The Wake: Man Booker Prize 2014 Longlist Edition

by Paul Kingsnorth

  for among the sounds of the night wud there was sum thing cuman cuman for me alone sum thing what had been locan for me ofer all this world

  name me

  and i cnawan who

  name me

  and i cnawan i is ceosan

  buccmaster of holland

  for he is tellan me now and he is not near lic he was

  thu is ceosan

  he is here right here right here in the holt with the craws

  name me

  and with me and with the fox in the blaec by the cwelled ac

  buccmaster

  where there is no light and no men and naht but what the land macs

  name me

  and i saes i name thu

  weland smith i name thu

  why has thu cum

  why does they not lysten why does they not see

  it is all that i is this why can they not see

  i wolde teorn to the crist if they wolde see efen to the crist any thing i wolde do

  all the lytel things cwelled the treows they tacs our names our names they tacs our tales our songs. i was grown from this ground the ground they has tacan my ground from me all that i is they tacs all

  if my grandfather was here now he wolde cnaw me for what i is for i is weac in all things a small man i is all is dyan here all is gan and tacan through my weacness i is small and weac and naht i has nefer been naht

  well they is naht also the fuccan frenc the fuccan ingengas may be i is weac and lic a wifman but all that i done i done for my land and my folc and all that they done they done for gold for seolfor. deofuls they is scuccas fuccan cunts all angland is gan in their fyr all that anglisc folc macd in a thousand years all gan in frenc fyr and all men in thrall and deop in sceomu

  after harald cyng was cwelled the bastard he called for angland to mac him its cyng but angland wolde not. a witan of high anglisc men was called of all who had lyfed through the wars of the year of fugol and star and not many men there was but they cum together in lundun and they saed they wolde feoht the bastard though there was few men with efen axes left in all the cyngdom. this witan they called as cyng edgar aetheling whose grandfather was eald cyng eadmund when my father was a cilde. edgar was an anglisc cyng of anglisc blud but he was no mor than cilde and the witan what called him was macd of eald men too eald to feoht and the bastard he wolde not stop

  the bastard he cum north from the place where he had cwelled harald cyng and all the way he cum in blud his men they fucced all anglisc wifmen they cum to and cwelled them when done and all hams and tuns they beorned in ingenga fyr. the bastard cum up to lundun fuccan and cwellan and beornan and the witan it seen what was cuman and it stepped baec and the last of angland that daeg was gan and we had a new cyng who spac not efen our tunge and ate not our foda and cursed us as hunds and curses us still

  in the abbodrice of eald eadweard who was cyng before harald the great abbodrice in lundun what they sae is all macd lic sum ingenga hus for lundun is no longer an anglisc tun in this abbodrice on the daeg of the mass of the crist in the year of fugol and star this bastard was gifen the corona of angland. i has met men who was there that daeg or men who saes they was for all lics to sae succ things and they saes what befell then was to mac the bastard sore lic a hors with a thorn in its foot what is ciccan all things it sees.

  the bastard duc geeyome was gifan the anglisc corona by the biscop of the crist who tacs his orders from his cyng not from his heofon and all men there then gaf up a great roar of wilcum hunds that they was and their brothors still rottan on sanlac hyll. but around the abbodrice the bastard had put his cnihts with sweord and hors to cepe him safe from anglisc ire and when the cnihts hierde this cry they belyfd it was a risan agan the bastard for they did not spec our tunge and did not cnaw our ways. and so they put fyr to all the hus around the abbodrice and they cwelled anglisc men who was locan on and all in the abbodrice fled but for the bastard who was alone with his corona and his ire and his fear. they saes the bastard has no fear but no man has no fear and on this daeg he cnawan what he had done to cum to angland lic he did and if he thought he wolde haf us easy lic he had our wifmen then he cnawan now he was wrong

  well these deorc dreams was still cuman to me then dreams of blud of my wifman spered through the guttas by deorc ingengas of my sons torn by hunds of my hus beornan my lif beornan. efry night slepan the dreams cum as the fyr cum nearer to us i colde feel them cuman it was lic splotts on the nebb of a yonge man cwelled by sum deorcness in his high time of lif. and all the time he was cuman for now i had named him he was always with me not specan all of the time at least in the beginnan but always with me now i had been ceosan

