Sir John Paston to [Lord Fitzwalter]

Add. 27446, f. 82

?about 1490

Gairdner, Vol VI, item 1042; Fenn, Vol V, Henry VII item 20

LETTER XX.

HUMBLY besecheth yo^r good lordshepe yo^r dayly serv’nt
and beedman John Paston more Kayteff than Knyght that
it may please you of yo^r specyall grace to dyrect ought yo^r
lettres sygned w^t your hand and sealid w^t your seall to the
dreedfull man Jamys Radcliff of Bylli˜gforth sqwyer fermo^r
of yo^r wareyn ther ought of wheys wareyn no maner of man
nor vermyn dare take on hym for dought of yo^r seyd dred-
full to take or carye awey eny of your game ther for fere of
being hangyd up among other mysdoers and forfaytours as
wesellis lobsters polkattys bosartys and mayne Currys That
the seyd Jamys shall upon the syght of yo^r seyd wryghty˜g
delyver or cause to be delyverd to yo^r seyd besecher or to
hys depute delyuerer of your seyd letters at hys fyrst syght
of the same vj coupyll blake Conyes or Renny˜g Rabbettys
or some blake and some whyght to the seyd nombre to
store w^t a newe grownd of yo^r seyd besechers at Oxenhed
more lycke a Pynnefold then a parke And yo^r seyd besecher
shall daylye prey to god for the p’servacyon of yo^r noble
estate longe t’endure

11 ½ by 5.

             Paper Mark,
         Hand and Caterfoil.
           Pl. xxxiii. No. 3.

This jocular letter seems to be written by Sir John Paston to the Lord
Fitzwalter, lord of the manor of Billingford in Norfolk, to induce him to give
an order to his relation James Radcliff, for the delivery of some store rabbits
to stock his warren.

Letters of humour were very rare in this early period, and this is a curious
specimen of that species of writing. James Radcliff appears an exact counter-
part of a modern sportsman, and we cannot read this letter without comparing
him with our present setters of man-traps and spring-guns, to deter every one
from coming near, or even looking at, that game, which these despotic poachers
live only to destroy. The diversions which the gun and dog afford, when
used with moderation, produce health and pleasure to their followers; but
when carried to the excess exhibited in modern times, both by the great, and
by some of those whose small property gives them no such pretensions, they
become the destruction of friendship, and the bane of good neighbourhood. I
do not wish my reader to suppose that I speak thus warmly against the mo-
dern preservers of game (as they call themselves), from any restrictions I may
feel myself subject to by the present laws. I am no sportsman; if I were, the
providence of my ancestors has given me a power of indulging myself in those
amusements, sufficient for the wishes of any moderate sportsman. I would
have these diversions pursued with moderation, and as a relaxation from more
serious studies; I could wish likewise that those who are blessed with royal-
ties and large possessions would indulge their friends and neighbours in mode-
rately partaking of those amusements which they themselves prize so highly.

At present, the confused number of game laws disgrace our statute-book,
some of them being absurd, others tyrannical, and many contradictory.

The qualification by estate to kill game in Henry the Seventh?s time was
forty shillings a year.

A warren is, properly, a place privileged by prescription, or grant of the
king, for the preservation of the beasts and fowls of warren, namely, hares,
conies, partridges and pheasants,

Free warren is a franchise erected for the preservation or custody of the
beasts and fowls of warren; and he who has a grant of such a franchise is
really a royal game-keeper; but no man can by common law justify sporting on
another’s soil, unless he has this liberty.

Sir John Radcliff, or Ratcliff, was summoned to parliament as Lord Fitz-
walter, in 1485, 1 H. VII. in right of his mother Elizabeth, heir of Walter Lord
Fitzwalter. He was attainted and beheaded for being concerned in the plot
of Perkin Warbeck in 1498.

The exact date of this letter is uncertain and immaterial; I have supposed
it written about 1490. It has no direction.

LETTER XX.

HUMBLY beseecheth your good Lordship, your daily servant
and beadsman, John Paston, more caitiff than knight, that
it may please you of your special grace to direct out your
letters, signed with your hand and sealed with your seal, to
the dreadful man James Radcliff, of Billingford, Esquire,
farmer of your warren there; out of whose warren, no man-
ner of man nor vermin dare take on him, for doubts of your
said dreadfull [man], to take or carry away any of your
game there, for fear of being hanged up among other mis-
doers and forfeitors, as weasels, lobsters [stoats], polecats,
basarts [hawks], and main curs; that the said James shall,
upon the sight of your said writing, deliver, or cause to be
delivered, to your said beseecher, or to his deputy, deliverer
of your said letters, at his first sight of the same, six couple
of black conies or running rabbits, or some black and some
white, to the said number, to store with a new ground of
your said beseecher at Oxnead, more like a pinfold than a
park; and your said beseecher shall daily pray to God for
the preservation of your noble estate long to endure.

About 1490.
6 H. vii.