In the year 1054, the Catholic Church had issues within the different parts of it. As these issues continued to pose a bigger problem, the church finally decided that it needed to separate and become different churches so that they could each conduct and run the church like they wanted to. The two branches of the Catholic Church that were feuding around this time were the Latin portion of the church, later known as Roman Catholics, and the Greek part, which were eventually known as the Orthodox Church. As we take a look back at these two branches of the Catholic Church, the differences and problems that they had with one another will be shown by evidence found in documents relating to the incidents and troubles that caused the church to have
“So often the contemporary church is weak, ineffable voice with an uncertain sound.” He advocates instead of following the new ways in which churches act they should follow the old standard. So they can influence the
In spite of that time-frame, the relations between the Middle-Age Empires and the Roman Catholic Church prior to the
His writings exposed, in a very discrete manner, the severe corruption of the people during that period of time, especially within the Catholic Church; the institution promulgated humbleness and abstinence, yet it was characterized by its wealth. In this manner, Chaucer emphasized
This preservation of image and fear of contamination reveals an interpretation of Chaucer’s opposition against the church. In his time the church would fear that another religion would take away their followers, much like how John fears that another man will take Alison. This would result in the Church wanting
By portraying the Pardoner in this light, Chaucer critiques the church and its
Chaucer uses satire in many different ways in his story. One of his main objectives with the use of satire is to criticise the Christian church, which was looked down upon in that time. There are many different members of the clergy that go on the pilgrimage and that Chaucer writes about, but the only honorable member is the Parson. Chaucer uses satire when describing the Friar. He says the Friar is a fine beggar, which shows the corruption of the church since friars were not allowed to beg for money.
During the Middle Ages, at the time where Geoffrey Chaucer was alive, the Church was the highest in power in Europe. They were above the entire caste system, and they owned more land than anyone did at the time. Chaucer, as the son of a wine merchant and someone living in a Church-dominated society, had probably witnessed the dealings and actions of the Church and its associates of the time. As a satirist, Chaucer incorporated his skill of observation into his narration of The Canterbury Tales, and used it with satire to play the humor to his advantage, from poking light fun at some of the pilgrims to employing mocking sarcasm towards some of the others. This, of course, on a religious pilgrimage in the Middle Ages, includes the mocking of
In Canterbury Tales Chaucer presents the Church in a negative light in order to call attention to its corrupt practices. Examples of this can be seen through his depictions of the different clergymen present in the work. He harshly criticizes people such as the Monk, the Friar, the Summoner, and the Pardoner, suggesting that he was unhappy with their use of authority. One of the first corrupt church officials Chaucer mentions is the Monk. The Monk is described in the prologue as a fat man who ignores monastic rule in order to live modernly.
The reader should now know Geoffrey Chaucer disapproves of the Church and deems it to almost only be full of hypocrites because of people such as the Friar and the Pardoner being a part of it and doing what sinful deeds they do against God and the followers who they are supposed to be protecting and taking care of. If it was not for the Parson existing, or even clergy members, then the generalization of him believing the entire Catholic Church was a hypocrisy would be entirely true, but that is not the case. Still, maybe Chaucer made such an implication because he had a bad past with the Church, but then again in the story he was traveling to a religious shrine, so he must not have such a bad past when it comes to Catholicism. There must have been a root to his disdain towards the Church as in, he was conned by a pardoner or a friar or even grew up seeing only hypocrisy from the Catholic Church, which could have molded his opinion of it. Instead of making, The Canterbury Tales, a full on attack against the Church, he decided to make it a comical, satirical piece, which was a very intelligent move by him.
Many identify the via media between Catholicism and Protestantism with the Anglican church. This is what they are best recognized for today – beautiful cathedrals, weekly communion, kneeling during prayer, a set lectionary, and a Protestant theology of justification through faith. It does not negatively or positively affect the current position of the church to acknowledge Cranmer’s negative opinion about the papacy or the Anabaptists. Even Cranmer would have likely admitted that, after several centuries of progress, change, and increase in knowledge, the church would have to adapt. During the time of Cranmer, to break from the papacy likely meant instituting Anabaptist, Lutheran, or Calvinist reform.
How does the Church function in Geoffrey Chaucer’s work The Canterbury Tales? Are the Church and Christianity displayed under the same light? How are different rankings of clergy presented? What role does the Bible play into this piece? How does the clergy interact with other social classes?
Calling the Church body “his apes” exemplifies the opinion Chaucer holds about the Church, as he believes they are like monkeys, blindly following others, unaware of their own stupidity. In terms of blindly following, the double entendre of the word “apes” comes into play, as it is defined as “imitating another person”. The members of the Church blindly imitate what they see in the Church, leading to a society of corrupted followers. Chaucer continues to present the hypocrisy prevalent in the Church through the character of the Pardoner, as he preaches, “For my intent is only pence to win,” (“Pardoner’s Prologue” 117). Through these lines, the audience receives their first image of the Pardoner’s satirical hypocrisy as, in his sermons, he preaches against greed while, at the same time, uses the guilt of his audience to feed his own.
It was Bishop Ignatius who first used the term "catholic" to describe the whole Church. These letters connect us to the early church, and the clear teachings to the apostles directly by Jesus Christ. St. Ignatius tells the Romans not to save him from the martyrdom for he shall never have the opportunity attaining God. He teaches us to follow God's glory and look to achieve one thing in life, that is heaven. Ignatius wants unity with God and is would be
In “The Canterbury Tales” Chaucer illustrates the corruption of the church through the religious characters in both the tales and the prologue and their obsession with money. Illustrating the fact that medieval England, the church had a big impact on the lives of people due to them being able to “read” the bible. In many cases, this was uses to manipulate people into giving their money to church. Throughout the tales, people are shown to stand up to the church and beat them at their own game and this provides the ideal response to church corruption.
