The “Canterbury Tales” is more that just an entertaining collection of stories and characters; it is a representation of the society Chaucer lived in. In Chaucer’s world the traditional feudal system was losing its importance as more and more people became part of the emerging middle class.
The church was another important part of Chaucer’s England; however, in Chaucer’s day the Church was often corrupt and strayed from its spiritual mission to obtain secular wealth. Finally, Chaucer shows that the main drive of almost all of the characters is to obtain wealth and status. Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales” is a microcosm of late 14th century England because of its illustration of the growth of the middle class and decline of the feudal system, corruption and power of the Church, and the fundamental drive for wealth and power.
During Chaucer’s time the traditional feudal system was dieing and a new middle class was being born. Chaucer illustrates this by the amount of characters he uses from each background. The aristocratic feudal system has only two possibly three pilgrims: The Knight, the Squire, and possibly the Franklin, because he is part of the landed gentry. On the other hand, there are ten pilgrims from the Middle Class, five representing the guilds, the Physician, the Merchant, the Sergeant at Law, the Manciple and the Cook. There are thirty pilgrims in the Canterbury tales and they are supposed to represent English society as a whole during Chaucer’s time.
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. Chaucer illustrates the rise of the middle class and the decline in the aristocracy by their relative proportions and numbers in the pilgrimage. Although England in Chaucer’s day was most definitely not 33% middle class, Chaucer felt it was important to make them such a large part of his “Canterbury Tales” due to their rise and importance. Likewise only 10% of the pilgrims are from traditional feudal institutions which illustrates the decline of the feudal system.
The Church was one of the most powerful institutions in England, rivaling the King for total power. The fact that the pilgrims are visiting the shrine of Thomas a Becket, the former Archbishop of Canterbury who was killed by the King’s knights, shows the power the Church has over the monarchy. However, the Church’s great power caused internal corruption and members of the clergy began to ignore their spiritual duties and seek secular wealth. Chaucer clearly illustrates this point in the “Canterbury Tales”. There are nine members of the Church on the pilgrimage and all but one of them is corrupt in some way.
The Nun is more interested being courtly than in being religious, the Monk is rich and loves hunting, the Friar is not celibate, and the Summoner and the Pardoner are greedy and sinful. Having five out of the six known Church pilgrims being represented in a negative way Chaucer clearly illustrates that he feels the Church was a corrupt institution. The only good member of the clergy is the Parson. Chaucer presents him as the ideal member of the clergy. He lives in Christ-like poverty, holds all people to the same spiritual standards, and he travels around his parish visiting all the people who need his help, whether rich or poor. By contrasting the other members of the Church with the Parson, Chaucer shows the current state of the Church with how it was and how it should be.
The pursuit of wealth and status is the common denominator of most of Chaucer’s pilgrims. Only four pilgrims do not chase wealth and power and Chaucer presents them as the most moral of the pilgrims. The Knight, the Parson, the Plowman, and the Clerk have declined to chase money or status and instead dedicated their lives to study, religion, and kind deeds. The other 26 pilgrims chase wealth and status with energy. 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.
The avarice many of the pilgrims show that greed was a major problem in late 14th Century England while the quest for status was an equally large problem. By having the most saintly of the pilgrims not interested in money or status Chaucer illustrates his opinion that the drive for wealth and status is one the fundamental problems of his England.
Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales is a microcosm Chaucer’s England because of his portrayal of the rise of the middle class, the corruption of the church, and his society’s primary motivation; wealth and status. The middle class’ rise is followed by the feudal system’s decline both of which Chaucer illustrates. The Church is corrupt instead of being the moral and spiritual leader that it once was, Chaucer gives these qualities to the Parson as the ideal member of the Clergy while the rest are portrayed as corrupt in some way.
Chaucer also shows how the pursuit of wealth and power is the primary motivator in his society and how it contributes to the problems of his society. In his ‘Canterbury Tales”, Chaucer created a group of people who accurately reflect society and its problems in Chaucer’s world.
