Traveling Disobedience
During the time of the Canterbury Tales, the Catholic Church was the great religious power. Catholicism during the time period was a wrongful and corrupt power. The characters in the Canterbury Tales have made vows to stay pure in their faith, but in the end they end up breaking the vows for their own gain. The stories they tell about themselves only proves the point of just how corrupt the Catholic Church was. These characters have a religious vow to God, although they break them for their own gain.
The vow of poverty is living with the bare essentials of life. Living the way that keeps you humble and steadfast in faith. “And she had little dogs she be feeding/ with roasted flesh or milk, or white bread.” The Nun has taken this vow and broken it: by feeding her dogs food that she could give to the less fortunate. The Monk breaks it by showing off his style of clothing. “I saw his sleeves were garnished at the hand/ with fine grey fur, the finest in the land,/ and on his hood to fasten it at his chi/ he had a wrought-gold cunningly fashioned pin.” Expensive clothing, for the time period, is showing that he…show more content… Yet again another example for someone breaking the vow is the Nun. “Her cloak, I noticed had a graceful charm.” That graceful charm is used in the purpose of seducing men; although the Nun is supposed to stay pure. The Friar keeps his vow of poverty but only trades that in breaking the vow of chastity. “He kept in his tippet stuffed with pins for curls/ And pocket-knives to give to pretty girls.” The seduction he is forcing upon these “girls” is for his sexual gain. There is not a way the Friar doesn’t not break this vow he disregards the vow to have his own selfish way. A Summoner finally someone you can trust to keep his vow, wrong. “He was as hot and lecherous as a sparrow.” In other words means that he is lustful, and one of the only thoughts he had was sexual