Old Middle Class In The Canterbury Tales

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Have you ever wondered why it was so important for Chaucer to portray his characters as the new middle class? In Chaucer’s book the Canterbury Tales, Chaucer illustrates the new middle class by depicting multiple characters as the new rebellious social class. The old middle class social status was a time of the feudal system and where the church played an active role. The people began to rebel the feudal system and stepped out on their own. Chaucer’s characters are more of the rebellious sort and portrayed the rising new middle class. It is important to understand the old middle class before exploring how Chaucer’s characters represented the new middle class. What was the old Middle Class? Understanding the Feudal …show more content…
As a result of finding a way necessary to protect the people, feudalism was created. It quickly spread throughout Europe and remained for about 150 years. Feudalism, was a way to offer military protection to the people. There was a hierarchy of rulers. Up at the top of the pyramid was the King who would control all of the land and divide it up among the Barons. The Bishop was considered a top church leader and therefore at the top of the hierarchy just below the King. The Barons/Lords would pledge their loyalty to the king in exchange for a piece of land. Their areas of land were called fiefs. The Barons divided up their large areas of land into smaller areas and had a lord who would oversee and maintain an army that would be ready at the king’s calling. If they did not have an army, they would have to pay the king a tax which was called shield money. The Lords pledged to protect the people who lived on his land. The largest class were the Peasants or Serfs. They would work on the land and often had barely enough food to keep themselves alive. They worked long days 6 days a week. Some of the peasants were able to own their own business in town such as a …show more content…
Although, he does mention the Miller second, right after the knight disrupting the hierarchy. The Miller is technically at the bottom of the hierarchy. The drunken Miller gets the host’s attention and says “By God’s arms and blood and bones, I’ll tell my noble tale at once, And it shall quit the good Knight’s tale.”(Glaser L 1529). He believes that his tale will be better than the noble knight’s. The second point mentioned, was the church. The church of the middle ages was a central part of everyday life. You woke up, went to morning mass, paid for indulgences for your sins, went to confessions and paid tithes. The church was easily the most powerful group in medieval Europe. At the time the church dealt with more legal matters. At first, tithes were generally only a yearly collection. They were used to help feed the clergy and help the needy. Every community had their own parish that they belonged to. Marriage was considered a lifelong commitment no matter what. Conflict began to arise between the Roman Catholic Church and people began to agonize over their salvation. Understanding the way people dressed in the early middle ages is also necessary in
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