The Wake (29 page)

so i telt tofe to cum with me from the fyr and he cum gladly for he was blithe about what we wolde do. i had gan locan in the fenn and i had found my eald boat there still tied with line though full of water and weods and i had clened it and it was not holed. i telt tofe to cum with me to my boat and i macd him tac the ars and row in to the fenn what on this mergen was loud with fugols and wyrmfleages as if no war had efer cum to this land. tofe saed lytel at the start but after sum time of rowan he spac

buccmaster he saes where is we goan

thu will see

is it far

far enough

well he saed naht mor then only rowed as i telt him to with his yonge mans strength until we had got to the place i wolde cum to. as i cum through the yeolo secg to the mere of the eald treows i felt a great thing i felt lic i sceolde be here that this was my place that i was wel cum baec that they had been waitan

thu has cum

now i seen why

it is past time

but i is here

thu brings the cilde

i will tell him of the eald hus

he is not of this place

i needs a son

thu needs strength

stronger i is now stronger than efer

strong men is needed for the hunt

the hunt

spec to them

i will

spec and hiere thy wyrd

tofe cilde i saes we is here stop rowan. tofe does so and locs at me as the lytel boat sits roccan in the still mere

what is this place buccmaster he saes to me

it is the eald hus cilde i saes

the eald hus

the hus of the eald gods cilde the place of the treows i has telt thu of this place before. tofe then his eages growan big as he locs at me

eald gods he saes lic he is afeart

loc in to the water cilde i saes loc down. tofe does so and as i did when a cilde he seen the treows

do not be afeart cilde i saes i has telt thu of this. and i telt him then as we sat in the boat all that my grandfather had telt me when a cilde. i spoc of woden of thunor of ing of balder and frigg of what the preosts done and of the cuman baec we awaited the cuman baec what wolde cum when angland was triewe and in need

when i has stopped talcan tofe locs at me and then again ofer the boat in to the water where the great blaec stoccs colde be seen deop under the mere

this is a fearful place he saes

no i saes not fearful all men here feels as they sceolde feel when in the hall of a great ealdor. they is here they is still here they is locan at us tofe and they is waitan for us to be waecened. hope for angland now is not in fyrds in eorfic or ingenga cyngs it is under this mere cilde in these treows

tofe saes naht only cepes locan down

what will we do here buccmaster he saes

i has cum to asc them the way

the way

i moste haf stillness cilde i saes stillness now. i colde not stand and spec to the gods with the cilde there so instead i moste be still. in the boat then roccan slow on the mere in the mergen sunne i closed my eages and i spoc to them that only i colde hiere

we gan huntan i saes huntan for angland

i has cum to asc thu

who sceall be hunted

who sceall be hunted

and as i satt then in the boat roccan on the water all the sounds of the mere they cum baec to me as one. the wind the fugols the wyrmfleages the mofan of the secg and the water on it all of them cum together for me and i hierde them then i hierde the gods spec through the world itself i hierde the words they gaf to me in the specan of the wilde and the words was clere as ys in a winter well

the crist

the crist

the crist

blaec water blaec and deop and naht mofan. night time the mona full the secg still the ule callan the fenns is still this night there is no sound in no place but the ule far from here far in another world

the mere is deop and wid and from this strand can be seen an ealond blaec in the night hwit undor the mona. the ealond is long and on it a great hus of stan lic a castel but not a castel for there is a cross on it this is a hus of the crist an abbodrice. around this abbodrice a wall and around this wall a mere and no way out

the mona has risen it is high and hwit only now to loc at it seems it is sum other thing also for the mona is becuman sum thing else. it is becuman a heafodpanne it is red now red lic blud ofer the abbodrice and now the mere the stan of the hus of the crist the secg all is red and still no sound in all the world only the fenn growan deorc under the heofon the waters growan red and men all ofer angland mofan to this place to stand for the last time as men of their cynn

