The Paston Letters
Chapter 158 : 560 JOHN PASTON THE YOUNGEST TO JOHN PASTON, HIS FATHER[95.3]_To my rygte reverent and

560

JOHN PASTON THE YOUNGEST TO JOHN PASTON, HIS FATHER[95.3]

_To my rygte reverent and worchepfull fadyr, John Paston, dwellyng in Castyr, be thys delyveryd._

[Sidenote: 1464 / MARCH 1]

Ryth reverent and worchepfull fadyr, I recomand me on to yow, besechyng yow lowly of your blyssyng, desyryng to here of yowyr wellfar and prosperyte, the whyche I pray G.o.d preserve on to Hys plesans, and to yowyr hertys desyir; besechyng yow to have me excusyd that ye had no wrytyng fro me syth that I departyd frome yow; for so G.o.d me helpe, I send yow a lettyr to London anon aftyr Kandylmas, by a man of my Lordys; and he forgat to delyver yt to yow, and so he browt to me the lettyr ayen; and sythe that tyme I kowd get no messenger tyll now.

As for tydyngs, syche as we have here I send yow. My Lord and my Lady[96.1] ar in good hele, blyssyd be G.o.d, and my Lord hathe gret labore and cost here in Walys for to take dyvers gentyllmen here whyche wer consentyng and helpyng on to the Duke of Somersettys goyng; and they were apelyd of othyr se[r]teyn poyntys of treson, and thys mater. And bycause the Kyng sent my Lord woord to keep thys contre, is cause that my Lord terythe here thus longe. And now the Kyng hathe geve my Lord power, whedyr he wole do execusyon upon thes gentyllmen, or pardon hem, whedyr that hym lyst; and as fertheforthe as I kan undyrstand yet, they shall have grase. And as sone as thes men be come in, my Lord is perposyd to come to London, whyche I supose schall be within thys fortnyght. The menys namys that be apechyd ar thes, John Hanmer, and Wylliam hys sone, Roger Pulyston, and Edward of Madok; these be men of worchepe that schall come in.

The Comenys in Lancasher and Chescher wer up to the nombyr of a x. m^l.

[10,000] or more, but now they be downe ayen; and one or ij. of hem was hedyd in Chestyr as on Saterday last past.

Thomas Danyell[96.2] is here in Chesscher, but I wot not in what plase, he hathe sent iij. or iiij. letyrys to Syr John Howard, syne my Lord come hedyr.

And othyr tydynggs her we none here, but that I supose ye have herd before; I supose veryly that it schall be so nye Esterne[96.3] er ever my Lord come to London, that I schal not move [q. _mowe_? _i.e._ be able] come home to yow before Estern; wherfor I besech yow, that ye wole wyche save [_vouchsafe_] that one of your men may send a byll to myne oncyll Clement, or to som othyr man, who that ye wole, in youyr name, that they may delyver me the mony that I am behynd of this quarter syn Crystmas, and for the next quarter, in parte of that some that it plesid yow to grant me by yer; for by my trowthe, the felawchep have not so myche mony as we wend to have had be ryth myche; for my Lord hath had gret costs syn he came hedyr. Wherfore I besech yow, that I may have this mony at Estern, for I have borowyd mony that I must paye ayen after Estern: and I pray to Allmyty G.o.d have yow in kepyng.

Wretyn in the Castyll of the Holte, in Walys, the fyrst day of Marche.

Your sone and lowly servant,

JOHN PASTON, the yongest.

[Footnote 95.3: [From Fenn, i. 284.] 'The Duke of Somerset's going' here referred to cannot well be his flight to Scotland in 1462 (_see_ No. 512), though the time of year at which this letter is dated would agree very well with that supposition; for it appears by Letter 511 that John Paston, the father, was at that time residing in the Temple and not at Caister; nor indeed have we distinct evidence of his being at the latter place before 1464.

Moreover, in the beginning of 1463, Somerset had just made his peace with King Edward and been received into favour, but early in 1464 he rebelled again. There can be little doubt, therefore, that this year is the true date.]

[Footnote 96.1: John Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, and Elizabeth, his wife.]

