_To my ryght tristy and welbelovede Cosin and Frende, John Fastolf,
and Sir John Kirtelinge, Parson of Arkesay._
[Sidenote: 1449 / OCT. 31]
Trusty and welbeloved frendz, y grete yow wel. And for as moche as y
have appointed with my sone, Stephen Scrope, lyke as y sende yow the
appointement writen hereafter in this letter, the whiche appointement y
woll ye fulfylle be the avys of my counsel in that at longeth to my
party, like as hit ys writen.
Thys ys the appointement made be twene Sir John Fastolf, Knight, and
Stephen Scrope, Squier, in the maner as here after hit ys writen:--
Fyrst, for as moche as the mariage of the saide Stephen Scrope was
solde[114.1] to Sir William Gascoyng, the Chefe Justice of Englonde, for
v^c. [500] marke, with the whiche mariage was deliverd in hande to the
sayde Gascoyng the maner of Wyghton on the Wolde, in Yorke schyre, with
the apertenance of the saide maner; and whan the sayde Gascoyng hade
hym, he wolde have solde hym agayn, or maried the saide Stephen Scrope
ther [_where_] he schulde have byn despareiged: wherefore, at the
request of the sayde Scrope and hys frendes, the saide Fastolf boght the
ma[ri]age of the saide Scrope of the saide Sir William Gascoyng for v^c.
marke, wherby the saide Fastolf hath mariage of the saide Stephen
Scrope, or elles to have the saide somme of v^c. marke that he payde for
hym, like as hit ys above sayde.
Item, for as moche as the sayde Stephen Scrope ys comyn to the saide
Fastolf, sayinge that he hath fownde wey to be maried at his lyst, and
also for his worschippe and profyt, so that the saide Fastolf woll
consent therto, that ys to say, to Fauconeris doughter of London, that
Sir Reynalde Cobham[114.2] had weddid.
Item, for as hit ys the saide Fastolf ys wille to forther and helpe the
saide Scrope in any wize ther he may be fortherede, the sayde Fastolf
consenteth that the sayde Scrope marie hym to the Fauconeris doughter,
with that that the sayde Fauconer gyf to the sayde Fastolf the saide
somme of v^c. marke, the whiche he payde for the saide Scrope.
Item, yf that the sayde Stephen Scrope pay or do pay the somme afore
sayde of v^c. marke sterling, than the sayde Sir John Fastolf and Dame
Mylicent,[114.3] his wyf, schall make astate of the said maner of
Wyghton on the Wolde in Yorke schyre, with the apertenaunce of the sayde
maner, to the saide Stephen Scrope and to the woman, the whiche schalbe
his wyf, and to here eyres of here bodyes begete be twix hem two.
Item, yef the sayde Stephen dye with oute eyre of his body begeten, than
the sayde maner of Wyghton, after the descece of the saide hys wyf,
schall retourne agayne to the sayde Fastolf and Dame Mylicent, his wyf,
and to the eyres of the sayde Mylicent.
Item, yf so be that the sayde Fauconer wilnot pay the sayde somme of
v^c. marke, bot peraventure wolde gyf a lesse somme, then the sayde
Fastolf wyl deliver to the mariage of the saide Scrope certayn londe,
havynge rewarde to the somme that the sayde Fauconer wil gyf, havyng
rewarde to the afferrant of xl. pounde worthe land and v^c. mark of
golde.
Item, if that the sayde Fauconer wilnot gyf no somme of golde for the
sayde mariage, the sayde Fastolf wyl take the mariage of the childe that
ys eyre to the forsaide Sir Reynolde Cobham, and that the sayde Scrope
forto conferme the estat hys moder has made to the saide Fastolf, yf so
be that the consel of the saide Fastolf se by thaire avys that hit be
for to do, and that the said mariage may be [as] moche worth to the said
Fastolf as v^c. mark.
Item, ze sende me be Raufm[an an] answare o[f] the letters that y sende
yow, that I may have ve[ray] knolage how that hit standys with me ther
in al maner of thynges, and that I [h]ave an answare of every article
that y wrote to yow.
Item, for as moche as that I am bonden for my Lord Scales[115.1] to my
Lord Cardnale[115.2] in v^c. mark, the qu[ech] somme he kan not fynd no
way to pay hit, on lese then that he sel a parcel of his land; quer fore
he sendis ower a man of his called Pessemerche, with whom I wil that ze
spek, and se be zore avis whech of the places of my said Lord Scales
that standis most cler to be solde; and if the place that is beside
W[a]lsyngham stand cler, I have hit lever then the tother; and therfore
I pray [z]ow that ze make apointement with the said Pesemerche in the
best wise that ze may, athir of the ton place or the tother, and or ze
let take hit after xx. zere, havyn[g] rewarde to the verray val[u]
therof, and as ze don send me worde be the next massager.
Item, my Lord of Hungerford[116.1] has writen to me for to have the
warde of Robert Monpyns[on]is sone, wher of I am agreed that he schal
[have] hit like as I has wretyn to hym in a letter, of the whech I send
zow a cope closed here in: wher fore I pray zow to enquere of the verray
valu of the land that Monpynson haldis of me, and sendis me word in
hast; for my said Lord Hungerford sais in his letter that hit is worth
bot xl_s._ a zere aboufe the rentis, as ze may se the letter that he
sent me, the q[uec]h I send zow be my son Scrope. And I pray zow to
demene zow to my said Lord as eesely as ze may in this mater and al
other that I have to do with hym, as ze may se be the cope aforesaid.
And or (_sic_) have zow in his kepyng. Wretyn at Roan (?)[116.2] the
last day of October.