In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer depicts this rising middle class of medieval England in a positive light by joining all the classes together during the pilgrimage, by describing the variety and utility of the middle class through details of different characters, and by stressing the value of education to the middle
Who is middle class in Canterbury Tales?
And Chaucer’s interest in middle class characters, such as a cook, carpenter, miller, lawyer, merchant, clerk, physician reflects the rise of the middle class in the fourteenth century (Collin 1).
- Nobility/Ruling Class – Knight and Squire.
- Clergy – Monk, Friar, Prioress, Parson, Summoner, Pardoner.
- Middle Class – Merchant, Doctor, Student, Wife of Bath.
- Peasants – Miller, Plowman, Skipper.
- Physical Characteristics, Clothing, and Accessories.
- Words, Experiences, and Personality Traits.
These included members of the First Estate, or Church hierarchy, like The Prioress, Monk, Friar, Parson, and Pardoner. Characters belonging to the Second Estate were the nobility and included The Knight. The Third Estate consisted of peasants like The Miller.
How does the Canterbury tales reflect the Middle Ages society?
Its vivid portrayal of a diverse group of travelers reveals much about the composition and values of society in late medieval England. It shows us shifting dynamics of social power, an economy in flux, and diverse expressions of faith and doubt within late medieval Christianity.
How did Chaucer feel about the middle class?
Although in Chaucer’s society, the middle class was not a third of the population, he felt it was important to make them a large part of his story, due to their rising importance. The Knight is symbolic of those who belong in the highest social class, or the nobility.
How does Chaucer feel about the middle class?
In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer depicts this rising middle class of medieval England in a positive light by joining all the classes together during the pilgrimage, by describing the variety and utility of the middle class through details of different characters, and by stressing the value of education to the middle
What class system is not represented in The Canterbury Tales?
Throughout the prologue, he finds an unusual uniqueness in their common lives and traits. Chaucer’s characters represent an extremely broad cross-section of all parts of society, except for the nobility. His stories represented the people themselves and touched on all of the social classes that existed.
During medieval times and in Canterbury tales, the social classes are royalty, nobility, clergy, merchants, and skilled artisans, and peasantry.
The three Medieval estates were the Clergy (those who prayed), the Nobility (those who fought) and lastly the Peasantry (those who labored).
What was the structure of the Middle Ages?
Medieval power structures included royal courts, the church, city governments, and even universities. Although positions of authority were usually inherited, leaders were expected to embrace justice, a virtue associated with godly rule, over tyranny, a vice that ensured downfall and chaos.
In the Middle ages society was conposed by three orders of people: the nobles, the clergy, the peasants. They also believed that it was very important to preserve this division and to remain in the social class where you were born in order to maintain the general equilibrium.
The wealthiest class with the most respect is royalty, which is followed by the noble. Both royalty and noble had a few things in common, one being clothes made from fine materials with bright colors and fancy food covered in seasonings that were devoured by the rich and served by the poor (The Middle Ages, 2018).
Why did Chaucer write The Canterbury Tales in Middle English?
Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales in vernacular, Middle English, because that was the type of English spoken by the English people at the time. Since many works were written in French and Latin, there was a dearth of works in English.
Why Canterbury was so important during the end of the Middle Ages in England?
The largest town in medieval Kent was Canterbury. It was particularly important because of its role as the most important centre of English Christianity and the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury. There were other sizeable towns at Dover, Rochester, Sandwich and Tonbridge and numerous smaller towns.
Why was Geoffrey Chaucer important in the Middle Ages?
Geoffrey Chaucer was one of the best English poets of all time, considered a father of English language and literature. Before the likes of Shakespeare, Chaucer dominated the literary scene, most famous for his work ‘The Canterbury Tales’.
Why was the merchant in The Canterbury Tales in the middle class?
Characters like the Merchant and the Wife of Bath are considered a part of the middle class because their careers were considered honorable and more noble than that of peasants, similar to the Reeve.
In what class system did Chaucer grow up in?
Poet Geoffrey Chaucer was born circa 1340, most likely at his parents’ house on Thames Street in London, England. Chaucer’s family was of the bourgeois class, descended from an affluent family who made their money in the London wine trade.
What three major groups are represented in the prologue to The Canterbury Tales?
The pilgrims represent a diverse cross section of fourteenth-century English society. Medieval social theory divided society into three broad classes, called “estates”: the military, the clergy, and the laity.
Periodic famines , after the Great famine and the dreadful Black Death , definitely affected much the quietude of the age . A good many people , particularly of the crowded towns , were killed by that deadliest epidemic black plague . As a result , he social state of the time was not all satisfactory .
After the rank of king, the hierarchy was the nobles, the knights, the clergy (religious people), the tradesmen and the peasants.