[Footnote 96.2: This gentleman had a reversionary grant of the constables.h.i.+p of Rising Castle in 1448, 27 Hen. VI. He married Margaret, daughter of Sir Robert Howard, and sister of Sir John, afterwards Duke of Norfolk. He is said to have been attainted in the 1 Edw. IV., but fully restored both in blood and possessions in the 14th of the same King. He was esquire of the body to Henry VI.--F.]

[Footnote 96.3: In 1464 Easter Day fell on the 1st of April.]

561

ABSTRACT[97.1]

[Sidenote: 1464 / APRIL 11]

Copy of an indenture bearing date 11th April, 4 Edward IV., witnessing the delivery to Richard Calle, servant of John Paston, Esquire, by John, prior of the monastery of Holy Trinity, Norwich, by virtue of the King's writ, of a red box containing seventeen bundles of evidences, with 40 of silver in groats, and 80 n.o.bles of gold, in a bag, and other valuables.

An inventory of the articles referred to in the foregoing indenture is contained in a separate paper mutilated in the right-hand margin, which we give verbatim as follows:--

This is the parcell be endenture received by Richard Calle of ... . .

... ... day of Aprile the forthe yere ... ... as it apperit by the copye that the seyde Richard sendeth me by John Threcher.

Unam cistam rubeam c.u.m xvij. bundellis evidenciarum in eadem cista contentis.

Quadraginta libras argenti in grossis et iiij^xx. n.o.bil.

Duo turribula[97.2] argenti et deaurata.

Unam pixidem argenti et deauratam.

Unum osculatorium c.u.m imagine Sancti Jacobi et ... .

[Sidenote: I left no cruet in the cofer.[97.3]]

Unum cruett argenti et deauratum.

Unum crismatorium rotundum. Md.[97.3]

[Sidenote: I left non soch in the cofer but chalis of gold.[97.3]]

Unum calicem argenti et deauratum. } Unum alium calicem c.u.m imagine Sanctae Trinitatis.}

This is the copy of a bille drawin in Englyche that I sent home [of all]

manner of suche stuff as was in myne coffre in the abb[ey] ... ...

by a letter sent with the same bylle that he chowlde take hede that ... yf he fonde aney more, well be it, as it aperit in the seyd lett[er] ... woulle be lokyd [_locked_] uppe.

[Sidenote: Thes to chalis after the unc' xx. _s._ ar worth xliij.

_li._[98.2]]

Unum calicem de auro playne ponderis duas li[bras].

Unum alium calicem de auro c.u.m scriptura 'Cal[icem salutaris accipiam,'[98.1] ponderis xix. unc'].

[Sidenote: This is worth xiij. _li._ xv. _s._[98.2]]

Unam tabulam de auro c.u.m imagine Sancti J[acobi positam c.u.m lapidis pretiosis,] ponderis xiij. unc' et iij. quarteria.

[Sidenote: Thes be worth, after x.x.x. _d._ the unch xxviij. _li._ xiij _s._ ix. _d._[98.2]

Unum par turribulorum argenti et deaurat' c.u.m scriptura, viz., in prima parte 'Dat' est eis,' &c.; et in secunda parte 'Ascendit fumus,' pond' xiij. lb. et [x. unc'].

Unam pixidem argenti pro sacramento deaurat' c.u.m cruce [in summitate ac chased c.u.m] liliis, pond' v. lb. et iij. unc' di'.

Unam ampullam argenti deaurat' pond' i. lb.[98.3]

[98.4]All this was put in a paner togyddre and ... . for to berit in to the coffre.

Item, xl. mark in n.o.blis and xl. li. in gro[tis].

Item, evydens.

[Footnote 97.1: [From Paston MSS., B.M.]]

[Footnote 97.2: Thuribula, censers, from _thus_.]

[Footnote 97.3: These marginal notes are in John Paston's hand.]

[Footnote 98.1: Psalm cxv. [cxvi.] 13.]

[Footnote 98.2: _See_ Note 3 on last page.]

[Footnote 98.3: The plate in this list is the same as that described in No. 554, by which the words lost in this MS. have been supplied.]