The Wake (22 page)

this man cum to us saen he was a man of the holt and lifd lic the treows and was scunned in his ham and he wolde feoht with us. in the mergen he wolde rise from by the fyr where we slept and gan to the holt and cum baec his nebb all blaec with aesc or eorth and sae i is of the holt and he wolde sae no mor for the daeg. his nama he telt us was was wluncus though i has nefer hierde an anglisc nama lic this it was as dumb as the man what held it

so we was six now six and the gleoman but the gleoman did not stae when the cold began to cum he gan walcan again as gleoman does to places he colde get foda and ealu and warm fyrs and fuccan for his tales. he telt us he wolde cum baec in sum months when he cum through again and bring us tidans from other parts of angland but i did not thinc he wolde cum again and in triewth i was hopan not for this man was smercan all the time he was not a grene man he was not triewe

but he did cum baec and though i was not blithe it seemed grimcell was for him and this ulf they was freonds of old and this telt me that grimcell was a man who did not cnaw men and i seen again why i was ceosan. but in the winter on a cold daeg when our fyrs was high and wluncus was locan out for frenc men his nebb all blaec with fyr aesc muttran to the fugols the gleoman cum in to our part of the holt raisan his hand in gretan and bringan ealu. he cum from a place wluncus was not locan and this esol did not efen see so if he had been frenc we wolde haf been cwelled and i telt wluncus this in sum ire and he ran off then to the holt lic a cilde wepan triewely he was a fuccan dumb man

but the gleoman he brought ealu and so we macd the fyr high and we satt then and dranc for we had drunc no ealu in wices and the gleoman he telt us of what he had seen in angland. he telt us not lic a gleoman ridlan but lic a man specan and we lystened for his tales was blaec. the frenc he saed was in all places now and they was locan to see what they colde get from all anglisc men. they had raised geld in all places and they was macan men gif geld for all free things what had been their rights. geeyome the bastard he had macd a law gifen all the land in angland to him and nefer had there been succ a great synn done and micel of this land he had gifen to his frenc brothors and freonds and the scuccas what cum with him to cwell our great cyng at sanlac and now they was macan their new thralls bow to them

blaec these tales was for sure. tales of frenc men tacan the ceaps from tuns and hams and puttan them in their castels and tacan geld for efry small thing sold at them. tales of hams torn down to build these castels and of anglisc men macd thralls to mac them lic esols or oxen. tales of men gifan geld to walc their swine in their own holt or to plough their own feld. many wifmen there was in angland now with no husbonds for they had been cwelled feohtan and these wifmen they had their husbonds land for this is the way of things in angland but frenc men was tacan these wifmen and weddan them at point of sweord so this land wolde be theirs in law. mynsters saed the gleoman was fillan all ofer angland with wifmen runnan from this deorc thing

and men all ofer was bean thralld. all ofer the scir of lincylene saed the gleoman socmen who was free men who was the freest men in angland was hafan their land toc and bean macd to worc on it for the new frenc thegns lic thralls and this was puttan them in ire and in great deop sadness. one tale the gleoman telt of us a socman he cnawan well from a ham in the north who was a strong and good man worcan always for his folc but the frenc cum they toc his land and they macd him worc lic a gebur for his new lord. they toc his great hus what he had macd and macd him sleep in the byr with the oxen and this man he colde do naht and wolde be a thrall for efer. his yonge cilde a yonge son he died in the cold of the winter slepan in this byr and this man he colde tac no mor and his wifman cum in to the stincan byr one daeg and he was hangan from the beam lic a sacc of baerlic

there was a great stillness after we had hierde these tales and triewely it was good that we had ealu. for this to cum to socmen of my scir this was a thing what macd my blud rise in my heafod it macd me tac my sweord in my hand there wolde be blud there moste be blud. then aelfgar he spac

what is being done gleoman he saed what is anglisc folc doan

well saes the gleoman they is doan many things thu cnawan does thu not what they is doan. sum is in the ground sum still on it rottan in the regn sum is gan from this land gan east of rome where they feohts in the fyrds of ingenga cyngs and dreams of angland. sum is gan north to the land of the scots where malcolm cyng bids them wel cum as free folc. sum stays in their ham and in their hus and macs best of what is gifen to them by their wyrd. then there is them what has ceosan neither to stay nor leaf but who is gan to fenn and holt and becum grene lic the leafs and the grass who lifs lic the fox and the wulf who is wilde lic the hafoc and the crow with teeth what tears from the enemi small bite and small bite and small bite until all the mete is gan

