The Knight’s Tale tells us about life as a servant of the king. The knight is chosen to tell his tale first, since he ranks highest in society of all the people on the pilgrimage. The Knight tells a tale of courtship and chivalry, focused on the deeds of soldiers and princes, the social milieu in which the Knight travels. Also, the Knight does not start the story with the main characters of the tale, Arcite and Palamon; instead, he begins at the apex of society, describing the exploits of King Theseus of Athens, working downward until he reaches the less distinguished soldiers.
The Knight's Tale adheres to traditional values of honor in which there are strict codes of behavior which one must follow. This code of chivalry is not necessarily polite and decent. In the morality of the tale, Theseus' sudden decision to ransack Thebes to right a wrong is perfectly acceptable as punishment for a transgression against the honor of the dead soldiers.
The Miller’s Tale, which followed the Knight’s Tale, is a fabliau that mocks the Knight’s Tale and brings the tale down to lower orders and stripping it of honor and chivalry. Both are tales of romantic love, but the Miller’s Tale clearly makes fun of the Knight’s Tale and the ideal of chivalry and courtly romantic love. The Miller’s Tale also expressed the class system that dictated the lives of medieval people. The Miller says that Alison would be acceptable as a yeoman's wife, but she could also be the lowly mistress of a lord. The elite viewpoint also is reinforced by the character of Nicholas. He is the one educated character, and it is his intelligence that gives him the advantage over the uneducated ruffian that is the carpenter.
Throughout the tales, the separation of the classes, and the disdain each class has for the others is apparent. The Knight tells his tale of royalty, and is immediately refuted by the Miller’s Tale.
The Wife of Bath’s Tale tells us of women’s place in medieval society. She is described in more detail than any of the other characters, but not always in a favorable light. The Wife of Bath is headstrong and manipulative, always proclaiming the need for women to rule over their husbands. Through her complaints of what needed to be reformed in society, we gain insight into what life was really like. Her prologue and tale show us that women were subordinate to their husbands and their opinions were not respected. The Wife also denounces the Bible and the Church’s relentless support of chastity and monogamy, even using passages in the Bible to point out inconsistencies and hypocrisies.
The Pardoner’s Tale serves to both explore and criticize Medieval Church life. The description of the Pardoner himself offers great insight into Chaucer’s view of the Medieval Church. Although on a pilgrimage, the Pardoner admits that he is only in it for the money, and he is described as an extremely morally deformed person, as well as a terrible hypocrite. The Pardoner’s tale is about three men who come across a treasure and double cross each other to get a larger portion of the treasure, ultimately resulting in no one getting the treasure. The Pardoner interrupts the end of his tale with a rant against the sin of avarice, and then by condemning the sin, the Pardoner hopes to motivate the travelers to pay the Pardoner to absolve their sins. This demonstrates common distaste for the corruption in the Medieval Church, and foreshadows Church reform down the road.
