But me was toold, certeyn, nat longe agoon is, That sith that Crist ne wente nevere but onis To weddyng, in the Cane of Galilee, That by the same ensample taughte he me That I ne sholde wedded be but ones.

But me was toold, certeyn, nat longe agoon is,
That sith that Crist ne wente nevere but onis
To weddyng, in the Cane of Galilee,
That by the same ensample taughte he me
That I ne sholde wedded be but ones.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath’s Prologue. In the time of Chaucer it was common enough thinking that a widowed woman should not marry again, but devote herself to celibacy or convent life. And the Wife of Bath says she has been told that since Christ went but once to a wedding, he taught that she should be wedded but once.

Geoffrey Chaucer Quotes