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Canterbury Tales: The Fri= ar |
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Period 1 Justin |
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A m= ounted friar as Chaucer’s might have been . |
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Social C= ontext |
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Friars, as a type of priest, were both respected an= d envied by commoners. Even among robbers and thieves there would have been= some respect for the habit. Many lay people would be somewhat resentful of= priestly power and control, and the good life many of them led off of thei= r contributions while they lived in austerity. Belief is what allowed for priestly power. The peop= le believed truly in what they were told, and sadly many, including the Fri= ar, to some extent took advantage of this piety. |
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Works Cited "Augustinian (Roman Catholic Religious Order) -- Britannica O= nline Encyclopedia." Encyclopedia - Britannica Online Encyclopedia.= Web. 12 Nov. 2010. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/43011/Aug= ustinians>. "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Preparation for Death." <= span lang=3Den-US style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-style:italic; language:en-US'>NEW ADVENT: Home. Web. 12 Nov. 2010. <http://w= ww.newadvent.org/cathen/04660c.htm>. "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Vows." NEW ADVENT: Home.= Web. 12 Nov. 2010. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15511a.htm>. Constitution, By The. "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Order of Friars= Minor." NEW ADVENT: Home. Web. 12 Nov. 2010. <http://w= ww.newadvent.org/cathen/06281a.htm>. "Geoffrey Chaucer (c.1343-1400)." Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature.= Web. 12 Nov. 2010. <http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/chaucer.htm>. Kagan, Donald, Steven E. Ozment, and Frank M. Turner. The Western Heritage: Since 1300. Upper Saddle= River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2004. Print.
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A s= tained glass window depicting St. Augustine. |
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Historic= al Context |
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Friars are monks who are involved in the world inst= ead of being cloistered away. Their vows of poverty are more apparent since the= y rely on begging instead of self sufficiency. The majority were pere= grine mendicants, traveling within an assigned region doing various priestl= y duties. Friars would associate with lay-persons frequently as they = did their rounds and provided services such as burying the dead, giving last rites. The mendicant orders were founded based on the teac=
hings of St. Augustine. The largest and oldest order, the |
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Mod= ern Friars in Spain |
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Cultural= Context |
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Friars today do many of the same things they did in= Chaucer’s time. They still provide many o= f the same services, although the demand has changed. They are seen as the = face of the Church in the world. In major cities and in certain regions fri= ars were and still are, a common sight, evangelizing and serving communitie= s. Friars were respected members of the clergy, a position which Chaucer= 217;s Friar abused. Today there is little in the way of the corruption = that was not only common than, but expected. Chaucer’s Friar is a nig= h hedonistic hunter. Today, such actions would be entirely unbecoming of a = priest of any stripe. However, at the time, being well fed and accepting th= e occasional bribe were at the low end of the spectrum for corruption. Less= than 100 years after Chaucer’s death the very Pope would have carnal relations with a dau= ghter. |
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