Canterbury Tales-A Personal Perspective On The Medieval

Christian Church Essay, Research Paper

Canterbury Tales-A personal position on the Medieval Christian Church

In researching Geoffrey Chaucer s aggregation of narratives named The Canterbury Tales, an interesting illustration of the Medieval Church becomes apparent. A crooked society exists within the corrupt, mediaeval church community. Not all of the clergy s purposes were corrupt, but as Chaucer, through his character the Pardoner, so good set it, Radix malorum est cupiditas, ( Love of money is the root of all immorality ) . Many corrupted immoralities, such as greed, drove the clergy to divert from the spiritualty that faith was originated from. At that clip, in all degrees of society, belief in God or Gods was non a affair of pick, it was a affair of fact. Atheism was an foreigner construct and this is why the church was so powerful. Sometimes, people of the church would take advantage of that

power.

Leading a life delighting God was one of the most important concerns of the mediaeval adult male. The being of God was ne’er questioned and the one thing that adult male wanted most was to be with the Godhead. In order to make this, he had to accomplish redemption. The simplest manner to accomplish redemption was to purchase it. The character of the Pardoner is genuinely one of the books most evil-hearted and ugly, for he is the individual who can sell redemption. He takes entire advantage of his place intimidating people into purchasing his forgivenesss, indulgences, and holy relics. The Pardoner has no existent concern for the evildoers, he merely wants his money, as shown on page 243, where he says Out come the pence, and specially for myself, for my sole intent is to win and non at all to chastise their wickedness. Once dead what count how their psyche may do? They can travel blackberrying for all I care. The forgiver is the biggest dissembler in the book because he preaches to follow the way of God, yet he admits that he likes money, rich nutrient, and all right life. After his narrative, he besides tri

Es to sell his relics and forgivenesss to the other pilgrims for a monetary value, as seen on page 257, One thing I should hold mentioned in my narrative, beloved people.

I ve some relics in my bale and forgivenesss excessively, as full and all right, I hope, as any in England, given me by the Pope. This is apparent cogent evidence that the clergy of the Medieval Christian Church in that epoch were rather corrupt in their hunt for fiscal support other than from the church.

Another corrupt clergy character that Chaucer offered to his readers was the Friar. Chaucer described the Friar as the finest mendicant of his batch. This Friar used every immoral and barbarous method to pull out money from the parishioners, so when Chaucer says ( pg. 9 in the prologue ) Natural gifts like his were difficult to fit he is being ironical. Chaucer writes, Sweetly he heard his penitents at shrift, with pleasant absolution, for a gift. He was an easy adult male in penance-giving where he could trust to do a nice life ; It s a certain mark whenever gifts are given, to a hapless Order that a adult male s good shriven Chaucer himself writes that the church particularly helps out those who have the money for it. The Friar besides spends most of his clip in bars and the tap houses

alternatively of at the topographic points that need it. He knew the tap houses good in every town, and every host and barmaid excessively, better than lazars, mendicants and that crew. Here Chaucer clearly states that the English clergy are dedicated to their work merely when their greed is satisfied.

In his book, Geoffrey Chaucer every bit divides the sum of corruptness with the sum of good-faith and earnestness that lies within the church at that clip. The important point being that since the church did hold such an influence on society, it was rather hard to freely show one s position on the church if it happened to be in a negative visible radiation. That s why Chaucer is considered a innovator. He was a realist that wrote about the truth of corruptness that occurred in the spiritual universe.