Paul Kingsnorth - The Wake

eat

we has foda ealu many things

we has cwelled the esol gerefa saes tofe proud

cwelled saes the gleoman cwelled why

do not asc why i saes thu did not cum

he fell on buccmasters sweord saes grimcell he wolde not lysten

cwelled saes the gleoman well this is bad is it not

it is good saes tofe for he was a hund

it is bad saes grimcell yes it is bad and he locs at the aesc of the fyr. so many is cwelled in angland and now there is one mor

and this one cwelled by anglisc folcs saes the gleoman not frenc

light the fuccan fyr gleoman i saes thu is with us only through our mildness of heorte thu has done naht for us. this gerefa was ascd for foda and he cum to feoht us well what was we to do but stand if he is cwelled he brought it to him self

well saes the gleoman the frenc will hiere of this and of the grene men in these wuds

then good let them cum to us let them all fuccan cum to us now light the fuccan fyr

well the gleoman lit the fyr and we coccd cycen what we had been gifen and dranc ealu and there was loafs also though i wolde not let us eat all this foda sum we moste tac with us. we had got melu to mac cicels and loafs and swine mete smocd and so we was blithe and was drencan and talcan. we had been hungord and when our guttas was full of coccd cycen and ealu we forgot the gerefa and spac of what we wolde do now strong as we was and growan

for sum time we satt there in the later part of that daeg the sunne ofer the treows warman the wuds where we was. tofe when he has dronc too micel ealu he starts talcan of the aelfs what lifs in the holt and how he is afeart of them and grimcell and ulf they is laughan at him and him saen stop do not mocc aelfs is to be afeart and this sets the gleoman on his tales again

aelfs he saes ah yes they is to be feart for aelfs is the ealdest of eald things does thu cnawan from where they has cum

tofe saes no though i wolde reccen he has hierde this scit before

ah well in eden saes the gleoman when adam and efa was the first folcs of all folcs it is saed that efa had many cildren so many that she was full of sceomu and she hid sum of these cildren from god she hyd them in fenn and holt. but the father he is great and can see all things and he seen these cildren and he saed to efa let them who is hydan from me be hydan from all men and these cildren then they growan to be all the hydan folcs of this world. sum becum aelfs the wud elf and sea elf and ground elf and sum becum dweorgs who lifs in cafs and in deorc places underneath and sum becum pucas who was lic aelfs but who lifs in all wuds and sings in the night to tease men

well gleoman i saes thu does not always spec succ scit as this it colde be that thu is druncen. this is all scit from the preosts i saes it seems to me that i can not go to any place in angland efen to the deopest eald holt where scit from preosts and their bocs has not gan. aelfs i saes is eald folcs lic we is eald folcs and lic the eald gods and all has been on this eorth since all time and all is macd to be in their place. the gods them selfs they has places woden is god of beorgs and duns thunor is of the heofon of the lihtnan and air frigg is of the grene holt ing is of the aeppel treows all has their place. aelfs place is in the wuds and in the grene places far from men dweorgs cums from under the ground ents lifs in the eald tuns of the brocn folcs from long ago before efen the wealsc and man is of the ham and the felds. other things there is too scuccas and deofuls and eorcas and they is of their own deorc places and will cwell men if seen

well this is a tale saes the gleoman

it is the triethwe i saes drencan mor ealu it is thy rot what is a tale the triewth is that all things and all folcs has their place what was set when the world was macd and when they gan from that place to others then erce is ired and the great tree of lif what binds all things to all other things then is mofd by its roots. and when all things is in places where they sceolde not be when aelfs has been drifen from the holts by men and dweorgs is ofer the ground not under it and frenc is in angland and ingenga gods is in our heortes then all is broc. then the treow will cum down in a great storm and all will be gan it will be man what has broc the land for efer

buccmaster saes grimcell who is druncen now too thu tells a good tale it was well cnawan in our ham

what was well cnawan i saes

thy tales he saes the eald gods thy cynn all cnawan of the things thu wolde sae thu and thy grandfather

do not spec of him in this way i saes he was a great man

yes saes grimcell well i did not cnaw him but why man why does thu spec of the eald gods in these times in these times of the crist

the crist sceolde not be here lic the frenc sceolde not be here

the crist has been here since eald times buccmaster there is circes and preosts and folcs is all folcs of the crist now and we all has seen what the crist can do

has not the crist brought us blud for our synns saes tofe this is what is saed angland is in synn and now the crist gifs us to the deoful and these eald gods buccmaster and these aelfs and dweorgs they is deofuls worcan wicce craeft to tac folc from god to the deoful in hel

ha i saes ha well here we is anglisc men in an anglisc wud talcan lic our guttas is gan and it colde be they has for thu does not cnaw what thu is or from where thu is cum. this is scit spoc by preosts and cyngs spoc by all those who wolde put them selfs abuf us and tac our land and our sawols

sawols saes the gleoman our sawols wolde thy tac

lysten gleoman i saes lysten the eald gods they is land they is erce they is heofon and fyr and they is us folcs. these new gods they is ingengas this crist he is god of man he walcs lic a man he cums to tac our land and raise men up abuf the land and beorn it blaec. lysten i has been to the hus of the eald gods i has swam down my eages was open i seen it i seen them and lysten i seen the fugol what cum to warn us of this ingenga geeyome none wolde lysten none lysten to the eald and the words

and this i saes tacan my sweord and holdan it ofer the fyr this is the sweord of weland the smith

ah now saes the gleoman now here is a tale to be telt for sure

we has all hierde this tale saes grimcell

great weland saes tofe

well let me tell thu another and better i saes for weland the smith he cum to my grandfather one night in the holt near our ham grimcell thu cnaw this and he saes to my grandfather i has ceosan thu and thy cynn for great things and this sweord now i gifs thu to do these great things with so tac it my son and lead men

ah saes the gleoman is this what he saed buccmaster is this why thy power is now so great

gleoman i will haf thy guttas lic i has had the guttas of the gerefa

o saes the gleoman then i will still my tunge

was this a triewe thing saes tofe to me whose eages is now big

i does not spec of things what is not triewe cilde

welands sweord saes the cilde locan at my blaed in sum awe

and it was weland this daeg cwelled that gerefa i saes for i felt him mofan through me this is what he macd his sweord for this feoht for angland for anglisc folc for the eald hus for the eald times agan the ingenga

well let us hope it is a strong sweord saes the gleoman for there is many mor frenc ones

it was at this time that we all hierde the sound of men cuman through the holt near us. it was not fox not boar it was men and we all stood as cwic as we colde though in triewth sum of us was not good now on our feet though not me i was strong. i toc my sweord and it was good that i did for two men cum through the treows then and with scramasaxes they stood before us

cum to tac a lif has thu i saes to them cum to get wergild for thy esol gerefa well cum then lytel frenc hund boys cum and tac what thu can