1554 will beginning & Probate

[mcmp]

I have attached two short extracts from a will (1554 English).
This will beginning is for John Barton of Hadlow, the probate (in Latin) being 1559, I think.
I would greatly appreciate assistance with these.  The will is 9 pages long, but I thought it somewhat unreasonable to ask for all of that!
The two extracts are attached.
Michael

[Vance Mead]

Here's the first part. I have modernized the spelling.

John Barton the elder of Hadlow
In the name of God Amen, the first day of December in the year of our lord God a thousand five hundred fifty and four, and in the first and second years of the reigns of our sovereign lord & lady king Philip & queen Mary, I John Barton the elder of Hadlowe in the county of Kent, yeoman, sick of body but of perfect good remembrance, thanks be unto God, do ordain & make this my testament & last will in manner & form following. And first I bequeath my soul unto almighty God my saviour & redeemer by the merit of whose passion I trust to be saved & my body I will to be buried in the churchyard of Hadlowe aforesaid at the discretion of my executors & overseers. item I bequeath to the vicar of Hadlow xs. Also I will that my exec...

[horselydown86]

The probate is straightforward boilerplate.  The only excitement lies in untangling the many crossings-out and insertions, particularly as they affect the probate date.

The day is the seventh day of July.

The year appears to finish as 1561 (mill(es)imo qui(n)gen(tesimo) lxj).

However it's possible to construe it having been 1554 in one of the prior, crossed-out attempts (mill(es)imo qui(n)gen(tesimo) liiij).

Administration was to the executor named in the testament.

Note that some people might wish to argue that the final iteration of the date ends in lvj rather than lxj, making 1556.

[Vance Mead]

It looks like lxj to me. Probate must have been delayed for quite some time. That would explain all the cross-outs and replacements.

One interesting feature is the Protestant feeling of the will, during the reign of P & M.

[Watson]

I agree the probate date is 7 July 1561.

"liiij" has been crossed out.  A probate date of 7 July 1554 would, in any case, make no sense because it would be before the will was written, and there seems no reason to reinstate the crossed out "Decembris".

[Vance Mead]

The original date appears to be 24 December, which is possible, given that the will was made on the 1st of December.

[Watson]

Yes, 24 December 1554 seems to have been a date in the will's history, but "xxiiij", "Decembris" and "liiij" have all been crossed out.

[mcmp]

It looks like lxj to me. Probate must have been delayed for quite some time. That would explain all the cross-outs and replacements.

One interesting feature is the Protestant feeling of the will, during the reign of P & M.

Definite Protestant leanings in this family, as there were for many other families in the locale. John Barton (this one or his son?) was in league with the leader (Sir Henry Isley, subsequently executed) of the Feb 1554 (corrected from 1544) Wyatt Rebellion.
The record in Kent Wills & Probate Index (FindMyPast) says that the will was proved 1559. Date of death may remain a mystery.  It is assumed by others that he died c1558, but there is no burial record for him in Hadlow.
I think I need to look further at the other 8 pages of this will.
Thanks for your input.