What were Chaucer's views on the church?

Chaucer mocks the Catholic Church. This can be seen in both The Prologue and in the tales. Although he mocks the church and its practices, he is respectful of religion itself. First, he uses the framework of a pilgrimage, which is a religious journey. read more

Geoffrey Chaucer’s attitudes toward “the Church” should not be confused with his attitudes toward Christianity. Chaucer seems to have respected and admired sincere Christians (and to have been one himself), even while he also recognized that many people in the church of his era were venal and corrupt. read more

Chaucer's Views Exposed in The Canterbury Tales The Canterbury Tales were written and pieced together in the late 1380's, early 1390's. The author of the book is Geoffrey Chaucer. When considering the structure of the tales, one can deduce that they were put together using Framework Narrative, a very unique style of writing. read more

Chaucer portrays his pilgrims with vividness and detail, and religious themes color almost every page. Though a work of fiction, Canterbury Tales has helped historians peek into late-1300s English life, and it has helped to combat the notion that the medieval church was a monolith of religious attitudes. read more