How to read the Paston Letters #4

Events, dear boy, events

Bodleian MS Douce 208, f.1r

The last two letters we’ve read have been focused on the family. John Paston and Margaret Mautby met and then married. Last time, we left the young couple excitedly expecting their first baby.

Not everyone has always thought such domestic matters worthy of attention.

In 1735, an antiquarian named Francis Blomefield was summoned to sort through the family papers of William Paston, the recently deceased second earl of Yarmouth, before what remained of his estate was sold to pay off his vast debts. Blomefield’s assessment of the archive was trenchant.

There are innumerable letters, of good consequence in history, still lying among the loose papers, all which I laid up in a corner of the room on a heap, which contains several sacks full; but as they seemed to have some family affairs of one nature or another intermixed in them, I did not offer to touch any of them, but have left them to your consideration, whether, when I go to that part of the country, I shall separate and preserve them, or whether you will have them burned, though I must own ‘tis pity they should; except it be those (of which there are many) that relate to nothing but family affairs only. I have placed everything so that now the good and bad are distinguished and preserved from the weather, by which a great number have perished entirely.

I can hardly bear to think about what happened to the documents Blomefield judged to be ‘bad’ – or how much had already been destroyed by the rain coming through Oxnead’s disastrously leaking roof.

But I thought we should look this time at a letter that would have passed muster as ‘of good consequence in history’ even under Blomefield’s limited and unforgiving eye.

It means rewinding the clock, just a little, from Margaret’s letter to John about the progress of her pregnancy. That was written in December 1441. This one – a very different letter to John – was written in November 1440, soon after the wedding, when he was still at home in Norfolk with his new wife.¹

Before we start, there are a couple of Paston-related resources I should already have mentioned, for anyone who’d like not just to follow along here but to explore further. Putting right that omission now!

First, there’s a ‘Paston portal’ at thisispaston.co.uk, created by a collaboration between the University of East Anglia and the Paston Heritage Society. It offers all sorts of information and further links, including Norfolk trail routes that guide you to walk in the Pastons’ footprints.

Second, I’m so acutely aware of my linguistic limitations that I need to point you to John Burrow and Thorlac Turville-Petre’s A Book of Middle English: the bible for everything I can’t tell you about the language the Pastons spoke and wrote.

And, having finally told you about this Middle English bible, the next letter – of course – starts not in English but in French and Latin, which I’ve flagged with italics.

Here comes the full text, with a reminder that it often helps, at first pass, to read out loud, because the sound can help even if the spelling looks baffling.

On the outside, with traces of the red wax seal, is the address in French:

A moun tresreuerent et treshonurable Maistre Johan Paston soit done

And the inside reads as follows:

Saluete &c. Tytynges the duk of Orlyawnce hath made his ooth vpon the sacrement and vsyd it neuer for to bere armes ayenst Englond in the presence of the kyng and all the lordes except my lord of Gloucester and in prevyng my seyde lord of Gloucester agreyd neuer to hys delyueraunce qwan the masse be gan he toke hys barge &c. God yef grace the seide lord of Orlyaunce be trewe for this same weke shall he to ward Fraunce. Also Freynchemen and Pykardes a gret nowmbre kome to Arfleet for to a rescuyd it and our lordes wyth here smal pusaunce manly bytte them and pytte hem to flyte and blyssyd be our lord haue take the seide cite of Arflet the qwych is a gret juell to all Englond and in especiall to our cuntre. Moreouer there is j kome in to Englond a knyght out of Spayne wyth a kerchieff of plesaunce j wrapped aboute hys arme the qwych knyght wyl renne a cours wyth a sharpe spere for his souereyn lady sake qwom othyr Ser Richard Woodvyle or Ser Cristofore Talbot shall delyuer to the wyrchip of Englond and of hem selff be Goddes grace. Ferthermore ye be remembryd that an esquyer of Suffolk callyd John Lyston recoueryd in assisa noue disseisine vij c marc in damno ayenst Ser Robert Wyngfeld &c. In avoydyng of the payement of the seid vij c marc the seide Ser Robert Wyngfeld sotylly hath outlawed the seide John Lyston in Notyngham shire be the vertue of qwych outlagare all maner of chatell to the seide John Lyston apparteynyng arn acruyd on to the kyng &c. And anon as the seide vtlagare was certyfyed my lord tresorer grauntyd the seide vij c marc to my lord of Norffolk for the arrerage of hys sowde qwyl he was in Scotlond and acordyng to this assignement forseide taylles delyuered &c. And my lord of Norffolk hath relesyd the same vij c marc to Ser Robert Wyngfeld. And here is greet hevyng an shovyng be my lord of Suffolk and all his counsell for to aspye hough this mater kam aboute &c. Ser I beseche you recomaunde me on to my mastres your modyr to my mastres your wyff and to my mastres your suster et omnibus alijs quorum interest &c. Ser I pray you wyth all myn hert hold me excusyd that I wryte thus homly and briefly on to you for truly conable space suffycyd me nowt. Nomore atte this tyme butte the trynyte hawe you in proteccion &c. And qwan your leysyr is resorte ageyn on to your college the inner temple for there ben many qwych sore desyre your presence Welles and othyr &c. Wretyn in le fest de toutz seynts entre messe et mateyns calamo festinante &c.

Yours Robert Reppes

It’s a letter I find fascinating in both tone and content.