The Paston Letters Volume Ii Part 7

_Articles de Monsr. de Warrewyk[34.3] touchant le bon regime du Roy, etc._[34.4]

[Sidenote: 1432 / NOV. 9]

For the goode reule, demesnyng and seuretee of the Kynges persone, and draught of him to vertue and connyng, and eschuyng of eny thing that mighte yeve empeschement or let therto, or cause eny charge, defaulte, or blame to be leyd upon the Erle of Warrewyk at eny tyme withouten his desert, he, considering that perill and besinesse of his charge aboute the Kinges persone groweth so that that auctoritee and power yeven to him before suffiseth him nought without more therto, desireth therfor thees thinges that folowen.

Furst, that considering that the charge of the reule, demesnyng, and governance, and also of nourture of the Kinges persone resteth upon the said Erle whiles it shal like the king, and the perille, daunger, and blame if eny lak or defaulte, were in eny of thees, the whiche lak or defaulte mighte be caused by unG.o.dely or unvertuous men, if eny suche were aboute his persone; he desireth therfore, for the goode of the King, and for his owne seuretee, to have power and auctoritee to name, ordeigne, and a.s.signe, and for cause that shal be thought to him resonable to remoeve thoo that [shal] be aboute the Kinges persone, of what estate or condicion that thei be, not entending to comprehende in this desir the Stuard, Chamberlein, Tresoror, Contrerollor, ne Sergeantz of offices, save suche as serve aboute the Kinges persone and for his mouth.

_Responsio._ As toward the namyng, ordeignance, and a.s.signacion beforesaid, it is agreed, so that he take in noon of the iiij. knightes ne squyers for the body without th'advis of my Lord of Bedford,[35.1]

him being in England, and him being out, of my Lord of Gloucestre[35.2]

and of the remenant of the Kinges Counsail.

Item, the said Erle desireth that where he shal have eny persone in his discrecion suspect of mysgovernance, and not behoveful nor expedient to be aboute the King, except th'estates of the hous, that he may putte hem from excercise and occupacion of the Kinges service till that he shal mowe have speche with my Lordes of Bedford or of Gloucestre, and with the other Lordes of the Kinges Counsaile, to that ende that, the defaulte of eny suche persone knowen unto him, shal mowe ordeigne therupon as theim shel thenke expedient and behoveful.

_Responsio._ It is agreed as it is desired.

Item, the said Erle desireth that, for sikenesse and other causes necessaries and resonables, he may, by warnyng to my Lordes of Bedford or Gloucestre and the Kinges Counsail, be and stande freely descharged of the saide occupacion and besinesse about the Kinges persone, under the favour and goode grace of the King, my Lordes of Bedford and Gloucestre, and other Lordes of the Kinges Counsail.

_Responsio._ It is agreed as it is desired.

Item, that considering howe, blessed be G.o.d, the King is growen in yeers, in stature of his persone, and also in conceite and knouleche of his hiegh and royalle auctoritee and estat, the whiche naturelly causen him, and from day to day as he groweth shul causen him, more and more to grucche with chastising, and to lothe it, so that it may resonably be doubted leste he wol conceive ayeins the said Erle, or eny other that wol take upon him to chastise him for his defaultes, displesir, or indignacion therfore, the whiche, without due a.s.sistence, is not easy to be born: It like, therfore, to my Lord of Gloucestre, and to alle the Lordes of the Kinges Counsail, to promitte to the said Erle, and a.s.sure him, that thei shul fermely and trewely a.s.sisten him in the excercise of the charge and occupacion that he hathe aboute the Kinges persone, namely in chastising of him for his defaultes, and supporte the said Erle therinne; and if the King at eny tyme wol conceyve for that cause indignacion ayeins the said Erle, my said Lord of Gloucestre, and Lordes, shul do alle her [_i.e._ their] trewe diligence and power to remoeve the King therfro.

_Responsio._ It is agreed as it is desired.

Item, the said Erle desireth that for asmuche as it shal be necessarie to remoeve the Kinges persone at diverse tymes into sundry places, as the cases mowe require, that he may have power and auctoritee to remoeve the King, by his discrecion, into what place him thenketh necessarie for the helthe of his body and seuretee of his persone.

_Responsio._ It is agreed as it is desired.

Item, sith the said Erle hath take upon him the governance of the Kinges persone, he desireth that alle th'estates, officers, and servantz of the Kinges hous, of what estate and condicion thei be, have special commandement and charge yeven by my Lordes of Bedford and Gloucestre, and by the Lordes of the Kinges Counsail, that in alle manere thinges seyn and advised by the said Erles descrecion, that is, for the Kinges estate, wors.h.i.+p, helthe, and profit, by his commandement and ordeignance, thei be attendant and obeissant in accompliss.h.i.+ng therof.

_Responsio._ It is agreed as it is desired.

