and of his ring,
Whose vertue great did make him much repent it,
But yet much more her vertue that had sent it.

And in this rage he puts his armor on,
And on his shoulder carieth his shield,
Pursuing that first path he lights vpon,
He found it brought him to a goodly field,
On side whereof when he a while had gone,
It seemd the wood adioynd some sound did yeeld,
And still the neare and nearer that he goes,
The plainer sound he heard of sturdy bloes.

A combat twixt a Giant and a Knight,
He sees hard by most furiously begunne,
The Giant with a club doth think by might,
The battell of the tother to haue wonne;
The tother with his sword and nimble fight,
His furious blowes with watchfull eye doth shunne.
Rogero seeing this great inequalitie,
Yet standeth still and shewes no partialitie.

But in his mind he wisht the Knight to win,
When lo the Giant with new fury fed,
To lay on lode with both hands doth begin,
And with one blow he layes him downe for dead,
And straight in cruell sort he steppeth in,
For to disarme him, and cut off his head:
But when the Giant had the face disarmed,
Rogero knew the partie he had harmed.

He saw it was his Bradamant most deare,
Whom this same Giant would haue made to die,
Wherefore with courage stout he steppeth neare,
The Giant to new combat to defie,
Who either heares him not, or would not heare,
Or meaneth not a conflict new to trie,
But tooke her vp, and on his shoulders layd her,
And so in hast away from thence conuayd her.

So haue I seene a wolfe to beare away
A lambe from shepheards fold, so haue I seene
An Eagle on a silly Doue to pray,
And soare aloft the skie and earth betweene:
Rogero hies him after as he may,
Vntill he came vnto a goodly greene,
But th'other eu'ry step so much out stept him,
That in his view Rogero scantly kept him.

But now a while of him I speake no more,
And to Orlando I returne againe,
Who hauing lost the sight of Holland shore,
Did hasten to Ebuda with much paine:
I did declare not many books before,
How he Cymoscos engin strange did gaine,
And to the bottome of the sea did throw it,
That none might find it out againe or know it.

And though his meaning and intent was so,
Yet vaine it was, as after was perceiued,
For why, that serpent vile our auncient so,
That Eua first in Paradise deceiued,
Not much aboue two hundred yeares ago,
(As we from our forefathers haue receiued)
From out the sea by necromancie brought it,
And then in Almanie afresh they wrought it.

They wrought it both in iron and in brasse,
The cunning and the art increasing still,
As oft by proofe we find it comes to passe,
The worse the worke, the greater growes the skill,
And to each kind a name assignd there was,
According to the first inuenters will,
To tell the names of all were but a trouble,
Some demicanons, some are called double.

The Cul[…]erings to shoot a bullet farre,
The Falcon, […]aker, […]ini[…]n and the Sling,
Not armed men, but walled townes to marre,
Such […] force is in this hellish thing.
Ye souldiers braue, and valiant men of warre,
Now cease to field your manly darts to bring,
And get a hargubush vpon your shoulder,
Or el[…]e in vaine you sue to be a souldier.

How didst thou find (oh filthy foule inuention)
A harbor […]afe in any humane hart?
Thou mak'st a coward get the souldiers pension,
And souldiers braue thou robst of due desart,
Whole millions haue bin slaine, as stories mention,
Since first […] was this wicked art,
France, Italy and England chiefe may rew it,
Since first they vsd this art, and first they knew it.

The English bowmen may go burne their boes,
And breake their […], and cut in two the string,
That weapon now may keepe the corne from croes,
That did the French at Agincourt so sting:
But to that wight I wish a world of woes,
That did to light, deuice so diu'llish bring,
Let him be giu'n into the hands of Sathan,
To be tormented ay with C[…]re and Dathan.

Now good […] though he greatly striued,
With speed to get him to the Ile of wo,
Yet first the Irish King was there arriued,
By chance, or else that God would haue it so,
Because it might the better be contriued,
On wrongfull wights his iudgements iust to show.
But when […] b[…] once in sight appeared,
Orlando all the companie straight cheared.

And putting off his armes of colour sable,
He bids the master out to launch his boate,
And in the same anker strong and cable,
With which he mean[…]s vnto this Ile to floate,
Not doubting (if lucke serue) he will be able,
To put the anker in the monsters throate.
And thus alone the noble Knight doth venter,
Into the I[…]e […] buda then to enter.

