A Purposeless Pilgrimage The Canterbury Tales Religion Essay Example

A Purposeless Pilgrimage The Canterbury Tales Religion Essay Example A Purposeless Pilgrimage The Canterbury Tales Religion Essay A Purposeless Pilgrimage The Canterbury Tales Religion Essay Essay Topic: The Canterbury Tales The Canterbury Tales is a aggregation of narratives told by the characters within the narrative, written by Geoffrey Chaucer. He wrote with a strong sentiment which he uses to do a blazing statement about the Roman Catholic Church. His sentiment is that people within the church, including the leaders can be populating hypocritical lives. It reflects the thought that the characters in The Canterbury Tales were on a purposeless, spiritually nonmeaningful pilgrims journey. This piece straight addressed the spiritual issues of the common Englishman. Chaucer was non the merely 1 to reflect visible radiation on the spiritual lip service, but he allowed even those of lower standing to go knowing with the publication of The Canterbury Tales. The most interesting development of Chaucer s thought is that history agreed with his desire for alteration in the church. The Canterbury Tales altered the standing of the Roman Catholic Church by showing to the common adult male that corruptness existed within the normally accepted church. A A A A A Chaucer created The Canterbury Tales, a narrative of a pilgrims journey to Canterbury Cathedral in which each of the characters tell narratives with ethical motives. Chaucer began the prologue from the position of the chief character. The unidentified character was on his manner to Canterbury Cathedral when he crossed waies with a big group headed in the same way. He joined their group of 29, and he enlightened the reader to the visual aspects and personalities of his new familiarities ( Eds, 95. 19-27 ) . Chaucer reached a new crowd with The Canterbury Tales in the manner that common people could associate. Each character had a calling, partner and household ; aspirations, motivations, and a repute. Although Chaucer neer completed his initial programs for The Canterbury Tales, he wrote the prologue and 24 narratives ( Eds 90 ) . Prentice Hall Literature claims, irrespective of the technically uncomplete work, the narratives, stand together as a complete work, ( 90 ) . Th is verse form used the pilgrims and their narratives to foster the underlining message. The Canterbury Tales is a literary work which showed the prominence of faith in Chaucer s clip. At this clip in England, Catholicism was the most prevailing signifier of Christianity. Church leaders held great strength ; their influence was singular. Singman and McClean venture so far as to state, Bing a portion of medieval England was in fact the same as being portion of the church. All Christians in Western Europe were capable to the religious authorization of the Pope ( the Catholic Church was the lone officially accepted church in Western Europe, although there were other churches elsewhere, ) ( 26 ) . Another big spiritual influence was the encouragement of monasticism. Kung wrote, In the interfering church ideal position, the mediaeval universe was a universe dominated by priests, nuns, monastics, and their ideal of continency, ( 105 ) . Church, spiritualty, and faith were reasonably big facets of the England before The Canterbury Tales. The Canterbury Tales altered the standing of the Roman Catholic Church. Hidden truths can be found through the characters and the narratives of the pilgrims. Despite the fact that The Canterbury Tales is fiction, these people represented Englishmen of this clip. Chaucer explained to the readers who they are and where they have come from. Many times he described with honest qualities, yet the unfortunate, black qualities outweighed the positive. Anthony of Taize said, Chaucer, no uncertainty, more or less realized that he was better equipped to stand for fallen nature than effectual grace. That would assist explicate why critics use the word idealized to measure up Parson and Ploughman portrayals. Still, he surely knew a thing or two about the possible options to the primrose way. The church could no longer be viewed the same due to the truths of the pilgrims. To observe the troubled motivations of the pilgrims journey, Chaucer used illustrations of people who were expected to understand the significance of the pilgrims journey. The Nun or Prioress was the first noteworthy character. She earned the place of nobility and was a really refined and civilized adult female. This nun, Madam Eglantyne was said to be greatly sentimental and sort, every bit good as have oning a watchband with supplication beads and singing a day-to-day supplication ( 122-166 ) . Interestingly, she made her spiritual act of prayer really public ; frequently times that is non necessary. In Matthew 6:5 it says, And when you pray, do non be like the dissemblers, for they love to pray standing in the temples and on the street corners to be seen by work forces. I tell you the truth, they have received their wages in full, ( The Treasure Study Bible 1324 ) . Verse six and seven continue on to state supplication should frequently be private and personal. Although praying in populace is non incorrect, the motivations of the Nun are questionable. Her supplications seem to hold been merely out of responsibility. Swisher claims, [ The ] Prioress is more worldly than spiritual, ( 39 ) . She gave the visual aspect of being religious, yet she does look to be more concerned with etiquette. Her focal point may hold been on proper life and etiquette, but the Nun surely would non be considered corrupt in comparing to her fellow religious blue bloods, the Monk and the Friar. Sing the Monk, Chaucer wrote, The Rule of St. Benet or St. Maur/ As old and rigorous he tended to disregard ; /He let travel by the things of yesterday/ And took the modern s universe