‘yr scribe can proove no nessecarye consiquence for you’?: The Social and Linguistic Implications of Joan Thynne’s using a Scribe in Letters to her Son, 1607–11

Summary

To the Right wor

shipfull my Loving

Sonne Sir

thomas thin Long

Let gve this

w^th speed

Good sonn your Leter was expeicited Longe be fore

I hard from you. which made me doutfull.

what couse your sister ??? showld take for

her mony ???? seinge you cam not acording

to your promys ^whch^ gaue both her and my selfe

much discontenment: where apon she hath

made her atornes to reseaue her the mony

to her youse: yett neuer the less. if you

will haue the hole som. all to gether for

thre weakes or ^a month^ Longer if you please. geu=

inge her what she and you shall agree a=

pon ? at your and her nexst meteinge ????

geuinge her atornes good secureite for

the hole thosen pondes. to be pade vnto her

at London or other wise ? ^where^ she shall apount

[this entire line crossed out in the manuscript]

[most of this line crossed out] but to breake

the some shee is very vnwilinge and there=

fore good sonn haue abrotherly care for her

good for that she is very wilinge you shold

haue it afore astranger for the Lone of your

house I hartely thanke you and doe take it

very kindely from you wishinge I had

??? knone your minde afore for then I wold

not atrobeled my sister kneueit as I did but

now god wilinge if it please god to sende me

any reasenabell helth I will see both you

and yours to my greate comfort for your

sonne heare he is in good health and is much

altred for the beter I prase god: I thanke

you for your sister cristen praing ^you^ that she

may haue the continunance of your Loue vnto

her and this prayeng you to beare with my scri=

blinge Leter beinge not well at this tyme beinge

very well satesfied by your Leter which I pray

god euer to kepe and bless both you and youres

remembringe my beste Loue vnto you? I rest

Taken alone, this, the last surviving letter sent from Joan Thynne to her son Thomas in 1611, affords little out of the ordinary from what we know about letter-writing practice in the early seventeenth century.