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Ofmach grows older.
Yeder years yonward wend.
The longmynden lattew lokend
but brawnfallen & bloudshrank,
bycame fusten, forgrown & forold,
onetil yn hys alange anleth abhorrorful.
News comes of an invasion:
Yt betid yn a tyme tidlie therafter
from elsehwens & eviriwise erendrakes
famed of thys ferly: a ferd of
nocive nomen from nohwyther.
Thei ynkled of ynsurge & yncreep,
the riotlich ruptioun of Rawbone
wyth a grimful ging of gristbyters,
motleyen mancwellers & murdriers.
death's army plunders the borders.
A trome dyd teld theyr tenticles
to ovirhwelve Ofmach hys onwald.
These swang surlyngs swencht
& dislandid the dudgen dwellers,
wyth darksome deadlihood derved theim
wyth evilful evest & egromancie.
One messenger escaped.
One wakeman wythscope
maimedlie thoes malmisch merches.
A quickspur quinched ovir quallmires
to deem his deme of daungir.
Ofmach seeks Mooncow.
Ofmach hys rustburnt rapyre rescried
& on hys beiaden bayard besought
hys malgracyous mafflard Mancow,
forthwythall to filst hym to fighten agen.
Mooncow dissipates himself
Mancow miskept als a makesport
sepulten yn a scandalld stewhows,
boysterlie bemusken wyth bakemeats
& ynamoraten wyth ydlement & ydolrie.
and declines in body and mind.
Lichamlie lustick he littend.
A wanchancie wandelard yn wandreth,
a liguryous lolpoop he lurdged
mong madrigallers yn madhead
hys lifeday till lattir Lammas.
He lives as a clown for his food
He glutlesslie gleekd groatsworths
for fictlie fussockyng a fabule
of how he allone harraged
& bedidderd babberlip Rothead, & braglie
als swilk spuriosyties he spake
he grobbd for gallwet gobbets.
and eats gluttonously.
He was a gutlyng hwo gloupd guttle,
& wyth fleschments frovird hys famblers
alday to drynk at dyvers herbergages
& then sytten & soupen til sleep hym assail
& wanhope wake hym with no wyll
till sloth slicken hys sydes.
Ofmach breaks down the door
Ofmach tocwaked & turmoild the tipplynghows,
scarboyld the snacket & stocklock.
Brust he into the borthel yts beddrum.
wandsomelie he wythsook hys wagelyng.
and berates Mooncow.
Yn cowlisch cuckoldage yow croodel
& lyke a Iohnanape yow iobble & iabble.
Cupschotten yow are, cuntstruck & cupidous.
Mooncow is impassive.
Mancow discaskt a dribblement of duke.
Your wordloc woll nat wyn mene.
Olmach pleads.
Oled frend, Ofmach ovirsobbd,
Ich licken yow to liven lapsiblie,
rubrified wyth rattlenoddlen railwiferie.
Schriveleslie at schondlie schovegroat
yow sparfel yowr soulsick selth
He urges Mooncow to join him.
At thys, the gremeful glutter grented.
Yow are sapped in syn he sayed.
Graithfullie gaynstrive ayen glutterie,
lyncwisch liss oon latest time,
wyth me rehelm ayen rapeful Rawbone.
Mooncow refuses
Cheerlie chavellyng a cherrylet
he ructed: Yow rhetorize ridicles,
yow are a forthputter of farfetches,
a calumner. Yow ne can convenablie
retrude mene from the rabbisch roguehows.
Ofmach offers money, which he accepts.
Ofmach othirgate offerd hym
a glim of gaudisch goldlyngs.
The swyngebreech swevend of selfglorie,
doted of douth & divytiosytie.
Listilie he lyncwischt hys liss.
Of Rawbone
Ravenisch Rawbone a ramhead was,
an ugged u proarer from Undirkyngdom,
or haplie he henst from Hungirland.
Hys berd was brothie & blake,
huke nebben & hellen hys faas
wyth eyen farden als fyer yn the furness.
& of his band.
Betwattled yn Babylonicall blakartschip
he waged mong wolvie woodwoses
& mortuall mahounds wythouten milce,
the selcouthest samenyng hwich semblen was evir.
Their depradations:
These ferdful fomen fenked
the mirie merches & metes of erth.
He litherlie lumperd thurgh the land
hulsterd yn hungerbanen hellnes
each darkschip despytouslie deboweland
& eunuchand at ughten umbirments.
Ofmach's lands are surrounded.
Wounder cam winterre & wretchlie.
Ofmach hys samenyng of sweordmen stathelfast
on the fighting feild foregatherd.
His speech before battle.
Yn a mamblyng, he moodid mouthlie
Time hys kynrick has clomen cankerfret
on my breme brackmard but
yt still slikes strutlie. We musten
umheed the ungles of these uproarers
hwo thynk to thrafullie thurghgird us.
We musten wythgo these wandelards,
waw these hwipstarts on the warytree,
or else be eternified yn owr earthbeds.
