The Paston Letters
Chapter 97 : [Footnote 129.2: John Paston signs for both.]369 JOHN JERNYNGAN TO MARGARET PASTON[129.

[Footnote 129.2: John Paston signs for both.]

369

JOHN JERNYNGAN TO MARGARET PASTON[129.3]

_Unto my ryght wurchipfull Cosyn, Marget Paston, this lettre be delyvered in haste._

[Sidenote: 1458 / JUNE 1]

Ryght wurchipfull and my moste beste beloved maystres and cosyn, I recommaund me unto you as lowly as I may, evermor desyring to here of your G.o.de welfar; the whiche I beseche Almyzthy Jesus to preserve you and kepe you to his plesur, and to your gracious herts desyre.

And yf it plese you to here of my welfar, I was in G.o.de hele at the makyng of this lettre, blessed be G.o.d.

Prayng you that it plese you for to send me word yf my fadyr wer at Norwiche with you at this Trenite Ma.s.se or no, and how the matyr dothe be twene my Maystres Blawnche Wychynham and me, and yf ze sopose that it shall be brought a bowte or no; and how ze fele my fadyr, yf he be wele wyllyng thereto or no; prayng you lowly that I may be recomaund lowly unto my maystres, Arblastres wyfe, and unto my Maystres Blawnche, her dowzther, specially.

Ryght wurchipfull cosyn, yf it plese you for to her of suche tydings as we have her, the ba.s.set [_emba.s.sy_] of Burgoyne schall come to Calleys the Sat.u.r.day[130.1] eftyr Corpus Christi day, as men say v. hondred horse of hem. Moreover, on Trenite Sonday,[130.2] in the mornyng, came tydings unto my Lord of Warwyke that ther were xxviij^te sayle of Spaynyards on the se, and wherof ther was xvj. grete schippis of forecastell; and then my Lord went and manned fyve schippis of forecastell, and iij. carvells, and iiij. spynnes [_pinnaces_], and on the Monday,[130.3] on the mornyng eftyr Trenite Sonday, we met to gedyr afore Caleis, at iiij. at the clokke in the mornyng, and fawz thet gedyr till x. at the clokke; and ther we toke vj. of her [_their_] schippis, and they slowe of oure men aboute iiij^xx [_four score_], and hurt a ij.

hondred of us ryght sore; and ther wer slayne on theyr parte abowte xij^xx [_twelve score_], and hurt a v. hondred of them.

And haped me, at the fyrste abordyng of us, we toke a schippe of iij^c.

[300] ton, and I was lefte therin and xxiij. men with me; and thei fawzthe so sor[130.4] that our men wer fayne to leve hem,[130.5] and then come they and aborded the schippe that I was in, and ther I was taken, and was prisoner with them vj. houris, and was delyvered agayne for theyr men that wer taken beforne. And as men sayne, ther was not so gret a batayle upon the se this xl. wyntyr. And for sothe, we wer wele and trewly bette; and my Lord hathe sent for mor scheppis, and lyke to fyzthe to gedyr agayne in haste.

Nomor I write unto you at this tyme, but that it plese you for to recomaund me unto my ryght reverent and wurchipfull cosyn your husband, and myn ownkll Gournay, and to myn awnte his wyfe, and to alle G.o.de maysters and frends where it schall plese yow; and eftyr the writyng I have from you, I schall be at you in alle haste.

Wretyn on Corpus Christi day in gret haste, be your owne umble servant and cosyn,

JOHN JERNYNGAN.

[Footnote 129.3: [From Fenn, i. 156.] The engagement at sea described in this letter is dated by Fabyan on Trinity Sunday or Monday 1458.]

[Footnote 130.1: June 3rd.]

[Footnote 130.2: May 28th.]

[Footnote 130.3: May 29th.]

[Footnote 130.4: 'for' in Fenn; seemingly a printer's error, as the word is 'sore' in the modern version.]

[Footnote 130.5: Here, according to Fenn, the words 'and go the'

occur in the original, struck out.]

