The Paston Letters Volume V Part 10

_The Duc of Norff'._

[Sidenote: 1469 / SEPT. 26]

John, Duke of Norffolk, Erle Marshall of Suss.e.x, Surrey, and of Nottingham, Marshall of Inglonde, Lorde Mowbray of Segreve, Bromfelde, and Yalle, to al our frendes, servauntes, and othir Crystyne people, gretyng. Wher John Paston, esquier, and othre diverse persones forseble hath kepte the manoir of Castre, contrary to our will and pleaser, and aftirwarde by his lowly labour and gret meanese to us maade, the seide John Paston hathe maade deliveraunce of the seide manoir to such persons as we have a.s.signede, and he and his seide felous.h.i.+p by our lycence to departe out of the same. Wherefore we pray, wil, and charge you and everysche of you, that ye ne vexce, trouble, manase, ne greve the forseid persones, nor eny of them, for the kepyng of the seide manere contrary to the Kynge our Sovereynge Lordes lawyes, for we have takyne them in our safe garde. Yevin undir our signet and signmanuell the xxvj^ti day of Septembre, the ix^th yere of Kynge Edward iiij^t.

NORFF'. [LS]

[Footnote 56-1: [From a MS. in the College of Arms.] The original of this doc.u.ment, signed and sealed by the Duke of Norfolk, is inserted in the MS. volume called Brooke's _Aspilogia_, vol. i. p.

35.]

[[_in the printed book, the letters "LS" (Locus Sigilli?) are shown in a circle after the signature_]]

732

JOHN PASTON TO SIR JOHN PASTON[56-2]

Caystr yelded.--J. P.

[Sidenote: 1469 / [SEPT.]]

Ryght werchepfull sir, I recomand me on to yow. And as for the serteynte of the delyverance of Caster, John Chapman can tell yow how that we wer enforsyd therto, as wel as mysylf. As for John Chapman and his iij.

felaws, I have purveyd that they be payid ache of them xl_s._, with the mony that they had of yow and Dawbeney; and that is inow for the seson that they have don yow servys. I pray yow geve them ther thank, for by my trowthe they have as well deservyd it as eny men that ever bare lyve; but as for mony, ye ned not to geve hem with owt ye wyll, for they be plesyd with ther wagys. Wryttyll promysyd me to send yow the serteynte of the apoyntement. We wer sor[57-1] lak of vetayl, gonepowdyr, menys herts, lak of suerte of rescwe, drevyn therto to take apoyntement.

If ye wyll that I come to yow, send me woord, and I shall pervey me for to tery with yow a ij. or iij. dayis. By my trowthe, the rewardyng of syche folkys as hathe ben with me dwryng the sege hathe putt me in gret danger for the monye. G.o.d preserve yow, and I pray yow be of good cher tyll I spek with yow, and I trust to G.o.d to ese your hert in some thynggys.

J. PASTON.

[Footnote 56-2: [From Fenn, iv. 410.]]

[Footnote 57-1: _sor._ So the word stands in Fenn, and 'sore' in the copy in modern spelling; but I suspect a misreading of 'for.']

733

MARGARET PASTON TO SIR JOHN PASTON[57-2]

_To Sir John Paston, in hast. A matre._

[Sidenote: 1469 / SEPT. 23-30.]

I grete zow wele, and send zow G.o.dds blyssyng and myn, letyng zow wete that me thynke be the letter that ze sent me be Robeyn, that ze thynke that I xuld wryte to zow fabyls and ymagynacyons; but I do not soo.

I have wrytyn as yt have be enformed me, and wulle do. It was told me that bothe Daubeney and Berney wer dedee, but for serten Daubeney is dede, G.o.d asoyle hys sowle; wher of I am rythe sery, and yt had plesyd G.o.d that yt mythe abe other wysse.

Remembyr zow, ze have had ij. gret lossys withyne thys towylemonth, of hym and of Sir Thomas.[57-3] G.o.d wysyth [_visiteth_] zow as yt plesythe Hym in sundery wyses; He woole ze xuld know Hym, and serve Hym better than ze have do be for thys tyme, and than He wull send zow the mor grace to do wele in ale other thynggs. And for G.o.dds love, remembyr yt rythe welle, and take yt pacyentely, and thanke G.o.d of Hys vysitacyon; and yf ony thyng have be a mysse ony other wyse than yt howte to have ben befor thys, owther in pryde or in laves expences, or in eny other thyng that have offendyd G.o.d, amend yt, and pray Hym of Hys grace and helpe, and entende welle to G.o.d, and to zour neybors; and thow zour poor heraftyr be to aquyte hem of her maleys, zet be mersyfulle to hem, and G.o.d xale send zow the mor grace to have your entente in other thynggs.

I remembyr thys clawsys, be cause of the last letter that ze sent me.

I have sent to Hary Halman of Sporylle to helpe to gete as ze desyerd me, and he canne not gette pa.s.syd v. or viij. at the most, and zet yt wule not be but yf [_unless_] he c.u.me that ze trust upon that xuld c.u.me, for they long a parte to hym. And Ryschard Sharman hathe asayed on hys parte, and he cane not gette pa.s.syd v.; for thoo that long to us, thei long also to our adversarys, and they have be desyerd be them, and they woold nowte do for hem, and ther for they thynke to have magery of the toder parte.

As for the jantylman that ye desyerd me to speke with, I spake with hys wyfe, and sche told me he was not in thys c.u.n.tre, ner nowte woost wan he xuld be her; and as for the toder man, he hath bowthe [_bought_] hym a livery in Bromeholme Pryery, and have geve upe the woord [_world_], &c.