this is us saes tofe

these grene men saes the gleoman at first they was a small thing but now there is mor of them and great men of angland is specan as they spec. there is two anglisc eorls only left in this land they is edwin and morcar of northanhymbre and mierce and these eorls they is specan in stillness now of raisan a fyrd agan the ingenga

a fyrd saes tofe a triewe anglisc fyrd again

what men has they saes grimcell all their folcs was cwelled by hardrada

they has scots men it is saed saes the gleoman for malcolm he thincs that the bastard will not stop at angland and they may haf denes cuman in scips for sweyn cyng of the north folcs locs also at angland with ire and fear. and many anglisc now wolde feoht with them there is men in holts all ofer angland waitan for a call to rise agan the frenc

there is sum stillness again then only the sound of men drencan

a great fyrd saes tofe a great fyrd again i wolde die for this i wolde die

tofe cilde saes aelfgar tell us why was thu not in the fyrd that gan to sanlac or to eorfic the fyrd what harald cyng called

they wolde not tac me saes tofe they was saen i was only a cilde though many in my ham gan what was not so micel ealdor

and thu buccmaster and thu grimcell saes aelfgar

i gan saes grimcell i gan in the first fyrd i gan north but harald he gan so fast that we did not get to eorfic before he had cwelled all the denes and we cum baec

and thu saes aelfgar to me thu and thy great sweord

well i was wantan to go i saes i was cene sore cene to go and to tac on the frenc but it was saed by our gerefa that i was a great man of the ham and was needed there for the wapentac for i was a socman with three oxgangs. but i sent my sons my two sons strong men they was and they gan to feoht for their cyng harald with my luf and they nefer cum baec and there is not a daeg i does not thinc i sceolde haf gan with them and fought for angland no not a daeg

ah saes gamel if mor men had cum if the cyng had waited longer in lundun for mor men to cum from all ofer angland we colde haf tacan a fyrd bigger than any efer in angland and cwelled efry frenc man on that dun but the cyng he wolde run on fyr he was after tacan down hardrada it was saed he was thincan he was a god

it is gan now saes aelfgar it is gan gamel

we walced lic we wolde nefer stop saes gamel we walced lic hors all daeg and micel of the night. harald he had cum upon the landwaster when his men was slepan and he wolde do the same to the bastard but the bastard was ready he had men on hors locan all ofer and he seen harald and it was the anglisc who was tacan when not locan

harald saes tofe harald tacan that way

we cum on the bastard in the wrong place saes gamel there was a dun we seen it was the only dun near and we moste get to the top of it for the cyng wolde feoht with his huscarls and a dun was good for this so we gan to this dun what was named sanlac. on the top of this hyll was a small aeppel treow all alone it was and the cyng put his flag by this treow and we gathrd we macd a line but it was too lytel

the treow

the dun it was too lytel all men colde not hardly stand on it we was so near we colde not mof it was wrong from the start we colde feel it was wrong

but thu colde haf tacan them saes tofe thu saed it

we colde haf we colde haf but we did not and on the dun they cept cuman and hard it was to cepe the line men was cwelled in the line and colde not efen fall to the ground so near was we all to eacc other dead men was standan

that is a hard thing saes grimcell

ah it is all a fuccan hard thing ses gamel all of it loc here we is sittan in the fuccan holt lic hunds all of angland is a blaec land now. so we has cwelled sum small frenc folcs in these past wices but the frenc will not efen see this we is fuccan gan we is gan from the eorth

this is not triewe i saes not triewe and we will not spec lic this here

o will we not saes gamel is this triewe buccmaster and who will sae how i will spec

thu will not sae these things i saes not here these is cildes words

thu will not stop me from specan any way i wolde spec saes gamel and there is fyr in him and i seen i will need to put it out

