How we cite our quotes: (Line Number)
Quote #1
For if it so bifelle, as God forbade,
That thurgh your deeth you lyne sholde slake,
And that a straunge successour sholde take
Youre heritage, O, Wo were us alyve! (136-139)
Walter's nobles have sworn allegiance not just to him but to his entire family, including his ancestors and progeny. If he fails to produce an heir, he'll end his line, and this will create a break in their continuity with the past: they'll be unable to serve the same family their ancestors served.
Quote #2
Unnethe trowed they-but dorste han swore –
That to Janicle, of which I spak bifore,
She doghter were, for, as by conjecture,
Hem thoghte she was another creature. (403-406)
Remember Walter's sentiment that "children ofte been / Unlyk hir worthy eldres hem bifore" (155-156)? That passage has foreshadowed this moment, in which Grisilde is completely unrecognizable as Janicula's daughter as a result of the change she has undergone.
Quote #3
Nat long tyme after that this Grisild
Was wedded, she a doughter hath y-bore.
Al had hire levere have born a knave child,
Glad was this markis and the folk therefore;
For though a mayde child come al bifore,
She may unto a knave child atteyne
By lyklihed, sin she nis nat bareyne. (442-448)
The hard truth is that at this time, a noblewoman's most important function in her marriage was to be a vessel for babies. Her duty was to produce a male child who could be his father's heir (a function a girl could not perform). Walter and the people rejoice more in the proof that Grisilde is not barren (and may yet produce a male) than in the newborn girl herself.