And up I roos, and al oure covent eke,
With many a teere trillyng on my cheke,
Withouten noyse or claterynge of belles;
Te Deum was oure song, and nothyng elles,
Save that to Crist I seyde an orison,
Thankynge hym of his revelacion.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Summoner’s Tale. After Thomas’s wife tells the Friar that her child died, the Friar claims that he had a vision half hour after his death, in which he saw him carried up to heaven. He and all the convent then sang the Te Deum, prayed for her child, and thanked God for his revelation, the Friar tells the couple. But we all know that he did no such thing and is just merely to extract money from Thomas.