Paul Kingsnorth - The Wake

odelyn was my wifman i has talcced of her she was a good wifman to me gifan me luf and cildren and duty lic a wif sceolde. all men lusted for my odelyn thynne she was of wifly scape i will sae only that all things a wif moste do she wolde do and if she did not she wolde cnaw cwic about it. we was wed after my fathers hus becum my hus when i becum man. her father he was a socman also though of two oxgangs only he was from bacstune where we was wed in the grene felds by the ea. then i toc odelyn to my hus what had been my fathers and my grandfathers and in that hus in the mergen the sunne cum up ofer the fenn it was sumor o the sounds of the land was a wundor in the sumor. when we woc that mergen i gif her the mergen gift what was bidan by our folc i gif her three aecers of land and a part of my holt and i gif her a gebur name of annis for her needs in the hus and she was smercan wid i lics to see her this way. thu is a good husbond she saed to me we will haf many cildren buccmaster of holland my husbond. and i was thincan then that to haf a wifman lic this was good for many other men wants her and yet she is mine

with odelyn i had three cildren fyrst oswiu my cilde fyrst son to his father and his folc oswiu who did not lif a year. the fenn fefor toc him lic it tacs many but he was not weac only yonge yonge cilde my cilde in the duns will we meet after this lif is gan. then dunstan cum then eadberht true sons of the fenn they growan to be men growan to cnaw this world but not to lif through what the bastard brought. these was my cynn i will haf blud for their blud i is not done i will haf my wergild in frenc blud

but lysten i was talcan of that sumor when efry thing gan wrong let me spec of it to thu now let me tell thu of weodmonth. in weodmonth there is worc to be done all ofer and for my two geburs then there was no time to be slac on my land there is no slac. heges there was to be macan my barn to mac new timber to heaw in the holt other things also but abuf all things weods to be tacan from the ground. not for naht was this cnawan as weodmonth to the eald folc of angland. i had my gebur asger tacan weods from my ground all daeg in this time from the flax feld from the bean rows from the lines of waet all daeg wolde he be walcan my land with his hoe and this for asger was a good thing for he was dumb lic a hund and liccd small things he wolde sing as he teorned the turf

this daeg i will tell thu of asger was in my waet felds with his hoe singan and gamel he was with me in the grene holt we was cuttan timber for the year to cum. we wolde cut this and taec it to my barn for one year so that it wolde burn triewe. of course we did not cnaw then that in one year there wolde be no barn here for this timber no hus neither to warm with it no fyr but the fyrs of ingengas all on angland all on what we was. no and we did not cnaw neither that in one year the holt not the hus wolde be our dwellan lic we was swine only fuccan swine in our own land

but this daeg we was in the holt a lytel holt this was only for in the fenns the ground is ealonds in the water and the treows there has not micel ground to grow deorc and wide. the wilde holt is where our folc cum from the wilde grounds is what our folc is and in the grene holt walcs grim when the daeg is short and there rides weland and ing of the waegn and erce is all around the eald gods of our folc is deop in the ground and the treows. but it is also triewe to sae that sum lytel holt lic this is good for our swine and is good to cut timber in without fearan the aelf what walcs in the great holts and will sinc his shot in thu for thy cuman. for the aelf needs micel ground to lif so the lytel holt is safe from him and is safe also from nightgengas what stalccs the deorcness when the sunne is gan and from all scuccas what has a mynd to cwell any anglisc who is dumb in not fearan the wilde lic he sceolde

so we was in the holt and asger in the waet feld and odelyn and her gebur annis was in the hus doan sum wif things lic weafan or macan loafs or brewan ealu a good brewer was odelyn our ealu was better than that of most in the ham and all cnawan this. also on that daeg my two sons was worcan on my barn. these boys well though i was still callan them boys due to my bean their father they was men now. eadberht had seen feowertiene sumors and dunstan eahtiene or seofontiene they was men and fit for worcan on my ground and so i had them worcan. dunstan sceolde be gifan to sum wif by this time i had saed this to odelyn many times but dunstan was wilde and wolde not settle he wolde spec of lands other than angland wolde spec of goan to the land of the frenc goan to scaldemariland and of feohtan in fyrds for gold. he wolde spec of feohtan wyrms and denes and sum times i wolde beat him for this rott and tell him he was a socman of holland an anglisc man the man for who i tilled my ground and cept the sweord of my grandfather but though i wolde beat him efen with staefs he wolde not spec lic a man

eadberht though he was not wilde eadberht he was lytel where dunstan was a long man and where dunstan wolde feoht with me until i beat him eadberht wolde sae naht only sitt loccan. dunstan i belyf he thought eadberht weac but still he wolde stand with him agan any man and when eadberht spac he wolde lysten

so we was in the holt and asger in the feld the wifs in the hus the yonge men at the barn and all of us then we hierde the sound what cum up the path from the ham the path what went then by us and into the fenn ofer to bacstune and then to the wilde lands. this was the sound of many men and so we cum cwic from our worc to the hus for we cnawan this sound may be sum ingenga cum to cwell us or sum scucca from the fenn or sum out laws from the holt cum for they had hierde of the wundor of my wif or the wundor of my land

but it was not this the sound was many men from the ham and sum from other parts and they was cuman to my land and they was waepened these men but not waepened lic a triewe feohtan man. sum they had scramasaxes rusted from their fathers sum had eald speres nefer used others they bore sithes or efen hoes and those without hoes or who colde not gif them up from their land had only staefs and on to this staef was tied with line a stan. and with these men was an other who i had nefer seen and this man he was not sum esol gebur he was a feohtan man and upon his heafod he was wearan a seolfor helm that was bright lic the daegs light and at his side a triewe sweord

my sons and my geburs we was standan by my hus my wifman and annis was standan in the door loccan and i was thincan to get my grandfathers sweord but sum of these men i cnawan. jalf the gebur was there and others from the ham and then also i seen ecceard for he was with this feohtan man who was saen naht but who was langer than all in his stillness

buccmaster saes ecceard this man is sent from the cyng to holland. harald cyng is callan out the fyrd from the folc of this scir as thu cnawan is his right by anglisc law. harald cyng he calls all anglisc men fit and of feohtan age to cum to him for angland is threatened from ofer the sea and its men must feoht for angland

this is no good ecceard i saes it is weodmonth

buccmaster saes ecceard all moste send men it is the word of the cyng all moste send their strength in this time thu will see many hus in this ham is now with no men at all

we has timber to heaw i saes a barn to mac good i is a socman of these parts i has three oxgangs who will worc my ground the fuccan swine

then this feohtan man he steps toward me in his helm of light sum dumb swine he may be under this helm but wearan it he locs of sum greatness

he locs at dunstan and eadberht and he saes thu will cum go bring what thu has. he locs at my geburs and to gamel he saes thy cyng is in need of thu bring what thu has. he locs then at me and at asger and he saes naht then he teorns baec and he macs his lytel band to teorn baec with him along the path in to the fenn