Canterbury Tales Social Classes

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There are several characters from the General Prologue of the Canterbury Tales that reflect the social classes of medieval society. From the Knights to the Nun, to the Monk and the Friar- they all have different social classes. In the medieval time your class was important. You have those that are rich, and those that are poor. You have the ones dressed elegantly and the ones dressed in the worst. It all depending on where they fall in the social class. The author’s purpose for having different ranked people in the social classes is to show that not everyone is always equal. Some are less-fortunate than others.

The knight for example is truthful, honored, and noble- qualities not everyone has. Yet, he is dressed in a smudged tunic and isn't dressed too flashy, while the nun and prioress wore fitted clothes and was very well known; although not known for being a nun. It is clearly shown that some of the characters are higher up on the social class system than the others. …show more content…
These men and women are always dressed in the best, and look clean and have their clothes looking expensive. The squire wears a short gown with long, wide sleeves (in order to be noticed). The nun and prioress wear fitted clothes. The monk is dressed lavishly with his gold pin and fancy belt. The friar looks like a pope with his nice clothes, and the sergeant of the law wears a colored coat and silk belt so he can be easily noticed in the crowd. It seems as if all these men and women wear nice clothes in order to be noticed and so people know they are part of the upper

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