For thogh they yeve us al hir heritage,
For which we clayme to been of heigh parage,
Yet may they nat biquethe for no thyng
To noon of us hir vertuous lyvyng,
That made hem gentil men ycalled be,
And bad us folwen hem in swich degree.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath’s Tale. In her pillow talk with her husband Knight on the meaning of nobility, the Loathly Lady says that virtuous living cannot be bequeathed. So even though our ancestors give us all their heritage, they cannot pass down to us their virtuous living that made them be called noble men.