The Paston Letters Volume Ii Part 61

ELYZABETH.

[Footnote 295.1: [Douce MS. 393, f. 82.]]

235

NEWSLETTER OF JOHN STODELEY[295.2]

[Sidenote: 1454 / JAN. 19]

As touchyng tythynges, please it you to wite that at the Princes[295.3]

comyng to Wyndesore, the Duc of Buk' toke hym in his armes and presented hym to the Kyng in G.o.dely wise, besechyng the Kyng to blisse hym; and the Kyng yave no maner answere. Natheless the Duk abode stille with the Prince by the Kyng; and whan he coude no maner answere have, the Queene come in, and toke the Prince in hir armes and presented hym in like forme as the Duke had done, desiryng that he shuld blisse it; but alle their labour was in veyne, for they departed thens without any answere or countenaunce savyng only that ones he loked on the Prince and caste doune his eyene ayen, without any more.

Item, the Cardinalle[296.1] hathe charged and commaunded alle his servauntz to be redy with bowe and arwes, swerd and bokeler, crossebowes, and alle other habillementes of werre, suche as thei kun medle with to awaite upon the saufgarde of his persone.

Item, th'erle of Wiltshire[296.2] and the Lord Bonvile have done to be cryed at Taunton in Somerset shire, that every man that is likly and wole go with theym and serve theym, shalle have vj_d._ every day as long as he abidethe with theym.

Item, the Duk of Excestre[296.3] in his owne persone hathe ben at Tuxforthe beside Dancastre, in the north contree, and there the Lord Egremond[296.4] mette hym, and thei ij. ben sworne togider, and the Duke is come home agein.

Item, th'erle of Wiltshire, the Lord Beaumont, Ponynges, Clyfford, Egremond, and Bonvyle, maken all the puissance they kan and may to come hider with theym.

Item, Thorpe[296.5] of th'escheker articuleth fast ayenst the Duke of York, but what his articles ben it is yit unknowen.

Item, Tresham,[296.6] Josep,[296.7] Danyelle,[296.8] and Trevilian[296.9] have made a bille to the Lordes, desiryng to have a garisone kept at Wyndesore for the saufgarde of the Kyng and of the Prince, and that they may have money for wages of theym and other that shulle kepe the garyson.

Item, the Duc of Buk' hathe do to be made M^{l}. M^{l}. [2000] bendes with knottes, to what entent men may construe as their wittes wole yeve theym.

Item, the Duke of Somersetes herbergeour hath taken up all the loggyng that may be goten nere the Toure, in Thamystrete, Martlane, Seint Katerines, Tourehille, and there aboute.

Item, the Queene hathe made a bille of five articles, desiryng those articles to be graunted; wherof the first is that she desireth to have the hole reule of this land; the second is that she may make the Chaunceller, the Tresorere, the Prive Seelle, and alle other officers of this land, with shireves and alle other officers that the Kyng shuld make; the third is, that she may yeve alle the bisshopriches of this land, and alle other benefices longyng to the Kynges yift; the iiij^th is that she may have suffisant lyvelode a.s.signed hir for the Kyng and the Prince and hir self. But as for the v^th article, I kan nat yit knowe what it is.

Item, the Duke of York wole be at Londone justly on Fryday next comyng[297.1] at night, as his owne men tellen for certain, and he wole come with his houshold meynee, clenly beseen and likly men. And th'erle of Marche[297.2] cometh with hym, but he will have a nother feliship of G.o.de men that shall be at Londone before hym ... that he is come; and suche jakkes, salettes, and other herneys as his meyne shulle have, shalle come to Londone with hem, or before hem in cartes. The Erle of Salesbury[297.3] wille be at Lon[don] on Monday[297.4] or Tywesday next comyng with seven score knyghtes and squyers, beside other meynee. The Erles of Warwyk,[297.5] Richemond,[297.6] and Pembroke[298.1] comen with the Duke of Yorke, as it is seide, everych of theym with a G.o.dely feliship. And natheles th'erle of Warwyk wole have M^{l}. men awaityng on hym beside the feliship that cometh with hym, as ferre as I can knowe. And as Geffrey Poole seithe, the Kynges bretherne ben like to be arrested at their comyng to Londone, yf thei come. Wherfore it is thought by my Lordes[298.2] servauntz and welwillers here that my Lord, at his comyng hider, shalle come with a G.o.de and clenly feliship, suche as is likly and accordyng to his estate to have aboute hym; and their harneys to come in cartes, as my Lord of Yorkes mennes harneys did the last terme, and shalle at this tyme also. And over that, that my Lord have a nother G.o.de feliship to awaite on hym and to be here afore hym, or els sone after hym, in like wise as other Lordes of his blode wole have.

And for the more redynesse of suche feliship to be hade redy, that my Lord send sadde and wise messagers to his servauntz and tenauntz in Suss.e.x and elswhere, that they be redy at London ayenst his comyng, to awaite on my Lord; but lete my Lord beware of writyng of lettres for theym, lest the lettres be delivered to the Cardynalle and Lordes, as one of my Lordes lettres was nowe late, for perill that myght falle, for that lettre hathe done moche harme and no G.o.de.

