Monotheism in The Canterbury Tales
Posted: Thu Sep 23, 2010 11:07 am
Having just read Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, I was struck by the presence of Greek gods in several of the stories—most notably the Knight's Tale, the Nun's Priest Tale, and the Franklin's Tale. Owing to the fact that I'm reading Wright'sThe Evolution of God, it seems to me that The Canterbury Tales is a good example of old gods remaining culturally alive even when Christianity has long since displaced them. The move from polytheism to monotheism must have left a lot of gods behind, but those old gods don't disappear entirely. Even to this day, Greek/Roman culture is fairly intertwined with our own; most of us know that Zeus was the main god, Poseidon was the god of the sea, and Venus the goddess of love, and Cupid had something to do with love as well. By Jove!
Forgive me if Wright discusses this in his book. I'm on the chapter, "From Monolatry to Montotheism."
It is especially interesting to see how easily Chaucer weaves Greek/Roman gods into his narrative right alongside Christian themes. To an outside observer, one might conclude that this culture embraced all these gods, Greek/Roman/Christian. There's no sense of monotheism at all, at least not in those tales listed above.
The Canterbury Tales was written at the end of the 14th century. The tales are framed as a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel to see the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. So the characters are Christian and, yet, the old gods of Greek mythology are present in romanticized form. Perhaps those elements of Greek myth still provided a meaningful framework for exploring the human condition. The Knight's Tale, for example, contains typical aspects of knighthood such as courtly love and ethical dilemmas, but it is actually set in Athens of ancient Greece and features several Roman/Greco gods as characters in the story who intervene into the lives of the mortals. Chaucer spends a lot of verse describing temples made to honor Venus, the goddess of love, Mars, the god of war, and Diana, the goddess of chastity.
The Nun's Priest's Tale, otherwise known as Chaunticleer and the Fox, is also a medieval tale, but contains many references to Greek philosophy. In one scene, Lady Pertelote, one of the hens, laments to the goddess Venus when the fox takes Chanticleer on a Friday (which is Venus' day):
Forgive me if Wright discusses this in his book. I'm on the chapter, "From Monolatry to Montotheism."
It is especially interesting to see how easily Chaucer weaves Greek/Roman gods into his narrative right alongside Christian themes. To an outside observer, one might conclude that this culture embraced all these gods, Greek/Roman/Christian. There's no sense of monotheism at all, at least not in those tales listed above.
The Canterbury Tales was written at the end of the 14th century. The tales are framed as a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel to see the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. So the characters are Christian and, yet, the old gods of Greek mythology are present in romanticized form. Perhaps those elements of Greek myth still provided a meaningful framework for exploring the human condition. The Knight's Tale, for example, contains typical aspects of knighthood such as courtly love and ethical dilemmas, but it is actually set in Athens of ancient Greece and features several Roman/Greco gods as characters in the story who intervene into the lives of the mortals. Chaucer spends a lot of verse describing temples made to honor Venus, the goddess of love, Mars, the god of war, and Diana, the goddess of chastity.
The Nun's Priest's Tale, otherwise known as Chaunticleer and the Fox, is also a medieval tale, but contains many references to Greek philosophy. In one scene, Lady Pertelote, one of the hens, laments to the goddess Venus when the fox takes Chanticleer on a Friday (which is Venus' day):
I say this is damned interesting stuff. I could see doing a Masters or PhD thesis on god-blending in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales.. You can see this to some extent in Beowulf, an epic poem composed in the 8th century and though superficially framed with Christian themes, is actually steeped in Anglo-Saxon paganism. Indeed, the old paganism is looked upon with fond remembrance. Old religions apparently die hard."O destiny, you cannot be eschewed!
Alas, that Chauntecleer flew from the beams!
Alas, his wife recked nothing of his dreams!
And on a Friday fell all this mischance.
O Venus, who art goddess of pleasance,
Since he did serve thee well, this Chauntecleer,
And to the utmost of his power here,
More for delight than cocks to multiply,
Why would'st thou suffer him that day to die?"