The Church in Medieval English Literature
The Roman Catholic Church was the central institution around which medieval life was organized. By default, everyone was a member of the Church, and "Catholic" actually means "universal." If you weren't a Christian, you were more than likely Jewish, but Edward I booted Jewish people out of England in 1291. Boo.
You also could have been Muslim—again, not many Muslim people were seen in England during this time—or some other flavor of "heretic." It didn't matter; if you weren't a Christian, you basically just weren't welcome anywhere in Europe.
This "us vs. them" mentality of the religious shows up in the literature in many ways. In some tales, non-Christian religions and cultures were portrayed as being simply foreign, while in others, they were depicted as downright evil. Check out The Prioress' Tale for a vivid example of that good vs. bad Christian vs. non-Christian dynamic.
All in all, the Catholic Church had the religious market cornered for about nine whole centuries. That is, until we get to the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. It was omnipresent in people's lives.
In fact, everyone had to pay a tax to the Church equaling 10% of their yearly income (called a "tithe"). This donation was not voluntary. Plus, all of the standard services provided by the Church—upon which your immortal soul depended, as the thinking went—cost money.
Baptism? Kaching. Weddings? Kaching. Prayers to reduce your loved ones' time in Purgatory? Double kaching.
Some of these proceeds did go to feeding and clothing the poor, which is a pretty good cause, if you ask us. But lots of money also went to lining the pockets of the Church's upper echelon. And their pockets were probably already fur-lined. Womp womp.
This type of hypocrisy is roundly criticized in a lot of the literature of the time. And once again, Chaucer is our go-to guy for this kind of insight: his portraits of religious figures like the Friar, the Summoner, and the Pardoner are famous for their biting critique of medieval religious life.
Why were people willing to shell out money to pay for the services of shady characters like the Summoner and Pardoner, you ask? Keep in mind that people in the Middle Ages were terrified of going to Hell for their sins. And the Catholic Church was the only gig in town for avoiding this thoroughly unpleasant possibility.
Because of this, unscrupulous factions of the Church exploited the fear of the illiterate masses as much as they could. In doing so, the Church came up with fun things like "indulgences," which would buy you a certain amount of time out of Purgatory in exchange for some bank. Yikes.
As you can imagine, after a while, people got tired of this racket. Eventually, they demanded to have more of a hand in their own salvation. And that's what led to the Lollard heresy in the 14th century.
The Lollards wanted to be able to read the Bible for themselves, and they Just Said No to Latin-only services. They also wanted the Church to get rid of some of its sketchier practices, like hoarding wealth and selling indulgences.
Things didn't turn out so well for many of the Lollards, though; lots o' them were burned at the stake for challenging the Church.
The Church also cornered the education market. If you wanted a decent education during the medieval period, chances were you got it through the Church—at a school attached to a nunnery or monastery. Of course, since the Church was supplying this education to you, they then appreciated it if you stuck around and became a cleric (well, at least the men), and put your learning to good use for them.
Even once universities really got rolling, the Church was usually heavily involved. Man, the Church really had its hands in everyone's business back then, huh?
Chew on This
How does Chaucer's description of the Monk in The Canterbury Tales provide an amusing critique of the Church? Notice, for example, how the Monk is fat. And he's dressed in the finest of clothing. How do these two qualities contradict what's expected of an ideal monk?
Lest you think that Chaucer was continually hating on the Church, take a look at his character the Parson. Now this guy shows us how a man of God should really roll. How does the imagery associated with the Parson emphasize his idyllic religiosity? Does Chaucer use any of his characteristic humor in this portrait? Why or why not?