Looke who that is moost vertuous alway,
Pryvee and apert, and moost entendeth ay
To do the gentil dedes that he kan;
Taak hym for the grettest gentil man.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath’s Tale. The hag says that gentility or nobility comes from our good actions, not from our lineage. The greatest noble man is the one who is always virtuous, in private and in public, and intends to do whatever noble deeds he can.