Now was the time when as Aurora faire,
Began to shew the world her golden head,
And looke abroade to take the coole fresh aire,
[…] lying still in iealous bed,
When as Orlando hither did repaire,
By two blind guides, Cupid and Fortune led,
When lo vnto the shore his shipboate turning,
He seemd to heare a noise as one were mourning.

At which strange sound casting his eye aside,
He might discerne a goodly damsell naked,
With armes abrode vnto the rocke fast tide,
That what with cold and what with terror shaked,
Eftsoones the hideous monster he espide,
Whose light might well haue made stout harts haue quaked,
Orland[…] […]nd therewith is not […],
Nor his high courage any w[…] abated.

He gets betweene the monster and his pray,
That pray that he so hotly doth pursue,
And (for before he was resolu'd what way
He would attempt the monster to subdue)
Vpon his shoulder doth the anker lay,
And when he came within his vgly vew,
Euen mauger all his malice, might and rancor,
Into his open iawes he beares the ancor.

As they that dig in mine of cole or stone,
The same in sundry places vnderprop,
Lest it should fall when least they thinke thereon,
And so their breath or else their passage stop:
So is this anker fastend in the bone,
Both in the bottome of his mouth and top,
That though he would againe he could not close it,
Nor wider open it for to vnlose it.

Now hauing gagd his hideous chaps so sure,
That out and in he can with safetie go,
He enters with his sword the place obscure,
And there bestoweth many a thrust and blow,
And as that citie cannot be secure,
That hath within her wals receiu'd her fo,
No safer could this Orke be now from danger,
That in his entrals hath receiu'd a stranger.

But griped now with pangs of inward paine,
Sometime he plungeth vp vnto the skie,
Sometime he diueth to the deepe againe,
And makes the troubled sands to mount on hie:
Orlando feels the sea come in amaine,
That forced him at last his swimming trie,
He swims to shore with body strong and able,
And beares vpon his neck the ankers cable.

And as a sauage Bull that vnaware
About his hornes hath now a cord fast bound,
Doth striue in vaine to breake the hunters snare,
And skips, and leaps, and flings, and runneth round,
So though Orlando with his strength so rare,
Assaid to draw him nearer to the ground,
Yet doth he fetch an hundred frisks and more,
Ere he could draw him vp vpon the shore.

His wounded bowels shed such store of blood,
They call that sea the red sea to this howre,
Sometime he breathed such a sudden flood,
As made the clearest weather seeme to lowre,
The hideous noise fild eu'ry caue and wood,
So that god Proteus doubting his owne powre,
Fled straight fro thence, himself in corners hiding,
Not daring longer here to make abiding.

And all the gods that dwell in surging waues,
With this same tumult grow in such a feare,
They hid themselues in rocks and hollow caues,
Left that Orlando should haue found them there:
Neptune with triple mace by flight him saues,
His charret drawne with dolphins doth him beare,
Nor yet behind Glaucus or Triton taried,
For feare in these new broiles to haue miscaried.

Those Ilanders that all this while attended,
And saw the monster drawne to land and tane,
With superstition moued much, condemned
This godly worke for wicked and profane;
As though that Proteus would be new offended,
That had before, and now might worke their bane.
They doubt he wold (thus fools their good haps consters
Send to their land his flock of vgly monsters.

And therefore Proteus anger to appease,
They meane to drowne Orlando if they can,
Whose deed they deemd his godhead did displease[…]
And eu'n as fire doth creepe from bran to bran,
Vntill the pile of wood it wholy cease,
So doth this fury grow from man to man,
That they concluded all vpon the matter,
To throw Orlando bound into the water.

One takes a sling, another takes a bow,
This with a sword is armd, he with a speare,
And some afore, and some behind him go,
Some neare approch, some stand aloofe for feare:
He museth much what his vngratefull so
Should meane, for benefits such mind to beare:
And inwardly he was displeasd and sory,
To find such wrong where he deserued glory.

As little curres that barke at greatest Beare,
Yet cannot cause him once his way to shunne,
No more doth he these curlike creatures feare,
That like a sort of mad men on him runne.
And (for they saw he did no armor weare)
They thought the feat would haue bin easly done,
They knew not that his skin from head to foote,
Was such to strike on it, it was no boote.

