O deere wyf! O gemme of lustiheed!
That were to me so sad and eek so trewe,
Now listow deed, with face pale of hewe,
Ful giltelees, that dorste I swere, ywys!
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Manciple’s Tale. Phoebus is mourning his wife, whom he has killed in a fit of jealous rage. He was told by his pet white crow that his wife was unfaithful to him with her secret lover. So he slew her with an arrow. But at the sight of her dead body he is filled with remorse. Using a metaphor, he describes her as a gem of delight.