Paul Kingsnorth - The Wake

well we mofd in the holt we mofd along the ecg and soon we seen a sight not to be forgot. all folcs of the ham it seemed was gathrd in the straet and before them was the two frenc scuccas we had seen cuman after us when we cwelled the ingenga who called himself our thegn. they was on hors as i was saen frenc is all times on hors and again they was with sweord and they stood before the folcs of the ham who was on their feet callan to them for mildheortedness. the ingengas nebbs was set lic style and before them they held an eald man

this man his haer was hwit and he was eald and one of these ingengas on hors he had a line around this mans necc and was pullan him so this eald man stood on his toes only and he was gaspan and clawan at his throta and he loccd to me lic the ingenga thegn before i cwelled him

who saes one of these ingengas to the folcs of the ham

o none they all calls it was none of us we has telt thu we telt thu yesterdaeg do not tac another of our men it was not us it was ingengas what done it

ingengas i saes to tofe ingengas they saes

who saes the frenc man again to them and he pulls on the line again so this eald man he is almost off his feet now and the other ingenga he raises a sweord

at this the ham folcs calls efen louder and they mofs to go to the frenc but the sweord man he wafs his blaed and they dares not. father cries sum man in the crowd o father o cepe him he is an eald man and good

it was not us saes a wifman o great thegns it was not us we nefer seen it we wolde not we is good folcs o spare us. well the sound is great by now but these ingengas they seems not to lysten or i thinc to cnaw the anglisc words

who cwell thegn saes the ingenga with the line and he is mor ired now efen than before. gif or we cwells

no cries the folcs in the ham again no it was not us it was ingengas

well maybe it was the word ingenga what these frenc hierde and thought was an meant for them or maybe they was ired or maybe they did noy belyf but it seemed they had seen and hierde enough now for the man with the line he lifts this eald anglisc man as high as he colde ofer his hors and the other ingenga he brings down his sweord scearp and strong and he cuts his throta so deop that his heafod near cum off and blud gan all ofer the ingenga hors and there is a great roar from the folcs and the ingengas then they lets the man fall to the ground and all runs to him and a man tacs his bledan heafod in his hands and saes father father but his father is hearan naht no mor and will nefer

tomergen saes the first ingenga to the folcs as they teorns their hors away. tomergen one mor. efry daeg not tell one mor. he specs anglisc lic a cilde but they cnawan what he saes. then they spurs their hors and gan down the straet leafan the folcs of langetof wepan all in blud and water

i locs at tofe who is hwit and grimcell who is saen naht only locan on and locan grim

well i saes i thincs these folcs will not haf salt for us. grimcell he locs at me lic he is both sad and in ire

this was our doan he saes it is lic we cwelled this man

that is scit i saes scit frenc ingengas cwelled this man lic they has cwelled all our folcs

these folcs is bean cwelled for what we done saes grimcell it is wrong

then go and gif thyself to ingenga sweords i saes go and walc in the straet with thy heafod down while ingengas fuccs thy folc and thy land. there is no way to be without blud now grimcell we is all in blud now we can only asc whose blud is on us anglisc or frenc

this is anglisc blud saes grimcell that is on us

they is scuccas saes tofe now and he locs lic he will weep scuccas all they lufs is cwellan o who has sent them

our bastard cyng i saes our bastard ingenga cyng

we moste go saes grimcell

where saes tofe

to a place where there is no ingengas saes grimcell to a place in angland they has not cum to a place where there is stillness

thu is an esol i saes there is no succ place. ingengas is in all places they has tacan efry aecer of angland for their own there is nowhere free of them

the holt is free of them saes tofe

yes the holt is ours i saes the holt is the place of eald gods and eald wihts and free folcs but they will cum for the holt also in time. we cannot hide now thu has seen we can only feoht

for efry ingenga we cwells saes grimcell they cwells a ham. we digs our graefs

i wolde sooner dig my graef i saes than haf sum ingenga dig it. at this tofe smercs a lytel lic he has been made strong by my words

yes buccmaster he saes thu is right we moste fight them for they has tacan all things from us is this not so grimcell. grimcell locs at him and then ofer towards the ham and then up at the treows

they has tacan all things he saes soft all things. he locs down then and saes naht mor

this cilde this cilde tofe at this time if i is bean triewe i wolde sae he helpd me to lif. for this cilde he loccd up to me as a great man and this i needed at this time for there was sum daegs i loccd on my self as a lytel man. great weland he spoc to me at this time and he telt me to feoht he cum to me from the ealdors with words and he cum to me from my grandfather. great weland he telt me my grandfather was with him locan down at me and this macd me feel a lytel man in triewth for if he was locan then all my folcs was locan all anglisc folcs of the eald times was locan and what wolde they thinc of me. i was a small man in the holt with an eald sweord not swung i was eatan leafs and slepan on the ground runnan from ingengas in my own land a small man a weac man

but this cilde he colde see what i in my weacness colde not at all times he colde see the greatness in me what had been seen also by weland and the gods and what had been seen by my grandfather. he colde see what i had been ceosan to do what i had cum for he colde see the freodom in me for this was the freodom of all of angland here in my heorte and this frenc ingenga scucca he had been gifen a fuccan taste of this and he wolde not be the last for i was cuman with my sweord now with my werod i was cuman yes lic the eald cyngs to tac baec my ground

tac baec thy ground

i sceal

thu is worthy only be triewe

to this land

to its folc

to the eald hus

the sunne gan down the sunne rises

we will rise

well tofe he gaf me sum strength at this time but also strength was gifen me by thoughts of my grandfather and what he had telt me in his last daegs. i thought of what he saed about goan to the holt and lifan without specan and about the wihts what spoc to him and i seen that to be in the holt lic us to be grene men as this cilde was callan us well this was not a thing to mac a man feel small. for these was the wuds of angland the wuds of our folc of our land and my grandfather had saed to me he had saed thu moste spec to the land cilde for i no longer can

it was triewe i had lost my hus and my wifman and my oxgangs and my swine and my seat on the wapentac and all but when our folcs first cum to angland they had none of these things. it seemed to me then that i had been a soft man that i had been macd soft by the great things i had done and had been and now the gods had toc me to the eald holt and left me there with naht and was saen to me now buccmaster of holland now thu sceal lif lic a triewe man now thu sceal lif lic the eald folc now thu sceal lif lic us

i was thincan of this as i was walcan through the brunnesweald with tofe and grimcell that mergen a mergen when the heofon was graeg and no wind was cuman and the wud was still with lytel sound i was thincan of this and i felt strong again. i cnawan i was ceoson and this cilde tofe this lytel denisc cilde becum anglisc he colde see in me a great strength and the gods and great weland i seen now they had sent me to the holt to spec to the land to lysten to be a man in the wilde places lic all anglisc folc sceolde always be and now i seen the greatness of what i colde do. i had seen what these ingengas was doan to our folcs all ofer i had cum down from my place in the ham to my place in the grene holt and my werod now i was gathran and a war it wolde be a war agan the deofuls what was cwellan our folc and tacan our land