tofe saes grimcell at last to the cilde this is a denisc name is it not
tofe he locs afeart then but he saes in a small way yes it is denisc
thy folcs then was denisc saes grimcell to him but he saes it lic a freond
my grandfather saes tofe again for we is in the danelaugh is we not before the anglisc cyngs toc baec this place it was under rule of north cyngs there is many here of denisc stocc but they is anglisc now we is all anglisc now is this not so. he is locan at us in teorn lic he needs us to say yes cilde. grimcell he locs at me then but he saes naht to me
frenc is worse than denisc i saes loc and thu will see frenc is worse than denisc
when this geeyome our cyng cums baec from his frenc lands saes tofe then it colde be he will rule us lic cnut lic a good man now the feohtan is done it colde be the beornan will stop
he is not our cyng and he will not i saes and i saes it in a way that stops them saen any things lic this again. there is not time for this there is no time. tofe ciccs his three swine what has stopped to root and we walcs on we is goan south
thu will feoht then
feoht who
feoht them
first we moste find them
the gods locs on
a time will cum
they did not cwell thy odelyn with words
do not spec of her
she is here with me she locs on
no
she is here thy grandfather is here
thu is lyan
thy boys
nefer this is scit
in this place is all thy cynn folc they locs on
i does not belyf thu
who will feoht now they saes for our land
they cnawan i is strong
this sweord i gaf thu and nefer is it swung
well we spent a night in the holt around a fyr with these swine gruntan around us all the fuccan night and all night it regned on us and cold the regn was. we was wearan capes but we was wet through by the time light cum and in this way we gan south to langetof and i was felan lic a hund in triewth lic a man with naht
if i had again my hus and my fyr i saes and my wifman what i cept lic a cwen always and whose luf for me was triewe then all other men colde leaf me for efer and this i wolde not efen see
if i had been there i saes with my sweord then there wolde be no frenc in all these fenns
grimcell he walcs with me wet also and he saes naht to the things i is saen but this cilde tofe i has seen that he lystens always to me
buccmaster he saes this sweord what thu carries it is a great thing. a wise cilde he is this one and i saes to him yes this sweord is no sweord what small men has
small men has no sweords saes this tofe in my ham none had a sweord they is great things
this sweord is greater than any thu will see i saes for it is macd by weland the great smith of the eald times
weland saes the cilde weland i has been telt of in tales by gleomen but tales i thought they was only
gleomen is esols i saes they thincs they is only raedlan for poor geburs but in sum of their tales they tells great triewths though they is too dumb to cnaw it
in triewth saes this cilde was this sweord macd by great weland buccmaster
triewth is all i tells i saes
but here i colde not tell as i had wanted the tale of my grandfather and of his metan with great weland in the fenn for grimcell saes we moste stop this specan now for we is cuman to langetof. i was in sum ire at him saen this but i saw he was right we was near for through treows we colde see smoc from fyrs. langetof was a small ham lic mine ten hus maybe and locd ofer by our thegn wulmaer who now was gan and his place toc by frenc hunds who still we had not seen
we cum near to langetof cepan always behind treows and we colde see that this ham was still lifan and that the fyrs we seen was not ingenga fyrs but only the fyrs of smiths or of folc in their hus and on their land. folcs was mofan around and talcan and worcan in the felds and hunds was lyan about and things was as things was in hams around these parts
there is no frenc here saes grimcell this is good
will we go to them saes tofe and tell them we is grene men and will feoht for their lifs
thu do this then cilde i saes and we will sitt here and smerc
tofe he locs small at this why does thu sae this buccmaster he saes does thu mocc me
tofe cilde saes grimcell we can not feoht for none with two men and one cilde and an eald sweord what was nefer swung. at this of course i tacs ire
loc at thy fuccan mouth cottar i saes for these things is not to be spocn of in this way this sweord it is cum to me for greatness and for wars in times of great need
