siring you heartily that ye like I may have the presentation of the next avoidance for a nephew of mine, called Sir Reynold Spendelowe, which I trust your mastership will agree to make in your name and mine as was last, &c. And, Sir, please you also that I have had divers communications with Worcester since Christmas, and I feel by him utterly that he will not appoint in other form than to have the lands of Fairchilds, and other lands in Drayton, to the sum of ten marks (67. 138. 4d.) of you properly, beside that that he desireth of mine master, whom God assoil, which matter I remit to your noble discretion. And as for answer of the bills that I have, I have been so sekelele (sickly) since Christmas that I might not yet done them, but I shall in all haste, wherein ye may excuse you by me if ye please till the next term, at which time all shall be answered by God's grace, who preserve you and send you the accomplishment of your desires, &c. Item, Sir, please your mastership, it was letten me weet in right secret wise that a puissance is ready to arrive in three parts of this land, by the mean of King Harry and the queen that was, and by the Duke (of) Somerset and others, of six score thousand men, and their day, if wind and weather had served them, should have been here soon upon Candlemas; at Trent to London ward, they should have been by Candlemas, or soon after, one part of them, and another part coming from Wales, and the third from Jersey and Guernsey, wherefore it is well done ye inform mine Lord Warwick, that he may speak to the king that good provision be had for withstanding their malicious purpose and evil will, which God grant we may overcome them, and so we should I doubt not if we were all one; there be many meddlers, and they be best cherished which would hurt much if these come too, as God defend, &c. THOMAS HOWES. February, 1461-2. LETTER CXCI.-(XX. vol. iv. p. 73.) The persons here mentioned to have been summoned to attend the king under his writ of Privy Seal were at this time I suppose suspected not only of concerning themselves in the affairs of their late Sovereign Henry VI. but of acting for his interest, particularly Berney and Rough, or such violent proceedings as that of raising the county to apprehend them would scarcely have been commanded: it might however be for some other cause. If William Yelverton had offended, he soon made his peace, for he now was, and continued to be, a justice of the King's Bench. This embassy from Philip Duke of Burgundy fixes the date of this letter to the year 1461-2, as in the beginning of this year his ambassadors arrived. To my most reverend and worshipful master, my master John Paston, be this delivered. PLEASETH it your good mastership to understand that I have received a bill of John Boteler, which speaketh of your hay at Hellesdon, and of your barley in other places, but I understand not what ye would I should do therein; nevertheless I shall do make (have it made) ready; and as for your hay I shall tell you when I come home; and as for money at Hellesdon I can none get, and at Swainsthorp I have taken four marks (21. 13s. 4d.) Item, as for tidings, the sessions shall be at Thetford on Wednesday next coming, where I understand Master Berney will be with much people, because there is come to him a privy seal that he should be with the king within six days (after) that the privy seal was delivered him, which he cannot do, for the sixth day is to-morrow; there is one come to Felbrigg, to William Yelverton one other, and to Robert Rough another, and none of them will go to the king; and the undersheriff told me that there is come a commis sion down to his master, that in case they come not up to the king by their privy seals, that then he rear the country, and take them, and bring them to the king wheresoever he be. Item, James Gresham telleth me the same, and as for tidings from London we hear none, but that John Colman telleth me that if Berney or Robert Rough come up they are like to die. There be come to London ambassadors from the Duke of Burgundy, which caused the king to speed him the rather to London. Item, as for any new assizes at Thetford there is none but that hath hanged this five years, as the sheriff telleth me. I was purposed to be at home this night till I had your bill, which causeth me to ride on to Drayton for divers things, &c. Almighty Jesu preserve you. Written at Norwich, the second Monday of clean Lent. Your poor beadsman and servant, Norwich, LETTER CXCII.-(XXI. vol. iv. p. 77.) It appears from this letter that the king in person attended at the assizes in Cambridge, during the time that his judges transacted the business of the Court. The extortions, and other acts of oppression, done by the sheriff's, &c., of counties were at this time very great, and loudly called for reformation. On the back of this letter is written the following memorandum: "Justice Yelverton boasteth of comendacon had at the king's hands." To my right singular master, J. Paston, Esq. in haste, &c. AFTER due recommendation, please it your mastership to weet, Master Yelverton, justice, said in the sessions that the king should keep his Easter at Bury, and from thence come into this country, and see such riots as have been in this country punished in such form as happily some should hang by the neck; and he told what thank he had of the king at Cambridge, for cause he declared so well the charge of extortion done by sheriffs and other officers, &c., for the which declaration the king took him by the hand, and said he cowde (owed) him great thanks, and prayed him so to do in this country, &c. In haste, at Norwich, the Wednesday next: before the Annunciation. Your poor JAMES GRESHAM. Wednesday, 24 March, 1461-2. 2 E. IV. LETTER CXCIII.