The Wake (13 page)

now does thu see

where has thu been i has been callan

it is not for thu to call

who is thu

thu named me

but i cannot see

i has been waitan for thu to see

still i is blind

cepe walcan buccmaster of holland

show me the path

find it

grimcell and i then we gan ofer to langetof to see what the folc there was bearan. as we gan through the holt we was specan and i cum to see that grimcell was cwic of mynd for a cottar and no esol lic sum was. he telt me he had not gan with the fyrd due to bean sic with the feofor when the call cum but his brothor had gan and his son and neither cum baec and lic me now his wifman was cwelled by the frenc when they cum through lic the wind and now we was left with the holt as all we had. we talcced then of the frenc and of what moste be done

when my father was a cilde saes grimcell our anglisc cyng aethelraed he was weac and men cum in scips then from the north lands to angland and aethelraed was cast out and cnut cum to us as cyng and he lic this geeyome was an ingenga a denisc man. and his men they set many fyrs and hams and tuns was beorned lic now and yet cnut when he cum he cum as an anglisc cyng and locd ofer us as one and he done well by us

well this may be so i saes but frenc men they is not the same mor lic hunds they is than men all their ways is ingenga to us. they has no haer on their heafods i saes does thu cnawan this no haer they is all shafn they locs lic frogs

frogs saes this cilde tofe then and he is laughan frogs he saes locan up at me. he is walcan along with us as we is goan through the holt we is talccan he is lystnan and callan and ciccan his swine to mof them before him

has thu seen them then saes grimcell

all cnaws this i saes thu does not haf to see it but lysten now does though cnawan of the daeg of sanct bricius and of what aethelraed done to the ingengas on this daeg

tell us saes tofe who is yonge this cilde but lystens to me well

this was in the time of my grandfather i tells this cilde who was a great man and at this time aethelraed he had many denisc folcs in this land but many was agan him and he was afeart at the cuman of the denisc cyng to tac his corona. and so aethelraed he telt his folc that on the daeg of this sanct all denisc folcs in the cyngdom was to be cwelled

cwelled saes tofe all of them

cwelled i saes and as the daeg cum up cwelled they was. anglisc folcs toc them from their hus and ham and cut them down and efen the circes of the crist was not good hidan places for them these circes was beorned for anglisc men colde not trust ingengas lifan amongst them

grimcell and tofe they saes naht to this for sum time only cepes walcan

it colde be done again i saes if we had a great man to lead us we colde tac efry frenc man in this land from his hus on one daeg if we had the will and angland wolde be ours again

tofe saes grimcell at last to the cilde this is a denisc name is it not

tofe he locs afeart then but he saes in a small way yes it is denisc

thy folcs then was denisc saes grimcell to him but he saes it lic a freond

my grandfather saes tofe again for we is in the danelaugh is we not before the anglisc cyngs toc baec this place it was under rule of north cyngs there is many here of denisc stocc but they is anglisc now we is all anglisc now is this not so. he is locan at us in teorn lic he needs us to say yes cilde. grimcell he locs at me then but he saes naht to me

frenc is worse than denisc i saes loc and thu will see frenc is worse than denisc

when this geeyome our cyng cums baec from his frenc lands saes tofe then it colde be he will rule us lic cnut lic a good man now the feohtan is done it colde be the beornan will stop

he is not our cyng and he will not i saes and i saes it in a way that stops them saen any things lic this again. there is not time for this there is no time. tofe ciccs his three swine what has stopped to root and we walcs on we is goan south

thu will feoht then

feoht who

feoht them

first we moste find them

the gods locs on

a time will cum

they did not cwell thy odelyn with words

do not spec of her

she is here with me she locs on

no

she is here thy grandfather is here

thu is lyan

thy boys

nefer this is scit

in this place is all thy cynn folc they locs on

i does not belyf thu

who will feoht now they saes for our land

they cnawan i is strong

this sweord i gaf thu and nefer is it swung

well we spent a night in the holt around a fyr with these swine gruntan around us all the fuccan night and all night it regned on us and cold the regn was. we was wearan capes but we was wet through by the time light cum and in this way we gan south to langetof and i was felan lic a hund in triewth lic a man with naht

