THE WILL OF RICHARD, THIRD EARL RIVERS
(Source: PROB 11/8. Transcribed/translated by Simon Neal)
In dei nomine amen the xx day of February the yere of our Lord god ml cccclxxxx I Richard Wydevile Erle of Ryvers being in hole mynd Lovid be all myghty god make and ordeigne this my present testament in the man[er] and forme here folowyng First I bequeith my soule to allmighty god and to his blessid moder seint Mary and to all the holy company of heven my body to be buried at seint Jamys Abbey at North[a]mpton in a place made redy therfor It[e]m I bequeith to Syr John p[ar]son of Lee the lesse fetherbed that was there and ij kene of Rede colour Also I will that such hogges that been there quick and dede be sold by the oversight of the Mayor of London and Hugh Pemberton Shreve of London to thentent that the money receyved for them be bestowed abowte the reparacion of our Lady chapell in the seid p[ar]isch church of Lee It[e]m I bequeith to the parissh church of Grafton all such catell as I have at Grafton that is to sey ij oxon v kene ij bolokes to thentent that they shall yerely kepe an obite for my soule that is to sey dirige and Masse of requiem w[i]t[h] the curatt iiij preestes and iiij clerkes w[i]t[h] an heerse and iiij tapers every preest takyng for his wagis vd and every clerk iijd And the residewe that shall comyn of them ov[er] shall goo yerely to the reparacion of the same church of Grafton moost necessary It[e]m I bequeith to the p[ar]issh church of Wylmyngton viij kene that been there to thentent that they shall yerely kepe for my soule an obite dirige and masse of requiem w[i]t[h] the curatt and iiij preestes and iiij clerkes every preest taking for his wages vd and every Clerk iijd And the residew of the seid Catall to goo to the reparacion of the same church moost necessary It[e]m I bequeith to the Roode church a bay mare and ij foolys Also I will that all the evidences concernyng a ward callid Elisabeth Gripon be deliverd to Martyn Hawte and his felowes Fearis for and upon this condicion that the seid Elisabeth wilbe rewlyd after them Item I forgeve all such money as it […] me so that they medill not w[i]t[h] the howse in stony stratford in the which Thomas Edy died this I bought and paid for Also I will that my Lord Thomas Markes Dors[et] be myn exe[cutor] And I will and graunt to hym all such Londes and tenementes as I may geve whersoev[er] they be The residew of all my goodes moveable and unmoveable not bequist I bequeith to the seid Lord Thomas Markes Dors[et] Willi[a]m H[…]wod of Preston and John Pekk if Kyngthorpe whom I make and ordeign myn executours they to execute my seid will in the man[er] and forme above rehersid after an Inventory made of the seid goodes Also I beseche my seid Lord Markes that ther may be as muche underwode sold in the wodys of Grafton as shall by a bell to be teno[ur] at Grafton to the bellys there nowe for a remembrance of the last of the blode Also I beseche the seid Lord that all such grauntes made by my lettyrs patent to theis or to any of them that is to sey Willi[a]m Goddeley Thomas Maynard John Addington John Ware and John Walley for terme of lyfe or for terme of yeres may be confermid and admittyd by hym they to pray for my soule Also I beseche the seid Lord Markes that he will soe to the av[a]ntage of Grafton and conf[ir]me the evidences of the old enheritaunce that I have of it be thought of conscience that thabbot of Seint Jamys shuld have any thing therof I wold that my lord Markes and myn executours wold relese of Shaw Woode the which they have yerely whan it is sold Also I beseche my seid Lord Markes to be goode Lord to thaforseyd Willi[a]m Hartwell in his office of Sausy for he had never non avauntage by me but ever Labo[ur] and payne
Translation of the Probate
The before-written will was proved before the archbishop at Lamehith on the 23rd day of the month of March in the year of the lord 1491 by the oath of William Hertwell, the executor named in this will, who refused to take up the charge of the execution of the same upon himself then and there, and it was approved, etc. And the administration of all and singular the goods and debts of the said deceased was committed to the very powerful master lord Thomas, marquess of Dorset, the executor, named in the said will, in the person of Master John Reed, notary public, the proctor, etc, sworn, etc, well, etc, and concerning a full inventory, etc, before the feast of Holy Trinity next, etc, and also concerning a plain and true account, etc.