Item, as for mony, I kowde getee but x_li._ upon pledges, and that is spent for zour maters her, for payeng of zour men that wern at Caster, and other thynggs, and I woot not wer to gette non, nowther for suerte ner for pleggs; and as for myn owyn lyvelod, I am so sympely payed ther of that I fer me I xale be fayn to borow for my sylfe, or ell[es] to breke up howsold or bothe.

As for the zeddyng [_yielding_] of the place at Caster, I trowe Wretyll hathe told of the p.a.w.ntements [_appointments_] how ytts delyvered.

I woold that [it] had be so her [_ere_] thys tyme, and zan [_then_] ther xuld not a ben do so mykyle herte as ther is in dyverse weyes; for many of our welewyllers arn putte to loosse for our saks, and I fer me that [it] xale be long her yt be rec.u.mpensyd ageyn, and that xale cause other to do the lesse for vus her aftyr.

I woold ze xuld [send] zour brother woord, and sum other that ze truste, to see to zour owyn lyelod to sette yt in a rule, and to gader ther of that may be had in haste, and also of Sir John Fastolf lyoeld that may be gadyrd in pesybyle wyse. For as for Ryschard Calle, he wulle no mor gadyr yt but yf ze comaund hym, and he woold fayn make hys . . acowntte, and have zour good maystyr schepe, as ytts told me, and delyvere the evydens of Bekkeham, and alle other thynggs that longyth to zow, that he trustythe that ze wylle be hys good mayster heraftyr. And he sethe he wylle not take non newe master tyle ze refuse hys servyse.

Remembyr that zowr lyvelod may be set in soche a rule that ye may knowe how ytts, and wat is owyn to zow; for be my feythe I have holpyn as mysche as I may and mor, savyng my sylfe, and therfor take hede er yt be weers.

Thys letter was begune on Fryday was vij. nythe, and enddyd thys day nexte afftyr Mychylmes Day. G.o.d kepe zow, and yeve zow grace to do as wele as I woold ze dede; and I scharge zow be war that ze sette no lond to morgage, for if eny avyse zow ther to, they arn not zowr frendds. Be war be tymes myn avyse, &c. I trow yowr brother wyll geve zow tydyngs in haste.

[Footnote 57-2: [From Fenn, iv. 396.] This is written, as will be seen, in reply to No. 725.]

[Footnote 57-3: Sir Thomas Howes.]

734

NOTE[59-1]

Inventory of household goods (including guns) left at Caister by Sir John Paston at the entry of my Lord of Norfolk.

[Footnote 59-1: [MS. Phillipps, 9735, No. 201.]]

735

JOHN PASTON TO SIR JOHN PASTON[60-1]

_To my master, Sir John Paston, in Flett-Stret._

[Sidenote: 1469 / OCT. 5]

Ryght worchepfull sir, I recomand on to you, praying yow that ye wyll in all hast send me word how that ye wyll that Sir John Style, John Pampyng, W. Mylsent, Nycolas Mondonet, T. Tomson shall be rwlyd, and whedyr that they shall sek hem newe servysys or not; and Mathewe Bedford also, for he hathe be with me this seson, and is fro my modyr. And if so be that ye wyll have thes to abyde with yow, or eny of them, send word whyche that they be; for betwyx thys and Halowmas my modyr is agreyd that they shall have met and drynk of hyr for syche a serteyn wekly as my modyr and yu and I can acord when we met. Notwithstandyng, if ye kowd get Barney or eny of thes seyd folkys, whyche that ye wyll not kepe, eny servyse in the mene seson, it wer more worchep for yow then to put them from yow lyek masterles hondys [_hounds_]; for by my trowthe they ar as good menys bodys as eny leve, and specyally Sir John Stylle and John Pampyng. And I wer of power to kepe them and all thes befor rehersyd, by trowthe they shold never depert fro me whyll I leveyd.

If ye send me word that I shall come to yow to London for to comon with yow of eny mater, so G.o.d help me, I have neythyr mony to com up with, nor for to tery with yow when I am ther but if [_unless_] ye send me some; for by my trowthe thes werkys have causyd me to ley owt for yow bettyr then x. or xij_li._, besyd that money that I had of my modyr, whyche is abowt on viij_li._ G.o.d amend defowts; but this I warant yow, with out that it be Mathew, whyche ye sent woord by John Thressher that ye wold have to awayt on yow, ther is no man that was hyryd for the tyme of thys sege that wyll axe yow a peny.

Also I pray yow send downe acomandment to Stutvylle, or to some awdyter, to take acomptys of Dawbneys byllys; for hys executors ar sore callyd upon for to admynyster by the Byshop, or ellys he seythe that he wyle seqwester. Dawbeney set in hys dett that ye owt hym xij_li._ and x_s._ Whedyr it be so or nowt, hys byllys of hys owne hand wyll not lye, for he mad hys byllys clere or then the sege com abowt us.

As for the evydence of Bekham, my modyr sent to Calle for hem; and he sent hyr woord that he wold make hys acompts, and delyver the evydence and all to gedyr. My modyr hathe sent to hym ayen for hem thys day. If she sped, they shall be sent to yow in all hast, or ellys, and ye send for me, I shall bryng hem with me. Send my modyr and me word who ye wyll that have the rwyll of your lyvelod her in thys contre, and in what forme that it shall be delt with. I wyll not make me mastyrfast with my Lord of Norff., nor with non othyr, tyle I spek with yow; and ye thynk it be to be don, get me a mastyr.

Dell corteysly with the Qwen and that felawshep, and with Mastras Anne Hawte for Wappys,[61-1] tyll I spek with zow. Wretyn on Seynt Feythys Evyn.

J. PASTON.

By Sent George, I and my felawshep stand in fer of my Lord of Norff.

men, for we be thret sore, not withstandyng the save gardys[61-2] that my felawshep have. As for me, I have non, nor non of your howsold men, nor non wyll have; it wer shame to take it.