Pope Joan

Geoffrey Chaucer, the father of English literature and the author of The Canterbury Tales, uses two contradicting characters to help satirize the corruption within the Catholic Church. The Canterbury Tales is about thirty pilgrims who are traveling to the shrine in Canterbury for vacation or religious reasons. Chancer’s intention is for each pilgrim to tell a total of four tales. Sadly, Chaucer dies before completing the story. The purpose of The Canterbury Tales is to satirize the corruption…

blackening church appals". By stating these, he refers to the rotten government and corrupt institutions like the church which allow child labor, prostitution, and bloody wars. In the last line, when he says "And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse." he puts his blame on the legal marriage of his day which restricts the romantic love. On the other hand, Wordsworth has an optimistic and positive view of London. Because he has lived in a countryside area and has described the natural beauty…

The Underlying Satirical Message of The Canterbury Tales Written between 1387 and 1400, Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales have attracted the attention of historians and English scholars from all over. This satirical piece poses many questions and gives an interesting insight in the lives of 30 characters, many of which being employed by the church. Chaucer gives an ironic twist to many, if not all the characters of The Canterbury Tales. The narrator addresses each character by their occupation,…

“That thou remember them, some claim as debt; I think it mercy, if thou wilt forget” (13-14). By just looking at the last two lines of this sonnet, the theme of the whole poem could be inferred. While John Donne grew up being a Catholic, he later became a Protestant. Due to him suffering through losses and tragic events throughout his life, he, at times, felt conflicted and confused to why his God would let him suffer through that. But overall, he was a man who was passionate about religion,…

The Middle Ages was an era in Europe that lasted since the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE until the beginning of Renaissance in the 14th century (History). Throughout those centuries, literature arose as a way of spreading out religious topics through Europe being Latin the most popular language. Hroswitha was one of the several numbers of authors that appeared at that time. She was a canoness in the 10th century and considered the first German poet (Britannica). Hroswitha’s plays…

Shakespeare’s Attitude to Puritanism in his Plays The term “Puritan” appeared in England around 1565 as a reference to the abuse of religious propaganda in the period. German refugees brought into England the notion of pure primitive church and purity of reform. One of the first printed uses of the term originated in a Catholic attack on an Anglican policy statement and later as an argument of Protestant leaders against Elizabeth’s keeping of the crucifix on her chapel altar. Puritanism can be…

Two perceptions, one meaning Cranach’s Wittenberg Altarpiece The majestic art piece “The Wittenberg Altarpiece” was painted by Lucas Cranach in 1547. This altarpiece is the focal point of the City Church in Wittenberg, on it we can appreciate the importance of how worship was sensed during those days. At the same time, the altarpiece also works as a religious type of publicity since we can identify a clear illustration of the effects of the Reformation on Northern European art. Martin Luther…

Introduction In 69 BC, the Flavians rose to power during the Roman civil war and they reigned over the Roman Empire between 69 BC and 96 BC. The Flavian Dynasty include Vespasian (69-79 BC), and his two sons Titus (79-81 BC) and Domitian (81-96 BC). Under Domitian reign, the Romans instituted guidelines concerning worship, known today as the Flavian polices which led to extreme persecution of the early church. From issues with Flavian Policies and the Roman religious atmosphere, cultural…

This essay will consider whether Thomas Becket’s fight with secular authority (such as the king) ended with his murder in Canterbury Cathedral on the 29th December 1170 . Becket was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by King Henry II from 1162 until his death , and came into conflict with him over clerical privilege, with Henry believing that the Church was subject to the laws of the land, whilst Becket maintained that ‘the church was above the law’ . This led to Becket’s murder at the hands of…

Three Reasons why John Edwards Sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, is a Persuasive Essay During the mid 16th and 17th centuries, a new method of life arose and religion , this being called Puritanism. Puritans, who embodied the practices of Puritanism, sought to “purify” the Church of England of its Catholic practices. Moreover, as these Puritans began to travel overseas and inhabit the continent of North America, these Puritan views traveled over as well. America thus began on the…