THE WILL OF ELIZABETH, QUEEN TO EDWARD IV
(Source: PROB 11/9. Transcribed by Simon Neal)
In dei Nomine Amen the xth daie of Aprill the yere of oure lord gode mlcccclxxxxij I Elsabeth by the grace of god Quene of Englond late wif to the most victoriouse prince of blessed memorie Edward the fourth being of hole mynde seyng the worlde so transitorie and no creature certayne whanne they shall departe frome hence havyng Almyghty gode fressh in mynde in whome is all mercy and grace bequeith my sowle in to his handes beseching him of the same mercy to accept it graciously and oure blessed Lady quene of comforte and all the holy company of hevyn to be good meanes for me It[e]m I bequeith my body to be buried w[i]t[h] the bodie of my Lord at Windessore according to the will of my saide Lorde and myne without pompes entreing or costlie expensis donne there a bought It[e]m where I have no wordely goodes to do the quenes grace my derest doughter a pleaser with nether to reward any of my children according to my hart and mynde I besech almyghty gode to blisse here grace with all her noble issue and w[i]t[h] as good hart and mynde as is to me posible I geve her grace my blesing and all the forsaide my children It[e]m I will that suche smale stufe and goodes that I have be disposed treuly in the contentac[i]on of my dettes and for the helth of my sowle as farr as they will extende It[e]m yf any of my bloode wilbie any of my saide stufe or goodes to me p[er]teyning I will that they have the prefermente be fore any other And of this my present testament I make and ordeyne myne executores that is to sey John Ingilby priour of the Chartour House of Shene William Sutton and Thomas Brente docto[ur]s and I besech my said derest doughter the quenes grace and my Sone Thomas Marques Dorsett to putto there good willes and help for the p[er]forma[n]s of this my testamente In witnesse wherof to this my present testament I have sett my seale these witnesses John Abbot of the Monast[er]y of Sainte Saviour of Bermondesley and Benedictus Cun Doctor of Fysyk Yeven the day and yere abovesaid
Bibliography
Unprinted Primary Sources
British Library Additional Manuscripts
Eton College Archives: ECR 60/3/2
The National Archives
Printed Primary Sources
Ancient Songs and Ballads …, Collected by Joseph Ritson, vol. II. (London, 1829).
Annales Rerum Anglicarum, in Joseph Stevenson, ed., Letters and Papers Illustrative of the Wars of the English in France during the Reign of King Henry VI, vol. II, pt. 2, pp. 743 et seq. (London, 1864).
Bacon, Francis, The History of the Reign of King Henry the Seventh, F.J. Levy, ed. (Indianapolis and New York, 1972).
The Bedford Inventories: The Wordly Goods of John, Duke of Bedford, Regent of France (1389–1435), Jenny Stratford, ed. (London, 1993).
‘The Book of Howth,’ in J.S. Brewer and William Bullen, eds, Calendar of the Carew Manuscripts Preserved at the Archiepiscopal Library at Lambeth, pp. 1 et seq. (London, 1871).
British Library Harleian Manuscript 433, Rosemary Horrox and P.W. Hammond, eds, 4 vols. (London, 1979–83).
Buck, George, The History of King Richard the Third, Arthur Noel Kincaid, ed. (Gloucester, 1979).
Calendar of the Carew Manuscripts Preserved at the Archiepiscopal Library at Lambeth, 1575–1588, J.S. Brewer and William Bullen, eds (London, 1868).
Calendar of the Close Roll, preserved in the Public Record Office, Edward II to Henry VII (London, 1891–1916).
Calendars of Patent Rolls, preserved in the Public Record Office, Edward II to Henry VII, 45 vols (London, HMSO, 1844–1916).
‘The Captivity of a Royal Witch: The Household Accounts of Queen Joan of Navarre, 1419–21’, A.R. Myers, ed., in Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, 24 (1940).
The Cely Letters 1472–1488, Alison Hanham, ed. (Oxford, 1975).
Chronicles of London, Charles L. Kingsford, ed. (Oxford, 1905).
The Chronicles of the White Rose of York, John A. Giles, ed. (
London, 1845).
Commynes, Philippe de, Memories, ed. J. Calmette and G. Durville, 3 vols (Paris, 1923–25).
The Coronation of Elizabeth Wydeville: Queen Consort of Edward IV on May 26th, 1465, George Smith, ed. (Cliftonville, 1975).
The Coronation of Richard III: The Extant Documents, Anne Sutton and P.W. Hammond, eds (Gloucester and New York, 1983).
The Coventry Leet Book, Mary Dormer Harris, ed. (London, 1907).
The Crowland Chronicle Continuations, 1459–1486, Nicholas Pronay and John Cox, eds (London, 1986).
Edward IV: A Source Book, Keith Dockray, ed. (Stroud, 1999).
Edward IV’s French Expedition of 1475, Francis Pierrepont Barnard, ed. (Gloucester Reprints: 1975).
An English Chronicle: 1377–1461, William Marx, ed. (Woodbridge, 2003).
English Historical Documents, vol. IV, 1327–1485, A.R. Myers, ed. (London, 1969).
