The Wake (17 page)

me i wolde not sae so micel though i colde see both thoughts and feel them both in me but i was still thincan of all that had been and not cnawan what was to cum and efry mergen i wolde rise again and eat at the fyr and then go walcan. in triewth there was sum thing i licd about this place for efen though all was broc the hus and the fyr cept a small part of me baec on my land with my cynn and my geburs and what man wolde not want this. also i saed then and i sae now that he wolde not cum he wolde not cum and so if i was lost for a time this was on him and not on me

well one daeg when we had been in the wud for sum time tofe cum to me in the mergen as i was eatan and before i colde go walcan. tofe had ascd me efry daeg in the mergen if he colde cum with me thincan that i was doan great things in the holt and efry daeg i saed no cilde and this macd him thinc only mor of me. but after sum wices i colde see he was thincan less of me and our place here and on this daeg i was thincan he wolde asc again to cum with me but he wanted sum other thing

buccmaster he saes i wolde lic to cnaw what we will do now

i is goan to the holt cilde i saes i has telt thu there is things i moste do there and thu can not be with me

i does not mean this daeg he saes. i locs at him and it seems he is tryan hard to be strong. i means in this holt he saes i means our worc

worc i saes

our worc he saes our war with the frenc. it has been many wices since we cwelled the ingenga and yet we has not brought our war to others

lysten cilde i saes this war thu specs of it is all around thu. if thu leafs this holt thu will see it in all hams and tuns if thu wants frenc go to them with thy great strength

buccmaster saes tofe thu saes thu is leadan us thu saes thu is ring gifer. in my ham before i cum to thu there was micel specan of the grene men and all cnawan they was gathran in the brunnesweald for it is the greatest holt in angland and folcs who is free and is agan the ingenga cum here to gather and spec of war. when i cum to thu i cum for this and yet there is three of us buccmaster and no war

cilde i saes this is no way to spec to me

i does not mean naht by it saes tofe i does not mean to sae thu is wrong but i is only ascan that is all when we will gather when others will cum for surely there moste be a great risan lic folcs was saen in my ham there wolde be lic there will be soon in elge

in elge i saes

tofe locs at me lic he has saed sum thing wrong

in elge he saes

what of elge i saes what of this place

oh it is only tales he saes cwicc tales that is all has thu not hierde them. in elge on the ealond on the fenns there is men gathran it was saed under an anglisc ealdor namd hereweard and they is lic us they is grene men they is standan agan the ingenga lic we will lic thu is leadan us

i stands up at this point for i has eatan and i locs down at tofe who now feels small i can see and i saes cilde wait for me that is all. thu will see i saes thu will see and now i moste go

well i was blithe to go for this cilde had ired me and this was not good and in triewth i cnawan nuthan but that i had foda in the holt for the last of the swine still lyfed and there was water from a small ea and a hus now also and i colde not see why i wolde go any other place. of course i colde haf lifd there i colde haf saed to this cilde and this cottar grimcell i colde haf saed go then go in to the world and leaf me. micel of me wolde do so and yet i did not and now i gan in to the holt tellan myself i loccd for wihts and weland but in triewth i was walcan only and walcan and walcan for want of any other thing

and now when i was not specan to him he cum to me and he cum in a sound lic a great wind in treows lic a roar of water lic a red ea red with blud

