For if it so bifelle, as God forbede,
That thurgh youre deeth youre lyne sholde slake,
And that a straunge successour sholde take
Youre heritage, O wo were us alyve!
Wherfore we pray you hastily to wyve.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Clerk’s Tale. Urging Walter to marry quickly, his nobles warn of the woe that will befall them if through his death his line should die out and a foreign successor take over. Having served Walter’s family loyally down the years, they believe such an event would be a disaster.