Chaucer's Challenge and Critique of the Catholic Church...

(If only Chaucer had been a fan of alliteration- this post would be much more fun!)

(*note- I used the Penguin Classics translation by Nevill Coghill to find quotations- the reference numbers are page numbers, not lines.)

All individual beliefs and ideas about what faith/religion means to us as readers- you have to look at Chaucer's Canterbury Tales as a very long, very comical, very crude analysis of the shifting culture that the author saw around him in his daily life. Almost none of the characters are portrayed in a flattering light, (though many of them would tell you differently), and perhaps the most widely critiqued characters in the story are those belonging to a profession of the Catholic church. Chaucer depicts the Monk, the Friar, the Summoner, the Pardoner- and even the Prioress- as being hypocritical, corrupt, unorganized, and most of all- obsolete. 

The church of England was in a state of decline, and Chaucer has done an excellent job of translating this decline in a way that is relatable and comical to the readers. The character of the Parson seems to be the contrast to these corrupt characters, and acts as a 'moral compass' on which the other clergymen do not compare. The Parson is depicted as "holy and virtuous" (17), whereas the Friar is seen as corrupt in his dealings, "an easy man in penance-giving / Where he could hope to make a decent living"(9). The Prioress is almost laughable, for she is sociable and beautiful and not at all what you expect of a nun. The Monk is greedy, seen as "fat and personable", "garnished with fine grey fur / the finest in the land", and a "wrought gold cunningly fashioned pin"(8). 

Perhaps most ironic of Chaucer's godly pilgrims is the corrupt Summoner. As a strong sinner himself, it is ironic and unjust that he should be the one to bring other sinners to justice in the eyes of the Church. Chaucer condemns his acceptance of bribes and depicts him as a disgusting physical specimen- presumably to reflect the true nature of his soul in an outward manner. "Children were afraid when he appeared. / No quiksilver... No brimstone... / could cure his whelks of knobby white / Or purge the pimples sitting on his cheeks" (20).

These small trinkets may seem unimportant to many of us now- but they represent deliberate digs at the character of the pilgrims in Chaucer's story. Each one is intricately described in order to bring each flaw to attention- and while no class is left out of Chaucer's criticism- he seems to save a special place for those representing the medieval church.