The Dishonest Monk in The Canterbury Tales Canterbury Tales Essays

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.