s more broad manner, ( 177-180 ) . This monastic surely did non hold the desire to oppose the ways of the universe. He enjoyed nutrient, and hunting and he spared no disbursal, ( 196 ) . The Monk presented the dissatisfactory world of the devout spiritual figures. In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer allowed the reader to cognize the Friar is a adult male who should non be trusted. The Friar, named Hubert, was an openly spiritual adult male ( 279 ) . He was a member of all four of the cloistered orders, yet he lived merely the manner he wanted. Chaucer wrote, For he was qualified to hear confessions, / Or so he said, with more than priestly scope ; / He had a particular licence from the Pope, ( 223-224 ) . Chaucer so suggested, Therefore alternatively of crying or supplication / One should give Ag for a hapless Friar s attention, ( 235-236 ) . In lines 245-250, Chaucer described his relationship with barmaids and the nearby tap houses. He wrote, For in so high as a adult male as he/ It was non suiting with the dignity/ Of his place. He embraced worldly populating. Worldly populating wholly contradicts the construct of being a mendicant. He rebuked those with a pinpoint in their oculus, disregarding the board in his ain ( Matthew 7:3, The Tre asure Study Bible 1326 ) . The stanzas continue entering all of the secular activities in which he was involved. He abused his power, took advantage of the vulnerable, and participated in an immoral life style. On the other manus for the first clip in the full prologue, the reader feels grasp for one of the pilgrims. He was a holy-minded adult male, ( 487 ) who Chaucer declared genuinely knew Christ s Gospel and would prophesy it, ( 491 ) . The Parson was persevering, low, and led by following God s Word himself. Chaucer neer claimed such respectable things of the other 28 pilgrims. This ideal pilgrim represented the hope for the Roman Catholic Church when everything else was falling apart. The echt life of the Parson pointed out that non all of the church was in the incorrect. The Parson represented the staying pureness. His lifestyle picks were about straight opposite of the many other pilgrims. One noteworthy difference was his utmost altruism. Chaucer wrote, He much disliked extorting tithe or fee, unlike the Pardoner. He helped fellow Christians in demand ; he was merely a call off ( 495-504 ) .Chaucer was really clear about his standing with the Parson. I think there neer was a better priest. / He sought no gaudery or glorification in his dealing, / No scrupulosity had spiced his feelings./ Christ and His Twelve Apostles and their lore/ He taught, but followed it himself before, ( 534-536 ) . True Christianity was surely non prevailing in the message in The Canterbury Tales. Excluding the Parson, the bulk of its characters contradicted the belief of pureness and godliness. Chaucer saved the most utmost character descriptions for last ; the Pardoner was one of the strongest illustrations of a corrupt spiritual character in The Canterbury Tales. The Pardoner sold relics of no value and of no significance to the fleeceable Christians by his convicting vocals and discourses. John Wellford says, He is hence a fourteenth century English version of the snake-oil salesman. He took advantage of the ignorant and deceived folds into passing in hard-earned money for bogus keepsakes. The most atrocious thought the Pardoner presented is the sarcasm in his discourses and his life style. He lived his life cognizing right and making incorrect. The Pardoner was a adult male who led his life radically in contradiction to his supposed beliefs. The Pardoner s moral in his narrative was Radix malorum est cupiditas. The moral means Greed is the root of all evil, in Latin ( Chaucer line 8, 142 ) . His intent in stating the narrative was to harvest the benefits of those merely desiring forgiveness and a relationship with God. The Pardoner wanted touchable benefits. He stated, But allow me briefly do my purpose field ; I preach for nil but for greed of addition, ( 41-42 ) . Redemption of his hearers was wholly undistinguished to him ( 23 ) . With the Pardoner, Chaucer provided a solid illustration of what the pilgrims should non be. Chaucer s Canterbury Tales changed the manner people viewed the Catholic Church. He chose to compose a fictional narrative, yet his purposes are still clear. One can non misinterpret a section from The Canterbury Tales prologue. Chaucer wrote, For if a priest be foul in whom we trust / No admiration that a common adult male should corrode ; / And dishonor it is to see-let priests take stock-/ A soiled shepherd and a snowy flock. / The true illustration that a priest should give / Is one of cleanness, how the sheep should populate, ( 511-515 ) . Chaucer needed the common adult male to see the lip service and dual criterions of the Roman Catholic Church in the 13th century. Handily, as history shows, reform was shortly on its manner ( Collinson ) . Elton declared, The Church was full of failings and maltreatments ; reforms had been talked about for a really long clip, ( 105 ) . The Canterbury Tales assisted in readying for what is known as The Reformation of the 14th century. The Roman Catholic Church was put on the topographic point, uncovering the demand for reform. The Canterbury Tales emphasized the real properties of the Roman Catholic Church in Chaucer s age. Chaucer s piece of literature created quite the break in the typical position of accepting the church. He used the pilgrims going to Canterbury Cathedral to talk on the religious position of the state and church. There was a really clear message of lip service in the bulk of the pilgrims who claim Christianity in the narrative. Looking from a Biblical position, their philosophy does non hold with their actions. The Canterbury Tales strengthened the desire for pureness within the church.