William Paston to -

10

WILLIAM PASTON TO ——²

RIGHT worthy and worshepefull Sir, I recommaunde
     me to yow, and thank yow for the good, trew, and
     diligent labour ye have hadde for the matier betwen
the Priour of Bromholme³ and his commoigne⁴ apostata, Johne
Wortes, that namythe hym self Paston, and affermith hym
untrewely to be my cousyn. [I have many pouere men of my
kyn, but so fals, and so pouere,—but he was nevere of my
kyn.]¹ God defende that any of my saide kyn shuld be of
swyche governaunce as he is of! Maister John Ixworthe told
me that he hadde lettres fro a frende of yowres in the courtt of
Rome, that is of the seyd prioures counseill in this mater as ye
be, whos name I knowe nought, specifyeng that the seyd John
Wortes adversarius prioris desperat in causa et concordiam
quærit. It is told me sithen that the seyd John Wortes is in
the cite of Rome, sacred a bysshop of Irland, videlicet episcopus
Corcagensis, wherby it is seyd here that his pretense of his title
to the priourie of Bromholme is adnulled, and voide in your
lawe. The seyd John Wortes, and a contreman of myne in
the seyd court, Maister John Urry, have sent me lettres,
wherof I sende yow copies and a trewe instruccion of the seyd
matier closed with this bille, the whiche lettres and the matier
ther of me semyth mervaillous and straunge. A prest of
Norffolk, that spak with yow in Julie or August last passed,
told me that he yede with yow to the cardinales hous, Trikari-
censis,² to espie if any swyche processe were sued ageyn me as
the seyd lettres specifien, and that ye told the same prest at alle
tymes ther was than no swiche processe sued, ne had; the
whiche relacion I trust and beleve bettre than the seyd lettres.
I have, by advys of counseill, in makyng a procuracie ad
agendum, defendendum, provocandum, et appellandum to yow and
the seyd Maister John Urry and the Wynsalaw (?) de Swysto;
and also a general appelle, the engrossyng of wyche the messager
of this bill myght nought abide; the whiche procuracie and
appelle I shal sende to yowr persone, tantummodo [cum
pecuniis],³ with moneye onward, on trust. My will is, ye
have the chief governaunce of this matier, and that this article
be counseille [i.e., secret]; wher upon I prey yow hertily to be
saddely avysed in these matiers, and, as nede is, so to governe
hem by your wysdom, that the seyd prioures estat and honeste,
and myn also, to yowr worshepe be saved; and that, in alle
haste resonable, ye lyke to sende me redes lettres of alle the
seyd matier, and the circumstances ther of, and who ye wil I
be governed in this mater. I was nevere somouned, ne never
hadde tydynges of this matier but by seyd lettres and other
fleyng tales that I heve herd sithen, ne nevere hadde to do
more with the seyd John Wortes than is specified in the seyd
instruccion. Al myghty God have yow in His governaunce.
Writen at London, the v. day of Novembre.

                                                           Yowre frend unknowen.¹

A Instruccion and Informacion of the verray trewe matier betwen
     the Priour and the Covent of Bromholm and the seyd John and
     me, as I am enformed, and as I knowe touchant my persone
     and the² ——.

 that Sir John Paston,³ ut asserit, hath optyned me condempnyd
to hym in CCC[vij.]⁴ marcz and C.s.; and that the same John,
atte reverence of your right worthy persone, hathe cesed of his
sute of certeins processes ageyns me up on the seyd condemp-
nacion, takyng continuance⁵ of the same matier unto Criste-
masse next comyng; by which lettres ye conseille me to make
ende with the seyd John, ne deterius inde contingat. I [s]end
yow, closed with this bille, [the]⁶ copie of un frendly lettre
that the seyd John hathe sent to me late, touchant the same
matier. The seyd priour hath sent also to yow, and to
Mayster William Swan, whiche longe hathe be his procurator,
a procuracie for my person, and v. marcz of moneye onward.
Wher up, in the seyd prioures name, and in myn own also, I
prey yow hertily to sette al these matieres in continuaunce un
to yowr comyng in to Ingeland; and because ye arn here
beneficed, owr cuntreman, and of worshepe and cunnyng
worthyly endowed, the seyd priour and his brether, and I also,
willen gladdely in these matieres be treted by yow; and if this
mesure be accepted, and we may have knowyng here ther of,
it shall cause the attemptacion of diverses matieres a geyn
summe frendes of the seyd John to cese. And if this con-
tinuance be refused, I prey yow, with al my power, that of
your wysdom and good discrecion ye wille, in the seyd
prioures name, and myn, defenden the seyd sutes, and alle
other that the seyd Johne sueth ageyn the seyd priour and me,
in your best maner, and to be of owr counseill in these
matieres; and as ye lyke resonablely to write to us, so we wil
be governed in yowre rewarde, and al other circumstaunces of
the same matieres.¹ I conceyve by your seyd lettres that the
grece of the matier conteigned in the same ye have of the
informacion and assercion of the seyd John, and as he hath
enformed yow, I wot weel ye trewely writen; but I hope and
trust verrayly the matier of his informacion is untrewe [for he
hathe no cause to swe to me, ne I was nevre somouned ne
cited].² The priour of Bromholm sued ageyn the seyd John
and other in Ingeland a wryt of præmunire facias, and I was
therin of the same prioures counseill as the lawe of Ingelond
and myn office willen, and more I have nought hadde to do
with the seyd Johne, and I can nought beleve that in this cas
the same Johne myght by your lawe any swich sute have ageyn
me as your lettre specifieth. Also William, the prest specified
in yowr [letter],³ told me that he, after that ye told hym of
this matier, lyke as yewrce (?), he comuned with Maister
William Swan, and he told the seyd prest ther no processe in
the courte ageyn me in no maner——.⁴

The above two documents are from a corrected draft, written on one side of
a broad sheet of paper. On the other side is a long Latin pleading, also much
corrected, relative to the Abbey of Bermondsey; prefixed to which are the
following words, in the same hand as the preceding letters:—

     ‘Sir, do writen ij. copies of this note in papier, wyde writen, and gete a
copie of the writte in the Eschekyr ageyn.’

     The pleading referred to is in a different hand, and begins as follows:—

     ‘Et prædictus abbas dicit quod ipse de praemissis domino Regi compotum
reddere non debet; quia dicit quod diu ante erectionem, fundationem sive
erectionem prioratus de Bermundeseye qui nunc erectus est in prædictam
Abbatiam, Willielmus Rufus filius Willelmi Conquestoris nuper Rex Angliae
fuit seisitus d emanerio de Bermundeseye,’ etc.

² [From Paston MSS., B.M.] This letter, being dated in November, was probably
written before Nos. 11 and 12 which follow, though evidently very near them in point
of date. The chief evidence of the time when they all must have been written will be
seen in No. 12.

     ³ Who this Prior was we cannot say, the list of the Priors of Bromholm being
very defective. Blomefield says, that a Prior John has been met with in the 11th of
Edward III., and Robert, in the 14th of Henry VI.—that is to say, in 1435 or 1436,
just ninety-nine years later. Nothing is known of the Priors between these dates,
even by the latest editors of Dugdale.

     ⁴ ‘Commoigne,’ i.e. brother monk. The writer also calls him apostata, i.e. a
monk who has run away and renounced his order.

     ¹ These words occur in the draft, but are crossed out.

     ² Thomas Brancaccio, Cardinal Bishop of Tricarico. He was made a cardinal
by his uncle, Pope John XXIII., and is said to have been a man of very bad morals.

     ³ Interlined, and afterwards erased.

     ¹ Above these words, and in the place where the signature might have been
expected, occur these names, one above another—

                                                               ‘Thomas Abbas de Leyston, in Com’ Suff.

                                                               ‘Ricardus Fremelyngham, concanonichus ibidem.’

They do not, however, appear to be connected with the letter. The following words
are also scrawled between this letter and the next:—’N. persona ecclesiæ de Testerton
in Com’ Norff. Gees Cuttyng. Joh’ persona ecclesiæ de Yermuth (?), Alicia
Gosloth (?).’                                                                           ² Sic.

     ³ The title ‘Sir’ was at this time commonly prefixed to a priest’s name.

     ⁴ The ‘vij.’ is struck out.        ⁵ Contiaūce, MS. here and after.       ⁶ Struck out.

     ¹ Here occur the following words, crossed out:—’Ferthermore, touchant my
persone, I mervaille that the seyd —— Ferthermore.’           ² Struck out.

     ³ Omitted in MS.                                             ⁴ The draft here ends abruptly.

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