Chaucer's masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales, reflects a very opinionated view of manners and the behaviors of medieval women. Chaucer portrays two extremes of female conduct during this period through the characters of the Prioress and the Wife of Bath. Through the images and descriptions in the poem, the Wife of Bath is ... that by being able to travel up the social class from a peasant to a sort of merchant she must also be not without intelligence. The Prioress also known as the Nun represents a proper and feminine woman of the medieval period. She is elegant, careful, and above all worldl...

• Word Count: 1389
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... the church" writes author JND Kelly (220). An example of the view of the church during the Middle Ages can be seen today in the book "The Canterbury Tales." The books author Geoffrey Chaucer describes the Prioress as being decorated in beads, brooches and other trinkets. He also says that she wanted her dogs to be fed with "roasted flesh, or milk, or ... fine white bread" (151). Now maybe this wouldn't be so outlandish if the Prioress was a princess but she was a nun. Chaucer goes on in his book to describe a monk. He says that a monk's favorite pastime is hunting instead of prayer. "Hi...

• Word Count: 2816
• Approx Pages: 11
• Grade Level: High School

... a secular prince, not a prince of the church- (Kelly 220). Even literature of the period portrays the clergy as being over-wealthy. There are several examples in Chaucer's famed Canterbury Tales. Chaucer first describes a Prioress bedecked with beads, brooches and other trinkets who makes sure her little dogs are fed with "roasted flesh, or milk, or fine white bread' (151). Such refined things were ... ...

• Word Count: 1267
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... a secular prince, not a prince of the church- (Kelly 220). Even literature of the period portrays the clergy as being over-wealthy. There are several examples in Chaucer's famed Canterbury Tales. Chaucer first describes a Prioress bedecked with beads, brooches and other trinkets who makes sure her little dogs are fed with "roasted flesh, or milk, or fine white bread' (151). Such refined things were ... ...

• Word Count: 1366
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School