Paul Kingsnorth - The Wake

small men has no sweords saes this tofe in my ham none had a sweord they is great things

this sweord is greater than any thu will see i saes for it is macd by weland the great smith of the eald times

weland saes the cilde weland i has been telt of in tales by gleomen but tales i thought they was only

gleomen is esols i saes they thincs they is only raedlan for poor geburs but in sum of their tales they tells great triewths though they is too dumb to cnaw it

in triewth saes this cilde was this sweord macd by great weland buccmaster

triewth is all i tells i saes

but here i colde not tell as i had wanted the tale of my grandfather and of his metan with great weland in the fenn for grimcell saes we moste stop this specan now for we is cuman to langetof. i was in sum ire at him saen this but i saw he was right we was near for through treows we colde see smoc from fyrs. langetof was a small ham lic mine ten hus maybe and locd ofer by our thegn wulmaer who now was gan and his place toc by frenc hunds who still we had not seen

we cum near to langetof cepan always behind treows and we colde see that this ham was still lifan and that the fyrs we seen was not ingenga fyrs but only the fyrs of smiths or of folc in their hus and on their land. folcs was mofan around and talcan and worcan in the felds and hunds was lyan about and things was as things was in hams around these parts

there is no frenc here saes grimcell this is good

will we go to them saes tofe and tell them we is grene men and will feoht for their lifs

thu do this then cilde i saes and we will sitt here and smerc

tofe he locs small at this why does thu sae this buccmaster he saes does thu mocc me

tofe cilde saes grimcell we can not feoht for none with two men and one cilde and an eald sweord what was nefer swung. at this of course i tacs ire

loc at thy fuccan mouth cottar i saes for these things is not to be spocn of in this way this sweord it is cum to me for greatness and for wars in times of great need

well so thu saes buccmaster saes grimcell and this seems to me a time of great need and this sweord not swung to cwell no man yet well perhaps thu is waitan to be telt by weland when to swing it

well i colde not haf this from no cottar and this cilde locan on and so i teorns to him and my sweord i tacs from my belt and at his heafod i swings it. grimcell he steps baec and he steps on the root of a treow and down he gan to the ground and on his breost i puts the tip of my sweord

thu sees cilde i saes to tofe lic naht had cum thu sees the runes on this blaed and the wihts thu sees the craft of weland thu sees what this sweord is

tofe he locs and saes naht but his eages is wid and grimcell he locs up at me in sum ire and my sweord ofer his heorte

who leads this werod cottar i saes and he locs up at me

werod he saes

who leads this werod

he locs up at me

thu it seems he saes slow and in his words there is naht to sae what he thincs of this

i is thy ring gifer i saes and thine too cilde. i is a socman of three oxgangs a man of the wapentac i has been spoc to by fugol and star i is buccmaster of holland

i saes i has been ceosan

ring gifer saes tofe and he locs lic i is sum great man then

ceosan saes grimcell and he locs at me straight but saes naht mor. my sweord i tacs off from him now and puts it in its sceath

get up i saes get up off this ground man

grimcell he gets up then he clenes him self and does not loc at me

cum i saes cum grimcell thu is a good man only it moste be cnawan who is the strong one here yes. well he walcs away and tofe then who is locan on he cums up to us and specs before i has time to say any other thing

buccmaster he saes here is frenc to use thy sweord on

we locs at him and then both locs through treows at this ham of langetof and sum way from us on the straet through the ham we seen on a hwit hors a man

this hors it is a cnawan breed in these parts it is a hors lic any hors it is not an ingenga. scod and sadld the fenn way it is walcan through this ham lic any hors in any ham in any place in this land

but on this hors there is a man and of this man there is naht anglisc and naht triewe and he is not scod lic us. we is sum way from him so all of us all three men we mofs then as far in the treows as we colde be without bean seen from the ham and all three of us now not specan and mofan as a werod sceolde as one lic the fugols in the haerfest when they is leafan to tac to the heofon for the winter

he is a frenc man saes tofe he is a frenc man i has seen him

grimcell and i who has seen no frenc before this we locs and now we sees what curse is on our land and the folcs who is bringan it. this man he is scort and he wers clothes in sum ways lic what anglisc folcs he wers scohs and scyrte breces and hose tunece and belt and cape but of all these things there is sum thing ingenga. i colde not see what thing it was that made them so but no man wolde tac these clothes for anglisc clothes for no men of these parts wolde wer them they was not right

but loc at his heafod now loc at his heafod for this is the thing what macs him what he is. his nose is lic sum bec lic the carfan bec of the hafoc and in his eages there is blud we colde not see his eages well but blud there was in them for sure. what did he do here by what right did he cum here this deoful. on his heafod where there sceolde haf been haer long and triewe lic anglisc haer there was lic a helm lic a scort blaec helm but it colde be seen that this was not helm but haer. this was frenc haer scapd lic sum lytel helm or corona sittan on top of the heafod of this thing and all shafd the necc the heafod the nebb

this is no thing of the grene world i saes

it is a hard sight saes grimcell

denisc men saes tofe denisc men when they cums they locs lic men lic feohtan men lic triewe men. and he locs at us again lic he wolde haf us sae yes cilde yes cilde

we locs on as this frenc man gan on out of the ham on his hors and to the west away from the fenn and towards the brunnesweald. we locs on and the sound of the hors then is gan and we is left with the sound of our breathan and of the treows mofan a lytel in the wind and of the folcs in the ham

now saes tofe and he saes it lic he is an ent now what is the grene men to do about this

what saes grimcell

well saes tofe loc here in our land is a frenc deoful and we is the free men of angland we is the sawol of the holt so what is to be done what is to be done buccmaster with thy great and triewe sweord

this cilde he was in sum great thryll now lic it was sum game with stics and stans lic he was feohtan with brothor or girl behind the hay ricc in litha

well i saes. i did not cnaw what other thing to sae to him

loc i saes the deoful is now gan

who will feoht now they saes for our land

he will cum baec saes tofe he is of these lands now

he is not of these lands i saes

he will be of these lands if sum does not tac him from them saes tofe

this sweord i gaf thu and nefer is it swung

grimcell i saes i locs at him i does not cnaw what he sceolde sae. locan at me sum small time he saes naht

he will cum baec saes tofe again

then we will be ready i saes

ready for what saes grimcell with what. he is still smartan from what i has taught him

we will be ready saes tofe

who will feoht now

i wacans in this wud in this deorc holt and though it is the deop of the night all is light all is light lic the sunne is cuman down on efry leaf in efry fox hole and efry piece of ground. i stands for i cnawan i moste stand and i walcs to the ham but where there was a ham there is now a strand and down from this strand a great sea a wid sea deop and deorc and yet light lic all the light that is now ofer efry thing