The Paston Letters
Chapter 174 : Item, as for the mater of the ix.^{xx.}_li._ askyd by my Lady of Bedford[188.3] for th

Item, as for the mater of the ix.^{xx.}_li._ askyd by my Lady of Bedford[188.3] for the maner of Westthirrok, where as Sir Thomas Howes saith that he hath no wrytyng therof, but that Sir John Fastolf purchased the seid maner, and payd serteyn money in ernest, and aftirward graunted his bargeyn to the Duc of Bedford, and so the money that he toke was for the mony that he had payd. Peraventure Sir Thomas hath writyng therof, and knowyth it not; for if ther be any such mony payd upon any bargeyn he shall fynd it in Kyrtlyngs bocks that was Sir John Fastolfs reseyver, and it was abought such tyme as the Duc of Bedford was last in Inglond, whech, as it is told me, was the viij. yere of Kyng Herry the fift, or the viij. yere of Kyng Herry the s.e.xt, and the somme that he payd for the seid bargeyn was CCC. marks. Also he shall fynd, the xxij. yere of Kyng Herry or ther abought, in the acompts of on of Fastolfs Reseyvors at London, that ther was take of Sir Thomas Tyrell, and of the d.u.c.h.esse of Excestre,[189.1] that was wif to Sir Lowes John, fermours of the seid maner, serteyn mony for repayment of part of the seid CCC. marks. Also he shall fynd in yeres after that, or in that yere, or ther aboutes, that Sir John Fastolf reseyved mony of my Lord Revers[189.2] that now is, by the name of Richard Wydevile, for his owne dette dew to Sir John Fastolf; wherfore, if Sir Thomas be trewe to his master, lete hym do his devoir to make that Worseter, whech is uphold be hym with the deds goods, to be trewe to his master, or ellis it is tyme for Sir Thomas to forsake hym, and helpe to punyssh hym, or men mast sey that Sir Thomas is not trewe; and more over lete Sir Thomas examine what he can fynd in this mater that I sent hym werd of, whech mater he shall fynd in the seid Reseyvours bocks, if he list to seke it.

Item, on the day after your departyng, I reseyved letters by Will. Ros from your sones to me, and to yow, and to Ric. Calle, &c.

Item, I shall telle you a tale, Pampyng and I have picked your male[190.1]

And taken out pesis[190.2] v., For upon trust of Calles promise, we may soon onthryve; And, if Calle bryng us hedir xx_li._, Ye shall have your peses ayen, good and round; Or ellis, if he woll not pay yow the valew of the peses, there To the post do nayle his ere; Or ellis do hym some other wrongs, For I will no nore in his defaut borough; And but if the reseyvyng of my livelod be better plyed He shall Crists ours and mine clene tryed;[190.3]

And loke ye be mery and take no thought, For thys ryme is cunnyngly wrought.

My Lord Persy[190.4] and all this house Recomaund them to yow, dogge, catte, and mowse, And wysshe ye had be here stille, For the sey ye are a good gille.[190.5]

No more to you at this tyme, But G.o.d hym save that mad this ryme.

Wret the of Sent Mathe,[190.6]

Be yowr trew and trustie husband, J. P.

[Footnote 188.1: [From Fenn, iv. 90.] From the mention of 'this cold winter' at the beginning of this letter we might naturally suppose that the feast 'of Sent Mathe,' on or about which it was written, was that of St. Matthias, which occurs on the 24th of February. But we believe the day of St. Matthew to have been intended, so that the expression must have had reference to some unusually cold weather in September. It is clear from the contents of the letter that Margaret Paston had recently been with her husband in London, and had just left him in company with Richard Calle on her return towards Norfolk. Letters for her and Richard Calle had arrived from her two sons since they departed. Now the only time, so far as I can find, that Margaret Paston ever visited her husband in London--at all events when her sons were grown up--was in September 1465; and on that occasion Calle was with her, and everything else agrees. Indeed, no one can doubt that the latter portion of the letter immediately following was written in answer to this letter.]

[Footnote 188.2: Worsted is a small market-town in the most east part of the county of Norfolk, formerly famous for the manufacture of those stuffs which still bear its name, and of which, for the wors.h.i.+p of Norfolk, J. Paston desired his doublet to be made.--F.]

[Footnote 188.3: Jaquetta, daughter of Peter of Luxembourg, Earl of Saint Pol, was the second wife of John, Duke of Bedford, the Regent of France during Henry VI.'s minority. She was married to him in 1433, and after his decease, in 1435, she became the wife of Sir Richard Wydvile, and died in 1472.]

