What was Chaucer's view on Medieval Christianity?
The Church was a vast, overbearing force in the 14th Century. It had power over many facets of daily life. The Church's power was held by a stronghold of tradition, and few were willing to question that. Chaucer speaks out against this authority in the General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales. He was angry with the power the Church held, and how they misused it. He uses the Prioress, Monk and Friar to make a satire out of the autocracy of the Church. While Chaucer may be making an attack on these characters, he never attacks the institution of religion itself. The attitude of the Prologue is not anti-religious; it merely articulates the injustice the Church was imposing upon its people.
The Prioress is a representation of greed and materialism. This contradicts the typical nun, showing Christian charity and selflessness. Her love of fine jewelry is illustrated in line 158 (GP), "Of smal coral aboute hir arm she bar." We also learn she dresses elegantly, has impeccable manners (127) and speaks French (124). When taken together, these traits show the reader how important the finer things in life are to the Prioress. Her greed is again demonstrated in line 128: "She leet no morsel from hir lippes falle." The literal meaning could be taken as "she didn't spill any food when she ate." The hidden meaning could be that she didn't let any wealth escape her hands. Chaucer does not mention her devotion to God, or her compassion for other humans. What he doesn't say is just as important as what he does say. When Chaucer doesn't mention her caring personality, he is trying to show that the members of the Church were cold and unfeeling. This is one example of how we know Chaucer was angry with the Church's representatives. The Prioress is an absurd person to represent the church. She lacks the wholesome qualities of a nun, and is engrossed in dressing well and acting courtly. Chaucer has used her to demonstrate that...