The Portrait of Medieval Social Classes as Presented in...

Introduction The General Prologue fulfils two functions: it tells the story of how the tales came to be told, and it introduces the tellers. There are about thirty pilgrims travelling to Canterbury to pray to the holy blissful martyr- St. Thomas of Becket. These characters can be considered the portrait of the whole Middle English society. All the pilgrims can be divided into particular hierarchic structure of classes. The simplest division of society was into three estates: those who fight, those who pray, and those who labour, typified by the Knight, the Parson and the Plowman. Women were often treated as an estate to themselves. The basic tripartite division of society, for instance, is reflected in Chaucer’s making his Knight, Parson†¦show more content†¦He participated in many wars against Muslims in Spain, North Africa, and the Near East; and pagans around the Baltic. The Knight’s portrait differs from those of most of the other pilgrims in several respects. He is described rather in terms of moral attributes than physical appearance. It reinforces the sense of his asceticism, his devotion more to God than to things of the world. He is also described in terms of what other people think of him: he is ‘evere honoured for his worthynesse’, set ‘aboven alle nacions’ at the table of honour, ‘everemoore he hadde a sovereyn prys’ (op. cit. ‘The General Prologue’, The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer; lines 50, 53, 67). It is a portrait of ideal Christian knighthood. Almost every pilgrim has some particular object of desire, that the Knight’s should be: ‘Trouthe and honour, freedom and curteisie’ (op. cit. line 46). The Knight is considered perfect by Chaucer. He is modest as a maid, he is devoted to God more than any of the characters representing clergy. He sometimes fought on the side of Muslims, but only if they fought against other Muslims; he had never fought against Christians. Despite of his valorous deeds, the knight never boasted of his actions, nor bored his listeners. The Squire would be a candidate for knighthood. He is young, probably in his twenties.Show MoreRelatedAn Analysis Of Chaucer s The Canterbury Tales 2650 Words   |  11 PagesAn Analysis of Chaucer’s Miller in The Canterbury Tales In the prologue to The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer introduces the Miller as a crude, rude, loud character who cheats his customers. The tale, which the Miller later narrates, is appropriate because the Miller’s tale clearly reflects this individual’s unrefined personality by telling a typical, filthy tavern story. The Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer, is a story that details thirty pilgrims, including Chaucer, traveling onRead More Powerful Satire in Chaucers Canterbury Tales Essay3466 Words   |  14 PagesPowerful Satire in The Canterbury Tales If one theme can be considered overriding or defining throughout Medieval European society, it would most likely be the concept of social class structure. During this early historical period in Europe, most of society was divided into three classes or estates: the workers, the nobles, and the clerics. By Chaucers time, however, the powerful estate structure had begun to wear down. Weaknesses in the system became apparent, as many people, such as ChaucerRead More Contradictions in Chaucers The Canterbury Tales Essay3897 Words   |  16 PagesContradictions in Chaucers The Canterbury Tales There is no question that contradictory values make up a major component of The Canterbury Tales. Fate vs. Fortuna, knowledge vs. experience and love vs. hate all embody Chaucers famous work. These contrasting themes are an integral part of the complexity and sophistication of the book, as they provide for an ironic dichotomy to the creative plot development and undermine the superficial assumptions that might be made. The combination of completely