Lat me allone in chesynge of my wyf –
That charge upon my bak I wole endure.
But I yow preye, and charge upon youre lyf,
What wyf that I take, ye me assure
To worshipe hire, whil that hir lyf may dure,
In word and werk, bothe heere and everywheere,
As she an emperoures doghter weere.
And forthermoore, this shal ye swere: that ye
Agayn my choys shul neither grucche ne stryve.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Clerk’s Tale. While Walter agrees to his noblemen’s request that he get married, he declines their offer to select him a wife and insists that they accept his choice of wife. He demands that they take an oath to worship her in word and deed as if she were an emperor’s daughter, and never to grouch or strive against his choice. In this we see the power that had been with the nobles, transfer back to Walter.