Numair Ehtsham
Abernathy
British Literature 1st
16 November 2012
Anti-Semitism in Prioress’s Tale
The medieval times in which Chaucer lived through were full of stories exemplifying conflicts between Judaism and Christianity. Many Christians at this time saw Jews as people who were only concerned with worldly possessions, yet they saw themselves as spiritual people only with no care for tangible possess-
ions. There had grown a form of religious rivalry between the two. These aspects of the time are present in The Canterbury Tales. The Judeo-Christian relationship is particularly present in the Prioress’s Tale. Chaucer utilizes The Prioress’s Tale as a commentary on the anti-Semitic culture of the churches through an allusion to a story of a Christian cleric.
Before even reading the tale, one can easily differentiate the Prioress’s Tale from the other tales. Prioress’s Tale is written in seven line stanzas in which three lines rhyme. Rhyme royal is the name of the stanza format in the tale. Prioress’s Tale is in the genre known as miracle of the Virgin. The genre was popular in the earlier years of Chaucer’s time signifying the tale was an earlier work of Chaucer’s that was refurbished for the purpose of The Canterbury Tales. Upon reading the prologue, the tale has been built up to have a religious theme which follows the trends of the Prioress. The tale begins with a city in Asia occupied by both Christians and Jews. The description of the Jews,” hateful to Christ and his followers,” foretells a conflict between the Jewish community in the town and the Christian community. A small, Christian school stood at the end of a street where the Jewish community resided. A child of a widow went to school, and he was a devout Christian. Whenever he saw an image of Mary, he would kneel down and recite his Ave Maria. Hearing the elder classmen in his school recite Alma redemptoris, the child inquired the meaning of the song. One of the students reciting the song told the child it was in reverence to Christ’s mother, and after much pleading by the child, was willing to teach the song.
The Essay on Black Children Time Man Today
After viewing the film To Kill A Mocking Bird, I found it to be a very interesting and an informative piece of work. To see how people lived in the years during the great depression and how society was structured was enlightening. The Finch family lived a modest lifestyle, as compared to other families during that time. The movie centers around the Finch family and their day to day life. From the ...
The child was quickly able to memorize the entirety of the song. The little child would recite the full song twice a day, once to school and once on the way home. Since the school was on the farther side of the road, the child was reciting the song in the middle of the Jewish ghetto. Stirring up resentment, the song had caused the people living on the street to hire a killer. They hired the killer to murder the boy who sang the song. After the boy had been killed, his mother came looking for him to no avail until “Jesus of his grace put it in her mind.” (116) The boy starts to sing the song once the widow is near him and all the Christians gather to hear the boy sing with a slit throat. Before being buried, the abbot removes a grain in his mouth which causes the little child to stop singing. All are astonished at this miracle.
The Prioress was described as “weep[ing] if she saw a mouse caught in a trap and dead or bleeding.” (144) Despite this, she was told a story of a child’s death without flinching and with ease. Juxtaposed to her description in the prologue, Prioress’s Tale was a contradiction to her personality. Chaucer intentionally made the contradiction to emphasize the to show the hypocrisy of the church. Seemingly a theme in The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer, in a backhand manner, again criticizes the Church by depicting it as a bunch of hypocrites.
As mentioned, there were many stories at the time that were centered about the miracles of the Virgin. One particular story told the fate of a Christian cleric who traversed a Jewish portion of his town to feed his ailing father. While walking, the cleric would sing the anthem of the Virgin Mary. The Jews thereafter killed the cleric due to their annoyance toward the song. Even after being killed, the cleric continued to sing the anthem and was only audible to Christians. The Christians then buried him which ceased his singing. Obviously, there are many parallels between the story of the Prioress’s Tale. The similar theme- miracles of the Virgin- highlighted the anti-Semitic beliefs of the church at the time. Chaucer is criticizing the anti-Semitism in the church by depicting the people of the church as hypocrites. Clearly not a fan of the Church, Chaucer was once again ahead of his time through his criticism of the Church.
The Essay on Chaucers The Physicians Tal
Chaucers The Physicians Tale was a moral tale because it deals with issues of right and wrong and it stands to teach a few lessons which everyone could interpret in their own way depending on whom the reader believes is responsible for the tragic death of the fair maiden Virginia. Among the lessons one might learn is, ye shall not covet thy neighbors daughter or assume themselves above the law ...
The Prioress’s Tale serves as a commentary on the anti-Semitism of the Church. It is not a surprise that Chaucer would be the man who would bring criticism of the Church to the forefront. The same man who was ahead of his time in women’s rights was also ahead in religious’ rights. He brought forth his ideas on women’s rights through the Wife of Bathe, and he brought forth his criticisms of the Church’s anti-Semitisms. The similarities between the two- Wife of Bathe and Prioress- are sparse, but both bring forth important ideas and concepts. Chaucer once again proves that he was a revolutionary for his time. One can only imagine the impact of a completed Canterbury Tales done by Chaucer.
