Editing The Canterbury Tales (section)

===Religion===
The ''Tales'' reflect diverse views of the Church in Chaucer's England. After the [[Black Death]], many Europeans began to question the authority of the established Church. Some turned to Lollardy, while others chose less extreme paths, starting new monastic orders or smaller movements exposing church corruption in the behaviour of the clergy, false [[relic|church relics]] or abuse of [[indulgences]].<ref>Bisson, pp. 49–51, 56–62.</ref> Several characters in the ''Tales'' are religious figures, and the very setting of the pilgrimage to Canterbury is religious (although the prologue comments ironically on its merely seasonal attractions), making religion a significant theme of the work.<ref>Bisson, p. 50.</ref>

Two characters, the Pardoner and the Summoner, whose roles apply the Church's secular power, are both portrayed as deeply corrupt, greedy, and abusive. Pardoners in Chaucer's day were those people from whom one bought Church "indulgences" for forgiveness of sins, who were guilty of abusing their office for their own gain. Chaucer's Pardoner openly admits the corruption of his practice while hawking his wares.<ref>Bisson, pp. 61–64.</ref> Summoners were Church officers who brought sinners to the Church court for possible excommunication and other penalties. Corrupt summoners would write false citations and frighten people into bribing them to protect their interests. Chaucer's Summoner is portrayed as guilty of the very kinds of sins for which he is threatening to bring others to court, and is hinted as having a corrupt relationship with the Pardoner.<ref>Bisson, pp. 66–67.</ref> In [[The Friar's Tale]], one of the characters is a summoner who is shown to be working on the side of the devil, not God.<ref>Bisson, pp. 67–68.</ref>

[[File:Thomas Becket Murder.JPG|thumb|The murder of [[Thomas Becket]]]]
Churchmen of various kinds are represented by the Monk, the Prioress, the Nun's Priest, and the Second Nun. Monastic orders, which originated from a desire to follow an ascetic lifestyle separated from the world, had by Chaucer's time become increasingly entangled in worldly matters. Monasteries frequently controlled huge tracts of land on which they made significant sums of money, while peasants worked in their employ.<ref>Bisson, pp. 73–75, 81.</ref> The Second Nun is an example of what a Nun was expected to be: her tale is about a woman whose chaste example brings people into the church. The Monk and the Prioress, on the other hand, while not as corrupt as the Summoner or Pardoner, fall far short of the ideal for their orders. Both are expensively dressed, show signs of lives of luxury and flirtatiousness and show a lack of spiritual depth.<ref>Bisson, pp. 91–95.</ref> [[The Prioress's Tale]] is an account of Jews murdering a deeply pious and innocent Christian boy, a [[blood libel against Jews]] that became a part of English literary tradition.<ref>Rubin, 106–07.</ref> The story did not originate in the works of Chaucer and was well known in the 14th century.<ref>[http://www.unc.edu/depts/chaucer/zatta/prioress.html "The Prioress's Tale"], by Prof. Jane Zatta.</ref>

Pilgrimage was a very prominent feature of medieval society. The ultimate pilgrimage destination was Jerusalem,<ref>Bisson, pp. 99–02.</ref> but within England Canterbury was a popular destination. Pilgrims would journey to cathedrals that preserved relics of saints, believing that such relics held miraculous powers. [[Thomas Becket|Saint Thomas Becket]], Archbishop of Canterbury, had been murdered in [[Canterbury Cathedral]] by knights of [[Henry II of England|Henry II]] during a disagreement between Church and Crown. Miracle stories connected to his remains sprang up soon after his death, and the cathedral became a popular pilgrimage destination.<ref>Bisson, pp. 110–13.</ref> The pilgrimage in the work ties all of the stories together and may be considered a representation of Christians' striving for heaven, despite weaknesses, disagreement, and diversity of opinion.<ref>Bisson, pp. 117–19.</ref>