Page:Romance of the Rose (Ellis), volume 1.pdf/272

Amid his goodly company,
By arrow-stroke, death pierced, fell he.
Death of Conradin It scarcely needs my page to blot
By telling of the woful lot
Of Conradin, whom Charles decreed
To death, although for him did plead
The German princes; or how fell
Henry, the prince of Spain as well,
In prison slain, as guerdon good
For one whose treason shamed manhood.7040
These two rash, foolish men, I ween,
Lost knights and rooks, and pawns and queen,
Till, seeing all against them scored,
They fled and left swept clear, the board.
Great fear they had lest round them spun
Should be the web they had begun,
Yet ne’er need they have been afraid
Lest they should see check-mate arrayed
Against them, since devoid of king
They fought, their foes could nowise bring7050
Those into check with whom they played,
Since first this noble game was made,
For never men at chess can fight
(How great soe’er the power they dight)
With check ’gainst those who fight afoot,
The pawn, or rook, or fool to boot,
Nor queen or knight, nor all the hoard
Of commoners who fill the board.
For of a truth I dare to state
What meaneth that men call ‘a mate’;7060
The king it is to whom we give
‘Check,’ when his men have ceased to live,