Fourteenth Century Society in Geoffrey Chaucers The...

Nothing gives us a better idea of medieval life than Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. Written in the late fourteenth century in the vernacular, it gives us an idea of the vast spectrum of people that made up the different classes within society. The poem describes the knightly class, the clergy, and those who worked for a living, thus describing the different classes as well. Chaucer gives us a cross-section of fourteenth century society by giving us the small details of people’s clothing, demeanor and professions; therefore giving us information on the lower and middle classes, not discussed in literature before. Geoffrey Chaucer survived The Black Death’s peak at around age six, where twenty percent of England’s (about fifty†¦show more content†¦The Canterbury Tales was one of the first works of literature actually written in English. Since society was ruled by the Church and the Church exercised in Latin, most of what was written by authors before the fourteenth century was in Latin or in the other major languages in Europe: Italian or French. English was seen as vulgar and only for the lower classes as it was these classes who would not be able to read or write in any other languages because that would mean they had the money to be educated. Chaucer made English literature more acceptable by writing The Canterbury Tales. It also brings light in the evolution of our language and how people of the Late Middle Ages pronounced the words. Chaucer constructed the prologue in such a way that it gives a panoramic view of fourteenth century society. It allows us to see the lower classes of this time that would otherwise be unknown. The elite (those who would write in the educated languages of Latin and French) could only describe their own upper class. However, here it can be learned of what people wore, the different styles, qualities and colors. The Wife of Bath, a rich widow, is said to have had â€Å"her stockings . . . of the finest scarlet-red,† giving clues of her sexual lust and dominant personality (Chaucer 1710). The story also explains that she was very good at sewing and she made her ownShow MoreRelatedThe Emerging Middle Class in Late Medieval England888 Words   |  4 PagesWritten by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the fourteenth century, The Canterbury Tales and more specifically it’s prologue, shed a great deal of light on the rising middle class in (fourteenth century) England. Despite the fact that some readers may not know a lot about the time period today, Chaucer’s writing in the prologue elaborates on topics such as occupations, wealth, education, and political power. Scholar Barbara Nolan writes of the prologue, â€Å"it is more complex than most†¦It raises expectationsRead MoreWomen And Male Authority Figures1507 Words   |  7 Pages In the fourteenth century, women were merely seen as subject to male authority figures. A wife was not seen as a competent adult because they were seen as so dependent on their husband (Bennett 104-105). After a marriage anything she owned became possessed by her husband (Bennett 104-105). Women who manipulated their husband and gained control of his assets defied the norm of women’s position in the fourteenth century. The church was a major part of Medieval England and controlled many peoples livesRead MoreAnalysis Of The General Prologue To The Canterbury Tales Essays1044 Words   |  5 Pagesbeen an important factor in society, changing and evolving throughout the centuries. In medieval Europe, religious pilgrimages were a crucial part of ones religious faith. 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