Paul Kingsnorth - The Wake

this is us saes tofe

these grene men saes the gleoman at first they was a small thing but now there is mor of them and great men of angland is specan as they spec. there is two anglisc eorls only left in this land they is edwin and morcar of northanhymbre and mierce and these eorls they is specan in stillness now of raisan a fyrd agan the ingenga

a fyrd saes tofe a triewe anglisc fyrd again

what men has they saes grimcell all their folcs was cwelled by hardrada

they has scots men it is saed saes the gleoman for malcolm he thincs that the bastard will not stop at angland and they may haf denes cuman in scips for sweyn cyng of the north folcs locs also at angland with ire and fear. and many anglisc now wolde feoht with them there is men in holts all ofer angland waitan for a call to rise agan the frenc

there is sum stillness again then only the sound of men drencan

a great fyrd saes tofe a great fyrd again i wolde die for this i wolde die

tofe cilde saes aelfgar tell us why was thu not in the fyrd that gan to sanlac or to eorfic the fyrd what harald cyng called

they wolde not tac me saes tofe they was saen i was only a cilde though many in my ham gan what was not so micel ealdor

and thu buccmaster and thu grimcell saes aelfgar

i gan saes grimcell i gan in the first fyrd i gan north but harald he gan so fast that we did not get to eorfic before he had cwelled all the denes and we cum baec

and thu saes aelfgar to me thu and thy great sweord

well i was wantan to go i saes i was cene sore cene to go and to tac on the frenc but it was saed by our gerefa that i was a great man of the ham and was needed there for the wapentac for i was a socman with three oxgangs. but i sent my sons my two sons strong men they was and they gan to feoht for their cyng harald with my luf and they nefer cum baec and there is not a daeg i does not thinc i sceolde haf gan with them and fought for angland no not a daeg

ah saes gamel if mor men had cum if the cyng had waited longer in lundun for mor men to cum from all ofer angland we colde haf tacan a fyrd bigger than any efer in angland and cwelled efry frenc man on that dun but the cyng he wolde run on fyr he was after tacan down hardrada it was saed he was thincan he was a god

it is gan now saes aelfgar it is gan gamel

we walced lic we wolde nefer stop saes gamel we walced lic hors all daeg and micel of the night. harald he had cum upon the landwaster when his men was slepan and he wolde do the same to the bastard but the bastard was ready he had men on hors locan all ofer and he seen harald and it was the anglisc who was tacan when not locan

harald saes tofe harald tacan that way

we cum on the bastard in the wrong place saes gamel there was a dun we seen it was the only dun near and we moste get to the top of it for the cyng wolde feoht with his huscarls and a dun was good for this so we gan to this dun what was named sanlac. on the top of this hyll was a small aeppel treow all alone it was and the cyng put his flag by this treow and we gathrd we macd a line but it was too lytel

the treow

the dun it was too lytel all men colde not hardly stand on it we was so near we colde not mof it was wrong from the start we colde feel it was wrong

but thu colde haf tacan them saes tofe thu saed it

we colde haf we colde haf but we did not and on the dun they cept cuman and hard it was to cepe the line men was cwelled in the line and colde not efen fall to the ground so near was we all to eacc other dead men was standan

that is a hard thing saes grimcell

ah it is all a fuccan hard thing ses gamel all of it loc here we is sittan in the fuccan holt lic hunds all of angland is a blaec land now. so we has cwelled sum small frenc folcs in these past wices but the frenc will not efen see this we is fuccan gan we is gan from the eorth

this is not triewe i saes not triewe and we will not spec lic this here

o will we not saes gamel is this triewe buccmaster and who will sae how i will spec

thu will not sae these things i saes not here these is cildes words

thu will not stop me from specan any way i wolde spec saes gamel and there is fyr in him and i seen i will need to put it out

the frenc saes the gleoman cuman in to cwell the fyr the frenc they sees it well

how saes tofe

the frenc all ofer cnaws of grene men and is afeart saes the gleoman it is saed the bastard himself cnawan of the risans agan him and in these parts word is with the frenc of grene men in the brunnesweald

word of us saes tofe the frenc fears us they fears us

thu and others saes the gleoman

others i saes what others

there is other grene men in these parts saes the gleoman efen in this holt

there is hereweard of course saes aelfgar

we has not hierde micel of this fuccan hereweard for a time i saes not for sum time while we has been cwellan frenc what has he been doan this fuccan god

gathran men saes the gleoman he has near fiftig now they saes

all of them hunds and wihts i saes

has thu seen him saes aelfgar to the gleoman

no saes the gleoman and he is locan at me all this time no i has not seen him but he is near

i is walcan through a beorg a grene beorg all light and grene sceadu walcan walcan though it seems not mofan yet sean sum thing cum nearer slow slow. what is this it stands on two scancs lic a man but is horned horned on its heafod grene light behind it i can not see it mofs it cums to me i can not see

all in this place is small things flittan flittan lic the bats through the cuman dusc steppan it seems steppan in hwit and grene small and thynne around this man who is cuman still to me grene and leafd horned and tall reaccan out to me specan now specan in the beorg of light specan my nama and all that i has seen and been is in this grene now and this light is all i is all i is i is i is

as winter cum to spring as the holt gan from blaec to grene as the treows breathed again the buds cum up the ground sighed the fugols cum and sang as lif cum baec to the land lif was in me for i seen now where my wyrd wolde tac me. i seen now that i had been gifen deorc daegs deorc times lic the cyngs of old lic the gods them selfs lic great weland lic my grandfather and this thing i had cum through and strong now i was strong and ready for all the ingenga colde gif me

it was the gleoman had telt us about the castel at stan ford though we hierde it also later from other folcs in ham and holt. it was saed that the frenc was macan a castel in a ham to the south at the stan ford tun where they wolde put cnihts to loc down on the folc of the fenns and of the brunnesweald. tofe saed they done this for us for they cnawan of our feohtan and of our worc and our strength

well we talcd of this and of what sceolde be done and it was not long before we cum to spec of tacan it. all of us i sceolde sae cum to spec of this at once there was no man thincan other and this time now that i locs baec i sees that this time was when we was a werod triewe and no time wolde there be again lic this. for we had cwelled frenc men and now they was macan castles near to the brunnesweald and it was lic they had wafd a sweord at us and saed anglic folc anglisc men of the holt what will thu do

so we gan out and we gan south to find stan ford and to see this castel and what we colde do. the six of us gan and the gleoman saed he wolde cum for he had folcs to see on the straet and he colde tac us to earninga straet what wolde lead us to the tun. earninga straet was one of the eald roads macd in the times efen before the wealsc cum to angland. in many places it locd lic any other straet macd by men that is to say of eorth sincan in the regn and ricgd in the sunne but there was other places where it colde be seen what was under it and the straet was flat stan with stan dices for water to run in to and the straet was wide and long and straight tearan through the wuds ofer hangd with treows lic it was macd for ents to walc down in times before men