another is cum

i has called for thu i has spocan to thu

there is cum a greater man

why has thu not cum

this other he ascs naht only cwells only feohts

what other

thu has been a small man buccmaster a weac man

i is not weac

weac lic a wifman in thy warm hus eatan and slepan while angland beorns

i cwelled a frenc thegn

and then thu slept

i is not slepan i is thincan

thincan is for wifmen

they is thincan while weafan and reapan

thincan while bean fuccd up the arse by frenc men

thincan their men is weac

i has ascd thu

is thu sum cilde

who is this other

he will gather men they will follow him

i will gather men

he will tac down the ingenga he will be thy cyng

where is he

he is cuman

who

he cepes his great sweord for great things

we neded mete

mete is all thu is

i will use it well i will use it well

the time for that is gan

the time is here i will gather my werod i is ready

he is in the holt

in the holt

hereweard is cum

oh i had cnawan he wolde be ired for what i done with his sweord his great sweord what he macd for my grandfather and what i had used in a low way and now he had telt me what he wolde do. now he had telt me there was another in the holt a greater man and triewe to the sweord and he telt me i was weac and i was not weac i is a socman i is strong. well for a small time i was in ire and fear thincan i was lost but then i seen what he cum for and why he spac. for if he had left me for another i was thincan he did not need to cum to spec to me and yet he did and i cnawan why

great weland had cum to try me lic the eald cyngs was tried he had cum to sae to me buccmaster there is another and to be triewe thu moste be greater than him. well this other this hereweard i did not cnaw him nor cnaw if he was efen a man but i cnawan now what i moste do to be triewe and for the first time since i cum to the brunnesweald then i felt strong

i gan right baec then to the hus and the fyr where grimcell and tofe still was sittan and talcan and when they seen me they loccd up for they had thought me to be gan a long time

grimcell i saes tofe we moste go

go saes grimcell

i has been gifen a sign i saes now we moste go

a sign saes grimcell

it is not for thu to asc i saes i is tellan thu now there is worc to do

worc saes tofe is we gathran buccmaster is we gathran our werod

cilde i saes we moste go huntan

what will we do saes grimcell always he is ascan

always ascan i saes always what and why and where grimcell lysten to me man there is worc to do

for wices we has satt in these wuds saes grimcell and all has been still and now thu wolde feoht all the ingengas in angland

grimcell i saes thu is an anglisc man a man of holland now thu will lysten to me. we is goan gathran we is goan huntan we is goan to gather a werod and we is goan to feoht. thu will ceose if thu wants to cum but this cilde and i we is goan now

i is ready saes tofe

grimcell locs at me and at the cilde and he locs around and well what will he do here alone. he stands

it was lic this i woc in the mergen sum three daegs after i had hierde from my grandfather of the boar who spac and sum thing was not the same. it wolde not be the same efer now i seen as i locd at my father stridan about specan low and my sistor aelfgifu wepan and wepan. well i seen before any folcs colde spec i seen what it was for in the night while i had slept my grandfather he had gan to the other world

it was still early in the mergen but in the great hus of my grandfather the wifmen of the ham was layan him out. i stood outside the hus for sum time for i was not strong enough to see him gan to see him laid down cold but soon aelfgifu cum for she colde see what was in me and she toc my hand and in the hus we went together

the hus was always deorc with the stenc of smoc but this daeg there was also the stenc of beornan wyrts. my mothors sistor agnes was leadan for i had no mothor she was with two wifmen from the ham one was annis who was later to be my wifmans gebur though she was yonge then and the other was her mothor. they was doan what wifmen does at death they was beornan the wyrts and singan the eald songs as they laid out the great hwit bodig of my grandfather

he was laid out on his bed with blosms around him and with leafs also for it was sumor and he was in a scirt of hwit and blaec brices and his great eald boots what i had seen him in efer since i was a small cilde. he was clene his great beard hwit though thynne and his eages scutt now for efer and in sean this i colde not be strong no mor and i wept lic a maeden and aelfgifu she held me until i was strong again. all this time these three wifmen they spac naht to us only busy macan the place right and singan the songs

aelfgifu my sistor and i we went out again in to the sunne for the daeg was high and clere and of great beuty and this was right for the daeg when my grandfathers sawol had gan to find his cynn folc. but i cnawan what was done in these parts when a man was gan and i was afeart

aelfgifu i saes what will they do. she cnawan what i is thincan right then

i does not cnaw she saes but i thinc it will be the preost and the circe

they can not

thu cnawan our father thu cnawan how our grandfather was seen

no preosts no circe

all i cnawan she saes is how it is done. he will be in the hus for two daegs while folcs cums to see and to bless and spec and sing and then in the dawn he will be tacan along the blaec trac to bacstune and to the circe and there his graef will be macd and the preost will send him under and abuf