[Footnote 189.1: Anne, eldest daughter of John Montacute, third Earl of Salisbury, married, 1st, Sir Richard Hankford, Knight; 2ndly, Sir Lewis John, Knight (whose will was proved in 1442); and 3rdly, John Holland, who was created Duke of Exeter 6th January 1443, and died in 1446. Fenn erroneously supposed the lady to have been the widow of Thomas Beaufort, a previous Duke of Exeter, who died in 1426. This Beaufort, Duke of Exeter, married Margaret, daughter and heir of Sir Thomas Nevill, but his wife did not survive him, as Fenn supposed, for at his death he was found to have been tenant of her lands for life by the law of England.

Fenn's note on this pa.s.sage is, however, so interesting that we must quote a part of it. Beaufort, Duke of Exeter, was buried in the Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds. 'On digging,' he says, 'amongst the ruins of this Abbey, the body of the Duke was found, on the 20th of February 1772, wrapt in lead, and entire. The face, hair, and every part were perfect, and the flesh solid, but being exposed to the air, the body soon became offensive ... . . I procured some of the hair, which was of a fine brown colour, and very flexible.']

[Footnote 189.2: Sir Richard Wydvile, in 1448, was created Baron Rivers of Grafton, in Northamptons.h.i.+re, and elected a Knight of the Garter. His daughter Elizabeth afterwards became the Queen of Edward IV., who then advanced her father to the dignity of Earl Rivers. He was seized by the Lancaster mutineers, and beheaded at Banbury in 1469.--F.]

[Footnote 190.1: Male, or Mail, is a trunk or portmanteau. It is to be observed that in the original letter the verses do not finish the line but are written as prose.--F.]

[Footnote 190.2: Pieces of money.]

[Footnote 190.3: I do not understand this line.--F. Surely 'ours'

must be a misreading of 'curs' (curse)?]

[Footnote 190.4: Henry, Lord Percy, son and heir of Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, who was killed at the Battle of Towton in 1461, by Eleanor, granddaughter and heir of Robert, Lord Poynings.

His father having been attainted, he continued to be called Lord Percy; but he was afterwards fully restored both in blood and t.i.tle.]

[Footnote 190.5: An agreeable companion.--F.]

[Footnote 190.6: St. Matthew's Day is the 21st September.]

610

MARGARET PASTON TO JOHN PASTON[191.1]

[Sidenote: 1465 / SEPT. 27]

Ryght wourchipful husbonde, I recomaunde me to yow, dyssyryng hertely to here of yowr welfare, thankyng yow of yowr grett chere that ye made me, and of the coste that ye dede on me. Ye dede more cost thanne my wylle was that ye choulde do, but that it plesyd yow to do so, G.o.d gyf me grase to do that may plese yow. Plesyt yow to wet that on Fryday after myn departyng frome yow I was at Sudbury and spake with the schreve, and Ric. Calle toke hym the ij. writts, and he brake them, and Ric. hathe the copes of them;

[Sidenote: Vic. Norfolk pro ovibus.]

and he seyde he wolde send the writts to hys undre-schryf and a leter therwyth, chargyng hym that he schowlde do ther ine as largely as he owt to do.

[Sidenote: Answer of the writts and of the replevyn.]

And I and Ric. informyd hym of the demenyng of hys undrchryf, how parciall he hade be with the other partye, bothe in that mater, and also for the accionnys beyng in the scher; and he was nothyng wel plesyd of the demenyng of hys undreschef, and he hat wretyn to hym that he choulde be indeferent for bothe partyes acordyng to the lawe, bothe for that materys and for alle other. What the undreschryf wylle do therin I wot ner, for he is not yet spokyn with.

[Sidenote: Margareta Paston intravit manerium Cotton die Dominica proxima ante festum Michaelis.]

Item, as for Cotton, I entryd in to the plase as on Sunday last was, and ther I abode tyll un Wednysday last pasyd. I have left ther John Paston the yonger, Wykes, and other xij. men for to receive the profyttes of the maner; and ayenst the day of kepyng of the corte, I hope ther shall be more to streynkyth them, yf it nede. John Paston hath be with my lorde of Norfolk seyth [_since_] we entryd, and dyssyryd his good lorchyp to streynth hym with hys howsolde men and other yf nede be; and he hath promysyd he would do so.

[Sidenote: I thank yow of your demenyng at Cotton.]

And I sent Ric. Calle on Tusday to Knevett, dysyryng hym that he woulde sende to hys baley and tenaunts at Mendlesham, that thei choulde be redy to come to John Paston whan he sent for them; and he sent a man of his forthwith, chargyng them in aney wyse that they choulde do so.

[Sidenote: Remembir Nakton.]

