The Dishonest Monk in The Canterbury Tales
In Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, the author wrote about
an imaginary pilgrimage on April 11, 1387 to Canterbury Cathedral to visit
the tomb of Saint Thomas A. Beckett. He also wrote about a dishonest
monk.
The Monk was a man who looked as though he enjoyed the good life.
He was fat, and obviously enjoyed good food as well as fine clothes. He
wore a fur cloak adorned with fancy decorations, and other expensive
apparel.
It was required that a man go to school to become a monk,
and the Monk had attended school to become part of the religious order.
However, he was more interested in hunting than studying. He was good to
his horses, and had greyhounds as well. His friends were hunters also.
The Monk even preached against ideas and traditions that called hunters
unholy.
The Monk used church money for his own personal use. He had a big
home and a stable of horses which was bought with church funds. He also
used church money to buy his fine clothing and gold jewelry.
It did not fit into the Monk's self-indulgent life to follow the
tradition of the church. He ignored the old and strict ways because he
liked the modern world and the indulgent lifestyle. He completely ignored
the rulings of St. Benet and St. Maur.
The Monk was motivated by greed and the trappings of the modern
world. He put aside all the church rulings that did not suit him, and
indulged in all the things the world had to offer him in terms of comfort.Partner sites: Bulldog, Study Spanish in Mexico, and The Great Gatsby