Now ther ye seye that I am foul and old,
Than drede you noght to been a cokewold;
For filthe and eelde, also moot I thee,
Been grete wardeyns upon chastitee.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath’s Tale. In the Wife of Bath’s story, the old hag tells the Knight that he needn’t fear being a cuckold because ugly old wives are not desirable, age being a great guardian of chastity. This is rather ironic, as older age doesn’t seem to stop the Wife of Bath desiring and having sex.