Favourite letter from the Pastons
This month's Bear Blog Carnival is organised by Kami on the topic of Your favorite ____ in your niche hobby. I love people getting nerdy about their niche hobbies, what a great theme. I'm not sure reading medieval letters is a niche hobby, I'm not sure I have a niche hobby, but here we go.
The Paston Letters start in 1422 and feature generations of the family, the rise and fall of fortunes, the War of the Roses, Sir John Fastolf, family dramas, chicanery, legal problems, and sieges of castles. The letters are often written by or on behalf of women, to their husbands and sons off elsewhere. Asking for money, for cloth, for crossbows. As you do.
I did my dissertation on the Pastons so I've been reading them for some time. This early letter is probably my favourite. While there are other hilarities and horrors this letter written by Agnes to her husband William in 1440 contains a lot of bang for your buck.
Agnes, the most matriarch of matriarchs, writes to her husband about their future daughter-in-law. I love that she refers to their son as 'John Paston, Esq'.
she made hym gentil cher in gyntyl wise
is a lovely saying. It's usually translated as 'a warm welcome' but I love it just as it is.
It's about this marriage, effectively an arranged marriage, but Agnes notes they seem to like each other so hopefully the arrangements won't be difficult. Agnes is also trying to organise a dress of which she has strong opinions on the colour.
Your stewes do weel.
In a letter so short yet full it is very important that William be apprised of the wellbeing of his fishponds. His other children? No. Anything else to do with the estate? No. Fishponds.
This is my favourite part. I think this to myself all the time and have to restrain myself from saying "your stews do well" when I think it's possible people might be focussed on the wrong thing or are doing a very extensive inventory.
Wretyn at Paston, in hast, the Wednesday next after Deus qui errantibus, for defaute of a good secretarye.
Medieval dates are always a trip but Agnes notes that because there was no one else around to do it for her she wrote the letter herself. Representative of what a great resource the letters are for medieval women's voices.
To my worshepefull housbond, W. Paston, be this letter takyn
Dere housbond, I recomaunde me to yow, &c. Blessyd be God I sende yow gode tydynggs of the comyng, and the brynggyn hoom, of the gentylwomman, shortly afterwards married to John Paston, Esq. that ye wetyn of fro Redham, this same nyght, acordyng to poyntmen that ye made ther for yowr self.
And as for the furste aqweyntaunce be twhen John Paston and the seyde gentylwomman, she made hym gentil cher in gyntyl wise, and seyde, he was verrayly your son. And so I hope ther shall nede no gret trete be twyxe hym.
The parson of Stocton toold me, yif ye wolde byin her a goune, here moder wolde yeve ther to a godely furre. The goune nedyth for to be had; and of colour it wolde be a godely blew, or erlys a bryghte sangueyn.
I prey yow do byen for me ij. pypys of gold, Your stewes do weel.
The Holy Trinite have you in governaunce.
Wretyn at Paston, in hast, the Wednesday next after Deus qui errantibus, for defaute of a good secretarye. Yowres,
AGN. PASTON.
The gentlewoman in this letter, the future daughter-in-law, Margaret Mautby, has over a hundred surviving letters often concerning running the estate in Norfolk while her husband was in London. There's a genuine affection between them and she was a legendary matriarch herself.
This letter and all the others can be read online at This is Paston
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