English Historical Literature in the Fifteenth Century, Charles L. Kingsford, ed. (New York, 1913).
Excerpta Historica, or, Illustrations from English History, Samuel Bentley, ed. (London, 1833).
Fabyan, Robert, The New Chronicles of England and France, Henry Ellis, ed. (London, 1811).
Fifteenth Century Prose and Verse, Alfred W. Pollard, ed. (Westminster, 1903).
Foedera, conventiones, literae et cujuscunque gemeris Acta Publica, Thomas Rymer, ed., vol. XII (Burlington, Ontario, 2003).
The Forty-Eighth Annual Repast of the Deputy Keeper of the Public Records (London, 1887).
Grants, etc. from the Crown during the Reign of Edward the Fifth, John G. Nichols, ed. (London, 1854)
The Great Chronicle of London, A.H. Thomas and I.D. Thornley, eds. (Gloucester, 1983).
Hall’s Chronicle, Henry Ellis, ed. (London, 1809).
Henry VI, Margaret of Anjou, and the Wars of the Roses: A Source Book, Keith Dockray, ed. (Stroud, 2000).
The Heralds’ Memoir 1486–1490: Court Ceremony, Royal Progress and Rebellion. Emma Cavell, ed. (Donington, 2009).
Historie of the Arrivall of Edward IV in England and the Finall Recouerye of His Kingdomes from Henry VI, John Bruce, ed. (London, 1838).
The Household Books of John Howard, Duke of Norfolk, 1462–1471, 1481–1483. Anne Crawford, ed. (Stroud, 1992).
‘The Household of Queen Elizabeth Woodville, 1466–7’, A.R. Myers, ed., Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, 50 (1967–68), pp. 207–35, 443–81.
‘The Household of Queen Margaret of Anjou, 1452–3’, A.R. Myers, ed., Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, 40 (1957–58), pp. 79–113, 391–431.
Illustrations of Ancient State and Chivalry, W.H. Black, ed. (London 1840).
The Itinerary of King Richard III 1483–1485, Rhoda Edwards, ed. (London, 1983).
Leland, Joannis, De rebus brittanicis collectanea, Thomas Hearn, ed., vol. II (Oxford, 1770).
Letters and Papers, Henry VII, 16 December 1533, item 1528; 3 November 1534, item 1368.
Letters and Papers Illustrative of the Reigns of Richard III and Henry VIII, James Gairdner, ed., 2 vols. (London, 1861, 1863).
Letters of the Kings of England, James O. Halliwell, ed., vol. I (London, 1846).
The Logge Register of PCC Wills, 1479 to 1486, Lesley Boatwright, Moira Habberjam, and Peter Hammond, eds, 2 vols (Knaphill, 2008).
London and the Kingdom, Reginald R. Sharpe, ed., vol. III (London, 1895).
Mancini, Dominic, The Usurpation of Richard III, C.A.J. Armstrong, ed. (Gloucester, 1989).
The Manuscripts of the Corporations of Southampton and King’s Lynn, Historical Manuscripts Commission, 11th Report, Appendix, pt. III (London, 1878).
Marche, Olivier de la, Mémoires de l’Olivier de la Marche, Henri Beaune and J. D’arbaumont, eds, vol. III (Paris, 1885).
The Marcher Lordships of South Wales, 1415–1536: Select Documents, T.B. Pugh, ed. (Cardiff, 1963).
Materials for a History of the Reign of Henry VII, W. Campbell, ed., 2 vols (London, 1873 and 1877).
Monstrelet, Enguerran de, La chronique d’Enguerran de Monstrelet, L. Douët-D’Arcq., ed., vol. V (Paris, 1861).
More, St Thomas, The History of King Richard III, Richard S. Sylvester, ed. (New Haven and London, 1976).
Original Letters Illustrative of English History, H. Ellis, ed. second series, vol. I (London, 1827).
The Paston Letters, James Gairdner, ed. (Gloucester, 1986).
Paston Letters and Papers of the Fifteenth Century, Norman Davis, ed. (pts. I and II), Richard Beadle and Colin Richmond, eds (pt. III) (Oxford, 2004–05).
The Plumpton Letters and Papers, Joan Kirby, ed. (Cambridge, 1996).
Political Poems and Songs Relating to English History, Thomas Wright, ed., vol. II (London, 1861).
The Prologues and Epilogues of William Caxton, W.J.B. Crotch (New York, 1971).
Privy Purse Expenses of Elizabeth of York; Wardrobe Accounts of Edward the Fourth, Nicholas H. Nicolas, ed. (London, 1830).
The Reburial of Richard Duke of York 21–30 July 1476, Anne F. Sutton and Livia Visser-Fuchs, eds, with Peter Hammond (London, 1996).
