Geoffrey Chaucer

“ For it semeth that gentilesse be a maner preysinge that comth of deserte of ancestres ... yif thou ne have no gentilesse of thy-self—that is to seyn, preyse that comth of thy deserte—foreine gentilesse ne maketh thee nat gentil.' And again, just below, in metre 6:—'On allone is fader of thinges.... Thanne comen alle mortal folk of noble sede; why noisen ye or bosten of youre eldres?' But we must not overlook a long passage near the end of Le Roman de la Rose, ll. 18807-19096, which Chaucer certainly also consulted. ”

“ Observe how his first, third, and fourth lines answer to Chaucer's fifth, second, and fourth lines respectively.
5. 'Dignitees apertienen ... to vertu'; Boeth. iii. pr. 4, l. 25.
7. Al were he, albeit he may wear; i. e. although he may be a bishop, king, or emperor.
8. This firste stok, i. e. Christ. In l. 12, his heir means mankind in general. ”