well what to do with this what to do. when the gods specs a man moste lysten but they specs as in the raedels of a gleoman or the song of a fugol. my men is by the fyr in the aesc of my hus waitan for me to lead them in the huntan of a great ingenga waitan for the eages of the bastard duc to teorn on us in the fenns and see our great strength at last but raedels is all i has to follow

so micel to thinc of and my mind deorc all deorc all deop lic the mere of the gods. cuman baec on the boat to the secg by my hus with tofe rowan and the lytel boat mofan under me i was thincan of the last time i left this place when i was a yonge man when i was sent away i was thincan of how deorc things was then also and how deorc my mind

well i tried to tac my grandfathers bodig i tried to put him in the boat to send him in fyr to the gods well i seen now i is a man that this was a dumb thing to do but i colde not let my esol father gif my grandfathers bodig to the preosts. but to the preosts he went for i colde do naht and my father my dumb father he beat me beat me so hard i colde not thinc my own father nefer wolde i thinc this of him efen of him

in the mergen after in the dawn my father cum to me with a sacc and in this sacc was sum loafs sum ealu a scramasax sum clothes and shoes a fyr stan and sum other things. well in the night he had left me on the ground bledan and breathan and he had toc my grandfathers bodig and put it baec on the bier and put the blosms baec on it so that all was the same and he had not saed one word to me

now he cums to me in the light of the daeg and he gifs me this sacc

son he saes these is thy things today thu will be goan from this hus. thu has broc all things here now and thu is wel cum no mor

father

thu is a man now son thy lif is thine thu is my son no mor. thu has brought sceomu on me lic thy grandfather before thu and i has telt thu son i has telt thu there will be no mor of this no mor in this hus. on my death this hus and land will be thine for thu is the only son of mine what lifs. but after this daeg i will not loc upon thu again in this world

well my father was dumb an esol a scucca for all that he done but i was a cilde and he was my father and on this daeg my heorte was broc. aelfgifu she ascd my father so many times not to do this not to send me away but he wolde not hiere her and put her in fear so that she saed no mor. on the land then we stood and i gripped her and she me and there was tears efen from me for i was a cilde and not yet strong as i wolde becum

brothor she saes

aelfgifu

i wolde cum with thu but

i will go alone i is man now mor man than him

he may cum to sum other thincan he may thinc again thu colde cum baec in sum lytel time when our grandfather is in his graef it colde be that our father will wel cum thu

i will not wel cum him

brothor

i will not and when i sees him again he will be on his bier with blosms on him and i will send him on a fuccan boat in to the mere and i will fyr that boat with blitheness and the gods will see how angland has been sold

aelfgifu she saes naht only mofs her head with tears cuman from her eages

aelfgifu my sistor i will cum baec for thu

brothor

i go now i go in to the fenns i go to lif in other parts and when thu sees me again sistor i will be ealdor of this land

well i colde say no mor i colde stay no mor i wolde weep i was still a cilde and though i had becum a man this daeg to leaf aelfgifu was a hard thing my sistor my dear sistor my luf and

i gan then i teorned and i i walced the path that toc me in to the holt. i toc the sacc from my father and all other things i left behind not cnawan if i wolde efer see them again. all was blaec in my mind and in my heorte but in the heofon was sum thing that wolde cum for me in time and bring me to what i wolde be

tofe and i cum up to the secg and gan from the boat in to the water. i hid the lytel boat what was so eald now i hid it in the secg for i did not cnaw if i wolde be baec here and we gan baec to the fyr on my land to find my men

well we colde see before we got to them that they was not alone. we had left aelfgar and siward and godric only by the fyr but we colde see now that there was two other folcs with them and they not frenc they was specan lic all was well lic they was freonds and when i gan near i seen them and they seen me

it was one man and one wifman and to see both of them it was lic a strael in me

buccmaster saes the man and he stands as i walcs to the fyr

thu

buccmaster what was saed will not be saed again

i will cwell thu esol go from this place now

it is my place also

why is thu here grimcell

why is thu

we has cum baec to my lands we has worc to do in the fenns

we has cum here also for we had no other place to go and we wolde see what had becum of our ham. we did not cnaw thu wolde be here

