The Boke of Noblesse Part 4

A mon treshonnoure et tresredoubte sire Messire Jehan Fastouf, chevalier, seigneur de Piron et de Beaumont en Normendie.

From the BAILIFFS of WINCHESTER.[83]

Right Wors.h.i.+pfulle Sire,--We recommande ws unto you, latyng you wete of howre taryng that we brynge nat hoppe (up) howre money for howre ferme ys for be cawse that we wholde receyve of howre dewte of the Cete, and of the awnage sum of xiij. li.; the wheche money we cannat receyve in to the time that we have a wrette to the mayre and to ws Ballys, for the Cete scholde have of the awnage as Easter terme xx. marcs, for that the Cete grant(ed) us to howre eryste ferme, and here a pon we tryst; and now the fermeris of the awnage sey it pleynli that the Cete schale nat have a peny in to Mighelmas terme but zyffe so be that ye sende us a wrytt that we mowe brynge the fermers in to the Cheker, and ther to pay ws thys xx. marcs, for we lacke no money but that, for the fermers makit hyrr a skowsce apon the refuson that was thys tyme thre zere, for they fere laste they schold pay agen, and there for they sey it they whole nat pay us no peni but in the Cheker, also howre Mayre takyt no hede of ws, nother howe whe schal be servyd of the mony, theirefore we pray you sende a wrett down to the Mayre and to ws for to brynge ho(ppe, _i.e._ up) howre ferme for the halfe zere, for dowt hyt nat ze schale be as wel payd of ws as zevr (ever) ye w(ere) of zeny men, for in trowyf we pay of howre money more than xiiij. li. No more, but G.o.d kepe you. I-wretyn at Wynchester the viij. day of May.

By the baillifes of Wynchester.

(To this letter no address is preserved.)

{lix}

ADDITIONAL NOTES.

Page liv. _De Regimine Principum._--Sir John Paston (temp. Edw. IV.) had a copy of this work, which formed part of a volume which he thus described in the catalogue of his library:--

"M^d. my _Boke of Knyghthode_ and the maner off makyng off knyghts, off justs, off tornaments, ffyghtyng in lystys, paces holden by soldiers and chalenges, statutes off weere, and _de Regimine Principum_." (Paston Letters, vol. iii p. 302.)

It is more fully described by William Ebesham, the scribe who had written the book, in his bill of accompt, which is also preserved in the same volume, p. 14:--

"Item as to _the Grete Booke_.

"First for wrytyng of the _Coronacion_ and other _tretys of Knyghthode_ in that quaire, which conteyneth a xiij. levis and more, ij^d. a lefe ij^s. ij^d.

"Item for the _Tretys of Werre_ in iiij. books, which conteyneth lx.

levis, after ij^d. a leaff x^s.

"Item for _Othea pistill_, which conteyneth xliij. levis vij^s. ij^d.

"Item for the _Chalenges_ and the _Acts of Armes_, which is xxviij^{ti}.

lefs iiij^s. viij^d.

"Item for _de Regimine Principum_, which conteyneth xlv^{ti}. leves, after a peny a leef, which is right wele worth iij^s. ix^d.

"Item for rubriesheyng of all the booke iij^s. iiij^d.

The "Treatise of Knighthood" here mentioned, may probably have resembled _The Booke of the Ordre of Chyvalrye or Knyghthode_ printed by Caxton (see p. liv.); and the "Treatise of War" may have been a version of _The Boke of Fayttes of Armes and of Chyvallrye_, which Caxton also published from the _Arbre de Batailes_, &c. as before noticed in p. vi.

The "Othea pistill" was certainly the same book which pa.s.ses under the name of Christine de Pisan, and which was printed at Paris by Philippe Pigouchet, in 4to, under the t.i.tle of "_Les cent Histoires de troye._ Lepistre de Othea deesse de prudence enuoyee a lesperit cheualereux Hector de troye, auec cent hystoires." In every page of this book there is a _Texte_ in French verse, and a _Glose_ in prose, which agrees exactly with sir John Paston's description in his catalogue (where it appears as distinct from Ebesham's "Great Book,") in this entry,--"Item, a _Book de Othea_, text and glose, in quayers."

Page 15. _Matheu Gournay de comitatu Somerset._ This personage, whose name has been inserted by the second hand, was a very distinguished warrior in the French wars, and has been supposed to have been the model of the Knight in Chaucer's Canterbury {lx} Pilgrims. His epitaph at Stoke upon Hampden in Somersets.h.i.+re, which has been preserved by Leland, describes him as "le n.o.ble et vaillant chivaler Maheu de Gurney, iadys seneschal de Landes et capitain du chastel Daques por nostre seignor le Roy en la d.u.c.h.e de Guyene, qui en sa vie fu a la batail de Beaumarin, et ala apres a la siege Dalgezire sur les Sarazines, et auxi a les batailles de Lescluse, de Cressy, de Yngenesse, de Peyteres, de Nazara, Dozrey, et a plusiurs autres batailles et a.s.seges, en les quex il gaina n.o.blement graund los et honour per lespece de x.x.xxiiij et xvj ans, et morust le xxvj jour de Septembre, l'an nostre Seignor Jesu Christ Mccccvj, que de salme Dieux eit mercy.

Amen." (See Records of the House of Gournay, by Daniel Gurney, esq. F.S.A.

p. 681.)

Page 68. _Sir John Fastolfe's victualling of the Bastille._ This anecdote is ill.u.s.trated by the following pa.s.sage of one of sir John's books of accompt:--

"Item, in like wise is owing to the said Fastolfe for the keeping and victualling of the Bastile of St. Anthony in Paris, as it appeareth by writing sufficient, and by the creditors of sir John Tyrel knight, late treasurer of the King's house, remaining in the exchequer of Westminster of record, the sum of xlij li.

