tac him baec to my land men i saes it is not far. we will tac the hors also we moste be slow with them on the fenn paths but they can be tacan that way. tofe and i will lead the hors aelfgar and siward thu will tac the frenc sweords and lead the biscop and if there is any scit from him thu may cutt him a lytel for i cnawan thu is wantan to
well they colde see what i was now and none saed naht only cum with me baec again to my eald lands. annis who had been in the secg all this time she cum also and lic the biscop she nefer saed naht only loccd on and what was in her eages i did not cnaw
baec to the eald hus
the eald hus the triewe hus
thu tacs the preost
he is a biscop he is mine
and what will thu do there
no mor words now weland smith no mor words
so my men tacs him baec to my land and in doan this they is my men again triewe. i has them tie the two hors to a treow near where my aeppels grew and we lit a small fyr by the eald fyr where my hus had been. the biscop we macd to sitt on the ground still tied with the line and he satt and he loccd slow at us and saed nuthan
it was noon time and my men was weary. eat men i saes and drinc and soon thu will cnaw what will be
well my men locs at me lic they is wundran what is cuman but they does what i ascs. i puts tofe and aelfgar to loc ofer the biscop as they is my moste trusted men if any men can efer be trusted on this eorth and then i calls ofer annis to me. i does not lic to do this i does not lic efen to haf her with us and i can see she is only here to loc ofer the other men and to see what will happen to the esol biscop. well soon i wolde gif her a sight but first i moste cnaw what i needs
buccmaster saes annis befor i can spec lic a fuccan fugol she is in talcan buccmaster what will thu and thy men do with this biscop
this thu will see i saes thu will see this night. but i wolde haf thu tell me how thu cnawan he is a biscop and what mor thu cnaws for thu has been in these fenns for sum time now while i has been gan
she locs up at me for she is scort this wifman scort and fatt. there is nefer naht in her fuccan eages
he is turold biscop she saes and he is a freond of the frenc cyng
he is not a cyng
well he is frenc and this is a frenc biscop and he has been gifen the abbodrice of petersburh as his. this was not one month ago and all of the fenns is specan of it for when hereweard hierde that the abbodrice was to go to a frenc biscop he gan in and he threw out all the muncs and toc all the gold and all things from the abbodrice to say to the frenc that this place can nefer be theirs
so he is the crists man in these parts
he is the cyngs man at petersburh and he is a strong man it is saed mor of a cniht than a preost thu has seen him with his clubb. it is saed the bastard sent him here for there is many grene men in these parts and also hereweard in elge and so a feohtan man is needed
so this is turold
this is turold biscop buccmaster and now thu has him and efen hereweard who so many specs of has not done a thing lic this
efen great fuccan hereweard no no he has not i saes and i gan ofer to my men around the fyr and to the biscop who sits by them stillness his arms behind him tied with line
men i saes we has here not sum lytel preost but great turold biscop of petersburh freond of the bastard and enemi of hereweard. i locs at the biscop who locs at me and saes naht
i is telt thu and hereweard has been feohtan lic cildren i saes to him but it seems efen great hereweard who so many lufs has not tacan thu lic i has done
then thu is not hereweards men saes the biscop
i is no other mans i saes. i is buccmaster of holland a man of these parts i is a socman with three oxgangs this is my anglisc werod and thu is our frenc mete. men does thu hiere we has done greater than hereweard i has done greater now see what we has in this gift
this is good saes tofe and he smercs with his mouth full of loaf but the other men they locs only at me and at the biscop
what will thu do with him saes grimcell
thu will see grimcell i saes thu will see this night. but now thu most cepe him for i has things i moste do
i left my men by the fyr and i gan ofer my eald meados and down to the fenn. it was late in to the daeg now and sumor was endan. ofer the yealo secg i colde see lines of fugols high in the heofon goan south lic they does when efry sumor ends. it is saed that these fugols fleages all year all ofer the seas and all the lands of man and does not go down to land until they cums baec to the fenns in spring. i locs up then at these fugols small and blaec in the heofon. they does not cnaw of the bastard or the biscop or of what men suffers in this land they does not cnaw naht but what is gifen to them by the winds
