Religion In The Miller's Tale

Throughout the Middle Ages, literary works were often used as means to communicate and connect with the audience regarding social relations. In Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Miller’s Tale,” the characters of John, Nicholas, and Absolom convey the process in which the value of social class decreased as the newfound corruption of the Catholic Church transpired. While being devoted to God and having faith is the ideal path to salvation, John illustrates the consequences of only having faith and rejecting knowledge, which demands the need for a balance. By receiving any education not provided by the Church, individuals were highly frowned upon during the Middle Ages, Nicholas being one of them, as he portrays the shift in power that the intellectuals

John, a wealthy member of the upper class, depicts the negative impact of the Church as he expresses blind faith through his riveting encounter with Nicholas, a Renaissance man educated in the study of theology and science, where his undeniable ignorance is presented. In response to witnessing his tenant’s agonizing fit, John claims that “blessed is the ignorant man indeed [and] blessed is he that only knows the creed,” (Chaucer 251-252) advising the audience that those who only study and receive their education from the Church, are those who are blessed. Not only did John convince himself that Nicholas had gone mad, but he also believed that Nicholas’ fit was the result of his studies because he had been caught gaping at the moon. John, being a traditional follower of the Church who relies solely on the Bible for answers, is opposed to all outside knowledge discovered with the help of science. Although universal knowledge was being accepted by plenty of people, turning to science is seen as wrong in John’s eyes, as the Church declined the use of intellectual knowledge. The emergence of John’s blind faith can be identified through this moment, as he insists that those who are ignorant and only know of what the Church preaches, are the ones who were blessed. John believes everything the

Using the character of Nicholas, Chaucer presents how intellectualism makes its way to the top of social status, as Nicholas strips away the power of Catholicism. In an attempt to outsmart John by using his knowledge, Nicholas states that “a student has been wasting time at school if he can’t make a carpenter a fool.” (113-114) which exemplifies the power shift moving into the hands of the scholars. At this moment, Nicholas makes it clear to Alison, John’s wife, that his knowledge can be used to his advantage against John to lure him into their carefully crafted plan. John being the wealthy upperclassmen and Nicholas being the poor scholar, means very little as Nicholas easily deceives John. To ensure his plan would work, Nicholas includes the details of God being the one who would save John, but only if he follows the plan set by Nicholas. Nicholas knows exactly what to say to get the results he hopes for, which is why he included a reference to the biblical story of Noah’s Ark. Through this moment, it proved that there was now a thin line between the social classes, due to the way scholars could reason their way above those of the upper class. Knowing that John would fall for his plan no matter what, Nicholas received what he wanted in the end, but not without a consequence. Because of his intellectual hubris that sprouted from his ability to trick John and the abuse