William Botober to -

401

WILLIAM BOTONER TO ——²

      A VERY frende at nede experience will schewe be deede,
          as wele as be autorite of Aristotle in the Etiques that
          he made of moralite. Also by the famous Reamayn
Tullius in his litell booke De Amicicia; thangyng you for olde
contynued frendschip stidffastely grounded, as I wele [qu.
feel?] be your letter of a goode disposicion made, as it appereth.
Where as it schewith to the understandyng of suche as you
write uppon that I schulde, be crafty councell of some men
sodenly have departed in to these parties, &c., and that I
straunched me from sertein persones to moche, &c.; as for
the furste, it schalbe to openly knowe that I departed not
hedre be councell of suche persons as they ymagyne, for in
trowthe no creature levyng, when I departed from Norwich,
knewe of it, saffe one that hath and evermore schal be next of
my knowlege in viagis makyng, alle be it I will not alwey
disclose the cause. I herde sey sith I come to London theye
weche ye dempte to be of my councell thanne where at
Wolsyngham or Thepala (?) when I departed. I have wrete
the cauce to hym that of nature schulde be my beste frende,
that for as much I had labored as weele as W. Paston do my
maister frendes, chevised, and leyd money content out of his
purse to the some of Cli., and more for cloothe and other
thynges for my seide maister entencion, promyttyng payment
be fore Cristemesse, or right soone aftir, or to be at London,
and acquytyng me that I put me my dever. And be cause
my maister attorneys in that parties toke not to herte to make
the payementes here so hastely as they ded there, I had no
comffortable answere of spedyng the seid paymentes here.
And also I was not put in truste a mong the seid attorneys
there to yeve on peny for my maister sowle, but I paid it of
myn owne purse befoore; nother in trust ne favour to geve
an almesse gowne, but that I praid for it as a straunger schulde
doo, alle be it myn autorite is as grete as theris, and rather
more as I tolde you. And also my Lorde of Canturebury and
Maister John Stookes, his juge, had geve autorite to ministre
to a certein somme till the testament were proved. And these
preseidents consedred wolde discorage any man to a bide but
a litel amonges hem that so straunged hem self from me and
mistrusted me, be thut any cauce ye knowe wele how that
my maister man servauntes were put in gretter truste and
familiarite to handell, geve, and telle out of the bagghes my
maister money bothe at Seint Benetts and in Norwich in divers
places by grete summes and litell. And ye as other my
maister servauntes and I that helped gete my maister goode
and brynge it togedre were straunged, and as it semyd by
there demenyng mistrusted to oure grete vilanye and rebuke,
wheche muste be answerd the causes why, and we declared
[i.e. exculpated], and so shal I make it for my pore person,
and for my maister sowle heele. It is not soilied (?) knowen
that I was one of the cheeffe that kepte bothe my Maister
Paston and myn oncle¹ in my maister favour and truste, and
if I wolde have labored the contrary, by my sowle—that is the
grettest othe that I may swere of my silff—they had never be
nygh my maister in that case they stonde nowe. And if they
woll labour to damage or hendre me, all the worlde woll
mysreporte of hem and litel truste hem, nowther they schal
not have wurschip nor profight bi it. I wolde be to them
as lowyng and as wele willyng as I gan, so I fynde cause, and
other I wolnot be to my fadre, and he weere a liffe. I requere
you a[n]swere for me as I wolde and have do for you whan
som of hem have seid ful nakedly of you, and suche as ye
deeme hafe mysereported causeles of me, I pray you that they
see my letter as weele as my frendes. My maister also (God
yelded is sowle) graunted to me a liffelode accordyng to my
degre, that I, my wiffe, and my childre, schulde have cause to
prey for hym. My wiffes uncle¹ was present in his chapell at
Castre as wele as my wiffe, and comaunded her oncle to chese
the londe. This is trowthe be the blissed Sacrament that I
receyved at Pasch [i.e. Easter]. And because I demaunded
my right and dwte of my Maister Paston, he is not plesed.
I have lost more thanne x. mark worthe londe in my maister
servyce, by God, and not [unless] I be releved, alle the worlde
schal knowe it elles that I have to gret wrong. Wolde God
I kowde plese bothe Maister Paston and my oncle in reson,
who preserve you.

     Wrete hastely the vij. day of Feveryere.

                                                     Your,

                                                  W. BOTONER, dit Wurcester.

     ² [From Paston MSS., B.M.] The MS. of this letter is not an original, but a copy
in the handwriting of John Paston. It appears to be written on the cover of a letter
from his wife, addressed on the back, ‘To my ryght wurschipfull husbond, John
Paston, be this delyvered in haste.’ The date must be 1460, as it is clearly not long
after the death of Sir John Fastolf; and as the writer speaks of having recently left
Norwich, it was probably not many days or weeks after No. 399.

     ¹ Botoner’s wife, whose Christian name was Margaret, was a niece of Thomas
Howes, parson of Blofield. He therefore calls Howes his uncle.

¹ See Note on last page.

1460
FEB. 7

1460
FEB. 7

1460
FEB. 7