weland smith i saes where is thu
i is here
thu cums at my call
thu has done a great thing
a great thing
now thu is strong
strong lic the heofon
strong lic the land
stronger than hereweard
what will thu do my freond
i will show thu smith i will show all
standan locan out ofer the secg i hieres a sound then and i sees a hraga rise from the water and feoht to rise up to the heofon lic it is feohtan to lif. we all is feohtan to lif i saes to this hraga all wihts men and others all is feohtan to lif in this deorc world. and now i moste stric
i teorns then and i mofs baec through the fenn on a path that only i cnawan and i gan baec to the small holt near where the men was cepan the biscop. here i colde loc through the treows and see them sittan eatan and drincan and talcan and i colde see the biscop sittan also his hands still tied with line saen naht. i is stillness lic the hara lic the fox none can see me on my land on the land what i cnawan best of all folcs in angland
and here it is lic i had cnawan it wolde be they is talcan of me for i is not there
fatt annis scort fatt fuccan lytel wifman annis she is talcan of me and the others is lystnan. all is lystnan as they eats and drincs and none is saen no it is not triewe and none is walcan awaeg cuman to find me. efen the fuccan frenc biscop can hiere all that is saed about buccmaster of holland
where is he gan tofe is saen
to the fenn saes grimcell
what does he do there
who cnawan what he efer does
and what will he do with this biscop does thu thinc saes godric
all locs ofer then to turold who locs baec not smercan not specan
tell us then of what he done after his father sent him out saes godric
oh the fuccers she is talcan of my cynn
well none cnawan what becum of him saes annis. it was spac about in the ham micel for folcs thought the buccmasters was always odd folcs and so this cept them specan for months. well i was a yonge wifman then and not lifan with them so i did not see it but he was gan for sum years and none cnawan where. sum saed he went to the holts and lifd with out laws and others that he was a beorner of col. i was telt by a gleoman that he gan ofer the seas for sum time
buccmaster gan ofer the seas saes grimcell and he laughs
well it was a tale saes annis and i can not sae if there is triewth in it
and then saes godric
and then saes annis he cum baec
and
he cum for his father who had sent him out. his father had saed he wolde nefer see him again but buccmaster he wolde cum baec. he wolde haf his place and his land and his sistor
and what becum
none cnawan for none was there but the three of them buccmaster and his father and his sistor there was no others. it was a daeg of ys in geola when he cum baec. we seen the smoc risan to the heofons from the ham
smoc saes tofe for efen he efen he is lystnan to the scit from this fuccan fatt wifmans mouth
they was beorned in the barn saes annis the lyan esol. the barn was beorned and in it was his sistor and his father. men did not find them until sum time later and none cnawan what cum to them.
i spoc to sum men in the ham saed buccmaster was seen later that daeg in his boat on the fen druncen lic a hors on aeppels at haerfest specan to the wind lic he was gan in the heafod
i has spac to men also saes grimcell who found him after for he wandrd in the holts near his fathers land and when men cum to him he wolde sae out laws had cum from the holt and cwelled his folcs and beorned the barn.
well this colde be triewe saes tofe why wolde thu thinc it not. he is a good cilde a triewe cilde aways he has been triewe and now he is bold for he is growan
why sceolde we lysten to thy tales of him saes tofe now to annis. buccmaster sum times is odd but thu is saen he cwelled his own cynn that he is mad and yfel but we cnawan naht of thu annis wif. he is not here to spec his triewth and this only is why thu specs we does not cnaw why thu might sae these things or who thu is or why thu wolde spec agan him
many in the ham belyfd these tales saes grimcell and now that i cnaw buccmaster i is thincan them triewe also
thu may saes tofe for thu and buccmaster is both strong men and has been feohtan but these is words only and we has had naht to tell us if there is any triewth in them
annis them she sits still for a time and then she locs at tofe and specs slow so i can hardly hiere.
