Clerical Heroism

Earlier, I made a post asking everyone who they most identified with as a pilgrim. As we’ve read, I keep comparing certain characters to myself, and I keep coming to the same conclusion—I’m most like the Oxford Cleric. I’m really drawn to the idea of someone who would rather have books than eat, as I feel that my ever-increasing library will never cease and I continually keep adding to it. I appreciate someone who shares a story that utilizes his travel experiences, and is able to adapt the story to make more specific points about something in particular. I love, especially since I’m trying to find ways to teach this to my students, that he uses mythology in his story to explain what a wife should and shouldn’t do.

However, I’m somewhat disquieted at the idea that the Oxford Cleric is simply a student, as is stated in one educational handout I’ve found over the years. Many of the other professions get explanations and multiple reasons to elaborate on the vastness that is their job. I mean, the different elements of clergy—Friar, Monk, Nun, and Man of Law—are all seen and understood, somewhat easily, to be part of clerical orders. So when this character is introduced as someone who likes to be immersed in stories, I’m not only drawn to him, but am confused as to how he gets to study and learn all days, and doesn't seem to have anything else to accomplish.  And unlike many of these other jobs, the Cleric is given the description of simply “a student,” and while that is true, I find it hard to believe that all he would be doing is studying with no greater purpose in mind. Is he studying, in addition to learning for learning’s sake, to take a specific clerical position? Might he become some sort of priest or Man of Law himself? What does he plan to do with all the knowledge he is amassing?

So, what kind of story do we get from the Oxford Cleric?  To begin, he doesn’t share his tale in the typical rhyming couplet manner, but in a more challenging Rhyme Royale scheme.  Additionally, he tells a story which appears to have originated from his travels in Italy and overseas.  This also informs us that he must somehow have some connection to wealth, as he is not forced to work as a peasant, nor join a monastic order as many did to survive. Instead, he continues to read, absorb knowledge, and share this knowledge with anyone who asks (not that many do…).  Because it appears that he’s traveled to Italy (perhaps a likely nod to Chaucer’s own travels to Italy?) and this story more than likely originated on the continent, it shows the wide base of the Cleric’s knowledge and application.

Additionally, the story is adapted from other versions, and also takes an interesting stance on the role of women in the home as a wife.  How interesting that in the fourth to last stanza, he describes a woman that “holdeth no silence” the way of Ekko/Echo, to be more of an outspoken ideal—not a yes-person, as it appears that Walter wants, and, quite frankly, needs. Does he believe in the lesson which he shares with us and the Tabard Twenty-Nine, and thus wants a different message to be shared about marriage? I’m just not sure—but I believe he’s not “just a student,”

What are your thoughts on this character who is perhaps at a crossroads of intellect and adulthood? Is he finding his way in the world, is he taking this trip as his “gap” year experience, or about to find/be placed in a position which uses his intellect and ability to read? I just don’t know, but wish I could ask him myself!