Surname 1
Name
Professor
Title
Date
The Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales is a collection of short stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the
14
th
Century. Addressing some of the 14
th
-century issues which are still faced today, the book has
found relevance in today's literature, nearly seven centuries after it was written. Some of the tales
in this book are presented in tales while others are in the form of prose, and are shown in the shape
of storytelling. The prologue of the book closely relates to the medieval times.
Geoffrey mentions the clerk in the story of the clerk. According to those times, a clerk was
a student of what is today called philosophy.
He negatively displays the clerk of Oxford. He says that he looks so skinny and cannot feed
himself. His clothes are threadbare, (Chaucer, 14). This could suggest that the clerk was poor, but
the author also says that it’s because he used to spend the money he borrowed by buying books
instead of food.
In his book, the writer refers to some of the terms that may not be used today, though the
positions exist. For instance, he refers to a summoner.This was an individual in the medieval
church, who used to call people before the ecclesiastical court to answer their crimes.
Similarly, the author mentions the pardoner. This term, according to the book, refers to
salvation salesman who is sanctioned by the church. He goes trying to preach salvation, especially
to the convicts.
