Chaucer's Wife of Bath has some characteristic remarks on the same subject: "Why sholde men elles in hir bookes sette That man shal yelde to hys wyf hire dette?
Then on a tyme there were many grete clerkes and rad of kyng Alysaunder how on a tyme as hesholde have a batayle with ye kynge of Inde.
All theys yomen to laye theyr hands theroon at oones, that they touch not the bedd, tyll yt be layed as it sholde be by the comaundement of the ussher.
But tho gan sely Troilus for to quake As though men sholde han led him in-to helle, And seyde, `Allas!
This Troilus, that herde his lady preye Of lordship him, wex neither quik ne deed, Ne mighte a word for shame to it seye, 80 Al-though men sholde smyten of his heed.
For she, that of his herte berth the keye, 460 Was absent, lo, this was his fantasye, That no wight sholdemake melodye.
That wel unnethe it seen was in his chere; But at the yate ther she sholde oute ryde With certeyn folk, he hoved hir tabyde, So wo bigoon, al wolde he nought him pleyne, That on his hors unnethe he sat for peyne.
For how sholde I my lyf an houre save, Sin that with yow is al the lyf I have?
And also thenketh on myn honestee, That floureth yet, how foule I sholdeit shende, And with what filthe it spotted sholde be, If in this forme I sholde with yow wende.
For through my deeth my wosholde han an ende, Ther every day with lyf my-self I shende.
And forth is lad this woful yonge knight Unto the court of king Minos ful right, And in a prison, fetered, cast is he 1950 Til thilke tyme he sholde y-freten be.
For this is al and som, it was Venus, His owne moder, that spak with him thus; And to Cartage she bad he sholde him dighte, 1000 And vanished anoon out of his sighte.
She seide, that, for her gilt ne for her blame, Her husbond sholde nat have the foule name, 1845 That wolde she nat suffre, by no wey.
For wel, thoghte he, shesholde nat be geten And ay the more that he was in dispair, The more he coveteth and thoghte her fair.
Prudence, 'ye seyn your wil and as yow lyketh; / but in no caas of the world a man sholde nat doon outrage ne excesse for to vengen him.
Pacience is an heigh vertu certeyn; For it venquisseth, as thise clerkes seyn, Thinges that rigoursholde never atteyne.
For sothe, the dede of this venial sinne is ful perilous; for it amenuseth the love that men sholde han to god more and more.
Whan shapen was al hir conspiracye Fro point to point, how that his lecherye 150 Parfourned sholde been ful subtilly, As ye shul here it after openly, Hoom gooth the cherl, that highte Claudius.
To every wight comanded was silence, And that the knight sholde telle in audience, What thing that worldly wommen loven best.
For wel she hadde herd seyd, that thilke day The markis sholde wedde, and, if she mighte, She wolde fayn han seyn som of that sighte.
With hir he yaf ful many a panne of bras, For that Simkin sholde in his blood allye.
For ye sholde first have cleped a fewe folk to your conseil, and after ye mighte han shewed it to mo folk, if it hadde been nede.
And understond wel that obedience is perfit, whan that a man doth gladly and hastily, with good herte entierly, al that he sholde do.
And yit, if I hadde seyd that ye sholde han purchaced the pees and the reconsiliacioun, I ne hadde nat muchel mistaken me, ne seyd amis.
He loved hir most, and trusted hir also; He preyede hir, that to no creature She sholde tellen of his disfigure.
There was a yeman in that place, 225 And best worthy was he, And for he was ferre and frend bestad, Islayne he sholde have be.
I had a sone, for soth, Robyn, 205 That sholde have ben my eyre, When he was twenty wynter olde, In felde wolde juste full feyre.
He gave hym fyve marke for his wyne, There it laye on the molde, And bad it sholde be sette a broche, Drynke who so wolde.
Lytell Johan gave the buteler such a rap, 65 His backe yede nygh on two; Tho he lyved an hundreth wynter, The wors he sholde go.
The knyght had reuth of this yeman, In place where that he stode, 230 He said that yoman sholdehave no harme, For love of Robyn Hode.
Were the myddel of myn hand Y-maymed or y-perissed, I sholde receyve right noght Of that I reche myghte.
Neminem salutaveris per viam, Suche manere of men, Matheu ous techeth, We sholde have hem to house, And help hem when thei come.
Clerkus that knowen this, Sholdekennen lordes What David seide of suche men, As the Sauter telleth: Non habitabit in medio domus meae qui facit superbiam, qui loquitur iniquum.
And if the kyng of that kyngdom Come in that tyme There feloun thole sholde Deeth or oother juwise, Lawe wolde he yeve hym lif, If he loked on hym.
