The world’s oldest love letter has been decoded after 540 years, revealing a classic dilemma – love versus money.
Experts from MyHeritage used their new Scribe AI tool to analyse the letter, which was written back in February 1477.
Penned by a woman called Margery Brews to her fiancé, John Paston III, the letter alludes to dowry arrangements for their impending marriage.
However, as you can see from the image below, it’s difficult to decipher.
The letter is written in an informal style, with several personal flourishes and ‘no special concern for consistency in spelling’.
Thankfully, the AI was able to analyse the text and reveal what it means in today’s language.
‘Many historical letters are difficult for modern readers to interpret at first glance,’ a spokesperson for MyHeritage explained.
‘But the essential information summary quickly explains the people, emotions, historical context and significance of the document.’
The world’s oldest love letter has been decoded after 540 years, revealing a classic dilemma – love versus money
The love letter forms part of the ‘Paston letters’ – a remarkable collection containing over 400 letters, written over three generations by a Norfolk family
The love letter forms part of the ‘Paston letters’ – a remarkable collection containing over 400 letters, written over three generations by a Norfolk family.
As the Pastons rose from peasantry to junior aristocracy, the letters reflect the social mobility of the time.
Many of them – including the love letter – are by women, while several are between relatives or people who know each other well.
At first glance at the love letter, you’ll notice that the lettering is not easy to decipher.
Ms Brews used the Anglo–Saxon letter thorn, as well as some of old abbreviations, including the mark about a letter to shown an omitted ‘m’ and various superscripts.
‘The language can feel unfamiliar to modern readers because spelling, grammar and pronunciation were very different from the English we use now,’ the MyHeritage spokesperson added.
The researchers fed an image of the letter letter to Scribe AI, which quickly managed to decipher its true meaning.
According to the bot, the letter was written in Topcroft in February 1477, which was later annotated as Feb. 1476/7.
Their descendants, previously traced through MyHeritage, were connected to the couple through later generations, and some shared reflections when they learned of their link to the letter
Ms Brews tells her fiancé that she has a ‘full heavy heart’, as her mother has failed to persuade her father to increase her dowry.
However, she reassures John of her love, saying she would not abandon him even if he had ‘half the livelihood’ he did.
She also asks him to keep the letter private.
Thankfully, it all worked out in the end for Margery and John, who went on to marry and have a son, William, in 1479.
Sadly Margery died in 1495 and John in 1503.
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Their descendants, previously traced through MyHeritage, were connected to the couple through later generations, and some shared reflections when they learned of their link to the letter.
‘It really reminds you that the people you are studying are very much like ourselves,’ said Rob Edwards, who himself is an archaeologist.
‘They have the same feelings, and the fact that they are related really does add an extra dimension.
‘You can imagine it, trying to get a bit more towards the wedding from your parents. This money is going to set you up.’
Another descendant, Richard Buckworth–Herne–Soame, added: ‘We still have the stubbornness.’
