Nat longe tyme after that this Grisild
Was wedded, she a doghter hath ybore,
Al had hire levere have born a knave child;
Glad was this markys and the folk therfore,
For though a mayde child coome al bifore,
She may unto a knave child atteyne
By liklihede, syn she nys nat bareyne.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Clerk’s Tale. Not long after the marriage, Griselda gives birth to a daughter, although she would rather have had a son. The Marquis and the people are glad, she will in all liklihood be able to produce a male heir since she is not barren.