What Is The Friar's Corruption In The Canterbury Tales

·   "Why should he study and drive himself crazy, always poring over a book in his cloister, or work and slave with his hands as St. Augustine orders?" (Chaucer Pg. 4-Line 21)

     The Canterbury Tales also present a number of shockingly bizarre for their time descriptions of lust and adultery. In a lot of stories old men in their sixties are shown having young wives, which was probably common in Chaucer’s times. In one example, from the Merchant’s tale, old January, unwilling to die single, decides to marry, but demands that his wife must be younger than twenty. Later in the story, January’s young wife cheats on him in a tree after he had gone blind. “He cast two eyes up to the tree,/ and saw that Damian had managed his wife/ in such a way as may not be expressed/ unless I would speak discourteously.” (Chaucer 293). In the example from the Wife of Bath, lusty human nature led one of the king’s knights to raping a girl. “It happened that he saw a maiden/ walking before him, alone as she was born./ And from this maiden then, against her will,/ and by pure force, he took her maidenhood.” (Chaucer 223). Again, even though neither the knight, January, nor his wife May suffered any serious

Chaucer describes his grandiose opinion of himself, the friar is pompous and crooked. He surmises that a man of his “status” should not be seen with the lowly and poor, which is ironic because those are exactly the people he is meant to help. Chaucer as discloses the lengths he is willing to go for even the smallest person gain saying. “His brethren did no poaching where he went./For though a widow mightn’t have a shoe,/So pleasant was his holy how-d’ye-do/He got his/farthing from her just the same/Before he left, and so his income came” (“General Prologue”, 256-262). The friar is willing to take from the people who need it most in the community, the widow’s economic class and living conditions are used further show the reprehensible behavior of the religious characters. Friars, like several other religious orders are supposed to take a vow of poverty in order the become closer to Christ. The Friar in Canterbury Tales does the exact opposite. Both his greed and unscrupulous behavior of another religious character further substantiate the idea that the religious characters are used to reflect the corruption in the church.

The Monk in The Canterbury Tales is very contradictory to this common view. The man refutes his quiet reserved code to explore the modern world for answers. As opposed to taking care of normal duties he hunts and rides horses, which is against the code. The Monk ignores these rules. Chaucer asserts, "He did not rate that text at a plucked hen"(Chaucer 106). Chaucer is emphasizing in the prior line how the sacred texts the monk swore to live by are meaningless to him. Reasoning behind the Monk’s repulsion of the rules is because the rules are against what he is passionate about. Acosta agrees the clergyman may desire his title however does not favor the life of a monk, and in order to be a genuine monk he must quit hunting and begin the tasks of ordinary monks. Clerics like the Nun and the Monk initiate the questionable sanctity of Catholicism. Malfeasance

Both the Pardoner and the Friar are portrayed as quick-thinking charlatans. Chaucer does seem to admire the Pardoner’s skill, and skilled he is, but his actions do not befit a man of the cloth. The Pardoner is spoken of as using bogus relics to con “poor up-country parsons” out of their hard-earned cash. These small hustles netted him “more in a day than the parson in a month or two”. When choosing his occupation, I’m sure the Pardoner did not see the light of the lord but rather, dollar signs. Chaucer goes on to say that yes, the pardoner did preach rather well and his stories were quite splendid, however that might be on account that he could “win money from the crowd”.

Based on the Canterbury tales, Chaucer's point of view of the Church was that he thinks highly of the priests who pastor their congregations because they follow the commandments of Jesus Christ. The Summoner, the Pardoner, the Monk and the Prioress are full-time servants of the Church, but they tend to be selfish and care more for themselves than for God's work. The students Nicholas and Absalom are interested in promiscuous behaviors more than the Church. Nick' a misled God-fearing man is similar to the tale of Noah's Ark. He is swindled to cheat on his wife, and Abby is also lustful of his wife. The Church doctrine really doesn't help, by taking advantage of the men's situation for their own

The Canterbury Tales, written and narrated by Geoffrey Chaucer, explores manipulation and dishonesty in the Catholic Church. The Nun in “The General Prologue” exemplifies improper qualities to which a Prioress should have. Along with the Nun, The Friar in “The General Prologue” uses false information to gain customer. In “The Pardoner’s Tale,” the Pardoner uses greedy tactics to wield other pilgrims into buying his relics.In Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Chaucer uses the Nun and the Friar in “The General Prologue” and the Pardoner in “The Pardoner’s Tale” to show the hypocrisy in the Church.