Item, for asmuche as the said Erle hath knouleche that in speche that hath be had unto the King at part and in prive, not hering the said Erle nor eny of the knightes set aboute his persone, nor a.s.signed by the said Erle, he hath be stured by summe from his lernyng, and spoken to of diverse materes not behovefull, the seid Erle doubting the harme that mighte falle to the King, and the inconvenientz that mighte ensue of suche speche at part if it were suffred, desireth that in al speche to be had with the King, he or oon of the iiij. knightes, or sum persone to be a.s.signed by the said Erle, be present and prive to it.

_Responsio_. This article is agreed, excepting suche persones as for nieghnesse of blood, and for their estate, owe of reson to be suffred to speke with the King.

Item, to th'entent that it may be knowen to the King that it procedeth of th'a.s.sent, advis, and agreement of my Lord of Gloucestre, and alle my Lordes of the Kinges Counsail, that the King be chastised for his defaultes or trespa.s.ses, and that for awe therof he forbere the more to do mys, and entende the more besily to vertu and to lernyng, the said Erle desireth that my Lord of Gloucestre, and my said other Lords of the Counsail, or great part of hem, that is to say, the Chanceller and Tresorer, and of everych estate in the Counsail, spirituell and temporell, summe come to the Kinges presence, and there to make to be declared to him theire agreement in that behalve.

_Responsio._ Whan the King cometh next to London, all his Counsail shal come to his presence, and there this shal be declared to him.

Item, the said Erle, that all his dayes hath, aboven alle other erthely thinges, desired, and ever shal, to kepe his trouthe and wors.h.i.+p unblemysshed and unhurt, and maye not for all that lette malicious and untrewe men to make informacions of his persone, suche as thei may not, ne dare not, stand by, ne be not trewe, besecheth therfore my Lord of Gloucestre, and alle my said Lords of the Counsail, that if thei, or eny of hem, have be enformed of eny thing that may be or soune to his charge or defaulte, and namely in his occupacion and reule aboute the Kinges persone, that the said Erle may have knowleche therof, to th'entent that he may answer therto, and not dwelle in hevy or synistre conceit or opinion, withoute his desert and without answere.

_Responsio._ It is agreed.

CROMWELL.

H. GLOUCESTRE.

J. EBOR. P. ELIEN.

W. LINCOLN. J. BATHON., Canc. J. ROFFEN.

SUFFOLK. H. STAFFORD.

J. HUNTYNGTON.

The foregoing doc.u.ment is written on a skin of parchment docqueted with the words printed in italics at the head. The following memorandum is also endorsed-- 'xxix die Novembris anno undecimo apud Westm. lecti fuerunt praesentes articuli coram dominis infra et subscribentibus et ad eosdem Responsiones dabantur secundum quod infra patet, praesentibus dominis infrascriptis.' There are also other endors.e.m.e.nts, but of a later date.

[Footnote 34.2: [Add. Charter 17,228, B.M.]]

[Footnote 34.3: Richard de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, who died in 1439.]

[Footnote 34.4: This t.i.tle is taken from a contemporary endors.e.m.e.nt.]

[Footnote 35.1: John, Duke of Bedford, Regent of France, the King's uncle, brother of the late King Henry V.]

[Footnote 35.2: Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, Protector of England, another uncle of the King, being the youngest brother of Henry V. He was called 'the Good Duke Humphrey.']

25

DALLING'S PEt.i.tION[38.1]

[Sidenote: 1433(?)]

Prefixed to this doc.u.ment in Fenn is the following t.i.tle:-- 'A Pet.i.tion to the Commons of England against Sir William Paston, Knight, a Judge of the Common Pleas, by William Dalling.' This heading, however, has been taken from a more modern endors.e.m.e.nt. No contemporaneous doc.u.ment, so far as I am aware, gives Judge Paston the designation of knight, or speaks of him as Sir William. In this pet.i.tion itself he is called simply William Paston, one of the Justices; and although his name occurs frequently on the Patent Rolls, in commissions of the peace, of gaol delivery, and the like, down to the year of his death, the word 'miles' is never appended to it.

The original commencement of this doc.u.ment has been crossed out. It was in these words:--

Plesit to the righte sage and wyse Communes of this present Parlement, that wher every Justice of the Kyng is sworne that he shulde not take no fees ne reward for to be of councell with noo man, but oonly wyth our Soverayne Lorde the Kyng, and therto thei be swore. And ther is oon Will' Paston, one of the Justice of our Soverayne Lorde in the Comene Place, taketh fees and rewarde.

On the back of the original doc.u.ment is written, in a hand of the time, 'Falsa billa Will'i Dalling, ad Parliamentum tempore quo Henr.

Grey fuit vicecomes ante annum terciodecimum Regis Henr. vj^{ti}.'

Henry Grey was sheriff of Norfolk in 1430, and again in 1433-4. The Parliament referred to must either have been that of 8 Hen. VI.