The Pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral

Pilgrimage to Canterbury, Thomas Stothard, 1806

Canterbury Tales introduces a group of pilgrims going to Canterbury Cathedral who embody the corruption of the real medieval society. Despite Chaucer’s irony-loaded descriptions of most of the characters, some of them are clearly not intended to be ironic but to allude at the ideals of this society. As we meet characters like The Parson, The Plowman, and The Oxford Student we get the impression that these characters are the ideals that represent the opposite to the corruption and vices of the rest of the characters. Chaucer not only exposes the demoralization of medieval society, he also presents the ideals of this society.

The moral excellence and righteousness of the Oxford Student are evident in his description. The narrator distinguishes this young man for his devotion, goodness, and humbleness. He is also described as a discreet person who doesn’t speak more than what’s necessary, formal, respectful and grateful to those who help him in his education. The Parson is the religious figure that embodies all the virtues that the rest lack. He is a devout church man who, as the Oxford student, lives in poverty, who is everything that the monk, the pardoner, the friar, and all the rest of religious figures are not. Different from them, the parson is a devout, benign, diligent, and patient Christian. Instead of looking for his own advantage, he would offer charity to his poor followers, giving them always a noble example since he thought that if a priest trespasses his Christian duties then common people would for sure go astray. This is a religious figure who is true to his believes since, above all, anything that he would teach to the people he would do it himself first. Chaucer emphasizes his contrast with the rest of the religious figures in the pilgrimage when he declares that “he was a shepherd and no mercenary”. This parson proofs to devote his life to serve and love his Savior by serving and loving his fellows. Together with him walks his brother—a Plowman—who is portrayed also as a good hearted man from the peasant class. The narrator labels him as an “honest worker, good and true” who lives in peace and charity, a man who loves his God and his fellow brothers just as himself, and helps the poor whenever he could. The way in which this set of characters lead their lives corresponds to the teachings in the Christian lore.

Some other characters, however, display the worse of the corruption of pillar institutions in medieval society. With the character of The Summoner, Chaucer achieves to expose the dishonesty of some members of these institutions—in this case, the church. As it is recurrent in Chaucer, the disgusting physical appearance of characters mirrors their vicious inner self. The Summoner is said to make children afraid because of his aspect; ironically, his face is compared to that of a “cherubin” but this is not because of his angelical aspect, it is because of carbuncles, which are disgusting infectious abscesses in the skin. Besides his physical appearance, this Summoner has a very peculiar behavior, considering that he works for the ecclesiastical court, according to the narrator he likes drinking, shouting, and jabbering as if crazy. He is compared to a bird who can just repeat anything he is taught but in a hollow/superficial manner, not really meaning it or even understanding it. This is evidently emphasizing the issue of being true to your beliefs or having a double moral. Besides religious figures, the narrator introduces also other members of feudal medieval society. The dealings of this medieval merchant have to do with money, loans, bargains, negotiation and anything that would generate an income to him. Apparently, trade has made him wealthy, and the narrator reveals this in a rather questionable manner. This merchant is portrayed as an unscrupulous mercenary whose dealings are only motivated by his wish for capital increase. His description renders him as an arrogant, suspicious, and self-serving person whose only pursuit was to crook people for his own advantage.