The Monk
Upper Church/Aspiring Nobility Class
This can easily be seen because he “had greyhounds as swift as a bird in flight; / riding and hunting the hare / were all his joy; for this he spared no cost” (GP, 11). Monks are supposed to have taken a vow of poverty; however, it is apparent that he is wealthy and freely spends money to make himself appear to be of high importance such as a noble might be.
In addition, the Monk had “fasten[ed] his hood under his chin / his head was bald and shone like glass” (GP, 11). This is simply to show readers that he is indeed a Monk and can be identified by his hood and bald head.
The Monk certainly contradicts the role of a twelfth-century monk; nonetheless, he fulfills the many stereotypes of monks prevalent at that time in history. Monks were supposed to take a vow of poverty, remain chaste, and labor in a monastery.
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Monks, as previously stated, take a vow of poverty. With that information in mind, it can be concluded that his either received a very generous gift, or he is not fulfilling his role as a monk.
Besides being well dressed, the Monk was “a fine fat lord, in splendid shape” (GP, 11). Needless to say, the Monk was a large man who enjoyed food and was surely not in physical shape, but rather simply in a shape. How can a monk who is supposed to be impoverished be so well-fed? The answer is that he is not fulfilling his proper role as a monk by eating expensive food and not doing labor in a monastery.
On top of that, he “had a very intricate pin made of gold; / there was a love knot in the bigger end” (GP, 11). This fellow not only spends church money on frivolous things like dogs and fur, but also on golden pins with love knots that indicate he was not