[MR] BBC: Lost Paston Discovered

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

Today the BBC is offering a story on an astounding discovery. Recently a
memorial plaque to a previously unknown member of the Paston family was
discovered almost in plain sight in an Oxnead church. In abbreviated Latin,
the plaque says "Here lies Anna, daughter of John Paston Knight, on whose
soul God have mercy." The Paston family is one of the best known medieval
families in England, so the discovery was a big surprise. The story and the
plaque can be seen at https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-48530068 .

Now my question is, which John Paston was Anna's father? There were several
John Pastons, and keeping them straight has always been a challenge to me.

The Paston family is famous for the Paston Letters, a collection of
correspondence and other documents which survives from several generations.
They detail the family's daily lives and concerns, as well as their
persecution by neighbors who thought the upwardly mobile Pastons easy
pickings during the lawless years of the Wars of the Roses. If you have not
read the Paston letters, or at least a gloss of them, may I suggest THE
PASTON LETTERS, A SELECTION IN MODERN SPELLING, edited by Norman Davis
(ISBN 9780199538379). This book is part of the Oxford World's Classics
series, and is still in print at a reasonable price.

Yours Aye,

Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