well so thu saes buccmaster saes grimcell and this seems to me a time of great need and this sweord not swung to cwell no man yet well perhaps thu is waitan to be telt by weland when to swing it
well i colde not haf this from no cottar and this cilde locan on and so i teorns to him and my sweord i tacs from my belt and at his heafod i swings it. grimcell he steps baec and he steps on the root of a treow and down he gan to the ground and on his breost i puts the tip of my sweord
thu sees cilde i saes to tofe lic naht had cum thu sees the runes on this blaed and the wihts thu sees the craft of weland thu sees what this sweord is
tofe he locs and saes naht but his eages is wid and grimcell he locs up at me in sum ire and my sweord ofer his heorte
who leads this werod cottar i saes and he locs up at me
werod he saes
who leads this werod
he locs up at me
thu it seems he saes slow and in his words there is naht to sae what he thincs of this
i is thy ring gifer i saes and thine too cilde. i is a socman of three oxgangs a man of the wapentac i has been spoc to by fugol and star i is buccmaster of holland
i saes i has been ceosan
ring gifer saes tofe and he locs lic i is sum great man then
ceosan saes grimcell and he locs at me straight but saes naht mor. my sweord i tacs off from him now and puts it in its sceath
get up i saes get up off this ground man
grimcell he gets up then he clenes him self and does not loc at me
cum i saes cum grimcell thu is a good man only it moste be cnawan who is the strong one here yes. well he walcs away and tofe then who is locan on he cums up to us and specs before i has time to say any other thing
buccmaster he saes here is frenc to use thy sweord on
we locs at him and then both locs through treows at this ham of langetof and sum way from us on the straet through the ham we seen on a hwit hors a man
this hors it is a cnawan breed in these parts it is a hors lic any hors it is not an ingenga. scod and sadld the fenn way it is walcan through this ham lic any hors in any ham in any place in this land
but on this hors there is a man and of this man there is naht anglisc and naht triewe and he is not scod lic us. we is sum way from him so all of us all three men we mofs then as far in the treows as we colde be without bean seen from the ham and all three of us now not specan and mofan as a werod sceolde as one lic the fugols in the haerfest when they is leafan to tac to the heofon for the winter
he is a frenc man saes tofe he is a frenc man i has seen him
grimcell and i who has seen no frenc before this we locs and now we sees what curse is on our land and the folcs who is bringan it. this man he is scort and he wers clothes in sum ways lic what anglisc folcs he wers scohs and scyrte breces and hose tunece and belt and cape but of all these things there is sum thing ingenga. i colde not see what thing it was that made them so but no man wolde tac these clothes for anglisc clothes for no men of these parts wolde wer them they was not right
but loc at his heafod now loc at his heafod for this is the thing what macs him what he is. his nose is lic sum bec lic the carfan bec of the hafoc and in his eages there is blud we colde not see his eages well but blud there was in them for sure. what did he do here by what ri
ght did he cum here this deoful. on his heafod where there sceolde haf been haer long and triewe lic anglisc haer there was lic a helm lic a scort blaec helm but it colde be seen that this was not helm but haer. this was frenc haer scapd lic sum lytel helm or corona sittan on top of the heafod of this thing and all shafd the necc the heafod the nebb
this is no thing of the grene world i saes
it is a hard sight saes grimcell
denisc men saes tofe denisc men when they cums they locs lic men lic feohtan men lic triewe men. and he locs at us again lic he wolde haf us sae yes cilde yes cilde
we locs on as this frenc man gan on out of the ham on his hors and to the west away from the fenn and towards the brunnesweald. we locs on and the sound of the hors then is gan and we is left with the sound of our breathan and of the treows mofan a lytel in the wind and of the folcs in the ham
now saes tofe and he saes it lic he is an ent now what is the grene men to do about this
what saes grimcell
well saes tofe loc here in our land is a frenc deoful and we is the free men of angland we is the sawol of the holt so what is to be done what is to be done buccmaster with thy great and triewe sweord
this cilde he was in sum great thryll now lic it was sum game with stics and stans lic he was feohtan with brothor or girl behind the hay ricc in litha
