And whan she homward cam, she wolde brynge
Wortes or othere herbes tymes ofte,
The whiche she shredde and seeth for hir lyvynge,
And made hir bed ful hard and nothyng softe.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Clerk’s Tale. Not a woman for idleness, the very good-living Griselda would often bring home cabbages and other vegetables to shred and boil for herself and her father. Nor was she one for the easy life, sleeping at night in a hard rather than a soft bed.