Hard-coded id of currently selected item: . JSON version of its record is available from Blacklight on e.g. ??
Metadata associated with selected item should appear here...
Add MS 43488
- Record Id:
- 040-002056402
- Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:
- 032-002056401
- MDARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100000001102.0x00001b
- LARK:
- SLARK:
- Format:
- ISAD(G)
- Reference (shelfmark):
- Add MS 43488
- Title:
- Paston Letters and Papers
- Scope & Content:
-
The 1st of four volumes in this series of letters and papers of the Paston family. The handwritten description on f. 3r states: 'This volume contains all the Original MS. letters, being LIII in number, written during the reign of Henry VI from 1440 to 1460 '.
(Numbers in brackets refer to numbering in Davis, Paston Letters (Early English Text Society, 2004), from which the dates are also drawn).
f. 4: Letter from Agnes Paston, wife of William Paston I, to her husband, 20 April, ?1440 (Davis, 13)
f. 5: Letter from Robert Reppes to John Paston I, son of William Paston I, before ?1440 (Davis, 439);
f. 6: Letter to John Paston I from John Mowbray, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, before 1444 (Davis 440);
f. 7: Letter from John Northwood to John, 1st Viscount Beaumont (b. c.1409, d. 1460), 1448 (Davis, 963);
f. 8: Letter from Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham to Viscount Beaumont, undated
f. 9: Letter from William Yelverton (knighted, 1461) to John Paston (c. 1454) (Davis, 599);
f. 10: Letter from James Gresham of Holt to John Paston, 16 October, 1456 (Davis, 567);
f. 11: Letter from Margaret Paston, wife of John Paston, to her husband, 12 March, 1450 (Davis, 136);
f. 12: Copy of a letter to John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk, from his father, 30 April, 1450 (Davis, 980);
f. 13: Letter from William Lomner to John Paston, 5 May, 1450 (Davis, 450);
f. 14: Letter from John Crane to John Paston, 6 May, 1450 (Davis, 451);
f. 15: Letter from Sir John Fastolf to Sir Thomas Howys, parson of Castle Combe, Wiltshire in the handwriting of William Worcester (Davis, 982);
f. 17: Copy of a letter from Richard, 3rd Duke of York to King Henry VI in the hand of William Wayte, 1450 (Davis, 460A);
f. 18: Letter from Margaret Paston, wife of John Paston I, to her husband, 20 April, 1453 (Davis, 146);
f. 19: Letter from William Paston II, son of William Paston I to his brother John Paston I:, July, 1454 (Davis, 83);
f. 20: Letter from William Worcester, alias Botener or Botoner to John Paston I, 8 June, 1454 (Davis, 496);
f. 21: Letter from Edmund Clere, bailiff of the Duchy of Lancaster, to John Paston I, 9 January, 1455 (Davis, 512);
f. 22: Letter from Sir Thomas Todenham, or Tuddenham to Richard Nevill, Earl of Warwick, 2 November, ?1449 (972).
f. 23: Letter from John Paston I to Richard Nevill, Earl of Warwick, 23 August, ?1454 (Davis, 505)
f. 24: Letter from the Richard, 3rd Duke of York (d. 1460) to John Paston I, 19 August, ?1454 (Davis, 504);
f. 25: Letter from Eleanor de Mowbray, wife of John de Mowbray, 3rd Duke of Norfolk to John Paston I, 8 June, 1455 (Davis, 524);
f. 26: Letter from John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford to John Paston I, 18 October, 1450 (Davis 465);
f. 27: Letter from John Crane, ?of Wood Norton to John Paston I, 6 May, 1450 (Davis, 451);
f. 28: Letter from William Barker, servant to Sir John Fastolf, to William Worcester, June, 1455 (Davis 1024);
f. 29: Letter from Henry Wyndesore, or Windsor, to John Bocking and William Worcester, 19 July, 1455 (Davis, 1026);
f. 31: Letter from Sir John Fastolf to John Paston I, in the hand of William Worcester, 5 February, 1456 (Davis, 541);
f. 32: Letter from Thomas Bourchier, Archbishop of Canterbury to Sir J. Fastolf, 27 March, 1456 (Davis, 1031);
f. 33: Letter from John, 8th Baron Lovell to John, 1st Viscount Beaumont;
ff. 34, 35: Letters from John Bocking to John Paston I, 15 May 1456 (Davis, 549) and 7 December, 1459 (Davis, 584);
