Christianity and The Canterbury Tales in Medieval

England

Sr. Amelia Breton&

Ms. Michele L. Hanna

British Events of the Early Medieval Period

1066: Saxons defeated at Hastings by Normans

1073: Canterbury becomes England’s religious center

1170: Thomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, is murdered by King Henry II’s men

1386: Chaucer begins writing The Canterbury Tales

Political Atmosphere in Medieval England

Introduction of the French political and economic system of feudalism as a result of the Norman invasion King - center of government Lords/Overlords – landowners that owed military

service to the King Barons/Vassals – sublet land from Lords Knights – given smaller manors by barons in

exchange for military service Commoners or serfs - the lowest class of

Medieval society provided the physical labor for the land in exchange for food and protection

Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales incorporates all main levels of Medieval society – the Church, the Court, and the common people

Social Atmosphere in Medieval England

Chivalry – code of knightly behavior Three ideals:

God King Lady

A period of cultural refinement through the discovery of luxuries from exotic lands

The founding of Oxford and Cambridge gave rise to a broadening of intellectual horizons

Life is centered around the castle

Religious Atmosphere in Medieval England

During middle ages the church was the main focus of community life.

The Parish Priest was assigned by the manor and was obliged to keep up the church and provide hospitality to travelers.

The priest was a commoner by birth. Serfs were not allowed to become priests because they were tied to the land.

Parish Income The priest earned his living from the

income for parish lands, fees for services, and the tithe money. Tithing was obligatory and it was divided between the priest, the church maintenance, the poor, and the bishop.

Peasants had little money so they paid with what they produced; seeds, grain, etc.

The Church’s Wealth The church had great control over the

people. The peasants worked for free on the church land. What the church collected was kept in tithe barns where a lot of the stored grain would be eaten by rats.

If the peasants failed to tithe they were told by the church that their souls would go to Hell.

Church’s Wealth Continued People had to pay

for baptisms, marriages and burials. This is one of the reasons why the church was so wealthy.

This picture now a museum, was a tithe barn in Kent.

Monks’ Faults and Contributions

In the 12th and 13th centuries there were many monasteries where monks or nuns lived a simple life of prayer and work. They were criticized for their laxity and involvement in worldly affairs.

Monks printed and preserved many books. They kept ancient literature sometimes at a great

cost to themselves.

1170: Murder of Thomas a Becket

1073: Canterbury Cathedral becomes England’s religious center Henry II appointed his friend Thomas a Becket as Archbishop of

Canterbury Henry appointed Becket hoping that he would overlook some of

the King’s abuses of power When Becket did not go along with the King, some of Henry’s

more zealous knights murdered Becket in the cathedral at Canterbury

In order to atone for Becket’s murder, Henry made a pilgrimage, a holy journey, to Becket’s tomb at Canterbury

Thereafter, a pilgrimage to Becket’s shrine at Canterbury became a common English means of showing religious devotion

Geoffrey Chaucer, in The Canterbury Tales, uses the vehicle of the pilgrimage to bring together people from the 3 main segments of Medieval society

Geoffrey Chaucer 1343? - 1400

In his own lifetime he was considered the greatest poet, and he is currently considered, by many, second only to Shakespeare in achievements

He began as a page for one of King Edward III’s households, served in the army and held key government positions throughout his lifetime

He married a lady-in-waiting to the Queen He began to write in his twenties and continued to

do so for the rest of his life He was the first person to be buried in what is now

the Poet’s Corner of Westminster Abbey

The Canterbury Tales: Facts Written in Middle English verse It is a frame story – a story that includes, or frames,

another story or stories Chaucer’s frame is the pilgrimage, which he originally planned as a

round trip but remains incomplete Within this frame are 24 individual stories the pilgrims tell

It is a series of verse stories told by different pilgrims, from many walks of life, on their pilgrimage to St. Thomas a Becket’s shrine at Canterbury Cathedral

It is the most accurate depiction of the life and values of people in Medieval 14th Century England

Satire in The Canterbury Tales

Satire – writing that shows the folly or evil of something through the use of wit and humor; a literary device employed to ridicule public or private abuses

Chaucer uses satire to ridicule the corruptness of the Church in England in the Medieval Period

The 5 Main Religious Characters in The Canterbury

Tales Prioress - the nun ranking just below the

abbess in an abbey During the Medieval Period, this position

was usually bought by women of the nobility

Monk – religious men that secluded themselves from society to perform religious and intellectual duties

Friar – a part of the clergy that used to beg for the poor

Most friars were corrupt and surrounded by scandal in the Middle Ages

Pardoner – one who sells papal pardons which were believed to take some time off of one’s stay in Purgatory

There was an epidemic of illegitimate pardoners

Parson – a priest in a rural village Considered the bottom of the social ladder

The Prioress She is the first character to be gently

satirized because she does things that nuns are not supposed to do At the time, nuns were not supposed to go on

pilgrimages She dresses fashionably and nuns are supposed to

dress conservatively “Her veil was gathered in a seemly way”

Her mannerisms (the way she speaks, eats, etc) are characteristic of the noble class

She had “a courtly kind of grace” Overall, she is gently satirized because she is

rebellious in matters of discipline and not moral matters

The Monk He is also gently satirized because he is

neglectful of discipline but not of moral matters

He considers the rules for monks old-fashioned and out-dated

He “took the modern world’s more spacious way” and “the Rule … he tended to ignore”

He is a hunter, however, monks are not allowed to hunt

“hunters are not holy men” He is on a pilgrimage but monks were

supposed remain in seclusion at their monastery

He didn’t believe that “a monk uncloistered is a mere Fish out of water”

He dresses elaborately but monks were supposed to dress the same, in minimalist clothing

“his sleeves were garnished at the hand With fine gray fur, the finest in the land”

The Friar Strongly satirized because he is corrupt and goes

against morality He only hears the confessions of the rich so he can

charge them and also use their confessions as grounds for future blackmail By only dealing “with the rich” a “profit might

occur” He engages in behavior unfit of a Friar

“He knew the taverns well in every town” He keeps, for himself, most of the money he collects

for the poor He makes a “decent living”

The Pardoner Also strongly satirized for despicable

behavior He is an illegitimate pardoner who gets

rich by selling fake religious relics and pardons to those wanting to atone for their sins “His wallet lay before him on his lap, Brimful of

pardons come from Rome all hot” Even Chaucer’s physical description of

him is harsh “In driblets fell his locks … like rat-tails”

He even sells fake relics to “poor up-country parsons” who are fellow clergymen

The Parson

He is a true shepherd of the people in his poor rural community

He is considered to be at the bottom of the religious ladder, however he is at the pinnacle of the spiritual ladder He was poor but “rich in holy thought and

work” He, unlike the other religious figures in lofty

positions, believes in all his teachings and follows them He “truly knew Christ’s gospel and would

preach it … but followed it himself before” He is poor because he gives all of his money and

goods to his people, instead of becoming rich off of them

Works Cited Babusci, Roger, ed., et al. Prentice Hall Literature: The English

Tradition. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1989. Chaucer, Geoffrey. “The Canterbury Tales.” Prentice Hall

Literature: The English Tradition. Ed. Roger Babusci, et al. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1989.

http://classroomclipart.com http://members.easyspace.com/Brig/mca/clips.html http://www.britainexpress.com/History/TheMedievalChurch.htm http://www.godecookery.com/clipart http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/medieval_church.htm http://www.thelmaslibrary.com/classical/overview.html Other pictures were sent via email from Miss Parmigiani. Some material was obtained from notes taken in Dr. Patricia

Michaels British Literature I class.