the frenc saes the gleoman cuman in to cwell the fyr the frenc they sees it well

how saes tofe

the frenc all ofer cnaws of grene men and is afeart saes the gleoman it is saed the bastard himself cnawan of the risans agan him and in these parts word is with the frenc of grene men in the brunnesweald

word of us saes tofe the frenc fears us they fears us

thu and others saes the gleoman

others i saes what others

there is other grene men in these parts saes the gleoman efen in this holt

there is hereweard of course saes aelfgar

we has not hierde micel of this fuccan hereweard for a time i saes not for sum time while we has been cwellan frenc what has he been doan this fuccan god

gathran men saes the gleoman he has near fiftig now they saes

all of them hunds and wihts i saes

has thu seen him saes aelfgar to the gleoman

no saes the gleoman and he is locan at me all this time no i has not seen him but he is near

i is walcan through a beorg a grene beorg all light and grene sceadu walcan walcan though it seems not mofan yet sean sum thing cum nearer slow slow. what is this it stands on two scancs lic a man but is horned horned on its heafod grene light behind it i can not see it mofs it cums to me i can not see

all in this place is small things flittan flittan lic the bats through the cuman dusc steppan it seems steppan in hwit and grene small and thynne around this man who is cuman still to me grene and leafd horned and tall reaccan out to me specan now specan in the beorg of light specan my nama and all that i has seen and been is in this grene now and this light is all i is all i is i is i is

as winter cum to spring as the holt gan from blaec to grene as the treows breathed again the buds cum up the ground sighed the fugols cum and sang as lif cum baec to the land lif was in me for i seen now where my wyrd wolde tac me. i seen now that i had been gifen deorc daegs deorc times lic the cyngs of old lic the gods them selfs lic great weland lic my grandfather and this thing i had cum through and strong now i was strong and ready for all the ingenga colde gif me

it was the gleoman had telt us about the castel at stan ford though we hierde it also later from other folcs in ham and holt. it was saed that the frenc was macan a castel in a ham to the south at the stan ford tun where they wolde put cnihts to loc down on the folc of the fenns and of the brunnesweald. tofe saed they done this for us for they cnawan of our feohtan and of our worc and our strength

well we talcd of this and of what sceolde be done and it was not long before we cum to spec of tacan it. all of us i sceolde sae cum to spec of this at once there was no man thincan other and this time now that i locs baec i sees that this time was when we was a werod triewe and no time wolde there be again lic this. for we had cwelled frenc men and now they was macan castles near to the brunnesweald and it was lic they had wafd a sweord at us and saed anglic folc anglisc men of the holt what will thu do

so we gan out and we gan south to find stan ford and to see this castel and what we colde do. the six of us gan and the gleoman saed he wolde cum for he had folcs to see on the straet and he colde tac us to earninga straet what wolde lead us to the tun. earninga straet was one of the eald roads macd in the times efen before the wealsc cum to angland. in many places it locd lic any other straet macd by men that is to say of eorth sincan in the regn and ricgd in the sunne but there was other places where it colde be seen what was under it and the straet was flat stan with stan dices for water to run in to and the straet was wide and long and straight tearan through the wuds ofer hangd with treows lic it was macd for ents to walc down in times before men

on a great straet lic this thu wolde pass many folcs for it gan down they saed right to lundun and up also to northern places. this was the straet what harald cyng toc to go north and cwell hardrada and it was the straet now what the bastard and his men toc to sec out anglisc who stood agan them and gif them blud. in the winter the bastard it was saed had cum baec from his frenc lands and toc angland again in his hands and he had seen that his biscop brothor odo had fuccd and cwelled the lands so bad that many mor anglisc was risan agan the frenc and if the bastard will gif any thing to a biscop i saes this is what he will get

but we cum on many folcs as we gan down this straet the six of us we seen hors and we seen wagns we seen folcs on foot alone and in gangs we seen ox and hunds and sum times efen we seen frenc. when we seen frenc on the straet always on hors of course sum was afeart though not i. naht was done for in triewth none colde tell us from ham folcs or tincers or beorners and since frenc did not cnaw for sure what was done in these parts then grene men colde smile and waef at them as they gan by and they wolde not cnaw we was thincan of coccan their beallucs ofer the fyr