  my grandfather first telt me of the great smith weland what wolde he haf saed to see me ceosan for greatness by this deorc ealdor of all anglisc folc

  but lysten to what the bastard done lysten now for though i will sae it still it is hard to belyf. since our thegn was dead in sum dicc his eages tacan by raefns his sawol by ingengas we was to haf new men ofer us and blaec they was to be. as the year begun ecceard he was called away sum place we was not telt of to hiere the new laws from them who had not the guttas to cum them selfs and tell anglisc folc what was to becum of them. he was gan sum three daegs then he cum baec to us hangan his heafod for what he moste sae but still he saed it. we was all bid to cum to the ham to hiere this snyflan scucca bendan to the will of others lic the dog hidan under the stool when the staef is raised

  so in ire was i from what i hierde that my heafod was full of things i wolde do and sae it is hard for me efen now to tell what this weosul was saen that daeg

  our new cyng he begins and he saes this lic it is triewe lic there was no fugol no star lic half our men was not gan and nefer cum baec. only our new cyng lic it is another daeg lic all daegs. our new cyng he saes he has telt me that as wulmaer thegn was cwelled feohtan under the flag of harald godwineson who was thief of the corona of angland his lands will be gifen to geeyome cyng and with them all lands in his thegnage and this means also the lands of all in this ham

  then he stops and there is no sound at all only the breath of the mist all ofer the fenn. for it was a winter daeg in hrethmonth and on many daegs in this month the colde breath of erce wolde cum up out of the fenn and swallo us and it wolde be hard to see efen from hus to barn so thicc was it. well this was one of these daegs and though we was cum round near in the cold and though there was sum twentig or thirtig of us lystnan to this scucca specan these ingenga words hardly colde we all see our own selfs

  still there was no sound none saed naht lic after efry thing that had already cum there was naht mor colde bring us pain and this seemed to fryht ecceard mor than if we had gan at him for he mofs about and swallos and his eages mofs lic he is sum cildes poppet

  geeyome cyng of angland he gan on and his words now is hard to hiere as he finds them hard to sae geeyome cyng has gifen word that all men what can gif sceal haf the right to buy from him what lands they once held from wulmaer thegn who was with harald the thief at sanlac and whose land is thus gifen to thy rightful cyng

  ecceard i calls here through the cold breath of the land what fuccan scit is this

  ecceard he does not loc up he is specan low and slow

  and he saes geeyome cyng will be raisan the geld for all men to two scillings for eacc carucate so as to mac good the worc what harald thief of coronas had not done to cepe this land safe from ingengas

  now i was not the only one roaran out for loc what this cunt has saed. he tells us that we moste gif mor geld to an ingenga cyng to cepe ourselfs safe from ingengas. ecceard he still locs down he does not mete our eages he does not dare

  thu is cwellan us all calls sum gebur for a few men is cum baec from the fyrd those men who colde cum baec and maybe those who colde not done better for to cum baec to broc land and now this it is lic bean cwelled many times in one lif

  geld will be tacan in the eald ways saes ecceard through me as thy gerefa and for land in the same way and there will b
e hearm to thu if geld is not gifen and this is what thy cyng has to sae to his new folc

  and this is all the cyng needed to sae for war had cum to angland with him and it did not end at sanlac or in lundun and it wolde not end now

  then what sceal be done

  sum thing sceal be done

  and what sceal it be

  it sceal be a war

  and who sceal lead this war

  sum great man

  what man is this

  the man will cum

  and what sceal his name be

  i does not cnaw

  does thu cnaw any thing

  i cnawan we moste feoht

  then feoht

  let me tell thu of him now for when the bastard cum upon us so did he. it was my grandfather telt me first about eald weland the smith and the same tale i hierde later many times by fyrs and from gleomen and scopmen all ofer angland and efen in other places for weland he is in our blud and our land. eald he is ealdor efen than the lost gods under the mere eald he is lic the fenn and the seas. for he cum ofer the seas in a time before time and with him he brought what macd this land ours

