Young, Whitby and Streoneshalh (A)

Lord Roger, whose minstrel played at the Abbey on St James' Day (25 July) is very likely Roger Mortimer (1374–98), fourth earl of March and seventh earl of Ulster, whose minstrel also played at the Boothall, Gloucester, in 1393–94. He was the only Roger of sufficiently high rank to be identified simply by his Christian name, having been proposed as a possible candidate for the throne (P&P; R.R. Davies, 'Mortimer, Roger, fourth earl of March and sixth earl of Ulster (1374–1398), ODNB, accessed 27 December 2020).

'domini de Scrop' is Stephen le Scrope (c 1345–1406), second Baron Scrope of Masham (CP, vol 11, p 564). 'domini de Ros' is William de Ros (c 1369–1414), sixth Baron de Ros of Helmsley, lord treasurer of England. The date of the event is 1394–5, so the reference is unlikely to be to John de Ros, fifth Baron de Ros, who died in 1393 (CP, vol 10, pp 101–3).

Henry Percy (1364–1403), known as Hotspur, did not inherit his father's earldom and thus was formally known as Henry Percy (Simon Walker, 'Percy, Sir Henry called Hotspur (1364-1403), soldier,' ODNB, accessed 5 January 2021).

Peter de Bukcan may well be Sir Peter Buckton, steward of Bolingbroke's household and friend of Chaucer. It is not clear who is meant by 'the earl of Westmorland.' The date of the document is 1394–5 but the earldom was not created until 1397. Ralph Neville (c 1364–1425) became the first earl in that year and the reference may be to him if the payment is being made retrospectively. Neville became marshall of England in 1399 and succeeded to his father's barony in 1388 as fourth Baron Neville de Raby; the scribe may have confused this position with his elevation to the earldom in 1397 (CP, vol 12b, pp 553–4).

Dunsley lies two and a half miles west of Whitby. Rigcot, as the record would imply, is an inland village in contrast to Seamer's coastal situation. Langdale places Rigge-Cote three miles east of Leeds in the wapentake of Agbrigg and Morley; the tenants of the two villages are trading local produce, fish for hay (Langdale, Topographical Dictionary, p 93).