The Wake (12 page)

and there is one other thing also saes my grandfather locan at me and also at my sistor there is one other thing weland saes to my grandfather he saes that this sweord thu moste cepe on thy land always for it is thine alone and this sweord it is for thy cynn to cepe their selfs free. and this may be free from ingenga folc from denes or it may be free from others in angland from anglisc folc who wolde mac thu small it may be from those who wolde put them selfs ofer thu who wolde call them selfs thy

well my grandfather he saes no mor for it was then that my father cum into the hus he cum through the door and i colde see he had been hearan sum of what my grandfather had saed for he cums to him and to us and he is in sum ire

thu cildren go from the hus he saes go now and we can see he is not to be pleged with here and so my sistor and i we gets to our feet and not locan at our grandfather we runs from the hus and at the door i teorns when i is goan and i sees my father tac this sweord rough lic from my grandfather who stands and locs at him also in ire but my father is a strong man and he saes to my grandfather do not i has saed to thu do not i will not haf this efer in this hus. and then my father he teorns to me with ire and i runs out into the sunne with my sistor and a hwit place it is on the land all light and free after where we has been

well what i done after sum time i gan ofer to bacstune for this ham was one i cnawan and i wolde see if what had cum to us had cum also to others in holland. bacstune was sum hours walc ofer fenn paths and through the holt and on these paths i was safe for none colde walc these places but those who was folc of them so windan was they and so hard was the fenn on those who cum from other lands. with me i toc welands sweord and the other things i had toc from the fyr and sum aels and sum mete from my dead swine what i had toc and smocd for i did not cnaw how long i wolde be mofan or where i wolde go

bacstune was not a long walc but i moste tac care for who was in the holts now i did not cnaw who was in angland i did not cnaw. in triewth though i toc care i seen naht and no man in fenn or holt until i cum near to bacstune on the path what went in to that ham and then when i cum near a man cum from the treows and it was this grimcell what had been with ecceard and he cum to me

do not go to bacstune he saes there is frenc there

now

they has been there i does not cnaw if they is gan

where is ecceard

ecceard is not long

grimcell then he is gan baec in to the treows and he is a strong man and anglisc and there is frenc in bacstune so i gan with him he tacs me sum way in to the holt and to a place where there is a fyr and a small hus macd of treows and stoccs and leafs it seems they has been here for sum daegs. i sees ecceard is lyan in this small hus and not mofan

dead i saes

he will be far faran soon saes grimcell the sicness has tacan him his ears blede grene and blaec he is cold i has put sum hunig and salt on him but i has not any wicce craft we needs sum wif to be with him with eced and senep and wyrts naht is growan it is still winter

i gan in to the lytel hus then and i locs down at ecceard who does not open his eages

i has gifen him water saes this grimcell he nedes mete has thu mete

no i saes i has no mete

ecceard then he opens his eages and locs up but what colde he see

it is thu he saes thu thu sceolde not haf cum all is blud now blud thu brings

see he is sicc saes grimcell

blud thu brings saes ecceard

well i will not lysten to this rot i will not waste mete on him he is dyan so i leafs this hus of bare treows and i gan out again and after sum time grimcell he cums out also

we sceolde mac a graef he saes he will be gan before night and wihts will cum

i has macd enough graefs i saes i has buried my wifman these last daegs

i also

ecceard hored for the frenc i will not dig his graef

he done what he moste

and i do what i moste and thu also cottar and if thu moste dig then dig i is a socman i does not dig graefs

well for sum time then we sits or stands or walcs about in this small camp in the holt i gan to find wud to put on the fyr i cepes it goan and this gifs me sum thing to be thincan of but in triewth i had no reason to be in this place i was here only because there was no other place for me in this world. and where was he now when i was needan words where was his words now here i was as small as the fyr dyan lic ecceard naht i was naht when i sceolde be great

