The Clergy in Canterbury Tales

Ever since the beginning of time, there has always been corrupt people within religion. Geoffrey Chaucer exposes this in The Canterbury Tales. This masterpiece gives a lifelike image of clergy during Medieval times. This portrayal also represents the clergy of today. Although Chaucer has included several examples of corrupt clergy in The Canterbury Tales, his portrayal of the Parson offers the hope of a genuine man of God.

The first example of immorality within the clergy is shown through the Prioress and the Monk. They do not seem to be interested in spreading the Gospel. After all, the nun's appearance is her main concern. Instead of performing the duties of the Church, she focuses on her vanity and the way that others see her. The Monk is only concerned with worldly matters rather than holy ones. As the story says, "He let go by the things of yesterday and took the modern world's more spacious way."

The Friar, the Summoner, and the Pardoner use their positions in the Church to further their own selfish interests. The Friar exploits people financially and in other, perhaps worse, matters. "Therefore instead of weeping and prayer, one should give silver for a poor Friar's care." The Summoner attempts to appear educated, but there are hints that he is immoral. The blasphemous Pardoner uses the ignorance of the people against them.

Despite all of the corruptness within the clergy, the Parson is exactly what a pastor should be. Chaucer writes, "He also was a learned man, a clerk, who truly knew Christ's gospel and would preach it devoutly to parishioners, and teach it." He visits and cares for his flock. The Parson does not ask anything of anyone he is not willing to do himself.

Throughout this story, Geoffrey Chaucer portrays the corruptness of the clergy in many ways. The hypocritical people that he presents, abound not only in Medieval times, but also in today's society. However, just as in the modern world, a clean person out-shines all of the rest. In The Canterbury Tales, the Parson represents the good versus evil. The Parson portrays how a member of the clergy should behave, in spite of how those around him misbehave.