Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, written in approximately 1385, is a collection of twenty-four stories ostensibly told by various people who are going on a religious pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral from London, England. Prior to the actual tales, however, Chaucer offers the reader a glimpse of fourteenth century life by way of what he refers to as a General Prologue. In this prologue, Chaucer introduces all of the characters who are involved in this imaginary journey and who will tell the tales.
    The time of the writing of The Canterbury Tales was a turbulent time in English history. The Catholic Church was in the midst of the Great Schism and, though it was still the only Christian authority in Europe, was the subject of heavy controversy. As to this, we can see that The Tales constantly reflect the conflict between classes. For example, the division of the three estates; the characters are all divided into three distinct classes, the classes being "those who pray" (the clergy), "those who fight" (the nobility), and "those who work" (the commoners and peasantry).
    Tales reflect diverse religious world of Chaucer's time. We can see that several characters in the Tales are religious figures, and the very nature of the pilgrimage to Canterbury is deeply religious, making this a preeminent theme of the work. Two characters, the Pardoner and the Summoner, have roles directly tied to the church's monetary power. Both of these characters are portrayed as deeply corrupt, greedy, and abusive. A pardoner in Chaucer's day was the person to whom one paid indulgences in exchange for forgiveness of sins. Pardoners would exact a fee for their services and in many cases were guilty of using these fees and promises of forgiveness for their own financial gain. Chaucer's Pardoner openly admits the corruption of his practice while pressing the pilgrims for payment. The Summoner represents a class of workers whose job it was to bring sinners to the church court for...