f. 36: Letter from Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, to John Paston I, 11 August, 1456 (Davis, 561);
f. 37: Letter from William Worcester, to John Paston I, 5 July, 1454 (Davis, 498);
f. 39: Letter from Richard Nevill, Earl of Salisbury to John, 1st Viscount Beaumont, ?1458;
f. 40: Letter from William Worcester to Sir John Fastolf, 1 February, 1458 (Davis, 883);
f. 41: Letter from John Bocking to Sir John Fastolf, 15 March, 1458 (Davis, 1036);
f. 42: Letter from John Jernyngan of Somerleyton to Margaret Paston, wife of John Paston, 1 June, 1458 (Davis, 712);
f. 43: Letter from Thomas Denyes to John Paston I, 13 May, 1450;
f. 44: Letter from Sir John Fastolf to John Paston I, copied by John Bokkyng, 18 November, 1456 (Davis, 570);
f. 45: Letter from Henry Fylungley or Fylongley to Sir John Fastolf, 17 July, ?1456 (Davis, 1032);
f. 46: Letter from Henry Wyndesore or Windsor to John Paston I, 27 August, ?1458 (Davis, 574);
f. 47: Letter from Margaret Paston, wife of John Paston, to her husband, in the hand of John Mowth, Friar, 6 May, 1464 (Davis, 176);
f. 48: Letter from John Bokkyng to John Paston I, William Yelverton and Henry Filongley, 7 December, 1459;
f. 49: Letter from William Worcester to John Bernye ?the younger, January, 1460 (Davis, 888);
f. 52: Letter from Robert, Lord Moleyns, 3rd Baron Hungerford, to the vicar and tenants of Gresham, Norfolk, 24 March, 1449 (Davis, 875);
f. 53: Letter from to Eleanor de Mowbray, Duchess of Norfolk, to John, 1st Viscount Beaumont;
f. 55: Letter from Clement Paston, son of William Paston I, to his brother, John Paston I, 23 January, 1461.
The verso of each letter has the address and traces of the wax seal visible. Letters on ff. 7, 15, 31, 32, 42, 52 have been annotated and initialled by Francis Blomefield, Norfolk historian in 1752.
- Collection Area:
- Western Manuscripts
- Project / Collection:
- Additional Manuscripts
- Hierarchy Record Ids:
- 032-002056401
040-002056402 - Is part of:
- Add MS 43488-43491 : Paston Letters and Papers
Add MS 43488 : Paston Letters and Papers - Hierarchy:
- 032-002056401[0001]/040-002056402
- Container:
- View / search within Archive / Collection: Add MS 43488-43491
- Record Type (Level):
- File
- Extent:
-
A collection of letters and papers, bound together, 59 folios
- Digitised Content:
- http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Add_MS_43488 (digital images currently unavailable)
- Thumbnail:
-
- Languages:
- English
- Scripts:
- Latin
- Start Date:
- 1440
- End Date:
- 1478
- Date Range:
- 1440-1478
- Era:
- CE
- Access:
-
Please request the physical items you need using the online collection item request form.
Digitised items can be viewed online by clicking the thumbnail image or digitised content link.
Readers who have registered or renewed their pass since 21 March 2024 can request physical items prior to visiting the Library by completing
this request form.
Please enter the Reference (shelfmark) above on the request form.If your Reader Pass was issued before this date, you will need to visit the Library in London or Yorkshire to renew it before you can request items online. All manuscripts and archives must be consulted at the Library in London.
This catalogue record may describe a collection of items which cannot all be requested together. Please use the hierarchy viewer to navigate to individual items. Some items may be in use or restricted for other reasons. If you would like to check the availability, contact our Reference Services team, quoting the Reference (shelfmark) above.
- User Conditions:
- Letter of introduction required to view this manuscript
- Physical Characteristics:
-
Materials: Paper.
Dimensions: volume: 280 x 440 mm; the dimensions of the letters and papers vary.
Foliation: ff. 59 (+ 5 unfoliated paper flyleaves and 2 unfoliated paper flyleaves at the end; three paper leaves have been mounted onto the third, fourth and fifth front flyleaves, and contain a typed list of contents). A bookplate has been pasted onto f. 1v and is foliated as f. i.
Script: Gothic cursive.
