His officers with swifte feet they renne And ride anon at his commandement. And after this, this Theseus hath sent After a bere, and it all overspradde With cloth of gold, the richest that he hadde; And of the same suit he cladde Arcite. Upon his hondes were his gloves white, Eke on his hed a croune of laurer grene, And in his hond a swerd ful bright and kene. He laid him bare the visage on the bere, Therwith he wept that pitee was to here; And for the peple shulde seen him alle, Whan it was day, he brought him to the halle, That roreth of the crying, and the soun. Tho came this woful Theban, Palamon, With flotery berd, and ruggy ashy heres, In clothes blake, ydropped all with teres, And (passing over of weping Emelie) The reufullest of all the compagnie. And in as much as the service shuld be The more noble, and riche in his degree, Duk Theseus let forth three stedes bring, That trapped were in stele all glittering, And covered with the armes of Dan Arcite; And eke upon these stedes, gret and white, Ther saten folk, of which on bare his sheld, Another his spere up in his hondes held; The thridde bare with him his bow Turkeis, Of brent gold was the cas and the harneis; And riden forth a pas with sorweful chere Toward the groue, as ye shal after here. The noblest of the Grekes that ther were Upon hir shuldres carrieden the bere, With slacke pas, and eyen red and wete, Thurghout the citee, by the maister strete, That sprad was al with black, and wonder hie, Right of the same is all the strete ywrie. Upon the right hand went olde Egeus, And on the other side, Duk Theseus, With vessels in hir hond of gold ful fine, All ful of hony, milk, and blood, and wine; Eke Palamon, with ful gret compagnie, And after that came woful Emelie, With fire in hond, as was that time the gise, To don the office of funeral service. High labour and ful gret apparailling Was at the service of that fire making, That with his grene top the heaven raught, And twenty fadom of bred the armes straught; This is to sain, the boughes were so brode, Of stre first ther was laied many a lode. But how the fire was maked up on highte, And eke the names how the trees highte, As oke, fir, birch, aspe, alder, holm, poplere, Wilow, elm, plane, ash, box, chestein, lind, laurere, Maple, thorn, beche, hasel, ew, whipultre, How they were feld, shal not be told for me; Ne how the goddes rannen up and doun, Disherited of hir habitatioun; In which they woneden in rest and pees, Nimphes, Faunes, and Amidriades; Ne how the bestes, and the birddes alle Fledden for fere whan the wood gan falle; Ne how the ground agast was of the light, That was not wont to see the sonne bright; Ne how the fire was couched first with stre,