Paul Kingsnorth - The Wake

but the sound was small it was not the sound of a man i locd down as my eages began to see in to the blaec and i seen a fox mofan away from me in to the holt. i thincs naht of this only that he had seen our swine mete and now had seen me and was runnan but as i cum to a treow and begun to piss i seen this fox stop walcan. this fox he stopped walcan and he teorned and he locd at me and in his eages there was sum mad thing. this fox his eages was not the eages of a wiht they was the eages of a man and it was a man i had cnawan but what man i colde not sae. this fox he stood and locd at me for sum time it was lic he cnawan me lic he was locan for me lic he wolde spec to me but then he teorned and he mofd in to the blaec holt and was gan

well i gan baec to the fyr then and i was in deop thought and i hierde the gleoman specan to tofe and grimcell as i cum and he was specan soft

he is waecnan saed the gleoman he is waecnan while others in angland sleeps and it is saed by the folcs of these parts that he is cum to waecen us all and lead us agan

who i saes cuman up to the fyr. well the gleoman locs at me then and in his eages this time there is no smercan but his eages mofs cwic at sean me

of who is thu specan i saes. tofe and grimcell only locs at the fyr

sitt down buccmaster my freond saes the gleoman now his words cuman again sitt down and i will tell thu of eadric the wilde

eadric the fuccan wilde i is not an esol i cnawan of who these folcs was specan when i was gan i cnawan what they was doan that they was not triewe to me. but at this time hafan seen this fox and wundran on what this thing was i saed naht but i did not forget no i did not

tell us of eadric saes tofe

eadric is a great wilde man saes the gleoman a great wilde man of the west. i has met folcs from the west of angland from the lands near the wealsc lands for this is where eadric was bred. on the ecg of the wealsc lands is great duns and hylls what gan so high they is in the heofons and thu can stand on these great roccs and under thu is cloud and abuf thu only the sunne in the heofon

how is this saes tofe in wundor

well lifan in these fenns cilde thu has not efer efen seen a dun saes the gleoman but o great and high they is with great hwit eas what foams down them so wide and fast that no man efer can cross them. on the other side of these great roccs and eas is the lands of the wealsc and good it is that these duns and eas cepes them from us for they is a deorc folc lic dweorgs they is full of blaec yfel and mad ways and ire against all anglisc. well in these duns and by these eas and in the great deorc holts of those lands this is where eadric lifs

this eadric a man of parts he was in his lands yes a little lic thu buccmaster of holland a man with a great hus micel thought of. a great thegn was eadric it is saed but he wolde not gif in to the laws of the bastard and so the frenc cum and they toc his lands and his hus and he gan in to the holt and he sworn he wolde tac all baec. well eadric he has been gathran a werod yes lic thu buccmaster micel lic thu and this great werod he has been leadan out from the holt when none cnawan he was cuman and micel frenc blud has he spilt. many frenc folcs he has cwelled on the roads and sum of them great men sum of them efen cnihts he has cwelled them and their hors

o saes tofe then there is grene men all ofer

o all ofer yes saes the gleoman great werods of grene men lic thu yes and this eadric well it colde be he is the greatest of them all for sum wices ago he beorned a frenc castel

a castel saes grimcell what is a castel

if thu moste asc this saes the gleoman then it is good for sean one of these things wolde fill thu with fear. he is talcan it up again as gleoman do here i is clenan my sweord to cepe from specan at him scarp lic

i has seen a castel near these parts saes the gleoman at stan ford where the frenc has macd one and it is a fearsum thing. a great hyll they macs from the eorth they macs anglisc folc build it then on the hill they macs a great tor and round it a wall and gates high and strong and in this castel is cnihts on hors and all the land near them they can see. and if any anglisc specs agan them or does not gif geld or does not gif their land or wifmen to the frenc when telt well these cnihts they cums out with sweords and floods the land with anglisc blud

these ingengas they is deofuls i saes deofuls

this is an yfel thing saes tofe

well eadric saes the gleoman he seen also this yfel and in the night he toc his men to a castel near his lands and they put fyr to it it and in the castel many frenc cnihts beorned. well the frenc now they hunts eadric all ofer but he is in holt and on hyll and they can not find him for he cnawan his land and they is afeart of it and now of him

then it is true anglisc is risan saes grimcell it is not only words. as he specs he seems to lif lic he has not done for sum wices efen since he put ecceard in his graef

anglisc is risan saes the gleoman they is risan all ofer but they is awaitan an ealdor. harald cyng his brothors his eorls many thegns all is cwelled or fled so who will lead us now. all ofer men locs for a cyng and when a cyng cums well then they will rise lic the winter sea and then it may be there will be no mor frenc castels in angland and no mor frenc cnihts not efer

in the mergen it was lic i had gan baec

in the mergen we woc we lit the fyr and we ate and spac about what we wolde do. when we had spac and when i had telt my werod what we sceolde do in this place and why we was goan then we cyccd the fyr ofer and we macd our way through the holt and out to where the light cum in around the ham. this was a small ham smaller than ours but still it toc me baec to the eald lif for this ham was worcan and lifan

we cums from the holt and to the ecg of the ham and we cum past swine rootan where the treows gan smaller and then through felds of beans lic what i was growan in my felds and peas also and leacs. there was aeppel treows then and a small ea and the heofon smelt of ealu and smoc and treows and folc. there was eight hus there small for small men but still it macd me loc baec on what i had been and what had been tacan

and what i was felan then well it was felt mor deop when i seen what was in the ham for it seemed that the haerfest mass was happnan. long had we been in the holt and hard it was to tell the passan of the year in the treows but now here i colde see it was haligmonth the month of the haerfest and it was lic a spere in my heorte. then i colde feel deop the need for my land the need to worc it and be with it and i colde feel deop what was tacan from me. what had cum to my land i was thincan was it now becum treows again was it still blaec with aesc did sum other man cum to tac it was he frenc or anglisc. was there any left in my eald ham did any lif there. ah succ wundor there was in my land what had been the land of my grandfather and of his so micel worc in that ground so micel of my cynn and now

well now i loccd at tofe and at grimcell and at ulf the gleoman i loccd at us all standan in the ecg of the wud there not seen by the ham folcs and we men we was lic ghasts from the deorc. all of our clothes blaec and filthd our nebbs deorc and all of us stincan lic a byr and us locan there at these folcs of the ham and they was laughan and singan for the baerlic haerfest was cuman in and here in this small place in the holt it was lic angland for sum small time was all alyf again and i felt small lic a weac weac man and i felt my father locan at me saen this cilde was always small and my grandfather locan at me saen cilde thu is no good

in the straet betweon the hus there was sum folcs cum from the felds and they was cuman with blitheness. the sunne was high in the heofon this mergen the heofon lic flax and from the felds was cuman men with sithes and wifmen with sicls and they had baerlic sheafs and these they put on a waegn what was tied to a small esol. this waegn it had leafs of ac and aesc wound around it lic the haer of a wifman on the daeg she was wed and on the waegn was a wifman but she was not lifan. this wifman she was macd of baerlic sheafs and her haer was macd of leafs and blosms was her clothes