Honey, don’t forget the milk
In the year 1448 Robert Hungerford, Lord of Moleyns threatened the Paston family with his personal army, believing that the Paston estate in Norfolk, England belonged to him. The family head, Sir John Paston, was away on business in London, thus defense of the estate was left to his wife Margaret. In preparation for a siege, Margaret wrote the following letter to her husband,
Right worshipful husband,
I recommend me to you, and pray you to get some crossbows and wyndacs (used to cock a crossbow)
to bind them with, and quarrels (arrows or bolts), for your houses here
be so low that there may none man shoot out with no
long bow, though we had never so much need.
I suppose ye should have such things of Sir John
Fastolf if ye would send to him ; and also I would ye
should get two or three short poleaxes to keep within
doors, and as many jackets, and ye may.
Partrich and his fellowship are sore afraid that ye
would enter again upon them and they have made
great ordinance within the house, and it is told me
they have made bars to bar the doors crosswise, and
they have made wickets on every quarter of the house
to shoot out at, both with bows and with hand-guns;
and the holes that be made for hand-guns, they be
scarce knee high from the plancher, and of such holes
be made five, there can none man shoot out at them
with no hand-bows.
I pray you that ye will vouchsafe to do buy for me
one pound of almonds and one pound of sugar, and
that ye will do buy some frieze (fabric) to make of your
children’s gowns; ye shall have best cheap and best
choice of Hays’s wife, as it is told me. And that ye
will buy a yard of broad cloth of black for one hood
for me of 44d. or four shillings a yard, for there is
neither good cloth nor good frieze in this town. As
for the children’s gowns, and 1 have them 1 will do
them maken.
The Trinity have you in his keeping, and send you
good speed in all your matters.
The Paston letters can be read for free at archive.org
https://archive.org/stream/pastonletterssel00jone/pastonletterssel00jone_djvu.txt
discoholicmusic
snowghoul
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
stormborns
amandla
tangentwithtanner
titsay
