Roy, John Carlette L.

III 13 HC August 8, 2013

Occasional Paper No. 1 Prof. Marla C. Papango

The Canterbury Tales as Microcosm of Middle English Society

Geoffrey Chaucers idea of confining different people of all vocations in one literary
work is nothing short of genius. These characters products of the poets creative mind that
made possible the gathering of twenty-nine pilgrims journeying towards one destination that was
Canterbury reflect the society Chaucer lived in by displaying the bad and the good in them.
The revelation of character sketches takes place as the pilgrims engage in a tale-telling
competition. While one complies with his code of behavior, another pilgrim (or many others)
deviates from epitomizing ideals in exchange of satisfying personal desires. These characters, as
well as the tales they tell, are Chaucers means for presenting Middle English society and its
problems: the conflict between the traditional and emerging classes, the joke played on and by
the Church, and the quest for status and fortune everyone (regardless of social classes) covets.
The conflict: There is no other way for Chaucer to illustrate the prominence of the middle class
in the Medieval Period but to favor the social group of freemen in terms of number.
In the crowd heading to Canterbury, the likes of The Miller outnumbered the participants
of the nobility and of the clergy classes. This is Chaucers literary testimony of the outcome of
industrial revolution: While more people become artisans, the feudal pyramid debases. The
commercial class grows highly vocal and affirmative of its power in the social fiber of Chaucers
England, which consequently destroys the conventional lifestyle of a three-estate society. We
see, for example, The Miller interrupting the flow of tale-telling turns in which another pilgrim
should have his time after The Knight. Immediately after the nobles turn, the crude Miller
proceeds with the promise of a story that can top that of The Knight. From the cosmopolitan
behavior The Miller shows, it is not a surprise that Chaucer has members of the middle class as
being a third of the total amount of pilgrims and the aristocracy having only a tenth of the total
amount of pilgrims(Spiceman, 2007). This without mentioning the authors social roots as
someone who began life, in a middle class background (Sinclair, 2009) is the primary
conflict we see in Chaucers work and time.
The joke: There is also something wrong about the Church and it is obvious, so obvious that
clergies are subjects to satire and mockery.
In the Canterbury Tales, we witness the institutional power the Church holds over the
land. From the basic fact that it is in-charge of the spiritual life of all people, we anticipate
fulfillment of moral obligations from The Friar, The Monk, The Summoner, and The Pardoner.
However, the funny thing is, neither of these clerical estate members are portraits of a morally
upright religious leader. Instead, theirs are the exact opposite: corrupt, abusive, and
unscrupulous. As the Church plunders wealth, it also breaches its duty of campaigning what is
moral by exemplifying what is otherwise. For instance, we question the sexuality of The
Summoner, who was described as either a gelding (male) or a mare (female). Another equally
hilarious characterization is that of The Friar who hated The Summoner so much but appeared to
be in the same vein as the latter both greedy and deceitful in their own rights, both violators of
the religious code for earthly indulgences sake. Their portraits become the channel in
forwarding the status of the Church in Chaucers time.
The quest: To the Canterbury, the pilgrims go. For wealth and status, they move.
If not for the common mission of visiting the relics of St. Thomas Becket in Canterbury,
it would not have been possible for the pilgrims to gather in one place. We see in them diversity
of attitudes and values but also motivation towards the same goal despite. This is actually good
for the existence of a society. However, as Spaceman figures it out, Wealth is the primary
motivator for such pilgrims as the Summoner and the Pardoner while other pilgrims seek status
such as the Wife of Bath or the Nun (2007, para. 6) With these similar drives behind, we realize
that the people during the Middle English Period are not entirely incomparable with one another.
These pilgrims are no better than the others. They are not what they claim to be. All of them
have dark sides. All of them are bad.
Nevertheless, Chaucers vision of his society is not a total blackout. We see a shed of
light in the portraits of the noble Knight, the ideal clergyman Parson, and the peasant Plowman.
These idealized characters, although few in numbers, remind that there are still good in
Chaucers time: the pilgrims The Canterbury Tales fell short of, the ones the Middle English
society needed of.





Word Count: 720
References and Works Cited
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The New York Times On The Web: http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/c/cannadine-class.html
Lovett, B. (2012, November 9). The Values of the Middle Ages as Shown Through "The Canterbury Tales".
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Schwartz, D. D. (n.d.). The Three Estates. Retrieved August 7, 2013, from calpoly.edu:
http://cla.calpoly.edu/~dschwart/engl430/estates.html
Sinclair, P. (2009, February 6). Masterworks of British Literature. Retrieved August 7, 2013, from
wordpress.com: http://masterworksbritlit.wordpress.com/2009/02/06/geoffrey-chaucer-some-
background-to-the-poet-and-his-times/
Spiceman, C. L. (2007, January 12). The Canterbury Tales as Microcosm of Chaucer's England. Retrieved
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