And he sent me wourde be Ric. and hys sonne also, yf wee were not stronge inough, that owther he or hys sonne, or bothe yf nede were, would come with suche feleschipp as they coude gett abowt them, and that thei woulde do as feythfully as they kowde for yow, bothe in that mater and in alle other.

Item, on Saterday last was, Jenney ded warne a corte at Calcotte to be holde ther in hys name as on Tusday last was, and Debenham de[d] charge another court ther the Sunday next after to be holde ther the same Tusday in hys name. And Daubeney had knowleche ther of, and he dede send on Sunday at nyght to yowr elder sonne, for to have some men fro thens; and so he sent Wykes and Bernay to hym on Monday in the mornyng.

[Sidenote: Mokenge of Jenney and Debenham at Calcotes the Tuisday next bifore Sen Migch.e.l.l.]

And a.s.sone as thei were come to Castre thei sent for men ther in the contre, and so they gett them in to a iij.^xx. men; and Daubeney and Wekes and Bernay rod to Calcott the same Munday at nyght with ther felechyp, and ther kept them prevye in the pl[a]se, so that non of alle the tenaunts kneue them ther, saf Rysyngs wyff and her howsolde, tylle the Theusday at x. of the cloke.

[Sidenote: Now your cost is doon, consideryng your frends be corayges and your enemyes discoraged, gadir up the profits in all goodly hast, and that I may see acompt for this trobill tyme.]

And than Sir Thomas Brews, Debunham the fadre,[192.1] and the knyt hys sonne,[192.2] Jenney, Mykelfylde younger, Jermyn, and younge Jernyngham, and the Baley of Motforde, with other to the noumbre of a iij.^xx.

persones, coum fro the sessionnys at Becklys, the whech thei hade keppt ther on the day byfor, coume to Seynt Olevys, and ther thei teryed and dynyd. And whan thei had dynyd, Sir Gylberde Debenham came to Calcott with xx. hors for to wett what felechipp ther was in the plase. And than Wekes aspyed them commyng; and he and Bernay and ij. with them rode owt to a' spoke with them. And whan Sir Gilberd aspyd them comyng, he and his felechipp flede and rode ayen to Seynt Olovys. And than they sent young Jernyngham and the Baley of Mottforde to yowr men lettyng hem wete that the Justice of the Pese wer coum doune with Debunham and Jenney, to se that the pese choulde be kepte, and that thei choulde entre and kepe the courte in pesible wyse. And yowr men answeryd and seyd that they knewe no man was possessyd ther in, ner hade no ryght therin but ye, and so in your name, and in your ryght they seyd they woulde kepyt. And so they yede ayen with thys answer, and wer put fromme ther purp[o]se that day. And all the tenaunts bestes wer put fro Calcalcott[193.1] fee, and challe be tylle other remedy maye be hadde. Yowr men woulde not kepe ther a cort that daye by cause it was warnyd by the tother parte, but we wyl do warne a corte and kepyt, I hope in hast. Ye wyll laugh for to here alle the processe of the demenyng ther, wheche wer to longe to writt at thys tyme.

[Sidenote: Veneat (_sic_) Barney.]

Bernay challe telle yow whane he come; but he challe not come to yow tylle after Seynt Feythesmesse,[193.2] that he maye bryng yow answeres of other materys.

[Sidenote: Cessiones Norwici et Dunwici Martis proximo post festum Michelis.]

It is tolde me the sessionys choulle be her at Norwiche on Tusday next comyng, and in Suffolk the Sessionys challe be the same Tusday owther at Dounwyche or at Ypswyche. I suppose ther challe be labowr ayenst soume of our folks ther, but we cholle a.s.say to lete ther pourpose yf we maye.

[Sidenote: De prudencia custodiendi Heylesdon.]

It is tolde me yf ther hade no folks a' be left here in thys plase whyll I have be owt, they choulde a' be neue masters her by thys tyme; therfor it is not good to leve it alone yett.

[Sidenote: Tenentes comitis Oxoniae pro custodia Cotton.]

Item, Arblaster hathe sent a letter to myn Lorde of Oxenefords tenaunts that be nerrest abowt Cotton to help John Paston yf they be sent to, &c.

[Sidenote: Episcopus Norwici pro ecclesia de Drayton.]

Item, I was thys daye with myn Lorde of Norwyche at Thorppe, and informyd hym of the demenyng of the mater for Drayton chyrche, and of alle the demenyng and parcialte of Master John Solatt and Ypswell; and also I informyd what disposission that they were of that were upon the quest.

[Sidenote: Lete yowr counsell comone with hym, but thei may sey they knowe not myn evidens nor t.i.tell,]