Christianity In Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales
Christianity is a large part of the world and during the Middle Ages it appealed to the writers for many reasons. Bishop Asser possessed a large amount of knowledge on the religion and used it to spread the word of Christianity, King Alfred used his religious beliefs to help expand his code of laws and Geoffrey Chaucer utilized worldly events including religion to express his opinions. All three works of literature attracted these writers through Christianity, but it was all in divergent ways. The writings Bishop Asser, created about King Alfred was ideally created because King Alfred hired many advisers to aid in King Alfred’s project to increase learning and attempt to break the language barrier for those that only read Latin. Asser, being
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When Chaucer was young, the plague was sweeping across Europe executing a vast amount of the population, later through his life, the Church was in turmoil; caught between deception and unpredictability, and the Hundred Years War between England and France was taking place. Chaucer’s writing in The Canterbury Tales”, consisted of a fragment of each of England’s stereotypical citizen. Through the prologue, notable figures of the church are introduced; a nun, monk, and friar. Some of these characters hold strict worship to Christ, while others overtly disobey the laws of Christianity. Chaucer appealed to the nun by the way she ate; “she never let a crumb from her mouth fall” (pg 323), portraying her character as obedient, respectful, and well-manned. The monk was very strict in his belief, Chaucer mentions the monk, “let old precepts slide…took the modern practice as his guide” (pg 327), illustrating that he takes pride in what he believes in. Furthermore, Chaucer portrays the character of the friar as a beggar. In the text, Chaucer mentions that the friar is qualified to listen to confession but they will beg and convince you that instead of confessing, you could give them money (pg 329). The picture that Chaucer is portraying with these three characters signify his expression to voice is opinion of what the Church people were becoming during his
When Chaucer was young, the plague was sweeping across Europe executing a vast amount of the population, later through his life, the Church was in turmoil; caught between deception and unpredictability, and the Hundred Years War between England and France was taking place. Chaucer’s writing in The Canterbury Tales”, consisted of a fragment of each of England’s stereotypical citizen. Through the prologue, notable figures of the church are introduced; a nun, monk, and friar. Some of these characters hold strict worship to Christ, while others overtly disobey the laws of Christianity. Chaucer appealed to the nun by the way she ate; “she never let a crumb from her mouth fall” (pg 323), portraying her character as obedient, respectful, and well-manned. The monk was very strict in his belief, Chaucer mentions the monk, “let old precepts slide…took the modern practice as his guide” (pg 327), illustrating that he takes pride in what he believes in. Furthermore, Chaucer portrays the character of the friar as a beggar. In the text, Chaucer mentions that the friar is qualified to listen to confession but they will beg and convince you that instead of confessing, you could give them money (pg 329). The picture that Chaucer is portraying with these three characters signify his expression to voice is opinion of what the Church people were becoming during his