[Sidenote: 1487]
Right worchupfull serys, we recomaunde us all unto you in oure most
herty wyse. And it is so that longe and many yerys ther hath ben hangyng
a grete variaunce and a growge bitwix Annes Paston deceassed, late the
wyff of William Paston, Justice, and William Paston now lyvyng, and
Clement Paston deceassid, ther sones, one the oone parte, and John
Paston, the sone of the seide William Paston, Justice, and of the seide
Annes his wiff, also deceassid, and Ser John Paston, Knyght, deceassed,
and John Paston yet lyvyng, sones to the seide John deceassid, on the
othir parte. And now the seide variaunce contynueth betwixe the seide
William and John that now is lyvyng of and upon the right, title, and
possessioun of the maners of Sporle, Woodhall, Pagrave, Cressyngham,
Swaynesthorpe, and Est Bekham, all [in] this cuntre of Norffolk.
Likith it you to wete that the seide William Paston, Justice, in his
lyve was a speciall lover and frende to our monastery, and for synguler
love and trust that he hadde to be remembred amonge us after hys
deceasse, not with stondyng h[e de]yed at London, yet he bequest his
body to be beryed, and is beryed in the chapell of Our Lady with inne
oure monastery. [And] the seide William Paston, Justice, oftyn and many
tymes in his pleyn lyfe, the seide Annes beyng present, he shewed unto
the Priour of our monastery that was than, called Dawn John
Heverlonde,[96-1] and to Dawn John Molett,[96-2] that was Priour after,
to Dawn John Fornsett, Doctour of Devynyte, Dawn Richerd Walsham, our
sexten, and to Dawn John Wechyngham, and to many dyverse other that were
of his acqueyntaunce, and that he had trust unto to breke his mynde for
the wele of his soule, that were thanne olde fadirs of our monastery,
and arn now decessed, that it was his verry last will that ought of the
seide maners schuld be perpetually immortaysed a serteyn londe, or
annuyte of suche valewe, that every suche monke that syngith the last
messe in the seide chapell, wher the body of the seide William Paston
light beryed, schuld have that day that he songe messe ther iiij_d._ to
pray for the soules of the seide William, and of Annes his wif, and for
ther auncetrys, kynred, consanguynyte, affynyte, and frendes, and for
all Cristen soules; and over that, a serteyn summe of money yerly to be
payed to have the obytt of the seide William and Annes zerly kept with
_dirige_ and masse in the seide chapell.
And it is so that many yeres aftir the decesse of the seide William,
Justice, ther were many men lyvyng bothe of olde brethern of oures afore
rehersyd, and of other that cowde aborne witnesse in this mater, and
that knewe the mynde of the seide William Paston, Justice, that it was
his last will, of whiche men many now be deceassed; and no merveill, for
it is upon a xliij. yere past sithen the seide William, Justice, deyed.
And also the seide Annes that was hys wif lyved more thanne xxx. wynter
aftir hir husbonde, and was in singuler trust with her husbonde, and one
of his executours, and wele knowen in this cuntre, a woman of vertuos
lyvyng and disposicion, and of goode discrecioun and conscience, and
knewe hir husbondes mynde and last will as wele as ony lyvyng creature;
she witnessed alway that it was hire husbondes last will to have this
perpetuall messe, and called on it all the dayes of hir lyfe, and also
atte her decesse; and sche seide that [it] was the will of her husbonde
that the annuyte schulde go oute of the seide maner of Swaynesthorpe.
The seide John Paston decessed wolde have hadde it graunted owte of the
seide maner of Cressyngham; and summe of the executours wolde have hadde
the seide messe to a contynued but for the terme of iiij^xx. yere, and
wolde have made writyng accordyng; but the seide Annes wolde not ther
of, but seide alway that it was the last will of hir husbonde to have
the messe made perpetuall, and the executours schewid to us that they
wolde se the wyll perfourmed; and ther upon the executours, be ther
comon assent, lefte a cofre with a grete substaunce of money of the
goodes of the seide William, Justice, to be kepte with inne our
monastery, and tolde and schewed to us that the seide gode schuld never
be departid nor hadde oute of our place till we wer made sure of the
seide annuyte. And duryng all that season that the seide cofer with the
goodes was with ynne our monastery, it was alway schewid to us that the
seide annuyte schulde be mortaysed in perpetuyte, and duryng all that
season that the seid cofer was in our place, we hadde money yerly yoven
us to pray for his soule to kepe [his obytt][97-1]; and be menys devysed
with oute the knowleche of the seide Annes, or of ony of our brethern,
all the goode that was in the seide cofre was conveyed oute of our
monastery, and after that dede done, ther was no more money yoven us,
nowther to kepe the seide obit, ner to pray for the soull of the seide
William, as be the seide executours, savyng that the seide Annes, duryng
her lyve, yaff us of hir owne cost yerly to remembre the soule, and that
that hath be done sythen, hath be don of our owne devocion, and this
many zerys ther hath no thing be yoven us, notwithstondyng of our own
devocion we have rehersid his name in oure bede rolle every Sonday.
And now it is informed us that as wele the seide William as the seide
John hath putt all ther title and interest, as wele in and of all the
seide maners, londes, and tenementys as of the seide goodes in the
awarde and jugement of the Right Reverend Fader in God, my Lord of
Ely,[98-1] Chaunceler of Inglond, Ser Reynold Bray, Knyght, and in you
tweyne. And in asmoche as ze be of our cuntre and speciall frendes to
our monastery, and longest acqueyntyd with you, that makith me and all
my brethren the more bolde to schewe this our mater and interest unto
you, beseching yow bothe to tendre the mater, and to schewe it bothe to
my Lorde of Ely and to Ser Reynolde Bray, that atte suche tyme as ze
have the examynacion of the title of theise seide maners, that ze will
vouche saff of your charite to schewe this mater and our interest in
this behalf, and of the seide annuyte, and how that we aught of right to
have a graunt of it oute of the seide maners.
And in this mater we hertily pray yow to take remembraunce and speciall
labour, so that we may trust that it schall not askape your handes, nowe
that the mater is putte in yowe; and all our monastery schall pray for
you, and also rewarde you to your plesur, and over that, ze schall do
her in suche a goode dede that God schall rewarde you.
Wretyn in our monastery, the ----[98-2] day of ----,[98-2] the secunde
yer of the regne of Kyng Herry the vij^th.
By JOHN, Prior off Northwich
and the Covent.
[Footnote 95-2: [From Paston MSS., B.M.] The writer of this letter
was John Bonwell, who was made Prior of Norwich in 1480, and died
in 1488. As it is actually dated in the second year of Henry VII.,
it must have been written either after the 22nd August in 1486 or
before that date in 1487. Most probably it is of the latter year.
It is endorsed in a contemporaneous hand--‘Billa Prioris Norwic’
pro missa perpetue fundanda.’ One or two words are now lost by the
decay of the paper, which seem to have been visible in the text
when Fenn copied the MS. for his fifth volume.]
[Footnote 96-1: John Haverland was Prior of Norwich from 1436 to
1453.]
[Footnote 96-2: Prior from 1453 to 1471.]
[Footnote 97-1: The writing is here blurred and indistinct, being
written on an erasure.]
[Footnote 98-1: John Alcock.]
[Footnote 98-2: Blanks in MS.]
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