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The Church In Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales

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How does the Church function in Geoffrey Chaucer’s work The Canterbury Tales? Are the Church and Christianity displayed under the same light? How are different rankings of clergy presented? What role does the Bible play into this piece? How does the clergy interact with other social classes? In what ways do the grievances of the church shown in this book compare to the cries of the Reformation? Chaucer’s work is fundamentally ahead of its time. According to Britannica, Chaucer began working on The Canterbury Tales in 1387 and finished it the year he died in 1400 (“The Canterbury Tales”). History.com explains that the Reformation did not officially begin until Luther released his “95 Theses” in 1517 (“The Reformation”). Pettegree explains that the English Reformation began shortly after that in …show more content…

It discusses more than just religious classes; there is a lot to be gained from the way the clergy is presented in comparison to the nobility. As a primary example, the Monk’s and the Prioress’s descriptions are more fitting for a Lord and Lady than for a monk and nun. Chaucer describes the Prioress as proper and well mannered. She goes at great lengths to be viewed as fitting for court life (246-247). However, a prioress should be described as meek and humble, rather than for her beauty or the fact that she is revered in court. There is an uncanny overlap between the description of the Prioress and how one would describe a Lady. By doing this, Chaucer is further demonstrating how people were using the Catholic Church as a means of power and status within society. People have more to gain than just spiritual growth and piety from joining the clergy. Chaucer does not present this as an issue with the structure of the Church, but rather as an issue of the social structures within England and individual people taking advantage of the Church for their own personal

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