Paul Kingsnorth - The Wake

well ecceard had not gan with the fyrd he bean gerefa and he bean also a man who is gan when hard things cum and many a time i was wantan to go to the ham and tell him how i felt about this but i cnawan in triewth it was not ecceard who was wrong. oft i thought i wolde lic to see harald cyng cum and worc on my barn as he had toc my men but other times i thought that if it was triewe about the landwaster and the frenc duc and the brothor of the cyng and all then harald cyng wolde be needan mor than my gebur and dunstan with his ire and his cildes dreams

and then it was seofon wices after the helmed man cum and from the treows on the path i seen sum one cuman. locan from the waet feld what asger and i was ploughan for the autumn sawan i seen by how he was mofan that i cnawan this man and from the barn odelyn cnawan the same and she was runnan to him cwic for it was eadberht cum baec

eadberht my son she saes my cilde thu is baec and she locs at him all ofer and i gan to him also and seen that he was micel the same

mothor father saes eadberht

where is dunstan saes my wifman then and in her eages there is fear

i does not cnaw saes eadberht for he was sent to other places and i has not seen my brothor in many wices

then did thu feoht the dene i saes or the frenc or the aelfs of the holt for thu is not micel bruised for a feohtan man

there was no feohtan saes eadberht and as efer his nebb is straight he smerccd lytel this one he was a stille man. there was no feohtan naht cum harald cyng he feared the cuman of the frenc duc from the sea to the south for he hierde the duc had many scips on the frenc strands with hors in and many waepend men ready to sail. the duc was cuman it was saed and this harald cyng feared and still fears and so the fyrd he placed along the strands and clifs of the south and the flota all in the ports and there we satt for six wices and from the sea we seen naht but fugols and the wood and weod that cum in on the waefs

it is as i telt thu i saed sittan in felds in wessex locan at the sea when there is haerfest to be gathered in holland

well sum men saes it is not so saes eadberht and i seen that bean in other parts had macd him mor braesen in his own hus. triewe feohtan men he saes and those who has been to other parts saes harald cyng is right to be wary of this for the duc of the frenc belyfs he is triewe cyng of the anglisc. it is saed around fyrs when it is wise to spec that eald edweard who was cyng before harald bean frenc in half his blud gifen the corona of angland to the duc and that harald saed also to this geeyome as he is called that angland was his by right and now the duc geeyome is in a great ire and will cum to tac the corona from harald and his heafod with it

then why is thu baec saes my wifman

he is baec i saes for the cyng may asc six wices fyrd duty from a man and no mor in any year and good it is that he is cum baec though it is six wices too long for the barn is still broc and micel of the waet is forspilled

and the strands of angland is now open to all saes eadberht and if the duc cums now he will tac mor from us than our waet

for three daegs then odelyn fretted and clucced lic a cycen for she was afeart that her dunstan was gan may be tacan by the sea or by out laws or may be the duc had cum in the end and there had been a great feoht and him with no sweord though she was wise not to sae this. me i was wantan dunstan baec and my gebur gamel also for it was sawan time and we was micel behind in worc but gamel he nefer cum baec and where he gan or what wyrd he found i nefer cnawan. gamel had sum lytel land in this ham and a hus both gifen by me and for this he moste worc for me a lytel and gif me sum lytel geld it was a good lif i gif him so why he wolde go i do not cnaw. but sum men secs in other lands what they belyfs they is due though in triewth what they has is better than they thinc

in these three daegs also i saw sum new things in eadberht for though he was still gifan due in his talcan to me he was also waxan mor lic a man and it seemed that in his goan to other lands he had left sum part of him out there still. not efen feohtan but only walcan in other lands can do this to men as i cnawan well. also i seen it triewe when after three daegs dunstan cum baec ofer the felds

it was the efen when he cum deorcness was gathered in and we was in the hus around the fyr with was a crocc of broth of lamb and baerlic and we was all eten this with the good baerlic loaf what odelyn macd well and we was eten with micel lust for the daeg had been long. then it was that sounds was hierde from without and before efen we colde stand dunstan cum through the door with his lytel sacc and a new seax at his belt that had not been his before

odelyn runs to him as wifmen does and eadberht also stands and he grips his brothors sculdor and saes brothor in such a way as i had not seen

dunstan my cilde i saes not standan up sitt with us and eat thy mothors broth for i hiere it has been hard for thu feohtan with sea weods and with the water. this was a joc but dunstan he did not understand jocs and as he had done no feohtan it seemed he wolde do it here. he locs at me then with that fyr in him that i was hopan wolde be cwelled by his goan

father he saes i see things here is as efer they was

yes i saes this is triewe the barn is still broc and the weods is still in the felds

and thu is as efer thu was also he saes. eadberht and odelyn they both locs at him lic he sceolde stop and in triewth he sceolde haf

i is still thy father yes i saes and i is tellan thu now to eat for in the mergen there is worc to be done i has lost one gebur and will not lose mor worc than i moste

thu thincs this is sum joc he saes and he is loccan at me right at me and now i sees it is time to end this he is still a cilde though he may thinc not. i stands

tell me what is a joc cilde i saes

thu thincs he saes and now that i is standan there is sum flicor in his fyr but still it beorns thu thincs our fyrd worc was sum joc is this what thu thincs

i thincs i saes that i was right it wolde cum to naht and thu sceolde haf been here

i thincs saes dunstan that triewe men gan to feoht for their cyng and land agan the ingenga

ah i saes the ingenga what cums in the scape of the sea weod

then dunstan he starts to yell lic he has wanted to from when he first cum in. what is thu he yells talcan all my lif of thy grandfather and anglisc gods and thy great sweord what thu has nefer efen swung and talcan of our folc and ingengas and feohtan agan all from outside and now they is cuman thu is sittan here on thy arse talccan scit about barns

thu will scut thy fuccan mouth now i saes but as he is across the fyr from me i cannot beat him without goan to him and he is cwic i will sae this for him

i will not he saes for i is man also on this land and i has been with the fyrd with triewe men with feohtan men who cnawan what angland is and has feoht for it and all saes there is sum great thing cuman from the sea and i will be with them these men feohtan agan all who cum and if my father will stay here with his fuccan waet and his sweord what rusts and all his fuccan words then that is his lif

dunstan saes eadberht thu sceolde not spec this way to our father. he is right in this but then he locs at me father he saes to me has thu not saed sum thing is cuman since the daeg thu seen this fugol and we all seen the haeric star. well he saes is this not what is cuman and moste we not stand if it cum

well i had saed this and right i was to sae it though none wolde lysten to me i cnawan sum thing great was cuman to angland and not a good thing. but i wolde not haf this not from no cilde lic this if there was feohtan to cum it wolde be me who saed when and where we was feohtan not dunstan nor ecceard nor efen the cyng but me