But now knowe I in verray soothfastnesse
That in greet lordshipe, if I wel avyse,
Ther is greet servitute in sondry wyse.
I may nat doon as every plowman may.
My peple me constreyneth for to take
Another wyf, and crien day by day;
And eek the pope, rancour for to slake,
Consenteth it.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Clerk’s Tale. Walter claims that he is being constrained by his people, who complain every day, to take another wife. He is arguing that has a certain loyalty and duty to them. He also tells Griselda of the Papal Bull, which he had forged, declaring him free of her and giving him permission to marry another woman.