if i had again my hus and my fyr i saes and my wifman what i cept lic a cwen always and whose luf for me was triewe then all other men colde leaf me for efer and this i wolde not efen see

if i had been there i saes with my sweord then there wolde be no frenc in all these fenns

grimcell he walcs with me wet also and he saes naht to the things i is saen but this cilde tofe i has seen that he lystens always to me

buccmaster he saes this sweord what thu carries it is a great thing. a wise cilde he is this one and i saes to him yes this sweord is no sweord what small men has

small men has no sweords saes this tofe in my ham none had a sweord they is great things

this sweord is greater than any thu will see i saes for it is macd by weland the great smith of the eald times

weland saes the cilde weland i has been telt of in tales by gleomen but tales i thought they was only

gleomen is esols i saes they thincs they is only raedlan for poor geburs but in sum of their tales they tells great triewths though they is too dumb to cnaw it

in triewth saes this cilde was this sweord macd by great weland buccmaster

triewth is all i tells i saes

but here i colde not tell as i had wanted the tale of my grandfather and of his metan with great weland in the fenn for grimcell saes we moste stop this specan now for we is cuman to langetof. i was in sum ire at him saen this but i saw he was right we was near for through treows we colde see smoc from fyrs. langetof was a small ham lic mine ten hus maybe and locd ofer by our thegn wulmaer who now was gan and his place toc by frenc hunds who still we had not seen

we cum near to langetof cepan always behind treows and we colde see that this ham was still lifan and that the fyrs we seen was not ingenga fyrs but only the fyrs of smiths or of folc in their hus and on their land. folcs was mofan around and talcan and worcan in the felds and hunds was lyan about and things was as things was in hams around these parts

there is no frenc here saes grimcell this is good

will we go to them saes tofe and tell them we is grene men and will feoht for their lifs

thu do this then cilde i saes and we will sitt here and smerc

tofe he locs small at this why does thu sae this buccmaster he saes does thu mocc me

tofe cilde saes grimcell we can not feoht for none with two men and one cilde and an eald sweord what was nefer swung. at this of course i tacs ire

loc at thy fuccan mouth cottar i saes for these things is not to be spocn of in this way this sweord it is cum to me for greatness and for wars in times of great need

well so thu saes buccmaster saes grimcell and this seems to me a time of great need and this sweord not swung to cwell no man yet well perhaps thu is waitan to be telt by weland when to swing it

well i colde not haf this from no cottar and this cilde locan on and so i teorns to him and my sweord i tacs from my belt and at his heafod i swings it. grimcell he steps baec and he steps on the root of a treow and down he gan to the ground and on his breost i puts the tip of my sweord

thu sees cilde i saes to tofe lic naht had cum thu sees the runes on this blaed and the wihts thu sees the craft of weland thu sees what this sweord is

tofe he locs and saes naht but his eages is wid and grimcell he locs up at me in sum ire and my sweord ofer his heorte

who leads this werod cottar i saes and he locs up at me

werod he saes

who leads this werod

he locs up at me

thu it seems he saes slow and in his words there is naht to sae what he thincs of this

i is thy ring gifer i saes and thine too cilde. i is a socman of three oxgangs a man of the wapentac i has been spoc to by fugol and star i is buccmaster of holland

i saes i has been ceosan

ring gifer saes tofe and he locs lic i is sum great man then

ceosan saes grimcell and he locs at me straight but saes naht mor. my sweord i tacs off from him now and puts it in its sceath

get up i saes get up off this ground man

grimcell he gets up then he clenes him self and does not loc at me

cum i saes cum grimcell thu is a good man only it moste be cnawan who is the strong one here yes. well he walcs away and tofe then who is locan on he cums up to us and specs before i has time to say any other thing

