The loathly lady is an archetype commonly used in medieval literature, most famously in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Wife of Bath's Tale. The motif was prominent in Celtic mythology and to a lesser extent Germanic mythology, where the lady often represented sovereignty.
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Famous quotes containing the words loathly and/or lady:
“Turns to meet the loathly birds
Flocking round him from the skies,
Waiting for the flesh that dies.”
—Ralph Hodgson (c. 1871–1962)
“A lady is smarter than a gentleman, maybe,
She can sew a fine seam, she can have a baby,
She can use her intuition instead of her brain,
But she can’t fold a paper in a crowded train.”
—Phyllis McGinley (1905–1978)