Henry VI's First Illness

Paston Letters Volume 2 235. 19th January 1454. 2.235. Newsletter Of John Stodeley¹.

As touchyng tythynges, please it you to wite that at the Princes² comyng to Wyndesore, the Duc of Buk' (age 51) toke hym in his armes and presented hym to the Kyng in godely 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 (age 74)³ 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 (age 33)⁴ and the Lord Bonvile (age 61) 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 vjd. every day as long as he abidethe with theym.

Item, the Duk of Excestre (age 23)⁵ in his owne persone hathe ben at Tuxforthe beside Dancastre, in the north contree, and there the Lord Egremond (age 31)⁶ 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, Thorpe⁷ of th'escheker articuleth fast ayenst the Duke of York, but what his articles ben it is yit unknowen.

Item, Tresham (age 34)⁸, Josep⁹, Danyelle¹⁰, and Trevilian¹¹ 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 Ml. Ml. [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 iiijth is that she may have suffisant lyvelode assigned hir for the Kyng and the Prince and hir self. But as for the vth article, I kan nat yit knowe what it is.

Note 1. [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.

Note 2. Edward, only son of Henry VI. (age 32), born 13th October 1453.

Note 3. John Kemp, Cardinal Archbishop of Canterbury.

Note 4. James Butler, Earl of Wiltshire and Ormond.

Note 5. Henry Holland.

Note 6. Thomas Percy, third son of Henry, Earl of Northumberland (age 60).

Note 7. 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.)

Note 8. 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.

Note 9. William Joseph, who, with Thorpe, was frequently accused by the Yorkists of misleading the King.—Rolls of Parl. v. 280, 282, 332, 342.

Note 10. Thomas Daniel, Esq.—See p. 255, Note 2.

Paston Letters Volume 2 270. Edmund Clere To John Paston¹

To my welbeloved cosyn, John Paston, be this delivered. 9th January 1455.

Right welbeloved cosyn, I recomaund me to you, latyng you wite such tidings as we have.

Blessed be God, the Kyng is wel amended, and hath ben syn Cristemesday, and on Seint Jones day 27th December 1454 comaunded his awmener [almoner] to ride to Caunterbury wyth his offryng, and comaunded the secretarie to offre at Seint Edwards.

And on the Moneday after noon the Queen came to him, and brought my Lord Prynce with her. And then he askid what the Princes name was, and the Queen told him Edward; and than he hild up his hands and thankid God therof. And he seid he never knew til that tyme, nor wist not what was seid to him, nor wist not where he had be whils he hath be seke til now. And he askid who was godfaders, and the Queen told him, and he was wel apaid.

And she told him that the Cardinal was dede, and he seid he knew never therof til that tyme; and he seid oon of the wisist Lords in this land was dede.

And my Lord of Wynchestr (age 57) and my Lord of Seint Jones were with him on the morow after Tweltheday, and he speke to hem as well as ever he did; and when thei come out thei wept for joye.

And he seith he is in charitee with all the world, and so he wold all the Lords were. And now he seith matyns of Our Lady and evesong, and herith his Masse devoutly; and Richard shall tell yow more tidings by mouth.

I pray yow recomaund me to my Lady Morley, and to Maister Prior², and to my Lady Felbrigge³, and to my Lady Hevenyngham⁴, and to my cosyn your moder, and to my cosyn your wife.

Wreten at Grenewich on Thursday after Twelftheday.Be your cosyn,Edmund C

Note 1. [From Fenn, i. 80.] There is no doubt about the date of this letter. The King fell ill at Clarendon in the autumn of 1453, and remained in a state of utter imbecility during the greater part of the year 1454, so that in March a deputation from the House of Peers, sent to communicate with him on the death of his Chancellor, Cardinal Kemp, was obliged to report that they had been utterly unable to obtain from him any answer or sign that he understood the least thing said to him. It appears from this letter that his recovery was about Christmas, when he heard for the first time of the birth of his son fourteen months before, and of the death of Cardinal Kemp nine months before.

Note 2. Probably the Prior of Bromholm.

Note 3. Catherine, widow of Sir Simon Felbrigg. She was the daughter of Anketill Mallory, Esq. of Winwick, in Northamptonshire.

Note 4. Sir John Heveningham married Elizabeth (age 55), daughter of Sir John Reedesham. Unless he married a second time, this Elizabeth was now his widow. Their son, also John (age 18), married Alice Savile (age 3) sometime before 1460.