But when that he his Durindana drew,
He layd there with about him in such sort,
That straight their faintnes and his force they knew,
They found to fight with him it was no sport.
Thrise ten of them at blowes but ten he slew,
Their fellowes fled that saw them cut so short,
Which foes thus foild, Orlando now intended
T'vnloose the Ladie whom he had defended.

But now this while, behold the Irish band
Arriued neare vnto their chiefest citie,
Who had no sooner set their foote on land,
But that forthwith they put apart all pittie,
And slue all sorts that came vnto their hand,
The fierce, the faint, the foolish and the wittie,
Thus were't iust doome, or were it cruell rage,
They spar'd of neither sexe nor neither age.

Thus th'lle of wo is made a wofull Ile,
And for the peoples sake they plague the place,
Orlando sets the Lady free the while,
That there was bound in that vnseemly case,
To haue bin giuen vnto the monster vile:
And viewing well, he cald to mind her face,
And that it should Olympia be he guessed,
But twas Olympia that had thus bin dressed.

Distrest Olympia thus vnkindly serued,
Whom loue and fortune made a double scorne:
For first of him, of whom she best deserued,
She was forsaken quite and left forlorne.
And next by pyrats taken and reserued,
Of monster vile to be in peeces torne.
And in this case the good Orlando found her,
And then with great compassion he vnbound her.

And thus he said, now tell what strange annoy,
Or euill hap hath hurt thy happie raigne?
Whom late I left in solace and in ioy.
Why do I find in danger and in paine?
How is the blisse that thou didst then enioy.
So chang'd and turnd to misery againe?
And she in wofull maner thus replied,
When shame her cheeks with crimson first had died:

I know not if my chance or else my choice,
If fortune or my folly be in blame,
Shall I lament, or shall I now reioyce,
That liue in wo, and should haue did in shame[…]
And as she spake, the teares did stop her voice:
But when againe vnto her selfe she came,
She told him all the wofull story weeping,
How false Byreno had betraid her sleeping.

And how from that same Ile where he betrayd her,
A crew of cursed pyrats did her take,
And to this wicked Iland had conuayd her,
For that same foule and vgly monsters sake,
Where now it was Orlandos hap to ayd her:
She walked naked when these words she spake[…]
Looke how Diana painted is in tables,
Among the rest of Ouids pleasant fables.

Of whose sharpe doome the Poet there doth tell,
How she with hornes Actaeon did inuest,
Because he saw her naked at the well:
So stands Olympia faire, with face and brest,
And sides, and thighes to be discerned well,
And legs and feet, but yet she hides the rest.
And as they two were talking thus together,
Oberto king of Irish Ile came thither.

Who being moued at the strange report,
That one alone the monster should assaile,
And gag him with an anker in such sort,
To make his strength, and life, and all to faile,
Then draw him to the shore as ship to port:
Is towd with ropes, without or oares or saile
This made him go to find Orlando out,
The while his souldiers spoiled all about.

Now when the King this worthy Knight did see,
Though all with bloud and water foule distained,
Yet straight he guest it should Orlando be,
For in his youth in France he had remained,
And knew the Lords and Knights of best degree,
In Charles his court a page of honor trained:
Their old acquaintance cauld at this new meeting.
They had a louing and a friendly gre[…]ting.

And then Orlando told the Irish king,
How and by whom Olympia was abused,
By one whom out of danger great to bring,
She had no paine nor death it selfe refused,
How he himselfe was witnesse of the thing.
While they thus talke, Oberto her perused,
Whose sorrows past, renewd with present feares,
Did fill her louely eyes with watry teares.

Such colour had her face, as when the Sunne
Doth thine on watry cloud in pleasant spring,
And eu'n as when the sommer is begunne,
The Nightingales in boughes do sit and sing,
So that blind god, whose force can no man shunne,
Sits in her eyes, and thence his darts doth fling,
And bathes his wings in her cleare cristall streames,
And sunneth them in her rare beauties beames.

In the[…]e he heates his golden headed dart,
In those he cooleth it, and temperd so,
He leuels thence at good Obertos hart,
And to the head he drawth it in his bow,
Thus is he wounded deepe and feeles no smart,
H[…]s armor cannot send to fierce a blow:
For while on her faire eyes and limbes he gaped,
The arrow came thet could not be escaped.

