A voys was herd in general audience,
And seyde, "Thou hast desclaundred, giltelees,
The doghter of hooly chirche in heigh presence;
Thus hastou doon, and yet holde I my pees!
Of this mervaille agast was al the prees;
As mazed folk they stoden everichone,
For drede of wreche, save Custance allone.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Man of Law’s Tale. After the false knight is exposed and Constance exonerated, a voice is heard in the general audience saying that a guiltless daughter of the church has been slandered in the presence of the high God. The bewildered folk are terrified of the vengeance that might be visited upon them – all except for Constance alone.