Chaucer and Religion

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Chaucer and Religion It is very rare that a book is written without the opinions of the author being clearly expressed somewhere within that book. Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales is one such book. In the General Prologue alone, by viewing Chaucer’s description of the Knight, the Prioress, and the Friar, the reader is able to pick up on Chaucer’s satirical humor toward the church of the 14th century. The first male traveler mentioned is the chivalrous Knight. It is interesting that Chaucer chooses to introduce The Knight as the first character. He possibly does this because during the era, Knights were strong, truthful and were to fight the good fight. This tactic would fit in to Chaucer’s goal of relaying the overall message that nothing of the time was as enchanting as it were to appear. Chaucer describes his Knight as a man so honored due to his loyalty in battle. He states, “And evere honoured for his worthyness … No Cristen man so ofte of his degree (2).” This whole statement is hypocritical because the Knight is being viewed as Christian when he kills men and p...

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