hurch without seeking repentance can easily bribe the Summoner, in that he will overlook the situation. Chaucer writes about the Pardoner that by his flatteries and prevarication/ Made monkey of the priest and congregation (Chaucer 22.) This is another direct insult to the Church at the time.Although the Pardoner represents the lowly side of the Church, Chaucer balances it out with a highly appraise of the Parson. He appears into the prologue before the Pardoner and the Summoner, and he clearly is a perfect illustration of the Church, which should be followed over the other corrupt religious men. Chaucer uses the Parson to show the Churchs power and majesty over this period in England. If not for him, it could be concluded that Chaucer had no respect for the Church. However, the Parson allows him to tell tales of the Friar, Monk, Pardoner, and Summoner while affirming that he is aware of the ability of the Church to have supremacy. Chaucer writes, He also was a learned man, a clerk/ Who truly knew Christs gospel and would preach it (Chaucer 16.)Chaucer puts a greater emphasis on the dishonest religious characters in his writing while only mentioning one ideal figure. The Parson provides an example for the ideal state that the Church should be in, while the other men represent a microcosm of the immoral and impure Church in the fourteenth-century. The Middle Ages were a religious age, and Chaucer is aware of it influences on England. Unlike most people, he knows that many of the highest religious figures were evil representations, however he uses the Parson to override the deceitful figures and show his illuminating esteem for the Church....