While both characters have power through working in the church, Chaucer uses their reaction to their job duties to convey the theme. The job of the Parson is to act as priest and serve the people. The Parson “knew Christ’s gospel and would preach it,” meaning he is well versed in his work and good at what he does (Chaucer 491). The Parson is very involved in the church and devotes his time and money to others. The Friar’s job is also similar to that of a priest, friars would affiliate weddings, hear confessions, and preach to the people. Both jobs were well respected positions of authority, the Friar even had “a special license from the Pope,” and such power could

The Friar is one of the biggest examples of hypocrisy in the story. Throughout the Friar’s description, he is shown to take advantage of his position and shun his duties to benefit himself. Instead of conforming to the poor lifestyle of traditional friars, Chaucer’s Friar manipulates people into giving him money and then pockets it for himself. One way he takes advantage of his position is by charging people for confessions: “Sweetly he heard his penitents at shrift with pleasant absolution, for a gift” (103, 225-226). He also makes money by being an excellent beggar, as shown in the quote: “He was the finest beggar of his batch...For though a widow mightn’t have a shoe, so pleasant was his holy how-d’ye-do he got his farthing from her just the same...” (103, 259-261). The Friar also rejects his duties by refusing to associate with the needy, as described in the passage: “ It was not fitting with the dignity of his position, dealing with a scum of wretched lepers; nothing good can come of dealings with the

Chaucer makes forceful insults in his character explication. “The Rule of good St. Benet or St. Maur/ As old and strict he tended to ignore” (Chaucer 7.) A monk is supposed to have a strong authority in the Church, but Chaucer explains that he breaks the written laws and precedents set by people recognized as Saints and highly acclaimed people. The Monk is a lazy, disgusting man who lived a dishonest and imprudent life.

Three of Chaucer’s tales are written with a central Christian theme, the Prioress’s Tale, the Second Nun’s Tale, and the Parson’s Tale. The Prioress’s Tale is said to be about a miracle of the Virgin Mary, the Second Nun’s Tale is a biography of Saint Cecilia, and the Parson’s Tale is considered a sermon. Just as The Canterbury Tales shows a theme of Christianity, it also shows a theme of religious corruption. In the tales of the Friar, Prioress, Pardoner, and Monk, corruption of the church is shown and influences each character in a different way. In the Friar, the focus is on money, horses, and the responsibility of his monastery. But, the Friar also seduces women and provide them with a spouse to stay out of trouble. In the tale of Prioress, Chaucer describes her as too busy being a court lady to take care of her nunnery. In the Pardoner, he takes advantage of others by taking money for giving pardons for the sins of others, even going as far as selling relics. The Monk takes money for forgiveness, refuses to help the poor, and pays other beggars to leave so he can attain all of the money from that area. He does all of this while he is supposed to be pledging his life to poverty and those less fortunate. Chaucer shows a theme of Christianity just as he shows a theme of religious corruption. As

Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales was written during a time of societal change, away from the stability of feudalism and towards an individualistic, mercantile economy. Feudalism consisted of a static, rural economy where every member had a duty to serve those above them. They valued the greater good and were not focused on gaining economically for their own personal benefit. An era of change, however, began as events such as the Crusades opened up trading opportunities which would eventually cause a shift in England, as the economy went from being land-based to money-based. A mercantile class was on the rise as well as capitalism. People were no longer driven to work by a sense of personal duty for the common good, but rather for their own social and economic gain. Corruption of the Church during this time as well increased, as church members were affected negatively by this changing economy. Many were driven by greed as well and took on immoral approaches towards their church positions. Vows and church teachings were disregarded as indulgences and materialism became the main focus of many in the clergy. Through his satirical portrayal of his characters in Canterbury Tales, Chaucer explores issues such as the changing economy and corruption of the church in order to expose and criticize the wrongdoings and values of his shifting society caused by the end of feudalism during this time.

Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales, using his characters as the mouthpiece for his iconoclastic views. Chaucer had serious issues with the hypocrisy of the church as well as, many other sacred institutions. The only reason that Chaucer was not exiled or even imprisoned for his views is the way in which he exposed them. Through the allegorical meanings of this text and Chaucer’s claim that he is simply retelling the events of his pilgrimage to Canterbury as it occurred, Chaucer is saved from extreme persecution. From the beginning of time there has always been issues with challenging the higher order; allowing people to make their own decisions and separate themselves from the way of the church often lead to death. In 1350 the

We cannot read the CT as an honest criticism of 14th century English society without examining the entire picture - and this picture includes Chaucer's ideological contradiction. To better understand Chaucer's real message - criticizing the Three Estates system in order to encourage acceptance of his own Estate, the merchant or middle class - I will briefly discuss the Three Estates system and Chaucer's role in the system's shift to include a Fourth Estate (and how this shift influenced the CT). Then I will examine four stories from the CT (The Wife of Bath's Prologue, The Friar's Tale, The Summoner's Tale, and The Pardoner's Tale) in which Chaucer seems to denounce elements of the social paradigm. I will then examine four stories from the CT (The Knight's Tale, The Man of Law's Tale, The Second Nun's Tale, and The Parson's Tale) in which Chaucer contradicts his criticism of his society. Finally, I will discuss how the dominant social paradigm influenced Chaucer's view of the lower classes, and how the classist structure led to ideological contradictions within the CT. Before we discuss Chaucer's ideological contradictions, however, we must first examine the system he was attempting to change, the Three Estate system.

They are both influential members of the church, however, one is more corrupt than the other. The Parson lives in poverty, sets himself as an example for all to follow, and is very pious in his life. The Monk, however, does not care for the rules of the church and blatantly disregards them. He hunts, owns fine fur and clothing, has golden jewelry, and even has animals such as greyhounds and horses. The divergent characteristics of these two men show Chaucer’s intention to expose and make fun of the corruption within the