ld conquer Rome,
and all the realm, and all the lands that thereto lie. The first was
Belin, who was a British king; the other was Constantine, who was king
in Britain; thou shalt be the third, that Rome shalt have. And if thou
wilt it begin, thou shalt it win, and I will thereto help, with great
strength, I will send over sea, to my good thanes, to my bold
Britons--the better we shall proceed,--I will command all, the nobles
of Britain, by their limbs and by their lives, over all my lands, that
they be ready soon with thee to march to Rome. My land I will set in
pledge for silver, and all the possessions of my land for silver and
for gold, and so we shall proceed to Rome, and slay Luces the emperor,
and for to win thy rights, I will lead to thee ten thousand knights."
Thus spake Howel, noblest of Britanny.

When that Howel had said what seemed good to him, then spake Angel the
king, Scotland's darling, and stood upon a bench, and both his
brothers, that was, Loth and Urien, two most noble men. Thus said
Angel the king to Arthur the keen: "Lord Arthur, I say to thee through
my sooth words, the same that Howel hath spoken, no man shall it
avoid, but we shall perform it by our quick lives! And, lord Arthur
the noble, listen to me a while, call to thee to counsel thy earls
rich, and all the highest that are in thy folk, and bid them say to
thee with their sooth words, in what they will help thee thy foes to
destroy. I will lead to thee knights of my land, three thousand
champions brave, all chosen, ten thousand men on foot, to fight most
good, and go we to Rome, and conquer the realm. Full greatly it may
shame us, and full greatly it may us anger, that they should send
messengers after tribute to our land. But so help us the Lord that
formed the daylight, they shall pay for it with their bare life! For
when we have Rome, and all the realm, we shall seize the lands that
thereto he, Poille (Apuha?) and Alemaine, Lumbardy and Britanny,
France and Normandy--then it hight Neustrie--and so we shall tame
their immoderate mood (pride)." When the king had said then answered
all. "Disgraced be that man that will not help thereto, with goods and
with weapons, and with all his might!"

Then was Arthur's folk sternly incensed, knights were so enraged, that
all they gan to be agitated. When Arthur had heard the clamour of his
folk, then gan he call--the king was angry--"Sit ye down still,
knights in hall, and I will you tell what I wi