And peyned hire to countrefete cheere
Of court, and to been estatlich of manere,
And to ben holden digne of reverence.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, General Prologue. Although a member of a religious order who runs a nunnery, the Prioress tries to portray the image of someone rather more worldly and grand who has been taught at court. Pretending to be someone she is not, she takes great pains to imitate – "countrefete" – the manners of court and be considered worthy of reference. You get the impression that Chaucer is poking a bit of fun here at a nun who cares so much about social image.