ON April 4, 1357, Elizabeth, Countess of Ulster, paid
four shillings for a "paltok," or short cloak, made
by a London tailor for a young man attached to her
retinue, and three shillings for a pair of shoes and some
red and black breeches, purchased for the same young
man. The petty transactions were duly entered in the
account-books of the lady's household; and there the
record remained in oblivion, amid a dozen other trivial
matters, for nearly five centuries. In 1851, the leaves on
which the accounts were written were discovered, lining
the covers of a fifteenth-century manuscript. With the
lapse of time, the countess's insignificant purchases had
become a matter of some importance, for the man for
whom the clothes were purchased was Geoffrey Chaucer.
This is the earliest of the many references to Chaucer
which have been discovered in documents and enrollments
covering the years in which he lived.

The Countess of Ulster was the wife of Lionel of Ant-
werp, third son of Edward III. Just what position Chaucer
held in the earl's household we do not know, but it is
generally assumed that he was serving as a page in 1357,
when he makes his first appearance in history, clad in
the new paltok and the red and black breeches. We need
not be surprised to discover the son of John Chaucer,

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