"Grisilde," he seyde, "ye shal wel understonde
It liketh to youre fader and to me
That I yow wedde, and eek it may so stonde,
As I suppose, ye wol that it so be.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Clerk’s Tale. Walter doesn’t choose the most romantic way to propose to a girl. He tells Griselda that it pleases him and her father that they marry, and he supposes that she desires it too. What’s love got to do with it, as the song says! Not much for Walter, who likes a woman to do what he bids her to do without complaining – including marry him!