The Wake (19 page)

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

this cwen of the haerfest she was passan through this small ham as folcs put mor baerlic on the waegn and threw blosms at her. there was a cilde plegen a harp and also a cilde with pipe and they was macan songs what sum folcs was steppan to as they gan after this slow waegn what was mofan to a barn at the end of the straet. well this waegn it went in to this barn then and folcs followed it and from in the barn then cum the sounds of blithe lif

i telt my men to follow me and to this barn i walced and i walced tall. in this gathran of folcs there was wifmen and boys and eald folcs but there was also men of good age and sum of these i was thincan wolde cum to us when they cnawan we was gathran a werod to stric agan the frenc. in to the barn we gan and we gan tall and in the barn we seen the waegn and around it folcs singan and leapan and there was drincan of ealu and pipes and harp plegen and micel blitheness

soon enough this stopped when we was seen standan at the door. music stopped and singan also and folcs loccd at us in sum wundor and also in fear it seemed for they did not cnaw who we was we might haf been ingengas

so what i done i spac to them as they loccd at us and i spac cwic before sum folc spac to us. anglisc folcs i saes good anglisc folcs of creatas tun do not be afeart for we is not nightgengas or wihts of the holt though it is triewe we has been lifan there. my men and i we is grene men

there was sum specan low at this and this macd me feel strong

we is grene men i saes again we is risan agan the bastard cyng geeyome and the frenc what has toc our lands and our freodoms and the eald ways from us. all ofer angland grene men is gathran there is great fyrds of us and we has cum here to tell thu of this great thing and to call on any folcs who lufs freodom in this ham to cum with us that we may drif the frenc in to the sea lic the wihts they is

here two or three folcs seemed to mac sounds lic they thought this was good but most only locd at us still. lic hunds they was only locan. well i had thought that this tale of feohtan and freodom wolde mac men cum to us but all only stood locan lic we was aelfs macd flesc

then a man cum from the folcs to us he was a yonge man with bright eages not an esol he cum up and he spac to me

what is thy name he saes

what is thine i saes cwic

he loccs at me for sum small time and i sees him also locan at welands sweord what i is wearan on my belt and what is scinan bright after i has clened it

i is harald he saes i is gerefa of this ham

i is buccmaster of holland i saes and i is leader of this werod

werod he saes smercan locan at us well this is sum small werod i can see why thu locs for mor men

we locs for men who lufs freodom saes tofe

men who wolde lif saes grimcell without frenc fyr and theft

fyr and theft saes the gerefa well we has had none of this here thu can see folcs in this ham is blithe. none will be cuman to the holt with thu for there is worc to do here

does thu spec for all men then i saes has folcs not tunges here

all has tunges saes harald and specs then to the folc in the barn. men he saes men of creatas tun if thu wolde go with these wihts of the wud then go now. well he waits but none cums to us and he cnawan this wolde be so

thy tunge gerefa i saes is sic we is not wihts we is men feohtan we is men who has lost land wifmen all things to the frenc hunds and yes we has lost all of angland to them also it seems thu thinc this is sum small thing

it is no thing of ours saes the gerefa that is all no thing of ours. we has gifen geld to the frenc and done their biddan and thu can see they has left us free as efer we was if thu does their biddan they is good to thu

good i saes fuccan good well i is ired now my wifman in the ground and this hund specan of good frenc folc. good i saes i has lost all things there is men rottan in the ground all ofer angland and thu tells us of these great frenc men

this gerefa he locs at me then and at my sweord again and he saes so tell us grene man what will thu do

we will feoht saes tofe we has cwelled a frenc thegn and will cwell many mor. well at this there is sum mofan in the barn

then thu sceolde go now saes the gerefa for cuman here will be bad for us thu moste cnaw this

now lysten i saes lysten angland is bean cwelled all ofer by ingengas while thu is singan and drincan. does thu thinc this is good does thu thinc this is right thy anglisc cyng harald godwineson and all his thegns was cwelled by ingengas our land was toc and all things anglisc now they is goan up in fyr. these castels is bean put up with frenc cnihts in them anglisc gold is bean tacan to the frenc lands all things we had was gan our cildren will haf frenc names they will spec frenc words all that we is is bean tacan from us

the gerefa then he wafs his hand at the barn and the waegn. this is all that we is he saes and it is the same as it was and it will cepe bean this way no frenc has cum here to mac us do frenc things. before the frenc cum this was a wilde place there was out laws in these wuds now there is mor laws from abuf and there is no out laws. thy harald cyng he did not cepe us safe yet this frenc cyng does now what does thu grene men say to this

scit saes grimcell this is scit let me tell thu how safe my wifman is she is in the fuccan ground

well i is sad to hiere this saes the gerefa but in this ham thu can see that all is well

so thu wolde cepe to thyself saes grimcell lic there was no place outside

we wolde cepe to our ham and to the laws of angland saes the gerefa that is all

then thu will be thralls i saes fuccan thralls all of thu

at this the gerefa he is ired for the first time since i has seen him. thralls he saes thralls thu saes well we is all thralls my freond all the time and has always been in angland. thralls there has always been here and ceorls and geburs tell me my freond how is these folcs free. when their thegn ascs of them three daegs on his land efry wice or a winters harrowan when he ascs for a score of hens efry sixmonth or fifty carts of their own wud when he wolde lic the fyr higher in his hall. or when the cyng cums through and calls up the fyrd and they is tacan from their wifmen and their cynn with naught but stans and sithes to sum feld to die in a dic for his war with sum denisc cyng. tell me buccmaster of angland where is it that thu can see the freodom thu wolde haf us feoht for

well what is this scit i thincs what man wolde spec this way. thu is a fuccan hund i saes i is a socman of holland a man of the wapentac i has three oxgangs i answers to none

there is not so many lic thu saes the gerefa not here here we worcs for thegns and is these thegns anglisc or frenc well these is names only. thralls for harald thralls for geeyome if we can bring in our baerlic and sing for the gift of it we does not asc why