I have doon this deede
For no malice, ne for no crueltee,
But for t’assaye in thee thy wommanheede,
And nat to sleen my children – God forbeede! –
But for to kepe hem pryvely and stille,
Til I thy purpos knewe and al thy wille.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Clerk’s Tale. OK why did you do it Walter – put your wife through unimaginable hell and stress with your stupid loyalty tests? Walter’s defense is that he didn’t do it for malice or cruelty, but to test her womanhood, her purpose and all her will. Which really doesn’t make being cruel, behaving like an a-hole and making her believe her children had been slain, all right.