370

HENRY WYNDESORE TO JOHN PASTON[131.1]

_To my full speciall G.o.de Maister, John Paston._

[Sidenote: 1458(?) / [AUG. 27]]

Wors.h.i.+pfull Sir, and my full speciall goode maister, after humble recommendacion, please it you to understand that such service as I can doo to your plesir, as to myn understandyng, I have shewed my diligence nowe this shorte season sithen your departyng, and in especiall aboute suche a copie of a foundacion as your maisters.h.i.+p commaunded me to gete you a copie of, of the which I sende unto you at this tyme, by my broder William Worcestre, iij. copies writen by Luket, because I had no leisir, but somoch besems in settyng forth my Maistr of the Rolles.[131.2] At this tyme, and in all this Kyngs deies, ye can have noon oder accordyng any thing to your entent.

And as for the names of the Poles,[132.1] William hath more wrytyng than ye and I coude fynde, foundon by labor made by hym and me. And also, Sir, he hath caused me to examyn olde and mony records, writen by some Frenshman, concernyng the manour of Dedham; that was a comborous labour, for these copies were full defectif, as it apereth by the correctyng of them.

Item, Sir, I may sey to you that William hath goon to scole, to a Lumbard called Karoll Giles, to lern and to be red in poetre or els in Frensh; for he hath byn with the same Caroll every dey ij. tymes or iij., and hath bought divers boks of hym, for the which, as I suppose, he hath put hymself in daunger to the same Karoll. I made a mocion to William to have knoen part of his besines, and he answered and seid that he wold be as glad and as feyn of a good boke of Frensh or of poetre as my Mastr Fastolf wold be to purchace a faire manoir; and therby I understand he list not to be commynd with all in such matiers.

Item, Sir, as for any tidings, William can tell you here at London ar but full fewe; but Henry Bourgchier is ded sodenly at Ludlowe; my Lord of Caunterbury and my Lord Bourgchier shall be this wyk at Hunnesdon, and hunte and sporte theym with Sir William Oldhall.

At this tyme nothyng els to your maisters.h.i.+p; but and it please you to remembre my maister at your best leiser, wheder his old promise shall stande as touchyng my preferryng to the Boreshed in Suthwerke. Sir, I wold have byn at a noddr place, and of my maisters owun mocion he said that I shold sett uppon the Boreshed, in the which matier I reporte me to William Worcestre, Bokkyng, and William Barker, and most specially to my maisters awun remembraunce.

I know full well ther cann noo conclusion be taken to myn asayle [_avayle ?_] without help of your maisters.h.i.+p, unto the which I utterly submitte me in this, and in all oder. And our Lord Jesu preserve you and all youres, and send you your herts desire with right.

Writen at London on Sonday next after Seynt Bartholomu Dey in hast.

By your servaunt,

HENRY WYNDESORE.

[Footnote 131.1: [From Fenn, i. 170.] At the date of this letter Sir John Fastolf must have been in Norfolk, and William Worcester in London. From the time that the former went into Norfolk in 1454, till the end of the year 1457, Worcester seems generally to have resided with him; but in the beginning of 1458 he was in London, and it appears by the Castlecombe MSS. (Add.

MS. 28,208, B.M. pp. 39, 42) that he was holding courts at Castlecombe in Wilts.h.i.+re in June and July of that year, and that, in November of the same year, he and Fastolf were both together in London. It is probable, therefore, that he was in London in August, before Fastolf had come up. Indeed, he appears not to have returned to Norfolk till January following; so that in August he might quite well have devoted himself to the study of French in the expectation of a lengthened stay.]

[Footnote 131.2: Thomas de Kirkeby.]

[Footnote 132.1: Apparently William Worcester was examining the pedigree of the De la Poles, ancestors of the late Duke of Suffolk, who had disputed with Fastolf the right to the manor of Dedham.]

371

ABSTRACT[133.1]

[Sidenote: 1458 / SEPT. 1]

Writ of _pone_ procured by Thomas Howes, clerk, of Castre, against John Wyndham, Thomas Danyell of Rysyng Castle, Edmund Bukenham of Snyterton, Robert Lethum of Wytton by Blofeld, Simon Gunnor of Estbekham, and sixteen others, for maintaining a plea begun at Westminster without the King's writ by John Andrew of Beylom, Suffolk, against Howes, whom he had maliciously procured to be indicted.

1 Sept. 37 Hen. VI.

_On the back are the words:_ 'Manutenencia facta fuit iiij^to die Julii anno x.x.xv^{to}.[133.2] Dampna C_li._'

[Footnote 133.1: [From Paston MSS., B.M.]]

[Footnote 133.2: A.D. 1457.]

[[Dampna C_li._' _close quote missing or invisible_]]

372

BOTONER TO JOHN PASTON[133.3]