How Does Chaucer Use Religious Asceticism In The Canterbury Tales
Further unethical behavior can be observed in Chaucer’s character of the Monk. A true symbol of hypocrisy, it is revealed that the Monk aggressively refutes all expectations of him. This fact is divulged during the ‘General Prologue’ of the Canterbury Tales:
The rule of Saint Benedict and Saint Mawr,
As old and somewhat strict he would ignore,
This same monk scorned the old world’s pace,
And spurred after the new world, apace. (Chaucer 9)
One of the many orders that the Monk disregards involves activities of leisure. Specifically, religious asceticism insists that an individual place God’s needs before their own. As a result, it is understood that “hunters are not holy men” since hunting can be observed as a sport devised for enjoyment. Despite the existence of this well-defined guideline, the Monk regularly engages in hunting. Even worse, he does so with a brigade of “fine horses” which
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In particular, this juxtaposition refers to the archetypal expectations of an altruistic monk and the representation of monks in society in the Middle Ages. While the intention for a monastery was to cultivate a “joining together [for monks] to give themselves up to the higher life, out of reach of temptation… the monk was nothing and did nothing for the townsman”. This division stemmed largely from the emphasis placed on the community order during the Middle Ages. Specifically, the clergy, monks included, were situated at the top of the societal hierarchy. As a result, “the monk was, by birth, education, and sympathy , one with the upperclass (“The Monk in the Middle Ages” 4). Consequently, since this lifestyle directly contrasts the intended monastic mission, it is possible to understand how hypocrisy became implanted in such a seemingly-incorruptible faction. Therefore, proving how far the malfeasance in the church of the Middles Ages
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