The Register of Henry Chichele, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1414–1443, vol. 2, E.F. Jacob, ed. (Oxford, 1938).
Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, Thomas Percy, ed., vol. II (London, 1839).
Richard III: A Source Book, Keith Dockray, ed. (Stroud, 1997).
Richard III: The Road to Bosworth Field, Peter Hammond and Anne F. Sutton, eds. (London, 1985).
Rotuli Parliamentorum, John Strachey, ed., vol. VI (1777).
Rous, John, Historia Regum Angliae, T. Heame, ed. (2nd edition, Oxford, 1765).
Rous, John, The Rous Roll, intro. Charles Ross (reprinted, Gloucester, 1980).
The Royal Funerals of the House of York at Windsor, Anne F. Sutton and Livia Visser-Fuchs, eds, with R.A. Griffiths (London, 2005).
Six Town Chronicles of England, Ralph Flenley, ed. (Oxford, 1911).
‘Some Ancient Indictments in the Kings Bench Referring to Kent, 1450–1452’, in R. Virgoe, ed., Documents Illustrative of Medieval Kentish Society (Kent Archaeological Society 18, 1964).
Stonor Letters and Papers: 1290–1483 (Kingsford’s Stonor Letters and Papers 1290–1483). Christine Carpenter, ed., (Cambridge, 1996).
John Stow, Annales, or a General Chronicle of England (London, 1631).
Three Catalogues, describing the Contents of the Red Book of the Exchequer, of the Dodsworth Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library, and of the Manuscripts in the Library of the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn, Joseph Hunter, ed. (London, 1838).
Three Chronicles of the Reign of Edward IV (Gloucester, 1988).
The Travels of Leo of Rozmital, Malcolm Letts, ed. and trans. (Cambridge 1957).
Vergil, Polydore, Three Books of Polydore Vergil’s English History, Henry Ellis, ed. (New York and London, 1968).
Visitations of the North, Part III: A Visitation of the North of England Circa 1480–1500, C.H. Hunter Blair, ed. (Durham and London, 1930).
Warkworth, John, Chronicle of the First Thirteen Years of the Reign of King Edward IV, James O. Halliwell, ed. (1839).
Waurin, Jehan de, Recueil des Chroniques et anchiennes istories de la Grant Bretaigne, William Hardy and Edward Hardy, eds., vols IV, V (London, 1884, 1891).
Waurin, Jean de, Anchiennes Chroniques de l’engleterre, ed. E.L and M.E. Dupont, eds (Paris, 1858–63).
York House Books 1461–1490, Lorraine C. Attreed, ed., 2 vols (Stroud, 1991).
Secondary Sources
Books
Ames, Joseph, and Herbert, William, Typographical Antiquities (London, 1810).
Arthurson, Ian, The Perkin Warbeck Conspiracy 1491–1499 (Stroud, 1994).
Ashdown-Hill, John, Eleanor, the Secret Queen: The Woman Who Put Richard III on the Throne (Stroud, 2009).
Ashdown-Hill, John, The Last Days of Richard III (Stroud, 2010).
Aston, Margaret, and Horrox, Rosemary, eds, Much Heaving and Shoving: Late-Medieval Gentry and Their Concerns; Essays for Colin Rich
mond (Chipping, 2005).
Baldwin, David, Elizabeth Woodville: Mother of the Princes in the Tower (Stroud, 2002).
Barker, Juliet, Conquest: The English Kingdom of France (London, 2009).
Barnwell, Edward Lowry, Perrot Notes, or, Some Account of the Various Branches of the Perrot Family (London, 1867).
Beauchesne, Marquis de, L’Expedition d’Edward Wydeville en Bretagne (Vannes, 1911).
Bellamy, J.G., The Law of Treason in England in the Later Middle Ages (Cambridge, 1970).
Bennett, Michael, The Battle of Bosworth (New York, 1985).
Bennett, Michael, Lambert Simnel and the Battle of Stoke (New York, 1987).
Blomfield, Francis, An Essay Towards a Topographical History of the County of Norfolk, vol. 9 (London 1808).
Boardman, Andrew, The First Battle of St Albans: 1455 (Stroud, 2006).
Brindley, David, Richard Beauchamp: Medieval England’s Greatest Knight (Stroud, 2001).
Britton, John, The History and Antiquities of the Cathedral Church of Salisbury (London, 1814).
Calmette, J., and Perinelle, G., Louis XI et L’Angleterre (Paris, 1930).
Carson, Annette, The Maligned King (Stroud, 2008).
Catto, J.I., and Evans, Ralph, eds, The History of the University of Oxford, vol. II, Late Medieval Oxford (Oxford, 1992).
The Woodvilles: The Wars of the Roses and England's Most Infamous Family Page 24