The most usual way of looking at class in The
Canterbury Tales is to split the pilgrims into the following four social
classes:
First, and most numerous in terms of the people in
the work, is the middle class. This class is made up of people like the Merchant, the
Man of Law, and the Wife of Bath. These are people who were not born to wealth or
position but who have acquired it. They are the upwardly mobile people of the
time.
Second, we have the peasants. These are the low end
of society. Examples include the Plowman and the
Yeoman.
Third, we have the nobility. These are the social
elite of society in Chaucer's time. The Knight and the Squire are the examples of this
class.
Finally, there is the clergy. There are actually
distinctions within the clergy, but they are generally talked about as one social
class. The clergy in this work include the Prioress, the Monk and the
Nun.
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