Ecclesiastical Characters in 'The Prologue'

Introduction
Though in Chaucers age, religion had a control over the minds and soul of the people, yet
regrettably, its influence was corrupt. The monasteries were promoting corruption, exploiting the
innocent folk and were earning money under the disguise of religion. Moralities and ethics were
fading. The ecclesiastics had become notorious for their avarice, corruption and dishonesty. They
had forgotten their sacred duties and had become degenerated.
The state of morality, as evidenced, inter alia, by Chaucer's tales, was bad in all classes. Rich and
poor alike were immoral, and had to submit to conviction, but the former paid, sometimes
regularly, while the latter submitted to penance.

The Prologue
In The Prologue, Chaucer has drawn some portraits of the clergies of the 14th century England,
free from any personal prejudice. These are not exaggerated sketches and they realistically refer
to the corruption, and religious and moral degradation that had crept into the ecclesiastical order
of the day.
His ironic portraits reveal that Chaucer had some idea of a code of conduct for clergies to follow
but he is impartial and realistic and paints both the sides of picture. Through the portraits of
pleasure-loving Monk, the wanton Friar, the corrupt Pardoner, he exposes the humour of the
typical Church dignitaries.
He also gives the portrait of a good Parson. Chaucer admires him because the persons like him
were becoming rare in his age.

The Characters
A brief description of the ecclesiastical characters of The Prologue throws much light on
Chaucers attitude towards religion.
1. The Prioress
The Prioress is the first ecclesiastical figure in The Prologue. She smiles amiably and sings in
her nasal tone. Chaucer says ironically that she is aware of the manners of the society and knows
how to carry morsel to her mouth. He says:
Wel koude she carie a morsel, and wel kepe
That no drope ne fille upon hir brest.
She wears fashionable dress with a golden broach, engraved with the words:
Amor Vincit

Omnia i.e. Love conquers everything.

She truly signifies high-class religious-minded ladies of the 14th century. She is not an ideal Nun
and typifies the traits of the contemporary prioress.

2. The Monk
The Monk is a pleasure-loving fellow. He is fat like a lord, for he leads a relaxed life and passes
his time in eating, drinking and merry-making. He is entirely misfit to his profession. He is fond
of fine dresses. He wears fur-lined sleeves, gold pins and love-knot.
A love knot in the gretter end there was
He does not like to study the strict rules and discipline of the cloister. He likes hunting and has
fine horses and hounds in his stable.
3. The Friar
The Friar is a wanton, greedy and corrupt fellow who neglects his duties and does not bother
about religion. He is fond of singing, merry-making, drinking and visiting inns and public places.
He builds relations with the rich Franklin and worthy women. He is a rogue, seducer of women
and scoundrel. He encourages sins by setting an easy solution of apology, misuses his authority
and exploits others in terms of their sin. He was also very expert in the art of begging.
For thogh a wydwe hadde noght a sho,
So plesaunt was his In principio
Yet wolde he have a ferthyng, er he wente;
4. The Summoner
The Summoner is a nasty figure. Children are afraid of him.
Of his visage children were aferd.
He loves garlic, red wine and onion. He is a hypocrite who allows people to carry on their sins
and forgives them for a small donation to him. He knows the secret of young women and men
and exploits them to his own interest.
The yonge girles of the diocise,
And knew hir conseil, and was al hir reed.
5. The Pardoner
The Pardoner is a thorough cheat. His bag is full of relics which he sells to housewives and earns
a lot.

He hadde a croys of latoun, ful of stones,

And in a glas he hadde pigges bones.
He deceives the simple folk. He sings merrily, sweetly and attracts the people in this
way. Chaucer has a poor opinion of him and ironically calls him a noble ecclesiastical.
6. The Parson
In contrast to these corrupt religious characters, Chaucer gives a pleasant picture of the poor
Parson, a shepherd, who protects his flock from the wolf.
A good man was ther of religioun,
And was a povre persoun of a toun;
He preaches sincerely, correctly and tries to practice what he preaches. He leads a simple,
virtuous life of devotion and service.
A bettre preest I trowe that nowher noon ys;
7. The Clerk
The Clerk is not an ecclesiastical character but he is studying at church. The Clerk is one of the
idealized characters. He is well-versed in logic.
A clerk ther was of Oxenford also,
That unto logyk hadde longe ygo.
He does not run after showiness and worldly grandeur. He is a miser and poor. He is quick and
meaningful in his talk. He is glad to learn and glad to teach. He is the picture of the poets
learning.

Comments
We can conclude that Chaucer has given a very true and realistic picture of the ecclesiastical
characters of his age. He satirizes the corrupt and worldly minded clergies and on the other hand
he appreciates the good characters and presents a model picture of him. The principal
characteristics of Chaucer's monk, friar, pardoner and summoner are greedy self-seeking,
contempt for authority, evasion of discipline self-imposed in the vows of their orders, and a
thorough-going worldliness, which not only sought the good things of life, but sought them at the
expense of the needy.
The Church in Chaucer's time was therefore an object of satire. This great organisation, with its
wealth, its power, and its conservative traditions, might have been expected to offer a safeguard
against social decay but it was itself a fruitful breeding-ground for the very things which were
disorganising feudal society.

French says that no one would pretend that every fourteenth century churchman was so
thoroughly depraved as Chaucer's Pardoner, or that the poet's other pictures of servants of the
Church were entirely without exaggeration. If we make some allowance, however, for the licence
which must be permitted every satirist, we can accept his portraits as a just representation of the
corruption of the Church of Chirst in the fourteenth-century England. Every point which he
makes is amply supported by evidence from other sources. Other writers of the age, both obscure
and famous, have the same story to tell, the same departures from ancient ideals to lament.
Official documents record the attempts made, from time to time, to curb the abuses which were
bringing the Church into contempt and weakening the influence of religion upon men's lives. The
high dignitaries of the Church itself have left us their testimony to the encroaching spirit of
worldliness, which some of them resisted manfully,while others made it the guiding force of
their own careers. No age in the history of the Church has been without its greed and worldliness
but there is abundant evidence that the late fourteenth century furnished a spectacle of general
corruption, from top to bottom of the institution which has seldom been equaled.

REFERENCES

http://neoenglishsystem.blogspot.com/2010/09/ecclesiastical-characters-in-prologue.html
http://shuaib6727.blogspot.com/2013/03/chaucers-treatment-of-ecclesiastical.html