He hadde eek wenches at his retenue, That, wheither that sir Robert or sir Huwe, Or Jakke, or Rauf, or whoso that it were That lay by hem, they tolde it in his ere. Thus was the wenche and he of oon assent, And he wolde fecche a feyned mandement, And somne hem to chapitre bothe two, And pile the man, and lete the wenche go.

He hadde eek wenches at his retenue,
That, wheither that sir Robert or sir Huwe,
Or Jakke, or Rauf, or whoso that it were
That lay by hem, they tolde it in his ere.
Thus was the wenche and he of oon assent,
And he wolde fecche a feyned mandement,
And somne hem to chapitre bothe two,
And pile the man, and lete the wenche go.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Friar’s Tale. The dishonest Summoner employs prostitutes to reveal the names of the customers they have sex with, so that the Summoner can rob the men using a fake order to the archdeacon’s court forged by him.

Geoffrey Chaucer Quotes