this can not be

then what brothor

bury me in my boat sistor he saed beorn me in my scip

brothor these is not the eald times

i moste spec to him

he is gan

no i moste spec with our father

lysten i has telt thu i will not spec of this man well thu will see why thu will see for my father was yfel. oh strong he was strong and tall and was thought of by sum in the ham as a great man. ascetil of holland thu wolde hiere folcs saen lic they was talcan of a thegn or a cyng well for me he was not great all he gifen me was fear this man all he gifen his cynn was fear

no esol was he and he wolde let no man spec ofer him for he moste always be right my father he moste always be cyng. all that he cnawan he seen as the triewth for all men and there was none colde spec agan him and if thu was his cilde thu wolde cnaw it. well i was his cilde but i seen things that this man had not seen

my father raised me in the circe of the crist as all did in those times for all was blind lic the frenc is now macan us blind. anglisc folcs has had their sawol eatan i saes eatan first by ingenga god and then by ingenga cyng and now what is angland but an ealond in the mist seen when the heofon mofs but nefer reacced again. my father he raised me under his hwit god under his man god but i left him for i hierde the call of the mere and my grandfather who toc me there was now gan lic the land we haf been

well this daeg i gan to my father i walced to his side where he stood in the hus locan down at the hwit bodig of my grandfather saen naht. oh always i wanted to spec to my father to tell him how things sceolde be to feoht him to say father i is man and as man i will do as i wolde. but always when i cum to him when i locd in his eages i colde sae naht for his strength was all in his bodig and to stand agan him was to stand agan the rocc or the water

well this daeg i gan to him as he stood there with the wifmen frettan all round him and as i cum up by him he teorned and he locd at me and in his eages i did not cnaw what i colde see

father i saes

son

thy father is gan

thy grandfather

he was a great man

he was a man

for sum time i colde not sae what i had cum to sae and i thought to go but i cnawan that if i did not sae naht now i wolde nefer sae naht

what will cum now father to him

what will cum he will go to his graef son he will not stand and sing for thu

his graef in the circe

in the circe yes. here my father locs at me for he cnaws what i is thincan

father he

i will spec to thu now son of this and will not spec of it again. thy grandfather was of the eald hus and this brings great sceomu on me and on thy cynn. thu has seen how folcs locs at us in the ham and in the circe thu has hierde what is saed. my father was an esol who lifd in dreams of times gan and the deorcness and sceomu he gaf us will go to eorth with him. he will go to the circe cilde and his graef will be there and in this way we will tac baec our name

well i saed naht for what colde i sae once mor i had been brought to nuthan. now my father he loccd at me strong and i loccd at my grandfathers bodig for it was a better sight than my fathers eages

son saes my father this will end here there will be no mor of this in this hus for we is men of the wapentac men of strength in this land. there will no mor cildes tales to bring sceomu and synn upon my cynn there will be no mor. he cepes locan at me then and i cepes locan at my grandfather and i cnawan my nebb is red lic the sunne. then my father he teorns and he is gan from the hus

i is thincan of my father as i is walcan through the brunnesweald with tofe and grimcell thincan of what he saed that daeg there will be no mor of this cilde no mor. always there has been men lic my father who wolde throw out the eald thincan it is no good but not sean what the triewe good efer was. i was leadan my men south they had not ascd where we was goan or what we was doan and in triewth i did not cnaw. we was in a part of the holt now i did not cnaw and they did not cnaw so all we was doan in triewth was walcan and waitan to see what we wolde cum to

well soon enough i seen sum thing though it did not loc lic no great thing then. we cum to a path in the holt at a place where haesel wud was bean tacan for worcan so we was locan and tacan care for we did not cnaw who was here. well we hierde none but fugols callan in the treows for it was late sumor now and all treows was grene with leaf and wolde soon be teornan. but when we cum on to the path we hierde the sound of a man specan and he was specan to me