well i saes. i did not cnaw what other thing to sae to him
loc i saes the deoful is now gan
who will feoht now they saes for our land
he will cum baec saes tofe he is of these lands now
he is not of these lands i saes
he will be of these lands if sum does not tac him from them saes tofe
this sweord i gaf thu and nefer is it swung
grimcell i saes i locs at him i does not cnaw what he sceolde sae. locan at me sum small time he saes naht
he will cum baec saes tofe again
then we will be ready i saes
ready for what saes grimcell with what. he is still smartan from what i has taught him
we will be ready saes tofe
who will feoht now
i wacans in this wud in this deorc holt and though it is the deop of the night all is light all is light lic the sunne is cuman down on efry leaf in efry fox hole and efry piece of ground. i stands for i cnawan i moste stand and i walcs to the ham but where there was a ham there is now a strand and down from this strand a great sea a wid sea deop and deorc and yet light lic all the light that is now ofer efry thing
on this sea i seen a boat a great boat afyr in light and cuman near to me and once this boat was a small light in a deorc night but now it is here and lightan up all things and this light on my hands on my nebb and hot lic a fyr for a fyr it is
for this boat is no boat but a great scip with carfan heafod and with scields on its sides a boat of the eald times it is the scip of those who first came. and this scip it is afyr in great wafs of red afyr and yet mofan all afyr and in this fyr i sees scaps mofan scaps and these scaps now i sees triewe and i seen
we lifd in this holt near to langetof for sum daegs we macd a small hus of timber and leafs we cnawan how to lif. we was eatan roots and leafs for the winter was gan and the spring was cuman and things was lifan again. we hunted the hara and i was eatan my mete from my swine though i was doan this when grimcell and tofe was not near for this was my mete and not for them. soon we wolde cwell one of the swine what tofe had brought but it was not yet time for we wolde haf to smoc or salt the mete to cepe it long and we colde not do that in this place so for now we ate the hara and the fugol
in this time we was locan at the straet locan for this frenc man. one of us was always locan and we seen him efry daeg cum down the straet from the west on his hwit hors and then he gan baec again sum time later. sum times he did this one time and sum times he cum and gan two or efen three times in one daeg. this cilde tofe this yonge cilde of mine he had saed he cnawan this man so i was macan him tell me all he cnawan. he telt me that this man had been seen also in his ham
what was he doan there i ascs
he is our new thegn saes tofe
thegn i saes
thegn saes grimcell
he is a fuccan ingenga i saes he has a shafd heafod he specs sum ingenga tunge this man can be no thegn of angland
he telt us he was the thegn now saed tofe he telt us that wulmaers land was now his land that we was now his men and that he was mofan around the hams to see the lie of the land to cnawan the fenns what now he was a man of. he spac anglisc to us but a lytel only and in an ingenga way
thy mothor saes grimcell thy father thu saed they was cwelled by the frenc was it him
no it was not him saes tofe it was sum others and it was not my mothor in triewth i nefer has had one. my mothor died in bringan me to this world my father has cept me since that daeg
did he cepe thu well
well enough saes the cilde all was well until the frenc cum and then one daeg three frenc men on hors cum into our ham. they locd lic this man and they telt us we moste gif mor geld for our land and all was ired but when they cum for the geld in the end folcs gaf it for there had been so micel blud and it was clere who was cyngs now. but my father he wolde not gif it and sum others wolde not gif it also and so one daeg these three frenc men they cum to the ham with sweords and they tacs those who wolde not gif geld from us and they saes we moste haf laws in this land and they tacs these men away into the holt and my father with them and they nefer cums out
what becum of them saes grimcell specan soft
after sum hours when the frenc had gan saes tofe sum of us from the ham went into the holt to find them to see if they was still there. we did not go far into the treows and we found them hangan from lines all cwelled. i seen my father hangan he was mofan as the treow was mofan his face it was red lic the sunne at dusc his tunge
