Canterbury Tales

This is a fictional account of thirty pilgrims on a sacred trip to Canterbury Cathedral. Despite the fact that this is a fictional account, I believe that Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales is an awesome representation of Medieval social structure because of the descriptive manner in which he represents the members of the three social groups: the Church class, the Feudal class, and the Merchant class.

Geoffrey Chaucer wrote about thirty pilgrims on a religious trip to the Canterbury Cathedral where the Archbishop Canterbury was martyred. Of these thirty, seven of the pilgrims belonged to the Church class. Corruption was taking over those belonging to this class as Chaucer proves because only two of the mentioned seven were really striving to do God’s work. The Prioress falls into the corrupt category because Chaucer tells us that she cared not for starving children as long as no one raised a hand to her dogs. Around her neck the Prioress wore an extravagant piece of jewelry with the inscription “Amor vincint omina” the translation “Love conquers all” really does not empathize the love of God but the love of a man for a woman. The Monk in Chaucer’s tales was also an example of the corruption in the Medieval Church. He would much rather be outside riding than sitting inside the monastery learning God’s word. His extravagant dress showed that he cared no more for the poor folk than did the Prioress, but the worst member of Chaucer’s Church class was the Friar. The Friar was well known for selling prayers, an act that was not condoned by the Catholic church in Chaucer’s time. Also, the Friar carried pretty trinkets to attract young girls. He would have sex with these young women until they became pregnant then he would pay a young man to marry the girl. In this way, the Friar never had to own up to what he had done. Not all of the Church class was corrupt however, Chaucer mentions very briefly an Oxford Cleric who studies day and night to become a priest. Unfortunately, he is more concerned with learning than helping people but his heart is in the right place. The Parson is truly the only person in Chaucer’s Church class that shows no sign of the corruption of those days. He is a poor country man who believes that the best way to influence his congregation is to set the example of how they should live by living a Godly life himself.

I feel that Chaucer really brings the Feudal class alive with his characters from this period. The Knight was the most revered man on the trip. Because of his ideals of living a perfect Christian life, modesty, and courtly love the Knight truly stood for all that was the Feudal class. When the Knight tells the first tale, a sign of his importance, he is complimented by everyone on the trip. His son, the Squire also was a pristine specimen of what a man of the Feudal class should be. The Squire was quite the lady’s man, he could play the flute and recite poetry to impress the young ladies. A Yeoman also traveled with the Knight and Squire. His dress was similar to that of Robin Hood and he was extremely skilled with the bow and arrow. Also in the Feudal class was the Franklin. This was a man who knew the meaning of hospitality. A wealthy land owner with many servants, the Franklin was one of the lords who were oppressing the peasants. The afore mentioned Plowman would have been one of the poor farmers renting his land from a man like the Franklin. The example Chaucer portrays here shows us how big the difference between rich and poor really was.

Chaucer spent much more time writing about members of the Merchant class and rightly so because it was his own social class. Because so many characters are from the Merchant class, I will only mention the really important people. The first member of the Merchant class Chaucer developed was the Merchant. Who else were you expecting? Chaucer describes the Merchant as fashionable man so we can infer that wearing motley was all the rage in the Middle Ages. The Merchant was man that Chaucer truly admired because his fancy language hid the fact that he was deeply in debt. The Haberdasher, a Dryer, a Carpenter, a Weaver, and a Carpet-maker were also on the trip to Canterbury traveling with their own personal Cook. These men are important because they were part of a gild. The concept of a gild is kind of like today’s union. These men traveled and worked together to ensure good wages. A Doctor who valued astronomy and alchemy more than the Bible traveled with the rest of the crew. It was rumored that he was in league with the druggist. Together, the druggist and the Doctor were well able to cheat even well people out of their money. The corruption of the days did not stop there. A woman known only as the Wife of Bath was on her way to Canterbury in order to seek healing for her fifth husband. This attractive woman was known for marrying old men for their fortunes. Her first four husbands had died and left her all the money she now needed to support herself and her younger husband. The only problem with her new young man was that she beat him until he lost his hearing in one ear. Also traveling to Canterbury was a Miller. These men were notorious for charging a little more than was due for grinding flour. The Reeve tells an interesting tale that proves this point and tells how two young college students managed to get revenge. What is the point of all this? Chaucer is telling us that most of the Merchant class was only in their professions for the money. The Middle Ages were a time when corruption ensued.

Whether he knew exactly what he was doing or not, Geoffrey Chaucer wrote a detailed account of history. We also know a little more about the times because of the sources Chaucer referred to such as Plato, Aristotle, and the Bible. His audience must have been very familiar with these works. Also, his use of French, Latin, and English show us which languages were predominant during Chaucer’s lifetime. Chaucer was one of the first men of his time to make such strong use of satire and irony. Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales has found it’s place in Classical Literature not only as a great story, but as an accurate and descriptive account of history. I would definately recommend this book to anyone interested in the social structure of Medieval society.