Binding: BM/BL in-house. Rearranged and rebound in 1947. The letters remain in the 18th century paper mounts and parts of the spine of the 18th-century binding are attached to the inside upper cover.
- Custodial History:
-
Origin: England.
Provenance:
William Paston (b. 1653/4, d. 1732) 2nd Earl of Yarmouth, by descent through the Paston family.
Peter le Neve (d. 1729), collector and antiquary, purchased by him from William Paston (see Gairdner, Paston Letters (1900) I, p. 4).
Rev. Francis Blomefield (d. 1752), historian of Norfolk, letters annotated by him on ff. 7, 15, 31, 32, 42, 52.
Thomas Martin (d. 1771), antiquary of Palgrave, acquired by him as executor of Peter le Neve and annotated by him (Add MS 43490, ff. 12, 49; Add MS 43491, f. 26).
John Worth, chemist of Diss, sold by him in 1774 to John Fenn (see Gairdner, Paston Letters (1900) I, p. 6).
John Fenn (b. 1739, d. 1794), antiquary, rebound and published by him in the first two volumes of his five-volume Original Letters; his armorial bookplate on f. 1v; he recorded that the manuscripts of Volumes I and II were presented by him to King George III at St James's Palace on 23 May 1787 and were in the Royal Library in 1789, though there is no further evidence for this (see the editorial in The Athenaeum, 29 March, 1890, p. 405, in Davis, Paston Letters, II (2004), p. xxix).
? Sir George Pretyman-Tomline, (b. 1750, d. 1827) Bishop of Lincoln and private secretary to William Pitt the younger (b. 1759, d.1806), prime minister, possibly acquired by him from Pitt (see Gairdner, Paston Letters (1900) I, pp. 10-11).
Colonel George Tomline (d. 1889), grandson of Sir George Pretyman-Tomline; discovered in his library at Orwell Park, Suffolk after his death (see The Athenaeum, 29 March, 1890, p. 405).
The Right Honourable Ernest George Pretyman (b. 1860, d. 1931), Secretary to the Admiralty, cousin of Colonel Tomline, by descent and advertised in his sale catalogue of 'One hundred and fifty-five Original letters known as the Paston letters', Sotheby's, London, 1 April 1931. The reserve of £15 000 was not reached and they were bought in at £6500.
Bought by the British Museum in 1933 for £3000 with the aid of contributions from the Friends of the National Libraries. Rearranged and rebound in four volumes (now Additionals 43488-43491) in 1947/8.
- Information About Copies:
-
Full digital coverage available for this manuscript: see Digitised Manuscripts at http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts.
- Publications:
-
Original Letters, written during the reigns of Henry VI, Edward IV and Richard III..., ed. by John Fenn, 5 vols (London, Robinsons, 1787-1823), vols I and II (1787).
The Paston Letters, 1422-1509 A.D., ed. by James Gairdner, 4 vols (Westminster, 1900-1901); 6 vols (London and Exeter, 1904).
H.S. Bennett: The Pastons and their England: Studies in an Age of Transition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1937).
Norman Davis, 'A Scribal Problem in the Paston Letters', English and Germanic Studies, 4 (1952), 31-64.
David Stoker, ''Innumerable letters of good consequence in history': the discovery and first publication of the Paston letters', The Library, 6th series 17 (1995), 107–55.
Colin Richmond, The Paston family in the fifteenth century, 3 vols (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1996-2001).
The Paston women: Selected letters: trans. by Diane Watt (Cambridge; D.S. Brewer, 2004).
Paston Letters and Papers of the Fifteenth Century, ed. by Norman Davis, 3 vols, Early English Text Society, Supplementary Series, 20-22 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004) [an edition of the texts in this and other manuscripts, with notes and additional bibliography].
Alexander Bergs, Social networks and historical sociolinguistics: Studies in morphosyntactic variation in the Paston letters, 1421-1503 (Berlin : Mouton de Gruyter, 2005).
Joel T. Rosenthal, Margaret Paston: ?1422-1484 (Dereham, Norfolk: Larks Press, 2009).
Jukka Tyrkkö, 'The positioning of adverbial clauses in the Paston letters' in Meaning in the history of English: Words and Texts in Context, ed. by Andreas H. Jucker, Daniela Landert, Annina Seiler and Nicole Studer-Joho (Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing, 2013), pp. 211-28.
- Material Type:
- Archives and Manuscripts
- Legal Status:
- Not Public Record(s)