Catholic Church

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Recommended: Chaucers view of the catholic church

Throughout history, the most influential societal forces have been subject to the highest levels of criticism.The Catholic Church of the Medieval times was no exception to this generalization. In his most famous work, The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer strongly expressed his views towards the Catholic Church. Chaucer wrote this collection of interconnected short-stories during the 1300s-- near the peak of the Catholic Church’s command over England. Holy wars waged in the Middle East and Catholic clergy roamed the lands of Europe. In accordance with the reality of the time, Chaucer makes sure to include numerous religious figures of varying rank. It is in his presentation of these characters that Chaucer betrays his sentiments on the Church. …show more content…

Frequently throughout the story, Chaucer presents members of the Church as being hypocritical and amoral. Beginning in the General Prologue, Chaucer introduces his remarkably realistic and complex characters. Unlike many other works from Chaucer’s time and earlier, the characters of The Canterbury Tales make usage of vernacular in their dialogue, and all experience the unextraordinary yet detailed lives of a variety of different roles, including those of religious figures, knights, merchants, and low class workers. In essence, the broader story of the tales captures a relatively authentic illustration of life during the time period through its characters.
Among these characters are the Monk and the Friar, two clergymen. Chaucer intended for the Monk to represent the apathy present among many of the Church’s members. The Monk lacks …show more content…

Ostensibly, Chaucer held deeply critical beliefs in regards to the Church. Although his stories do not make him seem to be anything but a faithful Christian, Chaucer depicts the Church in an unfavorable manner, largely through the characters he creates. Members of the Church such as the Monk and the Friar are immensely flawed; as Chaucer intended, their greed and lack of morals reflect poorly on clergymen as a whole. Furthermore, a more powerful individual, the Pardoner, allows for Chaucer to convey his contempt for the duplicity and covetousness of the organization’s practices. Though it would be centuries before Martin Luther published his Ninety-five theses and began the Protestant Reformation against the Catholic Church, Chaucer’s bold criticisms paved the way for their successors. It is often one of the goals of literature to serve as a means of conveying one’s

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