[Footnote 228.1: [From Fenn, iii. 238.] The date of this letter
is quite uncertain. Fenn assigns it to the year 1454, when Lent
began very late, as it is evident the herrings and eels referred
to were intended as provision for that season. This conjecture
may be correct; but it must be noted that John Paston was at
home at Norwich, if not in the beginning of Lent, at least on
the fourth Sunday of Lent in 1454. Moreover, if the date of this
letter, ‘Monday next after St. Edward,’ means after the 18th
March, which was the day of St. Edward the King and Martyr, the
year 1451 would suit rather better than 1454; for, in the former
year, the Monday after St. Edward’s day would be the 22nd of
March, and Ash Wednesday the 10th, while in the latter the
Monday after St. Edward would be the 25th, and Ash Wednesday the
6th, so that the provision of herrings would be very late.]
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