buccmaster he saes here is frenc to use thy sweord on

we locs at him and then both locs through treows at this ham of langetof and sum way from us on the straet through the ham we seen on a hwit hors a man

this hors it is a cnawan breed in these parts it is a hors lic any hors it is not an ingenga. scod and sadld the fenn way it is walcan through this ham lic any hors in any ham in any place in this land

but on this hors there is a man and of this man there is naht anglisc and naht triewe and he is not scod lic us. we is sum way from him so all of us all three men we mofs then as far in the treows as we colde be without bean seen from the ham and all three of us now not specan and mofan as a werod sceolde as one lic the fugols in the haerfest when they is leafan to tac to the heofon for the winter

he is a frenc man saes tofe he is a frenc man i has seen him

grimcell and i who has seen no frenc before this we locs and now we sees what curse is on our land and the folcs who is bringan it. this man he is scort and he wers clothes in sum ways lic what anglisc folcs he wers scohs and scyrte breces and hose tunece and belt and cape but of all these things there is sum thing ingenga. i colde not see what thing it was that made them so but no man wolde tac these clothes for anglisc clothes for no men of these parts wolde wer them they was not right

but loc at his heafod now loc at his heafod for this is the thing what macs him what he is. his nose is lic sum bec lic the carfan bec of the hafoc and in his eages there is blud we colde not see his eages well but blud there was in them for sure. what did he do here by what right did he cum here this deoful. on his heafod where there sceolde haf been haer long and triewe lic anglisc haer there was lic a helm lic a scort blaec helm but it colde be seen that this was not helm but haer. this was frenc haer scapd lic sum lytel helm or corona sittan on top of the heafod of this thing and all shafd the necc the heafod the nebb

this is no thing of the grene world i saes

it is a hard sight saes grimcell

denisc men saes tofe denisc men when they cums they locs lic men lic feohtan men lic triewe men. and he locs at us again lic he wolde haf us sae yes cilde yes cilde

we locs on as this frenc man gan on out of the ham on his hors and to the west away from the fenn and towards the brunnesweald. we locs on and the sound of the hors then is gan and we is left with the sound of our breathan and of the treows mofan a lytel in the wind and of the folcs in the ham

now saes tofe and he saes it lic he is an ent now what is the grene men to do about this

what saes grimcell

well saes tofe loc here in our land is a frenc deoful and we is the free men of angland we is the sawol of the holt so what is to be done what is to be done buccmaster with thy great and triewe sweord

this cilde he was in sum great thryll now lic it was sum game with stics and stans lic he was feohtan with brothor or girl behind the hay ricc in litha

well i saes. i did not cnaw what other thing to sae to him

loc i saes the deoful is now gan

who will feoht now they saes for our land

he will cum baec saes tofe he is of these lands now

he is not of these lands i saes

he will be of these lands if sum does not tac him from them saes tofe

this sweord i gaf thu and nefer is it swung

grimcell i saes i locs at him i does not cnaw what he sceolde sae. locan at me sum small time he saes naht

he will cum baec saes tofe again

then we will be ready i saes

ready for what saes grimcell with what. he is still smartan from what i has taught him

we will be ready saes tofe

who will feoht now

i wacans in this wud in this deorc holt and though it is the deop of the night all is light all is light lic the sunne is cuman down on efry leaf in efry fox hole and efry piece of ground. i stands for i cnawan i moste stand and i walcs to the ham but where there was a ham there is now a strand and down from this strand a great sea a wid sea deop and deorc and yet light lic all the light that is now ofer efry thing

on this sea i seen a boat a great boat afyr in light and cuman near to me and once this boat was a small light in a deorc night but now it is here and lightan up all things and this light on my hands on my nebb and hot lic a fyr for a fyr it is

for this boat is no boat but a great scip with carfan heafod and with scields on its sides a boat of the eald times it is the scip of those who first came. and this scip it is afyr in great wafs of red afyr and yet mofan all afyr and in this fyr i sees scaps mofan scaps and these scaps now i sees triewe and i seen