When Margery Brews wrote to her fiancé John Paston in February 1477, she broke the news her father would not increase the dowry she would bring with her to wedlock.

But she assured him that she would love him all the same even if the start of their married life was not as comfortable as they might have hoped.

Now a fresh translation generated by a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool has shone new light on the lovers' plight five centuries later.

Researchers from the online family history platform MyHeritage fed the missive into a new AI tool it has developed called Scribe.

It was written in long-defunct late Middle English that had extra characters which are no longer used.

They found it could quickly get to grips with the language Miss Brews uses to lay her emotions bare with personal flourishes and inconsistent spellings.

Many of the Paston letters are in the British Library (Image: British Library)

The Paston........

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