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Canterbury Tales: Monk
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CANTERBURY TALES:
The Monk
Monks were expected to observe vows of poverty and chastity to eshew gluttony, to promotes learning through copying preservations of manuscripts. (Rogers, 314)
Like pachomius, benedict emphasized obedience to both the abbot and god, as well as hard work, poverty, chastity and discipline. (Rogers, 313)
Monks were restricted in what they could wear, how much they could eat or drink , how much they could talk and how their days activities would be structured. (Rogers, 113)
Sometimes when a little boy seemed especially smart, his parents would take him to a monastery and leave him there to be taken care of by the monks and educated, and when he grew up he would become a monk. (Barton , NP)
Many monks found themseleves within cloistered walls because of a sense of familial duty instead of a sense of spiritual calling. (Rogers, 314)
SUMMARY:
Life as a monk was monotonous and strict, demanding conviction and devotion, which many just didn't have.
Who rode the country; hunting was his sport. A manly man, to be an abbot able; many a dainty horse he had in stable.(Chaucer, 166)
Though hunting was a normal in society at the time, the fact that he participated for sport, wasn't living in poverty and ignored his social responsibilities were very clear indicators of the satire within the monks description.
To fasten his hood under his chin, he had a wrought-gold, cunningly fashioned pin; into a lover's knot it seemed to pass.(Chaucer, 196)
The gold pin love knot hints at the monks love life and there for lack of chastity which was an important aspect of being a monk.
Fat was this lord, he stood in goodly case.
His bulging eyes he rolled about, and hot
They gleamed and red, like fire beneath a pot;
(Chaucer 200)
This physical description reveals that the monk is fat and guilty of Gluttony . His glowing red eyes represent poor character.
Works Cited
Barton, John. "Medieval Monks." Christian Monks. N.p., 2 Apr. 2009. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.
Rogers, Shannon L. All Things Chaucer: An Encyclopedia of Chaucer's World. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2007. Print.
http://quatr.us/medieval/people/monks.htm
GOEFFREY CHAUCER'S MONK: