Note 115.1 — THE PASTON LETTERS Edward IV.

[From Paston MSS., B.M.] There was a general pardon in the latter part of the year 1471, and both John Paston and his brother took advantage of it, as appears by the Pardon Roll, 11 Edw. IV., membranes 9 and 25. The date of this letter is also shown by the answer to it, written by Margaret Paston on the 5th November. Many of the words in this letter are lost by the mutilation of the original MS., which is full of holes, from having been exposed at one time to damp. The address is almost completely lost, but a portion of the word ‘[Ma]rgaret’ is visible, and a small fragment of an endorsement below in which the word ‘Paston’ is legible.