Chaucer the Catholic

Abstract

This thesis does not try to prove that Chaucer was a Catholic, because obviously there is no need to do that. The Catholic Church was the only church in England in the fourteenth century, and Chaucer was a member of that Church. The accusation that he was a Lollard supporter, common earlier, does not seem to be very widely held these days. Being a man interested in the Church, he naturally supported a reformer like Wyclif when he attacked abuses and corruption. But Chaucer was an orthodox Catholic, and certainly had nothing to do with Wyclif when he started attacking the doctrines of the Church. Rather I have tried to show Chaucer as a member of the Catholic Church, taking a lively interest in Church affairs of his day, a devout man who had the practice of saying his office regularly, who was the friend of ecclesiastics, who had a considerable knowledge of the Church and its organisation, its doctrine and its writing, its liturgy and its books. Much background material has been included because I have tried to show Chaucer in his own time. Although it is difficult for a person so far from England and the fourteenth century to construct a picture of the mediaeval church in England, yet there is a considerable amount of material in this country which can be used. The material has been gleaned from a large number of books, and while they are more or less readily available, it is still, I think, more convenient to have the material readily available at hand. Chaucer says little about himself usually, and much of the evidence has to be gained from general impressions rather than from specific instances. Yet the whole picture is consistent, and what evidence there is backs up the general picture. I have aimed in this thesis to present first a picture of the Church of which Chaucer was a member. Having given the background I have tried to show what knowledge Chaucer would have of that Church. A Catholic is instructed in his faith throughout his life, and even the dullest accumulates quite a comprehensive knowledge of the Church. Chaucer many times does not give more than a passing reference to something about the Church because he knew his listeners would know what he was talking about, and would not need to explain further. These days so many readers of Chaucer are non-Catholics and miss these points. I have tried to show then how well Chaucer knew his Church (for his knowledge of the Church was somewhat better than that of most people). And lastly I have tried to sum up the picture, and to show that Chaucer's views on many of the political activities of churchmen reflected the attitude of King Richard and his party.