The Prioress' Tale

During the Middle Ages, the Christian Church had more power than any other authority in Europe. During that period of time, Jews were seeing as anti-Christ. The Prioress’ Tale’s nun in some way could be considered as an anti-Semitic or hypocritical. 

   In the Prioress’ Tale by GEOFFREY CHAUCER, nun had some kind of obsession with motherhood, as she stated, “O Lord, oure Lord, thy name how merveillous/ Is in this large world ysprad—qoud she--/ For noght oonly thy precious praise/Parfourned is by men of dignitee, /But by the mouth of children thy bountee/Parfourned is, for on the brest soukynge/Somtyme shewen they thyn praise,” (The Prologue of the Prioress’s Tale, Lines 453-59). This could never be consider normal thoughts from a nun, her thoughts should be focus on the holiness of Jesus and his saint mother, not on all those sensual descriptions of a mother with her infant’s sucking the milk.

    In another section, Chaucer described all the details about her wardrobe, which honestly it did not described the value of a nun. She seemed to have so much appreciation for riches, which contradicted the nuns’ vows of poverty. As Chaucer mentioned, “This gemme of chastity, this emeraude, /And eek of martirdom the ruby bright,”(The Prologue of the Prioress’s Tale, Lines 609-10). 

     The nun in this tale, she contradicted her self, as she, in some way criticized and at the same time she paid devotion the widowed mother with the little boy. As she explained the short life of this little boy, who’s devotion for the song of Christ’s mom demolished his life, “Of Cristes mooderr?” this was a song of holiness of Mary (The Prologue of the Prioress’s Tale, Lines 538). “O Alma redemptoris everemo/The swetnesse his herte perced so/ Of Cristes mooder that, to hire to preye, /He kan nat stynte of syngyng by the weye.” (The Prologue of the Prioress’s Tale, Lines 554-557). Since he used to sing it everyday, in his way to school and to home. Jews killed him, because they saw him as oppression. In some way she made responsible the mother for her son’s death, because she should teach him when and how to sing when he was around the Jews. 
        This tale evoked pity and curiosity for her tale and consequently for herself rather than selflessly indicating Christendom’s revulsion of Jews “Yvele shal have that yvele wol deserve,” (The Prologue of the Prioress’s Tale, Line 632). Deeply she did not know what she really wanted to be with her life, a mother or a nun. Chaucer had criticized the blatant hypocrisy against the church with the Prioress’ Tale and also with the Shipman’s Tale. Both tales, in some way, represented repressions against the Christian Church. 

The Nun's Priest's Tale

The Nun's Priest Tale is another amazing Canterbury Tales that narrated the story of a poor widow who lived in a little cottage with her daughters. She had some animals, from who she depended in order to eat "She eet ful many a slendre meal". These animals were three pigs, three cows, a sheep and some chickens.  Unlike other tales, this tale demonstrated that not all the widows were riches and selfish like the widow from the Wife of Bath's Tale. She remarried more than five times, just looking for money and position, in the other hand, the Nun's Priest Tale's widow, she preferred to live a simple and honored life with her children and animals. She had one particular chicken, his name was Chauntecleer, and his singing was his talent.