now i locs at the wifman who is with him and i cnawan her i had cnawan her when i seen her from far off

buccmaster of holland she saes to me she does not smerc only locs at me lic she is ascan sum thing. it is annis the gebur of my dead wifman i had thought her gan in the fyr

annis i saes why is thu with this man

i will tell thu this saes grimcell and i will tell thu what has becum of the fyrd of the north and the eorls if thu will hiere it

all i will hiere from thu is scit i saes

cum now saes aelfgar who stands now also. we has all spoc hard things for these is hard times but we is all anglisc folcs agan the bastard can we not sitt and spec

i locs hard then at grimcell and at annis. then i saes spec then spec for we wolde cnaw the tidans but if there is any words of ire or any scit spoc about the eald hus or buccmaster and his cynn there will be blud

by the fyr then we sits and we eats loafs and tofe who seems blithe to see grimcell again saes to him so tell us tell grimcell what has been. has thu been with the fyrd of the north has thu been feohtan

grimcell then he bites from a loaf and he eats slow and then he specs

i gan from the brunnesweald he saes not locan at me and i gan to earninga straet and i gan north. on the straet i found other men who also was gan to eorfic for we had all hierde about the eorls and the fyrd and we was thincan we wolde be in a great war agan the frenc and we wolde haf our blud for the blud of our cynn and cyng at sanlac and angland wolde be anglisc again

well we walced for two daegs on this straet but we did not get to eorfic for soon we seen men cuman south and they was in fear and ire. when we spac to them they saed they had cum from eorfic and that the fyrd of the north was gan for the men had run there had been no feohtan

what cum saes godric

a fyrd cum together saes grimcell in eorfic with edwin and morcar and cyng malcolm of the scots and sum wealsc folcs and many anglisc. the bastard hierde of this and he gan north also he toc his cnihts up the straet and he cum to eorfic and efen before they seen him cum malcolm and the wealsc they gan baec for they was full of great words when alone but when they seen a fyrd of the frenc with the flag of the bastard at its head they scat their brices and they fled lic wifmen

fuccan ingengas i saes i telt thu do not trust them

and what of the anglisc fyrd saes tofe

the anglisc fled also saes grimcell and i sees he does not loc at me as he specs. none wolde feoht the frenc cnihts on hors in style with sweords. so the bastard he gan in to eorfic and the tun gan on its cneows to him and the northern eorls runs for the holt and all is worse efen than before the risan. now the frenc they has macd castels in eorfic and in grantabrycg
and huntenadun and efen in lincylene in this scir and these castels they is macd by anglisc thralls and is full of frenc cnihts so that if efer again there is a risan in these places there will be anglisc blud before efen it has begun

naht is saed for sum time after this tale but my heorte is full. i locs at my men and i can see they is thincan yes buccmaster was right. yes we was agan him and we did not lysten but he was right there was no hope with this fyrd for he has seen the triewth when other men is esols.

after sum time i spac to annis

and thu annis i saes what does thu do here with this man

i cum baec down earninga streate saes grimcell to me and i did not cnaw what to do or where to go. i wolde not go baec to the brunneswealde but where else colde i go. i did not cnaw so i walced to the fenns for it colde be there was folcs there i cnawan it colde be i might lif there again in sum way. and then on the straet i cum across annis who i cnawan well as the gebur of thy wifman odelyn

do not spec her name cottar

and i also was lost saes annis. she specs slow lic she is not afeart. nefer had i trusted this gebur. she was a scort wifman scort and eald her haer graeg her nebb lined and her eages blaec. when she was my wifs gebur i had thought she was agan me always she wolde stand by odelyn and when i needed to beat my wif or to tell her what she most do in the hus annis wolde stand there still saen naht locan most times at the ground but i colde feel she was agan me

i was lost she saes and had been since i left this ham. i had been in sum other hams with folcs i had cnawan but always i was mofan i had no place to go to be. on the straet i seen grimcell and we thought to cum baec here to see what had becum of this place