"Madame," he seyde, "ye moote foryeve it me,
Though I do thyng to which I am constreyned.
Ye been so wys that ful wel knowe ye
That lordes heestes mowe nat been yfeyned;
They mowe wel been biwailled or compleyned,
But men moote nede unto hire lust obeye,
And so wol I; ther is namoore to seye.
This child I am comanded for to take"
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Clerk’s Tale. The Sergeant sent by Walter to take away Griselda’s child, apparently to put her to death, has arrived. He makes it clear that his lord’s commands must be obeyed and not be evaded. His "I’m only following orders" excuse for his part in the heinous crime of infanticide is the defense used by the top Nazis at the Nuremberg trials.