well i was sittan by this fyr thincan and this man grimcell he was gan again to loc at ecceard in triewth he was only waitan for him to go he had begun macan a graef. at this time we both of us hierde a sound cuman from the treows it cum from the path in to bacstune so i stands and i tacs my scramasax and this grimcell he has an ax and a good ax and he tacs this and we locs to this sound we gets behind the stoccs of treows for it seems the frenc has seen us and cum to clene us from our own land and agan these hunds i will feoht efen with a cottar

but what cum to us then was not the hors of the frenc but sum swine. six swine cum in to the holt and is locan about for food and snufflan and doan what swine does and grimcell and me we locs at them then and locs about and after the swine cums a cilde

this cilde is not a frenc cilde he has long light haer and his nebb is thynne he seems of denisc folc he is yonge as yonge as my dunstan i wolde haf saed and he grips a stic for the swine but he is locan not at them but at the hus where ecceard is dyan

i cums out from the treows then with my scramasax and i saes tac thy swine cilde and go from this place

this cilde he leaps when he sees me but he stands locan and grimcell then he cums from the treows also and this cilde he locs at us

thu is men of the holt he saes

it wolde seem all anglisc is men of the holt now i saes for where is our fuccan hus and land

who is thu saes grimcell

tofe saes this cilde tofe of bacstune a son of gerd these is my swine they cums here micel where is thu cum from

do not sae grimcell saes i

grimcell saes naht

tac me with thu saes this cilde then

what and thy fuccan swine i saes i laughs at this the cilde he locs small

i has strength

go to thy hus cilde

my hus is gan and my mothor also did thu not hiere frenc has come to bacstune

thu has thy swine

they will mac me gif geld for them i has naht

go saes grimcell we is only men we is lost

all is lost without thu saes this cilde and he stands locan at us. but he sees we is saen naht mor and he teorns and he calls to his swine and slow he mofs away

that night i slept in the holt lic a swine myself and when i woc i seen grimcell tacan ecceard to his graef. the bodig of our gerefa was lic the stocc of a treow and grimcell was lyftan him as he colde but it was hard and he cept fallan. i was loccan for sum time and smercan when he fell lic an eald poppet but then grimcell he seen me locan and he ascd me to help him and help him i did for the sunne was cum up and fugols was specan and it seemed it colde be a good daeg for there was no frenc here and still we lifd

grimcell and i we dropped our gerefa into his graef in the holt and ofer him then we thrown the soft blaec eorth and grimcell he wanted to sae sum words about the crist and the lif after this but he did not cnaw none and i was blithe to see that he did not asc me for he cnawan i was of the eald hus though i had not telt him so

so what was we to do now where was we to go. all was blaec in these times and all we colde do was to walc to walc to other hams to walc in the holt lic the fox lic the swine. it seemed now i was to be with this cottar grimcell for in triewth there was no other place to be and he was not a bad man and colde be of sum use

so on this mergen this cottar and i we put ecceard in the eorth and we scoc the eorth from our selfs and we was goan to walc from bacstune through the holt and we was thincan to go north but before we gan we hierde again a sound from the treows and again we seen this cilde cum from the ham only this time with no swine only him and a lytel sacc. this cilde he cums to us and he is yonge only a cilde but he specs with set mouth

i moste cum with thu he saes my mothor is dead my father is dead all i has is swine and swine is naht without folc

where is thy swine saes grimcell

at my hus saes this cilde

what can thu do for us saes grimcell

i can feoht if i moste saes this cilde feoht the frenc lic thu does

feoht with what i saes

heorte saes this yonge cilde locan at me

get thy swine saes grimcell get three of them and bring them and thu may cum with us

this cilde then he laughs lic the cilde he is and he is runnan off again to bacstune i will be triewe to thu he saes i will be triewe to the holt and gan he is in the treows

grimcell i saes to this cottar in sum ire what is this what is thu saen to cildren. grimcell then he specs but he does not spec to me lic he locs up to me he specs lic he too is a socman

this cilde saes grimcell thincs us mor than we is and he will follow us due to it and this cilde he has mete. we has no mete buccmaster