cilde she saes i did not want to thinc of buccmaster of holland efer again. nefer to spec of him nefer to see him and i does not want to be here in this place neither but thu sceolde cnaw who leads thu. ah of course he wolde lead thu for always he moste lead always he moste haf men loccan up at him lic sum ealdor when in triewth he is cilde only. i tell thu this man is of the cynd what moste be tied down always lic a hund moste be tied by the law by the eages of other men. all ties is gan now broc by the frenc and with no bridel on him a man lic this can do any thing for all the world is his enemi all the world
tell me what thu thincs of this fuccan scit tell me
i thincs lic thu
the fatt hore moste die
all is agan thu
all sceolde die all of them
my sweord was gifen to thu
all has been agan me since i was a cilde what colde i do
what colde thu do
my father was agan me my own father my wifman my sons
all agan thu
aelfgifu she who i lufd when a cilde my sistor
thy sistor
she gan agan me when i cum baec
all of them all of them
i did not mean to tac her that way
thu had thy right
she was my sistor
she lufd thu
it was my right
any man wolde do the same
it was my land
thy land
all is broc
what will thu do
i will rise smith i will rise
loc up buccmaster of holland
up
gan to the secg loc up to the heofon
the secg the heofon why
do it now
well i gan out of the holt then to the ecg of the fenn where the yeolo secg met the land and the efen was cuman in across the low waters. fugols was callan and climban up and cuman down again and the sunne was startan to fall down to eorth and with it cum its yeolo light across the flat lands of my folcs
now see how the word is cept
and i seen them i seen them cuman then and always will this stay with me until i is in the ground under a beorg or in a great beornan scip lic all anglisc ealdors sceolde be. ofer the fenn from the place where the hus of the eald gods lay ofer the secg ofer the heofon i seen the eald hunters. i colde not tell all of the riders who was mofan with them there was so many and they mofd in a way that colde not be loccd at for micel time by men. all was deop blaec and there was no sound to be hierde
at the head of the hunt was eald woden who i had seen at the deorc ea that night his cenep long and hwit his one eage locan at me specan to the blaec hunds what ran before him in the heofon their eages great and scinan and with the hunds was the great hwit wulf i had seen by the ea the wulf what had loccd at me. great woden rode a great blaec hors but many of the hunters was on goats with eages of fyr and was blowan horns though no sound was macd by them. sum loccd lic eald cyngs with helms and sweords but others was ealdor than cyngs ealdor efen than angland they did not loc lic men they was lic eald wihts lic the treows them selfs blaec and carfan into scaps not of this world. they had cum up from the treows cum up from the mere cum up into the heofon they had cum baec for angland lic my grand father had telt me. they had cum for me cum for me and i cnawan now that it was time and i cnawan what i moste do
i gan down to my cneows then in the secg and i felt them go ofer me and i felt great weland locan ofer as he gaf them sige and i cnawan again who i was what i was what i had cum here for
i is buccmaster of holland and the eald gods has ridden for me
i colde feel the efen cuman in stronger now and the deorcness cuman down on the land. ofer in the treows where my men sat i colde see a fyr beginnan to rise. i stood up then and i gan ofer again to the graef of my wifman odelyn and i stood locan down at the grene beorg for sum time and i saed naht for naht was there now to sae
then i gan from the graef i gan baec in to the holt and i found where i had left what i was locan for. i found where i had put in a scealo graef the things i had toc from the fyrs aesc two years befor and i had cnawan one daeg i wolde cum for when i needed. things what my grand father had gifan to me before he gan eald things what my father had nefer cnawan about. these was things of the eald times my grand father had saed these is the things of feohtan men of eald angland and when the feohtan cums again when thu moste cepe thy land and thy freodom agan ingengas and cyngs thu moste tac welands sweord and tac these things and then cilde thu moste stand agan all
