Chaucer's Depiction of the Corrupt Church in the Canterbury Tales
Southerland
Kirby Southerland
English 2010
Section 101
September 11, 2012
The Corrupt Church in the Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales is a famously satirical piece written by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century. Though there are many theories of what Chaucer was criticizing, he mainly was questioning the motives of the church. Chaucer used important figures in the church as characters in the story who go on a journey to Canterbury although the characters do not match the typical ideals of those who would be attributed with the church. Historically, according to the feudal system, the king was to give twenty-five percent of his wealth to the church, which proves the church had plenty of money to use in ways that would not agree with the typical morals of the church. Chaucer is making social commentary by highlighting on the religious hypocrisy and the church as it relates to money.
Chaucer begins with his criticism in “The Prologue” by immediately characterizing those who are affiliated with the church in order of their social status, showing that there are many aspects of the church that fall short morally. For example, the Knight, though he is a nobleman and not a religiously affiliated character, is the most virtuous; he comes at the top of the hierarchy in terms of social status. Chaucer has nothing but good things to say about the Knight, especially when he says “he had proved his worth in his Lord’s wars…in Christendom and in heathen-lands and he had always been honored for his valor.” (ll 47-50) The Knight was always respected for what he had done, even when he was doing things for his religion which cannot be said for many of the other characters that Chaucer was describing. Though he is not part of the churchman group, Chaucer highlights on the Knight’s religious affiliation, saying of him that he is “a valiant warrior for his lord.” (ll 47)