And sure Olympias beauties were so rare,
As might well moue a man the same to note,
Her haire, her eyes, her cheeks most amorous are,
Her nose, her mouth, her shoulders and her throte,
As for her other parts that then were bare,
Which she was wont to couer with her cote,
Were made in such a mould as might haue moued
The chast Hipolytus her to haue loued.

A man would thinke them framd by Phydias arts,
Their colour and proportion good was such,
And vnto them her shamefastnesse imparts
A greater grace to that before was much:
I cease to praise those other secret parts,
As not so fit to talke of as to tuch,
In generall all was as white as milke,
As smoth as iuory, and as soft as silke.

Had she in valley of Idea beene,
When Pastor Paru hap did to befall,
To be a iudge three goddesses betweene,
She should haue got, and they forgone the ball.
Had she but once of him bene naked seene;
For He[…]era he had not car'd at all,
Nor broke the bonds of sacred hospitalitie,
That bred his country warres and great mortalitie.

Had she but then bene in Crotana towne,
When Zeuce[…] for the goddesse Iunos sake,
To paint a picture of most rare renowne,
Did many of the fairest damsels make
To stand before him bare from foote to crowne,
A patterne of their perfect parts to take,
No doubt he would haue all the rest refused,
And her alone in steed of all haue chused.

I doubtlesse deeme Byreno neuer vewd
Her naked corps, for certaine if he had,
He could not so all humane sence exclude,
To leaue her thus alone in state so bad:
But briefly all this matter to conclude,
It seemd Oberto would haue bin full glad,
In this her wo, her misery and need,
To comfort her by either word or deed.

And straight he promist that he would attend her,
And set her in her country if he may,
And mauger all her enemies defend her,
And take reuenge on him did her betray.
And that he might both men and money lend her,
He would to pawne his realme of Ireland lay,
Nor till she were restor'd aske no repayment,
And straight he sought about to get her raiment.

They need not trauell farre to find a gowne,
For why immediatly they found good store,
By sending to the next adioyning towne,
The which his men of warre had spoild before,
Where many a worthy Ladie of renowne,
That had bene naked tide vnto the shore,
And many a tender virgin and vnfoiled,
Were of their raiment and their liues despoiled.

And yet for all they were so richly gownd,
Oberto could not cloath her as he wold,
No not in Florence (though it doth abound
With rich embroderies of pearle and gold)
Could any peece of precious stuffe be found,
Of worth to serue to keepe her from the cold,
Whose shape was so exact in euery part,
Euen hard to match by nature or by art.

Orlando with this loue was well content,
As one that hither came with other end,
For sith he mist Angelica, he ment
His iourney backe to France againe to bend,
With them by ship to Ireland first he went,
As in his way, and with the king his frend,
Not hearing, had his loue bin here or no,
For all were dead that could haue told him so.

At both their sutes be scant staid there one day,
His passing loue such passions in him bred,
But ere he went he doth Oberto pray
To do for her as much as he had sed,
And parting so from thence he tooke his way,
Eu'n as his fortune and his fancie led,
But good Oberto need not be desired,
To do as much or more then he required.

For few dayes past but that with her he went
To Holland, where he raised such commotion,
That straight Byreno taken was and shent,
Receiuing on three trees a iust promotion:
And all those countries did forthwith consent,
To sweare them faith and be at their deuotion.
Thus of a Countesse she is made a Prince,
And liues in ioy and solace euer since.

Orlando bends his course to Brittish shore,
Whence he not long before to ship did mount,
Where he had left his famous Brilliadore,
A goodly courser and of good account,
No doubt of valiant acts he did good store,
Though what they were I cannot here recount,
For such a minde he carride still vnto them,
He cared not to tell them, but to do them.

But in what fashion he did passe the rest
Of that vnfortunate and fatall yeare,
I say by me it cannot be exprest,
Because thereof no record doth appeare,
But when the spring did ground with green inuest,
And sunne in Gemini made weather cleare,
Then did he acts both worthie of reciting,
And to be kept in euerlasting writing.

From hils to dales, from woods to pastures wide,
From waters fresh vnto the salt sea shore,
To seeke his loue he vp and downe doth ride,
The lesse he finds he seeketh still the more;
At last he heard a voice for helpe that cride,
He drawes his sword aud spurs his Brilliadore,
But to refresh the reader now tis reason,
And stay my storie to a better season.