Canterbury Tales 2
During the Middle Ages it was custom for many Christians to go on pilgrimages to perform what they believed was God's work. Canterbury was one of many sites that the pilgrim would go to. Geoffrey Chaucer centers his book The Canterbury Tales around the pilgrims on their way to thank St. Thomas of Canterbury for his help in keeping them alive. The pilgrims met at an inn and it is here that the Host proposes that each pilgrim should tell two tales on the pilgrimage to Canterbury and then two on the way back. "Each pilgrim represents a certain part of medieval society." (Mack 1895) The pilgrims sit at the top of their social standings; they are either exceptionally good or very corrupt. The prologue provides the reader with detail descriptions of the pilgrims, and it is here that a medieval audience would compare and contrast the characters with social stereotypes already know at the time. It is in The Canterbury Tales that a reader can best understand the social, religious, and economic and political views of the different social societies during the Middle Ages. "Medieval society was traditionally and authoritatively represented as a body organized into three estates: those who worked to sustain the basic life practices of the co
Aers, David. Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800. Vol 17. Detroit: Gale Research, The Pardoner serves as the worst representation of medieval society. He is a greedy man whose main purpose in life is himself and gaining wealth any way he can. The pardoner tricks people into believing that he was poor so they would give him money. It is ironic how the Pardoner's tale contains everything that he is guilty of. He is proud of his evil nature and realizes his deceptive nature. Although the one characteristic that the Pardoner does hold is honesty, he does not deny his trickery was or the sins that he commits. "Pardoners were supposed to issue papal indulgences for such things as forgiveness of sins, in exchange for alms money which was to be given to the sick, poor or any other worldly cause. Many medieval pardoners were frauds, selling worthless pieces of paper or keeping more of their share of the precedents." (Barrons) Fake pardoners claimed that they could do almost anything for the right sum of money, even remove an excommunication. The belief was that even though a pardoner was less than perfect his social position still commanded respect. So people still gave money to friars and pardoners even if they were corrupt because they believed it could still get them into heaven. The Pardoner in The Canterbury Tales is from Rouncivalle, a London hospital that is "well known for the number of corrupt pardoners connected to it." (Barrons) The Pardoner quickly reveals his corrupt way of life by telling the other pilgrims that he tells the same sermon wherever he goes, "Money is the root of all evil." What is funny here is that what the Pardoner fails to realize is that he is a prime example for greed, which he preaches against. Not only does he mention that his sole purpose in life is to make money, but his physical description would have significant meaning to the medieval audience. The Pardoner is described as having glaring eyes, which in medieval society would signify folly, gluttony, and drunkenness. The Pardoner "embodies the theory of evil with his thin goat like voice, suspiciously effeminate nature and the assumption that part of him is missing. To the medieval mind, an absent part is a clear indication of moral deprivation." (Barron's) Fleming, Martha. Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800. Vol 17. Detroit: Gale The Knight's tale is a story about two Theban knights, Palamon and Arcite. The two knights are cousins who were sent to Athens by Theseus to be imprisoned for life. Palamon sees Emelye walking in the garden and instantly falls in love with her. Arcite too sees Emelye walking and also falls in love with her. Duke Perotheus arrives to visit Duke Thesues and has Arcite released under the condition that Arcite can not return to any of Theseus' lands. The become very angry, Arcite becomes upset about this because at least Palamon can see Emelye and Palamon is angry that Arcite has the chance to gather an army and return to conquer Athens and win the love of Emely.
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Approximate Word count = 2912
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)
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