Criticism Of The Church In Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales

The Canterbury Tales was written in the 1400s by a man named Geoffrey Chaucer. Chaucer’s work was written in Middle English, was considered the “father” of English poetry, along with this work being considered his masterpiece. The work tells about the pilgrimage of different pilgrims on their way from their home town known as Southwark to Canterbury. In this time Saint Thomas was murdered at the Canterbury Cathedral, and it established a major landmark for the pilgrims to visit the shrine. Each on their way told a tale to help pass time as they traveled. Although Chaucer died before completing each tale, he made a huge impression on how people take power as an advantage. In Chaucer’s work, The Canterbury Tales, criticism of the church plays a major role with crude humor, poverty, and mockery. The crude humor Chaucer communicated through writing, revealed his viewpoint on society in the 1400s. In the Canterbury Tales Chaucer amusingly used crude humor to insult each character on their journey to the Canterbury Cathedral. “For example, the idea that the doctors are more interested in money than curing people is revealed in the amusing couplet that finishes the doctor’s introduction, “gold stimulates the heart, or so we’re told. He therefore had a special love of gold” (15). Chaucer gives the example of his crude humor to the doctor in his …show more content…
In the Plowman’s Tale Chaucer writes about the Plowman “For the love of Christ and never take a penny” (111). The line from the Canterbury Tales shows the magnanimous complexion the Plowman has for his peers. Just like his brother, the Parson, has a huge involvement of Christ being involved in his daily life. The Plowman even goes to the point of working for others and never taking a penny from his employer. These examples show how genuine, pure, and rare these two brothers are compared to the rest of the church and their