  gold seolfor blud

  in weland smith is what angland is what our folc is

  gold seolfor fyr on the water

  all the wundor in this land macd by him from the ore of erce

  they broc my scancs they broc the land

  broc he was but he cum up again and lic the fugol was abuf all men

  and a cyng i cwelled and all of his cynn folc

  cyngs who does yfel gifs away their coronas

  it is the small folc moste tac them

  for the great men is weac with gold and fafor

  lysten i is tellan thu now the tale of weland the smith and i will tell it as my grandfather telt it to me by the fyr in the great hus to me and to my sistor aelfgifu yonge we was our hands held together as they wolde again many times o my sistor

  luf is pure luf is triewe luf is all that is triewe and when thu has one thu lufs thu is a man gifen sige by the gods. weland was cnawan all through his lands as the greatest smith what has efer been and men cum from far parts to beg with him to mac them sweords for feohtan or rings for luf. weland lifd with his two brothors by a great mere in a place cnawan as wulfdale by a great holt called myrcwud. one daeg these three men they seen three fugols passan ofer from the holt three fugols of great wundor swans they was and they cum down by the three men and they becum wifmen for these was swan maedens of the eald times and in them was a great wicce craft

  well these three maedens they was wed to these men and weland toc as his the wifman called allwise and for seofon years they lifd in wulfdale in bliss but in the eighth year these maedens they was gripped with a lust to go baec to their hams and while the brothors was slepan baec they gan on their fethras still lic the mona. when weland and his brothors woc in the daeg and seen their lufs had gan they was broc and bitter lic all light had gan from the world for efer. welands brothors they gan out for myrcwud to find their lufs but weland he stopped in wulfdale and he stood ofer the gold ring he had macd for allwise what she had left him and he called for her to cum baec

  well she nefer cum but others cum to this eornost smith who worcced his strength and his craft on his fyrs in the wud and one of them was a cyng of great yfel who lusted after gold lic a cilde after hunig. nithad cyng he had hierde of the craft of weland and he sent men with speres to bring him from wulfdale with all he had macd and these deorc men they toc weland while he slept and all his gold. they toc him to nithad cyng and when nithad seen all weland colde mac he was full of graed. weland smith he saes to this poor man now thu will be smith only for nithad thy cyng and thu will mac what i tells thu and for me alone. and nithad cyng he toc welands sweord for his own and he toc the gold ring what weland still cept for his luf allwise and he gaf it to his dohtor bodwild. and then this yfel cyng he bid that weland be toc to an eolond and the strengs in his scancs be cut so that he colde not go no other place but moste worc only for the cyng for lic all cyngs he was a thief who worcced not but toc from eornost men

  weland he worcced for sum time on this eolond with his broc scancs and his broc heorte but all this time he was thincan of his wyrd and of the fyr he wolde put under this cyng for he wolde haf again his sweord and he wolde haf again the ring that sceolde be worn only by his luf. to this ealond only the cyng colde cum and all others was cept away but so great was weland that many wanted to go to him to see his worc. two who did was the cyngs sons who was in graed and gold lust lic their father and cene to see the hoard what wolde be theirs one daeg. they cum to weland as he worcced and ascd to see the gold and the things he had macd of the gold and here weland cnawan the gods had gifen him a gift. with his great hamor he stracc them down and then with his fyr he begun to worc and through the night the fyrs colde be seen from all strands of the blaec mere

  when daeg cum weland called the men of the cyng to him and he gaf them gifts what he had macd for nithad and his cwen and his dohtor bodwild. to the cyng he sent two great cuppes set in seolfor and gold and to the cwen he gaf gems and to bodwild he sent two breost plates of sum wundor. sean them bodwild was tacan with their beuty and was mofd to see the man who colde mac succ things so lic her brothors she gan to the eolond when none was locan and lic her brothors then she was toc for the yfel her father had done. for weland then he toc her maeden head as he had toc her brothors lifs and he cnawan then he was done with this place for his wergild was gifen him

  the great smith then he rose into the heofon lic his swan wif had done so long baec he rose on fethras he had macd of gold in the scap of a swans fethras and to the cyng he spac from the heofon one last time

