Wostow nat wel the olde clerkes sawe,
That "who shal yeve a lovere any lawe?"
Love is a gretter lawe, by my pan,
Than may be yeve to any erthely man;
And therfore positif lawe and swich decree
Is broken al day for love in ech degree.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Knight’s Tale. Ancite responds to Palamon’s claim that Ancite will be breaking their oath of brotherhood if he continues to love Emily. Who would give a lover any law, Ancite asks, adding that love is a greater law than any earthy one. Man-made laws are broken every day for love, he points out. As the rivaly between the two knights progresses, they begin failing to live up to their code of chivalry and become governed more by the laws of love.