"Mercy," quod she, "my sovereyn lady queene!
Er that youre court departe, do me right.
I taughte this answere unto the knyght;
For which he plighte me his trouthe there,
The firste thyng that I wolde hym requere
He wolde it do, if it lay in his myghte.
Bifore the court thanne preye I thee, sir knyght,"
Quod she, "that thou me take unto thy wyf,
For wel thou woost that I have kept thy lyf.
If I seye fals, sey nay, upon thy fey!"
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath’s Tale. This passage is all about woman power. The Loathly Lady who provided the Knight with the answer to the queen’s riddle speaks up before the queen’s court, requesting that the she grant her her right. She announces the Knight’s pledge that the first thing she would ask of him he would do, if it lay in his power. So she calls on the Knight to honor his promise and marry her.