The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth Page A

me only aelfgifu who efer cnawan me triewe. and otherwise all folc in the world forsacan my word and who i was who i is who i fuccan is these folcs does not cnaw they thincs they cnaws but they is hunds all to the last fuccan one
     
     
    where now is the bans
    of weland the wise
    well dunstan the daeg after this he cept claere of me. that night he slept in the barn and the mergen after i hierde him worcan on it and later eadberht went to him and they worcced together and so micel did we haf to do that i colde not spare the time to beat him but i waited to see what he wolde cum at me with. but he cum with naht and for nearly a wice he spac naht to me only worcced on the barn and in the holt and feccan and heawan
    well this colde not go on and had we not so micel worc i wolde not haf let him do this for once this cums in to a mans hus it is lic a rat or the wyrm in the wud if thu does not cwell it it will bring the hus down on thu. but there was not time for me to do naht for after a wice or it colde haf been less efen after this time our freond with the seolfor helm cum baec and this time he spac mor and he spac cwiccer
    this time he cum to our land with not so many folc as before and those he did haf from the ham was not lic before when they was talcan and singan and in high sawol. ecceard again was with him but this time the helmed man he cum to me first and spac for he colde see i was in no mood to see him again
    buccmaster of holland he saes and he cnawan my name this was good it gaf me my due buccmaster of holland he saes thy sons has done angland triewe in these last wices and for this i thancs thu
    my sons is good i saes strong and they does what they moste and now they has done their six wices as thu cnawan in thy fyrd
    the fyrd of angland saes the helmed man is not mine nor is it that of harald cyng it is for all and though six wices as thu saes has been done i is cum to call the fyrd again for angland is under a great slege now lic it has not been since the time of great aelfred
    the duc is cum then saes dunstan it is the first time i has hierde him spec in many daegs and on his tunge there is a great thryll
    the duc is not cum saes the man it is worse in the north the landwaster has cum with a thousand long scips and he secs the corona of angland. harald cyng is ridan to lincylene and then to eorfic and we moste bring feohtan men as we go and we must go cwic for as we go north the south strands is left open to the frenc
    i will cum saes dunstan and he walcs to this man before any word is saed from me and he locs at me standan by this man who has cum again to tac from me
    father he saes i will not feoht thu again i will feoht the ingenga. i is goan father do not stop me
    then eadberht he gan to this man before he efen ascs me and he saes i will cum also and to me then he saes father thu will see that this is a time when all men is needed efen if they wolde stay on their ground. thu has spoc to us many times of how we must feoht for what we is so now we gan to feoht and thu will be proud
    so now he is tellan me i will be proud and me standan there lic a cunt while they is toc. what wolde thu do i ascs thu what wolde thu do thy sons tacan from thu again lic this. i locs at this man at ecceard behind him who is locan at the ground i locs at my boys and at the geburs and cottars gathered also and then i sees asger is there betweon them asger with his hoe and his dumb smerc and i sees i has lost it all now so i teorns and i walcs baec to my hus and naht i saes to any of them
    fare well father calls eadberht but i saes naht there is worc to be done
    well there was worc to be done but i did not want to do no worc then and what worc colde i do with no geburs and no sons it was a fuccan joc they was cwellan me. well i sceolde haf cnawan the fugol had saed this and the haeric star i sceolde haf cnawan but still i had not thought so micel colde be agan me
    so i sat in my hus by the aesc of the fyr and i dranc