Canterbury Tales as a Microcosm of the Middle English Society

Rosielyn Mae T Bolon August 12 2013III-13HC BSE English EngLit Prof MPapango

The Canterbury Tales as a Microcosm of the Middle English Society

Beyond being a mere collection of amusing stories and entertaining characters Chaucer

paints the 14th Century through The Canterbury Tales by depicting the societyrsquos social

stratification its problems on Churchrsquos corruption and the values and character of the Middle

English People

The Middle English society was structured and divided into classes It follows the old

medieval tripartite division categorized into lsquothose who foughtrsquo (the nobility and knights) lsquothose

who prayedrsquo (the churchmen) and lsquothose who labouredrsquo (the peasants) (James 2011) This social

hierarchy is apparent in the talersquos prologue where the author begins by introducing the Knight

and the Squire who belong to the upper class followed by the churchmen down to the laity In

addition Chaucer reflects the social tension among the classes by adding satire to the conflicts

For example after the Knight the Miller who represents the lower class follows and mocks the

Knights tale The contrast in the talersquos themes as told by different tale tellers represents the clash

among the classes

Aside from the being a mirror of social structure the Canterbury tales is also a reflection

of the societyrsquos problem on Churchrsquos abuse During that time the Church was one of the most

powerful institutions in England It was even deemed to be rivaling the power of the monarchy

However just like our own ldquoPadre Damasordquo the Church people in Chaucerrsquos time were also

found to be corrupt and abusive Instead of being spiritual they were rather focused on securing

wealth and worldly pleasures for themselves The author shows this predicament by

characterizing nine out of ten members of the Church as corrupt in some way He used direct and

indirect descriptions to satirize and ennoble archetypal characters of his day Also he made use

of humor and exaggeration to show contrast in the characterrsquos actual behavior and supposed

behavior

For example the nun or prioress in the tale had inappropriate table manners that show

that she is more concerned with being ldquocourtlyrdquo rather than religious ldquoShe was at pains to

counterfeit the looks of courtliness and stately matters tookrdquo (139-140) The monk too was no

conventional holy man but a direct opposite of itmdasha man who holds his personal enjoyment

dearer than his faith ldquoThis said monk let such old things slowly pace and followed new world

manners in their place (175-176) This line tells the reader that the Monk finds joy and happiness

in modern privileges The Monk who was supposed to be an advocate of frugality and

orthodoxy was rather liberal and sophisticated ldquoSince riding and the hunting of the hare were all

his love for no cost he would spare I saw his sleeve were purified at the hand with fur of Grey

the finest in the land Also to fasten hood beneath his chin He had a good wrought gold a

curious pinrdquo (191-195) The friar on the other hand was greedy and garrulous As described

ldquoequal his gossip and his fair languagerdquo (211) ldquoTherefore instead of weeping and of prayer Men

should give silver to poor friars all bare (231-232) There is no honest advantageous In dealing

with such poverty-stricken cursIt is with the rich and with big victuallers and so wherever profit

might arise (246-249) But above them all were the Summoner and the Pardoner These two

were very vocal of their wicked acts They outrightly use religion as a means of eliciting money

and goods from even the poorest of the poor The lines ldquoExcept a manrsquos soul lie within his purse

For in his purse the man should punished berdquo shows the Summonerrsquos twisted mentality on

salvation and death Meanwhile the Pardoner was pictured as a cocky person who brags that he

can deceive people using his fake relics Lines 695-697 prove this to us ldquoHe was no such as

Pardoner in any place For in his bag he had a pillowcase the which he said was Our True

Ladyrsquos Veilrdquo Chaucerrsquos negative portrayal of these characters reveals how he views the

Catholic Church as a corruption-stricken institution

Furthermore he was able to vividly portray the values and character possessed by his

people According to Spiceman (2007) the pursuit of wealth and status is the common

denominator of Chaucerrsquos pilgrims As evident in the characterizations seen in the prologue and

in selected tales like the Pardonerrsquos tale and the Wife of Bathrsquos tale wealth and status indeed

play a great role in peoplersquos motivation So as to prove this a character in the Pardonerrsquos tale

said ldquoO Lord thought he if so be that I might Have this treasure to myself alone there is no

men who lives beneath the throne Of God that should be then so merry as Irdquo (227-230) The tale

shows how greed and quest for riches becomes one of the major problems of the period

In addition the author shows how moral standards with regards to sex and marriage were

violated by some classes in the society They are represented in the Millerrsquos tale and the Wife of

Bathrsquos tale In the Millerrsquos tale Chaucer showed how love seen is a lust or a cause of deception

contrary to the noble kind of love in the Franklinrsquos and Knightrsquos tale ldquoAnd it chanced the game

should go a-right She was to sleep with him all night For this was his desire and hers alsordquo

(219-221) ldquoFor some [women] are won by means of money spent And some by tricks and

some by long descentrdquo (195-196)

Impressive indeed that Geoffrey Chaucer was not only able to create a series of

connected tales that reflects the eccentricities of the Middle English people but also the social

fabric that envelops themmdashan evidence that a good literature is a microcosm of the real world

Works Cited

Spiceman CL (2007) The Canterbury Tales as a Microcosm of Chaucers England

Retrieved on August 6 2013 httpvoicesyahoocomthe-canterbury-tales-as-

microcosm-chaucers-england-159517htmlcat=38

James T (2011) Black Death The lasting impact Retrieved on August 11 2013 wwwBBC

2020History2020British20History20in20depth2020Black20Death

2020The20lasting20impacthtm

characterizing nine out of ten members of the Church as corrupt in some way He used direct and

indirect descriptions to satirize and ennoble archetypal characters of his day Also he made use

of humor and exaggeration to show contrast in the characterrsquos actual behavior and supposed

behavior

For example the nun or prioress in the tale had inappropriate table manners that show

that she is more concerned with being ldquocourtlyrdquo rather than religious ldquoShe was at pains to

counterfeit the looks of courtliness and stately matters tookrdquo (139-140) The monk too was no

conventional holy man but a direct opposite of itmdasha man who holds his personal enjoyment

dearer than his faith ldquoThis said monk let such old things slowly pace and followed new world

manners in their place (175-176) This line tells the reader that the Monk finds joy and happiness

in modern privileges The Monk who was supposed to be an advocate of frugality and

orthodoxy was rather liberal and sophisticated ldquoSince riding and the hunting of the hare were all

his love for no cost he would spare I saw his sleeve were purified at the hand with fur of Grey

the finest in the land Also to fasten hood beneath his chin He had a good wrought gold a

curious pinrdquo (191-195) The friar on the other hand was greedy and garrulous As described

ldquoequal his gossip and his fair languagerdquo (211) ldquoTherefore instead of weeping and of prayer Men

should give silver to poor friars all bare (231-232) There is no honest advantageous In dealing

with such poverty-stricken cursIt is with the rich and with big victuallers and so wherever profit

might arise (246-249) But above them all were the Summoner and the Pardoner These two

were very vocal of their wicked acts They outrightly use religion as a means of eliciting money

and goods from even the poorest of the poor The lines ldquoExcept a manrsquos soul lie within his purse

For in his purse the man should punished berdquo shows the Summonerrsquos twisted mentality on

salvation and death Meanwhile the Pardoner was pictured as a cocky person who brags that he























Works Cited





























Works Cited







Works Cited







Education

Canterbury Tales as a Microcosm of the Middle English Society