thy cyngs was weac
harald cyng edgar cyng all of the ealdors
angland was weac
angland moste haf new cyngs
great men
all in bright helm and with great sweord
all in gold and the luf of the eald ways
strong and blithe in the dyan light
stand cyng
stand
stronger was i then stronger than efer again in anglands dyan light. great in what i was gifan great in what i had toc. i gripped welands sweord in my hand as i walced through the holt in to the light
when i cum to the fyr all my men loccd at me in wundor. i stood before them in the eald war helm of my grand father all macd ofer with boars with seolfor and gold in the eald carfans of the eald cyngs. i has welands great sweord in my hand and my grene cape on my baec an eald sigil on my sculdor all of me scinan scinan brighter than the crist brighter than the bastard cyng and all his deorc cynn
what is this saes godric standan from the fyr
buccmaster saes grimcell and he stands also and gan baec locan waery at me but i has no time for these men now i has time only for one
i walcs slow to the biscop who is sittan his hands tied behind him i walcs to him all in helm and with sweord in the light of the fyr with wodens hunters at my baec gifan me sige
this is thy death biscop i saes
the biscop locs up at me. my men is standan now all around the fyr locan on but none specs
thu has cum from the sea to cwell what we is and here thu sitts afeart on anglisc ground thy frenc hands tied
the scucca saes naht
there is ways to see this world i saes. there is the way of the boc and the way of the wilde there is the god of the boc and the gods of the mere there is the way of the crist and the eald ways of this land. i is cum from the mere i specs for the wilde for the eald gods under the blaec waters in the drencced treows. i is the lands law ofer mens i is eorth not heofon leaf of treow not leaf of boc
still he saes naht
i is raedwald i is raedwulf i is beowulf i is harald cyng last of the anglisc i sceal be
buccmaster saes aelfgar but i will not spec with him
turold biscop th
en he locs at me slow and locs at the holt and at my men and at all he fears and he specs
then this is why we cum he saes. this is why the fathor of rome in his triewth has gifen his flag to thy cyng geeyome for in the deorc holts of angland eald satan is lifan still
there is no satan here i saes
in the deorc holts of angland the yfel engels our god cast from his heofon pleges games for dumb esols saes this fatt frenc cunt. here in the treows and in the meos and the water and in the deop ground is the eald yfel one and his fyrd and here is anglisc men callan the yfel one their god. for thy god threw satan from his heofon and he macd his ham in the wilde world in the water and the holt. he is in the call of the crow the rind of the treow the sound of the fox. he is deop in thy eald duns he hangs lic the bat from thy ac treow. in all that thu calls thy gods in the grass and in the wind in all things wilde and grene is the deorcness of the yfel one
what scit thu talcs thu frenc scucca i saes but he does not stop
now i sees in triewth he saes as i nefer has seen before that thy synn has been so deop angland. and for this thy triewe god he has sent thu a cyng for whom satan is an enemi true yes on the hylls of war and in the dreams of a cyng
he is a weosul
thu is a fuccan weosul i saes and these is weosuls words. behind this helm lies thy death biscop behind this masc lies the eald things thu wolde scit on but what now rises high lic a fyr agan thu. i is grim i is woden of the high duns i walcs the chalc roads mascd by the mona i has hung upon the treow i is cwelled and again cum alyf
thu is lost he saes that is all thu is lost in the deop grene deorcness. what wolde thu haf of me half mad man of the grene holt wolde thu haf me cepe thy sawol for it is too late for thu to be ascan
tell him
any sawol of mine will go to my folcs in anglisc ground i saes not to the sands with thy ingenga crist. in the high eald beorgs sceal i lie with my cynn
and the lord will stric down the heathen saes the biscop
he locs up at me from where he is cnelan
i has seen hereweard he saes
why wolde thu sae this to me
The Wake: Man Booker Prize 2014 Longlist Edition Page 24