And he be bathed in that blood, Baptised as it were, And thanne plastred with penaunce And passion of that baby, {354} He sholdestonde and steppe.
And if men lyvede as mesure wolde, Sholde nevere moore be defaute Amonges cristene creatures, If Cristes wordes ben trewe.
Ac bestes brouhte hem no mete, Bote onliche the fouweles; In tokenynge that trywe man Alle tymes sholde Fynde honeste men in holy men And other ryghtful peuple.
In alle manere angres Have this at herte, That theigh thei suffrede al this, God suffrede for us moore, In ensample we sholde do so, And take no vengeaunce Of oure foes that dooth us falsnesse, That is oure fadres wille.
I feared ever that w^{ch} still I stonde in dowte of, les over myche credit sholde be given whear lyttle is mente that is spoken.
But keep my counsayl, syr Cauline, Ne let no man it knowe; For and ever my father sholde it ken, 180 I wot he wolde us sloe.
Menstrelles that walken fer and wyde Her and ther in every a syde In mony a dyverse londe Sholde ut her bygynnyng Speke of that ryghtwes kyng That made both see and sonde," &c.
It mot nedes be so,' quod I; 'for the reaume ne sholde nat semen blisful yif ther were a yok of misdrawinges in dyverse parties; ne the savinge of obedient thinges ne sholde nat be.
But tho gan sely Troilus for to quake As though men sholde han lad him in-to helle, And seyde, 'allas!
And the bristlede boor markede with scomes the shuldres of Hercules, the whiche shuldres the heye cercle of 40 hevene sholde thriste.
And though so be that pees ther may be noon, Yet hider, though ther never pees ne were, 1360 I moste come; for whider sholde I goon, Or how mischaunce sholde I dwelle there Among tho men of armes ever in fere?
Certes,' quod she, 'nothing nis fayrer than is the thing that 115 by resoun sholde ben added to thise forseide thinges.
O my swerde, yf ony persone of noo value sholde have the, and I knewe it, I sholde deye for sorowe!
Wherefor the wylle of God was, that they sholde all be dede, to thende that their martyrdom and passyon myght be the cause of theyr salvacion and purgyng of theyr synne.
Bellegardus broder of Marfuryus, doubtyng that helpe and ayde sholde come to the crysten people, retorned into another countreye wyth hys peple moche hastely.
For the custom was that the subgettes of Charles that day whych they sholde fyght, were confessed and comuned wythoute fayllynge by men of the chyrche, whych alway were wyth them.
And Roulland helde his sword over hym, saying that he shold deye, if he shewed to hym not clerely the kyng Marfuryus, and yf he so sholde do, he sholde not deye.
He to drive to Islipp to fetch Angelica, lykewise her Witnesse, who sholde be some One of y^e Girles, she hadd not yet made her Choice.
I made y^is Condition, it sholde not be either of y^e Twinnes.
The right reading is They ne sholde have (They ne being read as They n').
The lasse bigyled he sholde have been And he hadde than perceyved it, But richesse nold not late him wit.
For than this boy-knave so boldely Ne sholde not have be hardy, 3850 [Ne] in this verger had such game, Which now me turneth to gret shame.
Ful riche was his tresor and his hord, For which ful faste his countour dore he shette; And eek he nolde that no man sholde hymn lette Of his accountes, for the meene tyme; And thus he sit til it was passed pry me.
Up roos tho oon of thise olde wise, and with his hand made contenaunce that men sholde holden hem stille, and yeven hym audience.
But I and he have ben moch aquentyd to geder, and I understond and knowe hys vertews levyng and dysposicion ryght wele; whyche heraffter, I wote wele, sholdeplease you ryght wele.
I wolde not lose ye lyttel lamb that Godde hath lent to me-- If I colde sing that angell songe, hoy joysome I sholde bee!
For, with my arms about him my music in his eare, What angell songe of paradize soeversholde I feare?
If I my herte sholde to you breke, And than you to tourne your mynde fro me, And wolde not me comforte whan ye here me speke, Then sholde I ten tymes soryer be.
So I sayd certaynely, But suche pleasures be set a syde, the sothe to saye; And also, yf we toke suche a journaye, Whan sholde we come agayne?
Promyse is duty, But and I sholde take suche vyage on me, I knowe it well, it sholde be to my payne; Also it make me aferde, certayne.
If ony have you wronged ye shall revenged be, Though I on the grounde be slayne for the, Though that I knowe before that I sholde dye.
Yf we sholde refuse wyl and wyt we were to blame for they be fyt Therfore by my wel they shal not slye They be welcome to me, +Wyll.
The above list will hopefully give you a few useful examples demonstrating the appropriate usage of "sholde" in a variety of sentences. We hope that you will now be able to make sentences using this word.