—(XI. vol. i. p. 253.) This letter appears to have been written the year after the accession of Edward IV., as in the February preceding this letter John de Vere, Earl of Oxford, and Aubrey his son, were beheaded. The informations then given might probably make it necessary to have many of their dependants and servants taken into custody and detained in prison. The attention of the Paston's, father and son, to the writer of this letter, who appears to have been a confidential servant of Edward, seems to be directed to the obtaining of his favour with the king on their behalf. Lavenham, in Suffolk, had been in the possession of the De Veres from the reign of Henry Ỉ. The Church there is a noble and elegant structure, and was built by them and the family of Spring. To my right trusty and well-beloved friend, John Paston, Esq. RIGHT worshipful and mine entirely wellbeloved friend, I recommend me unto you, heartily thanking you of your great present of fish, aud of the fellowship that my cousin your son showed unto me at Norwich, proposing by the grace of God to deserve it unto you in time to come, in such place as I may do for you. Desiring you specially, whereas a tenant of mine of Lavenham, called John Fermor, is seized and arrested within the town of Yarmouth, because he dwelled with the Earl of Oxford's son, and proposed to have passed the sea without licence, and standeth out of the conceit of much people, I would desire you that ye would write to the bailiffs of Yarmouth to deliver the said John Fermor to my servant John Brenerigg, bringer of this, with an officer of the said town, to be carried unto the king's castle of Rising at my cost; there to be examined of certain articles, which I may not disclose till I have spoken with the king's highness. Praying you to write to the said bailiffs that I shall be their sufficient discharge against the king, desiring you to give credence to the bringer hereof, as my very trust is in you. Written at Lavenham, the 25th day of March. Your true and faithful friend, having no blame for my good will, Usher of the King's Chamber. Thursday, 25th of March, 1462. 2 E. IV. LETTER CXCIV.—(XXII. vol. iv. p. 79.) This letter was most probably written in the beginning of the reign of Edward IV. after the executors of Sir J. Fastolf had disagreed amongst themselves; and would scarcely have been worth preserving, but as it mentions A Chronicle of Jerusalem,' and 'A History of the Valiant Acts of Sir John Fastolf. This Bussard appears to have been one of those persons who were employed to transcribe books before the art of printing reached England, and perhaps was likewise concerned in drawing up, as well as in writing, the account of Sir John Fastolf's exploits in France. Unto my master, Paston, be this letter delivered. RIGHT worshipful Sir, I recommend me unto you, and if it like you I have spoken with Bussard, and demanded him if he had any evidence, deeds, or copies, or any other evidence of any place, or of any livelihood that longgt (belongeth) unto my master, and (he) saith nay, by his faith and by his truth, for if he had he would send them unto you with a good will; for he saith it should do him none ease, (they would be of no use to him). And, Sir, if it please you, I asked him if he knew any evidence that he had delivered unto William Worcester, bill, or deeds, or any other evidence, that should belong unto any purchase, or of any livelihood unto my master's, and he saith nay truly, for he saith the last time that he wrote JOHN DAVY. Most probably written after 1460, LETTER CXCV.-(XXIII. vol iv. p. 81.) We have here an exact picture of the times, and are furnished with the steps taken to keep and defend landed property. Possession seemed to depend entirely upon the number of men the possessor was able to bring together, at a short notice, to resist such a fellowship as his adversary brought to dispossess him. The influence of the great, however, extended far, and if they interfered the others were obliged to submit. This seems to have been the case here, as the heads of both parties were retainers of the Duke of Norfolk. Had they been under different nobles, perhaps a local civil commotion would have been stirred up, and many lives have been lost before the contest had been decided. It is difficult to ascertain the exact year in which this letter was written. I think it must have been in the beginning of king Edward's reign, but I am not certain. [These remarks of Fenu are much too general. In cases of disputed right, as we have before remarked, it was and is not uncommon to have recourse to force as the quickest means of obtaining a legal decision. No doubt the influence of the rich and powerful was great either for good or evil, but the present letter, while it shows the good effects of the Duke of Norfolk's interference, proves that neither party considered themselves "obliged to submit" farther than their own interests prompted them. "A local civil commotion" is wholly gratuitous. Landed as well as other property appears on the whole to have been sufficiently secure and consequently effectually guarded. We shall have to speak of this subject more at length in the subsequent account of the siege of Caister.] To my right reverend and worshipful father, John Paston, be this delivered. AFTER all humble and most due recommendation, as lowly as I can, I beseech you of your blessing; please it you to have knowledge that as on Sunday next before Michaelmas day as my mother came from London ward, she came homeward by Cotton, and she sent for me to Hellesdon to come to her thither, and so I have been in the place ever since and as soon as Michaelmas day was passed I began to distrain the tenants, and gathered some silver, as much, I trow, as will pay for our costs, and yet I keep here right a good fellowship, and more were promised me, which yet came not to me, whereby I was near deceived; for when Debenham heard say how that I began to gather silver, he raised many men within one day and an half to the number of three hundred men, as I was credibly ascertained by a yeoman of the chamber of my lord's (of Norfolk) that oweth me good will, which yeoman, as soon as he had seen their fellowship, rode strait to my lord and informed him of it; and also he informed my lord how that I had gathered another great fellowship, which fellowship he named more than we were by one hundred and an half, and yet more; and he said unto my lord and my lady, and to their counsel, that without that my lord took a direction in the matter, that there were like to be done great harm on both our parts, which were a great disworship to my lord, considering how that he taketh us both for his men, and so we be known well enough; upon which infor