Will of Agnes Paston

645

WILL OF AGNES PASTON²

     B.—And after that the —— day of the monethe my seyd
husbond lyyng seke on hys bede sent for me, John Paston,
Bakton, and John a Dame, to here hiis wyll rede; and in owr
presens all he began to reede hiis wylle, and spak fyst of me,
and assynyid to me the maners of Paston, Latymer, and
Schypden and Ropers, in Crowmer, for terme of my lyffe,
and the manerys of Merlyngforthe, Stonsted, and Horwel-
bury, whyche wasse myn owne enheritans, and Oxned, whyche
wasse my jontor, and [prayd me to hold me contente so, for]³
hadde do to lityll to ony it wasse to me, for somme he faryd
the better, and so devedede (?) he ded for not of hem all, but
he hadde more to care for, wyche myn as well as hys. And
than he red John parte, and assynyd to hym and to hys wyffe
the maner of Gressam, and after my desesse the maner of
Oxned; and he, thynkyng by John Pastons demenyng that
he wasse not plesyd because . . . .

     C.—Swynne of slowyth that hiis wyll wasse not made up,
but wot swm ever cwm of me, Dame, I wyll ze know my wyll,
and seyd that swyche lond as he hadde not wrytyn in hiis wyll
wott xwlde he do with all, he wold his ij. yongest sonnys,
Wyllam and Clement, xwlde have, and owte of Sweynthorpe
to have hiis perpetuell masse. And of thys prayd me to
reporte recorde and berre wyttnesse; in qwyche disposicion
and intent he continuyd in on to the day of hiis dethe, and I
darre rytgh largely deposse that that same wasse hiis last wyll
the tyme of hiis dethe; qwyche wyll immediatly after my
husbondes decesse I hopynd and declaryd to John Paston and
al the other executores of my husbond, desyeryng, hem to
have performyd it. And the seyd John Paston wold in no
wysse agree ther to, seyying that by the lawe the seyd manerys
xulde be hiis, in as moche as my husbonde made no wyll of
hem in wrytyn, and gatte the dedis owte of my possession and
estat of the feffees in the seyde manerys, myn unknowyng.

     And after that swyche tresowre of my husbons as wasse
leyde in the Abbey of Norwyche by the seyd John Paston,
John Bakton, John Dam, and me, to delyvere azen to us all,
the seyde John Paston owte of the seyde Abbey unknowyn to
the priour or ony oder person of the seyde Abbey, and with-
owte my wetyn[g] and assente, or ony of owre felawys, toke
and bare awey all, and kepyng it styll azens my wyll and
all the tother executores wyllys, nothere restoryng the seid
Wyllam and Clement to the forseyd land, nother recompensyng
them of my husbonds tresor, and ordeynyng for my husbonds
sowle in havyng of hiis perpetuell masse acordyng to his wyll.
Werfor, in as moche as I know and understonde verrely that
it wasse my husbonds wyll the tyme of hys dethe, that the
seyd Wyllam and Clement xwlde have the seyd manerys of
Sporle, Sweynsthorp, and Bekham, and the annuyte for hys
perpetuell masse to be going owte of the seyde maner of
Sweynthorp, and that the possessioners of the seyd manerys at
thys day wyll in no wysse by any fayer menez or spekyng
tender my seyd husbonds sowle and myn, ner perform the
wyll of my seyd husbond, I wyll have and xall by the gras[e]
of swyche lyvelode as I have in my possession, that is for to
sey, the maners of Stonsted, Marlyngforthe, and Horwellbury,
that swm tym wasse my faders and my moders, and cwm on
to me by them as myn enheritance. And after my decesse if
I wolde soffer it to desend, xwld goo to the wronge posses-
sioners of the seyd manerys of Sporle, Sweynsthorp, and
Bekham, qwyche xall not be lettyd for me, but if it be thorow
her owne defaute, make, sta[b]lesse and ordeyn myn husbonds
perpetuell masse and myn, and of the remenaunt, as swerly as
can be made by the lawe, I wyll the seyd Wyllam and Clement
be recompensyd to the valew of the seyde manerys of Sporle,
Sweynthorpe, and Bekkam, zerly [yearly], on to the tyme that
they be restoryd to the forseyd manerys of Sporle, Sweynthorp,
and Bekkam, in lik forme, and lyke astat as xall be afterwards
lymytyd in thys my last¹ [will; chargyng and requiryng the
seyd Wyllam and Clement that after that they be restoryd to
the manerys of Sporle, Sweynsthorp, and Bekam, they restore
myn heyres to Marlyngforthe, Stons[ted], and Orwelbury.]

     ² [From Paston MSS.] The following appear to be three separate fragments of an
original draft of Agnes Paston’s will, written on two sides of a small scrap of paper.
Two of these fragments have the letters B and D prefixed to them, showing that they
were intended as insertions in a part of the text now lost.

     ³ These words are struck through with the pen.

     ¹ The word ‘will’ is omitted in the MS., and the words ‘my last’ repeated. What
follows is crossed out.