Yowr gomegraith then gird, freinds,
and fare us forth fynallie.
They advance
The taborner toclattird hys tapskyn,
Ofmach blew bainlie on hys breme,
& thei striddled stridelong thurgh sniddle
the grisie ging to grasple.
and join battle.
Wyth a leflich lust togedir thei lacht.
Draddid thei litel deth & doughtilie wrowt.
The charnels churrd & chumbled
wyth atlyng of areblast & archiers
well feathiren flanes flung abowt,
grim arows & grai wyth grounden heds.
The fighting is fierce:
The peopel prest to proffren dynts.
Grieflie thei gredid theyr greme,
but the bruterers beswarmd the battel.
Hailschot hastiflie abofen theim hurred
& wyrmtong wanchance wagtaild aforn.
Death's army stands firm.
Manie a wounden wyght walowd there.
The hoblyns hicockt but hild ferm
& then the skuldug sceadows scrithed
froward, & furtherforth they fuhton.
Ofmach hys smicksmack sweord scarkled
from mactatand murksome malefidians.
Rawbone kills many,
Bitelbrowed & babberlippen,
Rawbone rapelie rived manfolk,
for greef of hys grim stroke grunted manie.
Brast & besperpled he theyr brayns.
He dent theyr corpusses & clave theim,
wyth hys curtalax carf theim to copweb,
& berked wyth bloud was his berd.
Ofmach grows older
Swordmynden Mooncow stayd samenlie
scruggland to splate hys swurd
& kemp the carrionlean cadavres.
He lankenlie lumperd lengthway,
but rothlich Rawbone the reapman ovir
Mooncow glibberd hys gallwet golls
ramverst & riotlie ribbasted hym
hwo flunged a flane at the foemate.
Mooncow is slain.
Rawbone slifterd hym a sweng, a swough,
halvend hys hereweeds
& gramelie dyd gnide hys guggle.
Hys schaft wyth scharp heod outschot hys yie
& swithlie the slab bard he spatcht.
Mooncow hys ynneths ischd ynsunder.
On the ground hys goldlyngs gliskt.
Ofmach attempts vengeance.
Gretelie agrise & greeven Ofmach
venomlie vowd to venge
hys steersmate but hys swurd sunderd
awklie on the awless auph.
Yt drew to the derk & the daie slaked
hwen the night needelich yt nied,
He is defeated with his army.
The skelets smoth & slone nigh all.
Hys battle folk was berafted & bebled.
Hys hatel heartpit was hailschot,
tickleham he feld flatlong
& arsewardlie, alluttirlie arasen.
Ofmach pleads for his son.
Aslough yow have all my anlikes.
Spear mene but spare my soon, quod Ofmach.
Bespat & besperkled Rawbone his brakmard.
Rawhead gloats.
The ramhead respewd these ructatiouns:
Ich am unman, uttirlyke uvemest:
no one can kull or cadaverate mene.
Ich gobbon godcund grandlyngs lyke yow,
so wythset yowr wyrmcankert wyrdbravyng.
It is deathday, tyme to deflower
and hend you to the hearms of hell.
He is without mercy.
As windlestraws yowr swordfolk ys sparpled.
Venomlie Ich vagynate my victorsword yn yow,
& afire yow all yowr allmightsome
hades schall be hilden wyth yowr henches.
Thus the dricksie deaths faas dretcht hym
and clenlie wyth a clob crassht hym.
Ofmach dies.
Hys graveward goyng golgothic was.
Corpswyrms & cankers ovir hym clamb.
Dungwet dewslugs draggled
& gleimed hym yn gliddirie gainchares
& fynewd frothwyrms fyggled hym.
He is shown the future
Dulce Ofmach dricksilie diyed, but
allbefore, all hwich is yn alwaynes
forecnowabel was futurelie forthcast to hym
als he lay heartburnand for herebefore.
& sees his son survive.
Nextlie, at the noontyde of the nicht
he sawgh his so ne supervive
& worthelie wyn great wounders,
overlyvyng & ofsloggyng hys opressours.
Dawn.
Twas dawyng. Daybreak discaskt,
the daystar disembrangled from darkschip
& crazen cocklight crib bled onto hym.
The colefoxen clockt & crickd.
On the grum ground he gloomd,
hys cutbeaten corpus carrionized.
He is laid to rest.
Hys folkmote fund hym & forburnt
a scathefire to scwarken hys sepulcer,
als the wyrms yn hys womb dyd wynd.
His son burns him.
Hys son swithen hym wyth sorwe.
To blakenes a balefire brent hym,
thereaftre hys smoke thurificated the weorld.
Conclusion. Of fate
Thus I, phraseman, fabulize phantomnations.
Thus I, ynkster, imaze yow
& rimeye royishlie of Rothead,
of burth, buriels & bugans.
& after fate.
Persowns headlonglie have
wayd thurgh thys wyrldschip wastenyng
& cum to be carrionlean, carryand
nighhwat nonethyng then namecouthead, afore
fleschwyrms dwyne them to forthfatherhood.