Whanne saugh ye evere in any manere age,
That hye God defended mariage
By expres word? I pray you, telleth me,
Or where comanded he virginitee?
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath’s Prologue. Where is it written that God ever forbade marriage, the Wife of Bath Alison demands? She challanges the other pilgrims to tell her where He stated any laws about virginity.