Preyinge oure Lord to graunten him that he
Mighte ones knowe of thilke blisful lyf
That is bitwixe an housbonde and his wyf,
And for to lyve under that hooly boond
With which that first God man and womman bond.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Merchant’s Tale. The old libertine knight January wants to give up his wild bachelor ways. He longs to settle down to what he sees as that blissful life between husband and wife, and live under the holy bond created by God to join man and woman. January’s idea of marriage being a sanctified path to a guaranteed life of pleasure and lawful sex speaks volumes about his foolishness.