Revelation (America & England)

'America? What the heck are you doing in my attic?'

'Whoa, England, don't make me jump like that! I was just looking for some sheets of paper to draw a mind map on. Can't do that on the computer. Just takes too long. And look what I've found!' America turned to England and held out a brownish, leathery object. 'Look at that awful thing! Don't know what that is, anyway. And the crappy handwriting on it! In that funny language!' He laughed.

At first, England didn't recognise what America was showing to him. Then, he scowled. 'That is a parchment, you philistine! And what's wrong with my handwriting? You have no idea how difficult it is to scratch letters into sheepskin!'

'Whoops, sorry!' America blinked behind his glasses.

England sighed. Why could he never be genuinely angry with that big child?

But America wasn't finished yet. 'Well, Artie, at least you have to admit the language is funny! What's that supposed to mean, anyway? What's an yrþlingc?' He pronounced it like jerpling. 'Sounds … jerky.'

England snatched the parchment out of America's greasy hands. Hwæt sægest þu yrþlingc, he read. Oh. That brought back memories.

'That's Old English, you silly git! And that letter is a thorn! It's pronounced like a th, not like a p! And in the beginning, it's not a j as in jerk, but a short i, as in ink, plus y, as in yard! Yrþlingc means earthling, someone tilling the earth! A ploughman! "What do you say, ploughman?" — that's what this sentence means!'

America looked a little bored. 'It still is a stupid sentence, Old English or not.' He looked away.

'It's not stupid, you git! That Colloquy helped me master Latin at last, thanks to Ælfric of Eynsham, my really awesome teacher!'

'Ælf … ric?'

Whoops. England blushed.

America looked at him in surprise. 'Ælfric? Seriously? You named me after your Latin teacher?' He pouted. 'I always thought I was named after Alfred the Great.'

'Alfie … I'm sorry I never told you. But', England grinned, 'you know, he really was a great teacher.'

'I can't believe it. Latin teacher.' America shook his head in exasperation. 'Thanks for nothing, you … you … yrþlingc!'

This time, he pronounced it correctly.

—

Notes:

Ælfric of Eynsham (c. 955 - c. 1010) was an abbot and scholar; Alfred the Great (849-899) was King of Wessex from 871 to 899. The 'Æ' in 'Ælfric' is pronounced in the same way as the 'A' in Alfred; the 'ic' is pronounced like 'itch'. 'Ælfric' rather means something like 'Alf-rick' than 'Alfred', but I liked the idea of America, of all people, being named after a scholarly monk. :D