mation, and disworship to my lord, that twain of his men should debate so near him, contrary to the king's peace, considered of my lord and my lady and their counsel, my lord sent for me and Sir Gilbert Debenham to come to him to Framlingham both; and as it fortuned well, my mother came to me to Cotton not half an hour before that the messenger came to me from my lord, which was late upon Tuesday last past at night, and the next day on the morning I rode to my lord to Framlingham, and so did Sir Gilbert also; and as soon as we were come we were sent for to come to my lord, and when we came to my lord, he desired of us both that we should neither gather no fellowship, but such men as we had gathered that we should send them home again, and that the court should be continued into the time that my lord, or such as he would assign, had spoken both with you, and Yelverton, and Jenney; and that one indifferent man, chosen by us both should be assigned to keep the place into the time that ye and they were spoken with. And then I answered my lord and said, how that at that time I had my master within the manor of Cotton, which was my mother, and into the time that I had spoken with her I could give none answer; and so my lord sent Richard Fulmerston bearer hereof to my mother this day for an answer, which answer he should bring to my lord to London; for my lord rode to London ward as yesterday, and the sooner because he trusted to have a good end of this matter and all others betwixt you, which he taketh for a great worship to him, and a great advantage both, and (if) he could bring this matter about, for then he would trust to have your service, all which were to him great treasure and advantage. And this was the answer that my mother and I gave him, that at the instance of my lord and my lady we would do thus much as for to put the court in continuance, and no more to receive of the profits of the manor than we had, and had distressed for, till into the time that she and I had word again from my lord and you; if so were that they would neither make entries nor distrain the tenants, nor keep no court, more than we would do, and we told Richard Fulmerston that this my mother and I did at the instance and great request of my lord, because my lord intended peace, which reasonable we would not be against, and yet we said we knew well that we should have no thank of you when ye knew of it, without it were because we did it at my lord's instance; but before this answer we had received as much silver, full nigh, as Richard Calle sent us books of for to gather it by; and as for the possession of the place, we told him that we would keep it, and Sir Gilbert agreed, so that Yelverton and Jenney would do the same, for it was time for him to say so, for my lord told him that he would set him fast by the feet else, to be sure of him, that he should make none insurrections into the time that my lord came again from London. I ween, and so doth my mother both, that this appointment was made in good time, for I was deceived of better than an hundred men and an half that I had promise of to have come to me when I sent for them, this promise had I before that I sent to you the last letter the day after St. Michael. Jenney heard say that I kept Cotton, and he rode to Nacton, and there held a court, and received the profits of the manor. I beseech you that I may have knowledge in haste from you how ye will that I be demeaned in this matter and in all others, and I shall apply me to fulfil your intent in them to my power by the grace of God, whom I beseech have you in guiding, and send you your heart's desire. Written at Hemnale's LETTER CXCVI.-(XXIV. vol. iv.p. 89. From several of the letters contained in these volumes it appears that proposals for a marriage often originated from the friends of the lady, not that she had any prepossession in favour of the gentleman, but because her friends thought such a match might be proper in respect to worldly matters. This seems to have been the case here, and the grandmother of the young lady wishes the friends of Sir John Cley to be spoken to on this subject, thinking that his son's livelihood would be a sufficient one, and that a marriage might be concluded as times now go, (for that must be the meaning of the words "now in thys world,") on reasonable terms; this marriage however never took effect. To my right worshipful husband, John RIGHT worshipful husband, I recommend me to you; please you to weet that I was at Norwich this week to purvey such things as needeth me against this winter; and I was at my mother's, and while I was there, there came in one Wrothe, a kinsman of Elizabeth Clere's, and he sey (saw) your daughter and praised her to my mother, and said that she was a goodly young woman; and my mother prayed him for to get for her one good marriage if he knew any; and he said he knew one should be of a 300 marks (2007.) by year, the which is Sir John Cley's son, that is chamberlayn with my Lady of York, 1 and he is of age of eighteen years old; if ye think it be for to be spoken of, my mother thinks that it should be got for less money now in 1 Cecily, Duchess of York, widow of Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, and mother of Edward IV. She died in an advanced age, at her castle of Berkhamstead, in May, 1495, and was buried near her husband, in the choir of the collegiate church of Fotheringhay in Northamptonshire. Paston, be this letter delivered in haste. this world than it should be hereafter, either that one, or some other good marriage. Item, I spake with Master John Estgate for Pykering's matter after your intent of the matter of the letter that ye sent home, and be said to me he should write to you how he had done therein, and so he sent you a letter. the which was sent you by John Wodehouse's man with other letters. As for answer (of) other matters, Daubeney telleth me he wrote to you. I beseech Almighty God have you in his keeping. Written at Caister, the Sunday next after St. Martin. By your MARGARET PASTON. Caister, Sunday, November, 2 John Wodehouse, Esq., of Kimberley, son of the renowned John Wodehouse, Esq., who gained so much honour at the battle of Agincourt; he died in 1465, and lies buried in Kimberley chancel. |