Paston Letters
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
A series of letters (with wills, leases, and other documents) written by or to members of the Paston family in Norfolk be- tween the years 1440 and 1486.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Paston Letters” mean?
A series of letters (with wills, leases, and other documents) written by or to members of the Paston family in Norfolk be- tween the years 1440 and 1486.
Is “Paston Letters” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.