Religious Criticism In The Miller?s Tale
A story of a licentious woman, a love triangle gone awry, a misplaced kiss, and revenge?..
The above phrase could be used to describe almost any work in the fabliau genre. On the surface, the ?Miller?s Tale? by Geoffrey Chaucer and Heile of Beersele, the story which Chaucer based his Miller?s Tale, are just another pair of fabliaux. Each seems to be just another simple, obscene tale meant to amuse and entertain the common people. The Heile of Beersele may, indeed, be another entertaining story; however, it is apparent that Chaucer had other motives when writing his ?Miller?s Tale.? His tale, unlike the Heile of Beersele, mocks the hypocrisy, misogyny, and faith of the Church and its members. Although the Miller?s Tale and the Heile of Beersele seem strikingly similar upon first read, Chaucer wrote the Miller?s Tale, not as a form of entertainment, but as a form of criticism of the Catholic Church during the Middle Ages.
During the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church maintained a facade that was idealistic by nature. It expected its followers to be exemplars of ?perfection.? Yet, in actuality, they were far from that. Even, the
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