no mete i saes this is triewe

buccmaster saes grimcell does thu cnaw of these grene men

grene men

folcs saes things saes grimcell they specs in raedels thu cnawan what folcs is. i has hierde tales and this cilde has hierde them also. this bastard he cum from the frenc lands and he cwelled all great anglisc men he broc us and he toc our land for his own and when he had ate all he colde he gan baec to his frenc lands and he is there now and we is loccd ofer now not by a cyng but a biscop

a fuccan biscop

sum frenc preost named odo or sum thing he is brothor of the bastard he is eorl of cent now by the bastards will. it is saed he is a man of blud macan his brothor loc lic the crist and what his brothor toc now he tacs again. there is frenc all ofer now cwellan who they will tacan what they can beornan if they will fuccan all our wifmen and efen the bastard wolde not let his new cyngdom be beorned in succ a way as this

ingengas i saes ingengas

anglisc men is feohtan buccmaster though many is gan in blud sum has gan lic us to holt and fenn and they is not dyan as they is telt
.
folcs is gathran buccmaster they is gathran in the holts and on the duns and in the fenns and they is gathran waepans

i sees none

they is there

if this is triewe it is good

thu hierde this cilde folcs is waitan for them they is callan them grene men. they is grene lic the treows and the treows is all they has now and this cilde he tacs us for them

and he has swine

and maybe we is them buccmaster for we is in the treows and the treows is all we has

well grimcell spac of treows and treows there was in this place mor than there was in my ham for the land mofd as i walced it. those who does not cnaw the fenns hears of them only in tales and oft these tales is lies or is telt to cildren to fryht them. it is saed the fenns is all deorc waters and deop mud and that walcan in them thu will be drencced and it is saed also that the folcs of the fenns is scuccas or esols or is yfel wihts of the mere

these is the things folcs saes who does not cnawan naht of what they is specan for the fenns is a place of wundor to those who cnawan them. yes there is deop meres and waters so blaec that oxen is lost in them and nefer seen and there is muds what strecces for miles ringed by secg and lesch and if thu does not cnawan the paths through these places and thu gan in thu will not be cuman out again as man. these is the blaec fenns where the eorth and the waters is all blaec lic the graef. there is also fenns of sand what is brun not blaec and where things is not the same and the treows and plants is not the same and efen the heofon has another loc

but while the low places is wet the high places is dry and there is many ealonds in the fenns what gifs us foda and good lifs. welig and alor treows is growan here and sum times ac and aesc and there is micel ground on what can be growan waet and baerlic and holts where swine can be lifan and micel good ground on hwicc to lif as folc. and as these ealonds is in meres on all sides with paths what only fenn folcs cnawan it is hard for those from other parts to cum in though as i had seen it can be done when those ingengas has fenn folcs at their call to lead them to the hunt

all around the fenn lands there is treows. ofer to the south and west ofer to where the frenc cum from is a great holt that is called the brunnesweald and this holt has been in this place since our folc cum to this land. ham it is to wulfs it is saed and boars and aelfs and other folcs it is an eald place eald it colde be as the hus of the eald gods under the mere. this brunnesweald i had nefer seen before i left my ham but i was to see it later for it was there the enemis of the bastard cum to gather to feoht those who broc them

now in this small holt by bacstune locan at the treows i was thincan that these frenc they wolde gif all these things other names. i was locan at an ac treow and i put my hand on its great stocc and i was thincan the ingengas will haf another name for this treow. it had seemed to me that this treow was anglisc as the ground it is grown from anglisc as we who is grown also from that ground. but if the frenc cums and tacs this land and gifs these treows sum frenc name they will not be the same treows no mor. it colde be that to erce this treow will be the same that it will haf the same leafs the same rind but to me it will be sum other thing that is not mine sum thing ingenga of what i can no longer spec

will they gif angland another name also i saes to this treow what will we call our cildren

what is it thu saes buccmaster saes grimcell to me hearan this

i specs to the treow i saes to him it colde be we is grene men now without ceosan it

where will we go saes grimcell

other hams i saes let us go to other hams let us stay in the holt cepe walcan with this cilde and his swine let us see what the frenc has done in the fenns and let us see who else is in these wuds now