O Donegild, I ne have noon Englissh digne
Unto thy malice and thy tirannye!
And therfore to the feend I thee resigne;
Lat hym enditen of thy traitorie!
Fy, mannysh, fy! – o nay, by God, I lye –
Fy, feendlych spirit, for I dar wel telle,
Thogh thou heere walke, thy spirit is in helle!
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Man of Law’s Tale. The Man of Law has such contempt for Donegild’s malice and treachery that he is rendered speechless, saying he doesn’t have any English suitable to describe it. But he refuses to define her as human, instead he says she is a fiendish spirit straight out of hell.