k are truly holy relics that are worth paying money to see. By tricking the ignorant country folk, he is making much more money than an honest working man should be. His avarice for wealth leads the Pardoner away from what is right and moral. Greed is the base of all the corruption that tore away the Catholic Church's incredible power. All but one of the clergy among Chaucer's pilgrims lives much differently than how he should. From her description in the Prologue, the Prioress seems like a perfect model of a nun during the Middle Ages in her attempts to be proper and clean. "Pleasant and friendly in her ways, and straining to counterfeit a courtly kind of grace, a stately bearing fitting to her place" (142-44, 108). By trying to act like a noblewoman "fitting to her place", the Prioress is not acting according to her position as a nun. Her place as a nun is not to be concerned with having proper and courtly behavior, but instead to be working with the poor and the sick. By spending her time trying to have good manners, Madam Eglantyne is neglecting her duties as a nun. The Monk also allows his other passions to interfere with his proper responsibilities. "Hunting a hare or riding at a fence was all his fun, he spared for no expense" (195-96, 110). The Monk spends all his time outside hunting for pleasure when he should be inside his cloister studying scripture or working as Saint Augustine bade monks to do. He lives only for pleasure rather than for helping others. By not following the doctrine of proper monks, he is contributing to the decline of the Catholic Church. The Friar is also acting differently than he should. "He knew the taverns well in every town and every innkeeper and barmaid too better than lepers, beggars and that crew" (244-46, 111). The Friar cares only about pleasing himself and does not work to make other people's lives better. He neglects the people he is supposed to help and instead spends h...
