For what so that this carpenter answerde, It was for noght; no man his reson herde. With othes grete he was so sworn adoun That he was holde wood in al the toun; For every clerk anonright heeld with oother. They seyde, "The man is wood, my leeve brother."

For what so that this carpenter answerde,
It was for noght; no man his reson herde.
With othes grete he was so sworn adoun
That he was holde wood in al the toun;
For every clerk anonright heeld with oother.
They seyde, "The man is wood, my leeve brother."

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Miller’s Tale. John is stripped of his voice in the community, as nobody in the town listens to his explanations about the flood and tubs, and he is dismissed as a madman.

Geoffrey Chaucer Quotes