Christianity and Astrology in Chaucer's, The Canterbury Tales
As the conscientious reader nears completion of The Canterbury Tales, they have seen that Chaucer has written about various types of belief systems such as physiognomy, alchemy, fairies and spells, and pagan mythology. Yet, of all the belief systems that Chaucer explores in The Canterbury Tales, the two belief systems that are most frequently occurring throughout, are Christianity and astrology. This combination may lead to questions why it is that Chaucer explores these two beliefs systems in-depth; specifically combining them the manner that it is done in the Man of Law 's Tale. However, the reason for Chaucer doing this may ultimately never be fully understood.
Perhaps Chaucer sees the Man of Law as the conveyor of his ideas. Alternatively, Chaucer might be trying to convey the ideas and questions that the general public, (meaning those who would read or listen to The Canterbury Tales) might have been posing at that time. On the other hand, take the question one step further, Chaucer may have used the Man of Law as a tool to bring those concerns to life in a character in saying that the Man of Law is imposing his view of Christianity and astrology on the " nyne and twenty in a compaignye " (Benson 23).
Before addressing any of the above questions, readers must have a basic understanding of the history of astrology and Christianity as well as the views that were common in Chaucer 's time. Christianity was a prevalent philosophy, as was astrology. Many scholars, specifically in the Christian monasteries were reading the works of Aristotle, Plato, Boethius, Avicenna, Euclid, Manilius, Ovid, and Herodotus; all of which contained astrological material (Carpenter 7). The reading and studying of these above texts helped save the near disappearance of astrology by the having the Greek translated from Arabic (Ness 12:1). Furthermore, the controversy of fate (the view of astrology) versus free will (the view of Christianity) was coming to a boil during
Perhaps Chaucer sees the Man of Law as the conveyor of his ideas. Alternatively, Chaucer might be trying to convey the ideas and questions that the general public, (meaning those who would read or listen to The Canterbury Tales) might have been posing at that time. On the other hand, take the question one step further, Chaucer may have used the Man of Law as a tool to bring those concerns to life in a character in saying that the Man of Law is imposing his view of Christianity and astrology on the " nyne and twenty in a compaignye " (Benson 23).
Before addressing any of the above questions, readers must have a basic understanding of the history of astrology and Christianity as well as the views that were common in Chaucer 's time. Christianity was a prevalent philosophy, as was astrology. Many scholars, specifically in the Christian monasteries were reading the works of Aristotle, Plato, Boethius, Avicenna, Euclid, Manilius, Ovid, and Herodotus; all of which contained astrological material (Carpenter 7). The reading and studying of these above texts helped save the near disappearance of astrology by the having the Greek translated from Arabic (Ness 12:1). Furthermore, the controversy of fate (the view of astrology) versus free will (the view of Christianity) was coming to a boil during
Cited: Carpenter, Garth Chivalle. "Chaucer 's Solar Pagent". Pan Planet: Articles. October 14, 2002. Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. Ed. L.D. Benson. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1987. Curry, Walter Clyde. Chaucer and the Mediaeval Sciences. 2nd Ed. New York: Barnes and Noble. 1960. Miller, Susan. Planets and Possibilities: Explore the World Beyond Your Sun Sign. New York, New York: Warner Books. 2001. Ness, Leslie. ARCANA: Research Sources for Astrology. October 2, 2002. North, John David. Chaucer 's Universe. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. 1988. Smyser, Hamilton M. "A View of Chaucer 's Astronomy". Speculum – A Journal of Mediaeval Studies. July 1970: v.XLV, n3 p359. Wood, Chauncey. Chaucer and the Country of the Stars: Poetic Uses of Astrological Imagery. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. 1970.