(Paston Letters, iii. 269.)

{1}

THE BOKE OF n.o.bLESSE.

[MS. REG. 18 B. XXII.]

The Boke of n.o.blesse, compiled to the most hyghe and myghety prince Kynge Edward the iiij^{the} for the avauncyng and preferryng the comyn publique of the Royaumes of England and of Fraunce.

First, in the wors.h.i.+p of the holy Trinite, bring to mynde to calle, in the begynnyng of every good work, for grace. And sithe this litille epistle is wrote and ent.i.tled to courage and comfort n.o.ble men in armes to be in perpetuite of remembraunce for here n.o.ble dedis, as right convenient is soo to bee. And as it is specified by auctorite of the n.o.ble cenatoure of Rome Kayus son, in these termes foloweng: "Hoc igitur summum est n.o.bilitatis genus, posse majorum suorum egregia facta dicere, posse eorum beneficiis petere honores publicos, posse gloriam rei publicae hereditario quodam jure vendicare, posse insuper sese eorum partes vocare, et clarissimas in suis vultibus ymagines ostendere. Quos enim appellat vulgus nisi quod n.o.bilissimi parentes genuere."

De remedio casus Reipublicae.

[Sidenote: Anglorum nacio originem sumpsit ex nacione Trojanorum.]

[Sidenote: Nota j^{o}. quod lingua Britonum adhuc usitatur in Wallia et Cornibea, que lingua vocabatur corrupta Greca.]

Here folowethe the evident Examples and the Resons of comfort for a reformacion to be had uppon the piteous complaintes and dolorous lamentacions made for the right grete outragious and most {2} grevous losse of the Royaume of Fraunce, d.u.c.h.ee[gh] of Normandie, of Gascoyne, and Guyen, and also the n.o.ble Counte of Mayne and the Erledom of Pontife. And for relevyng and geting ayen the said Reaume, dukedoms, [and earldoms,] undre correccion of amendement ben shewed the exortacions and mocions, be auctorite, example of actis in armes, bothe by experience and otherwise purposid, meoved and declarid, to corage and comfort the hertis of [the]

Englisshe nacion, havyng theire first originalle of the nacion of the n.o.ble auncient bloode of Troy more than M^l. yere before the birthe of Crist; in token and profe wherof the auncient langage of the Brutes bloode at this day remayneth[84] bothe in the Princedome of Walis and in the auncient provynce and Dukedom of Cornewale, whiche was at tho daies called corrupt Greke.

[Sidenote: ij^{o}. lingua Saxonum alias lingua Germanorum.]

[Sidenote: Dux Cerdicius applicuit in Britania tempore Regis Arthuri, et sic per favorem regis inhabitavit, et . . ex natione Grecorum.]

And next after the mighty Saxons' bloode, otherwise called a provynce in Germayne, that the vaileaunt Duke Cerdicius arrived in this reaume, with whom[85] Arthur, king of the Breton bloode, made mighty werre, and suffred hym to inhabit here. And the Saxons, as it is writen in Berthilmew in his booke of Propreteis, also were decendid of the nacion of Grekis.

[Sidenote: iij^{o}. Lingua Danorum ex nacione Grecorum. Rex Danorum Knott conquestum fecit.]

And next after came the feers manly Danysh nacion, also of Grekis bene descendid, that the gret justicer king Knowt this land subdued and the Saxons' bloode.

And sithen the n.o.ble Normannes, also of the Danys nacion, descendid be William Conquerour, of whome ye ben lyniallie descendid, subdued this lande.

And, last of alle, the victorius bloode of Angevyns, by mariage of that puissaunt Erle Geffry Plantagenet, the son and heire of Fouke king of Jherusalem, be mariage of Dame Maude, Emperes, soule doughter and heire to the king of grete renoune, Henry the first of Inglond, and into this day lineally descendid in most prowes.

And whiche said Englisshe nacion ben sore astonyed and dulled {3} for the repairing and wynnyng ayen, uppon a new conquest to be hadde for youre verray right and true t.i.tle in the inheritaunce of the saide Reaume of Fraunce and the d.u.c.h.e of Normandie. Of whiche Duchie, we have in the yere of oure Lorde M^l.iiij^cl., lost, as bethyn the s.p.a.ce of xv monithes be put out wrongfullie, tho roughe subtile wirkingis conspired and wroughte be the Frenshe partie undre the umbre and coloure of trewis late taken betwyxt youre antecessoure king Harry the s.e.xt then named king, and youre grete adversarie of Fraunce Charles the vij^{the}.

And where as the saide piteous complaintes [and] dolorous lamentacions of youre verray true obeisaunt subjectis for lesing of the said countreis may not be tendrid ne herde, [they] many daies have had but litille comfort, nether the anguisshes, troubles, and divisions here late before in this reaume be cyvyle batailes to be had, may not prevaile them to the repairing and wynnyng of any soche manere outrageous losses to this Reaume, whiche hathe thoroughe sodein and variable chaunces of unstedfast fortune so be revaled and overthrow; the tyme of relief and comfort wolde not be despendid ne occupied so: namely with theym whiche that have necessite of relief and socoure of a grettir avauntage and a more profitable remedie for theire avauncement to a new conquest: or by a good tretie of a finalle peace for the recovere of the same: but to folow the counceile of the n.o.ble cenatoure of Rome Boicius in the second prose of his first booke of consolacion seieng _Sed medicine_ (inquid) _tempus est_, _quam querele_.