Note 228.1 — THE PASTON LETTERS Henry VI (continued 5)

[From Fenn, iii. 238.] The date of this letter is quite uncertain. Fenn assigns it to the year 1454, when Lent began very late, as it is evident the herrings and eels referred to were intended as provision for that season. This conjecture may be correct; but it must be noted that John Paston was at home at Norwich, if not in the beginning of Lent, at least on the fourth Sunday of Lent in 1454. Moreover, if the date of this letter, ‘Monday next after St. Edward,’ means after the 18th March, which was the day of St. Edward the King and Martyr, the year 1451 would suit rather better than 1454; for, in the former year, the Monday after St. Edward’s day would be the 22nd of March, and Ash Wednesday the 10th, while in the latter the Monday after St. Edward would be the 25th, and Ash Wednesday the 6th, so that the provision of herrings would be very late.