And as for suche tydynges as ben contened in the lettre sent home by John Sumpterman, I can nat hiderto here the contrarie of any of theym, but that every man that is of th'opynion of the Duke of Somerset[298.3]

makethe hym redy to be as stronge as he kan make hym. Wherfore it is necessarie that my Lord loke wele to hym self and kepe hym amonge his meyne, and departe nat from theym, for it is to drede lest busshementes shuld be leide for hym. And yf that happed, and my Lord came hiderward, as he hathe ben used for to come, he myght lightly be deceyved and betrapped, that G.o.d defende. And therfore lete my Lord make G.o.de wacche and be sure.

The Duke of Somerset hathe espies goyng in every Lordes hous of this land; some gone as freres, som as shipmen taken on the sea, and som in other wise; whiche reporte unto hym all that thei kun see or here touchyng the seid Duke. And therfore make G.o.de wacche, and beware of suche espies.

And as touchyng the privee scale and my Lordes seurtee, it is necessarie that my Lord be advertised that yf the Chaunceller,[299.1] or any other, make any question to my Lord of his comyng contrarie to the teneur of the seid privee seall, that my Lord by his grete wisdom make answere that he was credibly enformed that aswele the Duke of Somerset beyng prisoner, as other beyng at large, holdyng his opynyon ayenst the wele of the Kyng and of the land, made grete a.s.semblees and gaderyngs of people, to mayntene th'opinion of the seid Duke of Somerset and to distrusse my Lord; and that the comyng of my Lord in suche forme as he shalle come is onely for the saufgarde of his owne persone, and to none other entent, as my Lord hym self can sey moche better than any that is here kan advertise hym.

Thise thinges aforseid ben espied and gadred by my Lord Chaun ,[299.2]

John Leventhorpe, Laurence Leventhorpe, Maister Adam, William Medwe, Robert Alman, John Colvyle, Richard of Warderobe, and me, John Stodeley.

And as sone as we kun knowe any more in substance we shull send home word. Writen at London, the xix. day of Janyvere.

The meire and merchauntz of London, and the mair and merchauntz of the staple of Caleys, were with the Chaunceller on Monday last pa.s.sed[299.3]

at Lamhithe, and compleyned on the Lord Bonvile for takyng of the shippes and G.o.des of the Flemmynges and other of the Duke of Burgoynes Lordships, and the Chaunceller yeve theym none answere to their plesyng; wherfore the substaunce of theym with one voys cryed alowde, 'Justice, justice, justice!' wherof the Chaunceller was so dismayed that he coude ne myght no more sey to theym for fere.

[Footnote 295.2: [Egerton MS. 914, B.M.] There is no evidence that this letter had anything to do with the Paston correspondence, but as a very interesting political letter of the period we have thought it right to give it a place in the collection. The date is quite certain, being after the birth of Prince Edward in October 1453, and before the death of Cardinal Kemp in March 1454.]

[Footnote 295.3: Edward, only son of Henry VI., born 13th October 1453.]

[Footnote 296.1: John Kemp, Cardinal Archbishop of Canterbury.]

[Footnote 296.2: James Butler, Earl of Wiltshire and Ormond.]

[Footnote 296.3: Henry Holland.]

[Footnote 296.4: Thomas Percy, third son of Henry, Earl of Northumberland.]

[Footnote 296.5: Thomas Thorpe, one of the Barons of the Exchequer, who was also Speaker of the House of Commons, but was at this time imprisoned in the Fleet in consequence of an action brought against him by the Duke of York.--(See _Rolls of Parl._ v. 239.)]

[Footnote 296.6: Thomas Tresham, who as 'Sir Thomas Tresham, Knight,' was attainted under Edward IV. for fighting on the Lancastrian side at Towton, but his attainder was afterwards reversed in Parliament 7 and 8 Edw. IV., on the ground that he was a household servant of Henry VI. and had been brought up in his service from a child.--_Rolls of Parl._ v. 616-617.]

[Footnote 296.7: William Joseph, who, with Thorpe, was frequently accused by the Yorkists of misleading the King.--_Rolls of Parl._ v. 280, 282, 332, 342.]

[Footnote 296.8: Thomas Daniel, Esq. --_See_ p. 255, Note 2.]

[Footnote 296.9: John Trevilian.]

[Footnote 297.1: 25th January.]

[Footnote 297.2: Afterwards Edward IV., the Duke of York's eldest son.]

[Footnote 297.3: Richard Nevill, Earl of Salisbury, father of Warwick the King-maker.]

[Footnote 297.4: 21st January.]

[Footnote 297.5: Richard Nevill, Earl of Warwick, afterwards known as 'the King-maker.']

[Footnote 297.6: Edmund Tudor, the King's half-brother. He was the father of King Henry VII.]

[Footnote 298.1: Jasper Tudor, brother of the Earl of Richmond, and half-brother to the King.]

[Footnote 298.2: Probably the Duke of Norfolk.]

[Footnote 298.3: _See_ p. 255, Note 3.]

[Footnote 299.1: Cardinal Kemp was at this time Chancellor. --_See_ p. 296, Note 1.]

[Footnote 299.2: So in MS.]

[Footnote 299.3: 14th January.]