O thyng biseke I yow, and warne also,
That ye ne prikke with no tormentynge
This tendre mayden, as ye han doon mo;
For she is fostred in hire norissynge
Moore tendrely, and, to my supposynge,
She koude nat adversitee endure
As koude a povre fostred creature.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Clerk’s Tale. Griselda shows her true devotion to Walter with her sympathetic and gracious comments about his new young bride. Do not distress with any tormenting this tender maiden, as you have done to others, she pleads. For she is reared more tenderly and could not ensure adversity like a poorly reared creature, she adds. It is these comments on his richly-dressed and aristocratic bride that wins Walter over to end his testing of Griselda.