Reference
X509/1
Title
Memoranda book of Ralph Astry containing accounts, extracts from the Bible, a Latin glossary, national events e.g. 'item kyng henry dyed ye xxviii daye of February in ye xxxviii yere of his Reynge...', and other general notes. Harlington Woodend area. [for accounts see book on shelf] [16th Century]
Date free text
C16th
Production date
From: 1500 To: 1600
Scope and Content
This is a 16th century notebook with about 240 pages, 6 inches by 4 inches. Only 10 pages are completely blank, and the contents of the rest are of a most varied kind. The handwriting is of several different styles, which may be of the same author at different ages. The entries are not in any systematic order, and sometimes two or three unrelated subjects are entered on the same page. Apparently some of the later entries were put in wherever blank spaces happened to be available.
The book has not yet been studied in detail, but the following extracts and comments give some idea of its contents. References such as A4 mean the 4th page of Section A of the book; there are 11 sections, A to K, each containing from 8 to 30 pages. These were originally bound together, but most have now become separated
Accounts
The most frequent entries, occupying about 80 pages, are accounts of various kinds. For example, rents:
A3 Item John Pette of Maldon for rent of vj acr of land and a letill pitell by yere iij s iiij d
Item Xpefar (Christopher) Cheswyke for a ten't a Closse called Whitbrede and thre acres of land by the yere xiij s iiij d
Item one other man for foure acres and a rod of land and one acre of mede by the yere x s
etc.,
In other cases the amounts are not designated as rents, and it is not always clear whether they are receipts or payments
A4 Item the vecar of Harlyngton iij s iiij d
Item Stevyns for chafe x s
Item Smythe for my grace iiij s
Item Ric' my man iij s iiij d
etc.,
Later in the same list appears
A5 Md owyng to Raff Astry at the Annunciation of Our Lady on the third yere of Quene Elizabeth [25 March 1561]:
Imprimis of the Illynges of Maldon xiiij li vj s viij d
Item of Thorpe of Dunstable vij li xiij s
Item Humfrey Bury of Herne iij li
Item Wynch my man xx s
etc.,
Another type of account relates to charges made apparently by some lawyer's office, e.g.:
E18 Md the det and charge of Hatley and Wyngat in the time of my chriswyke:
First they owe me the Quenes allowance wych is 1 li
Item I layid out in passyng of their accompt x li
Item the tipstaf for fecheyng Hatley into the Exchequer
Item for callyng hym in the Kynges benche for the det
etc.,
There are many entries of small amounts in the following form, which may also refer to lawyers' charges:
B9 Boughton in comp Perre x d
in comp Barton ob
Huggard in comp Goldyng ij d
Seth in comp Perre ob
in comp Pratt j d
etc.,
Latin passages
About 60 pages are devoted to passages in Latin. Some of these are direct quotations, for instance two pages from St Matthew's Gospel:
C5 Populus qui ambulavit in tenebris ...
Beati paupere spiritu quoniam ipsorum est regnum celorum ...
etc.,
Other passages extol scholastic virtues:
B12 Omnes scolastici debent venerare beatam Katerinam
While a few are of lighter character:
B3 Una puella valde decore tantum deligit me ut non possum ire ad lectum nisi sequitur me
One of these Latin passages, which might perhaps be classed with the legal forms below, is a transcript of the marriage service:
F3 Vis habere hanc mulierem in sponsam et eam diligere et honorare tenere et custodire sanam et infirmam: sicut sponsus debet sponsam: et omnes alias preter omnia dimittere et illi soli adherere quondam vita utriusque vestrum duraverit
etc.,
There are 14 pages of religious passages in Latin, including a pun:
K11 Trans mundi maria nos ducat virgo maria
Another 60 pages contain Latin-English word lists. These are arranged systematically, by subjects or by parts of speech, and were apparently for the use of a student. Examples:
F16 Mitilus a muskle [mussel]
Contus a pale or a staffe
Bombilus the humble be
Papilio a butter fle
Nitedula a globerde [glow-worm]
Cicada a grasse hoppe
F17 Ulmus an elme
Alnus an elder
Acer a maple tree
Coclus a hasyle
Avellana a walnut tree
etc.,
H5 Amor aris to be loved
Stipulor aris to speke for
Epulor aris to make merry
Replicor aris to be bown agene
J1 Integer a um all
Coevus a um bothe of an age
Pellitus a um furde [furred]
Barbarius a um outlondyshe
Legal Form
There are about ten entries which seem to be copies of standard legal forms. It is not clear whether these are merely specimens or copies of actual documents. Examples:
