[177]: Né entre 1328 et 1345, mort en 1400.
[178]: Renan, de l'Art au moyen âge.
[179]: Voy. Froissart, sa vie chez le comte de Foix et chez le roi Richard II.
The statue of Venus glorious for to see
Was naked fleting in the large see,
And fro the navel down all covered was
With wawes grene, and bright as any glas.
A citole in hire right hand hadde she,
And on hire hed, ful semely for to see,
A rose gerlond fresshe, and wel smelling,
Above hire hed hire doves fleckering.
First on the wall was peinted a forest,
In which there wonneth neyther man ne best,
With knotty knarry barrein trees old
Of stubbes sharpe and hidous to behold;
In which there ran a romble and a swough,
As though a storme shuld bresten every bough.
And downward from an hill under a bent,
Ther stood the temple of Mars armipotent,
Wrought all of burned stele, of which th' entree
Was long and streite, and gastly for to see.
And therout came a rage and swiche a vise,
That it made all the gates for to rise.
The northern light in at the dore shone,
For window off the wall ne was none,
Thurgh which men mighten any light discerne.
The dore was all of athamant eterne,
Yclenched overthwart and endelong
With yren tough, and for to make it strong.
Every piler the temple to sustene
Was tonne-gret, of yren bright and shene.
[182]: Knight's tale, p. 21-20.
With him ther wenten knightes many on.
Som wol ben armed in a habergeon,
And in a brest plate, and in a gipon;
And some wol have a pair of plates large;
And some wol have a Pruce sheld or a targe,
Som wol ben armed on his legges wele
And have an axe, and som a mace of stele....
There maist thou se coming with Palamon
Licurge himself, the grete king of Trace:
Blake was his berd and manly was his face.
The cercles of his eyen in his hed
They gloweden betwixen yelwe and red,
And like a griffon loked he about,
With kemped heres on his browes stout.
His limmes gret, his braunes hard and stronge,
His shouldres brode, his armes round and longe
And as the guise was in his contree,
Ful highe upon a char of gold stood he,
With foure white bolles in the trais.
Instede of cote-armure on his harnais,
With nayles yelwe and bright as any gold,
He hadde a beres skin, cole-blake for old.
His longe here was kempt behind his bake,
As any ravenes fether it shone for blake.
A wreth of gold arm gret, of huge weight
Upon his hed sate ful of stones bright,
Of fine rubins and diamants.
About his char ther wenten whit alauns,
Twenty and mo, as gret as any stere,
To hunten at the leon or the dere.
And folwed him with mosel fast ybound,
Colered with gold and torettes filed round.
A hundred lordes had he in his route,
Armed full wel, with hertes sterne and stout.
With Arcita, in stories as man find,
The gret Emetrius the king of Inde,
Upon a stede bay, trapped in stele,
Covered with cloth of gold diapred wele,
Came riding like the God of armes Mars.
His cote-armure was of a cloth of Tars,
Couched with perles, white, round and grete.
His sadel was of brent gold new ybete;
A mantelet upon his shouldres hanging
Bret-ful of rubies red, as fire sparkling.
His crispe here like ringes was yronne,
And that was yelwe and glitered as the sonne.
His nose was high, his eyen bright citrin,
His lippes round, his colour was sanguin,...
And as a leon he his loking caste.
Of five and twenty yere his age I caste.
His berd was well begonnen for to spring;
His vois was as a trompe tundering.
Upon his hed he wered of laurer grene
A gerlond fresshe and lusty for to sene.
Upon his hond he bare for his deduit
An egle tame, as any lily whit.
An hundred Lordes had he with him there,
All armed save hir hedes in all hir gere,
Ful richely in alle manere thinges....
About this king there ran on every part
Ful many a tame leon and leopart.