Margery Brewer’s Valentine Letter
The Paston family had their roots in the English peasantry but by the fifteenth century, they had risen to become landed gentry. Some of them, such as Sir John Paston became minor players in the events after the War of the Roses. John was born in 1444, second son of John Paston and Margret Mautby. He was educated in the household of the Duke of Norfolk and fought for both Henry VI and Edward IV. However, within weeks of Henry VII taking the throne in 1485, John was made Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk firstly and then a member of Henry’s first parliament.
However, in 1477, all of this was years away, and John, now in his early thirties was on the lookout for a wife. He was introduced to Margery Brewer, the daughter of another local landowner, Sir Thomas Brewer. Despite the disparity in their ages, John and Margery fell in love. The match would have been an advantageous one for both families. However, Margery’s father was unconvinced about it because he felt his daughter could still do better. Fortunately, Margery’s mother, Elizabeth was more sympathetic, and she began to manipulate events to bring Thomas round- starting with inviting John to spend the weekend with the family.
John was due to arrive on February 14th. So, Margery penned him a Valentine letter, to assure him of her love. “Right Reverend and worshipful, and my right well-beloved Valentine,” she began, ” I recommend myself to you full heartily, desiring to hear of your welfare, …….. And if it pleases you to hear of my welfare, I am not in good health of body nor of heart, nor shall be, until I hear from you.” She also implored John not to be put off by her father’s attitude: “If you love me, as I truly trust you do, you will not leave me because of that; for if you had less than half the income that you have…… I would not forsake you.”
Margery did not write these heartfelt words herself- because she couldn’t write. Instead, she dictated them to her father’s clerk, Thomas Kela. The letter must have placed Kela in a compromising position- particularly as Margery probably swore him to secrecy. Indeed this is what she also did with John, begging him to burn her letter after he read it. However, John did not- a testament perhaps, to his love of Margery.
The couple did eventually marry later that year. A letter Margery sent John while he was away on business illustrates that marriage only deepened their bond. “My own sweetheart,” she wrote, “Sir, I pray you if you tarry long at London that it will please you to send for me, for I think it a long time since I lay in your arms’. John and Margery had their happily ever after. The relationship of the next writer of love letters was as passionate and bohemian as the writer.