A1 The condycon of thys recognisannce is such that where the above boundyn George Perott hys lycencyd to kyp a vetyllyng howse and yf the sam George do kept good and honest rule wyth the sam that then this recognysanc to be voyd and of nonne effect or elles to stand and abyd in full strength and virtue
E21 Md that I Richard Brakyn of Staple Inn in Holburne do owe unto Mr Astey of the same howse iij s iiij d whyche I borowyd of hym to be payd to hym at suche tyme as he shall requyre yt. In wytnes whereof I the sayd Rychard Brakyn have wrytten thys with myne owne hand and set to my name. By me Rychard Brakyn
Dances
Seven consecutive pages contain what appear to be descriptions of dances. Sometimes there is a title followed by a series of letters, as for instance:
I3 la bruce
D B F d R d R B F d d d R d R B F d R B
R d R B F d d d R d R B
D B F d R d R B F d d d R d R B F d R B
R d R B F d d d R d R B
Sometimes special instructions are interspersed:
I4 Farnandos pabyn
D B F d F d F d F d F d the one daunce a litell agenst the other and then turne Rounde about bothe twese
The letters could represent either steps in the dance or notes in the music, probably steps, because there does not seem to be enough variety to make a reasonable tune. However, the following entry does call them notes:
I5 la Margarett
h b F d R b F d d d R d R b F d R B xviij notes
Other entries in this series consist of sets of names of dances or of tunes, with no details:
I9 ij A gallyerd/ A pavyn / Argullus
A lobus fete la barb/ la gorgius/ la Bestela Crecrak
iiij Robynhod/ the hunt ys hupp/ Wyll you go wake the wood so Wyld. Wyllcum be ye to town
Miscellaneous
The remaining entries are of a most varied assortment
There are two Alphabets, with each small and capital letter copied several times. [E30 and F1]
There are several riddles or puzzles of various kinds:
B4 Fuit mortuus et non natus (Adam)
Fuit natus ante patrem et matrem (Cayn and Abell)
Fuit natus et non mortuus (Helias)
Locutus fuit post mortem (Samuell)
The following apparently has to do with dominoes or dice:
A8 ../. non possunt [6/5] sed solvere volunt
omnibus est notum ::/: debit solvere totum
There are proverbs in English and Latin:
B3 The harte lovyth the woode
Cervus amat salvam
The hare lovyth the hyll
Lepus altum scanderit montem
The fole love hys folysnes
Stutum stutium talum
etc.,
Some refer to historical events:
A1 Item King Henry dyed the xxviij daye of February in the xxxviij yere of this reygne and then Kyng E the vj reyjned vj yere full and died in July in the vij yere and Quene Mary reyned vj yere and died in November the same yere and then quen Elizabeth cam in
I2 Pope Innocent sende thys wrytyng to the kyng of Cycile.
Pop Innocent hathe grantys that what man or womon that baryth the lengthe of naylys of Cryst and worshyp him with v paternoster and v ave Maria and a credo shalle have grantyd unto them vij peticions that here folowyth. The fyrst ys that he shalle dye no soden dethe the second ys that he shalle [MS ends here]
One page contains what is apparently a shopping list:
H3 for the hows for sope
galle figes fruit spise
3 baskette - glasses a cage
mass fat fayls - on sh 4 pe
a dost soll gasses
a fine ... - x pe
sweet meets
potecary stof
to porters
for things for my self
my wasscot making
7 pare of glofs
Hidden money is mentioned on one half-page:
J27 Item my closet a lose bord over the wyndow in a boxe money
Item in the same chamber in a cover next the preve dore in the locker of the sam to put fyngger unter the bord into a hole wyll opeyn it theyr is money
Item in my bede chamber behynd a bra.re [?] under the hanggyng agenst the sters that goth downe his money
Ten pages of the book are blank
One page seems to refer to stories current at the time. It is tempting to relate some of them to Shakespeare's plays, but these were all probably later. They may, of course, refer to Shakespeare's sources
K25 Fyrst of a man that maryd a shrew and mad hir as plyant as a yong hasul
Item of a woman that had thre wooers
Item of a woman that had byn twis begild with hyr suters
Item of a man that wold have a wife with two thyngges
etc.,
Date and authorship
Dates are recorded for some of the rent payments, and these range from 1561 near the beginning of the book [A5] to 1584 near the end [J24]. These rent payments, however, are often written in the blank spaces left by other entries [e.g. B1] which are presumably earlier, and may be a good deal earlier
The names of Ralph Astry senior and junior occur frequently in the accounts, and the following entry seems to establish the father as the author:
J12 Item Raphe Astry my sonne hath recevyd of his father of Warehams cccc li
The book shows a considerable variety of handwriting, and while these may be of Ralph Astry at different ages, there is the possibility that there was another previous author
Level of description
item