The most famous work in which Chaucer satirizes the
Catholic Church is The Canterbury Tales. He has a number of
characters in this great poem that lend to that satirization. The objective of this
satire is to humorously point out the failings and folly (or worse) of the Church of his
era. Remember that during Chaucer’s time, the Christian Church was only the Catholic
Church as the Protestant Reformation didn’t occur until 1517 with the public notice of
Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses. The nature of satire is that it is
delivered through biting wit and humor, so Chaucer’s satirical characters are on the
amusing, even comical, side, even though some of them are
scoundrels.
Some of the most obvious characters who
satirize the Church are the Friar, the Pardoner, The the Prioress, and Nun’s Priest. The
Friar provides a satirical view of the Church because of his ability to practice a
religious calling that specializes in hearing the confessions of wealthy people who pay
generous donations:
instead of weeping and [of] prayers
Men
may give silver to the poor
freres.
The sincerity of the
Church is satirized through the Pardoner who sells relics that forgive and remove a
person’s sins--for a tidy price. The Prioress is the female representative satirizing
the Church. She is elegant and tastefully adorned, with an inclination for romance. Her
jewelry and other niceties satirize the Church’s religious ideal of sacrifice and
devotion to spiritual over worldly pleasures. The Nun’s Priest satirizes the Church
because of his position as chaplain to the Prioress. There is a suggestion that the
Prioress’s romantic proclivities are directed at and reciprocated by her nun’s priest,
though both have taken vows of chastity. This view may be supported by his tale in which
Chanticleer is exceedingly fond of his many wives:
This gentle cock had in his
governance
Seven hens, for to do all his
pleasánce,
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