Three of the characters that Chaucer used to embody this corruption in within the church were the Friar, the Pardoner, and the Summoner. All three men were employed by the church, and had the power to help absolve from sin the masses; but each of the men also had a price. Just as the Catholic Church was enshrined with riches, gold churches built on the backs of the masses, the men who worked in it did just the same. The absolute hypocrisy of the church, and their willingness to use power and money to rule would end up being their downfall, as it was the masses were quickly becoming wise to the dishonesty within the church and the people running it. Chaucer used his craft to highlight this dishonesty, and through stinging satire he shows us just what he thought of the Catholic Church, with his descriptions of the Friar , the Pardoner, and the Summoner.
Many factors led to the rise of Protestantism, for example, events like the Black Death and the Western Schism. The most crucial factors were the reformers themselves. Two of the most famous reformers were Martin Luther and Desiderius Erasmus. Luther was a German priest who found the ways of the Roman Catholic Church to be corrupt, he fought the church until he was named an outlaw by the emperor, and shunned by the pope. Erasmus was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, and Catholic priest.
In the early 16th century, the Protestant Reformation divided the unity of the Roman Catholic Church. The Reformation movement began in Germany led by Martin Luther. His speeches and writings were passed on all over Europe with the help of the printing press. It started in response to the rising sense of corruption in the church. For instance, “the sale of indulgences for the benefit of the church of Rome specifically for the rebuilding of St. Peters Cathedral provoked harsh criticism, especially by those who saw the luxuries of the papacy as a betrayal of apostolic ideals ” (Fiero 119).
Was the Reformation Politically or Religiously Motivated? The Reformation begun by Martin Luther was a 16th century conflict in Europe that would shape the future of the world. Certainly the Catholic church was political, even in the 1500's, however it was religion that powered the Reformation. For centuries, the Roman Catholic Church had oppressed the uneducated and poor peasants for an unjust hierarchical structure. Peasants were captive to their lords, essentially forced into servitude without wages.
These hermits were the beginning of monasteries and monks. Monks and friars also believed that living a life of spirituality and poverty was the correct way to live, although they executed it in different ways. Unlike hermits, who live in secluded, self imposed exile and live by what they individually believe to be the correct way of life, monks live together in monasteries and each take vows of chastity, poverty and obedience. While monks are people who dedicate their lives to God, it is not always the main reason why they have chosen this life as apposed to any other form of devotion. There are other spiritual reasons, such as wanting to live in a secure environment, wanting to escape the violence of the outside world or wanting to live a quiet and peaceful life.
To what extent did the Church experience ‘crisis’ in the later medieval period? During the medieval period the Church had a very important role in European politics. A common metaphor of the Medieval period likens society to a human body, in this metaphor the church is often referred to as the ‘head and eyes’ and in John Salisbury’s version as the soul. Many historians view the later Middle Ages as a time of crisis. The European continent was going through a period of upheaval as famine, disease and war ravaged the population.
In a biography of Benedict’s life provided by Gregory the Great (c. 540-604), he is described as a young boy sent out by his mother to pursue a liberal education in Rome. Upon seeing that his fellow peers were being destroyed by vice, he deemed worldly wisdom the cause of this sin, abandoned his studies and began a pursuit for God. (25) He immediately chose a life of solitude which involved much praying, abstinence and separation from the world while not allowing anything to come between his relationship with God. Benedict instructed many others in this practice of virtue with people coming from all surrounding areas to obtain his advice. Before long, a group of monks asked him to serve as their abbot.
Shouldn’t a monk be focused on helping others and and god rather than his appearance? This direct characterization used here, allows the audience to question the church and ultimately see what Chaucer is satirizing within the church. The Friar is most likely the best example of the corruption within the church. He begs for money from the poor, tricks people out of money, and also sleeps around. This most certainly does not sound like a proper religious figure.
Chaucer’s corruption of The Church The Catholic Church was deeply corrupt during the middle ages. While the church was founded on piety, poverty, and propriety the reality for the church and many of its representatives were quite different. In Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, the religious characters illustrate most of the corruption characteristic of the church at that time. Chaucer uses the prioress, the pardoner, and the friar as examples to show how that Catholic Church had become corrupt during the middle ages. One character that Chaucer uses to show the corruption of the church is the prioress.
Wealthy pilgrims often gave expensive jewels and ornaments to the monks that looked after these shrines. Henry VIII decided that the shrines should be closed down and the wealth that they had created given to the crown. The Pope and the Catholic church in Rome were horrified when they heard the news that