  o great cyng nithad saes weland thu has tacn my scancs from under me but not the heofon from abuf me. thu has tacn the ring i macd for my luf and the sweord i macd for my belt and for all these things i has tacn thy cynn and thy world. these cuppes thu drincs from they is the heafodpannes of thy sons and these gems of the cwens is the eages of thy sons and thy dohtor lies in my bed all bledan and on her throta the bans of her brothors teorned to gold by my fyr. thy eages will not see me again o cyng but thy yfel and thy synn will lif with thu until thu is in the ground

  and gan he was then gan ofer the heofon to myrcwud to loc again for his luf and locan he is still it is saed and sum nights thu may see him on his great gold swan wings grippan his hamor still and callan her name under the mona

  well i wolde not gif them geld no i wolde not gif naht to this ingenga bastard for what he done. i had naht to gif after all the wars and the fyr what had cum from him and these cyngs all feohtan ofer the right to play with small folc lic sum fuccan game and this is what i telt the fuccan weosul when he cum to me for geld

  ecceard cum to my hus and i sceolde haf toc down my grandfathers sweord and gelded him and macd him eat his fuccan beallucs with hunig

  thu cums here i saes to him when he cums on to my land this cold daeg and the mist here again and him cuman from it lic sum ghast. thu dares cum to me thu who has tacan my sons and my land and now wolde tac all that i still has. cuman from the mist macs all men loc lic they is from the other world but ecceard as he cum nearer he was loccan lic this for real thynne he was and with his weosul words gan it seemed

  buccmaster he saes my freond do not sae these things i is gerefa i moste do what i is biddan by thegn and cyng

  i moste do what i is biddan i saes macan my words lic his o yes ecceard thu moste do that for when did thu efer do any other thing. if they bid thu to get on thy cneows and bare thy arse to their frenc pintels thu wolde do this with a great anglisc smile wolde thu not

  buccmaster he saes do not sae these things i moste tac the geld i moste

  i moste i moste i will tell thu ecceard of holland thu moste get away from my fuccan land or find thyself in the fenn with no fuccan heafod on thy scealdors

  now he cums near up to me and here is another man broc by the cuman of the frenc loc at him it is lic his flesc hangs from him
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  buccmaster he saes i moste haf the geld i moste haf it i moste tac it to the thegn if i does not do this there will be blud

  there will be fuccan blud i saes o yes let them cum then these fuccan frenc what we has nefer efen seen let them cum to our ham and spec to us in our fuccan tunge let them cum and tac this geld let them see us let them tell us why we sceolde licc their fuccan arses but no they sends their lytel anglisc hund to do their biddan

  buccmaster

  i will not gif geld

  thu moste

  i will nefer do this ecceard and there is others in this ham will not neither

  has thu been specan

  many has been specan ecceard in this ham many folc has spoc who did not spec before and we will not do it ecceard of holland we will not lie in the straet and be walcd on so thu can cepe thy beallucs if thu efer has had any

  then what will i do he saes and he is lic a cilde who has lost his poppet in the fenn and thincs his world is gan

  go fucc thyself i saes and let thy frenc freonds do the same

  he cums to me then and he tacs me by the sceaoldor and this is not sum thing he has efer done he is a man who cepes away. then he specs in a whisper lic he does not cnaw who stands beyond the mist

  they is eorcas he saes they is eorcas thu does not cnaw thu has not seen them. they is eorcas cum from the sea to cwell us for what we has done thu moste see them buccmaster thu wolde not spec this way they is not men lic us their neccs is bare their heads is shafd

  shafd

  shafd lic moncs they has no ceneps no haer on them

  all men does

  not these frenc no haer and all their nebbs is set lic style all they lufs is gold and the beornan all they lufs is deorcness. worse they is than the denes for the denes has sum triewth but these frenc has only lust

  then anglisc folc moste feoht

  they has been feohtan buccmaster anglisc folc has been feohtan while thu was here worcan to cepe thy sons from the fyrd. they has feoht and has been cut down and who is left to feoht now. at sanlac harald cyng was cwelled also his brothors his thegns so many of the fyrd. the north still beorns from the cwellans of the landwaster what anglisc is left to do mor than bow the heafod as these scuccas cums from the sea to eat in fyr all that we has