Paston letters and papers of the fifteenth century, Part I

TO JOHN PASTON I 1465, 06, 11

To my ryght wyrshypfull hosbond John Paston be thys lettere delyueryd.

Ryght wyrshypfull husbond, I recomaunde me vn-to you. Please it you to wyte that I recevyd letters from you on Wensday laste passyd the were wryten the Monday next be-fore, wherof I thanke you of the lettere that ye send to me. I wolde fayn doo well yf I cowde, and as I canne I wol doo to youre pleasure and profet, and in such thyngys as I cannot skyle of I wyll take avyse of such as I know that be youre frendys, and doo as well as I canne. Where as ye wrote to me that Lydham told you that I told hym that the Duckys men werre not so besy as thay had be by-fore, no more thay were not at that tyme; but sythen they haue be bysyere. What confort that thay haue I canne not haue no knowlych as yet, but I suppose, and all youre felshyp were gode, thay sholdnot haue so grete confort as thay haue, or ells thay wold not be so besy as thay haue be. Grete bost they make that the Duck shold haue Drayton in peas, and aftere thys Haylesdon, and that wyth-in short tyme. Thay ere moch the boldere, I suppose, by-cause that ye be where as ye be. At the reverens of God, yf ye may by any wyrshypfull or resonabell mene, com ovte ther-of as sone as ye may, and com hom a-mongys youre frendys and tenauntys, and that shold be to hem the grettyst confort that thay myȝt haue and the contrary to youre enmys. It ys sayd here that the Duck of Suffolk shall com to Coshay in haste and logge there for a season. I fyle well by youre tenauntys that yf ye were peaseabyly possessyd and youre cort holden in peaseabyll wyse, and that thay myȝt be in pease a-yenst the othere many, than they wold take accyons a-yenste hem for such wrongys as haue be don to hem. And ells thay say that they thernot take it vppon hem, for they dwelle so ney to the othere many that thay knowe well thay shold neuer be in ease yf thay dyde soo whyle that thay dele a-mongys hem. On Thursday last John Doket, the bayly ys son y lawe, and Thomas Ponte, wyth othere, erly in the mornyng an ovre by-fore the sonne rose com to youre fold and drove away the flock at Drayton, both colyet and othere, in-to Coshay fee or euer that the shremoveypherd myght haue knowlych

therof. And than he fowlyd on and desyryd to haue hem a-yen, and thay wold not suffere hym to haue them, no more but the colyet; and there were c and j of yourys, and tho had thay forth wyth hem to Coshay. And the same day we had a replevyn for the cc shype and replevyn for the hors that were taken at Haylesdon, and how that thay were obbeyd Richard Call shall enforme you, and of othere maters also the whych I may not wryte to you of at thys tyme.
Item, I haue spoke wyth John Strange of the matere that ye wrote to me of, and in gode feyth I fynd hym, as me symyth, ryght well dysposyd to you wardys; and he hath acordyng to youre desyre spoken wyth Yeluerton yesterday to fyle hys dysposision in that matere, and Yeluerton, as it symyth by hym, roght not gretely thogh the matere brake so that he myght haue any resonabell colour to breke. He ys so callyd vppon by Wayte and othere of the Duck of Suffolk ys counsell that he ote not where to hold hym, and he ys put in so grete confort, as I am enformyd, to receve money for the lond; and that temptyth hym ryght sore, for wyth money he wold fayn be in handelyng, as ye know he hath nede therof. He told John Straunge that it ys informyd hym that ye haue vp an enquest to deprove there wytnesse, and there-wyth ys he sore movyd. ... that yf any thyngys be don in temperall maters othere in spyrytuall... maters tochyng executours or feoffeys or wyttnes tyll the day of ... trety be passyd he wyll not abyde no trety ther-in but do as ... thynkyth best for to do there-in. I told John Straunge that I knew... thogh it were soo þat shold passe any such enquest it shol not... of them in provyng of here trothys, the whych shold be no hurt ... fore John Straunge desyryd me that I shuld send to you in al haste that... any such folkys that thay shold not doo in the matere tyll the day of ... may haue knowlych how he and othere wold doo in such maters as sh... he wold be loth that he shold haue any colour to breke for any thyng ... and Yeluerton sayth it shall not breke thorf hys defaute yf ye wyll not... be ryght glad to haue youre gode wyll and to goo thorgh in all maner maters... eschewyng of wastfull expens of the dede ys godys and that the godys myȝt be dyspendyd to the welle of the dede. Straunge desyryd to knowe what appoyntementys he desyryth to haue in the trety, and he sayd he wold not let that be vnderstond tyll the tyme of trety cam. Me symyth, saue youre betere avyse, it were wel do that thay that be com vp for you myȝt be kypt in som secryte place and

not do in the matere tyll the tyme of the trety were passyd. The cost there-of shall not be grete to that it myȝt hurte yf the trety were broken by that meane. And there ye may haue hem nyere, and yf ye thynk it be to doo ye may haue hem to go to there matere aftere the seyd tyme, for of ij hurtys the grettyst ys best to be eschewyd.
Item, as for youre houshold at Castere, sauyng youre betere avyse me thynkyth that v or vj of youre folkys such as ye wyll assyngne were ... kype the place, and thay for to go to bord wyth the prustes and ye not to kype no houshold there yet, and that ye shall fynd more profettabyll than for to doo as we do nogh; for there expens, as I vnderstond, haue not be moch the lesse by-fore Wytsontyde than it shold be thogh I had be at hom, by-cause of resortyng of pepell thedere. And yf the houshold were broke thay myȝt haue a gode excuse in that, who som euer com. Richard Call shall enforme you of thys maters and mo othere more playnly than I may do wryte at thys tyme. It ys necessary that possessyon be kypt hyre yett tyll ye be more forthere forth in othere maters. The blessyd Trynyté haue you removein hys kypyng and send you gode spyde in all youre maters, and send you grace to haue a gode conclusyon in hem in haste. Wryten on the Tewysday nex be-fore Corpus Cristi. By youre faynt houswyff at thys tyme, M. P.