the cilde then he locs down at the ground and naht mor he saes and grimcell he tacs him by the sceoldor and saes i is sorry cilde they is scuccas all of them
scuccas yes i saes for i does not cnaw what mor to sae
our folc saes tofe our folc we moste haf done sum great yfel for this. we moste haf done sum great yfel agan the word of god for this to cum to us so many good men tacan away by this ire and blud what is the yfel that we has done
there is no yfel i saes these is the lies of preosts there is no yfel
tofe then he is locan down for sum time and grimcell locan at me and not saen naht and then tofe he specs
i wolde lic to cwell this frenc man he saes
cwell him i saes. i did not thinc he wolde sae a thing lic this
we is grene men saes tofe we is free men we is men of the holt now. a wergild is owed on my fathers lif and who will gif it me
many anglisc folcs is owed wergilds saes grimcell who of us is not
what wolde thu do ring gifer saes tofe to me
oh yes ring gifer saes grimcell tell us what wolde thu do
cwell him i saes cwell him yes we colde we colde
and then how many frenc will cum here saes grimcell ten twentig one hundred and all will be locan for us with line
how many frenc is here now saes tofe and how micel line
the cilde is right i saes frenc men is in all parts beornan and cwellan what wolde thu do man sitt on thy arse and loc at them
well of course i will follow thu great buccmaster saes grimcell so now tell us what sceolde we do
well i saes we will tac this ingenga and we will cut him up send him baec to the frenc lands as a warnan to those who cum to angland in fyr and blud
yes saes tofe yes and he is smercan. grimcell only locs at me lic i is mad
how he saes
why does thu not fuccan thinc about this also i saes. do not sitt there saen how and why and what but help us man help rid thy land of these things
grimcell shrugs and saes i wolde lic to see no mor death now i wolde lic only to lif
thu will see see death in all parts i saes to him efen if th
y eages is scut. does thu thinc thu can go baec to thy hus what is aesc there is naht now but death
death is in all parts saes tofe. he is a good cilde i is sean a good cilde and wise
grimcell locs at us both for sum small time then he mofs his head lic a hors mofs his to cnoc away a fleoge
well he saes what wolde thu do
the thought about the line was not tofes it was mine. i sent the cilde in to the ham of langetof and i telt him to get a length of line for if line was what cwelled anglisc men then line it was what wolde cwell frenc. he cum baec sum time later with a length of strong line though he saed it had not been easy to get with folcs ascan from where he was cum and what we wolde gif for it
well i had this thought and i telt it to grimcell and tofe and both saed it was good and we slept that night in our hus in the holt and the daeg that was to cum we saed wolde be the last daeg on eorth of this man what called himself our thegn. when the light cum up we cum up from our beds on the ground and we toc the line and i toc my sweord and my scramasax and we went down the straet to the west for one or it may be two miles. we went to where the holt cums up to the straet where no men is. we went away from the ham and grimcell and i we done our worc with line and treows and then we satt in the holt and we waited
it was sum time we waited in triewth. men cum up that path with small hors and with sacs and foda and wud and cycens and in the holt we satt grimcell and tofe and me we satt locan at them and they not sean us for we was in the treows and of them. then after sum time we seen him cum
from the west he cum on his hwit hors sittan straight cuman down this straet and he was alone as we had hoped and none others on the straet at this time. here the straet was straight for a way and this frenc man he colde see maybe half a mile before the straet teorned and was lost in the wud
now at the place where the straet teorned in to the wud again a cilde stept on to the straet sum way ahead of this frenc man but where he colde be seen by him and this cilde he spoc
frenc cunt he saes frenc fuccer
this man then he locs at this cilde
frenc fuccer calls the cilde thu cwelled my father and i will cwell thu and all the hores thu calls thy folc and the bastard thu calls thy cyng. go home frenc cunt or thu will die. at this the cilde then tacs down his breces and teorns his bare arse at the thegn
The Wake: Man Booker Prize 2014 Longlist Edition Page 10