Paul Kingsnorth - The Wake

but while the low places is wet the high places is dry and there is many ealonds in the fenns what gifs us foda and good lifs. welig and alor treows is growan here and sum times ac and aesc and there is micel ground on what can be growan waet and baerlic and holts where swine can be lifan and micel good ground on hwicc to lif as folc. and as these ealonds is in meres on all sides with paths what only fenn folcs cnawan it is hard for those from other parts to cum in though as i had seen it can be done when those ingengas has fenn folcs at their call to lead them to the hunt

all around the fenn lands there is treows. ofer to the south and west ofer to where the frenc cum from is a great holt that is called the brunnesweald and this holt has been in this place since our folc cum to this land. ham it is to wulfs it is saed and boars and aelfs and other folcs it is an eald place eald it colde be as the hus of the eald gods under the mere. this brunnesweald i had nefer seen before i left my ham but i was to see it later for it was there the enemis of the bastard cum to gather to feoht those who broc them

now in this small holt by bacstune locan at the treows i was thincan that these frenc they wolde gif all these things other names. i was locan at an ac treow and i put my hand on its great stocc and i was thincan the ingengas will haf another name for this treow. it had seemed to me that this treow was anglisc as the ground it is grown from anglisc as we who is grown also from that ground. but if the frenc cums and tacs this land and gifs these treows sum frenc name they will not be the same treows no mor. it colde be that to erce this treow will be the same that it will haf the same leafs the same rind but to me it will be sum other thing that is not mine sum thing ingenga of what i can no longer spec

will they gif angland another name also i saes to this treow what will we call our cildren

what is it thu saes buccmaster saes grimcell to me hearan this

i specs to the treow i saes to him it colde be we is grene men now without ceosan it

where will we go saes grimcell

other hams i saes let us go to other hams let us stay in the holt cepe walcan with this cilde and his swine let us see what the frenc has done in the fenns and let us see who else is in these wuds now

now does thu see

where has thu been i has been callan

it is not for thu to call

who is thu

thu named me

but i cannot see

i has been waitan for thu to see

still i is blind

cepe walcan buccmaster of holland

show me the path

find it

grimcell and i then we gan ofer to langetof to see what the folc there was bearan. as we gan through the holt we was specan and i cum to see that grimcell was cwic of mynd for a cottar and no esol lic sum was. he telt me he had not gan with the fyrd due to bean sic with the feofor when the call cum but his brothor had gan and his son and neither cum baec and lic me now his wifman was cwelled by the frenc when they cum through lic the wind and now we was left with the holt as all we had. we talcced then of the frenc and of what moste be done

when my father was a cilde saes grimcell our anglisc cyng aethelraed he was weac and men cum in scips then from the north lands to angland and aethelraed was cast out and cnut cum to us as cyng and he lic this geeyome was an ingenga a denisc man. and his men they set many fyrs and hams and tuns was beorned lic now and yet cnut when he cum he cum as an anglisc cyng and locd ofer us as one and he done well by us

well this may be so i saes but frenc men they is not the same mor lic hunds they is than men all their ways is ingenga to us. they has no haer on their heafods i saes does thu cnawan this no haer they is all shafn they locs lic frogs

frogs saes this cilde tofe then and he is laughan frogs he saes locan up at me. he is walcan along with us as we is goan through the holt we is talccan he is lystnan and callan and ciccan his swine to mof them before him

has thu seen them then saes grimcell

all cnaws this i saes thu does not haf to see it but lysten now does though cnawan of the daeg of sanct bricius and of what aethelraed done to the ingengas on this daeg

tell us saes tofe who is yonge this cilde but lystens to me well

this was in the time of my grandfather i tells this cilde who was a great man and at this time aethelraed he had many denisc folcs in this land but many was agan him and he was afeart at the cuman of the denisc cyng to tac his corona. and so aethelraed he telt his folc that on the daeg of this sanct all denisc folcs in the cyngdom was to be cwelled

cwelled saes tofe all of them

cwelled i saes and as the daeg cum up cwelled they was. anglisc folcs toc them from their hus and ham and cut them down and efen the circes of the crist was not good hidan places for them these circes was beorned for anglisc men colde not trust ingengas lifan amongst them

grimcell and tofe they saes naht to this for sum time only cepes walcan

it colde be done again i saes if we had a great man to lead us we colde tac efry frenc man in this land from his hus on one daeg if we had the will and angland wolde be ours again

tofe saes grimcell at last to the cilde this is a denisc name is it not

tofe he locs afeart then but he saes in a small way yes it is denisc

thy folcs then was denisc saes grimcell to him but he saes it lic a freond

my grandfather saes tofe again for we is in the danelaugh is we not before the anglisc cyngs toc baec this place it was under rule of north cyngs there is many here of denisc stocc but they is anglisc now we is all anglisc now is this not so. he is locan at us in teorn lic he needs us to say yes cilde. grimcell he locs at me then but he saes naht to me

frenc is worse than denisc i saes loc and thu will see frenc is worse than denisc

when this geeyome our cyng cums baec from his frenc lands saes tofe then it colde be he will rule us lic cnut lic a good man now the feohtan is done it colde be the beornan will stop

he is not our cyng and he will not i saes and i saes it in a way that stops them saen any things lic this again. there is not time for this there is no time. tofe ciccs his three swine what has stopped to root and we walcs on we is goan south

thu will feoht then

feoht who

feoht them

first we moste find them

the gods locs on

a time will cum

they did not cwell thy odelyn with words

do not spec of her

she is here with me she locs on

no

she is here thy grandfather is here

thu is lyan

thy boys

nefer this is scit

in this place is all thy cynn folc they locs on

i does not belyf thu

who will feoht now they saes for our land

they cnawan i is strong

this sweord i gaf thu and nefer is it swung

well we spent a night in the holt around a fyr with these swine gruntan around us all the fuccan night and all night it regned on us and cold the regn was. we was wearan capes but we was wet through by the time light cum and in this way we gan south to langetof and i was felan lic a hund in triewth lic a man with naht

if i had again my hus and my fyr i saes and my wifman what i cept lic a cwen always and whose luf for me was triewe then all other men colde leaf me for efer and this i wolde not efen see

if i had been there i saes with my sweord then there wolde be no frenc in all these fenns

grimcell he walcs with me wet also and he saes naht to the things i is saen but this cilde tofe i has seen that he lystens always to me

buccmaster he saes this sweord what thu carries it is a great thing. a wise cilde he is this one and i saes to him yes this sweord is no sweord what small men has