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 and see, That ther com entring in the halle A right gret company with-alle, And that of sondry regiouns, Of alleskinnes condiciouns, (440) 1530 That dwelle in erthe under the mone, Pore and ryche. And also sone As they were come into the halle, They gonne doun on kneës falle Before this ilke noble quene, 1535 And seyde, 'Graunte us, lady shene,