English Society in the 14th Century

Summary: The Canterbury Tales is set in fourteenth-century London, one of the medieval period's great centers of commerce and culture. In England at this time, society was still very strictly ordered, with the King and nobles having all power in things political and the Catholic Church having all authority in spiritual matters. English Society in the 14th Century The Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer, is recognized as the first book of poetry written in the English language. This is because poetry was often written in Italian or Latin not English, even writers from England wrote in the other languages because English was considered low class and vulgar, but after Chaucer's writings were published they became a recognized and legitimate work. The Canterbury Tales gives modern readers a good judgment of language in the 14th century as it also gives a rich, elaborated tapestry of medieval social life, combining elements of all classes, from nobles to workers, from priests and nuns to drunkards and thieves. The view of the Canterbury Tales being held up as a precise reflection of English society in the 14th century is significantly correct, because they were very attached to the church and beliefs and the way they all act in the Tales shows how they really were a society of the Church. "The Canterbury Tales is set in fourteenth-century London, one of the medieval period's great centers of commerce and culture. In England at this time, society was still very strictly ordered, with the King and nobles having all power in things political and the Catholic Church having all authority in spiritual matters. However, trade and commerce with other nations had expanded dramatically in this century, giving rise to a new and highly vocal middle class comprised of merchants, traders, shopkeepers, and skilled craftsmen." The story starts with a general prologue that provides a panoramic view of society that is not like any found in all of literature, the author uses a special technique in capturing the variations of human temperament and behavior. Each of the characters play a different role in society but they all get together to travel to Canterbury, and while in the pilgrimage they tell their tales and stories that have morals or lessons to be learned. Even though each of these tales is kind of funny in a way, they represent the view of society by themselves, because none of the others listening to the stories are surprised by how people behave in the tales. They are probably surprised by how everything turns out at the end of the tale, when they are supposed to learn the lesson that the narrator is trying to give to them. Society, in the 14th century, was influenced by the church, which is made by the same society. The church and religion meant a great deal to the people because at all levels of society, belief in a god or gods was not a matter of choice; it was a matter of fact. Living in these times, medieval times, one would come into contact with the church in a number of ways. First they would have daily routine services that they attended at least once a week. And the church also fulfilled the functions of a civil service and an education system, they would teach men how to read and write. So people were very accustomed to matters of the church and were always praying. The Church was also rich and powerful in a way, and that power was often misused. An example of this power being misused is some of the characters from the Canterbury tales like the "pardoner" which granted papal indulgences and collected the profits for himself. Medieval society had the question of their own salvation but never about the existence of God, their desire as a society of the Church was to get to know God and achieve intimacy with the divine. Leading a life pleasing to God was their uppermost concern, and the wide diversity of medieval goodness is simply because people answered the question, 'How can I

best lead a holy life"' in so many different ways. Beginning with The Pardoner's Tale, the theme of salvation is truly dominant. Chaucer, being one of the most important medieval authors, uses this prologue and tale to make a statement about buying salvation. The character of the pardoner is one of the most despicable pilgrims, apparently along for the ride to his next show as the seller of relics. Another good example of society in the 14th century is the Wife of Bath. She was not really accepted by society because of her situation of being a widow of already 5 husbands since the age of 12. But she says that even if a virgin means more to them, there has to be a non-virgin, like her, in order to make more virgins. So she is not really worried about what society thinks about her. "The Wife of Bath asserts her female experience and defends her rights and justifies her life as a five- time married woman." In her tale she explains what women desire most in the world and that is to have control over her husbands and lovers, which is kind of what she has done. At the end of the tale she prays to Jesus Christ, this action applies to how they were very influenced by the Church. And we can tell in a way that the wife of bath is not accepted by society because of the kind of live she had, a life that would not be accepted by the Church because being married to that many people is considered a sin. "When creating the Wife of Bath, Chaucer drew upon a centuries-old tradition of antifeminist writings that was particularly nurtured by the medieval church" this shows how Chaucer wanted to write about something that went against society, it also shows that when writing it Chaucer wanted it to be a true reflection of the 14th century. After reading the Canterbury Tales and learning how society was in the tales, it can be understood that even though they are comic tales they truly reflect the view of society in the 14th century. Society was mainly based on the Church because they were very influenced by it, so after studying the tales we can see that they are all based upon the Church and God. People in the tales are accepted by society because of their status and actions and how it all affects the view of God in their lives. So The Canterbury Tales are an accurate reflection of the English society in the 14th century, because of how everything is already understood and also because it is what Chaucer wanted to show with a comic twist and he "did not need to make a pilgrimage himself to meet the types of people that his fictitious pilgrimage includes, because most of them had long inhabited literature as well as life." So he really knew about everything he was writing about, but he only wanted to reflect the society in a comical