Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron Essay

The clergy’s function was to administer the sacraments, and if those services were needed by the afflicted faithful as they invariably were, clergy violated charity by fleeing. If it was the duty of a clergy member to visit the sick, it was a scandal and a sin if that person fled the plague. But if a clergy members duty did not necessarily deal with the plague, they were allowed to flee. If a clergy

saw crusading as a means for obtaining new lands and riches and the clergy found a

The Catholic Church during the early 16th Century was rooted throughout Europe. The Church influenced every country and its respective monarchs through the Church’s wealth and power. The Catholic Church placed a tight hold on the general populace with individuals who went against the Church being branded as heretics and excommunicated. The wealth and power of the Church eventually caused the quality of the clergy to deteriorate. Priests became corrupt and subjected to their physical desires. They frequented taverns, gambled and kept mistresses. The reputation of the clergy were horrid as the general populace was relieved that “their priest [kept] a mistress” because it “[secured] their wives from seduction” The knowledge of the clergy degenerated as well as they were no longer required to learn and teach the Holy Scriptures because the Church dictated their actions. The pinnacle of the Church’s corruption was the sale of indulgences. An indulgence was the “extra-sacramental remission of the temporal punishment” sold by priests as a temporary relief from sins. The indulgences were then sold to the general populace for money as the monetization of a priest’s services. Johannes Tetzel was a prominent preacher of indulgences who relied on the money from the sales to subsidize the rebuilding of St. Peter’s basilica in Rome. The corrupt sales did not go unnoticed as Martin Luther, in an effort to stop the corruption of the Church, posted the 95 Theses on the door of a Castle

The significance of religious leaders during this era is evident by the fact that the writer of this poem places the bishop at the beginning of the table. Due to the fact that the “medieval society was a religious society” and that these religious leaders held a special relationship with God, it is no surprise that these individuals held the second highest social class position in the medieval time period (Feudalism and the Three Orders (Overview) 2).

• Wrote about Jesus the tribe of his Christian followers that had still to this day not disappeared. Pg. 79

Luxury played an immense role in medieval Catholicism by taking the focus from God and placing it on the acquisition of riches and glory, which is shown by these sources: The Apology by Bernard of Clairvaux, The Book of Suger by The Abbot Suger and Guilty Pleasures: Luxury in the Middle Ages. These sources demonstrate the exorbitant manner that the churches and monasteries were being built in during that time. This not only drew attention away from the real reason for these buildings, but also was a form of idolatry for these monks, despite the honest intentions of some of them, including the Abbot Suger. Each source lends different insight into the corruption of the church during this medieval period.

The indigence and sufferings of the operatives induced a suspicion in the minds of many of them, that their legislators, their magistrates, their employers, and even the ministers of religion, were, in general, their oppressors and enemies; and were in league for their prostration and enthralment. The most deplorable and enduring evil that arose out of the period of commercial depression to which I refer, was this feeling of alienation between the different classes of society. It is so impossible to describe, or even faintly to picture, the state of distress which prevailed in the town at that time, that I will not attempt it; and yet I think again that surely, in a Christian land, it was not known even so feebly as words could tell it, or the more happy and fortunate would have thronged with their sympathy and their aid. In many instances the sufferers wept first, and then they cursed. Their vindictive feelings exhibited themselves in rabid

Giacomo Puccini has written a number of operas, including Turandot, Gianni Schicchi, and Madama Butterfly. La Bohème is said to be “one of the most successful and enchanting operas ever written.” Written in the romantic period, the text and score interrelations play an important role in an overall aesthetically and historically pleasing opera. In a story of love found and love lost, Puccini uses text and score to create empathy for the characters of La Boheme. Puccini does so particularly in the aria Donde lieta uscì, sung by Mimi towards the end of Act III.

A long history of corruption caused people to view the Catholic Church as a for-profit organization rather than God’s voice on Earth. By the Renaissance, the Catholic Church had already lost much of its power over secular rulers but still held leverage over the masses. This authority naturally paved the way for corruption. The most outrageous form of corruption practiced by the Church was the sale of indulgences. An indulgence is the remission of temporal punishment still due for a sin that has been sacramentally absolved. One of the ways the Church would generate income was by selling them. The notion started off innocently enough; it stemmed from the idea that punishment for crimes could be converted to payments of money, in essence, a fine (Simon 35). However, it soon spiraled out of control as the Church used indulgences simply to gain money, as when Pope Leo X needed money for the construction of St. Peter’s basilica (Duiker and Spielvogel 429). People began to view salvation as something that could be bought; they could go out and sin on Saturday night, then simply pay for it monetarily Sunday morning. To encourage people to buy more indulgences, the Church even claimed that indulgences could be bought on behalf of those already dead and in purgatory (Sporre 378). This blatant victimization was what spurred Martin Luther to write his Ninety-Five Theses,

Boccaccio also infused The Decameron with his opinions on the Catholic church, which even at that time was Italy’s primary religious institution. Catholicism may have been popular, but Boccaccio was very blatant in showing that he did not approve of the Church’s conduct. In The Decameron, religion was practiced by fools, the church was a breeding ground for mischief, and “marriage” was a transaction devoid of meaning.

Although Christianity was well known throughout the affluent classes, Jesus’s philosophies touched the hearts of the plebeians. The self-proclaimed Messiah often spoke of money and riches not being needed in the afterlife, and that God measures you not on how much money you have but on your values you showed throughout your life. This touched the working class’s heart as it informed them that there is hope for a better life that everyone can achieve but not a lot deserve. Therefore, this was the main reason why Christianity was spread as quickly as it could.

greed when the church was built and dressed so lavishly. There were rumors of corrupt

The Decameron, by Boccaccio, is a frame story written in the mid fourteenth century. There are a hundred stories told over a span of ten days. On the second day, a man tells a story about a princess, Alatiel, who was sent away to marry a king. Before Alatiel reaches her destination, she has sexual experiences with a lot of different men. Alatiel is treated like an object and allows this objectification to happen because she is so fickle and does nothing to stop the men. The fickleness of Alatiel and the treatment of her as an object is evident throughout the story.

Matthew Lewis’s The Monk, published in 1796, depicts the Catholic Church in Madrid as the victim of religious perversion caused by the pride and lust of its leaders. The events of the novel, including the monk Ambrosio’s surrender to temptation, leading to the rape and murder of innocent Antonia, as well as Agnes’s imprisonment by the vain Prioress of St. Clare’s Convent, serve to emphasize the lack of true religious devotion in the city of Madrid. However, despite the shocking events of the novel, the city had already fallen prey to temptation, and had ultimately strayed from the path of the Church long before these new atrocities took place.

Chaucer describes the Church as being the most corrupt segment of society. The “Prologue” shares with the reader an insight into Pilgrims lives of the fourteenth century. In Chaucer's “Prologue” to the Canterbury Tales the Parson shows the best example of a true religious. The Parson preaches and lives the faith as best as possible. The Parsons extreme generosity to the poor, not minding his very low income, shows that there were some religious people that weren't corrupt. Secondly the Pardoner is depicted a person who is very selfish, only does things that benefit him,