A wys wyf, if that she kan hir good,
Shal beren hym on honde the cow is wood,
And take witnesse of hir owene mayde,
Of hir assent.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath’s Prologue. A smart wife will be able to deceive her husband and convince him of anything and call her maid as a witness, advices the Wife of Bath. Just fool him by swearing "the cow is wood" (the chough is crazy), she says, referring to the story of the talking bird that tells the husband about his wife’s unfaithfulness.